Star Fox Adventures
(Legalese and disclaimer: This story has been rated T for frequent descriptions of violence and combat. All characters, names, places, etc. copyright Nintendo and Rare. Dino language translations can be found at the end of the chapter.)
Chapter 2
After having escaped General Scales, Krystal and her Cloudrunner companion continued thier search for the source of the distress signal, eventually bringing them to a large, ominous-looking palace atop a mountain near the planet's southern pole. As the Cloudrunner closed in on the palace, Krystal couldn't help but think aloud, "A nedtoh av kxaj aj nxoho kxo tajkhojj jawduc aj semadw vhem?" A few moments later, the Cloudrunner landed at the palace, Krystal slipping off his back as he spoke "Kxaj aj kxo Krazoa Palace. Av oei we adjato, ro loho suhovic. Kxaj aj kxo Tadejuihj' mejk jushot fcuso." With that, he leapt into the air and wheeled away, flying off into the storm once again, leaving Krystal alone as she looked around.
The palace was massive; several stories tall, it rose out of the mountaintop, almost an edifice unto itself. It was also showing it's age, several sculptures, pillars, and various other assorted architectural features of the building showing varying degrees of wear and damage, both from the ravages of time, and seemingly more recent by a battle having taken place on the palace grounds. Further evidence of a recent skirmish was present in the form of several Earthwalker soldiers, which resembled armor-clad Triceratops, each one of them having been laid low by wounds suffered in the fighting. Also present were several large, floating creatures that looked like giant glowing Jellyfish. Krystal had heard of these creatures, called Wraiths, which would start to whirl around with thier arms outspread, giving an electric shock to anything they touched. Krystal also noticed a silver disk set into the ground in front of her, but didn't pay much mind to it, more concerned about an incoming Wraith. She quickly sidestepped it, and moved towards the palace. It was at this time that she noticed what looked like a prison cell, complete with a gold padlock securing the door. She then remembered the key she had found on General Scales' ship earlier, taking it from where she had put it under the strap of her loincloth, still suprised Scales hadn't noticed it as she experimentally slipped it into the keyhole of the padlock, pleasantly suprised when it fit and the lock clicked open, falling to the ground as the door opened, revealing a small silver barrel inside. Krystal recognized it as a Sharpclaw fuel barrel. The fuel contained in these barrels was notorious for it's volatility, having a tendency to explode if the container took a hard enough jolt or hit something with enough force, such as if thrown or dropped. Krystal then got an idea, hefting the barrel up over her head and made a short run towards the nearest Wraith, throwing the barrel with a grunt, the barrel sailing through the air and striking the Wraith in the head, causing both the barrel and the Wraith to explode in a fiery purple flash.
No sooner had the first barrel exploded, when another one materialized atop the silver disk Krystal had seen earlier. She then realized it was a fuel barrel generator, and walked over to it, hefting up another barrel and hurling it at a group of Sharpclaw crates blocking her way to the lower level of the large balcony she was on. After heading down the ramp and evading another Wraith, she looked around to see if there was any way into the building. After a short search, she found a crack in the wall with some light shining through it. After examining the crack, she went back to the upper level of the balcony and retrieved a third fuel cell, bringing it back down and nearly getting hit by the patrolling Wraith, but thankfully managed to avoid it and reached the wall safely with the barrel in tow. She then took a few steps back, and hurled the barrel at the wall just as she had done with the wraith earlier, the wall exploding upon impact from the barrel and leaving a large hole.
Upon stepping through the hole she had made in the wall, Krystal found herself in an F-shaped hallway, another Wraith drifting about near the end of it. "This place is infested with those things." she thought to herself as she maneuvered past the whirling, glowing creature. She made her way around the far corner and foud another fuel barrel generator, but without a barrle on it. She then went to the next corner and found another disabled Earthwalker soldier with a fuel barrel sitting opn the ground behind him, presumably the one from the last generator, and another long sloping hallway, jets of flame spouting from openings on either side of the hallway at regular intervals. At the far end of the hall was yet another wall with a large crack in it. Krystal shook her head and went to retrieve the barrel, then made her way down the hall, timing her movements to avoid the flames before hurling the barrel at the wall and once more blasting open the passage.
