Echoes of the Future

by Fox MC

PostSFA story centered around Fox and Krystal. A doomed planet, a strange energy, an unknown enemy, and the only thing that can save them...is each other.

41. The Eternal Spirit

Chapter 37: The Eternal Spirit

"It is almost time, time for the chosen to realize his true destiny. To learn about the secrets of his Cerinian past."

"Yes, he has spent so much time searching his mind for the answers, never expecting that something like this would happen, but if it were not for this very thing, his destiny would be void and filled with lies."

"Wait, he is coming to his senses. This may be hard for him to understand, but he must know these things, or else he and Krystal will never be able to accomplish what they had set out to do. It is terrible that they must each be put through such torment to realize the true meaning of their fate, but they are the only hopes for us now."

"Yes, without their combined spirits, nothing will be saved. Neither the universe that sits below, nor the realm in which we dwell. This vulpine's power is the only thing standing between us, and a total overthrow by our greatest enemy."

"And if that happens, neither of our worlds will spared. Both will be filled with the power of darkness, and that is a day I never wish to see."

(Outside the hotel)

"Death of Star Fox leader confirmed, Cornerians reminded of similar death several years previous."

These words were printed in a large bold text across the top of a lone newspaper that now sat in the hands of Katt Monroe, who, along with the three other animals that accompanied her from the Great Fox, was waiting for the arrival of the hovering limousine they had taken the night before. It had been almost an hour in waiting, and usually the pink feline would never trouble herself with reading the paper, but on an occasion like this, she felt it was at least something she could do to pass the time. A slight breeze brushed past the thick bunch of papers, causing a slight crease as she held the newsprint, but with a quick and slightly annoyed flick of her wrists, she returned the paper to its regular position and read the much smaller words that followed after the title of the front page.

"It has been over eight years since news like this has ever hit our presses. Yesterday, we received several confirmed reports from the Cornerian Hospital that the savior of the entire Lylat System, Fox McCloud, has passed away at the young age of 26. In these reports, we see that there was a critical error during the final surgeries by the doctors at the hospital, one that ultimately ended the life of our hero. He died approximately one hour after this final operation had started, due to an immense amount of blood loss."

"In the few hours of this news escaping from the hospital, throngs of animals have crowded into the hospital, hoping to get one last glance at the deceased protector of Corneria before he was taken to the Upper District Mortuary, where he would later be taken to have his coffin dressed and fitted for his burial. Fox McCloud's body was taken from the hospital at around 16:00, where hundreds of greatly saddened groups of animals stood to see him off."

"The funeral for Fox McCloud will be held outside the Cornerian Cathedral, open to anyone who wishes to attend. The service will be held early in the evening at precisely 17:00. The service that has been planned will include a special appearance by the Star Fox team, who will close the ceremonies with their thoughts on the one they have worked under during their now completed mission to set several planets free from mass mind control. We congratulate the team on their successful mission, and wish them best of luck in the future. It is truly unfortunate that such a victory must be accompanied by something like this, but like many things in this universe, nothing comes without a sacrifice."

"- Fox McCloud, 2979-3005 SM -"

Katt quickly closed the paper at this point, feeling quite disheartened by the message it conveyed, but she managed to set the paper aside as her eyes scanned to small area of sidewalk that sat in front of the building. Once her eyes landed on what she was looking for, she walked over from the shade of the building and out towards the curb, where a lone avian impatiently stood in wait. She approached him with a look of slight annoyance, which the avian quickly recognized out of the corner of his eye. Katt spoke to him from several feet away, "Hey Falco, you never told me anything about this speech we'd have to give at the funeral. Did you intend on telling us anytime soon?" Falco seemed to suddenly remember this fact and replied in an unwavering voice, "Oh, ya, I was gonna tell you once we were in the limousine, but I guess you figured it out by yourself, so we're good. Besides, your not gonna be able to talk, I mean, knowing you, the tears are gonna be falling like nobodies business…" Katt rolled her eyes at the avian's comment and let out an annoyed sigh, "Whatever, you can say what you want, but even if I do, at least they'll know I actually care that he's gone, which is more than I can say for you."

Falco shook his head and was about to respond to the feline's statement, but his attention was quickly diverted from her as the sound of an approaching vehicle could be heard from a short distance away. As Falco turned to face the noise, he saw that the hovering limousine had slowly come to a stop at the curb. Shortly after it came to a complete stop, the driver exited from his driver's seat of the long craft and opened the rear door for his four passengers. The avian was the first to enter into the long vehicle, followed shortly behind by the other three of the animals. Once inside they found themselves once again face-to-face with the brown squirrel that had rode with them to the hotel the night before. It was as they noticed this that the craft slowly lurched forward as it began to make it's way towards their intended destination, one that none of the animals within that very craft had ever wanted to visit.

There was a short silence as the limousine began to gently drift across the streets of Corneria, but after a short while, the squirrel, who once again sat on the opposite end of the craft, spoke to the group in an effort to comfort them, "So, did you enjoy your stay? That was one of the top rated hotels in all of Corneria." Falco was the one to reply, which came in a sarcastic tone of voice, "I wouldn't know, I fell asleep at the Base after my meeting with Pepper." The squirrel hesitated, not really having expected such an answer, but quickly asked in return, "That's right, you had a meeting with Pepper last night. Just out of curiosity, but what exactly did he speak to you about?" Falco shook his head as he turned his attention out the tinted windows of the craft, "Well, nothing I really wanted to hear, that's for sure. He said that our team's gettin' laid off for however long because of this whole Fox thing. Then he told me that our mission was over too. If I didn't know any better, I'd get the feeling that the General doesn't trust us without McCloud running the show."

When Falco finished his statements, he heard a third, more irritated sounding voice break into the previous two-animal conversation, "Are you serious, Pepper's laying the team off and you didn't tell anyone about it?" The avian, as well as the squirrel, looked over to see the aggravated look on Katt's face. Falco shook his head as he replied with slight disdain, "Ya, that's right. He's putting us out of a job for a while so crewmembers like you can cry this whole deal out of you." Katt let out an angry sounding sigh and responded, "Do you ever think that it would be a good idea to tell your 'crew' about stuff like this. Oh wait, that's right. Because when you do finally tell us about something, it ends up being some lie so that you can still look good. Isn't that right?" Falco seemed to take this comment quite seriously, responded with an appropriate tone to fit what he was feeling, "Don't bring that up again, I was doing that so that you or anyone else on the ship wouldn't have to worry about it, besides, what difference does it make? What happens happens, and no matter what I tell you, everything would still happen the same way, so big deal." Katt rolled her eyes as she retorted, "Is that your excuse for lying to us?" Falco smirked as he heard this, replying, "If that's what you want to call it, sure. Cause I really don't care what you have to say."

