Disclaimer: Bucky 'O Hare created by Larry Hama, Star Fox is copyrighted Nintendo.


From the ground, Fox saw the massive aparoid sentry descending from the skies, charging an eerie violet weapon that blasted a powerful beam at his team. "Noooo!" he yelled as he witnessed the certain demise of his friends and loved ones.

But faith would have a different plan, as he saw four Arwings flying away after the blast had stopped. Thanks to Krystal's warning, they had narrowly managed to move out of the way.


"Fwuh! Everyone okay!' Slippy asked as they all regained their bearings. "Yeah, yeah, we're fine!" Falco replied, "Everybody, evasive maneuvers!" he ordered as they all began to scatter. The sentry continued to fire as the team continued to scatter about the place.

Maneuvering lower, Bucky noticed something, "Everyone, it must cool down between blasts! If we can hit it during that time, we might be able to take it down!" he informed them with urgency. "I need you all to cover me!" he said before flying right towards the center of the beast.

"Well, you heard him! Cover him with everything you got!" Falco said, being the first to fire at the aparoid. The sentry quickly blasted back, Bucky riding underneath the blinding light as he rapidly approached. "Almost there!" he said as he neared his opening, the aparoid seizing his firing for a second.

"Take this!" he yelled as he shot directly at the center of the massive aparoid, causing a chain reaction that took him down! "Yes!" The rest began to celebrate before the arrival of even more aparoid units arrived.

"There're more enemy types around now. Be careful, everyone." Slippy called out through the comms, notifying the others before going to help. But as soon as he had said that a multitude of flyers began to pursue. "Darn it! I'm being chased!" he called out, as he tried desperately to shake them all.

"Hold on, I'm going in!" Bucky cried out through the comms, rushing to the rescue. "Rushing in to rescue a toad, who would have seen this coming!" he said to himself, the irony greatly amusing him.

"Bucky, get the enemy behind me!" Slippy cried out in terror, trying all he could to shake them off. "This is bad! I can't lose 'em!" he cried to himself as he tried moving faster.

"Hold on, Slippy! I'm almost there!" Bucky told him as he swooped down from above them, blasting his cannon at the pursuing aparoid. "Come on you little bugger!" cried the captain as he neared the end of his cool. Lining in his shot, waiting for the right moment, he struck, hitting the aparoid just before it could land a hit on Slippy's ship.

"Thanks, Bucky! I thought I was a goner!" Slippy said through the comms, relief, and gratefulness clear in his voice. "Don't mention it, Slippy! Happy to help!" Bucky replied, taking the moment to sit back and breathe out.


Interrupting their small moment of respite, Krystal's voice suddenly came from the comms, "I'm sensing aparoids within the building..." she said cryptically, yet with certainty in her tone. "Krystal's sixth sense doesn't lie!" Slippy told Bucky with confidence, sure that there was something worth checking out. Flattered at the vote of confidence, Krystal reached out, "Check inside buildings for targets too, Fox!" she said, sending the message back down to Fox on the ground.

"Fox. Check inside the buildings. You've gotta find a way inside somehow." Krystal instructed. "How do I get inside?" Fox asked. "I'm not quite sure?" she admits before Peppy jumped in. "You should be able to get inside using the elevators," Peppy informed him.

"Alright, Peppy! I'll give it a shot." He said as he parked the Landmaster beside one of the extensions of the cross-shaped complex. He grabbed his blaster as he opened the canopy. Fox wasted insect aparoids one after the other as he tried to make his way to the ramp of the complex that would take him to where the elevators were located. Fox pressed the 'open' switch and ran up the ramp, to the nearest elevator, which was at the very center of the complex.

He hit the 'down' button and descended into the depths of the central complex. Fox drew his blaster as he neared the lower level and was greeted with a whole slew of insect aparoids as the elevator hit the lower level. Fox wasted them all, with minimal effort, and slowly made his way to the target.

Fox finally got a good look at the hatchers, they were disgusting. They were circular, had a slimy green color, and a bright yellow center, and it was clinging to the wall of the room with three long, slender legs. Fox stepped back, charged up his blaster, and let it fly, obliterating the target completely.

"Target down!" Fox said into the comm. "Well done, Fox!" Peppy said from the Great Fox. "Is the distress signal still transmitting?" Krystal took the opportunity to ask. "The signal's still there, but there's no response..." Peppy said with worry.


