#spellstones

To understand his plan, we need to go over what bits we know and don’t know about Sauria, the SpellStones, and the Krazoa:

Sauria has a huge amount of magic that’s constantly trying to rip the planet apart.

The SpellStones are guarded by GateKeepers and usually they sit at the planet’s core, brought there via a Force Point Temple.  

SpellStones can block the magic flow (presumably absorbing it) and cause the planet’s energy to stabilize.

If the SpellStones are removed, the planet will fall apart.

The GateKeepers have the ability to move the SpellStones in a time of need.

The Krazoa Spirits also somehow keep the planet together. 

The Krazoa Spirits live in Krazoa Palace but when things get perilous, they hide at their own shrines to await a person of pure heart to escort them back to the Palace.

Pure heart can mean pure good or pure evil.  This isn’t overtly stated but it’s implied because Scales has a Spirit in him.

With all of that being said, let’s look at Andross’s main goal-- revival.  Through means we don’t really know, he can revive himself using the Krazoa Spirits.  But to get to the Spirits, he would obviously need some form of army.  That’s where General Scales comes in.  

Scales is smarter than the average SharpClaw but we really don’t know if that’s because Andross got his hooks into him or if the Spirit he’s got his claws on has anything to do with it.  But Scales’s intelligence doesn’t really matter because he’s malleable and Andross understands this early on.  He convinces Scales to attack Krazoa Palace -- presumably to get the Krazoa Spirits.  At first, I thought Andross’s plan was to get the Krazoa to flee to their shrines but now that I really think on it, his plan from the start could have been to nab the Spirits in the first attack... but maybe he realized he couldn’t do that so easily?  I mean, how does a ghost nab... other ghosts... Unless he was hoping the SharpClaw would suffice?  

Anyways, if that was his plan, it wasn’t well-thought out and the Krazoa fled to their protective shrines all over the planet, which I’m sure he was just positively thrilled about.

Before, I’ve stated that I was pretty sure that Andross had led Krystal to Sauria for the express reason of collecting the Spirits but I think there’s a chance that he didn’t for that exact reason.  We already know Scales was able to ferry the Spirits around and was able to pass one of the tests.  Andross had his perfect pawn in Scales by him having a pure heart of evil and in being the leader of a dinosaur tribe. 

Krystal however, seems most definitely baited to Sauria because of her channeling powers.  I think her collecting the first Spirit was a bonus for Andross and that he only had her captured because he knew Scales would be up for the task.  And, you know, Krystal had her part to play in his plan as a sort of magic medium to put him back onto the mortal realm in a more corporeal state.  I think otherwise, he would’ve just let Krystal go around and collect all of the Spirits for him and then had her captured at the end.

Overall, I think this plan is ultimately a pretty good plan except for two glaring factors: 1) I don’t think it was common knowledge where the Shrines are located and 2) Fox McCloud shows up and begins wrecking the SharpClaw.

I kind of wonder if Andross hoped Star Fox would arrive so he could have his chance at revenge but ultimately, if you take into consideration that Scales could have just run around and done all of the Shrines then Fox showing up was actually kind of a thorn in Andross’s side.  After all, what are the odds that two people with pure heart would just happen to end up on Sauria in such a close time frame?

HOWEVER, I will say there’s a chance Andross was actually kind of happy about Fox showing up because of two big reasons: 1) Fox literally did all of the leg work for Scales, which actually kind of frees up Scales to do other things like ransack CloudRunner Fortress a bunch and expand his tyranny and 2) Fox would be close in proximity to the revival so Andross would have a quick chance at revenge.  

Okay, okay, at this point, you’re probably asking, “So... what about the SpellStones?  Isn’t Scales really just looking for those?”

The answer: Yes but also no.  I’m pretty sure the SpellStones are a distraction.

Now if you really look at his plan, Andross doesn’t really have a need for the SpellStones.  Having them get removed is just additional chaos to be added and if you notice, it’s the thing that both General Pepper and Star Fox hone in on.  Funnily enough, it’s implied that Scales didn’t even remove them all-- the CloudRunner Queen hid hers in the treasury of her fortress, Garunda Te hid his in the mines... the one at Walled City and the one at Dragon Rock seem to be the only ones Scales formally got his hands on.  But it didn’t matter because when the other two were removed, the Saurians just played into the chaos even more, giving further distraction.  I think maybe Andross’s initial plan was that while Fox was hyper-focused on the SpellStones, Scales would be trying to find the Shrines and getting the Spirits.

But then he realized that Fox was doing the exact thing he wanted Scales to do (and more efficiently) and honestly?  I would like to theorize he just lets Fox do it because the outcome is literally the same regardless.

I can only imagine how elated Andross must have been when he realized Fox was unwittingly playing right into his hands.  Because sure, Fox was doing the right thing.  He was saving the day.  But Andross had already been a couple steps ahead and had set the stage for his own arrival.  

I think Fox showing up made Andross realize he didn’t need Scales after all and that was why he was so quick to get rid of him at the end.  Because at the end of the day, it didn’t matter who brought the Spirits back, just that they were back.  And Andross would just let Fox do whatever with the SpellStones because they had no real value to him.  Andross, by the end, doesn’t care about Sauria being put together or pulled apart-- he wants everything to die, which is presumably part of his madness from being a lingering ghosty spirit for most of a decade. 

So Andross is revived because that’s the only inevitable outcome other than Sauria being destroyed.  He rises up, filled with Krazoa Spirits and vengeance.  And he... proceeds to fail in the fight that he ought to have won, if only because of Falco showing up to rescue Fox.  Falco, the wildcard.  Falco, who Andross did not account for, but, granted, no one else really did either.

Wow, that’s a lot of text.  Confused yet?  Here’s the recap of my making sense of Andross’s plan:

Andross picks Scales as a pawn because Scales is politically powerful and has the capabilities to take in Krazoa Spirits.

He lures a suitable channeling mechanism (Krystal) to Sauria to use as a medium.  She gets the first Spirit and Andross is pleasantly surprised but still captures her regardless as Scales and his buddies rampage across the planet, looking for Shrines and SpellStones both.

Star Fox gets called in.  Andross gets kinda spooked by this but realizes Fox is effectively doing what he wants anyways so he just keeps his eye on Fox and lets Scales continue his rampaging.  I think he’s figured he’s already won at this point anyways.

Andross gets all of the Spirits and his plan for revival effectively works...

... All up until he dies fighting Fox and Falco.

This does include a hefty bit of speculation but seeing as they leave only bits and pieces of lore to sink your teeth in, I feel like it’s within the realm of possibility. Of course, there’s other possible explanations, some of which I did poke at within my theorizing. However, this is the breakdown that I can make the most sense out of.  I know in the past my theories have been 1) Krystal being his chosen puppet to get the Spirits but then I realized he wouldn’t have just turned around and imprisoned her immediately if that was the case and then 2) Fox being his chosen puppet but then I realized that there would’ve been no point to Scales having a Spirit in the first place if that were even the case so it felt a little janky as a theory.