6-1: Corneria

It was a busy midmorning in Corneria. Over the futuristic city flew the Great Fox, the starship carrying the four members of the Star Fox crew. Its leader, Fox McCloud, stood atop the ship, staring out at the skyline as it floated past. Fox wore his usual white jacket, green shirt, red scarf, green pants and white boots. His golden-brown fur sparkled in the sunlight, and his cinnamon-brown eyes were watchful yet kind.

Fox allowed himself to drop onto his bottom, chin resting casually on his fists. He had to be one of the luckiest vulpines on Earth, fighting in a tournament like this. In 1999, he was quite favorable among the tournament players, but now—he was the face of serious tournament play! In fact, he was considered the best fighter on the roster, occupying his own tier! Fox was number one on the tier list because of his swiftness, his Reflector, his ability to tech and his fast Blaster fire, among other attributes. His normal attacks were based on martial arts, either learned from his late father or picked up along his adventures. Fox immensely enjoyed being top tier and necked with high society at galas and events. A common joke in the Melee world was "No items, Fox only, Final Destination". People flocked to get his autograph or a picture with him. He was a god. He was—20XX.

There was no idea how this 20XX fad got started, but it suited Fox McCloud just fine. 20XX had a nice—futuristic—ring to it. Those out to make it in the rough, competitive world of Melee wanted to main him, and his fellow Smashers wanted to be him. You should hear the frustrated and exasperated cries each time the vulpine reflected a projectile, performed a "shinespike", trapped his opponent in an "infinite shine" or did some cool techs with his Blaster, from the short hop laser to the short hop double laser. In any given match against Fox, there was always the "blip" of "the Shine", his Blaster fire, his "Fiyahh!" from his Firefox move, his "Come on!" as a taunt and his "Mission complete" whenever he won. It was aggravating to some of the Smashers—until the tables turned and they found themselves in need of his skills during a Team Battle. Yes, SS tier and 20XX felt pretty great.

But just because he was top tier didn't mean he was invincible. He learned that the hard way during embarrassing self-destructs brought on by his speed. His combo and KO abilities were enviable, but he was also lightweight and had the slowest air speed in the game. He was also easy to chain-grab and had an easily exploitable recovery. Firefox and Fox Illusion were good recovery options, but they could be read or intercepted. Still, Fox's chest couldn't help but swell at the thought of being "the God of Melee".

"What are you thinking about?" boomed Master Hand's voice.

"I don't know," murmured Fox. "I guess I'm thinking about how I got so popular."

"Granted, you've shown me significant improvement in the past two years," said MH, "but there are others who have improved, as well. Others who are not to be underestimated just because they're on a lower tier than you."

Fox smiled knowingly. "You're talking about Luigi. Is he coming?"

"Yes, and he's loaded for bear. Make yourself ready, Fox."

"Okay." Fox stood back up and stretched his muscles. A fight against Luigi would be an arduous one. He should know—he'd had his fair share of them and had seen almost the entire roster in such a match. Some had beaten him and some had lost. Some had handled their wins or losses against Luigi well. Others—not so much.

Fox was seated with the "A team" of Melee—himself, Falco, Marth, Captain Falcon, Jiggs, Peach, Ice Climbers and Samus. Sam even had this green scarf to wave around as if she was cheering for a sports team. They were all snacking on nachos and stealing handfuls from a bag of caramel corn someone was generous enough to pass around. On the Battlefield were two fighters who deeply hated each other—Luigi and the Koopa King. Just by seeing the look on Luigi's face, Fox knew that the turtle was about to enter the ninth circle of Hell. If Koopa wasn't so despicable, then Fox would've felt sorry for him.

What, exactly, was Hell in Melee? What could be correctly categorized as Melee Hell? When people used the term "Melee Hell", they usually referred to Fox's infinites. But, as Fox saw that day, there was a deeper core to Melee Hell, especially to people currently on Luigi's bad side, like Koopa. He was turtle meat in an instant! If Luigi wasn't chain-throwing him, then he was setting up impressive combos which could rival Fox's. He was almost as fast, and Koopa was slow. Koopa show of physical superiority did him in—he must've forgotten that it also took brains and a well-thought-out plan to win a Smash battle! Luigi seemed to dance about that stage, a mix of defense and offense in his fighting style, but wholly aggressive, his jumps almost effortless, his attacks seeming so light but in reality hammering into his opponent's flesh enough to make his eyes cloud over and glaze in pain. His voice permeated the stage and the stands; Fox knew that Luigi tended to shout sometimes during an intense match. But he didn't know what made Luigi more passionate: the fact that Mario and Peach were in the front row, or Koopa's tendency to call him "Green 'Stache" rather than by his real name.

