3:19 AM.
That was the time Krystal's clock read. She lay comfortably in her bed, gently nestled into Fox's side, their tails intertwined. She was fast asleep. The wind began to kick up outside, the gentle whistle tickling the ears of anybody who heard it. A leaf floated in through the open window, landing on Krystal's nose. The vixen woke up, sitting up in bed.
3:20 AM.
That was the time when he showed up. The specter of Panther Caroso. His form shimmered, his yellow eyes glowing like tiny suns.
Krystal jumped up out of her bed, a sour taste in her mouth. Panther was the one person she would never forgive for anything. Even Wolf O'Donnell she could forgive.
But that bastard Panther?
No way in hell.
She looked at him, her ears flattened defensively against her head, her eyes narrowed, her tail puffed out as if by static electricity.
"What the hell do you want?"
Her voice was a low, toxic hiss, with such intensity that even Andross would fear. But since Panther was dead, her aggression was wasted on him. He hissed back with just as much hatred.
"Only to redress my retribution. You killed me six years ago, and I'm back. I desire revenge for my murder."
"What 'retribution?' I'd say retribution is served! Also, I'm a bounty hunter. It's what I do, you fucking half-witted, perverse dicksucker!"
It was at this moment that Panther got up in Krystal's face and snarled, making Krystal jump.
"I will see to it that you die, just as I did, and that your tortured soul will be bound to mine!"
And just as suddenly as he'd appeared, he disappeared.
Krystal laid back down and did not sleep at all for the rest of the night. She was too freaked out.
What could he possibly be talking about?
Fox woke up the next morning to Krystal hugging him tightly, not wanting to let go.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Panther... he's back..."
Fox's ears pricked up.
"How? I thought he was dead!"
"Me too... and now that he's back, I'm powerless to stop him… because he's a ghost…"
"Shhhh. You got this. We'll figure something out, I promise. I won't let him hurt you."
Fox hugged Krystal and gently rubbed her back. He knew she always enjoyed the gesture. It always cheered her up. Krystal seemed to calm down a bit, although it was more like she was panicking in a slightly less obvious way.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
beeeeeep
beee-
"Hi, thank you for calling Chili's, how may I help you?"
Fox let out a small snort.
Good old Miyu, always ready to crack a snarky joke.
"Miyu. You haven't changed a bit."
"Well, I don't really need to! Anyway, Fox, anything you need?"
"Yeah. Apparently Krystal was... erm, 'visited' by the ghost of Panther Caroso last night."
Fox could practically hear the look of disgust on Miyu's face.
"That lowlife? Really?"
"Yep."
"Didn't she rip out his spine?"
"Yeeep."
Krystal sighed.
"He said he wants to 'redress his retribution' or something like that. And..."
Her voice went quiet. Her ears flattened.
"He... he said he was going to kill me. And that our souls would be bound in the afterlife…"
Krystal broke down into tears. Her sanity began to slip as she struggled to get ahold of herself.
Miyu waited for a moment.
"Do you need me down there?"
"Please!"
There was desperation in that response, as if Fox was begging Miyu to come in a matter of life or death - which it was.
Miyu paused again, taking a moment to process what she'd just been told.
"On my way, bud."
Okay, calm down. Your best friend is in danger of immediate death and will have to spend the afterlife bound to some creep if you don't do anything about it. See? Nothing out of the ordinary!
Miyu sighed.
Who the hell am I kidding? I've barely had this job for a month…
She got into her Arwing and flew to the planet.
Krystal was a nervous wreck. Her entire body was trembling with fear.
What if he makes his move tonight? What if he's already killing me and I don't even know it?
Frantic thoughts flooded Krystal's mind, making her more and more anxious. She knew that she couldn't beat Panther. He was a ghost, and ghosts couldn't die. She decided to ease her nerves by wrapping herself in a blanket and playing a game on her phone.
Ah, Minecraft. Such a beautiful soundtrack.
Her phone vibrated and a little banner dropped down at the top of the screen. She'd received a text. She didn't recognize the number.
