Author's note:

Hi, everyone. Welcome to my newest writing project. This story has taken a lot of hard work to prepare for since I started planning it in May 2020. I'd like to give my thanks to Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman, who helped me with many of the ideas behind this fic, and was kind enough to take time out of their schedule to beta read the first few draft chapters. I'd also like to thank Professor Slaad for sharing their knowledge about the Star Fox universe and its lore. As a relative novice to all things Star Fox, I appreciate their help, as well as that from the rest of the fandom.

Warnings for the following content during the course of this story, which will include violence, strong language, and sexual themes.

The following is a non-profit fan fiction. The Star Fox series is owned by Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, and their respective development partners. Please support the official release.


Chapter 1: Mission Briefing

"You're not getting away this time, McCloud!"

"Keep talking, Lombardi. It'll make taking you down all the sweeter."

"You're dead, Fox! You know that?! It's just a matter of time before I blow you out of the sky!"

"Not with your flying! I thought birds were supposed to be naturals at this. I guess you must be the disappointment in your genus."

"Oh, you son of a bitch! You want some of this?! Bring it!"

"Will you two please keep it down!" Peppy barked from across the rec room. "I'm trying to work here!"

In that moment, Fox looped his fighter over Falco's and locked his missile. With one press of a button, the ship became nothing more than a ball of flames and wreckage. "Fuck!" Falco screamed.

"What did I just say?!" Peppy bellowed again.

Falco glared over the back of the couch. "Damn it, Hare! You totally broke my concentration!" he roared, holding his gamepad in one blue, feathered hand and pointing it accusingly at Peppy. "This is all your fault!"

Peppy wrinkled his rabbit nose in a huff. "You boys take those video games way too seriously. Maybe you should get off your heinies for a bit and do some work. That might cool your jets."

"Sorry, Peppy. We'll keep it down," Fox said with a shameless grin on his muzzle. His own gamepad displayed his new score. "I'll try not to thrash Falco too badly next round."

"You got lucky, that's all!"

"My seven wins in a row say otherwise. You might be able to match me in a real ship, Falco, but you suck at this game."

"Go to hell, McCloud."

Fox was about to retort when the PA system crackled to life. "Attention, Star Fox personnel," a robotic voice announced. "A transmission has been received from General Pepper of the Cornerian Army. Please report to the bridge immediately."

"We hear you, ROB," Fox replied. "Tell the General we'll be up there shortly."

He and Falco returned their gamepads to their charging stations. Their next match would have to wait. When they arrived in the bridge with Peppy, they found their fourth crewmate, Slippy Toad, already present. The green frog was packing his toolbox next to the ship's automatic pilot, ROB.

"Hoo, boy," Slippy breathed in relief. "About time you got here. I thought I'd have to answer the General myself."

Fox offered him an easy smirk. "I'll take it from here, Slip. ROB, patch Pepper through."

"Standby," ROB advised. His mechanical arms tapped across the control panel. In the centre of a room, the ship's holographic projector hummed to life. A column of blue light formed between the floor and ceiling. Inside it, the image of an aging hound dog in a military suit manifested.

"General Pepper, sir," Fox greeted. "Long time, no see. What can we do for you today?"

"Greetings, Star Fox," Pepper answered. "I am calling you directly to seek your aid once again."

"We're happy to help, General. What do you need?" As he listened, Fox's mind churned. It had been years since the last time Pepper contracted them personally for their services. Usually, the army had someone lower on the ladder to hire mercenaries for jobs. Whatever this was about, it was probably important… and likely came with a lucrative paycheque.

"I must inform you that the matters we are about to discuss are… strictly confidential." Pepper's face became replaced with images of various buildings and laboratory rooms. "Three weeks ago, our forces raided a site on Titania, which we suspected to be a secret Venomian base. The facility was being used for various research projects created by Doctor Simon Andross; including bioweapons, cloning, and something referred to as 'cognitive transferral.'"

"Cogna-wazza?" Falco scratched his head.

"Sounds like putting your mind into another body to me," Slippy replied.

"Oh, sure. You'd understand what he's talking about, wouldn't you, frog boy?"

"Can it, you two," Peppy scolded. "Sorry, General. Please continue."

"When we examined the facility's data archives, we discovered something troubling. Records suggest that Andross created a clone of himself and transferred his own mind into it as a contingency in the event of his demise."

"Cloned himself?" Fox interjected. "General, if I'm understanding you correctly, that would mean that Andross might have…"

"He has found a way to come back from the dead," Pepper concluded. The projection returned to him. "And it appears that his attempt was successful."

