Chapter 15: Race Or Fight

Captain Falcon is a man who has achieved a lot. From skilled pilot and bounty hunter renowned and known all across the galaxy, to champion of the F-Zero Grand Prix. But long ago, he wasn't always the lone winner.

In his days when he took on missions, he had an encounter with team Star Fox. They were on the hunt for Wolf O'Donnell, and so Captain Falcon lent his aid, and they managed to take on the entirety of Star Wolf, besides Wolf who managed to escape from their grasp. Star Fox appreciated the help, making Captain Falcon an honorary member. Captain Falcon had given Fox McCloud a location should they ever need the help, and now Fox will take the Captain up on his offer.

Fox, being joined by Impa and Diddy Kong made their way to the racing circuit of the F-Zero races. There, Fox hoped that he could find the good Captain and convince him to join their army.

"Let's see. My friend told me that this is his usual spot," Fox said. "Are you sure you didn't come here to bet? That frog guy told me you had a gambling problem," Impa said. "That was one time," Fox said. "Well, I bet all my bananas on the blue car," Diddy Kong said. Cars sped through the racing circuit at a fast speed. "Aw man, the blue one is last," Diddy Kong said. "Come on. We gotta find the Captain," Fox said. "Oh come. Just one race. Please," Diddy Kong begged.

An announcer was yelling through the speakers. "Folks! Look at them go! Welcome to our 100th annual monthly F-Zero Grand Prix!" Some vehicles were purposely hitting others to gain an advantage, but the blue one in particular seemed to be gaining some momentum, and narrowly avoiding any collision. "Look at that folks! The Blue Falcon is gaining the lead!" The Blue Falcon was neck in neck with the vehicle in the lead. "It's gonna be a close one folks!" With a photo finish, "The Blue Falcon Wins!" The crowd cheered loudly. "Ladies and gentlemen! Aliens and humans! The winner of the 100th Annual Monthly F-Zero Grand Prix is… CAPTAIN FALCON!" The crowd cheered loudly as Captain Falcon waved at the crowd and caught the roses thrown at him.

"Is that him? Please tell me that isn't him," Impa said. "Yup. As I mentioned, it was a while since I last saw him," Fox said. "Woo hoo! Yeah! I tripled the amount of bananas I had!" Diddy Kong yelled. "How many did you bet?" Fox asked. "One," Diddy Kong said. "So you got three?" Fox asked. "Yeah! It's way better than one!" Diddy Kong exclaimed. "Alright, let's go talk to him," Fox said.

Captain Falcon was being interviewed as he was crowded by fans who were yelling, "Marry me, Captain Falcon!" "Sign my head Captain Falcon!" "Adopt my children Captain Falcon!" "Tell me. Mr. Falcon," the new reporter said. "Oh please. Mr. Falcon was my father. I am Captain Falcon!" Captain Falcon exclaimed as the crowd cheered again. "Yes. Yes. Captain Falcon. Who do you owe your success to?" the reporter asked. "Well, if I gotta be honest, then I owe my success to…" he said. "Captain Falcon! Are you there?! We need to talk!" Fox called out. "Fox McCloud!" Captain Falcon exclaimed as he left the camera. "You heard that folks. The Captain owes his success to foxes and clouds," the reporter said, "This is Channel 5, in and out!"

Captain Falcon managed to walk through the crowd and found Fox, Impa, and Diddy Kong. "Oh ho! Fox McCloud!" Captain Falcon yelled out. "Captain Falcon! Long time no see pal!" Fox yelled out. They fist-bumped each other and clenched their fists together. "Captain. These are my pals. Impa and Diddy," Fox said. "Greetings," Impa said. "Howdy there!" Diddy Kong yelled. "Oh, you got a new team eh?" Captain Falcon asked. "Not exactly. See, we kinda need to talk," Fox said. "Oh, well come with me and we'll get y'all sorted. I suppose the monkey likes banana splits, huh?" Captain Falcon asked. "Oh boy! Do I!" Diddy Kong exclaimed. "Well come on! Let's go!" Captain Falcon exclaimed as he led the group. Within the crowd that chased after him, Wolf hid in it. "So, Fox. Couldn't leave things well and alone huh? Well, it's the perfect time to enact my revenge," Wolf said.

