Chapter 28: Assault on Katina PART 3
Krystal watched on in horror as the cloaked figure swiftly grasped Fox's head in his large green hand. As much as Fox tried, he could not struggle free because of the extremely weakened state he found himself in. As Krystal observed the horrible scene, she noticed a strange red light began to flare from the body of the cloaked figure, slowly running down his arm into Fox's body. It was only a second after this had happened before the body of the cloaked figure suddenly disappeared into thin air, leaving only the dilapidated body of Fox McCloud standing near the wall of the room. The red glow that had previously filled his body slowly receded. The previously limp head of the beaten vulpine suddenly sprang up squarely on his shoulders, causing his now void looking eyes to stare directly at the frightened vixen. She tried to stand and approach him as she said nervously, "Fox, what has…he done to you…Fox?"
…………
Fox found that his vision was severely blurred as he slowly opened them, feeling a painful aching sensation continuously surge throughout his entire body. He looked around his present surrounding, noticing that he was staring directly at Krystal. She sat on the ground staring up into his eyes with a look of terror that he had never before seen. She slowly stood up, never releasing her eyes from his and said desperately, "Fox...are you alright? Can you hear me Fox?"
Krystal...I'm...wait...I'm not saying anything...did I suddenly go deaf or something? I said something but I didn't hear myself speaking...It's like I'm just talking to myself in my head.
Krystal hesitantly walked to Fox's side, tears now clearly forming in her eyes. She stood only inches away from him as she asked again in a quieter voice, "Fox, what has happened, what has he done to you...Fox?" The tears now flowed freely from her eyes as she leaned forward and threw her arms securely around Fox, her head resting solidly upon his shoulder. Fox could feel the warmth of her body as it was held against his own, and he could feel her shudder as her arms wrapped tightly against the back of his head. Fox motioned to embrace her in return, but as he tried to move his arms, he found that they refused to move, no matter how hard he tried.
Krystal, I can hear you, but...something is wrong...No matter how hurt I am, I should still be able to at least make my muscles move where I want, but they don't...why? What's wrong with...
"Well my friend, it seems that you are finding yourself quite unable to make any actions on your own, what a hindrance I must say."
It's you...but how are you talking to me...what is happening? What have you done with my body?
"You are not aware of what has happened to yourself? Why it is quite simple my friend, this is what is known as mind control, I'm sure you've heard of it, yes? Now you see how it truly feels to be under my control, you see the power that I possess, which I must say, is far beyond yours Fox McCloud."
You...why are you doing this to me? Why do you continue to do this to others? If you are so powerful, why not just take that sword of yours and kill anyone that gets in your way?
"I've told you before only a few days previous my admirable adversary, it simply brings me far more satisfaction through the manipulation of others. You have no idea how pleasurable it can be when I can make those under my control do and say anything I want. For instance, this vixen here, crying against your shoulder. What would you say if I simply forced your body to attack her, or better yet, what if you killed her with your own hands?"
No...you can't...
"I'm quite sorry Fox McCloud, but as you will soon see, I can do anything I want with you, anything at all. Even force you to attack your "lover," shall I say." Oh, and by the way, I won't have you speaking to me while this is going on, I will silence you if I may.
What are you...
Well, this truly is a wonderful thing isn't it my friend, now just relax and watch as I destroy this young Cerinian...or rather, watch as you destroy her for me.
Krystal pulled her head back from his shoulder and looked closely into his eyes. The look she received in return was haunting; the color of his eyes had seemed to change from a cheerful green, to an almost complete blurry red. His body was severely beaten, blood dripping from several places on his body, and his blood stained cloths were also completely shredded in several places, leaving much of his upper body exposed, but Krystal kept her steady and troubled gaze centered squarely on his dead looking eyes. She released one arm from around his head and gently wiped a few spots of blood that were scattered across his face, not really sure of what else she could do to help the seemingly unresponsive vulpine. She once again tried to speak, her voice slowly becoming lighter and lighter as her thoughts of what had just happened to him continued to run through her mind, "Fox, I don't know what has happened to you, but you must know that I am here for you. The scrolls that my Father assembled four years ago predicted that you and I would go on and save everyone from this evil, that everyone would live in peace...and...that you and I would be together...for all of time. Don't give up now Fox, you mustn't...Fox, please..."
