Chapter 4

The Awakening

Forty-five minutes had passed before Fox's Arwing entered the Great Fox's hangar, where Flaco and Krystal stood with a gurney to transport the creature back to the medic bay. It took some time for Fox to land, but as soon as he did Krystal and Flaco rushed over as quickly as they could.

Fox jumped out, nodded to Krystal and Flaco, who nodded back, and pushed the button opening the hatch. Krystal stood there and acted as if the thing didn't faze her, instead she seemed upset to see it in that condition. Flaco, however, jumped back and made a strange squawking noise

"What the heck is that!?" Fox smiled, he'd never seen Flaco so frightened in his life, which just made the scene amusing.

But Fox's amusement was short-lived "Don't know, but that distress signal was coming off this." He said pointing to the watch on its arm.

He and Flaco would have continued talking if Krystal hadn't interrupted them "If you two would just stop talking for a minute and help me lift this, I promise you can talk all you want afterward while I'm looking at it."

Flaco and Fox both stopped talking, they were somewhat embarrassed for having been told what they should've already done. Fox bent down and lifted it by the shoulders, Flaco was having a hard time lifting it…. "Fox, this thing is way too ugly for me to pick up."

Fox gave him look of intense irritation. "FLACO, if you don't bend your ass down and pick this up, so help me, I'm going to beat the living sh.."

"Ok, Ok, Jeez I was just joking." Flaco swiftly grabbed the creature's legs, and they both carefully laid it on the gurney.

Fox turned to Flaco "Get Slippy down here and take the creatures stuff out of the cargo hold and put it into the armory where Slippy can check it out." Flaco nodded in acknowledge and radioed Slippy to the Hangar.

Fox looked around, and saw Krystal halfway down the hall "Hey, Krystal, wait up!" Fox ran and caught up to her "Like some help?"

Krystal gave him a quick shrug, and a slight smile "Sure, why not."

Fox grabbed the side of the gurney, and together they pushed it down the rest of the way to the medical bay. Fox pressed the button, and pushed the gurney next to the examination table.

"Ok, Fox, on three we're going to move it on to the table ready...One...Two…three!" Fox and Krystal lifted it up and transferred the creature on it.

Once they made sure it was secure to the table, Krystal turned to Fox "Ok, Fox, I need you stay out of here, until I'm done my examination, and is that understood." Krystal emphasized with a smile…though her eyes said otherwise.

Fox normally would have argued, but he was very perceptive on how aggressive Krystal could get in a fight, he'd decided just to comply with her wishes and leave. He didn't want to have another incident…. or another injury.

Krystal came out of the medical bay two hours later with an expression caught between misery and concern on her face ,and there faithfully waiting for her was Fox reading a worn out manual on hand-to-hand combat. He looked up from his page and smiled, but seeing that expression on her face made him worry.

Oh-No this isn't good. "What's wrong?" he asked with a somewhat uneasiness in his voice, as he put down his book back on the table.

She looked at him, her violet eyes shimmering. "He's..." Krystal never finished as tears flooded out of her eyes, and spilled down her cheeks, as she cried uncontrollably.

Fox leapt out of his seat, and swiftly ran to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her, and gently rocking back and forth, walked her over to the couch. It took him over ten minutes to get her to stop crying. When he finally wiped away her tears he asked "Is everything ok? What happened?"

She sniffled; she was still on the verge of crying again "He's still young Fox, and-and-and." And again more fresh tears started pouring from her violet eyes.

He continued consoling her the best way he knew how. While he consoled her Fox thought. This is bizarre, she's never had this kind of emotional breakdown before this bad that I can remember. I'd wish she tell me what's wrong with her.

For the next hour Fox did nothing, but rock back and forth over, and over, and over, he got so much in rhythm to the rocking, his own tail joined in the repetitive motion!

The minutes flew by into an hour before he finally decided to ask her the question again. "Krystal."

Krystal looked at him with her dry, reddish eyes. She seemed so helpless the way she looked at him, he found himself teary eyed as well. "Krystal, please tell me what's wrong."

