Chapter 11

Fox and Krystal were jolted awake by a knock at the cabin door. They had both fallen asleep unintentionally, having been so comfortable with one another. They each groaned as they got up from the bed.

"Who is it?" Fox asked.

"It's Slippy! We're at the Orbital Gate now!" Slippy replied on the other side of the door.

"Alright, I'll be right there," Fox said back.

After the response from Fox, Slippy scrambled back to the bridge; Fox could hear him running away down the hall. Fox turned to Krystal, who looked upset about being woken up. He felt the same way, having enjoyed his short time with her.

"Guess we gotta go to the bridge," Fox said. "Ready?"

"I suppose," Krystal replied half-heartedly. "Hopefully I'll be awake enough."

"Same," Fox said, rubbing his eyes.

The two walked out of the cabin together, sticking close to one another as they walked to the bridge. They made themselves be as awake as possible, knowing they'd need to be alert for battle. When they reached the bridge, where Falco, Slippy, and Amanda waited for them, Falco addressed them about the situation.

"Not as bad as we were expecting," Falco said to Fox and Krystal. "Should be able to take care of these guys pretty quickly."

"Good; we want to get to Venom as soon as possible," Fox said. "Can we try to contact Beltino?"

"Sure; ROB, set that up!" Falco commanded.

"Affirmative; contacting Commissioner Beltino," ROB responded.

ROB was able to send a transmission to the nearby commissioner. When Beltino responded to the call, his hologram appeared in the Great Fox, and he looked quite nervous. Fox spoke to the worried commissioner.

"Commissioner Beltino! This is Star Fox!" Fox said to Beltino.

"Star Fox! Peppy told me you were coming! I'm glad you could make it; we could use your help!" Beltino said excitedly.

"We'll help you clear out these goons in no time!" Falco bragged.

"We got it, Dad! Hang in there!" Slippy added.

"Good, good!" Beltino said. "The Army pilots have managed to hold them off so far, but there aren't a whole lot of them, so it's fortunate you all could make it."

"Don't worry about it; we'll take care of it, Commissioner!" Fox said.

"Good luck, team!" Beltino said.

With that, Fox cut off the transmission. Fox was glad to hear that the Army pilots had held up this long, but he knew his team couldn't afford to wait around. He faced his teammates to speak.

"Alright, guys; let's get in our Arwings and get out there! ROB, take care of the Great Fox!" Fox ordered.

The teammates ran to the Great Fox's hangar, wasting no time. They all wanted to get the job done quickly so that they could move on, tired of the distractions blocking their path to Venom. When the team reached the hangar, they hopped into their Arwings, had ROB open the hangar hatch, and entered the battle around the Orbital Gate (which was a rather simple, bulky structure).

The team got right to work, shooting down as many of Bowman's ships as they could. It never mattered how outnumbered they were; the Star Fox team members were always too skilled for their adversaries. Fortunately, the Cornerian Army pilots that were there had held up well enough; they just needed an extra push to win the battle. With Star Fox there now, it wasn't too difficult. There weren't even a whole lot of Bowman's ships left.

Fox, Falco, Slippy, Amanda, and Krystal all took down several enemy ships, and avoided taking any damage themselves. It wasn't long before the number of Bowman's ships was cut down drastically, and the few remaining fled. It seemed that a quick victory had been accomplished. The Star Fox team and the Cornerian Army pilots celebrated the success.

"Well done, everybody!" Beltino complimented the fighters. "Thanks to you, the Gate is safe again!"

"No problem, Dad! It was easy!" Slippy said.

"It was indeed!" Amanda replied.

"Pfft, too easy!" Falco remarked.

"It was a cinch!" Krystal agreed.

"Great! Now we can get to Venom!" Fox remarked triumphantly.

"Can't let you do that, Star Fox," a familiar voice growled over the intercom.

All the Star Fox members recognized it at once. It was Wolf O'Donnell, leader of the Star Wolf squadron. He showed up in his signature Wolfen ship, the counterpart to Star Fox's Arwings. Leon and Panther flew alongside him. A new horde of Bowman's ships arrived with them, which began to battle with the Cornerian Army ships.

Not them again… Fox thought to himself angrily. He held a strong contempt for Wolf and Panther in particular - Wolf because he had been Fox's rival in battle for many years, and Panther for trying to make Krystal his lover. Not them…

"Wolf!" Fox exclaimed. "I should have known your gang was working for Bowman!"

"Hey, the monkey pays nice, just like his granddaddy!" Leon chimed in.

"Yes… not to mention, I believe we have some unfinished business," Panther hissed menacingly. "You stole one of our beloved pilots… my Krystal..."

Krystal was quick to correct Panther. "They didn't steal me, I went back myself! And it's where I belong! And I am NOT yours! So shut up!"

"Krystal… it hurts to hear you say such things," Panther said sullenly. "Please, come back to Panther…"

"No! Never again!" Krystal retorted firmly.

"Enough small talk," Wolf cut in. "Bowman wants your team out of the way, Fox, and I'm going to make him happy. Leon! Panther! Attack!"

The three Wolfens commenced firing. The Star Fox team was quick, each member flying out of the way immediately. Once the Arwings repositioned, they returned fire, and the dogfight was on.

