'Sand???'
He could feel it, he could taste it on his lips, and when Fox opened his eyes, that was all he could see in front of him. An endless beach of sand. This rather salty and gritty substance sparked many questions in the dozey fox's mind. 'Where am I? What is this place? Why am I lying in sand?? What happened?!?'
Answers didn't seem to come fast enough. Fox sat up, despite the swirls of stars before his eyes, and looked for his ship. He didn't have to look far. It was only a few feet away, partially wedged under a huge rock, and scorched to a crisp in most places.
The fox groaned as the effects of his concussion hit him like a hammer. He tore off his commhelmet and drove it into the ground, then painfully clutched his head. 'Why do I have such a headache?? What happened...?'
Memories of the past events flooded back into Fox's mind. The battle... the explosion... the crash. The fox could easily dismiss it all as a dream, but everything at that moment seemed as real as the sand he was sitting on.
The Cornerian then realized that it was very late at night. The moon was glistening overhead, which provided ample light for the fox to see around himself. He looked away from his badly damaged Arwing just then, and noticed a campfire under the shade of nearby trees. Fox could see someone there, sitting near the bright flame. Two others were also basking in the light of the fire, and one of them seemed to be looking directly at him with strangely piercing eyes. McCloud watched the nearest of the figures wave an arm and shout with a familiar voice, "Fox!"
It was Slippy. Fox could only guess who the other two were. Certainly not Peppy or Falco. They were familiar, though. Something about their appearance that the fox recognized... but from where? It had slipped his mind.
Slippy got up from the small campfire and walked over to Fox. The frog hopped into the air excitedly while smiling broadly at his sleepy friend. "Fox, I'm glad you're awake! I want you to come meet someone! Hurry up!" Toad motioned for the fox to get up, then turned around and waddled back to the other two creatures across the beach. Fox was very confused, but he gladly climbed to his feet and staggered towards the warm fire. As he arrived at the tiny campsite, Fox immediately started asking questions.
"Slippy, where are we? What happened to Peppy and Falco?"
Immediately after that question, the fox shot a glance at the other two figures, who were hiding behind the fire's flickering light. "Who are they??"
Slippy's cheerful grin hardly revealed an answer. His words did, however. "I'm not sure of where we are. As for Peppy and Falco, they're scouting the jungle," the frog said. He then extended a green hand towards the two figures ahead of him, and happily introduced, "I would like you to meet these two creatures. They saved you. They're natives to this island, too, from what I can gather. They don't speak our language, though, and I have been trying to communicate with them for the past hour or so." Slippy looked up at Fox as he awaited a reply. The fox nodded slowly, trying to understand. "They saved me??" he asked with a tone of surprise. "Yes," Slippy answered quickly, "They got you out of your ship and watched over you until I found them. They're very friendly, by the way."
Fox turned to the two creatures, and looked them over. They were VERY familiar. They resembled the ancient reptiles of Corneria, but those had been extinct for millions of years. Each one appeared slightly different from the other, too. One of them was pink in skin color, the other was yellow. The pink one did have some hair, strangely enough, and it was tied into a ponytail and thrown behind her back. 'Very unusual,' the Cornerian thought to himself.
The fox bowed politely to the two entities sitting across from him, and smiled kindly. "Thank you," he said thoughtfully. The pink one smiled back, and grumbled something to the yellow one, who was relaxing in front of the fire right next to the pink reptile.
"You can't understand them at all?" The fox frowned at Slippy, who was trying to listen to the pink one's words. "No, but I can assume that they don't understand us, either," the frog confirmed. Slippy stopped trying to listen to the creature's baffling speech, and instead peered across the campsite into the jungle behind them. Fox sighed and seated himself next to the frog, who casually started a conversation while keeping his sight on the dark trees ahead. Upon sitting down, the fox's headache started to ease, and he felt much more relaxed. Fox intently listened to Slippy telling of the day's events.
