CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
A Dawn Long Overdue
Never had Marcus been happier to be back on Cerinia, the irony being that he had practically gone insane and had considered suicide just a few hours ago. The moment he felt himself fall through the gate out of the Echo, he rolled forward so Scott wouldn't slam his back on the ground by accident. Both of them let out small yelps of surprise when they touched solid ground, yet breathed sighs of relief soon afterwards when they realized they were safe, particularly when Lori and Wolf came running up to them.
"SCOTT!" Lori cried, grabbing her son and hugging him as tight as she could. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Marcus got to his knees panting, completely winded from running as fast as he could with Scott tucked in his arms, though he was helped to his feet by Fox and Wolf, the latter of which was becoming more emotional than he had been in years.
"Marcus…" he said in a shaky tone, a single tear dripping from his eye. "There is no way I'll ever be able to thank you enough for this."
Marcus sucked in another breath and smiled at Wolf.
"I'd never leave a member of my family to die…"
"Your family?"
"Yeah…he may not realize it, but Scott…he's like a brother to me…by that logic, I have many brothers and sisters. You're all family to me. I wouldn't even think of abandoning any of you…even if you wanted me to."
At that moment, Marcus noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Aileen and the Cerinians were digging about in the wreckage on the Great Fox. For a moment, no one was sure of what they were doing, but then they heard Aphrodite shout something out: "I found him!"
Much to everyone's surprise and joy, they pulled ROB out of the wreck, and believe it or not, he was someone miraculously intact. Granted, his arm was missing, but he was certainly not too damaged to function. The team ran to his side almost immediately, but before they could question how he managed to survive, something else popped up out of the wreckage.
"Nightmare!" Anna exclaimed.
Indeed, the little green blob drifted towards them and looked at ROB…and then proceeded to do something that both amazed them and made them nearly burst out laughing.
"Dad! I'm in space!" he said in a high-pitched voice.
ROB's head suddenly swiveled toward Nightmare and responded.
"I'm proud of you, son."
"Dad, are you space?!"
"Yes. Now we are a family again."
It took literally three seconds for Chase to figure out what had happened.
"That's it! Nightmare must have enveloped ROB and reduced the shock of the crash at the last second!"
"So he saved ROB's life…" Anna said. "Jeez, did that suit really make him that hostile?"
Marcus' spirits were lifted just long enough for him to feel like everything was going to be alright. ROB was okay despite him being a crash that wrecked the mothership that the team prided themselves on (though the same thing had happened during the first Aparoid Invasion and another Great Fox was built in less than six months). Scott was safe back in his mother's arms. Everyone that had fought alongside him to take down the last beacon was alive…
Then he remembered. Kursed wasn't dead yet. Even worse was that right as he thought about this, his head gave a painful throb, causing him to cry out in pain and fall face first onto the ground. Before anyone could rush to help him, he got to his knees and thrust out his hand in warning.
"NO! GET BACK!" he screamed.
Perfect timing, for a clawed hand reached out from nowhere, seized his neck, and heaved him up off the ground before throwing him a good distance away from his comrades.
"Damn you…all of you!" Kursed growled before stepping menacingly out of thin air.
Her appearance before had been frightening enough, but now she looked like something that had crawled out of the depths of Hell itself. Her pupils were gone, leaving only black voids where her eyes were. Her black hair had lengthened considerably, now being long enough to scrape the ground underneath her. Her fur had become fiery red, and speaking of fire, it was wavering as though it had been set ablaze. She had grown about two feet in height, and spikes protruded from her elbows and knees.
"Oh my God…" Krystal said in disbelief. "This…this is a nightmare!"
Marcus wasted no time in getting to his feet.
"Everyone!" he shouted. "Let's…"
"NOT ON YOUR FUCKING LIFE!" Kursed bellowed.
She slammed her fist into the ground, and the same sort of barrier that kept anyone but Marcus from entering Tartaros had reared up from nowhere. Marcus was sealed within this massive space, and Kursed was going to see to it that he didn't escape.
"I've had enough of you, Marcus. I've had enough of your resistance and your so-called heroics. It's time for you to lie down and die."
Marcus gritted his teeth and drew his staff in petty defiance.
"Never!"
"Hm. Fine. I'll kill you with my bare hands!"
"Go ahead and try! I'm not gonna give up!"
