Great Fox II
May 20th, 2611
Krystal knelt down on a cushion, eyes closed and hands gripping her staff. She tuned out the idle whir of the ship's machinery, focusing on her breathing and her heartbeat.
The cobalt vixen felt a floating sensation and opened her eyes, seeing that she was no longer in the storeroom, but rather an expanse of endless mist.
Suddenly, her senses alerted her to a presence, and a very evil presence at that. Krystal stood up and assumed a combat stance. Parts of the mist swirled and formed into a pair of hands and the head of an ape.
"I've been waiting for you, Krystal."
"Andross." the vixen hissed.
The apparition of the mad scientist attempted to slam his right hand down on the Cerinian. She leapt to the side, and as the hand hit the ground, jumped up and stabbed the hand with the sharp end of her staff, causing it to disperse back into mist, and eliciting a roar of pain from the apparition.
"Your powers are no match for me!"
"Evidently not."
Andross drew back, pointed his index finger at her, and fired a lightning bolt. Krystal simply slammed her staff into the ground and put up a barrier, blocking the attack. After that, he attempted to swipe at her, only for Krystal to jump up and kick off of the hand. She landed in a crouch and fired a beam from her staff that destroyed the remaining hand.
"Now you die, girl!"
The apparition began sucking in air.
"Bad move, Andross."
Krystal rode the air currents and grabbed hold of Andross' beard, using it to climb up his face. He tried to throw her off, to no avail. Eventually, the cobalt vixen stood on the ape's snout and rammed her staff through his right eye.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen! It's kind of sad, Andross. You were once a brilliant, kind, and respected man. But, you gave in to your greed and lust for power, and you became a monster!"
Krystal hopped down as the apparition of the mad scientist vanished. Soon, heavy footsteps sounded behind her, and the vixen turned around. She looked on the ghostly form of the late Sharpclaw warlord General Scales.
"Prepare to die, little girl." the fiend snarled as he drew a sword with his right hand and readied his double-hooked left hand.
"No one can defeat General Scales!"
"If saying that would only make it so!"
The Sharpclaw lunged at her and swung his hook hand. Krystal parried the blow and then blocked an overhead swing from his sword. They continued to spar for a time, until Krystal jumped back from a sword swipe and brought her staff down on his wrist, making him drop his weapon. She then moved in and delivered a series of strikes and kicks, culminating in a two-handed swing that knocked the tyrant on his back.
"Well what do you know, someone can defeat General Scales!"
"Have mercy! Please!" Scales begged.
"Like you showed others mercy? Absolutely not! I just wish that I did this back on Sauria!"
The cobalt vixen leapt into the air and brought her staff down in a quake slam on the Sharpclaw's chest. All that was left of him was a large crater.
To Krystal's left, the mist formed into an insectoid form. The Aparoid Queen to be exact.
"We are the ultimate existence. You will be assimilated."
"Not bloody likely!" Krystal shouted as she began attacking the Queen's armour.
Soon, the core was exposed, and Krystal fired a steady stream of fireballs into it. The Aparoid Queen was soon ablaze and screaming in agony.
"Ugh." she groaned in disgust "All you ever were was a disgusting parasite that needed a universal pesticide to erase it."
Suddenly, flames appeared all around Krystal, and a deep laugh emitted.
"HEH, HA HA HAAAH. KRYSTAL, THIS IS WHAT I HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS."
"Baphomet."
Krystal couldn't tell which direction the Devil's voice was coming from, so she closed her eyes and reached out with her mind.
She sensed a lightning bolt heading her way and rolled out of the way. The vixen spun around and spotted the Demon Lord behind the flames. He appeared as he had the last time Fox had faced him and glared down at her with blood-red eyes.
"YOUR SOUL IS MINE."
"You're gonna have to work for it."
The Devil drew back a hand and threw a fireball at her. Krystal threw up another barrier and absorbed the attack. She then used her ice beam to create a path through the flames.
"MY RETURN IS IMMINENT." the Demon Lord sneered as he produced a blade of flames in his hand.
"Doesn't matter, Baphomet. We're taking you down for good next time!"
Baphomet swung his fire sword at the vixen. She parried the strike and counter attacked, though her strikes simply clanged off of the Devil's armour.
Eventually, Baphomet attempted to impale her with his blade. Seeing an opening, Krystal fired an ice beam towards it, extinguishing the flame blade and freezing the fiend's arm solid.
She then brought her weapon down and smashed the arm to pieces. As Baphomet roared in pain, the cobalt vixen jumped up and plunged the sharp end of her staff into his neck. Krystal then lifted up on it, beheading the Demon Lord.
