Fox could not move.

It was as though the gaze of those eyes had summoned chains to bind him. He felt like he was in chorus sinking and rising through water. Thoughts floated within his mind. Flashes of him, drifting on the currents, lost to all those he knew. Then, he saw Krystal. He yelled out to her; he knew she would come to help him. He called maybe twice, and then a strange and ominous figure approached her through the fog.

It was a truly bizarre creature that loomed over Krystal. Its face was like that of a wolf's, with large horns jutting out from behind his ears. In his three-clawed hands he held a large, crooked scimitar that glistened even in the fog. The rest of his large form was hidden by a dark cloak. Unfortunately, Krystal did not see him; she was waving at Fox.

The blade flashed as it fell upon Krystal, and Fox could feel her life being cast unto the winds. Fox could not utter a word as he watched her body collapse. The figure was laughing at him, mocking him for not saving her. The creature's raspy voice never quite penetrated into Fox's mind; the shock of it all had shattered all will he had.

"Fox…"

He heard Krystal's voice.

"Fox!"

When he came out of his spell, he no longer saw those two yellow eyes burning into his soul. Instead, he saw Krystal's eyes gazing gently into his.

Krystal shook her head. "I will never understand you."

Fox could only smile at her.

When they got to the bridge, Fox told Amarra about the eyes that he saw in Krystal's room.

"Hm…a strange creature. Did you see it leave?"

"No, not really…." Fox blushed, knowing that there would be no way he could tell anyone about the vision he had.

Amarra sent out search parties, warning them to stay together. She then notified the other ships and asked if they would search around as well. Star Fox decided to rummage around as well, to try and pay back Amarra for all the kindness she had shown them.

Fox knew it was his luck when they arrived at the forest garden. It was the only place that the others did not think to look. The foliage was thick, meaning that visibility was low. There was no telling who would sneak up on who, so Fox, Falco, and Krystal kept together. Peppy and Slippy had remained with Amarra to help her with navigation.

The trio nearly jumped at the sound of laughter. As they approached the source, every muscle in their body tensed. They were surprised to find it was only a group of kids, taunting something high in the trees. A high-pitched whine rang through the air as one of the kid's stones hit the poor creature. It fell to the floor with a resounding thump, knocked unconscious. Fox drew back; this creature looked much like the one he saw in his vision, except it wasn't as big, nor did it seem as powerful. Krystal also recognized it, and the children ran from it when she said what it was:

"A Drago-Cerinian!"

When the Drago-Cerinian awoke, it found its arms bound to the floor of a small room. It tried to rise, but the chains were only long enough for it to bow.

"I am Calmira, daughter of King Darius! I demand to know why I am being held captive!"

Amarra quickly reprimanded her for her rude boldness. "You are being held captive because you are not only a stowaway, but a Drago-Cerinian as well. You never told anyone that you were on board!"

Calmira knelt lower to the ground, but a rebellious flame still burned within her. She wanted to hold her tongue, but knew for her sake that she shouldn't.

"I told no one because I knew that I would cause trouble being on board. I wanted none of this. I also feared that you would toss me back into Xerxes' grasp. I fear him; I will not deny this. I watched him kill my father and mother, and he held their severed heads high like trophies. He loathed all that King Darius had achieved, and he seeks even now to destroy everything my father and mother stood for." By now, she was in tears. "It has been years since my parents' death, and I have been running for so long. I have forgotten that there are those that are compassionate; I have forgotten all my manners and lessons that I once held so dear. Those teachings are all I have left…."

Calmira was silent, her head held low in a quiet memory of her parents. Amarra knew that all she said was true. There was no way to make up what Calmira said. She could not help but feel sorry. Amarra knelt down beside Calmira. She unlocked the chains and helped her to her feet. Calmira nodded her head, acknowledging that Amarra was now her master.

"Calmira, you know Xerxes more than anyone else here. Do you believe that he is following us?"

"Yes, Amarra. He will not rest until all Cerinians are gone. Xerxes is ruthless, and his resources abound. I will not be surprised if he is just outside of the range of radar." Calmira then motioned toward Fox. "I'm sorry I scared you so bad earlier. But what you saw; it will come to pass if Xerxes is not stopped. But I will tell everyone here this: Xerxes is mine. I have sworn to avenge the deaths of my father and mother. I must fulfill it."

Fox would never be able to forget the look in Calmira's eyes at that moment. Instead of the deep, amber-yellow eyes he saw before, he now saw blazing carmine pools alight with rage. He recognized the anger as he looked back to his own father's death so long ago….

"You lost someone close to you, didn't you?"

It seemed like only a moment after he had recollected that sacred tragedy, but in truth it was hours. Everyone else had long given up in trying to snap him out of his trance, and it was Calmira that had kept them from carrying him off to the infirmary. Now the rage had subsided, and two kind and deep amber pools stared at him with a strange sort of kindness. Fox's eyes began to fill with tears and his breathing became labored. He thought about all the bad things he had said to his father, and wanted dearly to take them all back. Calmira held him close; she was the only other soul that knew his pain. He seemed so small compared to her. She was nearly twice as tall as him, but it didn't matter. She effortlessly picked him up in her arms and cradled him. It felt good.

Now it was his turn to fall asleep smiling. The pain was all forgotten in a dream world. There was his mother, his father standing next to her, and he was still a little boy with not a care in the world.

