Star Fox: Krystal's Decision
Part 3 of 3
Written by John Brown

STUFF: This is the final part to my latest story. I hope you all enjoyed it so far. Now here's a big battle. Oh yeah, just to say it, this starts off within a flashback; I had to cut it in half for space reasons. But yeah, Star Fox: Nintendo's. Not mine.

       “Krystal, Panther is tired of your abuse! Panther has only ever shown love, and caring, and affection towards you, and what did Panther get in return? Nothing!” The Black Rose pursued Krystal’s Cloudrunner, backed up by scores of small fighters and a battleship. “Panther is no longer in love with Krystal! Panther can have any other woman at the snap of Panther’s fingers!”
       “And Panther will spend the rest of his life married to his hand!” Krystal dodged another deadly beam, and rolled through a barrage of less-powerful laserfire from the Sargasso fighters. I fought those apes before, they’re worthless on their own, but in groups… She remembered how she had almost lost her life because of a fighter swarm at this very asteroid field, and it was Fox who bailed her out. Feeling an intense surge in anger, she turned her ship in an aggressive maneuver that took her head-to-head with Panther. The Star Wolf pilot was caught off guard but Krystal remained in control, picking off a handful of his escort fighters. The rest scattered, leaving the extra-solar alien and the delusional feline in a one-on-one duel. I’ve suffered too much in the company of these losers… I’m not leaving just yet!
       “You have seen Panther’s rose and the kindness that it represented, but you choose death instead! Panther will show no mercy!” The Black Rose had several advantages over the Cloudrunner, the most obvious one being its super-powered laser canon. With pinpoint accuracy and enough power to destroy the average starfighter in a single shot, the Zapper cannon was Panther’s secret to success. In addition, the Black Rose was faster than Krystal’s ship. However, it had weaker shields and armor, and also had the disadvantage of an overconfident pilot. The one plus side to constantly being saved by Fox, in Krystal’s point of view, was that it taught her not to think too highly of her own skills. In contrast, Panther’s ego made him think he was much better than he really was.
       He thinks he’s so good because of his Zapper… he thinks technology solves everything, just like the rest of Star Wolf. It’s a mistake I’m going to use against him! She made her fighter dance through vacuum as her rival kept sending gargantuan laser bolts at her. I notice a lot of lag time between his shots, and I have to be directly in front of him for the Zapper to hit me because it doesn’t have a target lock system… then that’s how I beat him!
       “You can’t defeat Panther! Panther will break you like you broke Panther’s heart!”
       Krystal, with her magical edge, sensed the feline’s location at all times, perfectly orienting her fighter wherever she wanted it in relation to his Black Rose. After dodging a few more shots from Panther’s allegedly-unbeatable weapon, making him frustrated and more likely to make a mistake, she decided it was time to strike. She turned around and faced his ship nearly head-on; because of her slightly off-center approach, Panther’s shot missed. It would take a full second before it could fire again, but in fighter-to-fighter combat, a mere second could decide the fight. Just as Krystal predicted, Panther kept his fighter straight and level trying to line up a follow-up shot instead of doing the smart thing and trying to dodge her inevitable counter-attack.
       I have you now! Krystal instantly turned her fighter’s beak-like front towards her enemy and unleashed the fury of her twin laser cannons, pounding and melting the nose of his ship into distorted slag. She could feel Panther’s utter disbelief through her special power. And now, I finish you…
       “Krystal, Panther apologizes! Panther did not mean—”
       “Too late for that!” Krystal zoomed past the stalled Black Rose, pulled up, and then leveled out behind it; she charged up and released a homing shot and watched, with delight, as it zoomed straight for Panther’s fighter and blew it to pieces. After all the time she spent with Star Wolf she had harbored too much anger, and this was the release she needed. Before she could check her radar to see if Panther had ejected, however, her targeting computer flashed a short message indicating that Falco had made it to warp speed; unfortunately for Krystal, Wolf and Leon were still in the region.
       “She got Panther? That harlot got Panther! NOW I’LL GET HER!”
       “Leon, that blasted bird shot off one of my wings, wait up for me! We need to get her—”
       “I don’t care about your cowardly dog-pile tactics! I see a worthy opponent and SHE IS MINE!”
