As the trio headed towards the cave that the Krazoa Spirit just opened, a weird, toad-like monster with arms resembling flowers popped out of a crater in the ground. The creature threw an energy projectile at Prince Tricky. Upon the launching of the projectile, Krystal grabbed Tricky, shouting "Watch out!" and jumping out of the way. Fox turned around and immediately drew his staff and started smacking the creature over and over again, but to no avail. He event tried elaborate combos and strikes with large amounts of energy, but nothing even phased the monster. Every time he struck the beast, blue energy appeared to glow around it as it if had a barrier protecting it. Krystal became afraid that Fox wouldn't stand a chance against this creature. "Fox, don't do it!" But Fox didn't listen. He tried seeing if the staff's powers could work on the beast. He kept on firing Fire Blasts at the beast, but no matter how many bolts he fired at it, the monster didn't even flinch. He tried freezing the monster with his Ice Blast, but again, it didn't even phase it. Krystal grabbed Fox by the arm and dashed into the cave that the Krazoa Spirit opened, dragging Fox with her, with Tricky following after them.

Fox obviously felt caught off-guard by Krystal grabbing him the way she did. "What are you doing!? The Spirit said we should kill that thing to get a MoonSeed!"

"That 'thing' happens to be a Kalda Chom! None of the attacks we have so far can harm it!"

"It has to have some kind of weak point! Maybe it's vulnerable from behind! Maybe I should distract it from the front while you deliver the final blow while its back is turned to you!"

"It popped out of the ground as soon as you got close to it! That means it has the ability to sense movement around it. And I believe that such an ability could protect it from sneak attacks. The only thing that can harm it is a special power for our staffs that we don't even have yet!" Krystal yelled. Fox calmed himself and after a few seconds, Krystal continued. "The Krazoa Spirit opened this tunnel for a reason. Maybe we could find that power in this tunnel. I know you're anxious, but trust me."

"It's all right. I trust you." The trio continued down the tunnel and ended up in a circular room with a peculiar-looking rock at the center. They kicked the stone out of the way and it revealed a hole with green light emanating from it causing the vulpines' staffs to glow and vibrate. Fox and Krystal knew what that meant, so they dropped through the hole, one after the other, just like last time. Then they walked down the narrow hallway just like the one that led to their previous upgrade to their staffs, and came across yet another pedestal surrounded by a pool of water. Fox and Krystal swam for a moment in that pool of water and it felt so nice and refreshing to them. After enduring the smoldering heat of the Volcano Force Point Temple, Fox and Krystal felt major relief to cool their bodies off in the waters of an underground cavern, feeling awash from all the sweat they have been drenched in back in the temple, and even splashing around with each other like two kids in a swimming pool. After they were done swimming around, they approached the pedestal, wondering what power they would obtain from it this time. The two of them stood on the pedestal and raised their staffs to the ceiling, and the large stalactite above the pedestal shot lightning bolts into the ends of the two staffs. "So what did we get this time?"

"I believe it's Ground Quake. Pretty effective in stunning targets before moving in for the kill. And remember that Kalda Chop you were fighting earlier? Apparently we need to stun it before we could hurt it, so..."

"Well, then let's test it out when we leave the cave, shall we?"

Krystal nodded. They headed back out to the entrance of the altar and floated back up to the cave. As they walked out of the tunnel, Foxed asked Krystal, "Well, Krystal, ladies first."

Krystal laughed. "Really? You were the one who picked that fight with the Kalda Chom in the first place. You should go first."

"Hope you're not saying that so you could show a stronger Ground Quake when it becomes your turn. You can go first."

"Are you always scared of being overshadowed by everyone else, Fox?" Krystal grinned impishly.

"What!? Of course not!"

"Then you can go first."

Fox groaned. "All right, let's settle this with a bout of rock, paper, scissors."

Krystal looked confused. "What's rock paper scissors?"

"It's a game that people use to settle arguments like this one. In it, people move their hands in certain formations to indicate a rock, a sheet of paper, and a pair of scissors."

"What are scissors? Are they some kind of…"

"They are basically pairs of short blades that have a handle designed so that you could open and close the blades at any given time, allowing them to cut paper. Which leads us into how rock paper scissors works. The rock, the paper, and the scissors are three elements in a triangle where one element beats one of the other two but loses to the third one. A pair of scissors can cut a sheet of paper, a rock can break a pair of scissors, and a sheet of paper can be wrapped around a rock. So scissors beats paper, paper beats rock, and rock beats scissors." Fox then formed his hand in the ways he described, "An open palm represents paper, a closed fist represents rock, and and holding your first two fingers forward represents scissors. You following me."

