Chapter 2

"Ok, Krystal. My answer's yes. I'll join the team, but I'll need to pack a few things, first. Please tell Fox to wait up for me when he lands, ok?"

"I promise and I know you'll do even greater deeds in our galaxy, Michael." I nodded and ran inside my house to start packing. I thought about bringing my Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360, but then I thought about how important the bridge monitor was for receiving and sending calls to other beings from the other parts of the galaxy and using that kind of technology for something as common as playing video games would only serve to make Fox and the others mad, so I decided against it. I opened up the attic and brought down the navy-blue suitcase I used for the summer and packed what I needed to bring with me. When I had everything packed, I ran outside and saw Fox waiting for me by his Arwing.

"So, you're the one who helped Krystal out when she was in trouble, right?", he asked.

"Yes, I am. It's a great honor to meet the famous Fox McCloud in person.", I said while shaking his hand in awe and respect.

"The honor's mine. I can't possibly thank you enough for saving her. We all owe you a great debt. So, are you ready to come with us?", Fox said as he pointed to his Arwing with his thumb.

"I am, but how am I going to fit in there? I don't know if your seats are adjustable and I'm not too fond of being crowded."

"Don't worry, the Arwing seats can be adjusted, so you and your suitcase will be able to come aboard. And the trip will only take about 10 seconds."

"Alright, I'm in! Lead the way, Fox.", I said excitedly. Fox pressed a few buttons on his communicator and he jumped into the open canopy like a gold gymnast. I handed my suitcase to Fox, who put it behind his seat, then he motioned for me to grab his hand as he pulled me up enough to climb inside and sit behind him with my legs tucked in. He pressed a few command buttons on his console and after slowly ascending to three feet, he pointed his Arwing toward the blue sky and we blasted off like a sonic boom. The flight was awesome, but it left me a little nauseous and lightheaded, so I stumbled a bit when we landed at the docking bay.

"That was your first trip inside an Arwing, huh? Don't worry, you'll get used to it. C'mon, let's go see the rest of the team.", Fox said as he patted my back with an amused chuckle and walked through the sliding doors that led to the bridge.

"Ugh... Wait up, Fox!", I said as I groggily tried to restore my balance. The walk down the hallway was exhausting; what took about five minutes felt like five hours and by the time I reached the bridge, I was too worn out to even acknowledge anyone. I simply walked to the closest seat I could and sat down.

"Is he ok? What's wrong with him?", Falco said.

"My sensors indicate mild signs of hunger and severe exhaustion. Subject needs proper amounts of food and rest for brain functions to revitalize body.", ROB said as he ran a small hand scanner across my face. Krystal immediately ran to the kitchen, looking for anything she could make for my hunger, since I didn't have breakfast that morning. About ten minutes later, I caught the familiar scent of eggs, made sunny side-up, my favorite. I used a fork Fox gave me to eat the eggs and I was full in no time. I'd also managed to get some amount of sleep from when Krystal was making my breakfast. It wasn't about an hour, like I'd usually get, but it was good enough.

"Ahh. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to disrespect you. We humans are quite different from each other, as you can all see.", I said as I wiped my mouth with a napkin. After about a minute, I started sneezing wildly, like I had a cold. "Sorry, sniff... it's just, my father and me have a condition that makes us sneeze a lot when we stop eating or drinking. We'd sneeze so much, our eyes would get watery sometimes, our noses would become runny and it wouldn't stop until all the food and drink we had was completely digested. But don't worry, it's not contagious.", I said as I blew my nose to suppress a nose dripping.

"Is there any way we can cure it?", Slippy asked.

"Sorry, but, achoo... sniff... nothing we tried on Earth worked for us. I don't even know if your kind of technology can help, either."

"Man, that's low. But at least we know it can't be caught or spread by everyone.", Falco said.

"Falco, give the man a break. He's not feeling well.", Peppy said as he walked up to me. "Listen, Krystal told us about how you decided to join the team. We'll make a spare bedroom for you to stay in, but you'll need to enter your name, so we know it's yours when we visit. Fox will show it to you."

"Ok, everyone. We just left the atmosphere and we'll start the hyperspace jump back to the Lylat system in five minutes. Get to your rooms and hold on to your beds, everybody.", Fox said. Everyone nodded and followed his orders without even questioning him. "Come on, Michael. The room you'll be having is this way.", Fox said as he led us to an elevator that was about the size of any you'd find inside a company and supported the same weight capacity. And he pushed the button for the second floor: crew rooms. When the doors opened, Fox led me to the fourth room on the right, across from the lounge the team usually relaxed in. Once Fox showed me how to activate the security lock, which I used to type in my name, I went into my new quarters to see what it had to offer. It had a bed, dresser and mirror, a digital clock, a bathroom and a closet.