Kursed let out an enraged roar before flying towards Marcus at full speed, ramming into him and hauling him high into the air. He wasted no time in stabbing her wrist, loosening her grip and allowing him to drop down to the ground. However, his nemesis had anticipated this: she dropped down as fast as a bullet and slammed into the ground, sending forth a shockwave that knocked Marcus off his feet.
"Don't you see, Marcus? You can't win. You've finally met your match!"
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, bitch!"
"Delaying the inevitable as always. It was cute before, but now it's the most annoying thing I've ever seen."
"I have a knack for that."
"Not anymore."
She slammed her fist into the ground, leaving Marcus to stumble about for a moment before having to leap away once he saw the ground begin to heave under his feet. Then it split open, parts of it rearing up while other sunk downward. All that matted was that the ground were Marcus had been standing was now irregular and covered in giant fissures, one of which Marcus happened to be dangling into. Numbers upon numbers of his allies wanted to run to him and help him, but there was just no way to do so. This was an adversary he'd have to face alone, and so far, it looked like he was the clear loser.
Marcus quickly edged himself along the crevice once Kursed began slashing at him with her claws. One strong hit would force him to lose his grip and fall, though even the small slash that cut his finger nearly made him release the ground he dangled from. He finally managed to pull himself up and slip between her legs, but that proved fruitless when her tail wrapped around his ankle and hauled him up to her face.
"You never learn, do you? Nothing you try will work."
She slashed his face, forcing a scream of pain out of him.
"No weakness you can find on me can be exploited!"
She punched him in the stomach and tossed him over her shoulder before telepathically grabbing him and slamming him into the ground, making him scream again when the pain signalled that his shoulder had been dislocated. He crawled away for a brief moment and slammed his shoulder against the ground, thankfully resetting it though not without a great deal of pain. That was all he felt. Pain. Every single part of his body hurt. Maybe Kursed was right. Maybe beating her just wasn't possible.
"Tell me, Marcus: why would you come all this way when you knew you couldn't beat me? It's your fault Coyote is dead, so why bother coming to save people that you don't even know?"
Marcus weakly stood up and spat a drop of blood out of the corner of his mouth. Clutching his chest, he looked up panting with eyes of pure rage.
"I never turn my back on my family…they were suffering because of you, thinking that you were a goddess. Well, you're not."
He gritted his teeth and lunged at her.
"YOU'RE A HAG!"
Marcus' attack didn't connect, though his eyes bugged out when something else connected with him: Kursed's claws stabbing into his chest. The screams that came from Anna, Krystal and Aileen only made him more certain of the blow Kursed had just dealt. She pulled back and left him to stumble to his knees, his blood flowing from the wound almost like a waterfall.
"It's okay…" he rasped. "She needs to work on her aim."
In truth, he was relieved that she had missed his heart. Regardless of that, even though the wound wasn't fatal, it still burned. Kursed scoffed.
"I guess making you suffer is good foreplay whether it's accidental or not, but I'm getting bored."
"You? Bored? Gimme a break."
"You're fighting for a lost cause, Marcus. I've said it once and I'll say it again and again until you get it."
She cast her arm forward, shooting up the ground underneath Marcus' feet and sending him flying into the air. In less than a second, she had followed him up and squeezed him against her.
"YOU! CAN'T! DEFEAT ME!" she bellowed.
With that, she dealt what she and many others were sure would be a finishing blow: she zipped back to the ground headfirst with Marcus in tow, slamming his head against the ground. The loud crack that echoed throughout the air made everyone almost sure that Marcus' neck had been snapped, let alone crushed, yet when Kursed released him onto the ground, the unthinkable happened: he managed to get himself on his hands and knees. Even Kursed was taken aback.
"You're still alive?! You're joking! You have gotta be kidding me!"
Regardless of whether he was alive or dead, Marcus' head was killing him. He was almost certain that Kursed had successfully given him a concussion from how dizzy he was. Then came something that gave him the strength to keep trying.
"C'mon, Mark! Get up!" Chase yelled.
"You can't give in now! Keep going!" shouted Scott.
"Fight, Marcus! FIGHT!" hollered Krystal.
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" everyone chanted.
"Get real, you fools." Kursed grumbled. "You don't honestly think he's going to get up after…good grief, he's actually doing it!"
