Hey everyone! I'm back, and this time, I've got a double Christmas Upload! This oneshot is the first half of that double upload. Hope you all enjoy this one!
Finally, thank you to everyone who read, followed, and reviewed on the last one!
The sun had barely poked its bright rays over the horizon. Falco was readying himself for the upcoming mission. Apparently, Space Pirates had been sighted near one of the moons of Koppai, so the Smashers had been asked to investigate. With only Fox, Samus and himself available to respond immediately, it was down to them to answer the call.
He had just finished his final combat checks on his Arwing, and was headed back to the kitchen for to grab some coffee for the road. He passed Fox's personal coffee maker as he made his way to one of the communal ones. The scent of Fox's favorite brew hit his nostrils. It was strong, bitter stuff, and not too bad after a dozen packets of sugar, quarter pitcher of cream and another half-liter of extra water. For this reason, Falco also drank his coffee out of a gallon thermos. Somehow, Mc Cloud could drink the stuff with no sugar, cream or extra water to dilute the powerfully bitter flavor, go straight to bed, and then proceed to sleep 12 hours. The major difference between them was that Fox's full thermos lasted him around two hours before he went back for a refill, whereas Falco's would last more like two days.
Fox also said that his father had loved that particular brew. Falco could attest to that. He'd…never known his parents. James McCloud had been the closest thing he'd ever had to a father, and Falco had spent a lot of time around the man before his untimely demise. Even in his absence, Fox and Slippy were like brothers to him and Peppy had been like an uncle. Star Fox was much like a family in that respect. All that being said, growing up in the orphanage had left its mark on him.
Falco walked up to his personal coffee maker, a few coffee makers down from Fox's. He poured the whole pot into his empty thermos, before turning back to the sink to get some water. He stopped suddenly as he nearly bumped into Lucas and the large cooler that he was filling.
"Gah! Gotta watch where you're going, kid!"
"Sorry, Mr. Falco!" said Lucas, standing aside and letting Falco fill his thermos with water.
"So, whatcha doing here, kid?" asked Falco as he turned off the water.
"Getting snacks for the road, Mr. Falco!"
"Oh, that's right. You guys are going with Rosalina for that training thingy Mario was setting up. Ya, uh, like the Lumas? They're pretty cute, right?"
"Yeah, they're nice. I just wish we were fighting with you guys, though," said Lucas.
"It's too dangerous for you guys. Don't worry, you'll get your chance when you're a few years older," said Falco.
It was too dangerous. And anyway, who would intentionally bring kids with them to a literal battlefield? These kids were the future of the Super Smash Bros, for when he was too old to fly. Hopefully, that was a really long time coming for him. And anyway, he'd read Lucas's file. That kid was way too young for the stuff he'd already been through.
"I know," said Lucas. "It's just that I'm here to help and everything. And I've fought bad guys before too. I just want to be able to do something, that's all."
"Your heart's in the right place kid. Trust me, there will be plenty of time to help out," said Falco, trying to smile reassuringly.
"I've fought bad guys before! I can do it again!" said Lucas. "I fought during the Tabuu incident!"
Despite his age, Lucas had already saved his own world from impending danger before joining the Smashers, and alongside Ness, he'd even played a critical role in defeating Tabuu after being stranded deep behind enemy lines with the Ice Climbers, Diddy and Dixie Kong, Toon Link and Tetra. But that had been during the worst debacle in Smasher history. The Smashers had been less numerous, scattered, and reeling from a surprise attack from an enemy they didn't know existed. They had been fairly uncoordinated, as their tactical mastermind, Roy, had been seriously injured and knocked unconscious near the beginning of the whole mess. To make things worse, both Master Hand and Crazy Hand had gone missing. That had left Fox, Red, Marth and Game and Watch as the only veterans who had any tactical inclinations. Thankfully, between the strong bonds and trust between the veteran Smashers, the coordination of the Red's recently recruited fellow dexholders and the late, but well-timed arrival of Rosalina, Sonic, Mega Man and Pac Man they had just barely managed to save the day. It didn't change the fact that it was a very close call.
