Author's Note
Oh hey it's me, that guy that writes stories and has a horrible reputation of uploading constantly. And also keeps making new stories. So uh...take a look at this one.
Enter Fox
Space. It was an all too familiar scene that Fox McCloud was used to throughout most of his life. However, this part of space was foreign to him and the rest of the Star Fox crew as they were making their way back to the Lylat System. It was only one day ago that they had helped the group known as the Starlink Initiative defeat Grax and his Forgotten Legion, a threat that could’ve taken over the entire galaxy, including Lylat.
Now, Fox, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad were flying in formation through hyperspace, having only left the Atlas system an hour ago and were due to reach Lylat in about three hours. Naturally, the team was in good spirits.
“It’s gonna be real nice when we finally reach home,” Slippy said.
“You got that right,” Peppy said. “I don’t know about you three but I’m willing to take a small vacation.”
“Wonder if ROB’s been lonely without us,” Falco joked.
“I’m sure he’s been busy with the new features we gave the Great Fox,” Slippy said. “I can’t believe Starlink was willing to give us a copy of Sage.”
“Well, that Starlink technology might come in handy for Corneria,” Peppy added.
“Hey, earth to Fox? You still with us?” Falco’s words finally woke Fox up from his thoughts as he looked down to his console.
“Yeah, I’m still here don’t worry,” he said.
“Alright, what’s bothering you?” Peppy asked, ever the parent figure. “Just yesterday you were hooting and hollering just like the rest of us and now you seem distracted.”
“That obvious huh?” Fox couldn’t help but smirk slightly. “I’ve just been thinking about Wolf, that’s all. I know we stopped him and all but we lost track of him after we took out his mothership.” That was the main reason they had shown up in Atlas in the first place. General Pepper had heard word that Wolf had disappeared from the system and managed to track his ship to Atlas, which until now had been uncharted territory. It was a good thing too that they had shown up, for Wolf had been ready to unleash his own small faction of Legion on Corneria, a planet part of a system that was still recovering from a long and costly war.
“His ship looked pretty banged up,” Falco commented. “Even if he managed to escape Atlas I don’t think his ship is in good enough shape to get back to Lylat.”
“So you think he is…?” Slippy began.
“Doubtful,” Fox answered. “If there’s one thing I know about Wolf, it’s that despite the odds he’s a survivor. I had Sage scan for Wolf’s ship since I’m sure we’re following in the same direction but nothing yet. If we don’t get a hit by the time we get back, we can either assume he already made it back or-”
“Target identified,” Sage’s calm voice suddenly rang throughout the Arwing. “Distance: one thousand two hundred-”
Fox reacted quickly, shutting down the hyperdrive as the Arwing slowed back down to real space. The three other pilots did the same despite the amount of confusion.
“Hold on a second, she’s saying Wolf is nearby?” Peppy asked.
“At least his ship is.” After getting a good look at their new surroundings, Fox could see the nearby planet. “If I had to guess, I’d say that’s where he touched down.”
“Okay, so what exactly are we supposed to do?” Falco asked. “Sure, we can take him captive, if he’s still alive, but these Arwings aren’t big enough to fit two.”
Fox was quiet for a moment as he did some quick thinking. There was one way. “If we get back to Corneria and get the Great Fox and bring her back here, it’d take about six hours total right?”
“Perhaps, though with a ship like the Great Fox it may take a bit longer, possibly an extra hour at the very least,” Slippy said, though he didn’t sound too confident.
“Then that settles it. I’ll go down and look for Wolf while you three continue on to Corneria.”
“Now hold on just one minute!” Peppy snapped. “You’re seriously considering going down there all by yourself!?”
“Gotta agree with the geezer on this one Fox,” Falco said. “We’re back in uncharted territory and we’re not sure what’s down there.”
“Until he’s put in a cell on Corneria, Wolf is a threat and right now he could be a threat to whoever’s down there,” Fox said. “Besides, there’s a good chance he could be gone by the time we come back.”
“Well at least someone should come with you?” Slippy suggested.
Fox shook his head. “We don’t know who’s down there or what their technological capabilities are but at least just one of us should be enough to create anymore unwanted attention. Besides, I’m more than capable of handling Wolf on my own if I need to.”
“I don’t like this one bit…” Peppy said. “But I know you’re not gonna back down from it either.”
“You know it.” Fox could tell what Peppy was thinking. Just like his father.
“Well, all I can say is don’t get yourself killed,” Falco said. “And don’t have too much fun down there without us.”
“Copy that. Hopefully the Great Fox will be ready to fly by the time you three get back.”
“Be careful Fox,” Slippy said.
“No sweat.” It wasn’t long before the three other Arwings slipped back into hyperspace, leaving Fox all by himself. He then made his way towards the planet, setting thrusters to max as he closed the distance.
Flames surrounded the ship as he made his way into the atmosphere. He kept a close eye on his radar. There hadn’t been any ships orbiting the planet and so far nothing was coming up on his map. “Sage, is there anything you can tell me about the Wolfen?”
“The signal transmitting from the Wolfen is weak, possibly meaning that the ship has sustained major damage.”
“So he really is stranded on here then,” Fox said as he approached the surface. The planet for the most part seemed to resemble most he’s seen in the past. Large mountains, green acres, though it seemed there were some volcanic areas as well as a lot of ocean. “At least the air seems to be breathable. Alright Sage, just keep an eye out for any unwanted guests.”
It wasn’t long before he found the wreckage of the Wolfen. The ship itself was still in one piece but judging by the impact, it definitely wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Scanners weren’t picking up any lifeforms from the ship but Fox wasn’t taking any chances. He landed the Arwing nearby and grabbed his blaster as soon as the canopy above him opened up. He slowly dropped out and approached the ship slowly, keeping his eye out for any traps that Wolf may have set up. Apparently Wolf had been in a hurry to get out since nothing had been laid out and upon checking the cockpit, it appeared the Wolfen’s systems were pretty much fried.
Fox had been ready to check for Wolf’s trail when he suddenly felt something hard and cold press against the middle of his back. He grit his teeth in disbelief that he had let Wolf get the jump on him. However, once the assailant spoke, he quickly realized it wasn’t Wolf and instead a female.
“You got ten seconds to tell me who you are or else you’re ending up in a body bag.”
It wasn’t the first time Fox had been held up at gunpoint and he doubted it would be the last. He had two choices: either he could be quick and try to overpower his opponent, or he could stay come and play by their rules. The latter would certainly give him a greater chance of survival.
“My name is Fox McCloud and I’m here looking for someone named Wolf O’Donnell, the pilot of this ship that crashed. He’s a wanted criminal and all I wanna do is find him and bring him back to our planet. When I find him, you’ll never see me again.”
“Wanted criminal huh? How do I know you can be trusted?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure how to earn your trust. But if I don’t find Wolf right away, there’s no telling what kind of trouble he could cause. That’s all I can give you right now.”
It was quiet for a few moments before Fox finally felt the metal leave his back. “Fine, I’ll go along with your story for now. But I still got questions for you.”
Fox slowly turned around and finally faced his assailant. The first thing he noticed was that she appeared to be equine, a species that he hadn’t met before, even in Lylat. The second he noticed was the blue and white uniform that she wore, identifying her as military as well as the large aviators she wore. The third just happened to be the wings on her back. “Sure thing, but mind if I ask your name?”
“Spitfire. Captain Spitfire of the Equestrian Defense Force,” the mare said as she holstered her weapon. “Now, why are you and this Wolf here in the first place?”
“I was tracking Wolf from another system and judging from the crash site, he was only able to get as far as this planet. He may be on the run right now but he’s dangerous to everyone who’s here.”
“Heh, I wish him luck, this planet has its own share of dangerous,” Spitfire replied. “Are you able to track him?”
“My ship might be able to but I’ll need a guide.”
“Hey, don’t think we’re buddy-buddy yet,” Spitfire said she lowered her sunglasses. “But if it gets you off this planet quicker, fine I’ll help you out.”
“That eager to get rid of me?” Fox said with a slight smirk.
“Its a lot less paperwork I have to worry about.”
“Right…paperwork.”
Spitfire then took a look at the Arwing. “That your ship?”
“Yep. Feel free to take a look.”
Spitfire obliged and went up to the ship, eyeing it closely. “Nice design, hard to believe its space worthy though.”
“Probably hard to believe there’s a hyperdrive installed in there too.”
“A hyper-!? Ugh…of course there is.”
“I’m going to take a wild guess and say your planet isn’t capable of spacefaring yet?”
