Chapter 16: Search Engine
The team awoke, each one filing into the living area. Peppy was already making breakfast for them when they arrived, feeling he had to do his part for the team. He quickly set the table, making sure everything was ready.
"Morning, everyone. Ready for today?" Peppy asked, setting food onto everyone's plates.
"As ready as we'll ever be." Fox said, sitting down at the table.
"It's going to come anyway, whether we're ready or not." Falco said, crossing his arms. "But, yeah, let's do this."
"That's the spirit, Falco!" Slippy said happily.
"Meh."
"Ok, everyone, eat up!" Peppy said with vigor, finishing passing out the food.
The team did as told, finishing everything. Fox gave the team five minutes to gather their belongings. He already had his, so he went down to the hangars to prep the Arwings. Peppy and ROB went down with him.
"Hey, ROB, did you stock the Arwings with fuel cells like I asked?" Fox asked, checking all the meters on his Arwing.
"Affirmative. All Arwings have full fuel cell tanks." ROB stated. Fox finished checking his Arwing and moved on to Krystal's.
"Hey, Peppy. Check Slippy's Arwing for me, would ya?" Fox asked, calling out from Krystal's Arwing.
"Sure thing, Fox." Peppy said, going over to Slippy's Arwing.
"How much longer till we reach the Defense Outpost, ROB?" Fox asked the robot.
"Estimated time: 17 minutes." ROB responded. As he said that, Falco walked into the hangars.
"Checking everybody's ship?" Falco called up to Fox.
"Yeah. We don't want any malfunctions while we're out there." Fox called out, jumping from Krystal's Arwing. "You feeling ok now, Falco?"
"Loads better! Not a single scratch on me!" Falco laughed, a huge, cocky grin on his face. After he said that, Krystal, Katt, and Slippy walked into the hangars. Fox went up to greet them.
"Everybody have everything they need? We can't go back inside until we're done." Fox reminded them.
"Yep! All set!" Slippy said excitedly.
"All right, everyone head to your ships then." Fox commanded, heading to his own Arwing. "I didn't have time to check your ships, so just make sure everything is in order before you head out." Fox said, indicating Katt and Falco.
"Alright, Foxy." Katt said, heading to her Cat's Paw.
"It's like he's trying to get rid of us." Falco joked, jumping into his Arwing.
"Just shut up and let's get going." Fox commanded, glaring at Falco through the communicator.
"Aye-Aye, Leader!" Falco saluted back.
"Ok, Peppy. We're heading out now. We'll signal you whether or not the Outpost entrance is safe or not." Fox informed Peppy.
"Alright, then. Talk to you guys then." Peppy said, waving. He watched as the Arwings filed out of the hangar one-by-one. "Alright, ROB. Let's go get the medical wing ready. We're gonna need all the space we get."
"Affirmative." ROB said, following after Peppy.
(Outside the Great Fox)
Fox led the group of ships out into open space. When the G-Diffusor stabilized, he boosted forward, the rest of the team following after him.
"The Defense Outpost should be coming up ahead of us." Fox informed the rest of the group.
"All I see is space." Falco said, sounding bored.
"Wait, I see something. Over there!" Krystal said, boosting towards a section of space. The rest of the team followed after her.
"What is it, Krystal?" Fox asked, braking in the middle of space.
"Over there. See? It's blocking out the light from the stars." Krystal said, turning her Arwing towards a black void. The black expanse slowly came closer and closer, continuing to block out stars. After several moments, a prism revealed itself.
"There it is!" Slippy announced.
"Thank you for stating the obvious, Slippy." Falco sighed.
"Where's that entrance we're supposed to use?" Katt asked.
"We're a little early, so it should be on the side to the right." Fox said, remembering the rotation of the base. He boosted over to the side, the rest of the team following after him. After a minute, a light could be seen flickering out into the void, a dock barely visible in the darkness. Fox boosted up it. He landed on the dock, the others landing as well.
"Hey, Slippy, can you set up a force-field?" Fox asked.
"One sec…" Slippy said, fiddling with several devices. After a moment, a translucent force-field covered the docking bay entrance. Fox opened up the cockpit and jumped out.
"Hey, Slippy, you in the system yet?" Fox asked again. "You mind turning on the lights?
"Sure thing, Fox." Slippy said, pushing a button. The lights in the docking bay turned on immediately.
"Whoa." Falco said in awe.
"What happened?" Krystal asked, staring at the doorway.
The entrance to the interior of the Outpost had large gashes cut into it. The thick walls had nearly been cut all the way through, a large groove running from the top left corner of the wall to the bottom right. Rubble was strewn all across the floor, and several boxes on the docking bay had been destroyed. Fox walked out into the center of the landing platform, staring at the destruction.
"Think this is safe enough for the Great Fox?" Fox asked Slippy.
Slippy jumped out of his Arwing, lugging a device with him. Attached to the device was a large, metal spike tethered by a metal coil. Slippy ran out to Fox in the center of the platform, driving the metal spike into the ground. He pressed several buttons on the device, causing the ground to shake out from the metal spike. Slippy stared intently at the machine until the device stopped.