Fox tried to speak out, but again, no words came out. Even worse, the words never even seemed to come to his mind. Before, he could at least think to himself, but after the cloaked figure had said that he would silence him, no words came to him at all. The only thing that remained was the feeling of pain that engulfed his body, now accompanied by the depressing sadness that he could not return any of Krystal's heartfelt affection that she was giving to his motionless body.
"Now do you understand what it is like to have everything taken away from you my friend? Oh, excuse me, I forgot you are unable to converse at this moment...but this is all beside the point, let's see how you're little vixen friend reacts when I suddenly awaken your lifeless body. This should be quite entertaining I must say."
Krystal quickly jumped a good distance back from the body as the vulpine's head unexpectedly twitched to life, the muzzle of his face donning a smirk of the likes Krystal had never seen upon his face. The vulpine opened his mouth, but the voice which emanated from it was not his own, "Foolish Cerinian girl, I have complete control over your friends body. But don't worry, he is still watching, conscious of every single movement that I make and every single word I say, but no matter what he tries, he cannot stop me from doing what is against his will, even if this is his body." He paused for a second as he readjusted to his newly acquired body and continued, "It's quite a complicated process my dear, but he will grow used to this helpless feeling as time passes. Now, shall we begin?"
(Outside the base)
"Bill...Are you ok? What just happened down there." Bill smirked as he looked down into his small communicator that he held in his hand and replied, "We had a little resistance to knock down, but it looks like we're safe now. Have you heard anything from Fox yet?" The voice on the other end hesitated, but soon answered, "No, nothing. I've heard Panther whining about how the transport was poorly insulated and how much he wants to get back to the ship, but I haven't heard anything from McCloud or any of the others on his team..." She paused before continuing, "Do you think their ok Bill?" She waited for an answer, but none came. She asked again, "Bill? Are you still there? Answer me." Bill finally responded, "Sorry Ayme, but I have to go after them, I'll only be gone a little longer. I'll send some of the crew down here with me back to the ship, but I'm going to need most of them just in case something is in there that we don't know about. I won't be gone long."
…………
Bill Gray, along with the majority of his forces simultaneously charged towards the large base that sat conspicuously in the midst of the red terrain of Katina. It had only been minutes after Bill and his squad of crewmembers had managed to eliminate a good majority of the animals that had been attacking them. After seeing how well his strategies worked, the canine was feeling pretty confident of himself and his team, so it took almost no time for him to decide to have the rest of his forces charge the base to attempt to assist Fox and his team. Now knowing that Fox had not reported back to the Ladekahn, he got the feeling that they had either walked into some sort of trap, or worse. Bill had to block out these feeling however, knowing that such emotions can only lead to rash and sometimes foolish decisions. If he could keep his emotions in check as he had during their last fight with the mind controlled animals, he and his forces would have a much better chance of pulling Fox and his team out of the base safely.
"Well, Mr. Gray, it seems that you managed to hold up your end of this mission. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about our friends." Bill's attention quickly shifted towards a corner of the base where a black panther slowly walked out from behind the large shadow that settled there. Bill let off a relieved smirk as he saw his crewmembers face. Bill, along with the crew that had been following him, slowly approached the feline and said, "Panther? What are you doing out here? Last I heard, you we sitting in that transport complaining about the heat." Lieutenant Caroso gave an un-amused nod and replied, "Precisely, and besides that, I found it quite lonely without the presence of that peculiar vixen. You must understand my plight, and now that I've learned that they have not yet emerged from this base, I've become quite worried, and so instead of baking inside that dreadful transport, I figured that I could make myself far more useful by attempting to discover exactly what has happened to those four." Bill gave him a questioning look and replied, "So...did you find anything?" The black panther nodded, still showing very little emotion, and answered, "If you are asking if I have found anything pertaining to the Star Fox team, I have nothing to report. But on the other hand, I have managed to find an open entry point into the base, which, by my best guess, is where our friends got in from." Bill's ears perked up as he heard this, "You know how to get in? Then what are we standing around talking for? Let's go!" Panther smirked as he heard his captain's eager words and replied, "I can't agree more, I couldn't bear the thought of losing my precious Krystal."