“Well…not unless they’re either big rockets or shuttles. The fighters we have our similar to this but as they are, they couldn’t handle leaving and entering the atmosphere.”
“So you’re a pilot too.”
“Yeah…haven’t gotten the chance to go up there yet but its a dream I suppose.” Spitfire crossed her arms. “Not to toot my own horn but I’m considered one of the best pilots in Equestria.”
“So that’s the name of your planet?”
“No that’s the kingdom. The planet we call Equus. But its not just ponies that live here. We got dragons to the south, yaks to the north and every magical creature possible in between.”
“…Dragons?” Fox could imagine the skepticism on his face.
“Yep, dragons. Want my advice? Stay away from any large caves you find, most likely there’ll be one living in it. Anyway, enough about me, tell me about yourself. You military as well?”
“Not quite, I’m part of a mercenary group called Star Fox. No offense but, perhaps we can continue this conversation on the go. The longer we stay here, the farther Wolf gets.”
“Right, sure.” She studied the crashed Wolfen slightly before looking around. “Aha…got tracks here. Must be your guy. They’re…” Spitfire groaned. “Heading south.”
“Dragon territory?”
“Dragon territory. I hope you’re armed cause this could get messy real quick.”
“All I got is my blaster, unless you brought something else with you.”
“No…I guess there’s another thing I need to explain on the way. But what about your ship?”
“I got that covered.” Fox then clicked a button on his headset. The canopy on the Arwing closed as the ship powered up again before taking off towards the sky.
“…Okay now you’re just showing off.”
As it turned out, Spitfire was in the general area when Wolf’s ship came down, she had explained to Fox as the two of them made their way south via the rover she drove. Of course, he was already gone by the time she arrived but she had been able to get a good look over of the ship before Fox arrived. “I’m honestly surprised you were able to get the jump on me,” Fox said.
“Guess that’s the difference of joining the military,” Spitfire said with a slight smug expression.
“I did join the Flight Academy…though I eventually dropped out.”
“I’m sensing this is a bit of a sensitive topic…”
“Not really, but it is a bit of a long story.”
It was quiet for the next couple of minutes. “We should’ve caught up to Wolf by now,” Fox said. “You sure he went south?”
“These tracks lead from his ship,” Spitfire said, looking at the display. “But we’re already inside the Badlands and I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.”
“Let me guess…dragons?”
“Yeah. See those caves? Any one of those could contain a dragon as big as a five story building.” She then stopped the rover. “…And of course your friend decided to wander into one of them. Still sure you want to find him? Probably dead now which saves you the trouble.”
“You know what I’m going to say,” Fox replied.
“Ugh…fine. Let’s just hope he picked the right cave.” Both of their blasters drawn, they exited the rover and made their way into the cave. The inside was massive, to neither of their surprise. “Well, at least this one appears to be empty…of dragons anyway.” She paused and sniffed the air. “Don’t smell anything resembling a dragon either.”
“They have a smell?”
“Yeah, trust me you’ll notice if it ever hits you.” It was at that moment that a blaster bolt fired from above their position and caught Spitfire square in the chest, knocking her off her feet.
Fox suddenly ducked into cover behind a pile of boulders. “Spitfire, you okay!?”
Spitfire groaned loudly as she struggled to get up. “Yeah…uniform took the brunt of the force…but your friend sure is packing…”
“Well, well, well…I should’ve known even after Atlas you’d still be on my tail, Fox,” a voice called out. “It would’ve done you better to keep others out of this…”
“Wolf, you're well out of options at this point!” Fox yelled back. “You’re stuck on this planet with nowhere else to run. Do us all a favor and come quietly.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Wolf replied. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about Atlas already. Even if I die here, nothing would satisfy me more than ending this feud once and for all…So what do you say Fox, let’s finish once and for all!”
“Ugh, this guy is trying too hard,” Spitfire groaned as she managed to get to a sitting position behind the rocks next to Fox. “Please tell me you got a look of where he’s at?”
“Not really,” Fox admitted. “I got a plan if you’re interested.”
“Let me guess: draw him out while you try to flank him?” Spitfire asked.
“…Yeah, kinda cliche isn’t it?”
“Well, I owe him a shot anyway and it’s the only plan we got.” Spitfire took a deep breath before sitting up and firing her blaster towards the group of rocks about fifty meters to their right. It only took two seconds before a shot rang back in response, missing her by mere inches. “Got him: group of boulders to your one o’clock. I’d use whatever you can to catch him off guard.”
“Got it,” Fox replied as he scanned the area in front of him with his scouter. “You sure you got this?”
“I’ve been in worse situations. Just make sure you keep him alive long enough so I can kick his teeth in.”
Fox smirked and nodded as Spitfire leapt out again and opened fire while Fox, staying low to the ground as he used the nearby boulders to cover and conceal. Glancing out, he could see where Wolf was holed up, though he couldn’t see him directly. Knowing Wolf, he could probably already smell the plan in place so he hoped Spitfire could distract him long enough.
Fortunately, Spitfire was good at improvising as she stood out of cover, apparently recovered enough, making herself an easier target but diverting all of Wolf’s attention. He slowly made his way closer, careful for any traps that Wolf may have laid, but there were none he could see. Once he was close enough, he could finally see Wolf close by, hiding behind a closely packed group o boulders. Before he could take the shot, Wolf suddenly looked in his direction and fired, causing Fox to jump down last second.
“Seriously? The old trick of baiting me out while flanking me? You really are losing your touch,” Wolf chuckled.
“I could say the same to you,” Fox shot back. “You’re never going to explain why you turned tail and left Lylat are you?”
“I think you should be more concerned about your present situation,” Wolf said. “But enough hiding. We’re finishing this face to face. No tricks. Just you and me.”
Fox steeled himself as he stepped out, his blaster still pointed towards the lupine. “That’s it?”
“Never was a fan of shooting my prey from a distance anyway,” Wolf smirked. “No, I’d prefer doing it the old-ah!” Wolf suddenly grabbed his wrist as the shot had enough force to knock his blaster out of his hand.
“Sorry Wolf, I’m not always one to follow someone else’s rules,” Fox said, smoke still billowing from his blaster.
Wolf then chuckled again. “Heh, once again I underestimate you…fine you got me. Is the next shot going through my head?"
“Sorry Wolf, you’re not getting out that easily. Corneria prefers having you in a nice cold cell with the rest of your lackeys.”
“Hmph…well at least I’ll get a decent meal for on-” His words were cut off as a fist connected with the back of his head, knocking him to the ground unconscious.
“Hey…remember me?” Spitfire said mockingly. “Damn that felt good…” She then noticed Fox’s look. “What? Dude had it coming. Besides, I didn’t kill him I just ‘disarmed’ him.”
“Right…you didn’t have to knock him out though.”
“True, but it makes this part a little bit easier.” Spitfire then took out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed Wolf behind his back. “He won’t be breaking out of those anytime soon.” She then turned him to his side and roughly shook him. “Hey! Wake up!”
Wolf groaned slightly as he opened his eyes. Glaring slightly at Fox, he muttered, “Your friend plays a little rough.”
“You shouldn’t have shot her then,” Fox replied as he watched Spitfire pull Wolf up. “Luckily, she doesn’t want much to do with you so the only people you’re going to have to worry about now are the ones on Corneria.”
“I see…but I noticed when you first arrived you have no mothership - unless of course you managed to get that Starlink group to help you out once again - meaning you and I are both stuck here.”
“For now…though technically I still have a working ship,” Fox pointed out. Wolf made no comment on that.
“Alright, enough fraternizing, let’s just get back to your ship and then I can back to my real job,” Spitfire said as she pushed Wolf forward towards the entrance to the cave.
Once they were outside, Fox looked over to Spitfire. “Sorry about the trouble captain. I appreciate that you’re willing to keep this quiet. I’d rather not get your planet’s officials involved.”
“Technically, I can’t even imagine the number of rules I’m breaking, but then again they never explained what to do when an alien crash lands on your planet, even two for that matter.”
“Hmph, aliens she calls us,” Wolf muttered.
“Yeah, cause on this planet your species doesn’t talk or walk on two legs,” Spitfire fired back. “I swear if this guy keeps talking on the way back…”
It was then as Fox looked up, he saw something twinkle up in the sky. The sky above the badlands was a reddish brown, which made it easy to see something streaking across the sky. But as Fox looked, he could the object was getting bigger - and seemed to be heading in their direction.
That’s no ship...! “Everyone get down! But even as he shouted and tried to move out of the way, he was too late as something struck the ground about twenty meters, enough to send the three of them flying before crashing into the ground.
