Once More, With Feeling

A story about mindless cruelty and revenge

7 years ago...

It was mid-morning at Corneria City Junior High, and the third period history class was in full swing. Katt Monroe discreetly passed a note to her best friend, Aurelia Javensen, while the teacher desperately tried to make everyone concentrate on their books.

"For the last time, students, please! Be quiet! Who can tell me why Drake Evers was important to the community?" She looked around expectantly, waiting for someone to raise their hand. "Nobody?" She surveyed the class a bit more, finally leveling her gaze at Slippy Toad. "Slippy."

Slippy slouched down in his seat. "H-he's important because he pioneered a daring and exciting n-new technique of popsicle s-stick manufacturing! In f-fact, we would still be in the s-stone age if it hadn't been for these b-brave ventures," he declared, while the kid sitting next to him tried not to crack up.

The teacher, Mrs. Milton, looked visibly disappointed. Katt primly raised her hand. "Excuse me, Mrs. Milton? Drake Evers led a protest against the grain taxes pushed by the Harian government. We might still be under this tax today if it hadn't been for him," she prattled, then smiled smugly at Slippy.

"Very good, Katt," said Mrs. Milton, relieved.

"Teacher's p-pet," muttered Slippy, under his breath.

The bell rang for lunch, and Katt and Aurelia were out like a shot. "So that's who Drake Evers was," Aurelia giggled in the hall.  "I always thought he was the guy who ran the shoe factory downtown. You know, Slippy will be on you for weeks."

"He had it coming," answered Katt smoothly. "I wanted to make him look like a fool, for once.  Not that he needs much help.  Anyway, Slippy's been bugging me since the second grade. Another week won't matter."

"Yeah, but what about his friend? Fox, isn't it? He's pretty cute."

"Everyone likes something different," smirked Katt, shoving her books into the locker. Slamming the door shut, she continued her discussion with Aurelia as they continued down the hallway to the cafeteria. "But sometimes it seems like he tries to keep his distance from Slip. You can't blame him."

Aurelia was an ermine with plenty of fashion sense and an optimistic disposition, and she and Katt had known each other ever since preschool. They were both from wealthy, upstanding families and had good-kid reputations, but were both a tad rebellious against the society when it came down to it. They both had their images to project around adults, but around other kids they weren't quite so cordial or squeaky-clean.

Standing in the lunch line, Aurelia wrinkled her nose as she eyed an unidentifiable tan substance that the lunch lady, a bad-tempered sow, was dishing out with an ice-cream scoop. "What is that?" she whispered to Katt. "It looks like Hairball Surprise. Let's go for the snack bar today."

They switched lines and grabbed a flavourless but palatable slice of pizza each,  then picked up some chips and bottled water. Katt and Aurelia set their trays down at their usual table and surveyed their domain. "You know, I'm thinking of declaring vegetarianism," Katt commented.

"You're kiddin'."

Katt smiled. "Kind of. I'm not so sure. I mean, look at the stuff we eat.  Mouseburgers? Gag me!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Do you wanna come over to my place after school?"

"Sure, but I have to take a document over to the Arable Bank for my mom."

"Arable Bank? Katt, that's in the inner city. Bad people hang around there. Why can't your mom take it over herself? She's got a car."

"She has to take my cousin back up to Kensfadale...it's a long drive, and she won't  be back until seven o'clock. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm in the seventh grade, after all."

"I'll come with you. I've got nothing better to do."

"Okay. See you after school, then."

That day at 3:25, Katt and Aurelia met in front of the building. The walk across town was uneventful; it wasn't a very long stroll; about a half mile either way. As they made their way down the street, they passed a group of kids standing in an alley trying to look tough. There were several species, including raccoons, dogs, and all sorts of other creatures. The leader seemed to be a tall falcon who was leaning against a wall and watching the street.

Aurelia nudged Katt. "That's Falco. Remember him from last year? Came about five days the whole year! No wonder he's in a gang."

"Yeah....yeah, you're right, I do remember him." Katt glanced again at Falco out of the corner of her eye. "He's cute, in a kind of weird birdy type way, dontcha think? We were friends last year. Didn't see him much, though."

"Katt, you can't be serious. Can you imagine what it would do to our images if we hung out with that type of person? But...you know, you're right...he is sorta cute.  In a weird birdy type of way."

"I don't give a flip about image."

