A/N: i try to keep the character personalities as closely related to the game personas as possible. Fox is very sure of himself, very confident and not normally shy, except around Krystal, because he's afraid he'll chase her off. By the time we see him and her in Assault, we notice that he's not afraid to ask if she's all right, or shout for her, if she's in trouble. But he does get awkward when tricky says something about them being lovers, so we know that he doesn't begin a relationship with her until sometime after Assault.

So, no. You won't see any major romance between the two in this short story. I sowwy. If people like it, I'll write a post-SF:Assault story that details a romance about them, but it's up to yaw'll to let me know if that's something you WANT to see me write. Leave feedback with your thoughts on the matter.

Chapter -3- Culture Shock

General Pepper leaned back in his chair, looking over the woman. He'd never seen a blue-furred vixen before but she was quite lovely. He'd read about it in Fox's report, which was a requirement in order to get paid on such a mission. He broke the immediately ensuing silence with a joke. "So, Fox. I see you managed to save the planet without blowing it up. I'm really surprised you could pull it off without a blaster," He said with a grin.

"Yeah, but we still wound up kicking Andross's sorry butt back across the void," Falco quickly added.

"Quite right!" Pepper exclaimed. "And odd that we've seen him again. You always think you've seen the last of that one. I don't know if you've heard the news, but his nephew managed to escape from prison during your time on Sauria. So," Pepper said, turning to Falco. "You're back hm?"

"Want to pay us to find him? And yeah, I'm back," Falco said. "McCloud can't do much without his right hand man."

"I've actually employed another mercenary group to try and find Andrew Oikonni. StarFox just doesn't have enough pilots to find him quickly. I hope you're not upset," Pepper said, taking off the thick, dark aviator glasses he was wearing, placing them on the table. He used to wear them a lot, a decade ago, but now it was just wishful thinking to want to look young again. Falco, on the other hand, had a pair of sunshades over his head, held up by a head wrap cloth. Pepper knew the avian had participated in a reunion with the Space HotRodders and his ex-fiance, Katherine Monroe. Katt's statue of limitations on her last misdemeanor had passed, putting her in the clear again.

"I noticed, in your absence, that your gang was rather quiet," Pepper mused.

"Yeah, we spent some time on Eladard and Papetoon. I missed your paychecks, I didn't want Fox hogging all the action," Lombardi admitted with a coy grin.

"Yeah, you could smell the credits all the way on the other side of Lylat," Fox joshed, leaning back in one of the plush chairs found in Pepper's office. Falco did the same, crossing his ankles, slouching deeply into the seat. "Nice chairs, better than the ones you used to have, General," Fox mentioned in a polite tone.

Krystal gently nudged Falco, sitting between the two boys, to make him sit up, but her attempt was futile. She really looked out of place here. Falco was the bad-boy, Fox was prim, proper and polite, she was wearing a jersey with the number '73' upon it, as well as baggy sweat pants. Sandals completed the outfit which drew as many looks as her blue fur, which drew almost as many looks as the fact that two StarFox members had come through the area.

One thing she could tell about them, from the public opinion, was that they were honored as war heroes, but looked at as outcasts, for their mercenary ways. It was simply a liberalist planet in too many senses. General Pepper was the most war-minded citizen, being the old war-horse that he was. And that was saying quite a bit, in consideration of the fact that Pepper was rather a jolly, good natured hound, in this time of peace.

"So, who did you hire to track Oikonni," Fox finally asked. He was being eaten up with curiosity and wanted to find Andrew himself.

"HellCat Alpha," Pepper mused. "They're a completely different group since Panther Caroso left. Speaking of Caroso, I heard he's given up his job as an assassin for hire and joined StarWolf. An interesting change for him. I don't know how O'Donnell or Powalski can stand him, he doesn't seem their type."

Fox raised a paw, he didn't want Pepper to get off the topic, but changing over to a conversation about some guy who quit one group, went solo for a while, then joined StarWolf. Fox didn't know much about Panther Caroso, other than the fact he was in the news for a few days last year, but he did know that StarWolf was bad news and HellCat Alpha, while large, was nowhere as prestigious as StarFox.

