XVII

Fox could hear the whistle of air going across the hull of the Ar-wing. He looked out of the cockpit and could see the volcano, directly in front of him. "Pull up, guys. We need to gain altitude," he told the team. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled up slightly on the controls for the Ar-wing, and he leaned back in his chair a bit. Looking to the sides of him, he saw the others, seamlessly beside him.

As they got closer, Fox could see more and more of the demon's handicraft. Parts from destroyed buildings lay everywhere, probably from the older geothermal buildings. Fox could even see a shell of an Aparoid, one similar to the one he fought in a landmaster during the Aparoid war. It looked hollow, as if it had been salvaged…

They were further over the volcano now, almost directly over it. On the "rim" of the volcano, there were masses of stone, seemingly half-built, half-formed from the lava. I don't know how to put it… It just looks like the volcano spewed out lava into a mold. These buildings look similar, like barracks, almost. He thought about this for a moment. That could very well be the case.

They were directly over the volcano right now. He flipped over his Ar-wing, so the cockpit was facing toward the ground. Down the mouth of the volcano, there was… a tunnel, big enough for the Great Fox to fit in, even, if it was flying strait down. No lava formed in the mouth of the volcano, but more around the rim, as if it was a huge landing pad with neon lights showing the LZ.

Busts of lava came from the sides of the tunnel wall, like traps set in place for enemy invaders. Luckily, they seemed to be timed to some extent, like geysers. That tunnel has to go to the center of the world, Fox thought. He flipped his Ar-wing back over. "You guys seeing what I'm seeing?" he asked. He heard Slippy gulp.

On the far side of the volcano, Fox could see, via visual camera, buildings of some sort. They were oval-shaped, strangely, built onto the cliffs of the volcano. Fox wanted to zoom in on the picture to get a better look, but something shook his Ar-wing.

He looked up at his shields. They were gone completely to the rear. Fox quickly looked back to the stern of his Ar-wing. Something half as big as his Ar-wing was crawling on the hull, trying to make it up from the left wing to the cockpit. "I need help here! Something's on my Ar-wing!" he yelled into the com unit. Fox wasn't sure what to do; he'd never had anything climb onto his Ar-wing, much less something half the size of it. He heard ripping noises, and Fox cringed a bit. The thing must be ripping out sensors and components. Sure enough, his visual cameras blanked out.

"I'm coming," came a female voice over the com unit. Fox could see Krystal's Ar-wing come up behind him. "Wait, you're not gonna-" he said, before another jolt shook the Ar-wing. He looked back and saw Krystal take careful aim with her twin laser cannons.

"Please, don't miss," he heard her whisper to herself over the com.

A flash of light came from outside Fox's cockpit, and he felt the Ar-wing shake. He looked back at his left wing. The creature – Fox assumed it was a demon – had been shot off, along with the bottom half of the wing. He breathed a sigh of relief, because he could still keep control of the Ar-wing, and he hadn't been fried. He spoke into the com unit.

"Fox here. What just happened?" Silence answered him, so he repeated himself. He looked onto his console, and saw that the com transmitter had been knocked out. He looked out to his left, and saw Krystal's Ar-wing in the dark. Her mouth was moving, most likely talking into the com unit. She looked confused as to why she wasn't getting an answer, and she looked over to Fox. He mouthed, "My com got knocked out," and she nodded. He pointed a thumb skyward, and got another nod. She turned toward the com unit and started talking. Fox pulled up on his controls, flying toward where the Great Fox would pick them up…

Fox got into the docking bay first. He jumped out of the cockpit and surveyed the damage. The wing of the Ar-wing was gone for about half of the length, then blackened, melted, sheared-off metal with a few cut circuits sticking out for about a foot. Then, white wing, but for a few half-foot long scratches. Typical blaster fire damage, save for the scratches.

Slippy landed next. He hopped out and came up to Fox. "That'll take awhile to fix," he told Fox, though Fox was fully aware of this. "Quick thinking on Krystal's part, though." He walked toward the exit, most likely waiting for Falco.

Falco landed next. He looked at the damage on the craft, and said with a serious face. "Wow, that thing did a number on you."

"Actually, that's more of Krystal's damage than the demons."

"Wow… she did a number on you." Falco looked at Fox. His frown twitched once in a smile, then broke out laughing and walked over to Slippy.

"Fox! Are you alright? Oh, I'm so sorry…" Krystal said, abruptly running out of her Ar-wing and catching him tightly around the torso. Falco and Slippy left quickly, a knowing smile on Falco's face.

Trying to breathe, Fox hugged her back, more gently, and she said quietly, "Oh." She left go immediately, and put some personal space in between them. "Uh… I'm glad you're ok," she said, hands fidgeting awkwardly, a blush forming on her cheeks. Fox felt his cheeks burn, too.

"Thanks," he said, and he came forward to her and hugged her around the waist, pulling her toward him. She didn't resist, but Fox felt her tighten ever so slightly in his embrace at first, then relax and hug him back. "I'm ok, so no harm done," he told her. The fur on her back was very soft, he noticed. He pulled away, and they smiled warmly as they walked off toward the bridge together. "Falco says you did a number on me," he told her as they walked. She laughed, a sound Fox found he liked to hear…

That's the end of chapter XVII. Forgive me if I switch to Arabic numbers soon. (0-9 instead of Roman Numerals.) I'll update soon.

As for the size of my chapters, so you know, I don't just sit down and type page after page. I do it in smaller increments, getting down just enough. But trust me, there'll be many chapters. I'm not even halfway done. Not even close. So stick around, and in a few days, I'll have another chapter.

I hope you Fox/Krystal fans liked the ending part, even if it was small and they didn't kiss. That's- (Gets shot by a bullet that says, "NO SPOILERS FOR YOU")

Will be revived,

Black Swordsman342