"I wouldn't act all high and mighty for long, Baphomet! We'll find a way to defeat and kill you so you can never harm anyone again!"
The apparition faded and Krystal heard boots clomping. The mists formed into a Xenomorph levelling a plasma pistol at her.
"Let your death be the final word in the story of Cerinia."
"I wouldn't bet on that, Cordelia!"
The apparition of Xenosian General Reza Cordelia opened fire. Krystal rolled out of the way and shot a fireball that knocked the weapon from his hand. He then lashed out with his tail and wrapped it around her staff. Thinking quickly, Krystal yanked the Xenomorph towards her and used his momentum to impale him on her staff.
"You called my people a foolish race. But the truth is, they were intelligent and wise compared to you! I'm astounded that you even became a General, seeing as you were a bigoted coward who was afraid of a Cerinian who could have turned you and your army to ashes! You used my boyfriend as a shield and threw brainless insults because you were too weak to fight fair!"
She kicked Cordelia off her staff and and shot some fireballs into him. A pair of strong arms suddenly grabbed her from behind. The vixen quickly snapped her head back and was rewarded with a grunt and the grip being released.
Turning around revealed the iguana-crocodile hybrid known as Eugene Clegg, one of the men who had killed Fox's mother and who had nearly killed Fox six months ago.
"For that, I'm going to make this hurt." the reptile said as he drew a knife.
"You got lucky on Xenos, Clegg. I promise, nobody's ever getting the drop on me again."
Clegg came at her and swiped with the knife. Krystal easily dodged the attacks and knocked the knife out of his hand. She then fired an ice beam and froze him solid.
"This is payback for abducting me, killing Fox's mother, and nearly killing him!"
She swung her staff and smashed Clegg to pieces. Another pair of boots were heard, and the mists formed into Krav Bishkesk, the one-time Defence Minister of Xenos.
"The empire could have taken Cerinia so far. If only you savages had listened."
"Shut Up!"
Bishkesk pulled out a blaster, but Krystal was already moving. She ran the sharp end of her staff across his gut, disemboweling him. The Chimeran fell to his knees and met her gaze.
"Cordelia might have been a terrible man, but you were even worse. You called me a savage, but you were the real savage, seeing as you tried to rape me, tortured my brother, and threatened Lylat with the same weapon that killed my planet! You were nothing short of scum, you disgusting bastard. I'm only glad that you're an apparition, so that I can do what I've always wanted not only to you, but to everyone who has made my life hell!"
To her shock, he began began sobbing.
"Please no! I'm sorry about what happened! I was just following orders! Please don't kill me!"
"Orders?!" Krystal screamed. "Even when you know they're wrong? No, Bishkesk, you don't get to cry uncle!"
She then ran the sharp end over his throat, decapitating him. The mists swirled into two figures, one hooded and with clawed hands and the other, Krystal knew from Fox's experience, was a Baron.
Her senses told her that they were Baphomet's sons, Chermaya and Voldrak.
"READY TO DIE, LITTLE GIRL?" taunted Chermaya, the hooded figure.
"I'm not so little anymore."
Voldrak made the first move, drawing back his arm and throwing a ball of green fire at her. Krystal blocked it with a barrier and then readied herself as Chermaya closed in. He swiped at her with his claws, while she blocked and parried. Eventually, the hooded demon jumped back and stuck out his hand, a steady stream of fireballs shooting out. Krystal threw up a barrier, but then sensed Voldrak charging her.
Thinking quickly, the cobalt vixen shoved the sharp end of her staff into the ground and did a rocket boost up and over the large demon and towards Chermaya. Charging up energy in the bejeweled end, Krystal brought it down on the hooded figure's head. He collapsed and disappeared.
A trumpeting roar behind her told the vixen that Voldrak was headed her way. She turned around and charged towards him, slashing with the sharp end of her staff. Dashing past him and glancing over her shoulder, Krystal saw the satyr-like demon's upper body fall to the ground.
"Like your father, you two are pure evil. But me and my team will defeat you. In fact, we're going to find a way to kill you and your bloody father!"
"WE WILL NOT FALL SO EASILY, GIRL." Voldrak retorted.
Krystal sensed another presence, one that gave her quite the headache. She watched as the mists swirled and formed into a creature that she had never seen before. For that matter, she didn't think anyone had ever seen a being like this.
The head resembled that of a bat, including the ears. It had a pair of long, spindly arms that almost reached the ground, and a shorter pair on it's torso. But what was most striking were it's eyes. They were a colour that, as far as Krystal could tell, wasn't on any known spectrum.