"Well?" Fox asked.
"It should hold. The metal used for this base is incredibly sturdy. Whatever caused that cut in the wall had to be pretty powerful…" Slippy said, staring at the wall.
"Ok, guys. You heard him. Signal the 'ok' to Peppy." Fox told the others. After several minutes, the Great Fox pulled into view, passing through the force-field. It landed on the platform along with the Arwings.
The rest of the team jumped out of their Arwings, rushing to greet Fox in the center of the platform.
"Alright. We're heading in now. Everybody, make sure you have your pins." Fox reminded everyone as he headed for the door. He tried pressing the button to open it, but to no avail. Instead, he backed up, then ran at the door. He held his foot up at the last second, using his momentum to kick in the door.
(Solsen Defense Outpost Interior)
Fox slowly walked inside the building, his blaster already drawn. He was standing in a darkened hallway, the lights flickering every couple of seconds. When it did flicker, he could see a metallic hallway stretch out in front of him. After about three meters in, the hallway split into a T, with two hallways leading to the left and right.
"We're going to have to split up. Krystal, you come with me. Slippy, you go with Katt and Falco. Use your thermal detector to look for survivors." Fox ordered.
"Leaving us with Froggy?" Falco asked, the flickering light revealing his sarcastic expression.
"Yes, Falco. Krystal and I'll take the right hallway. You guys take the left." Fox said, walking down the hallway. Krystal followed close behind him.
"Alright, Slippy. You're with us." Falco said, leading the other two down the hallway.
After walking down the hallway of for a couple of moments, it turned to the right. The lights continued to flicker, revealing the site of a battlefield.
"This place is giving me the creeps." Slippy said, beginning to shiver.
"Come on, maybe there's someone in here." Falco said, dragging Slippy behind him.
He looked down on the floor, dead bodies lay everywhere.
"This is horrible." Katt said, sifting through bodies on the floor.
"It gets worse." Falco said. Katt looked over to where he was. He was holding something in his hands. She couldn't focus in the flickering light.
"What is that?" Katt asked, walking over to him.
"Look." Falco said, holding the object up to her face. It was a green piece of cloth. On the cloth was the marking of a hand, with an eye in the center, where the palm should be.
"Oh no." Katt said, letting the cloth drop to the floor. "Where did you get this?"
Falco pointed to a body laying several feet away from him. Katt went over to it. It was wearing a green cloak, but the body had been torn to shreds by laser-fire, so much so that the body was unrecognizable. Katt couldn't even make it out if it was a man or woman that lay there.
"It must've taken these guys probably half their soldiers here or more to get that one down." Falco said morbidly. He proceeded to looking behind some boxes, which the soldiers had obviously used for cover. Slippy walked past the green-cloaked corpse. He looked down at it, then immediately rushed over to Falco and Katt.
(Solsen Defense Outpost – Fox and Krystal)
Fox and Krystal walked down the hallway, looking for any signs of any type of presence, either soldiers or the attackers. After walking for several moments, the hallway turned to the left.
"Looks like we have to go that way." Fox said. He turned the corner, Krystal following him. They were walking down another straightaway, the lights constantly flickering to reveal their path. Fox walked forward, then stumbled a bit. He looked down to see what caused it. Krystal gasped.
"Looks like he didn't make it." Fox said, staring down at the body of a soldier.
"This is terrible." Krystal said, her hands covering her mouth.
"Come on, Krystal. Let's keep moving. We don't want to miss someone because we were a couple seconds too late." Fox said. He looked down at his communicator. The three arrows indicating Slippy, Falco, and Katt had stopped.
They must've found something.
Fox continued walking down the hallway. The lights continued flickering, revealing a body laying in a mangled position every couple of moments. Krystal drew up close to Fox. After several of moments, the hallway ended. A staircase sat to the right, leading up.
"Time to check out upstairs then." Fox said, holding his blaster up near his head. Krystal drew hers as well, in case she needed it.
(Solsen Defense Outpost – Slippy, Falco, and Katt)
Falco and the others continued down their hallway, unable to find any survivors. In the middle of the hallway was a staircase, one set leading up, the other down. The one leading up, however, had been smashed through, a metal beam crashed down on top of it.
"What do we do?" Slippy asked.
"I say we finish heading down this hallway, then head downstairs, since up is obviously out of the question." Falco said, going over his options.
"Sounds good." Katt confirmed.
The group went down the hallway.
"Anything on that thermal scanner yet, Slip?" Falco asked, holding his blaster up, ready to fire if need be.
"Huh, what? Oh, nope, n-nothing yet." Slippy said, his gear shaking in his hands.
Falco continued walking down the hallway, stepping over another corpse. The lights flickered again, revealing a dead end.
"Ok, now let's head back to those stairs." Falco said, turning around. He led the others back to the staircase, slowly making his way down. The hallway was as dark as the first one. Falco sidled up alongside the wall, the others following his lead. He looked around, seeing only one hallway go off to the left.