Captain Falcon had led the team to his Falcon Manor. Complete with a runway being overlooked by golden statues of falcons. In the roundabout leading to his manor was his famous insignia immortalized by gold. His crowd of fans were waiting by the gates as his security maintained order and made sure nobody tried to climb the gates.

"So, you made it big," Fox said. Diddy Kong was chugging down a banana split. "AH! Brain freeze!" he yelped. "Yup. Y'know, I adore the circuit. It's fast! Exhilarating! It's everything I could ask for!" Captain Falcon said passionately. "Well, that's good Cap'n," Fox said. "So, what brings you down here? Star Fox doesn't usually go down to planets unless it is for missions," Captain Falcon said. "Yeah, well Captain. We need your help with something," Fox said. "Help? What for?" Captain Falcon asked. "We're assembling an army," Fox said. "We?" Captain Falcon asked. "The rest of Star Fox and others," Fox said, "You see, there's a bunch of villains who already formed their big army. We're going to take them down." "Yeah, they already kidnapped my friend, Donkey Kong," Diddy Kong said. "They've also kidnapped some of my friends," Impa said. "I saw how you fought when we went up against Star Wolf. We could use your skills, my friend," Fox said.

Captain Falcon stood up, looked out towards his fans, and said, "I'm afraid I can't help you. My bounty-hunting days are over. I'm all washed up." "Washed up? Didn't you just race into what seems like very fast?" Impa asked. "It's just, I basically haven't fought since I helped you, Fox. I tried bounty-hunting, but it didn't work out. No commissions at all. And when I did, I got beat out by some bounty hunter named Samuel? No. Sam. Sam. Samus, that was her name," Captain Falcon said. "Yeah, I'm aware of her," Fox said. "Yeah, well, racing is my life. Racing is my new passion. And the fans there expect me to race in the grand prix next month. I must hold my title of champion," Captain Falcon said. "The whole universe is at stake, and you're going to focus on racing," Impa said with disappointment.

Fox, undeterred, continued to try and convince Captain Falcon of the greater cause. "We're facing powerful villains from all across the universe that threaten it. Your skills can make a difference in the fight," Fox said. "I'm sorry Fox, but racing is my life now. I can't let my fans down," Captain Falcon said. "But Cap-" Fox said. "Fox. I can't fight anymore. I'm sorry," Captain Falcon said. "Let's go," Impa said in anger as she stood up and left. "Huh? But I wanted more- Oh, alright," Diddy Kong said. Impa and Diddy Kong walked out the door as Fox followed, but stopped. "Y'know, you believed in something before. Protecting the innocent. Helping others. I still hope that somewhere in there that guy is still in there," Fox said.

The three walked down the runway of the Falcon Manor. "Well, this was a waste of time," Impa said. "I still wanted more banana splits," Diddy Kong said in disappointment. "I guess a lot changes," Fox said. Fox's ears twitched as he heard a familiar growl. "But I guess some people just don't want to change for the better," he said. He pulled out his blaster. "Whoa, what are you?" Impa asked. "Well. Well. Well. What do we have here?" Wolf asked as he came out of the crowd of people, grinning and blaster ready.

The crowd screamed in fear as they all ran away. Suddenly billboards were showing Wolf confronting Fox and the gang. Behind Wolf was a pack of Primids. "Wolf, I suspected we would've encountered each other at some point," Fox said as he had his blaster pointed at Wolf. "So, this is the guy that attacked Snake and the others," Impa said. "Oh. So you're that Impa. Kohga mentioned you," Wolf said and then he addressed Diddy Kong, "And I assume you're that Donkey Kong's little sidekick that got away." "What do you want, Wolf? Because if it's to go to prison, I'll gladly make room for you," Fox said. "You wish Star Fox. No, I want to finish this. Whatever you're doing, it'll be pointless in the end, but I want revenge for my pack," Wolf said.

