So ... I've wanted to write a story about StarFox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet since I was about thirteen.
(I've played through the entire game about twelve times. Currently playing through again. I think I might enjoy it... Just maybe.)
Slight AU, almost directly post-game, to explore some scenarios and questions I pondered about my favorite characters.
(Though I played Assault, I hate the name "Sauria," so I'm gonna refer to the world as "Dinosaur Planet.")
If you want to see a picture I drew of Krystal, look up my deviantart name, "frenzied-insanity," on Google. (I'm a pretty good artist, if I say so myself).
... And I take commissions/requests. So. Just putting that out there. *shameless plug*
Warning: I'm in love with Krystal.
You know. Total girl-crush.
So if you hate her, please don't read.
Because she's gonna be in this.
A lot.
.
.
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StarFox Adventures
The Secrets of Dinosaur Planet
A Tale of Destiny
Chapter One: "Tricky Business"
The sunset over Thorntail Hollow was beautiful, causing the mist from the Warpstone's waterfall to glow orange, then pink, then a deep, cozy red.
Fox stretched out on the warm, flat rock he'd scouted earlier, feeling the heat of the day radiate in soft waves against his back.
He watched the colors paint the clouds in the sky, enjoying the cool, faint mist of the waterfall on his nose.
Dinosaur Planet was easily one of the most peaceful worlds he'd ever visited, especially now that the spirits and spellstones were sorted out.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the balmy, sweet-smelling breeze, perfumed with the petals of dumbledang flowers.
This visit was long overdue.
An excited shout interrupted his reverie.
"I thought I heard your spaceship!"
The earth rumbled as a young dinosaur approached, and Fox turned to greet him with a wide smile.
"Heya, Tricky," he said, swinging his legs off one side of the rock. The exuberant Earthwalker bounded up to him, laughing.
His snout almost reached over Fox's ears, who laughed in surprise. "You're really growin' fast!"
Tricky rolled his eyes. "That's what Mom keeps saying..."
He tossed his frilled head happily. "...but I'm okay with it."
Fox laughed, reaching out good-naturedly to pat his friend's scaly cheek, but Tricky pranced away. "Come on, follow me! I've got to show you something!"
Fox sighed. "I dunno, Tricky. I just got here ... I was kinda hopin' to relax a bit before making any new discoveries ..."
"Awwww, come on, Fox!" Tricky was whining. "I've been waiting for you to see this! It won't take long, I promise! And it's really cool, something you'd like. Probably something only you would understand!"
Tricky's big blue eyes twinkled with childish persistence.
Fox sighed. Though Tricky was bigger on the outside, inside, he was still just a little kid.
A little kid with a big heart and even bigger dreams.
Just like a certain kid that still lived deep inside of Fox himself...
" ... Alright, alright, I'm comin'," said Fox. "Just let me get my pack and we can go."
...
...
Deep in a cove off the shore of Cape Claw, Krystal sat, slowly stirring the water with her enchanted staff.
It emitted a faint glow, illuminating the craggy ocean floor. She peered down through the water, her emerald eyes rapt with interest.
Every so often, something gleamed deep below the surface, and Krystal's staff gave off a strong vibration of energy.
But try as she might, she couldn't pinpoint the location of the gleaming object. It seemed to shift positions, moving deeper into the ocean one moment, then resting almost tantalizingly close the next.
She gave an exasperated sigh, and the gleaming hilt of her staff retracted, rendering it into a small baton that she slung into a strap on her back.
"Pointless," she muttered, slowly getting her footing on the damp stone.
Though she balked at the thought of asking anyone for help, she was smart enough to know she couldn't do this on her own.
She stretched, extended her arms into an elegant arc, and dove gracefully into the warm water.
As she exited the cove, her fur blended in with the blue waters of the cay, and she seemed to vanish beneath the waves.
...
...
"Here! This way, Fox!"
Tricky galloped far ahead, slipping and sliding on the mossy riverbank.
His large feet crushed tiny bluebell flowers and left a swath of accidental destruction in his wake, illuminated by the moonlight.
"Tricky, be careful!" Fox yelled, doing his best to keep up.
"Don't worry, we're almost there!" he called back, vanishing behind a large clump of foliage.
Fox trudged in behind him, panting, far more accustomed to his Arwing than this kind of hands-on exploration.
Giant leaves stuck to his face; tendrils of flowering vines snagged on his jacket. He swatted them away, exhausted.
"Should've come back sooner," he mumbled to himself, suddenly regretting his decision to pass up Command's latest boot camp.
Tricky's voice floated out from behind a large rock. "Over here!"
As he moved towards the prince's beckoning voice, Fox noticed that the ground was slimy with a thick layer of green as far as the eye could see, and the air smelled humid and stale. What the heck was this place?
He trudged up to the side of the boulder, leaning against it as he tried to catch his breath.
"Where exactly are we, Tricky?"
"Oh, somewhere down along the river. I don't know. But look! Look at this!"
A very uncomfortable Fox moved over to where Tricky was standing, staring pointedly at what appeared to be a clump of moss.
"... What exactly am I looking at?"
Tricky frowned, stepping toward the clump, nudging it with a forefoot.
"That's weird ... it looked different last time I ... Maybe this isn't the right place ..."
Fox rolled his eyes, careful not to let Tricky see. "You sure you weren't just imagining things?" he asked, his voice patient.
"No!" Tricky was adamant. "I know it was real! I know it! Just ... wait a minute ..."
Tricky trudged slowly off across the carpet of slimy green stuff, leaving big footprints behind.
Fox followed, stepping inside of Tricky's prints.
The prince was murmuring to himself. "The flowers ... the rock ... and ... the ... tree?"
He looked up at the trees that leaned down around them. "Maybe not a tree," he mumbled.
Fox sighed. He took a minute to look back, to try to see how far they'd come, and realized with a jolt that he had no idea how to get back to Thorntail Hollow.
"Hey, Tricky?"
No answer.
"Tricky?"
Not even a rustle of brush.
Fox squinted through the foliage. Everything was green. Too green.
He propped himself up on the tree trunks he passed, pushing forward, calling out Tricky's name.
"Tricky? ... Did you find it? ... Can you hear me?"
He grabbed a low-lying branch, and a tangle of vines fell from the tree above, ensnaring him.
Fox panicked. His years of training to react to ambush situations worked against him.
He struggled, fought back, but only succeeded in tangling himself further.
"Tricky!" he screamed, thrashing, trying to twist his way out of the vines.
And just as he heard the young Earthwalker come crashing through the undergrowth to meet him, he flailed his way out of his flora prison, spinning into a small clearing.
It was carpeted in the same slimy green moss, with a few shafts of moonlight slanting down to the earth.
But that wasn't what caught Fox's eye.
It was the giant, twisted hunk of what was no doubt once a starship, half-submerged in the mud of the riverbank.
.
.
.
End this first little bit.
I honestly have no idea where this is going ...
I have vague ideas, but nothing super concrete yet.
So I guess we'll see!
Review please! I'll listen to your words!