This fanfiction was one that was put together by me and Dark Dragon. This was originally a private message RPG but once it was finished, we decided to write it out. The plot was developed by both of us and I am the one writing it out. Characters are a selection of Super Smash Bros. Brawl characters from both myself and Dark Dragon along with a few others from different genres or just plain made up. This first part is the prologue and Chapter 1. Enjoy.

credit for the characters go to Nintendo.

Prologue

A note:

I don’t know what I was thinking to simply abandon them like that, my team that I had spent most of my flying days with. It was right after Andross was defeated the first time when I decided to leave. I never really found anything to do which made me feel more like an idiot and it was no wonder people called me Bird Brain before. But once I found out that Fox was in more trouble on a planet called Sauria with Andross back in the picture I knew it was my time to go back to my old life, back with the Starfox Team as the ace pilot. I was glad I did because more excitement awaited us when we encountered creatures called Aparoids. Of course, in my opinion, they were all simply overgrown bugs. But they did threaten the peace of the Lylat System and when Fox gets the team into something, there’s no getting out without calling it desertion.
It was rather ironic for us to end up returning to Sauria during that time. It had seemed like Fox had just saved the place so that the Dinosaurs there could roam freely without the oppression of the scale-bag called General Scales. But it was saved again nonetheless and shortly after we, as a team, defeated the Aparoid Queen and blew up their home world to send them packing.
Then we separated again and we hadn’t seen much of each other until a year later. I laughed in my mind at running into Fox on one of Corneria’s wide city streets. It only took so much discussion before we decided to rebuild the Starfox Team again. The Great Fox, proud as ever, was built back up from her stay in that musty old hanger for that entire year. Ol’ Peppy never left the ship out of his sight which wasn’t surprising and Slippy stayed with him. I guess it was my fault really…… but we’re back as a team and I thought things would fly smooth now…but I was wrong. That one call from General Pepper changed everything that we knew and would change many things that we would soon know.



Falco Lombardi, Ace Pilot of the Starfox Team (which I hope to stay as but fear I may not be forever.

Chapter 1
Who will answer?

Zelda overlooked the battle below with a grim expression. She knew with a sinking heart that Hyrule was desperately outnumbered by the forces that Ganondorf had unleashed upon the castle. She also knew that she was the one that the king of evil wanted. But she couldn’t let him capture her, not again. She prayed in her mind that Link would hold the line as best as he could.
She turned around and began to ascend the tallest tower of the castle, taking two steps at a time in her hurry to reach the top; she had to call for aid if Ganondorf was to pull back. When she finally reached the top, she carefully climbed out the window and climbed up the rest of the tower before finally perching on the very top, a flat surface with a single banner atop. She took the flagpole in one hand to keep her balance in the strong wind and then she sent out her message. ‘Hyrule is under attack… please, if anyone can hear this call… I pray with all my heart that you will answer it.’ With the spell behind it, the call echoed outward across the sky like a great shockwave advancing to the stars beyond and into the vast ocean of space. She desperately hoped that someone, out there somewhere, would come to their aid.
Suddenly, she heard two footsteps behind her and she spun around to see Ganondorf with a wide grin on his face. His cape flapped in the wind which began to die down at his presence on the top of the tower. Zelda took a step back but her heel found no surface beneath which forced her to recoil back as Ganondorf advance forward a step toward her.
“I really did hope we could’ve settled this professionally.” he said. “But I see that once again our negotiations must be settled with violence.”
“This is your fault anyway.” Zelda replied with a glare. “What could you possibly want with us now?”
Ganondorf laughed. “It’s not just you . . .” he said. “there are other forces at work here that are just as great as my own. You are simply a piece of the puzzle that you have yet to discover.”
Zelda was confused at what he said and responded, “Either way, it is only another one of your foul deeds to fulfill your selfish purposes.”
Ganondorf sighed. “I suppose I must say things more than once to get you to understand.” he said. “There are other forces at work here besides my own.”
Zelda didn’t understand what he meant, but she didn’t like the way it sounded. Something WAS wrong now that she had come to think of it. “Whatever it is, you WON’T get away with it.” Zelda finally said with a strong defiance.
Ganondorf only laughed again. “I have allies who will make sure that I will.” he said and before Zelda could react, Ganondorf zipped in behind her and closed his right hand over her mouth and made a sign of a spell with the other and the two teleported away from Hyrule and the battle for the castle, leaving everything behind.

well i actually have three other chapters done but i want others to comment before i put up another chapter. you know?

I have this game, it is so fun! I really like this so far, keep up the good work

thank you?

which game would that be? Super Smash Bros?

Yes, it is that game,

thank you.

Chapter 2. A little violent but not too bad. lol. Enjoy.