Fox charged, blasting at Wolf. Wolf did the same. Their blasts impacted each other, until they each hit their blasters away from each other. Fox went in for a kick while Wolf shielded the kick using his arm. "Get them!" Wolf ordered, "Leave the fox to me!" The Primids all charged in. "Banana Slamma!" Diddy Kong yelled as he jumped on one of the Primids and threw it. Impa sliced the Primid in mid air. She then used a Sheikah technique that cloned her. The clones charged in and attacked the Primids.

Fox and Wolf traded blows. "So, the great Captain Falcon turned down the chance at action. What a disappointment," Wolf taunted. "There's no need for him, Wolf! I can take you!" Fox yelled. "We'll see about that Star Fox!" Wolf yelled. Wolf kicked Fox in the legs, making him trip. On the floor, Fox countered Wolf's attacks with his arms until he could jump back up again. Fox responded with more jabs and kicks. Wolf deftly dodged the attacks. They were equals. Each blow was quickly responded back or dodged.

Impa sliced more Primids as their numbers kept expanding. "Ah! There's too many!" Diddy Kong yelled as he kept shooting peanuts. "Not for long!" yelled a voice. Impa and Diddy Kong looked up to the roof of the Falcon Manor. Captain Falcon, striking a pose, jumped and dived down to the horde of Primids. His fist firing up into the shape of a falcon. "Falcon Punch!" he yelled. Captain Falcon punched into the direct center of the horde, causing the Primids to be launched away. "Captain! You came?" Impa questioned. "You all spoke the truth! It's time I got back out there again!" Captain Falcon yelled.

Captain Falcon charged towards Wolf and hit Wolf with his knee. "Glad you could join us Cap'n. I'd known you'd come out," Fox said, out of breath. "Captain Falcon! We meet again!" Wolf said in anger. "You're outnumbered Wolf! Just give up!" Fox yelled. Impa and Diddy Kong joined in, each standing side by side. The crowd, who apparently was watching, cheered in excitement. Mainly for Captain Falcon though. "Thank you! Thank you!" Captain Falcon yelled. "Some things never change," Impa said. "We may be done here Star Fox, but it's not over yet!" Wolf yelled, "We'll meet again!"

A shadow beneath Wolf appeared, causing him to be sucked by it and disappear. "Not that again," Impa said, annoyed. "Woo! That was exhilarating! I missed that so much!" Captain Falcon exclaimed. "Glad your back Captain," Fox said. "Yes! People! I have made a decision!" Captain Falcon yelled. The crowd all went quiet. "Fox! I'm in!" Captain Falcon yelled, "These villains need to be taken down! For if they win, F-Zero will no longer exist!" The crowd cheered for Captain Falcon, yelling, "Falcon Punch! Falcon Punch! Falcon Punch!"

The crowd continued to cheer outside but the gang all went down to Captain Falcon's basement. "Shouldn't we get going?" Impa asked. "Yeah, isn't the small, uncomfortable, spaceship outside?" Diddy Kong asked. "It's an Arwing and don't remind me," Fox said. "Ah, my friends. I have the best ride in the galaxy," Captain Falcon said. "You mean you still have it?" Fox asked. "Yup. It may have been collecting dust, but it's still in its hay day," Captain Falcon said. He pressed a button on the wall and the floor ahead of them opened up. A large ship rose. It was gold and blue, and it was in the shape of a falcon. "Everyone, the Falcon Flier. Falcon Flier, this is everyone," Captain Falcon introduced. "Yeah. Yeah. Mind dropping me off near the Arwing?" Fox asked. "Certainly!" Captain Falcon exclaimed.

The entire Falcon Manor opened up, revealing the Falcon Flier. With its engine primed and ready, the Falcon Flier took off towards its next destination.