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M** ission Two: "The Gang"**

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In due time, the three members of Star Fox were allowed to disembark the elevator out into the vast, open area that was the Great Fox's well supplied hangar. Hanging from holds on the roof of the area were the many iconic spacecraft for which Star Fox was truly known; the heavily modified, upgraded, majestic Arwings that could perform three times better during combat than any known Cornerian fighter. Then, standing proud in their own area, there were the Landmasters; the Arwing's opposite yet powerful ground roaming tank unit that'd many a time turned the tides of battle against enemies of Corneria. Off to the side was the less known yet still respectable submarine vehicle, the Aqua Marine, which had done its fair share of brilliant underwater feats.

Again, the Arwings, the Landmasters, the Aqua Marine, they were heavily customized, upgraded, unique vehicles of Star Fox that could surely outdo any other known military vehicle these days. How? That was thanks to the little, green skinned, technically gifted, engineer of the Star Fox Team, Slippy Toad, who happened to be the son of Corneria's top weapon research specialist, Beltino. Like father like son, the Toad family had forever had a knack for tinkering, upgrading as well as bringing the best out of any machine. Be it a toaster, a lawnmower, a pistol blaster or a warp gate, the Toads were the best to bring in to reveal a machine's potential.

Therefore, when a younger Fox McCloud had inherited the rights of the Star Fox Team after his father's death, it'd been a grand blessing when Slippy - fresh out of military school like Fox himself - had joined the merc team's ranks as the chief engineer. For it was due to that young toad's gift for building machinery that'd made his team perform the best in the universe. It was because of his talent for upgrading material that Star Fox had, in the past, earned a pretty penny on the side by selling some of its high-tech secrets to Beltino to study every so often.

Focusing back onto the present at the moment in the Great Fox hangar bay, Star Fox's brilliant engineer who was Slippy currently stood alone in the hangar tinkering on a gadget in his hands. He wasn't alone for long, of course, when he noticed Peppy, Krystal along with Falco approaching him from their elevator on the far side of the area.

"Hey, hey, hey guys!" The amphibian mechanic laughed excitedly, waving to his teammates. He received a friendly wave back from the hare as well as vixen. Falco, being too cool, simply looked away to the side. "About time you all showed up. I needed to ask you on how I look in my new duds!"

Where Krystal had taken on a slightly formal dress attire, where Peppy along with Falco both looked a bit too casual to be going to the CDF base, Slippy hadn't held anything back. He'd always been like that, inside and outside of combat, of course; determined yet always vulnerable to blundering up. In this case, the excited engineer had really gone to town on making himself look a bit too good for where he was going. Posing boldly, straightening his black bow tie around his thick neck, he was in fact dressed in an all-black outfit that was made up of a tuxedo, dress pants, shiny dress shoes, a white undershirt, along with black sunglasses that he put on while his humored friends approached.

"Well, come on. Too cool for school, eh?" The toad asked cheerily. He really did look good. It just, heh, felt like he maybe... overdid things a bit. Either way, his friends did their best to encourage him.

"You look very handsome, Slippy." Krystal giggled, nodding her admiration at the toad's enthusiasm to look formal for the coming mission update, "I feel like you're about to ask me out to dinner tonight."

"As do I." Peppy chuckled, enjoying the amphibian's choice in apparel very much, "But I'm not exactly so hard to please. A veggie burger would be as good as a lobster tail any day for me, my boy."

"I'll keep that in mind, Pep. Burgers and lobster tails will be on me tonight." Slippy replied, making his friends burst out laughing as he gave them casually cool thumbs up with both of his hands, "Hey, Falco, why so quiet, buddy? Do I look the part of good or not?"

There was a moment where the avian studied the toad with a most disinterested gaze. Then, with a shrug, looking back somewhere than at his inquiring friend, he admitted, "You look fine."

At this remark, the rest of the Star Fox members glanced at each other exasperatedly. Falco just couldn't drop his guard for one moment and have some fun could he. No, he had to know what the mission was and create stress for everyone else. Well, where Krystal along with Peppy shook their heads at his reply, Slippy smugly smirked at the quiet avian.

