(Please enjoy. Also keep in mind that my story will make reference to "Farewell, Beloved Falco". Consider looking it up if you're interested.)

-Vakarinator

Boy did I have a log entry for this mission.

Where do I even begin?

Well, a lot had happened in one go.

I destroyed Andross for a third time, and saved a planet filled with Dinosaurs by returning its magic stones and group of mystical space ghosts. And that was only scratching the surface.

It was potentially the weirdest story I would ever tell.

But hey; I had met an incredibly hot young vixen, had an old friend sign back onto the team again, and I was going to get paid. Finally.

And Slippy had put it best; the Starfox team was back together again.

Well, that and a guest.

Yes; Krystal. An astoundingly attractive young blue vixen that I had saved from Dinosaur Planet. I didn't know exactly why she had been held captive, but something about her had triggered the second revival of my arch-nemesis. And now here she was; insisting that she come to say thanks, now much more friendly, and still wearing an outfit that barely qualified as underwear to me.

I was doing my best not to scan my eyes over her. Though I wasn't succeeding too well.

I kept on looking at her, and she would smile as our eyes met. And I would look away, trying not to make things awkward.

"So Fox."

Peppy's voice brought me back into focus. "I've finished updating the data entries for Dinosaur Planet."

"Actually, it's called Sauria."

We all looked over at Krystal.

"Or at least, that's the simplest name to translate from their language. Sauria; as in "saur" from "dinosaur"."

Peppy nodded and turned back to the keyboard. "Well, okay then: "Sauria" it is. And I'll make a note of that; "rough translation from native language"... "Reference to "saur" in "dinosaur""... Perfect."

"You must know a lot about the planet, then." Slippy chimed in.

"Well, as much as the natives told me. I doubt I know anything more than you all do."

Now I was curious. "So what brought to Dinosaur- er, Sauria?"

"Well, I was traveling through space when I felt a distress call. I came to one of the floating pieces of the planet, which happened to be the Cloudrunner fortress. I was able to rescue a fleeing Cloudrunner, and I asked him to help me find the source of the call. I encountered and was able to escape General Scales, and then made my way to the Krazoa Palace. The rest, well... You already know."

"So, was that Andross who had trapped you in the crystal?"

"Krystal was trapped in a crystal?" Slippy spoke up.

I looked over at him. "Yeah, she was... Why do you ask?"

"Get it? Krystal was trapped in a... Crystal..."

The joke had died before it was even born. And Slippy was quick to realise.

"Sorry... Keep going."

She chuckled lightly. "To answer your question... Yes, it definitely was the one you call Andross. He must have recognized me, and perhaps he used me as leverage to make you collect the Krazoa spirits. Or maybe he needed the use of my powers; I'm not sure."

"Well, that makes three times that I've had to kill him. And I'll kill him a fourth time if I have to."

"..."Three times"?"

"Er... Yeah; bit of a long story there."

"Recognised you?" Falco had finally spoken up. "So you've met him before?"

I had to admit; I wanted to know the answer to that question too.

But Krystal looked away awkwardly. "It's... complicated... A bit difficult to explain..."

We were silent.

And Peppy was quick to break the silence. "Well the important thing is that Andross is finished, and you're safe and sound."

Krystal smiled gratefully and looked at me. "Yes, I am. Thank you all."

I felt my face grow warm as sheepish smile emerged. "Y-you're welcome. We're always willing to help someone in need."

"Wait a second." Slippy raised his voice again. ""Powers"? What powers?"

Krystal smiled. "Oh yes; I'm a telepath."

That was it?

She said it as if it was nothing special, but as I looked at everyone in the room, their faces now bore surprise and curiosity.

Well sure; I knew that she had powers. But the others didn't.

Falco was first to respond. "...You're not messin' with us, are you?"

"No; it's the truth. All the people from my planet are natural telepaths."

"So it's a mutation?" Slippy added. "Like a biological implant or genetic engineering?"

"None of that, no. All natural."

"Aw come on; surely that's not true. Everything can be explained by science! It can't just be something that happened!"

Krystal smiled confidently. 'Well this can be explain by science; it's how my people lived. We all grew up with it.'

"How? Why? When did it originate?"

"Well, all we have stories. Stories of how the great spirits blessed the first man and woman to walk on the planet. They had no means to communicate and did not understand each-other, and they lived a miserable existence as a result. But the great spirits blessed them with telepathic powers, so that they could understand and read each other's minds. When they come to understand each-other, they became the first ones to copulate, and our race was born over the centuries unto the planet."

Huh. That was an interesting tale.

Slippy was still a little sceptic. "I see... So, all you have is that story?"

"That's all, I'm afraid."

"...Okay then." Slippy turned away in his chair.

He was a little too obvious; he didn't believe her.

I have to admit, it sounded a little far-fetched to me too.

But I had heard her voice during my mission on Sauria; several times.

I knew for a fact she was telling the truth.

But I was perplexed as Krystal closed her eyes and went calm for a moment.

There was a pause.

"Huh!?" Slippy wheeled around in surprise; he nearly fell off his chair.

He was looking at Krystal in shock.

She still had her eyes closed, but now a cheeky smile was on her face.