"Hyperspace jump commencing in t-minus two minutes. All personnel MUST be in their rooms immediately for safe travel.", ROB said over Fox's communicator. I didn't quite have enough time to start unpacking, since the jump would make everything that wasn't nailed down fly into the walls at breakneck speeds and most likely cause one of the most horrible ways to die, so I moved my suitcase and myself under the bed and grabbed the closest leg as tightly as I could.

"I sure hope this is as short as my trip on the Arwing.", I thought.

"Hyperspace jump activating in three... two... one...", ROB said. The countdown ended and the next thing I knew, I was blasted throughout space at such rapid speeds, it felt like the very skin on my body would be gruesomely peeled away, until only my empty skeleton lay lifeless on the floor.

As soon as it was over, I ran into the bathroom and puked the heck out of my stomach, each release tasting much worse than the last as the horrible water washed over my tongue. The rest of that day was quite horrible. I was so weak and worn out from my sudden trip that I had no choice but to lie in bed once I took my medicine, which made me feel better after a few hours. When my stomach recovered, I found the rest of the team in the lounge, where Krystal was telling the team what her first day on Earth was like. I noticed that she wasn't wearing the bandages I gave her yesterday and figured that her cuts must have completely healed while I was sleeping.

"And that's how the day went for us.", she finished.

"Sounds like quite a nice place to visit every once in a while.", Peppy said.

"Don't try to think it's all peaceful, Peppy. My galaxy is so similar to yours, it's almost scary.", I warned.

"How do you know all of our names, anyway?", Slippy asked.

"Well, everything here is based on an idea thought of by famous Japanese producers and executives. Let me show you.", I said as I pulled out my DS Lite and started up Star Fox Command. When I showed them the Single Player Stage Select screen, everyone's eyes went wide in wonder. Every single planet and sector were in their correct positions. Even their names, colors and backgrounds matched.

"That is so creepy, what is this thing, anyway?", Falco asked.

"This is my DS Lite system. DS stands for Dual Screen and it's called Lite because its screens are brighter and lighter (no pun intended) than the original model.", I said as I gave it to each of them for study.

"It feels so weird, but so cool at the same time.", Slippy said as he gave it back to me.

"So, Peppy, I'm very excited to be a part of the team, but how could I possibly contribute to your cause? I know how to use weapons and pull off a successful attack-and-defend mission, but I don't know how to pilot your vehicles or if I'm able to breathe on other planets, like you all can."

"Actually, it's Fox who recruits the new members of our team. I may be General of the Army, but that kind of job rests on his shoulders, not mine.", he replied.

"There's no need for you to worry, Michael. The Great Fox has plenty of wide-open space in our training simulator and you can practice for as long as you'd like to. And as for breathing, if you aren't able to support us on your first mission, we'll pull you out of it and Slippy and ROB can make a special flight suit customized to help your breathing anywhere. So, are you in or out?", Fox said as he offered me to shake his right hand.

"I'm in. In return, I'll tell you what I know about my galaxy, so when the information is saved on Rob's or the Great Fox's databanks, you can use this data to help you plan ahead the next time you make a visit to Earth. Do we have a deal?"

"It's a deal.", Fox said. And as we shook hands, I was forever a part of them, like they were a part of me. When our handshake ended, a growl in my stomach reminded me that I only had some eggs for breakfast and I could really use some lunch.

"Sounds like you could use a bite to eat, Michael. Since Krystal already made breakfast, why don't you show us your cooking skills?", Fox said. To tell the truth, I really was good with making food, but I didn't quite use a stove or oven to make food for others. I'd usually make food for myself by using a microwave, deep-fryer, toaster oven and other things, but not when making more than one serving. Gathering up my courage, I asked them what they each wanted to eat. Fox wanted a cheeseburger with everything, Krystal ordered a salad, Falco and Slippy each wanted a sandwich and Peppy wanted carrots. I made myself a double cheeseburger with ketchup, mayonnaise and bacon. All that food took about forty minutes to find and make, because of my condition and I had to handle the food with a pair of gloves and a mask to avoid disgusting the team.

"There you go, everyone. Lunch is served.", I said as I took my own meal and walked to my room with it.

"What's up? You're not going to eat with us?", Falco asked.