       Falco, you’re safe… and you damaged the Wolfen! If I make it out of here alive I’ll buy you a drink. But now Leon and Wolf are after me, and I doubt they’ll be as easy as Panther. Her thought was punctuated when she immediately received a lock-on warning. A quick roll deflected the blob, but another one came quickly after it, then another… Krystal had to devote her full attention to dodging or deflecting homing shots fired in rapid succession. Trying to retreat now was out of the question.
       “YOU WILL COOK BEFORE I DINE ON YOUR FLESH!”
       Blast it, it’s Leon’s new targeting system, the one he’s been bragging about since I joined, it automatically locks onto any hostile target within a wide cone of his fighter’s nose! I’ll have to stay out of it then. Using her senses, Krystal got a feel for where the Rainbow Delta’s nose was pointed and stayed perpendicular to it. Knowing that several battleships and a few squadrons of fighters (not to mention the Wolfen) were still out there, she led the chameleon into a thick portion of the asteroid field. His fighter is slower and more sluggish than mine, he’ll have a harder time avoiding rocks!
       Unfortunately for her, Leon was still able to follow her, and he took every advantage of short moments when the Cloudrunner slipped into the conical range of his weapons systems. She had to keep flinging away plasma blobs when an idea hit her. He doesn’t want to use his bombs because he likes playing with his prey before the big kill… I’m taking advantage of that. If he wants to use nothing but his Wide Shot, then I’m sending that one-trick pony to the glue factory!
       “Leon,” she asked in a mock-polite voice, “you consider asteroids to be ‘hostile,’ correct?”
       “PREY DOES NOT TALK! PREY ONLY SCREAMS!”
       “Well, you may not, but your targeting computer certainly does. Now eat this!” Krystal sent bolt after bolt of laser energy into a particularly large asteroid, breaking it apart and sending small but deadly chunks of rock flying around at high speeds. Only through her skillful piloting —honed, to her dismay, by Fox’s teachings— did the Cloudrunner make it through. Leon, who seemed to expect that tactic, laughed.
       “You think a rock storm will stop me? I have eyes only for your destruction, now DIE, FOOLISH GIRL!” Krystal sensed in her mind Leon’s pleasure as he held down his trigger, intent on sending yet another homing shot at her… then his immense surprise and anger when his targeting computer tried to lock onto every single chunk of asteroid, no matter how small. His weapon would not fire until data for all targets could be processed, an oversight in the Wide Shot’s design that cost Leon the fight; several of the rock fragments slammed into the Rainbow Delta, shearing the wings off, denting the fuselage, and smashing the formerly-pointy nose in. Krystal laughed at the lizard’s misfortune, content with the knowledge that even if he did eject, his body was not likely to survive the swarm of rock particles.
       As the foreign vixen flew out of the asteroid field, she looked with predatory joy at her sensor readouts; Leon was not the only victim, as two battleships and a handful of Sargasso fighters tried to follow her, and all of them were lost in the rock storm. Her bloodthirsty happiness was short-lived, however, when a blazing-hot feeling deep in her head made her pull up hard; had she kept on her original heading, she would have been vaporized by the Wolfen.
       “It ends here, Krystal! You’ll be joining the rest of your family soon!”
       Nobody talks that way about my family! I can’t believe I trusted this man when we were fighting the Aparoids… Angry, Krystal tried to get into position to fire on Wolf but his superior fighter easily avoided her shots. Even with a wing gone, Wolf O’Donnell could still fly circles around her. I’m sensing too much anger in him, he can’t stand his constant losses to Fox, and when Falco got away it made him worse, so he didn’t mean what he said… not that I care if he meant it or not, he shouldn’t have said it in the first place!
       She tried to fire at him again, but he effortlessly deflected her shots with a well-timed roll. “You’ll have to do better than that to beat me! I’ll never lose to a second-rate pilot like you!”
       “I am not second-rate!”
       “The people of Corneria think differently! You never belonged on an elite team like Star Fox, and I only accepted you because you would have made a nice vulpine-shield if we needed one!”
       Angrily, Krystal gritted her teeth and aimed another shot at him, but it missed. She was getting frustrated, but she knew she had to keep control. He’s trying all he can to make me angry, to get me to make a mistake… he tried it on Fox, and it didn’t work. If Fox could defeat it, then so can I! “That’s pretty big talk from the man who consistently gets his butt handed to him every time he fought Star Fox! Do you think you can take me without your goons backing you up?”
