CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Skyfall

The next day…

In orbit above Planet Cerinia

"I know it's far too late to be saying things like this and it's cliché as all hell, but…I really don't wanna go down there…" Damalgo said timidly.

"You and me both." Anna replied.

Marcus said nothing as they looked down at Cerinia from the Great Fox's bridge. The planet looked very peaceful from this high, but he knew that whatever was lurking underneath the clouds was less than friendly. Everything that had happened in the previous battles…it had all led up to this.

It was only then that Marcus noticed that Coyote wasn't on the bridge with the rest of them, though finding her took little effort. Upon walking into the bathroom, he saw her sitting there and hiding something behind her back the second he came in.

"What do you have there?" he asked.

"N-nothing! It's nothing, really!"

Marcus sensed her lying and looked into her thoughts. Upon seeing what she had been trying to do, he grew a look of horror, realizing that the thing she was holding behind her back was a loaded pistol.

"Were you just about to shoot yourself?!" he sputtered.

Coyote didn't answer.

"I know that being infected by a virus that you can't get rid of is a bad thing, but what makes you think that taking your own life is going to solve anything?!" Marcus growled. "Did you even think about how we would feel?!"

"…I wanna go home."

When he heard these words, he sensed something else was at work here. All anger vanished from him and was replaced with sympathy as he sat down next to Coyote and placed a hand on her shoulder. With that, she began to tragically speak.

"Scott kept begging me to take him with me when I left. I could tell that he was just concerned for my safety and that all he wanted was for me to come home in one peace, but I didn't want him to get involved in it. I kept saying no, but he didn't stop…and it happened again. The infection made me flip out at him."

Judging from the things Coyote had said to everyone else when her anger overtook her, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that what she had said had greatly disturbed her brother.

"When I finally stopped, he started yelling back. We were going back and forth at each other, and then…"

A tear seeped out of her eye and the thought of what happened afterwards, yet she still said it.

"He said he never wanted to see me again…I didn't know what to say, I just…stormed out."

Marcus turned Coyote's head so she was looking directly into his eyes.

"It's okay. He's still gonna be there when we get back."

"Mark…I'm going to have this virus for the rest of my life. How do you expect me to live with myself with the fact that me yelling at my own family for no reason is going to be a regular occurrence?"

"Chase has the suppressor for you…"

"And what if my body starts learning how to fight it? Then what?"

Marcus said nothing since that was the perfect question that he had no positive answer to. True, he could supress the effects of the virus, but it was still a genetic mutation. Not only was there no sort of cure for genetic mutations, not yet at least, but this was one that could made her violent in a matter of milliseconds. The more Marcus thought about it, the angrier he became.

"It's all her fault." he thought in concealed fury. "Coyote's infected. Pete, Samus, Falcon and Chase had to be hospitalized, Commander Dane is dead…I'm gonna wring her neck until she screams like a little girl."

Marcus exhaled, venting out his anger to the best of his ability before he embraced Coyote.

"It's okay. We're gonna get through this together. I promise with every inch of my life that I'm never going to let anything like this happen to you again. But you have to promise me that you'll stay strong, okay?"

"…okay. I promise."

The two proceeded back to the bridge. Anna's monitor beeped and she slammed it with her palm.

"Shit. I knew it wasn't gonna be this easy."

"What's up, Anne?" asked Peter.

"There's some sort of barrier around the planet. It's permeable, but it requires even more force than a cannon fire. Even a free fall from three miles above the surface couldn't get through there."

Marcus thought for a moment, processing any sort of method that they could use. When he reached a conclusion, he opened his eyes.

"What about a fire fall?"

"A what?" Damalgo said confused. "Are you making up your own lingo now, Mark?"

"Sort of. Al, you stay on the ship. We're getting to that planet whether Kursed likes it or not."

"Uhh…Mark, are you sure about this?" Damalgo asked. "I mean…think about it for a second: this is just freakin' insane!"

"A lot of things we do are 'freaking insane', Al." said Marcus. "This can't be that much different."

"Well…alright. If you say so."

Marcus looked down at the planet. He couldn't believe that this was what they were doing, either, but they were ready. They were ready to bring this war to and end and finally stop all of the terror this monster was stirring up.

"We're ready." Marcus said. "On my mark."

Damalgo positioned his hand over a button and exhaled.

"Sure you're not having second thoughts?"
"Never. Just be ready to press that button."

"Okay. Your funeral…I really hope not, but still."

Damalgo sucked in a breath and waited as Marcus counted down from three.

"Three…"

Anna, Coyote, and Peter tensed up. They were just as ready as Marcus was. They were scared of what they might encounter on the surface, but they wouldn't know until they saw it for themselves.

