Chapter 12: Stand Alone
(Cornerian Streets)
Fox dashed down the crowded streets, searching for the first address on the list.
167…166…165…finally! 164 Consin Street!
Fox impatiently rapped his fist against the door of the building. Within seconds, a woman in a green dress appeared at the door. She was a kangaroo. She stared at Fox with a confused look sitting upon her face.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Sorry to bother you ma'am, but have you received a package anytime today?" Fox asked.
"Yes, I received a clock, why?"
"Ma'am, it's a matter of grave importance, but I'm going to need to take the clock." Fox said sternly.
"Why should I give you my clock? I paid for it and everything!" the kangaroo said defensively.
Fox, getting aggravated, showed the kangaroo the StarFox Emblem.
"I'm Fox McCloud of Team StarFox. Now, if you get me that clock, I'll show you why it's so important!"
The kangaroo merely glanced at the emblem, then immediately rushed back inside the house. After a moment, she returned lugging a beautifully crafted clock.
"Thank you." Fox said as she handed it to him.
He looked around the outside of the clock, looking for the chip like the one in Private Ian's lamp. He didn't find anything, so he proceeded with cracking it open.
As Fox began cracking the clock open, the kangaroo gasped.
"What are you doing!?" she demanded as Fox continued to force his way to the interior of the clock.
"I'll…show you…in a…minute!" Fox said, pulling the clock entirely apart. "I don't have time for subtleties!"
Fox looked around inside the clock. On the back of the clock face, Fox found the chip. He took it off, then showed it to the kangaroo.
"This is why I did what I did." Fox said, raising the chip up to the kangaroo line of sight. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to find about seventeen more of these."
"Wait, what can that little thing do?" the kangaroo called after him.
"Destroy worlds." Fox yelled back. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're compensated for the clock."
(Outside the Montoya Shipping Company)
Falco and the others dashed down the street, hoping to meet up with Fox.
"Hey, Slips, how far away is the first stop?" Katt asked between breaths.
"Two blocks from here." Slippy said, checking his wrist radar.
"Damn it! Why'd we leave our Arwings with that jackass!?" Falco asked angrily.
As he asked that, a shadow leapt from behind them. Falco saw the shadow on the ground, then turned around to catch a cloaked figure's raised arm. The figure was holding a knife in his hand, and he was aiming for Falco's chest. Falco managed to catch a glimpse at an insignia upon the knife, a hand with an eye in the center. He glanced down at the figures cloak, the same insignia on the knife rested upon the right part of the chest.
"It's more of them!!!" Falco gasped out, struggling with the figure still.
As the team watched Falco wrestle with his attacker, another cloaked figure jumped from fire-escape to fire-escape. As it neared the group, it made a shrieking lunge, drawing a similar knife as the first figure. Katt saw the figure dive, and countered with a reverse-kick. Her foot slammed into the solar plexus of the figure, causing it to go limp. When it's feet touched the ground, it quickly recoiled back into a fighting stance. It took the knife in its hand as it pulled its hood down, revealing the face of a bat. She hissed at the group, readying the knife for an attack. Falco, however, felt a slight decrease in the pressure the first cloaked figure had pressed against him. He took the opportunity to shift his stance, forcing his back into the creature's gut, tearing his knife arm downward. The creature flipped over Falco's shoulder, inevitably crashing into the bat. Stunned, the creatures attempted to regain their composure. Falco dashed over to the two cloaked figures, pulling the bat onto her feet. As she regained her senses, Falco started swinging at her. She quickly dodged his left hook, which missed her abdomen by centimeters.
"Krystal, Katt, go after Fox!!! Slippy and I'll keep these guys busy!!!" Falco yelled. "Fox is going to need help to gather all of these devices before they set them off!" Falco added, ducking a knife swing aimed at his head as he did so.
"Right!" Katt said, dragging Krystal behind her by the wrist. Krystal watched Falco battle it out with his opponent for a moment longer. Her attention then turned to the second figure, rising up from the ground, then to Slippy, who had just found a device settled in his backpack. She then turned around, pushing her teammates from her thoughts.
They'll be fine. Right now, we have to stop those devices from activating!
(756 Shopping District)
Fox rushed to the next address on the list. The list took him down to the shopping district, specifically, to an antique shop.
"Sir, did you happen to receive a package today?" Fox asked again. The owner of the antique shop was a panda.
"Yes, I did. Why?" the panda asked.
"May I inspect it? We have a reason to believe that something's wrong with it." Fox explained.
"One moment, please." the panda said, going back to the interior of the shop.
