Hello again Star Fox fans! Just want to say thanks again for reading this far! I appreciate all of the reviews too, and I love the comments you guys have been leaving. Sorry about the delay in the last chapter as I had several university issues to tend to. Please keep leaving reviews if you'd like, and as always; enjoy the chapter!

13. The Black Spy

~When his eyes opened, he found himself lying down in a grassy field, but he was confused. Just a moment ago he was running from an explosion and was fighting alongside Krystal. Now he was staring up at the sun. The air was cool, and the environment was peaceful. He slowly sat up and noticed he was still in his combat armor; however, his blaster and knife were no longer with him. "What's going on?" Axios thought.

He stood up and started to walk around. There were no trees, there were no benches, no other people, and no other signs of life; he was alone. "Where am I?" he asked himself.

He continued to walk forward and realized that the field went on forever. He looked around him and realized that there was absolutely nothing but the clear blue sky and the endless field of grass. Axios started to run, but quickly stopped as he realized that there was nowhere to run to. "This is crazy…" he thought.

After a brief moment, Axios heard a voice from behind him. To his surprise, he turned and saw Luna standing there in front of him. "Hello Axios." Luna said with a smile.

"Luna?" the surprised Axios asked. "You're here? But if you're here… Am I dead?"

Luna chuckled. "No Axios, you're not dead." she said. "But you're in danger, and so is Krystal."

Axios snapped into attention as he remembered that Krystal was also in the explosion. "Krystal?" Axios said. "Oh no, she was with me! The explosion, we-"

"I know." Luna interrupted. "I wish you could stay, but it's time for me to go. It's also time for you to wake up."

Axios's vision started to become blurred and he noticed Luna started to slowly fade into the distance. Axios reached out to her and called her name but she kept on fading from view. "Luna, wait!" he said. "Luna!"

He heard her whisper in her head. "Wake up Axios."

Just as those words finished, Axios eyes snapped wide open. His hearing was still very faint but he could hear someone screaming. He looked to the side and noticed a blue figure lifting up a piece of debris and tossing it to the side. The figure came back to Axios and grabbed his shoulders. "Axios!" Krystal loudly said. "Axios!"

Axios's hearing returned to him and Krystal's voice had cleared up. "Axios! We need to get out of here!" Krystal exclaimed. "The building is about to come down on top of us! We need to move!"

Axios finally snapped back into reality and quickly rose to his feet to follow Krystal. The two ran down the hall from the entrance of the control room, but Axios was still confused. "How did we survive that?" Axios asked as he ran.

"I'll explain later!" Krystal responded.

The two turned a corner and started to run down the next hall way. However, the ceiling came down right in front of them and the two quickly reversed their direction. They ran down an adjacent hall way and rounded another corner. At the end of the hall way they saw light and they had found an exit. "Down there!" Krystal called out.

The scene was all too familiar to Axios. He started to see images flash in front of him of the night he lost Luna. As the two ran down the hall, the ceiling collapsed behind them. Unfortunately, Krystal tripped and fell behind. Axios was about to turn and grab her, but he dove away as the ceiling came down in between them. He looked and saw Krystal on the other side and soon more images of Luna and his burning home started to reappear. "No…" Axios thought.

He lost focus and saw the faint image of Luna behind the debris as he was reliving his nightmare. "Luna…" Axios said.

He saw her in front of the flames. She was looking at him with tears in her eyes as he was about to lose her again. However, reality snapped in for a brief second as Axios heard a feminine cry. "Axios!" Krystal cried out.

As if he was reliving his nightmare, he was hesitant at first to run to the pile of debris in between the two. "Axios! I need help!" Krystal cried.

From that moment, something snapped in Axios. He ran to the debris and started to claw at it with all his strength. "Not again!" he said as he was pulling debris from between him and Krystal. "I'm not going to lose her again!"

Krystal heard his statement and was confused. She took a quick moment to read his thoughts and she saw the flames from his perspective. She also saw Luna standing behind a pile of debris ans she realized what Axios was visualizing. "You can see her?" she asked.

Axios ignored her question and he continued to claw away at the debris in between them. Krystal noticed something in Axios as she saw tears in his eyes as he was grabbing the pieces of rubble. Axios was tearing at the debris with the force of a thousand men. He went berserk and started to throw pieces of rubble behind him. "NOT AGAIN!" he cried.