       She could tell that she was having some effect on Wolf, but not as much as she needed; he was still coming dangerously close to killing her, and she was doing all she could to survive, much less get in another position to strike. Krystal counted as a huge blessing the fact that he had only one wing; she shuddered to think how this fight would go if the Wolfen were fully operational. He has nowhere near the skill he thinks he has, but he’s a better pilot than me by experience alone! I don’t think my tricks can work on him…
       The vixen almost panicked when Wolf locked on with a nova bomb, and pushed her throttle to full; however, the lupine’s bombing attack was a feint, and Wolf’s faster fighter easily kept up with her, peppering her rear shields with lasers. “I am clearly superior to you! Quit now and I’ll let you be my bedroom slave instead of turning you over to Emperor Oikonny!”
       I can’t beat this guy, he knows more about fighter combat than I do and he’s an expert on dirty tricks… or is he? Krystal quickly took a scan of Wolf’s mind; he viewed her as easy prey, the key to get revenge on Fox, and most importantly, he viewed her as a little, innocent girl with no business in a cockpit. He doesn’t expect me to fight dirty? His fault!
       Krystal focused as hard as she could on Wolf’s mind while still trying to dodge his laser blasts. She muttered a similar spell to the one she had used before this whole incident had started, when she entered the mind of her ex-lover, Fox McCloud. Instead of entering the Star Wolf leader’s mind, she instead tried to influence it. “You can’t beat Fox. You were shot down by Fox too many times. You couldn’t beat Falco. You were shot down on Fichina, shot down by Slippy Toad of all people!” Krystal had no idea if that were true or not, but it certainly had an affect on Wolf’s attitude.
       “What… what are you doing to me?”
       The vixen relished the mental imprint of Wolf’s suffering, and kept up her psychic assault. “You never help your teammates, you are a bad leader! Fox is ten times the man you are!” As much as it disgusted Krystal, she knew that mentioning Fox in a positive light would help her achieve her ends. “He’s saved cities, peoples, whole worlds! What have you done? And now, you can’t even kill Krystal, a pilot with next to no experience! You should’ve been able to decimate her immediately, but YOU COULD NOT!”
       The lupine pilot gave out an extremely loud shout of pure rage, and Krystal knew she had successfully gotten to him. Through her telepathic senses, she saw that Wolf was now pursuing her through his tunnel vision, blind to everything else. Before this whole incident, she would have balked at using such an underhanded tactic, especially for someone like Wolf O’Donnell, who was far from evil. But after what she had been through, she couldn’t care less. Sure, this is blatant cheating, but he never attacks unless he has a numbers advantage or has a whole wing of fighters soften his targets up for him. And those lies he used to get me to join… all of that’s enough justification as far as I’m concerned!
       Wolf continued his one-track attack, doing everything he could to put an end to his tormentor’s life. His Wolfen grazed debris, small asteroids, and even some Sargasso fighters that tried to offer assistance, but he did not care. The Cerinian tried her best to avoid his shots; while Wolf was much less focused, and his lack of coordination meant less accuracy overall, he was still a legitimate threat and Krystal’s shields were barely managing to maintain half-strength. She had an idea, however, a devious idea that she would never have tried had she not been forced to live around criminals. She cut back on her acceleration a bit, allowing her pursuer to catch up until he was very close behind her. She heard warning noises as his lasers splashed against her rear shields, but she reinforced them by directing all forward shield energy to the stern. Let’s see you dodge THIS!
       Krystal hastily activated her retro-thrusters out of nowhere. Her Cloudrunner’s forward momentum was eliminated, throwing her forward against her seat restraints, but she knew that a bigger impact was coming. With coordination only available to someone with her magic ability, she brought her fighter up on one wing, intending for its trailing edge to slam into the joint at which the Wolfen’s sole remaining wing was attached to the fuselage. However, she did not plan on Wolf being able to react so quickly, a product of his long years of experience. He tried to roll and pull away…
       The vixen was thrown around her cockpit and she heard a loud thump, with a louder warning siren; her shields were completely out. She had no hull damage, however, and she frantically diverted all her laser energy into recharging her shields. Then a curious readout on her targeting computer stole her attention: she did not sever the Wolfen’s wing, her collision attack instead shattered its canopy due to Wolf’s attempted evasive maneuver. She gasped and pushed a few buttons to switch her computer’s view; it confirmed its original report, and Krystal hastily tried to sense Wolf’s feelings. He was panicking, scared and unsure of what to do. She knew that his life support systems would activate a small force field around his body, but in that state of mind he was ripe for the killing.