Fox ran back to the Landmaster and glanced at the radar, the remaining targets were bunched up close together and Fox hit the gas, heading straight in their direction. Fox stopped the Landmaster and looked at the radar closely.

Fox looked out of the cockpit and saw a huge warehouse door, the radar saying they were inside. Fox backed up the Landmaster about a hundred feet, charged up the turret, and blew the door down. Fox grabbed his blaster and slowly walked inside the warehouse full of boxes.

"I hope we make it in time... "came Krystal's voice through the comms, worry heavy on her tone. "If there are survivors, they'll be the only witnesses..." Falco added, pensively. "We've gotta rescue them!" Slippy added with an infectious level of enthusiasm. With the words of his friends in his mind, Fox slowly but confidently moved his head around the corner of one of the boxes.


But instead of survivors, he saw countless numbers of insect aparoids guarding two hatchers. Fox took a deep breath and fired shot after shot into the mob of aparoids. Fox gritted his teeth as the aparoids were demolished, wailing out their cries of pain as Fox finished them off with well-placed shots to the head. Fox pulled a grenade out of his gear pack, pressed the 'arm' button, and threw it at the hatchers.

He watched it shine bright red, then change to a white light, Fox smiled as it exploded brilliantly, taking both hatchers with it. "All right, Fox! Get back to the… Oh no…" Peppy said. "What is it?" Fox asked. "A new target has been confirmed." ROB mentioned in his robotic voice. "A big enemy presence. You gotta destroy that last one! Find it on your radar." Peppy elaborated with great urgency.

Fox got outside of the complex and saw exactly what Peppy was talking about. A huge red semi-sphere of energy, made from small hexagons, had formed over the northeast quadrant of the base. "Ugh, I gotta bad feeling about this..." Fox said. "Oh shit!" Fox said as he saw what came through the barrier of energy. A HUGE, colossal aparoid that towered twice the height of the tallest part of the base.

It had a head that looked like a UFO, and it stood on four colossal legs, with its feet the size of the Landmaster. "Yeow! That thing's huge!" Slippy said over the comm. Fox nodded as he gritted his teeth at the aparoid. "So…This is the leader, huh?" Fox said to himself.

"That thing is giant... and ugly!" Falco said nonchalantly as he stared at the incoming aparoid. "You said it!" agreed Dead-Eye, staring out in awe. "Wait! That thing has a Core Memory!" Krystal pointed out, drawing attention to the interior of the aparoid. Looking closely, one could faintly see the glowing form of a Core Memory within the body of the gargantuan enemy. Not wasting time, Peppy contacted Fox and said "You heard the lady, Fox! You gotta get that Core Memory!" and with a nod, he charged up the turret of the Landmaster and drove forward.


"Shield analysis complete. Bringing it up on the monitor." Slippy informed him through comms, sending the information to the rest of the group. "Fox! Aim for the flashing red ball in the center of its underside! That's the weak point." Peppy said. Fox nodded and fired a shot into it, but nothing happened, except for the aparoid shooting a huge wave of missiles from its underside, straight at Fox.

"Whoa! Here comes trouble!" Falco yelled from above, dodging the stray missiles coming his way. "Bring it on, big guy!" adds Dead-Eye with some moxxi. "The anti-air fire is too heavy! I can't get through..." Krystal mentioned as she too struggled to swerve through the fire. Fox rolled the Landmaster, dodging the missiles, but it knocked off the bearings he had for the orb on its underside. "Blast! I can't get a good shot off!" Fox yelled into the comm.

Fox stopped the Landmaster and pointed the turret at the orb, he fired and hit its mark. The aparoid's legs gave out and it collapsed onto the ground of Katina. "Now, Fox! Get on top of it!" Peppy yelled. "What! I thought you said that the underside was its weak point." Fox said as he hit the hover switch.

"Sorry, Fox. You've got to hit the underside to get on the top. The aparoid's most vulnerable point is on the top." Peppy said as he switched off the hover. "You have to get on top of it to beat it? What a pain!" Krystal commented with slight annoyance. The Landmaster shook as it landed, and the aparoid stood back up. "Stupid bugs!" Slippy cried in a worried outburst towards his friend. Fox meanwhile was thinking about what the heck he was supposed to do here!

"I'll try to draw their fire; the rest is up to you!" Falco told him as he began taking potshots at the downed colossus, keeping its attention away from Fox. The small tower-lie structure in the center of the aparoid's top opened, exposing another, bigger red orb. "Shoot it, Fox! That's it!" Falco said over the comm. Fox fired round after round into the center of the orb, and it closed after Fox had gotten just a few shots off. "Darn it! Am I doing any damage?" Fox asked Peppy. "Yes. Keep it up, Fox." Peppy said. "Fox! Hit the hover!" Krystal added with urgency.

