Star Fox: Dreams of Snow
A Christmas Dreams One-shot
By:
Emile the Watcher


Well, hello, and welcome to the first offical update of my new Christmas one-shot collection. This also serves as my entry for the Holiday Contest that K.S. Reynard and myself are hosting, and if after reading this, you want to enter, head over to the forums via the link on my profile and register there. Entry is open until December 10th!

So, I present to you another chapter of the Christmas Dreams series, Dreams of Snow.


- Corneria - Tillen City - December 24th - Eight months after Adventures -


Fox McCloud pushed up against the old fashioned cement planter as he inhaled slowly, the cold air stinging the back of his throat a bit before it warmed up and faded. As he held his breath, he focused on his surroundings, his ears twitching on top of his head as he struggled to find any sign that his opponents were out there. The cold seeping through his jacket from the planter wasn't helping much, and he would need all of his wits about him. It was three against one, and the way that his enemy moved, he knew that they always knew where he was at. They were tracking him through the snow and the ice of the woods they were in, hunting him down to try and take him out.

He wasn't going to let that happen.

He knew where one of them was, but he also knew that he couldn't make a move for her until he took out the other two fighters in the area.

He exhaled slowly as his lungs started to burn for oxygen, the warm air from his body crystallizing in front of his muzzle, the small cloud growing bigger as he continued his silent exhale.

His ear twitched as he heard a branch crack, and he bolted away from the planter, leaving its snow covered plants to their fate as he dashed through the small exposed space in front of him, his feet crunching loudly in the snow as the powered him onward. As he me made it to the edge of the clearing, he dropped to his knees to slid into cover behind a tree. He cringed inwardly at the large amount of sound he made as he dashed to his new cover, but he knew that if he stayed at the planter any long, it would have been game over.

He sat there, small puffs of fog forming around his muzzle as his breathing returned to normal after his sprint. Right as it slowed back to its normal rate, he heard another branch snap and his eyes widened, he ducked right as a round impacted on the tree above his head, he scrambled away from the tree as he heard another twig snap to his right.

Reacting first, he pushed up off the ground and launched himself into a dive. As he hit the ground with his shoulder, he rolled, his gloved hand digging into the snow as he pushed off the ground with it. As he started righting himself he brought his other hand together, compacting the snow into a ball. He came out of his roll on one knee, a trick that he knew would cause his knees and shoulder to hurt later, but it had the desired effect, the round that had been aimed at his head sailed harmlessly over him as he launched his snowball at the direction it came from.

His aim was better then his opponent, and his snowball exploded into a cloud of white as it impacted on the thick coat of the avian who had been stalking him for the past ten minutes.

"Damn!" Falco Lombardi called out as he stumbled back from the snowball, the one in his hands dropping to the ground as he relaxed his grip.

Fox grinned at his friend. "That's three Falco, you're out."

Falco scoffed as he crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He nodded at Fox. "I've got to admit though, that dive and roll was a pretty good move. You'll pay for it later, but..."

He trailed off and Fox stood up, finishing his sentence. "But it was pretty cool."

"You should have seen it from the cameras. I'm going to copy that to our base computer and watch that whenever I need to be cheered up. The dumbfounded look on Falco's face as his snowball sailed clean over Fox's head. Priceless."

Falco reached down to his belt where the small radio that had spoken up was. He grabbed at it and pushed hard on its talk button. "Yeah? How about you come in here and try this for yourself Slip."

Slippy Toad's voice was relaxed as he responded. "No thank you, I don't do well in the cold no matter what, let's not complicate things by throwing more snow at me." he paused for a moment. "No, I'll just stay here and watch from the control room, thank you very much."

Falco grunted. "Yeah, well, until you come in here, you can just keep your thoughts to yourself." Falco dropped the radio back into its spot on his belt as he grinned up at Fox. "You know what, you're forgetting something."

Fox frowned. "What's that?"

Falco's grin got bigger, "We're not the only two out here."

Fox felt his eyes widen as he ears twitched again and he dropped to the ground right as Katt Monroe threw a snowball at him from behind. The ball sailed right into Falco's face, exploding over it and causing the avian to stumbled backwards, wiping off his face as he called out at Katt. "Damn it Katt! He was standing still, how did you miss him?!"

Katt chuckled as she watched Falco wipe off snow. "Not my fault he ducked and you didn't." She wiped a tear out of her eye as she looked around. "Hey, where did he go?"

Falco glared up at her. "Don't ask me, too busy getting snow out of my face."

Katt shook her head, only to yelp out in surprise when a snowball impacted on her back. She jumped into the air and spun around, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the woods for the vulpine who had throw the projectile.

