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And Sky-Kaiser has returned for another chapter!

Now, we complete Chapter 4! I hope you’re enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it.

Tell me what you think. Don’t be a hater, though.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Star Fox, its characters, or any of its associated storylines.

Chapter 4: Date Night

Fox had the day all to himself, for the most part. No assignments or updates came up, but he was still totally jovial since his tryst with Katt the night before and this morning in the shower. First-hand sex had made his feelings toward Katt as intense as they could possibly get, and Krystal had completely disappeared from his thoughts. His mind was as clear as the sky on a sunny day, more than it’d ever been since he was stranded on Katina by his hateful ex.

Unfortunately, Fox was unable to find work for the team. What with there not being a current threat to Lylat, work was scarce. This prompted Fox to think over the many jobs he’d undertaken.

The first was the legendary Lylat Wars, were he, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy had formed the newest incarnation of Star Fox and liberated the planets from Andross’s control. On Venom, Fox – by himself – fought Andross, who had taken on the form of a cyborg head with giant hands worked by telekinesis, his brain as the whole apparatus’s control center (he had his brain preserved and placed in a robotic body to achieve a means of immortality). Fox managed to mortally wound the evil dictator, but he chased after Fox as he attempted to escape. Andross might have succeeded in taking Fox with him in death, had it not been for the timely intervention of what Fox could only assume was his father’s spirit, who distracted Andross long enough for him to fire a charged shot into Andross’s brain, blowing him to smithereens. Fox escaped the deconstructing lair, living to tell the tale of how he defeated Andross. He kept the appearance of his father secret, however, as he didn’t desire to have his sanity questioned. But he was quite convinced that he’d seen his father’s ghost, as Andross had seen and acknowledged him just before Fox destroyed him.

A good while after the Lylat Wars, there was a small debacle on Titania. A traitorous ex-military madman, General Shears, was attempting to resurrect Andross as a clone using DNA samples he’d extracted from Andross’s base on Venom. Fox managed to stop Shears and destroy the clone, with help from none other than Katt, as well as her old colleagues, the Hot Rodders. Afterwards, however, Falco decided he wanted to take a break from the team, and he left.

After the Titania Crisis, Fox and the team suffered a huge work drought, and they soon grew short on money, their spacecrafts falling into disrepair. Then came strange activity on Sauria, a desolate, yet flourishing plant on the edge of Lylat. Fox investigated the planet alongside a triceratops claiming to be a prince, Tricky. This was how he met Krystal, who was imprisoned in… well… a crystal. Go figure. Using her lost staff, Fox explored the planet to gather the Krazoa Spirits, which were required to awaken the legendary Krazoa God and free her. Along the way, he fought the Sharpclaw Tribe, which was headed by the villainous General Scales, a tyrant who sought to control all of Sauria. Fox completed the task, defeating Scales and saving Krystal from her prison. But when the Krazoa God awakened, it was revealed that Fox had unwittingly reincarnated Andross himself, whose ghost had lived on after his death on Venom. Andross’s evil essence had managed to corrupt the Spirits, allowing him to become a god. Fox took it upon himself to battle his mortal enemy once again. This time, with the help of a returning Falco, Fox destroyed Andross once and for all. Afterwards, the tribal uniformed vixen they met on Sauria wished to express her thanks by joining the Star Fox team. And so Krystal was introduced to the galaxy as the newest member of Star Fox. The money they received from that bit of work on Sauria helped them fix their vehicles up, and they were soon back in business.

