Note: With the new year here, I am now able to continue on with my stories. There might even be a few new ones making their debut this year. In fact, I had just posted the first chapter of a new crossover called Bob's Burgers: Tied Between Worlds. Before we move on, I'm going to say something to four reviewers.

Big Bossk Man 92: Yep, the Assault section is on the horizon. This might be a cataclysmic time for the Lylat System. As for Katt, I figure that she does volunteer work during her time off. Odds are, she could be teaching yoga as means of helping her pupils improve their skills and agility.

UltimateCCC: Well, it's a good idea to show what went down before the events of Assault (at least, my version of the events). As I said before, the story is a prequel to my other ones, as to show how Krystal became a member of Star Fox. If you're wondering about what she could be planning, I won't spoil it here. Like a magician, I won't reveal my secrets right away.

Ron: Thanks, man! I hope that you're ready for what happens next. I know I am!

The White Wolf named Alex: Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Either it will be an easy mission, or Oikonny will show that he's gotten better since Star Wolf was defeated. Stay tuned for what happens next.

Now that I've said that, it's time for chapter seventeen.

Chapter 17: Chasing Oikonny

Miles above Fortuna, Star Fox were flying their Arwings, getting ready for the mission ahead. It had been only an hour since they had been notified that Andrew Oikonny, former member of Star Wolf, had arrived on the planet with an alliance of Venomian rebels. The nephew of Andross was clearly aiming to take over Fortuna, and he would unless someone stopped him. Star Fox wouldn't be alone on the mission, however, as the General had contacted Bill moments after calling the team. If push came to shove, he would have a few more soldiers from the CDF join in the battle. Given who Oikonny's relatives were, Pepper knew that Star Fox's new mission would be hard.

As soon as they entered Fortuna's atmosphere, Star Fox set their Arwings to all-range mode.

"Ready, guys?" Fox spoke.

"I'm right behind you, Fox!" Slippy spoke.

"Let's tear Oikonny a new one!" Falco said.

"Hopefully, we can end Andross' evil legacy with this mission!" Peppy spoke.

"We're all ready for this, Fox!" Krystal said.

"Then let's move out!" Fox shouted.

The team flew over the surface of Fortuna, eager to find Oikonny and take him down. Krystal began to use her telepathy, hoping that she would be able to find the primate with little time. While the cobalt vixen was able to find him, she sensed that he was flying around Fortuna, trying his hardest to stay hidden. There was no doubt that Andross' nephew knew that Star Fox was coming for him, hence why he was hiding. Chances were, he was planning to ambush the team, although he wasn't well-prepared for it. Krystal secretly hoped that they would be fast enough to stop him.

"Any read on Oikonny's whereabouts?" Peppy asked.

"I'm not picking him up on my radar!" Falco said.

"Me neither!" Slippy cried.

"Dammit, Oikonny must've left Fortuna already!" Fox said.

"He hasn't, yet." Krystal spoke. "He's hiding from us, flying around the planet in order to keep us from finding him."

"Where's he at now?" The orange tod asked.

"I can't tell where, but I have a feeling that we'll find him in no time!" The cobalt vixen said.

"I hope it's soon, because we've got company!" Peppy shouted.

All of a sudden, enemy ships surrounded Star Fox. There were roughly a hundred of them, and possibly more awaiting the team. Each ship came from a different direction, looking like they were popping out of Fortuna itself. Once each enemy had appeared on their radar, Star Fox knew that they had a challenge on their hands. Not only were they surrounded, but there was no doubt that there were more enemies coming their way. It seemed like Oikonny had become more serious ever since he defected from Star Wolf, to the point where he had gathered enough soldiers to replace a planet's population.

"Gee, this is more of an army than I expected!" Peppy said.

"What do you say, Fox?" Falco asked. "Think that we should smoke these guys?"

"If we want to reach Oikonny, we're gonna have to!" Fox said.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Slippy shouted, eager to begin the battle.

"Let's do it!" Krystal said. "Let's kill them all!"

In order to begin the battle, Fox threw a Nova Bomb, which detonated on impact. This knocked a few of the enemy ships out of the sky, but the rest managed to dodge it. Breaking away from their comrades, six ships began to chase after Fox, intent on shooting him down. However, the orange tod was quick enough to do a somersault, ending up behind his enemies. Firing at each ship, he managed to take all but one of them down. In order to take the remaining ship down, Fox fired a charged shot, as means of making sure that the pilot wouldn't escape.

Falco was having a harder time with the ships he was fighting against. It wasn't because they were outmaneuvering him, but rather due to them viciously firing at him. In an attempt to get away, the pheasant flew up into the air, hoping to dodge enemy fire. Despite that, his attackers wouldn't back off. They chased after the avian, firing their weapons with much more vitriol. Knowing that he wouldn't have time to do a somersault in his position or fire at anyone, Falco threw a Nova Bomb behind him, hoping that it would work. It detonated, destroying all the enemy ships that were following him.