As the argument between these too animals continued to gain intensity, the squirrel who had been silently observing the ordeal broke in with a sympathetic voice, "Excuse me, but I don't really think this is something that we need today. I know there's a lot of stress on all of you, but taking it out on each other is not the way to fix it." Katt quickly turned her eyes away from the falcon that sat across from her and looked out the window, replying in a frustrated voice, "That's exactly what I think, maybe you should try explaining that to blueboy over there." Falco looked over at the feline with a surprised look, "Are you kidding me? You're the one that brought all this up. If you didn't have to complain about everything you can think of, we'd be having a nice little ride through the city right now, so don't think it's my fault." Katt quickly retorted as he head was brought back towards the avian, "So now it's my problem, right? Jeez, you'd think that someone who's as "well-known" as you could at least…"

"Please…that's enough." Both of the arguing animals looked over simultaneously as they heard this timid voice arise from a seat near the back of the limousine. Their eyes were met with the depressed looking face of the young blue-haired vixen whose head hung down against her chest. Both Falco and Katt's anger seemed to quickly fade as Krystal continued to speak in the same quiet voice, "I know we are all under hard times, but this is not how we should respond. It is as the squirrel said only moments ago; blaming each other for events that were out of anyone's hands is not the answer. I feel that if Fox were still here…he would think the same way. I do not wish for his death to break our group apart, rather, it should bring us closer to one another. Each of us feels differently about what has happened, but there is one thing that we can agree on, and that is the fact that we do not wish to remember this as the day that greater division arose between us, but rather, have it be remembered as the day that we paid our final respects to him…"

The previously arguing animals quickly lost all motivation to continue on as they had in the preceding minutes, instead refocusing their attention out separate windows of the limousine. They knew that she was right, that all the bickering among themselves would get them nowhere, but it just seemed like something that came naturally to them. Someone had to be blamed for this ordeal, but there was really no one to blame, and because of this, both the avian and the feline felt it had to be settled between each other. But after hearing the vixen's somber words, they slowly came to realize that there really was nothing they could have done to stop this from happening. The rest of the ride went on without any talking, each animal now in their own thoughts concerning what would happen after Fox's funeral had taken place. There were so many different possibilities, but after something of this magnitude, there was no real way to decipher which was right. All they could do was simply continue to stare out into the empty-feeling city and wonder what the future held for them, and the only thing that was sure was the fact that Fox would not be with them to face whatever was going to come.

It was nearly an hour after they had left their hotel before the limousine finally came to a smooth stop in front of an impressive looking building, one that seemed to be the center of attention in the area, made apparent by the several different news station vehicles that were parked outside, as well as the hundreds of animals that walked about the building.

Falco, who sat at the window of the craft that was directed towards the cathedral, managed to scan over the imposing edifice as he waited for the driver to open the door for his team. The building itself was a pure white in color, and every once in a while within the white color would be a stain glass window that was brilliantly crafted and decorated. The roof of the cathedral was shaped into a dome, one that completely covered the entire upper surface of the building. All around the building sat perfectly manicured grass, and sporadically throughout the lawn sat several groups of cheerful looking flowers, each blooming vibrantly underneath the glow of the Cornerian sun.

His attention was cut off shortly after as the door that led outside of the vehicle was opened in front of him, which he quickly accepted, soon after finding himself standing, once again, in the open air of Corneria. It was not long before the three other animals that accompanied him followed suit, leaving only one animal left within the craft. This animal slowly lowered one of the windows of the limousine and spoke out towards the remaining members of the Star Fox team, "Well, I hope the service goes smoothly for all of you. General Pepper should already be inside the cathedral. He told me that you should meet him in the main office." Falco gave a brief look back at the squirrel with a nod, but giving no other response. As soon as the animal that remained within the craft saw this, he retracted the window back to its original position as the limousine slowly hovered away down the streets of Corneria.

"Star Fox team, please, can we ask you a few questions?" Falco quickly returned his attention towards the cathedral as he heard this voice, finding instead that he, as well as the other members of his team, had been surrounded by the news station crews that he had seen only seconds before. Falco shook his head as he tried to push his way through the crowd, "Sorry, but we have to meet with Pepper right now. Don't want to keep him…" The avian was abruptly cut off as they continued to bombard him with requests for several 'short' interviews. It seemed the harder he tried to resist the hoard, the reporters would only try that much harder to get him to talk. Eventually, Falco gave up trying to fight through the mass and said in an annoyed voice, "Fine, one question and I'm gone. Better make it a good one." As Falco said this, the crowd of reporters seemed to settle down, giving the other three members of the team the break they needed to escape from the pack, which each of them did without much trouble.

Falco looked after them as they walked into the protection of the cathedral, wishing he could have had the same luxury, but these thoughts were quickly interrupted as one of the reporters asked, "How is the Star Fox team handling the loss Mr. Lombardi?" The avian gave the reporter a sideways glance as he tersely replied, "What, you think we're happy about this? Ya, it sucks, but we'll get over it eventually. Isn't that kind of obvious? If that's the best question you have, then I'll just…" Falco motioned to leave the swarm of media workers, but was quickly stopped with another barrage of questions. He quickly stopped only inches away from where he had previously stood, letting out a quiet sigh as he said under his breath, "Great, looks like this is gonna take a while…"

(Inside the Corneria Cathedral)

Katt took a sigh of relief after she realized that she and the rest of the team were safe from the reporters outside. After a few short breaths, she turned her attention back to the animals that stood behind her, only to be met once again with their depressed looking expressions. No matter how much she tried to resist, it seemed that every time she looked into the young vixen's face, she found herself growing more and more saddened by this ordeal, and now that they had finally reached their destination, the realization of the entire situation slowly began to sink in. Before she had the chance to dwell on those thoughts for too long however, she quickly turned her head away from the two animals and returned her attention to the wide hallways that sat in front of her. With a simple gesture with her hand, the feline began on her way through the large cathedral with her two animal companions following a short distance behind her.

As they walked around inside the building, searching for the office that the squirrel had told them to visit, Katt quickly noticed that there were many different animals walking throughout the halls as well. Some seemed to be in a hurry, some seemed to take the same expression as the two that stood behind the feline, but there was one thing that each of these animals had in common, and that was that every time one of them would pass by the group, they would look up at them and say a quick encouraging word. Katt could only seem to nod back in reply, not really wanting to begin conversing with any of these animals, but she could feel the sincerity in their kind words, which she silently appreciated, especially during a time such as this.

It was several minutes of aimless walking within the halls of the cathedral before the group of animals finally managed to arrive at their destination. Each of the animals came to a somewhat staggered stop as they now found themselves standing in front of a plain looking door, labeled simply by means of a few small letters that sat near the top of the door, plainly spelling out the words, "Cornerian Cathedral: Main Office." Katt let out a barely audible sigh as she moved her hand onto the rather cold, wooden surface of the door, not really sure of what she and the rest of her team were about to be met with, but at the same time, she knew there would be no way around it. The pink feline slowly pressed the door open, allowing herself and the two animals that followed closely behind into the room, finding themselves immediately after looking into the face of the distraught looking face of General Pepper, who was sitting behind a small desk in a chair that seemed far less accommodating than the one he was accustomed to. He silently acknowledged the entrance of the three animals with a small nod, while at the same time motioning for them each to take on of four seats that stood in front of the General's desk.