"I'm guessing we go that way." Katt said, letting Falco go ahead. After several meters, the hallway turned off to the right again. The group continued, checking to see if any of the bodies dotting the hallway weren't dead. As they walked down the hallway, they encountered another fork, one hallway leading left, the other right.
"We must be in the center of the base right now." Katt concluded.
"Yeah, but which way do we go now?" Falco asked.
(Fox and Krystal)
Fox slowly ascended the stairs, followed by Krystal. When they reached the top, Fox immediately put his back up against the wall. Krystal did the same.
"Krystal, can you sense anyone?" Fox asked, slowly moving forward.
"Hang on." Krystal said, concentrating. "I think so. But it's faint. I can't really tell…"
"Ok, let's keep moving." Fox said, trudging forward. As he said that, Krystal heard a faint clank come from downstairs. She dismissed it, however. She didn't sense anyone, so she assumed it was Slippy or someone with him. She quickly followed behind Fox.
"Who do you think did all of this?" Krystal asked Fox.
"I don't know. And I really don't want to know how they did it." Fox said, looking at the painful position a corpse was left in. He continued trekking down the darkened hallway. After walking for about another minute, the two vulpines reached another fork. One hallway led to right, the other continuing forward for a short distance, then turning left.
"What now, Fox?" Krystal asked.
"I'll go forward." Fox concluded. "You head down this hallway. If anything happens, press your pin." Fox said. Slowly, the two parted directions.
(Falco, Slippy, and Katt)
The three thought about which way to go.
"Ok, how about thi-" Katt started. As she was talking, a loud clanging echoed down the hallway to the right.
"Then it's decided, we head left!" Falco said, wanting to avoid any possible threats that could've made the clanging.
"Left? No, we go right!" Katt said, thinking the clanging could've been started by a survivor.
"Katt, don't you think we should be avoiding any possible loud clanging? It could be structurally unsound over there! We could get crushed or something." Falco argued.
"It could also be a survivor caught under some wreckage! I thought we came here to rescue people, Falco! How're you going to do that if you're running from your own shadow!" Katt shot back.
"What if it is a survivor! But what if that survivor happened to also be one of the people that attacked this place! We'd be shot down right as we walked down that hallway!" Falco said, getting aggravated.
"AHH! You were just as stubborn back at the Academy, you hot-headed jerk!" Katt screamed, storming down the hallway to the right.
"Fine, get blasted down. Join these hopeless saps that were murdered here before you! See if I care." Falco yelled back, going down the hallway to the left. Slippy stood at the fork, unable to decide who to follow.
"Uh, guys?" Slippy said meekly, the lights flickering above him. He looked around, then ran down the hallway after Falco. "WAIT FOR ME!"
(Fox)
Fox held his blaster next to his head, ready to attack anything that came at him. He turned to the left as the hallway ended, peeking his head around the corner. It was another staircase leading up.
Don't get into trouble, Krystal. I might not get there in time if I have to run down these stairs…
Fox proceeded with heading upwards. When the stairs ended, Fox looked around. The only thing around was one more hallway, going straight forward. He could see a light at the end, light reflecting off the wall. The light was coming from the right.
"More hallways? Is that all this Outpost is?" Fox asked himself. He proceeded towards the light. When he reached the end of the hallway, he saw where the light came from.
"Wow." Fox said, looking up. He walked out into the open. A large glass dome on the ceiling allowed light from the stars to filter in, casting a faint luminescent glow on everything beneath the dome. Fox looked around. He saw a sign that was illuminated by the light.
Starlight Cafeteria, huh?
Fox inspected the area he was in. This area had been attacked too. Several ditches had been formed in the floor, probably the result of grenades going off. Several of the cafeteria tables had also been overturned, either by the impact of explosions, or to be used as shields by the soldiers that were here at the time. Despite the chaotic look battlefields had, though, the starlight resting calmly upon this one had a strangely serene effect, like a painting. Fox, however, shook this thought from his head. Fox looked down on the ground. He saw more corpses of soldiers that died, not expecting this attack to come.
He walked over to behind a table, another body lay there, his mask broken. Fox knelt down next to it, removing his mask. The pit-bull had been shot in the eye. Fox lifted the pit-bull to a sitting position. His one good eye had been left open. Fox pulled the eyelid down. It was as he did this that he noticed the pit-bull had a hand in his pocket, his other hand holding an inactive grenade. Fox pulled the hand out of the pocket. He was tightly clutching a picture. Fox gently opened his hand, slowly removing the picture from his tight grip. There, sat a small family, the soldier sitting next to another pit-bull, they were holding hands and smiling. They were at a party of some sort. Sitting on the soldier pit-bull's shoulders was a smaller pit-bull, with the same black marking on his left eye as the soldier had. Fox dropped the picture.
DAMN THEM! Whoever did this, THEY WILL PAY!
