So, here's the next chapter. It's a lot longer than the first one, and since Command never happened in this fic, things are going to be a little different, mainly the Great Fox. But I already said that in the last chapter.

Speaking of differences and things I already said before, because the time between gap between 64 and Adventures is only 4 years in this story, that means the characters are going to be a little younger. So this would make Fox and Slippy 24, Falco would be 25, and Peppy would be... 47-48ish? Krystal's a special case, though. In this story, she's 19. But ages aren't really the most important thing I should be talking about, so I have no idea why I'm talking about it.

On another note, Star Fox has been confirmed for the Wii U! I'm so excited!

Anyway, enough of my unnecessary rambling, enjoy the chapter!

It was a peaceful morning in Katina for the Star Fox team. Peppy Hare, the team's senior advisor, was busy going through some old paperwork. Meanwhile, the ace pilot, Falco Lombardi, was kicked back in a chair, not paying much attention to anything around him. As for the leader of the Star Fox team, Fox McCloud was focused on a space simulation game he was playing with Krystal, a vixen with the special power of telepathy.

"Not bad, Krystal." Fox said to her after she managed to shoot his ship down. "You've gotten a lot better at this."

Krystal smiled. "Thanks. I thought you almost had me there."

Fox scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting you to corner me. That was a good game."

Her smile turned into a playful smirk. "Do you want a rematch?"

He was about to nod when Slippy Toad, the team's mechanic, rushed into the room. "Fox!" he shouted, gasping for breath as though he had just run a long distance.

"Wha-? Slippy! Can't you be a little more quiet?" Fox chided. His entrance was so startling, it made Fox jump a little. Peppy fell out of his chair, groaning in pain as he struggled to get up. However, Krystal didn't seem at all surprised and Falco merely opened an eye before he realized it was just Slippy.

Fox sighed. "Well, what is it?"

"It… It's done!" Slippy wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "They just finished with the final parts. Come outside and see it!"

"See what?"

"What do you think, Fox?" Falco said bluntly. "Why have we been in Katina for the past few days? Isn't it obvious?"

"Wait, you mean…? Oh!" Fox felt like a fool for not remembering. "They just now finished building it?"

"That's right!" Slippy replied. "The Great Fox II is all set and ready to fly!"

…

Fox examined the new mothership, a sleek, dreadnought-class heavy cruiser. "So… this is the Great Fox II, huh?"

"It looks exactly like the first one." Krystal commented.

"It does!" Slippy exclaimed, holding on to some papers. "They still had the blueprints from when the last one was constructed. The engineers have been working super hard to get it finished, maybe as a thank-you for when we beat all those Aparoids last year."

Krystal nodded. "It's true, everyone was really grateful for our efforts, and we did receive a large reward afterward."

"But, the loans from the first Great Fox haven't even been paid off yet. I still don't how we're going to afford another one." Fox wondered.

Falco crossed his arms. "You got a point there. All our work's going into something that's been destroyed. What a waste."

"Not to worry." Peppy said. "A large part of the finances from the Great Fox have been covered, so it isn't too much of a problem."

Fox's eyes widened. "Really? How?"

"I'll tell you once we get on board. How about we get this new ship flying?"

…

Slippy was right. Everything about the Great Fox II was almost exactly like the original. ROB 64, the robotic operator of the first Great Fox, was already hooked up to the new ship's main computer.

"Great Fox II is ready to launch at any time." The android said when the team made it to the main hull.

"Tell me, how are part of our finances taken care of?" Fox asked Peppy.

"Apparently, some individual was generous enough to pay off a lot of our loans with their own money."

Fox was still baffled. "But who in their minds would be willing to do something like that? I'm not complaining or anything, I think it was really thoughtful of them. I just don't believe it…"

"Then you really won't believe who our mysterious donator is." Peppy said with a slightly amused look on his face, like he already knew who it was.

"Don't keep us waiting Peppy! Who was it?" Slippy asked excitedly.

"Here's the kicker- it was Starla Cordivo."

"What? No way!" Fox said in disbelief.

"Believe me, I was just as shocked as you were, Fox. Do you remember when the Cordivos left Corneria?" Peppy asked.

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, five years after they left, Starla returned, and she's been living in Corneria since she came back."

"That was seven years ago." Fox replied. "So Starla has been back for two years, and we didn't even know?"

Peppy scratched his chin. "I guess so. We have been busy with some important missions, and our focus has mainly been on our work."

"If you don't mind me asking," Kyrstal spoke up, "who is Starla Cordivo?"

"Oh, she's just a friend of the family." Fox answered. "I knew the Cordivos fairly well when I was young."

"But more importantly, Starla's the wife of none other than the Legendary Pilot, William Cordivo!" Slippy finished.

Fox eyed him oddly before turning back to Krystal. "What he said."

"You've seen how good of a pilot Falco is, Krystal." Slippy said. "William's probably ten times better than him."

"Hey, I wouldn't say he's that much better than me." Falco retorted.

