Farewell Fox
The sound of boots against the red carpet, leading to the golden double doors, echoed in the wide corridor. On the left, the windows' paintings were shining brightly, thanks to the sun and the clear sky. A few sunrays touched his face, warming the fur under his green eye. One of the two guards opened the door to let him enter in the room.
"Announcing Fox McCloud, captain of the Star Fox Team and ambassador of the Lylat System!" said the unicorn.
The vulpine walked inside with a concerned look on his face. The guard's comment about Celestia who wanted to see him to talk on an important subject was enough to put him on alert. If it was another magical activity detected in a random part of the country, he wasn't against confronting it. His encounter with the timberwolves was more than enough to revive the dying warrior's spirit present in his heart. The same flame which gave him the determination to save Lylat each time something was threatening it.
All the secretaries and advisors turned their heads in his direction. For some of them, it was the first time they had the possibility to see the legendary pilot in flesh and bones. Naturally, the mere fact that he was taller than them was frightening… something he could completely understand.
After all, they were not used to deal with a talking alien every day.
The Princess of the Sun looked up from the scroll in front of her and faintly smiled, taking care to not break the impassive mask she was wearing when she's working. An aura of authority, leadership, maturity and wisdom was emanating from him, something that Celestia respected greatly.
The vulpine stopped a few feet away from the throne and bowed his head. Then, he cleared his throat. "When the carriage you send arrived, one of your Pegasus Guard told me you wanted to see me, your Majesty."
She nodded in return, as a sign to greet him and to confirm what he said.
"Indeed. I wanted to inform you that your presence in Equestria is now known by almost all the countries of Equis and some rulers want to meet you. I've decided to organize a dinner, here, so they could have the chance to make your acquaintance. Do you have any problem with it?"
He shook his head. "No. In fact, I was almost sure something like would have happened before I could go back to Corneria. Now, what I'd like to know is: when and who will be attending?"
"In three days. There'll be my niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who rules the Crystal Empire, the Griffon King, the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, and the ambassador of Zebrica. Unfortunately, the rulers of Prench and Saddle Arabia can't come so, they're sending their own ambassador."
This time, the orange fox nodded. He wasn't very fond of fancy dinners, especially those in which he has to be careful with his words if he didn't want a diplomatic conflict. And the coming meeting was a very good example.
"That's all?"
"Almost, I'd like to know how well your meeting with the bearers went."
"It's was…" His left arm went behind his head and his paw scratched the back of his neck while he was searching for the right words to describe the encounter. "…interesting."
"That's good to hear, I hope Pinkie Pie didn't bother you too much."
She was keeping a straight face but Fox knew that in her mind, the white Alicorn was smiling.
"She's very strange and intriguing. Her ability of popping out of nowhere caught me by surprise. Either I'm rustier than I thought or she's very good to play hide-and-seek because I didn't hear her coming from behind me."
A chuckle escaped Celestia's lips.
"Well, I'm happy to know you didn't have any problem to get along with them. There's nothing else I have to discuss with you so you can leave if you want."
"Great, I bid you a good day Princess." He bowed and began to leave the room.
"You too, Fox."
Just at the moment he was about to step outside the room, her eyes light up, as if she was remembering something important.
"Wait!"
The mercenary stopped walking and turned his head in her direction, one eyebrow raised. This time, the tall pony was wearing a wide grin.
"I just remembered that the scientists are ready to work on the next part. They're waiting for your approval and help to finish the repairs."
As if it was contagious, Fox grinned too.
"Thanks for the information, I'll go meet them in the Royal Gardens and we're going to fix my ship ASAP."
Happy to hear such news, he ran in direction of the nearest door which could lead him to where his Arwing was stationed. Once outside, he could indeed see the unicorn scientists who were removing the engine with extreme precaution. The vulpine joined them and played his part by pulling it to him and giving a few instructions. When they lowered it to the ground, Fox groaned and let out a small and sad sigh.
"Something's wrong, Mr. McCloud?" demanded one of the ponies, a light grey mare with glasses.
He pointed his index to a small piece of metal hanging in the middle of the now-empty space. "You see this? It's a special kind of nut. It was used to keep a pipe in contact with the engine to cool down the latter…except that it melted because of the intense heat. And another pipe was cut in two parts, also caused by the temperature."
