Chapter 6:
Fox McCloud sat in his quarters onboard the Great Fox II, thinking about the past week, and the brief war, referred to by many as the Twelve Hours War, that had all but redeemed the Star Fox Team in the eyes of the Cornerian Army at the very least, and also in the eyes of many civilians on Corneria as well as on the other inhabited planets in the Lylat System. Things had changed in the blink of an eye. In a way, he should have been thankful for the Venomian, or rather, New Venomian, attack on Corneria. It had been the opportunity he and his team had needed to prove that they were not just mercenaries in it for the money, willing to serve anyone who gave them a fat enough envelope.
Indeed, when General Pepper had offered them their full fee plus money for any necessary repairs, replacement parts, as well as ship replacements in the form of an Arwing for Slippy Toad, Fox had refused payment, saying that his fighting the Venomian invasion force was his debt to Corneria as well as the galaxy for them fighting for Cyrus in the Galactic Federation Civil War. It showed that they, indeed, took on just missions and that their participation in the Galactic Federation Civil War was an aberration, rather than the norm for them. Still, General Pepper had insisted that they take something for the services rendered to Corneria. In the end, he had only taken the Arwing to replace the Cornerian Fighter that Pepper had given Slippy so the team could operate at full capacity in the assault on New Venom and a Landmaster tank. Pepper had still let them keep the Cornerian Fighter, though, just in case it was needed again.
Pepper had also offered Peppy his commission as General of the Cornerian Army back but Peppy had declined, indicating that he felt that he could help Corneria more by fighting alongside the Star Fox Team. In addition, he wanted to make sure that he never made the same mistakes that he made as a general ever again; and staying with the Star Fox Team would allow him to investigate and study any conflict more deeply so they would not get involved in a conflict like the Galactic Federation Civil War ever again.
He then thought back to Venom and the activity that had been detected near it. Before returning to Corneria, the team had taken a detour to Venom but once they had arrived, the ships that had been detected immediately went to warp and disappeared. Scans of the planet's surface indicated no activity or remaining technology, either. In addition, there were no sentient lifeforms detected, either. Apparently, whoever had been to Venom had either gotten what they wanted, or had found nothing of interest and decided to jump when the Star Fox Team had appeared. Fox hoped that it was the latter, but he could not shake the feeling that something, or someone, had been on Venom only to be picked up by the ships and that a potential threat was still out there. Either way, once the Great Fox II was ready to go, Fox and the team would begin their search for whoever had been to Venom to ensure that they were either not a threat, or to eliminate the threat they posed should they prove hostile to Lylat, or to the rest of the galaxy.
Fox then gave a sigh as his thoughts shifted to Krystal, a former member of the Star Fox Team and his former girlfriend. She had left the Star Fox Team during the waning hours of the Galactic Federation Civil War. She had left for all the right reasons. At the time, the Star Fox team had been anything but the Star Fox Team that had fought in the Lylat Wars, the Aparoid Invasion, and the Anglar Blitz. Thinking back on it, Fox did not even know why he had behaved the way he did at the end of the Galactic Federation Civil War. It was as if he had been more like Star Wolf at their worst than himself. Either way, that was in the past and the had the future to look forward to.
A part of him wanted to contact Krystal and tell her that she was right about everything at the end of the Galactic Federation Civil War. The issue was that he did not know where she was at all. He had attempted to search for her but the lack of funds meant that it was difficult to follow up on any leads they had acquired and when they could, the leads were often outdated. Now, however, with the Great Fox II and the rest of the Star Fox Team's vehicles being repaired, refueled, and rearmed, he would be able to follow up on any leads that could lead to Krystal.
A chime soon sounded and ROB's voice broke in over the room's speaker. "Attention Fox McCloud. Refueling and rearming are complete. The Great Fox is ready to go."
"I'll be right there," Fox answered, immediately getting up and putting on his jacket. The doors to his quarters then slid open as he approached them so he could make his way up to the bridge.
The walk to the bridge was far more leisurely than it had been in the past. That was the true reward for a successful mission. For the first time in a while, he had a relaxed walk to the turbolift that would take him to the ship's bridge. When he reached the turbolift, he called the elevator to him and waited for it to arrive. Once it did and the doors slid open, he stepped onto it and waited as the doors closed and the lift took him to the bridge.
After a short ride, the turbolift doors slid open and Fox stepped out onto the ship's bridge. When he stepped out on to the bridge, he saw that Slippy was already there, hard at work with ROB, going over various pieces of data, mostly having to do with the status of the ship but some of it also had to do with what the listening posts near Venom had detected.