Then came the sudden reappearance of Andrew Oikonny, Andross’s nephew. Wanting to get revenge on Fox for killing his uncle, Andrew recruited a massive force of Venomian survivors from the Lylat Wars, as well as hiring many mercenary groups and criminals to help revive the empire his uncle founded. Its goal: to crush the Cornerian government and rebirth the Venomian Empire. Of course, the fighting was restricted to Fortuna, as Andrew hadn’t actually had a plan. More like he wanted to bring attention and take out the Cornerian fleet to make a statement. Andrew’s Rebellion, as the whole debacle was called, was brought to an end by Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Krystal (who had taken Peppy’s place in his Arwing since he retired from flying), who cornered Andrew on Fortuna’s surface and defeated his prototype flagship. But they were unable to apprehend him, as his ship was abruptly destroyed by a monstrous cyber-creature resembling a moth (though somehow the fool of an ape survived that). The monster was an Aparoid, and its sudden appearance was what marked the beginning of the Aparoid Invasion. The team then began the search for an intact Aparoid Core Memory, which could hold valuable information to finding the Aparoid’s homeworld. After finding one, they arrived at their home ground, and fought and destroyed the Aparoid Queen, the hive-mind ruler of the monstrous parasites. With her destruction, the Aparoids went extinct and their homeworld was obliterated.

After that, came a long period of peace. Of course, that was about the time that Fox made his big mistake with Krystal. Sometime after that, Star Fox disbanded for a while until the Anglars rose to power.

And now, this. They were short on work, but for the time being, they were comfortable. In fact, Fox had enough money to make reservations to go to a fancy restaurant. Wanting to be as chivalrous as he could be for his new love interest, he was planning on bringing Katt to a place he once meant to take Fara Phoenix to when he was in the Military Academy… of course, that was before his father died, and Fox decided to drop out to re-create Star Fox. He still had the suit and tuxedo he’d bought for that occasion, and he knew it still fit.

After organizing his impending date, Fox finally made ready for the first actual rendezvous with a woman he’d had in a long time. After turning in all of his work stuff and ordering some new supplies for the team, he headed back to the Great Fox to find his dress clothes. He felt himself staring at the mirror after putting it on, admiring how fancy he looked. He’d also combed his fur, brushed his teeth, and added some cologne for extra effect. He then boarded his personal speeder instead of his Arwing as he headed back into Corneria City, going on to meet with his cat-woman.

Of course, on the way, he stopped by a flower shop to collect a bouquet of roses. Fox was ever the perfectionist; he’d displayed that when he’d traveled across every last occupied planet in Lylat to free it from Andross’s control, so why shouldn’t he plan every detail for dating Katt Monroe?

Fox felt extremely proud of himself when he arrived at Katt’s place. He was dressed for success, he had a sweet-smelling cologne, and he even had flowers. There was very little way Katt would want to reject this.

Fox rang the electronic doorbell and awaited Katt to come. When the door slid open, he was quite surprised to see Katt was not even prepared. She was dressed in her most casual uniform, her familiar yellow tank top with black jacket and shorts. A small blob of oil on her cheek, as well as some small spots on her clothes, hinted that she may have been working on her Cat’s Paw.

“Wow!” Katt exclaimed, enthralled by how professional Fox looked. “You’re looking sharp! What’s the occasion?”

Fox blushed slightly, a small embarrassment evident.

“Well, we’re going out to dinner, Katt,” he reminded her.

Katt’s eyes went wider. “Wait, you mean… we’re going someplace fancy? Wow, I thought we were just headed to a fast-food place, like McDonalds or something.”

“No,” explained Fox. “I actually planned the whole thing just as I was getting off work.”

But Fox could see she was in no condition to go to an elaborate eating place looking the way she did. Her dirty appearance would most definitely stand out.

“Sorry, Tiger,” Katt replied, feeling silly. “If I’d known… well, I wouldn’t be looking like this.”

“It’s alright, Katt,” Fox said modestly, attempting to keep her worry from eating at her. “I can cancel the reservations and we can go somewhere more casual if you want.”

“No, no!” Katt said suddenly, waving her paws in front of her face. “I’m really flattered you thought of something this expensive just for me. It’s just I’ve never been to some special café you see in the movies. Besides, I can get ready real quick, and I do recall having one particular dress I can wear… just hold on!”

She shut the door, leaving Fox at the doorstep. Of course, she promptly opened the door back up to take Fox’s bouquet. Despite never having had anyone make such a romantic gesture like this for her, she accepted them, smelling the sweet fragrance the roses emitted. She took them with her, shutting the door again.

Fox waited patiently outside Katt’s door, looking at his watch at one point to check the time. He dearly hoped they wouldn’t be late.

