"Way to go, dummy. Now you've doomed us all." a black haired male with white bangs smacked Starfox's backside...those brown eyes glared daggers at his partner he had just assaulted. They were standing in the middle of a vast room filled with purple mist. So vast was the room, that the walls and ceiling were nowhere to be seen...they stretched on so far that it was like the gaping eternity of space itself. If one were to look up, the ceiling was further than the sky itself.

"Goddamnit, Hermes, how was I supposed to know??" Starfox retorted, emerald eyes ablaze. His dark brown hair was short, perhaps not even an inch, and it naturally spiked outwards just slightly.
These two silent warriors stood amongst four other friends of theirs, whom they had all known their entire lives. There were six of them, but they retained their old name: Lucky 7. The seventh one had been deceased for about 6 years...and they frequently visited his grave.
He was a silent martyr who had died to avoid his inevitable fate to which the monster in front of them had now succumbed.

"Look at that thing...It's so full of the "Great Poison" that it's ready to burst! If we don't do something quick it'll destroy everything we've worked so hard to protect!"
A third voice spoke up. This time it was Skye, a girl with blonde, shoulder length hair. Another one of their friends, one who joined the 'crusade' for personal reasons.

"Those lying bastards...they told us that releasing the seals would save the world, not empower this thing!" It was another female, much feistier and more outward than her friend. Her hair was long and brown, with red highlights. Her flaming, determined eyes had an odd, purple hue to them.

A fifth voice spoke up...another male, this one with spiky, blonde hair and dark blue eyes. "Forget it, Lorlei...and all the rest of you. We had to lift the seals...it would have slowly killed the Earth anyway, and now that it's out in the open...once we kill it, it's done once and for all. No more worries...no more fear."

The sixth voice responded a bit hastily. "Ax, are you forgetting how much more powerful than us it is now?" This last voice came from what most would call a pretty boy. His hair and eyes were an azure color...his friends all joked with him profusely about it.

"And maybe you're forgetting, Roy, how much power we'll have now that the seals have been lifted." Ax, as the spiky-blonde was named, shouted back at Roy.

"That's right! Now that the planet's lei line is exposed, we can channel it's power!" Skye chimed in.

"Quince, this one's for you!" Starfox held out a fist in the air.

Quince, or "Q," as they called him, was the martyr mentioned earlier. In Ax's exact words, "The name Quince sounded girly," so the rest of them agreed on Q.
An evil force had long ago descended upon the Earth, known only as the "Great Poison." It arrived nearly a millenium ago, but it had slowly been leeching away the life of the planet...it's most recent effects more obvious and earth-shaking than ever before. A secret branch of a secret society had tried to harness this power and use it to their own design. Needless to say, they only made matters worse.
Their friend, Q, was drafted as part of a top secret program to enhance creature evolution...he was infected by the poison, and would have turned into an insane, freakishly powerful monster had he not ended his own life.

Before doing so...he did not leave the Earth without leaving behind a clue to the poor witness to this suicide...Starfox.

What worms out life wherever it blooms?
What eludes time and space alike?
What corrupts what it cannot kill?
What burns in the dark but swallows the light?
When the sky is broken, the wind is still,
The moon ablaze, the sun is dead.
With Stony hearts, we roamed the world,
in search of life that now we loath,
and seek with fury, to end it all.
Our golden days shall be no more.

Soon after reciting this long and darkly poetic speech, Q had leaped off the of the ledge of Golemus Golemicarum, and into the middle of the sea, into its icy cold depths and his body was crushed to a bloody mess under the pressure of the ocean. His friends insisted that this message be etched into his gravestone; They forever knew it as the "Epitaph of Q," otherwise called the "Suicide Symphony."
The message was not recognized as a warning until several years later, when the group finally discovered the existence of the force called the Great Poison.
They had come so far to save the world, and this was their moment...the source of all Great Poison. Once it was dead, the world could live on in peace.

"What's it doing now? Is it...is it...?" Lorelei was at loss for words. The formless monster before them was floating upwards and flying away.

"It's frickin' running away! I don't believe it!" Hermes exclaimed. He threwee several plasma-charged knives in it's direction (the foxes were very well known for combining new technology with old magic)...only to have them disappear into it's glowing, silver hyde.
They lived in a world where Technology and Mysticism both progressed as legitimate fields of study, and Hermes' knives were an example of this.

"What do we do? We have to stop it somehow..." Roy mused.
Everyone was silent as it flew away and slowly disappeared into the distance. Finally it was so far away, that it's fluorescent body illuminated the distant ceiling, revealing it's escape route: A vertical shaft.

