Chapter 8
Fox ran down the corridor, the marines close behind. He didn't want to leave Krystal behind, but she was holding back what he assumed to be the Demon leader. The sound of sporadic gunfire behind him chased any thought of going back out of his mind.
A figure appeared in front of him, blocking the team's path. It was one of the Medusoids, as the marines had taken to calling the snake-like beings. Gritting his teeth, Fox plowed into the female Demon at full speed. The creature coiled her tail around Fox's chest in an attempt to squeeze the life out of him. Before she could slash his face with her claw-like hands, several bullets slammed into her body.
"You ok sir?" one of the marines asked.
"Yea, I'm fine," Fox replied, slipping out of the now dead creature's coils.
After several turns, and just as many ambushes, the team made it back to the shuttle. The pilot was waving them inside like a madman.
"Come on! We gotta go!" he yelled. The marines piled in, but Fox hesitated. He looked back over his shoulder, hoping to see Krystal. There was no sign of her.
"Sir!"
Fox gritted his teeth, then boarded the shuttle. The door slid shut behind him, and the shuttle took off. He sat down in the nearest seat. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to get out together. Fox closed his eyes.
"Krystal, let's get out of here!" Fox yelled.
"Go!" Krystal replied, "I'll be right behind you!"
Those words echoed through his head. Fox couldn't shake the feeling that he had just left her to die.
"I shouldn't have left her…" Fox said to himself. The sergeant heard him, and put a hand on his shoulder. Fox looked up into the Terran's brown eyes.
"Krystal probably just saved us all," he said, trying to comfort the Cornerian. Fox didn't know what to say.
---
Chris shot down yet another Demon fighter when the shuttle reported back to the Excalibur.
"This is Shuttle One, we're on our way back."
Chris heard the pilot's tone of voice, and knew that something was wrong.
"This is Rattler, What happened?" he asked.
The sergeant responded a second later, "Sir, we've set the charges. However, we have one casualty."
"Who was it?"
"Krystal."
Chris's blood went cold. Krystal, a casualty? Ever since Star Fox found him on Fortuna, Krystal had gone out of her way to help him. He didn't know the reason why, but she had been there the whole time. Chris closed his eyes, and pried his mask off his face. He knew what he had to do. Opening his eyes, he banked the Rapier, aiming it at the comet.
"Chris, what are you doing?" Mags called out over the open channel.
"I'm going in," he replied, "I'm going to save a friend."
Reanna couldn't believe what she heard. There wasn't enough room in a Rapier for two…
"Chris! No!" she yelled.
"What's wrong?" Sean asked over the radio, not knowing what was going on.
"It's suicide," she said.
"I know," Chris replied, taking a deep breath.
He knew it was suicide, and he was going through with it. He was willing to sacrifice himself to save another. Reanna swore under her breath.
Not again. She thought. I can't lose him again. Not like this.
"Chris, don't do this. Please," she pleaded.
"I have to," Chris said.
Reanna closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. He still didn't know how she felt, and now, she was losing the only chance she had to tell him. The thought of not seeing him again felt worse than the bite of a Kilrathi blade, and those hurt like hell. Ever since their academy days, she hid her feelings from him, afraid that he wouldn't feel the same.
"Good luck Chris," she heard Falco say.
"Chris…" she started to say.
"Yea."
She couldn't say it. Three words, and she couldn't say a thing.
"Good luck."
---
Krystal parried another thrust as Balrog tried again to stab her with his blade. Each time the blade clashed with her staff, sparks went flying. She could sense some sort of energy from the staff, unlike anything she had ever encountered. It was as if this staff, the last of its kind, was made for this moment, this battle. All those years of practice had led to this. She felt a connection with her weapon, almost as if… no. No mystical energy fields here, just her and the enemy. Balrog seemed to gain power, actually growing in size. Wings burst from his back, adding to the already powerful Demon's strength. With each passing moment, Balrog's features changed. Horns, spines, and a reptilian tail grew from his body.
Krystal stepped back. She was starting to think that she bit off more than she could chew. Her eyes widened as Balrog pointed a now meaty red finger at her.
"Now, Cerenian, you will die."
