Here is the second chapter!
Zaravan asks: How are you able to write so much in so little time? Have you been blessed by the patron saint of the arts?
SnowLucario answers: There is a possibility that is true. However, it might have something to do with autism spectrum disorder and having a lot of free time.
This is the shortest chapter yet, and I'm on Chapter 8. It's still the shortest chapter then. And it's still over 4,000 words, so I'm dedicated to long chapters now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox, nor do I claim to. Just the characters introduced in this story.
Just decided to add that for fun, like I see so many others doing.
KONSTANTIN'S POV
It had been three days since I had been rescued from the cell inside the mountain on Corneria. Since then, I had been on a roller coaster of emotions.
On one hand, I was very happy to be free. I now had more life ahead of me, more to look forward to than just getting executed by firing squad. I was on the Great Fox, where I had access to plenty of food and water, unlike the conditions in that prison. We'd gotten through the asteroid belt yesterday, and we were just two days from touching down on our destination planet, Fichina.
On the surface, it would seem as though I was on a roller coaster that only went up. On the inside, though, I was not on cloud nine by any means.
Every night, I had been having nightmares. Whether it be about getting captured and sent into this alternate dimension, getting imprisoned in that dark, dank underground cell, or the alien attack on the school that I was being blamed for. There seemed to be no end to them.
I hadn't told Dr. Howler about this. I hadn't seen too much of her other than my first night here, which I had spent in med bay. I didn't know what she was going to do, but I wasn't just going to trust a Cornerian with my secrets. Not even if that Cornerian had saved me from certain death.
I got into my bed early. Dr. Howler had insisted that I not stay up too late or push myself in the exercise room, since I was still recovering. I got underneath the covers and closed my eyes, hoping that the onslaught of nightmares would not start up this time.
Of course, I could never be so lucky.
No sooner had I managed to drift off than I found myself in the middle of bumper-to-bumper traffic on a Bastrop County road just outside of Austin. I knew which of my nightmares this was.
I'd been planning to go to the University Of Texas in Austin before all of this had happened. In fact, I'd been driving from Houston to Austin when this happened. The traffic simply stopped, and I was left with no option but to get out of my vehicle and see if there was any way at all I could direct traffic or do something like that.
I walked down the hill, hoping that I could get through, when I saw a large tank in front of me with the crimson red flying fox symbol. As soon as I got there, however, I felt something lodge itself in my leg, and I blacked out. It would later turn out that this was a tranquilizer arrow, but I didn't know that at the time.
The scene changed.
Now, I was lying in bed in my dormitory at the Grey Clouds Flight Academy. I had shared this room with all of the other students currently on the Great Fox other than Willow, who had slept with five other girls.
I'd been woken up by the alarm, which had been triggered by Anglar forces having reached our school. They were getting through the windows, and it was difficult for us to escape. I tried to keep myself looking just as surprised as the others were at the attack, but it would obviously not end up working. I'd get blamed for it anyway.
We'd gone down to the hangar, where Lucas had gone back for Falco. Later, I'd seen Falco carrying Lucas's unconscious form into the Great Fox. I'd later find out that he had been bitten by one of the Anglars, but he was fine now, which was a good thing.
The scene changed again.
I was now being shackled and taken into the underground cell that I was held in under suspicion of betraying our location to the Anglars. Like I said, there was nothing but circumstantial evidence for this, but that was apparently enough for those assholes. I was told that, a few days from now, I would stand trial.
The scene changed yet again, and now I was sitting in front of a jury. There were seven straight witnesses who didn't say anything to imply that I was guilty. However, all it took was for one witness, Wolf, to shift things enough so that I was convicted by a vote of seven to five. No filibuster, no nothing. I was just dragged in there, and then I was taken back to my cell.
There, I was very brutally treated. Very little food, no water at all, and still shackled, with occasional beatings. Was this really necessary, given that I was about to be executed? The chains chafed against my wrists and ankles, so they became painful fast, rather than simply tight. I really did wish this on the people who had imprisoned me, so they could know just what they had inflicted on Konstantin Brockenbough.