After a brief moment, the debris had been cleared enough for Krystal to squeeze on through. Axios reached through and tightly grabbed Krystal's arm to pull her out. He stood her on her feet but Krystal felt a sharp pain in her leg that caused her to immediately fall over. Axios grabbed her and carried her in his arms. After bracing himself for the extra weight of carrying Krystal, he sprinted towards the exit and the two eventually made it out of the collapsing building. As Axios stood outside of the ruined building, he felt a major wave of relief overtake him and he was happy. "She's safe…" Axios thought. "I saved her…"

He turned and faced the burning building as it collapsed to the ground. He looked up and also noticed the Black Suns fleet leaving the atmosphere. He got angry of the sight of the Black Suns, and it made him even angrier watching them leave. He turned away from the fleet and started walking the other direction. After a brief moment to relax him; his attention returned to the vixen that was being held in his arms. "You ok?" Axios asked Krystal.

"Yea, thanks." Krystal said as she felt uneasy. "Can you put me down?"

Axios's face flushed red and he gently set Krystal down on her feet. Krystal started limping however as one of her legs was in pain. Axios noticed Krystal was struggling and he quickly grabbed her arm to help her stand. "Where are you hurting?" Axios asked.

Krystal looked at her leg and noticed a small piece of metal sticking out of it. She could hardly put any weight on her leg without there being any pain. Axios noticed the piece of metal and picked Krystal up again.

"Axios, I can w-"

"No you can't." Axios interrupted. "Just sit tight, I'll take care of it."

Axios looked up and noticed the sky was beginning to darken and he also heard a clap of thunder. He looked around the outpost and noticed the ruins of the barracks. "We'll try there." he said.

"Axios," Krystal said as she grew nervous, "Really, it's not that big of-"

"You can't walk. Not with only one leg. I know I'm not Fox so I can understand why you're feeling a bit awkward about this."

Krystal's face turned grim. She was afraid that if Fox were to see the two of them then he would be angry. Krystal loved Fox, more than anything; but at times like this, the image would cause emotions to be hurt. Axios noticed the worrisome look in Krystal's face and he sighed.

"Don't worry." Axios said. "Fox won't know about this."

"Ok, thanks." Krystal responded.

"While you are very beautiful and all, I would like to avoid Fox wanting to shoot me when this is all over."

Krystal blushed at his last comment. It was as if a friendlier, and more trust worthy version of Panther was attempting to woo her. However, Axios would never cross Fox, especially when it involved Krystal. "Smart man." Krystal said.

Axios carried Krystal into the barracks and set her down on top of one of the beds. At the same time, he looked around for anything he could use to take care of Krystal's wound. He walked into an adjacent room and noticed a first aid cabinet mounted on the wall. He opened the cabinet to find a small first aid kit. "This should do." He said to himself. He grabbed the first aid kit and returned to Krystal. He sat down next to her and started to examine her wound.

"It's a piece of metal." he said as he gently held her leg. "I'll take it out, but it's going to hurt a bit."

Krystal reached for some bed sheets and placed them in her mouth. "Just do what you have to do." Krystal responded as she started to take deeper breaths.

"You ready?" Axios asked.

Krystal bit down on the sheets and she nodded her head. Axios reached for the metal in her leg and started to pull. Krystal instantly clamped her jaws around the sheets as the pain was excruciating. After a brief pull, Axios took the metal out of Krystal's leg and wrapped her wound with some bandages he obtained from his first aid kit.

"That should do for now, but you'll need better treatment later." Axios said as he wrapped the bandaged around Krystal's wound.

"I'll just stay off my feet for a bit." Krystal responded. "I should be fine by then."

"And while you're at it, I'll see if I can find us a ride out of here."

Axios looked outside and noticed that there was a storm coming. Rain slowly started to fall down upon the barracks. Thankfully there was still a roof over the beds so that Axios and Krystal still had shelter. "Well that's just great." Axios said in disappointment.

"Better than getting fired upon." Krystal remarked. "Or blown up for that matter."

"Touché. Stay put, I'm going to head to the hangar to see what I can find."

Axios stood from his kneeled position and started to walk away from Krystal. "Axios, wait." Krystal said.

"What is it?" Axios asked as he turned to Krystal.

"Thank you."

Axios lowered his head and smiled. Krystal thanking him brought warmth to his heart that he hadn't felt before. "You remind me of her you know." he said.

Krystal raised her head in a bit of confusion. "Her?" she asked. "You mean Luna…"

"Fox is truly blessed to have someone like you." Axios said. "I can see why he loves you so much."