Finally the door swung open and Katt re-emerged, a seductive smirk on her face as she revealed herself. Fox took one look at her, and his jaw dropped like it had suddenly been filled with lead. She was clad in a sleek lavender dress with silver trim: a very revealing, yet elegant article of clothing which gave her the look of a movie star. The dress revealed her shapely legs and a cleavage window, which gave an appealing view of her breasts. A pair of leather gloves and high-heels came with the dress, matching color with the main article of clothing. Also, it appeared as if she’d groomed her fur for days to get it into perfect shape, as it was as shiny as her dress. Every evidence of working on her ship earlier was gone, as all the oil stains had been removed. She hardly looked the same person anymore.

“So…?” Katt asked. “How do I look?”

Fox quickly found his voice again. “Holy crap, Katt, you look gorgeous!” He was barely able to contain his enthrallment!

“Glad you like,” Katt said, voice mixed with cheer and sultriness. “I literally found this thing at the bottom of my closet, and never found a use for it. Matter of fact, I can’t even remember when I got the darned thing.”

“It suits you, I’ll give you that,” Fox told her, putting his thumb up like a kid would to a super-cool display in sports.

“I’m glad you think so,” replied Katt. “Oh, yeah. Could you take care of this little bit here?” She turned around to show that the back of her dress was untied. Fox took care of that promptly.

“There we go,” Fox said as he fastened the last harness in the back.

“Thanks, Tiger,” replied Katt, rewarding Fox with a kiss for assisting her.

The place Fox picked was the most expensive dining place in all of Corneria City, maybe even all of Lylat. It was obvious the place lived up to its reputation for being the extra-fancy type. Smooth jazz music reached their ears as they entered through the front doors. The place was aglow with a soft golden light, which blanketed the entire dining room, which was maybe half the size of a football field. Waiters and waitresses in typical uniform rushed from table to table, taking orders, delivering meals, and handing over receipts.

The couple were then escorted to their table, and as they sat down, their orders were taken. As they waited for their meals, Katt made the opportunity to comment on the place.

“Wow…” she muttered to herself as she took an eye-full of the whole of the café. “You know, Fox, I’ve never been taken somewhere as… elegant… as this.” She gestured to the large number of eating utensils in front of her. “I mean, who needs this many forks, spoons and knives for one meal?”

Fox shrugged. “I know each of them have a purpose,” he said as he pointed towards the ones he knew the function for. “This fork is for salads, this spoon is for soup or stew, and this fork is for main courses… but that’s all I know. The rest are mysteries to me.”

“Super fancy-schmancy, huh?” Katt concluded, shrugging. “But it is nice to be treated like a lady for once. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to deal with men as civilized as the Venomians who locked me up on Zoness.”

Fox chuckled at that. He’d met some complicated women in the past as well. And not just Krystal and Fara. As their meals arrived, Fox decided to tell her all about it.

There were two freelancers that they met during the Lylat Wars: Miyu Lynx and Fay Spaniel. Fox, along with his team, met them on Papetoon, the planet where his father had been born. After saving them from the prison they were locked in, Miyu and Fay helped him in fighting the Aquarosa, a buoyant battle fortress commandeered by Caiman, a recognized Venomian officer Fox had previously encountered on Corneria and in Sector Beta. Fox had a small crush on Fay, but she had told him that she was in a relationship with someone already, and all he knew was that he was someone serving in the military, specifically the outpost stationed on the planet Katina. He had been told that Miyu may have had a thing for him, too, but he’d never had the time to ask her out; the situation on Papetoon left little room for talk. The two also assisted in the final assault on Venom. He still saw Miyu and Fay every once in a while, not during any major wars like the Aparoid Invasion, but along the course of smaller jobs, like busting large criminal bands. Though, it’d been a while since he heard anything from them.

Katt, meanwhile, hadn’t had as exhilarating a love life as Fox’s. She met a few men here and there, but never truly entered a relationship. Falco was the last she’d sought the affection of, of course… Well, there was one guy, Cool Cat, who had been alongside her in the Hot Rodders, but she saw him as more of a brother than anything.

