"One does not simply enter the Danger Zone." -Weapon X Foxfire
Star Fox Saga: The Lylat Wars
Okay, so, this fic just sorta came to me while I was in ITE class in college one day… Well, rather I started actually typing it right before said class in the classroom while I waited for my professor to begin the lesson and whatnot. The idea for the fic I sorta had for a while. So yeah, that.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the canon characters in this (Fox McCloud, Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Falco Lombardi, Fara
Pheonix, Miyu Lynx, etc.). They all belong to Nintendo and stuff. I do, however, own the word processing program I used to type this, as well as a few OCs.
Also, this fic has been given a Mature rating for language, violence, sci-fi action violence, sexual themes, blood, use of ballistic firearms, death, and some alcohol and tobacco usage.
Reader discretion is advised.
Also, in this there will most likely be references to numerous things, so pay close attention or you'll miss them.
Also, if you're wondering where the next chapter of… Well, anything, really, is, well, to that I say 'When it comes to fanfiction, I'm all about quality, not content.'
And some of you may be saying, 'Hey, shouldn't there be quality in your content?'
And to that I say, 'Fuck you, you wordsmith!'
Anyways, that aside, please enjoy this fic, as I spent quite a bit of time on it.
I mean, I could have easily spent that time writing my main stuff, but y'know… Interests change and whatnot.
Also, Bold text means other than chapter titles and stuff means that this fic has a Soundtrack, so yeah.
Got that idea from a friend of mine on Fanfiction, who incidentally got it from another friend of his own.
Okay, enough bullshit.
Enjoy the fic.
Chapter one: A Call to Action
Cornerian Academy, Corneria City
Planet Corneria, Lylat System
Monday, August 31st, 3275
/
Solitude (Death Note OST)
Fox could hardly keep his focus on the lecture being given in class. He knew very well what the lecture was about, that being the early days of space fighter combat in the Cornerian Army, but he just couldn't focus on that. His mind was elsewhere at the moment.
It was that time of year again.
The anniversary of the day his father was killed in combat.
He remembered it all too vividly.
He also remembered his mother being mortally injured by a bomb that had been planted in her car, and how he had almost lost his hearing because of the explosion shockwave since he was there with her.
He remembered how she died of her injuries while in the hospital, and having to attend two funerals within the same week that summer.
Not that he had been left all alone, of course. His father's friend Peppy Hare had taken him in and raised him since then.
Of course, while he had been a bit belligerent at times because of his major loss, he'd learned to accept what had happened and move on… Well, for the most part, at least. He still visited his parents' grave often, especially on-
"Mr. McCloud."
Fox snapped back to reality, his attention going back to the middle-aged Cornerian goat man who was giving the lecture.
"Since you seem to be very 'interested' by the lesson…" he said facetiously, "Why don't you explain the details of the 'Bionic Limb procedure'."
Fox glanced at the class, then cleared his throat and stood up.
"The bionic limb procedure is when a pilots legs are amputated and replaced with bionic prosthetics," he explained, "It's purpose was to prevent pilots from losing consciousness, as during space flight it was found that gravity tends to force blood away from the brain and to the lower extremities, namely one's legs. However, since the invention of the G-Device, such procedures are no longer required."
The teacher looked at him a moment before saying, "Well, it's good to know your head is not completely in the clouds."
The other classmates giggled at that, making Fox sit back down, his ears flattening against the sides of his head, and going beat red with embarrassment.
Thankfully, it was pretty much the end of that particular class, which happened to be the last of the day, so Fox was able to gather his things and just sorta make his way out of the class, his head hung low, and his tail between his legs as he left the campus, stopping at least once to be picked on by one of his other classmates (Not by choice, of course).
It would be from there that he'd take the maglev train to the east side of town, where he would go to the cemetery where his parents were buried, stopping only once at a flower shop nearby to pick up a small bouquet to leave as an offering.
He soon reached the two gravestones he always visited every week at least once or twice for the past 10 or so years.
The two headstones were arranged side by side, one bearing the engraving:
James McCloud
Loving father
Daring pilot
Brave fighter
The other was engraved with:
Vixy Reinard
Wife of James
Mother of Fox
May the beautiful Vixy Reinard rest here for all eternity.
"… Hey, Mom… Hey, Dad…" Fox sadly greeted, kneeling before the two graves, "… I… I brought these… Thought you might like them…"
He lay the bouquet between the two graves.
