Chapter 3! Enjoy!

SFP – 3:30PM

"Last order is in Fox!" Kiko called as he placed a fifteen inch meats pizza in the oven. Once he was done, he went to go help Falco with the dishes.

"Phones are silent Fox." Slippy reported. "Looks like you guys might actually get a break before you leave."

"That would be great." a very tired looking Krystal said as she walked back from the dining room with a few trays. "I don't think we've stopped since we got here." She looked over at Fox who was manning the ovens. "You still alive over there Fox?"

"Somehow." Fox stretched his arms before taking out a few pizzas. He cut them up and boxed them. "Large works, medium fingers. Someone move this out of my way." Slippy took the completed order and handed it to the customer. "It's going to be two/three minutes for the next one."

"Hey Kiko!" Falco called to the white vulpine. "I couldn't help but notice that you aren't doing anything right now... and I could sure use some help on this mountain of dishes."

Kiko looked over at the pile of dishes. Though it wasn't as bad as Falco had claimed, he did begin helping him.

"I've been here for as long as Fox and Krystal... I haven't had a break yet. I only told a few people you guys were coming back." Kiko laughed as he pulled out a clean tray of dishes and pans. "I knew Star Fox was popular, but damn."

"It's a blessing and a curse." Falco grinned. "But yeah, I wouldn't have told anyone that we were coming back. Shit like this happens all the time." Kiko laughed with him as they continued to tackle the shrinking pile of dishes.

"Last order up!" Fox shouted as he wiped his brow. He handed the order to Krystal with a smile. "Looks like you haven't lost your touch here."

Krystal returned the smile. "Thanks to all of your training." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before walking out front. "Order four oh four?"

"That's me!" said the customer. Krystal looked at the vixen walking towards her, she looked familiar. The vixen had white and black fur, white hair, and a white tipped tail. What had really sparked a memory in her mind was the multicolored eyes. One green, and one blue. "Storm?"

The vixen took a few seconds to look Krystal over, as if she was offended that her server knew her. Then she recognized the blue vixen. "Krystal?" The two girls instantly went for a hug. "I haven't seen you in forever! What's up?"

"We've got a lot to catch up on." Krystal turned to see Fox standing near the oven. "Is it okay if I go on break now Fox?"

"Of course my dear." Fox replied with a smile as he took more dishes back to Falco and Kiko. Krystal quickly washed her hands and made her way to the table Storm was now sitting in.

"So Krys, how did you end up here?" Storm asked as the blue vixen sat down. "I mean, working with Fox McCloud is any girl's dream. I thought you were still with Panther."

Krystal sighed. "A lot has changed since we first met."

Flashback – Corneria 2 years ago

An eighteen year old Krystal looked forward, her bag of clothes and personal belongings strapped to her shoulder. "Well, here I am... Corneria."

She noticed instantly that a lot of people were staring at her, more than likely due to her fur colour. She grabbed her wallet and headed for the nearest clothing store. About an hour later she had three new outfits. Once she had changed into one of her new outfits, a pair of tight blue jeans and a long sleeve plain black t-shirt. She figured it would be time to look around and get used to the new planet.

"Hey!" Krystal turned around to see a vixen walking towards her. The vixen had white and black fur, and as she got closer, Krystal noticed that she had two different colored eyes. The vixen extended her hand. "You forgot your change."

Krystal mentally smacked herself. "Thank you. I'm kinda new to this planet." Krystal took the credits from the vixen. "My name is Krystal."

"It's nice to meet you Krystal." The black and white vixen replied. "My name is Storm. Hey, you want me to give you a tour? I've lived here all my life and I can show you were you should and shouldn't go."

Krystal smiled, not thinking she'd make a new friend so quickly. "Sure. That would be great!" Storm grabbed Krystal's hand and led her outside. "Whoa..."

"Never seen a skyscraper before? What planet are you from anyway?" Storm giggled as Krystal continued to stare at the huge building. "Krystal?"

"Oh sorry." Krystal's face burned red. "I'm from Cerinia, we're a bit behind Cornerian technology. It's also why I have this accent." Krystal looked back down to the other vixen.

"Cerinia?" Storm thought for a second. "I don't think I've heard of it... is it in the Lylat system?" Krystal shook her head. "Well, do you have anywhere to stay?"