       No… no, I won’t kill him. He has some good in him, somewhere. I am not like the murderer of Cerinia, I am merciful and kind! But these criminals… Krystal glanced at her systems readouts, saw that her shields were at quarter-strength, and turned her flight path towards Sargasso Station before finishing her thought, These criminals, they sided with the Anglars, they sided with ruthless mass-murderers, selfish people bent on conquest, all for monetary gain… they are a legitimate target in my war against evil!
       Noticing that her lasers were still empty of charge, all of their power going to her shield systems, she armed her Cloudrunner’s nova bomb launcher. Sargasso Station itself had no weapons, relying on its small fleet of heavily-armed battleships and a moderate fighter wing to defend it, not to mention Star Wolf. She was fortunate that the apes who lived there still haven’t found the time or money to repair the asteroid-mounted turrets that had given Star Fox so much trouble when she was still on that team. With all space forces scrambled to go after Falco, and then her, however, the base itself was undefended. Panicking at the loss of their leader, they were uncoordinated at best, and Krystal found them to be of no concern to her.
       Her heart was racing as she flew the Cloudrunner into the cavernous main hangar of Sargasso Station, coming to a stop in front of a large, green, crystal-like object: the space station’s central power generator. She remembered what Wolf had said earlier: “A single nova bomb can blow up the entire freaking station!”
       Well, Wolf, looks like you were right! Armored infantry fired at Krystal’s fighter, but the anti-personnel lasers bounced off of even the Cloudrunner’s underpowered shields. With a deep breath, she locked on… and fired. Now I get out of here!
       The red orb of destruction plowed right into the reactor structure, causing a massive initial explosion. Krystal narrowed her eyelids at the near-blinding light, punching her throttle to full afterburner and snaking her way around the central structure of the hangar level. Zooming out the other opening, she left the station just in time; the chain-reaction destroyed Sargasso Station in a brilliant fireball with a luminous shockwave stretching out, destroying several of the fighters and warships that had been following Krystal. In her adrenaline rush, the vixen gave a long, victorious shout. As she fled the shockwave, she took a glance at her sensors; the survivors were retreating through transfer gateway portals created by an allied base. Krystal’s mental scan of the space battlefield did not pick up any mental imprints of Star Wolf; either they were dead or they were picked up by a battleship that had already fled.
       Krystal did not care, however. She was excited, feeling that she had added to the proof that she was a capable, if not superb, pilot. She had dealt a huge blow to a callous criminal organization that profited from the suffering of the innocent. She had faced a supposedly-elite squadron of fighters with little help and survived. But then she realized…
       Sargasso… it was my last home. The last place where people accepted me, where I could count on having a meal and a bed… and I blew it all up. Sweaty, aching, and suffering the biggest letdown of her life, the enraged vixen shouted in pure anger and exasperation, cursing herself aloud for destroying her final sanctuary in the Lylat System and effectively reducing herself to the solitary vagrant she was when she arrived. Infuriated, she pounded the cockpit panels and asked, “Blast it, now what am I going to do?”
***

       A steady beeping noise woke Krystal from her long nap. The mesmerizing colors of warp space had turned into the long, linear streaks of starlight, and finally normal space was within her view. In front of her, the small planet of Sauria peacefully rotated, with no signs of Anglar or Cornerian presence. Knowing that the Dinosaurs did have some access to modern technology, Krystal kept her flight path away from major inhabited areas, using her magic sense to guide her. After her nap she had calmed down considerably from her post-retreat mental state, and she was grateful; in a relaxed state her powers came more easily to her. I need to go some place quiet and isolated to think about where I should go next. I… need to think about a lot of things, actually…
       A strong feeling of intuition guided Krystal to a particular heading; she could not explain it, but it just felt like the right way to go. She flew over a large expanse of bare rock, with only a few mesas for landmarks, until she reached her destination. A small forest, practically an oasis among all the rock, was where she was headed. The vixen landed her fighter a short distance away from the trees, hoping to reduce the damage the exhaust would do to them, and then popped her canopy open. The rush of fresh air immediately had a positive effect on her; the cool air felt great on her face, and helped reduce the odor of sweat that had filled her cockpit before. After living in a smelly, squalid space station for as long as she did, this was a very welcome sensation for her. Eager to stretch her legs, she left the cockpit, landing on the rocky ground in a crouch. She opened her Cloudrunner’s ventral cargo bay and took a quick inventory, something she should have done long ago.