Chapter 2
Change

Falco stepped into the command bridge of the Great Fox at hearing some good rock n’ roll going through the radio. Fox was sitting in the commanders seat with his chair-side computer simply relaxing. Peppy was working on travel maps, showing the planets and star constellations which marked the way on all galactic maps. Slippy was simply sorting through his tools since he had just returned from the hanger after working on an Arwing. Falco looked out through the large window on the bridge and saw that they were just passing back into the Lylat System boundaries. He never took much interest in looking out into the stars beyond from the Great Fox and so he simply walked to the back of the bridge and leaned against the wall with his arms folded over his shirt and over-jacket, just like he usually did nowadays.
It was boringly quiet for what seemed to be an eternity. But when Falco switched his gaze to the clock, it was only ten minutes after he had looked at it before. Though this was the current situation, Falco knew that there was one good thing about all this; they were back together as a team again with all that similar lifestyle thrown in. There were some pizza boxes scattered about the bridge and two tables still uncleared of cards, maps, charts, and even an empty cup that once had soda or water in it. This was what Falco remembered from before; they never were really for cleaning up except when it was necessary. But they usually had something to do back then also.
“Fox.” Peppy called through the music. “Isn’t this music getting on your nerves? I’m trying to work on my maps.”
Falco knew that Fox wasn’t troubled or annoyed by the music at all and he couldn’t help but smirk at Peppy’s intolerance to this kind of music.
“No.” Fox replied after a pause. “I’m not really bothered by it . . . but I’ll turn it down just for you old-timer.” The music was turned down but suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the bridge. Everyone heard it ten times louder than the music though it didn’t make them cringe at all. It was like the voice had taken over all sound to make itself heard.
It was a long moment of silence after the voice passed until Slippy finally broke the silence. “What was that?”
“You heard it too?” Fox asked standing up.
“I think we all did.” Peppy replied, likewise standing up.
“Whatever that was, it needed help.” Falco added walking back from his corner of the bridge.
“But how could someone have sent a message from a planet all the way to here without a radio or communications device?” Fox asked, deep in thought.
The team was in debate about this mysterious call as they stayed on course, but it was only a few minutes after that that a call came in from the bridge com. On the screen above, General Pepper appeared. He was at Cornerian Air Command and was in his office with his arms clasped behind him looking every inch the leader as he always did.
“It’s General Pepper.” Fox said giving a salute. Falco, Slippy, and Peppy also gave their respective salutes.
“I assume that you too heard that call?” Pepper asked them.
“We did sir…” Fox replied. “It was very odd though. The radio nor the com-links picked it up. It wasn’t broadcasted.”
“Indeed.” General Pepper said. “I heard it like a voice in my head . . . but I think it is reasonable that you check it out. It was traceable back to a planet just outside the Lylat System. I’m counting on you to carry this out Starfox.” With that, the screen turned black once more.
“It came from outside of Lylat?” Slippy asked aloud, more to himself.
“Why would he want us to investigate something outside of Lylat?” Falco put in.
“Well…” Fox finally said after a long pause. “either way we should go and check it out. Lets do this!” Peppy and Slippy each gave a thumbs up and returned to their stations on the bridge, along with Rob who was their robotic assistant.
Fox and Falco ran out of the bridge and dashed down the long main hallway of the Great Fox until they reached the hanger where four Arwings and two Landmaster Tanks lay. The two quickly got into their Arwings as the cockpit doors closed.
“This is Fox.” Fox said through the Arwing’s communicator. “Falco can you read me?”
“I gotcha Fox.” Falco replied back. “Are you ready to go yet?” When Fox gave the affirmative, Falco added playfully, “Do me a favor and try to keep up alright?”
“Don’t let your mouth get in the way of the mission.” Fox fired back with a smirk.
“Keep your wits about ya you two.” Peppy interrupted. “We don’t want to screw this up simply because of something like that. When you leave I’ll turn the Great Fox around and follow you. But you’ll get there way before we do.”
“Got it.” Fox said. “Let’s go.” Fox and Falco lifted their Arwings off the hanger floor, the engines coming alive and then, the two ships shot forward out of the hanger and into open space.
Falco saw the Great Fox beginning to come about to follow them. “I’ve put the destination on your radars.” Peppy said to them through the communicator. “It shouldn’t take you too long to get there.” The destination was indeed out of the boundaries of Lylat but, to Falco’s surprise, not too far. It was actually rather close to planet Sauria and was visible even from where they were, about ten minutes flight away.
“I’m glad to see that Sauria is finally looking peaceful instead of war torn as it had been twice before.” Fox said to Falco.
“It seems only a couple days ago when Aparoid were crawling all over that planet.” Falco replied looking at the blue and green planet off to his left. But something inside him told him that something was amiss; Sauria didn’t seem much of a planet without trouble and this was the thought that Falco carried with him until they reached their destination. This unnamed planet was likewise green and blue showing land and water with clouds stretching throughout the atmosphere.
“Adjust G-Diffuser System output.” Fox said to Falco. The two entered the atmosphere shortly after, fire forming at the very front of their Arwings as they pushed through.
“Careful now you two.” Peppy said to them both. “We don’t have any idea what we’re up against or what’s going on . . . so I want both of you to proceed with caution.”
“Worrying a bit much aren’t ya Gramps?” Falco replied back.
“He’s worrying like he should be Falco.” Fox put in. “Don’t worry about it. Now, lets take it in low and scout around a bit… see if we can find anything that may lead us to the origin of that call.”
The two Arwings made their descent into the planet, passing by the several layers of thin clouds. When the fire cleared from the front of the Arwings, Falco and Fox could both get a full view of the surface. Below them were lush green fields as far as the eye could see pocked occasionally with farm houses and herds of cattle and sheep. They also crossed several villages, small and large, on their way through. But this implied the obvious knowing that this was an underdeveloped planet. But then again, who knew other than the inhabitants what went on here? The flight continued on and they passed over a large lake, the sapphire water glimmering in the sunlight which occasionally poked out of the mostly cloudy sky.
“Do you know where we are Peppy?” Fox said through the communicator.
“As of now, no.” Peppy replied. “But once we enter the atmosphere we’ll get you back on the tracker.”
“Alright.” Falco replied. “But I think we’re coming up on something that Fox and I might want to check out.” Up ahead in their sight were several trails of smoke that rose high up into the sky, nearly mixing with the clouds themselves.
“I’ll find you.” Peppy finally said and then closed the communicator.
“This might be what we’re looking for.” Fox said to Falco as the two continued forward. And shortly after, a castle came into view and there was a fight raging below.
“That might be it.” Fox said.
“Do you really want to just fly on down there?” Falco asked as if doubting Fox would do so.
“We haven’t done anything like this since the Aparoids came to town.” Fox replied. “Why not?”
Falco grinned and rolled his Arwing upside-down. “The Arwings are coming back to the hanger.” he said to Peppy before the cockpit door opened up and Falco plummeted earthward, Fox following him in a dive. The ground rushed up toward them both as the two Arwings circled around back toward the Great Fox and then the two landed neatly on the field before the castle. It seemed that the fight was mostly over and that the one doing most of the work was a slim but strongly built elf wearing tannish pants and a green tunic with a green stocking cap. He wielded a large sword and shield and seemed to have a bow and arrows tied to his back along with a boomerang and a bag filled with some other item as well. He looked burdened by all of the supplies but fought well enough despite the heavy load. But Fox and Falco were soon challenged, apparently only because they were not known to the group.
Fox and Falco went back to back until the first enemies descended upon them. Fox broke off and delivered a powerful spin kick to the jaw of one of the soldiers, breaking the bone. Falco used the Falco Illusion and slashed right through an enemy which made him fall onto his back. Falco quickly whipped his blaster from its holder and shot the man in the head, killing him. When a second soldier charged him, Falco crouched slightly on the ground as fire ringed around him. Then he shot forward and sent the soldier flying under the force of the impact. Falco ran back to Fox, flipping over him and kicking down another soldier while Fox equipped himself with a blade from a fallen man. He spun it about over his head and clashed blades with another soldier. They released and struck again, and then a third time before Fox cart wheeled to the right. When the blades struck again, Fox shot the man with his blaster and felled him.
Falco and Fox rejoined each other back to back. Because of what they had done before, both sides of the soldiers recognized them. “Do you know who the baddies are?” Falco asked Fox as the two looked about.
“Don’t worry.” the elf in the green cap and tunic replied, joining them. “You’re fighting the right people.” It was hard for Fox and Falco to tell who was who. The armor that both sides wore was almost entirely similar except one side carried a symbol. It was one triangle composed of four smaller triangles. “That’s the Tri-Force symbol.” the elf added. “Those soldiers are your allies.” The elf instantly went charging after an enemy. He slashed the man across the back and turned to the next soldier whom he whirled about and stabbed through the middle. When that man dropped, the elf jumped in the air and in the midst of flipping over he reached with his hands and took hold of a mans jaw with one hand and the back of his head with the other hand. With a jerk, he snapped the mans neck and landed neatly on his feet while the dead soldier fell. Fox and Falco followed after the elf until they saw another fighter in the crowd. This newcomer was more round than tall and had a deep purple cape along with a mask that covered his entire face except for the yellow eyes. He had large gloves and purple plate boots and his weapon was a sleek golden sword which he swung with incredible speed despite it being nearly as big as he was.

