Author's Note: Sorry for another long wait, but here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy reading it, I had fun typing it... even though it took a while.
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Fox powered down the small hyperspeed jets in his Arwing, slowing the tiny craft drastically. The glowing field of energy that was slipspace faded slowly outside his cockpit, revealing the planet Zoness.
Fox had never been to the watery planet before. He had come close about the time when he first joined the Cornerian Rebellion– Falco had guided the Eagle's Eye there to refuel his ship, only to find a the massive Venomian flagship instead. Fox had just been a wide-eyed farm boy, fresh off his desert home of Katina.
Although he couldn't remember what Zoness had looked like three years ago, Fox certainly didn't like the look of it now. The once glittering surface was gray and polluted, with yellow steam curling up from its acidic waters and engine residue bubbling on the surface. The Andross empire used the once beautiful planet as a giant waste disposal site. It was a shame, really. Fox had heard such fantastical stories about its vacationing islands when he was just a young boy on Katina.
"Well, here we go," Fox muttered to himself. I just hope I can manage to find that Alagrin guy on this cesspool of a planet. Or any other living thing, he thought.
He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, trying to think of what Peppy would say.
Be calm. Push away your doubts, and try to feel where he is. Your father could do it, so can you...
Fox opened his eyelids. For a moment, he thought he could almost hear Peppy speaking to him. Then he shook his head clear. Peppy was gone, that was impossible. But then what had he seen as he lay dying on Fichina? Why had he come here?
Shut up, Fox told himself. I came here because I knew it was right. Because... oh hell, I don't even know. But I know I'm doing the right thing.Then Fox felt it, like a gust of cool air blowing his way on a hot day. Guiding his ship towards the area he had sensed, Fox unlocked the flight stabilizers of his Arwing for more freedom of movement. Finally he penetrated the atmosphere with a small shudder of his ship.
Traveling through the thermosphere... almost there... now the mesosphere, Fox thought. But as he passed through the stratosphere and into the troposphere, his view became horribly obscured by the thick mists and clouds hanging in the air.
"Geez," Fox grunted, flipping on the large headlight on the underside of his Arwing. The bright beam of light broke through a few meters of the mist, but was stifled by the overwhelming distance that the vapor stretched down towards the surface of Zoness.
Fox drastically slowed his Arwing, preparing for the worst. He extended his landing gear and attempted to level his craft out, but had no frame of reference for what level was. The fighter shuddered and bucked violently, until finally Fox lurched forward in the cockpit, slamming his forehead against the windshield.
Fox blinked, dazed. Even with his helmet on, the impact had left him confused and disoriented. He just hoped that his Arwing hadn't joined the pile of scrapped fighters on Zoness.
After regaining his bearings, Fox pressed a button on the control panel of his Arwing to pop the cockpit open. The gears attached to the windshield made a low humming noise, then cut out altogether. Fox cursed and placed his hands on the bottom of the glass, pushing with all his strength. With his help, the gears lifted the windscreen just enough for Fox to climb out into the nose of the Arwing.
"Stars," Fox muttered, grimacing down at his ship.
Luckily, he had crash landed in one of the swampy areas surrounding the islands, and was just close enough to land that he could make a running leap over the waters. The nose of his Arwing was sinking steadily into the water, and his engine thrusters were completely clogged with muck.
I'm going to have to get my stuff out of this ship pretty fast, Fox thought to himself. After prying the cockpit open the rest of the way, Fox dragged a few supply kits out and tossed them to the relative dryness of the shore. He pulled out a few more boxes of supplies, including food rations and a portable shelter, before observing the distance between his fighter and the shore. It was a long jump, even for him. Fox leaned over and touched the water with his fingertips. It didn't feel dangerous. Just stunk to high heaven.
Fox decided to wade through the water to shore, just to save himself the personal embarrassment of slipping if he jumped incorrectly. The water was lukewarm, in contrast to the stories he had heard of it being cool and refreshing. No sooner had he stepped out onto shore, his boots squelching noisily, did his Arwing gurgle and sink into the water even more.
"Great," Fox muttered, putting his hands on his hips. He glanced around, observing his environment. It appeared as though he had crashed near a long strip of islands, with murky water surrounding them and the green mists hanging in the air not twelve meters above him.
Well, I guess I might as well get settled, Fox thought, looking down at his flight jumpsuit, which was now coated with a thin layer of muck from being in the water.
Fifteen minutes later, Fox had shed his green jumpsuit and changed into his rebel officer's uniform, consisting of light brown trousers, a gray long sleeved T-shirt, and a cream colored flight jacket. He dragged his belongings up shore, beyond the tree line and into a darkened forest. Although he couldn't see Solar through the thick clouds and steam, he guessed that it was evening and that he should be trying to set up his shelter soon.
He glanced around the forest, cowering under it and marveling it at the same time. It gave him a strange feeling, almost of nostalgia. There was definitely something familiar about the place, as though he had been there before.
