CHAPTER 16 - DROWNING FATE
Music: "Athletic Heart"
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Cold...
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Unbearable cold...
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Everything's going numb...
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Arms and legs light like air...
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Bubbles trickling up past my head...
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Can't even tell if I'm floating or sinking...
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Dead or dying...
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Then there's this flash...
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A flash of memory...
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The same one I've seen time and time again...
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"Fox." Uttered a voice. Its timbre encompassed a certain warmth; a certain kind of comfort.
A young teenage vulpine lie over there on the edge of his bed, arms relaxed behind his head. He wore an over-sized dark green wool sweater with cargo shorts and was gazing up at something: Models of all the Lylat System's worlds which hung from a large mobile around the ceiling lamp. Sheets of rain pattered against the bedroom window meanwhile, whisked through a chilly grey autumn air outside.
"Hey, son..." The voice spoke again. Now a grown middle-aged vulpine donning khakis and a casual shirt stood at the bedside, over young Fox. His fur came out somewhat of a darker brown than that of his son's.
"HQ's been keeping me late the past couple a days. Lotsa last-minute intel for this big mission and what not. Didn't get let go this morning until quarter-past three so... I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you..."
Naught but quietness returned. The teenage vulpine remained focused on those model planets; particularly the one of Corneria. The white tip of his broad bushy tail occasionally twitched a bit.
"... Taking a break from homework?" James McCloud smiled caringly and proceeded to sit down beside his son.
"Yeah," Fox uttered at last, "Just... Taking a little break..."
He'd propped himself up on his elbows, though an obvious uncertainty within his tone prompted James to tilt his head a bit.
"... Having trouble with something...?" He wondered, eyeing his son who nodded not long after.
"Vector theory, trajectory analyses, and orbital dynamics... Again..."
Glancing over at Fox's desk, James saw a number of glass-slate text logs lying next to an opened notebook. He couldn't help but let out a light scoff through his nose in response since he recalled just as well the hours upon hours of frustration he'd gone through whilst learning those exact same topics.
"It's all just... Complicated..." Fox went on, "For every one thing I seem to get, there's always two or three other things I don't get."
"Mm." James acknowledged, again in understanding. "That is the Academy's endgame though. You learn real quick: Piloting any spacecraft is everything but your easy walk in the park. Doesn't matter if it's an Arwing, or one of our humongous Alpha-Class Carriers."
Fox pondered his father's words. Sure he'd heard more or less that same rundown many times before, but it remained true. Subjects like vector theory, trajectory analyses, and the dynamics of orbits were of course critical for any Cadet in the Cornerian Defense Force Academy to master.
"... Oh," Then James thought to ask, "How'd that flight test go yesterday? The one in the simulator?"
Mute was his son. From the rather dour look now upon his face it was clearly the last thing he wanted brought up.
"... Did you...?"
"I failed." Grumbled Fox, "Crashed."
James sighed after a moment. "What happened?"
"... I... I don't really know." Fox attempted to explain, albeit reluctantly. "First of all, the instructor's supposed to be giving us real-time feedback on exactly what's happening, right?"
"Mhmm." His father affirmed.
"Well... That's the thing. What happened made no sense. It's like a glitch hit the system or something and they didn't even notice. I mean, I was the one piloting. I thought I'd kept steady control the whole time. I saw all the gauges... All the readings..."
James remained quiet, even as Fox paused before thinking to give some context:
"... They had us doing another mock recon around Sector Y. Everything actually went real smooth, up until the minute I started making my final approach for landing back in the Carrier Transport. All of a sudden, the instructor raised his voice at me over the com. Said I had a problem with the G-diffuser and my Arwing was starting to roll to starboard."
"And, were you?" Inquired James.
"No, I wasn't." Fox insisted, "I made sure to keep an eye on every gauge throughout the recon. Double checked them then and there. Nothing seemed off, but that's when it went haywire."
"... Haywire how?"
"Next I knew, everything lurched sideways. Suddenly ended up in a fast barrel roll to starboard just like the instructor said a moment before. I stayed calm though and did my best to re-stabilize. I figured I'd done it, but then I looked up and... I way overcompensated 'cause I'd been depending on the gauges and for whatever reason, both the forward and starboard gyroscopes were off! Like, sixty whole degrees off!"
A sharp sigh escaped the young vulpine's maw as he paused yet again. Frustration and regret clearly nagged at his mind from recollecting this event.
"So there I was in a steep left bank... Tumbling straight into the carrier's hangar with the instructor all but yelling at me: Stabilize! Stabilize! Stabilize! By then it was too late though. I crashed there in the hangar and failed yesterday's test. You get the picture, dad."
"... Actually," James responded, "I'm not sure I do."
Fox's green eyes shifted over to look at his father for the first time this conversation.
"Whaddya mean...?"
In return, James gave him a subtle yet curiously supportive smile. "Anything else you can remember, Fox?"
"... Well, I..." The teenage vulpine's thoughts stumbled. "I mean, what else do you want me to say? I just... I choked, I crashed, and I failed. So all I can do is make sure to fly better next test, right?"
James lowered his head a bit, still intent on expressing sincerity. He let out another breath.
"True, but... That isn't quite what I meant. I meant more like, can you remember anything specific about yourself?"
Again, Fox reluctantly tried to put himself back in those seconds leading up to the crash. He recounted the sudden discombobulation of the simulator rolling, lights flashing, alarms droning, not to mention the instructor barking commands. And yet, he soon managed to focus on that precise moment of realization; the befuddlement from how the gyroscopes were completely inaccurate. What he'd seen as being leveled there on the dashboard was almost vertical when he looked ahead.
"... My hands were still tight around the stick..." He started at last, sitting up on the edge of the bed. "... And there was this moment... Where I knew if I just overrode to manual and pulled back the other way... Instead of staring at those gauges like an idiot..."
Fox gazed down, fidgeting with his fingers while shaking his head somewhat.
"I knew I could've... I was ready to... If only I did just override the stick and level back out... But the gauges confused me... So I didn't. Like I said; I choked, and somehow I guess the instructor didn't notice the glitch so it just counted as part of the failure. That was that. I was in no position to gripe."
