Legal Stuff: I do not own StarFox or related characters/themes. This story is not used for profit, but it is owned by me and may not be used without my permission.

A/N: This story takes place after Command, but does not follow any of its endings.

Protector, Protected

Of all the chances… Of all the possible ways that fate could turn… Why did it have to come to this?

Since they managed to destroy the Aparoids, Fox had been increasingly wary of Krystal. He still cared deeply for her; of that, she had no doubt. He had even taken her out one night. Though he refused to call it a date, they somehow managed to end the night in each other's arms. No, that wasn't it.

It seemed like he was wary for her. He stayed closer, his eyes darted more. She couldn't say it was hurtful, but it was noticeable. It had become more and more evident as time went on and they got closer. When she confronted him about it, he calmly and gently told her that he was simply being cautious.

"Oh, come on, Fox. I'm a bounty hunter just like you are…"

"And that's what scares me," he answered back quickly. "I don't want you to leave again, so I can't stop you. But I still get scared thinking that anything could happen to you."

"Well, I won't let anything happen to me." She leaned in close, brushing the side of her nose against his. "Because if something were to happen, we wouldn't be together. And I don't like that any more than you do."

Her warm nuzzle had silenced him, but it did little to change his demeanor. He still held her close while the surroundings held his gaze. Over time, he didn't look at her the same. She became something to protect. In their hearts, she knew it was his type of love, like a mother clutching her child against the world.

But one harsh reality about that: when the world turns against the child, things usually don't go well for the mother.

Krystal's eyes drifted around the clean white hall. Falco, Peppy, Slippy, and Amanda were seated on the bench that ran along the far wall. Around them, white-clad bodies moved with straight faces. There was little emotion here; it was only calm, practiced, ruthless precision, all to protect the mother protecting the child.

She turned back, peering through the window. Through the rolling body of nurses and doctors, she caught only bare glimpses of orange fur. Another tear fell from her eyes, leaving yet another wet line down her cheek.

How had it come to this? The scene began to play through her mind again. They were chasing a runner through the skies of Corneria. Falco had flushed him from hiding, and Fox and Krystal were waiting in the Arwings. But the entire plan went to hell when he turned, weapons firing so suddenly that Krystal couldn't react. One moment, red streaks seared towards her. Then, her canopy was filled with metallic blue. An explosion rattled her ship, sending it backwards. Her hands effortlessly corrected the vessel and steadied its flight, but her eyes never left the sky. The other Arwing, burning and crumbling, dropped.

"FOOOOOOOOX…"

A body stepped through the door, tearing her back to the present. Her friends quickly jumped up, looking at the doctor for news. At first, her eyes saw his white gown, stained red with blood. Then she saw his face. It was straight and heartless, just like the rest of the hall.

"The shrapnel from the ship is in deep. He's bleeding badly," he started, voice turning grave. "He's already bled out to a dangerous level. We can stop the bleeding before it's too late, but the metal already in his system would kill him by oxide poisoning within days." His eyes passed over each member of the team, but fell to hers last. "I'm sorry."

Krystal's heart instantly fell, her body going numb. She turned her head, looking through the glass. One of the nurses moved, allowing her to see his face. His fur was matted and red. He was going to die: die protecting her.

"Is there anything you can do to save him?" she half-heard Amanda pleading.

"I'm sorry. He would need a total blood transfusion after we sealed the points he's bleeding from."

It was her fault. She should be the one lying on that bed. He would die to save her.

"How much time does he have?" Falco asked.

"At best, just over four hours before the bleeding and oxide poisoning become irreversible. That would be enough time if we had the blood for the transfusion. But we wouldn't even be able to finish tests in that time, let alone get the blood."

She couldn't let him die. Her hands clenched tightly into fists. "I'll do it," she said, her eyes never leaving his face.

Their heads turned to her. "What?"

"I'll give my blood to him."

There was a moment of silence, and then the doctor replied, "Ma'am, I don't think you understand. His blood needs to be completely replaced. All 5.6 Liters of it."

She turned to him, her eyes going cold for a moment. "I'm well aware of what that implies."

For a moment, the doctor stood with his maw open. No one had ever suggested such a thing.

"Can you make it work?" she asked.

"Y…yes, assuming that his body will accept your blood…"

"It will." She turned back, her eyes once again resting on Fox's still body.

The doctor started to protest, but Peppy quickly stepped up, placing his hand on the man's shoulder. "The lady has made up her mind. You won't change it."

After another tense, silent moment, he nodded. "I'll send out a nurse to prep you." With a nod, he turned and walked down the hall.

Amanda stepped up next to Krystal, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Krystal, are you sure you want to do this?"

Krystal's eyes never wavered. "I've never been more sure."