A cold tremor coursed through Fox's body. His teeth and fists both clenched. The blood howled within his ears as thoughts of that bastard ape flashed before his eyes. That man; who murdered Fox's father, James; who ended hundreds upon thousands more lives; who plunged the entire Lylat Solar System into a decade of war; who died at Fox's own hands eight years ago; was back from the pits of hell and out there on the loose.

"Where is he?" Fox growled.

"Our analysts found flight plans from around the time after Andross's revival, as well as documents that were last accessed between those events. We believe that Andross has fled to the Balven System. As to why, we are still in the dark. We suspect that Andross might still be hiding out there."

"I think I'm starting to see why you're reaching out to us instead of investigating this yourself," Peppy remarked, folding his arms.

"Yes," Pepper nodded sombrely. "The Army's actions would be restricted in Balven. It would take months to coordinate a joint operation to simply investigate the matter. That in itself wouldn't be too great an issue. However, this is Andross we are dealing with. Given the amount of time that has passed since he travelled to the system, waiting any longer could put us all in greater danger."

"How long has Andross been back?" Slippy asked.

"Seven years."

"What!" Fox exclaimed. The rest of his team expressed their own shock behind him. "General! If Andross has been on the loose for that long, he'd have had plenty of time to…"

"I'm well aware of what Andross is capable of," Pepper interrupted. "That is why I need your help urgently. I am requesting that Star Fox travel to the Balven System to track down Andross and learn all that you can about his whereabouts and activities."

"We'll take the job," Fox declared. He didn't need to think about it.

Pepper smiled. "Thank you. The Cornerian Army will arrange your visas and travel plans for you. As we cannot officially operate in Balvenish space without their government's approval, this mission must be kept top secret. That means that no one can know your true purpose. You will be given a secondary mission as cover to get you there. The Army will pay you for both assignments upon completing each."

A smile stretched across Fox's muzzle. Getting a little bonus was always welcome. "Thank you, General. We won't let you down."

"Excellent. I will transfer the mission briefing to you shortly. It will provide all the information that you will need to know."

With a quick farewell, the call ended. Fox turned to face his crew. He saw a mix of worry and anticipation between them. "Andross…" Slippy wrung his hands. "I can't believe that he's back."

Fox sighed. "I know, Slippy. I thought we finished him for good back on Venom."

"Apparently, not even hell wants him around," Falco crossed his arms. "What do you reckon Pepper will pay us if we take him out a second time?"

"That's assuming Andross is still in the system after all these years," Peppy contested. "He could be anywhere by now."

Fox's fist tightened again by his side. "If he is out there, we'll find him. Then we'll make sure he never hurts anyone ever again." Andross can never be allowed to rise to power again, in this solar system or any other. Not while Fox still breathed.

The tension hung in the air until Falco threw his hands behind his head, whistling loudly. "But hey, even if the ape's still dead, we get an all-expense-paid trip to another system. How cool is that?"

Trust Falco to always find the fun side of things. "Can't complain about that," Fox chuckled.

"I can't wait!" Slippy beamed.

Peppy scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well… I've never been to this Balven System before. Would be a nice change from the last few jobs we've taken."

Falco pumped his fist at Fox. "Dude, we have got to find time to take in the local scenery. They've got to have great bars, clubs, casinos… Hell, maybe they got some gnarly hoverbike tracks. I haven't taken a good spin in ages.

"Don't forget that the mission comes first," Peppy chastised him, though Falco merely brushed him off.

"Come on, Old Timer. Have a little fun while you've still got some life in you."

"I'm with Peppy on this one, Falco," Fox's smile vanished. "We need to make finding Andross our top priority. We can't allow him to start another war."

Falco raised his hands in defence. "Hey, I get that. No problems there. I'm just saying let's not waste a good chance to see what's outside of Lylat. We're not going to be tracking Andross down every single second that we're out there. Surely, we can squeeze in a little sight-seeing while we're at it."

Fox listened and part of him started to see Falco's point. Sure, the mission was as serious as they came, but the thought of exploring a new region of space sparked a thrill that Fox couldn't ignore. Opportunities for work had dried up substantially since the end of the Lylat Wars. There were plenty of reasons to take up Pepper's offer and see what else was out there in the galaxy.

Maybe Falco had the right of it. Putting Andross aside, this mission could end up being kind of fun.