"Oh, yeah you do. Trust me, you do."

"We can hang around with the Hot-Rods after school and be angels at school. It's what we've done in the past."

"How do you know the name of the gang? Oh, don't tell me you've been looking into it."

Katt smiled. "Okay, I won't tell you then."

After giving the papers to the clerks at the bank where Mrs. Monroe worked, Katt and Aurelia went back to the alley. Katt strode up to Falco. "Hey, Falco. Long time no see. I wouldn't expect to see you out on the street," she lied, smiling.

He turned his head and looked at her, then finally responded. "Oh, hi. Yeah, here I am. It's a good life."

"Really?"

He considered that. "Really."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Really sure?"

"What are you getting at?"

"You tell me."

Aurelia watched all this. She said nothing, but gazed intently at them. Some of the other gang members became restless.

"You gonna talk to this broad all day, Falco? Ain't we got other stuff t'do?" asked a heavy-set weasel, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Yeah....yeah, we do. Bye, Katt."

"See you again."

"Sure." He waved slightly as he turned and walked away with his friends.

*  *  *

From that day on, Katt and Aurelia went to see Falco almost every week. They eventually became pretty good friends. As time went on, Katt expressed her concern over Falco; she told him she thought he should come back to school, quit the gang, and take his life back. He argued that this was his life. He started feeling a bit uncomfortable then; he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he didn't want her preaching to him all the time.

Finally, one day, Katt observed him and the gang steal an adult hare's wallet. He didn't know she was watching. Eventually, he spotted her. If birds could blush, he would have been mulberry-red.

"Give that back, Falco."

"Are you kidding?!"

"You can't live like this. I...care about you, and I can't let you go on this way."

Oh, geez.  Now she was saying she cared about him.  "I never asked you to care! Just leave me alone, and let me do what I want with my life."

Katt stared at him. "Wake up, Falco," she said, softly but firmly. "This is a friend calling and I'm here to tell you to stop living these lies. There's a wide world out there, and I want to make sure you don't miss out on it because you're too busy committing petty larcenies and stealing from old men."

Falco started to say something, but stopped. Aurelia appeared startled at Katt's bluntness, but congratulated her as soon as they were out of Falco's earshot. "Boy, you told him. I wonder if he could have had a more foolish look on his face.  Ooh, embarrased him in front of all those guys, too.  But that's okay.  It was something he needed to hear, I think."

"Yeah," she responded wistfully. "I hope he really heard it, you know?"

They didn't see Falco as he caught up with the old man on the street and gave the wallet back. They didn't hear him say he'd "found it on the ground," he "must have dropped it." But that was okay.

*  *  *

Around the end of the year, Falco started coming to school again. He didn't do his homework and didn't quit the gang, but it was a start. He started fights all the time and got in more trouble than anyone else, but he was coming to school and that was an improvement. That was when he met Fox, and they eventually became friends. Before they moved on to high school, Falco had cleaned up his act entirely.

Around that time, newspaper articles appeared concerning Dr. Andross; first his findings, then his astounding creations, then his many clashes and disagreements with other respected scientists and such, and finally his exile to Edena. However, none of that directly affected Katt and Aurelia; most people drew their own conclusions. A few years later, Edena became grossly polluted; a popular nickname for the planet now was "Venom". Strange activity was noticed. New people were making the headlines now; Fox's father, James, and other members of his team whom Katt and Aurelia knew nothing about. Now everyone knew their names because they were going to investigate. Corneria waited four weeks and became uneasy. Only one member of the team returned.  As soon as he'd arrived, he'd told Fox something; the poor kid took it really hard, but he would only tell Slippy and Falco what it was and Falco wouldn't tell Katt because he was supposed to keep it a secret. The team member, named Peppy Hare, never told newspapers the happenings; he told General Pepper and Fox, and that was it. The general public never knew exactly what had happened. All they knew was that Corneria had started gathering an army together for some reason.

*  *  *

Falco, Fox, Slippy, Katt, and Aurelia all applied at the Corneria Flight School and were all accepted. The Flight Academy was a special boarding school, and Katt and Aurelia ended up rooming together.

"So you decided you want to be a pilot?" inquired Aurelia on the first day of school there.

"Yeah. I don't want to be an office worker like my mom. Sure, it pays well, but it's sooo boring! I want some excitement in my life."

"Same here. Are you gonna join the army?"

