Original Date: 2013
Series: Star Fox Adventures
Notes: I love Krystal and think she deserves way better so this was an experiment with some headcanons to try and give her a proper backstory. It switches between flashbacks and speaking with a Krazoa.
Reasons for abandonment: My memory being shot means I completely forgot what I was doing with this. I hope it still makes at least a little sense.
Also Star Fox Adventures is a great game and I will fight you on this. The world building was a HUUUUUGE inspiration to me as a kid and I still play it every few years or so.
The world you once knew is no more. That is not our doing. The true culprit of its destruction still haunts your mind to this very day, despite his termination. While you have found somewhere new to call home and met others to call your family, you cannot erase the memories of where you once came from, of what you had witnessed. Is that not correct?
"Yes. That is correct."
"Phew!" Slippy heaved a great sigh as he wiped off the few droplets of sweat that had collected on his forehead. "That marks another mission done!"
"Hold your applause," Falco, his teammate, spat out. "It ain't worth celebrating 'til we know the pay is good." The bright silver and blue of Star Fox's Arwing fleet glistened in the reflection of the distant sun as they hovered in front of a slew of metal rubble they had just caused. An enemy fleet had threatened the safety of a distant planet, to which the team had immediately taken its call. To the crew of experienced members, stopping the enemy was no threat to them…and yet, there was something about this mission that made Krystal feel uneasy.
"Hey, Krystal," the falcon dragged out over Krystal's communicator. The vixen shook her head as she realized her mind had slipped deep into her thoughts, apparently making her blind and deaf of her surroundings for a few moments. "Look, I know follow-the-leader's a pretty dull game, but we have to get back to the Great Fox," Falco continued. Krystal nodded, her braids bouncing with the weight of their decorative beads.
"Yes, I…sorry," she simply replied, boosting her Arwing to catch up with the rest of her team, who were far ahead of her due to the Arwing's quick speed at this point.
"You ok, Krystal?" Fox asked, his tone a mix of worry and confusion. Krystal once again reiterated her condition, brushing off the thoughts that were in her mind and keeping them secret.
Though the purpose of your capture has been explained to you before, you still do not fully comprehend. You wonder why your planet was destroyed, and whether or not it was truly an accident, a coincidence, that you were left as its only survivor?
"Yes."
"Aww yeah!" The echoes of cheer filled the bridge of the Great Fox as the team's pay had been delivered to them. It was a substantial amount, one they were not expecting, and ideas began to flow around the room at what to do with it.
"This gives us more than enough money to upgrade the Arwings," Falco exclaimed, rolling his feathered hand over the credits.
"How about the Landmaster?" Fox quipped, stepping closer to his partner. "It's still not fully up to date after those eight years of stripping it for parts just to get by."
"Now everyone, I know you're getting excited, but the money is going to the Great Fox," Peppy commented from the back. "Now that we're back in business, we'll be getting a lot more calls, I'm sure, but you can't have all your fancy upgrades if your mother ship is still falling apart."
"You talking about yourself, gramps, or you talking about the Great Fox?" Falco asked sarcastically, shooting a smirk to their nearly-retired team mate. It had been merely but a few months since Fox had stopped the destruction of Dinosaur Planet, and with the news of that successful mission, along with the fact that Falco had rejoined, they were back to being respected—and needed—as much as the glory days. The boys had told Krystal about their old war stories, previous missions they've done and other planets they've saved, as well as teach her everything she knew about being part of the team. While she was no stranger to space travel and combat, their Cornerian technology was far different than her native Cerinian. Krystal left the team to argue over their payment, once again falling into the thoughts that clouded her mind before.
Perhaps you already know that you possess a great power. You are but somewhat aware of your abilities to sense thoughts and entities, but you have never known why that is.
"Yes."