"Fine? I look fine, huh? So I get two of my friends to tell me that look great and you just tell me that I look meh, huh? Well, what'd I expect? I couldn't ever hope to look as cool as you, right? Right." The engineer playfully huffed at the ace pilot, taking off his glasses and narrowing his eyes, "Honestly, Falco, I'll be sure not to ask for your opinion on anything again in the future. Thanks for your support."

"Whatever, Cool Dude." Falco chuckled lightly next, suddenly giving the toad an encouraging wink that made them both laugh. He'd been joking with everyone all along. Where Krystal and Peppy had taken him seriously, Slippy hadn't. The engineer and ace pilot just had a kind of chemistry that worked. That was why they hadn't shot each other out of the sky yet when flying their Arwings. "Whatever. You keep your veg-burgers and your lobster tails. I'll go get my own food, thanks."

"Oh? You'll get your own food? And what'll that be?" The amphibian wondered of the avian in turn, assuming a ridiculous pose all of a sudden. With his elbows held out from his sides, flapping them like wings, bent forward, Slippy began pretending to be a chicken that made his friends chortle. "Hah! Gonna go get yourself some roast chicken instead, Falco? Bawk-bawk-bawk!"

As Falco next locked Slippy into a headlock and began to noogie the heck out of the well-dressed, chortling amphibian's skull, the last remaining member of Star Fox made himself known. Dressed casually formal like Krystal in his lightweight, white vested, green panted, black booted battle outfit, wearing the classical red bandana around his neck, Fox McCloud - fabled son of respected James McCloud, Arwing specialist - stepped out of the nearby side elevator, noticed the commotion between his ace pilot and engineer and made his presence known.

"Ah, I see that the rest of the gang has all come together." The red furred, vulpine leader of Star Fox spoke with modest confidence while strolling up to his bickering comrades, "Good, good. Forgive me for running a bit tight on schedule. Heh, what kind of leader am I to come in last behind my team, huh?"

"It's okay. We didn't expect any less of you." Falco mocked humorously, letting go of Slippy in turn, "It always seems that you're the last one to the party during whatever."

"That may be true. Still, I find it odd how I do end up saving all of your butts from time to time." Fox argued back, stopping beside Krystal who gave him a sisterly hug that he returned with equal brotherly affection a smile. As the blue vixen straightened his collar, Star Fox's leader said in the ace pilot's, his best friend's, direction, "Seriously, who is that's always calling for help? "Oh no, Fox, I got a bogie on my tail! I can't shake him!"

"What are you talking to me like that for?" Falco chuckled dryly, pointing at all of the other members present apart for himself, "It's these chums who keep asking you for help, not me. Especially this lil' froggy here."

"Hah, okay, whatever you say, Falco." Slippy mused aloud, rolling his eyes as everyone chuckled . While he put on his classy shades next, the engineer added, "Whatever you say. Still, on a side note, get over yourself. Seriously, shut your beak for once."

"The Great Fox will be docking at the Corneria Defense Force headquarter's airbase in five minutes and counting." ROB's voice echoed out through the hangar from the control room, a timer appearing on the nearby television screens and counting down by the rapidly decreasing second, "When docked, the members of Star Fox will be meeting with General Pepper's personal guard who will take them to HQ. Remember to be courteous, polite along with mature. Thank you."

"I'll give you mature." Falco growled under his breath, knowing that the comment had been directed towards him, "Cheeky robot."

"What was that Falco?" Slippy asked deviously, "What about being mature?"

"None of your business, toad." The avian stated, looking to head lock his amphibian friend again before the toad pushed him back with a serious look on his face.

"Excuse, I'm going to have to ask you to step back, sir." The engineer joked with the ace pilot, pretending to be one General Pepper's personal guards, "Your immaturity is, if you hadn't noticed, affecting the impressiveness of the rest of us impressive people. Thank you and good day."

"Hah! I'll give you impressive, short stuff!"

While Slippy along with Falco belittled each other laughing, while Peppy watched in silent wisdom form where he was, Fox actually took Krystal's hand in his own. When they looked to one another, he gave her a gentle smile which she returned before he said, "This is it. Kind of a bit sudden but we're finally going to see Sauria for the first time in a while. Nervous?"