Since then, times had changed for the better. In the aftermath of the attack, Roy had woken up, took one look at the disaster, and promptly began writing what would become a 250 page document listing a wide array of contingency plans over the course of 72 hours before passing out again. Though the original version had been modified with input from nearly all of the Smashers, it had laid the foundation for the current set of contingency plans and responses that the Smashers utilized. They also had gone recruiting, nearly doubling their numbers so as to better respond to large scale events. Master Hand had even revived the old Wireframe fighter project, which eventually evolved into the android Mii Fighter Program. As things stood, there was no reason to bring any of the kid Smashers into danger. The Super Smash Bros had evolved.
"Listen, kid. I know you've kicked a lot of butt in your time, and you mean well, but this is a live mission. We don't want to be risking your safety out there. Haven't you had enough of that from that time you fought that fat kid trying to take over the world?"
"But I beat Pokey by myself! I fought Tabuu with you guys! So did Ness, and Popo, and everybody else! We can fight! All of us can!"
Falco sighed. "I know ya can, but it's a risk we don't need to take anymore. We honestly shouldn't have brought ya guys to the fights that we did in the past. Listen. Someday, you'll be in charge and calling the shots. So, we can't have anything happening to ya in the meantime, right?"
In the extensive list of reforms that Roy had introduced in the wake of the Tabuu incident, one was the designation of the younger Smashers as 'Junior Members'. This mean that none of them were active participants on any missions with serious stakes, mostly helping with civilian emergences, disaster relief missions and the like. They would also go on training missions to hone their skills, often with Rosalina on her observatory.
"I….can't just….let you guys go alone!" pleaded Lucas, tears forming in his eyes. "I have to go! What if somebody gets hurt? What if you get hurt? What if you get captured and….and…."
There was a pause as Lucas began to break down. Falco racked his brain for what might have set Lucas off. Suddenly, a thought came to him.
"Like your brother," said Falco.
Lucas only nodded, mute as tears flowed down his eyes. Falco didn't realize how much the kid cared. A lump formed in the back of his throat as he patted Lucas on the shoulder.
All right, how did he deal with this? He couldn't just pull out his phone and look something up. Lucas would notice him doing that and it was kinda tacky. All right. Time to phrase that better – what would Krystal do? She was the only member of Star Fox who was any good at this kind of thing. Unfortunately, Falco had no idea what she'd do.
All right, better question, what would Peppy do? The old geezer had grandkids, surely he would know what to do, right?
"Uh, listen here, Lucas. You think your brother would want ya to be needlessly risking yourself out there?"
Lucas didn't say anything.
Falco continued. "How about your old man and your mum? Would they want you going into danger?"
"No…" said Lucas quietly.
"Listen kid. We'll be fine. Me and Fox go way back and we've beat Andross and all sorts of other nasties. Samus is one of the most powerful Smashers for a reason. You don't have to worry about us. I think your folks would want ya to stay safe and not take any unnecessary dangers. They care about ya a lot. Especially your old man. I don't think he'd take it too well if ya got hurt bad. Though I appreciate the concern, don't get me wrong. It's nice to know somebody cares."
"Really?" asked Lucas.
"Of course!" said Falco. "It would be pretty awful to go through all the stuff that we do and come back to find out that nobody cared that we saved the world!"
"I…guess that makes sense," said Lucas. "Thanks, Mr. Falco."
"No problem, kid. Tell ya what. If you're ever feeling down, you can come talk to me, if it helps."
"Really Mr. Falco?"
"Really. I'm here for ya. We're all here for ya. Though Rosalina or Mario or Red might be more helpful. But if they're not here, you can talk to me."
"Thanks, Mr. Falco!" said Lucas, cheering up. Suddenly, a look of panic crossed his face. "Oh, right! I've gotta finish getting all of the snacks together! See you later, Mr. Falco!"
He rushed off into the pantry. Falco cracked a grin as he watched Lucas rush off. He turned back to his coffee and reached for the creamer. That coffee wasn't going to make itself.
After a few minutes of peace and quiet, Falco heard the sound of many rushing feet near the kitchen door.
"Hey! Lucas!" shouted voice from the door. Falco stepped aside quickly, as Ness, Toon Link, Bowser Jr., Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Tetra and the Ice Climbers rushed past him.
"Did you get the chips and pretzels?" asked Ness, peering into the cooler.
