Chapter 3: "I yearn for my beloved vixen, I only pray that my reckless encounter with uneven odds won’t pay a toll with her life—I can’t live without her!" –Fox McCloud, Leader of StarFox

"The Art of War"

The female panther continued to check her watch, waiting for her accomplice to finish up his latest design, which took months to build. As time progressed, the only sound were of that the tools rattling and the beeping of numerical codes to the state-of-the-art device.

Impatient, the female panther brushed her paw over her lover’s shoulder, "Are you going to finish it anytime soon? We do have a schedule to follow you know," she sighed, grasping even tighter to his shoulder.

"No Tiff, I still have to set the unbreakable code and adjust the safety security check, we wouldn’t want anyone fiddling with this baby when it’s ready to detonate."

The diligently working panther pressed in a few codes and then red numbers appeared on the input panel. There was a sudden beep, signaling the programmer that the device is ready to set its time. Sighing ahead of himself, he placed a screwdriver horizontally within his muzzle, using his fingers to rewire the main tangle of chips and wires.

Tiffany kneeled down beside him, analyzing what he was doing. She didn’t know too much about electronics; that’s why she always improved her skill in the art of fighting. She didn’t mind setting off devices though, that was only the easy part—though that’s an entirely different story when compared to her partner.

"Hey, don’t wait up on me. Go see if the perimeter is clear or something. I’ll tend to this, after all, we have plenty of time to visit the general," he offered, snagging his finger with another sharp tool, nearly piercing himself.

"All right, perhaps you’re right. I’ll just go on some scavenger hunt for weapons. That’ll be really fun Albert!" Tiffany growled with sarcasm and then walked off.

The two panthers were stationed up high on a rooftop, on a twelve-story building opposite from the main headquarters of the famous General Pepper. Since they’re initial departure from Venom, all has been in deep silence between the two—obviously the goal was more important at this particular moment.

Standing at the ledge of the roof, the panther’s long brown hair drew in with the wind, sending chills down her spine. The sun outlining her beautifully slim silhouette in a shade color; sweet summer air relished in her mouth, the sound of aircars hovering down below her, and the smell of fresh spring air gleaming into her nostrils. All was bliss on this day!

She turned back to scan over her lover, "Hey Albert?" The panther looked up, stopping what he was currently problem solving, "Yes, my sweet?" For a moment, they stared at each other oddly, as if they were acting as complete strangers, and then the silence lifted.

"I’ll be… inside the base. If you need anything, just give a signal or whatever," she said, turning her attention back down below while he narrowed his eyes—almost sad-like.

"All right, just be careful. Gather whatever information when you can, it might come in handy very shortly. Until then, please leave me be, your sexual appearance is distracting me hon," he replied with a simple smile and then turning his undivided attention back onto his device.

* * * *

Within the rec room within Venom’s main headquarters, three of the StarWolf members resided. They were eating their usual afternoon meal; Pigma always believing everything he ate was scrumptious.

Leon poked his head out from behind a magazine, shaking his head in disgust with the pig’s sloppy table manners. Andrew was stationed beside the big eater; arms folded and his legs branched on top the round table. Pigma continued his annoying slurps which irritated the group, the ghastly shrill that erupted from the pig’s nostril because of him never breathing in from his nose—but with his snout.

The shrill continued and then a vein on the side of the chameleon’s temple started to pump full with agitation. Leon slammed his paper down and glared at the glutton: "Will you breathe out your damn nose for a change!"

Pigma became stiff; feeling outraged and offended, "I’ll do whatever I want! You can’t stop me!" he remarked proudly, and then he crushed down on his red lobster with an irritating crunch.

With that, Andrew looked over to Leon, together; they were ready to plan a base of action. Pigma studied both members and then he started to feel a cold breeze within the room. Motioning over quickly, Andrew roughly apprehended the pig from behind, getting him into a headlock from behind, the farm animal’s arms swaying in the air defenseless. Leon hopped on the table and dived toward Pigma.

"Arg… let me go! Now! I’m warning you, you can’t do this to…" Pigma shouted; though no one took heed of it. He was instantly cut short in his finishing sentence when Leon revealed some type of metal forceps from his jacket. He held the pig’s head back, "Oh, this is going to hurt very much!" Leon warned with a devious smile and then sliding the instrument into one nostril of the pig.

