A/N: My first relatively successful attempt at a Christmas themed Star Fox story, and by that I mean the first time I actually finished one. This is my submission to the Christmas one shot contest hosted by KS Reynard and Emile The Watcher, but don't let that stop you, this is for everyone this holiday season.

-general whitefur

McCloud Family Christmas

There was a subtle art to stealing a ladder. It was a large object, especially when compared to a seven year old fox kit who came from two parents of average stature. Marcus had worried while in the garage that it might fall on top of him before he could even get it back into the house. Fortunately he had managed to accomplish the task of getting hold of the ladder and then out the garage door and back into the house without too much trouble. Now that he had the ladder he was faced with one more serious obstacle.

The hallway from the garage opened onto the living room of the house that Marcus lived in with his parents, to get from there to the stairs that would lead to where Marcus was certain his presents were being hidden would mean getting past his parents who were currently...kissing in the living room? Marcus saw his mother dangling a piece of mistletoe above her and his father. Though Marcus was beginning to feel mildly nauseated at the spectacle he realized it might very well be his only chance. Moving quickly he managed to maneuver himself and the ladder that was nearly twice his height past the living room and his distracted parents and to the staircase leading to the second level of the home. Glancing back he saw that his parents were separating, bursting into motion he took the stairs as fast as he could, the noise wasn't a concern, his parents were used to the fact that he liked to run up and down the stairs.

Making it upstairs without attracting attention Marcus turned the corner into his mother and father's room. He proceeded through the attached bathroom of the master suite and opened the door to the closet. It had been left unlocked, clearly his parents were not aware of just who they were dealing with here. What was the word? Oh yes, "Amateurs." Marcus said. It was a strange word, and one he wasn't entirely sure the meaning of, but he thought it was the right word.

Entering the closet Marcus looked from a rack holding his mother's ever expanding shoe collection, to the heap of shirts, ties, and pants that was his father's side of the closet, before finally deciding to set the ladder down in the exact center of the two sides. Ladder in place he climbed it. When he reached the top he was expecting to find dozens of presents, hopefully still unwrapped, but instead he found a small envelope. Grabbing it he saw that it was addressed to him, tearing it open he read the note inside.

Dear Marcus,

Congratulations for getting this far, smuggling the ladder out of the garage was impressive, but in the future you should remember that both your parents are foxes like yourself, and one of us is telepathic. You will get your presents on Christmas Day, and as always you can open one on Christmas Eve. Until then remember the Cerinian proverb your mother taught you "Patience shows all."

-Love Momma and Dada

Marcus frowned, the letter was similar to one he had found under his parent's bed last year. He wondered if this would become a tradition, he and his parents trying to outfox one another every Christmas. He felt moved for a moment, then he realized the movement wasn't emotional, the ladder was falling!

CRASH! "YIP!"

Fox and Krystal McCloud looked at each other and said in unison, "Marcus."

Both the foxes, Fox orange furred and Krystal cerulean furred, got up off the couch in front of the fire place and made their way to the stairs. "He is determined isn't he?" Said Fox.

Krystal smiled and said "Typical of a McCloud."

"MOMMA! DADA!"

Both Fox and Krystal sprinted up the stairs and then into their room. What they found likely would have caused both of them to go into hysterics if it hadn't been their own son. Marcus McCloud, age seven, with his mother's fur and his father's face, was lying trapped beneath a small ladder that Fox had left within reach in the garage. Fox looked down at his son and said "Marcus."

Marcus stared back at him doing his best to look defiant, his ears folded back though, giving away the fact that he knew he had been caught red handed. "Daddy?"

Fox shook his head, resisting the urge to smile when he saw the letter clasped in Marcus's hand. He pulled the ladder off of Marcus and said "You are determined aren't you?"

"I wanna find 'em." Marcus replied, referring to his Christmas presents.

Krystal picked her son up, holding him to her muzzle she said "Marcus, why go to all this trouble to find things that you'll be given soon enough? What was the Cerinian proverb I taught you?"

Marcus's ears flattened again and he said "I don't know."

Krystal looked her son in the eye "Oh yes you do, it's on the letter you're holding."

Marcus sighed, tail drooping and ears now flat against his head "Patience shows all."

Krystal set him down and patted him on the head, she flicked his ears back up and said "Exactly. Now be patient. It's only a few days till Christmas anyways."