"This place is incredible!" Slippy gaped. No one disagreed with him. The entire crew gazed around the Lylat System's first Orbital Gate.

Floating just beyond the planet, Corneria, the massive space station paved the way for instantaneous travel across the galaxy. Its use of space-time manipulation technology was cutting edge. Before the gate's construction only a few months ago, the voyage to the Balven System would have taken weeks to make. This just made this mission even more exciting.

"Cornerian Orbital Gate Control to approaching vessel," a call came over the communications system. "Please state your identity and purpose."

"Gate Control, this is Captain Fox McCloud of the Great Fox. We are en route to the planet, Eulethra, in the Balven System, escorting the Hawkhurst to her destination."

"Acknowledged, Great Fox. We have your flight plan on file and verified your documents with your pilot. The Hawkhurst has not yet arrived, so please standby in Waiting Zone Two."

ROB already downloaded the coordinates from Gate Control. As the Great Fox steered around the station, Fox turned away from the front screen. Jitters made his fur stand on end. "You all ready?"

"Ready!" Slippy declared with one thumb up.

"All clear over this way," Peppy answered.

"Raring to go." Falco kicked his foot in the air impatiently. "Now we just got to wait for our 'client' to show up."

They waited half an hour until a mauve-painted cargo ship flew around the gate towards them. The Hawkhurst was twice the Great Fox's size. A beautiful beast in Fox's opinion. Her captain called to apologise for the delay and thank Star Fox for their support. Although the protection contract was primarily a ruse, the Hawkhurst was transporting valuable machine parts produced by Space Dynamics. There was a real threat to its crew that pirates might attack them en route. Once they reached Eulethra safely, there'd be a short window for Star Fox to carry out their true mission until the Hawkhurst was ready to return home.

"Attention, vessels Hawkhurst and Great Fox," Gate Control called. "You are now clear to proceed. Please make your way to the Zypher Ring and standby for further instructions."

The Zypher Ring appeared to be the large mechanical hoop floating a few hundred metres away from the station. After the two ships drifted into place, their contact from the control centre ran both crews through the transit procedure. Fox watched in awe as the ring split into three scattering blocks. Arcs and beams of green light spread between them. They melded together until a vast portal opened in space-time. The circular wall of green light rippled like the surface of a pond.

"I'll be…" Peppy marvelled.

"Mother Ducker…" Falco agreed.

"Gate Control to Great Fox. Your gate connection is stabilised and ready for you to proceed. Please take care to pilot your ship as close to the centre of the ring as you can. Have a safe journey, and we thank you for flying with the Cornerian Orbital Gate."

"Okay!" Fox smiled. "Final check. Is everyone ready?" Nothing but grins and earnest glints from his teammates. "Star Fox! Move out!"

He wasn't sure what to expect when ROB steered them into the portal. It passed over the Great Fox as gently as a hologram. The bridge broke through the other side instantly. It felt like nothing had happened at all; except there was a great, green planet in front of the ship that had not been there a second ago. The planet's name was Novellon, one of the Balven System's centres of power, much like Corneria was to the Lylat System.

"Wow," Fox gasped.

"Hey, ROB! Put up the rear-view camera," Slippy called out. Up on the projector, a video feed from the ship's back end appeared. The gate glistened behind them. However, this side didn't have a Zypher Ring. That meant they'd have to use a different means to get back home; but that was a matter for later. They cleared the way for the Hawkhurst to fly through.

"Incoming transmission," ROB notified. "Sender's language has been identified as Novellonian. Preparing to translate to Cornerian."

"This is Officer Ban-Yabat of the Novellonian Space Force hailing the Great Fox. Do you read me?"

"We read you," Fox answered. "Captain Fox McCloud responding. I hope that our ship's interpreter program is working alright."

An easy, accented laugh followed. "No issues with communication, then. Captain McCloud, please make your way to Screening Zone Five alongside the Intersystem Spaceport. Once we've finished scanning your ship, you'll be free to progress to your destination. Do you have any organic or restricted goods that you need to declare?"

"Yes. Our automatic pilot, ROB, is sending through our forms to you. We're a mercenary squadron hired by the ship behind us for protection. As such, we're carrying military-grade starfighters and armaments. All of it should be cleared and accounted for in the paperwork."

"Thank you, Captain. Please make your way to the screening zone and one of our officers will attend to you shortly. In the meantime, welcome to the Balven System."


