First Fall
Once Krystal was able to get Sunset to stop begging to take the giant lava bug with them - and she had managed to tell it goodbye - the group made their way to Sector X. Reports indicated Andross was developing some sort of super weapon there, and they were under orders to take it out.
Upon arrival, they found the Sector had several smaller drone ships flying around, and chunks of some sort of space facility drifting in space. The base they were seeking to investigate - once located - proved to be the source of the drifting facility chunks, as it had been gutted and torn open...apparently from the inside.
"What could have caused this?" Krystal murmured in wonder as she watched through the cameras of the Ar-Wings.
"Can I-" Sunset began.
"And no, you can't adopt whatever it is as a pet," Krystal interrupted. "This far from Solaar, your magic has dropped significantly. Even if this thing turns out to be fire affinity, you won't be strong enough to rein it in, or housebreak it."
Sunset once more returned to her pout.
Eventually, they found the secret weapon that had been under development...which turned out to be some form of AI combat machine the size of the Great Fox, obsessed with destroying all enemies...and having defined everything that wasn't itself as an enemy. Thankfully, it was relatively easy to take down...
Only for it to start self repairing. "The view is clear!" it declared as it renewed its attack.
"I'll see if I can't figure out how to shut down its auto-repair system!" Slippy called out as he guided his Ar-Wing closer.
"Be careful Slippy!" Fox called out. "You aren't as good a pilot as us-"
A swipe of one of the bot's arms caught Slippy's ship. A massive energy discharge lashed out. The bot began to explode with cries of, "I must be complete!" At the same time, Slippy's Ar-Wing dropped - completely inert - into the atmosphere of the nearby planet Titania.
"Rob, do you have Slippy's signal?" Fox demanded, struggling to be heard over Sunset's screams of fear.
"I have his signal," Rob responded immediately. "Distress beacon active on planet Titania. No other systems registering. It appears the impact caused the mana battery fuel cell to rupture."
"Then lets get down there!" Fox ordered, setting course for the planet.
Titania had once been a lush, fertile world much like Corneria. However, long before life developed on Corneria, Titania's environment - and native species - was wiped out by an asteroid impact. Ruins of the civilization were left on the now arid, desert world, along with some rather dangerous pieces of intact technology and rich mineral resources. This made it both an important tactical location and a heavily restricted one.
Fox deployed down onto the desert planet in the Landmaster tank, having decided the heavier armor and cannon was worth the maneuverability trade-off, especially as the Landmaster was the only vehicle that could safely carry a second passenger. The Great Fox could always pick up - or replace - the Ar-Wing, but recovering Slippy had to be a high priority. However, it appeared Andross had forces here for some purpose, charging over the surface through the magnetic storms that ravaged the landscape and kicked clouds of the red dust into the air.
"If we can't recover the Ar-Wing immediately, we need to destroy it once we've recovered Slippy," Fox stated flatly as he drove. "The magic-based tech inside...we can't risk Andross getting ahold of it and reverse engineering it. We've seen how potent that is at this level."
"Fox..." Falco spoke up softly, his signal only going to Fox. "I...I really hate to put it this way, but...if Andross' forces get there first, recovering Slippy might not be possible...even if he's still alive. And...the Landmaster's cannon is the only weapon readily available to do that much damage to a disabled Ar-Wing."
Fox was silent for a time. "I understand," he responded finally, "but I won't let it come to that."
The remainder of the exploration passed in absolute silence. The Landmaster rolled through the desert sands, and Falco and Peppy flew overhead in their Ar-Wings. The Great Fox stayed in orbit, watching worriedly.
After a time, a note of hope reached them as Slippy's communicator sprang to life. "Help! I'm hit!" he called out desperately.
"Slippy!" Fox gasped in relief. "Where are you? Are you alright?"
"Most of my ship's systems aren't working," Slippy replied, "and I'm ensnared on some sort of plant. It's got tight hold of the ship, and I'm not sure how I'm going to get free."
"Hang tight, Slippy!" Fox called back. "We're coming to get you!"
It didn't take long for the Landmaster to reach Slippy's location...only for the 'plant' to reveal itself as some sort of creature, withdrawing into the desert sands to escape weapons fire before erupting out of the ground, revealing technological augments.
"That's one of Andross' bio-weapons!" Peppy called out in fear.
"Slippy!" Fox called out. "Does your ejector seat still work?"
"It does!" Slippy called back. "But-"
"Eject!" Fox ordered. "We aren't letting Andross get ahold of the tech you made based off Sunset's abilities. We'll have to build you a new Ar-Wing."
"But how are you going to do enough damage?" Falco asked as Slippy ejected.
"Rob!" Fox called out as he positioned the Landmaster to catch Slippy as he came down. "Prepare to fire the Main Mana Cannon! Lock onto Slippy's Ar-Wing!"
"Calculating minimum safe distance," Rob spoke up as Fox gunned the Landmaster away from the creature. "Checking energy levels...firing!"
The blast struck, obliterating the bio-weapon and Slippy's Ar-Wing. "Was that really necessary?" Slippy gasped as the Landmaster stopped flipping end over end from the shockwaves.
"How many ways can you think of for the tech in your Ar-Wing to be tweaked to be harmful to Sunset?" Fox asked flatly.
"Point taken," Slippy allowed without answering.
"Shockwaves subsiding," Rob reported. "Sending pickup locations. As soon as recovery is complete, course will be set for Zoness."
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Hey just a question? Will James appear in this fanfic or at least mention? It will be very interesting if he is.
oh i can see where this is going i hope it doesnt but at the same time i do
I called that one, although I was expecting Sunset to get vocal about Slippy.
"rein" as in horse. Not "reign" as in royalty.
Andross: What!?
That isn't how this is supposed to go! 
Fox: Hey, it is in this story. I'm just gonna clear the rest of this place out. Consider it a victory lap for those of us who know how to properly make use of our orbital lasers.
8329053
I'm sure Slippy will have a pony attached to him for a good few hours
When you mentioned the Giant AI-bot-thing, though, my mind went back to This.
Sunset pouting, almost unbearably cute.
If Andross did manage to get a hold of the magi-tech, it would be trouble of Titania proportions.
Sunset's pout would probably be the most powerful weapon in the Great Fox's arsenal. Only Team Star Fox is immune.
And they really ought to just get Sunset General Pepper and be done with it so she stops asking about pets.
No kill like overkill Slippy.
8329281
Coincidentally, there's a game where pouting is actually a central game mechanic, to the point that the usage is limited by "pout points" (basically another pool like MP), that I've been playing recently.
My World, My Way
8329389
...
...
Why is this a thing?
8329395
Beats me. Apparently it's one of the more rare / harder to find DS games, too.
Despite the premise, it's quite good.
8329032
Why wouldn't he? He appears at the end of Star Fox 64, in the final tunnel on Venom, right?
8329256
Sorry what were you saying? I was Zoness-ing out.
It is necessary to destroy anything and everything the enemy can use against you.
Zoness, eh? Now I wonder if any jokes about the boss will be made. I loved how he sounded like a stereotypical pirate
Yeah, a Scorched Earth protocol against your own advanced assets to prevent their capture by enemy forces is a perfectly reasonable practice.
Prudent decision, but it does give Andross reason to believe that their tech is valuable. It might come back to bite them.
Hopefully Sunset will find a small fuzzy thing she can have as a pet that Krystal approves of.
8331426
#bringbackparasprites
I'm betting Starwolf somehow still finds a way to counter/incorporate magitech for their Wolfen fighters. Though I expect only Leon and Wolf (And later Panther) get the tech. They never truly trusted Pigma since he was already a proven turncoat, and Andrew seems to only favor stuff developed by his uncle.
8334539
The problem with that is the lack of a magic source.
8332202
Those would actually make an awesome bio-weapon if they can be controlled at all, or made to eat on demand.
Especially the variety that eats landscape.
"I have beaten you, Star Fox!"
"Not yet, you haven't!"
"What the hell is--"
*CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH*
8331426
You mean a gremlin?