Chapter 8

Arriving first, Fox parked his Arwing near the Cornerian Army Center building. It was fortunate the building didn't have worse damage than the few hits it took from Bowman's forces. Fox got out of his Arwing, and began to run toward the building's entrance. Not long after, the others parked their vehicles and joined up with Fox at the Army Center. From the Great Fox, Slippy rushed past the others to catch up with Fox first, panting and looking horribly worried.

"Fox! You think Peppy's okay?!" Slippy asked his friend.

"I'm just as clueless as you are," Fox replied, beginning to push the front door open.

"Oooooohhh, he has to be alright!" Slippy said, trying to reassure himself.

The others caught up to Fox and Slippy, also looking very concerned. Even Falco, who was normally cool in almost any situation, was anxious about Peppy. He was jumpy and panicking perhaps as badly as Slippy.

"He's gotta be alright, right?! I mean, the damage to the building doesn't look too terrible, right?" Falco asked everyone, trying to gain some comfort.

"I sure hope so…" Amanda replied meekly.

"I do believe he's alive," Krystal said.

The others looked at her, hope and confusion in their eyes. Krystal was the calmest of them all, and this was because she relied on her telepathy for insight. Currently, she didn't sense any mortal danger to Peppy.

"I don't sense any serious danger has come his way," she told her teammates. "If he was dead or severely injured, I would have been able to sense it. He should be all right."

Fox nodded, trusting her word. Krystal's telepathy had proven useful in the past several times, and she hadn't been wrong before. He was sincerely relieved she had said Peppy was fine.

"Alright," Fox said. "Let's see if we can find him in here. He should be safe somewhere. I guess we'll try his office first. Follow me."

The five mercenaries went inside the building and made their way for Peppy's office. The main lobby was empty, and it totally quiet in the building. Since Fox remembered where Peppy's office was from his last visit, he led the others. Unfortunately, when they got there, they found the room empty. The whole place seemed to be deserted.

"Where do we look next?" Slippy asked Fox.

"Hmmm… where did General Pepper go during times of crisis?" Fox wondered aloud. "Wasn't there a bunker of some sort?"

"Yeah, sure!" Falco replied. "Remember? There's supposed to be a bunker room underground somewhere, in case something like this happens! I remember hearing about it! Come on – let's look around!"

The team scrambled to find the entrance to the basement bunker. They tried several hallways on the first floor until they eventually found a staircase room at the end of one hallway. They went down the stairs to find a thick, steel door leading to the bunker room. It was locked. Falco knocked hard on the door to elicit a response.

"Who's there?!" a booming voice demanded on the other side.

"We're Star Fox! The battle's over out there!" Falco yelled back.

"Falco? Is that you?!" the voice asked back.

"Yeah! We know each other or somethin'?" Falco asked in return.

The door opened, revealing a tall, muscular Cornerian solider. He was a bulldog, and it was evident he and Falco knew each other. The soldier made a wide grin when he saw Falco.

"It is old Falco!" the bulldog exclaimed. "Falco Lombardi! How are you, buddy?"

"Lance!" Falco cried, happy to see an old friend. "Lance Mitchell! It's been forever, man! Ever since that combat class all those years ago I've barely seen ya!"

"I know, man! It's too bad schedules seem to keep us apart! I'm part of the general's top security now!" Lance told Falco.

"So, he's here, right?" Falco asked Lance, in regards to Peppy.

"Oh yeah; he's here," Lance said, opening the door further.

The team saw Peppy and a few other Cornerian soldiers gathered around him. The old general looked up and smiled when he saw the Star Fox team. They excitedly ran over to greet their friend and general.

"PEPPY!" Slippy cried happily.

"Good to see you all!" Peppy greeted all of them "So, the battle is over then?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sheesh; you had us worried, old man!" Falco said.

"Good to see you, General!" Amada said.

"Glad you pulled through, Peppy!" Fox said.

"Yes, yes," Peppy replied. "I would have helped you in the fight, but I'm just growing too old for it. Getting hard for me just to walk around these days! Makes me miss older times…"

"Don't sweat it, Peppy!" Slippy said. "We took care of everything! Corneria's safe now!"

"Yeah; we straightened those goons out," Falco proudly remarked.

"I thank you all for your help," Peppy said. "I was foolish for not keeping enough soldiers here in case Bowman should send a large attack. I've paid the price dearly… I owe everyone an apology for that…"

"Come on, Peppy," Fox protested. "Every general makes mistakes."