Fox slowly pocketed the picture, silently promising to have it sent back to the soldier's family when he got back to Corneria. Fox was laying the pit-bull's back against the table when he heard a noise coming from the opposite end of the room. He quickly dove out from behind the table, somersaulting to the next table over. He peered over the top, his blaster drawn. From the serving room, he saw two shadows shift back and forth. After a minute, the two figures emerged into the open. Starlight fell onto them as they headed towards the hallway. Fox squinted, trying to make out what they were. All he saw was hooded creatures.
No…
Fox slowly ducked from table to table, following the figures as they went out into the hallway. He peered out from the corner as the two figures headed towards the stairway. As they descended the spiraling stairs, Fox deftly ran out, keeping his footsteps as silent as possible. He looked through the handrail as the figures reached the bottom of the stairs. He saw a marking on their cloaks, a hand with an open eye in the center. Fox eyes dilated as he made the connection. He quickly jumped over the handrail, falling atop one of the cloaked figures, immediately knocking it unconscious. As he recovered from the impact of the fall, he quickly drew his blaster, shooting the second figure in the leg. As the creature fell to the ground, Fox went up to it, pressing on a pressure point on the back of the head. The creature struggled at first, then immediately went limp.
Fox looked around, panting slightly.
If these guys are here, there might be more…
Fox quickly found his pin, pushing the button. It started blinking a bright red.
(Falco)
Falco stormed off down the hallway, still aggravated at Katt.
Isn't it common knowledge that if you hear something clanging, that it's probably heavy? And if it's heavy, you should probably avoid it?
As Falco thought to himself, he encountered another fork in the hallway, one leading off to the right again, the other continuing forward. Still thinking to himself, he unconsciously turned right. After walking down another hallway for a couple minutes, he encountered a door at the end of the hallway. Falco looked around, looking for any indication of what might be there. He pressed on his communicator, using the backlight to illuminate the darkened corridor. Another corpse lay limp at his feet, but Falco ignored it. He soon found a sign on the wall, labeled 'Soldier's Quarters'. Falco then proceeded inside.
Inside, bunk beds could be seen stretching all along the wall to the left. The right wall was a giant window, revealing the space outside.
Nice view.
Falco looked around, looking for anything that stood out. Several bodies lay on the floor, all of them shot down. One was clutching the blanket on the bed, the blanket now stained red. He walked all the way to the opposite wall when he heard a cough.
"Wait…help…" a soldier coughed. Falco immediately rushed over to him. The soldier was laying upon the floor, half underneath the bed. Falco pulled him out, the soldier clutching the bed's blanket to his side.
"C'mon. I'm going to get you out of here!" Falco said, starting to pull the soldier towards the door. The soldier sat there. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
"No, leave me be. I'm going to die soon anyway." the soldier whispered. "But before I die, I need to tell you something…about…the attackers."
"No, that can wait. C'mon, we have the ship at the docking bay! We have medical supplies and everything!" Falco said, pulling the soldier arm.
"No, please…I have to pass on this information." the soldier coughed. Falco thought hard, then let go of the soldiers hand.
"Al-alright." Falco agreed.
"Thank you. Now, two days ago, a scouting ship found an unidentified carrier ship floating in the Quanzas Sector. We sent a team out to investigate. The ship was abandoned, empty cages found in the bottom hold. The team investigated the ship's bridge. On the ship's CPU was a list of Cornerian Military Projects and locations. The team tried to retrieve more data, but we lost contact with them shortly after. We sent out another team to go find them. But this team was intercepted by these attackers on their way to the carrier ship. They sent out a distress beacon before…falling to the enemy. But, as we received the distress beacon, another attack had already commenced onboard here." the soldier explained, clutching his side again.
"This all started when we found that carrier ship, something important must be there. Find that ship, and stop these people." the soldier coughed out. Slowly, the soldier became limp, his head finally dropping off to the side. Falco placed him slowly on the floor. He saw him still clutching the blanket. It was wrapped around his waist.
He must've used that to stem his blood loss…it's a miracle he lasted this long.
Falco slowly stood up from the body, still looking down at the bloodied blanket. As he looked down, he noticed his pin had started blinking. He turned around, then exited the room.
(Slippy)
Slippy slowly went down the darkened hallway, hoping to find Falco soon.
"F-Falco?" Slippy called out, turning in circles as he continued walking down the hallway. When he reached the fork, he stopped.
Where could he have turned?
Slippy heard some more clanging coming down from the hallway he just walked through. Panicked, he ran down the hallway, going forward. He turned with the hallway to the left, encountering another staircase heading down. He nearly fell down the flight of stairs.
At the bottom, he noticed that the lights gave out a constant glow, not flickering like the lights before. The only hallway here turned to the right. Slippy slowly sidled up against the wall, drawing his own blaster. He took a breath, his hands shaking as he walked down the hallway. He reached another turn, then peered out from the corner. There, he saw two green-cloaked figures standing, holding blasters in their hands. They were standing next to a doorway, unmoving. Slippy had to cover his mouth to prevent from gasping.
OH NO! The bad guys are still on the ship! I've-I've-I've got to tell someone!