"And just who the hell are you?"
The being tilted it's head at her.
"IF I HAD A NAME, THAN IT HAS LONG BEEN FORGOTTEN. A BETTER QUESTION WOULD BE, WHAT AM I." the creature replied, it's mouth never moving.
"Alright, what are you?"
The unknown creature seemed to smile.
"THEY CALL ME THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE."
"I warn you, Colour. If you come anywhere near me and my friends, it will be the end of you."
The being chuckled in response.
"I WILL BE SEEING YOU ALL SOON, VERY SOON."
The being then began floating in the cobalt vixen's direction. She shot several fireballs at him and discovered to her horror that they simply passed through the creature.
"HEH HA HA HA! YOUR FEEBLE ATTACKS CANNOT HARM ME."
Krystal charged towards the Colour and swung her staff, finding again that it simply phased through his body. Even more shocking was the fact that he disappeared. Krystal looked about, not seeing the creature.
She suddenly sensed something coming from above. Glancing upwards, the vixen spotted what appeared to be a meteorite headed right for her. She quickly ran from it, but the shockwave from the impact still picked up and tossed her.
Quickly picking herself up, Krystal saw the so-called Colour Out of Space materialize from the impact crater. She reached out with her senses, searching for a weak point. They told her to aim for one of the creature's hands. As he approached and swiped at her, Krystal stabbed one of his hands.
She heard what sounded like breaking glass and a strange whooshing sound. The creature roared and disappeared, reappearing a few feet away.
"YOU MAY HAVE WON THIS ROUND, YOUNG ONE. BUT I PROMISE, I WILL DRAIN THE LIFE FROM YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS."
"If you're backing down this easily, you disgusting creature, than it should be a breeze for me and my team to take you down for real."
"DO NOT BE SO CERTAIN, GIRL." the Colour replied before disappearing.
Krystal found herself getting an even bigger headache. Even before the apparition had fully taken shape, Krystal knew what it was.
The mythical being known as Cthulhu.
Cthulhu stared down at the vixen with those purple eyes.
"SO, WE MEET AGAIN."
"I don't fear you, Cthulhu."
The Elder being attempted to crush her with his massive hand, only for Krystal to dodge. She shot fireballs and beams at the titanic creature, but the wounds healed over immediately after being inflicted. On the other hand, Krystal being smaller and quicker meant that Cthulhu's attempts to crush or grab her were unsuccessful.
Krystal attempted to freeze the Old One in place with an ice beam. It only worked for a few seconds, but it was enough time for the vixen to perform a rocket boost and launch herself towards Cthulhu's chest.
Closing her eyes, the Cerinian charged up the jewelled end of her staff. There was the sound of tearing flesh, and a putrid smell reached her nostrils. Then more flesh tearing and fresh air again.
Upon landing, Krystal turned around and saw the hole in Cthulhu's back and chest closing up. He turned around and fixed her with his eerie gaze.
"YOU WILL NOT VANQUISH ME SO EASILY, GIRL. YOUR LIFETIME IS BUT A SECOND FOR ME."
"You may be an immortal creature, Cthulhu, but you have a weakness. Everything does! Just like Baphomet, we're going to find a way to kill you!"
The apparition of Cthulhu disappeared, as did the expanse of mist. Krystal found herself back in the storeroom, still kneeling on the cushion. Her eyes widened as she sensed feelings of anger from the other side of the ship.
"I was never able to sense that far before."
The cobalt vixen stood up and collapsed her staff. Leaving the room, she entered the hallway and saw Kaden exiting the neighbouring room.
Neither of them said anything. Nothing needed to be said, something bad was happening and it needed to be stopped before the team reached the Dellis system.
Elsewhere
Adrian Essex could feel the pink feline's eyes burning into the back of his head. The vulpine let out a frustrated sigh and began to turn around, only for a pair of hands to grab his arm.
"Don't do it, Adrian." Fara warned.
He simply shook his head.
"Sorry honey, but enough's enough."
Adrian turned and faced Katt.
"I'll thank you to stop giving me those looks."
Katt threw up her hands and screamed.
"Is that all you've got to say to me, you son of a bitch!?"
Both Fara and Falco stood up, the latter putting a hand on Katt's shoulder.
"Let's all be cool here, guys." said the avian.
"No." snarled the feline. "I'm not working with him. Not after what him and his friend did on Deranbey!"
The vulpine narrowed his eyes.
"Trust me, if I had known what was in store for me, I would have put one through Richard's head."
That statement gave Katt pause.