As Calmira carried him through the halls to his room, she expected the Cerinians to draw away in fear. But they didn't. They simply nodded a greeting and continued on their ways. Calmira could not help but start to cry when a little girl wanted to give her a wreath of flowers to wear. She had to turn it down, but promised to come back for it later.

When Calmira arrived at Fox's room, she set him on a nearby sofa and left him to rest. There were other things to think about for her.

It was not long that the Gate successfully connected and the fleet of Cerinian ships had landed at the Cornerian Air Force Base. Krystal wanted to watch for her parents, but it would have to wait. People swarmed over the Star Fox team, showering them with praises and greetings. But the crowd parted when a small, battle-scared red vixen came through. Her deep violet eyes seemed to spark when she saw the team.

"It's nice to see you again, son."

Fox embraced his mother, who was about the same size as him. She had been fighting for years as a free-lance mercenary, so Fox never got to see her.

"What will it take to get you to visit more? Grandkids?"

She chuckled. "No, but there are more important things to talk about."

Fox saw the worry in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Fox, I have been with the Cloudrunners, trying to get them to make peace with the Earthwalkers. While there, I heard several rumors saying that the Cloudrunners fled the Aparoids because they were cowards. But that's not the real reason."

"What is it?"

"They ran because they sensed something different. Several said that while flying, they saw two shooting stars, a blue one and a purple one. They felt that it meant danger, and decided to take shelter."

"Why such concern with the stars?"

She glared at him. "Sauria is a primitive planet. They rely on the stars for many things! Besides, I checked the Krazoan Records, and they say that something like this happened millions of years ago: The Resurrection of The Celestial Guards!"

Everyone fell hushed when she uttered these words. They knew that she was talking about the Twilight Guardian and Moonstar Hunter, two fabulous creatures that were entrusted with the sacred duty to protect Lylat from trouble. Even James McCloud himself believed in them; the logo for the Star Fox team was based on the Twilight Guardian. They had not been seen for years.

Fox's mother grew angered at all the people staring at her, and she quickly hurried Fox away, hoping to talk elsewhere. Meanwhile, everyone else went about their business, all working to get the Cerinians settled in.

Rosa (that was the name of Fox's mother) had pulled Fox into an empty antechamber.

"That was close. You'd think they didn't have any manners."

Fox shook his head. "Still the same, aren't we mother?"

"That bears no importance here. What matters is figuring out if the two stars they saw really were the Celestial Guards."

"Rosa? Is that you? You old girl, how are you?"

Rosa jumped at the sound of General Pepper's voice. She turned around, a fake smile spread across her face. For her, seeing the General was the last thing she wanted.

"Why hello, General Pepper. I'm doing fine! In fact, I was discussing very private matters with my son, so why don't you go greet the rest of Star Fox, hm?"

"Well—"

"Sir, there's a problem!" A young captain had come in, his face pale with fright.

"What is it?" Rosa knew she should have let the General ask, but she didn't care.

"It's the Celestial Guards."

Rosa, despite her old age, was out the door before the captain even finished his sentence.

What everyone saw was devastating. The Twilight Guardian had collapsed, covered in an Aparoid infection. The Moonstar Hunter, who was not doing much better, was hovering nearby, watching over his mate. Everyone knew that the both of them were near death. Slowly, the Twilight Guardian raised her head. Dreary eyes scanned the crowd. Everyone was shocked to hear her speak, but her mouth never moved.

-McCloud?-

Somehow, Fox knew she was talking to him. He approached her, the Moonstar Hunter eyeing him cautiously. When he looked into the Twilight Guardian's eyes, he saw many things. He saw love, hope, pain, sorrow, and joy. But what he saw greatest of all was fear.

-You have done good to protect Lylat for me. I entrust to you my tale; I am too weak to tell everyone.-

Fox nodded.

-Many years ago, the first Apariod dared to enter Lylat. Your father was the only one to see us destroy it, so that is how Star Fox began. I told him that the Moonstar Hunter and I would be going off to find the home world of the Aparoids and destroy it. He was entrusted to fight for the innocence of Lylat while we were gone. He was also allowed to pick his teammates. I'm sorry for what happened to him; I feel like it's my fault.-

Fox looked away for an instant, for the sorrow in her eyes made him feel like taking his own life. "She must feel even worst," he thought to himself.

-It took us awhile, but we soon arrived at our destination. We fought many battles against the queen, each one ending in a standoff. But she soon overpowered us, managing to infect us. We got away, desperate to prevent them from getting our power.-

She had to stop. The pain was to much for her to bear any longer. Tears flowed down her face, and she struggled to force herself up. After looking at each other one last time, both pointed their noses to the sky and relinquished a final howl.

-Remember Fox; continue your father's legacy! We will return again to protect Lylat, but you cannot let it fall before then!-

As she said this, she was slowly fading away, disappearing before them. Everyone could not help but cry.

The Celestial Guards had given their lives to terminate the Aparoid infection.

THE END

or is it….

Thanks for reading my first actual story! If there were some things you were confused about, then don't worry; I am working on a website you can visit to get the low-down on some of the characters!

And if you want more, then don't worry about that either! I have another story on the way that tells a little more about the overall plot, so stay tuned!