After a while, Fox had stopped looking at Koopa and instead focused on Luigi, pink-clad and lithe, sweaty and hot and cross and wired, breathing and grunting and hollering. Taking damage but not losing a stock—yet. The vulpine allowed himself to get swept away by the audience chanting Luigi's name until he, too, was chanting it—he kinda looked down on Luigi for being mid-tier and all, but based on the sight before his eyes—the sweat-slathered figure working over a Nintendo villain as his eyes bore determination—the man in green deserved a spot next to him on the SS tier!

But he lost.

Fox was in denial right up until they were in the reception area and Koopa was receiving the victor's spoils. "Appalled" wasn't the precise term to describe his feelings toward the reptile's display during the awards ceremony. Openly mocking those who rooted for Luigi and snorting about how powerful he was as Luigi did his best to ignore him. After the ceremony, the day went on as usual. Until…

"Fox?" asked a feminine voice.

"Hey, Peach. Come in," said Fox.

Peach stepped in, looking somber. "I just can't believe it," she breathed.

"Me, neither. Luigi had him, and then…"

Peach shook her head. "Nobody told you yet."

"About what?" asked Fox. "Is everything okay?"

"No," said Peach. "Um—I walked in on Koopa having—words—with Luigi."

"What?!" growled Fox.

"He said some pretty savage things."

"What kinds of things?"

Peach sat beside Fox and spilled every last detail of the rant she overheard. By the time she finished, Fox was boiling mad.

"Where is that turtle?!"

Peach stopped him with a hand on his forearm. "He's not worth it," she said.

"Where's Luigi, then?" he asked in a softer tone.

"In the Training Area. Door locked. He's really upset," sighed Peach. "Soon, everyone's gonna find out what Koopa said to Luigi in there. But what's coming to my kidnapper is worse than an angry mob on his tail."

"What's that?"

"You'll see. And so will Koopa."

Peach winked, stood and left the room.

"Can't let you do that, Star Fox."

Fox swiveled around, Blaster in hand, only to come face-to-face with his opponent. "Oh, it's you!" he gasped.

Luigi sat on the back wing of the Great Fox, legs dangling. "Who else did you think it was?" he questioned.

"The only person who's said that before is Wolf," explained Fox.

"Well, I don't see Wolf on the roster, so you're safe—at least, from him." Luigi hopped down from the wing and strolled toward Fox. "So, are you ready to remind me that you have your own tier all to yourself? I seemed to have 'stepped out of my place' lately. Do you hope to remind this lowly mid-tier of where he belongs?"

"Luigi, c'mon," Fox said consolingly. "We're still friends, and I still like you."

"That's not the way you've been acting lately," Luigi said smartly. "Since you're in the Melee limelight, you're better than all of the rest, and you're too good to hang around with your lower-tier buddies. Even Kirby." He reached Fox and dropped his voice. "Do you have any idea of how the little guy has been dumped on over some piece of paper? I've seen you diss him sometimes—and don't think I didn't. The only person I don't mind you sticking your nose up at is Koopa. Your attitude is tolerable compared to his."

"I'm sorry about what he said to you that day," said Fox. "I may have an ego and a superiority complex, but I'd never think such things about you. You're flawed, but don't forget that you faced your fears and saved your brother."

"You're just trying to butter me up," murmured Luigi, "but I appreciate the concern you're showing me right now. Nice to know that even 20XX doesn't approve of that nonsense."

Fox blushed. "Yeah—I really don't know what to say with the 20XX stuff," he admitted, "but I guess I've become somewhat of an icon."

"You may be an icon, but you're still an equal in my eyes," Luigi said evenly. "I just don't know if you think the same about me. First the business in 1999, and now this." His face went to ice as he raised his fists. "Let's see if 20XX and the SS tier alone can beat me."

Fox put up his dukes as well. "They didn't place me up there for nothing," he chuckled.

READY—GO!

Luigi set his lips, wanting to reprimand Fox for his attitude, yet deciding to let him figure it out the hard way—again. He couldn't let it bother him if he wanted to win—just how he couldn't let Koopa's words perturb him. As the battle began, the two shuffled about the Great Fox, Luigi waiting for the vulpine to execute some combo-starting move so he could evade and retaliate. He'd throw his fireballs if not for that Shine. No matter—there were other ways to exploit Fox. His notoriously fast speed could turn against him in a heartbeat, and he could be comboed as well as he could combo others.