"How are you-!?" Slippy's mouth was agape, still staring at Krystal.

I understood what she was doing now; I don't think Slippy could find a way to dismiss her telepathy any more.

Eventually, she opened her eyes, and she winked at him. "Do you believe me now?"

"Y-Yeah...! That's... That's amazing! I need to research this!" He leapt to his feet and grabbed Krystal's hand. "Do you mind if I do x-rays? Brain scans? I promise it will only take a few minutes!"

I could see she was taken aback by his sudden change of opinion. She looked at me with an amused smile and then looked back. "Of course Slippy. Just no needles or anything."

"No need! So come right this way!"

He was already talking excitedly like he always did with a big discovery.

"So how powerful is it? Is it easy to use? Are there any side effects?"

I smiled as they walked down to the med bay.

"Boy; frog-boy could still talk to an asteroid with that stuff, huh?"

I glanced at Falco and chuckled. "Yep; he hasn't changed. I'm actually glad. Speaking of which."

I turned to face him. "How many things have changed with you?"

He crossed his arms. "Nothin'. Just been flyin' around; lookin' for work."

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Well maybe you oughta refresh me."

I knew he was purposefully avoiding the subject. Maybe I was too; it was still a little bit awkward to talk about.

But this had to be discussed.

"Come with me. We need to talk."

I walked with Falco down the hallway to his room. I hadn't stopped by here in a long time.

We were deathly silent as we walked. And I hated it.

But what could either of us say? We didn't part on a sour note, but we left a few things unsaid... I realize he was only trying to help Katt, and that I had assumed that he had defected. It was wrong of me to believe that Falco, one of my closest friends, would simply join the villains at Katt's request. Falco was usually just impartial to Katt's advances; he wouldn't have done what he did without good reason. And after the Arwing and Landmaster had been trashed, and stopping the attempted resurrection of Andross... Well...

It was easy to avoid talking to each other with so much to consider.

Finally, we reached his room. I don't think I could've taken the silence any longer. I opened the door, and we walked inside.

It was still as we left it. Several flying and pin-up magazines were on his table, as well as his documents and blueprints on his Arwing. He loved to tinker with it as much as Slippy did; it always had to be "just right" for him, so he had insisted he'd make adjustments on his own.

...How long had it been since they talked about that?

Falco was already looking through his belongings. "Wow... Everything's the way I left it... I'm surprised." He looked at me. "I was expecting to find junk and books piled up in here; nobody was using it for a while.'"

"Yeah... I didn't come in here because well... It felt, wrong..."

"I see."

We both looked away.

None of us were going to go first. We didn't want to admit.

No. Enough of that. It was time I had a little humility over this.

"I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions. And I automatically assumed the worst from you."

"I didn't exactly explain myself either. So, I'm sorry too."

I looked back at him.

He had that smug smile on his beak as usual. But I could see that look in his eye. I could tell he was serious.

I grinned. "I think we've been through too much to let something like this come between us."

He laughed. "I know we couldn't stay apart for long. We'd go crazy if we weren't cock-fightin' like usual."

That got a laugh out of me. Maybe because of how frighteningly true that statement was. "But you know; I still felt bad. Not enough was cleared up before you took off. We left a lot of things unsaid."

"Like what?"

I sighed deeply. Here it came...

"Falco... I never told you, how important you are to the team. Regardless of what we ever said or did, you... You've always been one of my best friends. And I don't want you to forget that."

He smiled. And this time, it was a genuine smile. "We'll always be pals, Fox. Friends to the end. No fair-weather crap; through thick an' thin. Right?"

He offered me his hand. And I shook it firmly without hesitation. "Right."

There was a pause.

And then that shit-eating grin formed on his face again.

"Is this the part where you ask me to marry you?"

I threw his hand away, but I couldn't hide a smile. "Shut your beak, smart-ass. Just be glad you're back with us."

"Speaking of "us"..." He raised an eyebrow. "Did you seriously only just meet your hot new friend? Not that I can't understand, but still... You don't waste time do ya?"

"Falco-! It's not like that! I saved her during the crap on Dino- I mean, Sauria."

"Oh I see. So you figured she owes you one, so she's gonna pay you back on the ship here, eh? Just close the door; that's all I'm sayin'."

"Falco, I swear to God-!"

"Chill out, dude! I'm just yankin' your chain! So she's not your girlfriend."

"No."

"Ah okay then. I guess I'll have a shot at her. Chicks seem to dig the whole "rogue-ace-pilot" thing I've got goin' on."

I didn't say anything. I knew he was still trying to get a rise out of me.

As much as I wanted to punch him one for that, I stood there with my arms crossed, staring daggers into his eyes.

He grinned again. "I got the message pal. Maybe I'll catch up with everyone else; we can talk about this later."

"...Right."

He walked past me, and I watched him leave.

He stopped in the door and looked back. "Besides, I know I haven't got a chance with her. I've seen the way she looks at you." He winked, and then left.

I sighed and shook my head.

It was good to have Falco back, but he was already grating on my nerves.

Mainly because he had a new way to tease me now, and I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about it.

(Please be as brutally critical as you need to be for my first attempt at fan fiction. Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. With luck, more will be on the way soon.)

-Vakarinator