"Nah. I'm not even sure I'm on the Cornerian Army's side when it comes down to it."

"You're not?"  puzzled the stoat.

"I think whatever this Andross guy is doing, it's his own business. So he polluted one stinking planet. It was a dump anyway, before--I mean, the scenery was nice, but Corneria's is nicer. I think as long as he doesn't pollute EVERY planet this way, why does it matter? Nobody lived on Edena, that's why Pepper sent him there in the first place. And who knows what happened to the other Star Fox guys...maybe they saw it Andross's way and are staying around to help him out--who knows? Why should we take sides? He hasn't done anything wrong yet, you know. So he makes bio-weaponry. Who cares? He hasn't used them on anyone yet, and the reason he made them was to defend Lylat from invaders, ya know?"

"But why would that old hare lie? Sure, they're not telling the media lots of stuff, but maybe they just don't want to start a panic. I'm gonna join the army."

"I'm not saying that's wrong. It's okay! I'm just saying I'm not going to. I hope we'll still see each other."

And so Katt remained neutral in the upcoming war. Four years later, they graduated with flying colours alongside Falco and Fox. Slippy had earned a degree in mechanical engineering and got a license to fly, but didn't get quite as much recognition as his friends and the girls. Katt and Aurelia ragged on him for his inferiour piloting skills every chance they got. Falco was a bit nicer, but still made fun of him a lot; mostly good-natured, though.  Katt and Aurelia could be as mean as they liked since they didn't profess to be the toad's "friends".

Most of the graduating students joined the Cornerian Army. As the army was fairly young, another of Falco and Fox's friends, Bill, got to be a commanding officer after a few years, as did Aurelia. Falco, Slippy, and Fox joined the army for a few years, but never became commanders of any sort. Falco and Fox had the skill, but for some reason they never seemed like they wanted it.

Katt got a job as a cargo pilot for a budding mining corporation stationed on Titania. She liked her job because she got to fly to all sorts of planets; she especially liked it when she got to deliver on Zoness. The place was paradise. Cruise ships everywhere, resorts--it was gorgeous.

 Katt's large, comfortable cruiser, the Cat's Cradle, had been expensive but worth it. It had hyper lasers, a suite, and hyperspace capabilities. She didn't need to use these very often, but liked having them around just in case. She usually carted the deliveries on small trailers of sort that would hook up to the back of a ship and glide behind it.

Most of the deliveries were nuclear fuel, but some were food or supplies being carried to Titania.

Katt bargained for a deal that let her go back to Corneria for a few days each month. She always visited Aurelia, Falco, and her mother, and spent the rest of her time shopping or kicking back in a hotel room. Her second visit with Falco back home was eventful, to say the least.

"I'm quitting the army."

"What?!"

"Fox...that old hare that came back from Edena...they're going back to get revenge. Fox asked Slippy and I to join the Star Fox team."

Katt was still a bit confused. "Revenge? What? Fox? Huh?! Start talking sense, boy!"

"Peppy says Andross killed Fox's dad."

Katt shook her head. "And you believe him? People say strange things for money, Falco."

"No, that's just the thing--the other guy, the third one--he betrayed Fox's dad and Peppy as soon as they got there, because Andross paid him to do it."

"You're completely certain about this?"

"I guess....I don't think Fox would lie, and he trusts Peppy. Anyway, what's wrong with you? You sound like you're on Andross's side."

"I'm not on anyone's side, fly boy. I think the war is stupid."

"Andross declared war, we think he's trying to take over Corneria. He's already taken over Macbeth and built two space stations."

"Wake up, Falco! You're gonna get killed."

"Probably."

"You've always been stupid, Falco, but this time really takes the cake."

"Look, it's something I believe in, okay? Can't you accept that? I thought we understood each other, but I guess I was wrong."

Katt watched him go, and wasn't sure whether to curse his name or cry. She opted for both.

*  *  *

A year passed, and Katt was making a delivery on Zoness. She hadn't been back to Corneria since.

"Woo-hoo! Look at those waves! Boy, do I love this planet." Cargo delivery was a fun job, but lonely, and Katt had taken to talking to herself, and she was so used to it that she didn't even think it strange anymore.  If she would ever visit her mother, her mother would have thought her stranger than she used to be.  But anyway, since Katt was the only one who heard herself talking now, why shouldn't she make conversation with herself?  She pulled down sharp and dove underneath the surf in a quick barrel roll, then jetted back up. She had also taken to showing off, but there wasn't anyone to show off to--she just did it.  After all, cargo delivery was a lonley job.

