CHAPTER 8: Through the Storm

Tiny swirls of light danced in the night sky as the stars were finally visible, combining their own radiance with that of the fluorescent auroras as they weaved beautifully through the air. Gentle gusts of wind blew across an icy, snow-covered landscape that expanded far into the flattened horizon. The chilling aura given off by the quiet setting was unusually soothing.

In the midst of the surface's multiple layers, there was a visible speck that jutted out slightly in a snowy mound. Inside the cold heap, someone who had slumbered for a considerable amount of time had just begun to awaken, shifting around and causing the white powder to roll off his bare backside as the figure lay face-down towards the thickly-covered ground.

Slowly but surely, two arms, those of a lynx, pulled their way out of the mound and dug into the surface. Soon after, a head poked out as well as a small torso with gleaming white fur, and then the whole rest of the figure's body was hoisted into the open.

A young boy, examining his location briefly, took a deep breath and loosened his body muscles as they warmed up from their earlier shivering state. His lower half remained concealed by a pair of tattered woolen pants, and his sandals were quite close to falling apart, but every inch of his shimmering body fur was unscathed. The lynx's tufted ears flattened as he averted his focus to the lights in the atmosphere, their colors reflecting from the film of his golden pupils while the rest of his face was vividly elucidated.

However, the expression he wore displayed no sign of pleasure or interest in the sights before him… Faint tear lines could be seen on his cheeks as they traced miniature grooves from the bottom edges of his eyes down to his chin. Instead of being entranced in any manner, he was lost deeply in subconscious thought… The lynx plucked from his mind a series of ongoing occurrences that he could clearly remember from the period of time that happened before he had ended up where he stood currently… It was not easy to permanently erase a genocide that happened in his plain sight from memory, much less the death of his loved ones… his mother and father.

The boy's long and moderately bushy tail swished very slowly back and forth while his brain filled with questions. He knew this had to have been the work of the spirits… It was the reason why he was no longer in Zelenoa, but where would he go from now? Was there any way to redeem both himself and his entire race? It seemed impossible… And Siva was positively lurking in outer space somewhere.

The lynx hung his head and sniffled silently while a guttural aching arose in his throat and stomach… He wiped his face and blinked sadly at the ground as he assumed his questions had yet to be answers. The boy would have to gather the strength he had left and continue onward, hoping that Mudarduh could guide him in the right direction. There was no use in contemplating death in that moment, as he had already determined that he still had too much left on his plate for him to throw everything away.

There was no other option… and so the lynx reluctantly began the next portion of his journey.

…

The Star Fox squad had been trailing their target for a while now, but their reserves proved abundant as the weather presented no signatures of another approaching snowstorm. Fox and Falco had kept silent for relatively the entire way until they noticed their destination was coming into view.

The vulpine pointed a finger at another familiar shape in the horizon, blinking from disbelief, "Wait a minute… That's the same shelter we were in earlier!"

Falco scoffed and expressed a smirk, "Maybe he doesn't have any idea where he is either."

Regardless, they had reached the front of the cubical tent in the next few minutes, tracing the footprints straight to the shelter's entrance. The two both exchanged an uneasy look before they braced themselves…

However, as Fox was opening his mouth to speak from the outside, a quiet and oddly calm voice unexpectedly interrupted him.

"Just come in. I sensed your loud presence long ago."

Blinking from shock, the pheasant and vulpine cautiously stepped through the flap and stood on the inside, noticing the swordsman as he sat cross-legged on the sleeping mat. His expression was somewhat less serious and his stare was focused on the wall ahead of him. Fox and Falco hesitated before sitting on the floor in front of him.

A moment of silence passed before Falco swallowed and spoke up, "So, uh… Who or what are you? More importantly, you aren't an alie-"

Fox almost jumped over and cupped a hand over Falco's beak quickly as he chimed in loudly to interrupt him, displaying a nervous smile, "What he means is… Could you help us figure out where we are?"

The stranger's countenance remained static. He nodded slowly and fixed the edgy vulpine with a calming look, responding, "Yes, I could… However, you would have to explain to me some basic information first."

Falco pulled Fox's hand away, rubbing his beak and raising an eyebrow, "What kind of info?"

The swordsman took a deep breath and closed his eyes, still thoroughly relaxed, "You see, it's not every day that a group such as yours is seen marching across this frozen hell, given that there is no present population in this area. I am only a simple traveler… not a native inhabitant in his homeland."

"So that's why this place is so empty…" Fox rubbed his chin and furrowed his brows as he engaged in deep thinking, "I don't think we're in the Lylat anymore."