As Fox went to take his seat in the captain's chair, Falco and Peppy emerged from the turbolift and took their stations.
"We are cleared for departure," ROB stated in his usual monotone voice.
"Then let's get underway," Fox declared. He gave a pause as he looked around the ship's bridge and gave a short sigh of relief. "Our first stop will be the debris field of the so-called New Venom," he directed. "From there, we'll try to pick up any ion trails. If any of them lead in the direction of an inhabited system, we'll follow it and talk to the locals."
"Got it," the others stated. They doubted that the ships would lead to any inhabited planets since the survivors of the New Venomian forces would not want to risk going to any obvious close planets and Fox doubted that any space-faring civilization would want to help anyone who had once been part of Andross's empire.
Once the final checks on the ship's condition had been completed, with everything checking out, ROB guided the ship out of Corneria's orbit. Passing by several Cornerian Fighters, they tipped their wings towards the Great Fox II as it passed by, a show of respect and thanks for Star Fox saving them from another invasion by forces that had been loyal to Andross. Fox looked out the bridge and gave a salute to the fighters. Once the ship was clear, though, ROB wasted no time having the ship jump to warp; the start of their next mission being underway.
Meanwhile, in an uncharted region of space several lightyears from Lylat, a single light transport emerged from warp, along with ten other capital ships. Sitting in the command seat of the transport, Andross could only seethe. He could not believe how things had turned out. How had he lost to Star Fox and Corneria again? Star Fox were basically persona non grata for Corneria, and most of the rest of the Milky Way galaxy before the attack. There was no way they should have had any weapons capable of beating his ships. Their Arwings, the few that were left, should have been no match for his forces. In addition, Corneria had taken a pounding in the Galactic Federation Civil War, having lost a significant portion of its fleet in the fighting, while even more losses occurred with the mass resignation after the war had concluded. Evidently, though, Star Fox had gotten some of their upgraded weaponry restored and Corneria had proven to not be as vulnerable to attack as he had initially believed.
Still, how had he made such a tactical and strategic blunder? He had lost another fleet to Corneria and the Star Fox Team, which would not have been so bad since he had inflicted significant losses to Corneria as well, but this time, things were different. He did not have a highly trained army to draw upon this time. Most of his forces had been ruffians, pirates, and thugs that had either escaped prison or were on the run from the law. They were not the highest trained forces in the galaxy, as had been made evident in their combat performance.
"We're here, sir," Andross heard the transport's pilot state plainly.
"And the rest of the surviving fleet?" Andross asked.
The pilot checked his sensors before answering, "They're right with us, too." The pilot then paused before asking, "Sir, may I ask why you had us come here? There's nothing out here."
Andross considered his underling's question as he fingered a round orb with two lines striking through it, the insignia of Smash World, home of Master Hand, the one that had revived him.. Why had he come out here? Yes, Master Hand had healed him and given him New Venom, but there was more to it than that. He had always suspected that Master Hand may have had ulterior motives in helping him after reviving him but doing nothing with him after letting him go. The large gloved hand had let him go quite easily and without any protest, almost as if it had expected this to be the result. A part of him hated what he was about to do but he had no other choice at the moment. Ten capital ships and a transport were no match for Corneria's fleet. Heck, even the semi-organized Ruffians might have been able to beat these outdated and damaged vessels.
"Clear the cockpit," Andross commanded.
The pilot and his copilot looked back at him with their eyes going wide. That was not the correct reaction.
"Do you have a problem with that?" Andross demanded, glaring down at them. While he could understand their surprise and hesitation, he was in no mood for any hesitation to follow that order. He did not want them to see him grovel before something else.
"Negative sir," the pilot and copilot blurted in answer as they immediately rose from their stations. "Right away, Emperor Andross!" they finished as they left the cockpit, leaving the scientist and former leader of the Andross Empire alone in the ship.
He fingered the device and pushed the Smash insignia on. Almost immediately, a hologram of a large, white gloved hand appeared in front of him and pointed at the former self-proclaimed Emperor. At least this was going to be a holographic meeting in the transport's cockpit and not somewhere where he would have to ingratiate himself to Master Hand in full view of his forces.
"You called, Andross?" the deep voice of Master Hand echoed throughout the transport's cockpit. Andross could not help but look down, deflated and defeated.
"I need your help," Andross answered.
"What happened?" Master Hand asked almost mockingly.
"The forces you gave me were defeated by the Star Fox Team," Andross answered. "The New Venom planetoid you gave me was destroyed, along with my fleet."
