(Author's Note: I haven't made a story in a long time, and it's hard for me to write this particular story without thinking I'm making the male protagonist a Marty Stu. So just bear with me on this, and try not to flame me too much. The timeline will follow the Arwingpedia timeline, though will stop after Assault)
Prologue
[Invaded Cornerian Freelancer Base, Frostbite Canyon, Planet Fichina, 10 ALW (After Lylat Wars)]
"Krystal! Krystal! There's a bogey on your tail!"
Krystal snapped out of her trance at the sound of the transmission and the shots being fired at her Cloud Runner. "Huh? Wha?" she gasped before performing a loop and blasting the enemies that was on her tail. "Focus, Krystal!" Fox said sternly, "We're on a mission here!" Falco's voice came through on the radio. "Geez, Krystal, you're getting worse than Slippy when it comes to being tailed," he sneered. "Shut it, you," Krystal growled. Sometimes she couldn't stand Falco's flippant attitude, and wondered why Fox kept him on the team. Preferring not to cause an argument, she instead took her anger out on the scoundrels that were invading the Fichina base. "Krystal, you ok? You've been staring into space a lot lately…" Fox asked, concerned for her safety, "I'm fine, Fox!" Krystal yelled into the radio, which made Fox flinch. "Ok, ok, sorry," he stammered. "Damn, Krystal, is it that time of the month?" Falco quipped, but then he cried out as Krystal shot at his Arwing. Even Falco knew that when Krystal was shooting at her own teammates, it was best to shut up before you found yourself needing repairs due to friendly fire.
Once the scoundrels were defeated, Fox ordered the team to go back to the Great Fox, "And Krystal," Fox told her, "We need to talk." Krystal gulped, having calmed down, "S-Sorry, Fox…" she stuttered. Fox set the comlink so only he and Krystal could hear "Now, I'm not saying Falco needs a good shot to the ship for his mouth," he began, "But when you start firing on your own teammates every single mission, the rest of us get kind of nervous. Also, you've been zoning out a lot during missions. Are you sure you're ok? I'm speaking as both a leader and a mate, here." Krystal's heart jumped at the sound of the word "mate" "If there's anything you need to talk to me about, just say the word, and I'll listen," Fox assured her. "I-I'm fine…" she said, but thought, "There's no way I can talk to him about this…" "Alright…I'll contact the General once we get to the Great Fox." Fox informed her. "Uhm…F-Fox, if I may, might I, uhm, check to see if everyone in the base is ok…?" Krystal requested. "The General's already done a headcount. Everyone's ok…" Fox began, but remembered that Krystal had been asking General Hare about news of a certain Freelancer, but both of them had been cryptic about the identity of the soldier, "…and that person you keep asking the General about isn't in the base." "Oh…" she sighed, "A-Alright. I'm ready." Krystal flew off towards the Great Fox, while Fox stayed behind. "Is this particular Freelancer a friend of hers…? Someone from her home planet…? And why won't Peppy tell me who she's looking for…?" he wondered, surprised that Peppy, who had watched over him since the disappearance of his father, would keep a secret from him that he felt was this important. Fox sighed, concluding that Peppy has his reasons, and flew off towards the Great Fox for the debriefing.
[Later that night]
Krystal opened her closet and saw her old outfit from when she was a priestess on Cerinia. She stared at it for a while before bending over next to it and pulling out a small tag that would clip onto the collar. The tag said "Owned by D. R. McCloud". She closed her eyes and sobbed briefly before getting a call on her personal com-link. "Incoming message from General Peppy Hare," the com-link computer said. Krystal stuffed the tag into the box and closed the closet before allowing the call to go through.
"Hi there, Krystal," came the soothing voice of the old rabbit. Krystal couldn't help but let out a small smile. She could easily see why Fox considered Peppy a father figure, as he always acted like a father to those he knew, especially Fox and Krystal. "Greetings, General," she greeted him. Peppy chuckled, "Please, Krystal, this isn't a formal call, just call me Peppy." Krystal nodded and chuckled herself. "Alright," she said. "Fox tells me you've been losing your focus frequently," Peppy said, now serious. Krystal's eyes widened. "Please don't kick me off the team," she pleaded, but Peppy shook his head. "No, Krystal, neither me nor Fox have any intentions of removing you from the Star Fox team," he assured her, "I just want to ask you…are you thinking about Drexel?" Krystal remained silent, before eventually nodding. "I…I just don't want to talk to Fox about it…" she said softly, "I don't want him to think I'm unfaithful…but…he reminds me so much of his brother…" "I know, dear," Peppy replied softly, "Do you want to tell me the story of how you two got so close…?" Krystal nodded, and added, "But…I can't remember when I first met him…" "Oh I can tell you that," Peppy remarked, chuckling, before beginning his part of the story…
(Author's Note: I'll release this and the first chapter at the same time, but updates may vary. Feel free to leave a review, but remember that I'm rusty at making actual stories, so keep that in mind when revving up the flamethrowers)