NOTES: Okay, here's the next chapter. Need I say more? Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Super Smash Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Metroid, or any other franchise mentioned in this story. They all belong to Nintendo, and Super Smash Bros. is also owned by HAL Laboratories.
Chapter 24: Old Rivals
"I know I'm gonna regret this..." muttered Link, mainly to himself as he and Fox sealed themselves inside separate crates. It had been a tight fit with his Mirror Shield and the Master Sword sheathed to his back, but somehow he managed to squeeze into the small cargo crate. He heard a distinct humming sound of working machinery emanate from outside, like the sound of a generator struggling to warm up after a lack of use. Slippy's voice abruptly came though the speakers.
"Okay guys, here we go! ROB just informed me that we're within range. I gotta do this quick so we don't stay in the line of fire for too long, though. Most of the energy I'm using is being diverted from the shield reserves, so if we take a pounding for too long..."
"Whatever Slippy, cut the chatter and just beam us aboard!" yelled Fox from inside his crate, a hint of impatience in his voice. He hated being in enclosed spaces for too long, especially pitch black spaces. Oddly enough though, being in the enclosed cockpit of an Arwing or Landmaster didn't bother him at all.
"Okay, okay! Sheesh, just telling you guys what's going on. Don't have to get all snappy or anything."
For a brief moment Link felt as if his body was being reduced into small cubes as the two crates disappeared in a flash of blue light.
A small impact on metallic flooring alerted Link that they were on solid ground again. Knocking his bow with an arrow, he kicked open the hatch and poked his head out into a large fluorescent cargo bay, expecting some guards. Instead, he found what could have been easily mistaken as a large warehouse. Various boxes and parts stacked to the ceiling towering above him, filling as much space as possible.
The box next to his busted open and Fox jumped out blaster in hand, searching the area briefly. He took a few deep breaths of fresh air, glad to be out of that crate. Link shook his head in amusement and sheathed his sword, also scanning the area.
"No reception committee?" Fox asked as he relaxed slightly, holstering his blaster.
"Apparently not. Guess these guys are used to receiving cargo, though," commented Link, gesturing to the looming stacks of crates around them. He noticed that most seemed like weapon crates, but a few could pass for foodstuffs and other various things.
"Good, we have the element of surprise then," commented Fox as he brought up his PDA. A digital map of the Simian's Wrath materialized in front of him. Suddenly it disappeared and a map of each deck appeared. Two red dots appeared in the bottom floor as Link came closer to it, amazed.
"Goddesses, where can I get one of those? Beats the crappy maps I usually find," said Link with a grin.
"If you want I can have Slippy make one for you once the mission's over. Anyways, here we are in the cargo bay. Those doors over there," he gestured to their right at two purple doors, "will lead us to an elevator. The engine room's about three floors above us at the stern of the ship, so we can use the elevator to get us up there. Hopefully we won't run into many problems."
Link nodded as Fox switched his PDA off, taking out his blaster again as he walked toward the double doors, Link following close behind.
"Watch it Falco! You've got three bogeys on your six!"
Falco jerked his joystick to starboard, pulling off a sharp turn to evade the crimson laser fire behind him. His radar confirmed Krystal's warning: three fighters right on his tail, not letting up on their fire at all.
He maneuvered around a few of Oikonny's capital ships, hoping that their turbolaser fire would accidentally catch one of his pursuers. He did a few barrel rolls to deflect any stray laser fire but his pursuers weren't so lucky.
He boosted away from the three small explosions behind him, blasting away at any of Oikonny's fighters he saw as he regrouped with the rest of his team.
"Star Fox team, report in!" he exclaimed, avoiding more laser fire as he destroyed a stealth ship, taking it apart piece by piece before it was destroyed in a fiery explosion.
"Krystal here. I've taken some damage on my port side wing, but other than that everything's still functioning normally."
"Slippy reporting in. Fox and Link are on Oikonny's flagship now, so I'm joining the group now. Everything's green across the board, by the way."