---
Chris opened the canopy. His approach to the hanger was uncontested, way too easy. Climbing out of the cockpit, he opened the cargo compartment. Inside was a fully loaded assault rifle and several magazines. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the weapon and ammo.
"Alright. Time to find Krystal," he said to himself.
As he ran down the corridor, he thought about what Reanna had said, and the fact that she hesitated before wishing him luck. What was she going to say? Then he remembered what he said to Slippy about Krystal, before this fiasco started.
"She likes him," Chris said, leaning against the Rapier.
"How can you tell?" Slippy asked, climbing out of the cockpit.
"I can tell," he said, looking at the amphibian, "I've seen plenty of it on the Excalibur."
Every time Reanna looked at him, it was the same look that he saw Krystal giving Fox back in the Lylat system. Did she actually have feelings for him?
Dang it, Chris. How stupid and dense can you be? He thought.
It was a little too late to turn back now. The only thing the human could do now was continue on, knowing full well that he wouldn't make it out of this one alive.
---
Krystal landed hard on the floor. Balrog had actually grabbed her, and thrown her across the room. She rolled out of the way as the Demon's blade slashed through the place that she was in a few seconds ago. Getting up, Krystal knocked the Demon's legs out from under him. Using the staff, she pole vaulted over her fallen enemy. She had just landed when a large red hand grabbed her from behind. Balrog had moved so fast, that she didn't notice that he had recovered. The Demon slammed her into the wall, maintaining his grip on the smaller Cerenian. She was pinned.
"And so dies the last remnant of Cerenia," Balrog said with an evil grin. Krystal struggled in the beast's grip, trying to free her arm so that she could strike him in the face with her staff. Balrog hefted his sword, aiming it at her heart. Krystal squeezed her eyes shut, expecting the blade's bite any second now.
The sound of a Confed assault rifle on full auto cut through her fear, as well as the realization that she was suddenly free. Balrog was reeling from a constant stream of bullets.
"Krystal! Come on! Let's go!" a familiar voice called out. It was Chris.
Krystal dashed past the Demon, and through the door. Chris followed her, swapping out the empty magazine for a fresh one. The pair continued to run towards the hanger, taking out any Demon stupid enough to try to stop them. Krystal could sense that something was distracting the Terran. Before she could ask, the pair entered the hanger. There, resting in the middle of the deck, was Chris's Rapier.
"Krystal, take my Rapier and get out of here," Chris said.
It was then that she knew what he was doing. Rapiers only had enough room for one. Chris was going to sacrifice himself to let her escape. Chris saw the look on her face, and sighed.
"Krystal, you've been a great friend, but there is no way in hell I'm going to let you die here," he explained.
"There has to be another way…" Krystal tried to say.
"You're the last of your kind," Chris countered, "Besides, Fox needs you. More then he'll admit."
She could tell that there was no talking him out of it. His mind was made up. Besides, he was right. As far as she knew, she was the only Cerenian left in the universe. She sighed, and started to walk over to the Terran fighter.
She never made it. One minute, she was walking towards the Rapier, the next, she was flat on her back. The Rapier had exploded, and all that was left was burning wreckage. Chris started cussing out the wreckage, after recovering from the concussive force from the blast that had knocked him over. Krystal got back to her feet. She thought about their situation, then remembered the ring that she and Fox found.
"Well, there goes Plan A," Chris growled.
"Chris," Krystal said, getting the human's attention. "Follow me. I think I know how to escape."
---
Katt Monroe barrel rolled to avoid colliding with an enemy fighter. Pulling back on the stick, she got behind yet another enemy.
"These guys just keep coming!" she exclaimed, "How many of these things do they have?"
She watched as one of the human Rapiers shot down yet another Demon fighter. Pulling back on the stick, she got behind another enemy ship. Locking onto the Demon, Katt cut loose with her last Confed IR missile. The missile followed its target, and slammed into the rear of the craft. The Demon fighter exploded, and Katt dove through the blast. All around her, the battle raged. It was then that she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
A bat-winged craft flew past her at high speed. She checked her sensors, and saw that several large ships had entered the system.
"Frak me! We got Cats!"
"What are you talkin' abou… HOLY CRAP!!!"
"It's a full blown Kilrathi battle group!"