With all the violent crying over, she managed to little by little, half say and half croak out her words. "Sniff- He's just a pup if I'm correct; his body shape is very similar to ours except that some of his bone's structures are slightly thicker, and shaped different from ours, but other than that he would be a young, fur less version of one of us."

She paused as if holding something back.

Fox knew there was something else that she wasn't telling him, but he couldn't figure out what it could be, and then an idea hit him. What's wrong with him?

Trying her hardest to keep from crying she finally told him…. "He's dying." the sincerity and brokenness in her words hit him like a brick wall.

He had no idea of what to say, so he just continued rocking Krystal left and right, with his and her tail intertwined swaying in the motion.

By this time Flaco had come back to see what was taking Krystal and Fox so long "Man, What the hell are they doing it's been over three hours and if my food gets cold I'm going to…" Flaco stopped as he saw Fox rocking Krystal in his arms. Oh, I'd better get out of here before I disturb them. And with that he turned around, and slowly walked back to the ship's Mess Hall.

Fox looked at Krystal with a puzzled look But I don't get it, why you taking this so hard.

Krystal looked up at him, fury replacing her previously heartbreaking eyes.

OH BOY! I'm in deep crap! Fox thought in panic.

She shoved him away so hard that she knocked him straight into the wall tail first. Ow, my tail's going to be sore tomorrow.

"Why am I taking this so hard!?" her upper lip curled in an angry sneer, "He's dying and I can't do anything to save him, his blood contains toxins the likes of which I've never seen before. His whole entire body is shutting down, and the only thing I could treat was his laser wound on his shoulder. No matter what I try to do, it won't work… He's going dying."

Krystal looked out the porthole window, and stared into deep space. "My parents died, and I couldn't do anything to save them….. and now… I can't do anything to save him." and just at that moment a comet passed by the Great Fox, its dark-blue light gleamed off the hull of the Great Fox in way Krystal thought wonderfully strange ,and yet almost familiar.

She continued to stare as the comet went by. That's odd the comet's getting brighter! And within a few seconds the comet shone so bright that Krystal had to squint to see what was happening. Then as soon as the comet did that, it vanished through the deep blackness of space as a dissipating blue aurora that floated through the Lylat, lighting everything in its path as it soared away into oblivion.

There was something about seeing the comet that made her feel happy again, why exactly, she wasn't sure. That was a sight to see, it's strange though somehow I get the feeling something big is going to happen. Fox saw the comet disappear as well, and he became awed. Wow, that was amazing!

Fox looked at Krystal, now that he had finally found out what was truly wrong with her, he empathized with her; he knew exactly what it was like to lose a parent. "Krystal, I'm sorry I didn't know."

She smiled at him "It's ok, I'm sorry for getting so angry at you as well, It's just so frustrating, I mean looking at him in that condition is just..." She frowned and looked back out the window. After some time had passed she walked back to the couch, and laid herself on it, and let her head rest on Fox's chest. "Fox."

"Hmmm, what is it Krystal?" Fox asked, stroking her violet hair.

"Something's going to happen; I can feel it, but what exactly... I don't know." she closed her eyes settled herself in a more comfortable position, and in a matter of minutes fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Fox smiled I love it when this happens. Phew, I'm glad we got that settled out. But man, that comet was really strange. He gently lifted her off the couch,and into his arms,her breathing rose and fell as gentle as the waves of a beach. He walked over to her room, and gently laid her in her bed. "Good night my morning star." He stroked her hair one last time, before pulling the covers.

Very quietly he slipped out of her room as silently as he could, and manually shut her door. He sighed, She's so caring, it's no wonder she has a healers gift he thought striding over to the med bay, and opened the door.

Fox looked down, and studied the pitiful creature on the table. With its top clothing off he saw it was mostly smooth skinned except for the little hairs all over it. He looked at its right shoulder where the laser wound was, instead of the wound,there was a thin white bandage covering the area . Fox also observed its head, the top of his head was all hair while the rest was smooth, except for a thin line of hair under the lining between its nose and mouth.