"Good, hopefully they'll be done soon. Till then guys, we need to help keep these fighters off the capital ships," said Falco.
"Great Fox is joining the other cruisers defending Venom. Sorry everyone, but I can't cover you. You'll mostly be on your own from here on out," said Peppy.
"That's fine. Scrap my earlier plan; Star Fox team, let's penetrate the enemy's lines and give Link and Fox some cover!"
Two acknowledgement lights blinked green in the corner of his viewscreen as he switched off the radio. He sighed to himself as he watched the battles around him.
'Man, all this time since I first joined I've been waiting to lead the Star Fox team myself. Now that I'm actually doing it though...well I just feel so unprepared. Man, I don't know how Fox does it sometimes.'
"Two more enemies on your six, Falco!" said Peppy over the radio as he felt two lasers pierce through his shields. He swore as he broke into a dive, evading more of Oikonny's capital ships. Turbolaser fire started being directed towards him as he passed various cruisers, avoiding increasing volumes of laser fire. He swore again as his Arwing grazed the tip of a laser blast.
"Do a barrel roll!" yelled Peppy.
"Whatever..." Falco said as he shut off the radio.
'Doesn't that old fart realize how annoying that is? God, he never shuts up!'
Link sliced through another foe while Fox shredded through the two remaining ruffians with his machine gun as they ran down the narrow hallway, searching for the last elevator.
Blaster fire met them as they rounded the next corner. Link brought up his Mirror Shield quickly in defense while Fox activated his reflector. It absorbed a few hits before dying completely. Fox cursed and continued firing, evading blaster fire.
"Quick, back around that corner Link!" he yelled.
The two warriors doubled back around the corner they had rounded moments before as more lasers threatened to pierce their hides. Fox fired off more shots from his machine gun while Link covered him with his Mirror Shield, reflecting any stray shots back at the growing number of guards. Fox cursed as he ducked back behind the corner, slapping another magazine into his machine gun.
"Damn, there're just too many of them! I ran out of grenades when we blasted a hole through the last floor, and now I've just realized I have only one more magazine left for my machine gun. Not to mention my reflector's totally fried now, shit!"
Link nodded in reassurance, having used up most of his magic power. But suddenly he got an idea. A small smirk materialized on his lips.
"Cover me."
"Wait, what?"
Link gave no response as he attached a bomb to one of his arrows, making sure the rope was tight enough to hold it. He lit the fuse and knocked the arrow.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Just shut up and shoot!"
Link poked his head around the wall and aimed his bow while Fox fired off more rounds from his machine gun. The Hylian licked his lips as he locked on.
'Three seconds till it explodes...'
He let the arrow fly. Lasers continued hitting the wall as Fox fired at anything that moved.
'Two seconds...'
One of the soldiers stopped firing and pointed at the strange projectile. Link grabbed Fox and leaped behind the wall again.
'One...'
The lasers stopped firing completely.
Link was disgusted at what he saw, but ignored it as he approached the last elevator that led to the engine room. Fox stood where he was, flabbergasted. Realizing his partner wasn't there, Link turned around and saw Fox's face.
"What?" he asked.
"Uh, nothing. Just let me know sooner next time if you're gonna pull off something like that again."
Link shrugged as he boarded the elevator, Fox close behind.
'Man, there's just no end to these guys!'
Every time Falco got even close to Oikonny's flagship, he had to double back due to the turbolaser fire surrounding it. Falco had his team form up again behind the Cornerian capital ships.
"Crap, I can't even get close! Especially with all this turbolaser fire!"
"I've taken some more damage, but somehow my ship's holding up," said Slippy.
"That's actually surprising to me, Slip. Not to mention you haven't called out for help yet."
"Yeah., well I've been spending some more time in the simulator, so..."
"You know what? I don't care right now. Anyways, how's the fleet holding up Peppy?"