The elf killed the last of the enemy and sheathed his sword and strapped on his shield. Fox threw away the blade he had used and straightened out his overcoat while Falco simply looked about at the field. Peppy would be coming soon and then they could get off this planet.
“I’m afraid I was a little late for the fighting.” the newcomer said to the elf, landing neatly on the ground.
“Did that bat just talk?” Falco asked Fox in a whisper. But that ‘bat’ had overheard him and whirled about.
“That’s funny. Especially coming from a parrot such as yourself.” the newcomer retorted.
“Shut your trap bat-bug! Or you and I are gonna s.c.r.a.p.” Falco warned with a fierce glare to the newcomer.
“Do you really think I’m afraid of a chicken like you?” the newcomer retorted challengingly.
Falco whipped out his blaster which was pointed straight and true at the smart mouth bat. “WHAT DID THE BAT SAY?!” Falco growled with simmering anger.
“You heard me.” Falco’s taunter said and with that Falco fired off a blaster shot. But the newcomer disappeared and reappeared in the same spot to avoid the shot and then he came roaring back, spinning toward Falco like a drill. He growled and observed the maneuver and picking up a sword, he managed to get him to stop the drill and the two swords clashed together. Falco tossed the blade away and kicked his challenger away. Then fire ringed about him and he roared forward like a meteor. The bat dodged and Falco skidded to a halt. He felt pain in his back as he was kicked to the ground and he felt a sword blade to his throat. But he kicked the bat off of him and jumped back up to his feet.
“ALRIGHT ENOUGH!!” Fox yelled out, catching both their attention. “There’s something going on here and we don’t need to be fighting one another until we find out what.” There was a rumbling above them as the Great Fox came in for a landing in the fields.
Falco glared and brushed off his overcoat before finally asking Fox, “Where did that elf go?”
“He was there a second ago.” Fox said scratching his head. But it was only shortly after when the elf returned, out of breath from running.
“They’ve taken her… they’ve taken the princess!” he said after a large breath.
“Who’s the princess?” Fox asked, confused. “Tell us the whole story and maybe we can actually understand partially what’s going on.”
The elf took in a few breaths before he said, “Well, firstly, my name is Link. I am a warrior of Hyrule castle and serve the princess Zelda. The fight had taken place because our enemy, Ganondorf, wished to take her away for some whispered ‘new plan’. He got what he wanted though because I went looking for Zelda and now she’s gone. I do not know where she was taken either.”
Before Fox could reply to this, Peppy had called to him from the communicator. “We had traced a signal of something coming from this planet over to the planet Sauria nearby. That should be the next point to investigate if we do go on.”
Falco looked with a cold gaze at the bat as Fox asked him, “And what’s your name?”
The bat looked at him and finally said, “Meta Knight.”
“Well,” Fox said. “if you came here answering that distress call, you’re welcome to join us. I think we’re going to make a stop first to see if we can recruit a friend of mine to help us. But like I said, you may come with us if you wish to.”
Meta Knight gave a slight bow. “I have my own ship.” he said. “You will not need to take me in yours.”
“Link,” Fox continued. “I’m certain you’ll be tagging along. Go with Meta Knight to his ship and we’ll rendezvous with you in space… ehrm . . . your ship DOES fly in space right?” Meta Knight only gave a nod and with that, the four split up for their designated ships.
“I hate that bat.” Falco grumbled as he and Fox walked toward the waiting Great Fox.
“You don’t even know him anyway.” Fox replied coolly. “I know it was him that ignited that little scuffle but you should know better than to carry out someone else’s desire to embarrass you.”
“He didn’t embarrass me.” Falco fired back. “I could’ve smoked him with one hand tied behind my back if I wanted to.”
Fox rolled his eyes at this. “Well just don’t keep getting into fights with strangers.”
“Yes mom.” Falco replied as the two returned to the hanger of the Great Fox.
They found Peppy and Slippy in the bridge overlooking a screen with coordinates. The coordinates were for another planet farther outside of the Lylat System. On the screen was a digital representation of the planet and a glowing circle showed where the Great Fox would take them; Mute City. Mute City was where the F-Zero races were held. Fox and Falco had even watched a couple of races themselves; they were very dangerous races held on tight courses. Drivers even occasionally had used brute force to ram their opponents off the track and it wasn’t uncommon for a couple of deaths in each race.
“We’re going to have a follower with us to Mute City.” Falco said to Peppy, none too happy about it.
“We met up with others on the ground.” Fox added in after a firm look at Falco. “He says that he had his own ship and that he will follow us there.”
“Well,” Peppy said, scratching his chin. “I don’t see why not. I’m sure that whatever happened down there is just a small something of a conflict much bigger than that.”
“We met up with an elf who calls himself Link.” Fox continued. “He may be the one to talk to for questions on that.”
“We’re ready to go guys.” Slippy said to the three.
“We’ve got other things to focus on right now.” Falco said, trying to change the subject off of Meta Knight. “To find Captain Falcon, we may have to enter the race ourselves.”
Fox decided to let that slide; that indeed was a good point. Captain Falcon rarely spent time away from the races. He entered every one of them with his fabled Blue Falcon F-Zero Racer and he was considered a champ in Fox and Falco’s eyes. They however didn’t have a racer of their own.
“We’ll need a racer first.” Fox said to them all, returning to his seat of command as the Great Fox rose off the ground and roared back into the sky.

hm. okay no feedback means i'll just put the next chapter up. Enjoy chapter 3. Feedback is most appreciated just so no one forgets....

Chapter 3
Slippy’s Plan

Falco had returned to his corner of the bridge as the Great Fox exited the atmosphere of the foreign planet, arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed in thought. He thought of the cost of buying an F-Zero Racer or making one from scratch. He thought of what would happen if they didn’t meet up with Fox’s acquaintance in Mute City and he also thought of what would happen later when they continued to Sauria. So many things could’ve triggered the fighting that they had seen outside the walls of Hyrule Palace but Falco knew none of them.
“Radar’s picking up something behind us.” Slippy suddenly called.
“That must be Meta Knight.” Fox said, walking over to look over Slippy at what the radar showed.
Falco only sighed. “That’s just what we need.” he said to himself. “A bat to give us troubles.” He had to grudgingly agree with Fox to let Meta Knight follow them to Mute City. If he was in charge, he would’ve told Meta Knight to go to hell instead; things wouldn’t go well between them for some time. But at the same time, he knew that he couldn’t let his mind stray away from what they were going to do. They would arrive at Mute City in less than fifteen minutes and then they would have to figure out how to meet up with Fox’s contact there; as they all knew, he was not easy to locate.
“I don’t think they do.” Falco heard, coming back from his thinking.
“Don’t think they what?” he asked.
“Have a landing or hanger for larger ships in the city itself.” Peppy answered. “We may have to land in the grassland area farther away. I believe its about thirty to fifty miles away but we can manage that. Or there are islands around too which might be closer to the city as well.”
“I don’t see why not. But Falco and I could always rent a place in the city to stay close to the track.” Fox replied.
“You’ll need Slippy as well.” Peppy added. “Each driver has both a mechanic and chief of engineering for the racer AND a navigator . . . but there’s still the issue on getting a racer FOR the race. You can’t go on your feet and I don’t think we’ve got the funds for a brand new one.”
“We did put that on the table for debate.” Fox said, plumping back down in his commander’s seat to think. “And we spent more than two thirds of our money on finishing and adding a few things to the Great Fox.”
“Hey!” Slippy suddenly put out. “We’ve got an extra Arwing in the hanger that hasn’t been used for awhile. Why don’t we just switch the parts for flying with the parts that we’d need for racing in the F-Zero race?” They all looked at him, surprised at this sudden outburst of intelligence coming from Slippy. He, usually being obnoxious in many ways, was not prone to say many smart or not so obvious things. But this was definitely something new and this would benefit the team well.
“You actually think we can do that?” Falco asked.
“If you guys buy me the parts,” Slippy answered. “then I can totally do that. I’ve worked on some weird machines in my time as a mechanic so I’m sure this wont be too much trouble. And besides, the Arwing is fast enough for it and it already has a hover system. It’s a perfect fit for an F-Zero race.”
“We’ll be arriving there soon . . .” Peppy said to this. “What do you two think?”
“I’m all for it.” Fox said, Falco nodding in confirmation.
“We’ll have the rest of our funds transferred to the ship and then its up to you two to get the parts.”

