Fox watches from the safety of his brick cover as Krystal is shot almost to pieces, the cruel hand of fate guiding the bullets ripping through her. Her eyes are wide open, and they're focused on Fox, Imploring him to do something to save her, anything. Her mouth is ajar in a silent scream, her flailing hands grasping for something, anything, to defend herself with aside from the spent rifle. She falls to the ground, sending up a large cloud of dust to the heavens."NO!" Fox screams, every fiber of his being tearing, his very mind shattering right then. It would shatter more in the following seconds.

Four ape soldiers, vicious criminals of the Lylat System, run over her lifeless body, exchanging insults and curses with each other. "We killed Mcloud's bitch! HAH!" They laugh.

Fox watches them with pure hatred, his blood boiling. Tears fall from his eyes. They killed her they killed her shes dead shes dead god no I loved her god why, Fox thinks, his mind unable to process Krystal's death. He raises his rifle and fires several shots at the soldiers. The first's head explodes in a brilliant fountain of blood, brains and bits of helmet.

The second is punched off his feet, and the next bullet bullet obliterates his lungs, dealing him a gasping, slow death. The other two soldiers wheel around, looking for where the shots came from, rattled by the death of their comrades.

"Get the fucking sniper!" The commanding officer shouts. "Siryes-" The other tries to say but his vocal cords, and his entire neck, erupt into a mangled mess.

Fox grins like a madman as he pulls back the bolt, ejecting the shell casing. "I've got a bullet with your name on it, you- you motherfucking murderer!" He yells as he ducks back behind his cover.

The commanding officer is terrified. He shoots wildly at Fox, blowing indentions in the brick cover, red dust puffing from each dent. Fox loads in one last bullet. It's got orange daubed on the tip, and some rubbed off warning symbols. He shoots, and before the soldier can react, his his innard are blown all over the surrounding landscape.

As Fox's adrenaline-fueled rage dies down, he realizes that Krystal is dead. I-I- I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life- god why why "WHY!?" Fox screams at the heavens. He runs over to Krystal's broken and bloodied body, moving even more frantically than during the Aperoid's assault on Cornaria. Fox drops to his knees, picks up her hand, and checks the vein for a pulse, but to his despair and heartbreak, there's none.

"Please God, gods, goddesses… Give me a sign… Please? Anything!" Fox whimpers, begging both his God and Krystal's gods and goddesses for a miracle, anything, to bring her back. He sits there hands clasped in prayer, hoping to any listening god that his bootless cries don't fall upon the deaf ears of heaven. As he waits, his headset beeps.

"Hey, Fox, fuzzball, what's up?" Falco crackles through Fox's headset.

"I should have done something. Falco why didn't I do anything?" Fox asks, his voice a dull lifeless tone, contrasting with his usual intensity and upbeatness.

"Fox, is something wrong? I'm your academy buddy, you can talk to me." Falco says, a slight scoffing attitude in his voice.

"Krystal is dead! They killed her!" Fox half screams-half sobs into the headset, startling Falco out of his regular sarcastic but sincere mood.

"Uhhh.. F- Um- Shit…" Falco stutters, still shocked at Fox's outburst of pure, unadulterated emotion.

"It's my fault! It's my fault that she should have left! I've got nothing to live for!" Fox sobs, his voice cracking.

"Fox, I'm coming over to you right now, I'll pick up Peppy and Slippy along the way." Falco chokes out, shaken by the death of a comrade, and saddened by Fox's loss of the vixen that made life worth living for him.

Fox picks up Krystal's head and gently strokes her hair. He scratches her behind the ear like she liked to have it scratched, and weeps the whole time. He hums a song to himself, one she taught him, one of the few things she had left of her world. It's a Cerinian song. It saddens Fox to never hear her voice, to never, again feel her touch on his skin. He skims his hand over her fur, it's slight feel against his hand comforting him. But the memories rushing through his head are too much.. He closes her eyes. Krystal, I don't want you to see this. He thinks. Still humming, he unholsters his sidearm and puts it to his head.

BLAM