"Unfortunately we've lost over half the fleet. But the good news is that the enemy's down to their last line of defense. At this rate, we actually might be able to win!"
"Good, keep at it. How're you holding up Krystal?"
All Falco heard was static from her end.
"Uh, Krystal?"
Still no response. Falco glanced over at her Arwing, but couldn't see through the cockpit window.
"Krystal, you okay over there?"
Suddenly Krystal's voice screamed through the radio.
"Everybody scatter! Now!"
All three ships boosted away from where they were, when a nova bomb went off. Falco glanced back at where he was a moment ago, his heart in his chest.
"Is everyone okay?"
Two acknowledgement lights winked green on his viewscreen. The avian breathed a sigh of relief and turned around again to look at the site where the bomb had detonated.
'Where did that bomb come from?'
Alarms started blazing in his cockpit as blast after blast hit his shields. The last blast ate through them and scorched his hull. Falco cursed and accelerated toward the source of the lasers. Three Wolfens came blazing out of Venom's sole sun. Falco's radio burst to life.
"If I were you Star Fox, I'd count my blessings that we sent that bomb as a warning."
"Great, as if I didn't need any other problems, Star Wolf shows up..." muttered Falco as he turned to face the incoming Wolfens, Slippy and Krystal regrouping with him as they charged together, lasers blazing.
"Peh, you fools are as pathetic as ever. I wonder sometimes why we even consider you guys our rivals. Especially you, Falco."
"Shut it, Leon. If it's a fight you want, we'll give you one!"
Krystal's Arwing started a dogfight with the only Wolfen marked with a rose. Falco didn't guess to know who that was.
"Ah, despite the chaos love manages to bloom on the battlefield, eh Krystal?"
Falco heard Krystal mutter something incoherent under her breath.
"I've already told you Panther, I'm not interested. Fox is the only one for me!"
Panther Corosco snickered, playing with a rose in his paw as he tracked Krystal's Arwing. "Awh...how touching..." he mocked.
"Shut up, Panther. Anyways, speaking of that weakling Fox, where is he? I have a score to settle with that pup, not to mention a reward to collect for his hide once this is all over."
Falco performed a somersault and got Leon Polwalski in his sights, but the lizard pulled off a sharp U-Turn before Falco could fire off any shots.
"So you're all working for Oikonny, then? Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Yeah, but not because we're buddies or anything. Believe me, I'd toast that double-crossing asshole right now if I got the chance, but we're all being paid handsomely for eliminating you all. Now I'll ask nicely one more time, Lombardi: Where is Fox?"
Falco gritted his teeth as his ship absorbed more laser fire from Leon's Wolfen.
"I don't know, why don't you ask Oikonny? Link and Fox should have found him by now."
"He better not have, because if he doesn't show up in the next ten minutes I'm killing you all! He's the only one worthy enough to fight me, and he knows it. His team will pay the price if he decides to be a coward!"
Falco cursed to himself and switched off his radio. Hopefully, Fox is hearing this.
'Dammit! With Leon all over me and Great Fox backing up the fleet, I can't do anything to help Slippy or Krystal! Fox, if you can somehow hear me, please get out here soon!'
The gentle elevator music did little to ease the minds of the two Smashers that waited patiently as the elevator made its way up to the engine room. Fox stowed away the machine gun in his travel pack and brought out his trusty blaster instead, fully charged and ready for use. Link drew the Master Sword and his Mirror Shield, which so far had proved invaluable against the enemy's laser defenses.
'Hmm, guess ancient weapons still stand a chance in the future...' Link thought silently to himself.
The duo prepared themselves as the elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened. Neither of them knew what to expect when those double doors opened.
"Engine Room, Level 3," the cool, female elevator voice said.
The doors slowly opened and already Fox had his blaster drawn, searching for any attackers while Link brought the Mirror Shield up in a defensive posture.
Immediately the two felt the heat of the engines, the generators spinning rapidly to accommodate for the ship's massive size. There were no technicians or robots around, not even one guard. Satisfied, the two slightly relaxed and ran across to the main generator, the largest one of the bunch. Fox set down his backpack and took out the C4 he had earlier, connecting the explosives together as Link watched with interest. Once finished with the wiring, Fox set the timer for thirty minutes before hitting the switch.
"There, that should give us enough time to grab a ship and get outta here before it explodes."
Link nodded and turned around to leave when he saw a blade heading straight for them.
"Move!" yelled Link as he pushed Fox out of the way, narrowly missing the blade as it circled around and returned to its owner. Link and Fox slowly rose from where they were and looked up to see a figure holding two crescent laser blades.
"Hmm, guess you're as quick as my master said, Link. Good, I always love a challenge!" He laughed as they rose, drawing their weapons.
"What happened, Oikonny? I thought you wanted to emulate your uncle! Last time I fought him he didn't like to use blades," Fox taunted as he charged his blaster. Oikonny gave him a death look before continuing.
"Say what you will, McCloud. Soon I'll rule the Lylat System and find a way to bring back my one and only emperor and uncle, Andross!"
"Shut it, Oikonny! Last I checked, our fleet was winning, especially now since my team is helping them out."
"Really..." Oikonny said with an evil smile as he keyed a few commands into his comlink, "...then perhaps you haven't had contact with them recently. Recognize who's fighting with them?"
Static filled the air briefly before voices could be heard over the radio.
"...Falco, we can't keep this up! We need Fox here before Wolf kills us all!"
Fox tensed when he heard an explosion and Krystal's scream of pain.
"I know, but we've got to keep fighting these guys, or else they'll open a hole wide enough for Oikonny to invade Venom!" yelled Falco's voice amidst laser fire.
"Stop your squabbling, Lombardi! I want McCloud out here now or else I'll kill each and every one of you. And if you're listening to this, McCloud, I'm giving you five more minutes before I kill your team members. So if you know what's good for you, I'd suggest you come join the party."
"Hey boss, I lost that stupid toad. Where'd he go?"
"Who cares? We still got Fox's girlfriend and best friend here, so keep firing at them. I mean it, five more minutes and then I'm through playing games!" yelled Wolf though the comm. channel.
Oikonny switched off the radio as Fox rolled his hands into tight fists. Oikonny erupted into more laughter.
"You see? I've got the upper hand here! As long as I can keep you here, there's nothing you can do to save them, Fox! Now, prepare to die!"
Fox moved to unsheathe Krystal's staff when Link put a hand up in front of him.
"Fox, I'll handle this guy. Get out of here and go save your team!"
Fox started to protest but closed his mouth and gave Link a brief smile in thanks. Link nodded as Fox made a run for it, running full speed toward the elevator doors. Oikonny tossed another one of his blades at the mercenary but it was knocked off course by one of Link's arrows as Fox disappeared inside the elevator.
Cursing, Oikonny retrieved his blade and brought them both to bear on Link. The Hero of Time readied the Mirror Shield and Master Sword in a ready stance. Oikonny brought his blades forward, sliding one off the other.
I hope you know what you're doing, boy. Thanks to my new master, I've gained powers far beyond anything my uncle Andross could have given me!"
Link swung the Master Sword in front of him before bringing it to rest behind him, holding his shield out.
"I don't care how powerful you think you are, trust me; you're nothing but small time compared to Ganondorf, whom I'm guessing is your new master."
Oikonny rushed at him, blades held high as Link ran at him with his sword and shield glimmering in the darkness of the engine room.
Thankfully the next chapter will be closing off this arc. Yay! Then I can start something new with this story. At the same time I'm posting this chapter, I'm also posting a new story, which I will be working on at the same time I'm working on LAH. It's called Heart of Steel, so check it out if you're interested. With summer comes more time to write fan fiction, so expect more updates in the future. Thanks for reading like always and review if you can!