       No water or food, that’s going to be a problem. Looks like I’ll have to start hunting again… no extra shoes? I’d rather go barefoot than wear these boots any longer! In fact, that sounds like a good idea. Krystal undid the fastenings on her horribly uncomfortable footwear and slipped the offending boots off; her bare feet contacted the rocky surface, which felt cool to the touch. She wiggled her toes, milking their freedom for all it was worth, before returning to her inventory check. Ah, much better. And there’s my jewelry, all in one box. It’s good to know it didn’t get stolen by those creeps… ah, there it is!
       Krystal gently removed her staff, currently retracted, from the cargo bay. I don’t know what I’d do without you… but I don’t need you at the moment. You can stay in here a bit. Respectfully, she returned the weapon with both hands, then found another box; unfortunately, it was smaller than she had hoped. I guess this is all I have for a change of clothes… but it’ll have to do.
       Taking the box marked ‘clothes’ with her, she walked to the oasis, enjoying the feeling of the soft dirt and grass on her foot pads. The trees offered plenty of shade, but enough sunlight got through to sustain the grass and illuminate her passage. Then she found exactly what she was looking for: a cave. Excellent! It’s the perfect place to meditate, I’ll be back on track before… wait, what’s this?
       As the Cerinian entered the cave, her telepathic sense throbbed. The feeling got stronger when she came across a small, dome-like stone in the middle of the floor. Realizing what it was instantly, she set down her box of clothes and gently picked up the rotunda-shaped rock, uncovering a hole large enough for her to climb down into. The lights and noises coming from the newly-opened hole told her exactly what she had felt; she found a magic spring. Without any second thoughts, she peeled out of her restrictive uniform, leaving it in a smelly pile near the cave entrance. Since nobody was around for hundreds of miles, she removed her underwear, as well, and deposited them on top of her ugly uniform. Then she casually jumped down into the opening, feeling the familiar sensation of warping as she did so. When her body rematerialized, she was inside a glittering underground cave, with a small lake in the center. Anxious to wash off her body, she waded into the cold water, knowing that this experience would also help wash her mind clean.
       This is who I am, she thought as she submerged herself up to her neck. I’m not my clothes, I’m not a uniform, I’m not my jewelry, I’m not my tattoos, I’m not a fighter squadron… I’m just a person, imperfect like anyone else. Rubbing her fingers through her fur, she thought about all the decisions she had made ever since her breakup with Fox. I admit it, I messed up. I concentrated too much on getting revenge on Fox, something that should be beneath me…
       She held her breath and then dipped her head beneath the water level. As she did so, the magic-infused water helped put her into an even calmer state. Fox… I shouldn’t have done any of that to you. ROB has never lied to me before, maybe he was right… if you really did keep looking for answers about my quest, then you’re a better person than I am…
       A few salty tears escaped her eyelids and mixed into the pure water around her as she continued to reconsider all of the paths she had chosen. I just wanted to be accepted as a warrior, like all of you. Not out of ego, but I guess… I guess I didn’t want to feel weak, and if I could stay on an elite team of pilots like yours, it would prove to the murderers of Cerinia that I’m strong enough to beat them. That’s the real reason I joined Wolf’s team, even though I told myself it was because you would be hurt by it. Yes, I wanted to hurt you, I admit that, but I just can’t sit around doing nothing when there are killers running loose out there.
       Aching for breath, she brought her head back above the water’s surface, gasping. But why did you kick me out, Fox? Slippy and Falco are in just as much danger as me and they’re your best friends!  Feeling her anger slowly returning, she thought, Fox, I wanted you to trust me, why couldn’t you do that? And you had to tell me you love me just before our breakup… what was that for? Do you even really love me at all?
       A rumbling noise startled her. The underground cave, which had only minimal lighting from the planet’s own energy, suddenly brightened to the point where Krystal had to shield her eyes. The water now felt like it was warming up, and quickly. What’s going on? I have to get out of here!