Fox breathed a little easier after they finally cleared customs. The NSF work a tight ship and declaring that Star Fox was heavily armed meant him being asked a lot of tough questions. Fortunately, everything onboard the Great Fox checked out. Fox made a note to thank General Pepper for taking care of all the logistics ahead of time.

A four-hour flight stood between Novellon and Eulethra. Depending on who you asked on the ship, the journey was either smooth sailing or boring as hell. At long last, the Hawkhurst touched down upon the airfield. The Great Fox docked beside it.

Balven's sun had just set over the city, so Fox allowed the team to stretch their legs and hit the streets. He, however, spent the night going through Pepper's briefing one last time. If there was a chance that Andross was still hanging around the system, Fox wanted to have as clear a picture of what to expect as he possibly could. The Hawkhurst was going to be docked for a few days. He'd have plenty of time to squeeze some revelry in later.

Morning came and Fox wished that he had gotten a better night's sleep than he had. He sat nursing a triple-shot cup of coffee as Falco regaled his latest adventures with Slippy. Fox barely paid attention. When you hear Falco tell his story about how he wooed several beautiful women in a single night, you've heard it a hundred times. Slippy called Falco out for one exaggeration after another, so that was also pretty typical.

They took off early to make the most of their available time. Fox explained to the local authorities that the Great Fox experienced issues with its G-Diffusers during their previous flight, so they were going out to run safety tests. That excuse would buy them a few hours. Pepper's intel would take them to the next planet over, so that was all they'd need.

"Just so we're all clear on the mission, Andross's files suggest that he was interested in this planet before he disappeared," Fox spoke in front of the team. "Here in Balven, the planet goes by the name Purgatory."

"Sounds like a nice place," Slippy muttered sarcastically.

"It's called that because of the dust in its atmosphere. It covers the whole planet and, for some reason, causes electrical systems to short-out when they get too close. As a result, Purgatory is listed as a no-fly zone. Plenty of ships have gone in but they've never come out again. So, virtually nothing is known about the planet's surface. Or if it even has one."

Peppy frowned at the reports on his monitor. "Sounds like the sort of place Andross might want to lay low."

"I heard about that planet from some pilots I met at the bar last night," Falco spoke up. "The locals have a nickname for it: The Pink Hole. A lot of guys want to get to what's hidden in there; but if you hang around for too long, your life is pretty much over." He, Fox, and Slippy all then burst into laughter.

"You three really should show some more maturity," Peppy disapproved. "For crying out loud, you're all 26."

"Hey! I'm 27!" Falco protested. "And lighten up, Pep. It's okay to be a little childish from time to time. Otherwise we end up becoming crabby, old farts like you."

Peppy sniffed indignantly. He seemed about to bite back with a retort when ROB interrupted. "Alert! We are approaching Purgatory's orbit. Unknown dreadnaught-class vessel detected."

"Can you bring it up on-screen?" Fox requested.

In moments, an image of a large battleship appeared. Fox noticed the insignia on the sickly-green vessel's hull. His blood ran hot. "Venomians," he hissed.

"That's one big question answered," Falco glowered. "Don't know if Andross is here, but his goons sure are."

"Get to your Arwings!" Fox ordered. "We'll surround them before they get a chance to mobilise."

Peppy hung behind as Falco and Slippy ran for the hangar. "That sounds a bit hasty, Fox. We don't know what we're about to jump into."

Fox's glare softened. "I know, Peppy. If it were any other ship, I'd wait and see before acting. But if Andross is onboard, we can't afford to give them the initiative. The only backup we have if things get dicey is from Balven. And if the authorities find out we're here to hunt Andross under their noses, there'll be even more trouble."

Peppy looked at him long and hard. He eventually sighed. "I know. I just wanted to be sure you do, too."

"Don't worry," Fox smiled. "It'll work out fine."

The others were ready to launch when Fox entered the hangar with Peppy. Ignoring taunts from Falco to hurry up, Fox raced towards his Arwing. The sleek, blue-and-silver starfighter purred to life. Fox smiled affectionately as he grabbed hold of the controls. It was his pride and joy; his number one partner.

"Star Fox! Move out!"

Fox launched from the Great Fox first. When he steered his Arwing around towards the Venomian ship, he caught sight of Purgatory. It gleamed with a soft, pink hue. A giant pearl in an endless, black ocean. It seemed far too beautiful to be given such a dour name.

"Be on your toes, boys," Peppy called through the radio. "Fighters heading this way."

Starfighters shot out from the mothership one after another. "Looks to be about twenty ships so far," Slippy counted. "They've got a mix of light and heavy ones."