Fox hit the hover and looked down at the aparoid's head. A huge wave of green electricity had covered the surface of the head, He desperately steered the Landmaster, trying to keep it lined up with the aparoid as it moved about, trying to keep the Landmaster off it.

Fox switched off the hover and the Landmaster shook violently as it impacted the surface of the aparoid. The tower opened back up again, and Fox fired madly into it. The aparoid closed it, much quicker this time, and tried to electrify the Landmaster. Fox hit the hover, but when he disengaged it, he was on the very edge of the aparoid's head. "Don't let it shake you off, Fox!" Falco said, unfortunately, it did…

Fox squinted his eyes tightly shut as the Landmaster tumbled towards the ground. Fox's only thought as he fell… was of Krystal. The Landmaster shook violently and Fox opened up his eyes to see that everything was upside-down, "Wow…" was all he said.

"Fox?" Krystal's voice came over the comm. "Aargh…damm that hurt… I'm OK, Krystal." Fox said as he tried to get to a more comfortable position in the seat. "Falco, has anyone got any novas left?" Fox asked. "Nope. Sorry, Foxhe said back. "Hmm…Peppy. Bring in the Great Fox, and…charge up the main guns." Fox said with a smile.

"You got it, Fox," Peppy said and laughed. "Bruiser, come with me!" he said gesturing to the massive baboon, both heading towards the ship's gun controls.


Meanwhile, Fox found his blaster somehow and blew open the canopy. When he got out, he ran like hell into one of the aircraft hangers nearby. Strangely, it was the one that had gotten obliterated by the purple orb fired at him at the beginning of this hellish operation.

Fox heard a low rumble, and saw the Great Fox in the clouds, descending by the minute. "Find some cover, Fox. This is gonna be one hell of a fireworks show." Peppy said as the ship broke through the clouds.

"FIRE!" Peppy said and looked towards an eager Bruiser, as the baboon hit a button on the tactical console. Peppy looked back at the monitor, the aparoid was still standing. "Damn…" he thought before pressing the comms, "Fox! How's the Landmaster?" he asked. Looking over towards his vehicle, "Totaled." Fox answered with a sigh.

"Figures…" Peppy thought, as Fox looked up to see the Great Fox fire another volley of plasma fire and aimed it precisely at the tower structure again. Luckily for Peppy, it was open this time, and the aparoid wailed in pain as it practically tore itself apart. The aparoid leaned in one direction, and its legs shook, desperately trying to hold its own weight up. It moaned again, and crashed into Katina, shaking the planet violently.

"Nice going', Peppy," Fox said as the Great Fox headed back up into the clouds. "Anytime, Fox," he said with a smile as Willy and Bruiser high-fived behind him. "Fox, that thing's got a core memory." Krystal reminded him. "Get it. But be careful! We don't know anything about what we're up against." Peppy told him.

"I know that. Hey... It looks like that distress signal's no longer transmitting..." Fox said bewildered as he walked towards the core. "Hmm... that doesn't sound good..." Peppy says with apprehension.


Fox jumped onto the aparoid's head and heard a ship over him, he looked up and heard, "Heh, hoo, heh! Hey, thanks for helping me out!" Staring in bewilderment he screamed, "Pigma!" as he glared at the treacherous hog. The portly, blank-eyed pig laughed over the comm at Fox's surprise.

"Har, har! Long time, no see, eh, Fox?" he said with a mocking grin as his ship stood before Fox. "The SOS signal... It was you?!" Fox cried out in disbelief, his temper slightly getting to him as he faced the greedy and untrustworthy swine.

"Hoo heh! Since I'm here, I'll just help myself to this!" Pigman said and launched a tractor beam to the core memory, bringing it into his ship's holding bay. "No wait! That's..." Fox said before being rudely interrupted. "Hmm... Is it that important? Ha ha! Then I'm gonna be rich! Smell ya later!" Pigma said laughing as he took off, out of Fox's sight.

"Stop! Pigma! Dang!" Fox said as he kicked the tower where the core memory once was, shattering some of it. "Fox! I'm tracking Pigma on the radar! Get back to the Great Fox now!" Peppy said. Fox nodded and ran for his Arwing, still parked outside the base.

