The next morning, the Star Fox team, the McCloud family, Reverend Peppy, Beltino and Slippy, Ranger Falco, Lady Krystal, and King Pepper went to a large clearing not too far from the keep. They had ROB send down their Arwings. Slowly, first the faint outline, then the solid shapes formed, leaving the natives of the world gaping in amazement. they climbed into their crafts, Peppy with Skye, save for Fox, who grinned at his double.
"I promised you a ride. Feeling up to discovering a whole new definition of 'high?'" Sir Fox's eyes lit up, and he followed his double's path up into the Arwing.
"Be careful!" Lady Vixy called. They both grinned at her, and Fox closed the cockpit hatch. In unison the Star Fox team went through their start up procedure, and lifted into the sky.
"This - this is incredible!" Sir Fox exclaiimed as the rose. Fox grinned from his seat in front.
"Just wait. This is nothing yet." He opened communications with the others. "I'm going to take Sir Fox for a ride. See you back at the Great Fox."
"Understood Fox," came Skye's reply. "Have fun." Once they reached the proper altitude, four of the Arwings shot off towards the Great Fox, and Fox again grinned back at his double.
"Ready?"
"I guess." Sir Fox sounded a little nervous, but eager too, and his grin matched the one that Fox knew had been on his face when his father had first taken him up in his Arwing.
"Okay then. Hold on!" Fox opened the thrusters fully, and they shot off through the atmosphere. Sir Fox yelled in delight as they raced across the open sky, through the clouds and over picturesque landscape.
"Everything looks to pretty from up here," Sir Fox said in amazement.
"Yeah, I know," agreed Fox. "Sometimes, I just like flying over everything, not able to see the crime, and the pollution, and just let my problems eat my vapor trail." He laughed, and abruptly pulled on the stick to put the Arwing into a barrel roll. Both laughed out loud, as he did a loop, then another roll, then just flew straight. "So, anywhere you want to see?"
"Well..." Sir Fox thought for a minute, thought it was obvious he knew of a place right off the bat. "There's a valley, to the north. So far no one's found a way into it, though no one's really had much time to look. I was just curious what was in it."
"Well then, lets go." Fox veered north, and it wasn't too long before they saw the tall mountains, then passed over them.
"Look!" Sir Fox gasped. Fox looked, and gasped as well.
It looks like... Fox started to think, just as he saw what was unmistakably the Queen Cloudrunner flying by and below them.
"Did you see that!" Sir Fox couldn't believe his eyes. Fox nodded.
"I saw. You know," He grinned. "I think that since things have settled down, you and your friends might try to get into that valley." Sir Fox leaned forward to look at Pilot Fox.
"You know something, don't you?" Fox just grinned, then laughed as Sir Fox reached around to poke him in his side.
"Hey, I'm flying this thing, remember?" Sir Fox grinned as he sat back.
"Well, then, we might just do that."
"Just make sure Lady Krystal is with you. Otherwise you might not get past 'hello.'" He laughed again from another poke, and then banked away. They flew for a little bit longer, then Fox returned to the clearing where the others were waiting. He dropped Sir Fox off, and then waved farewell and flew back to the Great Fox II.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Okay, here goes nothing."
The Great Fox two was in orbit around the planet, approximately where they had been before. Skye's best idea was to try and recreate the accident, and by that get home. The white vulpine punched in the commands for the Portable Warp Generator, and Fox gave the order.
"Aparoid Homeworld, confirmed. Warp Generator activate."
Like before, the rod slid out of the nose of the ship, and the warp opened. They flew in, and everyone tensed...
... When abruptly blackness engulfed them all.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Fox opened his eyes to find himself slumped over the main console, and General Pepper's voice calling over the communicator,
"Team Star Fox! Calling team Star Fox! Is anyone alive up there! Answer!" Fox groaned and raised his head. The others were slowly reviving as well.
"Fox here, general," he said a bit thickly, as his head felt like it was full of cotton candy.
"Thank heavens! Is everyone okay? We received your mayday, and then the ship just vanished from our scanners altogether."
"We're fine, though it's quite a story." A sudden smirk flickered over Fox's face, and for a moment he was sorely tempted to say 'Your majesty.' But he refrained. "We'll give you the full report once we sort ourselves out and land, though I guarantee you won't believe half of it."
"Alright then. I'll expect to see you in my office within an hour. Space Station, out." Fox turned to the others.
"So... did all that really happen?" he had to ask.
"I'd say that - " Peppy pointed to Fox's neck, "is proof enough."
Fox looked down around his neck.
There was King Pepper's pendant.