Marcus regained some of his usual excitement and said "Can I go play with my friends? We were going to build a snow fort and ambush uncle Falco when he comes back home."
Fox and Krystal grinned, their son planning an ambush for Falco Lombardi? Fox said "Go right ahead. Just don't steal the packages he's probably brining with him. He might get mad at you if you see his presents for auntie Katt."

Marcus nodded and then bolted out of the room, the stairs rumbled as he ran down. "Don't forget your coat Marcus!" Krystal yelled after him.

The door slammed and Fox and Krystal shook their heads. Heading back down the stairs Krystal said "What do you think Falco is getting Katt this year?"

Fox shrugged "I have no idea. But I doubt it's anything a seven year old should be exposed to."

Krystal laughed, that was certainly true enough. The rather scandalous lingerie that he had gotten the pink female cat last Christmas had caused quite a stir. Krystal leaned down and picked up the letter that she and Fox had left for Marcus, he had dropped it before running to play with his friends. "Do you think we're being sarcastic parents by doing this?"

Fox nodded, "Yep. But then we are foxes, sarcasm is sort of our thing."
Krystal smiled, "And deviousness, trickery, mischief, pranks, all that sort of thing."

Fox took Krystal's hand and led her back downstairs to their warm spot in front of the fire, "Exactly. And once a year I like to bow to the stereotypes."

Krystal sat down next to him and, grabbing the mistletoe said, "Well if we're bowing to vulpine stereotypes this year than this vixen is going to be losing all her presents."

Fox grinned and said before kissing her, "I'll make sure Santa puts you on the naughty list then."

Krystal giggled and the two quickly returned to kissing under the mistletoe.

"Marcus! Come on it's Christmas Eve, time to open a present!"

Marcus's ears perked at the sound of his mother's voice calling to him. Present time? Perfect. "Coming!"

Marcus bolted out of his room and down the stairs, making it to the tree in what he suspected was record time. His father smiled and said, "What's catching your eye Marcus?"

Marcus scanned the presents under the tree. There were a fair amount of them, though by tomorrow morning there would be more, Santa hadn't stopped yet. He noticed a rather long looking box wrapped in silver paper, it was the first one to catch his eye and he decided right there he had to know what was in it. Grabbing it he quickly tore off the paper and found that he was looking at sword, roughly twenty-eight inches in length from what Marcus could tell. The weight gave it away as plastic, though Marcus would give credit to whomever made it and say that the plastic seemed to shine a bit. "Awesome."

"It's called a jian." Explained his father, "It was used..."

The words floated away in Marcus's mind, he was no longer in the living room he was...

"Marcus! Marcus!"

Marcus McCloud, legendary jian sword master turned at the sound of his name. Looking down at the frightened villager he said, "What is it?"

"Bandits attack the village! We need your help!"

Marcus drew his sword, a sword that had served him faithfully over the past years as he had become a hero of near legend. "Then I shall help."

Marcus ran for the village, it was easy to find, he needed only to follow the sound of terrified screams and look for the trails of smoke in the air. When he reached the center of the village he found the bandits, they were taking sacks of rice and valuables that they had looted and loading them onto a cart. "Stop!" Marcus yelled.

The bandits turned and looked at him, there must have been a hundred. They drew swords and daggers, their first mistake, and Marcus would make sure it was their last. As the bandits charged at him Marcus took up a defensive stance and let them come to him. As the first bandit reached him and aimed a slice at his neck Marcus deflected the attack and quickly aimed a slash at the man's leg. He was so fast that the man had no time to try and defend against the attack, he fell to the ground clutching his injured leg. The other bandits backed off then, keeping their distance and trying to surround him. Marcus didn't give them the time to surround him however. He charged forward, swinging his jian in practiced arcs, the bandits fell like wheat against a scythe.

Then he saw something rise out from behind the bandit cart. A massive red dragon, it's body waving as it floated in the air and stared at him. Marcus met the creature's gaze and suddenly felt his strength flow out of him. The fight had been exhausting, and all of a sudden all he wanted to do was sleep. He tried to resist, but he could not outfight a dragon's will. His eyes closed and he fell back. But before he could hit the ground he felt a pair of arms surround him and begin to carry him away, and he knew he was safe.

Krystal smiled down at the suddenly slumbering Marcus. Handing the toy sword to Fox she said, "I think he just exhausted himself against an army of bandits."

Fox smiled back, "No, it was a dragon. Didn't you see how he locked eyes on something in the distance. He does that all the time, the dragon forces him to surrender or something like that."

