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The massive screen at the end of the briefing hall flared to life with a distinct buzz. The logo of the IPC came into frame for a few moments, before the screen changed to a figure well known to the troops in the room. An older Lylatian man, dressed in the garb of a commander. On his breast was the symbol of the Preservation - a shield.
“This is General Pepper, Commander in chief of the Cornerian Army. May Qlipoth bless us all.”
The soldiers reiterated that phrase - a common saying in the military for good luck, as it were.
“This is the briefing on the current situation at Area 3, as well as locations surrounding it. I’ll be honest - this is a catastrophe.”
Pepper raised a hand to the screen, and it pushed his view to the corner. A diagram of the ring-like colony, marked with red for places it had been attacked.
“The Antimatter Legion - the army of the Aeon Nanook - have attacked the colony, causing intense amounts of damage to multiple sectors.” Pepper shook his head. “There are no current suspects for who's at fault, but we have theories. Two, to be specific.”
Another slide. Three humans appeared on screen, each with distinct appearances. Their names weren’t anything new to the military - the IPC had given most governing bodies near the Herta Space Station information relating to these criminals. “The Stellaron Hunters were involved in an incident quite like this not long ago. These three - I’m sure you know their names - are suspected to have drawn the Legion to the Herta Space Station, and now, possibly, to here. However, we doubt this is the likeliest answer, for one reason.”
The next slide appeared, with three more criminals on the wanted list. “Star Wolf. We suspect they are working on orders, but from whom, we do not know. Nonetheless, they have been spotted at the scene of the battlefield, and as such, I’m going to caution all of you - they are
extremely
dangerous. All are extremely competent fighters, not to be trifled with.”
The first one, an ashen-colored wolf, flashed on screen. Wolf O’Donnell. “The Aeon Lan has turned their gaze on Wolf. Determined to a fault, he is a terrifying force on the battlefield. His control over electricity is a great asset to Star Wolf - at the behest of our own defenses. He can use his electricity to disable power to most technology, as well as deliver devastating blows.”
The second one then came on screen. A man with branches almost growing from his arms, he held a sniper rifle in one hand and a decorated pistol with the other.
Leon Powalski.
“Leon is a devastating foe as well - Nanook themself has blessed Leon with immense power. Supposedly, Leon is Mara-struck, the affliction of the Xianzhou Loufu. However, he has managed to keep himself from going mad, through means unknown to us
or
any natives of the great starship. What is known is that his element is that of Imaginary, wielding potentially devastating power.”
The third one came on screen. Clad in dark armor, and grasping a rose in one hand and a beautifully decorated blade in the other, he seemed so very out of place.
Panther Caroso.
“Formerly of the Knights of Beauty - followers of the Aeon Idrila - Panther plays more support to Star Wolf. Yaoshi themself have turned their gaze on him, giving him immense power over life and death. Combined with his strange abilities - gravitational distortion, amplification of senses, et cetera - we’re led to believe he has control over the Quantum element. That being said, he is a newer addition to the group, so we must be cautious.”
Pepper sighed, gauging the reactions of the crowd. “That being said, we’re not totally without options. Besides sending you all into the scene, we have a crew of four mercenaries privately hired to assist.” He nodded, and the presentation came up with four more faces, along with paths and elements.
Fox McCloud, Preservation - Physical
Everyone in the army knew Fox. Son of James McCloud, the first leader of Star Fox. He was blessed with the gaze of Qlipoth after taking up the mantle of commander of the organization.
Falco Lombardi, Nihility - Wind
Falco Lombardi, famed smartass of the team. It’s unknown why he follows the path of Nihility, but he does, and does it well. Many pilots aim to be like him.
Slippy Toad, Harmony - Ice
Slippy Toad, one of the most privately contracted mechanics the military force has ever known. Xipe blessed him early on in his life, rather startlingly so, but it’s not a surprise to just about anyone.
Peppy Hare, Erudition - Fire
Peppy Hare, the longest running team member of Star Fox. He was blessed by Nous not long after having officially joined the military force as a strategist, but he often committed his Arwing to the Star Fox cause.
“These four mercenaries have been dispatched to the scene, already there and fighting for the residents of the sector. You’ll be assisting them in their mission - dispatching Star Wolf, and any Legion combatants they can find.”
The soldiers nodded in response.
* * * * * *
“Alright, boys. We have a job to do.”
Fox spun his blaster in his right hand for just a moment as they disembarked the Great Fox onto an untouched part of Area 3. The shield on his left arm bore the crest of the Preservation, as did his combat suit - bright in color, with a green bandana around his neck. He was more armored than his comrades, owing to his role as the team’s “tank” of sorts. “Everyone ready?”