"That planetoid was set up well outside the Lylat System and away from any interstellar empire. It would have been too out of the way for the Krikens to try to conquer and too far for the current Galactic Federation to really worry about at the moment, especially considering the fact that the Federation is still making certain that its remaining worlds are, themselves, properly defended against those who may seek revenge on them. How could you have possibly lost it?"
"I just told you, the Star Fox Team destroyed it and the fleet!" Andross roared.
That prompted Master Hand to laugh, which only further annoyed Andross. "A mercenary team with a barely functioning ship and three fighters, some of which were not in good condition, managed to destroy a planetoid that had almost every inch of its surface covered in defensive laser batteries, missile launchers, and plasma projectors and that was further protected by a series of bases, factories, and a fleet of five hundred capital ships and thousands of starfighters, in addition to another Gorgon and a Phantron fighter?" Master Hand asked incredulously.
The next word Andross was about to utter was toughest word that had ever said before in his life. "Yes," he admitted, nodding.
"And now you want me to send you more forces to help when you already lost an entire invading army?"
"Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated," Andross answered, biting his lip.
Master Hand did not speak for several moments. During those moments, Andross could only begin to surmise what was going through the glove's mind since Master Hand did not have any face that would betray his thoughts. Andross was not happy about having to call him, and he was beginning to worry about what Master Hand would ask of him in return if he were going to help him.
Eventually, Master Hand gave a response. "And what will you offer if I assist you now?"
"A foothold in Lylat," Andross answered.
"I want Corneria," Master Hand answered. "Intact and with minimal casualties inflicted."
"Out of the question!" Andross declared. "Of all the planets in the Lylat System, Corneria is mine! I wish to avenge what General Pepper did to it. You can have any and all other planets in the system, but I keep Corneria!"
"No," was Master Hand's only answer. And with that, the hologram disappeared, surprising and concerning Andross. Had he just ended his relationship with Master Hand and his army?
As the hologram disappeared, the communicator and projector device seemed to be getting hotter and hotter as Andross was soon forced to drop it. As it clattered on the floor, he noticed it begin to glow orange, then yellow. His eyes went wide with shock as it eventually melted into a puddle of metal that was burning through the cockpit's floor. As it was continuing to burn, Andross began to worry that it might go through several layers of metal and could even cause a hull breach in the cockpit. Wasting no time, he had an emergency fire suppressor system and liquid nitrogen mist launcher unleash a mist of freezing liquid nitrogen on the puddle of metal. A metal claw then extended from the ceiling and grabbed the device and placed it in a trash chute, which then automatically closed as the frozen metal device was ejected into space. Andross grimaced. He had nothing left but the ten capital ships and whatever fighters they had managed to retrieve. Even the technology of the communicator was lost now. He was stuck with outdated equipment and his sole ally and source of materiel and resources had now abandoned him. There was nothing further for him to do out here.
"Pilot and copilot, return to the cockpit," Andross ordered. "Once you take your stations, take us to the Arlian system using standard evasive techniques. There's an inhabitable planet there where we can at least hide out and plan our next move."
"Understood, sir," the pilot said over the comm as the door to the cockpit slid open and the pilot and copilot returned to their stations. As they returned, they both noticed the section of floor that was frozen solid and the hole beneath the ice. Once they had taken their stations, they chose a random direction and then jumped after relaying Andross's orders to the rest of the fleet. Once the calculations had been made, the ship jumped to warp, with the ten remaining ships jumping in different directions so it would be difficult to pinpoint which direction Andross had traveled.
Meanwhile, back in Smash World, Master Hand would have grinned if he had had a face when he saw Andross' reaction to his refusal to assist him. He had known that asking for Corneria was a non-starter for Andross due to the mad scientist's hatred of General Pepper and the Star Fox Team. A part of him was concerned as to what any reaction to the blanket cutoff would have been if it had been discovered since Andross had offered the rest of the system to him, even Venom. However, all was going according to plan. The Star Fox Team had been redeemed in the eyes of the Cornerian people, and likely would be viewed more favorably by the rest of the galaxy once reports of Venom's attack on Corneria circulated throughout the star-faring galaxy. Master Hand gave a sigh. This had been a good day. He then heard the hiss of a door sliding open behind him.
"So, how did it go?" he heard a familiar voice ask behind him.
Turning around and seeing the light from the hallway illuminate the speaker, he saw a humanoid fox that greatly resembled an older Fox McCloud only wearing sunglasses standing in the doorway.
"About as well as it could have, James," Master Hand answered. "Andross won't be a part of the Subspace Army and with so few Space Pirates, that will cut down on the number of space forces the heroes will have to face off against."
