Note: Alrighty, this week has been somewhat dull for me. The only major thing that really happened was the fact I went to the dentist for an appointment. Other than that, I was home alone for Thursday. However, that hasn't stopped me from writing stories and doing other stuff. Before we move on with the story, I want to say something to two reviewers.

Gnarly: Dude, I'm not on Skype. Besides that, thanks for your review.

Ron: Yeah, Sophia's not really the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I don't think that she'll work with Bolan. However, we can only imagine what the device she has is. As for Bolan, I named him after Marc Bolan. I guess that I just like naming certain characters after real people.

Now that I've done that, let's move on!

Chapter 11: Gathering Data

In the afternoon, Falco and Katt found themselves getting ready to go down to Sauria. Before they approached their ships, Peppy handed Falco a recording device that would send info to not only the Great Fox, but also General Pepper. Taking it, the pheasant placed it in his lap after he climbed into his Arwing. After that, he began to take off, with Katt following him out of the Great Fox. Once they were out of space, the two set a course for Sauria.

"Falco, how are you doing so far?" Slippy spoke through his communicator.

"We haven't made it to Sauria yet, Slippy." Falco stated. "When we do, we'll tell you."

"Okay!" The toad said prior to hanging up.

After the brief interruption from Slippy, Falco and Katt continued on their way to Sauria. Once they got there, they saw that the portal was open in ThornTail Hollow. The moment they saw it, Katt made a call to the Great Fox.

"Peppy," she spoke, "we're going to go through the portal!"

"Be careful!" Peppy warned. "And, once you get to where Fox, Krystal and Wolf are at, record your conversation with them so that we can get data from where they are at!"

"On it!" Falco said.

After ending the call, Falco turned on the device, ready to record the conversation that he and Katt would have with Fox, Krystal and Wolf once they reached the world they were stuck in. Facing the portal, Falco and Katt braced themselves for impact.

"Ready, hon?" Katt asked.

"Oh, you know that I am!" Falco shouted as he got ready to fly through the portal.

Falco and Katt then flew through the portal, hoping that they wouldn't crash when they got to where it took them. After a minute, the two found themselves above the United States. Once that happened, Falco began to speak into his communicator.

"Fox, can you hear me?!" He shouted. "Respond when you hear my voice! Krystal and Wolf, that goes for the both of you as well!"

For a second, there was no response. That was until Falco and Katt heard a familiar voice coming out of their communicators.

"Falco, is that you?" Fox asked.

"Fox!" Katt spoke. "Yes, that was Falco who was calling for you! Hon, are you okay?!"

"We're fine, but we need all the help we can get!" The orange tod stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Falco asked. "Where are you guys?"

"We're in the Evergreen Forest, a place in Canada!" The vulpine told them. "There are alien hunters here, so we need to take them down!"

"And we can't leave before we do!" Krystal's voice added. "While we want to go through the portal, we need to beat Bolan and his allies back!"

"Well, couldn't you have just snuck past him?" Katt asked.

"Katt, think for a moment, do you really think Krystal, Wolf and I can get plane tickets?" Fox's voice came out of the communicator. "Even if we weren't noticed by Bolan, we'd still get caught by the authorities!"

"In addition to that, we've been preoccupied." Wolf's voice rang out.

"It's a good thing you guys told us all of this." Falco said.

"Why?" The one-eyed lupine asked.

"We're recording our conversation with you and sending it back to Peppy so that he can give it to General Pepper!" Katt stated. "He's building a portal of his own, so that he can have one spawn where you're at!"

"Really?" Fox asked.

"That's good news!" Krystal said.

"We're coming to you now," Falco said, "but we'll have to stay hidden! Given what you said about alien hunters, there is no way in hell Katt and I are getting abducted and harvested, same for you guys!"

Fox, Krystal and Wolf hung up after Falco said that, which allowed him to continue flying with Katt.

"Did you get that, Peppy?" Katt spoke into her communicator, calling the Great Fox.

"We've gotten what we need," Peppy spoke, "and the coordinates for the Evergreen Forest Fox mentioned should be showing up! Keep on moving, and be careful, just to avoid the alien hunters they mentioned!"

"We will!" The pink feline said prior to Peppy hanging up.

"Alright, let's go!" Falco said.

Following the coordinates for the Evergreen Forest once they appeared in their ships, Falco and Katt began to fly toward the Evergreen Forest. As they did so, they turned on their silencers, making their ships quiet. After that, they set a course for Canada, making sure they were going in the right location. After all, it would have been nice to see their friends again.


Back in the Evergreen Forest, Fox, Krystal and Wolf had just turned off their communicators. After doing so, the three looked at the device, reading the information on the portal.

"I sure do hope that Pepper actually gets the info on where we are!" Fox said.