The planet was very handsome with clear blue skies and sparkling water below along with the occasional island as well. Fox and Falco blazed on to their destination as the Great Fox came in for a landing on one of the larger islands. Meta Knight’s vessel was following them however.
“How would he land that thing in the city?” Falco asked to Fox through the communicator.
“I’m sure he’s got his plans.” he said. “Let’s just focus on ours okay?”
“Yeah I got it Fox.” Falco grumbled.
The city came up only a minute later, a sprawling metropolis on the ocean and the F-Zero track winding around and between the buildings and even going up higher than the tallest building in the city. It was a dangerous track, claiming many other racers before. They knew this as they were directed to two connected landing pads.
“We’ll keep your ships in check for your stay.” one of the landers said to them.
“You’ll have another one coming in shortly.” Fox said to them, paying the toll for landing. It was only shortly after that Slippy came down in the other Arwing on another landing pad off to the right. Fox gave a dip of his head and the two left for the road. They took a quick elevator down to the surface and met Slippy there.
“Are you sure you know what parts to get?” Falco asked, looking at a list Slippy had made.
“I’ve got it covered.” Slippy replied.
“This is no joke Slippy.” Fox warned.
“I know, I know.”
With that, the three began their search. The city had many F-Zero based shops and stores, racing being how the city made most of its money throughout the industrial world it was based on. Since he was the best fit for this situation, Slippy chose which shop they went to and which one the left behind. The first they went to was a small shop filled with the smaller parts for the control panel, transmission, and engine whether it was hoses, valves, or sensors as well. Slippy had analyzed the spare Arwing in comparison with an F-Zero Racer repair manual and found out most of the parts he needed; there would most likely be more than one trip, but all for the better. He purchased only a few parts that were on his list only because the others weren’t found here. He got an overhaul kit for the transmission which came with a free set of spare transmission fluid lines for the racer. He also bought an assembly kit for the inner works and battery of the hover system that came with all F-Zero racers. Luckily for them all, the Arwing could already hover and that saved them about 2000 dollars. They only had about 7000 left from their last mission’s earnings which involved taking down a nasty Cornerian gang.
Their expedition lasted the whole day, going from shop to shop to see what there was to buy from Slippy’s list. By late evening, they came back to their landing pads with boxes of parts.
Falco set his parts down and sighed. “Well that was a workout and a half.” he said. “Is that all of ‘em?”
Slippy likewise set down his many boxes of purchased parts and checked the list. “Well,” he said. “Three thousand dollars of parts made all but two things crossed off on the list. We can come back for them tomorrow.”
Fox nodded. “Good job today gang.” he said. “We’ll take the parts back to the Great Fox and then tomorrow, Slippy can get started while we continue our shopping trips.”
The three stashed the boxes in the small storage compartments under the three Arwings and took off back for the Great Fox. It was still on the same island and situated rather well despite the ship knocking down most of the trees. When they landed back inside the hanger, Peppy came to meet them and looked at their purchases with playful surprise.
“You got all that in by yourselves?” he asked.
“Well thank Slippy for that.” Falco replied. “That list couldn’t have been any longer.”
“Where’s Meta Knight and his ship?” Fox asked.
“The Halberd went to another island nearby and Meta Knight went to the city by himself.” Peppy answered. “I don’t know what for but…”
“That’s his own choice so just let it slide.” Falco interrupted quickly and once all the parts were next to the spare Arwing where Slippy wanted them, Falco left them all to return to his own room for some time alone.

Her eyes wandered across the ranks of now slaved Thorntails as she followed the one named Ganondorf. She made sure however to keep her head held high and her figure poised and not slouched as if shamed by defeat. The rain was almost a cloud that she couldn’t see through; only the torch light showed the faces of the tired, cold, and hungry dinosaurs that once roamed freely.
She felt a whip lash across her right hind leg which would’ve made her stumble if she wasn’t using her wings as forearms as was the Wyvern stem in most Sky Bearers. “Remember, your Highness,” Ganondorf said, turning around after he heard the whip. “we have a couple errands to run for Goddess Ashera before you free the Krazoa Spirits for us. So don’t mess up….. or it will be your people that will pay the price.”
“They’ve already paid enough of a price.” she replied back with a fierce glare.
Ganondorf laughed and replied, “Oh Felicita, you’ll probably change your mind about that once you meet Ashera because I can assure you that they will pay more when she comes to visit.” Felicita only growled her reply; she was powerless to do anything now. When Ganondorf arrived he had drained her powers and then took over the Thorntails by force, enslaving them and a large chunk of Sky Bearers as well. As she was forced down so that Ganondorf and a couple guards could climb onto her back, she suddenly had a sense…… a vision of someone that would find out about this conflict and put a stop to all of Ganondorf’s plans. It seemed impossible but as she took off and left the ground behind, it seemed that it could be possible that someone out there with the heart of a God could rescue her and her people, someone that was once a shadow in the universe, barely known and then revealed to fulfill his destiny.

The next morning started early because of what else they needed. Fox and Falco were to be charged with this next expedition while Slippy began working. They both were glad to see that he had begun disassembling the Arwing’s exterior already. He gave them a quick wave and got right back to work. Peppy was sitting in a chair behind him to hand him parts or tools or to supervise when the need came. Rob too was helping out by taking apart the engine box with all the inner workings inside. That was what they were going to get today was an engine pack for a custom F-Zero racer; the price of a pre-assembled engine was much cheaper than one that was mostly taken apart. This was one of two things on Slippy’s list for this day. The other was a computer chip labeled F071. This chip was the only chip in service for F-Zero racers that were powered by a computer; the Arwing would be one of those racers. The chip itself was a good chunk of money but luckily for them, most of Slippy’s needed parts had been purchased yesterday.
Again, Fox and Falco returned to the city for the next selected items. They were both surprised how long it took them to find the chip which is what they went for first. The price didn’t help anything either for it was almost one thousand dollars on the spot.
Fox tucked the chip safely away in his overcoat pocket and said, “That price tag made me wonder if this little chip was worth it.” he said as they walked through the streets to find a shop that sold engine parts and kits.
“It made me wonder if Slippy actually knows what he’s doing.” Falco replied as they found an F-Zero engine shop. The model code on Slippy’s second list was MTE808 OR MTE810. He had said that they were mostly the same except for that the 808 was a lighter engine. Its lighter weight was its advantage but the 810’s advantage was that it, despite its heavier weight, had an advanced turbo package along with it. The debating that had arose was whether it was actually worth it since the Arwing had a booster of its own. In the end, Slippy left it for Fox and Falco to decide. It didn’t take them too long to decide which engine package to purchase not only after considering the obvious but after reading the price as well. After subtracting how much they spent, Fox added up only one thousand left to spend, two thousand for the engine package and one thousand for the computer chip.
Once they returned to their ships and loaded the engine pack and computer chip in Falco’s Arwing, Fox said, “That was expensive.”
Falco shook his head at the obviousness of the statement. “Well it cant be helped.” Falco replied. “I don’t know how to put one of these F-Zero racer machines together piece by piece and I don’t know how everything works together in a single unit in a racer. But I DO know one thing.”
Fox looked at Falco with an amused smile. “Do you now?” he asked. “And what would that be?”
Falco put a hand on Fox’s shoulder. “I want to drive it in the big race.”
Fox laughed. “Well,” he replied. “you being the ace pilot certainly gives you the right to. I don’t see why not. I know I wouldn’t be able to drive it and Slippy wouldn’t come even close.”
Falco nodded. “You bet.” he said. “I cant wait.”

Thanks. I'll keep working.

Chapter 4 with the construction of Falco's F-Zero racer for the upcoming race. Enjoy. comments are welcome.

Chapter 4
The Storm Runner

Now that the shopping was done, according to Slippy, Fox and Falco could now help out with the Arwing. They woke up the next day to begin working right after a quick breakfast. Slippy had already taken out the original engine parts that needed to be swapped with the purchased engine package parts. This was their task for the first day; it took a good 12 hours to finish but it looked like an F-Zero racer already. The engines, except for the thrusters where the fire would shoot out when running, would have to be covered with an outside armor like all the others. They would most likely have enough money to make the required purchase and they knew this as well while they looked over the work they had done for the day.
“Not bad Slippy.” Falco said, folding his arms over his chest. “It makes me think you know what you’re doing.”
“Probably more than you do.” Slippy replied jokingly.
“Don’t make me take that comment back.” Falco warned with a smirk, elbowing him in the shoulder.
“Well either way this was a job well done. You all did great.” Fox said with a pleased smile.
“Now lets get back and get something to eat.” Peppy replied. They all agreed openly at this and walked back inside to go back to the bridge. Only Falco stayed out in the hanger for a bit longer. He looked outside at the orange sky and then looked back at the soon-to-be F-Zero racer. They only had six more days now until the race and they still had so much to do. It would be a tight run to get the Arwing finished, but it could be done. All but a couple of the purchased engine package parts were gone except those which were to go in later during the construction process; it was a good day’s work for the first day overall.