"Thanks, Slip," Fox replied. "You and Peppy focus on the armoured fighters. Falco and I will take out the rest."

"Ha! Try not to fall behind, Fox." Falco took off ahead. Fox hit the thrusters to speed after him.

The Venomian ships opened fire. Veering away from incoming lasers, Fox shot back at whatever target flew in front of his nose. Chaos erupted with lights and missiles speeding all over the place. Fox picked a couple of ships and followed them. They were nimble, but so was he. As soon as he got a lock on the closer ship, Fox launched a missile. Both disappeared in a silent explosion upon impact. Fox lined his sights on the second vessel and blasted through its shields with three laser shots.

"Two down over here," he notified the others.

One of the heavily armoured fighters had gotten behind Slippy. It was big and clumsy, though its weapons looked like they could tear his Arwing apart if he didn't shake it fast. Fox fired upon the ship. He took out its mounted cannon.

"Thanks, Fox!" Slippy called.

"Watch yourselves, you two. I'll finish off this one." Both Fox and Slippy veered out of Peppy's firing line. A missile from him struck the Venomian fighter in the afterburners, damaging its engines and causing a fatal chain reaction through the rest of it.

"Nice shot, Peppy!" Fox grinned.

"Fox! Looks like there's more of them coming out of the mothership!"

True to Falco's warning, another five fighters emerged from the enemy dreadnaught. Fox grumbled as he flew towards them. "Keep it coming, guys. This isn't over yet."

An ongoing fight with at least five to one wasn't easy. It certainly didn't help when the Venomians' dreadnaught started shooting as well. ROB kept the big ship honest with the Great Fox's main cannons. Fox gritted his teeth as he looped over a group of starfighters on his tail. He quickly took out one of them before they could get away. The rest scattered from his Arwing.

"Could use a little help over here!" Peppy cried out. Fox caught sight of him being chased by another five fighters. They were all getting dangerously close to the planet.

"Hang on! I'm coming for you!"

There wasn't enough space between Peppy and the Venomians for a nova bomb. Instead, Fox locked a missile on one pursuer and fired. He then shot across two more of them. With only two ships remaining, Peppy was able to manoeuvre out of danger.

Slippy screamed through the comms link. "Fox! Look out!"

Fox glanced at his rear-view. An enemy nova bomb was heading straight for him. Cursing, he slammed his thrusters into maximum speed and began to turn. The bomb went off behind him. It caught Fox on the tail, knocking out his shields. The Arwing shook violently. Thankfully, it stayed in one piece.

"Fox! Are you al-l-r-r-r-r-r…?!"

He shook his head clear. "I'm fine. I just…?"

Suddenly, the monitors on Fox's dashboard flickered into static. He tried to turn but that last explosion must have damaged his Arwing. Fox then noticed Purgatory straight ahead of him. He pulled the wheel as hard as he could. No dice! He was on a collision course!

"Guys, my steering's busted! I need someone to pull me out right now!"

No response came from the radio. Not even static. "Guys? Can anyone hear me?!"

Fox could see the pink dust clouds rolling in Purgatory's atmosphere. Every electrical device onboard started to flicker out and die. "No! No! No-no-no-no-no!" Fox panicked. He jammed various buttons, especially the radio, hoping to elicit a response. Sweating, Fox tried the wheel again. Still no control over his direction. He had no idea if any of his teammates were chasing after him.

"Guys!" he screamed, forgetting the fact that nobody could hear him. "I really need some help here!"

His Arwing began to shake. Without his shields or G-Diffusers working, flames engulfed the hull as the thin atmosphere burned through Fox's passage. Usually, a rough entry would trigger shrill alarms in the cockpit. Complete silence was a million times more terrifying.

"Not good! Not good!"

The pink dust washed over his ship. Fox couldn't see anything through the windshield. He prayed that, at any second, a tether would latch onto the Arwing and stop him from crossing the point of no return.

"Not good! Not good!"

Half a minute passed, and Fox realised that point was probably crossed already. A chill washed over him. This was it. This was the mission that finally did him in. The faces of friends and family flashed before Fox's eyes. Peppy… Falco… Slippy… His mother… Horrified tears streaked down his face. All the while, Purgatory continued to swallow him whole.

"Not good! Not good! Not good!"


End note:

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm aiming to update on a fortnightly basis, give or take a week or two depending on circumstances. In the meantime, go and check out some of my other fics if you haven't already.