But here, Fox was fighting defensively, sticking to his short hop single and double lasers and trying to get him to approach. Luigi wasn't falling for that, for if he knew that if he was stuck in a 20XX combo, then it was game over. He dodged most of the lasers, but quite a few nicked him, causing a brief stinging sensation. There was a twinkle in Fox's eyes—he hoped Luigi would unravel, lose patience and charge him. But the years of fixing sewage lines, toilets, sinks and faucets and fighting menacing turtles gave Luigi patience as well as strength. He knew there was a crack somewhere in that defensive strategy, but he just had to hang tight until he found it.

"I'm hardly even breaking a sweat," laughed Fox after several minutes of this, twirling his Blaster in his fingers and then tossing it into the air and catching it. He then knelt and beckoned with one paw. "Come on, L!"

So preoccupied was Fox with his boasting and taunting that he didn't see the kick coming.

Next thing he knew, he was flat on his back, his mouth filling with warm blood. He tried to roll backward, only to be met with a down smash. Luigi followed him into the air and began to let everything go with his karate chops and jump kicks, sending Fox back down with his twirling kicks and really making him suffer with his chain throws. He'd throw in a random smash attack to prevent things from going stale. He'd punch Fox all over his face, his shoulders, his chest, his abdominal region and over and behind his ears. He'd give him no time to activate his Reflector or use his lasers. If he dodged, then Luigi would read the dodge and really let him have it. If he shielded, then Luigi would break it with his powerful uppercut. Then, he got him to the stern of the starship, where it was just them and the back wall. Luigi would throw vicious Trowel Stabs, bouncing Fox off of the wall and back again, making an infinite combo of his own. His face was red, his mouth was in an "o" shape and he continuously alternated between fists and open hands and he kept Fox pinned in that painful spot. His tactics had Fox in confusion. He'd never fought anyone like this before! In his previous battles against Luigi, he'd given him everything, but never like the way he was doing now. He guessed the incident with Koopa had put in his mouth the taste to win and to hold nothing back so he'd be taken more seriously. Before that match, Luigi had been a regular in the Training Area and a green tidal wave on any given battle stage. It had relieved him of so much stress. Yet after that match, Luigi had woken up earlier to train. He made it clear that he wasn't going to put up with any more cracks taken at him. He still won and lost well, but he was in a contemplative mood after a loss, watching the replays to figure out where he'd flubbed. About two weeks later, Fox looked at the main bulletin board to see Luigi's name on the Adventure Mode sign-up list.

The thing which entranced Fox the most while watching Luigi fight was his face. He had the type of facial expressiveness unlike the others on the roster, thanks to those brilliant blue eyes. Throughout his battles, Luigi's facial expression changed a lot. He'd have a solemn, neutral look which warned opponents of what was coming to them. An intense look, bursting with concentration, but never mean or intimidating. A committed, determined look. A cold, defiant look for opponents giving him a hard time off the battlefield. Heck, even his "pain face" was hypnotizing to watch. Each look would have just a hint of nerves and a dash of guarded confidence, but he'd always convey respect with his face. He'd always adhere to battlefield etiquette, even if his foe didn't.

But being on the battlefield with him was different from watching him from the stands. The concentrated energy he saw on that face was enough to send thrills of doubt down Fox's body. Luigi's movements made Fox question his perceived infallibility. Nobody was purely infallible, after all. But Luigi was right—as soon as Fox saw his ranking, he started acting as if he was sitting on top of the world, like he was some sort of VIP. He'd also experienced a high ranking in the first tournament, coming in at number four on the A tier—and he'd acted almost the same way. But this time—it was getting ridiculous. He was probably no better than Koopa!

That being said, Fox had been unprepared for Luigi's offensive. The plumber had waited for Fox to start taunting, and bam. He was his, from start to finish. The vulpine never even got to pull off a single Fox Illusion, or a "shinespike" or an "infinite shine"—not even a Firefox! No—he was trapped between the back wing of the Great Fox and the strong fists of the man in green. The higher Fox's damage grew, the more his opponent whaled away at him. His precious Reflector was probably broken by now. Luigi kept going and going until he nearly ran out of breath. Finally, he grabbed Fox, swung him thrice and hurled him off the craft.

SUCCESS!

Now, it was Luigi's turn to plop down where he stood, composing himself. He never thought he'd be so upset at Fox over his behavior, but he was. One taunt was all it took for him to have his window of opportunity slammed shut in his face. Hopefully, he'd finally learn something from this.

Little did he know, three Arwings were flying toward the Great Fox to spice things up a bit.

"I've found our prey!" warned Fox's co-pilot, Falco Lombardi. "Stay clear!"

"Get ready, everybody!" shouted Peppy Hare.

"I'm right behind you guys!" Slippy Toad chimed in.

Stay tuned!