A/N: Let's try this again… Maybe I'll actually stick to it this time.

Chapter Two: What We Do Best

The high-pitched hum of the Arwings' engines echoed through space as the four pilots ascended from the Great Fox and into the asteroid field.

"System check," Fox said, "How's everything looking?"

"No problems here," Krystal confirmed.

Falco maneuvered his ship left and right, and then flipped it upside down. "Feels alright, but you might want to check the breaks, Slip. They're lagging a bit."

"Yeah yeah, I'll get it," Slippy answered, "I'm fine over here, Fox."

"Okay guys," Fox smiled, "On your count, Peppy!"

Peppy's voice came on the intercom. "First one to loop around the largest asteroid and come back wins. On your mark…"

Falco flipped his ship upright. The four of them lined up their Arwings.

"Get set…"

Fox revved his engine. Slippy nervously gripped the joystick.

"GO!"

In a blink the ships shot forward, Fox immediately taking the lead. He swiftly navigated past the smaller asteroids and headed to his target. Krystal was not far behind. She dropped altitude and sped up until she was right beneath Fox's ship. As soon as Fox shifted left slightly to dodge an asteroid, she quickly pulled up right in front of him.

Slippy trailed behind a little, focusing more on not being crushed by space rock. He glanced at the two ships in front of him. Wait… two? Where's Falco… As if on cue, Falco's Arwing zoomed past him, quickly gaining on the others. Slippy was immediately blinded by the purple exhaust. It quickly cleared, however, revealing just how much he was losing by. What else is new, he thought to himself and boosted forward.

Meanwhile, Fox was still on Krystal's tail as they approached their target. Krystal waited until the very last second before pushing hard on the controls. Her Arwing did a vertical nosedive underneath the asteroid. Fox was thrown off by this and turned to the right without rotating, knocking off the tip of his wing. He managed to regain control, but it threw off his balance and he was forced to slow down.

Slippy had just reached the asteroid as Fox and Krystal separated. He quickly rotated to the right and followed Fox.

Falco took the same route as Krystal, and was now inching up behind her as they flew toward the Great Fox. Time to get serious, he thought, a smile spreading across his face. He tilted his ship sideways and boosted, passing right over Krystal's right wing. He balanced out in front of her, cutting her off. When he saw her dive again to pass him, he only sped up.

Fox was coming up on the gap between the two Arwings. But just as he boosted, Falco spun into a barrel roll. Small chunks of space rock were shot in every direction. Fox saw one his Krystal's tail, knocking her off course. By the time he looked up, one of the larger ones had hit the base of his wing, and he was sent spinning backwards.

Falco, enjoying the scene, failed to notice both ends of his wings had been clipped, and he was steadily descending. He allowed himself to go off course and could not lift himself in time to dock.

Then, calmly drifting past the others was Slippy. He happily floated by and safely landed in the docking bay of the Great Fox.

(Control Room)

Peppy leaned back in his chair while he watched the race from the surveillance screens. The newfound quiet allowed him to finally enjoy and admire the art of the pilots—the pilots he had trained. He laughed and shook his head when Falco went into his spin. That's more trouble than it's worth, he thought to himself. He smirked when his prediction came true. After that performance, he watched the ships as they declined back to the bay. It was only a few minutes before the four of them burst into the room loudly discussing the events.

"You idiot!" Fox smacked Falco upside the head, "How was that possible going to help you win? Now we're going to have to repair and repaint! This was just supposed to be a simple race!"

Falco held up his hands in defense. "Hey, survival of the fittest, right? Isn't winning the whole point of the game?"

"Uh… I did win…" Slippy said meekly, trying not to get in the middle of it.

"I would've had you all beaten if you hadn't pulled that little stunt," Krystal said begrudgingly.

Slippy tried again. "Yea but I—"

"Y'all are just sore losers," Falco interrupted. He held up his index finger. "I can't help it if you don't have the skills and the smarts."

Fox smirked. "May I remind you that you lost?"

Falco's face dropped. "Say whaa?"

"That's right," Peppy stepped in, stifling a chuckle, "You were the last one to dock. And Slippy here was the first."