(Inside the base)
Katt and Falco both stopped abruptly as the door that Fox and Krystal had just passed through violently closed in front of them, leaving them trapped in the room that was now full of mind controlled animals. For a second they stood still, staring straight into the cold metal of the door, quickly understanding what they would now be faced with, and knowing as well that the odds of what they were now faced with were nearly insurmountable. Katt quickly broke from her stare and beat her fist into the door while yelling for help, hoping that either Fox or Krystal would hear and open the door for them, but she heard nothing in return. Falco shook his head as he turned to face the slowly advancing animals, "That's not gonna help us right now Katt, that door must be a foot thick, they can't hear you, and even if they could, I doubt they could open the door. Someone set us up, and I don't think they're gonna let that door open back up any time soon." Katt nodded, still feeling like if she had more time she could find a way to open the door, and replied with a worried look, "So what are we supposed to do? There's no way we can fight them all off." Falco shook his head as he un-holstered his blaster, "If you plan on living to see another day, you might as well give it a shot. At least, I'm not planning to die in here, but if you're just gonna sit over there, make sure you don't get in my way, alright?" Katt fully turned from the door and un-holstered her blaster as well, "You don't think I'd let you have all the fun, do you?" Falco smirked as he fired the first shot, nailing one of the animals squarely in the chest, "No, but I plan on taking it."
The mind controlled creatures in the room were slowly advancing towards the pair of trapped animals, giving Falco and Katt only a few seconds to think of a plan, which was more than enough for Falco, who never gave much thought to situations like this anyway. He quickly jumped into the corner of the room closest to him, which gave him a few good feet of space between the animals and himself. From this spot, he was able to easily pick off dozens of animals with almost no effort, but he soon found himself surrounded by the gradually advancing creatures. Falco seemed unfazed however, merely continuing to blast spaces into his adversaries, which was doing little good in itself due to the fact that more and more animals continued to filter into the room.
Katt remained in her spot next to the door noticing that the majority of the animals were attacking the cornered avian instead of herself, giving her more time to think of a plan instead of just rushing off and doing something stupid. She carefully scanned the room, noticing that not unlike the other rooms of this base, this one was nearly empty of anything besides themselves and the mind controlled creatures that now filled the room. The only thing she could see in the room were the few suspended lights that each hung from the ceiling by a small cable. The lights themselves were quite large, and the cables that supported them appeared to be worn-out and weak, which took Katt no time to notice. She quickly checked the position of the light above the floor of the room and carefully aimed her blaster at the ceiling. Soon after she had pulled the trigger, a cable that had previously held one of the lights to the ceiling snapped in half, causing the large hanging light to fall to the ground. Before the animals that stood underneath could realize it, the massive object fell on top of them, taking out a large portion of their ranks, while at the same time giving Falco a moment for a quick breather.
He blasted a few animals out of his way as he returned to the door where Katt was sitting. She smirked and commented, "You see how much better it works when you think things through?" Falco shook his head and he let out sporadic shots from his blaster, "It doesn't matter, you do what you thinks best, and I'll do what I thinks best. Either way, doesn't look like we're making much ground. More of there guys keep coming as I knock em' down. They just keep coming." Katt raised an eyebrow as she replied, "You knock em' down? If I'm right, you wouldn't be standing over here if I wouldn'tve shot that light down from the ceiling." Falco quickly turned his attention from the slowly advancing creatures and responded, "Are you kidding me? These guys couldn't corner me in their dreams. Maybe you should be a little more worried about yourself." Katt quickly replied with a slight amount of frustration in her voice, "Me? I'm not the one making stupid decisions. At least I have the sense to think before I run into a corner like…"
Katt was quickly forced to cut herself off as she noticed something flying over Falco's shoulder; she managed to let out only a short scream before the object hit her directly on the bridge of her neck. She fell back as the object provided the glancing blow and landed on her side, now holding her new wound in an attempt to block out the great amount of pain that now surged through her.