"Not at all. I'm so excited, actually. It's been far too long." The blue vixen giggled to the red vulpine that was her big brother of a best friend, "Tricky's mind is going to explode when he finds out that we'll be coming to his world for a visit. He's grown, Fox. He's as big as his father now. Maybe bigger. Soon, the crown will be passed on to him, you know."

"Bah, no way! He can't be that big yet let alone mature." The leader of Star Fox laughed to the telepath, shaking his head as she chuckled, "And even if he is that big, even if he is wearing a crown when you and I meet him, he won't be king in my eyes. Oh no, he'll always and forever be that little guy I found up in the mountains, rambling dino words at me while I was getting out of the hot springs thanks to saving his rear from some Sharpclaws moments ago."

"Ah, yes, I'll always see Tricky that way too. He'll always have that childish glint in his eyes if not energy in his words." Krystal admitted, nodding her head, "Still, he is growing up, Fox. It would be kind of us to show him respect where it is due during our mission on his planet."

"I know, I know. He is the prince, one way or the other. Soon, he'll be king. A grand king at that. I didn't mean anything against him. It's just that he and I... we go way back as friends. It's kinda getting harder for me to hear how much older he's become since the day I first ran into him." The leader of Star Fox explained to his near sister of a friend, smiling cheerily, "If anyone's mind is going to explode, mine will when I see Tricky again. No longer will he be yelling, "Wait up Fox!" during our races. It'll be me shouting, "Wait up Tricky!" instead."

The two foxes shared a happy moment of mirth at the thought of Fox trying to keep up with the sheer, powered speed of the prince triceratops of Dinosaur Planet. Without a doubt, during the mystery mission to come, things were going to be different on Sauria than ever before. Tricky, heir to the Earthwalker clans, was going to be grown up. No longer would he be looking up at the vulpines. They would be looking up at him.

What a thought. To think that that prince triceratops, soon to be king, was growing up on the other side of the Lylat system. How very... sad yet inspiring at the same time.

"Krystal, listen, I'm sure Peppy has already asked you this but... about the mission we're going to be doing on Sauria." Fox said next, looking concerned, "I don't understand the need for all of this secrecy if there's nothing troublesome there. And I know there's no trouble on Dinosaur planet because you've kept in touch with its rulers every day. Still, is there anything you feel is wrong there? Can you, with your telepathy, feel anything odd?"

"No, Fox, I cannot nor have I ever felt anything undesired in Tricky's home world since the end of the Aparoid War." The telepath honestly answered her leader, shaking her head, "I told Peppy the same thing earlier before coming to the hanger; everything is fine on Sauria. I've been keeping up on its health day in and day out. All is well there. Or so all of the rulers of the dinosaurs have been telling me."

"Then... what could we be doing on this mission meant for Dinosaur Planet?"

"Only one way to find out." Krystal told her big brother of a friend, bumping his hip with hers cheerily, "We head into CDF headquarters, hear what General Pepper has to say and then be on our way. Simple enough."

"That's right. Simple enough." Fox slowly agreed with his little sister of a friend, smiling a small smile at her, "We'll have our answers soon enough. I suppose I might be over-worrying about this whole event. We could just be going to keep Sauria under guard for a few months for whatever untold reason that can't be disclosed to the public. Leave it to me to jump to the worst of conclusions, huh?"

"You jumping to the worst of conclusions has saved this team many a time in the past, Fox McCloud. It's kept us from walking blindly into certain doom." Krystal said honestly, encouraging unsure Fox, "Your sixth sense is not something to fear but to cherish. I should know that better than anyone."

"Yes, you should, mind reader." Star Fox's leader admitted, nodding his head, "Well said."

"Great Fox is now docking at CDF headquarter's air base." ROB announced through the hangar which was now opening up before the Star Fox crew, lowering a platform down towards the air strip below with brilliant sunlight pouring in to the opening space craft in turn, "Please remember to be formal, polite and mature during your visit. Thank you-"

"You be mature!" Falco hollered aloud, throwing his arms into the air huffily while laughing everyone else began to disembark the Great Fox, "Shut it already, ROB. Sheesh. Grow up."