"We were patrolling along the boarder of my land," Lord O'Donnell picked up as the story finished. "We saw Skye. Sir Skye had aided me once before, thus I was honor bound to help him. It wasn't until after we had dispatched the thugs and were untying him that we realized something was odd. But we sought out Sir Fox anyhow, trusting he'd explain the strange clothes and the odd box with him."
"It didn't take long for them to see something was very wrong," Peppy said, "what with my clothes and all. So we told them the truth, had to really." Skye chuckled.
"Took quite a bit of work to heal me up. Seems my reaction to the beating wasn't quite what they thought I'd do, and it ticked them off bad. Fortunately Magus Panther had a potion that worked quite nicely."
"Then Lord Wolf sent us to find out how true their story way," Panther added. "That was when we found you. Magic took us to you, and then sent us back with our report. As this Skye was not Sir Skye, he was innocent of the war, and thus the pact was violated. So we decided to take our vengeance. We gathered our forces, and came here again via magic." The magus took a deep breath. "After so much casting, I am exhausted. I could use a good meal and a long sleep."
"Both of which you shall have," Sir Fox said with a polite and grateful bow. "My hospitality is the least I can offer, once we clear out the remaining scum that it." They turned to head into the Keep itself, when a hidden agent of Andross abruptly sprang out of a tree behind them.
"Die, dogs!" he shouted as he flung a dagger at what he thought was an unprotected Sir Fox's head, in reality Pilot Fox! They started to turn around, but Fox realized he wouldn't have time to dodge -
"Like twin bolts of silver lightening, two other daggers were in the air. One hit the offensive weapon and struck it to the ground, the other burying itself into the would-be assassin’s chest.
"Whoa!" Fox gasped. "Who did that?" A figure slid forth from the shadows in answer, one clad in black leather - including a mask - all exposed fur blackened as well. He approached the corpse first, retrieving his dagger as he spoke:
"Be comforted that your end was swifter than was intended for me." The voice was unmistakable. Sir Fox's eyes were wide as the black figure - a fox - moved the retrieve the second dagger, sheathed then, and approached. Slowly the knight moved to meet him.
"Skye? Brother?" the black-furred Skye smiled, removing the mask.
"It's me, Little Brother. And yes, I am well again." Sir Fox darted across the distance between them to embrace Sir Skye, and Skye laid his hand on Fox's shoulder. How well they could empathize with this!
"Then you have been here the whole time?" Sir Fox asked as they separated and the native ground crowded around, blocking the Star Fox team mostly from view. Sir Skye laughed.
"Where else would Andross not look for me? Plus, I was able to help those imprisoned here, and send out messages."
"Then are you Poet?" asked the reverend.
"No. Not even I know who that it, but I was the one who took his messages out to the chapel in Tarsasis, He's leave them for me in the keep. Half of the time I had no idea what they were about." The black vulpine looked at his brother. "Out of curiosity, why didn't you reply to my warning call? And I thought your hand was burned."
"What do you mean, burned? And I never heard out snowdove call." Abruptly Pilot Fox cleared his throat, then waved his right, injured hand. Sir Skye blinked in surprise. Sir Fox laughed. "Of course! You saw him, not me."
"Magic?"
"It's a long story, but suffice to say they are out physical doubles, even of you, from another world."
"You'd better explain all of this later, Little Brother... both of you." Both Foxes laughed, knight and pilot, as they headed into the Keep to clear it out, Ranger Falco commenting as they did so,
"So I take it Knight and Captain aren't the same thing."