The second day of the construction brought about finishing up the engine along with the redoing of some of the paint work. Falco was charged with repainting everything simply because he was going to be racing it. Link had come in later that day to observe as the Arwing underwent its transformation.
Later that day around early evening, they encountered a slight problem. One of the engine parts that came with the package was not in the best shape. It ran fine when they tested the engines, but it was arousing caution and second thoughts. “Should we get a replacement part?” Fox asked.
“We don’t know how much that additional body plating will cost yet though do we?” Slippy countered with a sigh.
“I’m sure its not over one thousand dollars though.” Falco said, though uncertain.
“I have something that might help you.” Link said as he fished about in a leather pouch on his left side, attached to his utility belt. When he found what he was searching for he brought it over to Fox and handed it over. It was a glowing light blue jewel that seemed to carry a living flame inside, and orange spherical gemstone.
“What is it?” Fox asked, confused yet curious.
“From where I’m from, it’s called Din’s Fire. It’s used to restore energy and power and I think it may help you here.” Link explained.
Fox looked at Slippy, and then at Falco. “It’s worth a try.” he said. With that, Fox returned to the Arwing and looked back into the engine compartment. After a little tweaking, he fit the jewel in between two clamps on a metal pad between the engine ignitions. “That should do it.” he said, coming back out and returning to them. “Thanks Link.”
Link gave a small smile and replied, “Anytime.”
“I never mentioned this to you Link,” Peppy cut in. “But the F-Zero races require each driver to have a backup crew with them in case of some sort of emergency or malfunction of the racer. You giving us that stone gave me the idea…… would you mind filling up the apprentice engineer?”
Link looked at Peppy, very confused and with just cause as to why as well. Here he was, put into this whole new world with technology of all sorts, machines, weapons, and he had no idea what to do in any of it. “Well,” he said with some thought. “I guess so . . . I really wont know what to do in it but I’ll follow you to this race of yours.”
“With you will have the required crew.” Falco said with a smile. “Slippy as the engineer, you as back-up, and Fox as the navigator. I like that idea.”
“I think we’re pretty much done for this day.” Slippy said, wiping off his hands with a shop towel. “I’ve planned out tomorrow though. We can finish repainting, and then start buying some of that body plating we need. On the next day, we put that together and then we can give the Arwing a name and a test run.”
“Sounds like a good idea, Slippy.” Peppy said encouragingly. “Would you like to join us for dinner?”
Link smiled. “Dinner sounds good.” he said.
“Where’s Meta Knight anyway?” Fox asked curiously as Slippy finished packing up his tools.
“He went into the city again not long ago.” Link replied after thinking. “He said that he needed to investigate but he never told me about what.” Fox couldn’t think of anything to say after that, and Falco only shrugged with obvious carelessness. With that, the five left the hanger after locking it up to go eat.

Day three of the construction brought around another shopping trip. The plating for the engine covering had to be purchased now and from what they saw when they looked up prices, they had just enough. Falco and Fox were once again charged with making the purchase and by midday, they returned with the extra plating.
“We’re right broke now.” Falco said. “That’s all we’re going to be able to do so I hope you got everything you need, Slippy.”
“I think so.” Slippy replied, looking over the new plating. “This extra plating is hard, but light weight so the engine will be more protected from ramming if that should come up.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened.” Falco said with confidence. “But I’m ready for it anyway…. they don’t know who they’re going to be messing with.”

Meta Knight snuck around the back of the warehouse after the two guards went inside. The guards looked very suspicious, almost like something he had seen before on his planet when ‘she’ had come and turned half of it to stone. He could’ve sworn that they were a couple of her own guards. But whom they were following, Meta Knight never got a look at. They were on some sort of mission, obvious because of the weapons they carried at their sides. Meta Knight peered in through an opened window but found nothing in the darkness inside; only a couple of lights were on, providing meager light to the interior of the building. He carefully made his way to the next window to try again and he slowly looked inside. He didn’t see anything again, but he heard talking.
“He won’t be getting up again.” one voice said.
A second, slightly deeper voice replied, “The racer’s all yours Majora.”
“Majora.” Meta Knight repeated in his mind. He quickly hopped over the window and hid behind several storage crates. This allowed him to see several tools and parts of what looked to belong to an F-Zero racer. This was more than a warehouse . . . it was a garage.
“Now that the Blood Falcon is dead, I’ll be able to enter the race by myself and see if I can seek out this threat that Ashera had sensed.” a third voice said, most likely this Majora character.
“I say Goddess Ashera is worrying too much.” a guard said, once Meta Knight managed to see the three figures, with much effort with the lack of light.
“It’s best to do what she says.” Majora replied to him. “That way I can stop getting pestered with such tasks. Now, the Blood Falcon’s racer is mine. I want armaments on this before the race so that I can wipe out the entire competition if I must, just to hunt down this ‘threat’. You have three days to get a few others here so we can make a crew and then it’s up to you all to get weapons on this thing.”
“Yes sir.” the two replied at once.
Meta Knight decided that now would be a good time to stop with his snooping, but just as he was about to leave, the end of his foot snagged on a thin metal sheet which grinded against the cold stone floor of the garage.
“Someone’s in here with us.” one guard said, looking about the darkened garage.
“Over there!” Majora exclaimed, pointing straight at Meta Knight. “Kill that thing!”
Meta Knight stopped in his tracks as he stared at the three, “You won’t defeat me.” he said.
The guards laughed, “You have seen too much. You must die!” they said and attacked Meta Knight.
Meta Knight flew into the air, and did s drill attack at one guard, he jumped out of the way and kicked Meta Knight in the mask and sent him crashing into the wall. Meta Knight jumped up, turned invisible, and reappeared behind the guards. He slashed at them with his sword, but they jumped away. He saw Majora rush up to him, and he slid away, but was struck by long whips that seemed to extend from his arms. They wrapped around Meta Knight and slammed him into the ground. Meta Knight rolled away, and jumped in the air and kicked one of the guards and stabbed him in the heart.
The other lunged at Meta Knight and he flew into the air in a circle and came back down and sent the guard crashing into Majora. Majora stood up shoving the guard off of him, and dove at Meta Knight. He used his whip again and smashed Meta Knight against the wall. Meta Knight managed to turn himself into a tornado and spin away at Majora, but he smacked the ground with his whips and flew up into the air away from Meta Knight and landed back on the ground.
“Tell me, what are you doing here? This is just a race!” Meta Knight demanded.
The remaining guard and Majora laughed at him, “Why would we tell you that? We are searching for someone, and you are just a stepping stone in our way, now leave, or die.” Majora ordered.
“I’ll kill both of you before I even think about fleeing.” Meta Knight spat at them.
The guard and Majora laughed and they both lunged at Meta Knight. He vanished out of the way and struck the guard in the back with his sword. Then, using his drill attack, sent the guard crashing into the stone floor, and snapped his spinal column.
Meta Knight flew at Majora and did his drill attack, but Majora jumped aside and grabbed Meta Knight with his whips. He slammed Meta Knight into the ground and kicked him into a wall. Meta Knight rolled away from Majora as he smashed the whips into the ground right where Meta Knight just was.
Meta Knight saw the exit. He knew he couldn’t defeat Majora, and he had to tell Fox, Link, Slippy, Peppy, and even Falco what had happened and what he heard. Though he didn’t want Falco to know of this and have a better chance at winning, he should at least tell Fox or someone what this Majora person has said. Meta Knight flew towards the exit and out of the warehouse. He knew Majora wouldn’t follow him out in public where his plans would be foiled.