It seemed to have only happened in the blink of an eye, before Falco knew what had happened, he saw that Katt was now lying on the ground bleeding slightly from the area around her shoulder. It wasn't long after she hit the floor that the object that had been thrown at her hit the metal door and fell to the ground as well. It was a large club adorned with metal shards that were imbedded into the top of the primitive weapon, not unlike the one that Fox had to fight against back on Kaltar.
Falco hesitated as he saw her lying limply on the floor, hearing her make slight groaning noises as the gash the club had opened up began to bleed down her arm and chest. This hesitation didn't last long however, he quickly turned from Katt and said back to her as he fired upon the animals, "See what I'm talking about? Just hang on a second and I'll finish these guys up."
With a good amount of effort, Katt rose from the ground onto her hands and knees and crawled towards the closed metal door that sat behind her. Once she reached it, she fell back against it facing Falco. She watched as he fought, watched as he picked off animal after animal with ease, but this was not what her thoughts were focused on at that moment…
Falco…you really don't care…do you? You see my lying here...bleeding and hurting, and you do nothing to help, you just keep to yourself and forget that I'm even here...Is this…how you truly feel? There isn't...anything left...is there? ...Why?
Katt could only continue to watch as the animals that continued to fill the room, slowly backing Falco against the wall next to the closed door. No matter how much Falco resisted and killed, more seemed to take their place, impeding any progress that the avian was making. It was not long before the creatures had once again had completely surrounded Falco against the wall. He still let out a fury of blaster fire into the crowd, but little good came of it. Even Falco began to see the hopelessness of the situation, slowly withdrawing his blaster and placing it back in its holster, "I guess this is it, I hope McCloud and his girlfriend end up better than this…" He glanced over at Katt, who sat motionlessly against the metal door, and saw her still grimacing in pain. He closed his eyes hard and let out a sigh, lowering his head as he did so.
Sorry Katt...Sorry it had to end like this. But at least we died fighting…right?
Suddenly, the sound of heavy blaster fire erupted from one of the open doorways. Falco's eyes quickly jerked open as he heard this noise and he did a quick scan of the room. The creatures closest to him seemed to have stopped in place and were facing in the opposite direction. From the doorway on Falco's right, he saw a barrage of blaster fire fly through the open door. As the crowd of animals that stood at that doorway rapidly thinned, a new group of animals entered into the room, and with great yet concealed relief, Falco immediately recognized this new group.
Bill, along with Panther and the rest of his crewmembers, rushed into the room, swiftly decimating all the mind controlled animals that still remained in the room. Bill noticed Falco in the far corner of the room and screamed over the constant noise of blaster fire, "Good to see you again. Things get a little out of hand here?" Falco shook his head as he once again revealed his blaster and joined the fight, "Not really what I'd call 'out of hand,' but it was gettin' to be a little complicated." Bill smirked in reply as he, along with the rest of his team, wiped out the remaining creatures in the room. It took quite a while to take care of every single mind controlled animal, but soon their ranks faded and not long after, no more were to be seen infesting the room, only the hundreds that laid dead on the ground remained within the room's walls.