Falco rested his rather large gun on his shoulder. “As ready as I can be.” His suit was more made for speed - well, so he would say, but in reality he just liked not wearing sleeves. His gun was a shotgun, designed for firing gusts of wind that would cut anything into ribbons. “Let’s get the party started.”
Slippy was next. He rested his tablet on his hip, the machinery floating at his sides resting on his shoulder. “More than ready, Fox.” His clothing was defensive too - it was clear he wasn’t meant for the front line.
Peppy nodded, finally. In his hand was a revolver, of sorts, rather unlike the futuristic weaponry of the times. On his hip sat an officer blade, one issued to all personnel of the military. “All systems go.”
“Good. Let’s get going, then.”
Fox and Falco ran in different directions, towards different battlefields, while Slippy and Peppy rushed off together. They had their goals - each party looking for a specific member of Star Wolf.
* * * * * *
Fox found his target first.
Panther stood against the guards of Area 3, elegantly dodging shots and slices from every soldier and countering with his own. His strikes were swift, and true, and it was clear he had a truly impressive grasp of the battlefield. His blade glowed purple - a telltale sign of Quantum influence, as was the…distortions, barely perceptible but still there.
Fox fired a warning shot at Panther’s blade, trying to knock it out of his hand. “Stand down!”
Panther turned his head, not in bewilderment, but in amusement. “Oh, Star Fox. A delight.” He extended a hand towards Fox, and the space above it almost…shifted, as a red rose grew into his grasp. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. McCloud?”
“You know what, Caroso.” Fox kept his gun up, not yet raising his shield. “Tell me - did you lead the Legion here?”
Panther laughed. “Hah! And take a page out of the Slave of Destiny’s book? Not a chance.” The rose withered into dust, and he flicked away the remnants. “We’re not so simple as to copy a crime, I would hope.”
“Then why are you here?” He nodded to the destruction of the buildings around them - they were in an open space, wracked with havoc and disarray. Walls crumbled, street lamps fell to the artificial earth, bullet shots peppered the scenery like spots on a ladybug. “Why do all this?”
“Opportunity, for one.” Panther nodded, a smirk gracing his face. “Anything we can get on your beloved Corneria, we might as well, no?” He pressed a new rose to his lips, bathing in the scent. “And for two - well, we are about as fond of Nanook’s cronies as you are, I would assume. We wanted to put a stop to this as well.” He nodded to the still-present corpse of a Voidranger a few paces away, clearly run through with a sword.
Fox grunted, confused. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“Of course it doesn’t. And, if I could give you answers, I would. But, you’re here to capture me, not strike up idle conversation, I would presume.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.” Fox raised his shield, preparing a defensive maneuver - Panther could strike at any moment, he reasoned.
“It’s so unfortunate, Fox - I would love to talk with you one on one. But perhaps I can enchant you later, for now -”
He was gone. Blipped out of existence without a second to spare. Fox closed his eyes in response, letting the feeling of Qlipoth’s gaze wash over him. And in all but a moment…
Panther’s blade bounced off his shoulder, as the dull white shield that enveloped Fox shattered. He turned on a heel to face his opponent, firing three shots into his chest. Panther took one to the same shoulder he attempted a blow against Fox on, but quickly zipped to the side. “Effective! I see the pathstriders of Qlipoth are no pushovers.”
“Of course we aren’t.” Fox didn’t take his gun off of Panther for a moment. “I wasn’t expecting the warp.”
“Quantum is such a fickle attribute, but to have mastery of it is quite a boon.” He smiled warmly, and whether or not it was genuine, Fox couldn’t tell. “It’s quite useful for a great many things. Like so~!”
He was gone again. Fox raised his shield, but before he could raise the barrier, Panther clashed against it, his lower half rising into the air as he brought his sword down. Their faces were oh so very close, now.
“As gorgeous as the lady Idrila.” Panther muttered dreamily, eliciting a blush from Fox - one that hadn’t weakened his resolve, luckily. “Oh, how I hate to tarnish it so!” But that didn’t deter him, as Panther began a flurry of quick slashes, banging against Fox’s paltry defenses. Without his barrier, Fox felt his strength weaken, until eventually, one strong hit knocked low. Another strike cut up his chest, bringing Fox into the air with a loud, pained grunt. Panther kicked him away, finally falling to his feet as purple rose petals touched around where he landed.
Fox barely managed to scramble into a landing position - but nonetheless, he did, turning himself right side up and landing on his feet a few paces away. His cheek bled, and he wiped it with his hand. Finally did Qlipoth’s gaze meet him once more, and his shield rose, numbing the pain of his wounds. Something was building within him - an energy, of sorts. Qlipoth’s blessing was beginning to work its magic.
Panther, however, could clearly sense it. “Ooh, I see. The Preservation has something still in store for me, do they?”
Fox shook his head, raising his blaster once more and returning to a combat pose. “This isn’t Qlipoth, Panther. This is me .”
“Then show me all that you have to show, Fox.” Panther rushed in yet again - but, instead of warping, he ran, his blade ready to run Fox through. As they clashed, and clashed again, Fox felt that energy gathering more and more.
Panther leaped into the air, bringing his blade down once again onto Fox’s head. The blade broke through the barrier, and Panther was sure he had struck true. But it was for naught.
Fox aimed his gun, and the shards of the shield gathered in his next bullet. He pulled the trigger in slow motion, as the world almost seemed to come to a crawl.
* * * * * *
Leon stood in the middle of the warfare. Cornerian soldiers shot bullet after bullet at a myriad of Voidrangers, who returned their fire in droves. Yet, none dared hit the sole outlier. Said outlier was waiting for someone, someone he was too familiar with.
Falco wasted no time, running swiftly and attempting to kick Leon in the gut. It landed, sending Leon back with a grunt. But as he bore the hit, a petal fell from the part of his chest he was wounded in.
“Falco.”
“Alright, Leon, you crazy son of a bitch.” Falco pointed his shotgun, glaring down its somewhat unnecessary sights. “You’re coming in with me.”
He sighed. “Your cruelty knows no bounds. You and all your short-lived friends.”
“Says you, fuckin’ freak.”
Leon shook his head. “For once, all I want is to be left to bathe in the battlefield, is that so much to ask?” As he spoke, a dire vine began to wrap itself around his hand. “Ah, but I suppose I must join it myself, now - prepare to die, Falco.” The mara-vines wrapped around his neck as he placed the pistol in his right hand to his head.
Falco had learned from far too many clashes that this was inevitable.
Leon pulled the trigger, but instead of blood exploding from his skull, petals did. His body began to mutate, as was the fate of all Mara-struck - his left arm engulfed the sniper rifle he once was known for, forming a blade on his arm as the branches constructed a golden helmet and armor. His right hand was spared from total mutation, but he still was ultimately changed.
He laughed. A part of him was still conscious, somehow, still in there . And Falco hated it.
He fired several shots of pure wind at Leon, striking him in the chest. They stuck in the branches, as gusts of wind began to encircle him. Every so often they would cut into him, drawing both blood and mara from him. It was both a blessing and a curse in this case - Falco was always fond of the “death by a thousand cuts plus shotgun shots to the face” method, as he put it, but at the same time, it never seemed to do enough to harm Leon specifically.
Leon pushed off with his left foot into an unnaturally fast sprint, rushing towards Falco with his bladed hand outstretched. He slashed once, then twice, both hitting true but only barely. Falco jumped back with another warding shot, hitting Leon square in the torso.
Leon groaned for a moment before it turned to laughter. He put the gun to his head again and fired - wounds appeared all over his body, but he was stronger, much stronger. Falco knew this would be an issue.
He procured a grenade from a small pouch on his side, and using his beak to pull out the pin, threw it in Leon’s direction. It exploded as soon as it hit the ground, causing the cutting, biting wind that surrounded the Mara-struck sniper to all hit at once. It threw Leon off balance, giving Falco just enough of a chance to rush in. Three strong shots to the head, point blank, with a fucking shotgun.
Leon was thrown back, and for a moment, he didn’t get up again. Falco spun his shotgun and rested it on his shoulder. “Stay down, you fucking freak.”
But both knew it wasn’t permanent.
Leon stood up again, reinvigorated by the mara.
* * * * * *
Wolf let the claws of his gauntlets scrape against the walls of the corridor as he walked. The lights behind him flickered and died, darkening the space around him. He grinned as he heard two pairs of footsteps running down the hall.
Peppy immediately fired on Wolf as he approached, his blade in his left hand ready for melee combat. Slippy was prepared as well - his machinations floated at his side, already chill to the touch.
“Peppy! Good to see ya!” Wolf extended a hand in greeting as the bullet just barely missed his leg. “How ya been?”
“Cut the talk, Wolf. You’re coming with us.” Peppy focused for a minute as his blade began to…smoke, almost. Slippy nodded, preparing fire from his floating guns.
“No can do. Still got a mission to fulfill, y’see?” He brought a claw across his chest, and from the very tips of its nails did electricity crackle. “So let’s make this fast.”
Slippy immediately began firing, rapidly pressing orders into his tablet as Peppy rushed in. The chill of the icy shots was in stark contrast to the thin blade in his hand, now ignited in flame. He thrust his blade at Wolf, who deftly parried it with a claw.
Wolf grinned, catching the blade in between his ring and middle fingers. He pushed up, using his other hand to swipe at Peppy’s ribs. It was for naught, however, as Peppy fired with his revolver directly between the two.
Slippy shot at the claw holding Peppy’s blade, and it immediately dislodged it. As one mechanism did, the other got in a position of sorts, floating in a circle around the two. Eventually it’s brethren caught up, and the two pointed a laser of sorts directly down, forming some kind of zone. In it, Peppy felt himself become almost more…nimble, his strength growing and his flame growing brighter.
It didn’t deter Wolf, though. “Xipe’s got nothing on me, you frog.” He brought a claw back, crackling even more with violent electricity. He swung up, and though Peppy parried the hit, lightning flung from his claws, ricocheting off the walls and hitting Slippy square in the chest. He yelled out as he was pushed back, lightning sparkling along his body and paralyzing him.
Peppy looked back for a moment, though it was a poor choice - Wolf swung up with his other claw, bringing Peppy into the air before bringing him down with a booming lightning strike.
Peppy screamed, and both seemed to be in total peril.
That was, until the zone that Slippy put down had dissipated. Frost began to crawl up Wolf’s legs, freezing him in place. “Oh, what the fuck!”
Slippy shook his head and stood up tall again, recovering from the ailment. That energy that had built in Fox had also found itself in Slippy’s chest. “You underestimated me, huh?” The floating guns began to circle yet again, putting down another field. Peppy stood, rubbing the back of his neck. Something was different this time than the other field.
“You got me good, Wolf.” He brought his blade to face Wolf again, who had just managed to break free of the frost. “But this is it.”
His blade flared to life once again.
* * * * * *
Panther had just barely managed to recover from Fox’s final shot. He fled the scene, too wounded to make it out alive any other way. As he did, he felt Yaoshi gaze upon him, gently healing his wounds.
Once he made it far enough away from Fox, he sighed. “Time to find Leon.”
He began to sprint down the halls, dodging Antimatter and Cornerian corpses, and cutting down the occasional still-living soldier. He ran for what felt like too long, until eventually an Anchor made its way into view. He sighed, relieved as his wounds healed, before carrying on.
Eventually he came across a field of corpses. Some killed by shots, others by twisted cut marks. “...He’s around here, I gather.”
He looked around for a bit, until finding Leon, standing among the corpses. He shook violently, his voice swapping between gasps for air and disturbed laughter. Panther shook his head. “Must you go all out all the time?”
Leon turned to him, and some part of him must have still recognized the voice, because instead of becoming hostile, he just laughed.
Panther warped forward, stabbing Leon in the chest.
As he did, Leon’s laughs turned to screams, as one blessing of Yaoshi left him and another filled the vacancy. His body began to revert, going from mara-struck back to its normal state. It must have been immensely painful, as Leon screeched as loud as he damn could.
Panther was all too used to the petals and haunting green-blue aura that fled from the new wound in his ally’s chest.
Wolf had barely escaped from the fight himself, both burnt and frozen at the same time. Very unpleasant, he would say. The screams coming down the hallway alerted him to the presence of his allies, and, oddly enough, the lack of any remaining forces. He rushed down the halls to find the two in that field of bodies, and he sighed.
“Already gotten to work, Panther?”
“What else is there to do?” Panther drew his blade and flicked away the blood. “I’m assuming you’re wounded too.”
“That I am.”
Panther nodded. He raised his blade, holding it skyward, level with his chest. As he did, the ground around them began to grow roses through the cracks of the steel, all of their wounds gently being restored.
“You’re one useful son of a bitch, Panther.”
“I know.” He grinned.
* * * * * *
“That’s where the recording ends, Lady Herta.” Asta pulled the small thumb drive from the monitor, placing it in her coat. “Is there anything else you’d like me to get for you?”
“No, that’s all. You can go, Asta.” The puppet Herta dismissively waved away the researcher, sitting at the desk and pondering.
“Hmm…fascinating. I’ve never seen so much about the Lylatians.” She placed a hand to her chin. “I’d ought to talk to Screwllum about this. Or…perhaps a new world in the Simulated Universe is in order…”