He walked over to Krystal's observation desk and looked at her papers half of the words on the paper made no sense to him, but seeing the high numbers, he could tell that there was a lot of whatever it was inside the creature.

He looked up at x-rays of its bones and x-rays of what he guessed were probably Krystal's. He cross-examined the two photos and agreed with what Krystal said. Your right Krystal they are similar.

He walked over to the creature, and felt for a pulse, sure enough, first try he felt a steady pulse. Fox studied its whole body he noticed that the creature was very muscular everywhere, which surprised him considering it was in a state of dying; in fact besides the laser wound, it looked almost perfectly healthy. It looks almost too healthy. Fox thought nervously.

Finding nothing else in there that interested him he left without a second glance, and went to his room, yawning. He opened his bedroom door and found Slippy oiling ROB's hinges, Slippy smiled, ROB turned his head at a snail's pace towards fox and statically replied "H-e-l-l-o Fox."

Slippy grabbed his wrench and wacked ROB on the side of his head with considerable force.

Fox glared at Slippy "Hey, why'd you do that for!?" Slippy grabbed the oil can and oiled Rob's head joint.

ROB turned his head to make sure it was properly lubricated. Finding it was back to normal ,he said in his monotone voice "Thank you ,Slippy, for fixing me again."

Slippy smiled "You're welcome ROB; sorry for hitting you it's the only way to stop the static until, Fox, can buy you a new interface." Slippy said looking straight at Fox, who just stood there already self-conscious of all things needing fixed.

Fox rolled his eyes "Ok, Ok I'm sorry Slippy for getting mad at you,there, are you happy." He said unapologetically.

Slippy just shrugged and packed up his tools in his bag, glancing to the side he asked "So how's our survivor doing?"

Fox frowned and sighed "He's in very bad shape; It looks as though he won't make it."

Slippy immediately stopped what he was doing and stared at fox with a puzzled look on his face "What do mean, are you saying he's dying. Flaco told me he looked pretty healthy."

Fox yawned, and crossed his arms across his chest as he explained to Slippy exactly what Krystal told him.

Slippy face furrowed as he frowned "Is that what Krystal was crying about."

"How do you know about that?" Fox said anxiously.

"Well Flaco and I were getting a little nervous when you guys didn't show up for dinner at the Mess Hall so Flaco went to get you, and well, I guess you can figure out the rest."

Fox understood, "I'm going to bed what about you and Flaco"

Slippy yawned, "Flaco went to bed half an hour ago and I was going to bed once I finished repairing ROB." Slippy finished packing the rest of his tools into his bag, and gave a big yawn. "Good night Fox, hope Krystal feels better."

Fox returned the good night as the door shut behind him. He sighed, as he jumped into his bed and opened his journal, writing in it what he saw that day and what happened. Looking back at the page before he found, to his surprise, that he hadn't written in it since when he saved Dinosaur Planet ,and Krystal; which was well over a year ago.

He closed his eyes recalling the close calls he had with the sharp claws, and the finality he had of finally defeating Andross once and for all. Fox couldn't believe he'd actually defeated Andross, it all seemed like a dream, but no matter how many ridiculous ideas he conjured up it still was true.

He smiled thinking about his dad, Man dad, If only you were here you'd be so proud of me now. He looked up through his skylight and saw a shooting star; he smiled and fell asleep, dreaming he was flying in his Arwing with his father.

Son, I love you. "I love you too dad."

Ghost slightly opened his eyes as he heard the female voice calling him WAKE UP…Wake up…Wake up now ,or I'll make you get up.

"Just five more minutes." Ghost murmured.

Suddenly a bright, white light flashed in his eyes blinding him "OK, I'm up, I'm up." He said, jumping three feet off the ground. "Jeez, what was that for, can't a guy get some sleep around…...HERE!"

Ghost jaw dropped as he now saw where "HERE" was, he was in a large study area, with richly colored tapestries on the wall, and a strange patterned floor rug beneath his feet. In front of him was a stone fireplace with a roaring fire and beside him was a large king-size bed made of mahogany.