"You can't avoid me forever Fox!" she called out suddenly, a grin on her face as her tail twitched. "That was only my second hit, I still have another left to get at you with."

"What are you going to do when I take that away then? Go back with Falco?"

Katt spun around again, her gaze running over the various trees as she tried to locate Fox.

"What's the matter Katt? You look worried."

Katt glanced over her shoulder as his voice seemed to come from behind her again. "Am not!" she denied as she crouched down and quickly readied a snowball to throw. As she straightened Fox spoke up again.

"You won't be needing that."

Katt turned in a slow circle. "Oh, and why's that?"

"Because you're out." Fox's smug voice had her frowning as she looked to her left, her arm cocked back to throw, only to flinch away from the snowball that was already exploding across her left shoulder, coating her face in white snow that quickly melted from the heat of her body.

She frowned as she dropped the snowball, "Damn it." she said softly as Fox grinned at her from his position by a tree, leaning up against it and causally tossing a snowball up into the air and catching it.

"And then there was one." he said quietly as he let the snowball drop to the ground.

Falco walked up and draped an arm over Katt's shoulder. "Yeah, but that one still has her three hits to your one." He squeezed Katt gently against him. "She's also a lot harder to fool than Katt." he glanced down at her. "No offense."

He winced when she pinched his arm. "None taken." she turned her gaze back to Fox. "I'm with Falco on this, your little team building exercise is going to end with you covered in snow from her."

Fox grinned as he pushed off the tree. "We'll see." he moved towards the pair and held out a hand. "Before I forget though, thanks for serving as Slippy's replacement, this is a lot more fun with a forth."

Katt shrugged before she took his hand and gave it a quick shake. "Hey, I'll take any excuse to come here." Fox turned to go and headed down a pathway to their left. "You're going the wrong way Fox." she called after him.

Fox didn't even turn around as he broke into a light jog. "Nice try Katt, but I know exactly where I need to go."

Falco chuckled as Katt cursed under her breath, she glanced up at her boyfriend. "It was worth a try."

Falco nodded as he turned them towards the exit and started walking. "You never know, it might have worked."

Katt was quiet for a moment. "Maybe, but I doubt it."

Falco chuckled again. "Me too."

Just a scarce two minutes later found Fox crouching low as he entered onto the main pathway. He glanced around him to make sure it was clear before he started moving down the cleared pathway, keeping his foot falls silent as he stalked down the trail, avoiding loose rocks and twigs that might give away his approach.

Before too long, his target came into sight, a log cabin that was sitting in the middle of a large clearing, the pathway leading up to its front door. The cabin only had two windows, one over the door, and one in the back of the cabin. Fox narrowed his eyes as he scanned the clearing, he noted the smoke that was still puffing out of the chimney, before he moved down the pathway. He kept his eyes glued to the window above the door, watching for any movement.

He let out a small exhale of relief when he made it to the cabin wall, he ducked down low and scooped up some snow, packing it into a ball before he reached for the door with his gloved hand, turning its knob slowly, not making a sound.

That is until he pushed sharply on the door, causing it to slam into the cabins wall and echo through the clearing as he stepped into the cabin, his arm cocked back and ready to throw, his eyes searching for his target and finding...

Nothing. The cabin was empty.

Fox felt his eyes widen as he back stepped out of the cabin, ducking around the left corner right as a snowball slamed into the ground where he had been standing a moment ago.

He heard a clear voice call out as he glanced around the corner. "Did you really think that I wouldn't move away from the cabin once I knew that both Falco and Katt were out?" her voice was tinged with humor and Fox couldn't help his own grin as he tried to locate her.

"Hey, it was worth a shot." he called out into the clearing. He heard a twig snap behind him and he turned, his arm ready to throw again, but there was nothing there. His ears twitched as he heard footsteps crunching through the snow around the corner. Rather then chasing them, he lowered his ears and frowned before he called out. "Now that's no fair, stop projecting sounds into my head."

Her giggle echoed around the clearing. "You never said I couldn't use my powers before we started."

Fox shook his head, his grin forming again. "Krystal..." he called out slowly.

"Fine, I won't do it." Fox looked around as he tried to locate her in the woods by the clearing, her voice was still drifting around the clearing and he was having trouble pinpointing it.

When nothing presented itself, he called out, trying to get her to respond. "Since it's just the two of us, how about we make this more interesting?"

"Oh?" Krystal's voice seemed to be coming from behind him. "What did you have in mind?"

