Well, here's Chapter 4. Not much of an author's note here. I'm currently in the process of rewriting Chapter 2 for both Star Fox: Journey and formerly Star Fox: The Distant Frontier (or TBoSW). It's a pain in the butt, to be honest. But I'm hoping to get them both done ASAP.
Anyways, have a good day/night and enjoy the long awaited Chapter 4 :)
As she walked the dark, empty halls of her grave, Foxy took the time to gather her thoughts and recollections after her deactivation. Unfortunately, whoever ordered the vixen's decommissioning must have also had her data banks wiped. Thankfully, only some things were lost. Foxy knew who she was, what she did, and that dreadful day.
A shudder ran up her metal spine at the memory.
Honestly, Foxy had no idea if she would ever wake up. For someone like her, a forced shutdown is akin to putting down a pet or loved one. Almost. The darkness that slowly crept into her field of vision will forever haunt her. As for the gang, Foxy wondered what had happened to them. Perhaps Freddy had finally retired from the entertainment business like the vixen had been alongside Bonnie and Chica. As for Foxy herself, her thoughts drifted to who her supposed replacement was. She hoped that, whoever they were, they'd bring as much joy as she once did.
And perhaps it was for the best.
A quick once-over of herself showed that the vixen's body wasn't exactly suited for a family-friendly environment. The only articles of clothing to cover Foxy's modesty were now shredded and in tatters. Her breasts, large and perky, peeked through the scraps of the white chest wrap, and her brown pants were torn all over and revealed a mound of flesh with a pink slit between her legs. She was a fully-functional sex toy, and Foxy's mechanical mind couldn't wrap around the inspiration behind such a design. Of course, her previous models were a lot simpler, with little to no attention to detail.
But with today's technological advances, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that some perverted genius would draw up plans to create the world's first-ever sex robot.
The vixen sighed, her posture loosening as her thoughts drifted elsewhere. But a peculiar sound attracted her attention, causing her entire form to perk up.
"Hello! Little boy! If you're down here, say something!"
It was a person! Maybe. Or it could be another animatronic.
The last idea made Foxy shake her head. There was no way humans would allow her kind to integrate into society like that. It would be at the bottom of the social ladder even if they did like in that one film, I, Robot. Still, it was wishful thinking.
Getting back on track, Foxy recognized the voice as belonging to a female, human or otherwise. As for their words, what would a child of all things be doing down in a dreary place like this? It was dark, cold, and wet. Not to mention a little creepy.
The vixen scoffed. Imagine that. An animatronic getting creeped out. That's a first, Foxy thought.
Shaking her head, Foxy paused and took a moment to figure out a course of action. If a child was missing down here, wherever here is, it would be a wise decision to meet up with whoever was looking for them. However, there was the risk that whoever this person was could be a pedophile. In this case, Foxy had to find this child before they did.
CLANG!
Foxy jumped slightly and looked around for the source of her scare. She frowned and shook her head in disappointment. It's only a bloody pipe. It had fallen to the ground from its resting place on top of a wooden crate...
The vixen did a double take and looked again, catching a brief glimpse of what looked like gray hair before disappearing behind the crate. Foxy squinted and began following after it, but the sound of footsteps forced her to make a change of plan, and she instead hid behind a cluster of metal containers. As the footsteps drew closer, she poked her head over the top of the lowest box and watched as a beam of light, followed by what looked like a woman in her early to mid-twenties, came into view.
Again, the vixen squinted, making sure to hide the dim glow of her eyes, as she got a better look at the woman:
She wore a white button-up shirt that appeared strained by her generously-sized chest, a pair of black slacks, and a matching black cap with the words "Security" embroidered across the front.
For a brief moment, Foxy's system went into overdrive as the faint memories of the distant past flooded her vision. A man dressed in a purple security uniform, wielding a bloodied knife, and standing over her friends' broken, mutilated bodies. But she quickly shook her head and pushed the memories aside. That monster was gone for good. Thanks to that kind man - Mike Schmidt, if Foxy recalled correctly - and the gang. Thanks to them, the "Purple Guy" was condemned to live in a fiery pit for eternity.
This woman, the security guard, must've been the one that called out earlier and was looking for the supposed lost child. But what about the 'mysterious grey fur' Foxy saw just a few seconds ago?