"Sorry, but I like to eat alone and I don't want to disgust you all with my eating habits. I hope you understand.", I said apologetically. I went back to my room and enjoyed my lunch. When I was done, I took my suitcase out from under the bed and started unpacking my things. "Now it looks just like my room back on Earth.", I said with a smile. I lay down on my bed and played Pokemon on my DS. I decided to pick up where I left off, on the third floor of Mt. Bristle. It certainly wasn't easy moving through a mystery dungeon, especially since you didn't know what to expect around each and every corner of any floor. I sure wished I had more than just my Riolu and Vulpix, but unfortunately, I couldn't recruit any other Pokemon until I reached Chapter 5 and I was only on Chapter 3. As I made my way through to the final floor, I heard Fox's voice over a loudspeaker saying that we reached the base on Corneria and would be landing shortly. I saved my game, put my DS in sleep mode and started worrying. Worrying about my future with the team. I felt comfort from knowing that the team would be there to help me through every step of my training, but that made me feel weak and I was certain that I could learn most things on my own, but I didn't want to hurt any of their feelings either. What could I do? I just finished that mental question when I heard my door slide open and saw Krystal take a seat next to me.

"Sorry that I came in without asking, but I felt your thought patterns and wondered what was wrong.", she said.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just, this is going to be an amazing adventure, but I don't know how I'm going to survive in a world like yours.", I said as I looked down at my feet. Then Krystal placed her hand under my chin and moved my head up to where I could look deep into her eyes.

"Michael, it's perfectly natural for someone to be nervous when trying something new on their first day. I mean, look at me. I've been part of the team for over a year and I can still remember how nervous I was when I first started training with them." That really took me by surprise.

"You, nervous? But aren't you supposed to be a fast learner?", I asked.

"I am, but I only knew how to handle my Staff and fly an aircraft before Fox rescued me. I wasn't quite used to using the same weapons they did, but as I practiced more and more each day, I got better at using them."

"Thanks, I guess. But still, I don't want any of you to be embarrassed by me if I mess up on something during my training."

"Michael, it's okay to make mistakes every once in a while. The point is to learn from them and think about how you can improve your skills on your own."

"Thank you, Krystal. I really needed that."

"No problem. If you ever need help with something, just ask any of us. We'll always be there to help you. Now come with us. We need you to come into the base if you want to join.", she said as she grabbed my hand and led me into the hallway. As we boarded the elevator, I noticed Fox was staring at me and although he didn't want to show it around Krystal, he looked like he was about to hurt me the instant he and I were alone. I may not be able to read minds, but I COULD read expressions. Luckily, the elevator held all of us safely, despite the crowded space and we went into the gigantic base in front of us. The base was a marvel within itself; it was almost like being inside the Statue of Liberty, Sears Tower and the NASA Space Center of Houston all at the same time. As I looked back at the Great Fox, I noticed it had the exact same design it did in the Lylat Cruise stage of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. And the team was wearing their uniforms from that game too. As we made our way to Peppy's office on the third floor, I noticed the Cornerian dog soldiers giving me the strangest looks, like I was some weird experiment that Andross made before he died at Fox's hands, so to speak.

"Um, Peppy, I don't think I might be welcome here. Your troops keep staring at me.", I said as we took the elevator that led there.

"Not to worry, Michael. I'm sure my troops will accept you, they just need some time to get used to seeing your own kind, that's all.", he said with a reassuring tone. Once we were inside his office, Peppy sat down in his chair and looked at me with a serious look unlike any I'd ever seen on him before. "Now, before you join us, I'll have to ask you some questions about yourself. And it's also required that you have a physical, so we know how your anatomy is."

"Alright, fine. I'll take the physical, but not in front of you and the team. They can see my x-rays if you need any, but I'm not exposing myself to them.", I said evenly.

"Don't worry, Michael. We won't allow you to be in a situation that makes you uncomfortable. Each will only take a few minutes and we'll only be going through basic scans and tests, that's all.", Peppy said.

1 hour later... The tests I took were annoying, but nothing I hadn't tried before, like a mild dose of radiation from an x-ray, having a hammer hit my knees to test my reflexes and checking how well my vision was. The toughest, by far, was going through that gyroscope machine. It made me so dizzy, I still felt like my recovery from the intense gs would take minutes instead of seconds. When all the testing was done, I was led into some kind of giant closet and asked how I wanted my uniform. I chose a black and white shirt with a red Star Fox insignia on the left shoulder, a pair of sky blue jeans that were tight enough to fit without a belt and loose enough to get in or out of without needing to mess with the button or zipper, black combat boots and a white vest. I also wore a reflector and a blaster holster on my right hip so reaching them would be easy since I was right-handed. I had Slippy and ROB customize my blaster to fire rapidly, like Fox's and it would make any of my opponents flinch, like Falco's. Finally, I was given my own Arwing, Blue Marine and Landmaster and the team even let me name them. I didn't know how I'd take all three of these awesome vehicles home with me, but I had an idea for combining them. "Slippy, Rob, would it be possible to combine all three of these vehicles at once, in case I get a mission that requires all three of them?", I asked.

