Hi everyone! It's crunch time in this story, I think. The next few chapters I've been thinking about, and my ideas are sorta swirling around in no particular order, so please bear with me. This chapter is about Fox, but even if you're not a huge Fox fan (which I hope you are) you probably should read it anyway, 'cuz then you won't really get the next chapter. Alright, that's it for me, so...enjoy!
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24 hours have passed since the combined mercenary teams retreated. The two remaining members of Starwolf were allowed to stay aboard the Great Fox, so they'd be available for assistance in case a trace of the two missing captains appear. The rest of Starfox, still missing their leader, adjusted well to their new passengers, even though the hotheaded Falco still got into a scuffle with Leon every once in awhile, though nothing serious has happened between the two. Panther, always the gentleman, restrained from entering Krystal's room, and in return she acted kindly towards the big cat. For the time being, the rivalry hanging between the two teams was lifted.
On solid ground, Peppy looked up at the sky over his office. Even at his older age, the hare felt the same way about the sky as he did when he was flying through it. He was dazzled by its emptiness, its surprising comfort, and most importantly, its size. Mesmerized by its width, he often wondered if it could hold the answers to every question ever asked, every idea ever thought, every dream ever imagined. You'd need a pretty big space to hold all that.
Shifting his gaze to the few framed pictures littering his desk, he sighed. Only two snapshots were present on his cluttered desk, otherwise filled with obnoxious paperwork. One photograph was of him and his wife, Vivian, at their wedding. Though lined with wrinkles, his face still resembled his joyful complexion in the picture. The happiest day of his life.
The other snapshot was of himself, wearing his old flight uniform. There was only one other figure in the shot: an orange-tinted vulpine, wearing an identical outfit to the young hare. The only difference in his uniform was the black sunglasses adorning his face. Peppy lifted the frame, bringing it to his face.
"He can't be dead, James," he whispered. "Especially not if he's the same fox I knew. The same fox you raised." He took a shaky breath. "He can't be dead, if he's your son."
Peppy lifted a paw to his face, wiping away the stray tear that had suddenly appeared in the corner of his left eye. "We'll find him James. Or he'll find us. He's been through so much. No way will he let this bring him to the end. Not without a fight."
For the first time since Fox's disappearance, Peppy allowed a true smile to melt onto his worn face. "He'll make you proud, James. He'll make us all proud. I'm sure wherever he is, he knows you're watching him."
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The cyborg tiger, after his dramatic entrance, slowly neared the bound captives. Fox felt the ropes binding his chest fall to the black floor, and the one around his feet fall as well. Before he could blink, he felt the forearms of one of the guards shoving up his armpits. He was lifted to his feet, dangling from the guards' grasp.
Before he could swing his lower body back, attempting to hit the guard holding him, he felt something strong grip onto his ankles. He looked up to see the grinning tiger, holding him up so he looked like a medical stretcher draped between the two enemies. As he was carted into an adjacent room, he heard the tiger call out to the other guard.
"Watch the other two," he commanded. His raspy, deep voice reverberated through the dark room. Fox sighed as he was brought into what resembled a dungeon of sorts. The minuscule room was bare, apart from the four cuffs chained to the wall. He felt his wrists and ankles being locked into the tough cuffs, and soon enough he was left to dangle from the wall like a hopeless spider caught in its own web.
His captor rolled his head towards the door, silently forcing the guard to leave. He attempted to make eye contact with Fox as the guard proceeded to the door, but failed; Fox refused to glance up from the ground.
After the slam of the door echoed through the small room, the tiger nodded. Fox heard his footsteps as he paced around before the chained vulpine.
"Fox McCloud," the tiger began. "Savior of the Lylat System. Hero of Corneria." He gestured his head toward the door once again. "Rival of Wolf O'Donnell. Or is that no longer true?" Fox still held his gaze towards the dusty floor, though his ears remained perked up in the air.
"Oh, and let's not forget leader of the famous Starfox team. Best of the best. Your role in the Lylat War was so prominent, you managed to bring a good meaning to the term 'mercenary'." The tiger stopped his pacing. "That is not easy to do."
