Note: As we're now in the Assault portion of the story, be ready to see some moments done differently. While you might've seen how the first mission was done, you have yet to see how the remainder will be done. Before we move on, I want to say something to five reviewers.
Big Bossk Man 92: Well, that depends on whether or not the Aparoid Invasion is as crazy as it was in the original game. If it's even crazier, then the team will need all the help they can get. As for Peppy, I figured that he didn't need to retire like how he did in the actual Assault. Besides, people complain that Krystal replaced Peppy in the game, so I had them both flying to retcon that.
01pasenip: I guess dialogue is one of my strengths, while describing what's going on isn't. Thank you for your review, and I hope that you'll check out the rest of the story.
Ron: If Oikonny survived, then he'll have to be on the run until he can come up with a new plan. If he's dead, then the Lylat System won't have to worry about him again. Stay tuned for what happens next.
UltimateCCC: Let me guess, Family Guy? I don't know where else that phrase could've come from.
The White Wolf named Alex: That depends on if he's actually dead. If he's not dead, then Star Fox might have to deal with him in the future. I hope that you like this chapter.
Now that I've said that, it's time for chapter eighteen.
Chapter 18: A Strange Distress Signal
Back at the Great Fox, Star Fox was awaiting for the next mission. Other than that, they weren't doing much in terms of activity. Fox was reading a book on the creatures of the Lylat System, trying to look for a description that matched the entity the team had encountered on Fortuna. Falco and Slippy sat at the table, discussing what they would do on the next mission. Peppy was in the control room, keeping an eye out for any messages for Star Fox. As for Krystal, she was in her room, her telepathy scanning for anything that would interest the team.
Minutes ago, Fara had come to the Great Fox, deciding to pay the team a visit. As soon as she had arrived, Peppy showed the fennec the picture they had taken on Fortuna, asking her if she knew what the creature was. She admitted to not knowing what it was, but was interested in helping Star Fox out in their next mission. The long-eared vixen went down to the docking bay, wanting to check and see if her Arwing would be good to go. If it wasn't, then she would have to stay at the Great Fox for the time being. Fara hoped that it wouldn't be like that, seeing as it had been years since she was on a mission with the team.
Peppy called everyone down to the control room, saying that they had received a message from Corneria. Krystal was the first to enter the room, being the closest to it. Fox came next, even putting his book near the entrance. Slippy entered soon after, intent on talking about his ideas for the next mission. Falco walked in with little hesitation, eager to fly again. Fara was the last to enter, having gotten done checking on her Arwing. Once everyone was in the room, Peppy answered the call that awaited them.
"There you are, Star Fox!" The person behind the call came on the screen: Beltino Toad.
"Hello, Mr. Toad." Fox spoke.
"Hi Dad!" Slippy greeted.
"Save the greetings for later, everyone!" Beltino said. "I looked at the picture you took on Fortuna, did some research, and found out what the creature you fought against is called!"
"What is it, anyway?" Falco asked.
"It's an Aparoid!" The toad said. "There a strange creature that happens to be half-organic, half-machine! The one you fought against took the appearance of a butterfly, but they can assume a variety of different forms!"
"So, are they some kind of shapeshifter?" Fara asked.
"They're more like a symbiotic parasite that can slowly assimilate everything around them!" The amphibian said. "Each one contains a Memory Core, which is fueled by the organisms they have assimilated!"
"That's awful!" Peppy cried.
"You got that right, Peppy!" Krystal said.
"Anyway, the boys brought me the Memory Core of the Aparoid you defeated on Fortuna, and they believe that we can use them against these evil creatures!" Beltino said.
"If we can't?" Fox asked.
"Then we'll find another way." The toad said. "Be warned, not all of the Aparoids have a Memory Core, so keep an eye out if you see one!"
"We'll do that, Beltino!" Peppy said.
"Yeah, we'll bring a few Memory Cores, or die trying!" Falco said.
"Good." Beltino said. "Message me when you get one!"
After that, the call had ended, allowing Star Fox to leave the control room. Before they could even get out of the hallway, an electric beeping rang throughout the Great Fox. Upon hearing it, the team checked to see what was causing it. Fox was the one to find the cause: a distress signal. The signal in question was coming from Katina, saying that someone was on the run from strange creatures that had just landed on the planet. Knowing that those strange creatures were likely the Aparoids, Fox was ready to get down to Katina.