Pigma let out a few desperate screams of escape, though Andrew kept him in his place while Leon did a quick surgical removal. Filling the inside of the pig’s left nostril, Leon found what he was looking for. When he managed to clamp down on it, he yanked it out hard and fast as he could. Pigma screamed again, this time in mercy. A small pellet-like booger was in the grasp of the forceps. After the pull, Pigma’s nose started to drain some blood down to his uniform.

"Ew… you’re too dirty Pigma," Andrew mocked from behind, choking him somewhat was payback from previous days of pranks.

"Well, that’s one down, one more Pigma and then we’ll set you free my slimy friend," Leon smiled, inserting the ‘nose picker’ into the other nostril. Pigma’s eyes widened in pure fright as Leon followed the same suit as before. Again, the other nostril started to bleed like its left brother. Another pellet dropped to the floor, blood stained.

Andrew released the pig as he scrambled to the floor, holding nose as blood continued to seep out from its natural opening. Leon and Andrew stared at each other, ready to burst with laughter.

"Oh hell, you’ll be fine Pigma, you can thank me later when you realize how much sleep you’ll be getting from breathing better."

Leon walked over to a nearby sink to cleanse his instrument; Andrew stepped over his comrade, laughing gay as can be. Quite unexpectedly, their leader entered into the room. When the wolf was noted, silence filled the room once more.

"Aw… my small team. How do you do?" Wolf said with a hint of unusual cheer within his voice—probably because of Laura.

Leon was the first to speak up, "Well, I haven’t seen you for a while, maybe because you keep banging your wife and not blowing things up as often," the chameleon hinted some disappointment.

Wolf only smirked, "Yeah, I know. I need to get out more often. That’s why I’m here anyway, Andross has a mission for us, an easy one in fact!"

"What’s that?" questioned the young ape standing adjacent to a wall.

Pigma looked up at his leader, "Wolf! Oh god, glad to see you. Look what these assholes did to me! They tried to rip out my brain!" the pig scorned the other two, holding his nose still—red liquid escaping out from his hooves.

Wolf stared for a moment, "Ah, you won’t die Pigma. Anyway, up on your feet mercenary!" he barked.

Pigma instantly stood up and came to attention. Leon and Andrew stole a glance toward their comrade. Wolf folded his arms, shaking his head disapprovingly, "Go clean up Pigma to show some dignity. Meanwhile, here’s the deal Leon."

Pigma walked out as the three members took a seat at the table once more. Surveying the awful mess left behind at Wolf’s station, he slapped the tray off the table, watching it slam against the wall violently. He started to sweep the table before he begun to explain the mission assignment, "Okay, here’s the mission…" he stopped in mid-sentence, studying his arm that accidentally mashed into some spilled mash potatoes.

"For heaven sakes, learn to eat PIGMA!" he growled angrily, rubbing the mess off his arm against the table’s edge.

Leon and Andrew snickered, "Okay. We have a mission to destroy a Cornerian base that is stationed in Sector X. The Cornerians aren’t prepared for a massive invasion yet, so it’s ours for the taking. I hear that there’s a new commander on Corneria, a real rookie. I doubt that he could interfere with our higher caste."

"So, we go there and blow shit up?" Andrew asked, scratching the back of his ear.

"Pretty much," Leon answered, "what if StarFox shows up?"

Wolf leaned back in his chair, smiling evilly, "Oh, leave that to me. I have his most sensitive spot."

"And that would be…?"

"Fara Phoenix! She’s locked away within one of the suite rooms; Laura is watching her right now. She can’t escape, not with my love around her."

Leon’s yellow eyes bulged, "You have Fara Phoenix here, right now?! Damn, that’s great, now that bastard of a McCloud must obey our every word."

"Exactly!"

Leon thought back a minute, "I wish you told me earlier, I could’ve tortured her to get all sorts of information out of her. Is it too late for that?"

Wolf grinned, "It is certainly not! Go get your gear and meet me within the dungeon. We have to start the interrogation immediately."

As if winning a million bucks, the chameleon leaped out of his chair and cheered wildly, his arms raised up in the air—clapping erratically. Andrew turned to face Wolf, "So, what will we get out of her?"

Wolf sighed, "I hope to find some important information on McCloud, that’s all I care about. McCloud has been my foe for the longest, I want to know everything about him!"