Axios went outside into the storm to find a vehicle in the hangar. Krystal lowered her head and smiled. She thought about all of the happy moments between her and Fox. She loved him, and Fox loved her. She couldn't be any happier knowing that now the two of them could be together. However, this mission had been acting against the team. Fox and Krystal were now separated, and Fox himself thinks that Krystal had been killed. At this moment, Fox was in a rampage. He confined himself in his office and was throwing furniture in a raging fit.

"NO!" Fox cried. "NO NO NO NO NO!" Fox swept his arm over his desk and threw a monitor into a wall. He let out several more cries of agony until he fell backwards against a wall. He placed his hands over his head as tears started to stream down his face. "Krystal… Krystal… Krystal… Krystal… Please… Please…"

The image of seeing her disappear behind the flames reappeared in his mind. He squeezed his head even harder and let out more cries of agony. "KRYSTAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL LL!" he cried. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Outside of his office, Falco, Slippy, Amanda, and Katt were all in silence. They could hear Fox's screaming, and they were all worried about him. Slippy and Amanda were both holding each other with tears brewing in their eyes. Katt was gently holding onto Falco's shoulder as he was also broken hearted. Falco cared about the Star Fox team. Whether it showed or not, he considered the team his family. To lose Krystal and Axios put Falco into a deep stage of sadness. "We should go…" Falco said.

"B-but what about Fox?" Slippy asked while wiping away tears.

"We gotta leave him."

The team slowly stepped away from the door and started to move towards the bridge while they left Fox in his office. They could not build the courage to face him, not while he was emotionally distraught. The rest of the team regrouped in the bridge, and they were all silent and mourning the loss of their teammates. The silence was soon broken as they heard ROB speak. "Incoming transmission." ROB said. "General Hare is on the line."

Falco looked amongst the team and saw they were too distraught to speak. "I'll take it." he said.

Falco approached the communications terminal and pushed a flashing button. Peppy's image appeared on the holoprojector and his face was grim. "Team…" he softly said. "Are you guys all right?"

"I don't know gramps…" Falco angrily said. "You tell me… Slippy and Amanda are struck with grief, Katt is trying her best to cheer me up, Fox is on an emotional rampage, and we lost Axios and Krystal!"

Peppy was silent. He knew he could not say too much as he could not be there with them. "I'm sorry Falco…" he said. "And I'm sorry to all of you too. I sent you there, and now you're suffering because of me."

"Can it gramps. Don't be putting this on all on your own. I'll knock your block off if you say this was your entire fault."

"We're all to blame." Katt said.

"We didn't find the soldiers," Amanda said, "and the outpost was overrun with insurrectionist forces. The Black Sun fleet also showed up, and we had to leave shortly after."

"We weren't ready to take on an entire fleet." Slippy added. "Had we stayed, we would have been toast."

Peppy lowered his head. "Did you have any chance to look for Krystal and Axios?" Peppy asked.

"No." Falco responded. "They were caught in the explosion as the Black Suns started to show up. Fox watched them get caught in the explosion through a security camera. He was certain that they did not make it."

"I see, and where is Fox?"

"I'm pretty sure you don't want to talk to him right now. He's in-"

Falco was interrupted as he heard a door open behind him. Fox stood at the bridge entrance completely distraught. As he slowly walked up to the terminal, Peppy could see Fox in his emotionally compromised condition. "We're going to Fortuna…" Fox angrily said. "And we're taking the Black Suns down today…"

"Fox," Peppy said, "are you ok?"

"We're going to Fortuna…"

"Fox listen to me, Krystal and Axios-"

"I said, we're going to Fortuna. Unless you're sending military support, I don't want to hear what you have to say."

"Fox wait!"

Fox pressed a button on the communications terminal and ended the call from Peppy. He looked amongst the rest of the team and gave them angry stares. "Get ready," he said, "because we're going to Fortuna. And we're going to shut down the Black Suns."

"Fox," Falco said, "maybe you should take a break. You don't look so-"

"Are you with me or not?!"

"Fox," Slippy said, "I'm really sorry about Krystal, I really am. But we can't just go charging into Fortuna without some kind of plan."

"Not to mention that we're not at full strength anymore." Amanda said. "If we charged in with brute force, the Black Suns will tear us to pieces."

Fox stood there with his head hunched over the terminal. He didn't respond to any of his crews suggestions as he only cared about revenge. Falco came up to him and gently placed his hand on Fox's shoulders to calm him. "Buddy," Falco said, "we need to regroup. We need help; we can't take on the Black Suns by ourselves, especially taking on their entire fleet."