Everyone stared at eachother...they all knew the answer.
"The Guardian!" They all said at once. A moment later, they all turned to face Ax, who now looked a bit awkward.
"Oh, gosh..." He shook his head, and rolled up his left sleeve. His hand glowed a pale green color, symbolic of his control over an ancient piece of technology which they had just mentioned. Moments later, a low, rumbling sound was heard in the distance.

Considering there were no nearby walls to cause an echo, it must have been really loud.

All of a sudden, a tall, metallic sentinel (one of the major creatures of the foxes) appeared several yards away, slowly and clumsily walking over to the group. It's face was deadpan and emotionless, and it glowed with a green aura...the same color as Ax's left hand.
He had found it in a waterfall cavern outside his hometown, and it chose him for it's master. It came from an ancient civilization from the dark ages, rich with an unknown technology. This particular item had the ability to emulate all forms of technology. Now was the time to pass it on.

"Hey...Gunther?" A quirky one, Ax referred to his giant guardian as 'Gunther.' What a character that he was...
"Remember the Calluyda we had to go take care of?" The Calluyda was the name of the cosmic monster they were fighting...the source of all Great Poison. The statue nodded it's head in understanding.
It was an amazing piece of technology, really...it could understand human language and shapeshift by scanning any mechanical object.

"We have to go stop that thing. Will you help us out?" The gargantuan hunk of metal nodded what looked like it's head, and Ax turned to the rest of his friends.
"But see...only one of us can use Gunther at a time." The horrible truth hit them all hard. Ax turned to face the group. Of course, having experienced battle alongside the titan, they already knew this. He was just reminding them all...as this was going to be a one-person job, whether they liked it or not.
Someone had to volunteer for the job...someone who didn't mind selling his/her soul to save everyone else.

"I'll go." Starfox stepped forward. Alot was going through his mind right now...the most predominant thought concerning whether or not he would return home.
There was a long silence...so quiet it was almost deafening.

"You can't!" Lorelei stepped forward suddenly. There was a hint of desperation in her voice...something very unusual for her. She strived so hard to get her tough, calloused reputation, but her friends knew her softness.
"You've done so much already...someone else has to go!"

"All the more reason why I should go."

"Now wait just a minute..." Ax stepped forward. "I thought I should go...after all, Gunther's mine and all...I think you do need a turn to sit on the sidelines and enjoy life for once."

"You have Skye to look after, you idiot." Starfox accused.
Skye blushed and looked down, sad for Starfox and embarassed for his statement. Her initial reason for following her friends was to find an old childhood love. To make a long story short, things didn't go as planned and she ended up with Ax. Now she was happier than ever.

Roy stepped forward. "Forget it, Ax-man. Starfox is the Urban Soldier...war is all he knows." This may have sounded cowardly to anyone else, but Roy was more the understanding type than the others.

This only made Lorelei angrier. "How can you say that?? You're just letting your best friend march off to his doom?"
Hermes grabbed her arm before she could do anything.
"Someone has to go, Lory! It would be just as hard for anyone to go!"

"But it's not fair! Why does he..." She was at loss for words. For once in her life, Lorelei began to break down and cry on her knees. She was tough and full of pride, so it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize she was hiding something. Starfox was the first to kneel down and try to talk to her.
Before he could say anything, she looked up at him and said something very quietly.

Everyone craned their necks forward to try to listen. She looked at them all once more before meeting Starfox's gaze again. She repeated: "I love you..."
It hit him like a ton of bricks. This girl, whom he had thought was tougher than most guys, who could never cry or give her heart to any one, sat before him confessing feelings that seemed to hard to explain.

"I tried to hold it back...I tried to be strong...they say you should never fall in love with your friends...but...but you..." It was all she could say, and he couldn't say much either. Everyone else was pretty shocked, too.
Starfox just hugged her and held her close for a long time, feeling warm tears fall on his shoulders. It took a while for him to figure out that he was crying, too.
It was something he hadn't done in ages, and he felt a sudden urge to cry the years away.

It was a good long time before they finally stood up again. No one else said a word; they just stared sadly into their hero's eyes...for they all knew deep down that they would never see him again.

Ax sighed heavily, and walked past Starfox over to the Metallic Guardian, Gunther. He set his glowing hand on the gargantuan creature's side, and the glow died down and stopped as the great beast began to liquify and reform into something else.
Starfox trudged over to it, avoiding Ax's gaze, and planted his hand on the side. Still liquid, he would be able to 'dive' inside the spherical object and control it from within. He took the backpack off his shoulders, and shoved it inside. Within were various weapons and supplies he used on his travels. He might never use them again, but it was in his nature to do things "just in case."
He finished loading up, and turned back to the group, his face still soiled from bitter weeping.