Once the flames and dust from the explosion cleared, Krystal saw a large, ornate room with fine tapestries hanging from the walls, another fuel barrel generator with a fuel barrel again sitting atop it, a large, square-shaped pedistal-like structure sitting between two torches, and a large round window letting in a pale light from an unknown source with a statue of some strange, tall creature jut below it, possibly a deity of some sort. Krystal then approached the pedistal and stepped onto it, the structure sinking under her as a secret door at the opposite end of the room opened up. Krystal started to head for the door, but as soon as she stepped off the pedistal, the door abruptly closed again. Krystal looked between the door and the pedistal, then got an idea, walking over to the fuel barrel and picking it up, then walking onto the pedistal, the door once more opening. This time, Krystal carefully set the barrel atop the generator, and made a sprint for the door, the weight of the barrel keeping the pedistal depressed. As Krystal entered the next room, her attention was drawn to another Earthwalker soldier. As she approached him, he began to speak to her in a pained voice, "Kxo Krazoa doot oeih xocp, kxoo uhe toadw." Krystal knelt down next to the wounded dinosaur, resting a hand on the horn above it's nose. "Nuj ak oei kxuk jodk kxo tajkojj jawduc?" she asked, trying to comfort him as best as she could. "Nxod no noho ukkusbot, A jawducot veh xocf. No noho mujjushot." groaned the Earthwalker, coughing a bit. "Nxuk noho oei teadw xoho?" Krystal inquired, trying to make sense of this. "Kxo King Earthwalker jodk ij ke fhekosk kxaj jushot fucuso, xemo ev kxo Krazoa Spirits. Kxo Krazoa uho fouso jfahakj kxuk rhadw cavo ke u fcudok. Nakxeik kxom, eih nehct aj tout." The Earthwalker explained, again giving a short cough. "Aj kxoho udokxadw A sud te?" Krystal asked, wanting to try to help in some way as she stood up, the Earthwalker again speaking to her. "Mo wahc, edco kxo fiho ev xouhk sud kubo kxo kojkj." with this, another hidden door, similar to the one Krystal had just passed through opened up, revealing a rounded glowing pedistal with a yellow light eminating from it. "Odkoh kxo Krazoa Shrine. Semfcoko kxo sxuccodwo nakxad, udt unuk oeih honuht. Av oei jissoot, hokihd ke mo. A'm dek waedw udonxoho." The Earthwalker said, groaning at the last part. Krystal then nodded, proceeding towards the newly-revealed pedistal and stepping onto it. She then stood on the center of the pedistal and closed her eyes, spreading her arms as the yellow light grew and enveloped her, teleporting her out of the palace.
When the light faded, Krystal opened her eyes to find herself standing on the same pedistal, but in a much different place. She stepped out of the room, anfound herself in another room with a tall ladder going up several stories being the only way to continue on. She promptly climbed the ladder, and looked on at a hallway that was more of an obstacle course with three jets of flame erupting in a pattern from a grate in the floor just ahead of her, followed by a pit with a Wraith cruising restlessly about within it, a glowing red barrier with a flaming red skull orbiting around it blocking a wrought-iron gate at the far end. Krystal observed the flames for a few moments, figuring out her pattern before darting across the grate, barely avoiding being incinerated by the roaring inferno behind her. She then looked at the pit with the Wraith in it; a ladder at each end, and another fuel barrel generator, complete with fuel barrel, waiting at the other side. Krystal could see no other way past then to go through the pit and take her chances. With a running start, she leapt into the pit and ran for the ladder at the far end, the Wraith whirling after her. Just as she was about to clear the ladder, she felt a sharp jolt as the Wraith shocked her left foot with one of it's tentacles. She let out a short yelp of pain before checking over her foot, then, seeing she could still walk, she picked up the fuel barrel and hurled it at the Wraith, the creature exploding in a familiar purple flash. No sooner had the Wraith been destroyed when the barrier over the gate dissapeared and the gate itself rose up out of the way into the ceiling. Krystal passed through the gate which closed behind her moments later and turned a corner to her left to find another hallway obstacle course. This one had another square-shaped pedistal in the floor ahead of her like the one she encountered in the Krazoa Palace, a Wraith hovering dangerously close to it. Beyond this were three more jets of flame, these ones shooting out of the walls this time, and beyond that was another iron gate with a strange glowing object on the other side. Krystal proceeded onto the pedistal which sank down as the Wraith began to spin towards her. She tucked and rolled clear of the tentacles, then ran full tilt towards the open gate, carefully dodging the jets of flames and barely getting through the gate before it closed again.
Once past the gate, Krystal found herself in a large room lined with ornate pillars from floor to ceiling. At the far end of the room was a large round portal that looked like a huge mirror, the surface rippling like water. In the middle of the room was the glowing object Krystal had seen before; a translucent floating face with several long tendrils trailing behind it. The creature emitted a bluish-purple glow and looked similar to the faces of the statues she had seen here and at the Krazoa palace. As she approached it, it began to speak telepathically to her, "This is the first test, the test of observation. Watch closely which urn I hide in. When the urns stop moving, find the urn I have hidden in. Find me three times and I will be yours to return to the Krazoa Palace." Krystal nodded in acknowledgement, and waited for the test to begin.