"You ok, Krystal?" The vixen's hands were wrapped around a cup of tea Fox had made for her; though it seemed like he handed it to her minutes ago, the steam that lifted from it had decimated, the heat of the cup having lessened into a somewhat cool state. Krystal's eyes snapped up to realize Fox was standing next to her, his expression clearly showing concern for her. "You haven't even taken a sip of your tea yet." Krystal let out a weak nod, her gaze returning back to the cup in her hands. Fox didn't seem to be fooled, and Krystal wasn't expecting him to be.
"Earlier today, back on that mission," her companion began, placing himself on the seat next to her. "You weren't doing your best. You seemed…lost." Krystal turned to face him, her aqua eyes matching up with the emeralds that made up his.
"I suppose it's obvious, isn't it?" she questioned, a fake laugh slipping from her mouth. "Something's been bothering me." Fox gave a weak nod.
"Well…yeah," he confirmed. "You want to talk about it?" Krystal heaved a heavy sigh, averting her eyes from Fox for a moment before returning them.
"I was thinking about my family today," she stated. "My parents. The destruction of my home planet." Fox remained silent at Krystal's words, giving her complete leeway to tell her story. But Krystal wasn't really sure how she was going to say it. "I'm glad to be in Star Fox. I'm glad I'm able to call somewhere home again and have good people I can call friends. But having replacements for what was lost does not fix it all."
"You miss your family," Fox sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know how you feel… I told you about my father, James McCloud, right?" Krystal nodded, recalling the stories Fox had told her about the great man he was and his untimely death. They had both lost something great to the same evil, she noted. But she did not just lose her family; she lost her home. She lost everything she held dear. All her people, the luscious world of Cerinia, everything she had ever known…was gone.
Your powers are not unique to you. The Cerinians have always been a tribe of great magic. However, the natural strength in the abilities you possess is far greater than any Cerinian has ever had. And for that, you were seen as an advantage. The rest of your planet was seen as a threat. So goes the reason why it was destroyed.
"It's more than just missing my home world," Krystal started, placing the cup of tea down before rising to her feet. "It's the fact that everything about its destruction is unknown to me. You've told me before of how Andross imprisoned me so he could use me, use my powers…but why me? Why did he destroy the rest of my people?" Krystal was pacing the room as she said her words, realizing her voice was rising from her emotions. "And why is it that Dinosaur Planet...Sauria…" she corrected her words to fit the name Corneria had given it, "had the technology to fully upgrade my staff? Our staffs are the pinnacle of Cerinian technology. It is the staple of our people, one that is exclusive to us. So why would a distant planet be secretly built as though its true purpose was the use of Cerinian staffs?"
"Krystal…" Fox began, but the vixen continued before giving him a chance to finish his words.
"It just doesn't make sense," she commented, continuing her pacing. "You said the Warp Stone was unable to warp dinosaurs, on a planet whose denizens are nothing but. What purpose does he serve? Who built him? Why is he there if he is unable to do the very thing he was created for?" She turned back around and paced the other side of the room. "And what about those buildings? Those ruins you visited. Walled City, CloudRunner Fortress. Krazoa Palace. They appear to have been there for thousands of years. The Earthwalkers told me the Krazoa had lived in peace within the palace for a million years. Those structures could not have been built by Saurian hands, and I don't think the Sharpclaws did either." She realized she was almost yelling her words now, her normally soft and gentle voice being covered in millions of emotions—confusion, devastation, anger. "There is just so much that I don't know. So many answered I need to search for."
"If there's anything you need that we can help you with, Krystal, you just say the word," Fox immediately stated. Krystal wasn't expecting his dedication to her cause immediately. But, before he could say anymore, she continued her questionings.
"There must be more to Sauria than we know. There must be some sort of connection between it and Cerinia." She turned to face Fox, her eyes suddenly alight with determination. "That's why I'm going back there. To find the answers for myself."
"Andross purposely left me alive just so he could use me?"