"Wait." Roy grabbed Starfox's shoulder from behind. The hero turned to face him, finding an object thrust into his open hand.

"It's yours now."

"Roy...?" Starfox looked down at his hand. Inside was a beautifully crafted, wooden cube, with ornate, golden designs woven into the cube. It was another ancient artifact, just like the guardian. This one had the ability to manipulate soundwaves; perfect for a musician like Roy. He had even become proficient enough to attack with the mysterious object.

"It's yours. If you survive...or if you don't...I want you to have it."

At that moment, a great seismic upheavel threw them all off their feet, and a loud roar sounded from afar.
"You have to get moving! The Calluyda is on the move!" Hermes yelled.
Starfox nodded and lept to his feet.

"Wait!" Lorelei ran over to him, and they embraced one more time. It was just a brief moment, but it felt like an eternity, for some strange reason. Then they seperated, still gripping eachother's arms, and gazed into eachother's eyes for another few seconds.
Lorelei came forward and pressed her lips against his for one final moment of joy, before her soldier went marching off to war. They cherished the moment, and someone else started crying...it was Hermes, of all people. His head was hidden in his hands, and his weeping was silent. A stream of tears serenely flowed out from under the hand. Another tough guy...which made it all the more sentimental.

Starfoxfinally pulled away, and gave them all one final look of despair. He would never forget them, and hopefully they would never forget him.
His life was not his own; he was the greatest vigilante. Selling his soul for the people was all he knew.

He disappeared within the shimmering sphere, as it elongated, reformed and solidified into some kind of ship. It began rising off the ground, and shot off, shrinking in the distance little by little.

The Blackhearted Hero was about to do what he did best.

““o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o””

The Guardian soon came rushing out of the atmosphere, ablaze in a great flame. As it broke through, it noticed it's target somewhere far away. It was flying around the world, sucking up the life of the planet itself.

The Guardian Starfox now piloted was built by an ancient civiilization speciifically to destroy this Great Poison, they had discovered. The Calluyda came to the planet about a millenium ago, and has slowly been leeching away the life force of the Earth, growing larger and stronger very slowly and gradually...all the while producing more and more of the Poison to slowly kill off the world above. They had fought a failing battle over the years, and they left behind only small traces of their civilization. They died out, and left only a few relics for the future to fight with.
Perhaps they didn't even know there was a source of all the Poison.

They also believed the Earth had a life of it's own, connected with the people on the surface. As a matter of fact, the life force was so powerful and so plentiful that they were forced to seal it up, to prevent it from tearing the planet to pieces. (this occurred long before the Great Poison came to Earth)
The Guardian was infused with this Life Force, and was therefore an incredibly powerful piece of machinery...it was these same seals that Starfox and co. had sought to release.

The group known as Lucky 7 had been informed that unleashing the Earth's energy may have put the planet in a dire situation before, but since most of it had been leeched away by now, their only hope was to release the locks on the great power in hopes that the life force would fight back the contamination of the great poison.
It worked, for a little while...until they found out that the poison was the waste product of a great beast that had befallen the world...the same one that had begun sucking away the planet's life force. Now that it had a bountiful supply of the force, it was even more powerful and the Poison was becoming even greater in quantity than it was before.

Once they destroyed the Calluyda, Poison would cease to grow and the Planet's Life Force would clean up the mess and slowly grow back to its former power.
One of the Guardian's abilities was channeling this massive power. Even at this moment, using the vision of the Guardian, Starfox could see the "Lei-Line" of the planet, the steady stream of pure life-force. The Guardian began to glow a great white color, and soon shone like a glorious star...it was taking in a small portion of the Planet's life. It shot off to cut through the massive beast that threatened its planet.

Starfox directed the Guardian straight towards the Calluyda, now in the form of a Great, Silver Dragon. The elongated, glowing Guardian contacted the monster's hide, burned a hole in the beast, and shot out the other side like a heavenly bullet.
The Calluyda screamed and flew off far away from the planet, towards a nearby flying outpost. Starfox continued to pursue it, shooting off energy at the creature as often as he could. With every passing hit, it grew weaker and weaker.

It flew in a circle around the station before charging up a mass of energy. Just before it could fire it off, Starfox launched several shots into the maw of the beast, as the mass exploded in its face.
The creature began flying away once more, far away from the station, up and away from the earth.
Before pursuing it, Starfox looked at the planet once more. Through the vision of the Guardian, it looked like it was aglow in a brilliant white and green flame. He shook any hindering thoughts out of his mind and followed the Calluyda to wherever it would take him.