Next to the fire-place were two large study chairs seated side by side in front of a mahogany table piece, and sitting in one of them was a figure that resembled a fox, dressed in a gleaming white robe.

"WHO… WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU!?" Ghost said in petrified terror.

"What am I? I'm an anthropoid fox, and the "WHO" I am would take you years to pronounce correctly." She said with a warm smile.

"A what? an anthropoid fox!?" Ghost asked puzzled.

"Hmmm, that was great, you pronounced it correctly the first time; you're a smart cookie. Come and sit, I promise I don't bite." The female fox said curling her lip in a playful manner….showing her sharp, white canine like teeth.

Ghost stood where he was, imagining himself being torn apart piece by piece with those so-called "harmless" teeth of hers.

The fox frowned "I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you" then her frown turned into a smile, "and don't worry I won't tear you piece by piece." She said with a wink.

Ghost blinked with wide eyes "How did you know … that?"

"Heh-heh there are lots of things I know that you don't."

Ghost looked at her with a questionable look, but his drowsiness forced him to sit down. Ghost looked at the feminine fox and looked her up and down. Her fur was a deep bluish purple, almost a violet, but not quite, and her violet eyes were like that of a sea of endless tranquility. Ghost squirmed in his chair when he looked at her eyes. I wonder what her name is?

"My name is Cerina." Cerina said as she bent down, and lifted up a strange metal container that was between her feet. "Would you like some tea?"

Ghost froze, something about her question struck a chord in his mind, something about it was familiar, but what…..

"Um, Ghost, I said do you want some tea." Cerina asked again, breaking his train of thought.

"Huh, oh sure, Hey, wait a minute how do you know my name?"

Cerina smiled "I know lots of stuff about you. Like that my question struck a nerve in you."

"Really, huh, that's funny, because I can't remember a single thing that has ever happened to me since I got here, why I don't even remember anything about my life, but my name. And how do you know all this stuff?"

Cerina handed him his cup of tea, and winked. "Oh, it would take me forever to explain how I know these things, and your memories are still up there." She said patting him on the head. "You just have to unlock them." She twisted her hand with the motion of unlocking a door.

Ghost, bewildered by Cerina's statement, replied "Wait you're saying that I've still got my memory, but I have to 'unlock' it…... how the hell do I do that!"

Cerina's face grew serious "Watch your mouth young man; I will not tolerate that kind of language in my sanctuary." Her face softened "And "how" to unlock your memories, Aha, now that's the key."

Ghost was getting a little wary of her "And I'm guessing you know how to do that right."

"Maybe, but if I did I wouldn't tell you."

"But..."

"Now enough of that, it's time to get to your raison d'être." Cerina said with resolution.

"My what?" Ghost said ,with the expresion of absolute helplessness all over his face.

Cerina laughed a pure joyouse laugh "My daughter gave me that same face when I said that to her. Raison d'être is just a fancy word for 'the reason your living'."

"Am I dead!?" Ghost asked in horror.

"NO, no, you're not dead. But I am." She said with another wink.

Are you a ghost ? Ghost shuttered at the idea of talking to a ghost.

Cerina blew a warm breath on him; the smell was like that of a freshly baked apple pie.

"No I'm not a ghost, reason one being that ghosts can't touch people or things, I pat you on the head, and I have a tea-cup in my hand, second, they can't eat or drink, I'm drinking a cup of tea, and lastly you wouldn't feel a ghost's breath because, well ghosts aren't real."

Ghost thought about Cerina's logic and sighed in relief.

Cerina was glad he relaxed "Now back to the question. The reason your here is… not for me to tell you."

Ghost sighed in annoyance, "You won't, or can't tell me."

Cerina gave him another warm smile "A little of both, but what I will tell you is far more important. You are special, very special pup indeed, and you have a special set of skills, or "Powers", as their more preferably called, that you will need to discover on your own. Then once you've found them train yourself to use them properly, and master them. "

Ghost became shocked, and excited at the same time. "Powers, what kind?" he asked in haste.

