Chapter 2

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"And this is the entertainment room. Or as we call it, 'The Theater.'"

Fox had given Krystal a tour of the Great Fox and Krystal had already been reintroduced to Peppy and Slippy. Now they had come to the final room. Falco was playing a first person shooting game, similar to the House of the Dead, while Kyle and Wolf watched.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Krystal." said Fox.

Falco glanced back and then resumed his game.

"This is Wolf O'Donnell."

"Hello there." Wolf said, waving briefly.

"And this is Kyle Wolfowitz, our doctor."

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Kyle said, shaking her hand.

"Yeah, how ya doin, Krys?" Falco said, concentrating on the game.

"Fine." Krystal said, "So, Fox, where do I sleep for the night?"

"Oh, right," Fox said, "Um, this couch folds out into a bed. There's a couple of pillows and a blanket on it. I'm sorry there isn't any other…"

"Oh, no, that's okay." Krystal said, "It'll do fine."

Krystal and Fox sat down on the couch, watching Falco shoot zombies. He was at low health and was getting hit by a lot of projectiles.

"You look like you could use some help." Kyle said, "Mind if I join you?"

"Could you?" asked Falco.

Kyle got up, plugged in the other gun and joined the game.

"So do you guys still work?" asked Krystal.

"Sure." Falco said, "That is, IF we get a job."

"Oh, we'll be alright for a while." Fox reassured him, "We've still got most of our last reward."

"If he doesn't blow it all on dates." Falco whispered to Kyle.

"What?" Fox asked.

"Nothing. Never mind."

---

The Great Fox headed to Corneria while everyone was asleep. Fox had fallen asleep in a chair in the entertainment room. Krystal woke up during the night and saw him in the chair.

"He's cute when he's asleep." she said to herself.

She went back to sleep shortly. In her sleep, she dreamed about the terrible things that happened to her in the past; her parents being murdered, the planet being destroyed, all of it continued to haunt her. She screamed as she woke up.

Fox sprang back awake and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just past 11:00 PM.

"Oh, God, I can't believe I fell asleep in here again."

He looked over at Krystal, who was shaking with fear.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm sorry." said Krystal, "I had a nightmare. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Oh, that's okay. I don't usually prefer to sleep in here with all my clothes on anyway."

Fox sat down next to Krystal.

"So, what was your nightmare about?"

Krystal told him everything.

"Those memories just keep coming back to haunt me." she said.

She sniffled as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"I know how that feels." Fox said patting her on the back, "I lost my parents at a young age, too."

Fox picked up a box of Kleenexes off the table and gave one to Krystal, who blew her nose.

"Tomorrow, we'll have some fun and try to forget about it. Okay?"

Krystal nodded and said, "Alright."

Fox got up and went to his room.

---

"How do I look?" Krystal asked as she stepped out of the dressing room.

Fox looked her over. She was now wearing a green jacket, a red T-shirt, black pants that ended just a few inches above her ankles, and a new more comfortable pair of black sandals.

"I think you look great." he said.

Krystal had left her staff and her jewelry on the Great Fox, except for one ring on her finger; the same kind that Fox had. The two rings were given to Krystal by her grandmother and Krystal had given one to Fox in return for saving her life.

"So, you ready to go?"

Krystal nodded.

After paying for the clothes, Fox and Krystal continued on their way to the carnival.

"Is it far from here?" Krystal asked.

"Nah, it's only about… a hundred miles away." Fox said.

Krystal's eyes opened wide.

"I'm kidding! It's just a few blocks from here."

Krystal gently slapped Fox's shoulder.

After about half an hour, they made it to the carnival. The line for tickets was a lot shorter than Fox expected. They got to the front of the line in less than a minute.

"Two, please." Fox said, paying for the tickets.

The ticket lady looked up at him.

"Hey," she said, "aren't you Fox McCloud?"

"Yes."

The ticket lady excitedly handed him two tickets.

"Go on in." she said, "It's on the house."

Fox and Krystal were shocked.

"I didn't know you were this respected." said Krystal.

"Neither did I." Fox replied.

After a few hours of going on rides, having lunch, playing games, and watching performances, Fox and Krystal headed back to Fox's Arwing. It was getting close to sunset.

"I really had a great time." Krystal said. "Thank you very much."

"Oh, no problem."

"The Ferris Wheel was really fun."

"Yeah. I used to love that ride as a kid."

As they neared the Arwing, Krystal stopped.

"You know, Fox," she said, "I've never met anyone like you before. No one's ever been this nice to me. You're so… sweet."

Fox pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming this time. Then, as Krystal brought her muzzle close to his, Fox put his arms around her and kissed her lips. Krystal then put her arms around Fox, enjoying the feel of his strong arms. After pulling back, Fox looked into Krystal's eyes and said, "Krystal, I… I love you."

"I love you, Fox."

And they kissed again.