A hint of a smile broke out on the stranger's face, "I had gathered that you and your pheasant friend were Lylatian. Yes, I'm afraid you are currently somewhere different… but do not dread. Is there an explanation for how you ended up here?"

Falco cleared his throat, "Our ship made a crash landing after we went through some crazy vortex."

"Ah, so that must have been the disturbance I felt… And as for the vortex, I can inform you about that subject later."

"Okay, so… What about you?" Fox shifted his position and sat on his knees.

The stranger's tail flicked to the side while one of his eyes opened, "I have a rather long story to tell… but primarily I was once a part of a large race of lynx."

"Those are extremely rare… I've never seen that many living in the Lylat before."

"That's right, my friend. They are practically nonexistent in your galaxy, and there are no others that inhabit this planet, for the people that do are a part of the tiger race…"

"Where is this place anyhow? I always thought Fichina was pretty intense." Falco leaned his head forward, intrigued by what he had heard from the mysterious lynx so far.

"What is this planet, you ask? Its name is Div Sablast. The conditions in most of its locations are too harsh for most beings of life to make their home…"

Fox and Falco both blinked at each other, then back at the lynx. The pheasant inquired, "What's your name?"

The lynx opened both of his eyes and lifted his head up, giving a friendly smile as he looked met both gazes. He affably greeted the two, "My name is Sky Felis… Please, call me Sky."

Fox, considering how his new acquaintance had seemed so serious and introverted at first glance, was taken aback by this sudden demonstration of kindness. He decided to accept the lynx regardless and smiled in return.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sky. My name is Fox McCloud."

Falco gave a smirk and nodded eagerly, "I'm Falco Lombardi. Call me Falco."

Sky's grin was still apparent, "It is good to see you, Fox and Falco. I assume you are a traveling duo?"

The vulpine gave a slight chuckle and jokingly replied, "Wonder how you knew that. Yup, we're team Star Fox… or rather, we're what's left of it."

"You are… the remainder of your team? Enlighten me."

Falco took a deep breath and frowned slightly, "Alright… So we were an awesome team of pilots that went through the Lylat while taking care of business. First, there were the Lylat Wars… It was me and Fox, along with Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad, two more original team members."

Falco gave his teammate a nod to join in. Fox acknowledged, clearing his throat and continuing, "We put an end to the plans of an evil scientist named Andross, who was threatening to take over the galaxy. Shortly after, there was a new team member who joined, and her name was Krystal… Peppy had let her take his position on the battlefield as we got rid of a second enemy that threatened to blow up the Lylat, the Aparoids. That's where the team started having issues."

Falco followed up, "The relationships within the squad started getting pretty rocky. You see, Fox and Krystal had a thing going on for each other at first, but a few issues with that came up… Then, Slippy found love on a different planet and wanted to retire from the team after staying a little longer. Peppy went to Corneria and was made general of their military. Our timing couldn't have been better once the Anglars appeared out of nowhere."

The vulpine, who became uneasy at the mentioning of his former love, reluctantly finished the story, "We fought for a while with the Anglars, and wrestled with another team that rivaled us ever since the Lylat Wars… Star Wolf. We ended up finishing off the Anglars, but those two things together were what split us apart. Krystal left, and Slippy moved out… Ever since then, it's been me and Falco."

Sky, who had been intently paying attention to their anecdote, blinked at the ground as they finished. His smile faded into a seemingly normal expression, but his tone was quiet and rather serious.

"I see… I'm sorry you have encountered such misfortunes." Sky sympathized after another few quiet seconds ensued. Fox and Falco were both uneasy and became slightly depressed as they realized the direction in which their team had gone since the beginning, but their new friend's softened tone proceeded to lift them out of their woe temporarily.

Sky added, "If it is any further consolation, I can offer you anything that might be of use for your journey… Of course, other than what you have already consumed from my supplies."

Immediately brought out of his sadness, the vulpine's head jerked up as a streak of red appeared across his face. He stammered out, "Y-You mean… those pitayas were yours? Wait, of course they are! This is your shelter… Anyways, I'm really sorry, we just needed food to give us-"

The lynx cracked a teasing grin as he laughed to himself, holding a hand up to interrupt Fox's apology, "Do not worry, my friend. In these conditions, such provisions would be advised in order to keep alive… I am okay with this."

Falco and Fox leaned their heads down and simultaneously let out a sigh of relief, letting their panicked emotions be replaced by gratefulness. Fox chuckled, "Thank you, Sky… It's really considerate of you."

Sky beamed pleasantly, "Heh… 'Tis not a problem. Now, would you care to partake in listening to my story?"