V
"We hear you're having girl trouble," Falco said with a smirk, Slippy next standing next to him. Fox sighed, and sat down on one of the gym's benches.
"Yeah, yeah. Krystal walked off when we were in the courtyard. She said she had a headache. I believe that she wouldn't lie to me just to get away, but…" He let the sentence trail off, not sure of what to say next. Falco picked up a few dumbbells and started to lift and lower them repeatedly.
Falco continued. "Well, the way I see it, there are two different reasons she walked off. One: she got mad at you in a 5 minute-plus time period. Two: She actually had a headache and walked off for obvious reasons." Fox glowered at him, then sighed.
Slippy was trying to bench-press just a little too much, and his grip was weakening. "Guys…!" he said, straining to keep the weights above his throat.
"Whoa, there, Slippy, you're gonna get yourself killed!" said Falco loudly, as he put down the dumbbells and helped Slippy. Slippy gasped for breath, and Fox smiled. Almost like the old days.
Slippy sat mumbling a "thanks" to Falco as Fox got up. "I'm going back to the hotel room. See you guys later," he told them. They said goodbye to him as he left. Slippy said, "Huh. Guess there's a more dangerous enemy here on the ground for Fox then he's faced before." Falco solemnly returned, "That, my friend, was too true. A girl mad is something you don't want to get in front of…" They both started chuckling.
Krystal sighed as she flopped down on the couch in the main room of the suite they were in. She bounced slightly when she hit the soft cushions. Her head still pounded.
What did I do to deserve this? she thought to herself. I hope Fox doesn't hate me for leaving him there. He didn't deserve that… She sighed. I guess I just need to sleep… that seemed to help last time. Not too long later, in the warm sun of Aqudim, she was sound asleep…
Krystal was no longer on Aqudim. She was sitting at a stool at a bar, in her old golden armor with a cloak slightly on… I've been here before, she thought. A figure walked up to her.
It was a male feline of some sort, glazed-over eyes looking at her. While her armor was effective armor that let her more feminine aspects show, the feline was more interested in the feminine aspects, not the military ones. "Hey baby, can I buy you a drink?" he asked, his voice slightly slurred. His eyes were slightly lowered from hers…
Krystal was back on that hellish planet, at the ziggurat again. The souls looked at her, and she could not cry out, to ask where was she, why she was there, how did they know here name? But she could not. All she could do was stare, to drink up the sight through her eyes like from a never-ending well. Again, that wind threatened to drag her in, into Hell itself, it seemed. She looked into that maw in the galaxy, saw the souls of the damned dissipate… The creature returned!
A demon, unlike any portrait of Satan, loomed before her. Bat-like wings threatened to fly through the portal, talon-like claws would grasp her, and an all-consuming fire coming from the heart of the demon itself dared to incinerate her. She found her voice, and screamed as she flew into the portal itself…
No longer in the confines of her sub-conscious, she woke up, gasping for breath. She sat up immediately, and felt that her throat was sore. She started to shiver, noticing that it was no longer day outside.
I remember that day… in my dream… It was true. She'd just gotten away from that drunk, using the staff she kept now on the Great Fox. It seemed pretty easy at first, but the man in the bar had… associates. It wasn't easy, but I had beaten them. She started to shiver harder, her teeth chattering.
Fox walked in, and saw her shivering. "You… ok?" he asked cautiously. She shook her head.
"More bad dreams, and I'm freezing." She noted that her headache was gone, though. One good thing.
Fox got a blanket off of the chair next to her, and put in over her shoulders. She readily accepted it. He sat down next to her. "So what have these bad dreams been about? That is, if you feel comfortable telling me…" She hesitated for a moment, then immediately dived into the story, about the hell-like planet, about the bar, about the portal… By the end of it, she was crying.
"I can't get any sleep, and I've let you down..." Another sob left her.
Fox put his arm around her cautiously. "It's… alright, Krystal." Krystal, unexpectedly, hugged him back and held on, still crying. Fox held her back… and after a minute, she had her head on his chest, leaning on him on the couch, fast asleep.
I guess she doesn't hate me, Fox thought.
Hesighed. He'd never had "girl trouble" before. He looked down at her sleeping figure on his chest. She looked so innocent... like a child, napping.
He saw her lips, apart ever so slightly… feelings unknown he'd only felt little of drifted up, and he leaned toward her…
And stopped. No, he thought. I can't do that, with her sleeping. I'll have to protect her from myself. I'm not going to do anything without her consent. He nodded to himself, content with his decision. He leaned back from Krystal, and drifted off to sleep…
End of Chapter V. Review, please. All Nintendo characters are © Nintendo. But you knew that.
Black Footman342