"Yeah; no one's perfect!" Slippy added.

"The important thing is that you're okay, gramps," Falco said. "Krystal here told us you were!"

"Is that so?" Peppy asked.

An awkward silence ensued as everyone turned to look at Krystal. Krystal, who had been quiet up to now, spoke up to confirm it.

"Yes… I could sense you were alright," Krystal said. "My telepathy…"

"Oh, yes! I had forgotten!" Peppy said. "Me and my old age! You're a telepath! You have always been truly invaluable to the team, Krystal!"

"Thank you, Peppy," Krystal said quietly, smiling slightly.

"I think you had all better get some rest tonight," Peppy said. "Relax and reenergize, before heading back out. It'd be good for you to enjoy yourselves for a while. Oh, and that is an order!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Falco rejoiced.

"Sounds like a plan!" Slippy said.

"I could use the rest," Amanda said.

"I think it's a good idea," Fox said to Peppy. "We'll be stronger for next time that way. It has been an exhausting day for us."

"Yes, good plan," Krystal said, agreeing with the others.

"Very well then," Peppy said. "Thank you once again for your help. Know that I am greatly indebted to you, as is all of Corneria!"

"It's our job, Peppy," Fox replied, smiling at his old friend. "No problem. You take care."

"Thank you," Peppy said, smiling back.

The team members said their goodbyes to Peppy (and Falco to Lance) and left the bunker, relieved and happy for a break. The general was safe, and they could get some rest before traveling again. No one objected to that idea.

On their way out, the team noticed several Cornerian soldiers were returning. One in particular caught Falco's eye; as he froze and stared, the others stopped with him to look at who he saw. It was Katt Monroe, Falco's old flame, in an army uniform. She stopped as well when she saw him.

"Katt?!" Falco asked, incredulous. "What are you doing here?!"

"Returning from the battle, of course," Katt replied coldly. "The better question is, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure Peppy was okay!" Falco replied, with anger in his voice. "Why the heck didn't you tell me you joined the army?!"

"Didn't see any need to," Katt said back casually. "After all, you haven't returned my calls in over a month. Why should you care?"

"I didn't return those calls because you said you didn't want to talk to me!" Falco snapped back. "Remember, our last fight?!"

"I didn't want to talk to you at the time," Katt retorted. "It's not like I told you to go away forever!"

"You knew what you meant," Falco replied, not convinced. "Look, can't we catch up and talk about this? I can't believe you just started fighting in the war!"

"Whatever," Katt said indifferently. "I gotta report to the general first. We can talk after."

"Fine… guys, I gotta hang back," Falco said to the team.

They all nodded understandingly. It was an awkward scene, but no one minded too much. They were all surprised as well though to know Katt was in the army now. Katt briefly acknowledged the team before moving on.

"Nice to see you all again," she said.

Leaving no time for any responses, Katt left hastily. It had been a while since any of them had seen her. Falco sighed, wishing his friends hadn't been there for the ugly reunion.

"Sorry guys," Falco said. "You go have fun without me. I've got to have a serious talk with Katt."

"We understand; you go ahead," Fox said. "Hope it goes well."

"Yeah; good luck, pal!" Slippy said. "You don't mind if we eat, do you? I'm starved…"

"No problem; I'm sure it'll be a while. I'll see you guys later," Falco said.

The rest nodded again and left Falco behind. They left the Cornerian Army Center and returned outside; it was getting dark. They were happy to see emergency vehicles were already aiding the buildings that needed attention. Still, they were all tired and hungry from the day's work.

"So, shall we find a place to eat now?" Amanda said, having taken notice Slippy was hungry.

"For sure! Hopefully we can find a place with some service," Slippy replied.

"What does everyone like?" Fox asked his teammates.

"Pizza!" Slippy responded immediately. "That would hit the spot right now! What do you guys think?"

"Sounds good, pumpkin," Amanda said, smiling at her husband.

"Delicious," Krystal said, also smiling.

"Alright then," Fox said. "Let's see if we can find something open."

The group of four went to the closest plaza they knew of with a pizza restaurant. Fortunately, when they got there, they saw it was left untouched by the enemy forces from earlier. It was pleasing for the team to see areas that weren't affected by the attack. They wanted to be away from that right now. Right now, they just wanted to fill their stomachs with tasty food.