"...Falco was very angry at me for some reason. 'It's always my fault, he said.' He stormed off into the jungle, after Peppy told him to calm down. I think he said something was wrong. About Titania, I think," Toad tried to recall what happened as he spoke, "...I think it's funny, because he doesn't know anymore than we do about where we are and what happened. I think that scares him." The frog chuckled at the thought as he gazed into the fire with thoughtful eyes. Fox grunted in agreement. "He would be. I don't know what his problem is recently."
"Yo, Yishi!" the pink creature snapped at the fox, who instantly looked away from the fire to see what was going on. The yellow one jumped up with a start and whirled around towards the jungle.
"I think someone's coming! I hope it's Falco and Peppy," Slippy interrupted the two animal's alarmed squeals. Fox watched silently while two figures stepped out of the thick foliage and approached the campfire.
"Geez, I hate this place already, and it's only been four hours!" Falco raved as he threw down his helmet and plopped onto the sand next to the fox. Peppy was close behind. "Ah, there you are. Welcome back to the realm of the living, Fox." he joked. The hare gently dropped an odd assortment of fruits onto the beach and started to count them quietly. The two reptilian creatures appeared startled from the hare and bird's unusual entrance, but were quickly eased when Slippy started to talk. "Happy hunting, guys?" the frog asked, even as Falco glared over at him as if he were a circus freak.
"Eleven fruits, and some berries on the side," Peppy proudly declared when he had finished counting his prize. "I'm pretty sure they're safe, so come and eat."
The three other Lylatians jumped up and took their fill from the pile of food. The remaining two creatures watched from a distance, and then got up to sample the fruit once everyone else had taken what they wanted. The pink and yellow reptiles sifted through the mess of melons, apples, and berries, and only took an apple each for themselves.
Peppy held up a pear-shaped melon to eat, and was about to bite into it when...
SMACK!
The pink creature swiped a hand at Peppy, and the strange fruit flew into the fire.
"Hey, what was that for?!" the hare demanded. Instead of trying to answer, the pink creature climbed to her clawed feet, walked around the campfire, took several fruits from the other three Lylatians, and tossed them into the fire with these words, "Yish yo Yoshi."
"Hey!!" Falco protested to this 'fruit burning.' "What does this guy think he's doing? That was our dinner!" he complained loudly.
"I think it's trying to tell us that the fruit is poison," Slippy guessed. The frog got up from his spot on the sand and stepped over to the pile of fruit that was left. He turned his head towards the pink one, and motioned at the fruit while calmly asking, "What is safe?" The pink creature nodded, then walked to where Slippy was pointing. Fox and the others watched with awe as the pink one delicately arranged the berries, apples, and melons into neat and separate piles. It then tossed all the melons into the flame, and evenly distributed the berries and apples to everyone sitting down. The pink one handed the remaining berries to Slippy, seated herself next to the yellow one, and started to munch on an apple.
"Oh," the frog said, quite astounded.
The six animals finished their meal of berries and fruit, then promptly went to sleep for the night. The one who didn't seem to fall asleep right away, ironically, was Fox. He sat beside a dying campfire, while gazing at the sparkling stars and bright moon hanging over a vast ocean. It was surely one of the most beautiful sights that Fox had ever seen, and in a place that he had never been to before. But even amidst this splendor, Fox plotted escape. He knew it wouldn't be easy under any conditions, but especially this one. The Arwings were completely mauled; it would take weeks to repair. How the StarFox team even escaped from that explosion alive was beyond Fox's theories. Also, no one was sure of exactly where they were. This island was very strange, and the strangest of all was sleeping only a few feet away. The fox peered over the burning cinders at the two reptiles. The yellow one was sleeping soundly, but the pink one was no where to be seen. "Hmm..." he growled.
Something tapped Fox on the shoulder. The Cornerian jumped up with a short yelp, and spun around to catch a glimpse of his attacker.
It was just the pink reptile. The creature waved her hand for Fox to be silent, then motioned for him to follow. It silently stalked across the campsite, and stopped at an entrance to the jungle. Fox crept behind the creature, while being careful not to awaken Falco as he stepped over him. The falcon grumbled something, then turned over, but didn't wake up. When Fox had arrived the jungle's edge, the pink one was already starting to climb a nearby palm tree. Once it had reached the top, the creature plucked a strange fruit from its leaves, then jumped to the ground. The pink reptile presented the small fruit to Fox with a kind smile. "Yoshi yi," the animal whispered to him. The fox smiled in reply, and gratefully took the fruit from the pink one. "Thank you again," he thanked the odd creature, who nodded politely, then turned around and ran away into the deep jungle where Fox couldn't follow. The Lylatian shrugged and wandered back to the campsite.