"All right, I'm following you quite well. Shall we begin?"

"Yep. And try not to cheat by reading my mind, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Fox." She held out her hand in an open palm while he held his out in a closed fist. "Looks like I win, Fox."

Fox decided to go along with it. He felt it was pointless to argue with Krystal on whether or not she read his mind.

After the two foxes left the cave, Fox went right up to the Kalda Chom he challenged earlier, and raised his staff into the air, and slammed the blunt edge into the ground. The ground shook beneath his feet and the Kalda Chom ended up spinning around in a dumbfounded manner. When it did spin around, Fox noticed a purple spot on its back. He rammed the head of his staff into that spot, and the beast howled in pain. The creature attempted to attack Fox with its arms, but he dodged it and unleashed another Ground Quake. The vibration spun the monster around again, and Fox hit the purple spot on its back again, killing it. After the monster died, Fox picked up the MoonSeed that appeared after the beast's corpse vanished. He wondered about it, then he eyed a small patch of grass in front of a crack in a nearby wall. A reddish glow formed around Fox pondered what it could possibly mean. Tricky called out, "Hey! I have an idea!" Fox took a few steps back while Tricky stepped towards the glowing seed and breathed fire on it. The seed started sprouting a vine that snaked its way along the crack in the cliffside wall. Fox climbed up the vine first with Krystal following him soon afterwards, because "ladies first" doesn't seem all that chivalrous in this instance, and when they got to the top of the cliff, started traversing down the slope. He thought he could liven things up with some small talk. "You know, Krystal, I did notice that Kalda Chom had its weak spot on its back. Maybe that strategy I suggested earlier might work on it after all."

"I already told you, it can sense movement around it. If I were to charge after it while its back is turned to you, it'll turn around before I could strike it."

"Well, hey, you'll never know until you try."

"Let's do that on the third Kalda Chom we come across. Don't forget, on the second, it'll be my turn to test out the Ground Quake."

After the trio walked a little further, even walking below a stone arc. After a while, another Kalda Chom sprouted out of the ground, ready to attack.

Fox smirked. "Well, speak of the devil. All right, Krystal, you ready?"

Krystal nodded. She jumped in the air towards the Kalda Chom and her staff glowed an intense blue as she briefly floated in the air. She slammed the blunt end of her staff against the ground, stunning the Kalda Chom, and as soon as the beast turned its back was turned to her in its stupor, stabbed the purple spot on its back with the head of her staff. The strike caused the creature to re-focus on her and she backflipped to dodge its projectiles, and unleashed another Ground Quake. After she stabbed the spot on its back again, the Kalda Chom died. Krystal picked up the MoonSeed that appeared after its corpse vanished and planted it next to a nearby cliff wall. "All right, Tricky, you know what to do." As Tricky walked towards the seed, Krystal winked at Fox saying, "Well, Fox, I suppose you won't have to worry about being shown up after all."

Fox chuckled. "Well, look on the bright side. Neither will you."

"Men are always so competitive, aren't they."

After Tricky set the seed on fire, the trio climbed the vine that sprouted from it. When they reached the top of the cliff, they jumped to a nearby cliff with a third Kalda Chom and a Bomb Spore. Fox and Krystal felt it was a good time to test their idea of ganging up on the Kalda Chom and see if it would work, as neither of them wanted to risk hurting each other by using Ground Quake to detonate the Bomb Spore by accident. Fox distracted it and kept its attention as he strafed to the side opposite the gap he jumped across. As soon as Krystal jumped across the same gap, and prepared to strike at the Kalda Chom's weak spot, the beast turned to face her, just in time to deflect her blow. But while the Kalda Chom turned its attention to Krystal, Fox struck at the beast's back the moment it was turned to him. Angered, the Kalda Chom turned towards Fox, giving Krystal the opportunity to land the killing blow. As soon as the purple spot on the creature's back was in her sight, she thrusted the head of her staff directly into it, killing the beast. After Fox picked up the MoonSeed, the trio leaped across another gap leading to another cliffside. They spotted a trail leading to a nearby cave and headed through the cave. When they reached inside the cave, they came across yet another Kalda Chom. Krystal unleashed yet another Ground Quake, then attacked the spot on the creature's back while it was in its stunned state, then Fox did the same thing to it afterwards. With the beast out of the way, Fox planted a Bomb Spore, then after the group stepped back, he used his Fire Blast to blow it up, demolishing the cracked wall, and then they continued on through. They made it outside and continued along the path. After another Kalda Chom popped up out of the ground, Fox stunned it with a Ground Quake, stunning it. While the creature was stunned, Krystal rushed to the other side before Fox attacked its weak spot. When the creature turned to retaliate on Fox, Krystal stabbed the monster in the back, and then picked up the MoonSeed that appeared after the beast's corpse vanished. Fox and Krystal felt that fighting Kalda Choms was getting tiresome and repetitive, so they continued on their path.