"Two…"

Everything was absolutely silent save for the sound of the teams beating hearts…

"One…"

The tension reached its peak as Marcus yelled out the final word: "FIRE!"

Damalgo slammed down on the button, jettisoning the four out of the cannons at top speed and downward through the atmosphere, protected from the lack of air and steadily increasing heat by the new and improved Thermal Armour covering their entire bodies. They met with some moderate resistance in the form of slowdown, but within two seconds of being released from the cannons…

"We're through the barrier!" Anna announced.

"Alright, team! To the planet!"

They straightened and began plummeting down towards the planet, strafing from side-to-side to avoid being hit by floating rocks that drifted about through the gravity-lacking air. Even at the speed they were going, it would take approximately three minutes for them to reach the planet's surface. What made this aggravating was what had suddenly come up from the planet far below.

"Aparoids." Anna growled. "Even after we've taken down all the beacons, they're still leaking through the Echo."

"That makes sense, then." said Peter. "It means there's one more beacon down there. It's a simple as taking it down and then finishing off Kursed, right?"

"You don't know Kursed, Peter." muttered Marcus. "Even after she forced you into getting third-degree burns, that's not even the worst she could do to you."

Peter sighed.
"I really hate quoting movies, but I suppose it just from mission impossible to mission in-freakin'-sanity."

"Sadly yes. We can't use our weapons like this, guys. We're just gonna have to outrun them."

"Wouldn't that technically be out-FALL them?"

"Sure. Whatever."

The team pressed their arms flat against their sides, thus allowing them to slip through the air slightly faster and easier. The Aparoids paid no attention to this change being the mindless vermin that they were and continued to make attempts at catching up with their potential prey. They couldn't even come close as the four dove further and further.

"We're entering the mesosphere!" Anna yelled. "Hold tight, guys! It's gonna get hot!"

And hot it got. The pure speed of the suits caused the air around them to steadily increase in heat, and though the team could feel the heat as they began to sweat heavily, they still felt protected. The same could not be said for the Aparoids as the air surging by them at an almost impossible speed began to make flames lick across their bodies. Still, they carried on. These four metallic-clad creatures couldn't reach the planet where their mistress was hiding.

"Persistent little shits, aren't they?" Coyote said with a slight smirk. "I gotta give 'em credit there."

"Whether they're noble to their queen or not, it won't matter when she's six feet under." Marcus said, trying his best not to sound like a cold-blooded killer.

It couldn't be helped. He wanted to kill her. He wanted her to pay for all the suffering she had caused everyone. He didn't care if he had to throw his staff down and just squeeze her neck until she stopped breathing.

"We're in the stratosphere!" Anna announced.

The flames on the Aparoids had intensified, and the team could hear them screeching in pain behind them. The Aparoids were utterly searing with pain, but they stubbornly kept after their targets for another twenty seconds until they couldn't take the heat anymore and spontaneously combusted into ashes.

"We call the physical descent into Hell." Peter said jokingly.

"If that's the case, we're headed there, too." Anna said as they surged through the dark clouds. "We're entering the troposphere!"

"Activate landing gear!" Marcus ordered.

The back of each suit opened, deploying flame-proof parachutes in their wake. The team slowed down rapidly until they drifted underneath the canopy of the trees below them and landed feet-first on the ground. With that finished, the metallic suits fell apart and left the four of them wearing the camouflage gear they had worn on Kew.

With nothing impeding their vision, the team observed their surroundings. Compared to the ashy forest of Kew, this place was (to say the least) absolutely beautiful. The leaves of the various trees around them seemed to glow a very light shade of blue, lighting up the air around them with a radiant hue. The only sound in the background was the quiet flowing of a nearby stream and the gentle blowing of a light breeze. There weren't any stars out for some strange reason even though it was the middle of the night, and considering this was the final battlefield, it only added to the ominous air about this planet. Still, Marcus couldn't deny its beauty.

Anna pressed a few buttons on her map and received a location.

"I'm picking up a strong energy reading from a little way to the east." she said. "There's definitely something there."

"Or some-ONE." said Marcus as he and the other three readied their weapons. "Let's do this."

One after the other, the team marched down the path, continuing to examine their surroundings. None of them dropped their guard even for a moment, and Marcus was on high alert should anything strike his ESP as dangerous.

As they walked, they began thinking of all they had been through. All the giant creatures they had faced, every place they had been…and especially all of those horrible attacks.

"I wish Chase was here." Anna sighed.

"Why's that?" Coyote asked.

"I don't know. He'd usually say something funny right about now to lighten the mood a little bit."

"You mean like 'AND MOAR TREEZ!'?"