"… I passed my flight exam yesterday…" he continued, as if making light conversation, "Passed it with flying colors, too. Who knows? With the way I'm acing most of the classes, they might let me graduate early…"
He was silent for a moment, as if realizing something.
A few tears then began to stream from his eyes as he said, "Oh Mom… Dad… I miss you two so much… I'd give anything to have either of you back… Anything…"
He kneeled there and wept for what seemed like half an hour, before finally stopping, then just sorta sitting there in front of the grave for another half hour before getting up and leaving.
He walked the streets towards the closest Maglev station, his hands in the pockets of his dad's old Team Star Fox jacket, one of the few things his father left him in his will. Halfway to the maglev station, he heard the city's emergency alert siren go off. Figuring it was a drill, he started towards a nearby diner to practice 'taking cover' and wait until the drill ended.
Crash (Call of Duty: Black Ops OST)
Then the first explosion was heard.
Followed by another.
And another.
And then followed by the sounds of laser fire in the distance.
Then he saw some kind of space fighter fly overhead, firing laser blasts at a nearby building, then firing a missile at a nearby giant TV monitor that was mounted on the side of an overpass pillar, blowing up both the monitor and the overpass pillar, causing all three to collapse to the ground…
… Right by where Fox was standing.
The vulpine leapt for cover, barely managing to dodge the whole thing.
He fell on his rear, taking deep, shallow breaths as he witnessed the destruction unfold.
He then looked over where his feet lay, and there, face-down in a pool of blood was a Cornerian husky CCPD officer, his eyes forever glazed over as he lay trapped under some rubble, his safety goggles shattered to reveal his horrified gaze.
"AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Fox screamed, crawling away as fast as he could.
He wouldn't get far, as a Cornerian fennec fox girl came zooming over to him on a hovercycle.
Blow it Up (Red Alert 2 OST)
She was about his age, maybe a year older, and had light, almost pastel orange fur, long ears, emerald green eyes, and wore a light tan leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up overtop a fuchsia spandex leotard with lime green leggings of a matching material, some metallic silver tactical boots, a pair of metallic fuchsia lycra gloves that reached to her elbows, a tactical utility belt, and had some kind of headset on.
She also seemed to be armed with a blaster, as well as a tactical knife of some kind, as both seemed to be in holsters worn on her thighs.
She also had this strange flat, hexagonal-shaped device clipped to her utility belt as well.
She glanced down at Fox, as if looking him over.
"Fox McCloud, I presume?" She asked.
"… Y-yeah?" Fox replied.
The fennec vixen extended a hand out to him.
"… Come with me if you want to… Not die."
Fox blinked, unsure of what to do.
"… What, do you want a fucking invitation or something?" The fennec vixen said sharply, "Get on!"
Fox dared not argue with that, then took the fennec's hand as she pulled him up and onto the back of the hovercycle.
He then noticed the back of the girl's jacket bore the same emblem his father's.
"… 'Team Star Fox?!" He exclaimed, but before he could say much else, the girl said, "Hang on tight… And you better watch where you put your hands, bucko, or you'll be getting out and walking."
Fox nodded and obediently hung onto her, being sure not a finger touched her 'sensitive goods'.
And with that, the girl began to drive the hovercycle, with Fox clinging onto her for dear life, through the city, passing every exit or road to a safety bunker.
"Wait, why are you passing all the safety bunkers?" Fox asked.
"Because they're targeting them." The fennec replied.
"'They?'" Fox wondered, "Who's 'they?'"
The fennec rolled her eyes.
"The Koopa Kingdom," she answered sarcastically, "They've come to kidnap the princess. Who do you think, you dumbass?!"
"… I feel like even if I answer that honestly you're still gonna be mad at me anyway."
The fennec growled irritably.
Is this seriously James McCloud's son? She thought to herself, then said to him, "You know what? Just shut up the rest of the ride, alright? Besides, where we're goin', we'll have bigger fish to fry."
So Fox did indeed 'shut up' for the rest of the ride, as the fennec drove the hovercycle well out of the city and to a privately-owned airstrip outside of town, right along the other side of the Corneria bay.
The Winter Contingency (First part) (Halo Reach OST)
This 'airstrip', if you could call it that, was built on a cliff beside the shore, with a pair of large hangars and a flight control tower and office right beside them, and a long, asphalt landing strip stretching from the edge of the cliff to an open, dirt field that had a gravel road extending towards it from the regular paved road going past.
Of course, there was a sign by the gates of the airstrip that read 'Restricted Area: Keep Out!' but the fennec seemed to casually ignore that sign and drive the hovercycle right into one of the hangars, which had a few older Cornerian aircraft still parked inside it; mostly jet fighters, with a few space harriers.