"Humph, and I thought you wanted to kill the skinny bastard? Guess I was wrong."

"Oh no, I will, in time Andrew, in sweet good o’ time. McCloud won’t beat my flying style anymore! He knows the arwing maneuver, I know his father’s wingmen talent."

"Say what now?" Andrew was confused from the new knowledge given.

"His father, James. James I didn’t know too much, but when I was a young teen, he taught me something vitally important. I just never used it during this futile war. I’ve been waiting to prove myself to Fox, after all, he won’t be the big shot anymore! Nevermore!"

"You mean you could’ve beaten any StarFox member? At any time and you just held back!" Andrew’s voice grew harsh.

"Well, yeah, I can take out the StarFox team, though… I wanted to surprise that vulpine!"

Andrew shakes his head: "You fool. Take him out now! The longer you wait, the slower this war will end! We could win!" he stated strongly, slamming his fist against the table.

Wolf stared up, "I will finish off McCloud when I please, I have to reach him first," he shot back, eyes narrowing at the ape.

Before Andrew could say more, Wolf raised a paw up to silence him, "You may attend this torture of a beautifully young vixen, or you can just sit here all alone. Your choice really. I shall not speak no more of my intention for this McCloud," with that said, the leader of the StarWolf team walked out.

Within the room where Fara was being held, Laura studied the smaller canine that decided to lay on her back against the bed to rest, her arms resting over her stomach—it cringed of not knowing what will happen to her.

"I take it that you want even hold a conversation?" Laura asked, getting impatient with the unbroken silence.

Fara narrowed her eyes up at the ceiling, "I have nothing to say to you!"

"Aw… come on now. There must be questions and answers that you want to fulfill? Am I right?"

"Damn you’re persistent! However, it’s not for discussion! Case closed Laura!"

The wolf folded her arms, "Suit yourself honey, though you can’t remain silent from Wolf. From the stuff he allows Leon to do, I’ve heard the shrieks of tortured victims that are much bigger than you. I only hope that you can survive the first stage, the second gets rough."

Fara focused her eyes onto the wolf: "You’re going to let that insane bastard torture me aren’t you?" some fear was showing in her eyes and from the slight perspiration against her forehead.

Laura developed a temporarily laugh, "I wish you well. I can’t stop him. As you can see clearly why upon my right ear."

Fara scanned over the wolf’s right ear, seeing the ring that emphasis marriage. When the young vixen realized what it meant, she immediately stomached the sight of this female wolf. She squirmed over the bed, turning on her side, trembling. She was terrified, scared beyond hell. She now understood the importance of the ring. It meant not only is she claimed to the most infamous psychopath of the Androssian Period, but also just like him! She wouldn’t lift a finger to help her now.

"Now you know where I’m standing from. Hopefully, you won’t try anything fishy, cause I’d hate to use force."

"You’re his bitch, that’s what I clearly see. You have to act upon his every wish! You’ve become his eternal slave morally and physically. I pity you, don’t expect any sympathy from me."

Laura narrowed her eyes at the vixen, "You can say whatever you want about me, I don’t care. I just know that I’m not the one in real danger! Sure, I was forced into this relation with him, though as his wife, I must keep my vows and stay loyal to him. Even if he’s crazy."

"You would devote your life to him? That’s so stupid."

With that last comment, Laura stormed out of her seat and pinned the vixen to the bed, "You’re such a smart ass. You really think that you are faithful to your lover Fox, you’ll soon realize that all men manipulate you to do whatever that pleases them. Men are selfish, and we live in an animal’s world. So start acting like one! To survive…" Laura stated clearly, keeping an intimate eye contact.

Fara stared back, unsure what the female wolf would do to her, if she would retaliate. Fara’s trembling came to an abrupt halt when she turned away from Laura’s approaching muzzle. Laura smiled and then moved her muzzle to the vixen’s ear.

"I thought so, you’re too soft. You follow society’s rules. You are a slave to a cause that government officials, senators, presidents, and republicans want you to believe in. Your parents spend their precious time to persuade you not to become something else that isn’t decent or not right. All this and for what? When you were young, your curiosity rose to a great potential--to the point were you would break these rules. Believe me, I’ve been there and grew weary of rules. I feel so alive and free, the only one controlling me is myself."

Fara flashed her eyes from her side, turning back to the wolf’s eyes, "You’re crazy. What cause are you talking about? You are babbling nonsense."

Laura forced the vixen’s face to meet with hers, "You are the confused one. You’ve been brainwashed by society as a whole. They have made you soft and weak. I can sense how weak you are. You can’t even keep a straight face with me without trembling or even fidgeting!"

"Maybe that’s because I don’t know who you are anymore or what you’re going to do to me," Fara argued back, breathing hard.

"Perhaps, but…" Laura bent down and kissed the vixen on her lips. Laura kissed her like a male would, testing her out to prove her theory.

When Fara broke away, she turned her head over, feeling deeply embarrassed and ashamed. Laura gave a smile when she noticed the vixen shedding a tear out from the corner of her eye.

"See, you’re soft. What ran through your mind as I planted a kiss to your lips? Did you feel very embarrassed or just unsure on whether to participate?"

Fara was left bewildered, she couldn’t speak because she had developed a knot within her throat; it prevented her to speak. She felt this inner burn inside of her--it was literally tearing her up inside. She wanted to sob, but not in front of this other person. Laura continued to stare right through her, sensing the vixen’s fear through sweat.

"Well, I guess I was right. Anyway, you can cry now if you want. Everybody cries, so let it come out. If you keep things bottled up inside, it’ll tear you apart and you wouldn’t want to feel that kind of depression."

Laura released her hold over the vixen as her husband came into the room, studying the awkward scene. She came over and kissed his passionately, arms around his neck. Wolf watched his prey that was still limp on the bed.

"What were you doing to her? First you say I’m going to far, and then I caught you on top of her. My lord, we are a pair!" Wolf humored her.

"Oh, I was just loosening her up. She had too much tension on her shoulders. Besides, why are you here?"

"I’m escorting this prisoner to the dungeon on C2. She’s going to go through interrogation Mrs. O’Donnell."

Laura placed her paw over his neck, "You’re not going to hurt her are you? You do know what I mean by that don’t you?"

Wolf grinned, "Why of course. If she refuses to tell us information, Leon will scream it out of her. Cause I know you don’t want me doing it."

"Of course not hon."

"Okay then, move her down there, I have to make some preparations with Leon. See you in a bit sweety," Wolf nodded, kissing her as he exited.

Laura turned back over to the vixen; she was now looking back at her. Her distraught eyes drenched in sour tears. The vixen seemed like she was sick. Slowly, her lungs would raises naturally and then collapse in layers as if she was sobbing endlessly.

* * * *

"Fox? Fox?" questioned Slippy from behind the command chair. Fox seemed to be in a deep trance, nothing could awaken him! He felt deeply hurt for turning his back on his love and that he’d regret it if she were dead now. Fox continued his deep stare out into space, not even moving a muscle.

Worried, Slippy brought in the whole gang. Peppy came up to the young fox and attempted to place a paw on his shoulder, though the leader resisted. Peppy backed away, he had never seen Fox in his whole life be so insensitive. Even Falco was astonished by this action.

"Man, he’s lost it now. Fara must’ve done something to him in order for him to be behaving so tough," Falco exclaimed, motioning over into frontal view of his leader.

"Yo, Foxy boy. Snap out of it. We should be trying to get Fara back! Stop sitting here and feeling sorry for yourself. You can still make a difference here, you’re not sure if she’s hurt or even killed."

Peppy pulled the falcon back, "Don’t say that! He’ll go insane if you bring that thought to his attention even further."

The crew didn’t know what to do as they talked behind his back. They weren’t sure on what their leader would do if they touched him, or even tried to get in his face. It was just hopeless. Bickering over the ordeal, a beep sounded off on the communication link.

Everyone turned their attention to the com unit and then at Fox. Peppy walked over and answered.

"StarFox here."

"Oh, thank the heavens! It’s General Pepper. I’ve been looking for you guys all day! Where did you go? Oh, nevermind that. I need you to be situated at Sector X, I hear that Andross has sent an army to destroy existing base there. We need to save all of those innocent lives! Can you be there?" Pepper spoke in a desperate tone of voice.

Peppy turned over to Fox; the fox still in his own fantasy, "Ugh… sure we can General Pepper. We’re on our way now."

Pepper thanked the crew as he ended the call. Peppy placed the microphone down and then motioned over to the others, "What can we do if Fox is in this state of mind?"

Falco shrugged, "Beats the crap out of me, why don’t the three of us take care of it?"

"Yeah, we could leave Fox here for now. Keeping GreatFox a safe distance behind us with Fox on board. I’m sure ROB can deal with the ship alone as usual," Slippy persuaded the others.

"All right, it’s settled then. Let’s go!" Falco ordered, taking command of the whole situation over Fox.

While they left the fox alone in command room, he shed a tear for Fara, almost as if he could feel her pain that she would endure at Venom.

The team finally arrived at the scene of dismay. They found the lonely sector as a complete and utterly wasteland of debris from the remote space station. It was a little coral of a base, containing over two hundred jet pilots, though they all went down within a mislay forty minute fight. The scene was so depressing, even for Falco as he saw numerous parts of Cornerian jets floating aimlessly out in space. It was a sight of total destruction!

"Damnit, we were too late!" the avian commander cursed out loud.

"Yeah, we were out of reach for a while too. I guess going to Venom without Pepper’s usual tactic cost us twice," admitted Peppy, still mourning over the wasted lives.

They continued to fly forward, circling around the base, dodging whatever that came their way. Sector X was the sight of construction. The general wanted to set up a big station of bases there to act as one union, but it was still too far in its early development. What were originally surrounding the base were blocks and blocks of parallelograms figures, metal frames, and even fueling stations for jets and ships. After a massive attack like this, this sector was now useless and a waste of effort.

The team continued to fly around the base, searching for any survivors that may be in a dead engine jet when Slippy’s radar triggered off.

"Ugh… guys! We have company!" he yelled, trying not to panic.

"Damn these Venomians! This is one big ambush! Switch to All-Range mode!" Falco blurted the order out immediately, activating his new mode of combat flight.

They broke away from each other as one powerful proton missile erupted a few meters near them when it collided into a large fracture of debris. No matter where they turned, enemy jets revealed themselves from their concealed spots and fired relentlessly. Jet after Venomian jet rushed in on the scene, coming in large packs of five—shooting at anything that moved.

Slippy immediately raised his shields up a larger level, good well knowing that he’ll have to tangle with a greater odd than usual. Peppy sprinted forward as he tried to elude a lock-on proton missile, though it struck hard at his left wing.

"Darn it! I need more room! There’s little space to maneuver about," Peppy said within his lonely cockpit.

Falco circled around a group of jets and fired his lasers, piercing three out of the five jets. Explosions erupted from the Venomian sides as the StarFox team of three put up a decent fight without their leader. Multiple fighters unleashed their frenzy upon the mercenaries, giving the team all that had to offer. The challenge was admirable, but also dangerously slim to win.

If nothing else could go wrong, four shadows roared above the scene. The StarWolf team had arrived at last! They would definitely be able to settle a score with their foes once and for all. Coming into the cockpits of the StarFox team, Leon immediately laughed at the avian.

"Tsk, tsk… where’s your leader? Seems like you’re defenseless without him," Leon mocked, preparing to maneuver behind Falco.

"Yeah, where’s Foxy woxy? He’s probably crying like a little baby!" Andrew came into the conversation.

"Hehe, I can finally get my prize now!" Pigma exclaimed, landing a powerful laser charge at Slippy.

"Damn pity that I have nobody to play with, so I might as well destroy you Falco!" Wolf peered onto the commander’s screen with his eye patch.

Falco performed Fox’s trademark summersault, throwing Leon off, "Ha, scratch one boogey!"

"Grr… you annoying little bird! I am the great Leon!"

Just in his mist of celebrating, Wolf’s Wolfen-III dimmed over Falco. Wolf pushed his missile button and fired a heavy missile at the falcon.

"Oh great! Just my dippy doo da day!" Falco complained, trying to evade Wolf’s mission and watch out for Leon all the same.

Peppy’s shield finally decreased to fifty percent when two proton missiles struck him from his rear and side wing, "I can’t take much more of this guys!"

"YOU’RE TELLING ME?!" came Falco over the intercom.

Wolf slightly glanced off his screen to see the mothership GreatFox stationed a safe distance away. A grin sketched on his face as he turned a different coordinate, heading toward the new target.

"Ah… so Fox is on GreatFox huh? Gee… he is really screwed to be a sitting duck."

Wolf flipped on a switch; the computer then brought out a multiple attack screen. Locking onto GreatFox’s ship, he positioned six dangerous missiles. He called them Atoms because they had a longer distance and stronger impact. They were five feet in length and were painted black, as to blend in with dark space. The only thing that gave them away was their individual exhaust.

Laughing cynically, he fired all six consecutively. The atoms rushed off toward GreatFox’s side, only a matter of minutes before impact since they traversed across space quite fast. ROB came to attention as he sent out warning messages of approaching missiles.

"INCOME MISSILES… TARGET WILL ACQUIRE IN SIXTY FIFTH AT DECREASE."

Falco gave a sigh, "Damn! Who reached GreatFox already?" he turned his arwing around and then raced toward the GreatFox.

Wolf turned his fighter around to greet the arwing, "Oh, I see you’re out of action already. Gee… what a pity. Well, I suggest you get to those missiles and not worry about me if you want to save your friend Fox. Tah tah."

Wolf stormed pass the commander as he tried to keep up with the missiles, boosting until he ran out and had to recharge them.

"C’mon Falco, get to those missiles!" Peppy encouraged, trying to keep Pigma off his tail.

"Yeah, you can do it Falco!" Slippy cheered, being struck by lasers, his screen becoming static.

Falco squeezed the life out of his arwing as he came up behind one of the missiles. Firing at one of them fast as he could, it started to emit a vivid spark, almost some form of flash bombs. After shooting it for a few minutes, it exploded with a large massive wave of energy. The blast engulfed Falco’s arwing temporarily, damaging his systems, making them stall a bit.

"What in the hell is this bomb?!"

Falco journey toward the next missile, blowing that one up, though staying clear after it dissipated before he got sucked within its energy vortex. Four left and still, they were only a few feet out of reach. Shooting wildly, he also fired all of his novas at them. One nova developed its indigo sphere of destruction, but it wasn’t enough. Five more of his novas erupted beside another atom missile, taking another one out.

Come on Falco, you can do it!

Peppy and Slippy kept themselves posted as they continued to fend off their enemies. One by one, the StarWolf members tempted to demoralize them.

"Ah, he’ll never get that last one! It’s sure bet!" Leon added.

"Yeah, that bird brain can’t stop all six without one of them striking that piece of hunk!" Andrew came in, laughing.

"Oh well, say bye to that ugly thing! It might scream as loud as daddy did after all!" Pigma insulted Peppy directly.

Falco’s feathers grew weary as he fired upon the third missile, watching it erupt like before. Motioning over to second one, he fired contently at it. All of a sudden, ROB came on again.

"MISSILE ONE WILL HIT IN TEN!"

Just as it was told, the first and leading missile struck at GreatFox’s side, a massive light transmitted, blinding everything near and far. When the light dimmed, the rolling flames engulfed the perimeter of the ship. An electric wave dispersed and this disrupted the equipment on board GreatFox. The ship started to rattle as a familiar flashing sound started to develop slowly. After the sound became soprano, it sent another flash of light. Then the second and remaining atom struck beside the first one.

Falco turned his arwing away from the ship; the light was actually feeling like steaming heat, even within his craft! When the heat cooled, the entire left side of the mothership was demolished. The inner works of frames could be seen and fire was slowly spreading. Falco gasped in absolute horror and then he sent a transmission to the others.

"Guys! GreatFox has sustained heavy damage, mission abort! Back off now!" he ordered, flying his arwing into the docking bay of GreatFox, ready to take the mothership out of Sector X and to safety.

"Ha! They couldn’t stop my atoms! I guess we win today!" Wolf cheered silently within his jet.

"What now Lieutenant Commander?" Leon asked.

Wolf shook his head, "Let them go for now, they won’t cause us any problems for a while. Especially Fox, if he didn’t want to fight, he must be mentally unstable. We’ll finish them off later on."

"WHAT?!" everybody asked.

"Let them go!"

"What about my uncle Andross?" Andrew questioned, flying beside the wolf.

"Don’t tell him anything. Let’s just say mission accomplished and StarFox was a no show. Simple as that."

"I really don’t understand you now Wolf," Leon commented, turning back to go home.

"Neither do I…" Wolf laughed, waving farewell to the defeated StarFox team.

To be continued…