"Yeah! And I got bananas and popcorn and cookies too!" said Lucas, still within the pantry.
"Did you forget the veggie chips again this time?" demanded Popo, trying to crowd his way to the cooler.
"Nope, he's got them," said Nana, peering into the cooler. "Ooh! Good call on the Tomato Soda!"
Ness gave her a look. "How do you even drink that stuff?"
"Don't worry!" said Lucas, running out of the pantry. "Got the lemonade too!"
"Nice one, dude!" said Ness.
"Hey, look!" said Bowser Jr. "We've got sunflower seeds! We're all set!"
"Awesome! You found the dried squid!" said Toon Link. "Wouldn't be an adventure without dried squid!"
"That's because I gave him proper instructions to find it," said Tetra. "Unlike somebody here!"
"Hey! I give better directions then you do!" yelped Toon Link.
"No, you don't!" retorted Tetra.
"Calm down! None of this will matter if we don't get this to the launch pad!" said Dixie.
"Aw crap! She's right!" said Popo. "C'mon! We need to get this thing moving before Murphy tries to give us Fitness Bread again!"
"He's not coming with us, dummy," said Nana.
"Remember how he switched out all of the bread with Fitness Bread last time?" asked Popo.
Nana's eyes widened. "Oh no….you're totally right…"
There was a general murmur of unease amongst the kid smashers as they realized the very real threat of possibly having to eat Fitness Bread again. Falco chuckled as they frantically began to try and figure out how they were going to drag the cooler to the hanger as he finished adding the last packet of sugar. He poured half of it in and dumped the rest in his mouth as he stirred the concoction. He took a sip. Just like he liked it.
Ness and Lucas began trying to levitate the cooler, as Popo and Nana wrapped their belays to the handle and began trying to pull it along with the others. Falco chuckled. As funny as it was to watch them, they weren't getting anywhere quickly with a cooler that heavy.
"All right kids. How about I help you get that cooler of yours to the launch pad."
"Really?" shouted Ness.
"Thanks, Falco!" yelled the Ice Climbers.
Falco smiled and grabbed the handle of the cooler and began wheeling it along. Sure, it was heavy, but it was better than having the munchkins try and drag it around. They'd probably break something. He began to walk down the hall, lugging the cooler as he went. The kid Smashers trooped behind him, happily chatting as they went.
After making their way through the halls, they finally reached the launch pad, where Rosalina was waiting.
"There you are," said Rosalina as Falco and the kid smashers walked up. "I was wondering what was taking you so long."
"We had to get the snacks!" said Ness.
She turned to Falco. "Thank you for taking the little ones here."
Falco said, "No problem. Somebody had to make sure they were on schedule!"
"Are you coming to the observatory with us?" asked Rosalina.
"Nah. I'm on mission to Koppai, remember?"
"Ah, that's right. I think Fox flew up to the Great Fox a little bit ago to make sure everything was ready," said Rosalina.
Falco's radio crackled to life. It was Fox.
"Hey Falco, buddy! Where are ya? We're up here waiting for you!"
"Hold your horses, had to make sure the kids didn't hold Rosalina up. I'll be there in a sec."
"Don't take too long! We've got a schedule to keep!"
"All right, all right. Be up there in five."
Falco deactivated his radio. "Gotta roll. Good luck out there."
"And you as well," said Rosalina.
"Bye Mr. Falco!" said Lucas, waving.
"Yeah! Kick those Space Pirate's butts!" cheered Ness.
Falco grinned. "Oh, if they're on Koppai, they're in for a beating! They just don't know it yet!"
And with that, he turned on his heel and began jogging towards the hangar. He smiled. Even if his childhood had been less then stellar, it warmed the cold, dark pit he called a heart to see others enjoy the opportunities he'd fought to make possible. He wasn't the heroic or charitable type at all, but it made the battles he'd seen worth it in a way.
His thoughts drifted back to his interaction with Lucas. That kid deserved better. And hopefully he'd contributed a little to that end.
"Good luck little guy."
Lucas is often written as interacting with the other kid smashers or with various mentor figures in the Smash Fandom. Kinda wanted to see what could be done with Lucas interacting with a character who doesn't fall within either of those two categories. Hope it turned out well.
Don't forget to check out the second chapter of the Christmas double upload!