When the fighting finally settled, Bill ran over to his old Academy friend and said, "You know how to get yourself into trouble, don't you? You were always good at that." Falco seemed slightly less amused at the time, ignoring Bill's lighthearted comment and pointing his face towards the still closed door, "McCloud's trapped behind that door. We need to get that door open." Bill quickly lost his smirk as he looked over to the door, noticing the bleeding feline that was leaned against it, "Katt? What happened to her? She's bleeding pretty bad." Falco shrugged his shoulders and replied, "She got hit by that metal-tipped club over there, hit her in the shoulder I think." Bill nodded as he kneeled at her side, removing her motionless hand and commenting, "It looks pretty deep Falco, we'll have to treat this right away." The canine motioned for a specific crewmember and he quickly ran over to his captain, holding a small white case in his hands. Bill removed a few bandages and other items from the case and soon went to work on Katt's shoulder. Falco commented impatiently, "She'll be fine Bill, in case you didn't hear, Fox is trapped behind that door, judging by the rest of this place, he might have got ambushed like we did just a minute ago." Bill shook his head, "Fox can take care of himself, besides, I'd think you'd be a little more worried about Katt…I mean, I thought you two were…" Falco shook his head and replied with a hint of anger, "Well, if you're going to make me wait, you better hurry it up. I don't like the idea of leaving Fox by himself in here."
(Behind the locked door)
"Fox? Is that you?" The worried and confused vixen slowly backed farther away from the body of Fox McCloud, feeling unsure about what had just happened. Fox laughed and commented in a deep voice, "I've already explained this to you. You're friend no longer has any control over his actions. I am in complete control now, and there is nothing he can do to stop me." Krystal gave him a hard stare and replied, "You are wrong, Fox would never give up. He would…" Krystal cut herself off as Fox laughed again in a slightly more amused tone, "My dear, it is not a matter of whether he gives up or not, he simply cannot take any action of his own. No matter how strong one's will is, it will fail every time, my power is not one that can be overcome by mere willpower." Krystal shook her head as she heard these words, responding in a desperate sounding voice, "No…that's not true. Fox will find a way to stop you…somehow, he will." Fox let off a malicious looking smile as he replied, "I see. Well, if your friend is as strong as you claim, let's see if he can prevent himself from this." Krystal hesitated as she heard this, not exactly sure of what he meant, but quickly understood when Fox revealed the long, curved sword the cloaked figure had wielded only minutes before.
Krystal had reacted with great speed as Fox charged towards her, narrowly dodging the giant blade as it rushed past her body. Fox smirked as he ran at her a second and third time, each of which Krystal managed to dodge with slight difficulty. Fox suddenly stopped and spoke again, "You see? Would you think that your friend Fox McCloud would attack you in such a fashion? Or is it really true that I have taken over his entire being. His body and thoughts are completely under my control, and there is nothing he can do to stop me. Do you now believe me my dear?" Krystal shook her head as she motioned for her blaster, but she quickly stopped. This seemed to bring Fox the greatest joy of all. The laugh that followed could have brought the walls down over the two animals. He looked over at her and commented, "I see you have realized the true advantage to my taking over Fox McCloud's body. No one would want to be responsible for the death of the most famous mercenary in the galaxy. Especially you my dear, the one who shares something with this body that no one else does. How could you bring yourself to destroy the one you love so dearly?" Krystal hesitated once again, finding the truth in his words. Fox continued, "It's quite a perfect plan, even if I do say so myself. Now that the pleasantries are aside, I will have to carry out my duty to destroy the last remaining Cerinian from the universe."
Krystal's attention was quickly diverted from her thoughts to the quickly approaching figure of Fox's body. She swiftly evaded the first blow and jumped a short distance away to regain her breath. Fox quickly took the chance and charged at the vixen again, this time utilizing the short claws that sat at the end of the vulpine's fingers. Krystal was caught slightly off guard and Fox's claws slashed straight across the chest of the vixen, ripping off several pieces of her uniform in that area. Fox's body suddenly stopped, his eyes staring intently into the now slightly exposed area of her chest. He smirked as he commented, "Fox's eyes seem to be wondering off a bit, don't they? I suppose even the savior of Lylat is not exempt from these lustful feelings, don't you agree my dear?" Krystal held her hand over he chest, feeling a small amount of blood dripping from it, and replied in an angry voice, "It's not Fox, it's you…Fox would never do something as dishonorable as this." Fox only smiled in return, "Well then, how about this?" Before Krystal had time to react, Fox rammed his shoulder into the vixen, sending her flying against one of the outer walls of the room. She fell the ground with a painful crash and quickly leaned her body against the wall, trying to regain balance on her feet, but failed on several quick attempts to stand, finding herself to weak to do anything at that point. All she could do at this point was watch as Fox's body slowly moved towards her.