Just as Slippy was about to turn around, his pin started blinking, almost as if on cue. The blinking red light reflected off the wall, drawing attention from the two guards. Slippy heard their footsteps clanging down the hallway. Panicking again, he turned around. He jumped inside the first room he could find, quickly shutting the door behind him. In the hallway, the two cloaked figures ran past the door, not noticing it as they pursued the intruder. Slippy held his breath, hearing the footsteps rush past the door. When he heard the pair of footsteps ascend the stairs, he took a breath, pocketing his blinking pin. Slowly, Slippy looked around. The room he was in was dark, the only light being starlight that filtered in through the windows. He could hear labored breathing in the corner. Slippy froze, then mustered up the courage to speak.
"F-Falco? That you?"
The breathing stopped, then took a deep breath. Slowly, a voice called back out.
"Is…someone in…here?" an old voice called out. Slippy slowly walked over to the source of the voice, which came from behind a desk in the far corner.
"H-hello?" Slippy asked. The breathing was coming from a chair that was facing the wall. Slowly, Slippy turned the chair around. In the chair sat an old Shih Tzu, wearing a white lab coat. His face was swelled, and cuts and tears could be found all over his body. He made a weak smile as he saw Slippy.
"Ah, you're not…one of…them." the Shih Tzu smiled.
"Are you ok?" Slippy asked the dog.
"Not really. I'll…manage though. Pray tell, what are you doing here, young one? Obviously, this…isn't the safest…of places." the Shih Tzu asked.
"I'm on Team StarFox. We came here to rescue survivors. Are you part of the crew?" Slippy asked, remembering his duty.
"Yes, I'm one of…the researchers here. My comrades happened to be killed though. They left me alive, seeing as I'm head researcher and all that." the Shih Tzu said calmly, strength slowly returning to his voice.
"Why do they need you?" Slippy asked.
"I'm not sure. They needed me to access some private data files kept here on the ship's CPU. I have access to every data file, because, well, I'm in charge. When I did that, their leader kicked me out of the room. They tied me up here, as you can see." the Shih Tzu said, nodding towards the restraints wrapped around his body, tying him to the chair.
"Their leader?" Slippy asked as he began undoing the knots.
"Yes. A very unfriendly fellow. A vulture. He told his goons to rough me up when I refused to unlock the data. They killed my comrades afterwards, until I finally opened it for them. They said they wouldn't kill anymore, but they lied. They executed them all when I finished unlocking the data. They kept me here in case they needed anything else unlocked." the Shih Tzu explained, a morose tone in his voice.
"Well, don't worry anymore. The rest of my team is here, looking for more survivors. I'll need you to come with me. I'll get you fixed up when we get back to our ship." Slippy said, leading the Shih Tzu back to the door. When he opened the door, though, he could hear footsteps coming back down the stairs. Slippy immediately went back inside the room, the door closing as the footsteps walked in front of it. Slippy waited until the footsteps passed, then he peered out the doorway. The footsteps came from the two guards from before. They stopped when they turned the corner, frozen in fear. Slippy could hear a voice yelling.
"-ere you two! While you were off doing who knows what, I could've been killed! Don't worry, I won't hurt you now. I'll do it after I get this data back to the Mind. He expects me to get this data back! I'm his trusted Palm, and I won't be made a fool!" the voice roared. The two guards stood there, waiting for the source of the voice to catch up to them. Slippy retreated back into the room, waiting for the footsteps to pass by again. When they did, he slowly peered out, signaling for the Shih Tzu to follow him when he knew the coast was clear.
"See, I told you he was very unfriendly." the Shih Tzu whispered behind Slippy.
"Shh." Slippy whispered back, following the footsteps up the staircase. He made sure they were a reasonable distance away before climbing up the staircase himself.
(Krystal)
Krystal slowly parted ways with Fox, walking down the lone hallway. She turned another corner, finding another hallway. The hallway, however, opened up into a large room. Boxes were everywhere, either destroyed or partially damaged. Krystal slowly made her way to the corner of the room. There she found a communicator terminal, a body slumped up alongside it. She looked back, noticing a hole in the floor created by a grenade blast.
This man was the one who sent the distress signal…
Krystal knelt down next to the body slumped on the machine. She sighed, standing back up. As she stood back up, she noticed a glint of light reflect off of something inside the communicator terminal. It was the camera that was used to send the image of the communicator to the other person.
Maybe it recorded the battle before…
Krystal switched the machine on, searching through the machine's separate functions. She found the video command, turning it on. Slowly, she watched the battle that had occurred her earlier. She watched the frantic tactics of the soldiers, firing randomly at the enemy offscreen. She watched the soldier send out the distress signal. Then, the enemy appeared on the screen. Krystal watched as the green-cloaked figures walked in front of the camera, making sure their enemies had fallen. When they were sure that the enemy had been defeated, they moved on to the next area. Krystal shut off the machine.
It's them again…
Krystal then noticed that her pin was blinking. She wished the soldiers peace, then went out of the room.
(Katt)
Katt stormed angrily down the hallway, still aggravated by Falco's previous statements.