The human pilots were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the Kilrathi ships. Gritting her teeth, Katt evaded an attack from a nearby Dralthi. It looked like they had decided to attack the Demons, and, seeing the TCS Excalibur, strike a blow at the Terran Confederation at the same time. The battle had turned into a three way furball.
"Alright people, this battle just got a little more interesting," Sean's voice came over the radio. "Take out as many Cats as you can. Don't let them near the Excalibur."
"Copy that, Blaze," Foxie replied over the radio.
"Got it," Katt called out.
"All fighters, return to ship!"
"You heard her," Reanna's voice cut through the chatter. "Back to the carrier!"
The Confed fighters broke off and made for the Excalibur. The Arwings followed close behind. Katt pulled a sharp turn, and followed as well.
---
Krystal led the human back to the room where she was fighting Balrog. Chris looked around, expecting the big Demon to jump out and attack them again. She approached a free standing ring, and placed a hand on its smooth surface.
"So… what are we doing back here?" Chris asked.
"I think that this ring is what generates the portals that these things use to get around," Krystal explained.
"Oh…" Chris said. "So we use it to escape back to the Excalibur."
Krystal nodded. Chris told her to start working, and checked how much ammo he had left. He had one full magazine left to reload the rifle. He ran over to one of the charges planted around the pillar sized power generator. There was five minutes left on the timer.
"Man, did those marines give us enough time or what?" Chris said.
Suddenly, a large red hand slammed into his chest. Chris was sent flying, and crashed into the wall. Krystal turned, and saw Balrog. Chris saw him as well. Picking himself up off the floor, he snapped his rifle up to his shoulder, and opened fire.
"Krystal! Get that thing running! I'll deal with big and ugly!"
Krystal got back to hacking the Demon computer. Chris emptied the mag into the Demon, and quickly swapped it out for the last one. Balrog charged, sword held over his head. Again, the assault rifle answered the challenge with a volley of lead. The Demon reeled back from the constant barrage from the smaller human. Krystal worked as fast as she could, using her Cornerian wrist comp to hack into the system. She knew that he wouldn't be able to keep up the pressure for long.
Balrog blocked the bullets with his sword, and closed in on the human. As soon as he was close enough, he struck. The sword sliced through the barrel of the assault rifle, knocking Chris off balance. Balrog grabbed him, and slammed him into the wall. Chris felt a couple of his ribs crack from the impact, and cringed from the pain.
"You are beaten. You can not stop our power. This galaxy shall burn," Balrog roared. He then noticed the patch on Chris's right shoulder. The patch showed an eight pointed blue star breaking through a circle in four places, but it was the sword that caught his attention, as well as the name TCS Excalibur.
"Excalibur!" Balrog exclaimed. "That blade was lost centuries ago!"
"Yea, well, we humans have a nasty habit of naming ships after things," Chris said through clenched teeth.
Freeing his arm, Chris grabbed the Cornerian blaster from his hip, and shot the Demon in the face. Balrog recoiled, releasing the human. Chris continued to fire, sending bolt after sapphire bolt into the crimson beast.
Krystal broke through the programming, and gained access to the targeting system. Setting it for the Excalibur, she activated the generator. A portal formed in the center of the ring, and Krystal pulled out her staff.
"Chris, its open! Lets go!" she yelled.
Ignoring the pain in his chest, Chris ran over to the Cerenian. He checked his watch. Two minutes. Getting an idea, he set the blaster to overload.
"What are you doing?" Krystal asked, eager to get off this rock.
"Cutting the time short," Chris replied. The blaster started to emit a high pitched sound as the energy was set into a feed back loop. Glaring defiantly at the large, winged Demon, Chris raised the weapon.
"Go to Hell! And take your friends with you!" he yelled, throwing the blaster into Balrog's open mouth. The Demon swallowed the weapon whole. Chris turned, and tackled Krystal, sending them both towards the portal. Balrog roared, and charged at the portal.
---
Reanna looked back at the comet as she made her way back to the Excalibur. The Kilrathi had broken off, and were engaging the Demon fighters. Suddenly, a large explosion ripped through the camouflaged Demon base. More explosions raked across the comet's surface, as the rock tore itself apart from the inside. The Kilrathi ships were too close, and were caught in the blast. A tear ran down her cheek. It was over. She closed her eyes, knowing that she would never see him again.
