Repairing the Damage:
PANTHER! WHAT IN KRAZOA ARE YOU DOING?!" Krystal yelled angrily.
"But my rose, it isn't what looks like….." said Panther, absolutely terrified, as he knew he had been caught in the act of cheating on the vixen.
"I know EXACTLY what it looks like, you BLOODY tosser! In case you've forgotten….I'm a telepath, you wanker!" yelled out Krystal.
"But Krystal, my rose bud…." Said Panther, trying desperately in vain to prevent Krystal from leaving.
"BUT NOTHING! YOU AND I ARE THROUGH!" Krystal vehemently yelled out in response. She angrily continued on. "Inform Wolf, that effective immediately, I will no longer be a member of the Star Wolf team. Goodbye forever, Panther Caruso." Krystal angrily stormed off to her quarters to pack up her belongings and leave Sargasso. Where she would go after that, she had no idea.
"I cannot believe that perverted arsehole cheated on me with some cheap trollop. Then again, I shouldn't have been surprised. I knew he was hitting on other women behind my back and it was only a matter of time before I would have caught him anyway." Krystal angrily thought to herself as she packed her belongings into her suitcase. At that moment she began to think, that maybe she was wrong the entire time, wrong for leaving Fox for Panther. After all he was the one who saved her life on Sauria two years ago. He gave her a home and a new family to call her own after Cerinia was destroyed. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she still loved Fox.
"Panther never truly cared about me. All I was to him was just another conquest. Fox may have been overprotective at times, but at least he cared about me enough to be true to me. At least he cared enough about me not to violate my trust; at least Fox was reliable and stable. Goddesses, what a right bloody idiot I have been!" As she was approaching the flight deck, she had bumped into Wolf. The exotic vixen turned to him. "I'm sorry, Wolf. I quit. Panther's betrayed me for the last time." She said.
Wolf laughed at Krystal and said gruffly; "I'm surprised you even lasted as long as you did with
Panther, Krystal. I knew you were only with him to make McCloud jealous. It was only a matter of time, before you went back to him anyway."
With that, Krystal said her farewell to Wolf for the time being. As she climbed into the cockpit of her Cloud Runner spacecraft, Krystal thought to herself about the mistake she had made. She took off, Sargasso rapidly becoming smaller and smaller behind her, until it was a mere blip on her radar.
As Krystal flew off from Sargasso, she began to think and reflect on the consequences of her actions. She knew what she had to do next. She had to find Fox and set things right. She activated her comm link and called someone who might be able to help her find Fox. As the comm activated, she saw a familiar face glaring at her. "What do you want Krystal? Hasn't your childish bullshit done enough?! Especially to Fox! What the hell were you even thinking?! Leaving Fox like that. I should have thrown you in prison for high treason!" stated Peppy, with a cold glare directed at her.
"I'll admit that while my actions were inexcusable, and that I made a terrible mistake. Will you forgive me?" Asked Krystal.
"I'll think about it. Now; there is one thing you could do, that MIGHT convince me to forgive you. I haven't heard from Fox in months. I've tried contacting Falco, Slippy, and even Bill; none of them have been able to get in touch with him. I want you to find Fox. I don't know where he currently is, he used to live at the Royal Cornerian Apartments in downtown Corneria. I don't know if he is still living there, but you should be able to find clues to his whereabouts there. After you find him and check on him. I want you to contact me and let me know if he's safe."
"Understood."
"Good. Remember Krystal, this is your one chance at amnesty. Do not throw this olive branch back at me, or I will make sure you go to prison with the rest of Wolf's band of criminals. Let me make one thing clear, the only reason why I'm not reporting you to the-"She shut off her comms, and went back to the controls.
As Krystal entered into Corneria's atmosphere, she adjusted her G-Diffusers. Soon enough, she could see the green fields, mountains, and lakes of Corneria from her cockpit. Normally, she'd slow down to take in the breathtaking natural beauty, but now she didn't have the time. She needed to find Fox urgently.
She landed the Cloud Runner and removed her belongings from the cargo bay. She then rented a car and drove off to begin her search for Fox. She saw a majestic high rise tower, she knew perfectly well that this was the Royal Cornerian Apartments, some of the best luxury apartments in Corneria City. As Krystal parked her car in a guest spot, she noticed two things wrong. One; Fox's car wasn't in the parking lot and his name wasn't listed on his mailbox. When she got to Apartment #122, Fox's old apartment, she knocked on the door, only to find somebody else living there. Krystal sensed Fox wasn't there anyway. "Hm, this is quite peculiar, apparently Fox doesn't live here anymore. I better go find the property manager and get to the bottom of this." She thought to herself. After apologizing to the current tenant for the misunderstanding, she walked back to the lobby of the building, and knocked on the door.