That jerk. How can he abandon someone in trouble!
Katt continued walking, turning the corner to the right when she reached a dead end. After several moments, she found the source of the clanging.
I knew it! That jerk was scared for nothing!
Katt stood there, facing a giant metal girder. She looked up, searching for where it came from. It came from several floors up, crashing down to this floor. It knocked out some panels in the ceiling, thus causing the clanging. Katt looked at it for a moment, then moved on, still aggravated.
Katt walked down the hallway, encountering a circular room at the end. She looked upon the ground, hoping to find survivors.
Damn these guys! They're nothing but low-lives and jackasses, aren't they! Only something lower than scum could cause this much damage…
Katt searched the whole room, finding nothing. Disheartened, she started heading back to the hallway, taking one last look back. As she did so, a red light began reflecting off the wall opposite her. She looked down, noticing her pin had started flashing.
Someone must've found something.
Katt quickly ran down the hall, pocketing the pin. As she was about to turn the corner, heading back to the fork, she stopped. She heard footsteps coming down the hall, followed by voices.
"-rry up! We don't have all day, thanks to you two! We have to get this data off this ship as soon as possible! We're heading back to the top floor! I don't want to be anywhere close to here when this charge goes off." the voice mocked.
Katt peered around the corner. She saw three cloaked figures. Two of them were two large animals, standing beside the smaller one. The smaller one kept waving his hand in scorn, yelling at the larger creatures. When he turned, Katt caught a glimpse of a beak.
"But enough of this. In ten minutes, this station will be within range of Corneria. When this charge goes off, the station will explode. Debris will hurtle through the atmosphere, raining destruction down upon the unsuspecting public! It's quite marvelous when you think about it." the figure said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "Now, to activate the char-"
"NOO!" Katt screamed, running out from behind the corner. The three figures turned in her direction, shocked at the sudden outburst. Katt dashed down the hallway towards the beaked figure. She kicked at his hand, knocking out the charge detonator from his hand. She quickly started swinging punches at him, the beaked figure deftly sidestepping back and forth, beginning to circle her. The two switched sides when the cloaked figure stopped. Suddenly, the figure reached inside his cloak, drawing a blaster with his feathered hand. Katt instinctively reached for hers. Before she could draw it, however, a tight grip came out of nowhere, clamping onto her right wrist. She wriggled her arm, unable to break free from the grasp. She tried hitting her pursuer with her free hand, but her captor twisted her arm, forcing her to submit. She cried out in pain as the figure twisted her arm.
"Break it." the beaked figure commanded.
The creature behind Katt did as he was ordered, twisting her arm more and more. Katt cried out in pain as he continued twisting. Then a shrieking pain shot through her right arm. She heard a snap as the figure behind her let go of her arm, letting her drop on the floor. Katt's arm fell to her side, pain coursing through it. The beaked figure smiled eerily, enjoying her pain.
(Falco)
Falco exited the Soldier's Quarters, re-entering the hallway he took before.
I wonder if Katt was the one who activated the signal?
Suddenly, his thoughts turned back to their argument moments before.
"Well, I told her to stay away from that hallway! But no! She has to go down there anyway. Guess she has to learn that the hard way!" Falco convinced himself. As his voice echoed down the hallway, he heard another sound echo back in response. It was screaming.
Katt?
Falco, forgetting his anger from the other moment, dashed down the hallway. He reached the corner, peering out from behind. He saw several figures standing at the fork, three of them cloaked. Another figure sat upon the ground, the other three figures centered around it. Falco listened, not wanting to barge in on something vital.
"Well, that was quite rude of you." the small cloaked figure chuckled, picking up a cylindrical tube from the floor. "Too bad it didn't go exactly as planned. Now, it's time you let us be, Ms. Monroe."
The figure on the ground shifted.
"You…know my name?" the figure asked out meekly. Falco eyes widened.
Damn it! They've got her surrounded! I've got to do something…
Falco looked around. The hallway before him was a straightaway. He couldn't run up to her, all of them would see him coming before he even got close.
If only they couldn't see me…
Falco looked up, noticing the flickering lights.
That's it!
"Yes, I know your name. It's even ruder that you don't remember me. And I thought we were such close friends." the figure chuckled again. "Now, I believe it's time we finished this struggle." the figure said, raising his blaster evenly with Katt's head. Katt closed her eyes, waiting for the final shot. She heard a blaster fire, followed by shattering glass. She looked up, another shot rang out, striking the light down the hallway in front of her.
"KATT!" a voice called out in the darkness behind her.
"FALCO!" she called back. She heard a thud land on the wall next to her.
"C'mon Katt, get up! Quickly!" the voice said, picking her up by the arm. She started to get up to her feet, when she heard a click.
"I SEE YOU!" the voice of the figure said in the darkness. Katt saw a beam of light shoot out from in front of her, striking something next to her. She felt the hand on her arm slip away, followed by a thud as it hit the ground.
"FALCO!" Katt called out, dropping to the ground, feeling around on the floor.