"Well, we can duplicate a new one from the original and improve them to not be altered by the heat or cold if you want."
Fox closed his eyes and rubbed his left temple.
Until now, he only trusted one person to take care of his ship: Slippy. But now, without the amphibian, he had to let some strangers do the job. He didn't like that. It was his Arwing, his ship and one of his oldest friend, one who never turned his back to him. Letting somepony else repairing it was like selling it to anybody… and this was something the orange vulpine didn't want at all. But in this case, he didn't have the choice. He had to improve his whole ship if he wanted to stand a chance against whatever enemy was threatening Equestria.
And who know, it could be useful in a future fight against StarWolf.
"Okay, we'll do it and… could you modify the shape of the ship with your magic, I'd like to give him another form."
"It wouldn't be a problem, we know a transmogrification spell. Which one do you have in mind?"
A cocky smile appeared on his muzzle.
"Well, the style it had during the Aparoid Invasion wasn't so bad."
-----------------------------
At the same moment
Location: Lylat System, Corneria, in General's Peppy room at the Cornerian Defense Forces' HQ.
A sad sigh escaped the ex-mechanic's lips. Black really wasn't his color, especially for an event like this one. When Falco called him five days ago to tell him Fox was dead, the amphibian was utterly destroyed by the news. His eyes were red, puffed and he had bags under them. Saying that he slept less than six hours during the first two days was an understatement.
His mind still couldn't wrap around the fact his childhood's friend wasn't in the living world anymore. Amanda tried to comfort him during the following days but it wasn't very effective.
Moving his head in direction of the desk, he saw Peppy who was putting his old pilot's wings badge on the left part of his vest. For the first time in a week, Slippy Toad smiled. Even if it was a weak one, it was still something. He was the first to have this idea and it seems that the other two present in the office had followed him on this.
It was more a symbol of respect for the deceased pilot than taking part again of active duty.
Anyway, the young father knew that Peppy was in a bad state, just like him, but the old rabbit had the hard habit to not show it and stay distant. And this was something Slippy was afraid of. The General was a very close friend of the McCloud family, just like his father Beltino Toad and him, and almost a second father to James' son. The lack of emotion on his face was worrying the toad.
Despite his lone-wolf attitude, Falco was very affected by his buddy's disappearance. At the beginning, he accused himself of Fox's absorption by the black hole. He often repeated that he should have stayed by the vulpine's side but Slippy and Peppy finally convinced him it wasn't his fault and he could have shared the same fate. Knowing his attitude in this kind of situation, they knew that he'd drank to the excess every night, waking up the next morning in his bed with a massive hangover. It was his way to not have a mental breakdown and do something he'll regret later.
Today, the whole system was sharing their pain. As a sign of empathy with the ex-leader of StarFox, there'll be having a full minute of silence at noon.
"Peppy?" called the blue avian.
The General turned his head in the pilot's direction.
"Yes?"
"I've received an answer from Miyu and Fay, they'll wait for us at the entry of the cemetery and Bill will be with them."
"What about Katt?"
"She's parked in front of the building, Lucy is with her."
Peppy nodded. His voice had become hollow and void of emotion even if he tried to stay as impassible as possible.
"Great. If everyone is ready, I think we can go. It's useless to wait any longer." He walked around his wooden desk, holding a picture of him, James, Lucy and Fox went they were young, in his hand.
Before he could make one step toward the door, the phone rang. A tired groan escaped his lips and he walked back to his desk. On the other side of the line was his secretary.
"I'm sorry to disturb you sir but someone want to see you before you left for the ceremony."
"Tell him it will have to wait, I have more important things to do today."
"She says it's very urgent and it can't wait."
The old rabbit shook his head.
"Send her. I'll make it quick."
"Yes sir."
Ten seconds later, the door opened to reveal a blue and white vixen.
"Krystal!?" said the three guys, in unison and shocked.
She walked in the room, wearing her dark blue flying suit with a grey jacket. The telepath had a sad smile on her face and her turquoise eyes were full of sorrow. She put her arms around the General and began to cry in his neck. The formed patted her back while Slippy was rubbing her arm as a sign of support. Falco stayed a few feet away, not really a fan of this kind of physical gestures. No word was needed to know the reason of her presence here.