Before Star Fox could take off, Krystal spoke with Fox. She sensed that something was wrong with the distress signal, given how she couldn't sense it with her telepathy. It was almost as if the signal was artificial, like it was made on a machine instead of coming from a living being. With that in mind, whoever had sent the signal was probably not to be trusted. Krystal was hoping that Fox felt suspicious about the distress signal as well. He had to be, assuming he noticed how artificial it was.
"Fox, I have a bad feeling about the mission." Krystal spoke.
"What do you mean?" Fox asked.
"I'm talking about the distress signal we got." The cobalt vixen said. "The signal didn't trigger my telepathy, meaning that it was artificially made."
"Not every distress signal has to involve someone calling for help." The orange tod said. "Sometimes, they can just be simple text messages."
"I know that," the Cerinian said, "but it feels like we're being led to a trap. From what Peppy told me, the team rarely got distress signals that were simple messages in the past."
"Not gonna lie, Fox, but I think that the distress signal is a total load, too." Falco interrupted.
"What makes you think that?" Fox asked.
"How about the fact that we got a distress signal about the Aparoids attacking a single planet?" The pheasant said. "Considering how they're parasites that can assimilate everything near them, wouldn't they just attack the galaxy in general rather than focusing on one planet at a time?"
"Look, guys, we'll find out when we get down to Katina." The vulpine said. "If I'm right, then you'll have to admit it. If I'm wrong, then I'll apologize for not trusting either of you. Got it?"
Krystal and Falco nodded, heading to their Arwings. With that out of the way, Fox had ROB64 steer the Great Fox down to Katina. Believing that the Aparoids would be on the surface, the droid had the ship float in the atmosphere. Once that was done, he gave Star Fox his okay, but warned them about going out on the surface. If the distress signal was correct, then the Aparoids were more than likely swarming Katina. If it wasn't, then the team would have to keep an eye out, while also searching for whoever sent the signal in the first place.
"Alright, guys," Fox spoke, "here's the plan: I'm going to go down to the surface in order to investigate that distress signal."
"By yourself?" Fara asked.
"No, we're coming with you!" Krystal said. "It's dangerous to go alone!"
"I want all of you in Arwings, covering me from the sky." Fox said. "If you see an Aparoid, shoot it down. If there's anything incoming, like a monster, let me know. Is everyone ready?"
"Yes!" The rest of the team said.
"In that case, Star Fox, take off!" The orange tod said.
Flying out of the Great Fox, Star Fox were ready to carry on with the mission. Before Falco flew out, Fox climbed onto the wing of his Arwing, putting a parachute on his back. Once they were outside, the orange tod jumped off the wing, pulling the cord for the parachute. It didn't go off until he was roughly seventy feet from the ground, which was enough that he needed. The moment he got on the ground, Fox pulled out his blaster and his knife, as they were the only weapons that he had on hand. Feeling that they wouldn't be enough for the mission, he figured that he would need to message ROB64.
"ROB, send a supply box down, I need some weapons!" Fox spoke.
Complying with the order, ROB64 transferred a supply box down to Katina's surface. Fox went for it, checking to see if there was anything that would help the mission go faster. While he knew that his teammates were in the air, he knew that he would have to do some of the fighting on the ground. Even if they helped him, the orange tod hoped that they would be careful. They weren't a terrible shot, but they were so high up in the air, it would be hard to distinguish friend from foe. It was a mistake that Star Fox made in the past, albeit without a single casualty from their allies.
Reaching into the supply box, Fox pulled out a Gatling blaster. With his weapon selected, the orange tod began to march through the surface of Katina. He looked up for a brief moment, trying to see if his teammates were in battle yet. To his surprise, there were no enemy ships up in the sky. With that in mind, the vulpine suspected that he was being lead on a wild goose chase. He wasn't doubting that Falco and Krystal were right, but something told him that there was something awaiting Star Fox.
After walking on the ground some more, Fox wound up being messaged by his teammates.
"Fox, are you there?" Slippy's voice rang out.
"What is it, guys?" Fox spoke into his communicator.
"There's a base up ahead, but there are Aparoids around it!" Krystal's voice came from the other end of the line. "Be careful down there!"
"Are there any up in the sky?" The orange tod asked.
"I think that a few might be approaching us!" Peppy spoke. "Don't worry, we'll take care of them! Just get to the base and take care of the Aparoids down there!"