It was who he was...he had to sacrifice any and all emotion for the sake of others. His mother always used to tell him, "A life not lived for others isn't a life worth living." The thought gave him strength, and he pushed forward. He had been taught to dump all thoughts and all emotion in 'wartime,' and to act without any hesitation at all.

““o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o””

It seemed like the fight raged on for an eternity, both combatants exchanging blows one after another. Both of them were weakened greatly, and neither of them could return to the planet; in their struggles, they had strayed far away from it, with little hope of returning.

It was exactly as Lucky 7 had feared.

The Calluyda charged up an attack one more time, as did Starfox. This one would end it...whether or not he lived was none of his concern now. All he cared about now was making this bastard pay. He channeled most of the remaining lifeforce into a single shot...both combatants seemed to be doing this.

"You invaded our home...you tore it to shreds...to make things worse you poisoned us all...it was because of you that my best friend died before my very eyes...and now you have the gall to try and run away from your fate??"

But then something strange happened...Starfox launched a preemptive strike. Though his attack was not as strong as it should have been, he remembered something from earlier...

when he attacked the charge shot the Calluyda had built up earlier in the fight, it exploded right in his face.
Now, he went for one final all-out attack...focusing himself and flying straight into the monster.

"This is for Quince!!" His voice, full of anger and sorrow echoed throughout the emptiness of space. He was about to die and he knew it.
There was a moment of enlightenment...everything came rushing back to him, his life, his friends, and all the moments worth living for...everyone he was saving was counting on him. He saw his five friends all against a blank white background...

At that moment, an explosion whose glory rivaled that of a supernova erupted in the darkness of space...it was greater than anything he had ever witnessed...

There was another shape next to them...he walked in from the distance...slowly and calmly. He slowly became larger and larger...the other five turned to watch him...

The guardian, dead and lifeless began spiralling off into the eternal darkness...its eyes glowed no more, and it's shining green aura disappeared.

He now saw who the sixth person was...it was Quince, the old friend who had warned him so long ago, who had sought salvation but could find none...who took his own life in the presence of his best friend the hero.
The rest just stood there smiling, proud of their comrade...the Blackhearted Hero.
In appearance, Quince was still just 12 years old, the same age as when he had died...he looked so pure and serene. He held out his hand, offering it to his old friend.

A giant, metallic hand twitched ever so slightly...then, it's back twitched, and a small spark of electricity lit up it's eyes for just a brief moment...it was only for a split second, but it was there.

Starfox looked down into the child's eyes, white as snow, pure as though he had been born yesterday. Those eyes were full of compassion and understanding...
he looked past to his other friends...they were disappearing into the white abyss, and soon the two comrades were alone. Starfox reached down and took the child's hand. He was about to apologize, but he was interrupted.

"You've done more than you ever knew you could...more than anyone could do...this world will remember you for eternity. This isn't just about saving the world, Starfox...across the stars, they will whisper the name of a lone boy who gave his world hope...the name of a single hero who stood up to fight, even as his legs were broken underneath him, who held up his weapon even as his arms were too beaten and bruised to lift themselves up. They will speak of that burning desire to constantly put the world before himself."

He smiled at his friend, who was now at loss for words. He couldn't feel sad...it was almost as though this friend of his were reaching beyond the grave to console him.

"Now...Starfox...Friend...Hero. Be at peace, and claim your place among the stars...ascend to the heavens like a legend."
The boy stared long into Starfox's eyes with deep compassion. He then turned around and began to walk away. Starfox felt...sad and happy, somehow. A great wave of emotions came over him...but at the center of it all, he was satisfied that he had fulfilled his duty. He no longer had to worry about anything else...and he had made life better for everyone back home...

...he gave them hope.

All of a sudden, the guardian jerked back to life, eyes aglow with the same green light that surrounded it's body. Starfox's eyes opened abruptly, apparently surprised that he could be alive right now.

"Thanks, Q. But I'm not gonna join the heavens just yet...I'm gonna keep living."

He still felt sorrow, but he had no regrets...if he could, he'd drag on his existence for as long as possible. He closed his eyes and focused on another form...another machine.
Slowly, the Guardian began reconfiguring into a round, solid object. A single window on the outside revealed the Urban Soldier slowly drifting into a long, long sleep.

***

Little did they know that is was because of the cubes unknown magic that the golem came back to life with energy, but because of the fierce battle Starfox encountered the cube with its emence power could not shield and regenerate Starfox which caused him to have an amnesia.

When Starfox awoke he didnt have a clue of what happened to him or to his race (which was wiped out by the remaining Poison) he just calmly walks the MD world searching for his purpose not knowing of his past heroic life.

***