One day left, Fox thought as they traveled the next day. They had passed out of Wolf's territory early that morning, seeing his keep standing on a hill as they did so, and were now steadily approaching the former McCloud keep. The terrain hadn't changed much, but the feel of it certainly had. It was as if Andross' evil had saturated the ground and the air and the streams. It put Fox's fur on end, and made him grit his teeth.. He felt like he was about to fly back into the heart of Venom again.
"I don't like this place," Krystal finally whispered, unable to take it anymore.
"This used to be one of the most beautiful and peaceful areas on all of Corneria," Peppy said sadly, before a hard glint came into his eyes. "Andross will pay for this corruption!" Fox nodded in agreement.
"It's so quiet," Slippy whispered. "No insects, no animals, or birds chirping." As if in answer, a lone bird warbled in the treetops nearby. Slippy smiled.
"There you go, Slippy," Krystal teased. But the reverend looked uneasy.
"The bird that sings such a song doesn't live around here at this time of year..." he whispered, suddenly on edge. It was just enough warning for Fox to see movement out of the corner of his eye, or a bared sword and glowing reptile eyes.
"Ambush!" he yelled, spinning to meet the threat and drawing the Archwing. The rest went into battle stances, Falco fitting arrow to bow, Krystal raising the scepter, Slippy groping in the bag for a weapon, and the Reverend grasping his book and starting to mumble a spell, a split second before the Sharpclaws attacked. Had they retained the element of surprise, the villains would've held an insurmountable advantage, but now the first was fair, at about ten Sharpclaws to the five heroes: 2:1 odds.
Fox swung the sword and easily blocked the Sharpclaw's blade. The reptilian's eyes widened in surprise.
"You were supposedly wounded by the unhealable blade!" he gasped. Fox wasn't quite sure he understood, but played along, grinning.
"Don't believe everything you hear." He twisted a couple of times, then finished the job. However, he couldn't help but flinch as Sharpclaw blood spattered his face.
Peppy happened to glance Fox's way during the fight, and was honestly impressed. For a moment, he forgot his young vulpine companion wasn't Sir Fox. But then he left the thought slip as the heavenly power flooded him, and the spell he'd been casting went off. The ground in a ten foot radius around him - easily enough to cover the entire battlefield - suddenly became criss-crossed by a web work of glowing light. While none of the Star Fox team understood or felt anything, the Sharpclaws all yelped and began to jump from foot to foot as if the ground hurt them. Falco scampered up a tree, and began raining down hell with deadly accuracy. His counterpart hadn't been kidding about the bow. Even when he missed his intended targets - usually the head - he still hit the shoulders, or back, or neck. Krystal had taken up a defensive posture in front of Slippy, the wand pointed at the attackers, creating a defensive aura of sorts to protect them.
"A weapon... need a weapon..." Slippy muttered worriedly, as he felt an object materialize in his hand. He pulled out... a slingshot? "Huh?" Tied to the sling was a bag of clicking sphericals, tiny silver orbs about the size of peas when he poured a couple into his hand. He squeezed one slightly, and realized they were crystalline brittle. Shrugging, he fitted the max number into the sling, two, and drew it back, taking aim. "Okay, Krystal!" She burst the aura, doing significant damage in the process, and Slippy let the orbs fly. They exploded on the face and chest of one Sharpclaw, releasing a reddish-brown puff. He yelped and dropped his weapon to rub at his eyes. A scent drifted on the wind.
"Chili powder?" Krystal mused, nose twitching. Slippy cheered, firing more, for the face when possible.
"Bet that hurts!" he taunted, as more villains began yelping, blinded and choking, making them east targets for the rest.
None of the Sharpclaws left the clearing.
Everyone stood still for a few moments, panting and trying to recover from the rush of adrenaline. Peppy turned to Fox, smiling.
"That was amazing! I did not know you had such skill." Fox gave a tight smile... right before the Archwing hit the ground, and he clutched at his hand and wrist.
Fox's hand was burnt.