Fox continued to draw himself closer to her until he was only standing a few inches away. When he reached this point, he held the cloaked figure's sword in front of his body and donned the same evil looking grin that Krystal had seen all to often. "I suppose Fox McCloud will be coming to the rescue soon? If he is, he may want to hurry, because I'm done having my fun. It's time for me to finish this." Krystal watched in fear as Fox slowly raise the curved blade above his head, preparing to make the final blow. She quickly realized that there was nothing that she could do to stop him, so she closed her eyes and called out to him, the one she had depended on for these last few days, the one that was about to be forced to kill her, the one she loved…
Fox, where are you...? I know you are inside that body somewhere, you must...you have to find a way to stop this. If both of us are defeated...no one...no one will be able to fulfill the prophesy...Fox, can you hear me...? Please Fox…
"…Krystal!"
The young vixens eyes snapped open as she heard this voice. It was him. She slowly turned her attention to his body, immediately noticing that the sword had not moved an inch closer to her. The muscles in Fox's arms were struggling hard to bring the sword down towards Krystal, but he was making no ground. Fox looked up at his arms, stunned at what was happening, "What is this? Why can I not move my arms? And that voice…could it be…No, that's impossible, I have complete control over him, how can this…" Suddenly in mid-speech, the voice of the vulpines body changed from a deep and threatening tone to the one that Krystal was accustomed to hearing.
"Krystal, I can't hold him off forever, you have to shoot me! It's the only way to stop him from killing you!"
Krystal was taken aback by the fact that he was suddenly able to speak once again, which immediately brought tears to her eyes. She shook her head violently and responded, "No, I can't do that Fox, there has to be some other way. I don't want to...I won't."
Fox quickly responded his mind controlled body seemed to be slowly regaining control, made clear by the blade which was gradually making it's way closer to Krystal, "I don't think there is anything else we can do Krystal. You have to do this, it's the only way we can stop this guy."
Krystal shook her head once again, and with tears now flowing down her face, she replied, "There has to be…Fox, I don't want to risk taking your life…I can't do it."
Fox responded quickly as he felt his control over his body and voice rapidly fading, "You have to do this. Do it for me. Do it for the good of everyone who is counting on us to complete this mission. Besides, the scroll says that…we'll be fine in the end, there's…no way we can lose…Trust…me…"
Fox's body faltered as it regained control over its owner and Fox's arms fell to his side. His face was filled with surprise as he said, "How did he manage to do that? No one should be able to break free from mind control…No one is strong enough to stop me…not even the great…Fox McCloud."
Krystal on the other hand quickly made up her mind about what she had to do. Fox had made a request, a difficult one at that, but Krystal realized that what he had said in that short time was true. If the scroll was true, there was no chance that Fox would leave her. It may bring him to the edge, and it may bring her great pain to carry this solution out, but she knew that it truly was the only way. She trusted his words, and she knew she would not fail him.
Krystal slowly reached for her blaster, even though she knew it was the only way, it still hurt her to have to be the one to stop him in such a crude manner. Fox's body seemed to have recovered from it's momentary shock as it raised the sword to it's side, "You actually believe Fox McCloud's word? You think that he can truly survive if you do what he says. My dear, surely you are not as foolish as that." Krystal pulled the blaster from its holster that sat on her thigh. She paused as she pointed the barrel of the blaster towards Fox, "I trust Fox's decision…I've always trusted him, and I don't intend to stop now, especially after all the pain you have caused him." He smirked and let out a short laugh, "Well then, we'll just have to see about that my dear. Now then, let's see if you truly do believe in him so greatly."
With those words, Fox's body charged towards Krystal with an aggressive scream, his sword poised for an attack at his side. Krystal saw she had little time to react; she leveled her blaster, and with thousands of different thoughts of what really would happen as a result of this one action, pulled down on the trigger.