Fox was glad to learn that his food rations had stayed completely dry, along with his water. He was smart enough to know that drinking the water of Zoness was a bad idea. As he set up his small camp, Fox began to feel lonely. He wished he had Krystal, or Falco, or Slippy to talk to. Heck, even ROB would be better than nobody. But Fox knew that they were miles and miles away, probably running for their lives along with the other rebels.
After he has raised his small tent, Fox crawled inside and opened up a package of food rations. Inside were two hunks of cram, a type of flatbread used by field soldiers; a green sludge that was supposed to have enough protein for one day; and some sort of vegetable that Fox never could identify. It was edible though.
Fox tried to sleep, but found it very difficult. He figured he heard noises outside his tent, of things crawling through the sludge and mud, grunting to one another, bugs buzzing over the pollution, or creatures calling out to each other. At one moment he crawled outside and shined a small penlight around to try and catch a glimpse of the source of the noise. He had immediately withdrawn back into the tent when the light reflected half a dozen glowing eyes staring back at him.
The next morning Fox decided to begin his search. Packing a few ration packs into a knapsack and praying that no animals would desecrate his camp while he was gone, fox set off through the gloomy forest in search of Alagrin.
During his trek, Fox noticed quite a few things about the land. For one, the "grass" on the forest floor wasn't really grass at all, just a thin layer of moss. The soil wasn't even soil, just scraps of metal and congealed motor oil. There were more than a few times when Fox got his foot snagged on a wire looping up through the moss, or had a still-twitching battle android hand try to grab hold of his boot.
As for finding Alagrin, Fox tried his best. When he felt lost he would close his eyes and take a deep breath, reaching out to the forest itself. The vines and trees would hiss in a warm, stale wind, and Fox would follow the wind. He felt it was the right thing to do.
But still, after half a day of searching, Fox found absolutely nothing. He began to lose patience after a while, throwing his knapsack into the dirt and sighing. "Great, I follow a hallucination to this place and get my ship stuck in the water. I don't even know if I'm at the right part of the planet, or even if this Alagrin guy exists," he growled.
Fox sat down on the damp earth, opening his knapsack and pulling out a ration packet. "Still," he muttered to himself, "I can't shake the felling that I've been here before. I know it's weird, but I feel... I feel like... I don't know..."
"Like what?"
The voice practically made Fox jump out of his own skin. He dropped the ration packet and whirled around, drawing his blaster from its holster and aiming it at the creature that had spoken.
The little blue turtle shrieked and fell backwards off the tree branch it was sitting on, tucking its arms, legs, and head into its shell before it hit the ground.
"Like someone's watching me," Fox said darkly, scowling at the blue shell. Two tiny, gleaming eyes appeared in the darkness, blinking at him.
"You can put that away, son, I mean no harm!" a high, pleasant voice floated out from the shell. Two pale blue legs extended from the shell, followed by two arms, then a head. "I was just curious..."
Fox glared at the turtle, a bit put off by its pleasant voice, but still ready for anything sneaky. "Curious about what?" he asked.
"Why you are here! Seldom do visitors come to my little planet!" the turtle exclaimed. It got up onto its two stubby legs and waddled forward tentatively, its eyes still glued to Fox's blaster.
Fox slowly lowered his weapon, but didn't return it to its holster. "I'm... I'm looking for somebody," he said, wondering why he was bothering telling this little creature why he had come to Zoness.
The turtle laughed, its voice rising to a high, bell-like jingle. "Looking? But you have found someone now, hm?" he asked, grinning at Fox.
Fox blinked. "Right," he said slowly. He felt no danger from this little creature. In fact, it made him feel safe and pleasant, as though perhaps every inhabitant of Zoness were as peaceful as this little turtle. He thought about it for a moment, then holstered his blaster.
The turtle waddled forward, plopping itself down in the dirt next to Fox and smiling around at the camp. "Nobody comes down here, no, not anymore. They think this place is polluted and smelly! They can't appreciate it for what it really is!" the turtle cried.
Fox grimaced at his surroundings. He didn't blame anyone for not visiting it any longer. It was polluted and smelly, although he didn't say so. He turned back to the turtle to see that it was glaring at him, its beady little eyes narrowed.
"You think it is polluted and smelly too, hm?" he asked, pointing one of its stubby little fingers at him accusingly.
"What? No, not at all!" Fox lied, frowning.
"Yes you do! I can tell when people lie!" the turtle said. Then it shook its head and hobbled over to one of Fox's supply bags. "This is your home, see? I do not feel ill towards it! You need it to live! I need my home to live," it said.
"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you, but– hey!" Fox cried, jumping up as the little turtle began rummaging through his supply bags.
The creature hummed softly to itself, then brought out a small penlight, a smile appearing on its creased face as the light turned on. "Ah! Shiny!" it cried, holding the penlight up for Fox to see. Fox tried to grab it, but the turtle pulled away, clutching the light to its chest.
Fox sighed. "Look, unless you can help me find who I'm looking for, I need you to leave me alone. You're making a mess out of my things..." he said.
