Fox, Slippy, and Peppy were eating breakfast in the lounge because the "kitchen" was too small for the three of them. Falco was still asleep. It was early afternoon Cornerian time. Peppy messaged General Pepper a few hours earlier, and a commscreen meeting with the whole team was scheduled for after the lunch hour.
Fox, who was sore from falling asleep at the kitchen table the night before, was quietly eating a packet of stale oatmeal. Peppy looked absolutely exhausted, and he hadn't said a word since "good morning" twenty minutes ago. Slippy was humming to himself, although he wasn't chattering like he normally would, and the cereal in front of him was untouched. Minutes passed. Slippy's humming became more frantic. He abruptly put his spoon down.
"What was it like?" He asked, unable to contain himself any longer.
Fox took another bite of his breakfast, and before he could answer, Slippy plowed on.
"I mean, well, I just kinda am curious what it was like in there, 'cause you know I studied alternate realities at the Academy and black holes -warp zones- are linked to that. And it would be interesting to know what it was like 'cause it isn't very well documented 'cause it's impossible to study – well, not impossible but really hard, you know, since most people who go into a warp zone don't come out and…"
Slippy's voice withered when he noticed Peppy glaring at him. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it like – well, uhm, ah-"
Fox started laughing so hard that he choked on his oatmeal. After coughing to dislodge the food from his throat, he glanced back up at Slippy, who looked back with a bewildered expression on his face. This made Fox laugh even harder.
"Slippy, is there any –haha! - god, is there ANY subject –ha! - that you didn't study back at the Academy?!"
Slippy gave Fox a confused smile, still unsure about what was so funny. Fox took a few deep breathes to compose himself.
"Whooo, sorry. Heh. Okay, okay. Look, Slippy, you can talk about what happened, okay? I'd love to talk to you guys about it. Make it feel a little less…" Fox struggled to find a word. "Serious, I guess. I mean, it was serious, but still. Ask as many questions as you want. Go ahead, I know you've been dying over there. Ask away."
Slippy starting speaking so fast that his sentences were rear-ending each other. "What was it like, physically? What did it look like? Was there even anything to look at or was it so abstract that you couldn't perceive it with your eyes? Did you gain other senses? Can you even remember?"
"Whoa, whoa. Slow down a little. It's a little hard to explain but…well, it was really cold. Mmmm, uh, it felt like I was in there for days, but Falco said it was only about three hours. It felt like days in a few seconds though, if that makes sense."
"Oh, that would fit the time jump theory that got published in the Premier Lylat Scientific Journal a few years ago! The writer hypothesized that time doesn't work the same way in a warp zone…it's struggling to stay in in a straight line but it keeps being bent and pulled and stretched and it doesn't stay consistently in the present. It keeps jumping forwards and backwards. That's what they hypothesized, anyway."
"It wasn't pleasant, whatever was happening. And it was just…dark, endless tunnels. They looked red, maybe yellow, I dunno. It was hard to tell." Fox noticed that Peppy was frowning. "It wasn't pleasant."
"And where was Andross? What was he doing?" Slippy leaned forward.
"He was…" Fox hesitated slightly, "just there. Suddenly just there. I shot at him, and he died."
"Are you really sure you killed him?"
"Yes." Fox replied with such force that the word ricocheted off of the walls and landed with a thud on the table. "Yes, absolutely sure," he added somewhat softer.
"And how did you escape." Peppy said softly, still frowning.
"What?" Fox turned to Peppy.
Peppy stared Fox dead in the eye. "How did you escape."
"I don't remember." Fox replied with no hesitation, his eyes blank.
"Hey, shitheads." Falco sauntered over to the group and sat down. His head feathers were standing up in all directions. "What boring shit are you three talking about?"
"Warp zones!" Slippy cried cheerfully.
"Oh god. You mean black holes?"
"People call them that, but a lot of scientists think that they are really warp zones to alternate realities. The ones on Venom are a result of the war. Evidently they're connected, which is kinda sorta amazing. A real black hole would've eaten everything up by now."
"Wow. Amazing." Falco slathered jam onto a cracker. "Hey, Peppy, did you talk with the General?"
"Yes. We're scheduled to meet with him in an hour, so I suggest you clean yourself up." Peppy was still frowning.
"Is it true? Is he really dead? We heard rumors that the black holes had collapsed, but we weren't able to confirm them." General Pepper was standing rigidly on the commscreen. A large group of soldiers stood at attention in the background, although a few of them were leaning forward to try and get a better look.
"Andross is dead, sir. I killed him." Fox replied with his arms crossed. It was the first thing he said to General Pepper during the brief meeting. Peppy, as usual, did most of the talking. Falco (who still looked rumpled) and Slippy hovered nearby.
An uproarious cheer broke out from the soldiers behind the General when Fox confirmed the news, and they completely abandoned their formation to toss around hugs and high fives. General Pepper didn't bother reprimanding them; he was smiling broadly, which deepened the wrinkles lining his face.
"Well done, team Star Fox! Well done! This is good news – wonderful news! We must celebrate. We will hold a ceremony in your honor as soon as you arrive. Of course, we will also discuss your payment. I also expect to receive a full report detailing exactly what happened. Peppy, have that sent to me as soon as possible. Well done - wonderful news!" With that, the General disconnected his commscreen, a smile still plastered on his face while his soldiers continued to cheer.
