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Star Fox: Return

Note: This fanfic takes place soon after the initial ending to Star Fox: Command, titled The Angler Emperor. Rated T. Constructive criticizim is welcome. No Flames! You Flame, I Block! You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox at all.

Chapter One: Pain of Separation

Condemned Cornarian Hotel
Cornaria City, Cornaria
1:00 a.m. Cornaria Time

He was just standing there, electrical cords of energy binding him to something. His blood was all over the front of his shirt, and it came from his mouth. He looked up, pain in his eyes. He was dying, and he knew it.

"I'm sorry."

He could hardly speak.

"I love you."

No. It couldn't be.

"Good bye, Krystal."

NO!

Krystal woke with a start, her heart racing faster than a speeding Arwing. Her breath came in gulps, and her normally smooth fur was pasted to her skin with sweat, as were her clothes and sheets.

Growling in frustration, she tore the sheets off her and stormed out on to the balcony. The Cornarian air was cool on her skin. Winter was coming; she could sense it in her very being. But even this could not cool off the angry frustration that she felt. Below her lay the destruction that the Anglers had caused, and she felt something similar in her own heart. The building she was in would be condemned soon for the reconstruction plan, but until then it was Team Star Wolf's temporary quarters while they were on Cornaria.

Growling again, Krystal kicked the rail. Why couldn't she get over it already? She had made up her mind. Three months ago, she had rejoined Star Fox to fight the Angler Emperor, and got back together with Fox McCloud, the man she loved, or so she thought. After two months, she could no longer stand his indecision as to whether or not he loved her. She left Star Fox and joined Star Wolf, partially because Star Wolf had gained a new – and much better, in her opinion – reputation for their assistance against the Anglers. The other reason was Panther. She knew he loved her; he was very open about that fact. But he was also very loyal. Before the Anglers, she had flown as a member of Star Fox, but Fox McCloud begged her to leave for her own safety. When he broke up with her, Panther comforted her, even though he understood that she still loved Fox. When she rejoined Star Fox, Panther still understood. He just wanted her to be happy. That was how he showed that he cared.

One month ago, she had left Fox again and joined Star Wolf, this time out of her own decision. She wanted Panther's comforting friendship again. When she had made that choice, she thought there might be a chance that she would come to love Panther the same way she had loved Fox.

No such luck, she had to admit. Her dreams proved that.

Hearing a sound, Krystal spun around. Behind her stood Panther, looking as tired and frustrated as she felt. Then again, Panther always looked frustrated about something.

"Sorry, I forgot the balcony squeaks. Did I wake you up?" she asked.

"No," Panther purred. "Panther has noticed you haven't been sleeping well. He wanted to ask you what was wrong."

Krystal turned away, her frustration returning, "I had another dream, Panther. I can't deny it any more. I still love him."

Panther came to her side and patted her shoulder. "Then why did you leave him?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Krystal answered. "I guess I felt it was hopeless. If he can't make up his mind about how he feels about me, than why should I bother with him?"

Panther stayed silent. He inclined his head, wanting her to clarify, not just to him, but to herself as well.

"I guess I felt he would love me more if I could prove to him that I was a better pilot. After all, being a member of Star Wolf could get me into tougher scrapes than any adventure I've had as a member of Star Fox," she said.

Panther shook his head, "That is not what Panther thinks. Panther thinks you wanted to make Fox jealous."

Krystal felt shame creep up her face as she realized that Panther was right, and that she was using her friendship with him to try and accomplish this.

"You're right. Sorry I've been using you," she apologized.

"Sorry for what? For doing what you needed? Panther knew from the start that you did not join Star Wolf to be with Panther, but to make Fox jealous. It was the only option left you had to try to get him to wake up and realize what you two had, and to make a decision," Panther chuckled softly in his throat.

"Then why do I keep on dreaming that he does not make that decision until his death?" Krystal asked in fear.

Panther shrugged, "Panther does not know. But Panther does know that unless Fox makes a decision soon, he will be alone. Slippy Toad is getting married soon, and Falco and Katt are getting closer together. Soon, Fox will be alone."

"He won't be the only one," Krystal sighed. "I will be alone too."

Panther had no reply. As Krystal began to shiver from the cold, he pulled her into his arms to keep her warm, and realized that she was crying. When she had cried herself to sleep in his arms, Panther carefully carried her into her room and placed her in bed.

"Panther just wishes for your happiness, Krystal. I will do what I can to help you be happy," he purred softly, and left for his own room.

Dining Hall, Great Fox II
En Route to Sauria
1:00 Cornarian Military/Ship Time

"You going to eat that steak, or just stare at it for yet another hour."

Fox McCloud pushed his plate over to Falco, who dived in like the carnivore that he was. To Falco it still tasted good, considering that it had been sitting there in front of Fox for five hours. Fox sighed and placed his head in his hands.

"You wouldn't eat if you felt the way I did right now, Falco. Admit it," was his reply to his fellow ace.

Falco swallowed what he had in his mouth. "All right, Fox," he said. "I'll admit that if Katt and I got as close as you and Krystal got, and then if she dumped me for someone in Star Wolf, I wouldn't eat either. But I also wouldn't have kept my feelings to myself, like you did. That's why Krystal left after all. You're too indecisive when it comes to how you feel about her, Fox. You can command us well enough to get us through the Anglers alive, but you seem to refuse to make up your mind when it comes to your feelings."

Fox snarled, and Falco wisely chose to shut up. If it wasn't for the fact that Falco was right, Fox probably would have punched him.

Ah, what the hell. Fox punched him anyway. Falco shook the stars from his head in time to watch his friend storm out of the Dining Hall into the corridor, slamming the door shut behind him, which is not an easy feat considering the doors in the Great Fox II where automatic.

Falco shrugged and returned to Fox's steak muttering, "I guess I deserved that."

Fox stormed his way onto the Bridge, sealing the door tight. At one computer, ROB -- a navigation robot he had inherited from his father, James McCloud -- was checking the Great Fox II's course. Fox walked over and hit the power switch on ROB's back. ROB's systems auto-saved everything he was doing, and ROB slouched over. Satisfied that with the Bridge sealed and with ROB offline no one would hear him, Fox took a deep breath and screamed. When he finally let out all the anger and frustration he was feeling, Fox took a moment to recomose himself, turned ROB back on, and sat down in his command chair. ROB took a while in powering back up.

"Systems: Functional. Errors: None. Estimated Time Offline: Two minutes," ROB said as he checked his systems and checked the Great Fox II's position. "No errors to report in the Great Fox II's course. I wish you wouldn't do that at random times while I am working, Fox."

"You're always working on something, ROB," Fox replied.

"Indeed, sir. But with the Great Fox II's current condition, I need to keep my eye on the sensors at all times. After all, the sensors are constantly acting up, and the auto-alarm system is not currently working. During those two minutes that you shut me off, something could have hit us," ROB protested.

Fox smiled in amusement for the first time in weeks. "We're in the middle of deep space, ROB," he laughed. "The ship is fine, so we have nothing to worry about."

Unfortunately, Fox was wrong. During those two minutes, a small, fast interceptor that had been tailing the Great Fox II had decided to make its move. Built so that it could attach to larger ships just below the main thrusters, it had attached to the Great Fox II and was now running silent. Not even a cloaked vessel could be as well hidden as this small ship, and the pilot had a dark design in store for Team Star Fox.

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