"Yeah. Exactly like that."
"…and when I do, it isn't funny in the least?"

"…ROB?"

"DAD I'M IN SPACE!" ROB blared before changing his tone. "I'm proud of you, son. DAD ARE YOU SPACE? Yes. Now we are a family again."

"Thanks, ROB."

"Space space. Wanna go to space…oh! Oh! You know what Chase rhymes with?"
"Let's say it together then."

Anna took in a deep breath and said it simultaneously with ROB. What she didn't realize until after she said it was how loud it had been.

"SPAAAAAACE!"

When she shouted that, everything that had been nestling in the trees suddenly scattered. Coyote and Peter ended up swerving around and nearly shooting at a few of them.

"Jesus, Annie, don't do that!" Peter panted.

"Sorry…" Anna said sheepishly. "Just kinda got lost in the moment, y'know?"

Suddenly, Marcus' ESP flashed and faded so suddenly that it actually caused a nanosecond of sharp pain in his ears. He let out this pain in the form of a small yelp.

"Mark, are you okay?" Coyote asked.

Marcus clenched his teeth and looked up with a furrowed brow.

"Let's just keep moving. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can all go home and forget about it."

Upon walking through the forest for what seemed like a half hour, the team came across a most peculiar sight: a stone staircase that seemed to lead up through the canopy. The ominous feeling got worse, and the sting in Marcus' ears returned for a brief moment. He somehow knew that things were about to go from bad to worse, and the team hadn't even found a living creature yet. It didn't help that the reading on Anna's map was pointing to the top of these stairs, either.

Without a word, they ascended, pushing their way past the thick leaves and revealing the landscape beyond where they had landed. It looked somewhat peaceful, but what set them on edge was a mountain far off in the distance. The clouds gathered around it spiralled slowly in a way that made it almost resemble a hurricane. All four of them got a horrible sense of dread as they continued to climb the staircase until it finally deposited them on a large platform. On the platform were three totem poles looming over a large stone table.

The team walked off in different directions to examine the platform, save for Marcus and Coyote who both stepped toward the table. The totem poles that almost seemed to glare down at them had murals painted on them depicting a female fox with a smaller male drawn inside of her.

Turning her gaze from the poles, Coyote found a red liquid on the table and dipped her finger in it. Upon realizing just what it was, she was utterly horrified.

"This is…Mark, this is blood!"

Marcus looked at the table, and then at the totem poles again. Then he realized it. That woman was Kursed, and that man was him. And since she was drawn in a way that made her look peaceful (what with her eyes softly closed and holding her arms out like a loving mother), that could only mean…

"The natives…they're worshipping Kursed as a deity!" he sputtered. "They think she's a goddess!"

"They don't think. They know."

The voice slithered out from nowhere, and as soon as Peter and Anna saw that the source was right in front of them, they yelped out in fright and backed away towards their teammates keeping their guns trained on her. Kursed herself simply smiled.

"Hello, Star Fox, and welcome to Cerinia."

Marcus gripped his staff and unsheathed it.

"We came, we saw. We're here to kick ass and…kick more ass."

"I can see that. But let me ask you: did you really think it was going to be this easy? Just walking in and putting a bullet through my precious little heart? We're on my home turf, after all."

"Home turf or not, you're going down! Now let's do this!"

Marcus made the first move, charging headlong at Kursed. Kursed herself rolled her eyes and held up her hand, and the moment Marcus jabbed at her, she repulsed him backwards, forcing Peter to catch him.

"I know you're reckless, Marcus, but that was just ridiculous…oh! Coyote! How wonderful to see you again!"

Coyote bit her lip and trained her gun at Kursed, but couldn't stop herself from trembling. The horrible encounter with this evil being was still flashing through her mind and making her wish she could just go home and be with her family again.

"Get away from me!" she yelled. "I'm warning you!"

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost…or felt one giving you the greatest kind of pleasure."

"How dare you talk to her like that, you thunder cunt!" Marcus shouted.

Yes, he just said THAT. There's a reason this story is rated M…well, several, but admit it: you were thinking that, too.

"And Peter. How's your face, darling?"

Peter gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his gun.

"Wouldn't you like to know…"

"Yes. That would be why I asked….Anna, you're looking as cute as ever. How's Chase?"

Anna's fists shook and she began stepping forward.

"Better now that he's about to be avenged!"

Peter held her back. No way was he going to let the poor girl get any closer and risk being horrifically maimed like Chase had been. Kursed began walking around the team, making her way to the table. She ran a finger across its blood-stained surface and poked it in her mouth. The look on her face as she did so was that of pure ecstasy.

"Delicious. The people of this planet truly do provide me with wonderful meals. Isn't it wonderful the things a goddess can give her people…like supernatural powers, eh, Coyote?"