Hello.
Who is this?
Your destiny.
Krystal jumped. The blood drained from her face. She typed furiously, nearly breaking the screen of her phone.
How the hell are you texting me!? Leave me alone, you cunt!
I refuse.
I DON'T FUCKING WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS! WHEN WILL YOU LEARN TO STOP!?
You can't run from me, Krystal. You and I will be together sooner than you think…
Ý̴̨̼̲̲̓̚Ọ̴͔͈̿̇U̶̡̞̼͈̝͑̑̇̾ ̴̥̮̬̗̐̈́Ć̵̟A̶̘̺̬̫̳͒N̶̯̜̮͜͝N̴͔̣̻̮̺̿́̊͋͒O̵̙̺̤̾̈́͝T̸̞̑͒̆ ̸̩͔͙̳͉̈́́H̶̞͖̱͂̈̇̈́Í̸̛̠̆D̸̘͙̀̋̽̌̄Ẽ̶̮̞̕
Krystal screeched. She immediately shut off her phone and ran to where Fox was, clinging onto him and crying. Fox just hugged her, whispering much-needed comfort.
Miyu landed outside the house and immediately ran to the door. She knocked. Fox came to the door.
"Is Krystal okay?," Miyu asked.
"She's been having... Nightmares. Visions."
"What do you mean?"
"She keeps waking up in the middle of the night, in a cold sweat. It's like she's been possessed sometimes..."
Miyu gave Fox a worried look. She knew that they could all potentially be in danger. She just didn't know how severe the danger was. And that scared her.
"Come inside."
Miyu stepped inside the house. It was a modest residence, with wooden floors and a small-ish living/TV room. A game console was hooked up to the TV, with a bright red (albeit small) disk inside. The house had three bedrooms: one for Krystal and Fox, one for any possible kids, and one guest bedroom. The kitchen was immediately to the left of the entrance, with a hallway to the right.
"Where is she?"
"She's in the bedroom."
Miyu followed Fox to the bedroom, where Krystal sat on the bed, trying to hold back tears. Miyu sat down next to her.
"Hey."
Krystal jumped, not expecting someone to talk to her at the moment. Miyu scooted back a little bit.
"Sorry."
"It's okay..."
Miyu sighed. She knew Krystal was scared. And that in and of itself was scary, since Krystal didn't exactly scare easily.
"Hey, if you need anything, just let me know, ok?"
Krystal smiled faintly. She knew that Miyu always kept true to her word.
"Thanks."
Miyu nodded and walked out of the room.
That night, Krystal couldn't sleep again.
Why do I feel like something's wrong...?
She buried her face in her pillow, trying to block out everything.
I just want to sleep in peace…
She suddenly felt Fox get up., as the mattress springs creaked.
Huh!?
She looked over at Fox and screamed.
Fox's eyes glowed cherry red, his mouth twisted into an evil, manic smile. In his left hand he held a knife, the blade somehow already dripping with blood. The very sight of it made every muscle in Krystal's body tense up. Her heart pounded, pumping pure jet-fueled adrenaline through her veins.
"F-Fox...? What are you-!?"
Fox seemed to teleport right in front of her, so close she could see the individual hairs on his face. His eyes seemed to bug out of his head, like a resident of an insane asylum choking on his own spit.
"S̷͉̝̊̿Á̵̧̹Y̸̹͗͒ ̷̰̈́̌G̴̨͘Ö̴̗͉́Ǫ̴͂Ḋ̷͍̼N̴͍͒͠Ǐ̷͍͐G̸̡̎͗Ḧ̷̢̅T̵̰̉!"
Krystal barely had enough time to recognize Panther's voice before he whipped out a knife and plunged the blade deep into her skull.
"AAAGGHHKKK-"
A terrible choking sound came from Krystal's throat as every muscle in her body convulsed violently, before losing all tension. She was dead before her head could even hit the pillow, her cold, lifeless body showing the signs of her final struggle for her life, her eyes filled with a milky white haze.
Panther laughed.
You are mine at last, Krystal.