She sighed softly to not draw the security guard's attention to her hiding spot and wracked her mechanical brain for ideas. That would have to wait. And so does introducing herself to the woman. Who knows how she'd react to the most famous pirate vixen up and about again? Thankfully, Foxy didn't have to wait long for the former:
The security guard paused and shined her flashlight onto what appeared to be a wolf-like animatronic whose hair had probably seen better days. Her attire consisted of a red crop top, matching shorts that looked too tight for comfort, a spiked collar and belt, purple leg warmers, and a series of markings plastered on her lupine face. The attire and hairstyle made Foxy's mind click as she realized that the wolf's design was supposed to be based on that of 80's pop stars.
As for who this wolf was, the security guard clearly knew her well.
"Roxanne! What are you doing down here? I thought you were supposed to be on lockdown!"
The wolf, Roxanne, gave the security guard an unimpressed look as she replied. "I could ask you the same thing, Vanessa. Minus the lockdown thing, of course."
Vanessa, the security guard, scoffed and placed a hand on her hip. "I'm looking for a lost child who's been running around the place and making it difficult to do my job. And what about you? You didn't answer my question."
Roxanne rolled her eyes indifferently and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm also looking for the kid. I thought I could help since he's a slippery little fella."
Vanessa sighed and shook her head. "Whatever. Just...wait a minute. How did you know he's a boy? I didn't say anything about that."
Foxy watched with curiosity as Roxanne stiffened slightly and fumbled with the words that came out of her mouth: "W-well, I-I'm p-pretty sure I heard say 'little boy' earlier before running into me. S-so I just assumed that our 'unwelcome guest' was a boy."
Again, Vanessa shook her head, barely buying Roxanne's story. Foxy didn't believe it one bit. The wolf was hiding something, for sure. But what, Foxy would find out for herself soon enough.
"Whatever. Listen, since you're up and about and doing fine despite what happened to you and Freddy on stage, why don't you go back to your Green Room and wake up the others. Sans Freddy; he's still recovering. I could use the extra set of eyes and ears to help me find the brat. He's been avoiding me all night, and I don't have time to play hide-and-seek before the Pizzaplex closes."
Roxanne nodded and gave Vanessa a two-fingered salute. "Aye-aye, cap'n. Will do."
Vanessa sighed and said something under her breath that Foxy couldn't quite make out before continuing her sweep of the area. Once she was out of Roxanne's and Foxy's sight, the former sighed in relief before turning around and entering a small room.
Making as little sound as possible, Foxy emerged from her hiding spot and followed after the wolf.
Foxy stuck close to the wall adjacent to the room's entrance, and her ears picked up Roxanne whispering to someone inside:
"But I didn't sell you out, did I? Look, kid. I said I would get you out of this place, and I will. You have my word."
Foxy froze. Her suspicions were correct: Roxanne was hiding the missing child from Vanessa. But why? Was there something that the security guard was hiding as well? The vixen certainly hoped not. Shaking her thoughts aside, she continued listening to the poorly-hushed conversation.
"I have your word?" the child inquired, although his voice was a little deeper for a boy in their youth. "Alright, fine. But if that woman calls me 'little boy' again, I don't care if she catches me; I'll give her a piece of my mind."
Roxanne chuckled. "Easy there, tough guy. I'm sure it was a slip of the tongue."
The boy grumbled under his breath, but Foxy was able to catch, "Little boy, my butt. I'm fifteen, for heaven's sake."
So, the intruder is a teenager, Foxy thought to herself. Perhaps a bit too loud.
"Did you hear that?" the teen asked with slight apprehension.
"Yeah, I did," Roxanne replied.
Foxy mentally cursed and began to back away. However, she wasn't paying attention to what was behind her, and the vixen tripped over a small box, sending her careening backward. She fell to the ground with a loud report of metal on concrete, and the back of her head collided with the floor, short-circuiting her brain for a spell. By the time Foxy recovered, she was discovered by Roxanne and the teenage boy, who looked like he had been living in a dumpster for the past week.
"Who the heck is that?" he asked, a bit rudely for Foxy's taste. As for Roxanne, she stared at the vixen lying on the floor as if she had seen a ghost. The teen looked up at her and donned a concerned expression. "Roxy? What's wrong? Do you know her?"
Slowly, Roxanne nodded her head. "I-I do," she said, her voice straining. "That's Foxy the Pirate, my predecessor."