Wednesday, January 7, 2004

Mask.

I was very annoyed when I found out I lost the piece of paper this was originally written on. I wrote it about two hours before a parents' evening at the High School which I was supposed to be helping out at, way back when I was writing Starfox fanfics (pre-SFA and GameCube, I might add). I didn't think they were that bad at the time, but if I could read them now I'd probably cringe. I saved most of them in a Works Document (which I can no longer read), so for the moment they're in limbo. I had 60-odd characters there, good RPG material possibly... Anyway, I want to try and recreate one of my favourite pieces of writing. Who knows, it might actually end up better than I remember it. Either way, it'll certainly be different. This was quite late on in the series- I never even got close to completing them, I tended to write down random scenes that came into my head - at a point where this interdimensional gateway had been opened and Fox travelled through to enter a universe where he'd died instead of his girlfriend Fara Phoenix. Fara, if anyone who used to read the Nintendo Power comics back in 199wheneveritwas remembers, was a semi-official character created specially for the comics. I'd never read the comics before ever, so after having created my perfect universe with Fox's own new and original gf, hearing about Fara threw me into chaos. So I replaced Kaya (my character) with fara for the first nine chapters and killed her off. The first bit of Starfox fanfic I ever wrote was her death scene, actually, and very pleased I was when I'd finished it. I wouldn't be now, I can tell. I remember a line or two, but it was just so... drippy. Still, here we go with this bit: Fara has followed Fox and co back into his own Universe and is trying to convince him to come back with her, leaving Kaya and everyone else behind. Bearing in mind the terrible situation Fox's dimension is in at this point, you'd think this decision was easy. But he'd already seen Fara die... * * * "Fox, why are you doing this? Fate brought us back together again," she pleaded, stepping forwards and clutching her hands to her chest. "We were meant to be with each other." Fox shook his head, his eyes fixated on the figure before him. "No, it wasn't fate. This should never have happened." Fara froze. She felt as if she'd just plunged into bottomless pit. "How..." she whispered. "How can you say that?" She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Didn't anything we did mean anything to you?" Fox's hands began to shake. "Fara..." Kaya watched anxiously from the far edge of the room, unable to move and unable to speak. "I loved you, Fara. But..." "But what?" Fara's voice cracked with tears. "Isn't that enough?" Memories played themselves over in Fox's head, each one burning into his conscience with a pain more intense than before. Slowly, seeing his head drop, she started stepping forwards. Behind her the gatway whirled and swelled ominously, the generator rattling violently. She took another step. Outside, explosions shook the building. Clouds of dust billowed from the floor and small bits of debris snapped away from cracks in the ceiling. Kaya moved to try and bring Fox away, just a rock crashed into the floor ahead. She hit the ground hard, blood began seeping from a cut on her forehead. Fox whirled round. "Kaya!" A harsh voice pierced the air. "Fox!" Fara stared at Fox with sad determination in her eyes. "Come back with me." She took another step. Click. Fox's pistol was aimed directly at her head. Her pleading eyes bore into Fox’s over the barrel of the gun. "Don't move," he hissed. "Fox... please, don't so this. I love you,” she cried. “Don't you love me too?" The gun began to shake. His gloved fingers held tightly on the tigger. His breath ripped out of him harshly, he was having difficulty standing up straight. He just wanted to collapse. The noises around him faded into the distance as he whispered to Fara in a shaky voice: “I can’t be who you want me to be, Fara. As soon as I saw your body lying on the ground I knew my lie would never be the same.” “But didn’t you still have hope that we could make it?” Fox gritted his teeth, forcing out the words. The gun dropped to his side. “I wanted you to come back. More than anything. But I knew that if I ever saw you again, all I would ever see would be you dying in my arms.” “I’m alive, Fox! You’re alive! What difference does it make where we are? You’re with me now. Isn’t that what you wanted?” Fox glanced over his shoulder to where Kaya was lying, looking up at him with watery eyes. She hauled herself to her feet and clutched her arm, trying not to wince through the pain. “I’ll… still be here when you come back, Fox.” She whispered, looking to the ground. Fox had made his decision. He raised his gun once again. Click. Bang.

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