Time seemed to slow as soon as she did this. The blast that Krystal had just unleashed quickly traveled in the vulpines direction, heading directly towards him. Just as the blast was about to hit him, a dim red glow surrounded Fox's body, which quickly dissipated soon after. When it did, Krystal noticed a feint light departing from Fox's body. This light seemed to be more than that however, it took the shape of a body, and a dark cloak did not cover this figure. This glowing figure had a green outline, with rough looking skin. Krystal looked up into the figures eyes as it seemed to slowly fade away, the red piercing color and the aggressive look on his face gave him away. Krystal immediately realized this strange figure, one that she had just recently fought against, not only in this base, but on a planet that she held close to her heart.
Krystal's attention was quickly removed from this figure as Fox's body came to a complete stop as the fire from the blaster penetrated into his exposed chest. Blood spurted from the point of impact and the body of Fox McCloud fell limply to the ground only a few feet in front of Krystal. She quickly dropped her blaster as she saw this, and made her way as swiftly as she could to Fox's side. She gently rolled him onto his back, which she quickly regretted, for the sight of the blaster wound that she had dealt was bleeding heavily, already covering the fur on his chest with a dark shade of red. The tears that had been absent for only a matter of seconds had now returned, stronger than before. She placed a hand on his face, feeling the warmth of his body quickly leaving him.
"…Krystal…"
The vixen quickly noticed the slightly opened eyes of Fox McCloud as he lay limply upon the ground, taking great effort to say even that one word. He grimaced at the pain he was now experiencing, but pushed though and continued, "Krystal…you did it…you stopped him." Krystal gave a worried smile as she gently brushed the hair on the vulpines face, "Fox, you really mustn't…" She hesitated as her tears chocked her words, but once she was once again ready to speak, she noticed Fox's head fall quietly to the side, his breaths becoming more and more difficult with each passing second.
The emotions running through Krystal's mind at this point was more that anything she had ever experienced, the thoughts of him laying on the ground, his health quickly fading, it seemed to be too much for her. She quickly made an effort to cast aside these feelings however as she removed her hands from his cold face and placed both of them squarely on his chest in an attempt to call upon the Energy of Life to heal him. She tried several time, but her thoughts were hindered by her worried feelings for the dying vulpine. She was forced to give up after only a short time, finding that she would not be able to use her power effectively, she could only sit and watch through heavily blurred eyes as the life of Fox McCloud slowly faded in front of her.
"Fox! Oh man, what happened in here?" Falco, followed by the rest of the animals that had been fighting off the mind controlled animals ran through the now open doorway to see Fox and Krystal on the floor. They all rushed to their side, each feeling quite uneasy as they looked on the heavily beaten body of Fox McCloud. Bill quickly knelt down next to his old friend's side, taking his pulse and checking for other vital signs. He finished shortly after and announced to the surrounding animals, "He's hangin' in there, but he's not gonna last much longer if he doesn't get some serious treatment soon. We'll have to send him back to Corneria so he can get treated in a real hospital." Krystal looked up at Bill through her still watery eyes and asked with a wavering voice, "Will he be…alright?" Bill lowered his head and replied, "Sorry, but I can't say for sure, but…this doesn't look good." Soon after he said this, several animals walked approached Fox with a large stretcher, and carefully placed the limp body of Fox McCloud onto its white surface. Bill continued, "Alright, take him as fast as you can back to the Ladekahn IV and stop the bleeding. After you do that, you can take one of the transports to Corneria." The animals nodded and carefully sprinted off with the body of Fox McCloud in tow. Krystal watched with great hesitance as they carried his body out of sight.
Katt, who now had a good-sized bandage wrapped around her neck, kneeled down next to the sobbing form of Krystal. She placed a friendly hand on her back and said, "It's alright, McCloud will make it through, he's pretty stubborn like that." Krystal looked up at the pink feline and broke a small smile, trying to make it seem that she truly believed her words, "Yes…he will make it…I know he will."
Fox...don't leave me...