Fox peeked around the corner, trying to locate her as he slowly moved around the corner, passing the still open front door, and making for the next corner. "How about if I win, I get to give you a kiss on Christmas day." He peeked around the next corner but frowned when he saw nothing. He stepped around the edge as she spoke up.

"Oh...Fox, that's very forward, what happened to the shy leader I know?" Her voice was coming from behind him again, he frowned as he moved towards the corner, wondering if she was just matching his movements and was now on the other side. He glanced around the corner to the back of the cabin as she continued talking. "I accept your terms, on one condition."

Fox paused where he was to call out. "What's that?"

She was silent for a moment and Fox got worried that he was about to be hit with another lobbed snowball. He ran his eyes over the wood line again, trying to pinpoint her blue fur. She eventually responded and Fox glanced to her left towards the edge again. "If I win though, we get to finally go on a date."

Fox paused, and gulped as he felt flutters build in his stomach as he face grew hot even in the cold air. He swallowed one more time before he answered. "Deal." He was set to win now, a kiss was one thing, he wasn't even sure why he suggested it, but a date? He had to tag her three times before she could hit him once.

"By the way..." Her voice reached his ears as he stepped around the corner, now back on the side he started on.

"What?" his voice was slightly nervous as he called out.

"I win." Her voice came from above him and Fox felt his mouth drop as he looked up just in time for a snowball to impact on his nose and explode over his face, coating him in even more snow then he had Katt. As he coughed and crouched down, rubbing the snow off his face, she heard him laugh as she dropped down from the roof.

He finished brushing off his face and straightened to meet her turquoise-green eyes, twinkling with the laughter that was inside her. Fox sighed as she laughed again and leaned up against the cabin wall with her shoulder. "What was it Slippy said? Priceless? I could say the same thing for you when I dropped that snowball."

Fox shook his head ruefully before he sighed and grinned at her. "Were you up there the whole time?"

She nodded, her grin still wide. "Yeah, and you never once figured it out until I called down from right above you." She pushed off the wall and moved towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder and pulling him a little closer to her, she leaned her head towards him and whispered into his ear. "Don't think I forgot our bet either MeCloud, you owe me a date."

She pulled away as Fox blushed and nodded. She giggled as she tucked an arm through his. "Come on then, lets head back to the exit."

The two of them turned and headed for the main path that would lead them towards the exit, Fox slightly glum that he had lost, and worried about what he was going to do for a date. Krystal meanwhile was elated, and she kept glancing at the vulpine as they walked.

Everybody just assumed that they were dating, but they had never actually gone on one yet, and Krystal was excited that she managed to work one out of him. Fox was many things, but he wouldn't break a promise he made for a bet. She wondered for a moment where he would take her, and even thought of probing his mind, but she decided against it. She turned her mind to other things as she glanced around the snow covered woods as they walked.

She sighed suddenly and spoke up. "I wonder what it looks like..." she trailed off slowly, her eyes still roaming the woods as they walked.

"Hmm?" Fox glanced at her for a moment before he turned his attention back to the path way. "What do you mean?"

She gestured with her free arm at the woods around them. "This place, I wonder what it looks like when it's snowing."

Fox frowned slightly. "You've never seen snow fall?"

She shook her head sadly. "No, Cerinia was too warm for snow to fall, not unless you went to the very tops of the mountains, and I never did. Then when I was on Sauria, I went straight after Scales and then the Krazoa palace, so I never saw the blizzards you fought your way through." She gestured around them again. "Corneria is too warm as well for snow fall, not unless you come here, and I don't think they make it snow while people are inside." she paused. "Sometimes, I dream of what it must be like to be out in the snow as it gently falls around you."

Fox suddenly stiffened a bit and Krystal glanced at him. "What?"

He just grinned at her, his mood no longer sullen. "Nothing, I just thought of something." He paused for a moment before he continued. "I'll tell you what it is later, for now, lets just focus on getting back into the lobby."

Another few minutes of walking had them approaching the silver blast doors that marked the exit to the Weather Dome. One of the most popular places on Corneria, since they could simulate weather here that normally didn't experience. For Fox, Katt, and Falco, snow was nothing new, and Krystal was no stranger to it either, but her admission of never seeing snow fall had given him an idea.

As they walked into the lobby, Krystal unhooked arms with him to unzip her thick coat, the room much warmer then the dome. She glanced down at her white t-shirt before she glanced at Fox to see him shrug off his coat, his black shirt matching nicely with the jeans they both wore. Katt and Falco had already changed out of their jeans and were standing next to the entrance doors in shorts and t-shirts. They were both ready to go back out into the sunlight of Corneria, and the warm day outside.