The scene changed for the final time, and I found myself waking up in med bay with Dr. Howler next to me. This scene only lasted for a few seconds, though, or at least what felt like a few seconds. It's worth noting that, unlike most of the times that I dream, I was fully aware that I was just dreaming. However, this didn't make it much less scary.
I woke up in my bed on the Great Fox, sitting up like I had just been jump-scared. No, I was still here, and had not been kidnapped or anything.
Checking the digital clock on the wall, I saw that it was 5:49 AM. Dr. Howler had told me that I should get plenty of rest, because I was still not fully recovered from my time in the mountain prison. However, I knew that I would never be able to get back to sleep tonight, and I was too restless to stay in bed until seven. After all, we were only one day away from Fichina, and I knew that once we were there things would be different. We might find a place where we would be safe.
I elected to get out of bed. After brushing my teeth, I decided to go to the rec room to pass the time until breakfast. After all, I had nothing better to do until 8:00, which was when we would all meet.
When I got to the rec room, I got quite a surprise. I hadn't noticed it, but Lucas's bunk in the bedroom of the Great Fox had been empty. The reason for this was, of course, because he was in the rec room right now.
"Good morning, Konstantin" he said. "How's it going?"
I debated in my mind whether or not to tell him the truth, before deciding in favor of it. "Had a nightmare" I said.
"Sorry about that" Lucas said. "About what, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Just...stuff" I said. "You don't really need to know" I added.
"Oh" Lucas responded. "Well...maybe playing some video games will help. Do you want to play some Brawl?"
I smiled. "Thought you'd never ask. I'm sure I could beat you at that".
Lucas found the case for the game and put the disc, resembling a Smash Ball, into the Wii.
"Who's your main?" he asked me.
"I like to play as King Dedede" I said, hoping that Lucas wouldn't find it ironic that a fat guy liked to play as a fat character in a video game. Granted, I had lost probably ten pounds, maybe fifteen, in that cell, but I had already gained back several. Soon, I would go back to being a slightly overweight person.
"Contrary to what many people assume, no, I do not play as Lucas" the boy with the same first name said.
"Who do you play as, then?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"My main's Fox" Lucas said.
We booted up the game, and we each made our character choices. I selected King Dedede, and did not change his costume. Lucas, on the other hand, selected Fox's green palette swap.
"I hope none of you are playing as me!" a voice from outside the room said.
We turned around, just as we were at the stage selection screen, to find Falco Lombardi looking at us.
"It's fine that you're playing Wii this early, but try not to wake the others. Turn the volume down to 12 or lower. And please don't disgrace yourself by sucking as me. Later, I'll show you my moves in real life".
I laughed. I had been so distracted by how much things in this alternate dimension had sucked that I hadn't given much thought to the hilarious implications of video game characters being real.
"In any case, get to your game. I'm sure that you will have a good time".
We heeded his advice.
It soon became clear who was the better player, or at least who was playing as the better character. I knew that King Dedede was higher on the tier list than Fox, twelfth place as opposed to fifteenth place, but that didn't mean that he was easier to play with. His hammer attack is very slow, and that made it easy for Lucas to utilize Fox's blaster. I had also underestimated his prowess at the smash attack.
"Dude, I'm glad we're playing on Final Destination. I could just play no items, Final Destination".
"Not Fox only?" Lucas asked, winking.
"This isn't Melee" I said. "Fox isn't number one on this tier list".
"Whatever" he said. "I'm just having a good time gaming with you right now".
I looked back at him. "Me too".
WILLOW'S POV
We all ate breakfast together, and then we all went our separate ways. I was told that we would reach the ice planet of Fichina tomorrow, so we would be saying good-bye to this ship, at least for a while.
I really did like the Great Fox. While the Grey Clouds Flight Academy had had very comfortable dormitories, the second location had only had sleeping bags arranged all over the floor. All in all, I was glad to be on the ship.
With nothing better to do, I decided to head towards the workout room. Maybe I would find something to do there. I might try the weights, or something like that.