Instead of eating the fruit gift right away, Fox circled around the campfire and sat down beside Slippy, who was already snoring. The fox carefully placed the gift in his pocket, then stretched out on the beach to rest for the night.
Before closing his eyes and drifting into sleep, McCloud wondered to himself, 'What should I call these strange animals? I wonder what language they speak... it always sounds like the same word, used over and over. It would make a good name. I think I'll call this creature... Yoshi.'
The dawn brought a new scene to the shoreline of Yoshi's Island. Bright, warm sunlight poured through the treetops and gave the yellow Yoshi a cheerful welcome. Birds chirped their playful song, and fish splashed in the ocean's waters. Meekachu yawned and stretched out his arms. He sat up from his sandy bed, and took a deep breath of air. It was another great day for everyone else on the island, but the four strange beings that were sleeping right next to the yellow dinosaur served as a grim reminder for Meekachu of what was going to happen to him today. The Yoshi sighed. He openly wished that this could happen on any other day, but not this day. If only Miya wasn't of proper age yet, or even if he had never found her that day in the jungle...
'No,' Meekachu blocked out that thought. 'I must never think like that. I am grateful that I have Miya with me. She is like my daughter...'
It was on that exact moment when Meekachu realized that Miya was gone. He quickly searched the campsite, but the pink Yoshi was no where to be seen.
"Miya??"
The yellow one gulped. "Miya, do not hide. This isn't funny..." he started to scold the absent Yoshi, as he turned over the surrounding leaves in a frantic search.
"Hehe... you do not look for me very well at all," a female voice drifted down from the nearby palms. "Here, take these," Miya said from a lofty treetop. She tossed half a dozen melons in Meekachu's general direction, one at a time, then jumped down from her tree onto the sand. Meekachu couldn't easily avoid the melon assault, and he stumbled over several of them before collapsing to the ground.
"Oopps. Sorry Meek. I'll help you," the pink Yoshi offered. She gathered the dropped melons and set them in a stack beside the pile of ashes that was the previous night's campfire. Miya then pulled the fallen Yoshi to his feet. "Did you sleep well?" she asked her father.
"Er... yes, and no," was the only answer Meekachu could think of.
"Well, we should wake up the newcomers soon. We need to be on the move in a few minutes," the pink one announced while taking a melon from the pile and cracking it open. Some of the sweet juice inside poured from the fruit and soaked into the sand, and Miya quickly slurped up the remaining liquid before it spilled all over her hands.
Meekachu looked back at the four animals, as he pondered what to do next. His eyes flickered with fear when he noticed something... The Yoshi grabbed Miya by the shoulders, causing the melon to drop from her hands, and forced his gaze into hers.
"This has all been a big mistake. Miya, you must realize that we are in VERY deep trouble. This isn't a game. If the village discovers why we were missing last night... In fact, if they discover us at all, we could get thrown out of the village! We must leave!" he demanded.
"And what of these creatures? What will become of them??" the pink Yoshi defended the stranded animals, who were still fast asleep.
"We must leave them here. They will be fine. Trust me. We can't stay with them. They don't even speak our tongue, Miya!"
"Tieka might. We can find Tieka, and she might help us understa-" Miya began to talk, but her words were cut short from Meekachu's interruption.
"Miya, you're not listening. We must hide! Get away from these creatures! And the village!" the yellow one whispered harshly into Miya's ear.
"I will not leave them behind! What harm can they do?!? We can all escape into the jungle, where no one will find us. There is plenty room for four more in the jungle. But we can't leave them here. If the Mulhollens don't find them first, the dragons will! ...I saw a scout this morning."
Meekachu looked aghast at the pink Yoshi for a moment, trying to comprehend. "A dragon scout? Are you sure??"