Peppy had already gotten away from his pursuers, but now he was coming towards a group of enemy ships. He fired at them, only managing to hit a few. A few more ships flew towards the hare, trying to shoot him down. Thinking quickly, he fired a charged shot at his enemies, which managed to destroy the ships that were already waiting for him. With the other ships still in the air, the lepus knew that he would be able to take them down. By firing a few times, he managed to destroy them, clearing himself a path.

Meanwhile, Slippy was being chased and fired at. He had managed to get into a position where he couldn't perform a somersault, fire, throw a Nova Bomb, or even hit his brakes. Even doing a barrel roll was out of the question, as the toad was being fired at in all directions. Unwilling to be shot down, he flew above one of the ships, avoiding some of the attacks that came his way. Seeing his chance, the amphibian fired at the ship he was above, moving onto the others. While he didn't use anything big for his attack, he did take down his enemies after getting himself out of a sticky situation.

Krystal was off to a rough start, due to being chased by nearly a dozen ships. Not only that, but she had sensed more waiting for her. In order to get away from the ones that were chasing her, the cobalt vixen did a somersault, throwing a Nova Bomb behind her. It detonated, taking out all but three of her enemies. The remaining ships fired at the Cerinian, but she dodged them, unleashing a charged shot. In order to make sure that they wouldn't chase after her again, the vulpine fired a few more times, destroying the enemy ships.

With their pursuers down, Star Fox was now able to engage the remaining ships. Falco was the first to attack, using a charged shot to take down a few. Up next was Peppy, who fired until he took one down. Slippy shot one, but was unable to shoot down any of the other ones. Fox used two charged shots against the enemy ships, only managing to take down a few. Being the last to go, Krystal fired at the ones that were still up. Unlike her teammates, she primarily used her Arwing's primary fire, aiming at the wings of each ship, followed by the windshield.

Fox was slightly unnerved by how Krystal had shot down the pilots that were working for Oikonny. While it was necessary for Star Fox to kill their enemies to get them out of the way, they weren't prone to targeting the ship's weak spots. It seemed that Krystal had a knack for doing so. Given how Oikonny was related to Andross, Star Fox wondered what the cobalt vixen would do to him. While the team wouldn't blame her for what she would do, they were also worried that she would brutalize the simian once he was down. At best, the Cerinian would kill him with her blaster. At worst, she would give him a brutal end, either with her bare hands or her telepathy.

"So, Krystal, I didn't think that you could detect weak spots." Fox spoke.

"It's not something I usually do, mainly because I find the idea of exploiting weaknesses and using them as a weapon cowardly." Krystal said.

"What do you plan on doing to Oikonny?" Slippy asked.

"Assuming that one of you hasn't shot him down first," the cobalt vixen said, "I'm going to kill him. Mark my words: If it's the last thing I do, Oikonny will be meeting his uncle in Hell!"

"Speaking of Andross, how do we know that he's dead?" Falco asked.

"The CDF found his body drifting through space after the Lylat Wars." Peppy stated. "Thankfully, they cremated the corpse and made sure that he didn't have a backup plan!"

After flying through Fortuna for a few more minutes, Star Fox saw something on their radar. It was only fifty feet away from them, but they could make out a silhouette in the distance. Krystal was flying out in front, her telepathy detecting for whoever was awaiting them. She knew who it was, and there was no doubt that her teammates knew as well. Everyone flew slowly, as if they were trying to sneak up on the enemy. A battle was awaiting the team, and they were eager to defeat who they were after.

Once they flew up to the enemy, Star Fox saw a robotic head staring down at them. In addition to that, two massive hands flew up to it, nearly knocking Falco and Peppy out of the sky. The team braced themselves, knowing that Oikonny was ready to fight. Fox couldn't help but notice how the simian had emulated Andross by using a ship that looked similar to the form the once respected scientist took during the closing battle of the Lylat Wars. Given how megalomania seemed to be something he had in common with his late uncle, Oikonny might have been paying tribute to him by invoking how he revealed himself to Fox. However, given who he was, Star Fox felt that they would have no problem taking him down.

"Ah, if it isn't Star Fox!" Oikonny said. "Long time no see!"

"Cut the crap, Oikonny, we're here to stop you!" Falco shouted.

"Yeah," Slippy said, "and don't expect Andross, let alone Star Wolf, to back you up this time!"

"As ever, Toad, you've proven to be the biggest fool of the team!" Oikonny said. "I don't need those jerks in Star Wolf, nor do I need anyone! I am a self-made man, and I'm going to destroy all of you!"