Imagine my surprise when I found that I was not the only one there. Indeed, it was not someone who was superficial to my life. I hadn't gotten too acquainted with Mike, Ian, or Will, but there was one person who tugged on my heartstrings like no other.
Lucas Enfield was on the treadmill when I arrived there. He was going at 5.7 MPH (for those of you who don't know, the treadmill was moving at that speed, meaning that Lucas would have to move at least that fast to avoid falling off. Luckily, a clip attached to his shirt would cause the device to stop if that happened). He looked like he was really working up a sweat there.
"Lucas! How could you work out a time like this?" I asked. I wasn't mad at him, just wondering.
"You lose bone mass in space!" he yelled over the sound of the treadmill. "I gotta keep in shape somehow!"
"But the Great Fox has plenty of gravity!" I said. "Can't you just dance with me or something?"
He looked like he was about to protest, but I went over to the treadmill.
"Lucas, press the red button". That was the button that stopped the conveyor belt.
"No, I've got to get in my workout-".
"It can wait" I said, pressing the button.
The treadmill stopped, and Lucas looked at me, looking a little peeved.
"Do you really want me to dance with you?" he asked me. "I'm sweating like a beast right now, and I'm also pretty tired".
"Yeah" I said. "Do you remember that night at the holiday ball?"
He snorted. "You mean, the night we both got shot with tranquilizer darts and sent to the academy? Yeah, I remember that".
"Well, can't we just do something like that? We haven't had a date in, like, forever. We'll be arriving on Fichina tomorrow, and then who knows when we'll be able to do it again?"
Lucas seemed to relent. "Fine" he said.
In the Great Fox, there was also a dance floor. It wasn't used very often, because right now there was really nothing to be celebrated. Of course, there was the fact that Konstantin had been saved, but that was old news now. He'd been with us for a good four days.
"What song do you want?" Lucas asked, assuming that I had to be the one to choose.
Luckily, I had one in mind.
"I want you to play 'Surrender' by Billy Talent. Can you do that?"
"Sure thing".
He grabbed a remote and turned on the TV. Selecting the YouTube option, he typed in, "surrender billy talent". Clicking on the official music video, he grabbed my arm.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"I am ready".
The song "Surrender" is a very sad song. Unlike some other sad songs, though, it's very up-front about being a sad song.
The song is essentially about unrequited love. Ben, the lead singer, is basically singing about being friends with a girl whom he has developed feelings for. However, he doesn't want to hell her that for fear of losing the friendship. To be honest, I don't know what I was thinking when I selected this song to play while we danced. I guess I just wanted to show that I would reciprocate for Lucas.
These lines are basically asking the girl to give up everything for him, just like he would do for her. It's really quite depressing when you think about it. My mother always told me that unrequited love wasn't romantic, it's just a waste of time. That might be true, but you'd be smart not to take the words of a parent who sold you to a military academy in an alternate dimension too seriously.
I wanted to make clear to Lucas that he wouldn't meet a similar fate to the singer of the song. I grasped his arms and spun him around as we covered more of the floor. At this point, we were doing just as well as we had nearly two months ago. If there had been a dancing queen and king for the Great Fox, we would definitely be earning it right now.
The next lines talk about how Ben thinks that, among all of the bad girls, he has found one that it's worth it to be with. Looking at Lucas right now, I was sure that I had found a flower in the field of weeds that was jerk boys, but I hoped that this flower did belong to me.
Just as the last lines of the song were finishing, ending in that haunting way, I heard the door open. I tried to close it, hoping that they had not seen when we were dancing.
However, when Cole McCallen is outside the door, there is just no way to hide from his prying eye.
I could tell that he was wondering what was going on. I could practically see the gears turning inside his head, figuring it out.
"Were you guys just dancing to 'Surrender'?" he asked.
There was no reason to deny it. "Yes" Lucas said.
"You realize that song is about unrequited love, right?" Cole said.
"I do" I said. "And there's nothing wrong with us listening to it".
"No, there isn't. I just thought that...well".
"You're saying that just because we're dating, we can't listen to a song about unrequited love like that?"
"I'm not! I was just wondering why you wanted to!"