"It's alright dear, he's in a better place now." whispered Peppy in her ear, trying to alleviate her pain.
The duo stayed in this position for one or two more minutes before they broke the hug. Krystal silently thanked Slippy for his act of kindness and looked at Lombardi who nodded. They were here for each other in this situation, after all.
"You should come, the others are waiting for us."
"I'm already having a headache. I need a drink." said Falco, randomly.
The rabbit made a faint motion with his head. "For once, I agree with you Falco."
The group left the room and walked into the corridor leading to the elevator. All the others workers present at this floor stopped what they were doing and stayed silent, in respect for the ex-members of the mercenary team and for the deceased leader. Of course, they did the same thing when Pepper retired from his post.
Finally, the four old teammates left the building, walking to the car parked in front of it. A pink cat with blue eyes left the vehicle and walked to them. Krystal hugged her, happy to know that one of her most trusted friends was coming too. Lucy Hare was waiting against the passenger door, smiling at the scene in front of her and waiting for her turn to talk with the vixen.
"Glad to know there'll be all of us present at the ceremony. I'm pleased you're here darling."
"Me too, Katt. Even if I would have liked to see you under other circumstances."
The feline confirmed she was thinking the same with a nod. The light pink rabbit walked to the blue Cerinian and greeted her. Then, the six people entered the car.
"Hey Krystal, where were you after all this time? We tried to find you on Sauria but Tricky said you weren't there."
"I've found a job on Kew, as a waitress. It wasn't much but it helped to pay the bills."
Falco turned his head from the window and looked at her.
"When did you learn about Fox?"
A sigh escaped her muzzle. "Three days ago, when they made the official announcement. I wanted to be here with you sooner but I had a lot of work lately."
She seemed sincere and, in truth, she really was. Despite everything that happened between her and Fox, she couldn't stop herself from loving him. Yes, he pushed her away, stained their friendship and hurt her feelings but at the same time, the orange vulpine saved her life and gave her a place she could call home.
"It's no biggie." replied the amphibian.
"He's right." added Peppy. "The most important is that you're here."
The Cerinian smiled when she heard this. The toad and the rabbit were those who had the softest heart, unlike Fox and Falco. Those two were not cold but had to remain impassible and distant. They had a reputation to conserve, one of leader for Fox and another of lone wolf and ace pilot for Falco.
After a few minutes of driving, the group of friends and old teammates arrived in front of the Military Cemetery of Corneria, where hundreds of souls were resting in peace. Today, there was one more which was joining them.
Three people were waiting at the entrance of the cemetery. One of them was a grey Bulldog, another was an orange lynx with black patterns on her body and the last was a white collie with a red bow. A group of journalist was also there but couldn't go near the car, thanks to the barrier installed by the police.
"Krystal." began Peppy. "I present you Miyu Lynx and Fay Spaniel. They used to work with us for two years after the Lylat Wars. They helped destroy what was remaining of Andross' army."
She shook their hand, with a small but sad smile on her face. She had to keep a straight face, she needed to be strong, for her, for Fox.
"The coffin is already in its place, in the same hole as James and Vixy. We give him our last goodbye and then, they'll bury him with his family, just like he wanted."
Together, the nine of them set foot in the place. They could see graves everywhere with one name or two on it. All had fallen because of the different conflicts during the past years. When they arrived near the familial grave, there was someone already waiting with a bouquet in its hand. The old brown hound was wearing his old red costume with his medals on his left breast and his hat.
Instinctively, the rest of the team stayed two meters away, letting Peppy walk alone to the person standing in front of the open grave.
"I should have known you'll be here, old friend."
The grey rabbit walked to the ex-General and hugged him before broking it a few seconds after.
"It's good to see you too Peppy." He turned his head to the grave, sighing sadly. "At least, he left us as a hero, like his father before him. But it means the end of the McCloud's legacy and with it, what was remaining of StarFox."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"His parents would be so proud of him… and I'm sure they are."
"I'm pretty sure too. Especially Vixy, she should have been so happy to see the man he has become."