This whole time James had been silent, yet something about that scenario seemed to be exactly what he expected to get despite both seeing and hearing his son's frustration.
"... Just curious," He inquired, "Who was the flight instructor for the session?"
Fox thought a moment. "Fitzgerald. It was Major Fitzgerald."
"Fitzgerald... " James pondered, a grin soon growing across his maw. "Ha, so that old boy's still on the teaching side of the Brass eh?"
"Um... Should I know him more than just by name?" Wondered Fox, "Yesterday was the first time he's ever instructed us."
A light promptly flashed in James' head, for there it was. This confirmed what he'd been suspecting; that the supposed 'glitch in the system' wasn't a glitch at all. Rather, it was very much a part of the Academy's training, and this also meant that Fox had reached a certain point as a Cadet.
"Well then," He confidently began, "You can expect to be flying under him a whole lot more from here on out, and not just in the simulator..."
The teenage vulpine gave his father a rather dubious look. "Not sure I get it, dad."
He patted his son on the shoulder. "In any case, it's nothing to lose sleep over right now. Can I take a wild guess though and say ALL your group-mates failed the test too?"
A surprised Fox hesitated. "... How'd you know...?!"
James waited through a silent beat of his own. "That's a whole other story, but it's not the important takeaway. What is important is how you obviously had it in yourself on what to do in that sudden situation. You knew how to react, your nerves just weren't ready yet. That's something you'll only learn to master with time, practice, and yes, more failures. Many more failures, even."
His son gazed back down at his furry feet, still unsure over what this all was supposed to imply.
"... I'm not mad or disappointed, if that's what you're worried about." James went on, "Quite the opposite as a matter of fact. I'm proud of you, Fox. Real proud to hear that you've reached the point where they're really starting to challenge you..."
A nonchalant scoff left the teenage vulpine. "Still doesn't change the fact that my whole group failed."
"Well that's just it." His father countered, "The idea was exactly for you all to fail..."
Fox rolled his eyes, sighing in disbelief before James added:
"... But not fail in the way you're thinking..."
"C'mon, give me a break dad." Fox started to refute, "I know you're trying to make me feel better and what not, but you weren't there. You didn't see that glitch. How it threw everything off. Believe me, I talked with the other Cadets afterwards. Everyone said something went completely haywire too right when they were about to-..."
He stopped himself when glimpses of a certain realization bloomed right then and there in his mind. Now he appeared to brighten up. His eyes even widened a little.
"Wait... THAT'S what the test was about...! There was no glitch...! Instead it gave us a scenario where we had to react with faulty systems on purpose!"
James nodded, happy that his son was finally catching onto the actual lesson of the test. "Mhmm, so you see? That's why I reckon you can at least feel proud for being able to know how to react right off the bat. I'll bet you most of your fellow Cadets couldn't say the same..."
A myriad of thoughts percolated through Fox's head until finally:
"... Yeah, I get it now..." He said with a slight grin, "My attention was so fixed on the gauges 'cause we'd all been trained to of course... But it just goes to show... We can't always rely on them, or any of the flight instruments for that matter..."
Wholeheartedly his father agreed. "Right on the money, Fox. When something suddenly goes on the fritz, however rare those instances may be, you gotta be ready to manually switch over like that. Take it from me; it's definitely happened a time or two out there."
For the next little while Fox sat there, still quiet and contemplative. He gazed out the bedroom window where that autumn storm carried on. A gust of wind threw a heavier sheet of raindrops against the pane.
"... One of these days you'll also come to understand the key to it all." James then declared, "I myself consider it one of those great 'secrets-hiding-in-the-open' sorta things, but it's what many of us pilots take to heart."
Fox glanced at him. "What's that?"
His father smiled. "... Remember what I've often told you over the years? Whenever you got stuck at something, yet you still had that feeling which eventually did bring you through to the right outcome?"
The teenage vulpine perked up. "Trust your instincts...!"
"Bingo. And equally vital? Never give up... No matter how tough or daunting things may look." James acknowledged. Fox on the other hand seemed a little taken back by its simplicity and had to process the notion.
"... Really? That's the key? Huh..."
"I know, I know," The older vulpine followed up, "It's one thing just to say those words, 'cause let's be honest, that's what they are: Words. But give it enough time along with your progress in training and I promise it'll become second nature. You'll see."
"Thanks dad..." The more Fox thought about it, the clearer it became. His father was absolutely right; he'd had that gut instinct on what to do then and there, just like he'd articulated.
"... You wanna hear something else? Another secret if you will?" James then asked, to which his son perked up again somewhat.
"Oh?"
He ended up thinking for a beat. "Well... I 'spose this one's a little different, but it's something your mom and I have known for the longest time. Has everything to do with this next mission..."
A kind of youthful curiosity overcame the teenage vulpine. His green eyes beamed in response as he waited to hear what his father would say next.
"You know what though? I'll say it's a much more special secret..." James teased. Willing to play along, Fox shifted his body so he was facing the older vulpine head-on.
"Alright, c'mon dad. What's this secret?"
"Ok, ok..." Chuckled James, "It's how I always complete my missions and make it back home..."
Silence of a new kind arose between the two of them sitting there on the bedside. Rain kept whisking against the window all the while, until at last, James gently rested a hand atop Fox's fuzzy head.
"... It's you and mom." He said, patting his son between the ears. "Mhmm. It's you and her, Fox..."
A tear glistened in the corner of James' eye all of a sudden. He sniffled, blinking hard before thinking to wipe it away.
"It's 'cause of those I love. Those I care most about. They're the ones who give me the real courage... The assurance that I'll be able to tackle any mission... No matter the odds..."
Fox just stared at his father, blank and speechless. He'd never seen him in this vulnerable of a state before and didn't know what to respond with, much less how. Not until later in his life would Fox truly be able to think back on this brief moment and realize the full implications.
"... So... Ahem..." James began once more, clearing his throat. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... I know this next mission's gonna be no different from the rest of 'em. I mean, they don't call James McCloud Corneria's 'One True Ace' for nothing, eh Fox?"
A genuine smile slowly formed on the corners of the young vulpine's muzzle. He threw his arms around his father's torso and clung to him tightly, as if never wanting to let go.
"Love you dad..." He murmured. James let out a heartfelt sigh and likewise hugged his son, eyes still moist.
"I love you too, Fox..."
Now the young vulpine couldn't help but feel his own chest flutter. A flurry of emotions started teeming within him; anything from pride and happiness for his father, to an indefinite melancholy which lay beneath it all.
"H-How long will you be gone?" He wondered.
"... A month I reckon." Replied James, sniffling another time.
Fox closed his eyes. "Where are you going?"
His father paused, glancing up and eyeing a particular greenish world on the outermost ring of that large planetary mobile.
"... Venom."
The name seemed to echo around in Fox's head several times until he finally reopened his eyes and parted from their hug.
"That far out, huh." Marveled the teenage vulpine, also looking up at that planet of interest with its spacial relation to Corneria.
James nodded. "Sure is..."
Then his son surmised, "Hm... At least it sounds like you'll be home for End-Year. Mom'll be glad..."
To this the older vulpine chuckled. "Heck, I'm just hoping to get back in time so I can still register for the 46th Galactic Smash Tournament! Gotta make sure I'm up to snuff on my kicks and all for when everything rolls around next summer over on Neightyvee. You know that you're gonna be old enough to enter now, Fox? I mean, if you ever wanted to give it some thought. Word is there's shaping to be lotsa newcomers this occasion."
Fox only ended up half-listening to what all his father said, for one last little question had manifested in his mind.
"... Dad? Is anyone else going with you on the mission?"
Soundly, James answered, "Who other than my two most trusty wingmen, Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar."
Peppy... Pigma... The thought percolated for a moment. Fox had met them in person before; more so the former than the latter, although he still knew both names and thus felt reassured now since they were another pair of Corneria's finest fighter pilots, behind his father of course.
"... Originally the plan was for me to go alone, if you can believe that!" James exclaimed, adding, "But Pigma must've persuaded the Brass to let him and Peppy accompany me just for good measure, which after talking about it with him, yeah... I reckon it is nice to have some company, as well as backup."
Fox smirked, letting a scoff out through his nose before asking lightheartedly, "Maybe he figures there could be a tough spot that you'd need help with?"
His father confidently nudged him on the shoulder, grinning back.
"Who, me?" He jested, "Nah. Not a chance."
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There it is...
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The lie...
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The fleeting warmth...
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But before that...
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Before the pain...
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I remember watching...
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Watching him kiss mom goodbye outside...
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Watching him leave home again...
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And yet I felt so sure...
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Sure I'd see him come back...
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Like every other time...
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That belief...
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That sweet little belief...
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All the unforeseen consequences...
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Did dad know...?
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Did he already know what would happen...?
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Was he prepared...?
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Was he prepared to die...?
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Was he ready for the end...?
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His end...?
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Is this my end, then...?
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They say memories have a way of messing with time...
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How they can comfort us in final moments...
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I've even heard it's nice to drown...
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Peaceful...
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But no...
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No...
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Dad was still right...
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I have to believe...
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I HAVE to believe this isn't the end...
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Those I love...
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Those I care about...
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I can't...
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I can't go...
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Not like this...
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Never...
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Like...
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This...
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"...F...X...!"
What sounded like a muffled wail echoed from somewhere in the dark.
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"...F...X...! GE...U...P...!"
Suddenly, a massive force shattered through all the enveloping numbness. Deep, rumbling auras welled in unison with a blinding surge of light.
The surface had been breached at last. Fox's eyes shot open and his very first instinct was a desperate gasp for breath.
Music: "Self-Destruction Countdown"
Damp, chilled air flooded his starving lungs. He struggled to focus on hazy objects and figures amid this overwhelming brightness. Then someone shouted right in his face:
"FOOOOX! C'MON GET UP!" It was Slippy, gripping him by the shoulders and shaking strenuously. He'd been the one who yanked Fox back to consciousness.
"Ughh... Wh-Wha-?!" The dazed vulpine glanced around. His fur and pilot suit were completely soaked from head to toe. Only then did it him where they were; near the back of the Great Fox's bridge. Frigid waters sloshed all around them at waist-height while more cascaded in through the gaping front window. The entire control room was slowly filling for that matter and showed no sign of stopping.
THE CRASH! THE LAKE! Fox recollected, his eyes wide as could be after realizing they'd survived!
"Wh-... Where's Falco and Peppy?!" He coughed. Slippy let go of him and quickly dove back underwater meanwhile.
"... Over here!" Hollered the hare, wading between the navigation and operational mainframes. With one last check he shook his head, glumly announcing, "Yep, that's it boys... All systems are dead as can be. Even the auxiliary power's shot and we STUPIDLY never sent any distress calls so the Great Fox is as good as sunk. Now we just gotta make sure we're away from her by the time the exposed reactor core gets hit with water!"
The Great Fox... As good as sunk... Those select few words made a horrified Fox almost choke on his very breath.
"... AAAAAGHHH!" A furious Falco then howled over the torrential waters gushing in. He banged his feathered fist against the back of a panel. "ARE WE GONNA GET OUTTA HERE OR AREN'T WE?! I'M FREEZING MY ASS OFF!"
"Well you're NOT the only one!" Peppy countered, his arms tightly tucked under one another. That was when Slippy frantically resurfaced, struggling to hold up the human boy.
"GUYS!" Cried the mechanic, "HE'S BARELY MOVING! WH-WHADDO WE DO?!"
Sure enough the boy looked like he couldn't even shiver anymore. Hypothermia had begun setting in. Only his eyelids trembled weakly, fighting tooth and nail to stay opened. Every pant escaped as a frail puff of breath. His thick dirty-blonde hair was drenched like the rest of him, matting over one whole side of his flushed face. At least it seemed that gash across his forehead wasn't bleeding anymore, but it hardly mattered. Neither Fox nor Peppy offered the boy much more than a glance.
"Fuckin' leave him here then! I don't give a shit!" Falco shot callously.
"... WHA-?!" Slippy gawked through utter disbelief, "NO! NO WE CAN'T! HOW CAN YOU EVEN SAY THAT!?"
The bird trudged a few heavy steps toward him, seething all the while. "Answer me this, gear head... Why would I give a DAMN about some little human BITCH who SHOT ME and then talks a buncha GIBBERISH to us? HUH?!"
Slippy breathed hard several times; both from battling this stinging cold and coming to terms with everything. Yet he still managed to conjure a retort:
"Th-The Hypo-Blue was affecting him! He... He couldn't have even known what he was doing! Sorry about your shoulder and all but you seriously can't put the blame on him!"
"OH!" Falco fired back darkly, "Well excuse me but that's REAL FUCKIN' EASY FOR YOU TO SAY! You're not the one who got SHOT THROUGH THE SHOULDER just for finding a STOWAWAY in your closet, WERE YA!? Yeah, I THOUGHT NOT! Ya know what else? You're right! You're LUCKY I don't just BEAT YOUR ASS since YOU'RE THE ONE who GAVE 'IM that blue shit in the FIRST PLACE!"
"HE'S NOT A STOWAWAY!" Slippy wailed, pulling out all stops. "I FOUND HIM IN THE HANGAR BAY UNCONSCIOUS! HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT PART, BIRD BRAIN?!"
So much noise... So much commotion...
Fox pressed hard against the temples of his head, trying desperately to think.
Waters rising... Mothership sinking...
Then he suddenly remembered: THOSE PHOTOGRAPHS LINING THE MIRROR BACK IN HIS PRIVATE QUARTERS! THE OLD ONE OF HIS FATHER!
His heart lurched. He had to go get them! He just had to! Never could the vulpine live with himself if he'd left something so precious here in this smoldering wreck of the Great Fox. Falco went at it with Slippy still over a bunch of vain questions which yielded no answers, and by now Peppy had heard more than enough.
He struck the water angrily.
"WILL YOU TWO SHUT IT FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!?" Their sparring got silenced in an instant by the hare's own bellowing voice. He sighed hoarsely, adding, "We just gotta stay CALM now, alright!? Nobody's swimmin' outta here anyway 'til the bridge goes all the way under! Otherwise we won't last ten seconds tryin' to fight these currents flowin'-!"
All of a sudden, the unmistakable faint roar of jet engines swelled from somewhere outside. Everyone swiftly glanced up and around.
"GREAT NOW WE HAVE COMPANY!" Snapped Falco. It was company alright, but after a few moments the explanation struck Peppy.
"... Wait! Boys!" He exclaimed, "It's gotta be that Kyterran Cruiser!"
Lo and behold; the Falcon Flyer descending from the sky!
Inside its cockpit the steady hands of Captain Falcon gripped the yoke tight. He activated another function and announced, "Ok! I'm locked on the area just beside the bridge! Bringin' her down steady to hover right above the water!"
Mario and Red sat glued in the passenger seats while Luigi, Link, Ike, Kirby, Meta Knight, and the Pokémon all stood crowded in here as well; woefully staring at that crashed Cornerian mothership ahead. Its entire bow and bridge were pivoted way down; half-submerged while part of the stern protruded up, belching out flames along with endless thick black smoke.
First everything that'd happened in Midair Stadium, and now this.
Their astonishment was so utterly profound that it almost petrified the very air between them. Truly, no one ever expected to witness the Great Fox 'land' like it did; grinding all the way down that shallow mountain side. A gaping wide ditch traced its path along the slope and through the shore, far out to where it now resided in the lake. Massive waves from the impact's wake kept radiating outward across the shimmering blue surface.
"... Look!" An anxious Mario broke the silence, "It's-a-sinking more and more! We must-a-hurry!"
Red then swallowed hard, asking, "Y-You sure they're still gonna be in the bridge?!"
"Poyo!?" Agreed Kirby, making Captain Falcon grind his teeth together.
"I... I don't know a hundred percent but it's our best bet!" He insisted, "Plus they had to be there anyway to control a crash-landing like THAT!"
With a potential rescue imminent and the waters rising, Fox knew there was very little time left. Thus, without a word he turned around and took off wading through the water. Peppy heard him going but by the time he looked over, the vulpine had disappeared into that smoke-filled corridor leading out of the bridge.
"... Fox?! Hey FOX!? WHERE YA GOIN'?!" The hare yelled after him, hearing no form of reply. Peppy grumbled something under his breath, yet at the very least he trusted that Fox knew what he was doing. Luckily for him it indeed proved to be the case.
Shrapnel and soot pasted the floors and walls of the mothership's once-white hallways. Almost nothing came out visible in this pitch-darkness except for whatever happened to get illuminated by fires.
Emerging from the waters, Fox pulled that crimson scarf of his up over his muzzle and squinted. He trudged as fast as he possibly could up the incline of the main corridor which continued steepening ever so slightly. His soaking-wet clothes and boots in particular dragged like lead weights upon his cold, shivering body. He didn't care though. Not one bit.
The vulpine leaned forward in order to advance through all this suffocating smoke, yet despite that he knew very well where he was at. Before long he'd barreled down that main stairwell to sub-level two; the crew quarters floor.
Around one last corner he swung, bashing against the adjacent wall. He coughed hard and had to gasp for breath likewise, but then looked up to see a formidable sight not far ahead. Bright writhing fires raged all across this corridor; right in front of the door to his room.
"... NO...!" Barked Fox, the flames reflecting in his glossy green eyes. Without hesitation he approached that inferno head-on and fumbled to pull out his blaster. Hands quivering, he aimed right at the door's control module, past the literal firewall.
BAM! He pulled the trigger. Luckily the laser managed to hit its mark dead-center. It blew the panel apart, bursting the door's main hydraulic hose as well which sprung it open.
Now, with all his focused might the vulpine sprinted up and grunted hard; throwing himself all the way over that fire. Tips of flames licked along the underside of his pilot jacket and flashed some of the wetness to steam. He torpedoed through the opened doorway nonetheless, landing smack on the half-charred floor of his private quarters.
Scrambling back up to his feet, Fox immediately got met with a similar state of destruction here in his room. Everything appeared either broken or burned and it seemed like the only side actually still in tact was that huge window. Just beyond its pane however lay a dark blue underwater void, many meters deep by now which only kept increasing.
"... No, no, no... C'mon... C'MON...!" Wheezed the vulpine, bitterly fighting back tears. He rushed over to the dislodged nightstand and fell to his knees, rummaging through a whole mess of rubble. Splintered glass from that large shattered mirror scraped and even cut his wet furry hands, but he ignored the pain.
All that mattered was finding those photos.
The rest of the Star Fox team huddled close together, shivering against this cold which was sapping their energy straight out of them. Even back here at the bridge's highest point the water level sloshed right along their chests now that those huge front windows had gone under.
"... Hey, WH-WHERE'D FOX GO?!" Slippy demanded upon suddenly noticing the vulpine's absence.
"He... He left the bridge." Uttered Peppy, struggling to stay attentive. The mechanic just gawked at him on the other hand.
"WHAT?! W-WHY?!"
A shaky breath was all the hare let out. "Never answered, but knowin' him... M-My guess is he needed to go g-get somethin' from his... His quarters..."
Confounded beyond measure, Slippy couldn't help but glance over at the smoky hallway entrance. He swallowed hard; anxiously hoping for Fox to make it back as soon as possible.
All the while the team listened to the Falcon Flyer's jet engines rumbling louder and louder with each passing moment. Falco cocked his head up, frightfully darting his eyes around the dim ceiling.
"... ARE THEY GONNA COME BUSTIN' THROUGH THE ROOF?!" He blurted out whatever stormed through his mind. No one offered the bird any response either so he kept ranting incoherently, "THEY GOTTA BE RIGHT ON TOP OF US! WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY BREAK IN HERE WITH GUNS BLAZIN'! WE'RE DEAD, THAT'S WHAT! WE'RE ALL FUCKIN' DEAD! WE'RE LITERALLY SITTING IN HERE LIKE FISH IN A BARREL ABOUT TO BE SHOT LIKE-!"
"SHUT UP! WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP!" Yelled Slippy, still clinging onto the barely-conscious boy. "YOU DO NOTHING BUT MAKE THINGS WORSE!"
Then, as if on a most peculiar cue, the roar of the Falcon Flyer abruptly tapered off to a much more mellow hum.
"Aaaaand... There! We're in position!" Captain Falcon reached up and flicked another switch. "Opening the cargo hold!"
Like so, the Falcon Flyer's main side-hatch hissed open. Mario leaped up from his seat and hurried back into the hold where a cool raw breeze whistled through its opening. The other smashers quickly followed suit until they all stood by the mustached man's flanks, collectively gazing out at that massive top of the Great Fox's submerged bridge mere meters past the end of the wing.
But now came their main question: Was the Star Fox team still alive? Nobody could spot any signs of life amid these choppy, frigid waters.
"... See anyone?!" Hollered Captain Falcon, being the last to rush over and join them. Mario shook his head in response and kept scanning the surface.
That's when Red gasped, for he'd just hatched an idea.
"Hey Squirtle! Greninja!" He called on his two water Pokémon who faced their trainer eagerly.
"Quick!" He gestured, "Swim under and check if anyone's inside the bridge!"
A single confident nod was all they needed to return. Red watched with the others as Squirtle and Greninja both hopped out onto the wing, scurrying down in unison to the very end before diving straight into the lake.
Down below the surface the aquatic duo streamed, bubbles trailing in their wake. These glacial meltwater temperatures didn't seem to bother them one bit, but soon they found themselves looking directly at the giant dimly-lit nose of the Great Fox's bridge. More specifically, its gaping front window.
"GUHHH...!" Falco hacked out a spray of water that'd welled against his face. He, Peppy, Slippy, as well as the boy fought to keep their necks above the surface. Everything in the bridge had started falling darker, and to make matters worse there was still no sign of Fox.
"B-Boys!" The hare finally touted, "We're... We're gonna die of hypothermia if we wait much longer! The currents floodin' in MUSTA died down by now... S-So we gotta be able to swim through the front window! T-Take a deep breath now!"
"But... But WHAT ABOUT FOX?!" Howled Slippy in protest. All Peppy came back with however was remorse:
"I'm afraid he's on his own. I want 'im to m-make it just as much as you but... I-If he doesn't, well... Th-Then we've lost someone special today..."
The mechanic slumped in the water; horrified and at a utter loss of words. How could Peppy say something like that so bluntly? This was Fox! Fox McCloud! The LEADER of their very team! They couldn't just leave him behind... Could they?
Regardless, Falco had been breathing in and out deeply to prepare himself for the coming swim which included the fact that he'd only be able to use his left arm. He tried rotating his wounded right shoulder to check, but immediately, even amid the water's numbness there was a spike of searing pain.
"G-Ghhh... FUCK THIS!" Snapped the bird. He glared at Slippy, threatening, "LET G-G-GO OF THAT HUMAN RIGHT NOW AND... AND HELP ME G-GET OUTTA HERE OR I SWEAR I-!"
Suddenly, a splash. The three looked over to see a rather flat angular blue head poking above the surface, staring right back at them through surprised pinkish eyes.
"... Wait... That's... That's a Pokémon!" Exclaimed Peppy. Of course it was none other than Greninja!
"Ninja! Greninja!" The frog Pokémon clamored anxiously. Then Squirtle popped up beside him!
"Squirtle! Squirtle!" He insisted likewise, waving his stubby arms in gestures so the Star Fox team would understand. Thankfully it clicked for Peppy almost at once.
"They... They want us to f-follow 'em out!" He shot the others a hopeful glance; the first glimpse of anything optimistic he'd expressed in some time. With that said, Falco lumbered forward until just his face floated above the water; painfully wincing through every motion his arm tried to take.
"... Ninja?!" Greninja quickly recognized that the bird was injured so he darted over to assist him. After hacking out another cough of water, Falco stuttered:
"Th-This is it guys... S-S-See you on the... On the other side..."
He nodded to the frog Pokémon and inhaled one last big gulp of air before they both vanished beneath the surface.
A determined Greninja led Falco through this submerged realm of the bridge, towards what looked like a blurry barrier of light ahead. Ethereal rays shimmered in through those sunken front windows and refracted upon the dark floor. Beyond that threshold though lay certain freedom; the sole hope to escape this cold, sinking tomb.
Now it was Peppy's turn. Squirtle paddled up and eagerly gestured again for him to follow close behind, but before the hare did so, he faced Slippy one last time.
"You sure...? You sure you can... S-Swim all that way with the human?"
Shivering, the mechanic nodded just once and said nothing. His mind had been made up from the very get-go. Yes, he was downright determined to try. In no way would he willingly leave this helpless boy behind to drown.
"A-Alright..." Peppy acknowledged, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder with a slight splash. Lastly he made sure to take off his small circular spectacles and tuck them away in one of his chest pockets.
"I'll see ya... See ya up top...!"
A lengthy, strained breath then filled his old lungs and before Slippy knew it the hare had gone under as well. Squirtle confidently guided him along toward that same illumination which almost seemed to beckon from afar. At least Peppy was correct about one thing however; barely a current swept into the bridge anymore.
Back outside, the surface frothed with countless choppy waves. Over and over they lapped against the Great Fox's weakened structure as Red and everyone else stood along the Falcon Flyer's wing, surveying the waters for any sign of the Pokémon returning. Nothing yet though.
Moments kept passing while the angst kept mounting regardless. Nobody wanted to utter a single word until there was at least something for them to see, but that was when Mario noticed someone else in the corner of his eye. The blonde-haired boy had walked up right beside him and now he too did nothing except stare numbly at this humongous wreck that was the Cornerian mothership. The plumber could even see him mouthing something to himself in silence; something subtle.
Strange how the boy's blue eyes trembled again with that same foreboding sense of recognition as the bomb back in Midair Stadium. He somehow knew what the Great Fox was, or had surely seen it somewhere before yet just couldn't put a finger on it as to when, where, or most significantly; why.
Why indeed...
Why did this gargantuan craft seem so familiar...?
"... PIKA!" A sudden wail from Pikachu shattered the silence. Not only that; he frantically pointed at something moving beneath the waves. Red caught sight of it too.
"It's Greninja!" He exclaimed, moments before the frog Pokémon burst through the surface first with a sputtering, wounded Falco in tow.
"... FALCO?!" Blurted Mario and Captain Falcon; practically at the same time. The bird gasped for air and shielded his eyes from the patchy afternoon sunlight, though once he was able to look up and make out the other 'saviors' standing there, all he did was let out a hoarse spit.
"Can... C-Can SOMEONE HELP ME UP!?" He shouted, shaking his head and ruffling his soaking-wet plumage. "I-I CAN'T... T-T-TAKE IT ANYMORE...!"
Greninja swam him over to the wing's edge where Mario and Captain Falcon waited with outreached hands. Falco could only offer his left, but they carefully hoisted him up onto the wing all the same. The bird's numb legs gave out from under him the moment he tried to stand however. He collapsed flat on his back and shivered hard, holding his wounded shoulder tight. He even started to cackle somewhat hysterically at the sheer craziness of this whole situation.
Then Captain Falcon hollered, "Link! There's a compartment right before the cockpit where I keep a buncha old rags and towels! Go get-!"
He turned but to his surprise saw that the Hero of Time was already one step ahead of him. Link hurried back out from the cargo hold, carrying a big load of raggedy-looking towels.
"G-G-Give... Me...!" Falco stammered through strained shivers. He grasped at thin air which Link quickly obliged by handing him several of them. Mario kneeled down next and did his best to help bundle the towels around Falco's drenched body even as he was spouting:
"Guhhhhh...! Wh-Why is it so... C-C-COLD?! IT'S SUPPOSED TO... IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE... S-S-SUMMER HERE!?"
At the same time, Red shot a determined glance to Charizard and nodded. The burly fire Pokémon could sense his trainer's intent so he huffed a growl and focused his internal energy, prompting that flame on the tip of his tail to swell twice its size. Charizard then moved his tail right next to Falco who immediately rolled onto his side and embraced its miraculous warmth.
"Ohhhh...! S-Sweet mother of... Ahhh... That f-f-feels so g-good...!" He clutched the towels tight and scooted as close as he could to this large, radiant flame.
Mario had stood back up, yet all the while he, Link, and the others just stared at the shivering bird; simultaneously relieved while also speechless to their cores. Likewise, Captain Falcon felt a chill run down his back once his attention fixated upon something very particular and bloodstained.
"... What happened to your shoulder?!" He asked, unable to keep quiet. Falco just swayed his head around in circles and laughed some more.
"Heheheheh... Ohhh man, y-y-you guys would... NEVER believe me..."
All of a sudden, CREAK. Everyone snapped their attention back to the Great Fox when something massive and metallic groaned from the frontal structure.
Slippy glanced around; hardly able to see anything through this ever-darkening air of the bridge.
"... FOOOOX! WHERE ARE YOU!?" He howled in anguish. Water sloshed right underneath his chin as he turned, eyeing that rear doorway again. Now he could only fear the worst.
Did something happen to Fox? What could've been taking him so long to get back? What if he couldn't run? What if he'd gotten injured? Therefore what if all he needed was a little more time to make it? Might Slippy be able to wait just one more minute? A half-minute, even?
CLANG. Louder noises rang out elsewhere. The control room's very stability was weakening with each passing second so the mechanic came to bitter terms with the fact that no, he just couldn't wait for Fox any longer. Peppy had been proven right again; the vulpine was on his own from this moment forward.
If Slippy couldn't assure the survival of his close friend and team leader though, he was at least still dead-set on saving another life. He hastily tried to make eye-contact with the human boy but could barely make out his face.
"L-Listen!" He started with a cough, "We're gonna... W-We're gonna have to take a deep breath so we can swim all the way outta here, o-ok?!"
No sound nor physical acknowledgment of any kind came from the boy. He didn't have the energy, or maybe it was because he flat-out couldn't understand Slippy in the first place. Either way the mechanic shivered in repeating:
"A deep breath now! Understand?! DEEP BREATH! We-We've gotta SWIM! Alright?!"
Still no answer. Slippy grabbed the human's limp arms and held them up, making one last desperate attempt to communicate:
"Here! I-I'm gonna PULL YOU! I'm gonna PULL YOU by the ARM, yeah?! Now take a deep bre-!" CRASH!
Part of the ceiling ruptured right beside them. More water began blasting in from above to fill what little space remained here in the bridge, forcing Slippy and the boy underwater. Scores of bead-like bubbles frothed in front of their faces, yet through it all the mechanic managed to catch a glimpse of that faint yet unmistakable light from the windows.
Making sure the boy's right forearm was firmly in his grip, Slippy kicked hard off the back wall without another moment's hesitation. The two of them now streaked down through these frigid dark depths in a muffled silence. Naught but the mechanic's own heartbeat thumped inside his head as both legs kicked to and fro, to and fro; his one free arm frantically clawing aside the seemingly endless volume of water between him and that luminous threshold ahead.
An eternity felt like it was passing here in submerged limbo. Slippy himself may have been alright holding his breath for this long, but what about the boy? He couldn't have had more than a second to inhale any air after the ceiling caved in; provided he did inhale in the first place. On that same note it was also really starting to worry Slippy how he felt no movement coming from the human whatsoever. No twitch of his hand, no shifting of his arm, no struggle to stay straight, nothing.
... What if... What if he's...!
A dreadful thought flashed across the mechanic's mind.
... NO...! NO IT CAN'T BE TRUE...!
Slippy shook the notion away and started kicking even harder. Desperation now burned within his eyes. Bubbles trailed out from the rims of his mouth over this frantic adrenaline he was exerting to swim as fast as he could.
Nevertheless, he drew closer and closer to the light with the boy...
Closer and closer to freedom...
To the moment of truth...
"... JIGGLY!" That's when the pink balloon Pokémon alerted everyone.
Red swung back around just in time to witness Squirtle stream up with great speed and actually launch himself clear out of the lake. He landed back on the wing next to Jigglypuff and Pikachu, though a moment later was when Peppy surfaced. The very first thing he did was fumble to put on his spectacles again.
"PEPPY!" Captain Falcon blurted, albeit alone this time. Unlike Falco's initial reaction, whether deliberate or otherwise, the hare couldn't have been more relieved to see this group of saviors. Not only because he quickly recognized many of them, but more so due to the fact that he knew they'd been the ones who escaped from Midair Stadium.
Greninja, still down in the water, swam him to the edge where once again Mario and Captain Falcon waited to help the old hare up.
"Th-Th-Thanks..." He managed to utter through chattering teeth. Link readied another pair of towels meanwhile and placed them around Peppy's shoulders the second he was on the wing. Much like Falco however, Peppy's energy was utterly sapped. His numb legs barely held so Captain Falcon supported him by the arm and helped him hobble to where the bird lie tucked in front of Charizard's large tail flame.
"C'mon, let's get you two in the cargo hold." Suggested the F-zero racer, but the drenched hare halted in his tracks.
"... WAIT...!" He wheezed hoarsely, turning back to look at the choppy surface below. A palpable concern teemed within his strained voice.
"S-S-Slippy should be f-followin' behind any second now with... W-With the human...!"
Foreboding silence fell over the other surviving smashers in wake of those last two words. They even gave Peppy a collective stare of confusion, although Mario was the one who couldn't help repeating it aloud:
"... Human...?!"
Then Greninja beckoned from the water, "Ninja!"
Barely three seconds followed when another splash erupted amidst the waves. Peppy's eyes widened sharply.
"... THERE...!" He spouted, for lo and behold a frenzied Slippy had breached the surface along with that other boy still in his grip.
"OH-!" Gasped Red, covering his mouth from shock. Greninja wasted no time though in darting over to assist the mechanic who panted strenuously and struggled to hold the human's pale face above the waves.
"HURRY! G-GET HIM UP! G-G-GET HIM OUTTA THE WATER!" Slippy's shivery voice wailed.
Yet again Mario and Captain Falcon stood ready at the edge. They swiftly reached down and helped drag the soaked boy onto the wing until his slim-figured body lay there face up; completely motionless.
"... IS HE... I-IS HE BREATHING?!" Demanded the mechanic, managing to clamber up by himself.
The red-shirted plumber quickly snapped out of his own bewilderment and knelt beside the boy; leaning down to rest an ear against his chest to see if he could discern a breathing pattern. Directly around him now stood Luigi, Ike, Red, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Kirby, Meta Knight, and in particular, that blonde boy as well. They all watched over his shoulder through a dead-quiet angst.
"... PLEASE...!" Slippy wheezed between pants, "TELL ME...! TELL ME HE'S STILL... BREATHING...!"
Determined as he was, Mario narrowed his eyes and tried his best to listen, but the intense hum of the Falcon Flyer's idling engines made it nigh impossible.
He swallowed nervously. "I... I don't-a-know... I can't-a-hear anything..."
A desperate, aching stare was all the mechanic gave; first at the boy and then to Mario. Growing more fearful himself, the mustached man took off his gloves and carefully straightened the boy's head before placing a pair of his fingers on his neck to check for a pulse; hauntingly reminiscent to what he'd done with the blonde boy back in Midair Stadium.
Captain Falcon and Link were meanwhile busy bundling some more towels over the rest of the boy's torso and legs.
"Geez, he's cold as ice...!" Uttered the F-zero racer, before fully becoming aware of those bloodstained medical wraps on the left thigh of his capris pants.
Mario saw it too. He exchanged worried glances with both him and Link but went ahead with his other hand and moved the boy's wet dirty-blonde hair aside in order to reveal the entirety of his face. All he got met with instead was a sight of closed eyes and that gash straddling part of his forehead.
What HAPPENED to this boy?! The confounded question festered in the plumber's mind. He looked up at Slippy who just hunched over and shook his head, knowing exactly what Mario was about to ask. He sighed at a loss of words. Right now he couldn't even fathom where or how to begin explaining.
"... S-Slippy...!?" Then it was Peppy who stammered out another glaring question, "What about... Wh-What about FOX...?! D-D-Did he m-make it...?!"
To this, the mechanic froze.
A wave of sickening regret washed over him as he forcibly remembered: No, their team leader never did make it back. It wasn't long either before Slippy's wobbly legs gave out. He dropped to his knees and sensed nothing but that somber burn of everyone else's eyes upon him as they also realized what his disheartened silence meant.
However, unbeknownst to all of them, the vulpine was still very much alive this moment; deep inside the Great Fox.
Music: "One Week Earlier"
Frantic pleas drifted effervescently across the dim, hazy air of the bedroom:
"P-PLEASE... PLEASE...!"
Tears of utter desperation began leaking down Fox's already-wet cheeks too. Harder and harder he rummaged through all the rubble until finally, he thought he'd caught a glimpse of something familiar. Indeed, the vulpine's eyes weren't fooling him! There lay those photographs near the very bottom!
He gasped through a sudden sense of hope. His bloodied claws fumbled and struggled to grasp them from the floor, but upon holding the photos up in the firelight, he quickly found that a number of the ones on top were scorched beyond recognition.
And yet, a deeply relieved sigh soon left him instead because by some sheer miracle the select few which he cared most about had been lying underneath and thus made it unscathed! Casting aside those charred others, Fox raised these up and stared at them longingly; his every breath more of a whimper while his eyelids teemed with tears.
The first photo showed him at what must've been his graduation from the Cornerian Defense Force Academy. There he stood proudly on a stage with his group of fellow graduating Cadets, among them being a certain jovial Slippy Toad as well as another one of his good friends, Bill Grey.
How young they appeared...
How different times were...
How the whole future felt like it was theirs for the taking...
The sky above and stars beyond being the only limits...
Likewise, the second photo drew another yearning breath out of the vulpine. Krystal's smiling profile resided front and center in the frame, yet now Fox just couldn't suppress a wave of memories he held with that beautiful blue-furred vixen.
The strange circumstances when they first met...
The profound curiosity he'd felt about her and her world...
How she wanted to come back with him to Corneria...
Their growing and loving relationship over the years...
All those other fleeting moments in-between...
Finally, Fox came to the third and smallest of these surviving photos. There, semi-faded upon the worn sepia paper stood none other than a grinning James McCloud; sunglasses and all.
Dad...
Like the loneliness of James' figure, that single pain-filled word managed to reverberate above all the other turmoil inside Fox's head. He clutched the photo tight and clamped his eyes shut, allowing a fresh stream of tears to squeeze out. Only two hours ago had he gazed upon these very same snapshots with such opposite esteem; such reverence.
I'm so sorry...
So sorry it ended like this...
You and mom...
...
...
...
CRACK. An ear-splitting sound suddenly shattered the vulpine's awareness and jerked him back to reality. Eyes wide, he glanced at that giant window on his left; just as a thick web of prickly fractures started splitting all across the pane. It was about to give way.
RUN...! His mind bellowed. The precious photos firmly in hand, Fox leaped up and swung back around to face the doorway, but right after he did, time itself seemed to warp to a halt. He exhaled, hearing nothing now except the frail pounding of his own heart.
He felt paralyzed all of a sudden; as if he'd become trapped in a morbid nightmare where he couldn't move a single muscle.
...
...
...
But the door's RIGHT THERE...
...
...
...
Mere meters ahead...
...
...
...
Why am I just STANDING here...?
...
...
...
Why does it feel so unfathomably far...?
...
...
...
Maybe if I'd gotten out sooner...
...
...
...
Then the window caved in.
A cold pressure wave of air rammed Fox from behind, followed by the immense wall of frigid lake water. It swept the vulpine off his feet and smashed him down on the floor before hurling him forward with the rest of the surge. Those fires that'd been raging just outside his private quarters got extinguished almost immediately upon contact as the water burst out and started gushing along the steep gradient of the hallway.
"... GAH!" Grunted Fox, managing to grab the doorway's corner with his free hand while the waters rushed past him at waist-height, carrying all sorts of debris. He had but five seconds to catch his breath and witness the flood careen further into darkness when something instinctive spurred him to glance back the other way, into the oncoming flow.
A numbing sight met his eyes amid the faint ambient light. That large top-board from his nightstand had swept up and was being carried straight toward him. Fox could barely react before the board suddenly flipped over and WHAM! It bashed right against his side, knocking those photos clean out of his hand.
"NO! NOOOO!" He screamed in utter despair; frantically grasping at them in the currents, but to no avail. The vulpine could do nothing except hang on the doorway and watch through horror as his cherished photos vanished under the dark surface; along with the board to cascade away down the corridor.
Now, silence.
Heartache and rage welled to a boiling point deep within Fox's trembling eyes as he kept standing there. So badly did he want to scream again, as loud and long as he possibly could. Maybe that would at least help quell the pain; this empty yet insufferable pain.
How had it all come to this? Just how had this day which began with such high spirits and eagerness, collapsed so utterly and profoundly in a span of no more than half-an-hour?
First it'd been that energy anomaly...
Then the strange boy being discovered...
Then witnessing the total disappearance of Midair Stadium...
Then his mothership getting shot out of the sky by the Halberd...
And here, losing some of his most valued memories to these sinking depths...
But no. Through heavy, shivered breaths Fox managed to cling onto his discipline.
With there truly being nothing left worth salvaging anymore, the vulpine now arrived at the pivotal understanding: He was still alive and held one last chance to get out.
Yes. He just had to escape the Great Fox before it flooded entirely. All these hallways would be completely underwater within a few minutes, so after one final growl he turned and waded back toward the stairwell. Several times he nearly fell due to fatigue and his scattered state of mind, not to mention the downward incline.
Fox plodded as fast as he could nevertheless. Each and every pace up those ill-lit stairs felt ten times the effort compared to speeding down them, but after one more corner the top level was in sight. The vulpine clambered over that final step into the main hallway; only to re-enter a blackened realm of putrid smoke with occasional fires illuminating the way.
Down and down the long corridor he ran, using his scarf as a makeshift mask once again while being careful not to slip. Between pants Fox could hear massive creaks and structural groans emanating from the darkness; all around this destroyed wreck of his mothership.
However, the very next sensation he became aware of were splashes beneath his boots followed by that familiar numb sting of water upon his legs again.
THIS FAR UP...?! He balked. The surface surely did reside quite a bit higher now than when he'd come up a mere couple of minutes ago. It also meant that the bridge was completely submerged further down, so this left the vulpine with a single choice.
He'd either make the long swim, or accept his drowning fate here in the Great Fox.