"Yes. It was here, last night. I saw it. Look, wherever we are going, we should leave now, and with them!" Miya growled while pointing to the four animals sprawled out on the sand. Meekachu studied the anger in Miya's eyes, and turned away at the thought of hurting her with his knowledge.
"Miya... listen to me..." he whimpered while approaching the sleeping fox. Meekachu knelt beside the animal, and gently removed something from his clothes. The Yoshi stood up, and held the item in his outstretched palms for Miya to see.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked her in a solemn tone.
"No... of course not. Why would I? It looks like a bent stick," the pink one replied with a hint of confusion in her voice. "Why? What does it matter?"
"Years ago, a little while before you were hatched, I believe... This island was invaded by the strange ones, and they carried great weapons that spat lightning and thunder. Weapons that kill in an instant. The tribes banded together, and threw out the evil ones with the ancient magic, but it nearly cost all our lives. The strange ones brought war, and destruction... and death to us Yoshies... with weapons... just like this one." Meekachu told of the story, then threw down the item in his hands angrily.
"Miya, these creatures are not our friends, or our allies... they are killers, Miya. We cannot trust them."
"That is just a story, Meek. It is not true! If they wanted to hurt us, would they not have already?!?" the pink one protested.
"I'm not saying that they would hurt us. But stop and think, Miya. The Mulhollens will find them; you are right about that. But when they do, what makes you think that these creatures will not use their weapons to avoid capture? It could start war. Many could die. Do you understand?" Meekachu questioned the pink one, who couldn't object to his reasoning at this point.
"What can we do!?!" Miya cried.
"Take their weapons; all of them, and throw them into the ocean. Then leave. It is the only thing to do," the yellow Yoshi ordered, then started to search the other animals' clothes. Miya tried to object to this, but the words would not come. She staggered towards one of the creatures, rummaged through its jacket, and scooped up another of the strange sticks.
Once a weapon from each of the creatures had been gathered, Meekachu and Miya carried them to the shoreline, and unceremoniously dumped the four 'bent sticks' into the waves. Meekachu began to walk away from their temporary campsite, without a tint of regret, but Miya lagged behind. As they left, she glanced back at the fox, frog, hare, and bird, and mumbled a sorrowful goodbye, with no words sounding from her moving lips.
"Fox... Fox, wake up!" Slippy's high squeal was the Cornerian's only wake-up call. Fox groaned and opened his eyes, only to find the frog's bulky head hovering over him. "Fox, they're gone!"
"Arg... who's gone, Slippy?" the fox grumbled as he squinted his eyes from the bright morning sunlight.
"Those two lizards. They're gone. They left some fruits, though." The frog pointed to some melons stacked near the mound of ashes left from last night's fire. One of the fruits was already busted in half, and each piece rested nearby.
Fox sat up and surveyed the tiny campsite. Falco and Peppy were still asleep. Slippy hastily remedied that, as he approached the sleeping Lylatians and nudged them awake. Both reluctantly crawled to their feet when Toad told them of the news.
"That figures..." Falco muttered. "So what now?"
"We're going to get out of here; that's what," Fox announced. He rolled over and stood up, then scanned the beach, as if miles of sand somehow provided a means for leaving the island. "Well..." he spoke, "First thing's first; We need to find some way to repair our ships. Slippy, any guesses on how long that would take?"
Slippy pondered that question for a moment, then answered as directly as possible: "Several weeks would be my best guess. Maybe four or five. I don't have many tools with me, like I would if we were on the Great Fox, and then... well, they're in pretty bad shape to begin with."
"Hmm..." the fox growled under his breath. This was going to be a LONG day...
"Well that sucks," Falco remarked. "Falco," Peppy scolded. "Hey, it's the truth," the falcon answered back.
"Alright, this will require a little split-up. Falco, I want you to say with the Slipster here and take a look at the ships. Peppy and I can start some exploring. You said yourself the natives were friendly, Slippy. Maybe they can help us," Fox theorized.
"But that doesn't explain why those two natives left," Peppy pointed out. "What if this has been some sort of setup?" he asked.
"GGRRRAAAAAAAAGGG!!!!"