She drove the cycle right up to a certain area in the middle of the hangar, then extended the landing gear on the bike and parked it.
She got off, then started towards a door in the back marked 'Janitorial closet' As Fox followed after her, wondering where she was taking him.
He was already confused as to why she had taken him to a janitor's closet in a hangar of an abandoned airstrip in the middle of nowhere, but was even more confused as to why said closet not only had a security camera hanging over it, but also why there was a security panel on the side of it.
The fennec cleared her throat before leaning in close to a speaker on the security panel.
"… 'Auxiliary Pilot Fara Pheonix.'" She said into the speaker.
However, after she did so, a small, heavy-caliber, multi-barrel sentry gun popped out from a panel beside the door, aiming itself at Fox, a singular laser sight pointed right between his eyes.
Fara side-glanced him, then smirked a little and added into the speaker, "… And guest."
When she did this, the sentry gun went back into the wall, the panel closing overtop it, and the door unlocked, allowing the two entry.
The inside of the 'Janitor's closet' hardly seemed like that; there were no shelves or custodial equipment of any kind inside it. Rather, it was simply a short hallway leading to what looked like some kind of elevator. Fara pressed a button next to the elevator, making the two sliding doors open. She then stepped aside, then motioned for Fox to get in and said, "Ladies first."
Fox simply shrugged off the teasing and got in the elevator, as Fara followed suit.
Fara then pressed the button labeled simply with the Star Fox emblem, and the elevator began its descent.
"… So, why do you have a jacket like mine?" Fox finally asked as the elevator descended to their destination floor.
"Really? You're only asking now?" Fara mused.
"Well, I-" Fox began, about to explain that he was going to ask when they first met, but Fara interrupted and answered, "If you really must know, it's because I'm part of the new Team Star Fox."
"A… 'New Team Star Fox?'" The vulpine asked.
"I'll put it simple for now…" the vixen responded, "You remember the Ariada conflict a year or two back?"
"Yeah, I think so…" Fox replied, "I mean, I kept hearing about it in the news all last year. All they kept talking about was the rebellion on Terran Colony Ariada and how the Cornerian Army tried to intervene and stuff."
"Welp," Fara replied, "Basically, that's around the time General Pepper had assembled us. In a nutshell, we operate outside the normal channels that the Cornerian Army operates in, all while cooperating with them to solve galactic conflicts, going where they normally can't due to whatever faulty galactic law or restriction is in the way."
"So… You guys are mercenaries?" Fox asked.
"Of sorts, yeah." Fara answered, "I mean, we do kinda have some 'spec ops' qualities to us, but we're mercenaries on the inside. We go in, we eliminate whatever threat to intergalactic security, we get out and then it's Miller time."
"Oh, okay…" Fox replied, then said after a short pause, "… But, I'm not old enough to drink."
Fara deadpanned.
"It's a figure of speech, you dongus!" She responded coolly, "God, you're so thick-headed that your brain could probably withstand radiation!"
That made Fox feel a little silly for saying what he said.
Before long, a digital-sounding 'ding' sounded, signifying they had reached their destination floor.
And when that happened, the sliding doors open, revealing the inside of the base before them.
"Welcome to The Nest, Fox." Fara said, leading Fox out of the elevator, "But you'll learn to know it as 'Team Star Fox Headquarters.'"
The base itself was massive, looking like it had been built right into the cliff itself, which it very well was; long walkways lined the insides of the main chamber, which was essentially a large docking bay for a huge ship that was christened: 'The Great Fox', spanning a whole six floors, and at the very front of the room was an opening big enough for The Great Fox to fly out of, as well as any other air or space craft.
"C'mon." Fara said to Fox, pointing at the Great Fox, "We're goin' on that thing."
Fox simply nodded in acknowledgement, following her to a docking terminal that was connected to a docking port of the massive ship, entering it.
"This way." She said, leading Fox to the bridge of the ship.
Upon entry of the Bridge, Fox was greeted by a familiar face.
Ms. Monomi's Practice Lesson (Super Dangan Ronpa 2 OST)
"Yo, Fox!" Said a familiar green Cornerian toad wearing a red ballcap with his name on the front.
"Slippy?" Fox said, "What're you doing here? I thought you had left early to attend an aeronautics class off-campus?"
"Eh, that's just the cover story." The toad casually replied with a dismissive chuckle, "But for reals, though, I actually got the op to join these guys a long time ago. Remember when I pretty much disappeared an entire semester to 'study abroad?'"