"Actually, we've never thought about doing something like that. ROB, can all three of our main vehicles be combined into one powerful fighter for a mission like that?", he asked.

"Calculating... Probability of successful fusion is 45%, however, total designs exceed expectations.", ROB answered.

"It's worth a try, I guess. Tell us how you'd like it to be built and we'll see what we can do.", Slippy said.

I went through the details based on what I'd seen in movies and cartoons and suggested it would mostly be like an Arwing, then, it would transform into a Landmaster by closing the wings, showing tank treads and expanding the fuselage, finally, it would become a Blue Marine by changing the engines, shrinking the cannon and becoming lighter. It sounded strange but pretty awesome too. Before I let Slippy and Rob get to work, I was given the option to customize my Arwing. I put a mask on my face to avoid the foul smell of paint, which I couldn't stand and to avoid acting like an idiot by inhaling it. I had the engines painted black, the Star Fox symbols red, an American flag above the right engine's symbol, a bald eagle on the right side of my cockpit and an angel on the left side. I also had it equipped with strong shields and maximum boosters, a plasma shot, multi-lock, reinforced wings, three wide-spread bombs, a canopy that was made from the same material as my glasses, an EMP blast and a stealth option. All it needed was a name. I paced around for a bit before coming up with one that fit perfectly. Before naming it, I went inside the lobby and poured myself some cold water in a large glass, then came within arm's length of it. "I christen thee... American Angel!", I said as I threw the water at my new ship and watched the glass explode into tiny pieces.

I wasn't normally one to go against tradition, but the thought of having my ship reek of alcohol was too much and I certainly didn't want to act like an addictive person, like my brother Rudy was. I apologized to Peppy for breaking one of his lobby's drinking glasses, but he said it was ok and able to be replaced.

"That sure is an interesting name, but why'd you pick it, Michael?", Falco asked.

"Well, it's because of my religion and beliefs. On Earth, my own kind has many different kinds of races, religions, animals and so on. My religion is called Catholicism and we have our own way of believing in things. The Angel part of my ship represents good and purity, while the American part of my ship represents the natural-born part of me that I feel like. I may be a Hispanic, but I feel American most of the time. The eagle on my Arwing is an important symbol for my country.", I explained.

As I started explaining about my country and how my parents had their beliefs, Lucy Hare came up to her father and talked about an important message waiting for him in his office. When she saw me, she became quite fascinated. "I've never seen anything quite like you before. Who are you and what are you doing here?", she asked politely.

"My name's Michael Angelo Pena. I'm here because your friend Krystal offered me a chance to join the Star Fox team after I saved her life and I accepted. It's nice to meet you.", I said while shaking her hand.

"Really, what happened, Krystal?", Lucy asked with concern in her voice. Krystal explained by using her telepathy, but had to stop suddenly when Peppy said that Star Wolf was attacking a local spaceship transporting rations and ammunition to the base on Katina.

"I'm sorry about that, Lucy. I promise I'll fill you in on the rest as soon as we get back, ok?", Krystal said as she entered her Arwing.

"I'll be waiting. And be careful out there, Michael!", Lucy yelled back. I nodded. Although I was excited to be going on my first mission, I didn't even start my training yet. Fox noticed I needed help and ordered ROB to send pilot instructions to me from my communicator.

"Affirmative. Sending info now.", ROB said in his usual tone. A few seconds later, I read the information on the screen and after about one hour of practicing, I was ready to fly with my new teammates. When we reached Katina about 2 hours later, I got a reading of three hostile ships heading toward us on my radar.

"Heads up, everyone! I just spotted three enemy readings 2-3 clicks ahead of us.", I said.

"It's Star Wolf alright. I can recognize their thought patterns from anywhere.", Krystal said.

"Slippy, Michael, you two handle the transportation, while, me, Krystal and Falco handle Star Wolf!", Fox ordered.

"Copy that, Fox!", Slippy responded.

"Aye-aye, Captain Fox!", I said.

"There's no need for you to call me that, Michael. It may be the appropriate name for a leader, but I want to feel like a soldier, not a pirate.", Fox said with a slight frown.

"Oops. Sorry about that, sir.", I apologized.

"Don't worry. It's not your fault, Michael.", Peppy said.

"Thanks. So, Slippy, how do I activate my cloaking device?", I asked.