Before Fox could open his muzzle to reply, a fierce roar was heard from the jungle's darkness. The four Lylatians jumped with surprise, then turned towards the source of the noise. Just at that moment, as if on cue, a huge beast rose from the treeline and shot into the air! The horrible winged creature was at least twenty meters long, with large gaping jaws equipped with razor-like teeth. It gracefully dove into the clouds, then reappeared nearly on top of StarFox in the next instant.
"Ahhh!!!!" everyone yelled in unison, then spun around and bolted for the ocean. Slippy dashed behind a sand dune, and tucked into a shivering ball. Peppy and Fox lept behind Fox's Arwing, and cowered under the massive steel aircraft. Falco, with no where else to go, ran right into the sea! The beast flew in pursuit of the bird, who was rapidly swimming away. "Geez!" Falco exclaimed when he had looked behind himself at the flying monster approaching. In a final resort, the falcon dove under the shallow waters, and barely missed a swipe of the large foreclaw skirting the water's surface.
The beast, having missed its first target, whipped around and drove towards the beach. It climbed to the clouds again, then took a sharp turn into a vertical drop. Fox and Peppy, who were distantly observing the flying monster's aerobatic skills, realized who the beast's next target was, and started to yell across the sand, "SLIPPY!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"
Slippy sat up and looked into the sky in time to hear his friends' frantic cries. "Huh? Oh no!" the frog croaked. Slippy blundered to his feet, and tried to scurry away to safety, but it was too late. The beast swooped over the fleeing frog, clamped his heavy claws around the Lylatian, and brought itself airborne again. The creature's powerful wings sprayed sand and dirt in all directions as it tried to gain some elevation and depart from the beach.
Fox and Peppy gasped in horror as their friend was being carried away, literally, by air. "He's not going out today," the fox growled, and he hopped to his feet, ready to defend his friend.
'I've got to have something to fight this strange beast...' the fox quickly thought to himself. 'Of course!'
McCloud reached for his blaster. However, the holster was empty. The fox dug through his flight jacket, but the weapon wasn't there, either. "Huh?!? It's gone! What happened to my blaster?!?"
Fox pulled something from his pocket, with hopes that it would be what he was looking for... It's a fruit.
A crazy idea stuck the fox just then. He looked from the small fruit, back to the beast trying to fly away, and knew what he had to do. Fox climbed over the glass window from his wrecked ship, and ran out onto the beach with the fruit clutched in his hand.
"Come back here! Ya yellow-bellied, three-legged, one-eyed, fruit face!" the fox hollered with rage, then hurled the fruit onto the beast's tough hide. It was a crude insult, yet very effective. The unusual melon struck the monster directly on its flank, and shattered into juicy bits. The winged menace immediately dropped its slippery cargo, and the screaming frog was launched onto the sandy beach with a thud and a cloud of dust.
"GGGRRRR...."
Fox gulped. He knew that wasn't the smartest move he'd ever made, and that was especially clear when the beast plunked to the ground and began a head-on charge!
The fox spun on his heels and dashed away from the giant speeding bulk. The monster was gaining distance faster than Fox could run away, though, and escape quickly seemed impossible. The fox caught his foot on something, then flipped around onto his back with a painful jolt. By the time he had gotten back up, the monster was on top of the fox. Its swirling eyes were a stunning yellow, and its bared teeth were a color to match. Fox could only use an instant to see what he had tripped over... A turtle's nest?
If Fox didn't die on Titania, or in the crash on the beach, he surely would here. The beast reared onto its hind legs, and lifted up a giant claw ready to strike the fox down. Its terrible breath, the gleaming red scales in the morning sun, and the giant foreclaw lifted above his head were clear in Fox's mind. Peppy could be heard in the background... but his voice was muffled by the strong sound of the monster huffing in a giant breath of air. This was it. Fox braced himself for a grim fate, and could only wish that he was dreaming... everything.
WHOOSH!
Leather straps cracked through the air like whips, and launched themselves at the beast from all directions. Dozens of ropes and ties curled themselves around the monster's legs, arms, and neck like barnacles on an old sea vessel. The beast howled in agony, then hurled itself into the sky and over Fox's head. The Lylatian flew to the ground from the force of its beating wings, and his face buried into the dry sand.