They installed the plating by nightfall that day. Link had even stayed around to watch and even help hand out parts and put them together. The Arwing looked much different now when compared to the others. The wings had been greatly shortened, pointed so that they were simply smaller versions of what they once were. The nose was slightly reduced to make more of a point than a rounded nose. Overall, there was not that many bodily changes but it looked a bit more aerodynamic than it did before and that obviously meant more speed. Tomorrow would be painting which would lead to the Arwing getting a complete makeover and then, Falco would bestow the name on day six after taking it for a test run.
“Good job again everyone.” Fox said, wiping off his hands with a rag. “I think it’s safe to say we’re well on our way to the races.”
“I’m going down to get us a slot in the race tomorrow.” Peppy put in. “I’m sure there’s always another slot in one of these races. The more racers, the better, or so I hear.”
Suddenly, there were footsteps in the hanger and they turned to see Meta Knight entering, slowly as if pondering. Falco folded his arms over his chest, leaning against the Arwing Racer and closed his eyes to ignore him plain and simple.
“Well,” Fox said for a greeting. “we’ve been wondering where you were off to.”
“I was in the city for a little while just to go exploring.” Meta Knight replied. “But my exploring turned into more of a discovery than I thought it would.”
“What do you mean?” Slippy asked.
“A certain group of people caught my attention in my little trip.” Meta Knight explained. “I followed them into this garage where an F-Zero pilot called the Blood Falcon was stationed. They killed him in his sleep and someone named Majora claimed he was taking over the racer that the Blood Falcon used. He said he was going to try and find some sort of threat that Ashera had envisioned.”
Falco opened his eyes at hearing this. “Who’s Ashera?” he asked.
Meta Knight looked at Falco, obviously hesitant to answer to him at least, but he did reply, “She claims to be a Goddess of this galaxy and would stop at nothing to achieve that post. She turned half of my planet to stone in order to get where she is now . . . funny thing is, I don’t know where she is. But she’s obviously got friends and she’s after something or someone on this planet that will enter the F-Zero race. I just came to warn whoever was piloting your racer to be careful and avoid stupid mistakes.”
‘That’d be me you bug.” Falco said lowly.
“Oh.” Meta Knight replied. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come by then.”
“Well I’m glad you did at least.” Fox said, trying to break up this topic before it could get heated up. “We need to enter this race and stay alive to meet up with Captain Falcon. He’s a friend of mine and we could use his help.”
“Good luck.” Meta Knight said to them. “I’ll be watching from the stands when the race starts so…. I give you my best wishes for the race.”
When Meta Knight left, Falco sighed. “That’s saying a lot ain’t it?”
“I’m not sure I like your attitude Falco.” Fox said, walking up to him with a cold glare. “I don’t care what you think of him but I’m not going to have your little problem jeopardize this mission. Do you understand?”
Falco never fully liked taking orders but he knew that Fox was in charge here and so he simply nodded. “I got it.” he replied.
“Good.” Fox said, satisfied for the moment. “Now lets get back inside and eat. We’ve got another long day of preparation ahead.”

Day five was Falco’s day to work. Paint was simply extra cans from storage that they brought in; it was still fresh though and so it was fit to use. As Fox, Slippy, and Link watched and occasionally passed Falco a different color, they were surprised how much of an artist Falco could be. He painted the majority of the racer a brilliant sapphire blue while placing on the hood and on the two sides some sort of tribal designs. It took the whole day to finish and would take the night to dry, but they were quite proud of what Falco had done.
“Not bad Falco.” Fox said. “Now we just have to test run this thing and see if all that work was worth it. It’s the moment of truth tomorrow.” By then, Peppy had returned from the city. He had left in the midday but it surprised them all how long it took.
“I’m surprised it took me that long too.” Peppy replied once the question was asked. “But they said that the racer who was killed gave the only free slot on the list. Someone’s definitely out there for something . . . Falco, be careful out on the track when the race begins.”
“I got it.” Falco said dismissively. “I don’t care who these people are, they don’t know what they’re thinking if they mess with us.”

Day six got everyone up very early. Not because they had to or wanted to, but because they all knew that it was the time to prove if the work they did was going to be worth the time and trouble they had put in for it. Falco was already waiting in the hanger for the rest of them to show up. Leaning against the left side of the now F-Zero racer, he was looking out the open hanger door toward the vast sea beyond, still dark because the hanger was facing out to the west. The stars glittered like a sheet of tiny diamonds out in the sky where the sunlight had not passed and the water, calm below them, made a perfect mirror image.
Falco gave a tired nod to them as they entered, Fox first, then Slippy, Peppy, and finally Link who had been given sleeping quarters on the Great Fox that night. Fox carried something under his right arm; it was something packaged and wrapped up looking somewhat like an undecorated birthday present.
“We got this for you at the city with some spare cash we had.” Fox said with a friendly smile. “All F-Zero pilots have something of the sort so we figured that you should have one as well.”
Falco took the package carefully, despite being half awake, and said, “Thanks guys. I’m not really good with words of gratitude so . . . I guess I should just shut up and open this.” Fox gave a short laugh in reply and urged him to open up the package. Falco opened it up quickly, tearing up the thin layer of wrapping paper which quickly revealed a smooth and shiny surface. Falco removed the rest of the paper and held up his present. It was an F-Zero pilot’s helmet.
“We all chipped in for it.” Peppy added with a smile. “I hope it fits you.”
“There’s only one way to find out I suppose.” Falco replied and then he opened up the cockpit to the racer and hopped inside. After a pause, he raised the helmet over his head and carefully fit it on; the helmet was a perfect fit for him, the front angling out slightly so there was room for his beak. “This is perfect.” Falco said through the open visor as he readied to start up the racer. The racer activated and the engines roared to life as it rose slightly off the ground as was the doing of the hover system, standard for F-Zero racers. Falco smiled at the controls and gave a thumbs up to the crew outside.
Fox shouted over the engine roar, “Try the communicator in your helmet! All the pilots have a communicator so the crew can talk to them during the race!”
Falco gave a thumbs up again and closed the cockpit door of the racer. He then closed his visor. “Can you hear me?” he asked into the now active helmet communicator.
He looked out the cockpit window to see Fox walking to the other end of the hanger. “Now I can.” he replied. “Oh by the way, you’ve got your first race ahead of the planned one….. listen to this call.” Falco rested his head on the seat and his communicator buzzed momentarily as the call was being transferred to him.
“Hello bird brain.” the caller said to Falco who sighed; it was Meta Knight.
“What do you want bat bug?” Falco asked impatiently.
“Well,” Meta Knight said with a tone of smugness and superiority. “I know that you just finished your F-Zero racer and I bet you that with you piloting it, I could race you in my battleship and still beat you.”
“Oh?” Falco asked, rather irked at his comment. “then what’s in it for me when I win?”
“Me giving you a congratulations.” Meta Knight replied.
“Thanks a lot bat bug.” Falco replied.
“That is unless you’re too afraid to take a defeat right now I could just let it slide and stick to your mind for awhile. Perhaps that would scare you away from the actual race.” Meta Knight taunted again.
“Yeah alright.” Falco said, having enough. “Here, I promise not to go past third gear so that you can have a chance alright?”
“Enough small talk.” Meta Knight replied, seeming irritated as well. “Let’s race and see if that piece of junk can get you anywhere.”
Falco was plain angry now. “The entire team worked on this racer, no thanks to you.” he said angrily. “You can insult me all you want, but insults to my friends I wont stand. Let’s do this.”
Fox said to Falco through the communicator, “Don’t let him get on you like that. Control yourself and you’ll win.”
“Let me do this on my own Fox.” Falco replied back and then slowly pushing the control stick forward, exited the hanger and hovered over the sand and onto the water. He saw the Halberd hovering above a nearby island, waiting. “Alright,” Falco said. “you wanted a race and I’m going to give you one.”
The Halberd came over Falco and the racer and Meta Knight replied, “Are you done talking yet?” Falco only smirked and then went full throttle, the engines roaring as they pushed the racer to a good, clean, starting speed of 100 mph. The Halberd was easily up to that speed above him, Meta Knight seeming to actually try and keep it over him. Falco of course, took this like another one of his taunts and kicked up one gear, pushing over 150 and quickly moving up to 200. The shadow temporarily gave way but was coming up fast as the Halberd accelerated.
Falco narrowed his eyes; he knew the Halberd could move fast, but he was certain that it could only go so fast before falling back. He shifted up again, punching up past 200 mph and creating a small V wave of water behind him, spray rising up along with it. By now, the Great Fox and the island it was stationed on was far out of sight. They were more than likely at least a few miles away from the team.
The Halberd was still very close behind Falco, despite the racer pressing over 250 mph. “Let’s see how good THIS goes against your plans.” he said to himself and then, at his maintained speed, Falco steered hard left. It was only thanks to the maneuverability of the Arwing still left in the design that the racer didn’t go crashing into the ocean. As Falco righted the racer onto a straight course back to the island, he saw that the Halberd was turning nowhere near as tight as the racer did; Falco laughed. “How did that taste?” he asked aloud with an air of triumph.
“Smooth bird brain.” Meta Knight replied, seeming not to care at all. “You can drive… I’ll give you that much. But you wont win the race and so that’s all that matters.”
Falco was slightly suspicious at this. “And what makes you say that I wonder?” he asked defensively.
“I just don’t like you.” Meta Knight replied.
“Oh what a surprise.” Falco remarked sarcastically. He then found himself approaching the island. He did a lap around it after slowing down and then pulled back up onto the shore and into the hanger of the Great Fox. “It works.” Falco said after jumping out.
“Then that means there’s only one thing left to do.” Fox said and handed Falco a black spray-paint can. Falco looked between the can and Fox, puzzled. “Give it a name.” Fox said. Falco gave a thin smile and crouched down by the side of the racer. “Every racer if not almost all of them give names to their racers. You should too.” Fox added as Falco began thinking.
Everyone waited patiently for Falco’s choice, long enough for Meta Knight to enter the Great Fox. Though it normally would’ve bothered him, Falco was still thinking deeply about an appropriate name. But it was only another minute after when he began to carefully spray the letters on in large and black. He stepped back once he was finished and Fox nodded in approval. “I like that name.” he said with Slippy, Peppy, and Link giving nods. Meta Knight simply gave a light chuckle before walking away. Falco gave him a glare before returning his eyes to the name he bestowed upon the racer. There in clean black was the name for the racer; the Storm Runner.