"All you have to do is press the button underneath your right ring finger and think about what you want your Arwing to look like. The ship will do the rest.", he answered.

"Ok, activating now!", I said. I pressed the blue button, closed my eyes and thought about flying in one of the jets the famous Blue Angels used during their Air Shows. About five seconds later, my ship felt different. I looked around my cockpit and saw that Slippy's device functioned perfectly. "Awesome job, Slippy! The device worked like a charm.", I cheered.

"Thanks, Michael. Now, let's get to work on helping that transport reach Katina."

"Roger that. Opening channel to the crew now.", I said as I pressed a few buttons on my communicator.

"Wolf, the mighty Panther has picked up another ship that's alongside the Star Fox team. There's a communication between it and our target, but when Panther looks at the radar it's gone. Shall Panther engage?", Panther asked as he studied his radar intently.

"Just a minute, Panther. I don't see any other ship on my radar.", Wolf answered.

"Same here. If there's someone else here, we should find out who they are.", Leon hissed.

"Panther, find that ship and tell us about it. If the pilot's really with those wimps, then shoot it until nothing's left.", Wolf ordered.

"Very well, then. Panther loves a new challenge.", he growled to himself. As soon as me and Slippy received clearance to guide the ship from the pilot inside and began entering the planet's atmosphere, I got a warning from an overhead light above me.

"Michael, watch out! Star Wolf is trying to find out if you're with us or not.", Krystal warned me with her telepathy.

"Oh, man. If they find out I'm against them, this'll be the shortest mission of my life. Keep them occupied until Slippy and I regroup with you. We can't fail this mission!", I thought back. The descent to the planet was a long one; each second I was staring at the roaring flames around me felt like I was part of a meteor on a one-way ticket to destroying the planet. Even though the Arwings were made to resist these kinds of temperatures, I still felt like mine would tear itself apart at any moment.

Suddenly, I got a message on my communicator: "This is Panther Coroso of Star Wolf. State your name and business here or else die.", he ordered. There was no way I was going to risk Star Wolf getting a chance to "know" me, so I activated my boosters to gain some distance and make the mission finish faster.

"Very well, then. If that's how you want to be, prepare to die!", Panther roared as he fired his Zapper right at my engines. I tried dodging to the left, but I still got hit and my shields dropped to 35%. If I took another blow like that, I'd be finished. I heard a sparking sound around me and noticed a small current of electricity around my fuselage. My cloaking device was still intact and I didn't feel like I'd been found out yet, but I still had 300 more feet to go in order to reach the planet's surface. The numbers were ticking faster and my death felt closer, but after three seemingly endless seconds, me and Slippy finally reached the planet and began to land. "You can't evade your doom forever. Now you're finished!", Panther said as he fired another shot at me. I'd barely gotten out of my ship and was five feet away from it when I heard the shot behind me.

"Michael, quick, use your reflector! It's the only thing strong enough to save you!", Slippy croaked at me.

"I hope you're right, Slippy. Or else, I'll take back that complement from earlier." I ran my right hand over the hexagon-shaped device, brought it up to my face and flinched as I waited for the impact. In about two seconds, I'd either be dead or alive. I heard a strange zapping sound from in front of me, but I was too scared to see what it was.

"Michael, you did it! The Zapper's heading straight for Panther, look!", Slippy cried. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was ok. I felt my body to check for burns but felt none, whatsoever. I also heard an enraged roar from overhead and saw that one of Panther's right wings had been blown clean off and the blast was still headed for space. As I used my hands to follow it like a pair of binoculars, I heard Krystal speaking to me in my mind again.

"Nicely done, Michael. That reflected blast hit Leon and Wolf at the same time and knocked out their weapons."

"Nice, I got three birds with one stone.", I thought. My victory was short-lived, however, as Panther leaped from his ship and made a dash for me. In general, I was strongly against harming animals of any kind, but since I was fighting my new teams' rival, I would have to make that sacrifice. It was time for the predator to become the prey. And I prayed to God that I'd get through this intact.

That's all for now, everyone. By the way, this story of mine isn't just about Romance. If you look at my story genres, you'll see that I also put General next to Romance, but for some reason, when I read the story itself, it only shows my first genre. It could be an Internet glitch, but I've yet to confirm it. Just thought I'd let you know, ok? And let me tell you something, bryan mccloud, I don't like it when people tell me off about something, especially the way you told me off on my story, when I put so much effort and imagination into it. If you don't like how I made my chapters, I'll gladly edit them to make them more appealing to you. I also won't be updating, with the holidays coming up, but I'll start working again in January. Until then, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Catch you later!