A large gray bulldog answered the door in a gruff tone, and said; "Whaddya want?"
"There is somebody I have to find." Krystal responded, in a concerned tone. "I'm terribly sorry for inconveniencing you, but I've been looking for Fox McCloud. He's supposed to be living here, but somebody else was living in his apartment."
The bulldog responded with a laugh. "I threw McCloud out almost 3 months ago; he stopped payin' me and started actin' like a walkin' pity party. He didn't even bother pickin' up his stuff. His stuff's in a warehouse. All of it's gonna be auctioned off at the end of the week."
"Where exactly is this warehouse?" asked Krystal.
"In the eastern part of the city, James McCloud Boulevard"
"Thank you for your assistance." said Krystal as she turned to walk away.
"Whatever…Wait a minute I know you…" the bulldog turned to the cerulean vixen, and continued "I know who you are…you're that Krystal, the girl who betrayed Fox. Comin' back to hurt him once again?"
"I beg your pardon?! I'm actually trying to correct the mistake I made!", she stormed off angrily while cursing him in Cerinian. She knew her next destination..
As Krystal drove to the warehouse, the vixen thought to herself. "I hope this could potentially lead me to Fox." As she found unit #11, she could sense something. She briefly stopped, and took a moment to think. "I can sense residual thought patterns coming from this storage unit, perhaps they can lead me to Fox?" She said. Krystal, as she examined the storage unit, found a picture of her and Fox together on Sauria in a shattered frame. She looked at the picture and tears formed in her eyes. No. She had to focus on finding Fox, the crying could come afterwards. She sensed familiar residual thought patterns. "No mistaking these thought patterns, they are Fox's." Krystal smiled to herself in triumph; she had found a lead on Fox's location. She just hoped it wasn't too late.
Krystal pulled into the driveway of the "Cornerian View Hotels", making sure she had her staff and blaster on her, as the neighborhood had an exponentially high crime rate and being that it was night time, and she was a woman, the risks increased a hundredfold. "This is where Fox is staying?! My word, this place is in absolutely deplorable condition. How could anyone ever possibly stay here?" She thought for a second the cerulean vixen paused for a second, closed her turquoise eyes, breathed in and scanned telepathically for Fox's location, sensing his thought patterns. She traced them to room #13.
"Fox? It's Krystal. Please, I'm so sorry…" said Krystal as she knocked on the door, to no avail. Krystal knocked on the door even harder "Fox?! Answer the door please… l want to talk…" Once again she got no answer. Krystal's knocking began to get frantic and panic started to overcome her. "FOX?! PLEASE ANSWER THE DOOR!"
Once again, she received no answer. Krystal then pulled out her staff, jumped up and created a small ground quake, damaging the stucco façade and knocking the door down. As soon as she walked in and past the doorway, Krystal saw a sight that she was hoping she'd never have to see….
Krystal saw Fox's body hanging from a noose, life slowly leaving his once vibrant emerald green eyes. She started to panic "FOX?! NO!" she screamed with tears and panic in her eyes. She had to do something quick, if she wanted to save his life. She immediately picked up the chair Fox kicked over to hang himself, and to stop Fox from suffocating, quickly climbed onto the chair. She pulled out her combat knife; slashing frantically at the top of the noose in an attempt to cut Fox down. She succeeded in her attempt; she catches Fox in her arms as he falls from the rope. "Ssh…It's alright Fox…I've got you" cooed Krystal in the most soothing voice she could muster.
"Why are you here Krystal?! Haven't you done enough to me already?!" asked Fox with venom practically spitting from his voice.
"Peppy was concerned…he asked me to come and check up on you…and I knew I had to try to make things right with you..." responded Krystal.
"WHY DID YOU SAVE ME? You should have let me die!" Fox yelled.
"I will not let you die; you still mean something to me. I still love you." responded Krystal.
Fox coldly ignored her. "Fuck off. You hurt me, you left me, and you fucking went off with Panther, that son of a bitch. Krystal, I NEVER want to see you again. Go back to fucking with Panther, while he runs his big mouth about how fucking great he is, you whore!"