"We'll see about that, Oikonny!" Fox said. "Prepare to be taken down!"

Oikonny used one of the cybernetic hands to attack Star Fox, but they managed to dodge it. The team opened fire, aiming for any weak spots on Oikonny's ship. Krystal was the first one to fire at a weak spot, hitting a flashing area on one of the hands. Soon after, Fox and Falco fired at the eyes on the head of the ship, attempting to shut them down. However, the left hand of the ship covered the eyes, preventing anyone from firing at them. As for the right hand, it began to shoot out of its pointer finger, attempting to strike Star Fox down.

"I won't let any of you take me down!" Oikonny shouted in defiance. "Just wait, because I'll make you fools pay!"

"I wouldn't call any of us fools, Oikonny, because you don't know who you're dealing with." Krystal said, having a dark tone to her voice.

"Oh, and who might you be?" The monkey asked.

"My name is Krystal Bodimead." The cobalt vixen spoke. "I'm the former princess of Cerinia, and just another victim of your uncle's atrocities. You think of those beneath you as fools, but you are the true fool. It was unwise of you to resurface, because you've given me the opportunity to take some revenge. Now that you're out, I'm going to make you suffer!"

"A Cerinian, eh?" The simian scoffed. "Well, just hold on, you'll join your planet in a few minutes!"

Without warning, Krystal threw a Nova Bomb at one of the hands of Oikonny's ship. This caused damage to the hand, to the point where it was forced to get off the head, leaving its face visible. After that, Krystal fired a charged shot at one of the eyes, damaging it in the process. When one of the hands tried to swat the cobalt vixen out of the way, she dodged it and fired another charged shot, hitting the hand's weak spot. She moved on to the left hand, firing at its weak spot as well. The vulpine let out a confident chuckle as she did this, ready to continue on with her assault.

Oikonny tried to fire at Krystal, only for something to stop him from doing so. A sharp pain started surging through his head, causing him to scream. The monkey grabbed the sides of his head, trying to stop the pain. It was proving to be difficult, as if someone was preventing him from shaking off the attack. In an attempt to ignore it, the Venomian slammed his fist on the control panel of his ship. This caused the hands to fire at Star Fox, but they were quick to dodge whatever he threw at him. However, no one attacked Oikonny, wondering what was going on with him.

"Alright, Krystal, that's enough!" Fox said.

"Sorry, I got carried away!" Krystal laughed.

After another minute of agony, Oikonny felt the pain in his head fade away. Now that that was over, he was ready to fire at Star Fox again. However, the Venomian found himself in a bit of a conundrum. Not only were one of the lights on his ship's head destroyed, but both of the hands were damaged. That wasn't going to stop the monkey from striking back against his enemies, as everything was still working on his ship. If it was the last thing he did, he wouldn't stop until his uncle Andross was avenged.

"I've had enough of these tricks!" Oikonny shouted. "Face me, Star Fox, and prepare for your execution!"

"We're ready for ours, but what about you?" Peppy asked.

Letting out an angry scream, Oikonny fired at Star Fox, intent on taking them all down. While he did get a few hits in on Fox, Falco, and Slippy, Peppy and Krystal dodged his attacks. Unwilling to give up, the monkey swung the hands of his ship down at the team. Everyone managed to dodge, though Slippy was a bit slow on movement. With his enemies still up, the Venomian figured that he would have to attack in a different way. Using the left hand of his ship, he fired a lightning gun at Star Fox. However, Oikonny was unable to hit any of them, only managing to strike the ground.

Realizing that they had to finish the mission as soon as possible, Star Fox doubled their efforts. They each fired a charged shot at Oikonny, which did more damage to his ship. Before he could strike back, the team fired more charged shots, with one being a combined effort from everyone. It was powerful enough to cause their enemy to fall from the sky in a flaming explosion. As he went crashing to the ground, Oikonny could be heard screaming in both anger and desperation.

"Who's the fool now, Oikonny?" Falco asked.

"This isn't the last you'll see of me!" Oikonny viciously shouted. "My uncle Andross will be avenged! You hear me?! He'll be a-!"

The crash caused Oikonny's message to end abruptly. With his ship down, Star Fox was about to land on the ground in order to investigate the wreckage, so that they could tell whether their enemy was alive or not. Before that could happen, there was a glimmer in the sky. This caused the team to look up, thinking that it was the CDF soldiers that General Pepper had sent out. However, Krystal let out a gasp, her telepathy warning her. The rest of the team was caught off guard, as it was clear that something was wrong.

"Krystal, what's going on?" Fox asked.

"Something's coming!" Krystal said.

