Escape the Darkness...

Chapter 1

"Damn...You beat me again!'

Falco threw down his controller in contempt. His opponent smiled as he got up and shut down the game system.

"Aw, cheer up, Falco," said Fox as he sat back down and switched the television over to cable, "At least you don't fly like that in real life."

Team StarFox was taking a well earned break at their headquarters in Corneria City. Fox McCloud, the team leader, and his second in command, Falco Lombardi, had just finished playing their latest video game, StarFox: Assault. The game was accurately based on their most recent mission to suppress the Aparoid invasion. The mission had been a stressful one, but in the long run it had brought the team closer together. However, the devastation was very wide-spread. For instance, the team had almost lost their oldest member, Peppy Hare, when he sacrificed the Great Fox to give the team a clear shot at the Aparoid queen. StarFox's oldest rival, Team StarWolf, had been declared missing in action after using themselves as decoys to lead an Aparoid swarm away so the StarFox team could pass. Worst of all, Corneria City had been ravaged by a massive Aparoid armada. During that attack, General Pepper had been badly wounded when his flagship fell under control of the Aparoids. He survived, but ever since then he had been confined to bed rest.

However, all those hardships were behind them now. Corneria City was under heavy reconstruction. Team StarFox had tried to help with the rebuilding, but the head of the Reconstruction team had insisted that they go home and relax. So, here they were. At the moment, Krystal was in the kitchen preparing lunch for the team. It had been so obvious to everyone as soon as they had met her that there was something special between her and Fox. However, it had not become official until after they had returned to HQ. As soon as they had gotten home, Fox proposed to Krystal right on the spot. Krystal had graciously agreed and they had been engaged ever since.

The last member of the team, Slippy Toad, was presently in the garage tinkering with ROB 64, the team's maintenance robot. Slippy built ROB his first day as a mechanic for the Cornerian Air Force (CAF). Fox, who at the time was building a team to avenge his father's death, took an interest in Slippy and his handiwork. Over the years, Slippy has proved worthy of his position in the StarFox team through his various inventions.

After his exploits on the Aparoid mission, Peppy Hare was asked to step for General Pepper. Peppy accepted the job, and took the reigns as General of the Cornerian Air Force.

And so, that brings us back to StarFox HQ. Krystal appeared in the doorway to announce that lunch was ready. "Alright!!" exclaimed Falco, "I'm starving!"

"You're always starving" replied Fox.

Falco gave him a smirk as he bounded through the kitchen door. Fox walked across the room and banged on the garage door.

"Slippy, lunch is ready." he called through the closed door.

Seconds later, after a series of metallic banging and scraping, the door opened and Slippy stumbled out. "Thanks, Fox" he said as he disappeared again behind the kitchen door.

"No problem!" chuckled Fox as he followed Slippy into the kitchen.

Later that evening, everyone was in the living room. Krystal was snuggled up next to Fox on the couch, Falco was sitting in his armchair reading the Cornerian Evening Post, and Slippy was lying on the floor watching the television. Just then, the program was interrupted by a news broadcast.

"Hey!" protested Slippy.

"Shh...quiet a minute" said Fox. Falco put down his newspaper to watch.

"...breaking news update." reported the news anchor, "We here at WCTV have just been informed that three modified Cornerian space fighters have been discovered, abandoned, floating in Sector 6, near the remains of the Aparoid home-world. It has been confirmed that these ships are the property of the notorious StarWolf team. A search is underway to find the missing pilots. If you have any information that may help officials in their search please call the number on your screen. We now join the following program, already in progress..."

Everyone in the room was silent. Slippy even turned off his television show.

"I can't believe it..." said Fox. Wolf O' Donnell was Fox's oldest rival. However, despite their constant dog-fighting, they had worked together in the past to help save the galaxy.

"Come on, Fox." said Falco, "you don't think that StarWolf could actually be defeated by a bunch of measly Aparoids, do you?"

"Falco's right," said Krystal as she wrapped her arms around Fox, "I'm sure Wolf is still alive."

"You're probably right." replied Fox.

"You know..." said Falco. A mischievous grin had spread across his face.

"What's the matter?" asked Fox.

"Well...I was just thinking..." Falco replied, "We could always go investigate, ourselves."

"I don't know" started Fox.

"Aw, come on, Fox!" Slippy cut him off, "There's nothing to do around here! We can't help with construction...there are no new missions...so let's go!"

"It would be a welcome change of pace," added Krystal, "We haven't had a mission in nearly six months."

Fox looked around at the three eager faces of his teammates. "Well...if you all feel that strongly...I suppose we could"

"YES!!" exclaimed Slippy, effectively cutting Fox's speech short again. He jumped up and bolted to the garage, where he immediately started packing all of his tools and gadgets.

"I'll start securing some provisions on board the Great Fox II" said Krystal.

"Awesome!" said Falco, excited, "Fox and I will go get mission clearance from Peppy!"

"Alright, team!" said Fox, starting to get caught up in the excitement of a new mission with the rest of his teammates. "Let's go!"