The test began when a group of roughly half a dozen urns, each one easily large enough for her to fit inside, materialized in a circle around her. The Krazoa spirit then appeared above one of them, spinning around briefly before dropping down into the urn. The urns then began to move around the room, trading places at random in the circle several times before they stopped. Once they stopped moving, Krystal moved over to the one that held the Krazoa Spirit, tapping it with one hand, a small chime being heard as the Spirit rose up out of it, appearing above another urn as Krystal moved back to the center of the circle, watching the spirit as it again settled into the urn, which began the random shuffle in an attempt to confuse Krystal. The urns then stopped moving again, and Krystal again moved to the one she believed held the Spirit, tapping on it as she had before, feeling relieved when she heard the same chime as before, the Spirit again leaving the urn and picking yet another urn to hide in as Krystal moved briskly back to the center. This time when the urns started moving, thier dance-like motions were more complex and difficult to keep track of. It was all Krystal could do to keep her eye on the one that held the Spirit within, making her a bit dizzy when they finally stopped. Krystal shook her head to clear it, then made her way towards the final urn, almost fearing to touch it for fear she would pick the wrong one. Much to her relief, she heard another chime, the urns dissapearing magically into the floor.
This time however, instead of rising out of the urn she had picked, the Krazoa Spirit came out of the portal at the far end of the room she had seen earlier. She took a few steps forward as the Spirit floated towards her, the two soon face to face. After looking at each other for a moment, the Spirit suddenly dashed forward, slamming full-force into Krystal and knocking her off her feet, but instead of being thrown to the ground, she was lifted into the air as she was enveloped in a bluish-purple glow, slowly descending until she gently alighted on her feet. After a couple moments to regain her composure, Krystal raised a fist in the air in victory, her eyes emitting a purple glow from the Spirit within her.
A short while later, Krystal returned to the Krazoa Palace using the warp pad she had used earlier to get to the shrine. As she returned to the room, she once more saw the Earthwalker she had talked to earlier, and made her way over to him, the wounded dinosaur speaking to her as she drew near. "Kxo jxhadoj fhekosk kxo Krazoa vhem xuhm, rik kxaoh fenohj uho ijocojj. Edco nxod ucc jolod jfahakj uho hocoujot adke kxo fucuso sud kxaoh fenohj eo ijot ke odt kxaj nuh." Krystal nodded to the Earthwalker, then proceeded to a round orange platform below a cylindrical passageway. just as she stepped onto the platform, it began to rise underneath her, elevating her to the passage above just as the Wraith that had been cruising about the room decided to attack, though it's arms struck cold stone instead of thier intended target as the platform continued to rise, Krystal smirking at the frustrated creature below as she entered the passage, the platform lowering back down behind her. When she reached the passage, she found it intersected with another one to form a T-shaped junction. To the left was a dead end; a rippling, water-like barrier blocking access to what seemed to be the main chamber of the palace. To the right was another dead end; a solid wall with a large Krazoa head on it, a glowing blue platform similar to the warp pad on the floor in front of it. Krystal approached the platform, standing on the right edge of it. She felt she was being watched, but when she glanced around, she couldn't see anything other than the two pillars that flanked her on either side. She then felt a jolt from within her as the Spirit tried to get out, the jolt bringing her to her knees and almost knocking the wind out of her. She then threw open her arms and closed her eyes as the Krazoa Spirit exited her body, floating towards the sculpture on the wall before her and seeming to become one with it, the eyes and mouth of the statue opening as a bright bluish-white beam shot out of the mouth, heading down the passage and through the barrier at the far end. Krystal then stood up and looked on at the beam, wondering what it was, but her speculation was disrupted when she sensed something behind her, spinning around quickly, her eyes going wide at the sight "Ak'j oei-AAAAHHHH!" shreiked Krystal, her words cut off as she was violently shoved into the beam, the light knocking her through the barricade and into a huge gem in the middle of the central chamber, the large gem rising up towards and through a hole in the ceiling, coming to rest between a pair of rotating machines on a large platform on the roof of the palace. Krystal then came to from the force of the blow, blinking as she looked around at her prison, not knowing what to do now.
End chapter 2
Whew! finally got this chapter done. Man, writing out the dinosaur language dialogue is hard work! Good thing it won't last too much longer. Dino language translations below, please R&R so I can get started on the next chapter and finally get Fox and the gang into the fray.
Dino language translations:
Krystal: "I wonder if this is where the distress signal is coming from?"
Cloudrunner: "This is the Krazoa Palace. If you go inside, be very careful. This is the Dinosaurs' most sacred place."
Earthwalker: "The Krazoa need your help. They are dying."
Krystal: "Was it you who sent the distress signal?"
Earthwalker: "When we were attacked, I signaled for help. We were massacred."
Krystal: "What were you doing here?"
Earthwalker: "The King Earthwalker sent us to protect this sacred palace, home of the Krazoa Spirits. The Krazoa are peace spirits that bring life to a planet. Without them, our world is dead."
Krystal: "Is there anything I can do?"
Earthwalker: "My girl, only the pure of heart can take the tests."
Earthwalker: "Enter the Krazoa Shrine. Complete the challenge within, and await your reward. If you succeed, return to me. I'm not going anywhere."
Earthwalker: "The shrines protect the Krazoa from harm, but thier powers are useless. Only when all seven spirits are released into the palace can thier powers be used to end this war."
Krystal: "It's you-AAAAHHHH!"