Down from the atmosphere came a strange creature. It looked somewhat like a butterfly, but it was as big as a house. The creature had a metallic tint to it, with neon colors contrasting it. Strange noises came from the creature, which were noises that no one had heard before. Focusing on Star Fox, it had a menacing look, its shining features looking like something out of the depths of Hell. It was not a normal creature, and everything about it was not from the Lylat System.

"What is that thing?" Falco asked.

"I have no idea, but something tells me that it's not friendly!" Peppy said.

"In that case, we need to fight this weird creature!" Slippy said.

"C'mon guys, let's take that thing down!" Fox said. "We can look for Oikonny later!"

Now that there was a new enemy on the battlefield, Star Fox knew that they had to take it down. Opening fire at it, the team tried to do damage to it. The creature fired back, intent on killing its attackers. Dodging every attack, the team fired at their enemy again, hitting it on both its wings and its antennae. This seemed to cause damage to the creature, as it let out warped cries of pain and anger. As they continued to fight it, Star Fox heard strange electrical sounds coming from the insect-like entity.

"Are we fighting some sort of machine?!" Slippy asked.

"It can't be a machine!" Falco said. "Machines don't feel pain or show emotion!"

"Then we could be fighting a bio-mechanical beast!" Peppy said. "We need to take it down!"

Star Fox continued to attack the entity, intent on defeating it. However, the creature was eager to get away from the team, to the point where it fired at them again. Krystal's telepathy was ringing, trying to scan for information on the creature. She couldn't get a direct read, but she could sense where its weak spot was. Aiming for the antennae, the cobalt vixen fired at them. This caused some damage to the monster, nearly knocking it out of the sky.

Upon seeing what Krystal was doing, Fox followed suit, shooting at the creature's left antenna. Falco and Slippy fired at the right antenna, causing some more damage to their strange enemy. Peppy threw a Nova Bomb, hoping that it would distract the monster long enough for him to attack. Once the bomb had exploded, the hare made his move, firing a charged shot that struck both of the creature's antennae. After a few more attacks on the enemy's antennae, a strange light began to glow on its belly. Its tail unfolded, causing the light to become more visible.

"Could that be another weak spot?" Fox asked.

"Yes, it's probably the one that we need to hit!" Krystal said.

With another weak spot visible, Star Fox gave it their all, firing both regular shots and charged shots at it. Hitting it caused more damage to the creature than hitting its antennae, to the point where it was about to explode. After a few more blasts, the monster exploded, falling from the sky. Star Fox flew away from the explosion, trying to not get caught up in it. Once it faded away, the team went back to the creature, finding its corpse on the ground. With their enemy dead, they were hesitant to leave it on the ground.

"Now, what could this thing be?" Slippy asked.

"And where did it come from?" Falco asked.

"We'll have to consult someone on the creature's origins." Krystal said. "I doubt that this was the only one."

"If there's more, then the Lylat System, let alone the entire universe, could be in danger!" Peppy said.

"As much as I hate to say it," Fox spoke, "but Oikonny can wait! For now, we need to find out what this creature is, and where it came from!"

Two ships flew down from the atmosphere, nearly landing on Fortuna's surface. Knowing that they were Cornerian Fighters, Star Fox knew that they could trust them. In fact, the two pilots were familiar faces: Bill and Art Douglas. The CDF soldiers came up to the team, wondering what they could be looking at. Down on the ground was a butterfly-like creature with metallic skin and neon shine, looking like it had just been destroyed. It was clear to Bill and Art that they had arrived later than they needed to.

"Fox, what's happening?" Bill asked.

"We were fighting Oikonny, then this thing showed up." Fox said.

"Talk about a detour!" The gray hound said.

"Where were you guys, anyway?" Falco asked.

"Behind you." Art spoke. "We were about to join you, but a few rebels sidetracked us."

"Do you guys know what our mystery creature is?" The pheasant asked.

"I've never seen something like that before." Bill said. "But, we should probably burn its body to be safe."

"Before we do that, I'll take a picture of it and send it to the General!" Peppy said.

Shortly after Peppy had taken the picture of the entity, Bill and Art dropped an incendiary bomb on its corpse. The bomb slowly burned the strange creature to a crisp, to the point where none of its features could be identified. With that out of the way, Star Fox was eager to find Oikonny, but Peppy told everyone to fall back, given that they potentially had a new threat on the horizon. The team flew back to the Great Fox, deciding to recharge for the time being. However, two questions were on their mind: What was the creature, and was it the only specimen of its species?

Note: Looks like the new villain made their debut. Aside from that, Oikonny learned not to screw with Star Fox. However, the question remains: Is he dead or alive? I don't know if we'll ever find out the answer. Chances are, we might find out in a later story. Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!