Fox nodded.
"Well, y'see…" Slippy replied, "In truth, I was with Team Star Fox on a mission to the Zoness' moon, Coleco. See, this whole 'hangin' with Star Fox' is what you might call an 'Off the books extracurricular activity.' But, that aside, I made a lot of cool stuff for these guys, like the reflector, and the Blue Marine, the Landmaster Tank… Am I losin' ya, buddy?"
Fox blinked, then said, "… So, you blew off an entire summer's plans to go mountain biking over by Fire Canyon to… Well, do this?"
"Well… Not by choice, no." Slippy admitted, "I mean, I wanted to go with you, really, I did. It's just that I got called to go on a mission is all. It's nothin' personal, I swear, it's just that… Well…"
Just then, Fox was approached by his caretaker, Peppy Hare.
"Fox!" He said, "Oh, thank god you're alright."
"Yeah, thanks to me, anyway." Fara mused, "I swear, the kid's a little bit thick in the head."
"I'm not stupid!" Fox snapped, "I just… This is happening so fast is all…"
"Well, I'm just glad you're okay." Peppy replied, "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you."
"That aside…" Fara said, "I think you should probably get Fox in the loop about this whole thing."
"Yes, I think that may be wise." The grey hare replied, leading Fox over to the front of the bridge, which had a huge computer console at which a 15-year-old human boy was sitting at, listening to some music on an MP3 player.
He had light skin, longish, curly brownish-blonde hair that was held in a ponytail, brown eyes, and wore a light grey t-shirt with the words 'Trench Runner' printed on the front with a picture of an atmosphere-based fighter warplane firing a machine gun whilst flying through a canyon while wearing a light green cargo vest overtop, faded blue carpenter jeans, white Velcro sneakers, and a pair of red, white, and blue sweatbands around his wrists.
"Dale." Peppy said to the boy, making him snap out of his 'jamming' session and making him pause the song and put down the MP3 player and its earbuds.
"Yo." Dale responded, then glanced at Fox and asked, "Hey, izzat-"
"Yes, it is James' son, Fox." Peppy interrupted, "But more importantly, can you bring him up to speed on the situation before we engage the enemy?"
Action 1 (Army Men RTS OST)
"Right-O, boss." Dale replied, then began typing away at the computer console, and a satellite image of Corneria City being attack was brought up in one window, whilst the image of a certain Cornerian Ape scientist was brought up in another, while his dossier was brought up in a window under his image.
"This is Dr. Andross." Dale explained, "A while back, he was a scientist for the Cornerian Army, but went rogue after a certain incident, and exiled himself to the planet Venom. Sometime after that, James, Peppy and the original Team Star Fox went to Venom to confront Andross. Unfortunately, it didn't go so well, and James was… Well, he pretty much got smoked. But now, it seems as though Andross isn't quite satisfied with his previous attack, so now he's attacking again, but with more destructive weapons and ordinance. The Cornerian Army and Defense Corps are actually having trouble holding back Andross' forces. That… Is where we come in."
He then brought up a map of the Corneria Bay region, then continued.
"The plan is simple." Dale went on, "We go in, aid the Cornerian Army and Defense Corps forces in defending the city, smoke all them hostiles, then come home and smoke a bowl. Nooch!"
Fox blinked, then said, "So then, why am I here?"
"Because…" Peppy said, "You're now a valuable asset to the team. You passed your flight exam recently, yes?"
"Y-yeah…" Fox replied, "But, I mean… I've never really been in actual combat before."
"Well, that'll change before too long." Said a stern voice from the entrance.
The voice belonged to a Cornerian Leopard Gecko man, about 28 or so in age, with amber yellow scales with brownish-yellow markings, amber colored reptilian eyes, and wore a greyish blue sleeveless flight jumpsuit along with a light tan tactical vest bearing the Star Fox emblem on the back, a tactical headset, a tool belt worn on his waist that had a numerous amount of tools, as well as an addition tool holder worn on his left thigh, a first aid kit held on the left side of his belt, a private purchase sporting blaster held in a holster on his right thigh, and had a single tactical boot worn on his right foot, while his left leg below the knee, as well as his entire right arm were replaced with robotic prosthetics.
"And you are?" Fox asked.
"Rex Cornell." The gecko introduced, then said, "C'mon, kid. It's time to get in."
"… Get in what?" Fox asked.
Rex simply replied with, "The last Arwing you'll ever pilot."
To be continued…