There was a slight pause after each of the three animals had taken their seats around Pepper's desk, allowing the General to slowly scan over the faces of the remaining Star Fox members that now sat before him. The somber looking canine let out a drawn-out sigh before he asked in a serious sounding voice, "Where is Falco? I'm sure he knows I want him to be here as well." Katt gave a slight nod before responding flippantly, "I think he's still outside with all those media guys. We were lucky to get past them like we did." Pepper made no effort to reply and even acknowledge these words, merely continuing on in his serious voice, "Never mind that, what I need to talk to you about is of great importance, and I'm sure you can fill your new leader in later. I had the chance to speak with him yesterday evening, but there are still many things that I have to discuss. I'm sure he's told you that I've decided that you should remain on Corneria for a short time until this ordeal is behind us." Katt nodded in a sarcastic manner, responding with a voice to match, "Oh ya, he told us about that. More like he got into a discussion where he accidentally said something about it. Seems like Falco's a little hesitant to supply us with any of the information we actually need until it slips out." Pepper shook his head, obviously not pleased with the feline's rather light tone of voice during this discussion, but he quickly looked past this as he continued, "Yes, well, in addition to this, I've decided to do something that may seem drastic to you right now, but I feel it is the right thing to do." Katt remained silent as she waited for the canine to finish his statement.

General Pepper took another deep sigh and lowered his head slightly so that his eyes now met the far end of the desk he sat behind. He spoke in a quiet voice, almost as if he intended for the three animals that sat before him not to hear, "After much thought, I've decided that the Star Fox team should no longer fly under the Cornerian name." Katt's attention towards the canine quickly peeked as he muttered these words, finding herself now staring hard into the face of the obviously saddened General. She spoke in a surprised and slightly wavering tone of voice, "What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that…" Pepper shook his head, cutting the feline from her train of though before he finished it for her, "That's right, I've decided to put an end to the Star Fox team." Pepper paused slightly to regain his composure that the words he had just said seemed to take from him, continuing almost immediately after, "I'm sorry, but I feel that it would be unwise to let the Great Fox continue to fly without Fox McCloud at the helm. If I were to let that happen, animals all across Corneria would never be able to forget about this day, when their hero was laid to rest. It has not even been a full day since his death, and already there have been drastic changes throughout the city. This single event has seemed to change the entire face of the planet, and I fear that if I allowed the Star Fox team to carry on, it would only continue to bring those memories back, and this is the only way I feel I can help prevent that from happening so that Corneria can look past this entire ordeal and carry on with their normal lives. You must understand, I would never do something like this without reason, I'm hope you can at least see the reality in my way of thinking."

There was a short silence that was held within the room for a few seconds after the General had said these words, even though only one of the animals that sat in front of his seemed to have even heard his words at all. Katt looked away from Pepper momentarily as she quickly reviewed what he had just told them, turning her head back to him and asking with as calm a voice as she could muster, "You're breaking up the Star Fox team? But, what are we supposed to do? You're just gonna leave us here without a job?" Pepper shook his head, replying shortly after, "By no means, you may still continue working for the Cornerian Army Base, the only difference will be that there will be no team involved, from now on, you will have to accept solo missions, but I don't think that will be too big of an adjustment for you. Once I've deemed that each of you have had enough time to overcome this incident, I will allow you to take part in these missions." Katt nodded and responded in an almost frail sounding voice as she gave a solemn glace at the vixen who sat beside her, "Ya, but, what about the others? I mean, there are some animals here that probably won't be able to live off solo missions…" General Pepper knew what she was referring to, and he slowly replied, "Well, for one thing, the money you and your team will have earned for completing this previous mission will sustain each of you for some time, but then again, none of you are required to continue your service with the Army Base. Perhaps you could find another profession that…"

At this point in the conversation, the pink feline, who had been doing her best not to let her emotions concerning what the General was telling her about get the best of her, suddenly stood up, effectively cutting off General Pepper's speech. No longer did she look in the General's direction, finding herself unable to believe that he would do something this drastic. There was a brief silence after the feline had abruptly stood up, which ended as the now standing feline spoke in a quiet tone, "General, I don't want to here any more about this today. We already have enough to think about with Fox. But hey, thanks for dropping all of this on us at once, I really appreciate it." Pepper shook his head and spoke apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I have no choice, I'm only trying to do what is best for the planet, you must understand this." Katt nodded and replied sarcastically, motioning for her two other teammates to stand as well, "Oh, of course we understand General. Besides, I wouldn't want to be the other end of an argument with you." Pepper shook his head as he watched the three animals slowly make their way out the door, and could only sit and listen when the feline spoke one last time before turning the corner, "Thanks for your time General, I'm glad you took the time to see us." General Pepper took a deep sigh as the door to this office was almost slammed to a close. He placed his head in his hands and said to himself in a quiet voice, "That didn't go over so well, but they have to realize that I'm not only trying to do what's best for the planet, but what's best for them as well. Continuing on without the help of Fox McCloud will be a challenge, but they will find that out soon enough."

(Hallways of the Cornerian Cathedral)

It had been a relatively calm and quiet walk through the wide corridors of the cathedral, but after having to deal with that mob of news reporters, anything would have seemed to be more peaceful. He had been walking for quite some time in search of the aforementioned office that the squirrel had spoken of, but with little luck. Fortunately for him, as he was sauntering throughout the hallways, he ran into the familiar figure of his pink feline teammate, who was being followed shortly after by his other two crewmembers. As he approached them, he immediately saw the seemingly extremely frustrated face of Katt Monroe, who was setting a pretty fast pace down the hallway. Falco made a point to walk into her line of sight in hopes of finding out what she was doing, but in return, he got an angry glare as she continued to walk past. He watched as she continued on her way, but before she got too far, he asked in a flat tone of voice, "By the look on your face I'm guessing that you already talked to Pepper. What happened?" The feline merely shook her head as she continued to walk, giving a simple, "Nothing," in reply.

Falco did not seem to have accepted the felines comment, made obvious as he made an effort to quickly walk closer to her and saying, "Nothing? I doubt you'd be looking like that if it was nothing. Come on, what did he tell you?" At this point, Katt stopped walking, causing the entire group to stop as well. Her face was still faced away from the avian as she spoke, "What did he tell us? You want to know what he told me?" Falco nodded, adding in a sarcastic sounding voice, "Ya, that's what I just said. Usually when I ask a question it means I'd like an answer." This type of remark that was typical of Falco seemed to set something off within Katt. She turned around abruptly, with the same irritated look that she had warn when Falco had first seen her after entering into the cathedral, and spoke to the falcon in an angry voice, "I could do without the chagrin, thank you. If you really have to know, he told us that the Star Fox team is done for, he's disbanding us as soon as this deal is over, alright? Is that what you wanted to hear? If it was then we can get going." Falco gave the feline a hesitant look, speaking in a calm voice, "Hey, you don't have to get all snippy on me, I was just asking a question, alright?" This second comment only seemed to worsen to condition of the already angered feline, which was made apparent by her irritated response, "I was just telling you what you wanted to know, isn't that what you just got done telling me? Besides, why do you even care about the Star Fox team, you never have before. If it's because you're 'captain' of the ship, you wont have to worry about that anymore, you're gonna have fun making your own money from now on blueboy." Falco was slightly taken aback by Katt's sudden emotion, replying shortly after she had finished, "What the heck are you gettin' so angry for?" She gave him a sideways glance as she responded in a similar tone as before, "Who says I'm angry? I just want to get this whole thing over with, until then, just don't talk to me, alright? I'm not in the mood to put up with the attitude right now." Falco quickly decided to let the topic slide as Katt quickly walked off down the hallway. He took a short sigh before he, along with Slippy and Krystal, slowly followed after the pink feline.