"I know, Fox," Pepper said, shaking his head. "They have enough pilots to hunt for Andrew in multiple sectors. Three and four member squadrons with only two active pilots just don't make enough of a team to hunt down Andrew. It's a big system out there."

"Yeah," Fox said, shaking his head slightly. "I'm going to be putting Slippy back in a cockpit this year, was wondering if we could have you deduct a little from our check to buy the latest model of Arwings. The SFX model is a sweet ride, but it's 9 years old, next month. We need something a bit more modern. That's why I wanted to talk to you personally."

"Well Fox," Pepper said, "I've already put the credits into your account, but I'll be glad to allow you to make a purchase from Space Dynamics. I'll tell you what, I'll even put you LunarStone Hotels while GreatFox is under reconstruction. Once the refit is done, you'll have a nice place to put your new Arwings up. You plan on trading in your old models?"

"Yeah, I was thinking we should look into the new LandMaster, too. I'm not sure what we're going to do with Blue Marine, Slippy built it," Fox mused, turning to Krystal, who was quiet and paying attention to the conversation. "What do you think?" He asked her.

She could sense that he really felt she was part of the conversation, but she still felt she wasn't part of the team. She licked her lips with apprehension then replied. "Well, Fox. It seems as though your equipment does look a bit dated. I mean that in the nicest possible way, but there are gashes and dents in all of your ships," she said.

"They're character marks," Falco interrupted. "My Arwing has the least amount of 'Character', because I don't scratch it up."

"That's because there's a big enough character in the cockpit," She said with a grin that turned into soft laughter. Fox couldn't hold back at the double meaning and found himself chortling as well. Pepper lifted his paws to quiet them, then cleared his throat.

With eyes returning to the General, the hefty hound continued, "I'll get you your ships and tanks. In return, I'll give you their bluebook value, to donate to some of the outposts on Fortuna, their budget cuts are pretty big and even dented, I'm sure they'd like to have vehicles owned by StarFox. How many Arwings and Tanks are you trading up?"

The vulpine thought over his numbers for what he wanted to buy, verses what he had, then stole a glance at Lombardi. "Four tanks, five Arwings, counting Falco's. I want to get at least Six Arwings and Five Tanks purchased, seven fighters if possible. If Krystal ultimately stays with us, I'll make use of a four pilot squadron again. As far as Peppy goes, well... you know as well as I do, that he's in no shape to fly the way we did, 8 years ago," said McCloud. "I'll get Peppy and Slippy to stop by and crunch all the numbers. I actually wanted to take Krystal out around the city before it got dark."

Pepper chuckled softly. Krystal could sense that the hound dog was pleased by what Fox said. It was almost like a father being proud of his son for the boy bringing home his first girlfriend. Pepper gave a polite wave to dismiss them, the good natured grin parting to add, "Go on, you three. Enjoy your vacation."

x-

Falco turned to Fox, in the parking lot, in front of the tram station. "Look, I'm going to go catch up on some stuff, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Don't worry," he said. "I'm not leaving again, relax. Go do the lovebird thing," He added, walking off towards the Westbound tramcar.

"...Falco!" Fox hissed, turning away from Krystal. He was blushing furiously, not wanting to chase her off. Krystal smiled politely, taking his arm and leading him towards the city-bound tram. She couldn't yet read the signs but the thoughts of all the people on that train told her they were all going towards the shopping district. That was obvious enough, for her.

The two sat on the tramcar, talking about what each of them had done to fight on Sauria. Fox had mentioned something along the lines of physical combat, but his description of what it entailed, sounded nothing like what her people did during a physical fight. It was decided that later, they would have to spar, to help the other understand what their friend had detailed as paw-to-paw combat.

Once they arrived in the shopping district of downtown Corneria, Krystal found herself simply wowed. Holographic signs, laser lights, massive stone and glass spires that reached to the sky. Behemoth interstate bridges towered above the streets. A huge fountain, a building with a massive screen upon it, that displayed the news. It was breathtaking. The two began a leisurely stroll through the commercial district, stopping so that Krystal could peer into the window of different shops, browsing through some, before she came to a stylist boutique.