The next chapter at long last! Schools taken a toll on me but I got another chapter done. This is the F-Zero race where Falco meets Captain Falcon. Enjoy and please give me your opinions!

Chapter 5
One way ride

Falco waited in the garage for Peppy to return with approval. The Storm Runner was behind him, polished up for the race; Slippy was finishing up some checks on the new parts along with Din’s Fire which was held up in the same spot that it was put in. “I don’t know what it really is,” Slippy said, “but it did something to some of the circuits around the main computer, engine, and gearbox.”
“Something good I hope?” Falco asked.
“Oh without a doubt.” Slippy replied, closing up the hatch to the engine works. “We’ll just have to see how it runs in the track today.”
Peppy returned with the approval for entering the track. “You’re starting near the front of the pack Falco.” he said. “But that’s the most dangerous spot in these kinds of races. Be careful out there.”
Falco hopped into the racer and fired it up. Peppy, Fox, Slippy, and Link led him outside, Falco coasting the racer out onto the track from the pit lane. The rest of the racers that entered were lined along the track as their positions of starting were figured out.
One of the track and race managers came up to them and looked through his list. “You must be the crew that has that unnamed racer.” he said.
“Storm Runner.” Peppy corrected.
The manager slowly nodded and wrote the name down on his sheet. “We have you marked in for the front of the pack correct?” he asked.
“That’s right.” Peppy confirmed.
“Eighth spot.” the manager instructed, motioning to his right. “Track crews will direct you to your place.” Peppy nodded and waved to Falco. They led him to the front-most part of the long line.
“See that blue racer up there?” he asked them all, pointing to a shining blue racer up in the seventh place spot; the number on each of the side-wings was 07. The pilot leaning against the left side of the racer was tall and muscular in build. He wore a dark blue suit with gold plate boots, knee high, along with yellow gloves and scarf; shoulder plates lined his right shoulder and his most appealing artifact of clothing was the helmet he wore which was red except for two gold half-spheres, one on each side, and a golden falcon on the very front. “That’s him. That’s Captain Falcon.” Fox said. “After the race, that’s who we’re going to need to talk to.” He was interrupted then by one of the members of the track crews.
“If you’ll have your pilot follow me, I’ll get him to where he’s supposed to line up at.” he said. Fox signaled Falco with two fingers pointed at the man and Falco let the racer coast behind them as the crew member led him to his spot in line. Falco got the racer situated next to Captain Falcon’s racer, the Blue Falcon, just as another came to the ninth place spot on Falco’s right side. He took a look to see who the pilot was and saw a rather strange looking person inside. He didn’t look a lot like a human at all but when the pilot looked back at him, Falco averted his gaze quickly.
“Is that the Blood Falcon’s racer in ninth place?” Falco asked through his helmet mic.
He saw Fox take a quick and sneaky look at the racer. “Peppy says that it is . . . whoever murdered the Blood Falcon is in that racer.” Fox answered. “Be careful.”
“Remember that your weapons are still online and operational.” Slippy pointed out. “But only use them if you absolutely have to.”
Falco looked back over at the pilot on his right and saw that the pilot was likewise looking at him. Falco gave a smirk and a quick salute as sarcastic respect. He then faced forward and leaned back in his seat. “Don’t mess with me or else it’ll be the last thing you’ll do.” Falco said in his mind about the pilot in the stolen racer. He looked over at Captain Falcon who was staring straight ahead at the track beyond. He had a smirk on his face showing that he was calm, composed, and determined to win. Falco looked behind him now at hearing the announcer announce that the race would begin in five minutes. The racers had all taken up their spots and the crews of each pilot were vacating the track and relocating to the crew lanes. Falco faced forward and gave a slow and held out sigh. Then he looked ahead at the track in front of him, long and filled with winding turns and twists and many obstacles. He couldn’t go back now; it was far too late to turn away.

The announcer in the pillbox above the grandstands announced the race was to begin in less than one minute. The racers began firing up one by one and the crowds were roaring in the sold out stands, thousands of F-Zero fans waiting eagerly for the race. “This is it Falco.” Peppy said through the communicator. “Good luck.” Falco closed his visor as the Storm Runner roared to life.
He heard through the engines, the announcer counting down the final ten seconds. The lights at the start were red and then flashed to yellow and Falco tensed in his seat; three, two, one…. The light went green and when Falco hit the accelerator, he went flying forward with the rest of the pack. The race was starting with furious competition. Falco remained in his eighth place, seeing the Blue Falco advancing up to fourth place after a swift maneuver in between two other racers and then cutting off a third, forcing him back to give up the fourth place spot.
There was an explosion that came from behind them right after they crossed the first turn and through the fire and debris, the Blood Falcon’s racer emerged. There was another racer in front of it that likewise exploded and fell into the water below. “That racer has weapon’s too!” Slippy called through Falco’s helmet communicator.
“Shouldn’t they stop the race or something?” Falco asked as he focused on the next turn, passing a racer to advance to seventh spot. He saw on the turn that Captain Falcon had advanced past another racer to claim third place.
“They don’t stop for anything.” Slippy said. “Death is common in a race. Just stay alive!”
Falco veered in surprise as an explosion popped up on his right side; he was the next target. “That’s really helpful!” he remarked as they zoomed around another turn. The turn got him up to seventh spot, getting closer yet to the front. With another racer between himself and the driver behind the Blood Falcon’s racer, more time was won for Falco. Up ahead was a ramp to jump from that segment of the track to the next. Falco hit the jump and landed easily though catching a glimpse behind him as another racer missed the jump and plunged into the water; that driver would be okay. It seemed like almost a fourth of the racers were gone already since that driver in the Blood Falcon’s racer began tearing everything up; Falco knew it was time to fight back.
Falco slipped by another racer to claim the sixth spot. The fifth place racer was trading paint with Captain Falcon for fourth place. But just as Captain Falcon got free to keep his position, that racer nearly lost control and pulled back, giving Falco fifth place. At first, it was confusing for Falco on which objective to focus on; beating Captain Falcon, or getting rid of the maniac behind him. But he quickly regained his senses as another explosion rocked the Storm Runner on the track to the point where Falco nearly lost control. Falco righted the racer and then shifted back up to get his speed back around the next turn. Captain Falcon was now in third after trading paint with the previous third place holder and Falco likewise passed to gain fourth place. Another explosion erupted behind him, from the same racer and driver; Falco had to get that madman off the track and fast.