The more everyone around him begged him to keep fighting, the more he was able to pull himself together. His head began to stop spinning and he was able to stand up, but what solidified it was something that the others hadn't seen. Time had seemed to stop in Marcus' mind, leaving no sound except for a single voice that echoed softly in his ears.
"Mark…can you hear me?"
"Coyote?"
"You can beat her, Mark. I know it seems like you don't stand a chance against her, but you have the strength to keep fighting."
"She's right, though…it's my fault that you're dead."
"Maybe, maybe not. That's not important now."
"It is. I may have been able to save your little brother, but now…she's going to kill me and then everyone else on this planet."
"And why is it that you say that? Because as a member of Star Fox, you're paid to kill people and blow things up?"
"Well…yeah."
"Yes. That may be what you do, but ask yourself. Why do you do it?"
Marcus thought it over, and it became clear. He thought back to the time when he had defeated Andross. He had seen the people of Corneria all cheering him and his friends. The looks on their faces had made Marcus not even think of questioning the humanity behind the act he had carried out. They looked so happy to know that they were safe…that they would live to see another day and many more after that. And even those small acts of altruism he committed got him warm and loving smiles.
"Now you see it." Coyote continued. "You don't do those things because you're paid to. You do them because they're the right thing to do, and doing them with you was what made it all the more wonderful for me"
"Yes…we were stronger when we fought together."
"And we still can be."
Marcus' spirits lifted, and he found the strength to stand once again upon hearing the words Coyote stated before her voice faded away.
"Kursed chose to be a monster, Mark. You chose to be a hero. Now let's take her down…together as one."
Kursed growled.
"No matter. You won't be standing for long!"
Then came yet another unbelievable act: Marcus didn't respond. As he felt an unbelievable sense of strength and courage well up within him, he looked at his nemesis and smirked.
"What, did you suddenly level with me in thinking that your death is a good thing?" Kursed scoffed.
"Nope. Not even close."
"Then what's so funny?!"
Marcus planted his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky, taking in a deep breath and letting it out softly. Kursed was about to step forward and strike him when he looked down at her with most determined expression he had ever given. Even more bewildering was that his eye colour had shifted to that of the purest white.
"I can do this Super Saiyan-type bullshit, too!"
He bent down in a sumo-like stance and let out a loud roar like one you would hear in the anime he referenced above, and thus, he began to change before everyone's eyes. Blinding sparks surged from his skin and a brilliant white light enveloped him, brightening everything around him and forcing everyone including Kursed to shield their eyes. No one knew what Marcus was doing, not even the Cerinians who were used to these kinds of magical occurrences.
Then the light faded.
"Oh….my…God!"
That was the only thought on anyone's mind because, just as he had said, Marcus had transformed in a manner similar to Kursed. His eyes were still as white as snow, but what was vastly different was his fur which had gone from blue and white to gold and white. Much like how Kursed's fur was wavering as though it were on fire, Marcus' looked similar. He, however, had something Kursed didn't have: when he opened his mouth and spoke, his voice sounded like his own and another had mixed.
"Well, isn't this an efficient turn of events." he mocked.
Kursed recognized the other voice. It was the voice of that ingrate O'Donnell girl.
"Even in the afterlife she commits herself to this rotten piece of trash…"
She clenched her fists.
"So you decide to take advantage of her after you let her go through so much pain and then shot her?"
Marcus said nothing and made a lunge at her. Much to her surprise, he was able to yank her high into the air and uppercut her chin to successfully injure her. Kursed herself was absolutely stunned when she found that Marcus had actually managed to hurt her…badly! Did Coyote give him that power? No…it wasn't just Coyote. It was everyone. Everyone that had never been there for her was now cheering Marcus on…telling him to keep fighting so he could kill her and take away the revenge she rightfully deserved...
"I won't fucking have it!"
Kursed let out another loud roar before shooting down at Marcus like a meteor. Up came another shock of pain when Marcus jetted up at her a delivered a right cross to her face, followed up with him grabbing her head and slamming it down on his knee.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Marcus demanded. "Now you know how you treated me. Ironic, eh?"
"I don't see what the irony is."
She grasped his throat and began squeezing as hard as she could, fully intent on snapping his neck with one hand if it came down to that.
"You're going to die!"