Again Krystal shook her head.

"I was going to look for a cheap hotel. I wanted to get a feel for this place before I looked for a job." Krystal hug her head. "I left without my parent's blessing, and for that I cannot go back."

"That's a little harsh don't you think?" Storm asked, Krystal only shrugged at her new friend. "Well, I've got a place, you are more than welcome to come stay with me."

"I don't want to be a burden." Krystal adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Besides we just met."

"Please, there is a lot of people that stay there, one more pretty face wont hurt." Storm smiled at Krystal. "Come on, it'll be fun. You'll have a roof over your head until you find another place."

Krystal felt relief wash over her. "I won't stay too long. I just need to get used to this place first."

"Don't worry Krystal. I'll take care of you." Storm grabbed Krystal's hand and led her outside. "Welcome to Corneria!"

Present

"You know." Storm laughed. "You didn't stay at my place long. Panther came over one night and bam, you two connected and before I knew it-."

"I was gone." Krystal whispered. Storm's smile didn't leave her face. "Sorry about that. I feel like I ditched you."

"Please, I was happy for you. Panther is a great guy..." Storm stopped to think about what she had said. "Well, he is until you get to see his true colors. I swear that guy has tried to sweet talk everything, and I mean everything, in my kitchen more than once." Krystal giggled with the vixen. "I assume things between you guys didn't go so well."

"You could say that." Krystal growled. "Took him five months to cheat on me, then I left that live behind me. All the parties, all the people I knew, everything that had a connection to Panther I threw away."

"I've been meaning to catch up with you Krys." Storm looked down at the table and sighed. "I've been hearing rumors about you."

"Such as?" Krystal raised an eyebrow at Storm.

"Well, were to start? You've been captured by Star Wolf and taken to some weird planet only to be rescued by Fox McCloud of all people. Plus, people are saying that you're going out with the Hero of Lylat. Oh, and that you've been made a member of the Star Fox team." Storm counted on her hand. "Am I missing anything?"

Krystal shook her head with a chuckle. "Well, that's all true." As if on cue Fox walked up to the pair, resting a hand on Krystal's shoulder. "What's up Fox?"

"You're twenty minutes into a fifteen minute break." Fox smirked as Krystal began to panic. "I guess you'll just have to join me on our lunch break." Fox took a seat beside Krystal, and unwrapped his lunch. "Hey, who's your new friend?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" Krystal said after Fox put his arm around her. "Fox this is Storm, Storm this is Fox McCloud. My boyfriend."

"F-fox..." Storm hadn't been so close to someone that famous before and she was so star-struck she nearly passed out. "Hey."

"Storm was the first person on Corneria I met. She helped me out, gave me a place to stay. She's the reason I didn't end up on the streets." Krystal explained. Fox smiled at Storm.

"Well any friend of Krystal's a friend of mine!" Storm returned the smile before looking at her watch.

"Crap. I need to get going, the guys back at the apartment are hungry." Storm quickly got up and made for the door. "Krys, my door is always open. I'm at the same place, bring Fox with you!"

"Later Storm!" Krystal called to the vixen, who waved back before disappearing into Solar's fading light. "I owe her a lot."

"She seems like a nice enough girl." Fox handed Krystal a half of his oven sub. Krystal thanked him and began to eat. "So, what was it like living on Corneria with Storm?"

"She knows how to party." Krystal grinned. "She never served alcohol to minors though, and if she caught anyone they got forcefully removed from said party. She lived in a rougher neighborhood than she would let on. She has a huge heart, if it got too cold outside she invited the homeless in to get warm."

"Wow." Fox finished up his half of the sub before continuing. "She should get honored for her services to Lylat."

"Oh, she doesn't want fortune and fame for what she believes everyone should do." Krystal smiled and leaned into Fox. "She just loves helping people."

"Well, the least I can do is give her a discount here. That way she can surprise the people she's feeding a little more often." Fox quickly kissed Krystal before he stood up. "Our break is over in five minutes. Kiko said he had something for me to look at before he left."

"Alright." Krystal leisurely ate her sub.