"Yes," Krystal said, "so that the Cornerian Army can get their portal machine working and find us!"

"And how do they know that the portal will work the first time around?" Wolf asked, showing clear disbelief in his voice.

"If it doesn't work the first time, they'll find a way to make it work the next time." The orange tod said.

"I hope that it doesn't take a while for them to get it working." The cobalt vixen stated.

"Yes," the one-eyed lupine said, "it would suck if we couldn't head back to our teams. For all we know, they could be fighting for leadership."

All of a sudden, Wolf's communicator came on.

"Actually, we're doing well!" Falco's voice came out of the communicator. "As much as I hate to admit it, we've been missing you!"

Wolf turned his communicator off, looking at Fox.

"Did your team really have to send Lombardi and Monroe out for this mission?" Wolf asked.

"Well, someone had to collect data on our whereabouts and what part of the past we're in." Fox said. "Besides, Falco and Katt will be here at any minute."

A knock then came on the door. Before Fox, Krystal or Wolf could answer it, Ralph went to it. Opening the door, the raccoon came face to face with a blue and red pheasant and a pink cat.

"Excuse us, little man, have you seen our friends?" The feline asked.

"They're an orange fox, a blue vixen and a gray wolf with a single working eye." The pheasant stated.

"Come on in, guys!" Ralph said.

Ralph let the two in, bringing them in front of Fox, Krystal and Wolf. Upon seeing them, the orange tod and the cobalt vixen smiled, with the latter hugging them when they leaned towards her.

"Happy to see us, guys?" The avian asked.

"Arrogant as always, Falco?" Krystal asked, smiling as she continued to hug Falco and Katt.

"We've missed you as well, hon!" Katt chuckled.

Krystal let go of Falco and Katt, which allowed them to approach Fox and Wolf. Sitting near the two canines, the pheasant and the cat proceeded to speak with them.

"So, what have you been doing in this place?" Katt asked.

"Recently, we've been training with some of the residents." Fox said. "I've even spoken with a scientist named Dr. Rowan Bucciarati."

"How has the training been going?" Falco asked.

"Better than we realized!" Wolf happily stated. "I kind of expected everyone to be too weak to lift a log, but they proved me wrong, with Ralph and Bentley being notable examples of it. They even know what to do when they're being interrogated!"

"In Bentley's defense, he's working on his black belt!" Bert said as he walked into the room.

"And the residents probably watch a lot of TV and movies." Katt added.

"I know that this is unrelated, but can you introduce your new friends to us?" Falco asked.

"I can introduce myself to you guys!" Bert said. "I'm Bert Raccoon: Ace Friend to Three Aliens!"

"Falco Lombardi." Falco sighed at the raccoon's attitude, but shakes his hand.

"And I'm Katt Monroe." Katt introduced herself, then looked at Ralph. "What's your name, little man?"

"I'm Ralph Raccoon, one of the co-founders of the Evergreen Standard." Ralph stated. "If you're thinking that I'm single, or with Bert, I have a wife named Melissa. She's taking some pictures for the next issue."

"I'm sure we'll run into her later." Falco said.

"Mind if we speak with our friends in private?" Katt asked.

"We don't mind, guys!" Bert said as he walked out of the Raccoondominium.

"Oh, and Wolf? You promised to do some more training with me! Don't forget about it!" Ralph said as he followed Bert.

"I won't." Wolf grumbled.

After Bert and Ralph left the Raccoondominium, Falco and Katt continued to speak with Fox and Wolf.

"So, is there extra room for Katt and I?" Falco asked.

"I'm sure that Ralph and Melissa will find a room for the both of you." Fox said.

"Kind, aren't they?" Katt spoke. "By the way, you mentioned alien hunters earlier, what's the situation with them?"

"I've encountered one of them, Eric Bolan, and I doubt that he's working alone." Fox said. "We've been training with those who live in the Evergreen Forest, but I'm not sure if their efforts will be enough."

"That's also why we're building traps in the woods." Wolf said. "In fact, the local millionaire, Cyril Sneer, built three of them and had his company put them up yesterday."

"Good idea." Katt said.

"Despite that, we still have to keep an eye out for Bolan and his associates." Fox said.

"We've also got to keep an eye on a girl named Sophia Tutu." Krystal said. "She's ditzy, but, while I couldn't sense anything malicious in her, Fox said that he saw a strange device fall out of her pocket. I don't trust that she's working with Bolan, but we need to know if she's on our side or not."

"You can trust me to speak with her." Falco said. "When we're done, we'll have all the information we need."

Katt looked at Krystal, then looked down. To the pink cat's shock, the cobalt vixen's foot was in a cast.

"What happened, Krystal?" Katt asked. "Did you break some toes?"

