StarFox Fan Fiction ❯ A New Enemy ❯ Chapter IX: Through Evil's Eyes ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Fox blinked a few times, not really wishing to open his eyes fully to the bright light beyond his eyelids. "Ooh, what happened?" he moaned. He tried to sit up, but a white-furred hand gently pushed him back on the bed. "Easy, Fox. You're in no condition to be going anywhere, yet," a soft voice to his left said. Fox turned to his left, and saw an attractive young foxgirl standing over him. "You must be Star," Fox said. Fox allowed himself a slight smile. He could see why Taylor liked her.
The girl nodded. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Tired, very tired, but other than that, I'm fine," Fox said. "Why? What exactly happened to me earlier?"
As if on cue, a large black wolf stepped into Fox's field of view. He smiled slightly. "Hello, Fox," he said. "My name is Jeresh. I'm Star's half sister." The lupine's smile slowly faded, and his orange eyes acquired a strange glow. "Fox, how much do you know about the legend of the One born of Fire?" he asked.
Fox worked his way into a sitting position despite Star's protestations, and scratched an ear thoughtfully. "Hmm. Not much, only that he or she was prophesied to be a super-psion, and he was supposed to bring total unity to the--" his voice trailed off. "Wait a minute. I've seen movies like this before," he said. "You're gonna tell me that I'm the One, right?"
Jeresh chuckled softly. "You catch on pretty quick, Fox. Yeah, something like that," he said.
Fox shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not your guy. Sure, I match some of the characteristics, but a lot of them can be found in anyone with a kind nature. And besides, doesn't the One have to be descended from a psion? Even if everything else added up, neither my mother or my father are psions. Heroes, definitely, but not psions."
Jeresh shook his head. "That's not entirely true," he said. "Your mother was the leader of the Freedom Fighters, and, even though by the time she had you she was 'retired,' many of her enemies still had the power to destroy her. She changed her name and hid on Corneria to protect herself and you."
Fox placed a hand on his forehead and whistled softly. "Whoa..." he thought. 'These guys have to be telling the truth, as nutty as it is,' Fox thought. 'I mean, what else can explain what I did in the gym earlier?'
"All right, so um--now that I know I'm a superhero, what exactly comes next? Hero school?"
Jeresh laughed. "Actually, yeah, something like that. Taylor will teach you how to use your powers once you've recovered enough. As you can see, an uncontrolled release of your powers can leave you in a dangerous situation. If your blast had been much stronger, it could have killed you," he said.
Fox nodded, then slid off of the edge of the bed and stood before Jeresh. "Then the sooner I get started, the better."
"Wait, you're in no condition to--" Star began.
"Look, Krystal's laying on a cot in your medicenter because I wasn't strong enough to protect her. These new powers may still not be enough to save her, but on my father's honor, I swear I will make Scales and Adek pay for what they have done!" Fox vowed, his green eyes alight. He turned, and jogged out of the medicenter, headed down the corridors of the battlecruiser.
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Taylor, Jacen and Team Starfox had left the Archives and were heading to the bridge when Taylor suddenly stopped. "What is it, boss?" Jacen asked.
Taylor held up a hand. "Wait..." he jogged to a computer terminal and pulled up a holographic view of the external sensors. He flipped through the various screens; stopping suddenly when he saw a flash of light off of the ship's port bow. "Shit," he muttered. Punching another combination of buttons, Taylor accessed the ship's comlinks. "Red alert!" he ordered. "All hands to battle stations! This is not a drill!"
"Whoa, Taylor, what's goin' on?" Falco asked. "What's with the red alert? What was that flash of light?"
"M'ser's battleship is dropping out of warp," Taylor said. "Why he didn't come any closer than that baffles me. He must be pretty confident if he's letting us know he's here." He turned to the group. "We defend the cruiser! It's your choice Falco, Slippy, and Peppy if you want to join us."
The three mercenaries nodded. "Let's go blow up some goons!" Falco hooted, raising a fist.
Taylor smiled. "All right, guys!" He dashed off, headed for the hangars, the rest of the group close behind.
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When Fox heard the alarm klaxon, he didn't think. He just reacted on instinct. He headed down the corridors in the direction of the hangar, sprinting faster and faster. 'Whoever we're fighting,' Fox thought, 'I can't let them touch this ship. Krys's life depends on it.'
Fox reached the hangar and discovered a hive of activity. Dozens of Altairian pilots stood by their ships, flight helmets in hand. All eyes were turned to the front of the hangar, where Taylor, Jacen, and Team Starfox less Fox stood. Fox jogged up to them and whispered a question to Falco.
"Some guy named M'ser's got a battleship hoverin' about a half SM from here. Apparently, that's a bad thing," Falco whispered back.
Suddenly, the ship shook, sending pilots to the deck. "What was that?" Fox asked.
"Lieutenant Jin'ra to Taylor! There's another cruiser out here about 6 microquads away...it just appeared out of nowhere, sir! No de-cloak, no nothin'."
"All right!" Taylor shouted to the pilots who were now climbing to their feet. "We launch, now! The odds are against us. M'ser has two battleships to our one. But we've faced odds like this before, and come out the winners. All I ask is all I've ever asked from you. Stay by your wingmate, keep the blasters cool, and never, ever give up!"
Pilots raised their helmets and cheered, then scrambled into their fighters. Falco, Slippy, Peppy and Fox dashed off to their Arwings.
"Jin'ra!" Taylor called from his comlink. "Open the hangars!"
"Right away, sir!" Jin'ra replied. An low, droning alarm klaxon began to sound in the hangar bay, and the top and bottom halves of the massive door at the end of the hangar began to separate. Instantly, the bay began to depressurize. The fighters began powering up their engines and started rising off the hangar bay floor slightly. The doors retracted fully, and Taylor could now see a swarm of fighters pouring from M'ser's battleship.
Fox tightened his grip on the controls slightly, reflexively focusing for the battle ahead. He was eager to get out there and show those wannabes how a real pilot flew in combat. Taylor must have sensed this, as well as Fox's other emotions, for at that moment, Taylor's voice trickled in over the comm. "F... F... Fox... ...amn commlink. I'll have to have somebody check that after this is over. Fox, can you hear me?"
"Loud and--well, not so clear, but I can hear you," Fox said, smiling slightly.
"Well, you should be able to at least catch the gist of what I want to tell you," Taylor said. "I want you to lead the wing, Fox. You have the most riding on the outcome of this battle."
A smile curved Fox's muzzle. Taylor wasn't that different from he was. 'If the roles were reversed, I'd probably be doing the same thing he is right now,' Fox thought. "All right, then," Fox replied. Pressing a few buttons on his HUD, he opened a channel to the rest of the fighter wing. "This is Fox McCloud," he stated, now totally focused on the task at hand. Falco called it being "in the zone."
"I will be commanding you during this battle. I don't have a prepared morale speech to give you, but I'll say what I always say before my team takes off. Stick with your wingman, keep your blasters charged, and never give in!"
Whoops, cheers, and shouts flooded the commlink. "We launch on my mark!" Fox called. "Three...two...one...MARK!" The fighter wing blazed out of the hangar bay, soaring into battle against their adversaries.