Star Fox had the immediate advantage, since they outnumbered Star Wolf five to three. This didn't discourage any of the Star Wolf members, however, who were just as determined as Star Fox to win. Slippy and Amanda flew closely together and were fighting against Panther, who was proving himself able to take them both at once. Leon was fighting against Falco and Krystal, and Fox was squaring off against Wolf.

Fox, who had fought Wolf several times before this, noticed his rival was particularly energetic today. Fox found himself having to dodge more than he could try to shoot, with Wolf moving too quickly for him to keep up. Wolf gave a laugh, knowing he had the upper hand as the fight began.

"What's the matter, Fox? Lost your edge? Have you gotten too old? Come on, pup! Fight!" Wolf taunted Fox.

Despite the rough start, Fox stayed focused, not allowing Wolf to gain an emotional edge. Fox allowed Wolf to gain on him, suddenly performing a loop to throw Wolf off. Now behind Wolf, Fox shot as much laser-fire as he could at the back of Wolf's ship, shifting the battle in his favor. Wolf moved out of the way, but not before taking some significant damage. Fox could hear Wolf snarling in anger over the intercom.

Fox saw the Cornerian Army ships were taking care of the new wave of Bowman's ships. He also noticed his teammates were doing well against Panther and Leon. Having two additional pilots helped a lot, of course, but beating Star Wolf was never easy. Panther and Leon's Wolfens had both taken some damage already.

"This is no fair… there are too many!" Panther remarked. "One is not on the right side!"

"Shut it!" Krystal snapped, annoyed by Panther's comments.

"Harsh…" Leon muttered.

Falco and Krystal were starting to handle business easily against Leon, who was faring the worst now. For some time Falco and Leon had shared a personal rivalry, so this was a big deal for Falco. He was sure to rub it in Leon's face.

"How do you like that, lizard boy?" Falco jeered as he fired at Leon's ship. "You gonna fight me or what?"

"Shut up, you annoying bird!" Leon yelled, clearly losing his composure.

The fight between Slippy, Amanda, and Panther was much closer, but Slippy and Amanda were eventually able to gain an edge. They found a way to deplete Panther's ship with some tricky maneuvers, and he was unable to keep up eventually. He growled, knowing he wouldn't last much longer.

"Urrgh… we must recruit another couple members next time…" Panther said.

The battle between Fox and Wolf remained very back-and-forth until the end. Since he was fighting one-on-one, Fox's Arwing took more damage than his teammates'. Ultimately, Wolf's cockiness was his downfall, and Fox was able to capitalize whenever Wolf became overconfident. After many series of skilled maneuvering, Fox was able to drain Wolf's ship to the point where it could no longer fight back. Each Wolfen was now down to its last leg, and it was evident Star Fox had won. At this point, the Cornerian Army also had beaten all of Bowman's forces.

Wolf, who rarely lost his cool, yelled in anger. "You won't be so lucky next time, Fox! Star Wolf WILL take you down! Do you hear me?! Next time, Fox!"

With that, the Star Wolf team retreated. Each Star Fox member gave a shout of rejoice, proud to have once again bested Star Wolf. It was always a victory the Star Fox team savored in particular.

"HA! Takes care of those losers!" Falco taunted.

"We beat 'em again!" Slippy remarked.

"Well done, team!" Beltino congratulated the Star Fox members.

"Thanks, Pop!" Slippy said back. "Glad we could help you out!"

"We did pretty well, huh?" Amanda asked.

"Yes; we were all fantastic!" Krystal complimented everyone.

"Great job, everyone!" Fox said to his teammates. "You all did great!"

"We DESTROYED those fools!" Falco said, laughing. "If that's the best Bowman's got, he won't last two seconds when we see him!"

Slippy laughed too, sharing Falco's confidence. "Yeah! We got this war in the bag! Star Fox always comes out on top!"

"Well, let's just make sure we all stay focused," Krystal said, not letting herself get overly excited.

"She's right; we still have to take care of Bowman, and I wouldn't take it lightly," Fox said. "Let's get back to the Great Fox, guys! We've got to get to Venom!"

"Did you all want to use the Orbital Gate's transport? It would get you there in a jiffy!" Beltino suggested.

"That would be great! Right, Fox?" Slippy said.

"Yes; it would be much appreciated, Commissioner!" Fox said to Beltino. "We'll fly back to the Great Fox and get to the portal as soon as we can!"

"I'll set it up, then; good luck, everybody!" Beltino said to the team.

They each said a thank you to Beltino, and bid the commissioner farewell. The teammates flew their Arwings back in the direction of the Great Fox so that they could get to the portal. Fox felt quite lively, and he was truly proud to be the captain of this team. He deeply valued the heart and soul of his teammates, and he was always grateful for their company. Beating Star Wolf especially helped him feel excited.

"Is everyone ready to get to Venom and finish this war?" Fox asked everyone.

"Yes, Fox!" Krystal enthusiastically replied first.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Slippy happily answered.

"Yes, sir!" Amanda said.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" Falco replied gleefully.

Fox grinned, pleased to hear the enthusiasm from his teammates. It made him more confident, and he knew this attitude would help them win the war. The Arwings made their way back to the Great Fox, ready to use the portal and finally get to Venom.