"Yeah, you're right…I'm gonna die, my parents are gonna die, everyone down on the ground there is gonna die…"
Kursed screamed in pain when Marcus suddenly jabbed his fingers into her eyes. She released him almost instantly and rubbed the pained feeling out before looking at Marcus with a venomous glare. Marcus himself smirked once again.
"Just not today." he finished.
Marcus cracked his knuckles and neck before drawing his staff, now glowing a brilliant blue.
"This is our final confrontation, Kursed. No more mind games, no more exploiting weaknesses. Let's just go at it and see who wins."
Kursed snarled and unleashed the chains from her wrists, which now flamed just like her fur did.
"One on one, mano a mano. The way you like it, I presume."
"For these kinds of fights? Sure. Why not?"
Though he was overflowing with confidence on the outside thanks to his newfound power, inside was where Marcus housed his doubt and anxiousness. This was easily the most powerful opponent he had ever faced, even more powerful than Andross despite Kursed not even being close to that size and notoriety. There was one catch, though: he hadn't been nearly as angry back then as he was now. Kursed hadn't just hurt Marcus. She'd hurt everyone on her homeworld, and for that she would pay the ultimate price.
"I've been building up this kind of power for years, Marcus. You've only just gotten it now. You won't beat me…you CAN'T beat me."
"No. I can. You're saying that because you're afraid that I can."
"You really think you're better than me? Using this sort of power to fulfill your selfish goal?"
"I'm not fighting you for me."
Marcus gestured his hand toward the massive crowd below.
"I'm fighting for them. The people who have been forced to unfairly suffer at your hands. The lives you've bastardized and ruined…your own family who you turned your back on."
"They are not my family. I turned my back on them because they were ignorant to my needs…much like who you were ignorant to sweet little…"
Marcus knew what she was going to say before she even said it, and it made him angry. Not because she had delivered a heavy insult to him, but because he was tired of hearing her say it. At that moment, inspiring words that were said to him not along ago flashed through his mind, strengthening him even more as he said it when he remembered it was from the father of the spirit that was assisting him.
"A great man who you hurt more than you can imagine once said that tormenting someone is a low blow that shows you have no sense of honour or respect for anyone but yourself. I'm sick of hearing you try to make me vulnerable by shoving Coyote's death on me. She'll always be with me in spirit, and there's nothing you can do that'll ever change that."
With all that said, he flew toward her with his staff raised high.
"NOW SHUT UP AND FIGHT!"
Kursed blocked the blow, but the shock of it was enough to drive her backward, giving Marcus enough time to fire several rounds of the Fire Blaster. She deflected every single shot with simple flicks of her wrists, following it up by sending the chains shooting right at Marcus, who effortlessly flew around them despite them acting on their own accord and whipping at him when they had an opening. When they finally did catch him, he was quick to block them with his staff before zipping forward and jabbing the staff's spear end into Kursed's shoulder. She promptly ripped it out, kicked him away and threw it back at him like a javelin, though it returned to his hand a moment later.
"Let's spice things up a bit." she snarled. "How does taking this little scuffle to the air sound?"
"Nice. Fuckin' beautiful, really."
"Good. Then let's have at it!"
The two blasted up into the air, flying freely without any sort of assistance. They made use of this ability by constantly surging towards one another and slashing with their weapons, filling their air with metallic clashes and their own grunts and yells. After fruitless efforts of trying to injure each other in this manner, they clashed in mid-air and went plummeting toward the ground, each delivering heavy punches to each other's faces while at the same time trying to make sure the other would hit the ground before they would. Eventually, however, Marcus gained the upper hand and was able to piledrive Kursed into the ground.
"You snotty son of a bitch!"
"So I guess you're not claiming to be my mother anymore since you're clearly wouldn't call yourself a bitch…even though you are one."
"So that's how it is, eh? How about a little game of dead man's volley, then?"
"Sure. I'm up for a little game. Spares me from having this fight lack a fun factor."
"Oh, but you've never played it like this before."
Kursed jumped backward and suspended herself in mid-air, a buildup of energy appearing from her hands. To the audience's horror, thousands of spheres of energy appeared around Marcus, all of them massive and glowing dark red.
"Let's play. Can you survive?"
"Let's find out."