"Stop talking to her!" Marcus growled. "You say one more word to her and I'll…"

"Marcus, honey? Has anybody ever told you that you talk too much?"

"What did you say?!"
"See?"

Marcus had to use every inch of his moral fiber to keep himself from lunging at her. Even though she hadn't done anything…yet, he was still as angry as a bull seeing red…red like BLOOOOOOD!

"But since you came all the way here, why don't we really get the party going?" Kursed asked, eyeing Coyote in a way that made Marcus aware that he needed to do something fast. "You're the guests of honour, after all."

Without any warning, Coyote felt every organ in her body seize up. She let out a choked gasp and felt her blood pressure begin to rise. Even though she had taken the repressor right before they had left Corneria, she realized in horror that Kursed had somehow overridden it.

The rest of the team turned to her in shock as she slowly began convulsing in pain. Marcus delved into her mind and tried to reason with her, saying whatever he could to try and calm her down, but all got back was a series of terrified and pained screams. Marcus turned angrily to his evil surrogate mother.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!" he bellowed.

"Me? I'm not doing a damn thing. She's acting on instinct, remember?"

"You bitch!"

"Why, thank you."

All of a sudden, Coyote stopped convulsing and fell to her knees panting. Kursed held out her hand.

"Come to me, Coyote."

To Marcus' anger and horror, Coyote obeyed. She looked up and began walking towards Kursed, steadily stepping into her embrace.

"There, there, child. I'm sure Marcus has gotten you into enough danger as it is."

"Damn you! Let her go!" Anna yelled.

"Coyote dear, what do you think of our company? Do they look appetizing?"

Coyote turned towards her friends. Just like when her instincts had changed her into a demonically-roaring monster, her eyes were completely white. Marcus stepped forward.
"Coyote…it's me. Marcus."

Coyote said nothing. She continued to stare at him, and he continued to try and reason with her.

"Please…remember what we came here for…remember all that we've been through."

Coyote blinked. She seemed to be starting to remember.

"Coyote…I love you."

She stepped forward and reached out her hand. Steadily, Marcus took it…

…and Coyote flung him over her shoulder. As Marcus came crashing to the ground, Anna and Peter ran to help him, only for Coyote to turn and roar at them as several spindly tentacles burst from her chest.

"AL, GET US OUTTA HERE!" Peter screamed into the comm.

"I'm already on it! Hang on!"

As Marcus picked himself up, he looked at Kursed who seemed to be smiling.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she said. "She's unleashed the beast within her…her true self."

"You wanna see a true self?! I'll show you 'true self'! I'll tear you to pieces!"

"Okay, then. Try it. I dare you."

He did. He ran at her with his staff raised, only for Coyote to clamp her jaws down on his staff and resist him. Marcus pushed against her as hard as he could, but he met with no success. Instead of trying to fight against Coyote, he wrenched his staff free right as the beam to warp the team back to the Great Fox shone down onto the platform.

"Mark, come on!" Anna yelled as she and Peter made a break for it.

Marcus wanted to run. He wanted to get out of here, but he couldn't leave Coyote. There had to be a way to fix what Kursed had done. But would he find it on Cerinia? No…of course not. They worshipped Kursed. If anything, they'd offer him up to her the second they saw him.

He took one step towards the beam when one of Coyote's tentacles slammed into his stomach and sent him flying.

"MARCUS!" Anna cried. She tried to run to him, but realized too late that she had stepped into the beam. She and Peter were warped back to the mothership while Marcus flew through the air, slipped over the edge of the platform, and fell into the river far below.

"NO!" Kursed growled, running to the edge to have a quick look.

The river was washing Marcus away faster than she would be able to catch up. Coyote seemed like she was about to dive in after him, but Kursed blocked her.

"No. Don't worry about it."

She smiled at Coyote with the realization that she still had the upper hand.

"He'll come back for you, won't he? Now then, let's go home, my pet."

Marcus couldn't fight against the current. It dragged him further and further down the river as he tried to swim to the shore. It kept pulling him under for brief moments, leaving him only a few seconds to breathe and keep himself from falling unconscious from lack of oxygen. He kept looking at the platform. He had to get back to her…he had to save her…he had to…

He became too weak to think, and by the time he was finally washed ashore, he had no strength left. He crawled only five feet from the water before he collapsed on the ground and slipped into unconsciousness. As he did, several shapes emerged from the bushes and began to drag him away, all saying to each other that he was a fool to even think of coming here.

Little did they know that someone was watching them from the darkness, and didn't seem to care what they were doing until she saw Marcus.

"He can help me…I'm sure of it."