(Outside the Cathedral)

It had been almost three hours since Falco had rejoined with Katt and the others after they had finished their meeting with Pepper, and at this time, they found themselves standing on a large plot of the same well-manicured grass that was laid out just in front of the steps of the large building, finding themselves accompanied by General Pepper, along with several of his head officers. Each of them stood a short distance apart atop a short yet quite large platform that sat a short distance off the ground, giving each of the animals that presently stood in those spots had a good view of the encompassing mass of animals that stood below them, filling the streets that sat in front of the cathedral. It seemed as if the throng of animals that eagerly watched on had no end in number, their ranks stretching across the street and for a short time thereafter as well. These animals had been in waiting for the last few hours for the arrival of Fox McCloud's casket, but as of yet, it had been unseen. This, however, did not seem to perturb the on-looking crowd in the least, each appearing to pay the wait no mind at all, as if waiting was the least they could do for the vulpine that had protected their planet for those few years.

Suddenly, almost as if out of nowhere, the crowd of animals that stood in the street slowly cleared the way for an oncoming vehicle. Along with the quickly rising noise that began to take place around the area came a long, sleek-looking black hearse, one of which that came to a stop directly on the curb of the street, which was followed shortly after by the exit of several well-dressed wolves, for which the crowd also courteously parted. Each of these wolves walked towards the back of the vehicle, opening the rear section of the craft, revealing the large trunk of the craft, which contained a large black-colored contained, one of which that each of the wolves had to collaborate their efforts to remove from the back of the hearse. It was only a few short seconds after this before the container was gently brought out into the light of the steadily setting Cornerian sun. Once fully outside of the vehicle, it could be seen that this large container was not solely black in color, but was also adorned with several colorful decorations around it perimeter. It was not long after the wolves managed to remove this casket from the back of the craft before they began their ominous walk towards the cathedral steps.

The few select animals that now carried the deceased body of Fox McCloud made their own journey towards the platform where his team stood. As they walked, nothing could be heard. The noise that had previously arisen from the arrival of the hearse had quickly died down as the animals in the crowd now saw the casket of their hero being slowly walked away from them. Instead of making audible noises, each were thinking back to the times when Fox had been alive, although many of these animals did not now him personally, they still had several fond memories of the times he and his band of courageous team members saved their beloved planet from impending doom.

But there were a few in that crowd who did know him, not just for his acts as a leader of the most famous team of mercenaries ever to surface, but as an individual, one that had supported them through their troubles and helped them to grow stronger through him. These animals all stood upon that small platform that stood only a short distance away from the cathedral steps, each of them clearly reacting in a different way as they watched their former leaders coffin slowly approach. Falco, who seemed almost unaffected by the entire ordeal, stared directly into the surface of the casket, doing his best to hide his emotions. Katt tried to do the same, partially because that she did not want to look weak in front of all these animals, and partly because she wanted to prove Falco wrong, but despite her efforts, her face was full of remorse as she watched the few wolves gradually approach their position, a few small tears falling along with her expression. Slippy had actually forgone actually standing along with the rest of the team, feeling that it would be too much for him to handle, therefore knowing that he would only embarrass himself in front of a large population of Corneria, and was contritely watching as the service proceeded. Pepper, along with the few officials that stood beside him tried their best to look professional throughout the silent ordeal, but even the usually iron-willed General Pepper could not help but follow suit, his own face turned into the emotion frown that was common throughout the crowd.

There was one more animal who stood on that platform, one whose emotions could not only be most easily seen, but heard as well. She was a blue-furred vixen, one whose eyes stared directly into the ground beneath her. Even though her eyes were open, if only slightly, she could not see through them clearly. A small stream of tears could be seen falling from the delicate vulpines eyes, of which were accompanied by her quiet sobs, creating the only noise that could be heard throughout the area of the cathedral. This only seemed to create an even bleaker feeling to the animals that could hear her weeping. She gave a slight glance up from where her eyes had previously rested and saw the coffin that now only stood a few feet from the very platform she was standing upon. Her eyes lingered on the blackened casket for a short while, watching as the wolves that had carried it up to slight incline from the street carefully placed the coffin atop a second small platform that sat slightly lower that the first. The few wolves walked clear of the casket, leaving it all alone in front of the first platform for all to see. It was then she lowered her head to its original position, the tears quickly returning to her eyes as she did so.

There was a brief pause in all movement at this time, everyone finding themselves staring intently unto the black casket that sat quietly in front of them. This silence was soon broken shortly after by General Pepper, who almost hesitantly made his way towards the center of the short platform where there sat a small pedestal with a small microphone protruding from the top of its surface. Once the General found himself behind this short podium, he paused for a few brief seconds, allowing himself to clear his mind of these thoughts so that he could speak clearly, as well as letting himself clear his throat after an almost silent cough behind a closed fist. Once he lowered this fist and placed it upon the small dais, he quickly scanned over the huge on-looking crowd before speaking in a voice that was much deeper than many in the crowd had believed him to have, "My fellow Cornerians, we have gathered here in front of this grand cathedral to pay our final respects to one of the greatest animals that has ever graced the face of this planet. In his eight years of service under my command, I can say that, without a doubt, he was the most talented of all the recruits that I have ever seen, matched only by his father. His absence will be a great burden for this planet for a long time to come, but instead of letting this terrible event hold us back, we must press forward to a new and better future. It will prove difficult to overlook what we have had to go through for the past few days, but it is during times like these that we must come together as fellow Cornerians and continue on. We will all dearly miss our hero, but he went out acting as he had throughout his entire life, forgoing his own safety for that of the others that were around him, and in that, among with an almost endless list of other things, we can take great pride."

After speaking these words, there came a light applause from the enormous crowd. Generally after hearing the General speak words such as this, the crowd would have reacted in a far more excited manner, but under the circumstances, not one in the crowd felt it would be appropriate for that kind of reaction. After the claps slowly came to an end, Pepper cleared his throat once more as he announced, "Now, for the eulogies, a few members of team Star Fox have agreed to take the stand and say a few words about their former leader. I'm sure they have much that they would like to say, so I will not delay them any further." The General paused slight as he looked back at the three animals that stood next to him, "For our first speaker, we have Falco Lombardi, who has been a friend of Fox McCloud for some time now."

Falco hesitated momentarily as he heard his name called to the pedestal, having not until that very moment remembered that he had to give a speech for his former leader, but he quickly snapped out of his slight pause and slowly and calmly made his way to the dais, shortly after which was followed by a short silence as Falco tried to figure out exactly what he would say. The avian took a short sigh, before he spoke in a wavering tone of voice, "Well, I don't really know what I can say to make you guys feel any better, but I can tell you that Fox was a pretty good guy. He never stepped down from a challenge, and I really respect that about him, but I guess when you're a big shot like him, that's a given'. Too bad he's gone now, but hey, that's life I guess. Stuff happens that you can't predict, but that's just life. If there's one thing I've learned on this mission, that's it. Just gotta work with what ya got, and that's all there is to it. So, that's it I guess…thanks."