"What is this place?" She mused outloud. She had to, her question would have gone unanswered if she asked it in her mind, which was what she was used to doing. Fox spoke without even thinking it through, explaining how they cut one's hair, style it and change the appearance of one, to keep up with the latest trend. Krystal grinned. "That sounds interesting."

"You really want to do something with your hair?" He asked her, glancing back through the window of the stylist.

"It would be easier to fit into this culture, don't you think?" she asked. Fox simply shrugged and the two stepped inside. Krystal approached one of the women who stood adjacent to a chair that was attached to a short pole that disappeared into the ground. It had a metal footrest and was positioned in front of a mirror. This was a common practice from her home, as well. One couldn't let their headfur get too long, it would become unruly.

She slipped into the chair, while Fox found a magazine to read...

It only took about thirty-five minutes. When Fox looked up, she had a few strands of her hair dyed to a light, cyan-color of blue, while several of her bangs were braided together, with white beads hanging from them. It was rather different. Her hair was still feathery and layered, but this actually worked for her, one of the latest trends.

A giggle offered, "This is actually quite fun. Now let's find something more ladylike to wear?" She said, taking his right paw and leading him to the cash register. The idea of Capitalism and economy was still a fresh concept to her, but her telepathic ability helped her see it for what it was. Even on Sauria, where the currency was comprised of insects, the idea of capitalism was strong in Lylat.

The next strip of stores was comprised of various fashion outlets. After visiting store after store, Krystal had made use of the dressing rooms, modeled for Fox, which appeased his masculine ego, then picked out a wardrobe of clothing, including a sleek blue body suit, which matched her fur. To her surprise, citizens in this district of Corneria looked at her normally. Most of them simply assumed she had performed a full body dye-job, going from blondish to blue. Some clerks even praised her on the tones she'd put herself into. It wasn't praise she was used to, but took each compliment well.

The dizzying display of Holograms, lights and signs kept her eyes amused the entire day. Thousands of people who never spoke with their minds, yet had much to say, made it somewhat quiet in her mind. She didn't have thousands of voices, full of purpose, running through her mind. It was an occasional lady's voice in her mind, asking if something looked right, or the occasional thoughts of a male, trying to figure out what to buy, but not wanting to ask for help. Some men repeated a thought over and over, trying to remember what they've come for, while some women randomly passed a silent judgment on other women, yet smiling ever-so politely, to look civil.

It was a strange world for Krystal. But she was immediately in love with it. Most of them didn't think, they just acted or spoke. She'd never been in such a populated place, that was so quiet in her mind, before this day. The clothes she picked out were stunning and with Fox's permission, she even picked out a platinum tiara with an emerald in the center. A matching necklace and rings completed the set. For not understanding the basic principle behind money, she sure knew how to help the Corneria Economy with her spending.

By the end of the evening, Fox had rented a metal buggy to carry her bags, but he was understanding about it all. She had nothing. Her entire world was destroyed, she had nothing. No clothes, nothing to remind herself of her past life. Her only option, as it currently stood, was to embrace this life as tightly as she could manage. Fox was looking tired by the end of the day but she felt hyper. She wouldn't be able to sleep, her eyes wide, her tail bushy, she had an entire world to explore. Fox decided to rent an automobile so they could cruise around town more easily. The sun had set and Krystal never felt more awake in her life. Was this culture shock?

She only needed to bat her eyelashes to get Fox to take her back to LunarStone Hotels, Pepper was gracious enough to get them a suite, with two bedrooms and a living room area. She could sense, easily, that Fox was leaning towards the bedroom on the right, so before she even asked, she took her new clothing into the one on the left. Fox had brought a suitcase, as well, but it wasn't quite large enough to hold a wardrobe such as the size she'd acquired earlier in the day.

She paused before a mirror, in the room and smiled thoughtfully. She never really gave much thought to her personal appearance. But something beyond modesty had crept into her heart and she felt as thought she wished to play with her image, just to see how different styles would effect McCloud. She still had a great deal to learn about the Lylat male, but so far, Fox was being a good sport and even resembled somewhat of a guinea pig in her experiment into Lylat Psychology.