Clutching the Gatling blaster he had on hand, Fox ran up to the infested base. Once he got there, he noticed that there were roughly a dozen Aparoids surrounding it. Not wanting to waste time, the orange tod opened fire on the bio-mechanical insects, trying to take them all down. While he managed to hit three of them, the other Aparoids noticed him approaching them. They rushed towards the vulpine, ready for an attack. Unwilling to go down, Fox continued firing at the alien creatures, killing them with little hesitation.
After he wiped out the Aparoids around the base, Fox looked up and saw his teammates fighting the ones that were in the air. Slippy was doing well against them, even tricking one into crashing into another. Falco was annihilating whatever came his way, not letting any of his enemies escape. Peppy was far less brutal, shooting only one Aparoid while leaving a Nova Bomb for the others. Fara was alternating between normal shots and charged shots, the latter working more efficiently. As for Krystal, she was shooting every Aparoid she came across, even gunning for the ones that were trying to escape her.
Looking up at the sky, Fox noticed that some of the Aparoids were doing weird poses. Shortly before those ones were destroyed, an odd projectile dropped out of the sky. Upon seeing them, Fox opened fire at them, destroying the ones he could. The ones that he didn't destroy landed on the ground. From there, the orange tod was able to see exactly what they were. The projectiles were silvery structures with slight neon color on them.
"Fox, destroy those things, quickly!" Peppy shouted through the communicator.
"What are they?" Fox asked.
"They're eggs!" The hare stated. "The Aparoids laid eggs before they died!"
"Don't worry, we'll be down there in a second!" Krystal spoke.
"Stay up there, guys!" Fox ordered. "I can deal with them!"
Complying with his orders, Star Fox continued to fight the Aparoids that were in the sky. Unlike before, they were far more brutal and calculated, even preventing their insect-like adversaries from laying their eggs. As that happened, Fox fired at the eggs that surrounded him, trying to destroy them before they hatched. He proved successful in destroying the first two, but the rest had begun to hatch. With that in mind, the orange tod knew that he had a new challenge on hand. The newborn Aparoids crawled out of their eggs, being born into battle.
Firing his weapon at the new Aparoids, Fox was eager to kill them before they could attack him. While that happened, his Star Fox teammates were continuing on with the onslaught, killing every Aparoid that was in their way. After killing a few more, Krystal's telepathy began to pick up two sources. One source was the mind of someone bad, their thoughts being greedy and despicable. The second source was something much larger, to the point where it gave the cobalt vixen a slight headache when she tried to scan for it. With that in mind, she used her telepathy to lock onto the first source, being greeted by some interesting information.
Where are those Star Fox jerks?! I would've figured that they had arrived on Katina at any moment! I sent that fake distress signal and everything! Once they get here, I'm going to kill them and take whatever interests me! I can only imagine the money I'll get from doing this!
"Fox, come in!" Krystal spoke.
"What's the word?" Fox responded.
"I found out the reason behind the distress signal!" The cobalt vixen said. "Someone faked it, trying to lure us into a trap!"
"Who could it be?" The orange tod asked.
"I can't get a complete read on who they are, because there's something else triggering my telepathy!" The Cerinian said.
"Like what?" The vulpine asked.
As he took another step, Fox heard a strange noise in the distance. Looking up, he saw a large silhouette right in front of him. It looked almost like a spider, but different. The orange tod wanted to assume that it was the same battleship that Star Fox had fought on Fichina during the Lylat Wars, given how they both looked like arachnids. However, something told him that Venom was not the one who sent this machine. With the Aparoids out, the vulpine had a feeling that not even the poisoned planet would launch an attack while an infestation was going on, unless they were threatened.
"Fox, eyes up top!" Falco shouted.
"Way ahead of you!" Fox said. "What is that thing?!"
"It's another Aparoid!" Krystal said. "Don't worry, we've got your back!"
"I hope so!" The orange tod said.
The moment Fox had approached the spider-like Aparoid, he was able to see what it looked like. It had eight mechanical legs, which held up its body. The Aparoid's body looked like a fortress, but it had a few elements of an insect, such as a set of glowing eyes and two different body sections. On the underside of the creature's body was a massive, pulsating light. The light was then covered up by a hatch, preventing Fox from firing at it. He didn't know how, but the Aparoid had noticed him approaching, covering an opening.
Firing at the hatch on the Aparoid's underside, Fox tried to open it. The attack was unsuccessful, as each round bounced off the metallic paneling. Enraged by the attack, the spider-like creature aimed one of its eight legs at Fox, intent on impaling him. Dodging the attack, the orange tod tried to fire at the legs, which seemed to knock the monstrous entity off balance. It only shook off the attack, going on the offense again. The hatch opened up, with a bright light beginning to form under it.