       Krystal tried to climb up the edge of the lake, but it was no use. Now afraid, she screamed as the ground shook, making her hands slip off of the edge. She fell deeper into the lake, which seemed to be pulling her in. Panicking, she tried to swim up, thinking that some sort of cave dweller was trying to eat her, when she felt a bolt of magic energy shoot through her body. Her limbs flailed and went limp, and her lungs, which demanded air, suddenly stopped complaining. Consciousness was also taken away from her. Instead of watching the strangely-brightened subterranean lake through her rapidly-shrinking vision, her eyes could now only see rain distorted through glass. Or rather, crystal…

***
       On top of Krazoa Palace, the rainstorm never ceased. With only the occasional lightning strike to offer a change of scenery, the teenage vixen thought she was going to go mad from the monotony. She mentally berated herself for falling into that trap. For what seemed like an eternity, she had been stuck, immobile, inside a giant crystal. Suspended over a pit that may has well have been bottomless, she cursed her uncontrollable tendency to help those in need.
       I can’t resist… when people are oppressed, I have to help! But can you blame me, after what happened to me? I just hope someone will come here and find me… Almost in a state of despair, Krystal groaned in pain as she remembered what she had been forced to do mere moments ago. The demonic being calling himself Andross, described to her by locals as an evil man who murdered billions in his attempted conquest, was using her to bring himself back into the physical world. He had sensed Krystal’s magic talents and knew that he could use her to channel the energy of the planet via spirits known as Krazoa. The worst part, however, was that he had used her to draw an unlucky individual into another trap.
       Andross used me like a puppet, twisting my insides and forcing me to say things to draw some stranger here… With the agony fresh in her mind, she wondered what that unknown stranger would do if he saw her. He thinks I need the Krazoa spirits to stay alive, but that’s not true, they’ll just revive Andross! That demon will kill me as soon as I stop being useful, then he’ll kill the stranger too… I wish I could warn him!
       As time wore on, she continued to suffer in suspended animation, not knowing how much or how little time had passed. She wanted to scream, but the longer she spent in the giant gem, the more her energy was sapped away. She could no longer open her eyes, instead trying to sense everything around her through her special powers. The darkest presence was very close, that of Andross, but she could feel others moving around below her. Mindless creatures floated around, doing only what their instincts told them to do, while the Sharpclaw soldiers,  blindly following the orders of the man who had nearly killed Krystal aboard his flying ship, patrolled without any sign of tiring. However…
       Krystal sensed something else, a bright spark of life like none she had ever sensed before. She sensed courage, determination, and a huge sense of justice; her attention was completely grabbed by this positive being. Whatever it was, it moved quickly towards her, cutting down everything in its path. Then Krystal sensed that this luminous being had a companion: a Krazoa spirit.
       This must be the stranger! And he has a… he’s going to revive Andross! I need to warn him! She tried as hard as she could, but she could not even open her eyelids. Frustrated, she tried to psychically connect with the stranger; this was a success. He was a brave man, a vulpine just like she was, and he had plenty of tragedy in his life. He knew nothing about the dark purpose of his deeds, he honestly thought he was going to save her life. This touched Krystal profoundly; it had been a long time since anyone showed even remote care towards her.
       The stranger was looking right at her, she could sense it; he was awestruck by her beauty. Krystal was surprised by this, but flattered nonetheless. She felt sure that this stranger would do everything he could to rescue her. However, this moment was cut short as the stranger moved away from her to release the Krazoa.
       No, don’t leave! Her mental shout, of course, was not heard by the stranger who had no psychic abilities. Please, stay here! Get me out of here, I don’t want to suffer like this!
       She felt a quick rush of energy as another Krazoa spirit was released. Andross, through his dark powers, already forced Krystal’s body to accept the Krazoa’s power, and he began channeling it into himself. NO! Stop, you… please… Stranger, please help me… don’t… go…
       She once again sank into depression as the bright light of the stranger vanished. The vixen had seen her chance at freedom and just as soon had it taken away from her. Her torment seemed to have nourished the spirit of Andross, who was growing more powerful while she was stuck in place. For another apparent-eternity, she continued to languish in the trap; her senses grew weaker by the minute, and even though she felt the stranger return to the palace on a few occasions, she could still do nothing. As he kept returning spirits, Andross grew stronger and stronger, and Krystal, held in place for so long, began to lose consciousness.
       As she slipped into blackness, she made a wish to whomever was listening to her thoughts; she wished with every ounce of her being for the stranger to return and free her from her prison. She wanted to be free more than anything, and the stranger was the key to her freedom. Soon, however, she was lost to the darkness. In her dreams, she was tormented by the spirit of Andross as he taunted her with revelations of his plans. Instead of conquering this solar system, he sought to destroy it, a thought that horrified and infuriated her. The knowledge that she could do nothing to stop him made everything worse. She hoped that the stranger could defeat him, but Andross only laughed it off. Through him, Krystal found out that Andross wanted specifically to kill the benevolent stranger. Even in her dream state, she wished for the stranger’s safety, until…
       A sharp pain in her chest area tore her from the grip of sleep. Then another feeling of pain occurred, and another, and another still. Eventually all six Krazoa spirits had been forced into her body, nearly killing her from the pain. Confused and scared, she tried to get a mental picture through her magic, but as soon as she did so, her focus went immediately to one being. Stranger!