"State your position."

A mean-looking green face appeared in Katt's com-link.

"What?" inquired Katt contemptuously.

"State your position in the Lylat war, fool," spat the reptile.

"Neutral. What do you want?" Katt raised an eyebrow.

"You do not pledge loyalty to Andross?"

"N-n-noo...WHY?"

"You are carrying supplies. Green squadron, you know what do to," the lizard snapped its fingers and grinned malevolently.

As a group of Venomian fighters swooped down behind them, Katt's eyes opened wide. "Hey! HEY! Don't kill me, I didn't DO ANYTHING!! Stupid freaks!"  How am I supposed to get out of here?! I can't go to hyperspace here! I'll have to exit the atmosphere....

Three ships exploded the G-diffuser units on her aircraft.

"I guess that idea's shot. Dang! What am I gonna do? I can't even go to an altitude above 1000 meters with no G-diffuser," Katt muttered.

Four ships opened fire on Katt's ship. Katt cursed and somersaulted behind them, managing to take out two of them before they broke away. I'm not stupid enough to chase them, she thought. I just need to get away, somehow. But how? Almost paralyzed with fear as she realised that there was really no way to escape, a gnawing fear formed in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey, boys, this is no way to treat a woman," she complained, blowing up a third and fourth. Then one of the Venomians used a nova bomb on her ship. "AAAAHHHH! You little terd!!!" Then she went down hard.

Charged lasers exploded in her face as the Cat's Cradle spun wildly down with a trail of smoke. The trailer's link to the ship was exploded by the Venomians as they collected their prize.

Badly burned from the laser blasts, Katt squeezed her stinging eyes shut and tried not to look as her ship completed its mad spiral and splashed into the peaceful, almost mocking waters of Zoness.

She unfastened the seatbelt and tried to get out, but as the ship filled with water and sank more swiftly, the feeling of dread returned as her lungs became waterlogged.

Katt stuck out a claw and shattered the front window of her ship. She kicked spastically and tried to reach the surface.

Dang, she thought. I should've taken swimming lessons.

Finally she broke the surface of the oceans and held on to a piece of floating debris. After what seemed like an eternity, she reached the shores of a tiny island. The last thought she had before she collapsed into the burning sands and everything went black was a vow.

Andross will pay.

*  *  *

It was three days before a cruise liner spotted her on the minute island.

Bedraggled, hungry, thirsty, ripped clothing, burns and cuts all over her--the patrons of the cruise were shocked at such a sight. The ship's doctor swiftly rushed her into the most intensive care they had on the ship.

Within a month she had recovered physically from that fateful day, but emotionally it took quite a bit longer.

*  *  *

I am going to go in there and make that fool pay.

Katt was in the shadows of a busy spaceport on Titania. She watched all the lizards and primates as they ran around stupidly, trying to please Andross.

She was planning to hop the last flight to Venom and kill Andross. Perhaps a bit impulsive, not very well thought out, but Katt was mad--really mad. Andross had destroyed her life and her ship. Dang, that thing had been expensive. All that mattered to her at this point in time was revenge. And it's his fault Falco and Aurelia are out there getting themselves killed, too, if they're even still alive, she thought bitterly.

Eventually she saw a bored-looking chimp with a clipboard directing a load of weaponry and supplies to a small cargo ship in a nearby docking bay. She bolted fromher hiding place and leaped into the cargo bay as the doors closed. Stupid half-blind monkeys. They didn't even see me. She settled down among the artillery and waited.

Eventually the ship landed roughly on the surface of another planet. Katt yawned and stretched. She peered out a slit in the wall and looked out the front window. She saw the backs of the heads of the pilot and crew and a sickly yellow sky. Bingo. Venom, here I come. She snatched the biggest blaster she could find among the other weapons and set it to level 6.

As the cargo door opened, she kicked the lizard who was there to unload in the stomach. He grunted and stumbled back. She jammed the gun right up next to his head and hissed, "If you make one sound I'll blow your brains out, okay, honey?" She smiled evilly. The lizard looked so frightened it was almost comical. He squeezed his mouth shut and Katt ran towards the wall surrounding Andross's base.