Remember Fox's promise of the sparring, she chose the topaz two-toned sapphire colored body suit. It was stretchable, really. There was a metallic railed object, resembling a zipper, on the back but was covered by a fold-over piece of the fabric. She unzipped it and disrobed, sliding into the sleek suit. It stretched to allow her body into it's comfortable confines. She pushed her tail down into the back with her paws, guiding the tip through the tail hole beneath the zipper, then pulled her paw free to draw her fluffy appendage free. Once it was on, she carefully felt for the zipper and pulled it up to the nape of her neck, then gave a tug on the fabric in a few key places.

"I love this," She mused, facing the mirror. She'd never worn something so flattering before. It gave her rump a rounded, yet heart-shapped appearance, the blue boots attached to the bottom of the body suit felt comfortable and elevated her height a few inches. To give it a test she drew her paw into a fist then lifted her arms above her head. She then lifted her left leg, balancing herself on her right hind paw, touching the tip of her foot, above her head. The suit was comfortable and accentuated the slender curvature of her body, adding firm support to her breast and a comfortable lining of her back.

"I think I could certainly get used to this world," She added under her breath, soft tones spoken so as to keep her thoughts private. Just then, she glanced up at the mirror and blinked. This was the first time, she'd ever thought to have a personal thought to herself. She was from a world where no one judged because everyone already knew what was on your mind, but here, people did judge and it almost seemed awkward to have a private moment to herself.

Was her power of telepathy intrusive to others? She decided that being civil and keeping it to herself, the way Fox tried keeping his eyes and thoughts to himself, was beneficial to those around her. It was such a strange world, where everyone was so naive and afraid to say the wrong thing. They were a misunderstood race, even amongst themselves. She gave one last tug at the fabric, so that it wasn't riding up her body in the wrong areas, then turned around, looking over her shoulder. A flicker of her tail, and a smile offered.

"You dress up nicely," she told herself, going back to the pile of clothes on the floor and fishing out two scrunchies. She pulled the fur of her tail down with one paw, using the other to apply the white fabric bands, which helped to keep her tail from growing... well, poofy. Sometimes she used metallic braces, other times she used these.

Finally emerging from her room, she placed her paws upon her hips and grinned. "You'd better change into something less formal if you want to spar. I believe we passed a gym on the first floor of this hotel." Her words caused Fox's head to lift and his jaw to drop. The streaked highlights of several strands of her hair nearly matched the light blue part of her suit, while the darker strands matched the deeper azure color of the fabric. It seemed to gleam in the living room light, the shiny material giving her somewhat of an aura, a shapely feminine border around her lithe, curvy frame.

She couldn't help it, her expression lit up, seeing that his eyes were placated by what they saw. It was certainly the acceptance she sought. "The spar?" Her words caused him to snap out of his gawking and he blinked twice, glancing up to meet her emerald iris', twin pools of the richest sea-green imaginable, offset by blue fur and matching attire. One word came to his mind, and she made a mental note to ask him what it meant at a later time. "Smokin'."

She wondered how it would look with the opulent jewelry she often wore. But that was something she could worry about later. For now, a spar would put to the test the flexibility of this outfit. She didn't know what she liked more about it, the way she looked in the mirror, or the way this garment made her feel, knowing she looked this way. Fox nodded once more, opening his suitcase and going through some of his stuff. He'd not given it much thought, but there wasn't much here that would be good for sparring.

Reading these thoughts, she approached him, patting his shoulder and whispered, "I'll get your jersey and sweat pants from my room. You don't mind wearing them again, after I've been in them all day, do you?"

"N-not at all," he said, shutting the suitcase decisively. It's the closest he would get, to getting into her pants for a while. And yet they still had so much to learn about one another. After all, Fox was 26, now. Eighteen years old during the Lylat wars, and 8 years later, he was over halfway to thirty. Krystal on the other hand, wasn't quiet 17 yet. She still had 3 months to go and another year after that, to be considered an Adult by the standard of Corneria. But that would make becoming a citizen more easy.

Without the ability to sleep after such wonderful sensory overload, on her tour of the Capitol City, she had a great deal of energy to relieve. Hopefully, the spar would do just the trick. And yet she had so much to learn about Lylat. It was a mesmerizing place to visit. It had captured her inner imagination and the boisterous vixen wanted to experience every part of it, as soon as possible.

Next: Chapter -4-: Don't Judge a Girl by her Color.