       The man whose identity was unknown to her was clearly showing signs of worry at her state. He was definitely afraid for her safety, watching in terror as each Krazoa was forced into her own body. Then Andross, the evil being, resumed his grip on Krystal; he forced her to psychically channel the Krazoa spirits right into him. Krystal tried to protest, but it was no use. The stranger shouted for her to wake up, ignoring the threat he could not sense. But then…
       A strange rumbling sensation jolted Krystal’s physical senses and her eyes shot open; she looked back and forth, her heart racing faster than it ever had before. The crystal started rattling and the machinery holding it in place started to heat up. She knew that her prison was about to explode, and she panicked at the thought of dying. Without warning the mechanical contraption exploded, shattering the large gem and sending the surprised vixen straight down—
       Krystal, terrified, instinctively reached out with her hands… and caught something. My staff! Overjoyed as she realized that she was not going to die, she pulled herself up and grabbed onto the edge of the pit. Then she realized, in order for her staff to be there, someone had to have held it, and she looked up… right into the surprised face of the stranger. She was awestruck by her first real sight of him, totally lost in his beautiful, green eyes. Krystal saw into his soul, and she knew that this man was the total opposite of Andross or the butchers who murdered her people. He was kind when others were evil, and she gladly accepted his outstretched hand. You, Stranger, are my savior. I owe you everything…
***

       Krystal snapped her eyes open, frantically looking around. She was back in the outer cave, in the oasis she had landed by. The vixen was lying on the stone floor, alive and well. She had no idea what happened to her in the underground lake, but didn’t want to question her survival; as strange as it seemed, she assumed that her forced vision was a reaction of the planet’s magic energy against her sudden feeling of anger against Fox. She stood up, noticing that her fur was not only clean but completely dry, and walked to where her other clothes lay. Krystal opened the box and found only two articles of clothing within. First, she pulled out a pink sweater.
       I remember this… Lucy gave it to me for my birthday. She put the garment on, and it felt nice against her upper body; her recent pilot’s uniform was not even in the same league in terms of comfort. Then she picked up the other article, a pair of jeans. Krystal quickly put them on, bringing them up to her waist and fastening the zipper, when she thought, These are pretty loose. These jeans must be Fox’s…
       Her mind zoomed back to her recent flashback, the one she had felt when she thought she was drowning. Looking into Fox’s eyes that fateful night on Krazoa Palace, she knew that he was the one man for her. Nobody else could ever take his place. And I threw that away… wow, even this planet must be on Fox’s side.
       Krystal walked out of the cave, ignoring her discarded uniform. She took a seat out in the sun, feeling the breeze thread its way through her hair. Fox made a mistake, but so did I. I don’t know if I can blame him, he’s had so much go wrong in his life. And I did force it on him, he just wanted me off the team, not out of his life entirely! Why did I have to do that… Putting a hand on her forehead in anguish, she continued her thoughts. He only agreed to end our relationship to keep me safe. He didn’t want me to die like his parents, or end up seriously injured like Pepper or anyone else he’d seen involved in a crash. Yes, he did the wrong thing, but he did it with only good intentions, more than I can say for myself.
       She continued to think things over as the sun sank lower and lower in Sauria’s beautiful sky. The more she thought, the more she realized that Fox did not betray her. He would have kept his promise, he just did not want her in combat. He’s not perfect, he needs to accept my choice to fly, but no, he definitely did not break his promise. He’s not a liar. I owe him the apology to end all apologies… if I ever see him again.
       Looking up at the many clouds in the sky, which were taking on orange and pink hues as the sun started to set, Krystal remembered that she was ID’d by a Cornerian fleet and could expect a search party within days. Funny… I came here to plan out my departure from Lylat, to think about how I would go to the next-closest solar system… but instead, I’m still stuck on Fox.