A red light then started glowing in front of her, coming from a floating sphere, illuminating the room. She saw the beaked figure standing there, smirking, smoke rising steadily from his blaster tip, glowing red in the light. The figure caught the glowing sphere in his hand.
"Right on target." the cloaked figure laughed, looking down at Katt. Falco lay on the ground next to her, a blood stain forming on his chest. He was breathing heavily.
"Damn you!" Katt called out, tears streaming down her face.
"I never thought I'd get to return the favor to him. What a lucky day it is for me! Too bad I can't stay, though. It's a real shame. Oh well, ta-ta." the figure smiled, pressing the button on the charge detonator. He quickly ran down the hall, one of his guards following after him, the other lying unconscious on the floor near Katt.
"C'mon, get up." Katt sniveled, trying to pull Falco over her shoulder with her good arm. Despite her efforts, she couldn't get him up.
Katt continued struggling with Falco when she heard footsteps come up from behind her.
"C'mon, our ship is this way!" a voice called out.
"SLIPPY!" Katt called out, still struggling with Falco.
"Katt!" Slippy yelled out, blind in the darkness. He pulled out a device from his backpack, activating it. A bright glow resonated inside the hallway.
"Slippy, help me get Falco back to the Great Fox!" Katt cried, her eyes adjusting to the light.
"What happened!" Slippy asked, rushing over. The Shih Tzu ran up behind him.
"He was shot. C'mon, we have to hurry! This place is going to blow in ten minutes!
(Fox)
Fox started down the hallway again, making sure the foes he defeated were tucked out of the way. As he ran down the hall, Krystal emerged from the other hallway.
"Fox!" she called out from behind him. Fox turned around. Krystal quickly ran up to him. As the two met up, they heard a scream sound out from the lower levels.
"What's going on?" Fox asked, looking towards the source of the noise.
"That sounded like Katt." Krystal remarked.
"C'mon, she might be in trouble!" Fox yelled rushing down the hallway. Krystal followed behind him.
As the two reached the flight of stairs, they heard blaster fire ring out. The two stopped for a moment, exchanging worried glances, then continued onwards. When they neared the source of the commotion, two cloaked figures turned the corner, stopping when they saw Fox and Krystal. Fox immediately rushed the figure.
"STOP!" the figure called out. Fox hesitated, then continued his charge. He stopped when the figure held up a blaster. "Mr. McCloud, I believe there are more…urgent…matters at hand."
"Like what?" Fox asked, playing along.
"Well, for one, this place is about to explode into a million pieces in about nine minutes." the figure stated, scratching his chin. "And then there's the matter of your teammate, the blue bird. He didn't look too good when I last saw him, something about a shot in the chest?"
Fox clenched his teeth, not knowing if this figure was telling the truth or not.
"Fine, don't believe me. But I'm sure you heard those shots before, and that bird doesn't seem the type to let his prey get away, now does he?" the figure asked, beginning to walk past Fox. The figure held up the blaster at Fox the whole way, until finally dashing up the staircase, his guard following him up the stairs.
"C'mon, Krystal." Fox said, rushing down the hallway again.
The vulpines found Slippy and Katt carrying Falco as they turned the next corner.
"FOX!" Slippy called out. Katt turned around, allowing Fox to carry Falco.
"Fox, this ship is about to blow. This guy set up some charge here. He's planning to use the debris to hit Corneria!" Katt explained, clutching her arm.
"We have to get to the Great Fox!" Fox ordered. He ran down the last hallway, carrying Falco on his back. The rest of the team followed him. They quickly ran aboard the Great Fox.
"Peppy! Get us out of here, now!" Fox said, running with Falco down to the medical bay. Katt followed him.
"Alright!" Peppy called out, preparing to head up the bridge. He turned around, noticing the Shih Tzu standing there. "Is this everyone?"
"Yeah, just me." the Shih Tzu said, heading towards the living area. Peppy just sighed, running up to the Bridge.
In seconds, the Great Fox left the base, heading out into space. Fox ran up to the Bridge after he was sure Falco and Katt were receiving medical attention.
"ROB, connect me to General Pepper, now!" Fox ordered, checking the system's on the Great Fox.
"Affirmative." the robot said, typing a connection link. After a moment, General Pepper's head popped up.
"General, we have an emergency!" Fox said hurriedly.
"What is it, Fox?" the General asked, concerned about Fox's tone.
"The Defense Outpost is rigged to explode in four minutes! The Hands of Lylat are planning on using the debris to attack Corneria!" Fox explained quickly.
"Only four minutes!" the General asked, shocked.
"Yes, General. But I have a plan. I need you to open an Orbital Gate just outside Cornerian Airspace. It doesn't matter where it leads, just get it open!" Fox told the General.
"Alright, let's hope this works, Fox." the General said, disconnecting the link.
(2 minutes, Cornerian Airspace)
The Orbital Gateway activated, a green portal expanding out into open space. The Solsen Defense Outpost drifted towards it.