----------

Two hours later, Krystal was stepping through a pair of swinging doors into the operating room. Most of the doctors stopped and turned at her appearance. One in particular stepped around the table. "Why isn't she under?"

The nurse walked in right behind her. "She's refusing anesthesia."

Krystal stepped around the doctors to stand at the foot of the bed. Fox's body lay before her. He was still out. Lines of stitching covered the left side of his torso. A large patch of synth-flesh was stretched over one shoulder. A doctor still had a few fingers inside of a small hole on his side, prying for the last few pieces of shrapnel.

For a moment, the room vanished from around her. She was once again at the burning wreckage, staring at his bloody body, fire licking at her fur and tears wetting her cheeks.

"Ma'am…" The room came back, the doctor taking her elbow. "If you want to do this, you'll need to take the anesthesia."

"I don't need it," she said again. If they knew what she would do, they wouldn't keep insisting.

With careful steps, she came around the table, stopping at his side. With one hand, she reached up and removed the band the hung around her head. The jewel at the peak of it glinted in the light and caught her eye. It was the last remaining artifact from Cerinia, her Soul Stone.

In the ancient times of her home planet, the Cerinians were forever threatened by foul demons that their empathic powers made them susceptible to. In order to protect their souls from being devoured, they created the Soul Stones, a magical item that a Cerinian could seal their soul into before the demons could take it. But there was also a slightly different use for it, one that was commonly frowned upon.

With heavy sigh, she closed her eyes. May her ancestors forgive her.

She took the gem and placed it in Fox's and then wrapped her hands over his. Through his arm, he could feel his heart beat, his soul fight. Even to the death he was a fighter.

"Ma'am, we need to begin."

Another heavy sigh drew her focus. She fought away the noises and lights of the room, centering her mind. Her lips began the gentle chant passed down through the blood of Cerinia. Her senses began to dull and a bright bluish light encompassed her until all she could sense was the light and his gently beating heart.

----------

The doctors around her gasped and took a small step back. As she began to chant, her body shone with a brilliant, soft blue light. As they watched, the light itself flowed over skin, sliding down her arms and swirling through her hands until the light vanished. Her body suddenly went limp.

The head doctor rushed forward, hooking his arms under hers to catch her. Together with the nurse, they pulled her onto the second table. He quickly held two fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse. There was one, but only slightly.

He stepped back as they began to insert the needles to her major veins. The sight was baffling. One moment she was standing under her own strength and the next she looked as if she was under the strongest sedative.

He wiped his brow with a heavy sigh. Well, whatever happened, it wouldn't make a difference in an hour. With no other pressing need for him, he decided to leave.

As he turned, he absently noticed Fox's hand still clenched around the stone she'd placed in it.

----------

Fox didn't know how long he'd been floating in the emptiness. It could have been several years; it could have been only a few seconds. That was beyond him.

What wasn't beyond him was the pain. His entire body burned with a throbbing ache that refused to abate. He wasn't screaming in pain, but it refused to let him relax. It had seemed to lessen at one point, but more likely he was simply becoming accustomed to it.

His mind had managed to shift between a million and one points as he waited for something to happen. But mostly, it kept returning to what had brought him here.

The sights and sounds of it passed before his eyes. He saw the ship turn and a quick flash of red. He had reacted out of near instinct, sliding his ship in front of hers. And then he was only aware of the pain.

His chest flared, causing him to cringe. And then it lessened back to its former level.

Was it worth it? He was going to die. Krystal's face came into his mind. Her gentle eyes, her soft fur… Yes. She was safe. He would quickly do it again.

A soft blue light began to swell into the space. A warmth settled into his chest, dispelling most of the pain. For the first time since he entered this state, he was able to sigh, letting his aching muscles relax.

From the light, a form materialized in front of him. It started as a mass of swirling light, but quickly solidified into a body, a body that he quickly recognized. "Krystal?"

Krystal smiled, floating over to him. "Hello, Fox."

For a moment, being with her calmed him. But then he remembered that he was dead or dying. And now she was here. "What are you doing here? You're not dead too?" he said quickly, pleadingly. Please don't let his sacrifice be in vane.

She giggled, but Fox could tell that it was forced. "No, Fox. I'm not dead."

That brought some comfort, but now he became confused. "Am I dead?"

She shook her head. "No. Not yet."

Despite the strange situation, he found himself smiling. "And you're here to pull me back from the grave."

"Something like that," she answered with a gentle smile. But then the smile vanished. "Fox, you lost a lot of blood. They needed a donor for a blood transfusion."

"And you volunteered? Oh, Krystal…" He was about to thank her when she looked away, looking suddenly ashamed. "Krystal?"

A small tear trickled over her cheek fur. "The transfusion needed to be complete. A complete blood replacement."