She jumped slightly when Fox put his hand on her shoulder. "I need to go talk over something with Falco real quick, do you mind waiting here for a minute?"

She nodded and he flashed a quick grin at her before he moved over to Falco and gestured him towards the hallway that led to the front office. Katt frowned in confusion before she walked over to Krystal and jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the hallway. "Where did those two get off too?"

Krystal shrugged. "I don't know, Fox just said he had to talk over something with Falco."

Katt nodded and the two fell silent for a moment before Katt spoke up again. "So did you really just win a bet for a date with Fox?"

Krystal blushed slightly as she grinned. "I did, I was surprised he accepted."

Katt chuckled. "Me too, I never thought you two would ever get around to that."

Krystal let her grin get a little wider. "I never thought he would ask me for a kiss either. I figured I would take the chance." She glanced at the hallway. "Now I'm nervous, what is it going to be like?"

Katt frowned. "You've never been on a date before?"

Krystal shook her head as her grin morphed into a frown. "No."

Katt was quiet for a minute before she grinned and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, It's really easy, just be yourself, and enjoy it. Fox will have something great planned I'm sure."

Krystal nodded as Fox came around the corner, Falco and Slippy following him. Krystal turned towards her bag to grab her shorts when Fox laid a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Falco leading Katt and Slippy away and she frowned at Fox. "What's going on?"

Fox had already slipped back into his coat and zipped it up, when she faced him, he already had her coat held out in front of him and held open for her. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion before she let him put her coat on.

"Fox?" she asked again as she turned to face him once more as she zipped up her coat.

Fox grinned as he held out his arm for her to hold. "I figured, what better way to spend a date, then a nice moonlit stroll through the snow."

Krystal blinked before she grinned as well. "Sounds like a plan."

The two of them headed back out into the dome, the simulated sky no longer the bright morning it had been during their snowball fight. It now showed a crisp moon as it made it's way slowly across the sky, a train of clouds spreading out behind it.

Krystal gasped softly as she looked up at the moon, watching its progress. "I know its fake." she said softly as they walked. She closed her eyes and leaned against him as they walked, letting the glow settle into her soul.

"But it's still beautiful." he finished for her. She glanced at him to see his own face raised to the moon, his eyes slightly unfocused as they walked. He glanced down at her suddenly and she let out a soft gasp as she felt something snap into place inside her head.

"It's beautiful, but its nothing compared to you."

She blinked as his voice drifted through his head, she focused on him just in time to watch a frown form. "Something wrong Krystal?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't think so." she was puzzled, she wasn't trying to probe his mind with hers, but she could still feel his thoughts. Not like she was actively looking for them, but sitting on the edge of her consciousness, a gentle buzz of activity, she closed her eyes again as she picked out a few feelings.

He was worried about her, wondering is she wasn't happy with his idea of a date, but his mind was also focused on other things as well. He was constantly fighting his nerves as he thanked his luck that she was still with him, even after all this time.

She sighed softly as she leaned her head on his shoulder, she felt him stiffen for a moment before he relaxed, their bodies sharing heat as they approached the cabin from earlier. "I wonder if this is what a Bond feels like?" she thought to herself as they walked.

Content to just enjoy his company, she filed that away to think about later, they came to a stop and she opened her eyes to see that they had stopped on top of a rocky outcropping. Fox glanced down to make sure the rock was clear of snow before he sat down, Krystal copying his movements. Fox folded his legs beneath him as she let her legs dangle off the edge of the rock, the crisp air around them settled into silence.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, just leaned up against each other as they stared out into this little slice of nature tucked away inside a city. Krystal blinked when she felt something land softly on her nose. She reached up and ran a finger over it, studying the drop of water on the edge of her glove.

"Ah, its starting."

Krystal glanced at Fox to see him watching the sky, she looked up as well.

The moon was gone, hidden by clouds, yet the clearing was still lit up since they were inside the dome. That's why it was easy for Krystal to spot it.

Little twinkling lights drifting through the air as snowflakes spun around, catching beams of light and flashing like little fireflies. Krystal gasped softly as she tried to trace their pathways as they danced through the air, almost as if they were following some music that only they could hear.

She felt a sense of wonder creep up her body as she craned her neck back to watch the snow, after a moment, she opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, catching a flake and pulling it back in with a grin. She glanced at Fox to say something, but stopped when she saw his eyes were closed, and his breathing was slow and even. Wondering if he had somehow managed to fall asleep, she felt for the spot and found his mind at peace.