(Onboard the Ladekahn IV)
"5 seconds until detonation. 4…3…2…1." The crew of both teams watched as a massive explosion shattered the base that sat on the surface of Katina. The blast covered more than a mile of area, and when it settled, the base that had once been in control of the entire planet was no longer.
Bill shook his head as he looked on, commenting in a quiet and solemn voice, "Well, this mission is complete. But…was it really worth it? So many innocent deaths, all because of one base. Mind control is more devastating that I had once thought…" The entire bridge was silent, each animal quietly acknowledging the canine's words. Falco, who stood next to the captain of the Ladekahn IV, asked quietly, "So any word on McCloud?" Bill shook his head as he responded, "He's hanging on, but not by much. We did manage to stop most of the bleeding, but he's already lost so much, I'm amazed he was still alive when he left on the transport." Falco nodded and remained silent. Katt however approached after hearing this and commented, "And you think you feel bad because all this happened. Just think…what it would be like to be her." Katt motioned with her head to a figure, which stood a good distance away from the rest of the animals. Bill nodded and replied quietly, "This I going to be a tough time for her…after being the one to have caused that injury…to be the one to bring the one you love so close to death…I hope she'll be ok." Katt nodded as she turned to face the lonely vixen, "Ya…"
Krystal could almost feel all the eyes on the bridge turn and look at her at that moment, but it was a feeling she could easily disregard. The thoughts of what had just happened haunted her, that single moment where the blaster hit him in the chest repeating over and over in her mind. Her eyes began to tear up again. She was now separated from her greatest asset, for now, it was only physical separation, but if he were to pass on during these next few days, it would be more than that. She continued to stare blankly out the bridge window, her eyes continuing to fill with tears.
"There is another, chosen by destiny, to find the hero of life. Like the hero himself, she is bound by fate to save the planet. Together, they will reunite, not only Cerinia, but also the entire galaxy, and they will remain together for all of time."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Jeez, I don't know what to say. I'll just say that I'm gonna be pretty busy now that Golf season has started so I guess I won't be posting quite as fast…but you probably don't care. Anyway, let's get this over with so you can keep crying.
EDITOR'S NOTES: Speaking of crying…
"Yo everybody this is me again Justin Alan Haibon and i am going to bore u with more editors notes and see was i not right did i not just u guys that nick had something big pland see i did i told u so hahaha sry if u did not pay any mind to me
if u want to find out the keep on reading the story wich i might add is written by a very good aruther am i right well bye for now and enjoy the read of the story"
Yay…I hope you enjoyed that, you have no idea how much this child pours his heart and soul into writing this…well, I don't really know either…
MAIL CALL
Whinnie
Aww... poor Fox. :( Oh, well. I can't wait to see what happens next.:D
FoxMC: Well, you see what happens next. I hope that whole thing came off at least marginally sad…I mean, it seemed sad to me.
Tie
Cool chapter. I wonder, who was that guy in the dark cloak was? I hope Fox stops him. I think its really cool that you update your chapters so fast.
FoxMC: I gave you lots of hints in some chapters, and this one especially, so if you don't know, I guess that's just unfortunate
Ben Stylin
oh, much better than the previuos chapter
much (CENCORED) better
FoxMC: You got some kinda mouth on you kid. I'd tone it back if I were you, because this story is rated T…ya, don't know why they changed it all of a sudden, but there ya have it, can't have words like that in such an innocent story like this…well, whatever…
Warhound
THAT is a a story, must have more chapters
FoxMC: Ok, here's one more.
demonslayer206
hey. read the chapter and i thought it wasn't all too bad. but fox being supposedly controlled now...
u have a plan, i know. i'll jsut wait for part three
FoxMC: Yep, I have a plan, but I guess that's pretty standard when you're writing a story…go figure.
deathscall
i got just two things to say, hurry up and finish this so i can continues enjoying this story, and, that if you don't i'll somehow beat you with Editorman
FoxMC: I don't want to be beaten by Editorman, and I don't think he'd let you either. He'd typo you to death…