Krystal ignored Fox's insults. She knew Fox wasn't in his right state of mind and she didn't want to think of how angry she was at Panther for cheating on her. Checking Fox for any injuries involving his suicide attempt fall, she couldn't believe her eyes and gasped in horror at what she saw…
Fox's fur and hair were long, matted, and dirty, after being unkempt for so long from lack of care. Fox's clothes were torn and filthy; he hadn't changed or washed them in what seemed like weeks. There were scars running down his arms, and from what Krystal knew about cuts and such, they appeared to be self-inflicted. She also noticed Fox had quite obviously lost a lot of weight, to the point where he was dangerously underweight; he was basically just fur and bones. She also noticed that the poor tod also reeked horribly of alcohol. Then she noticed the empty bottles of various hard liquors lying all over the floor. To say that seeing Fox in that pathetic of a shape was heartbreaking for Krystal would be the understatement of the millennium. To Krystal, it felt more like a knife stabbing through her very heart.
At that moment, realization hit her. SHE was the reason Fox became an utter wreck. She was the catalyst for Fox's downward spiral into depression. She had to fix the damage she had done. "Oh gods and goddesses... I did this... He started drinking to forget what I did to him! I made Fox him try to commit suicide! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" Krystal though out loud sadly, full of guilt. "He saved me, in my darkest hour, now it's time for me to save him." She said. She'd then pulled Fox into a tight embrace and started to cry. "Fox, I'm so sorry for everything, I promise to make things right. You need my help! I don't want to lose you."
"I think you've done enough to me for ten FUCKING lifetimes, saving you on Sauria was the biggest mistake of my life..." replied Fox, his voice full of loathing for both Krystal and himself.
"Fox, don't say that! You weren't the one to make a mistake. I was. Please, forgive me..."
Before Fox could respond any further, exhaustion came over him like a blanket, and he passed out in Krystal's arms. She carried him to his bed and gently put him down on it, tucking him in. She then gently stroked Fox's and kissed him on the forehead. "Sweet dreams Fox, I love you. I promise that you will get better."
Krystal sighed and looked around at the deplorable conditions that Fox had to live in. There was a massive hole in the ceiling, cracks in the walls, and a massive gaping hole in the floor. There also appeared to be a major roach problem. The kitchenette was absolutely filthy as well. She knew she had to clean the hotel room, being that she believed that Fox deserved far better, but she was too tired at the moment. She decided to do it tomorrow and to give Peppy a call, so she could update him on Fox's condition.
Krystal activated her comm and contacted Peppy to give her the news. "Peppy, this is Krystal. I have located Fox, he...he…he tried to commit suicide…. He's in absolutely horrible condition as well. I would rather not discuss it in detail, it's simply too heartbreaking for me. I must take care of him until he is well again, he needs me now more than ever." said Krystal as she spoke into the comm link.
Peppy was relieved to know Fox is alive and safe, but horrified to find out Fox attempted suicide and is in poor health. "Well it certainly is good that Fox is safe, I can't believe he's truly fallen that hard though." Said Peppy.
"Peppy, I am appalled at the absolutely deplorable conditions in this room. There are infestations of mold, insects, and cracks in the ceiling. There also appears to be issues with the electrical system. Fox deserves better than this. Peppy, I have a request for you… Can you please find Fox a better place to live than this awful hotel room?" asked Krystal.
"Consider it done, though it will take a couple of days to find something and move the two of you in. If I may ask, where are Fox's belongings? "
"They are in a warehouse in East Corneria, I'd suggest you hurry in retrieving them, before they're auctioned off." responded Krystal.
"Understood, I'll have a group of movers have them retrieved." said Peppy.
"Oh and Peppy…one more thing, can you please move my Cloud Runner into storage? It's located at Terminal 42 of the Corneria City Spaceport." asked Krystal.
"Fine, but I'm only doing this, because of the fact, that you are fixing the damage from your actions." answered Peppy.
"Understood, Krystal out." She said as she closed the comm link. She then yawned. "I think it's time for me to go to sleep, I've had quite the eventful day."
Krystal then stripped down to her underwear and walked towards the bed. As she climbed into the bed, she slowly and carefully lifted the covers off of Fox, as to not wake him, and snuggled up to him, wrapping her arms around him so she could keep him safe and warm. Krystal then whispered; "Goodnight Fox." into the tod's ear, before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
.
A/N: My actual first Star Fox fanfic, I'd like to give some credit to XCabal, ModusOperandi, and Nail Strafer for beta reading it. Bonus points, if you got the reference to Star Fox Adventures' midway through. Until we meet again….Imagination is the key-Dew.