As they spoke, a sudden question came to Fox’s mind in the middle of their little small-talk.

“Hey, Katt, what was up with you changing your fur to dark-grey and white?” he asked. Throughout the duration of the Anglar Blitz, Katt was revealed to have dyed her fur that color as if to resemble a black cat.

Katt blushed. This was sort of a humiliating subject for her to talk about, so she threw in a condition: “Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Me? Laugh at you? Madam! You wound me!”

Katt glared.

“But seriously. I don’t plan to laugh at you.”

Katt sighed and put her paw to her face as she began to explain: “Well, it was another attempt for me to get at Falco. I thought that if maybe he thought I was ‘cool…’ well, he might start paying more attention.” She snorted. “You can see how that worked. Falco, you asshole…” she added under her breath.

“Well, I think that it’s Falco’s loss, Katt,” Fox replied adamantly. “Because I think you’re super-cool. You’re about the most calm and collected girl I’ve ever seen in battle. You keep your composure even when the odds are stacked against you, and you’re like rhythm in motion during combat.” He smirked. “Also, I like your flirtatious side… and for a girl on her first time, you learn fast. I‘d dare to say you’re more amazing than Krystal in some ways.”

Katt’s blush went redder, but out of flattery. “Well, I don’t know how to read minds, but…”

“Who said that I only like telepaths?” asked Fox. “I like you for you.”

Katt’s eyes drifted downward. Her smile was small, but evident. “I’m glad you think so, Fox…”

“Katt… I know so.”

“Well, when it didn’t work, I got rid of the dye and went back to my normal magenta,” explained Katt. “This is me. This is how I like me.”

“I like the current ‘you’ too,” Fox told her.

“Thank you, Fox,” Katt replied sweetly. “I shouldn’t have gotten that stupid idea… but that’s what you get from watching Grease. You see Sandy become a bad girl so she can get with Danny, and then you get the dumb idea you should try what she did.”

A slight pause resulted from Katt’s comment.

“HAH! AH, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HAAAA!”

Fox had suddenly burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. It was loud enough to gain the unwanted attention of a few couples in the café, who diverted their attention from their dates and/or meals to discover the source of the commotion. This display of hilarity from Fox struck Katt’s ire easily. Furious, she kicked Fox in the shin underneath the table.

“AHHHH, HA, HA, HA – OWW! OOH-HOO-HOO!” Fox cried out as Katt’s high-heeled foot impacted with his shin, sending a painful ache into his leg.

“You jerk! You said you wouldn’t laugh!” Katt snapped, her face livid.

“Oww! I wasn’t laughing at you! Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo…!” Fox complained. He was still kind of laughing, but damn, that had hurt! “It’s just the second you said that, you put an image in my head of Falco singing ‘You’re The One That I Want.’ Tell me that isn’t a funny thought!”

Katt didn’t register with that thought for a second. Then the same scenario Fox had put in her head popped into existence in her mind, and the absurdity of it extracted a small giggle from her, which eventually matured into full-blown hysterics. Fox couldn’t help but join in, and the two had a good long laugh. This may have gained more unwanted onlookers, but they didn’t care. It was impossible for them not to laugh at the unlikely possibility of the team jerk singing such a corny love song.

As their laughter died down to simple giggles, a voice suddenly caught Fox and Katt’s attention.

“Fox?”

Fox turned around in his seat (his back was to the source of the sound) to see an old friend. The "surfer dude" accent was unmistakable, as was the grey fur and drooping ears.

“Bill!”

Bill Grey, Fox’s old friend from the Academy, indeed, now stood next to his table in a fancy dark-grey tux, alongside a female spaniel with snow-white fur. A magenta bow rested on the side of her ear. Fox instantly recognized her as well.

“Fay! Is that you?”

“Hi, Fox,” Fay Spaniel replied, evidently happy to see him. She was dressed in a piece of elegant couture herself: a dark-blue dress much like Katt’s, but not as revealing and suggestive. But what caught Fox off-guard was that her midriff was large and round instead of slender.

Then comprehension told him the truth. She was pregnant!