She felt a bit guilty for using most of Fox's lunch break, and decided to force Fox to take a full lunch break tomorrow. As she finished she clean off the table, and tossed her trash into the garbage.

"Hey who was that vixen you were talking too?" Falco asked as Krystal walked outback. She noticed that he was done with the dishes and was finishing up an order.

"That was Storm, she's an old friend." Krystal quickly washed her hands and went over to help the avian.

"Storm huh? Doesn't ring a bell." Falco shrugged. "She friends with anyone else I know?"

"Panther." Krystal growled. Falco nearly dropped his completed pizza. "I know, I know. She actually introduced us, and he was quite the gentleman at the beginning."

"Then he turns into this bad guy and you realize that he couldn't be the one for you and so on." Falco sighed. "Does Fox know about that? We could use her to get intel on Star Wolf!"

"Get intel on Star Wolf? That's what Pepper is for." Slippy laughed as he walked by with some tools. "Now, has anyone seen my self adjusting wrench? I swear I just had it in my hand."

"Slippy does have a point. Pepper has spies for this sort of thing. I don't want get Storm wrapped up in this." Krystal handed Falco a finished small garlic fingers. "Besides, Fox would have to put in that request wouldn't he?"

"True, but lets face it. Fox will do anything for you, and if you wanted this he could get it done." Falco walked to the front of the oven, leaving Krystal to think over what he had said.

She could get Storm to get info from Panther on Star Wolf, in theory it would be quite easy. On the other hand if Panther caught on to their scheme it could cost Storm her life. Krystal shook her head. There was no way she could ask Storm to do that for the team, regardless of how willing she would be.

"Something on your mind Krys?" Fox asked as he came out of the office.

"Yeah, I'd rather not discuss it now. Later though." Krystal forced a smile and looked over at Falco. "It's more of a team thing rather than a pizzeria thing."

"Alright." Fox turned to see Kiko leaving the office. "So Kiko, we'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning, eh?" Kiko gave Fox a mock salute before exiting out the back door.

"Tomorrow will likely be slower than today since there really isn't a good special going." Falco leaned on the counter as he waited for the order to cook.

"That means you can sleep in till noon." Fox laughed. "And it'll give you more time to beat my score."

"On what? That last advanced flight sim? That's a joke and you know it. I'll have it beat within an hour. Then what am I supposed to do until the sun comes up?"

"Slippy should be done that new level soon, then we can get Peppy to send us over some stuff from the military. I heard that Bill helped design their hardest course." Fox laughed as he saw Falco's eyes light up.

"Oh how I would love to be able to rub it in their face." Falco used his hands to underline an invisible title. "Ace Pilot Mercenary destroys military record. It'll make headlines for sure!"

"Yeah, on the one military approved news letter." Fox laughed. "Alright, Krys and I are headed home. We'll see you guys in a few hours."

"Whatever, leave me with Slip. I'll make sure he gets everything fixed so you can actually get something done while you're here." Fox nodded and waited for Krystal to get changed before leaving the restaurant for the day.

"Feels good getting out of here before close huh?" Krystal asked as they got into the SUV.

"It's awkward and amazing at the same time." Fox chuckled. "We still have to hit the gym and do a few simulations before we're technically done for the day though."

"Bring it on." Krystal cheered as they made their way to Fox's house.

As they drove Krystal thought back to seeing Storm again today. Maybe she would take her up on her offer and bring Fox to meet her friends. She grinned and grabbed Fox's hand in her own. 'How would everyone react to seeing me with Fox?' Fox squeezed her hand, causing her too look over at him. Krystal's grin turned into a smile. 'Oh yeah, that is going to happen for sure.'

"So you going to beat Falco's high score first, or should I?" They shared a laugh as the pulled up at the Star Fox mansion.

SFP – 20 minutes later

"In conclusion, this wrench is going to sell like hot cakes." Slippy had just finished giving Falco a lecture on the particular tool he was using. Falco had nearly fallen asleep twice, and was working on a third time when Slippy had finished. "And I'm going to order a full set for the Great Fox!"

"Slippy..." Falco rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I really hate working nights here with you."

And there we go, another chapter done. Kiko is owned by Jumanji8 and Storm is owned by ~StormtheDragon over on DA.

See you guys soon,

H-T