Fox slowly started to lift his head and he took a deep breath as more tears started to roll down his cheek. "All right…" he said. "ROB, set a course for Corneria. After we refit and rearm, then we'll head to Fortuna."

The rest of the team nodded their heads in agreement. Fox left the bridge and returned to isolation in his office. As he opened the door, he was in minor shock as he saw his office in ruins from his emotional rampage. He walked over to his desk and found a broken picture frame of Krystal. He looked at the photo and more tears started to roll down his cheek. "I'm sorry," he said, "I'm so sorry Krystal… I'm so sorry…"

He fell back into his chair while staring at the photo. "Please… Please come back… Please…"

As ROB piloted the Great Fox on course for Corneria, things were getting tense in the Cornerian Space Defense Zone. Lieutenant Veers had just reentered the sector and received a very angry call from Commander Toran. Veers was gazing out of an observation window in the bridge of the Providence, a destroyer class Cornerian warship. "Sir!" a crewman called out.

"What is it?" Veers responded.

"I have Commander Toran on the line trying to speak with you."

"Forward it to my office."

Veers left the bridge and turned into a long hall way. At the end of the hall way was his office. He quickly walked into his office and he closed his doors behind him. He approached his desk and noticed a flashing light on his private console. He turned on his communicator and pushed a button. Within moments, a hologram of Commander Toran was present in front of him. Veers saluted the commander, yet Toran did not salute him back. "Sir." Veers said.

"Where were you?" Toran asked.

"Conducting a routine patrol over Katina space sir."

"Drop the sir crap. What's really going on Veers?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You have abused you authority and sent the Providence on multiple "routine patrols". I am ordering you to explain yourself."

"I have nothing to hide. The Cornerian military frequently sends out cruisers to conduct patrols within systems near Corneria. I was merely following protocol for the Providence's flight plans."

"You're flirting on the edges of Cornerian controlled space. You have overstepped your boundaries, and you are becoming a nuisance to keep track of. Remember Veers, the Providence is part of the 1st Engagement Fleet; my fleet. I have command over all the ships including the Providence. I allowed your personal command over the Providence because I felt that I could count on your capabilities to lead responsibly. Yet you have taken your ship into the nearby systems without clearance and without notifying me."

"Are you calling me to relieve me of my command?"

"No. I am calling you to warn you that your transgressions are not going unnoticed. If this behavior of yours continues, I will personally have you court marshaled and dishonorably discharged for abuse of command and endangering the crew of the Providence."

Toran shot one last sneering look at Veers. "Consider this, your first and last warning." he said.

Toran pushed a button on his console and his hologram had disappeared. Veers walked over to his doors and locked them. He then placed a small electronic device into his communications terminal. He pushed a series of buttons and simply waited. After a few brief moments, the hologram of One appeared in front of him.

"Master." Veers said.

"The importance of this call determines your usefulness to me." One said. "What is it?"

"Toran is becoming more than a nuisance. He has started questioning my movements of the Providence. He has not discovered my involvement with the Black Suns, but now he is suspicious."

"I told you to handle the situation should he become a problem."

"And I will. But I am requesting asylum from the Black Suns fleet after I have finished Toran."

"Asylum? Are you saying that you're planning on eliminating Toran?"

"Yes."

"Your crew?"

"They are loyal to me and me alone. I made sure of that. They are ready and willing to turn I when I give the order."

"The Providence?"

"I will add her capabilities to the Black suns fleet thus strengthening your numbers."

"And what about you?"

"I will follow you through the destruction of Corneria, and into the new empire fighting by your side."

One turned away and placed his hand on his chin. He took a moment to think about what Veers was telling him. After his brief period of thought, One turned back to Veers. "Is this channel secured?" One asked.

"Yes, I placed my jammer into the terminal before calling you." Veers responded.

"Very well. Eliminate Toran, and then regroup with us on Fortuna. The time has come to cast the shroud over Corneria."

"It the Shroud finished?"

"It is in its final stages of construction. Its main canon will do the job nicely."

"I will be at Fortuna within a few days' time."

"Don't keep us waiting."

One reached forward and pushed a few buttons on his console. His hologram disappeared and now Veers was alone in his office. He reached for the terminal and took out the jammer he used to encrypt the signal. He walked around his desk, unlocked the door, and walked out of his office.

"The time has come." Veers thought. "The time has come…"