As they continued through the Mountain Pass, the group notices something suspicious in the sky. The sky turned red as a red burning rock was flying across it. Fox exclaimed, "What the!?"

Tricky shouted "Look out!" He, Fox and Krystal hit down on the ground as the meteor crashed. They felt the earth tremble as they heard the sound of the impact on the ground. After the impact was over, the group rose up and kept on going.

As the group was about to head out further in the Moon Mountain Pass, Fox noticed a slow-moving dinosaur with a large, heavy shell on its back. Fox walked up to it. "Hey! We're looking for a Krazoa shrine! You know where…"

Krystal gasped and cried, "Don't do it, Fox! He isn't friendly!"

But as soon as the creature took a glance at Fox, it lashed out at him by spitting a fireball at him. Fox quickly raised his staff and formed a magic barrier around him, causing the fireball to bounce harmlessly away. "Take it easy! I don't want to fight you!" But the creature didn't listen. It spat another fireball at Fox, and he just defended himself with the barrier again. Fox became convinced that the creature won't listen to reason, so he charged at the creature and attacked it. Krystal, having the ability to sense thought patterns and enemy weakness was able to tell immediately that doing so would be too dangerous to even consider. She shouted, "No! Don't do it!"

But it was too late. The creature retreated into its shell, and by the time Fox's staff hit the shell, his body was on fire. Then it quickly flipped its body around, smacking Fox with its tail, knocking him against the wall and knocking his staff out of his hand. Krystal gasped in horror at the pain the man she loved was in. Then she angrily drew her staff and charged at the beast. Fox struggled to get up, but the creature threw another fireball at the wall behind him, knocking him away. He screamed in pain as he got thrown by the impact of the fireball. The creature prepared to finish him off but Fox saw an icy wind blow all over him. The creature was instantly frozen solid. Fox could barely see what was in front of him, but all of a sudden, he saw a fuzzy image of what appeared to be Krystal, smashing the now frozen creature in a fit of rage. He could barely keep his eyes open but could vaguely see Krystal approaching him to see if he was okay. He passed out, faintly hearing Krystal calling his name several times, showing more distress and worry each and every time.

Krystal started to burst into tears at the pain the man she loved was in. She didn't want to lose him. The man who helped her on her journey, the man who saved her life at the DarkIce Mines, the man who helped her confront the horrors of her past, the thought that he would be taken from her right then and there was too much for her to bear. She tried reading his mind to see if he's still alive, as well as checking for a pulse. She was able to detect thought patterns racing through his mind. She felt his pulse functioning. And upon observation, she noticed him breathing. She and Prince Tricky felt sighs of relief upon learning that Fox was alive. She picked up one of the frozen pieces of the shelled dinosaur's dead body and held it to the burns on Fox's right arm. After a few seconds, she could tell that Fox was feeling a relief from the pain he was in. He moaned, "Krystal… Is that you…"

Krystal was relieved that Fox was alive and recovering but angry that he charged into battle with no regard for her warnings. But right now, she felt like expressing the latter emotion. "Fox, you idiot… Why didn't you listen to me? Why didn't you heed my warnings? Why did you have to be so reckless!?"

"I'm sorry. But how was I…"

"Sorry? Sorry!? You could have died fighting that FireCrawler! You should have been patient and listened to my advice before doing anything!" She started holding the chunk of ice to the burns on Fox's left arm. "I'd smack you in the face for your carelessness, but that would only cause you further pain."

Fox moaned due to the amount of pain he was in, "I didn't think that creature would be such a dangerous foe. It didn't seem all that hostile."

Krystal asked, "Could you please take off your shirt, Fox? I need to attend to the burns on your chest."