Kursed roared and cast her hands forward, causing the spheres to jet towards Marcus at an almost inhuman speed. The second Kursed made that roar, Marcus got down on one knee and planted his staff into the ground, building a translucent force field around his body. Thanks to this, every single one of the spheres was deflected when they made contact save for the last one, for which Marcus dropped the force field and swung his staff like a baseball bat, knocking it back towards Kursed and slamming into her so hard that it sent her careening backward.
"It's not dead man's volley unless the thrower can get one or two volleys in. Now how about I return the favour?"
A buildup of energy emerged on the end of Marcus' staff and he let loose with the Hyper Beam. Kursed surprisingly managed to catch it in her hands and resist, but its strength was quickly starting to take its toll on her. Marcus continued to push, having to hold the staff as tight as he could to make sure it didn't go flying out of his hands. Kursed continued to push as well, using just about every bit of strength she had to resist Marcus' attack, though she fared no better than anything else that had been attacked with the Hyper Beam. Her strength soon gave out as she was forced backwards through the barrier that she herself had created, causing it dissipate when its creator was no longer within it.
"Alright, more space to fight. I like it." Marcus said.
Kursed recovered from the blow quickly and unleashed her chains yet again, lunging at Marcus and engaging in another clash. Attack, block, counterattack. Attack, block, counterattack. It went on for several minutes with either one getting crafty at one point or another by strafing away from the attack or attempting a kick or punch. Suddenly, Kursed brought her fist up and punched Marcus sky-high, following it up by grasping his neck.
"Space, eh? Let's go there together, then. We'll see who can last longer."
With that, she flew up towards the sky, going higher and higher until they parted through the haze and Marcus saw the shimmering stars above him. Then came the choking feeling of a lack of air. Apparently the power of having Coyote's spirit fuse with his didn't gift him with the ability to breathe in Outer Space, so he'd need to act quickly or he'd suffocate.
"Well, dear Marcus," Kursed asked sadistically. "Any last words?"
"Why do they always ask that?" Marcus thought sourly.
He gave her a look of pure venom and seized the hand that grasped his throat. He began squeezing so tightly that it felt as though he had the full intention of crushing Kursed's wrist, though once her grip had weakened enough, he steadily pried the hand off of him.
"Yippy-kai-yay, motherfucker!" he shouted before headbutting her downward with such a force that she had no means to fly back up.
Unfortunately, she didn't need one.
"Referencing action heroes, eh? Well, here's another one for you!"
Her chain lashed out and wrapped itself around Marcus' neck.
"GET OVER HERE!"
With a yank of the chain, Marcus was in her grasp once again as the two went freefalling back to Cerinia's surface, punching and backhanding each other the whole way. Below the haze, the audience could steadily see a fiery meteor growing larger and larger as it came closer to them before it suddenly zipped through and slammed into the ground, creating a massive crater that violently shook the earth and even knocked some of them off their feet.
Considering that they were both powered up beyond anything that anyone else could comprehend, it was safe to say that they were both certainly alive, but Marcus had received the blunt of the blow this time. When Kursed stood up and levitated out of the crater, Marcus was left lying there and groaning with the dizziness of the previous head injury returning twofold.
"Okay…that hurt…"
Kursed smirked.
"Oh, what a shame. I was hoping you would have broken your neck."
"Take a little more effort than that, I suppose."
"Yeah? You mean like this?"
Just when it seemed like Kursed was about to charge up another attack and finish Marcus off, a rain of bullets came surging into her. They didn't pierce her, of course, but they still battered against her and cause her to cry out in pain.
"What the…?!" she growled.
Turning towards the trajectory of the bullets, she found that everybody on the ground was shooting at her, whether it was with guns or bows that the Cerinians used.
"You can't do this!" Anna shouted. "We won't let you!"
"You've pushed us enough and now we're pushing back!" Aileen yelled.
"Ain't nobody taken down my mates!" Peter hollered. "Not nobody, not no how!"
"You mess with one of us, you mess with ALL of us!" finished Falco.
Marcus smiled brightly.
"They'll stick by me until the end…these people aren't just my friends. They're my family."
Kursed gritted her teeth and was about to attack the people that continued to fire upon her, but every time she tried, another projectile would come up and hit her face or hands or whatever it was she was trying to use to attack. Just like any other annoying thing would have accomplished, however, she quickly got sick of it.
"ENOUGH!" she yelled before dropping down to the ground like a meteor.