"Ah! Help, yes, yes! Who do you search for, hm?" asked the little turtle, its eyes brightening.
Fox laughed. "I don't think someone like you could help me. I'm looking for a great warrior–"
"Great warrior? Hah! Wars do not make men great," the turtle said, shaking his head slowly.
"That's a uh... interesting way of looking at things," Fox said slowly. He tried to take the penlight away from the turtle, but the little blue creature retreated, frowning.
"Mine! Or I will not help you find your friend!" it said insistently.
Fox was beginning to get fed up with the little turtle. "I'm not looking for a friend, I'm looking for a Cerinian survivor, now give me my light back!" he cried.
The turtle gasped, its eyes widening. "Oh! Cerinian? Alagrin, you seek Alagrin, don't you?" it cried.
Fox blinked in wonder. "What– you know him?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes, yes! I can take you to him! Help you, like I said!" the turtle smiled.
Fox laughed in relief. "Well geez, why didn't you say so? Let's go, I've been looking for him all day!" he cried.
"Yes, yes, yes, but we must eat first! For Alagrin must be hungry too, will be cranky if we meet him on an empty stomach!" the turtle cried. It laughed again and scurried away from the camp, waving the light above its head. "Come, come!" the turtle cried back to Fox.
Fox hesitated, then followed after the bobbing light the creature was holding. He hoped he could find his camp again.
***
"Look, I don't see why we can't go visit Alagrin now," Fox protested as the turtle handed him a steaming bowl of... well, something Fox couldn't quite identify. He sniffed it, then took a small bite with the wooden spoon the turtle gave him. He blinked, pleasantly surprised by the taste of the unfamiliar concoction.
"Patience, patience! We must eat first, find him later!" the turtle said, still smiling. It had taken Fox back to its small hut, built of small mud bricks and scraps of metal. The interior was very plain, dry, and cozy. The opposite of the rest of the area outside, which was drenched with acidic rain from a storm.
Fox shifted himself towards the open fireplace, moving with difficulty in the cramped quarters inside the hut. "How far is Alagrin anyway? How long will it take us to find him?" he asked curiously, eager to meet the Cerinian survivor.
"Not far, not far at all," the turtle replied, serving itself from the pot of food over the fireplace. He sniffed the food, then tasted it. "Mmm, good food. Yes?" he asked Fox. Fox nodded.
"So," the turtle said, sitting cross-legged next to Fox, "why you wish to learn from Alagrin?"
Fox shrugged. "Well, mostly because of my father and old mentor, Peppy Hare. He said that my father had... some kind of power, I guess. And that maybe Alagrin could teach me how to use that power," he said.
"Ha! Peppy Hare and James McCloud! Great pilots, they were! Daring and brave!" the turtle laughed.
Fox blinked, his spoon half raised to his mouth. "You... you knew them?" he asked. Then he laughed. "No, you couldn't have known them, you don't even know me!"
The creature just stared at its bowl, poking at its food. "Eat," it said.
Fox gritted his teeth. "Look, can you please just tell me where Alagrin is, and I can find him myself?" he asked, beginning to get upset.
"Patience," the turtle replied, not looking up.
"You already said that! We're wasting our time here!" Fox shouted, unable to keep his anger in check. He immediately felt regret for his outburst and was about to apologize when he heard the turtle speak in a low voice.
"I cannot teach this boy. He has no patience. His vision is clouded by anger," it said. But it wasn't speaking to Fox. It was staring at an unseen apparition in front of it.
"He will learn. That's why you are here to teach him," whispered a voice, sounding as though it were coming from every direction at once.
Fox's ears perked up at the sound of the voice. "Peppy! Is that you?" he cried. Then he looked back at the turtle in wonder, his green eyes wide. "You!" he cried. "You're Alagrin!"
Alagrin, the little blue turtle, scowled at Fox. "You are too angry. I cannot teach you," he said, jabbing a finger at Fox.
"Please, Alagrin. He is our last hope," whispered the bodiless voice of Peppy.
"He is not ready," said Alagrin stiffly.
"Yes I am! I'm ready! Peppy, please tell him that I'm ready!" Fox said, looking around as though he may be able to see Peppy if he squinted hard enough.
"Oh really? How do you know if you are ready? I have trained people to harness the power of the mind for over a hundred years! What you know of ready? I have watched you for a long time, craving adventure, craving excitement. Never was your mind on where you were, or what you were doing! You, my friend, are reckless!" Alagrin accused.
Fox looked down, knowing it wa true.
"Were any of your other pupils different?" asked the voice of Peppy.
Alagrin grimaced at the unseen Peppy. "Will he finish what he begins?" he asked softly.
Fox detected a hint of softness in the little creature's voice. "I'm not afraid," he said, making his voice as strong and resonant as possible.
Alagrin chuckled grimly, turning to face Fox. "Not afraid?" he asked. "Oh, you will be, young Fox McCloud. You will be."