Fox blushed. He took off his shirt though it literally hurt him to do so, due to his burn scars. "I hope this is not an excuse to get me to strip down for you, Krystal."

Krystal had the facial expression of a mother chastising an obstinate child. "Sauria needs you, Fox! And right now, you're in no condition to fight!" She started rubbing the ice against the burns on Fox's chest. "I'm sorry, but getting you to disrobe yourself is necessary for the treatment you need. So you're going to have to trust me."

Fox felt there was no arguing against Krystal's words. "Yes, ma'am."

Krystal then gave Fox a flirtatious, impish smile. "Though, I will admit, the idea of seeing the entirety of your well-toned body is appealing."

Fox blushed for a moment, and then remembered Krystal seeing him without his shirt while they were bathing after coming back from the DarkIce Mines. He let out a light chuckle.

Krystal said, "Don't be too embarrassed. I bet you'd love to see the entirety of my body too."

"I think I'm seeing a good amount of it as is."

Krystal took his word for it, considering just how revealing her clothing is. She continued, "The SharpClaw are not the only hostile tribe here on Sauria. The FireCrawlers are a group of fearsome beings that don't take kindly to other beings in their presence, and would attack anyone for approaching them. We are all advised to stay away from FireCrawlers because their flame attacks are very devastating." She planted a MoonSeed a few feet away from the group. She asked Tricky, "Tricky, do you mind breathing fire on this seed?"

Tricky nodded and breathed fire on the MoonSeed. The plant grew and expanded exponentially and then fell over. Krystal walked up to the plant, plucked out several of the leaves from it, and then soaked it by rubbing the ice against it. The leave grew slightly larger and turned pink. Krystal then wrapped the leaf around a side of Fox's right arm. After soaking another leaf, she placed it on the other side of his right arm.

Fox seemed a little confused so Krystal decided to fill him in by saying, "The leaves from the MoonVines have healing capabilities. When soaked, MoonVine leaves can be helpful in healing burns. So, I decided to use them to help you recover. By the time the leaves dry up, your burns will be healed. It will only last you for a couple of minutes."

Fox sighed, "Thanks, Krystal. You know, for someone who hasn't been on Sauria for very long, you know a lot about the herbology on this planet."

"I've had practice with the natives." Krystal replied as she put a soaked MoonVine leaf onto Fox's left arm. Krystal then knelt forward taking off Fox's boots. She then asked Prince Tricky, "Tricky, would you mind turning around for a moment?" Tricky turned away and closed his eyes. Krystal then took off Fox's belt and slowly removed his pants so that she could tend to the burn scars on them. Fox noticed that it didn't bother Krystal in the slightest, indicating to him that she was just as allured by his physical attractiveness as he was to hers. He also felt a powerfully warm and passionate sensation well up inside of him, rendering him blushing in embarrassment. One downward glance later, and he knew exactly why Krystal asked Prince Tricky to look away. She leaned Fox's body forward so she could rub the ice on his back, and after doing so for at least twenty seconds, soaked more of the MoonVine leaves and placed them on his back. She didn't have to worry about the leaves falling off his back because they would stick to his body until the burns were healed. She used the ice to soak Fox's burns on his chest again, thinking they might have dried up by now, then soaked more leaves and placed them on his chest. Krystal noticed that the ice in her hand was starting to melt, so she picked up one of the other shards from the FireCrawler's dead body. When she came back to Fox, she asked him to lift his leg up for a moment. And when he did, he had some important questions for her.

"So, what are these other hostile tribes you mentioned?"

As Krystal rubbed the ice against the underside of Fox's right leg, she replied, In addition to the FireCrawlers I mentioned, there is also the LightFoot tribe. They don't think ill of the other tribes and have no intention of starting a war or invading a village, but they don't take kindly to others imposing on their territory." Krystal started soaking the leaves from the MoonVine. "The can be negotiated with, and reasoned with, but it is far more advisable to keep a wide distance from them." She placed one leaf on the underside of Fox's thigh before soaking another one.

"That's a scary thought." Fox replied. "Good thing your telepathy could help us know if any might be nearby. I'd hate to get on their bad side."

Krystal finished putting another leaf on the underside of Fox's calf, then started rubbing the ice on the top of Fox's right leg. "There's also the ShadowHunters, vicious creatures with quick reflexes and sharp teeth. They have a devastating bite and can run very quickly, making it hard to escape from them. They are incredibly vicious predators and even worse, they are quite sadistic." She started soaking leaves before putting them on Fox's leg.