The ground shook violently and knocked everyone off their feet, jostling the weapons out of their hands. Kursed drew one of the guns toward her and aimed at the closest target: Fox.
"My, how the tables have turned, eh, Foxy dear?"
Before she could pull the trigger, Marcus came up behind her.
"Something's turning, alright, but it ain't the tables."
With that, he grabbed the sides of Kursed's head and spun it around so quickly that it sent a loud snap through the air. Kursed's face had a look of shock when she found that her head had been twisted around to an impossible degree, but while it had injured her, it had far from placed her in a state of near-death. Her body spun around and set the head back in the proper place.
"Clever. I give you credit for getting somewhat sadistic with your futile attempts of trying to kill me."
In retaliation, Kursed seized the back of Marcus' neck with several tentacles exploding from her back to hold him in place while she planted her palm against his chest.
"But I've said it once and I'll say it again: you can't beat me!"
The energy built up at a breakneck speed and let loose, knocking practically all the air out of Marcus' lungs and sending him hurtling back down into the crater.
"Shit…" he growled. "What do I do?"
More words of wisdom flashed through his mind, these ones coming from another great man that had carried an incredible act out right after he had said them.
"A true hero will give up everything to save anything."
Marcus meekly smiled. Was he really willing to do that? He was only nineteen. He could have a whole life ahead of him. Why waste it all just to bring down a monster? Then he remembered: there were people both here on this planet and all throughout the Lylat System that were suffering far worse than he ever could. It would be worth it just for someone to tell them they'd live to see another day.
He nodded. His life wasn't worth millions of others.
"What do you say, Coyote? Think we're ready to meet up in Heaven?"
Kursed shot down into the crater and yanked the weakened Marcus high into the sky so that everyone could see them.
"You've prolonged your life enough, Marcus. You took the greatest piece of me that I ever had. Now it's time that you gave it back."
Marcus smirked in the way that made her irritated. She struck him across the face.
"Stop smirking, you little prick!"
Marcus did exactly that, but when he opened his eyes and looked at her, it made her realize that he knew something she didn't.
"You really think you can live with it? Fine! Then take it!"
And thus, in front of everyone, Marcus grasped Kursed's shoulders and let loose.
"TAKE IT ALL!"
A blinding flash was released from Marcus' body and began flowing into Kursed as he continued to yell into the sky with his eyes tightly shut. Kursed initially had a surprised look, but it quickly turned to a look of ecstasy. He had given up.
"Yes…YES! FINALLY! IT'S MINE!" she cried out in triumph.
On the ground, every single one of Marcus' comrades looked on in disbelief.
"No…h-how could he…he's giving her what she wants!" Aileen cried. "We're all doomed!"
That was what everyone thought…until Chase spoke up.
"It's too early for her to celebrate. Look!"
Kursed's expression of satisfaction and glee had suddenly shifted to panic and dread. Every second Marcus clung on to her and released his life into her, painful throbs surged throughout her body and she could steadily feel herself becoming weaker. She looked all about her body to try and find what was wrong, but then she saw it: her body was reverting back to its original state.
"No…no, this can't be happening!" she said in panic.
She looked back at Marcus with an expression of something no one ever thought she'd have: fear. Everyone was confused. How could this be happening? Then Damalgo spoke.
"And so we see the penalty of being born without a body." he said. "The body that Kursed created for herself wasn't built to hold two souls like Krystal's was, and because Marcus is pushing all his power into her…yes! He's negating her power and making her mortal!"
Kursed had managed to telepathically hear this conclusion of his (albeit very poorly since this ability was quickly fading away), and thus grew even more fearful.
"Marcus, please! Stop! Take it back! I don't want it anymore! No….NOOOOO!"
Marcus gave one final scream, as did Kursed screaming "TAKE IT BACK!". The air was filled with the brightest light possible, forcing everyone to shield their eyes and keep it that way for what felt like an eternity. Win was rushing all about and the air was filled with mystical sounds. All at once, the screams both stopped. Every bit of the flash faded away, from the wind to the brilliant light, and the onlookers were finally able to see what had happened.
What Fox and Krystal saw nearly made them burst into tears at the sight of it. Marcus was lying on the ground back in his normal form, his eyes closed and his body limp. As they approached him to see if he was alright, they heard groans from nearby. They turned and saw Kursed standing there, panting and looking all around here. Her gaze rested on the two and her angry expression returned as she raised her hand. The two flinched, but then saw it was unnecessary. Nothing happened.