Words somewhat failed him as he tried to ask something along the lines of ‘What?’, but Fay answered his confused state.

“I guess you noticed my baby-bump,” she said. “Bill and I will be parents a few months from now.”

“Sorry, I was trying to comprehend the whole thing, but… does this mean…?”

“Yeah, Fox.” Bill answered this time. “I married Fay here about the time you were on that dinosaur planet… what was the name of that place?”

“Sauria…” Fox was still sort of surprised.

“That’s it!”

Fox now turned back to Fay. “So, you’re Fay Grey, now? Hey, that rhymes!”

Fay giggled girlishly. But before she could answer Fox’s humorous inquiry, a certain somebody interjected.

“Hang on… I’m a little lost here, Tiger.”

Fox had completely forgot Katt was even there. His embarrassment colored his face red.

“Who’s your girlfriend, Fox?” asked Bill, at first not having gotten a good look at her. Suddenly, realization came over him. “Wait… Katt, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Katt reached out her hand, and Bill took it, shaking it firmly. “We fought together during the Battle of Venom.”

“Yeah, I remember…” Bill said fondly. He released Katt’s hand.

“You know this girl, Bill?” asked Fay. She hadn’t necessarily come in contact with Katt during the final assault on Venom.

“Oh, yeah,” said Fox. Getting up, he took Fay’s hand and brought it to Katt’s. “Fay, this is Katt Monroe. Katt, this is Fay Spaniel.”

The two gals shook hands, smiling.

Bill’s gaze turned to Fox. “You moved on, I take it?” he asked him. “Your ex-girlfriend… Krystal, was it? We met on Katina for a bit during the Aparoids, and again during the attack on Aparoid Planet... I heard she did some pretty terrible stuff. All because you two had a falling out?”

“Yeah. Things went south,” Fox replied silently. “And in a horrible way, too.”

“And now, everybody hates her guts.” Bill shook his head, his long ears swaying. “I feel sorry for you, old buddy. Especially since she joined Star Wolf of all people.”

“I don’t fault Wolf for wanting to clear his name,” Fox said earnestly. “I think he deserved to save the galaxy one time. Him, Leon, and Panther. They’re really not so bad when you get to know ‘em…”

Bill stared.

“OK, I’ll admit,” Fox chuckled, shrugging. “Wolf can be pretty unsociable, Leon is rather sadistic, and Panther loves himself more than anyone… but they did beat the Anglars, and without anyone’s help. They can at least have one trophy.” His gaze dropped suddenly. “Krystal, though… mm…”

“I agree, Fox,” said Bill. “Star Wolf is a band of heroes, now, despite their flaws. But I can’t help but say Krystal is a dirty traitor, too.”

“You should hear Falco, then,” Katt put in. “He says all sorts of horrible things about her.”

“Yeah,” said Fox, his ears folding back as if to cringe. “You think Falco was a foul-mouth before? You should hear him now. ‘This is all Krystal’s fault! What a bitch she was! I have to spend all day doing all her work because she joined up with those dirty criminals!’”

“‘That smug cunt should be thrown in a wood chipper for what she did!’” Katt chimed in. “‘No, scratch that – I wanna throw her into a jail with male prisoners and see how they react to the first woman they’ve seen for a long time!’”

“Damn…” said Bill, shuddering at the gruesome imagery thrown into his mind. “That’s just overkill.”

“Falco would say it was, too,” replied Katt. “He’d say if anyone deserves overkill, it’s her.”

“I don’t know what to think…” Fox groaned earnestly, pinching the bridge of his muzzle with his hand. “I don’t know whether I wanna tell her I’m sorry, or just tear her head from her shoulders… or simply throw her in a prison cell and be done with it.”

“What did you want to do with Pigma?”

Bill’s quote left him at a loss for words. While it was without a doubt that Fox wanted to kill Andross the day he heard that he’d killed his parents – both of them – Fox had never considered what he wanted to do with Pigma when he brought him to justice. Pigma betrayed his father to Andross for money. All Fox knew was that he wanted to make him pay, too. But when he finally received the chance to give Pigma his just-desserts, it was when he’d become an Aparoid. Pigma was still alive, but he’d been transformed into a monster. And Fox had took it upon himself to take him down for good. But when it was over and Aparoid Pigma had been obliterated, Fox was not satisfied with Pigma’s death. In fact, after he returned to the Great Fox, he was crying. He didn’t understand it at first, but it was because he felt sorry for Pigma, and what he’d become. It was a crazy thought, since all the others on the team despised Pigma with a passion, but nevertheless, Fox could no longer hate Pigma, due to him suffering a fate worse than death. It was also the thought that Pigma could’ve let himself be corrupted by evil so easily. Pigma had betrayed his father, and had tried to kill him and his team for cold, hard cash. But when he was dead, Fox felt as if he’d lost a part of himself. As much as he hated the greedy bastard, he still acknowledged that not even Pigma deserved his fate: to be assimilated into a hive-mind of mechanical overlords and then be blown to space dust like that. Also, the thought that he couldn’t save him also really messed him up.

To answer the question that gave him pause, Fox answered with simplicity.

“Ultimately… I don’t know what I wanted to do… but it wasn’t what happened to him.” He hastily decided to change the subject. “But, yeah. I’m dating Katt, now.”

“Well, I gotta admit, Fox,” said Bill. “You scored big-time here. Maybe she is a cat, but I will say, she’s quite the looker.” A slight beat. “Of course, she’s not Fay, but…”

Fay playfully dope-slapped the back of Bill’s head.

“Hey…!” he complained.

“Come on, Bill…” Fay said. “You don’t have to brag about me…”

Before Bill could try and argue Fay’s point, Fox came in with a new question. “Hey, hold up, you two. If you two are gonna have a baby, then what’s life looking like for you, now? You can’t stay in the army if you’re nursing a child. And you won’t be able to keep going on as a freelance mercenary.”

Bill and Fay looked at each other, and then back to Fox.

“Well, we weren’t really planning on children, yet, but…” Fay placed her hands on her swollen belly. “Fate had other plans, I suppose.”

Katt was glad at that moment she was still on the pill. She’d decided to take another one in case she and Fox started having sex regularly… which was very possible to happen given last night and this morning. They were all over each other those past two times.

“Bill’s been saying he wants to continue his work on Katina,” Fay explained, “but I’m definitely taking a break, at least for a small while until I’m done breast-feeding the baby. I’m not planning on leaving the adventurous life behind, of course…” she added. “We might get our kid to enroll in Bill’s service when he or she turns eighteen.”

“Assuming the child wants to do so,” Fox concluded.

“Yeah,” Bill finished.

“If not, Bill and I might just settle down, and let that be it.”

Fox never imagined his two of his oldest friends with contrasting backgrounds getting married. Hell, he’d never imagined that Bill and Fay were together before now. But he really didn’t know how he could form the image of Bill and Fay with a kid. But one imagining did work its way up to the surface of its mind. And it was of him and Katt in that same metaphorical position: settling down and having a family.

Fox quickly wiped that scenario out of his brain before his entire train of thought derailed.

“But we love each other,” Bill said adamantly. “And we’re gonna do everything possible to make the future work out.”

Fox hoped for them a good future, too. And he hoped that the same would turn out for him and Katt. He didn’t know if he could suffer losing Katt the way he did Krystal. He’d learned from his mistakes; he wouldn’t let the past repeat itself.

And… done! I’m having fun!

You might be confused on the history bits, but that's because I pretty much decided to create my own variant of the Star Fox timeline, combining elements from both games centered around the Lylat Wars (64 and Zero), as well as adding planets where the Lylat Wars took place. Also, everyone was on Venom during the final battle while Fox battled Andross. The rest is very canon.
I’ll wonder if you caught the Mass Effect 2 reference in this chapter. It’s vague and I twisted around the words, but it’s there. Also, what'd you think of Bill and Fay suddenly appearing?

I think I might take a break for now. I need to figure out just where the heck this story is going. It might take a while, so if you like the story, hang in there. And be patient.
Next update, awesome peoples!

Sky-Kaiser out.