The tiger paused a second, then continued. "You know, McCloud...there's something different about you. You're the child prodigy of one of the best Lylat pilots in history. You aced your military training with flying colors. You've faced a power-hungry dictator without using any technological weaponry, a machinery-infecting virus, and a planet's entire army...and have won every time. Alone, you faced a crazed yet brilliant scientist, who had defeated one of the most skilled flyers of all time - your own father - and had brought an entire planet under his control...and destroyed him. More than once I might add." His voice lowered a bit. "And through it all, you remain calm, never allowing yourself to get too out of control. You always have some sort of a backup plan, and analyze every problem you face. You rarely show too much emotion, especially fear. That's what amazes me about you the most. You practically have no fears at all." He chuckled. "You, Fox McCloud, are definitely something different."
Fox wondered where this psychotic tiger was going with his speech. All he'd said so far was Fox's life story. Resisting the urge to speak up, Fox continued to listen.
The tiger once again broke the cold silence. "Of course, you're probably wondering who I am." Fox's ear twitched involuntarily, but the tiger took it as an invitation to continue. "Before Andross Oikanny built any of his weaponry, he always believed he needed a way to make it better, more efficient. To find out how, he'd come to me. I took his basic ideas and made them better, stronger. Also, I showed him some ideas of my own. If I had gotten my way, the army of Venom would not have fallen." Fox picked up on a small tone of pride and regret in his voice. "I'm the true brain behind Venom's weapons and machinery."
Finally, Fox looked up. "You...created Andross' weapons." Rather than a question, it came out as a statement. His eyes narrowed at the tiger. "That means you have more ideas."
The tiger grinned. "You're obviously leader for a reason," he spoke. "Yes, I have more ideas. More ways to rebuild what that fool Andross started. More methods to gain control of Lylat." His evil smile
widened.
"Before I can conquer this system, however, I must destroy the one thing standing in my way." His grin disappeared, replaced by a menacing expression. "And that one thing is you."
The foe's hand flashed to his side, and out of what appeared to be thin air a switchblade appeared. He held the knife so that the business end rested directly aside Fox's right eye. "Now, hold still." A stinging shock ran down the line the blade created on Fox's face, but he refused to give the tiger the satisfaction of seeing him in pain. He somehow kept his yelp of pain deep in his throat as he smelled the warm blood trickling down his face.
The tiger laughed cruelly, clearly relishing the sight of blood spurting from the cut beside Fox's eye. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. He bent so that he was at eye-level with the vulpine. Using the very tip of the blade, he pulled down the lower eyelid of Fox's left eye His one eyebrow furrowed in concentration. "Hmm, you still show no fear," he said, searching for some emotion in the vulpine's green eyes. Even using the fact that a blade was a millimeter from poking his eye out didn't bring up any emotion in the fox's eyes.
He stepped back, chuckling. "Still no fear in those eyes of yours. That's pretty remarkable. Now I get what that vixen sees in you."
"Krystal," Fox whispered. For the first time since entering the room, he made full eye-contact with his captor. His eyes widened, and the tiger noticed a deep anger burning in his light-colored eyes. "What will you do with them?" His voice was a harsh whisper.
"Ah, your team. Well, after I take control of Lylat, I will most likely have them imprisoned for life. If any object, of course," the tiger leaned closer, "they will immediately be executed." Fox's eyes narrowed, and his mouth curled into a wordless snarl. "However, I will make sure they see you one last time," the cyborg continued. "Well, what you used to be, at least. Before your body is properly disposed of, you will be presented to your team. The cut on your face will leave a scar, and that scar will be a reminder to anybody else who stands in my way."
"Look, you sadistic freak-" Fox started, but was cut off by a psychotic laugh from the tiger.