Slippy beamed. "Hooray!" He cheered.

Fox shook his head. "Alright, alright. Great job, Slip."

"Well if the excitement is over, is a little quiet time too much to ask?" Peppy asked.

"Whatever, old man," Falco said, "Krystal and I were just off to a rematch."

Peppy shook his head. "I don't see why you would want to play a video game about yourselves."

"Well when I can't be shoot things here at least I can do it virtually," Falco answered.

"Hey Falco!" Slippy cried, "Can I play this time?"

"Don't you have some lagging brakes you need to go fix?"

Slippy sighed and trudged off to the bridge.

"Are you gunna join us Foxie?" Falco asked after Slippy had left.

"Nah I think I'll just go watch the news," Fox answered, "You know, see what's happening at home."

"Alright," Falco shrugged. He turned to Krystal and gestured toward the door. "After you."

Krystal laughed. "Don't think manners will make me go easy on you."

(The Bay)

Slippy mumbled to himself while he tampered with the mechanics of Falco's Arwing. "Stupid bird... not letting me play with them. I won didn't I? Probably the only time I will, too. And who does he think he is? Bossing me around…"

He continued muttering as he worked. He didn't notice that another ship had quietly landed on the bridge.

(Living Room)

The animated Falco barely dodged a blast from Krystal's virtual Landmaster, but a few blasts from his rocket launcher forced her out of it.

"My breasts aren't that big," Krystal huffed, looking at her character. "I'm surprised she can even run without toppling over."

Falco shrugged. "Face it. You're the sex appeal of the team. Without you this game probably wouldn't sell. Think of all the horny customers you bring in."

Krystal rolled her eyes. "I don't even want to think about how many forty year old pigs living in their parents' house fantasize about me. And I don't even need the enhancement!"

Just then, Falco noticed Fox walking by. "Hey Fox!" He called, "Come 'ere for a sec!"

Fox came back and leaned against the door frame. "What is it?" He asked.

"We just need your opinion on something," Falco said, "Which do you like better: Krystal's voluptuous, giant, virtual titties or her boring, average sized ones." Krystal smacked his arm.

"I… um…" Fox scratched the back of his head, "I mean the ones in the game are… b-but I like… err—"

Slippy burst in just then, out of breath and eyes bulging.

(The Bay)

Two gorillas climbed out of the ship. They didn't see Slippy inside of the Arwing's cockpit. "This way," the one whispered to his partner while loading his blaster.

Slippy heard the click of the gun, and he slowly peaked out of the window. He nearly screamed when he saw the two, but he managed to stifle it. He silently waited until they had left before sprinting to the living area.

(Living Room)

Fox had Slippy by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Come on, buddy, out with it!"

Slippy took a deep breath. "Th-there are intruders. Two of them. Real big ones, with blasters."

Falco and Krystal were on their feet now, forgetting the game and the previous conversation. Fox had done the same. "Okay team, we can't let them get to our main controls. Krystal and Slippy, you guys go find Peppy and make sure he's safe. Grab some blasters on the way there. Falco and I will go take care of these guys."

Falco swung his arms back and forth, loosening them up. "Lead the way, Foxie."

(Krystal and Slippy)

After getting some supplies, the two ran down the corridors to Peppy's room. When they got there, the doors were locked.

"Peppy," Slippy called as quietly as possible, "You in there?"

"I thought I asked for quiet," Peppy yelled back.

Krystal shushed him. "Peppy open the door!"

The door slid open. "What is so important that—" But Krystal and Slippy had already pushed past him and into the room. Slippy shut the door behind him.

"Geeze, Peppy," He said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Do you want to get us all killed?"

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Peppy asked.

(Fox and Falco)

Falco followed Fox as they ran down the hallway. The two had picked up weapons. Each had a blaster in his holster. Fox carried a metal rod, and Falco had this switchblade, his weapon of choice. They always checked before running past a room or another hallway to make sure the goons weren't there.

"I can't wait to beat the crap outta these guys," Falco admitted.