At these words, Falco walked back to the spot he had previously been standing before he was called to speak. Shortly after he did that, Pepper returned to the microphone and said in a quiet voice, "Thank you Falco, it's good to see that someone can overcome such an incident so quickly, We will be expecting to see many great things from you in the future." He paused slightly, only to continue a short time after, "Next, I would like Katt Monroe to share her thoughts with you."

The pink feline did not hesitate to approach the podium, hoping that she could get this over with as quickly as possible before she could have a chance to break down in front of what seemed like half the population of Corneria. Almost as soon as she found herself standing upon the short pedestal, she began speaking in a convincingly steady tone of voice, "As most of you probably already know, I've really only been flying with Fox for a little over a week, but…I really learned a lot about him during that time. He's probably one of the most…courageous, unselfish animals I'd ever known. There were times where I would be…having personal issues or something, but Fox always seemed to be there to help me through." It was here that her true emotions began to show, made obvious by her now wavering voice and the cloudy expression that she now wore, "…It was just the little things like that. He always seemed to have time for me, even though he probably had something else more important to do…That's what made him such a great leader…and a great friend. I'm…going to miss him, miss the missions we could've had together, but…even if he is gone now, we can still follow the example he has set for us…or at least for me anyway…"

Katt almost abruptly stopped at this point, feeling that if she were to continue if only for a short time longer, her speech would become impeded by the tears that were slowly coming to her eyes. She quickly turned from the podium and made her way back to her spot on the platform, her hand now over her muzzle in an attempt to shield anyone from seeing these fresh tears falling from her eyes. Pepper returned to his position on the pedestal, but with greater hesitance that he had the previous few times. He looked back at the group, but did not focus on the previous speakers, rather on the one that had yet to speak. He slowly returned his attention to the crowd after taking a deep sigh, announcing in a quiet voice into the microphone, "And now…for our final speaker, we have Krystal." Pepper seemed to linger near the microphone slightly longer than the previous times, as if he wanted to continue speaking on her behalf, but nothing came, and he was forced to depart from the podium after these few words.

Krystal approached the podium with caution, feeling every single eye in the surrounding crowd staring directly at her. Despite this fact, she continued to make her way towards the lonely dais as if she felt no pressure to face this in the least. It was only a short walk forward before she finally arrived at the pedestal, which forced her to look out over the eagerly listening and watching crowd, each waiting to hear what the alleged girlfriend to Fox McCloud would have to say. The vixen stared out over the mass for a short time as she tried to regain herself, which took several seconds, but after she did, her eyes seemed to open with a resoluteness that none had seen before.

"It was only two weeks ago when I first met Fox McCloud. It was not a very ordinary meeting, him finding me in great danger on Dinosaur Planet. In those days, I constantly found myself alone…alone with no one to comfort me. But there was something about this animal that seemed to make itself apparent to me. At first, I did not know what that was, and it seemed I never would, he was leaving me alone on that planet to return to his home. However, instead of leaving me alone once again, he accepted me onto his team. It was then that I began to truly realize what I had seen…what I had seen when we first met. Not only was he extremely strong-willed and courageous when the odds were against him, but there was another side of him, a side that I have come to know so well. It was some days later after I had joined, we were granted a visit to a wonderful place called Xavix-Yuan. And even though the place itself could have brought me comfort back when I always found myself alone, I was fortunate enough to be able to share my time at that place with Fox McCloud. It was there that we both fully realized what we meant to one another. And from that day on, I promised myself that I would never let that feeling fade. Even now, seeing his coffin in front of me…I still have not lost that same feeling, and I never will. It may seem that we apart, and it is true. This is the last I will ever see of Fox McCloud, but he will always live on within me, guiding me as he did when he was still standing by my side. Fox taught me…that I need to stay strong, even when things are against your favor, and now…looking at his coffin, I know there is only one thing I can do. I must carry on, if I were to let this single event hinder my progress…because of my weakness, I would have failed him, and that is something I refuse to do…"

As Krystal slowly retreated from the podium she had previously been standing behind, the sound of hundreds of both quiet and loud sobs could be heard echoing throughout the crowd. Even the General, who had once again made his way towards the dais could not help but shed a small tear or two, of which he quickly removed from beneath his eyes as he faced the crowd for the final time, speaking in a voice that matched the saddened expression on his face, "Well, that concludes this portion of the service. We will now admit those of you in the crowd who wish to pay your final respects to Fox McCloud to approach the platform now." It was only moments after General Pepper had said these words before a sea of animals came crowding around the coffin of Fox McCloud, which was now guarded by several law enforcement workers.

During this time after the three members of Star Fox had given their testimonies, Fox's coffin was soon covered with several new decorations. Some animals left beautiful flowers of which they hung from the coffin's side, and there were others who merely stood near its black surface as the tears ran down their face. All the while, the few that stood upon the platform could only watch as this proceeded, each almost feeling the pain of each individual that approached their hero's coffin. It was almost harder for these animals to watch this carry on than it was to give their speech. The variations of anguish these animals seemed to have been going though was astounding, it was as if many of them had lost their closest friend, even though they had never even met the vulpine.

It was several hours of this same process before the crowd finally thinned out, leaving the cathedral, along with the few animals that stood on the platform by themselves. It was at this point that General Pepper spoke for the first time in those hours. He said in a quiet voice as he looked over to the four animals that now stood beside him, "I believe you have waiting long enough. Go pay your last respects to your leader. I will return to my office, I have much to think about." With those words, Pepper, along with the few officials that still remained by his side, made their way off the short platform and entered into a short limousine that was parked on the curb of the street in front of the cathedral, which shortly after made it's way down the road and out of sight.

This left the four remaining members of Star Fox all alone in front of the cathedral, accompanied only by the wolves that had carried the coffin to where it now sat, and the coffin itself. Falco was the first to make an attempt to move away from the platform, jumping a short distance to the ground off the front of its low surface, finding himself standing directly beside his leader's casket. He lowered his head as he saw this, knowing that this was it. He turned his back to the container, as if he were still talking to the living figure of Fox McCloud, and said in a quiet tone of voice, "Well, I guess this won't mean much to you now McCloud, but there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time." The avian paused slightly to take a short breath, continuing in a flat voice, "Remember that time back at the Academy when we were fighting for the top of the class in that simulation? Remember how I hit you with that impossible shot and I won? Ya…well, thing is, that was an impossible shot. I changed the programming a little bit so that I would win. So…I guess I cheated, sorry about that." Immediately after saying this, the avian gave a slight wave to the coffin that sat behind him and began to walk away towards a second hovering limousine that was now parked on the curb of the street.

That left only three animals standing upon the platform that still stood in front of the cathedral, each of them looked silently towards the coffin that Falco had just been standing near. Katt made a motion as if she wanted to do something similar to what her former avian team member had done, but quickly decided against it as she as well made her way towards the hovering limousine, followed closely behind by the still obviously grief stricken and almost mute seeming green toad.

That left only one. The area had been filled with what one could estimate to be almost a million different animals of almost all species, but now she was the only one to remain of them all. It was one of the most desolate feelings she had ever experienced, even as she slowly made her way down the platform and stood near her loves now heavily decorated coffin, she was still alone. He was right in front of her, but there was she could find no comfort in that fact any longer, only pain remained as she knelt down and let her head fall against the solid black surface of Fox McCloud's coffin.