Majora drove past the debris of the racer he just destroyed. He continued on towards the racer in sixth place; he sped up and did a sharp turn in front of the racer to throw him off track. He almost smashed into the wall, but managed to regain himself. The racer accelerated, but Majora was right behind him. He flipped a switch on the dash board of his racer and a flame blasted out from the front. It struck the racer behind and caught it on fire. The driver tried to steer away, but the flames engulfed the whole racer and it exploded and crashed over the track and into the water below. Majora smirked and he drove past the skid marks were the hover system on the racer failed and let the racer skid across the track.
“Pathetic, these fools are weaker than I thought. It shouldn't be hard to eliminate the whole race.” Majora said to himself as he sped up past sixth to take fifth place and kill off whoever the racer was in front of him.
Major focused back on the racer called the Storm Runner. Something about this racer seemed slightly different though… it seemed even more through each passing second that this racer might just be who Ashera had mentioned before. But then, this was simply another racer in the way and another obstacle in the way of the plans she had for the future; he had to go.


Falco was slowly getting closer to Captain Falcon as they came into the straightaway which, after almost a three mile stretch, turned right and into the second lap of the three lap race. Already, a third of the racers were gone and yet, the race kept on going despite this maniac on the track; Falco had to do something. It felt just like he was fighting in the air because no matter where he swerved on the track, his pursuer kept right behind him. Falco veered again as some sort of glowing projectile shot past him and out into the water where it exploded to make a wave of water rise up and splash back down. Taking this opportunity, Falco slammed the breaks, slowing down dangerously quick and the racer passed him despite scraping against the Storm Runner’s left side. He sped back up despite loosing one place but was surprised to see his opponent slow down to try the same trick. Falco returned to the center of the track and rammed him full force. The racer almost lost control but ended up skidding against the wall and returning behind him. Coming around another turn, Falco’s pursuer sent another projectile for him and when it exploded, napalm fanned out and coated the engine armor. It easily melted through it penetrated to the engine itself and Falco was alarmed to see red lights flashing in the cockpit; the engines were going haywire. Falco struggled for control as his enemy closed in for the kill. But then there was a bright flash of light from the engines and suddenly, the napalm itself began dissolving into nothing whilst the melted engine and armor began repairing itself.
“That’s Din’s Fire!” Slippy shouted through the com. The engines were coming back online shortly after and they seemed to be running even better. “Get that guy off the track!”
Falco pulled back again and let his enemy ram him. But just as he did, he swung back to the left and pulled behind the red racer. They were coming down the final turn that led to the three mile straightaway and Falco saw his chance. He armed a smart bomb in the Storm Runner and when they hit the turn, he fired it. It hooked around the inner turn and then swung around to crash right into the red racer’s right side. The impact sent the racer tumbling over the edge and into the water. “HA!!!” Falco shouted, looking behind him and flipping the bird to the direction the racer fell. He then faced forward and could now focus on the race; they came past the finish and now they were in the final lap of the race. Captain Falcon was in the second spot just up ahead and Falco now held the fourth place spot close behind; this was it.
Falco shifted back up into the next gear and blazed down the straightaway. The next racer in front of him was a dark green one with white racing stripes on it. This racer seemed smarter and blocked Falco from going straight past him. The first place racer was a pinkish sort of racer with a rounded body and a spoiler on the back; Captain Falcon was already fighting this racer for the first place spot. Falco glared at the dark green racer but liked the challenge he proposed. Falco went right and the racer followed; he went left and the racer followed. He knew that the racer could only keep so much concentration on blocking; more attention had to be given to the track now that they exited the straightaway and into the set of hooks and turns, the first turning right. The dark green racer stayed on the inside of the first turn, a smart move. Falco followed him and was right on his tail as they left and turned the other direction into the next turn. There was one more turn after which led into another straightaway but after than turn, the dark green racer stumbled and the driver had to right it on the track which let Falco get passed and go to third spot. Up ahead, Captain Falcon won his battle for first which was beneficial for Falco because he sent the pink racer off the track and diving into the water. This was going to be a tight run race and Falco’s heart rate increased as he slowly pulled closer to the Blue Falcon. He was just a rookie pilot and he was already in second place. Though the dark green racer and the rest of the pack were close behind, Falco’s only thought was on winning this race.
Falco shifted into his next gear, second to last, and sped right into the next turn. Though he drifted slightly farther out, he kept the racer aligned and righted into the next small stretch of straightaway. Falco kept on Captain Falcon’s trail as they came into the next trail which went into the track’s single loop. There was a pad on the track which gave the racers an incredible burst of speed to make the entire loop and move on. Falco was slightly baffled by the loop and took a slightly longer time to get himself righted. But he came back on course and came slightly closer to the Blue Falcon as they entered into the final turn. Falco took the turn in so tight that he would fly off if he came in any more. This dangerous maneuver got him to where he could get right alongside Captain Falcon. With that he shifted into his top gear and hit past 250 mph, the speedometer rising up closer and closer to 300. Falco came slowly up to the Blue Falcon’s left side and eventually saw Captain Falcon in the cockpit. They were neck to neck as they roared toward the finish. Captain Falcon was glaring ahead as his full focus was on the race. Falco pulled ahead even more, the nose of the Storm Runner passing to the front. Then Captain Falcon pulled up slightly farther. Falco looked at his speed gage and already they were to 300 and going over. The finish line came up fast and as the two crossed it, Falco couldn’t decide who had won.
They pulled into the rendezvous lane, a long stretch of track where the racers could slow down and stop and Falco opened the cockpit. He removed his helmet before letting out a sigh and saw Captain Falcon getting out while the other racers pulled up around them to come to a stop.
Falco sat atop the Storm Runner and called to Captain Falcon, “That was a good race.”
Captain Falcon leaned against the Blue Falcon, arms folded over his chest, and replied, “I knew there was something different about your racer. I’ll admit… I didn’t think that was you piloting the Storm Runner . . . not bad driving for a rookie.”
Falco smirked. “Don’t tell me you’re going against me now.” he said. “I put up with enough of that already.”
Captain Falcon shook his head. “Not at all.” he replied. “I suppose that’s just my way of giving a congratulations. It’s very convincing I’m sure.”
“Oh sure. That is if its as convincing as me saying I stopped a freight train with a pellet gun.” Falco replied with a laugh. He saw that the other pilots were leaving their racers to return to their crews. “My crew has been wanting to talk to you for awhile now. Do you want to come back with me to the pit lanes?” Falco asked, jumping off the Storm Runner and onto the ground.
“Not yet.” Captain Falcon said, making himself cozy by the Blue Falcon. “I’ll wait for the race results first.” He gave Falco a quick salute and with that, Falco walked back toward the crew lanes to join back up with the team.