Kursed looked at her hand in disbelief and horror, and yelped out in fear was she heard a loading gun behind her.
"That was my daughter you killed, you bitch…" Wolf growled.
Kursed began panting even louder and looked over to Krystal before saying something that struck the blue vixen's heart.
"Sister…please don't let them kill me…please."
Kursed slowly trudged toward Krystal with her arms outstretched, practically begging to her. While no one could see it, Krystal was conflicted. What her sister had done was inexcusable. She needed to be punished for what she had done…but then again, this was her sister. They were family, weren't they?
Krystal walked toward Kursed and gently pulled her into a loving embrace. Wolf lowered his gun and Fox nearly cracked a warm smile. It seemed like the two sisters had finally put their conflict away…that is, until Fox saw the malicious look in Kursed's eyes and she raised her clawed hand towards the back of Krystal's neck…
…before letting out an ear-splitting scream.
Krystal had seen this coming, and as much as it pained her, she saw she had no choice. The second she sense Kursed's evil intent, she slammed her fist into her sister's chest. The force was so strong that she punched through and to the other side, ripping Kursed's heart apart.
"I'm not your sister…not anymore." Krystal whispered before pulling her now bloody hand back.
Kursed staggered around for a brief moment, blood dribbling from the wound and her mouth before she fell to her knees gagging. She only able to look up at her killer for a few more moments before she collapsed uselessly to the ground and quickly succumbed to her injuries.
At last…at long last…Kursed was dead.
There lay yet another issue, however. Everyone rushed over to Marcus in an attempt to check for any vital signs. Chase laid his hands on Marcus' chest and temples in an attempt to check for a heartbeat. He got no response, so he quickly began pumping his hands up and down on Marcus' chest with Anna breathing into Marcus' mouth in any attempt to get his heart going again.
"C'mon, you son of a bitch! Don't you go dying on me! You've never given up on anything in your life! Don't die on me, Mark!"
Chase and Anna both began to feel tears streaming from their eyes. They were about to lose their best friend in the universe, and even though they were trying their hardest, there was nothing they could do about it.
Suddenly, a figure laid her hands on their shoulders.
"Stand aside, children." Shadow said softly.
While everyone stood back wondering who this mysterious being was, Shadow laid her hand on Marcus' chest and forehead, then closed her eyes. After a few moments, she smiled.
"He is merely comatose. He will not be waking up for some time, but I can assure that he is alive."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but was brought to more confusion when Persephone stepped forward.
"Here is your daughter back, Katherine." she said to Katt. "She will grow up to be strong and beautiful just like her parents, I am sure."
Katt blushed, and thus Persephone turned to Shadow.
"Ah, the great Queen Shadow. You have finally returned home."
Shadow smiled.
"Not for long, but it is nonetheless wonderful to see you again, dear Persephone."
Krystal's confusion was suddenly cast away and she stepped forward.
"Y-your name is…Shadow?" she stammered.
Shadow turned and saw Krystal standing there.
"Oh…my dear Krystal…you have no idea how wonderful it is to see you again."
"You know my…wait, you can't be…"
Strips of blue light encircled Shadow's body and engulfed it before fading away and revealing a Cerinian woman that bared a heavy resemblance to Krystal, albeit being taller with much longer that was clasped behind her, as well as white markings on her face and a brilliant white and gold stola. The second Krystal saw this form, she rushed into Shadow's loving arms with joyful tears streaming from her eyes.
"Mother…" she sobbed.
Shadow held her daughter tightly against her body.
"You are still as beautiful as you ever were, my dear."
"Mother…please come back to Corneria with us."
Shadow sighed.
"I am sorry, Krystal…I cannot do that."
"Wh-what? Why not?"
"My time left in the mortal world is quickly growing shorter. Even though I want to stay, I cannot. In a few minutes' time, I will fade away and it will be as though I was not here at all."
"But…"
Shadow looked deep into Krystal's eyes. It was a loving gaze that would soothe anything, even the most savage of beasts.
"You are a grown woman now, Krystal. You have become far stronger and braver than I could ever have foreseen, and for that I am truly proud of you. If your father and brother were here, I am certain they would say the same."
She smirked and looked over at Fox.
"And he's the evidence: you never would have seduced a dashing man like that if you had proved me wrong."