Pepper turned his head in the direction of his friend, looking profoundly sad.
"Why is it the youngsters who leave first? They have so much to live for."
"I'd like to have the answer to this question…"
"Me too." interrupted someone before walking past the silent group and to the duo. "It pains me to have to see you two because of something like this."
"It's the same for us, Beltino."
The rest of the group walked to the trio. There was a small basket on the ground with a few flowers in it. Each one of them took a dozen petals before releasing it above the grave with Fox's name on the coffin. None of them had the strength to contain their tears. Some were hurt more than others but in the end, they all conclude the same thing: Fox McCloud had definitively left them.
To worse things, the sky was quickly covered with dark grey cloud and it began to rain. When the first drop of cold water touched Krystal's fur, she shivered. The water coming from the sky soon melted with her salty tears, soaking her beautiful fur.
Silently, another person walked to the grave, took a two flowers and put it on the coffin.
"Farewell McCloud. Despite the fact we were constantly at each other's throat, it was an honor to know you and have you as a rival."
Yes, in front of the shocked group was the infamous Wolf O'Donnell with an impassive look on his face.
"What are you doing here?" yelled Falco in anger, ready to pounce on the lupine and punch him. Katt grabbed his arm and tried to calm him.
"Calm down pup. I'm here for him, nothing else."
"He don't need your presence, we don't need you to be here."
Wolf frowned and growled, threatening.
"Listen carefully, even if we were rivals, I respected Fox and I know he would have done the same for me. I don't care what you think about me being here. I did what I had to do so, goodbye."
He walked away, in direction of the entrance of the cemetery. They all looked at each other, waiting for one of them to talk.
"What do we do now?"
"Well, we could go back to the HQ and have a toast in memory of Fox." proposed the General.
----------------------------------
Everyone had now a glass of champagne in his hand.
"In loving memory!" said Bill.
"In loving memory!" replied the others before drinking the content of their glass in one big gulp.
Then, they all began to talk about the good moment they passed in company of the orange vulpine and the awkward moments. There were a lot of blushes and laughs but in the end, the group had a good time.
Unfortunately, this brief moment of joy was interrupted a knock at the door.
"You can enter!"
The door opened and a raccoon with brown eyes walked inside.
"Lieutenant Racine, I didn't expect you to come, especially after I said my secretary to not disturb us."
"I know General but I have something very urgent to tell you."
"Okay. What is so important to interrupt the celebration of Fox McCloud's death?"
The raccoon cleared his throat.
"One of our satellites flying around Kew's orbit intercepted a message. An S.O.S to be precise. It would be better if you hear it."
Then, he walked to the table and put a very small disk in the phone. Immediately, a familiar voice could be heard in the room. Everybody's blood ran cold when they recognized it.
"This is the captain Fox James McCloud of the StarFox Team. This message is an S.O.S. My Arwing was seriously damaged during a battle and I landed in an unknown world. The local inhabitants are sentient, civilized and friendly. I'm completely safe. Unfortunately, I can't fly back to Corneria so if you're not far from my position and can help me or even give this message to General Peppy of the Cornerian Defense Forces…that would be really cool. This message will be sent every hour to help you find my exact location. Fox out."
All the people present in the room were silent. It was impossible, Fox was dead! Falco had seen it with his own eyes! Krystal's eyes had widened when his voice reached her ears and she was slightly agape. Her lover was still alive! He was alive and unharmed. Fresh tears formed at the corner of her eyes and finally, she cried. But they were tears of joy this time.
"Are you're sure it's him?" she asked.
"Affirmative. We made a comparative test with his voice and the result is clear: this voice belongs to Fox James McCloud. Fortunately, we know where he is and there's only a full week of flying to go there."
"That's it! I'm going to rescue him!" snapped the avian, rising from his chair. "There's no way I'm gonna abandon my buddy like this! Slippy, prepare this old bird Fox dare to call a ship. Make me a list of everything needed for two weeks and I'll buy it. Peppy, give the coordinates to ROB. We're leaving within the hour."
The General shook his head.
"There's no way I'm going to let you go alone." A smirk appeared on his face. "I'm coming with you."
The avian and the toad looked at him, shocked. After a few seconds, Lombardi laughed.
"Like the good times, old fool."
"I follow you, I obeyed Fox's orders but I will not make the same mistake twice." interrupted Krystal.
Bill walked to the desk, a serious look on his face. One he rarely wore.
"With all my respect General, I also want to be a part of this rescue mission. Fox is my best friend and I have to be here for him."
"And wherever Falco go, I'm not far!" said Katt, enthusiastically.
"Sorry to break your hopes but only the three of us, accompanied by a small squadron and a medical team, will go there. We don't need a full team of fighting ships to land on an unknown world. It could give a bad second impression to the locals. This is a rescue and diplomatic mission after all, they could feel threatened if we're too numerous."
The voice of wisdom has spoken, no one could say anything to deny it because they knew Peppy was right. The people present in the room knew absolutely nothing about the strange world where the orange vulpine had landed except the local inhabitants were intelligent and not threatening.
"So, what do we do now?" asked Miyu, curious of what will happen next.
The blue bird was thinking deeply before answering with a serious tone. "I suggest we're forming the StarFox Team again…but with more people. In this room, all of us are confirmed pilots and have experience with all kinds of missions. I may act like jerk and prefer work on my own but I'm still loyal to Fox. He saved my ass more than I can count so I owe him this."
"I couldn't be with you everytime because of the childrens and Amanda but I'll answer the phone when you'll need me."
Looking at the telepath, the ace pilot raised an eyebrow. She nodded and added: "I'm not staying on the side of the road again."
Katt jumped on Falco's back and hugged him.
"You know you can count on me, birdy."
A sigh escaped his yellow beak. He absolutely hated that nickname.
Peppy watched all of this from his seat, his arms crossed and a smile on his face. This was the proof of true friendship and love. StarFox was more than just a mercenary team, it was a group of friend, a family. He couldn't help but shed a single tear.
The rabbit looked at his daughter.
"What about you Lucy? I know you wanted to join the team when you were younger and you know as me that Fichina's university is going to be closed. Now is the occasion of a lifetime."
The pink hare looked thoughtful for a few seconds, thinking about the pros and cons of the proposal.
"I join."
"Good. I suppose you want to keep your place in the army Bill?"
The latter laughed.
"As much as I love Fox, I don't think this kind of life is made for me. Sorry guys."
Slippy walked to him and patted his arm.
"No need to apologize, Fox knows how much you love your job."
Falco turned his head in direction of the lynx and the collie.
"And you two?"
They looked at each other with the same though in their mind.
"We worked together before so… why not repeat the experience?"
"Great. If we add ROB, that make the eight of us as members of the team."
A pregnant silence settled in the room before being quickly broken by Falco.
"Hey Slip', what are ya' waiting for? The Great Fox will not prepare itself! The same for you, old timer, we really need those coordinates."
"Alright team, let's go! We have one hour to be ready!"
With a new purpose to reach, the members of the StarFox Team left the room and walked away, each one of them going at a different place to accomplish their tasks given by Falco who was the temporary captain during Fox's absence.
Falco promised himself to go back to Corneria with the last member of the McCloud family… and a Lombardi never breaks his promise.
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so how many chapter are there between now and them arriving at fox's location?
Rainbow Dash vs McCloud... this is gonna be good
..I am slightly disappointed that Wolf didn't tag along..
I squeed at the ending.
Falco, Krystal and Lucy all reforming Team Star Fox. It's wonderful.
4507613 Ditto, but I get it. He probably would've just shown up, gave his respects, told him to watch his back, then left.
Also, the Changeling Queen? Chrysalis is coming? I kinda hope she isn't going to be our designated vilainess. I'd like it to be more interesting.
Excellent chapter. And I'm happy to see you chose the Arwing from Assault. I actually have the game (and I actually got 100% game completion and unlocked all weapons, stages, and characters.), and the aircraft design really is the best the designers created.
4507419 lol I'm already imagining the air race in my head.
She's gonna go wild.
4511343 dude you too... that game was the best of th SF saga (my opinion)
4513082 opinion agreed.
I am not sure that i know which one goes to Equestria, but i like it that it aren´t all of them so sudden, even if i am glad about soem characters there.