The understanding hit him like a sledgehammer. "Krystal…"

"There was no other way." She brought her eyes up to meet his. "I couldn't let you die like that."

"So you're going to die instead?!" he screamed back. "If I wanted that, I would have let you take that shot!"

Krystal's form dropped back several inches, hurt. Fox instantly regretted the outburst. "I'm sorry. I didn't… I didn't mean to scream." He suddenly realized he was crying and brushed the tears from his fur. "But why? Can you at least answer me that?"

She closed her eyes, causing several more tears to slip from her eyes. "I couldn't let you die on my account. You are more valuable to this world than I am."

"Don't say that. You're valuable to me."

The smile came back to her face. "And you are valuable to me. Look at your hand."

Fox brought his hand up. He didn't realize he had been clutching something tightly. When he opened his fingers, a small crystal laid in gold was resting in his palm. In the depths of it, a blue light pulsed gently. "What is this?"

"It's my soul, Fox."

He looked up, not understanding. "Your soul?"

"The Cerinians had an art where they could use their Soul Stone to impress themselves onto another. I know you probably don't understand, but you will. Just relax; open your heart to me."

He was really confused, but didn't really have anything else to do. He breathed another sigh and closed his eyes, allowing every muscle to go almost limp and his mind to empty.

Her form rushed, diving into him. Fox gasped as his senses suddenly assaulted him. Spots flashed before his eyes. A momentary whistle pierced through his ear. Every patch of his skin tingled. And a split second later, it was over. As his body began to settle, Fox found himself alone in the space. But he didn't feel alone.

Another presence brushed against his consciousness. "Keep me close to your heart, Fox, and I will never leave you." A peace like he had never experienced swept over him. But before he could relish it, he drifted off into the sweat escape of tired slumber.

----------

"He's coming around."

"Heart rate is within normal boundaries."

"Have five CCs of Corival ready just in case."

Fox awaked slowly, first to a dozen voices seeming to all talk at once, then to a bright light over his head, and then to the stiff bed he lay upon. His body felt weak. A quick mental search reminded him why.

After a few minutes of mustering strength, he managed to crack open one eye. The light blinded him for a moment, but his eyes quickly adjusted. A face moved over him, cutting off the light. "Fox? Can you hear me?"

"Wh… Where am I?"

"Fox, you are in Corneria Central Hospital. Your plane was shot down. Do you feel any pain or discomfort?"

Fox grumbled and pulled himself. Or tried to. He barely moved when his stomach erupted in pain. The nurse over him quickly eased him back down. "Easy, there. You aren't going anywhere for a good while."

He found the strength to lift an arm and run it over his stomach. Through the bed linens, he could feel thick pads across his stomach. He was about to ask what they were, but already knew what lay underneath: a perpetual railroad of stitches from surgery.

"Try to relax. You'll probably fall asleep in a moment." The nurse turned and left.

An itch formed behind his ear. He brought his other hand up. As it brushed his head, he realized his fingers were closed over something. He brought his hand forward and uncurled his fist, revealing the gently pulsing gem. Mist filled his eyes, a tear teetering on the edge of his eye. "Krystal…"

That same warmth spread through him. "I am here, Fox." Her presence melted with his own. Fox could almost feel her body against his. His mind began to fill with sensations he'd never felt. Krystal seemed to be emanating her own feelings of love and calm into him. She spoke to his mind, communicating with thoughts and sensations to create an understanding of her that he could never before have comprehended.

Fox was mildly aware of the doctors and nurses moving about him. His mind was too intently focused on his protected and protector, and she intently focused on him, her protector and protected.

His body drifted back into slumber, the two spirits entwined in an eternal embrace.

----------

Almost two weeks later, the same group minus one important member stood in the hangar of the Great Fox II overlooking a beautiful view of Corneria. Several memories arose in Fox's mind from the view.

He was getting stronger by the day as his skin slowly sealed over the stitches. Within another week, he wouldn't need the chair he sat in now.

His eyes moved to the casket he sat next to. "Is it weird to watch your own funeral?"

"Under other circumstances, it may have been," Krystal answered him. Her thoughts were mixed with waves of comfort. "But it's different because I'm not really dead."

"And thank goodness for that."

He backed away and the casket slid into the launch tube. The ship let off a blast of its cannons as the tube of metal was fired into space. It shrank as it fell towards the planet before becoming engulfed in flame.

Fox would have saluted a goodbye, but it was a mute point. Instead, he clutched at the Soul Stone that hung under his shirt. He now had something else to protect.

"And I shall protect you, my love," she whispered lovingly.

Fox smiled to himself and to her. If he could, he would have written things differently. But as it was, he could get used to this.

Krystal giggled at the thought, and that made him giggle.

Yes, things would be alright.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Now please leave a Review telling me what I did right or wrong.

Thank you!