Fox nodded. He was too focused to talk smack with Falco right now. He kept his head in the game and kept running. He stopped when they came to another corner and listened. He could hear footsteps, heavy ones. He signaled to Falco that they had found their targets. Falco nodded. The two waited until the gorillas approached the corner. Falco gave Fox a thumbs up. Fox smirked a little and held the rod like a bat. Falco held up three fingers, then two, and then…

BAM!

The metal rod connected with the chin of one intruder. He staggered back, mostly from the shock of the blow. Fox advanced on him and struck him again in the side. Fox prepared to hit him a third time, but his opponent took hold of the rod and swung Fox against the wall. Fox released the rod and ducked before it hit the wall where his head used to be. He sprung forward, grabbing the intruder's blaster out of its holster.

Falco didn't waste any time in striking the other with his blaster. He shot at his leg, but the gorilla dodged and drew his own blaster. Falco rolled forward as a laser whizzed over his head. He brandished his knife as he slid on the floor and managed to slash the intruder across the ankle. The gorilla yelped and took hold of Falco by the shin. He slung Falco's leg over his shoulder, leaving Falco dangling behind him. The gorilla then swung towards the wall, but Falco was able to hold his hands up in time. He swung his other leg around the gorilla's shoulder and used to wall to push himself upright. Now sitting atop the gorilla's shoulders, he wrapped his legs around the neck.

(Peppy's Room)

"Got any threes?" Slippy asked.

Peppy shook his head. "Go fish." Slippy grumbled as he picked up another card from the pile.

Krystal sighed. "Shouldn't we be trying to help them?"

"Now now," Peppy said, "If Fox told you to come here, then that's what you do. You know how he gets when we don't follow orders."

Slippy nodded in agreement. "Besides, I'd probably just get in the way."

Krystal sighed again, but picked up her hand of cards. "Got any kings?"

(Fox and Falco)

Fox shot at the gorilla, but was stopped when the metal rod thumped against his side. Fox focused on dodging for now.

Falco's goon had begun to get weaker, so he decided to land the final blow. He let himself fall upside down again, but kept his legs wrapped around the intruder's neck. He stretched until his palms lay flat on the floor, and then pulled. Falco flipped backwards as the gorilla was knocked down. Falco set his blaster to stun and made sure the gorilla was unconscious before helping Fox. Since Fox's opponent was distracted, Falco had an easy target. The other gorilla went down just as easily, and Fox looked relieved when the metal rod clanked onto the floor.

"Thanks," Fox said, "Now let's get the others to come clean this up."

(Main Control Room)

After everything had been taken care of and the intruders had been tied up, Fox and Peppy sat at the controls, discussing their next destination.

"We should take them to Corneria to be properly questioned," Peppy suggested as he watched Slippy try to intimidate the gorillas on the security camera. Peppy laughed as Slippy jumped away at the slightest movement from the tied up primate.

Fox nodded. "General Pepper will know what to do with them," he said, "I'll tell the others."

(Apprehension Center)

Krystal and Falco watched as Slippy questioned the intruders.

Falco laughed. "Right… like a four foot tall frog is going to get any information out of them."

Krystal laughed a little too. "I like to give Slippy the benefit of the doubt." They were silent again while they watched. Krystal spoke up, "Oh and I never got to thank you for embarrassing me in front of Fox earlier."

Falco laughed out loud this time. "He's just lucky these two monkeys showed up to bail him out."

"Oh shut up," Krystal said, "He wouldn't have answered anyway. Unlike some people he's actually a gentleman."

"And gentlemen don't like to talk about boobs?" Krystal smacked his arm again. Falco laughed, "Alright alright, sorry. I just don't get what you two are waiting for."

Krystal sighed. "I suppose he's waiting for the right time. Haven't you ever wanted the moment when you tell someone you love them to be perfect?"

Falco looked down, remembering. Then he looked up and crossed his arms. "Nope," he said, "I've always been the same, emotionless jerk that stands before you today."

Their conversation was interrupted by a noise from the intercom, an indication that someone was about to speak through it. Slippy left the two gorillas and joined Falco and Krystal by the door.

"Attention team," Fox's voice echoed through the room, "We're heading home."

Geeze this was a long one. The others probably won't be this long. If anyone's reading this reviews/critiques are welcome (: