Well… here we are… the final chapter of 'Crossed Paths'. I know what you're thinking; will there be a sequel? Of Course! I'm currently making the draft for chapter one. Anyway… onto the story

Chapter 9: Training

Previously…

Are you handling the flight training?" Bill asked.

"Of course" Fox replied.

"Then I'm in, I'd rather have you show Kevin how to fly. If I helped then he would be confused with military standards." Bill said….

"It's only 7?" Falco said.

"Yeah, you know what? I'm gonna go turn in for the day. I got to be up early for training tomorrow." I said.

"Alright" Falco said. "Night"

"Good night, Kevin." Krystal said.

I walked up to my room and changed into sleeping cloths. I had a really good feeling about being on this team. Not only am I a part of a team, but I also have new friends. I soon drifted into a deep sleep.

Currently…

I woke up around 7:00 a.m. I was too excited for the first day of combat training that I couldn't stay asleep. Even though I knew that it would be incredibly hard, I was still excited to see what it I like.

Despite that fact that it was a bit early, I got out of bed and got dressed. Since it was combat training, I put on my armor. I figured that it would be better to learn how to fight in a bulky suit of armor than learn to fight without it and get stuck on later missions.

After I finished suiting up, I walked out into the hallway. I walked past Fox's room just as he was exiting it.

"Oh, hey Fox." I said.

"Hey Kev, are you ready for combat training today?" He asked.

"Of course I'm ready." I replied.

"Why do you have your armor on?" he asked.

"I thought it would be better to learn how to fight in this. After all, I wear this on all missions." I said.

"I see your point." He said.

Fox and I continued to walk down the hallway then down the stairs.

"So, how do plan on training me?" I asked.

"Simple; teach you the basics, move to small fights so you can apply those basics, then more advanced stuff. After that will be regular practices so your skills can set in." Fox said.

"Awesome" I said.

Fox and I sat down in the living room area. I reached for the remote and hit the power icon. The remote had a small touchscreen on it, allowing ease of access. I switched the holo TV to the news channel; they were doing a report about weather. It looked as though it would be a fine day.

"Perfect day for training" Fox said.

"I'll say." I replied. "So are we doing combat, flight, and weapons?" I asked.

"Yep, we never know when a mission could come in, so I need to train you nonstop. That means all forms of training all day every day." Fox said.

"Okay, I see what you're saying. I need to be prepared for a mission." I said.

"Exactly" Fox said.

"Okay, when are we meeting Bill?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. He never specified a time to meet." Fox replied. "I'll contact him." He said.

Fox then started to tap a few things on his communicator, "Bill, its Fox." He said.

There was no response. "Bill, this is Fox. You there?" he said.

Still no response, "hmm" Fox said.

"Want me to try?" I asked.

"Yeah" Fox replied.

I then scrolled through the list of codes on my communicator. I quickly found Bill's mainly because I didn't have many codes at the time.

"Bill, this is Kevin." I said.

Bill finally responded, "Hey, tell Fox I'm sorry for not responding earlier, my communicator has had a glitch lately." He said.

"It's fine Bill." Fox said.

"So, what time do you want to meet at the gym?" I asked.

"Eager aren't we? Meet me there in 10." He said.

"We better get going then." Fox said.

"Alright, see you there." I said before I cut the transmission.

I reached for the remote again and turned the TV off. After that, Fox and I walked out to his car.

"By the way Fox, what is this thing called?" I asked.

"Oh, it's a model S Firebird. Finest sports vehicle on this planet." He said.

"Hmm" I replied.

Fox and I then entered the Firebird and headed off to the gym. It didn't take long to reach it, even though it was located downtown.

When we parked the car and approached the building, we found Bill standing outside waiting.

"Bill" Fox yelled.

Bill then looked in our direction and waved to us, "Fox, Kevin" he said back.

Fox and I soon meet up with him.

"So, Kevin, you ready to start training?" Bill asked.

"You bet" I said back.

"Alright, let's go." Bill said.

Fox and I followed Bill into the gym. He led us into a separate room that had padding on the ground and dull weapons, like staffs and boxing gloves, hanging on the walls.

"Alright, let's get started." Fox said. "First thing, you need to know a good stance." He said.

"If you don't have a stance, then you're just gonna be open for attack." Bill said.

"This is the proper stance." Bill said as he positioned himself as if he was going to attack me.

"Let me see yours." He said.

I then moved my feet apart a little and raised my arms at about face level with my fists clenched. Fox and Bill looked at me.

"Hmm; your feet need to be a little more spread, your elbows are too low, hands aren't close enough, and you're slouched over too much." Fox said.

I wasn't surprised at how little I knew about fighting. I was already nearly killed by Julio back on Earth because I didn't know how to fight. Fox then came over to me and rearranged my hands, legs, and back. I was soon in a more comfortable stance, one that felt natural.

"That's better" Bill said.

The training went on for another three hours. It was not fun at all. Fox decided to see if I was paying attention and fought me. I lasted for only 20 seconds until Fox pinned me, causing me to give. I didn't think that they would immediately start with fight practices, but they did need to have me ready on short notice.

After combat practice, Fox and I went to the firing range to practice accuracy, handling, and general knowledge.

"Alright, now we are going to practice your weapon skills." Fox said.

I was already incredibly tired and could hardly speak. "Awesome" I said.

We arrived and were immediately greeted. Almost everyone in the area came rushing to us as we got out of the car. "Just ignore them." Fox said.

They weren't asking questions, they were just following us and taking pictures. The crowd then disbanded after Fox and I entered the range.

"Hey Larry, how have you been?" Fox said as he looked over at a dark grey vulpine that was behind a counter.

"Hey Fox, it's been a while." The vulpine replied.

"I want you to meet Kevin. He's the new addition to the team." Fox said as he pointed to me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Larry said as he shook my hand.

"A pleasure to meet you too, sir." I said back.

"Let me guess; you're here to use the firing range, aren't you?" Larry asked.

"Spot on" Fox said. "I need Kevin to learn how to use the weapons on this planet." Fox said.

"Didn't, uh, your planet have weapons?" Larry asked me.

"Yes, very powerful weapons. They weren't anywhere as advanced as Corneria's, but they were powerful." I said.

"Oh, you're here to get used to the new technology?" Larry said.

"That's right." I said.

"Well, go on back. There is a D-50 rifle and D-40 Pistol in the gun case. If you want to expand, then I will gladly give you access to the larger weapons." Larry said.

"Thanks Larry" Fox said as he walked into the range.

"What he said." I said as I followed Fox.

"Alright, let's start with the pistol." Fox said as he grabbed a D-40 pistol from the gun case. "Here" he said.

"You want me to just start shooting at the target?" I asked.

"Well yeah, how else do I know if you're a good shot?" Fox said.

"Good point" I replied.

I pointed the blaster down the range towards the target. I lined the reticles up carefully and aimed for the head. I fired several rounds at the target. After I emptied the energy cell, I pushed a button that brought the target back. It wasn't on a line like on Earth; it was actually a virtual target. A computer projected a hologram of a target and would use data from hitting it to show you where you hit.

The target vanished when I hit the button, but re appeared in front of Fox and me. Fox and I were both stunned at how accurate I was. There were holes in head area, 15 to be exact. I didn't miss a single shot.

"Holy crap, you got some good aim with that pistol." Fox said.

"Yeah I do." I said in shock.

"Alright, now try the D-50 rifle." Fox said as he handed me a large assault rifle.

I then pushed a button that reset the target and sent it back down the range. I readied the rifle and lined the sights carefully. I then pulled the trigger several times. Again I hit each time, this time in the torso area.

"Amazing" Fox said.

"I know, right?" I replied.

"Okay, I think I know your strength. And it could be useful for many scenarios." Fox said as he walked out of the range.

He came back with Larry, who had a key of some sort. Larry then walked over to a large white case sitting next to the open case containing the pistols and rifles. He opened it and warned us to be careful.

"I want to see if you could serve as our sniper support. Slippy is our mechanic, Krystal is our telepath, Falco is the ace pilot, and you could be our sniper." Fox said.

He walked over to the large case and pulled out a massive sniper rifle.

"This is the ZSR-145. One of the most powerful sniper rifles in Lylat." Fox said as he handed the enormous rifle.

"Holy crap, this thing is heavy." I said.

"Don't worry, there is a gym here and on Great Fox, so you won't think it's heavy after you work out a few times." Fox said.

"Alright" I said.

I put the rifle on the table and extended the bipod. I looked down the scoop and found the holo target.

"Hold on" Fox said, "Most targets are going to be moving, let me set it so it is at walking speed." He continued.

The target then started to move at the speed a normal being would walk at. It was still an easy shot. I pulled the trigger which sent a bolt of red energy spewing out of the barrel. The kick wasn't bad at all, it was still there because of the cell discharging the bolt, but it wasn't bad.

I looked down at the target. There was a hole in the head area.

"Okay, now I'm setting it at running speed. It's going to look like its sprinting." Fox said.

The target then started to move again, but at a much faster rate. I moved the reticle to lead the target a little. I then pulled the trigger again. I hit the target in the head for the second time.

"Looks like you're our new sniper." Fox said. "You'll still go on missions with us if they are in large bases or buildings. But if there is a chance of you being able to cover us, then that is when your skills will be used." Fox said.

"Sounds good" I replied.

"Okay, I know that there will hardly ever be a time we will use this thing. I still want you to try it, just in case." Fox said as he handed me a much larger gun.

This one was yellow and bulky with two large holes on either end. "Holy crap this one is huge." I said.

"That is the X-20 launcher. We call it the Predator Launcher though." Fox said.

"Um, can I even shoot this thing in here?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just need to put the energy shield up." Fox said as he punched in a command.

A shield then appeared. It was made so that anything can go through but not come back out, so I could shoot the missile through the shield with the explosion trapped.

"Okay, I'm telling the computer to project a high armor tank on the range." Fox said.

Suddenly a huge tank materialized. It looked similar to the Landmaster; the only difference was that this was more bulky and didn't have the Star Fox logo on it.

I aimed the launcher towards the tank and pulled the trigger. I was nearly knocked over by the force of the missile firing. I struggled to keep myself balanced. I balanced myself just in time to see the rocket hit the tank head on. There was a rather large explosion. I quickly covered my ears, but was surprised to hear nothing.

"No noise?" I asked.

"The shield is sound proof." Fox said.

"Oh" I replied.

Fox then decided to practice along with me. We practiced for about two hours. During that time, Fox and I had several accuracy contests and even see who could hit the target without looking. In all, it was the most fun practice I have ever had.

When we finished, we headed for the academy. We both said goodbye to Larry and headed out.

We reached the academy and saw the building that the simulators were located in. Fox and I started to walk towards it when a group of students walked up to us. They asked a few simple questions.

"Mr. McCloud?" one asked. It was a male that seemed to be a white furred rabbit. "Do you mind sharing with us some tips when flying?" he asked.

"I don't mind at all." Fox answered. He liked it when people just wanted to know simple things, like knowledge. He despised when the paparazzi came around and always avoided them.

"I always listen to my comrades. They keep an eye out for you and you keep an eye out them. Falco has always been telling me if I have some enemies on my tail and I have always been telling him if he has enemies on his." Fox said.

"Wow, thank you Mr. McCloud." The rabbit said.

"No problem, now if you will excuse us, we must get to the simulators. I have to train Kevin to fly." Fox said as he pointed to me.

"Oh, is he a new addition?" one of the other students said. This one looked like a male tiger.

"Yes, I met him when I crashed on his planet. He saved my life and seemed like he could be useful, so I asked him to join." Fox said.

"You saved him?" the tiger asked.

"Yes, I did. I don't see why everything thinks that it was an amazing deed. It was really nothing." I said.

"It is a big deal, he is the leader of Lylat's heroes." The rabbit said.

"Alright guys, we have to get started." Fox said.

"Okay, we understand Mr. McCloud." The tiger said.

The group of students then walked back to where they previously were and started to talk again. Fox and I then started to walk to the simulators.

The guard to the door recognized us and immediately opened the door. "Good luck" he said to me.

"Oh, there is a class going on right now. Maybe you two can show them some lessons?" he said.

"Maybe" Fox said.

An instructor came up to us. "Fox McCloud? What brings you here?" the instructor said.

"Training" Fox replied. "Kevin needs to learn to fly." He continued.

"Well, I have a class currently in the simulators. Do you mind popping in the match as hostiles? It would be a nice surprise for them and it would help me see where they are at." The instructor asked.

"Sounds fun." I said. "I know how to control it. So I guess it's worth a shot going against experienced pilots." I said.

"Alright, that will be the training for that day. This will be a little test to see how much you know about fighting in the air." Fox said.

"This is gonna be hard." I said.

Fox and I then seated ourselves into the two remaining simulators and spawned in the match. We set the communicators to the channel that the class was using. On the screen, we could see a number of allied ships fighting AI's. Each ship had a name over them; it showed which position and who they were.

The leader, named Zach, was speaking, "Okay, form on my wing and we'll take this last one." He said.

The 5 ships then formed on the leader and destroyed the final AI ship.

"Great work guys." Zach said.

"You ready?" Fox asked.

"Let's do this." I said.

Fox and I then spawned in as enemy fighters.

"Hold on, I have more readings on my radar. Looks like he sent more AI's to fight." The pilot by the name of Michale said.

"How many?" Zach asked.

"Only two" Michale said.

A pilot named Jack spoke, "Only two? That can't be right."

"Don't argue with data." A pilot named Sarah said.

"Yeah, just follow orders." A pilot named Jon said.

"I see them." Zach said.

Fox opened a private line to me, "Show them no mercy. I know you only have enough training to control and shoot, just try your best." He said.

"I'll be fine I said.

"Okay, when they break apart, split and chose any of them." Fox said.

"Got it" I said.

"Okay guys, split and take these last two AI's." Zach said.

The team of 5 then split in all different directions. "Now" Fox said.

Fox and I both slit up. Fox went after Sarah while I went for Jon.

"It's on my tail. I can hardly shake him." Jon said.

I was having an extremely hard time keeping him in my sights. I knew the controls but wasn't used to moving so much.

"Dammit, I can't get this guy." I said.