"Have you ever battled ShadowHunters before, Krystal?"

"Yes I have. When I… you mind lifting up your left leg for a moment, Fox?" Fox did exactly that. Then Krystal started tending to the burns below his leg. "...first came to Sauria, the ThornTails were being attacked by ShadowHunters. Intolerant of their malice and sadism, I charged in slaughtered the ShadowHunters like cattle. But to say that it was easy would be a lie. One ShadowHunter was already incredibly formidable an opponent, but fighting a whole swarm of them definitely took a lot of determination and wit. Thankfully, I excel in both, but there were times when I feared I wouldn't make it." She started rubbing the ice against Fox's left leg.

All of a sudden, though, the leaves on Fox's arms started falling off. The burns on them were gone. "Wow! Thanks, Krystal! You'd make a great healer."

Krystal noticed that the leaves were working already. "You're welcome, Fox. I'm glad I could help." But then Krystal started to look pretty glum. "Too bad I wasn't able to help… them." She began soaking more leaves and putting them on Fox's leg.

"Them?"

"I didn't succeed in saving the entire ThornTail population from that ShadowHunter attack. Some of them already died gruesomely before I could save them, and a few of the ones that did survive were injured too severely for me to do anything to help them." As soon as she was done bandaging Fox's left leg, she sat next to him. "If someone gets injured too drastically, my healing powers can't work. If I try too hard to heal someone severely injured, too much of my energy would be used up. And the burns on your body would have used up too much of my energy."

"Well then it's a good thing you were taught about the planet's herbology, isn't it?" Fox replied as the leaves started falling off his left arm.

"Indeed it is. But the worst tribe out there, apart from the SharpClaw themselves, is the RedEye. They are just like the ShadowHunters except they are larger and more durable. In fact my Staff is pretty much useless against them." Fox's jaw dropped on horror at what Krystal just said until she continued with a detail that reassured him: "That is, I should say, unless I hit a few of its weak points. The scales on the creature's bodies couldn't be hurt with regular staff strikes, but it does have a weak point that can be exploited, and if I strike at it there, I could actually hurt the beast. Though, I will admit, throwing a Fuel Cell at them would work too."

"So, what are the RedEye's weaknesses?"

"I'll tell you when you face them. Anyway, the EarthWalkers built the Walled City specifically to imprison the ShadowHunters and RedEyes so as to keep them from terrorizing the other tribes. A large number of them have been trapped there for years, but a few of each tribe still roam the wildlands. And while I have fearlessly battled several of them, I hope to avoid conflict with them as much as possible, unless they're attacking another tribe."

She and Fox were silent for a moment. Krystal smiled for a bit. "You know, Moon Mountain Pass sure is beautiful."

"It is. But fighting the Kalda Choms that lurk here gets annoyingly repetitive."

"Indeed it does. But the scenery here makes me think I'm walking under a full moon. Makes me feel like I'm bathing in the moonlight..."

"You're sounding awfully romantic."

"True, but 'romantic' might be an appropriate word for a moment such as this. Two warriors resting after a long battle in a place with such beautiful scenery, all the while showing each other their bodies and the beauty they possess..."

Fox blushed upon hearing her say that, thinking "And I thought I was horny!" only to blush even more upon noticing that same sensation from earlier welling up again. Krystal giggled. She then spotted the leaves around Fox's legs crumbling. His burns were completely healed. "Well, Fox, now that you're right as rain again, how about you put your clothes back on and then we can head out."

Fox chuckled slightly. Then he got up again, and put his pants and boots back on, followed by his belt, then his shirt. As soon as he finished getting dressed, Krystal picked up the silver staff with the red jewel. "You dropped this."

"Thanks, Krystal." Fox put the silver staff in his backpack. He focused on Tricky saying, "All right, Tricky, let's keep moving." The trio continued through the pass.

Author's Notes: Yes, I know how the staff upgrade pedestals worked in ninjafoxshadow's original fanfiction, but here, I decided to re-work them to work the way they did in the original video game, and that by doing so, Fox and Krystal no longer have to take turns getting their staff upgrades. They can now get theirs simultaneously. Also, I noticed my readers have been liking the part towards the end of this chapter where, Fox and Krystal are having a very heartfelt. (and sexy) moment together. And they will have more of those in the future. Stay tuned.