She remained in this position for some time, letting the worry and sadness pour out of her eyes in the form of her cold tears. Usually when she was this close to him, she could feel his vibrant energy flow within her, but now, as she raised her head from the coffin and stared into it's surface, she could feel nothing. It was then that she felt her hands come to rest upon the surface of the black casket, her muscles attempting to open the container so that she could look into his face one last time. Even if he was no longer living, she wanted nothing more than to look into his face one last time before she left him forever.

The top of the coffin, along with several of the decorations that had previously stood on top of that same surface slid off and came to a quiet crash upon the ground below. When it did, her eyes were met with the face she had longed to see for these past few days, and even though most of the color had left his tough yet gentle features, she still saw the same thing she had when they had first met. The deceased vulpine was wearing the exact same pair of cloths as he had the last time she had seen him. His uniform had been mended in several places, making it look as if nothing had ever happened to him. She moved her hand into the coffin and placed it upon his expressionless face, finding that his face in her hand felt harshly cold. Her hand slowly drifted down his still soft fur, but it was quickly stopped as her hand fell upon a familiar object that hung around his neck. She held up the small piece of jewelry that she had bestowed upon him only a few days previous at Xavix-Yuan. She lowered her head into the coffin as well, rubbing the side of her face against the cold surface of this heirloom, one of which she had given to him as proof that they would never be apart, but now, it seemed like such a foolish gesture. She clenched her fist tightly around the red gem, speaking in the most beautiful voice you could imagine with all the pain she felt at that exact moment, "Fox, don't leave me. I love you Fox, and I never wanted to see this happen. Please…come back…"

(Unknown location)

"My daughter…I'm sorry that you have to go through something as dreadful as this, but in time, you will realize what this all means."

"It's alright, we had no say in the matter, but what we need to focus on is this creature who is now among us."

"Yes, he is about to return to the realm in which he once lived, but he cannot depart until…"

"Be still, I can feel him beginning to awaken."

Those voices, they sounded so familiar to the seemingly lifeless body of the vulpine. His eyes twitched, showing the first movements this creature had taken in quite some time. A short while after this, both of his eyes slowly opened, but he found him immediate vision to be extremely blurred. He raised his hand up towards his cloudy eyes and slowly cleared his sight, only to find that what he saw after that was almost cause to rub his eyes in disbelief rather than in weariness. He found himself surrounded, enclosed as far as he could see by a light blue mist, one of which seemed so familiar, but at the same time, so distant. The vulpine sat up quietly onto his legs, surveying the area even further, even though there was still very little to see but the endless ocean of blue. After having little success figuring out where he was, the vulpine stood, finding himself not on solid ground, but floating in a stationary position among the blue shrouds. As soon as he noticed this, he quickly remembered where he had seen this place…It was the same place he and Krystal had visited when they shared that vision when they began their mission. It made little sense, but he knew that's where he was, the only thing was, he had no idea where exactly where that was.

"Fox, my dearest child, don't be afraid. You will leave this realm soon enough, but until then, there are many things we have to discuss."

Fox hesitated as he heard this voice, immediately placing the voice in his mind as he turned and said in a questioning tone of voice, "…Mother?" Once he fully turned to face the voice, he saw that his thoughts had been affirmed. He smiled as he saw her, and she did the same to him.

"Fox, I'm sure you are wondering what has become of you. But besides this, there are many things we must speak of before you are taken back."

Fox gave his mother a questioning look and asked, "What do you mean? Isn't this just another one of those visions or something?" Fox's mother lowered her head at this comment, gently shaking her head as she explained.

"No Fox, this is not another vision, at this very second, you have joined us who reside in this realm. A place where all Cerinians come when they have met their end within the mortal universe. Fox, this is the Spirit Realm, and you have joined us, as of now, you are no longer living, but are now a spirit, just as I am."

This statement seemed to shock the vulpine a great deal, made evident by the tone of his voice as he spoke, "What? Are you saying that I'm…dead. And this is the place I go when I die? But what am I doing here if…" Fox's mother cut her son's speech short, commenting in an encouraging voice.

"Fox, do not worry, the scroll's are not wrong. It may seem that you have come to the end of your journey, but it is not yet your time to reside fully with the spirits. You still have much work to do in the realm below…look, she is waiting for you."

Fox looked down through the thick veil of blue towards a point where his mother was now pointing. Almost instantly after looking in this direction, the clouds of blue parted and he could see Krystal kneeling at his side, at the side of his dead body. It was as soon as he saw this that he fully realized that what he was being told was the full truth, despite how impossible it seemed. He looked upon her face, one that he had not seen for what seemed like an eternity. Her features were greatly perturbed and the tears were flowing endlessly down the side of her beautiful face. He felt his eyes begin to tear as well as he looked upon her weeping body, commenting quietly, "Krystal…she's in pain. What can I do?"

"You must return to her, return so that you may continue to fight by her side and bring back order to the universe. Krystal's mission, as she will soon find out, is slightly different, but her goal is the same."

Fox turned to his mother with a perplexed glace as she continued speaking.

"That jewel that hangs around the body in that coffin, that is the key. Krystal's love and adeptness with the Energy of Life will cause a reaction within that red gem, a reaction that has the power of revival. But you must always remember by child, the scroll's predict hardships between both of you, great hardships. This was only one of them. No matter how much it may pain you, and no matter how far apart you find yourselves from one another, you must understand, must believe that nothing can truly keep you apart, and that is why you have both been chosen for this quest. I will always be here too, watching from above. You've already done so much Fox, and I couldn't be any more proud that I am at this moment…Now, do not delay, return to her side, she is waiting."

As soon as his mother finished speaking, Fox's body began to glow with a brilliant red radiance. Throughout his entire body echoed a strong tingling sensation. He looked down at his feet and saw that they were slowly fading into thin air, and that it was continuing up the entire length of his body. His attention was quickly diverted from this however as his mother spoke for the last time.

"You must head to Cerinia. He is waiting for you there. On that planet, will you end his quest for power…Stay strong Fox, and know that I am always here for you. Farewell…my son."

At these words, Fox's body had almost completely vanished, only his head remaining within the brightly glowing aura that surrounded him. He smiled at the spirit of his mother for the last time, and as he finally disappeared from this realm, he was left with the image of his mother smiling back.

(Outside the Cornerian Cathedral)

Krystal's hand was still clenched tightly around the hard gem that she had given to Fox, but her tears had all but run out. It was at this moment that she realized that no matter how hard she wished for his return, there was no possible way for him to do just that. She scanned over his body one last time, sighing as she did so.

Her hand motioned to let the small stone fall back onto the deceased body of Fox McCloud, but before she could, she felt something strange begin to emit from it. As soon as she felt this, she immediately wrapped her hand against it as tightly as she could. It was at this point that the stone that hung around her neck began to glow, followed shortly after by the stone she held within her furry hand. It was only a matter of seconds before these stones seemed to create a bright white light that created its own strong wind as it spun wildly around both her and the coffin. The vixen looked on in amazement as this was happening, but was forced to close her eyes as the light became blindingly white, but after one final gust of powerful wind, the light vanished, and all seemed normal once again.