"What do you mean?"
Adrian got a sad look on his face.
"Richard Varner, my partner, was a demonic cultist. When he tried to get me to join, I refused. So him and a few others came in the middle of the night and grenaded my house. I was out having a smoke, so I survived, but my wife, my son, and my daughter were all killed."
Adrian looked away and then met their gaze again.
"Needless to say, I was low for a long time. Even stuck a blaster in my mouth a few times. Bout the only thing that kept me from pulling the trigger is that my family would have been ashamed of me."
He put an arm around Fara.
"Then Fara saved me on a job. One thing led to another and here we are today. You might say that she saved me from myself. Even got me off the smokes."
The fennec smiled at that while Katt and Falco were left stunned.
"Oh my. I don't know what to say. Except I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted." Adrian replied.
Elsewhere in the ship, Krystal and Kaden stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well I'm glad that sorted itself out."
Krystal nodded in response.
"Why don't we go see if our training is paying off?" she suggested.
"Sure."
The two adopted siblings then headed for the common room. In there, they found Miyu, Radoven, and Kronos Kudrov. With the former being of Hressan descent on her mother's side and the latter two being Elites, they had a natural immunity to telepathy.
"Guys, got a minute?" Krystal asked.
The three of them stopped what they were doing and gathered in a semi-circle around the two Cerinians. To Krystal and Kaden's shock, they could read all three of their thoughts.
Kronos was wondering if their plan for him and Radoven to wear Sangheilli Republican Guard uniforms and use fake IDs would work. Radoven meanwhile, had a backup plan known only to him, at least until now.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Krystal told him mentally.
The older Elite kept his face impassive as he replied "If all goes well, I won't have to use it. But if things go south, than what the others don't know, they can't be made to tell."
In the case of Miyu, Kaden was shocked to discover that she had been talking to Alvarez. The conversation had turned to their pasts and a hyena named Ron Hayward.
Hayward had been a thug for various crime bosses. When Alvarez had been a child, Hayward had been sent to scare her father out of testifying against one of these bosses. When he had refused, Hayward shot him, leaving him paralysed. He had then raped and killed her mother and threatened to come back for her if her father still testified.
In Miyu's case, another crime lord hadn't taken kindly to MilLynx breaking up a drug ring and had sent Hayward after Miyu. As it turned out, the lynx had been with who Kaden now knew to be her twin sister Kaylee.
From Miyu's memories, Kaden saw that during the struggle, a stray laser had hit Kaylee in the head. Although Miyu had been able to subdue Hayward and cart him off to jail, it was small comfort.
Kaden looked at his new girlfriend and saw tears gathering in her eyes.
"Miyu, honey. I am so sorry." he said as he pulled her into a hug.
Elsewhere
On the Great Fox II's bridge, Fox was seated in the command chair, staring out the front viewport at the green hue of hyperspace.
"Exiting hyperspace jump momentarily." ROB64 droned.
"Thanks ROB."
The view was soon replaced with the blackness of empty space and the lights of distant stars.
"We have now arrived in the Dellis system, Fox."
A beeping from his chair's terminal caught the vulpine's attention. It seemed the ship's scanners had picked up two jump signatures. They were identified as a Wolfen and a Banshee.
"Battle logs indicate that the Banshee-class fighter has participated in hostile actions against Team Star Fox. Shall I prepare defenses?"
"No." Fox shook his head. "He's working with us too."
The vulpine then stood up.
"You have the bridge, ROB."
"Aye, Fox."
The leader of Star Fox left the bridge and took a lift down to the hanger, which was slowly filling up with the other members and their hired help.
The two fighters exited hyperspace and headed for the mothership. Setting down in the hanger, the two pilots left their ships. The one who was flying the modified Banshee was regarded with looks of mistrust, particularly Star Fox, owing to their numerous encounters with him during the Demon War, which he promptly huffed at.
"I don't like this anymore than you do. But these are strange times."
"Tell me about it." Wolf snarked.
Fox simply crossed his arms and regarded Phantom with a cold stare.
"You try to stab us in the back, you're a dead man."
"Duly noted."
"Don't worry, he won't." Krystal chimed in.
Fox turned to his girlfriend and smiled.
"I see that your training's paying off." he said mentally.
"Indeed it is."
Later
Fox sat at the computer terminal in his quarters, a disconcerted expression on his face. Ever since receiving the mission in Dellis, the vulpine had been doing lots of digging into Feldon Drexler, one of the men involved in his mother's murder.