"Fox, get out of the way!" Peppy cried.
Realizing what the Aparoid was going to do, Fox ran away from it. A laser shot out of the bio-mechanical spider, causing the ground to ignite. Once the laser had dissipated, the orange tod saw that his teammates were flying around the creature, trying to disorient it. When it locked its eyes onto Falco's Arwing, the hatch opened up again. This time, the Aparoid didn't fire its laser, appearing to be captivated by its enemies. Upon seeing that, Fox fired at the pulsating light, which seemed to hurt the monster.
Knowing what his teammates were doing, Fox decided to continue on with his attack. Each time the hatch closed, the orange tod went on to attack the Aparoid's legs. When it fired its laser, he moved out of the way, allowing the rest of the team to attack it. Krystal and Slippy were the ones to distract it next, forcing it to keep its weak spot exposed. Slippy had left a Nova Bomb for the spider-like Aparoid, but it failed to damage the creature. It seemed that rounds from either a blaster or a ship could hit the weak spot.
After firing a few more rounds at the Aparoid's weak spot, Fox had the rest of the team attack it. Falco flew directly near it, using a charged shot that managed to nearly knock the spider-like creature down. Up next was Peppy, who fired a few rounds at the weak spot with little hesitation. Krystal and Fara did a tag-team attack, firing charged shots together. Slippy was the last to attack it, using a charged shot before firing a few normal ones. With the Aparoid nearly destroyed, Fox knew that the mission would be over in no time.
"Everyone, move aside!" Fox said.
Star Fox moved out of the way, as per their leader's order. Aiming his weapon at the Aparoid's weak spot again, Fox pulled the trigger. Once the round had reached the weak spot, the spider-like creature let out a metallic screech, being the closest thing it had to a death cry. Knowing that it was going to fall, Fox ran away from it as fast as he could. When the monster was down, the orange tod saw something pop out. Being the creature's Memory Core, the item popping out signaled the death of it.
Before anyone could fly down and get the Memory Core, a new ship flew near it. It had some sort of tractor beam, allowing the pilot to grab the item. While he couldn't tell if the pilot was friend or foe at first, Fox felt a shiver go down his spine when he heard a familiar voice. This voice belonged to a former member of Star Fox, one who had betrayed the team, setting them up for the death of James McCloud. If that wasn't enough, he had also joined Star Wolf, deciding to taunt his former friends and allies.
"Well, hello Star Fox!" A nasal voice chuckled.
"Pigma?" Fox spoke.
"Thanks for getting this for me!" Pigma laughed. "I'll see you again when I'm richer than an aristocrat!"
Lifting off of the ground, Pigma was ready to make his escape. Before he could even fly, a charged shot struck his ship. Surprised by the attack, the swine looked up and saw three Arwings coming at him. While two were the normal blue and silver colors, the third one was pitch black, which would make it blend into the night sky. The three ships fired at him, clearly trying to hit the wings on his ship. One in particular was firing with clear precision, with the pilot avoiding the Memory Core he had a hold of.
"You're not getting away that easy, Pork Rind!" Falco shouted.
Realizing that it was time for him to run, Pigma flew up into the air, trying to reach Katina's atmosphere. The Arwings followed the boar, trying to shoot him down. He tried his hardest to avoid them, but the pilots behind each ship weren't going to stop until he was down, or until he managed to take them down. The black Arwing was aiming at the swine's windshield, trying to break it open so that he could be exposed to hypoxia poisoning. The first Arwing was firing at one of the wings of his ship, trying to make him lose control. As for the last one, their shots were more precise, trying to take Pigma down without destroying the Memory Core.
Slowing down his ship a little, Pigma saw who was flying the third Arwing. This person was a fox vixen, but with blue fur. She was wearing a black and blue bodysuit, along with some silver jewelry. Her appearance immediately brought back a few memories the boar had of a planet known as Cerinia. Andross had sent him to investigate the planet and monitor its citizens. One thing that stood out to him was the Royal Family. While some Cerinians had an odd fur color, the monarchy all had blue fur.
"Hey," Pigma spoke, "I remember seeing you on Cerinia! You were the Princess of that crap hole, weren't you?"
"Don't talk about my planet like that!" Krystal shouted. "It was destroyed by the monster who hired you, Pigma!"