Cerina rolled her eyes and sighed, "I think first you need to master the greatest skill of all… thinking before you talk. Did you miss the word 'discover on your own' in my articulation. I tell you, you're just as bad as Vixy's daughter. Always speaking before she thought about it."

"Well I'll guess I give you the benefit of doubt, your first "Skill" which you will discover is… actually, it's better if you discover it on your own, rather than I tell you… when you leave here,I want you to touch the heart monitor that is next to your body. And when you discover this power, you can use it to control certain objects, Which you'll eventually learn which objects through trial and error."

Ghost couldn't make sense of all this, "I know you're telling me all this ,but I don't get what these "Powers" are all about ,and I'm still freaking out that I'm talking to a two-legged fox! What is going on!?"

Cerina smiled "Ah, now you're using your head that is the question for you to figure out."

Cerina frowned "Look out the window, and tell me what you see."

Ghost looked around and found a wall covered in draperies, he parted them revealing a very large bay window. He gasped "I see nothing, nothing at all it's-it's black."

Cerina's frown deepened, "Yes, big trouble is coming, and you're a big part of it."

Ghost jumped in surprise, and stared at her "WHAT!"

Cerina smiled again "Our time is up, it was nice talking to you Ghost, and I can't wait for you to meet the rest of us. But we must part, your journey must begin. I'll be seeing you soon."

Ghost took a step toward her "Wait a minute, what do I do."

Cerina's face brightened like the sun when she smiled. "You'll know it when you see it. Good-bye my friend."

"Wait, AHHHHHHHHHH!" Ghost never was able to finish, as he plummeted down a portal of darkness that appeared before him. He fell down and down until he saw a bright light drawing ever closer to him.

Ghost, you won't remember my name. But you will remember this: I am your friend. Ready yourself… Your destiny awaits you.

Ghost opened his eyes and looked around; everything looked so different and strange. Great, where am I now? He guessed he was in saw kind of hospital or some medical facility, judging by all the equipment and medicine around him. But I was in a jungle, how did I get here? Ghost strength had returned to him, but not completely It must be from not eating, he thought.

Ghost got up, and was about call out when he heard a noise from behind. He spun around ,and nearly fainted, for right in front of him was his own body… lying motionless on an inclined table with monitors and tubes all in and around him. He couldn't believe his eyes. Is this a dream? He pinched himself and felt pain this meant he wasn't dreaming. If he wasn't dreaming then that could only mean one thing "I'm going insane." he said shuttering.

Ghost calmed himself down and reasoned to himself I can't be insane or can I? Wait a minute, if I'm insane then what she…what was her name?
Whatever, Then what she said about me having powers isn't true. Let's see she told me to touch my heart monitor to discover my first power. Well... here goes nothing." Ghost walked over to the heart monitor stationed next to him, and touched it, but the moment he touched it he felt a spontaneous pulling sensation, and instantly the machine absorbed his entire body. "WHOAAAAAAAAA!"

Ghost regained consciousness again, and gasped at what he saw he saw. He'd appeared in some other dimension! He saw data particles flowing through circuits, he could sense the sensors on his body picking up his heart beat, blood pressure, and even his brain activity!
He realized in absolute amazement where he was "I'm in the machine!" he exclaimed breath taken by what the view.

Ghost backed away to get a bigger view of everything ,and found himself back where he originally was, looking at the machine he had touched moments before. "That was incredible! Well that means I'm not insane." Ghost smiled wide "So that means what she also said about this power being able to control certain things is true. Heh-heh I wonder…"

Ghost looked around and saw what he guessed was the door, and next to it was a red button. That's perfect. Ghost thought as he walked over to it. He touched it, but instead of the amazing dimensional world he was expecting, it just opened at will. He frowned, sad at the unexpected outcome; however his gloominess vanished quickly.
Ghost smiled. Cool, I'm free, now my journey really begins. And he walked out of the room into the dark unknown.