Fox smirked and scratched at the back of his head.
"She's been good to me, ma'am. Better than I can say, really."
Shadow laughed.
"I am happy to hear it."
She looked back at Krystal and gently stroked her cheek.
"Life has been good to you, my dear, and while I may not be with you in physical form, let me tell you that I will be watching over you from above…me, your father, AND Sabre."
Krystal wiped away the last of her tears and hugged her mother once more.
"Okay…goodbye, Mother."
Shadow parted from her daughter and looked up at the sky.
"My dear husband…you have been waiting to see me for far too long."
She closed her eyes, sucked in a breath, and exhaled it. The exhale echoed throughout the air, and Shadow's body steadily disappeared, leaving nothing more than a wavering blue sphere that slowly ascending up to the heavens until it was out of sight. Everyone watched in wonder and awe as the great queen of Cerinia's soul ascended, but their wonder didn't end there. The moment Shadow's spirit vanished from sight, another light pierced the clouds. The Cerinians were fearful for a moment, having no idea of what was going on before Aileen spoke.
"Fear not, everyone." she said in overflowing happiness. "…the morning has finally come!"
Just as she had said, the haze covering the planet cleared away, revealing the wonderful light of Solar rising of the horizon. The Cerinians held up their weapons and cheered, as did the younger Star Fox members who jumped and pumped their fists as well. Fox smiled and said something he hadn't said in ages long gone by.
"Mission accomplished, team. Back to Corneria."
Thanks for waiting for this one, guys and girls. It took me a while, but I got it done and I'm glad I got it done. And sorry about copping out and going all Dragon Ball Z to finish Kursed off, but I'd say it was nothing short of spectacular, right?
Not much left to say except we're not done yet. There's still three more chapters to go, so I'm off to work on them and hopefully give you guys a great ending. Until then, see you next mission!
SOUNDTRACK SO FAR
Krystal's nightmare/"Save her..."- "Parabola" by Mer (Originally by Tool)
Marcus versus Coyote (friendly)- "Name of the Game" by the Crystal Method
F-Zero race- "F-Zero Medley" by Entertainment System
Space pirate attack- Space pirate theme from Metroid Prime
Ridley- Ridley's theme from Metroid: Other M
Falcon takes down Ridley- "The Meaning of truth" by Hiro-X
The date- Ilia's theme from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Coyote versus the shadows- "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson
The star Lylat- Magmoor Caverns theme from Metroid Prime
Marcus and Fox/Marcus and Chase- "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Fox versus Kursed- "Du Hast" by Rammstein
Marcus and Coyote versus Nightmare- Nightmare's theme from Metroid Fusion (ArcX version)
The Nightstriker- "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath
The death of Commander Dane- "Mad World" by Gary Jules
The prisoners of Kew- Byelomorye Dam from Goldeneye 64
Escape from Sargasso- "Hard to See" by Five Finger Death Punch
Marcus and Wolf versus Master Hand and Crazy Hand- Final Destination from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
To Cerinia- "Laser Cannon Deth Sentence" by Dethklok
Aileen- "Working Class Hero" by Green Day (Originally by John Lennon)
The slaves- "Forgotten Children" by Tokio Hotel
Aileen's sorrow- "Narcissistic Cannibal" by EarlyRise (Originally by Korn and Skrillex)
Marcus and Aileen- "Name" by the Goo Goo Dolls
Aileen versus Aphrodite/Marcus versus Malice- "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (suggested by ianagainstcliffhangers. Thanks, man!)
The river Styx- "Where the River Flows" by Collective Soul
Marcus versus Coyote (infected)- "Mermaids" by Xandria
Coyote's death- Laura Palmer's theme from Twin Peaks
Marcus versus Kursed- "Magia" by Kalafina
Krystal versus Kursed- "Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence
Engaging the final beacon- "I Will Not Bow" by Breaking Benjamin
"I give up..."- "Leaving Hope" by Nine Inch Nails
Escape from the Echo- "Awake and Alive" by Skillet (another one suggested by ianagainstcliffhangers. Thanks again, man!)
The final battle: Marcus Alpha versus Kursed Omega- "The Beginning" by ONE OK ROCK (a really awesome J-rock band that you guys need to check out...now!)
The sun finally rises- "Calling to the Night" from Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops