StarFox FanFiction Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Origins


The large circular light in the far end of the room, isolated in darkness, warm with its own aura of affection, first separated into two smaller lights, and then diminished in the new light that surfaced. It seemed colder, but ended the need for the foxes’ lanterns. As their own lights dimmed and finally faded into nothingness, Krystal slowly lifted her head and looked up at Fox.

“Feeling better now?” he asked in a friendly tone.

“Y-yes, I…I’m sorry about what I just did. It’s just that…”

“Hey, don’t…you don’t have to worry about it,” though he was trying his best to be calm and securing, the vulpine couldn’t hide his scatterbrained fluster. The fact that she took comfort in him just sunk in, and even more embarrassing, she was continuing to be physical about it. She wouldn’t keep making these situations that allowed her to touch him unless she really liked him, right? He squirmed as if this was the first time a female ever came in such close contact with him, even though it certainly wasn’t. Backing away a little, he rubbed the back of his head with his hand and laughed in spite of his embarrassment. “You’re part of the team now! And that means we’re friends…or, at least that’s what I’d like it to mean.”

“Well, you don’t have to doubt that, Fox. We most certainly are friends. Even if I wanted to keep going on my own, I…would still want to be friends with you and your teammates. I know we haven’t all known each other for more than a day, but I can tell you’re all very good people, and I’m very happy to have met you.”

“That’s something, at least,” Fox thought to himself, “She seems so innocent…I wonder if she even knows why I asked her if she was ever in an intimate relationship before. I wonder if us being more than just friends has even crossed her mind. But…hey, lots of good couples start out as being friends first, so…”

“The lights are on—that means Slippy must’ve found the power source, right?” the vixen asked, knocking the vulpine out of his romantic contemplation.

“Oh! Uh…yeah, that’s right. He must’ve. Well, if there’s anything worth seeing here, at least it’ll be easier to find. We should keep moving.”
    
“All right,” and with that, the two foxes left the spacious room and continued forward to the end of the ship.


Back in the upper floor, Falco rubbed his eyes so hard he almost pushed them deep into their sockets. His vision perfectly clear, the room of books and shelves he was in was completely lit up, and he could see the runes in the back were glowing with light blue radiance. Despite his disbelief and the thought that maybe he was delusional all proved false as the blue-furred panda girl still stood before him.

“If you don’t mind me asking, sir,” said Skye in a polite tone, refusing to be anything but chaotic in light of an increasingly tense situation. “Why are you here, seeing that you’re clearly not a Cerinian? Are you lost? Has your ship broken down?”

“I thought…we figured that’s what happened to you,” the avian responded, slowly regaining his cool demeanor. “You seem like someone who’ll actually listen. I’m a mercenary; my team and I found your ship way out here and came to investigate. You’re in the middle of nowhere, with little to no power, yet everyone here is totally fine with that?”

“We are…resting. And besides, on such a long journey, we were bound to have to cross uncertain places.”

“Journey? You mean…you do know your planet was destroyed?”

“Yes, we do, that’s why we’re here. Lady Sappho was a powerful priestess back on our home. She foresaw the destruction of the planet, and summoned as many of us as she could to her ship, in which we were able to narrowly escape the blast.”

“She knew Cerinia was going to be destroyed? What happened?”
-------

Below the main floor and through the winding hallways, at the Salvation’s organic core, Slippy was struggling to control his shaking. He was shocked beyond all his reason at the very sight of that blue fur, the shade that was all too familiar.

“Whew! Thank you for snapping me out of that daze,” said Myst with a refreshed, cheerful attitude. “I almost forgot prolonged exposure to the tree can have some weird side effects; that’s why no one is normally allowed to come in close contact with it, but hey! Rules were meant to be broken, and I had to go exploring. I mean, I wouldn’t have found Slippy the Stowaway if I hadn’t!”

Slippy still stood there, still as a statue, his unblinking eyes wide open and his mouth reverberating. “C-C-C-C-C-C-C-Cerini…?” was all he could force out.

“Um…yeah, I’m Cerinian; everyone in this ship is. So what?”

“But that’s impossible!” he yelped. “How can you be Cerinian? Krystal said she was the only one left!”

“Krystal, huh?” Myst said as she pondered for a second, “Nope, don’t know anyone with that name. Wait…wait, um…I think…maybe one of the council members had a relative named Krystal, maybe even a daughter. But it’s a pretty popular name back home.”

Myst seemed to grow upset all of a sudden with the sound of her own words. “Or at least it was…”

“B-b-but she said…it was destroyed. How are you still…what council?”

“Well, your friend was right; our home is gone. Lady Sappho, the owner of this ship, said it was an act of God, but she was able to round up a lot of us in the ship, and we averted Cerinia’s destruction.”

“B-but…I don’t…”

“A bisect of Cerinia’s Grand Council came with us, since it’s only natural to want to avoid such a terrible explosion given the opportunity to, but they don’t pay much attention to the rest of the passengers. They don’t think we were meant to escape our ‘imminent doom’. There are stories about us and another planet, but because they never came to our rescue, they believe that we’re destined to die with our planet, no matter how much we run. I can’t say I believe them, or at least I really don’t want to, but we were all taught these prophecies at young ages, as if they’re all true.” Slippy couldn’t give a response. “But, it’s survival of the fittest! We’ve come this far, and we’ll do whatever it takes to survive! So it’s all right!”

After taking the girl’s words all in, the amphibian took a deep breath and collected his sense before he spoke in clear sentences again. “I’m sorry, but what you’re saying doesn’t make a lot of sense. I can understand if Krystal was wrong and there are more survivors than just her, but…I mean, even if there is a god, why would he destroy an entire planet? Why would anyone think they have to die?”

“Because it’s…all part of the pact.”
------

“A pact? What pact?” asked Falco, as he was being given a similar lecture from his corresponding panda girl.
Skye swallowed as she prepared her explanation in her blue head.

“A long time ago…God made two very special planets out of the chaos that made up the new universe. He loved the two planets so much that he gave them each their own gifts. One of them was blessed with a powerful aura, which gave them an immense spiritual power. The other world became heavy with natural resources, which would lead them to great industrial and technological strength.”

Myst accordingly spoke of the same story, as if she and her sister were connected by more than just blood, “Over the millennia, God created beings in his own image and sent them to inhibit his two worlds to harvest their respected gifts. These beings are just called the Progenitors. Half of them were sent to one planet, half went to the other. The Progenitors that went to the resourceful world evolved into a vigorous population that would result in a knowledge and understanding of the outside worlds, while the other half on the other planet remained secluded, untainted from strangers, making its aura more powerful.”

“She mentioned Corneria earlier,” the toad thought to himself as he continued to listen, “Did I hear her wrong? With the exception of some monsters, bandits and unorganized mercenaries, Corneria is the only livable planet in the Lylat System…and even so, it’s where we were all born. Could she really be talking about my home?”

“However,” stated Skye, “knowing the universe was intentionally imperfect, and that conflict could occur at any time, the Progenitors made a pact with each other before they separated. If one world were to fall victim to disaster, the other planet would either come to their aid or be destroyed with it. That is the pact we made with Corneria a long time ago, but we never thought it would actually happen. But we have become so reclusive…God was angered by our selfishness, and so…”

Falco did not say anything at first, knowing the Skye had finished her story. He had his wings folded across his chest, his head facing down and his eyes closed. “That is…” The panda girl tensed as she waited for the falcon’s response. “…the biggest load of shit I ever heard!"

Skye gasped and backed away from the hurtful bird, looking as if she would start crying any minute.

“I mean, come on! That’s just a fairy tale, isn’t it?”

“I…well…no. It was only made to ensure each other’s safety, but as time passed on, we forgot the value it held. With every passing generation, we thought less of its value and truthfulness. Now we’re paying for our foolishness.”

“Look, just because something bad happens to you, doesn’t mean it’s divine intervention. I know your planet being destroyed is a big loss, I’m not going to pretend I understand the pain you must’ve gone through, and I’m definitely not what you would call ‘spiritual’, but even if there is a god, you can’t blame him for the bad things that happen. You’ll never get anywhere by blaming things on others, whether they exist or not.”

“…You’re a Cornerian, are you not?”

“Yeah, I am,”

“I think…you coming here is of significance, whether you believe me or not.”

“Hey, that’s great. Look, I am here to help you, but that doesn’t mean I have to believe your little stories and prophecies.”

“But…but…” Falco took a closer look at Skye and was shocked to see her eyes were jiggling like bowls of gelatin, and she bit her lip as they quivered. As she continued to shake all over, her grip on calmness weakening, she opened her eyes that glared with frustrated anger. “Why didn’t you come for us sooner!?” she yelled.

“Wha…?”

“You were supposed to come for us before Cerinia was destroyed! You were supposed to help us when we need you the most!”

“How the hell were we supposed to know!? You said yourself your planet was isolated! How could anyone have known!? It’s your own fault!”

“You were supposed to know!” the girl’s voice scratched as the fists were clenched and her eyes became red and watery. “If you had done what you were supposed to, my parents would still be alive! And so many others…how could you let them all die!? It’s all your fault!”

“Kid…” Falco softened his nerves and approached the panda girl as she fell apart onto the floor, soaking in a pool of tears.

“It’s all your fault they died…the council thinks we have to die because of you…” choking back the tears and swallowing back her pride broke spaces into her words. “And when the last Cerinian dies…Corneria will also be destroyed…and you’re to blame…it’s all your fault…”

“Just shut up, kid,” Falco said softly as he bent down and rubbed Skye’s soft blue-furred head. “It’s gonna be OK.”
------

“So according to your story, Corneria and Cerinia are related and bound to each other by this agreement they had when they were first created, saying one planet had to save the other if it fell into danger, or else they would both be destroyed.” said Slippy inquisitively as he approached the panda girl, regaining a sense of casualness. He was able to calm himself down since the girl seemed so understanding even in the midst of her controversial story. “However, Cerinia became so self-righteous, their people angered God and he destroyed your home. So because of the pact we made, when the last Cerinian dies, Corneria will also be destroyed. Did I get all that?”

“Yup,” she replied.

“You know, I can’t say I really believe it.”

“I understand; your planet is the logical one, after all. I’m not surprised they’ve forgotten it entirely.”

“It’s still interesting though…hey, I wonder if Peppy knows anything about this. I remember a few hours ago he told us about the two planets sharing common ancestors—it could be the Progenitors you were talking about.”

“Peppy? Who’s he, one of your fellow pirates?” Myst giggled.

“Humph. It figures my whole talk about pirates and stuff comes back to bite me in the…err, well, anyway,  Peppy’s a friend of mine. He’s back in our ship and history and researching stuff is one of his specialties. If anyone can figure this whole thing out, he can. In fact, I should probably inform the others about this, too; I’m not even sure they know there are living passengers here yet. If Fox hasn’t turned his COM link back on, I can always contact Krystal. I’m sure he’ll be mad at me, but this is too important to wait.”

“How many of you guys are there, anyway?”

“Oh! Well, we’re called Star Fox; we’re a pretty famous band of mercenaries where we’re from.”

“I see. This Krystal girl…you said she was a Cerinian, but are the others Cornerian?”

“Yeah, we just rescued her a couple of hours ago, actually, so it’s strange the way things have worked out like this.”

“Uh-huh…you know, even though Lady Sappho managed to save a lot of us, it’s only a fraction of Cerinia’s whole population. And there was so much chaos…my sister and I got separated from our parents, but we were carried off to the ship.”

“Oh…um…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m still sad of course, and Skye is still pretty stressed out about it, even though she tries to act so collected, but…hearing that there are other survivors, like this friend of yours, it gives me comfort. Maybe…our parents are still alive there, too, out looking for us.”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, but it’s possible…after seeing the way your ship works, I guess anything is possible.”

“Honestly, I would have liked it if you…or someone had come to save us before the blast, so everything wouldn’t be so crazy, but knowing there are others…is a big relief to me.”

“That’s good. Don’t worry; now that we know there are people on the ship, my team and I will help you out as much as we can.”

“Thank you…” and the two of them looked up at the tree, the branches looking as if they were floating, its foliage glimmering, the entire room looking as if it were rising to a higher plane of existence, and they could only watch. Still partly in its spell, they were at ease just with the sight of it.