"I twisted my ankle." Krystal said.

"Don't worry," the pink cat said, "I'm sure that we can get you to Doctor Granger when we get back to Corneria."

"If the machine the Cornerian Army is working on functions correctly, that is." Wolf said.

"I hope that it does." Krystal said.

"We all do, Krys, we all do." Fox said.


Back on Corneria, General Pepper was standing in front of the portal the Cornerian Army had built under his command. Moments prior, he had received information and coordinates stating the whereabouts of Fox McCloud, Krystal Bodimead and Wolf O'Donnell. Now that they had the information, the Cornerian Army was ready to turn on the portal. However, when one of the soldiers went to activate it, the machine didn't work. In fact, it only let out some static before completely shutting down. General Pepper was dumbfounded, standing completely still, even as Art approached him.

"The portal's not working, General!" Art spoke.

"I know that!" Pepper said. "Question is: Why isn't it working? We put it together correctly, didn't we?"

"We found a problem, sir!" A soldier came up to him. "Apparently, the core is low on energy and it needs to be replaced!"

"How's that possible? We tested it out, didn't we?!" The hound dog asked.

"We haven't," the soldier said, "but it takes a lot of energy for the portal to function!"

"Then we need to find a replacement for the core!" Art said. "Problem is, the core came from Fichina!"

"Has anyone seen Bill?" The General asked.

"He's doing something on Katina, sir!" The Yorkshire terrier answered him.

"What about Fairweather?" The older male asked.

"She's hunting down a drug lord!" The younger male stated.

General Pepper then sighed in disappointment. The Cornerian Army would have been able to save three of its allies had the portal's core not been low on energy. They were so close to saving Fox, Krystal and Wolf, they didn't pay attention to the risks that were being taken. However, before anyone could lament for longer, two familiar faces walked into the room.

"So, that machine needs a Fichinan power core?"

"Looks like a job that only we can handle!"

Pepper and Art turned around and saw Leon and Panther standing near them.

"Panther Caroso and Leon Powalski?" Art asked. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to accept the challenge of retrieving a power core for that dingy portal of yours." Leon said. "Besides, Wolf is in another dimension."

"Let's not forget Fox and Krystal." Panther added.

"How can we trust you?" Art asked.

Leon sighed and facepalmed, still annoyed at the fact that the Cornerian Army would bring up Star Wolf's association with Andross from two years ago. After that, the chameleon brought his head up and looked at the Yorkshire terrier.

"Because," he spoke, "it's clear that your Army has to do whatever it can to save the day. Not only has one of the soldiers worked with a feared bounty hunter like the Lucky Rabbit, but you've also allowed us to work with you during the Aparoid invasion. C'mon, you can trust Panther and I on this! Like how Star Fox can't live without certain members, our team can't live without Wolf!"

After hearing Leon out, General Pepper and Art looked at each other. While they knew that Star Wolf was comprised of outlaws who were hired by Andross, they noticed that the team also helped out during the war against the Aparoids. It also helped that Star Wolf no longer had the likes of Pigma Dengar (who died with the Aparoid he merged with) and Andrew Oikonny (Andross' nephew who swore revenge after the Aparoids were rendered extinct) in its ranks. After a few minutes, Pepper looked at Leon and Panther. Despite the prejudice he felt before, the hound dog spoke with them.

"Alright, boys, I'll have you retrieve a power core on Fichina!" He spoke. "However, promise me this: Don't get in trouble with the authorities!"

"We won't, we swear!" Panther said as he and Leon walked out of the room.

After the talk and mission briefing they got from General Pepper, Leon and Panther found themselves heading out to their Wolfens.

"Don't get in trouble with the authorities?!" Leon spoke. "Does he think that we're law-abiding bums or something?!"

"Come now, Leon, it's necessary for us to help power the device that will help us save Wolf, Fox and Krystal." Panther stated.

"Fine then," the chameleon said, "but we're only doing this for Wolf! As for the other two, they can do whatever they want!"

Climbing into their Wolfens, Leon and Panther set a course for Fichina. There, they would find the power core that the portal needed in order to work. After all, it would've been nice to see Wolf again. And, as Panther admitted, and as much as Leon hated to admit,it would be especially great to see Fox and Krystal again.

Note: Not only have Falco and Katt arrived in the Evergreen Forest, but Leon and Panther are going to Fichina to get a power core. Let's just hope that the following happens: Falco and Katt manage to hide from the alien hunters until it's their opportunity to attack, that everyone in the Evergreen Forest manage to utilize their training well, that Leon and Panther DO find a power core, that some of our favorite Lylatians are able to win the day and head home and that they see their friends again. We can only hope for the best, folks. Until next time guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!