Not the peace of sleep, which even from him was usually busy with some thought, but pure peace, not a single thought was running through his mind. He was completely relaxed, and Krystal grinned as she studied him. After a little while though she adjusted where she was sitting since the cold rock had sufficiently leeched all the heat out of her behind.

Fox opened his eyes as she moved and glanced at her. "What's wrong?"

Krystal frowned as she shook her head. "Nothing, its just the rock..." she trailed off and glanced down and Fox blushed slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't think of that." he trailed off for a moment before he spoke up, his voice hitching slightly as his nerves got the better of him. "You could...you could always sit on my lap."

Krystal blinked before she nodded and Fox raised an arm, she slid onto his lap and felt warmth return to her behind as she settled on his crossed legs. She felt Fox stiffen again as she leaned back into his chest, his heart rate increasing as her grew nervous. She held still for a full minute until she felt his heart rate calm down and she grinned to herself, once again reaching for that spot. She could feel that the spot they were in was helping him deal with his nerves and she was glad for it.

"If this is what a Bond feels like, I think I could get used to it."

As soon as the thought drifted through her head, Fox spoke up quietly. "Krystal, what do you mean by a Bond?"

Now it was her turn to stiffen, she twisted slightly and glanced up over her shoulder, locking gazes with his crystal green eyes. Instead of confusion or anger, something she expected for some reason, she saw curiosity.

She was silent for a while before she answered, wondering if he would still feel the same when she was done. "A bond is something that forms between Cerinians, usually when they have found..." she trailed off and swallowed hard as she just fully realized the implications.

"Found?" Fox prodded her gently with his question.

"Their soul mates." she finished quietly.

Fox was silent as he processed that information. Krystal worried that he was going to be angered at the invasion of his privacy, and she worried that he would reject her for this. She dropped her head, breaking his gaze as she felt a sense of gloom settle about her.

After a moment though, she felt his hand run up the side of her chest before he snaked it across her middle and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Krystal." she waited a moment before she brought her eyes up to his again. When their eyes locked she heard his voice in her head, something that shocked her.

"Krystal, I have nothing to hide from you, and if this Bond helps me tell you how I really feel. I'm all for it. I can feel that you're worried about this, but let me tell you right now, I accept you for what you are, and for this Bond. You have nothing to worry about, I love you after all."

Krystal felt a smile start to form on her face as Fox smiled at her. She reached up and cupped his face with her hand. "Thank you for the date Fox, and for accepting this, and me."

He grinned as well and she lifted her head towards him, both of their eyes closing as their lips met each other for the first time. Sure she had kissed him on the cheek a few times, and he had done the same to her a few times. But never had they kissed like this. She felt a spark zip through her body and the Bond became stronger in that moment.

They parted and Krystal felt her smile grow into a full grin as she reached down. "You know what would make this date perfect?"

Fox looked up at the sky as he answered. "What?"

Her grin turned a small form of evil as she grabbed a hand full of snow and brought it up into his face, white washing him suddenly. He sputtered and she slipped out of his grip, sliding down the rock and into the snow as he wiped the snow off his face. He stood up and looked down to see her staring up at him.

"A rematch" she called up towards him. "You still need to earn that kiss you just stole."

Fox grinned as well and reached down into the snow, forming a snowball as she ran towards the cabin. "Earn it I will." he said softly as he slid down the hill and lobbed the snowball at her back. One last thought traced its way through his mind as he chased after her, and he felt a similar thought in her mind. It made him grin even wider and he knew that no matter what, from today on, things would be different.

"I'm going to enjoy my life with her."

"I'm going to enjoy this life with him."


My how time flies, a month or so ago I approached K.S. Reynard about the two of us hosting a Holiday One-shot contest. He was excited by the idea, and we started planning. Now here we are, the submission period for the stories is upon us and I find myself busy with life and what not. I still managed to throw together ten pages that I thought you might all enjoy, I was even getting ready to upload it when I stopped and read through it again.

That's when I realized I didn't like any of it. I liked the overall idea and may use that as a base for my other Holiday project that I'll drop closer to Christmas, but for now I figured I would instead type up another idea that I had strike me. A lot more fluffy then the last one I had, and a lot more fun to write.

I'm really happy with how this turned out, really happy. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

It also appears that I'm the second one to upload their one shot, Pen Vs the Sword was the first, and their story was pretty damn good, I suggest you check it out. There's a link in the forums that I mentioned up top.

Remember, the contest runs until the 10th of December, and after that, those who have entered can submit votes about the stories they liked the best. All the details of that are on the forums as well.

Anyway, until my next update, I wish you all an early happy holidays and hope to see the other entries soon.

Ho ho ho,

- Emile