The ropes gripping the monster were like heavy weights, quickly restraining even the simplest movements, and the creature could hardly stretch out another wingfold before crashing back to the sand. It snarled and thrashed wildly on the beach, and after many long minutes, the beast finally collapsed in a huff, and stopped moving.
Everything grew silent, and Fox carefully sat up...
Once the sand had settled, the monster was found dead still. Not even a flick of its massive tail showed a sign of life. The tightly held ropes and straps were released from their hidden ends, and they snapped back to their proper lengths. Fox edged closer to the strange beast with slow, cautious steps.
Slippy emerged from the sand dunes, while brushing the gritty substance from his clothes. Peppy crawled away from the safety of the wrecked Arwing, and approached the dazed fox. "Fox, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "I-I'm fine," the fox stammered.
McCloud gawked at the strange beast just ahead of him. It was a sight to see for any Lylatian, and Fox certainly had a close encounter. He wondered what it was, where it came from, and where those ropes came from...
A gurgling squawk was heard from across the beach. Falco barged out of the waves, and staggered towards his teammates like a drunken sailor. He dropped to his knees and started to gag from swimming too long in the salty water. Fox and the others raced towards the drenched falcon, who was coughing loudly, "Birds... are not meant... to swim!"
"Sure they are," Peppy commented. "Ever heard of ducks?"
Slippy couldn't help but to laugh. "Hehe... you look like a blue rat!"
"Shut-up... grease... ball," Falco sputtered.
"Hey, what's that sound?" Slippy veered off the subject.
"I hear it too!" Peppy announced.
Fox's ears perked up as the surrounding jungle suddenly came to life. The bushes and shrubs jerked back and forth. The leaves rustled violently, as if something was moving them... something that's moving closer... towards the beach! No... it wasn't another winged beast. This was smaller... faster... and coming from everywhere!
Fox REALLY wished he had his blaster now.
Now the sounds were nearer... and louder... A strange chant could be heard, and it increased its intensity very gradually...
"yo-shi... yo-shi... yo-shi... yo-shi... YO-shi.... YO-shi... YO-SHI! YOSHI! YOSHI!"
The ferns tore apart, the bushes split open, and dozens of the strange reptiles that the team had encountered the previous night stepped out onto the beach. Each wielded a sharpened stick fashioned with a spearhead. All wore stern faces, and all glared fiercely at the four Lylatians, who could do nothing but stare back.
"This is not good..." Falco muttered under his breath.
"How obvious, Falco," Slippy spoke with an unusually sarcastic tone.
"Will you two shut up for once!?" the hare snapped.
Fox set his eyes on the surrounding natives, completely ignoring his friends' quarreling. Their skins were all colored differently, like a reptile rainbow of some sorts. An elaborately dressed scarlet creature stood before all of them. It was shouting to the other reptiles while pointing in separate directions. Giving orders. 'This must be their leader,' the fox assumed.
The scarlet one gruffly whirled around and pointed a finger at StarFox. "Yis! Yo!" it snarled. It was impossible to understand what it said, but the merciless glare in the creature's eyes told everything. A smaller pack of the reptiles encircled the StarFox team, and cut off any possible escape. They held their spearheads level with their shoulders, and aimed them directly at the four Lylatians. "Yo... yishi yi!" one of them barked. "Yishi yi!" the rest echoed.
Falco stepped forward and tried to pull out his blaster... then gaped at his empty hand. "Crud! What happened to our weapons?!"
"Uh-oh..." Slippy whimpered.
The StarFox team was trapped. No where to run, no where to hide, and now nothing to defend themselves with. Fox could have easily taken down one of these reptiles -blaster or not- but the fact was that he and his friends were simply outnumbered. The team huddled close to each other, but it provided little protection. Fox wondered how many more times fate could save his fur. The whole world seemed to be spinning around him, and there was nothing the fox could do to stop it. 'Will this day ever end?!?' he wondered, even as the hoard of attackers closed in.