Krystal quirked an eyebrow, "Really?"

Fox nodded. "Yep."

"Well, dragon or no dragon I'm going to put him to bed."
Fox smiled, "All right, I'll lock up down here and then meet you in our room."
"All right," Krystal said, "And Fox, I'll have your present to unwrap when you're done." She winked at him and almost giggled when she saw him blush. Fox was ever Fox, and even after years of marriage she could still make him blush. That in and of itself was her favorite Christmas present every year.

Krystal shivered a bit under the covers. It seemed colder than usual this year and she was beginning to regret not taking that extra quilt from the closet. Then an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a warm, fuzzy embrace. She sighed contentedly, Fox always knew what she needed, even when he was asleep. She glanced at the clock through half closed eyes and saw that the time was five o'clock in the morning. Reaching a hand down to Fox's leg she shook him gently, "Mmm. What?"

"Marcus is about to come screaming in, just thought I would warn..."

"MOMMA! DADDA! PRESENTS!"

Krystal felt Marcus pounce onto the bed and laughed when Fox yelled out "My tail!"

"Sorry daddy." Marcus said softly.

Krystal smiled and sat up, "It's all right. Marcus why don't you go down and turn on the tree lights, daddy and I will be down in a moment."

"Ok! But hurry!" Marcus then hopped off the bed and sped out of the room.

Krystal looked down at Fox, his eyes were wide and he was looking up at her, "My tail..."

Giggling Krystal said, "He really has gotten quite adept at pouncing hasn't he? I'm rather proud."

Fox rolled out of bed and reached for his robe. "I'm rather afraid."

Krystal got out of bed and slipped into her own robe, she couldn't repress a shiver. "Cold."
Fox went around the bed and took her hand in his, "Well then stay close to me."

Krystal nodded and walked out of the room with him, holding his hand and pressing herself against him to combat the cold. When they made it downstairs they saw Marcus practically frothing at the mouth to open the mound of presents under the tree. "Go ahead dear." Krystal said, though she grabbed a pair of boxes that were marked for her and Fox.

As soon as the word had been given Marcus attacked his presents, tearing apart the wrapping and creating a scene of paper carnage all over the floor. Fox and Krystal settled down on the couch to watch him. "Which one of us is going to open theirs first?" Krystal asked. The two had settled on only getting each other one present every year since their friends tended to inundate them with gifts ranging from the most practical to the unbelievably bizarre.

"You go ahead honey." Fox said.

Krystal unwrapped her present and felt a smile come to her lips. It was an assortment of jewelry, but not made of any stone to be found on Corneria. Instead there was a pair of earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet made of the Saurian crystals she used in her staff. Krystal had always thought that the shining diamonds were more beautiful than any stone she had seen, but she had never imagined they could be made into jewelry like this. "Fox..."

"Do you like it?"
Krystal looked up at him feeling a bit misty eyed, if there was one fancy thing she had always loved it was jewelry. And the fact that it was made of gems from the world where Fox had rescued her...oh she couldn't describe how wonderful it was. "I love it Fox. But...it must have cost a fortune."

Fox smiled, "Actually the Thorntail who grows the gem plants in Thorntail Hollow owed me a favor, so he had them made special for me. They really don't use them for jewelry but...I guess it was a big favor."

Krystal kissed him, "Thank you love."

"Your welcome." Fox replied. "Now what did you get me?"

Krystal blushed a bit, her gift couldn't really compare to what Fox had just given her. "Oh well...Just open it."

Fox tore the paper off and his eyes widened, "Really?"

Krystal folded her ears back, "I know it's nothing compared to one of a kind Saurian jewelry but..."

Fox grinned, "Krystal, this is every Bond movie ever made on Blu-ray. Do you have any idea how amazing that is? How did you know I needed these?"

Krystal felt her spirits returning now that she could tell Fox was happy with her gift, "Well you're always stealing them from Peppy so I figured I would get them for you. Little expensive but worth it."

Fox hugged her and kissed her hair, "I sense movie nights in our future."

Krystal smiled, "Long as Casino Royale is the first."

"Of course." Replied Fox.

"Mom! Dad!"

"Yes Marcus?" Fox and Krystal said in unison.

Marcus held up a pair of Arwing models and said, "The box says they're remote control, does that mean I can really fly them?"

Fox grinned, "Yep. The control has a range of over five hundred yards in any direction, I figured I'd get two so you and I could buzz Falco's house together. They even have lights for nighttime raids."