When she reached it, she sneaked around back and saw that only the front was made of metal. The back part was mostly crumbling stone and dirt. She easily scaled it and landed lightly on the inside of the wall. A sentry spotted her, but she shot him before he could utter a sound.

Moving quickly, she entered the base and sneaked down a hallway. She was looking for Andross. She wandered aimlessly, not knowing where the ape was.

Eventually she found herself in the detention hall. She knocked out the sole guard with a nearby crate and then inspected the cages.

"Katt?"

"AAHHHH!!!"  Katt almost fell over.  "Aurelia, what are you doing here?!"

"The stupid monkeys captured me, whaddaya think? What are YOU doing here?" Aurelia smiled sadly.

"Andross cost me plenty o' cash. Destroyed my ship; and that's not all he destroyed. I'm out for revenge today. Who are all these guys?"

"More Army buffs, I guess. We only got here yesterday."

"And you're leaving today. Here, take this guy's blaster," she said resolutely as she tossed the unconscious guard's blaster to her friend. "I think I saw some Cornerian fighters in the scrap heap in the front yard o' this place--these idiots didn't even think to destroy 'em. I'll see you around, Aurelia."

"Yeah, you too. Call me after we get out of here."

Katt smiled briefly, her thoughts drifting.  Then they got back on track.  She left the detention to find Mr. Andross. After searching fruitlessly for hours, she turned a corner and found the hallway crawling with guards.

Five monkeys ran at her at once. She raked the nearest one's face with outstretched claws and shot a second in the hand, causing him to drop his blaster. She picked it up and fired both guns at the same time. The force of the explosion threw her back a few feet, but she turned around and ran as quickly as she could.

A monstrous steel door was right in front of her.  Awestruck, Katt opened it and stared up into the face of the largest, most evil ape that ever lived.

She would have fainted if she hadn't hated Andross so profusely. As it was, as soon as she realised he was asleep, she leveled both blasters at his head and prepared to end his life.

A heavy hand clamped down on her shoulder, another over her mouth. She dropped the blasters. A muffled shriek echoed through Andross's chambers as Katt was roughly pulled outside and hit while the doors slid shut.

Katt recoiled, then whirled around and slammed the primate against the wall, hands encircling his throat. "Keep your filthy paws off me or one of us is going to die, bub," she growled, tightening her grip. "And it sure ain't going to be me."

The orangutan's eyes were bugging out and his tongue was protruding as his face turned a purplish colour. Katt gave him a punch for good measure and then dropped him, dashing down the corridor.

She ran for a few minutes, her feet pounding the hard concrete floor. She was quickly tiring, but knew that it wouldn't be long before a substantial group of Venomians were down the hall after her. Desperate, she came upon what looked like the entrance to a storage area or docking bay of some sort. Glancing around at the surrounding halls, she quickly forced the door open and stepped inside the darkened room, cowering behind the doorway until she was sure they were shut.  Then she turned around and examine her surroundings.

It was magnificent.

"The mother lode," Katt grinned to herself. She put her hands on her hips and surveyed the haul.

Sleek invader-class fighters lined the amazingly gargantuan docking bay. Hyper laser additions and spare parts, including more shield generators than she could count, were piled high everywhere.

There was no ceiling. The dark green night sky of Venom was the roof over the docking bay.

"Katt, I think you just hit the jackpot!" she squealed to herself.  Ah yes, cargo delivery was a lonely job, and so was revenge.

Two minutes later, one very well equipped Invader jetted off the ground and spiraled upwards with flare, followed soon after by the signature sparkle of a ship exiting the atmosphere.

Present time....

It had been two years since that fateful afternoon on Zoness. Since then, that planet, too, had been occupied by Andross's forces and polluted disgustingly. She was mad about that, at least, but for the most part, life was good. She wanted Andross dead but decided maybe she wasn't the one who had to do it.

Katt had intercepted a message from General Pepper to a mercenary unit just outside Zoness's atmosphere. She smiled smugly and nudged the Cat's Paw down into the planet's biosphere.

"You guys need savin' whether you know it or not," she said to the Star Fox team, even though they couldn't hear her. Ah yes, it was a lonely job--but talking to people who can't hear you is better than talking to yourself.  

The acrid yellow clouds parted and Katt's ship twirled majestically into the fray.

"We're closing in on them, Falco!"