Krystal was not entirely sure what had happened, but she had a feeling that it had something to do with the body that still laid motionlessly within the coffin that sat in front of her. She let the red stone that she had previously held in her hand fall the short distance to Fox's chest, instead placing it against the side of vulpine's face. To her utmost surprise, she could feel the warmth quickly returning to his body. It was shortly after this that an even greater surprise came about, created as the previously lifeless body of Fox McCloud slowly twitched to life, his eyes slowly fluttering open as Krystal watched on in amazement, "Fox…Are you…alright?" Her question was answered silently as Fox slowly stood up from within the coffin, blinking quietly as he looked into the face of the once again teary-eyed vixen, "Krystal…" His voice seemed to make all of her worries melt away. She threw his arms around him with great force, clenching her arms tightly around him, "Fox…you… you came back…" The vulpine quickly retaliated in the exact same fashion, his arms securely around the trembling vixen, "Krystal…don't worry, I'm alright." She buried her muzzle into the side of his neck, tears falling from both surprise and relief, and she spoke in a quiet voice as the warmth of her love slowly began to fill her as it had before any of this had come between them, "Fox…don't leave me…ever again."

---

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Oh, what just happened? Oh ya, I think it's called, Apology time with FoxMC! Yay, my favorite! So ya, that was stupid long, I can't even believe I finished it so quick considering that today I have the State tournament…Hey! Over 200 reviews, rad! Thanks you guys, you are the radicalist!

(Title not yet devised)

Yep, I have an idea of what I want to do, but not a very good one, this is the only hole I must fill within my story, but after that, we'll be having some smooth sailing until the end of this story, so expect a little longer for an update…yep.

EDITOR'S NOTES: Yep…here they are…in black and white…so you can read it…

"Hey This is me justin alan haibon
I have only one thing to say so sad and yet so god"

I don't want to type anymore today…

MAIL CALL
deathscall
I think now I know what's going to happen soon, ... something about that strange power, Krystal and Fox have... the power is going to somehow allow Fox to return to the group, in some form or another... and you're going to end up leaving us with a cliffhanger to torment all of us souls who yelled, screamed, hollered, etc. at you. At least, that is what I think, because , well, it's a Star Fox fiction, just won't be right if it ends without him... and because of the point where I think it was James and Krystals' Father (or Mother) came to them in a dream that one time when Fox and Krystal kissed on the ship. how they had said nothing would come between them doing something... Well, Whichever you do, It's quite alright as long as you keep this great fiction to the end... and continue making great fictions till you die, and maybe i'll mail you... a ... um, homemade Amy plushie... or... something

FoxMC: Amy Plushie! Where! Gimme! Now! Hurry! I want! Right now! I made Fox better, I earned it! Gimme! I have a Sonic Plushie! It's blue! And he has cool shoes! I want Amy Plushie! Hurry! Before I have a heart attack!

The Krystal Method
Absolutely LOVE this story so far (I'm not all the way through it yet.) Love the characters, love the plot! Keep up the great work!

FoxMC: Thank ya kindly, judging by the review you left, you still have a way to go before you get all caught up, trust me, the writing gets way better as you go, so I guess that's something you have to look forward to…

lombaxworship
FoxMC: Thanks again, I think that's the third time a person said I rock, but it seems that when I actually start rocking, people get mad and tell me to stop, so ya, thanks anyway. Thats what u told me in my last review.
Screw them if they cant take a little angsst. U r a GREAT writer and anyone hu gets mad at u 4 killing fox is just darn stupid. your an incredible writer and you shouldnt be mad or EVER stop b/c someone said ur mean for kiling some1.important off a story.
UR GREAT DONT STOP!

FoxMC: Ok, I won't. But I was never really mad at anyone for saying that they hated me/wanted to kill me/skin me alive. Besides, I'm sure I made them all happy with this chapter…I mean, at least I hope I did…

Whinnie
sniff, sniff. I trembled when I read that chapter. It tears me apart that, a story once filled with happiness and joy, is now turned into an article of depression.

FoxMC: Ya, I see what you mean(t). Now everyone can be all happy again because Fox is better! And I'm sure they'll make sure nothing like this happens again, so cool.

Ben Stylin
I think you're overexagerating Fox's death issue.
I don't think EVERYONE in Corneria is upset over his death.
Unless, of course, Corneria city is all the landmass in Corneria.

FoxMC: I might have, but it's better than making it seem like no one cares, right?

Black Phoenix
If all the last few chapters are gonna be the funeral and the team moping around afterwards, I'm gonna be pissed unlike anything anyone's ever seen.

FoxMC: Ok, because of you, I completely changed the storyline and now you won't have to be put through all that boring crying and stuff. Happy birthday. Actually, I was kidding, but you can think that if you want, doesn't matter to me…

MasterChief101
Dear FoxMC, YOU ARE THE GREATEST! The whole entire story you wrote is just awsome. And I know that you are putting a lot of effort in your story. Right now, I don't care about Fox dying, but it would be cool if you brought him back. So far this is the best Star Fox story i have ever read. Good luck in the last 5 chapters. I'm giving your stor a 10 out of 10.
P.S. I have an Xbox and Gamcube and I still play Starfox Assault.

FoxMC: Ok, then I am now deemed cool. And I'm glad that you have a Gamecube, that makes you cool. We can be cool together, yay!

Obsidian Thirteen
I give up.

FoxMC: You can stop being such a paranoid android now, Fox is better, so you can be happy or whatever…

SonicBreezie4ever
Hey! Another good chapter! Very depressing...but good. Poor Krystal...it's so depressing to picture her being so sad! But well, how could she not be. Anyway, another great chapter and I hope to see what you're gonna have happen later on.

FoxMC: Ya, well, she doesn't have to be sad anymore, isn't that nice? Now I just have to wrap up this story and I'll be good.

Tie
Dude ya are da best fanfiction writer I no and believe me when I say that cause I read alot of fanfictions. Anyway this is a great chapter and only a few more left, keep those chaptas comin.
It makes me sad to see how depressed the S.F. team has gotten I hope things will start ta turn around for them.
P.S.: Try thinking about a sequel to dis story that would would make all us reviewers very happy

FoxMC: Indeed, things did turn around for them. As for a sequel…I'm not releasing any information on that. It really depends on how much more time I want to give up…or if I can think of anything…

halomasterchief
This chapter made me cry. I CRIED! This is the first fanfic to do so, so feel honored! The part that did it was Krystal's thoughts. I have regained the ability to sleep, and I still think that this is the best fanfic I ever read! Oh, and I am both an X-Box fan and a Nintendo fan (actually, I don't own an X-Box, just Halo for my PC), but I was a Nintendo fan first!Now I will stop talking about myself and tell you, like always, to keep up the good work!

FoxMC: See, I have a really hard time believing that, I mean, it would have to be pretty stupid sad to make you cry, but I don't see how reading words could make you cry…Well, I didn't at least, but I guess I wrote it so I'm unaffected…oh well, I'm glad you can sleep again even though I didn't even answer your question…ya, well, I kinda did with this chapter, but you probably don't get the full picture yet…

Coldfire
Hey, great story! bows down to the skill You've been doing very well so far, congrats...
I, too, think that this isn't going to be the last of Fox. Dunno how he would get back in, noticing how much you're saying he's out, though...

FoxMC: Happy birthday, it really wasn't the end of Fox after all, isn't that just swell children? And now you have a whole different world kinda thing to think about…so ya.