"Are you going to invite Fox to the Super Smash Brothers Tournament?" James McCloud asked.
"Of course," Master Hand answered. "Fox McCloud is one of the greatest star pilots in the Milky Way galaxy and is no slouch in a fight, either. Him, Falco, along with Samus Aran will fill out the role of space fighters for the heroes quite nicely."
"Is this even necessary, though," James asked. "Why not just tell John and me who is commanding you and help us help you beat them?"
"Because even the three of us alone won't be enough," Master Hand answered. "I don't trust Ganondorf as far as I can throw a galaxy. Or rather, I do trust him. I trust him to do what's best for Ganondorf, and could mean serving my master. I also know that Ridley and Porky Minch will not help the heroes, either and may even voluntarily help my master."
"Are you still planning on recruiting Bowser and inviting Mario and Luigi to the tournament?" James asked.
"Yes," the hand answered. "When the time is right," the hand added. "I intend for them to be among the last of the invitations, though."
"So what do you need of me right now?" James asked.
"Go and send the invitation to Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi," Master Hand answered. "Once that's done, keep in contact with John and keep gathering information that your son will need when he arrives. The communicator I gave to Andross, and had self-destruct, also is a signal transmitter that will attract the Star Fox team to where Andross was. As for the tournament, Peppy and Slippy will be able to keep an eye on things at Corneria should Andross attempt to take advantage of the situation."
"Understood," James answered, bowing before stepping back and allowing the door to close. As soon as he left, Master Hand gave a sigh. While the incident with Andross had been a victory, there was still a lot of work to be done to make sure the heroes would be strong enough to beat him, and his master when the time came.
Meanwhile, back onboard the Great Fox II, Fox watched as the ship had emerged from warp in the middle of free space. The ship had initially returned to the ruins of New Venom and the massive complex of factories and bases that had been constructed around it. Cursory scans indicated that there was nothing of note in the debris field. Instead, he and the others were searching for ion trails. While there had been ion trails detected, they had not seemed to lead anywhere. However, there had been a signal detected almost a lightyear away from New Venom, prompting Fox to have the ship jump to the location of the signal, hoping against hope that they would run in to the remnants of the New Venomian fleet.
When the Great Fox II had emerged from warp, the crew looked forward but could not find anything indicating that any ships had been present. All that was present was some debris, none of which looked to be in any condition to be salvaged. Fox looked over to Slippy, who was manning the sensor console, and instructed him, "Slippy, scan the area to see if we can pick up any ion trails. If any trails are picked up, see if they are headed in any directions that lead to an inhabited planet."
"Got it, Fox," Slippy answered as he activated the ship's scanners. After a few seconds, though, he sighed and looked back to Fox. "Fox, there are eleven ion trails; each of them being virtually identical to each other. They're also badly dispersed so we have no idea where they're going."
"Are there any nearby inhabited planets that they could have gone to?" Fox asked.
"Several," Slippy answered. "However, none of them would have any technology for the ships to make repairs or rearm."
"So there's no way to know where they went," Fox concluded.
"It seems like there isn't," Slippy answered, looking downcast.
"What about the signal?"
"It stopped transmitting before we got here," Slippy answered. "And as you can see, there's no debris out here worth salvaging."
Fox gave a sigh. The trail had gone cold. After a few seconds, he said, "Well, there's no point in staying here. Let's head back to Corneria and make our report to General Pepper."
"Roger," the rest of the team answered.
However, as the ship was making its turn and about to jump, what looked to be a wormhole opened up before them.
"Keep the ship back," Fox called out to ROB.
"Understood," ROB answered. ROB then piloted the ship so it was at least ten thousand kilometers away from the rift. Slippy's sensors indicated that they would be safe at this distance.
As Fox and the others looked out at the wormhole, they saw nothing unusual about it, besides its sudden appearance, at first, but after a few seconds, they saw a small object, like that of a ship emerge from it. Going to his sensors, Slippy checked them and his eyes went wide, something Fox was quick to notice.
"Slippy, what is it?"
Slippy did not give an immediate answer. Fox eyed him suspiciously before Slippy eventually answered, "Fox, it's an Arwing."
Now it was Fox's turn to have his eyes go wide. "An Arwing?" he blurted in a shocked but also hopeful tone.
"Yes, an Arwing," Slippy confirmed. "And not only that, but an old Arwing, like the ones used by Peppy before you took over the team."