       The Cerinian decided that she was not yet ready to leave Lylat. Her realization that Fox had not betrayed her took away her main motivation to leave. Her justification for fleeing Lylat was that she had nowhere else to stay, but her more-or-less friendly encounter with Falco convinced her otherwise. He’s probably telling Fox right this second that I only joined Star Wolf to keep close to him, if he hasn’t done so already. And Slippy has a fiancée now… I really need to get back in touch with everyone. She laughed quietly, and added, An hour ago I was ready to leave them all behind, and now I realize how foolish that impulse was. The Cornerian public can kiss my bum for all I care, my home is with Star Fox. Maybe those dogs will accept it when I’m back with Fox—
       She involuntarily choked up with that thought. “Back with Fox”… can I really go back to him after all this? What will I say to him? Sure, everybody knows I love Panther as much as I love an ear infection, but Fox and I didn’t exactly part on the best of terms. And it was all my fault…
       Krystal continued to dwell on that subject, wishing for an opportunity to make things right. She wasn’t sure where to look for Fox, and she just realized that her Cloudrunner was likely to be low on fuel. She knew that the Cornerians plotted her course to Sauria, but with a war raging, locating a single pilot would have been pretty low in their priority list. She knew, however, that they would have reported it to General Hare, and Peppy would tell Star Fox without question. Krystal brushed away a tear when she thought about how worried Fox must have been during her whole Star Wolf phase. She had only added to the tragedies piling up on him. However, she resolved to fix all the damage she had caused.
       Standing up and dusting her seat off, Krystal started walking back to her Cloudrunner. She resolved to fly to the nearest Cornerian base and surrender, hoping that they’d go easy on her. I can probably get them to look at my gun camera footage, and they’ll see that I’m clearly no longer part of Star Wolf, given the fact that I destroyed them all. And I’m sure Falco will vouch for me, if he’s not too busy. Plus, I’d love to see Lucy again…
       Sighing, she took a look at the magnificent sunset, wishing that she could be enjoying it with Fox. I have a lot of explaining to do, but it’ll be worth it if I can be with him again. But will he accept? She vigorously forced that thought into oblivion. Of course he’ll accept! I should never have questioned him, he clearly loves me! I just have to… find him…
       A glint in the sky caught Krystal’s attention. It was a very bright object, moving at high speed. It streaked far overhead, and Krystal followed its arc with her eyes. The object continued to fly into the part of sky opposite the sunset, where it was easier to see. A shooting star? How beautiful…
       Feeling like a little girl again, the Cerinian instantly started wishing; however, instead of wishing to have her parents back or to bring her people back from the dead, wishes that she knew could not be granted, she only wished for one thing: another chance with Fox. I guess I have to realize that finding my people’s murderers won’t be so easy. And hey, for all I know it probably was Andross. But I can either dwell on the old family I lost… or concentrate on getting back together with my new family. Energized with renewed hope, she continued to track the shooting star until she came to a sudden realization, aided by an overpoweringly positive feeling she had not experienced since her captivity at Krazoa Palace. Through her special sense, she felt that familiar, brilliant presence. That’s no shooting star…
       Her heart racing, she jumped up to her Cloudrunner’s cockpit and activated its radar beacon. Then she climbed back down and ran into the open, waving her arms. The bright object in the sky turned back and then circled overhead. More nervous than she had ever been in her entire existence, Krystal watched as the brilliant object passed directly above her, reflecting Solar’s light in a dazzling lightshow. That’s no shooting star, she thought, that’s the Arwing!
       Abandoning all hesitation, she ran at full speed towards the fighter’s landing zone. She saw a quick flash of light in the near distance as the Arwing’s canopy opened, and Fox McCloud, the only man for her, jumped out. Krystal’s heart skipped a beat, and she knew that it was now time to make things right with her lover.
       The foxes both ran towards each other as fast as they could, and collided in a fierce hug. Krystal gave Fox a passionate kiss, muzzle to muzzle, and the moment seemed perfect to her. Fox’s psychic imprint was just as warm as the light of the setting sun, and she did not want any of it to stop. All of the negative feelings she had suffered since she abandoned him had vanished completely, never to return. She looked right into her lover’s eyes, and those brilliant eyes said more than words ever could. It was as if they had never even been apart, and the vixen hugged her man again, her own eyes tearing up from joy.
       Krystal wanted to apologize for everything, but seeing Fox’s eyes, feeling his arms around her, and sensing his feelings of relief as he had finally found her, she realized… she did not have to. In that embrace, everything was finally as it should be.