"Because she likes that song. Isn't that enough, Cole?" Lucas asked him.
"Yeah, it is" Cole said, before leaving the room.
I walked with Lucas over to the couch in the next room. "Sit down before you fall down. You've been working out for a while, right?"
"Yeah. I was on the treadmill for twenty minutes before you came".
"Oh. Well...is it okay if I go do something else now?" I asked him.
He looked at me. "Of course" he said.
As I left the room, I knew one thing: our love was not unrequited.
LUCAS'S POV
The next day, the fifth since rescuing Konstantin, we were traveling right on schedule as the ice planet of Fichina came into view. It was quite a beautiful white color with a little bit of blue added in. I wasn't sure if the planet had any oceans, since in the game you're limited to a pretty small area.
Konstantin had taken a walk around the ship and ended up in the control room. There, he said, Falco and Dr. Howler had told him that I was wanted up there. Supposedly, they needed my help. For what, I didn't know. Probably to help land the ship.
"Did they say why they wanted me?" I asked him.
"No. But they won't take no for an answer. Supposedly, you are absolutely necessary".
"Well, I do like feeling needed" I said, leaving to head to the control room.
Falco and Dr. Howler were waiting there, looking like they were getting ready to ask me to help. Which was kind of just what I was expecting.
"Will you help us prepare the landing gear?" Falco asked me.
"Sure. Just show me what to do and I'll help".
Truth be told, the last five days had been pretty boring. Once Konstantin was allowed outside of med bay, we had had one more person to hang out with, but there still wasn't that much to do. Soon, we'd be on Fichina, and then we'd get to quite possibly take part in missions again as a team.
"Okay" Dr. Howler said. "Once we're over the landing zone on Fichina, I want you to press the purple button when either Falco or myself tells you to. Will you do that?"
"Yeah. Just say the word".
I didn't really have to do too much until fifteen minutes later, when we finally broke through the planet's atmosphere. Then, we started going down at what felt like a faster pace.
"It's just because of the gravity of the planet" Falco said. "Still, though, we've got to be careful for sure. It's not like I'm not used to this".
Falco had been piloting the Great Fox for years, so I had no doubt that he was confident in his abilities. The only question was whether or not I would be able to help him enough.
I saw an airstrip about half a mile below us and maybe two or three miles ahead of us. "Okay...hold steady, Falco! Just keep the ship level".
"I think he means in terms of left and right, because we do need to go slightly downwards at an angle of fifteen degrees. Haven't you skied before, Lucas?"
"Yeah, I have".
"Then you should know that you need to be heading downwards at a specific angle in order to end up level on the ground. If you're ever going to pilot your own Arwing, you're going to need to know that".
Pretty big oversight on my part.
"Then go left...no, go right...but keep going downward".
"I've got it" Falco said. "I can control this thing pretty well".
"It's time to press the button, Lucas" Dr. Howler said.
I searched among the control panel. Eventually, I found a small, circular purple button. I used my right pointer finger to press it, and I heard the sound of landing gear coming down.
And, almost immediately, I felt a blast of cold air.
"You might want to grab some furs for everybody" Dr. Howler said. "The planet of Fichina is quite cold".
Duh, I thought.
I remembered the last time I was in such cold weather. I'd gotten caught in an avalanche and nearly died.
"Let's get down there" I said.
Eventually, the others had all put on warm jackets. Despite this, they were still shivering, and so was I. We were all ready to leave the ship.
As soon as we had gotten off of the Great Fox, a man came up to us. With his appearance of being a Bengal tiger, he looked like he could be Dr. Howler's father.
Clearly, he looked much older than our physician. His orange fur was turning less bright, and he seemed to be hunched over a little bit.
"I have...Lucas Enfield, Cole McCallen, Willow Foster, Howler, Falco Lombardi, Michael Kirk, Hooter, William Wexford, and Konstantin Brockenbough. Will each of you raise your hands as I call your names again?"
The nine of us did. Even Mrs. Hooter, who had come back from the archery range for only the second or third time in five days.
"We've been expecting you".