Falco tossed his hands up and groaned. "A fucking ceremony? We kill the epitome of evil and he's gonna make us sit through a ceremony?! Just give us our money, you old bag! Call it good! We ain't your buddies, getting all chummy with the Cornerian army, UGH!"
"Stop that." Peppy snapped. "If the General wants to honor us with a ceremony, let him. It's a kind gesture."
"You know what woulda been a kinder gesture? If he had sent troops to help us out on Venom!"
"You know full well that what we did was top secret. An army would have drawn unnecessary attention to our actions."
"Please. He just didn't want to risk the lives of any Cornerians. Mercenaries, though? Eh, they're expendable!"
"Pepper has lost countless good people to this war!" Peppy snarled. "He's been fighting against Andross much longer than you, and it is thanks to him that the Lylat system hasn't fallen to ruin!"
"Ruin. Pfeh. You tellin' me Titania hasn't been ruined? What about Zoness? And it's kinda thanks to us now that –"
"Enough! Guys, c'mon! Stop that." Fox stepped between Falco and Peppy. "Stop fighting. Falco, you know that the General has done his best to keep peace in the galaxy. And Peppy, you know that Cornerian war ceremonies are probably the most boring thing ever."
Falco looked hopeful. "Oh good, so that means we aren't goin'?"
"We're going, Falco." Fox said firmly. He was intercepting for Peppy's sake. Peppy was fond of the General and actually enjoyed the stiff decorum of Cornerian ceremonial tradition. Fox hated attending ceremonies as much as Falco and would normally do everything in his power to avoid going, but he still felt guilty about causing Peppy so much stress.
"Last time I went to a war ceremony – my cousin joined the army a few years ago – I thought that I had died and gone to hell. The speeches were so…they were endless." Slippy winced at the memory.
"Even Slippy hates the damned things, Fox." Falco pleaded.
"I don't like them much either. But we're going. Besides, how bad can it be? He's probably just organizing a small celebratory party."
The ceremony and celebrations lasted four hours, all told. The team was greeted by a cheering crowd of thousands when they stepped off the Great Fox, and General Pepper himself escorted them to a giant, outdoor pavilion constructed for the occasion. Fox was horrified. It didn't look like it was going to be a simple event.
The crowd swarmed the pavilion, still cheering. Fox didn't know where to look, so he grinned nervously and stared at a point above Slippy's shoulder. Slippy was staring in wide eyed wonder, his mouth hanging open. Falco clenched his fists. Peppy didn't seem fazed at all, and he smiled and waved with genuine sincerity at the crowd.
They were seated behind a massive table at the head of the pavilion, right next to General Pepper and a few other high ranking officials that Fox had never bothered to learn the names of. The crowd spilled out onto the streets. Then, the speeches began.
Slippy was right. They were endless. Fox struggled to pay attention to all of the speeches, especially since most of the speakers were praising his team profusely, but his mind kept wandering. At one point, he caught himself counting the wrinkles on General Pepper's face.
Eventually, General Pepper stood and added a few of his own praises. Much to Fox's embarrassment, he was invited to speak for a moment. Fox stumbled over some motivational words about teammates and bravery. General Pepper pinned a war medal onto him and each of his team mates. The band started playing triumphant music. Fox prayed that it was over. It wasn't.
They were ushered into General Pepper's private office. The important officials that Fox still couldn't name crowded into the room as well, standing a respectful distance away from the new war heroes. The General was still talking. Falco caught Fox's eye and shot him a seething glare. There was a long table off to the side of the room that was heaped with fresh, steaming food. The last time the team had the luxury of fresh food was at least four months ago, and the sight of it, just out of reach, was absolutely tortuous.
"Now, about your payment."
"I'm gonna cry. I'm literally gonna cry."
Falco leaned back dramatically on the lounge sofa. The whole team sat listlessly here and there, each lost in their own thoughts.
"One million credits. One million fucking credits. After all we did."
" I'll admit that I was expected something more than that, but we have to remember that Corneria has poured a lot of money into this war already. That is most likely the absolute highest amount that Pepper could afford." Peppy remarked.
"We got 300,000 for that whole damn fiasco in Sector Y alone. Just for the Sector Y job."
"That was four months ago. Before Corneria was raided for the second time."
"Didn't we already have this conversation yesterday, guys." Slippy asked in an uncharacteristic monotone.
"Yes." Peppy and Falco replied in unison.
When General Pepper announced their payment for the Venom job, team Star Fox kept an admirably straight face. It was only after they hurried back to the Great Fox with as much fresh food as they could hold that they voiced their disappointment. A day passed, but the team was still moping.
"We put so much time into it, is what kills me. We've been on the move, doing the dirty work, for basically four months straight. We worked our asses off. We put all of our energy into these few jobs." Fox swiped an electronic screen lethargically.
"This is the first bread I've had in four months. Four months. Is one million even enough to repair all of the damages to the Great Fox? And there had better be enough to-"
A robotic voice interrupted Slippy. "NOW APPROACHING DESTINATION. ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 10 MINUTES."
"Finally." Fox stood up to look out of the view-window. "Thanks, R.O.B. I guess that means we better get ready, guys."
The rest of the team moved to prepare for landing. They were still traveling through the asteroid belt.
"Thank god we're home." Fox turned to help his team. Their destination was now visible from the view-window: Sargasso.