Fox threw his blaster into the floorboard and hit the startup. "Are you alright, Fox!" asked Bucky's voice. "Never better." he said with a distant laugh, "And you?" he asked. "Good. Thanks for asking!" he answered sincerely, "And Fox? Don't push yourself so hard!" he told him in sympathy, knowing the difficulties of leading a team.

Fox smiled as he slowly moved the throttle and pointed the nose away from the base. Fox threw the throttle all the way forward and flew into the clouds, towards the Great Fox.


Back at Venom, the Toad Empire is facing their own turmoil. Near one of the ports, the Air Marshall is desperately trying to keep the order, in his own way. "What do you think you're doing you wart brains! Get back here!" he yells out as he pursues a samurai lizard who is currently loading cargo into his ship.

Feeling insulted, the massive reptile turns towards the toad with a scowl, the Air Marshal falling backwards as he cowards in terror. "Is there a problem?" the voice of Sly Leezard says from behind him. "Sly! About time you got here! Control your men this instant!" the Marshall says in a bossy tone, not appreciated by either of the lizards.

Griping him by the collar, Sly brings him close before saying, "My men are perfectly following my commands. You have failed your end of the bargain and we will no longer wait around until you cowering amphibians decide to act! We are to depart Venom immediately!" he says harshly before tossing him aside. "What! You dare betray us!" yells the Marshall in disbelief.

Looking back at him, Sly replied, "We still have a debt to settle, but you promised us conquest and have yet to deliver!" he said in matter-of-factly. "What are you talking about? We conquered Venom, did we not!" he says in exasperation. "The battle was a stalemate and can hardly be considered a conquest!" the disgraced Ronin told him. "Is that so? Then tell me, Sly! Where exactly do you plan to go? Alone, on a new galaxy with no allies to speak of!" countered the toad maliciously.

Giving him a smile true to his name, the lizard responded, "Are you implying that you wish to terminate our alliance! We would be happy to aid you, your people did rescue us, but that matter is entirely up to you!" he threatened as he poked him on the chest, "As for were we go, the local reptiles have informed us of a planet, primitive but filled with great warriors! A reptilian paradise right for conquest, Sauria!" Sly exclaimed with grandiose, amused at the similarity with his own world. "My men and myself will be more than enough to conquest such a place, and once our bloodlust is satisfied, we shall return, if you still want us as allies, thou I suppose we and our conquered subjects could become enemies!" he threatened slyly as he grinned at the overweight toad.

"No, you may leave! But we WILL keep an eye on you a lot! Try anything and you will face the wrath of the Toad Empire!" he bellowed loudly as he saw the samurai continue to board. "Unbelievable!" he mumbled to himself as he began to march away in search of their other 'ally'.


"Al! Where are you, you blasted sleaze bag!" he yelled before he knocked right at the purple gator's chest. "Ah, Al Negator, perfect! I have a job for you!" he said screamingly. "Of course you do, and I will be happy to do it, once I return," Al said with a grin, before moving past the Marshall.

"Wait, what! Where do you think you're going!" he demanded to know. The mercenary merely stopped in his tracks before turning his head, "Some of the locals are taking me to one of their stomping grounds, showing me the lay of the place. After all, if I am to stay here for the long run, I need more clientele. I need to get my name out there, you understand." He said in his trademarked sleazy tone.

"What, no! I need you… I'll pay you! Double your usual!" the Air Marshall pleaded desperately. "Excellent, I will get to you immediately when I return, see yah!" replied Al unfaced, he was looking at the bigger picture now. This was a new place, one where he was a complete unknown! This was an opportunity to make it big before the law even knew bout him, how could he refuse? Walking towards a shuttle, he greeted a group of punk-looking monkeys before disappearing behind the door.

As the Air Marshal looked at the departing ship, he could do nothing more but fall to his knees and yell. Yell in outer defeat as everything was falling around him. His old allies were gone, his new ones had little reason to follow, they had been utterly defeated in their first battle, their enemies had united, Toadborg and KOMPLEX were still secluded in their chambers, leaving everything up to him, and he could barely keep it together.

Gathering all his resolve, he got back on his feet, took a deep breath, and said, "KOMPLEX is not going to like this!" before slowly turning around and walking towards the palace.


Author's Note:

There goes our first proper two-parter, hope you all found it enjoyable. I can't wait to see what your comment about it, I truly learn a lot from reading them. The story is picking up the pace, but first a little breather. The next chapter is nearly complete, so until next time!