Fox wasn't expecting the avian to speak up. He hadn't been paying much attention to their conversation. "Falco? You know who he is, too?"

"Heck yeah, I know about the guy." Falco said. "When it comes to ace pilots, a lot of people considered him to be the ace of aces. Dude's a living legend."

"Of course." Peppy straightened, looking prideful. "I was very fortunate to fly with him on several occasions, back when the Star Fox team was just James, Pigma and I. He was good friends with your father, Fox."

"So, was he actually a member of Star Fox?" Slippy asked.

Peppy shook his head. "No, William flew on his own most of the time. But he crossed paths with us many times and would help us out during missions."

"It sounds like he was very talented." Krystal said. "But then… if he's so well-known, why have I never heard of him before?"

"Not that many know about William these days, so you're not the only one, Krystal." Peppy said. "Nobody really talks about him much anymore, after he disappeared."

Krystal tilted her head. "Really? What happened?"

Fox and Slippy glanced at each other and shrugged. "No one knows." Fox answered. "Seven years ago, William, his wife, and his daughter just suddenly left the Lylat System, and they haven't been back since."

"That's horrible…" she whispered.

"Wait wait wait, what?!" Falco cut in. "Hold on, back up. You mean to tell me that the Legendary Pilot got married?! And had a kid?!"

Fox looked at Falco puzzlingly. "Well, yeah. Why is it so bad for him to settle down and start a family?"

"Because," Falco replied "legendary pilots like him don't settle down. And like Gramps said, he flew alone. He doesn't need some lovebird getting in his way."

"We're talking about William, Falco. Not you." Slippy said, not amused.

"Starla was a very capable pilot and knew her limits." Peppy argued. "She wasn't exceptionally talented like her husband, but at least she knew what she was doing."

Falco leaned back in his seat. "Alright, so the wife wasn't so bad. But what about the kid? It must've been hard for him to raise a pesky little fledgling."

"Don't even get started on Stella." Slippy groaned.

Fox was instantly reminded of her. A gray avian with dark blue tail feathers, Stella always had that same cheeky smile and perky and enthusiastic look in her green eyes whenever Fox saw her. And she was indeed, a pest.

"Heh." Falco smirked. "It looks like I nailed that one."

"Stella was… definitely a bit obnoxious at times." Fox admitted. "She just had a lot of energy that she didn't know what to do with, so she was pretty loud and always poking into other people's business. But she was still a good friend of mine, almost like a little sister, despite how young she was."

"Geez, it must not have been easy having to put up with someone who wouldn't leave you alone. Just how much younger was the little tyke?"

"Not as young as you would think, Falco." Fox said sternly. "She was only four years younger than Slippy and I."

"Yeah, and a real smart aleck when it came to flying." Slippy remarked. "Stella always tried to prove that she knew more about piloting than Fox and I. And half the time… she did."

"Heh, so how good of a pilot was she?" Falco asked.

Fox paused for a moment before he shook his head. "We never got the chance to find out. Stella ended up leaving all of a sudden with her parents when she was 13, so she was too young to fly at that time."

"Still, it sounds like she had a promising career as a pilot ahead of her." Krystal mused, putting her hand on Fox's shoulder.

"Yeah." It had been seven years since Fox had seen Stella Cordivo. If he was ever having a rough day, he could always count on her to cheer him up somehow. Once Stella wasn't around anymore, things were a lot quieter and not as bright as they used to be. Fox could still remember was she said before she left:

"Cheer up! I'll be back one day, I promise!"

…

The Great Fox II had just managed to break through Katina's atmosphere when ROB 64 intercepted an urgent transmission.

"Incoming message from General Pepper."

"Bring it up on screen, ROB." Fox told the robot. I wonder what it could be about, he thought.

It definitely wasn't good news. The general of the Cornerian Army appeared on screen, looking serious and also distressed.

"Star Fox, once again we are in dire need of your assistance."

"General Pepper! What's happened?"

"The Lylat System is in grave peril. A dangerous fleet of ships is making their way to Corneria as we speak." The image changed to several unidentified frigates, siege cruisers, and fighter crafts, all being led by a large dreadnought mothership.

"Yikes!" Slippy shuddered.

"Well, they don't look friendly." Falco said.

Peppy took a closer look at the ships. On some of the larger ones, a green emblem that appeared to be made out of scales was painted on them. He winced. "I've seen those ships before… it's the Komodos…"

Krystal stared at the screen. "They're not from the Lylat System, that's for sure."

The image changed back to the general and he continued. "The planet, as you know, has not completely recovered from the Aparoid invasion last year and our remaining defense forces are limited in number. And since these invaders are from another part of the galaxy, we don't know what we're up against. I don't know how long our defenses can hold them off. But we need all the help we can get if we are ever to stand a chance against them…" General Pepper said solemnly.

"Just when I though we could finally have some peace…" Fox said to himself. He then nodded. "I understand, General. We'll be there as soon as possible. ROB, set a course for Corneria right away!"

Next chapter, we'll finally have some action! This I can promise.

If you have any questions, comments, or advice, feel free to leave a review!