This is taking way too long…I'm gonna need a faster way to do this…
"Here we are, everything I received today." the panda said, wheeling out a cart of antiques.
"Wait! You received all of these today!?" Fox asked, looking down at the cart. There had to be more than twenty different pieces staring back at him.
"Yes, today was delivery day." the panda explained.
"Well, did you receive any of these from a Jatrian shipping company!?
"I…think so. I can't quite remember." the panda said, looking quizzically down at the pile of antiques. "Ah, it was this one. The Jatrian lamp. I remember now, it has specific details in the carvings, carved only by one artist on all of Jatria."
"Great, can I see it then?" Fox asked.
"Upfront, I'll need it upfront." the panda said, holding his hand out.
"Excuse me?"
"I can't just let you take my lamp! You need to pay for it first. Otherwise, you could damage it or run off with it." the panda listed.
Fox took out the emblem again, showing it to the panda.
"This is a matter of Cornerian security, so I need that lamp!" Fox commanded.
"You'll get it when you pay for it." The panda said indignantly.
"I don't have time for this crap!" Fox said, grabbing the lamp. He jumped to the sidewalk, dashing down the street.
"Hey! Stop! Thief!" the panda called after him.
Why must everyone be so difficult!?
(Outside Montoya Shipping)
Falco dodged another swing from the bat's knife, retreating backwards down the sidewalk. He continued to look for a way to take down his opponents, but he couldn't see any weaknesses.
Every time I knock them down, they just get right back up! There's gotta be a way to take them out!
"Slippy! These guys are being controlled like the citizens on Jatria, right?" Falco asked, sidestepping another swing, countering with a sweep kick. The bat fell to the ground, collapsing like a puppet without strings. After a second, she was standing again, ready to continue her assault.
Slippy, in the meantime, was busy dodging the bat's companion. Slippy had his scanner out, holding it up to his opponent first, then to the bat. After a second, the scanner produced a result.
"Yep, they have the same brainwaves as before." Slippy confirmed. "It seems stronger than before, though."
"Can you do anything about it!?" Falco called out, catching the bat's arm mid-swing. He gripped her wrist with his right hand, then pulled, slamming the bat's face into his left elbow. She staggered back, then resumed her battle stance.
"Yeah, one sec." Slippy said, fiddling with another device, reminiscent of a radio. While he was distracted, the bat's companion charged at him. Slippy waddled off to the left, the attack barely missing him. "Here we go!"
Slippy pressed a button on the device, sending out a strange sound. The bat and her companion dropped to the ground, clutching their ears. After a moment, they fell completely unconscious.
"What was that?" Falco asked as he reclined against a nearby wall.
"It's a jamming device. I set it to the frequency of their brainwave patterns and set it on reverse. They should be fine when they wake up." Slippy explained.
"Ok, let's go after the others now." Falco said.
"Ok…wait! I got something on my radar! It's producing a bunch of the mind control signals!" Slippy said pointing forward while staring at his communicator. "There!!"
Falco followed Slippy's finger to the cargo van. It was driving down the street, heading towards them.
"What's it doing back on this side of town!?" Falco asked, perplexed by their luck. He started towards the street the van was on, planning to intercept it.
"Isn't it on the list?" Slippy asked.
Falco checked the list. He saw the original line cutting through all of Corneria, then noticed four dots framing the entire city.
"Here we go. We overlooked these ones." Falco said as he stepped onto the sidewalk of the van's street.
Falco waited until the van was about a couple feet away, then started sprinting alongside it. Slippy started running behind him as well, although he was unable to keep up with his short legs. Falco kept up his speed, then grabbed the door handle, opening it in the process.
"Get out, jackass!" Falco demanded, jumping into the van. As he settled on the passenger seat, the driver punched him in the face. When Falco recovered from the blow, he turned the steering wheel to the far left, causing the van to veer left as well. The driver struggled to correct the van. While he did so, Falco smashed his forearm into his neck, pinning the driver against the seat. Falco then used his free arm to open the driver's door.
Slippy, unable to keep up with the van, looked for an easier way to catch up. He found a shortcut between two buildings. He dashed through it, preparing to intercept the van when it turned the next corner.
Falco, his arm still pressed against the driver's neck, unbuckled his seat belt next. As he did so, the driver elbowed him in his exposed ribcage. Falco's arm dropped away from the driver's neck as he gasped in pain. The driver then attempted to shove Falco out of the open passenger door. Falco fell out, clutching the seat belt before he fell out entirely. As he dangled out the door, the driver took a sharp turn to the right, hoping it would shake Falco off. Falco pulled himself up before he was flung off.
"That's it, I'm PISSED!!!!" Falco said. He put his left leg up and kicked the driver in the hip, shoving him out the open door. Falco slid into his seat and started driving the van. He saw Slippy emerge from between two buildings and stopped the van. "Get in!"
Slippy did as he was told, not wanting to mess with Falco after he saw what he did to the driver.
"Ok, now to find the others!" Falco said. "Slippy, can you find them?"
"Already looking." Slippy said, fiddling with his communicator.
(164 Consin Street)
Katt and Krystal reached the first stop on the list. They knocked on the door, impatiently waiting for the resident to respond. A couple of seconds later, a kangaroo opened the door.
"Now what?" the kangaroo sighed.
"Did a fox come here before?" Krystal asked.
"Yes, and he broke my clock." the kangaroo explained.
"Do you know where he went!?" Katt asked, figuring that Fox already got the first chip.
"He went down the street, that way." the kangaroo said, pointing down the street.
"Thank you." Krystal said as the two went back to the sidewalk. The kangaroo merely closed the door.
After a couple of moments of jogging, Krystal and Katt could hear yelling coming from in front of them.
"You don't think the device activated already, do you!?" Krystal asked Katt. Katt shook her head.
"They couldn't of. Could they?" Katt asked aloud.
"When they neared the source of the yelling, they saw a panda yelling down the street, waving his fist at a figure off in the distance.
"Sir, why are you yelling?" Katt asked quickly.
"That conniving fox stole my merchandise!" the panda growled angrily, still staring down the street.
"Thank you." Katt said, grabbing Krystal who was still watching the panda.
"Thank you for what?" the panda wondered.
"C'mon Krystal! It's Fox!" Katt said, as they sprinted down the street.
(City Outskirts)
Patrick Henson struggled into an upright position. He clutched his arm, feeling a stinging pain. In a robotic motion, he gripped it, then twisted it, which made a hollow cracking noise. He didn't even flinch as he did so. He rotated his arm, popping it back into its socket. Blood dripped down from his lip, but he disregarded it entirely. He pulled out a device from his pocket, a cylindrical tube with a red button on top. He pressed it, letting himself fall back to the ground, his assignment complete.
(Shopping District)
Fox continued rushing down the street. He could hear the panda barking still, but it seemed to get softer and softer as he continued to run. Then, it stopped entirely. He turned around, seeing two small figures standing in front of the source of the noise. He disregarded it, probably some citizens asking why the panda's yelling.
Gotta get the rest of the devices!
As he continued to jog, a face popped up onto his communicator.
"Fox? Fox? You there? Fox?" the voice called over and over again.
"Slippy! Where are you guys!? Are you all ok!?" Fox asked, relieved to hear from someone familiar.
"Hey, Fox! Did Katt and Krystal reach you yet!?" another voice called out from the communicator.
"No, why? Aren't they with you?" Fox asked.
"No. We split up after we were ambushed. They went after you." Falco explained. "Where are you anyway?"
"I'm in the shopping district. At the intersection of Rucon and Jisenth. I just stole this panda's lamp." Fox said, looking at the lamp still cradled in his arms.
"Nice, we stole the cargo van." Falco grinned.
"WHAT!? You got the van!?" Fox exclaimed.
"Oh yeah. Hey, I can see you now. I'll pull up."
As Fox looked around for the van, he could hear voices other than the panda calling towards him. He turned to see two figures running towards him, one wearing dark blue, the other wearing orange. As they got closer, he recognized the outline of the one wearing dark blue.
"Krystal!" Fox called out.
"Fox!" he heard the blue figure call out. He waved to the figures, glad to see everyone had made it out of the dogfight safely. As he waved, a small red light began blinking inside the lamp.
(Rucon Street)
Falco drove the van according to Slippy's instructions, turning on to Rucon Street.
"You sure you got that thing working right?" Falco asked, looking around for any sign of his comrades.
"Yeah, they're going to be on our right. Look, I'll call Fox right now." Slippy said, activating his communicator. "Fox? Fox? You there? Fox?"
"Slippy! Where are you guys!? Are you all ok!?" another voice returned on the communicator.
Falco grabbed Slippy's arm and pulled it over to him.
"Hey, Fox! Did Katt and Krystal reach you yet!?" Falco asked, still looking around for any sign of them.
"No, why? Aren't they with you?" Fox asked.
"No. We split up after we were ambushed. They went after you." Falco explained. He looked down at the radar on Slippy's communicator, next to transmission screen. He noticed a blinking yellow arrow getting closer to their position. "Where are you anyway?"
"I'm in the shopping district. At the intersection of Rucon and Jisenth. I just stole this panda's lamp." Fox said.
"Nice, we stole the cargo van." Falco said triumphantly.
"WHAT!? You got the van!?" Fox asked, surprise in his voice.
"Oh yeah." Falco grinned, still pleased with his victory. He then saw the figure of Fox as he passed a building. "Hey, I can see you now. I'll pull up."
"Um, Falco?" Slippy said as Falco disconnected the link.
"What, Slippy?" Falco said, turning to his teammate. He noticed Slippy looking to the back of the van, pointing his free arm to the back. His arm was shivering. Falco looked back. Several objects in the back of the van had several red spots blinking on them. Falco just stared.
"Ugh. DAMN IT!"
(Shopping District)
Katt and Krystal rushed towards the figure ahead of them. Luckily for the two girls, the figure had stopped moving. After a moment, Krystal heard the figure call out.
"Krystal!" the figure called, waving one arm in the air.
"Fox!" Krystal called back. She started running faster, glad to see Fox again. As she ran towards him, she noticed he had an object in his arms.
That must be the thing he took from the panda.
As she ran up a staircase to where Fox was, she noticed a glint coming from the lamp. As she neared, horror ran through her. The glint became a blinking red light, coming from inside the lamp.
Katt then started clutching her head, a pulse now resonating in the back of her mind.
Krystal saw Katt stop but grabbed her by the wrist to keep her going.
"Are you ok?" Krystal asked as she continued to drag her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little light-headed from all this running." Katt laughed, unconvincingly.
Katt's condition worried Krystal. And to further her distress, she noticed the cargo van pull up behind Fox.
"FOX!!!" Krystal called out. "Look behind you!!"
Fox turned around, looking at the van. As Krystal and Katt ran up to Fox, a figure emerged from the van. It ran up to Fox and took the lamp from his grasp. It then retreated back inside the van and drove away. As the van drove away, the two girls caught up to Fox.
"Fox, what just happened?" Krystal asked, relieved that the lamp was nowhere near Fox now, but concerned about the figure in the van that just took it.
"I don't know. But I intend to find out!" Fox said, pulling his communicator up. He dialed upon it as he dashed down the street. "C'mon, we have to get to Falco!" Fox called back to the two.
"Falco? Where is he?" Katt asked.
"He's in the van!" Fox yelled.
(Rucon Street)
Falco pulled up behind Fox, who was looking in the opposite direction. He jumped out of the van, and ran up to him.
"Sorry, Fox!" Falco said, pulling the lamp from his grasp. He went back inside the van and returned to the driver seat. He stamped his foot on the acceleration, making the van charge forward.
"Falco? What're you doing!?" Slippy asked, turning around in his seat to watch Fox get farther and farther away.
"Slippy, can you jam these things like you did before!?" Falco asked anxiously.
"Uh, I think so?" Slippy said, considering his options.
"Not just these ones! All of them!? In the entire city!?" Falco demanded. A call came up upon his communicator, but he disregarded it. He needed to focus.
"I should be able to…I just need enough energy to get it going."
"HOW MUCH!?" Falco yelled at him.
"The van's battery should be enough! Plug this into the cigarette lighter!" Slippy said, pulling a cord out of his jammer device. Falco took one hand off the steering wheel and took the cord. He plugged it into the lighter as instructed.
"How long's this gonna take!?" Falco asked.
"I don't know!" Slippy said, frantically inputting controls.
"Well, we're getting these devices out of here!" Falco said, stepping down on the acceleration all the way.
He drove out into traffic, ignoring all the lights. He neared the city outskirts after three minutes.
"C'mon Slippy! How much longer!?" Falco roared.
Slippy just frantically input commands into the jammer.
"And…this…should…do it!!!" Slippy said finally, activating the jammer. Another sound rang out from the jammer, coming at a more frequent rate than the first time it activated.
"Is it working!?" Falco asked Slippy. Falco turned to Slippy, who was staring at the back of the van. Falco noticed a constant red glow reflect in his eyes. He turned to the back himself, just as the devices exploded.
(Rucon Street)
Fox, Krystal, and Katt all dashed down the sidewalk, following the figure of the van. It was a good twenty feet in front of them.
"How the hell did Falco get the van!?" Katt asked aloud.
"I don't know, but he took the device that was in that lamp!" Fox answered.
"Is Slippy with him?" Krystal asked.
"I think so. He was when I talked to him."
"You think the devices got to him?" Katt asked, worry in her voice now.
"I don't think they did. He sounded like himself when he took the lamp." Fox said.
He looked forward, the van was speeding down a straightaway. Fox looked around for something he could use, they were losing ground fast. He noticed a nearby bike, much like the one Falco used when they chased after Slippy. He ran up to it, kicking its wire panel open in one swift motion. He bent down, hotwiring the bike immediately. He jumped on, followed by Krystal and Katt.
"Hold on!" Fox said as he sped down the straightaway the van followed.
"How are we going to find them now?" Katt asked from the back of the bike, holding on to Krystal.
"Because of that." Fox said, indicating the car pileups ahead of them. Fox weaved through the pileup, continuing forward. "He's heading for the city outskirts!" Fox concluded.
Fox pushed the bike to its maximum speed. Krystal and Katt struggled to hold on. After a minute, the van returned to view.
"There he is!" Fox exclaimed. The girls squinted as the wind blew in their faces, catching only a small glimpse of the van. Fox leaned forward on the bike, willing it to go faster. As he did so, he noticed a sound echoing through the rows of buildings.
"Fox. What's that sound?" Krystal asked from behind him, hearing the noise as well.
"That's a jamming signal!" Katt answered for Fox. "That's gotta be Slippy doing it!" Katt said happily.
"So the devices are deactivated the-" Fox started asking. He pulled the bike to a stop as a blast of air rushed by them. A ball of fire sat in front of them where the van was. The three upon the bike could only gape in awe at what they had just seen.
"Falco…Slippy?" Fox said in a murmur. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
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Author's Notes: Damn! That took forever. If this chapter sounds rushed, I apologize. I just really want to move on. I'm getting really antsy for this part that's coming up. Yes, I actually have a plan for what I'm writing for now, sort of. I'll probably BS in some more stuff somewhere in there. So yeah, battle royale, plus some uncooperative city folk. Just like N.Y.C! So yeah, ASPLOSION! The plot thickens…and did I mention asplosion? So yeah. We'll see what happens next chapter. Now for reviews!
Reviews:
You guys are getting better at reviewing, getting them in within one day! I'm impressed.
-theXbeat08 2008-12-29 . chapter 10
Great chapter, as usual. Few if any errors...oh, maybe you were missing a quotation mark or something?
Only Fox would act that jumpy. Poor guy's been through alot! But I think the dogfight at the end was good, you said you didn't even mean to put that in? You should do that more often.
Keep it up! This just keeps getting better!
Good luck!
theXbeat08
-theXbeat08 2008-12-29 . chapter 11
I'm not weird by doing two reviews, I swear! I just wanna do both.
Another excellent chapter! The part with the Lab guy was really funny. Oh, and Stumpy and all them. You make Starfox sound like policemen, flipping their badges at everybody.
Nice hanger, too. Now I REALLY wanna know what happens next!
Good luck!
theXbeat08
Thank you for the compliments again! Glad to see you enjoy this story. Go ahead and do two reviews, you wouldn't be the only one. And I suppose a missing quotation mark is the only problem that is possible. I proofread each chapter before posting it, so I get rid of most of the mistakes during that process. And yeah, Fox goes through a lot of stuff, and there's gonna be more stuff for him to be pessimistic about in future chapters as well! Hint, hint. And this chapter had a lot more stuff improvised in as well. Those two shady figures from last chapter were improvised, and most of the cargo van in this chapter was also improvised. Glad you enjoyed the Lab part as well. And yeah, people respect the blaster, but they respect the StarFox Emblem even more. Hooray for more cliffhangers!!! Oh, and btw, I read that story where you have a crazy talkshow, and I got an idea from it. You might recognize it in one of the oncoming chapters, hope you don't mind. And by oncoming, I mean, like, 32 chapters from now. Totally serious about that. Here's to another chapter!
-paranoidsocialclub 2008-12-30 . chapter 11
Well, I didn't get the movie reference, but I enjoyed the chapter. More innocent locals falling victim to the mind control, topped off with a cliff hanger. I wonder what those stalkers are doing? Well, I'll have to wait to find out. The secret to the quick reviews is: No life. I'm constantly on the internet. Well, cheers!
~PSC~ (Who gave up on the 3'rd person thing)
The movie/book reference was from the Princess Bride! "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die." Sorry, I just finished reading it and everybody loves that line. Yep, mind control abounds. That's the "Mind's" favorite way to terrorize people. More on that later. And I appreciate the quick reviews. Hooray for no lives! If you've given up on the 3rd person thing, then you should totally try 2nd PERSON!!!! Here's to another chapter!