"Don't worry, you're still new. It's normal for you." Fox said.

"I can't shake this thing." Sarah said.

Fox then opened fire on her fighter. She went down in less than 3 seconds.

"Holy crap, it got me!" she yelled.

"Dammit, he set them to a higher level." Zach said.

"Someone get this off of me." Jon yelled.

I opened fire and hit him enough to disable his shields, "Fox, finish him off. I can't keep on him.

I then broke off of the pursuit and went to attack Michale. I then took his shields down as well.

"Dammit, shields are gone." He yelled.

Fox then swooped in and finished him off.

"Holy crap, it got another." Zach said. "Michale, take the left one. Jack and I will take the right."

"Alright" Michale replied.

Michale then came in hot pursuit of me. I barrel rolled to the left unexpectedly.

"Oh, that's how you do that." I said to myself.

I continued using this new skill I learned to escape from Michale. After I escaped his sights, I performed a summersault and got behind him.

I quickly lined his ship up with my sights and took him down.

"Dammit!" he yelled.

"Kevin, I got two on my tail. Mind helping?" Fox said.

"On my way." I said as I sped towards the three fighters that were off in the distance.

I fired several times but missed both ships. I started to think about an alternative way to take these guys down. I finally got an idea.

"Fox, try to break off, I'm firing a smart bomb at them. " I said.

Fox then started to attempt to break off. Eventually he succeeded and got clear of the blast area.

"Where the hell is it going?" Zach asked.

"Behind us!" Jack yelled.

I switched to their comms channel, "Adios, rookies!" I said before I pulled the trigger that released a smart bomb towards the two fighters that were racing towards me.

"What th-" Zach said before he and Jack were eliminated from the simulation.

I pushed the throttle forward and tried to escape the blast. I succeeded and caught up to Fox, who saw and heard the whole thing.

"Nice" he said.

"Thanks, let's surprise these rookies." I said.

"I wouldn't be talking; you're a rookie as well." Fox said.

"Yeah, but I have only one day of training and still won." I said.

"True" Fox said. "Anyway, let's surprise them." He continued.

Both Fox and I pushed the cockpit up and exited the simulator. We waited about a minute for the class to exit their simulators.

When they all exited their simulators, they noticed Fox and me standing next to our simulators.

Their mouths just dropped.

"I think we got them." I said to Fox.

"Beta Squad, I want you to meet the final 'AI's'." the instructor said.

Zach was the first to speak, "You mean to say that they were the ones that defeated us?"

"Yes, I came here to train Kevin. Your class just so happen to be in the simulators, so Kevin and I decided to jump in and show you that a simulation is not like the real thing, and also give you guys a good surprise." Fox said.

"How were they Mr. McCloud?" the instructor asked.

"Well, I'll be honest. They aren't perfect." Fox said.

"I'll have to agree with Fox, I only have a day of experience in a fighter, yet I was able to take out Michale's and Jon's shields. And I was able to eliminate both Zach and Jack in one shot." I explained to the instructor.

"Don't get me wrong, you were all excellent. Just focus more on defense when your being chased, after all, Kevin was able to keep up without being eliminated." Fox said.

"We understand, Mr. McCloud." Sarah said.

"Well then, I would like to thank you both for showing my class what a real fight will be like." The instructor said to Fox and me.

"It was nothing; I wanted to see where Kevin stood. It seems that you got used to the controls rather quickly." Fox said to me.

"Thanks Fox" I said.

The instructor then excused the squad and followed them out of the simulators room.

"Let's head back in. I think we can squeeze a bit more training into today." Fox said.

We trained for the rest of that day. For some reason, it felt easier. I quickly figured out the controls and even learned several techniques.

Before I joined this team, I thought that it would all be hard. But after the second month of training, I realized I could have a chance.

I completed my training in about four months. Only one small mission came up in this time. Fox and the others were all telling me that I was lucky. They were sent in to fight the Lylat War with little training and experience of real combat in an Arwing. I, on the other hand, had about three months of experience and training when the first mission came up.

But in the end, all turned out well. I was a member of the Star Fox team and a new Hero of Lylat.

The End

IT'S FINISHED! Book 1 is down. Now for books 2 and 3 ;) ! Anyway, I would like to thank everyone that read and enjoyed. I'll be honest, I wrote the first chapter out of boredom, but I got so much good feedback that I made a thing out of this. Thank you!

And here is a complaint I will get… why did the fight have such little detail? Because it was a small fight, I promise that the next book will have all the action. I already have the main plot written.

Next; the next book WILL be called Crossed Paths Book 2: The Adventure Begins. Chapter 1 will be up by Thursday (America) and Friday (Europe).

And finally; i have had complaints on how the story is predictable. Remember, this is the meeting, next is the fights and twists. I promise to keep you on your toes :)

Until then…

Jon3s115