[center] [img]http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o719/EthereanFire/Fox_zpsterb1uck.png[/img] [color=cyan]Level:[/color] 1 [color=cyan]Day/Time:[/color] Day One; Dusk - Evening [color=cyan]Location:[/color] Corneria - aboard the Great Fox; docked in undisclosed location -> Tetris Castle: Reception Hall - Council Chamber [color=cyan]Mentions:[/color] [color=darkorange]Samus[/color] [@Lmpkio], [color=limegreen]Luigi[/color] [@Bright_Ops], [color=ed1c24]Mario[/color], [color=aquamarine]Rosalina[/color], [color=green]Guile[/color] [@Holy Soldier], [color=darkred]The Hunter[/color] [@SuddenSardines], [color=darkgray]Slayer[/color] [@Lugubrious][/center] The setting sun peered faintly over the horizon, tinting the sky and its few clouds in a spectrum of warm Autumn color that faded seamlessly into the darker shade of oncoming night, and the grass, along with a certain vulpine’s fur, swayed lightly in the fair breeze. Fox sat atop the nose of the Great Fox, taking in the peaceful atmosphere as he watched the day quietly come to a close. Peace and quiet described most of his days now, but it did come with a familiar sense of boredom on account of having no battles to fight or jobs to do. Soldiers for hire weren’t exactly in demand during times of peace, but that didn't stop him spending his days keeping a vigilant eye out for anything that might threaten that. After the Subspace Incident, it was hard for him NOT to suspect that the Nintendo Kingdom’s much enjoyed peace might not last. To think that they were all brought to the very edge of oblivion, a mere step away from universal erasure, all because some so-called “god” arbitrarily deemed their very existence an affront onto creation, or perhaps it viewed creation as a whole to be a blasphemous indignity; hence its unforgiving desire to to undo it. For this reason, they called it Tabuu. A fitting named for what conducted itself like an abusive parent forcing a child to gather and destroy all of its creations in the hopes of stamping out its sense of wonder along with its will to create, almost as if to say “it’s time to grow up.” Was that really all they were, though; a mere product of some child’s overactive imagination? Fox shook the thought off before allowing himself the chance to dwell on it. None of that mattered now. They united, fought, and prevailed as they always do, and the multiverse was all the better for it thanks to them. For once in his life, there was actually some semblance of reassurance in knowing that he wasn't needed, because it came as a sign that he had done something right. The best he could hope for at this point was that no such calamity would ever befall them agai- [color=cyan]“Huh?”[/color] Fox's ears twitched to the sound of a smiling cloud daintily floating his way. Its passenger appeared to be a literal turtle with goggles holding an envelope. Fox leaned forward with a hand out to accept the letter, to which the messenger receded back into the smiley nimbus and promptly took off. If the message was coming from Tetris Castle, as indicated by the seal and overall elegance, he knew it had to be important. He broke the seal and began quickly scanning through the letter’s contents. [i]Dear Hero, You are receiving this letter because you were chosen to undertake a most challenging task. Your life will be endangered if you so choose to selflessly take up arms in defense of your world as well as others…[/i] He couldn't believe what he was being told. After all this time he was suddenly being told that he was right to be wary for so long. Apparently, the threat had already started making itself known to the villains of various worlds - some of whom welcomed it with open arms - yet he somehow didn't see it coming despite his best efforts to seek out otherworldly threats. Worse yet was that this affected ALL “kingdoms” and every world that resided within and around them; not just his own. Fox began to think about his old team - his friends. Peppy was enjoying a much deserved retirement, Slippy took up a much more stable life working with his dad, taking R.O.B. with him, Falco was God-knows-where doing God-knows-what, and Krystal… well, that was a little more complicated. All he really knew was that she wasn't [i]here[/i], and he couldn't blame her. Either way, Star Fox was no more, so he would be going this one alone. His conscience wouldn't permit him to ask that they return to his side once more to face something like this, but he didn't want to leave without telling them where he was going and why, just in case it was the last chance he would get. He made his way to the briefing room and sat down to record his last transmission to send out before his departure. [hr] Once he was finished, Fox made his way to the forward hangar bay that housed the last remaining Arwing; his. It still managed to get him around, but in its current state of maintenance, who even knows if it was combat-worthy anymore? He hasn't actually had to take it into battle for the better part of two years. Besides, it's been with him for so long and served him well enough that it has earned its rest. He smiled as he placed a caring hand to the airship’s side and lowered it in a caressing motion as a way of offering a subtle, sentimental farewell to his trusted vessel. He walked to the very edge of the hangar overlooking the grassy, rolling fields and the now starry night sky, sparing a brief contemplative glance at the calming beauty that presented itself to him before pulling out the letter. With no further thought he clicked the ‘yes’ option with his right index finger and released the envelope after magically resealing itself, watching it vanish into a stream of clear smoke and stardust as it was carried away by the wind. Then, a luminous, white, circular portal manifested over the open space in front of him, and he stepped into it with no further hesitation, allowing the inviting light to overtake him. [hr] A grand scene faded into view from the gentle white, revealing an exceedingly vast castle foyer gleaming with pristine architecture. Strangely enough, it was virtually empty save for the strange round guide at Fox’s feet that he scarcely noticed. It appeared slightly tired, as if it had been doing this all day, but it still managed a welcoming “smile” in greeting to maintain a modicum of cordial enthusiasm. It spoke in a noise of unintelligible droning that Fox was unable to interpret without a working translator module [s](Where’s Slippy when you need him?)[/s], but its instructive gestures were clear; it wanted him to follow. The creature spontaneously disappeared as Fox stepped into the elevator and input the indicated floor number. The doors opened to reveal the unexpected aftermath of what was presumably a food fight. Shattered dishes lay strewn about every square inch of floor, various fruits and vegetables (particularly oranges) were splattered against the walls, the disfigured remains of a cheesecake plummeted from the ceiling, tables were overturned into clusters and clearly used for cover, all the signs were there, but it all seemed harmless enough. He could only hazard a few wild guesses as to who may have been involved/responsible, but the thought wasn't really worth entertaining much further. Fox carefully resumed his pace toward the large double doors, making sure not to step in any of the mess of comestibles leading up to them, and casually pushed the right door open as he entered. It seemed that the briefing had yet to actually get underway, so thankfully, his relative tardiness wouldn't adversely affect him in any significant way. Looking around he recognized only Samus, the Mario Bros, and two council members: Rosalina and Guile. He knew of Guile mostly through stories of heroism that in some ways mirrored his own, and of course, Mario’s unsurprising attendance almost immediately narrowed down Fox’s mental list of possible suspects for the evident chaos that took place just outside prior to his arrival. The rest were entirely new to him, and a couple of them were pre-engaged in the exchange of pleasantries and conversation with Samus and Luigi, the only other two here he had any shared experience with. He wasn't one to impose, so he opted against giving out any formal or informal introductions and propped himself against a wall at the back of the room, roughly adjacent to a couple of unfamiliars that resembled a Victorian huntsman and an aristocratic gentleman. Here he waited patiently for the meeting to officially start.