So that is what we understand. He was of great evil, his mind corrupted by the need for revenge. He orchestrated your escape, being sure to leave your parents alive long enough for them to send you off in the ship you fled in. To be sure none would interfere with his plan, he destroyed the planet. This had taken a heavy toll in the energy that was left in his disembodied spiritual form, so he took refuge within this palace until he had enough energy to track you down again. It was here that he took advantage of yet another being: General Scales. Scales, believing it destiny that he take over the world of Dinosaur Planet, had invaded the palace in hopes of taking our power for himself. Scales was a reflection of the hatred in Andross's heart, and as such, he knew Scales would be the way to start his plan of rebirth. So he secretly gifted Scales with great power, with which he had forced one of us to reside in his body. With this power, Scales decimated the Earthwalker troops that had come to stop him. At that point, you had already landed on Dinosaur Planet. We could sense your presence, and thus so could Andross whilst possessing one of us, so he used the attack as a way to lure you into his hands again. It is why he left the EarthWalkers alive long enough for you to speak to them.
"Are you sure you want to do this alone?"
Krystal was sitting in the cockpit of her Arwing—which she had dubbed "CloudRunner" in honor of the tribe that had helped her—with Fox standing beside her on the loading dock. Falco and Slippy were not too far, Falco leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and Slippy showing deep concern for the vixen. Fox, however, seemed the most worried of them all, yet Krystal could see in his eyes that he knew she could take care of herself.
Krystal played with the settings on the Arwing, getting it ready for launch. "Yes," she answered her team mate, taking a look at her bag and double checking on the items she had packed. Food and water, along with other basic essentials, and her staff, minimized and tucked snuggly into the straps of the bag. "This is something I need to do for myself. I won't be gone long." She gave a smile to Fox, who returned it gently.
"You sure you don't need a blaster, little lady?" Falco quipped from afar. Krystal peeked out from the cockpit, taking out her signature weapon and displaying it by holding it out.
"No thanks, Falco, I'm going to need this," she commented, slightly waving the staff to catch his attention. Falco shrugged.
"Suit yourself," he replied.
"You got enough fuel cells, Krystal?" Slippy asked, bouncing over to stand beside Fox. Krystal pressed a few more buttons and fired up the engine for flight, checking its status as it piled onscreen.
"Nope, everything looks good, Slippy. Thank you." With that, she buckled herself into her seat and resituated her stuff.
Fox leaned over to face Krystal in her seat, placing a hand on the raised windshield. "Let me know when you land," he commented. "After that, I expect to hear from you every twenty-four hours you're down there."
"Hopefully it won't take too many days," Krystal answered. "Though I imagine the answers I'm searching for will be hard to find." She turned her aqua eyes to face him, tinted green by the lights in the cockpit. "I'll see you soon." With that, Fox stepped back and as the windshield lowered, her team issuing her a final round of goodbyes before the Arwing launched ahead.
Though you are unaware of it, your powers are similar to our own—and since your prowess was far greater than any of the others on your planet, Andross decided he would use you to control all of us and give our energy to him, so he may be born again much stronger than before. He used the magic of the spirit he possessed to create the beam that formed the crystal prison he forced you into, once again using your quest as bait to fall into his trap. He modified the devices at the top of the Palace so that it could take the energy from you and keep you in your trance. He needed only wait for someone else to complete the quest and set him free. It was luck that his fate had crossed paths with Fox McCloud again, but given his need for revenge, it was a bitter irony the he was the one who had answered the call, and yet had defeated him in the end, once more.
The flight to the planet was easy, most of the debris being remains of what Fox had destroyed during his mission months ago. Krystal decided to land in the quiet areas of Thorntail Hollow, deciding it best to start her journey by questioning the Warp Stone of his true purpose first. As she landed her Arwing, she was surprised to see the Thorntails almost joyous to see the metal bird again. With the planet back together again she could see the intricate stone temples of Walled City beside her. The Arwing shook slightly as the landing gear made contact, and Krystal popped the hatch and leapt out before bringing out her communicator.