Fox did not give an answer. All he could think about was his father. His father had supposedly died on his mission to Venom when Pigma Dengar had betrayed him and Peppy to Andross for money. Peppy barely managed to escape and had gone back to Corneria to tell Fox about his father's fate. However, there had been a couple of times where James McCloud had seemingly returned, putting into question whether or not he had actually died on Venom. During Fox's battle against Andross on Venom at the end of the Lylat Wars, after he had defeated Andross and the mad scientist had detonated in an explosion that would have killed him, James McCloud had reappeared as if from beyond the grave to guide Fox out of Andross' palace. After they had escaped, James had vanished, though, and had not made contact with Peppy, either. After that, James had also reappeared during the Anglar Blitz. A part of him was hoping that it was James in that Arwing.
"A transmission has been sent," ROB alerted the crew, snapping Fox out of his reverie. "The transmission was sent to Fox McCloud's and Falco Lombardi's quarters."
The group then looked out the bridge window and saw that it was, indeed, and Arwing fighter. As the Arwing approached, it turned to its side, still too far away for anyone to be able to identify the pilot, and then tipped its wing towards the Great Fox II as if in salute to the ship and crew before heading back to the wormhole and vanishing inside of it. With that, the wormhole closed.
Slippy then checked his scanners once more and reported, "Guys, the wormhole no longer appears on my scanners. More than that, there are no spatial anomalies at all in the location where the wormhole had appeared."
Slippy's report caused Falco and Peppy to eye him quizzically.
"Send a probe to see if it's still there," Fox directed, though he seemed a little distracted.
Slippy did as directed and a probe was soon launched from the ship. It streaked towards the location of the wormhole but when it arrived, it did not vanish. Instead, it just kept heading straight, the only data being sent by the probe indicating that space in that region was normal and that there were no anomalies.
"Okay everyone, let's head back to Corneria and make our report," Fox told the crew. "I'll be in my quarters checking on that transmission."
"I'll go to my own quarters and check on my own transmission, too," Falco echoed.
With that, Fox and Falco departed the bridge and headed towards their quarters.
Fox impatiently waited for the lift to take him to the habitation deck where his quarters were located. Falco was not as impatient, though, looking more annoyed, almost as if he did not want to receive any messages. After a short trip, the turbolift doors opened and Fox emerged from the lift and headed straight towards his quarters, almost colliding with the doors since they were not opening fast enough.
Once he was inside, he went over to his computer, which had a flashing icon on the screen, indicating that a letter had been sent to him. Pushing a button, he turned on the screen and saw a glowing letter icon on the screen. Pressing the icon, he opened the letter and read it. It read:
Dear Fox McCloud:
Your daring exploits and feats have not gone unnoticed throughout the universe. As a result of your tremendous feats of saving Corneria numerous times, most recently against the overwhelming numbers that Andross had sent against you and Corneria, you are cordially invited to participate in the first ever Super Smash Bros. Competition that will begin starting in the Spring of next year of the northern hemisphere of Corneria according to the calendar of Corneria, the specific date to be given should you accept the invitation. The Super Smash Bros. Competition is where the greatest of heroes from all around the multiverse assemble to see just who among the best is the best. There are many competitions ranging from fighting, to breaking the targets, to homerun contests, to stamina matches, and more. There is an attached pamphlet to further explain the various contests you may partake in in the Super Smash Bros. competition, as well as a return envelope for you to mail your response in. Please send us your response by the end of the twelfth month of this year, Cornerian Calendar, if you plan to attend. Should you wish to attend, we will mail you all the information regarding the location of the competition. Should you wish to attend, your friends will be automatically allowed to attend the competition as spectators. In addition, you may bring any gear you see fit to bring with you to this competition. In fact, it is strongly encouraged that you do should unexpected events occur. We hope that you will attend this prestigious event and bring your skills to this challenging competition.
from,
The Super Smash Stadium
Fox folded the letter and reached into the envelope. Inside, he found the pamphlet that was attached to the letter. He opened it and found more information regarding the tournament. He also saw several pictures, including one that had the image of someone who greatly resembled his father. His eyes went wide at the sighting, but he could not help but wonder if it was a trap. Still, if it was, it seemed as if there was something strange about this trap since he actually had a lot of time to prepare and the letter had all but warned him to be careful of a trap. He did not care, though. He was sure that that was his father's Arwing that had emerged from the wormhole. The fact that this letter was warning him of a potential trap meant that he would have to prepare for one, but he would worry about that later. For the first time in a long time, he had evidence that his father may have still been alive. And if, indeed, he was, he may have needed help. Fox decided right then and there that he would attend this Super Smash Bros. Tournament. And if it did, indeed, turn out to be a trap; he would be ready for it. The only issue now would be alerting other invitees of the potential of it being a trap.