"Well, good riddance!" The boar chuckled. "If you ask me, that piece of garbage should've been disposed of long ago!"
Enraged by Pigma's harsh words, Krystal immediately started firing at his windshield. She let out an angry scream while doing so, intent on killing the boar. However, the cobalt vixen's priorities hadn't changed, as she still wanted to reclaim the Memory Core from him. Each shot she fired was still precise, hitting the swine's ship. This time, however, the Cerinian aimed at the wings, hoping to disrupt her enemy's flight. Pigma tried to shake her off, but it was clear that he wasn't going to.
Watching this from the ground, Fox was worried about what would happen next. While he knew that Krystal was trying to get the Memory Core from Pigma, the orange tod was hoping that she would calm down. Her rage was so violent, she was outright trying to kill the boar instead of shooting him down. The cobalt vixen was firing at both the windshield and the wings of his ship, doing whatever she could to stop him from escaping. Both Falco and Fara were flying beside her, trying to calm her down.
"Krystal, take it easy!" Fara cried.
"NO!" Krystal screamed. "WE CANNOT LET PIGMA ESCAPE! WE NEED TO GET THAT MEMORY CORE FROM HIM!"
"Even if it means killing him?!" The fennec shouted.
"As much as I wouldn't blame you for killing Pigma, you need to calm down!" Falco said.
"HE'S NOT GOING TO ESCAPE!" Krystal shrieked. "ONCE I GET MY HANDS ON HIM, HE WILL WISH HE WAS NEVER BORN!"
"I kinda wish I wasn't born right now!" Pigma shouted in fear.
Falco launched an EMP device onto Krystal's Arwing, feeling reluctant to do so. He used his Arwing to keep hers from crashing to the ground, despite wanting her to calm down. The pheasant landed, letting the cobalt vixen slide off of him. While that happened, Fara gave chase to Pigma, not willing to let him get away from her. She followed him out of Katina, knowing that there was no way to stop him from escaping.
"Fox," Fara spoke, "I'm going after Pigma! If I don't make it back, then I'm sorry!"
"Just try to make it back, okay?" Fox said.
"Okay!" The fennec said.
After watching Fara follow Pigma, Fox turned away and saw Krystal getting out of her Arwing. The cobalt vixen was fuming, looking like she was about to kill someone. She walked up to Falco, ready to tear his head off. Knowing that he had to break it up, Fox slowly approached them. Given how Peppy and Slippy were still in the air, the orange tod had to be the one to keep the peace on the ground.
"Dammit, Falco, I had him right where I wanted him!" Krystal shouted.
"Well, you can't just blast a guy to pieces when you're up there!" Falco scolded.
"It was either that or let him escape with the Memory Core, which managed to happen because you prevented me from shooting him down!" The cobalt vixen said.
"Alright, you two, break it up!" Fox spoke.
"You let Fara go by herself, Fox!" The Cerinian said. "She's going to get killed while chasing Pigma!"
"Krystal, calm down." The orange tod said. "Fara's a tough girl, she can handle anything. In the meantime, we should head back to the Great Fox and find out when the Aparoids are going to strike next."
Calming down a little, Krystal had Falco remove the EMP from her Arwing, allowing her to fly it again. The cobalt vixen and the pheasant then flew their ships up to the Great Fox, entering the docking bay. Slippy followed them, wanting to get inside HQ as fast as possible. Peppy flew down to Fox, allowing him to hitch a ride back. As they rode back, the orange tod couldn't help but wonder why Pigma was on Katina. It was something that troubled him, and it began to open up questions in his mind.
Why was Pigma on Katina in the first place? Fox thought to himself. Why was he alone? Has the CDF been searching for him, or did they think he was dead after all this time!
As he entered the Great Fox with Peppy, Fox sat down for a few. The fact that Pigma was on the run was something that didn't mean good news for the Lylat System. Even though Fara was currently chasing him, the boar was clearly up to something bad. With the Aparoids out as well, it was clear that Star Fox was going to have a much harder time from this point onward. This meant that they would have to contact someone who they never though they would have to contact. It was a group that was currently stationed at the Sargasso Space Station: Oikonny's Army.
Note: Well, it looks like that Star Fox is going to be busier from this point onward. Fara is currently chasing after Pigma, while the team themselves are getting ready to contact Sargasso. You can already take a guess as to what is going to happen next. Will they be able to find out why Pigma was on Katina, alongside his eagerness to get a Memory Core? What will happen to Fara? Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!