A fan of Star Fox
There's one hell of a surprise coming... You confirmed my theory, unless you have one hell of a plot hole instead. But I'm sure my theory is good... When it will happen, I will let you know if I got it right or not.

FoxMC: I'd like to hear what your theory was, cause if you guessed it…well, your really cool.

1.Guest/2.Looneyman

1. (Read the review, it's longer than a lot of stories I see these days…)

2. Don't you DARE go too overboard with fox's funeral. I have to agree withthat guest person. That plot hole doesn't really explain fox's death. In one chapter you said that he died of a botched operation, how could someone botch up doing a few stitches? Only a total idiot would make that mistake, and fox, being a national hero, would have been given the best doctors on Corneria. This hole needs some explaining.

Regarding the chapter, very sad and depressing. I know about adding drama to a story but I say killing a key character is over the top. You CAN bring a key character close to death without much objection. And I thought this was a Fox/Krystal romance. Either way, this isvery impressive for a first fanfic.

FoxMC: Right, so this plot hole thing, personally, I don't really see a big problem. But if it does cause confusion, I will try my best to answer. I never really intended to go that deep into why he died, it was just the fact that he did that I wanted to get across. I probably won't revisit the topic for quite some time if you couldn't already tell that, but I'll try and explain, and this has a lot to do with what happens in later chapters. So really, I probably shouldn't tell you. So I guess all I can say is that, yes, I will most definitely tell you within the story later. I promise, so for now, you will just have to wonder…By the way, I appreciate you looking for stuff like this you guys, all I ever get from my editor is, "Good." So seeing people discuss actual plot holes in my story is a welcome notion. Thanks.

Cut It Out Of My Soul
I love this chapter. It's leaking sadness out of my computer. Angst is great when done properly. I'll bet you could write a great Sonic story if you tried. Can you give me an example summary of a Sonic story you would make? You don't have to, just curious. Good luck with your golf, I'm rooting for you!
SPIT... IT OUT!

FoxMC: What kind of Sonic story would I make? I don't know, one about Sonic probably…Well, right now, I don't really have any ideas as far as story line would go, I mean, if you have ideas for me, that's cool, I could probably find more motivation to write in that situation, but what I would like to write is probably something with…Wait, I just noticed that Rouge and Knuckles are just like Katt and Falco…weird. Sorry, that was random. Uhh…something with Tikal would be cool, she's killer dude, but then I'd end up with all this weird energy/magic/voodoo/mystical stuff like I already am dealing with now…I guess I'd like to take a shot at either Sonic/Amy or Knux/Rouge. Or maybe I should just skip the mushy stuff and do some action or a humor fic. I don't really know what I want to do…if you have ideas I can build on, that'd be swell…anyway.

MasterChief101
i dont know why i am reviewing this chapter again but while i am waiting for the update, i'll be playing Star Fox on the Gamecube and Warioware on my GBA.

FoxMC: That's cool…Warioware is cool, so is Star Fox…so that's cool too. It's 50 degrees outside, that's cool as well…cool.

CoolChris13
I have to say, this was the "second best" fic I've read. You have a creative mind and great voice. Great job of writing so much! So many intention grabbers and excellent story. Keep it up, and write another one.
Get a chance to read my Attitudes and Immaturity fic, I hurried on it. I could of done better. The story took me about 25-35 minutes to do.

FoxMC: Crap, second best? Well, I guess that's better than being like…485766th best. But hey, thanks for the review anyway, I'll try and review, but I'm in a time crunch right now with State Golf around the corner…

Chiise
This was a great story up until you killed Fox. Not because I dont like them dying off but now it has become just like every other story when someone dies. If you bring him back it will end up like every other story in which it happens. He will come back by some magical means after everyones all sad he died. If you choose not to bring him back it will be the same way, Krystal will just have to live on in sadness which will just be even more hatemail.
Either way I just want to say that although Fox dying has made your story very deep it has become just like every other fic in which both paths lead to a bad ending.
P.S The very last part is my opinion

FoxMC: Hmm…Interesting thoughts, but of course, I knew that some one was bound to say something like this sooner or later. But I don't think that you'll have to worry about this story ending in some lame fashion as you predicted. Now, I may have just jinxed myself, but I think it's safe to say that what I'm going to do is not exactly orthodox…so don't assume the…unassumable? …Well, just keep in mind that it won't be as lame as you think, alright? Swell.

DragonOTDarkFlame
STATEMENT! If Fox is dead, then by all rights Krystal should be dead too. You made it abundantly clear early in the story that they share each others pain. Remember Chapter 11! You should give a EXTREMELY large amount of thought before you kill a character. If a character's health is tied to another, they should share the same fate. Otherwise, this is still a good story. Think on this a bit before you update.

FoxMC: Ok, thanks for pointing that out. But I think I've got it covered, I don't think I told you directly, but ya, you should be able to figure something out after this chapter…

Fox McCloudSaviour of Lylat
Hmm... As I was reading the reviews you got, it did strike me as being odd that the General said that Fox was okay, but then he said he was dead. And who knows that Fox is dead? Your story hasn't actually illustrated him dying, so there's still a chance, right? Another thought, I wonder what Peppy thinks of Fox dying? Or is he too caught up at Xavian Xuan (Sorry if I misspelled it). Well, that's all for now. Later.

FoxMC: Peppy's probably sad, but he obviously didn't show up for the party, I guess it's more fun at a resort than at a funeral…But ya, really, Fox was kinda dead, but now he's really not dead. So be happy and smile big!

Panther Caroso
I'm in here! I am now feeling the love. . .

FoxMC: Well, ya, you are in there, but I don't think we'll be seeing you again Mr. Caroso, so don't get crazy on me. You're lucky I somehow thought to put you in there for no real reason, isn't that just special? I mean, I don't really like him, but he's a new character, so I was like, "I guess I can give him some kind of history…" So ya…

Hello Muto
I think that this story is really bad, you use '…' way too much and it's really annoying… but… its… o.k. … I guess….

FoxMC: He's my little bro, don't listen…

Wolf O'Donell
hey its me again, ausome chapter this story rocks, i just wish it wasnt going to end in five chapters. Every chapter makes me want to read more, my only comment is to update soon, for some reason it seems like its taking u a lot longer to update... maybe its just me though, anyway nice chapter im liking the suspence and... keep it up.

FoxMC: Ok, ya, I had to practice up on my golfing skillz for the State tournament, alright? That's all it was, sorry about that…

Yami11
Well, one of the things I liked about this fic was the fact that it kept me guessing, I mean c'mon i never would have guessed in a million years that you were actually going to kill Fox, or the fact that you had the Star Fox team removed from "active duity", diong so leaves room for a possible sequel. Anyways here we are on the last few chapters so at this point I want to say that I cant wait for the final chapters and I also cant wait to see your next fic.
Best Wishes
Yami11

FoxMC: Thanks, I don't really know if I have anything planned as far as writing in the future, but I'll definitely think about it…

Rory the Demonic Axfighter
Hi, long-time reader, first-time reviewer. Though it sucks big time you killed off Fox, this story still rocks. Keep writing. Your genius is in a class by itself.

FoxMC: Thanks, I guess I'll take that as a compliment…