Krystal looked at her husband, "Oh Falco will love that. I have a feeling he'll be investing in anti-aircraft guns in the near future."
Fox grinned even more, "No AA gun ever had anything on a McCloud."

"When do we try them dad?" Marcus asked, practically bouncing with excitement.

"How about once the sun is actually up?"

"OK."

Krystal smiled, "Boys never really grow up do they?"
Fox looked at her, "Oh I do grown up things all the time, but I really am young at heart dear."

Krystal smiled, "So am I. Which is why..." Krystal reached behind the couch and pulled out a box, "I got myself one as well. Of course mine is a more advanced model..."

Fox stared at the box, "Krystal, that one has a screen on the controller that can see in the dark, you could fly that thing down a chimney."

Krystal got a mischievous look in her eyes, "Could I?"

Fox wagged his tail, "Oh I see what you're thinking."
The two of them turned to see that Marcus was grinning and had eyes full of mischief. Then the three members of the McCloud family shared a raucous, house shaking evil laugh.

Falco looked out the window and into his backyard. "What is it birdie?" His wife Katt yelled from the kitchen where she was making breakfast for their adopted son Aaron.

"I think something's moving out there."

"Go find out what it is then! I don't want jeepers and creepers in my yard Christmas day."

"Got it!" Falco yelled back. Wrapping his clothes more tightly around him he opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside. Suddenly something whizzed past his beak, "Woah!" As he turned to get a look at it he saw that whatever it was had a friend, and it was coming right at him. He quickly hit the ground as it flew through the space he had just occupied. He saw then that the two flying objects were remote controlled Arwings. He knew there was only one person in the world other than him crazy enough to consider buzzing people a joke. "McCloud."

"Gotcha Falco!"

Falco stood up and looked over to see Fox waving from his second story bedroom window next door. "Dang it McCloud! Really?"
Fox just grinned, "Couldn't resist. I promise I won't do this to you very often."

Falco rolled his eyes, "Yeah whatever, I'll be inside where you can't get me."
He heard Fox and a voice he assumed was Marcus laugh and he couldn't help but smile a bit. It was actually pretty cool. He had thought about getting a remote controlled Arwing and doing the same thing at one point. Now it seemed he had the perfect excuse.

Katt walked into the room and said, "Oh good you're back. Before you eat can you check out the fireplace, it sounds like something is in the chimney."

Falco nodded, "Sure." Walking over he stuck his head inside the fireplace and looked up into the chimney. Suddenly a pair of lights came on and he heard something diving. Screaming he backpedaled on all fours out of the fireplace and watched as another Arwing flew into the house and stopped an inch away from him. He noticed there was a note attached to this one. Grabbing the plane he tore the note off and read it.

Dearest Falco, you cannot win, fighting is pointless, surrender before the superior piloting skills of the McCloud family before it is too late.

Also much love, Merry Christmas, and tell Katt I just got a ton of jewelry she should see.

-Krystal

Falco shook his head and turned to see Katt and Aaron running into the room. Katt watched as the model Arwing took off back up the chimney and said, "McCloud?"

Falco stood up and handed her the note, "That one was Krystal. Fox and Marcus performed their airstrike outside."

Katt laughed, "Typical. Come on breakfast is ready. We'll get them back soon, trust me."

Falco nodded, "Yeah, soon. I assume you have a plan?"

"When does mom not have a plan?" Piped up Aaron.

Katt nodded, "Kid speaks the truth."

Falco smiled and took her hand, "I love you."

Meanwhile back at the McCloud residence the tree resident foxes were practically crying from laughter. Finally Krystal managed to stop and say, "How was everybody's Christmas this year?"

Fox and Marcus looked at each other and then at her before saying, "Best one yet."

Krystal smiled, "Well good. Now come along, we need some breakfast in our tummies before we go make the rounds and meet everyone at Peppy's house."

Fox stopped Krystal as they headed for the kitchen, taking her in his arms he said, "Every Christmas I've had with you just gets better and better. What's your secret?"

Krystal smiled and said, "Well honey, it's because my name is Krystal. Krystal McCloud, and I make life interesting. Don't I?"

Fox looked and saw to his amazement that she had produced a piece of mistletoe and was now dangling it over them, smiling he said, "I love you."

"Love you too."

Then the two shared a long, loving Christmas kiss with the musical accompaniment of their son giving one prolonged, "Ewwwwwwwwwww."