Fox let out a frustrated huff, something that he'd been doing the last several days. Aside from the date that his father and Peppy had captured Drexler, the time he'd been booked into Corneria City Supermax Prison, and the Elite's mugshots, he hadn't been able to turn up much else.
About the only thing the orange-furred vulpine knew for a fact was that Drexler had been in the Republican Guard.
"Phantom might know." he mused before shutting the computer down and leaving his quarters.
Fox found Phantom on the bridge, studying a hologram of the map. He cleared his throat.
"Got a sec?"
Phantom looked over his shoulder.
"What do you need?"
Fox took a breath and walked in.
"Does the name Feldon Drexler mean anything to you?"
The Elite raised an eyebrow.
"What's this about?"
Fox averted his gaze.
"He was one of the men who killed my mother. The other was Eugene Clegg."
The vulpine pressed some buttons on his wristcom, bringing up a hologram of Drexler's mugshots. To his surprise, Phantom came in for a closer look.
"What's up?"
The Elite's expression reverted to neutral.
"Nothing. Just that he reminds me of someone I used to know."
Phantom returned to the holotable and Fox went and stood on the other side.
"Eugene Clegg, huh? You did the galaxy a favour that day."
"Yeah, but I almost got killed."
After a short silence, the Elite asked "What do you know about this Drexler?"
"I know that he was in the Republican Guard and that the original line up of Star Fox captured him on Papetoon during the civil war."
Phantom spread his hands.
"In that case, you're jumping at shadows, kid. Him being on Papetoon at that time would suggest that he was in the Guard's Special Operations Division. Drexler may not even be his actual name."
"I see." Fox said with a sigh.
"Sorry I couldn't be of more help."
One by one, all the other mercenaries filed onto the bridge and gathered around the holotable.
"Alright, what are we looking at?" inquired Falco.
Phantom took the lead for that part of the briefing.
"Along with the fascist ideology, it's rumoured that Lord Synn found several Eldritch artifacts on Earth. Among these was a copy of the Necronomicon."
"Just what is the Necronomicon?" Fox asked.
"What indeed?" added Wolf.
"It was a book written in ancient times by the Mad Monk Abdul Al-Hazred." Phantom answered "It contains the history of the creatures known as the Old Ones and the means to summon them."
"Among those beings is Cthulhu." Krystal put in.
"That's right. I should also point out that it's said that anyone who reads from the Necronomicon suffers a terrible fate. Even Al-Hazred is said to have been devoured by an invisible creature before a crowd of frightened witnesses."
Phantom pointed to the map's starting point.
"I worked in Intelligence, hence why I'm able to decipher the hieroglyphs. I've been trying to find this so-called collection for some time now. The only problem was that my copy was incomplete. But now we have a starting point; The Kord Woods, and more specifically, the site where a meteor impacted decades ago."
Fox took over the briefing and changed the image to one that showed a rectangular complex.
"Intelligence has determined that this building on Taktar's outskirts is where the pilots are being held."
He changed the image again, this time to one of the strange orbs.
"Our intercepts indicate that one of these is currently being stored at the State Intelligence Service's headquarters. And that brings us to our plan."
The vulpine glanced about the room.
"Kronos, Radoven, and myself are going to retrieve the object."
"How do you plan to do that, pup?"
Fox eyed up his rival.
"Kronos and Radoven will be disguised as Republican Guards while I'm going to be wearing the latest stealth suit from R&D. It disguises body heat, so their thermal scanners shouldn't pick me up."
"As for rescuing the pilots, I'm putting Krystal in charge of that. The only question is, who do you want to take?"
The cobalt vixen put a hand on her chin and thought about the team she would assemble. After a short time, she said "Slippy, Amanda, Fara, and Adrian."
"Very well." Fox replied. "Everyone else, you're with Phantom. It's just a hunch, but I think the map might lead us to the other four orbs."
"Any questions?" he added.
When nobody spoke up, the vulpine said "Rest up everyone, we've got a big day ahead of us."
Taktar, Sangheillos
Within his office, Director Haydar Kazan reread the report on his datapad.
"Krahl, are you certain of this?"
The other Elite nodded.
"The source on Zerdea is very trusted. Combined with our intercepts from Lylat and the flight path of Star Fox's mothership, I'd say they're after the asset."
The secret police chief leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers.
"So they are. And we will be ready for them."
Elsewhere
Kursed knelt before the hooded figure known as Chermaya.
"What do you wish of me, my master?"
"GO TO SANGHEILLOS AND KILL THE TELEPATH KNOWN AS KRYSTAL."
"What of the other telepath?"
"I WILL DEAL WITH HIM."
"As you wish, master."