"Sadistic? Believe me, I am far from that," the tiger spoke. "After your team sees you one last time, your body will be preserved." A look of confusion must have crossed Fox's face, because the tiger decided to elaborate. "One of my many scientific works was a way to preserve someone's body as well as their soul. I have a special, hidden chamber where I keep the victims I have killed. When needed, I put the souls into new bodies." Fox's confused expression was replaced with one of disgust, which just made the cyborg tiger laugh.
"I meant to show the chamber to Andross, but I figured he'd just screw it up." Fox's eyes widened, and the tiger continued. "In your physical state, you'll be more than useful in helping me take over Lylat."
Fox was quiet a moment, then spoke up. "So, you're not after me for revenge. You want me to prove that you can take over the Lylat System. The whole reason I'm here is to prove how good you are. And that you deserve the credit Andross received."
The tiger was a bit surprised at how calmly Fox figured out and reflected his whole plan, but still grinned. "That is why you're here. Once people find out how I destroyed the legendary Fox McCloud, they will finally realize my true potential. Then, they'd have no choice but to surrender to me, and I would conquer the Lylat System."
Fox's mind raced. If he were to die here, his body would become a void, a shell for some lifeless thug bent on capturing his world. All under the command of the one who killed him.
The same burning fury he'd felt before blazed through him once again. Here he was, nothing but a pawn in some crazy, murderous game. He was being used as a trophy that this sadistic scientist could proudly display to the world as he conquered everything that was important to him.
Fox never felt such a burning desire for destruction towards anything, but this was different. Everything he'd loved was going to be taken from him, and for no reason other than selfish pride. He thought of all he'd encountered. A crazed yet brilliant scientist and his soulless army, who had also murdered his father and torn his family apart – twice. A bloodthirsty dictator, who he'd had to defeat without any advanced weaponry. A machine-infecting virus, which also took living things under its control and bent the minds of its victims. Countless thugs, brutes and foes of every shape, size, and strength.
Now, after everything Fox had been through, he was going to die at the hands at yet another sadistic, psychopathic scientist? No matter that the half-machine that stood before him could possibly pose as a greater threat to Lylat than Andross ever could have been. Fox knew he'd been to hell and back several times, and there was no way he'd be forced to stay there for good.
Fox's breaths grew heavy, and it was time for the tiger to look confused. "What are you playing, McCloud?" He put his non-mechanical paw forward to check Fox's pulse, but in a flash Fox latched his fangs onto him. The tiger let out a shrill cry as pain shot up his arm. Even though he tried desperately to release Fox's grip, the vulpine never let up. Struggling from the cat only caused him to clamp on tighter. The tiger's screams grew louder and louder, until Fox decided he'd gotten enough and released him.
Immediately, Fox spit out the cat's blood that had flowed into his mouth. Before the red liquid touched the ground, the cat had snatched onto Fox's throat. "That was a bad move, Fox," the tiger growled. He held Fox with one paw; the other he shook up and down, trying to stop the pain. "It had better not happen again, if you know what's good for you."
As the tiger pulled away, he left a deep cut on the side of Fox's neck, courtesy of his iron-coated claws. Fox gritted his teeth. As he felt more blood trickle down his throat, the smarter part of his mind kicked in. He needed t get a hold on himself. Taking a deep breath, he felt his heartbeats slow. The anger that had slowly began to control his emotions faded away. He was back.
The cat stepped back, realizing Wolf was still outside. "I gotta go take care of O'Donnell. But I will be back. Remember this, Fox." The cat stepped forward and lifted Fox's shirt up, confusing the vulpine. He felt two deep gashes being etched into his chest. He looked down and saw an X had been cut into him, bleeding profusely.
"For now, that's my name. X. It's the last name you'll ever hear." With that, the tiger left. Fox was left, alone and bleeding from three different cuts. As the door slammed, Fox closed his eyes. His head began spinning from his dramatic loss of blood. In a few moments, he was once again surrounded by blackness.
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Whoa, this chapter took awhile. I tried to get everything in that I meant to, but I probably forgot some stuff. Couldn't remember all of it I guess. R/R, and look out for Wolf's chapter! Later!