On Corneria, citizens looked up to the sky, pointing at the large green disc above them. They all murmured as they saw the hulking monstrosity beyond the green disc grow closer and closer…
(1 minute, Great Fox Bridge)
"Alright, Fox. It's open. Now get out of there!" the General commanded.
"Yessir." Fox saluted. "ROB, all power to the engines, head seventy degrees east!"
"Affirmative."
The Great Fox began drifting off to the right. The engines suddenly roared to life, driving the Great Fox through the expanse of space, heading towards Corneria. As it sped away, the charge onboard the Solsen Defense Outpost activated. In seconds, the base was torn to pieces, a large sphere of fire engulfing it. Chunks of heated metal flew out in all directions. The Great Fox weaved back and forth, dodging the chunks, flying towards the safety behind the Orbital Gate. As the Great Fox hid behind the Gate, chunks of debris entered into the portal, being transported to the deep reaches of space.
Author's Notes: DEAR SWEET JESUS CHRISTMAS! This is the longest chapter so far, just beating out the first chapter by a thin margin. Yeah, I know, I keep injuring Falco. It all makes sense later, though, so don't go bashing me saying "WTF! He just recovers from an asplosion and then you SHOOT him!" And before anyone asks, it's safe to assume everyone on the base had died, or was in the process of dying. That's why it's ok to blow up the base. Ok? Good. It's really late right now, 3:49 A.M., so I don't have much more to say, now for reviews!
Reviews:
-theXbeat08 2009-01-03 . chapter 14
Alright, this was just a filler chapter. But it was still a GOOD filler chapter, don't get me wrong.
The tension from Fox and Falco's past goes really well with the story, but I have a feeling they have to make up at some point, 'cuz otherwise they wouldn't be wingmates would they?
And Falco and Katt's little thing at the end was so cute! Haha, with all the nastiness the team goes through SOMETHING that isn't life-threatening has to happen at some point! Keep it up!
Good luck!
theXbeat08
theXbeat08 2009-01-03 . chapter 15
Double review. Again. Yay! Wait...did you put these up at the same time or something? I feel bad 'cuz I missed the last chapter.
Yet another filler, but this one was better than the last one! No Fox/Falco from the past, but in the present! Nice.
AND another semi-cute scene at the end! Although that was sorta totally expected, it was still cute.
And I wanted to say this last review, but I thought it was mean. Then I realized other people did...so I hope this guy doesn't go flame my story, but that was really rude of Flame to...well...flame you. There's gonna be the negatives out there, but you just have to ignore it and keep writing. Which you should do. 'Cuz this story rocks.
Good luck!
theXbeat08
Yeah, filler chapters. Sweet aren't they? Thank you for saying that the gooey center is good. Yeah, those two have to make up, otherwise I'd be a lunatic that leaves giant plotholes in stories for no reason…moving on. Um, yeah, I'm not going to comment on that 'life-threatening' part, since well, uh, yeah, this chapter here. And hooray for more double reviews! First off, no, I didn't post these at the same time, I'm just getting really good at updating within a day. Yeah, more filler. As you can see, I needed all the space I could get for this chapter, which would've been even longer had I combined this with chapter 15. And yeah, I'm schmaltzy. Also, that flamer dude does suck. But don't worry about him flaming your stories. If he does anything rude to any of you guys, I'm gonna report him until he's kicked off the site. What he's doing is just plain rude and I won't stand for it, especially with my friends here. I'm already pretty POed at him for flaming FFA, and if he does it to you, he's gonna regret ever making that account. So don't worry, I got your back. So yeah, his review is still considered a complete load, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Here's to it!
-Forever Fades Away 2009-01-03 . chapter 15
Well, i made those reviews before I changed my name. I could imagine Slippy and Falco acting as children. Anyway, I can't wait for the next chapter. Who was the person shooting at the Greatfox? Well, i'm pretty sure I'll find out later.
~FFA, who noticed a typo~ When General Pepper was talking about medical supplies, you spelled it mecicinal... Thought you'd find that interesting. I think I'll play my Diamond version again...
P.S. You DIDN'T use pit bulls yet! well, there you go!
Hey, I used pit bulls now! So now you're FFA, huh. Nice. And yes, Slippy and Falco always act like children. Oh, and I'd like to clarify now. That bit with Peppy watching the video, the light he tried looking at, it DIDN'T fire the missile. One of the ships in the armada fired it. I just needed Peppy to focus on something, because I needed him to notice that light. The light wasn't the actual one firing the missile. Sorry for the confusion. And about that typo…DOH! I've noticed little typos here and there, I'll fix them later. Besides, that one, I found one more. So that's a grand total of two. Here's to another chapter!
-notfromearth7 2009-01-04 . chapter 15
Slang is pretty weird sometimes. Anyway, I can't wait to see who the mystery missle firer guy is.
Yeah, slang is fun. But, yeah, as I said in the other review, the missile isn't the actual emphasis there. It's the little light. The missile was just a plot device used to connect the two ideas. I know, it was worded in a funky way. I'm sorry. Just remember that light though, it's coming up real soon, like, oh, I don't know, next chapter! Here's to this chapter!