Fox and Krystal immediately reappeared inside a small room in Krazoa Palace. But then, all of a sudden as they were just about to regain their footing…

SharpClaw warriors jumped at the vulpine duo from the shadows. Krystal shouted, "Look out!" and then she and Fox dodged the SharpClaws' strikes as they jumped out of the shadows to attack them. There were two SharpClaw soldiers and Fox and Krystal drew their staffs and each struck at a different SharpClaw. Fox uppercutted the SharpClaw that leaped at him, while Krystal vaulted over the one charging at her, and then slammed the head of her staff into the SharpClaw's skull. The impact of Krystal's strike killed the SharpClaw just as Fox froze the other one with an Ice Blast after knocking him into the air, causing him to shatter to pieces when he landed back on the ground. With the two SharpClaw dead, Fox and Krystal breathed a sigh of relief. But something immediately started to puzzle Krystal.

She said, "This isn't right. I thought the SharpClaw were too afraid of the evil demon lurking in the palace to enter here. Why would there be SharpClaw lurking about?"

"Not sure. Did General Scales convince it that they were on the same side or something?"

Krystal thought for a moment. "Now that I think about it, when I first came to the Palace, one of the dying EarthWalkers did say that Scales was the one who unleashed this monstrous phantasm into the palace in the first place, so it's quite likely."

Fox and Krystal walked to a small platform near one of the edges of the room. They stood on top of it, and the platform started to rise. As the duo ascended, Krystal asked, "Mind if I talk to you a bit more about Moments of Celibacy?"

"Go ahead."

"Whenever a person is sexually abused…"

"Person?"

"Yes. Contrary to what your culture often tends to believe, rape doesn't happen exclusively to women. I have seen plenty of men get their fair share as well. In fact, remember when I told you how I prevented that from happening to Sabre?"

"Come to think of it, I do remember that."

"Whenever a person is sexually abused, our people would have our Moments of Celibacy last from a week to a month, depending on the severity of the trauma they endured as a result. However, because it was an entire tribe's worth of women that endured that kind of abuse from Kaijira and his men, this specific Moment of Celibacy lasted an entire year!"

Fox seemed a bit shocked by this, but as far as he was concerned, it was quite understandable. Krystal continued, "Although, I personally wanted to be celibate for a bit longer than even that. Every waking hour since my battle with Kaijira, I've been afraid of what would have happened if Sabre didn't stop me from raping him. I even have had nightmares about myself being everything that he was, using many of my tribesmen, especially the ones I enjoyed sleeping around with as sex slaves." The platform stopped ascending, right next to the entrance to a Krazoa Palace hallway. Krystal continued her story as she and Fox continued to walk down that hallway. So, the Nemarian Tribe Women were not the only ones who needed to be consoled. I needed some solace as well. And nearly every person in my tribe did their best to give me that."

Krystal sat on the first few steps on the stairs that led to the Crimson Sun palace. She couldn't help but grieve over the possibility of how she might have been perceiving the males in her tribe. She dreaded what kind of path she might be treading with how she viewed men. A strong, muscular male member of Krystal's kind, only wearing a short white loincloth similar to hers reaching to his knees, walked up to Krystal. "Good afternoon, princess. Is something troubling you?"

Krystal took a look up at him. "Hello, Korak. Good to see you. And yes, I have been feeling depressed lately. And not just because of the horrible things that happened to the Nemarian women. When I fought Kaijira almost a year ago, my brother just barely stopped me from crossing a line. And I have been constantly afraid of what would have happened if I did cross it."

Korak sat next to her. "I've heard. I was there when our Moment of Celibacy was announced. You and your father mentioned how Prince Sabre barely stopped you from… well…"

"Yeah. I've also been concerned about… Well… Korak? You never thought I saw you as a sexual plaything, did you?"

Korak looked worried. "What are you talking about?"

"I know how Kaijira viewed women as mere playthings to satisfy his carnal desires. And now I'm worried that I have been viewing you and the other males of our tribe as sexual playthings as well. That every time I slept with any of you, I was just using you to satisfy my lustful urges." Krystal started to cry. "I don't want to view you all as playthings! You're all my friends and are like family to me! I don't want to think of you all as… things to satisfy my own personal needs!"

Korak and Krystal embraced each other as she cried on his shoulder. "You don't. The fact that you're concerned about the way you treat us shows that you love and care about us."

"Yes, but, I've been using you and the other men for sexual pleasure. Does that really sound like the act of somebody who cares about you?"

"Krystal, do you remember what our tribe sees sex as?"

Krystal thought for a moment. "A way of strengthening relationships between men and women. And something that men and women enjoy doing together."

"That's right. And whenever you slept with me, did you ever see it as a means of controlling or asserting dominance over me?"

"No. I didn't. I did find it helpful in satisfying my… our lustful appetites, but I mainly hoped that having sex would be something we would enjoy doing together."

"Exactly. So, I don't think you have much to worry about."

"I guess you're right. Thanks for cheering me up. I needed that"

"You're welcome. Anyway, our Moment of Celibacy will be over in a month. Think we might have sex by then?"

Krystal smiles. "I would like that." She passionately hugged Korak. "Thank you so much."

When Krystal finished her story, she and Fox were in the central room. "After fleeing from Cerinia when it was destroyed, I haven't had people who were there to console me. This makes me all the more grateful to have met you. And when you asked me to join Star Fox, hoping that I would have a new family that way, it set my heart aflutter."

"Hey, I always stick up for the little man just as you do. I won't abandon someone in need."

Krystal smiled. "And neither will I."

Fox and Krystal walked around the outer rim of the circular room with the air lifts in the middle. Then, they stopped at a window that had a surface similar to that of a body of water such as a pond or a lake. Krystal took a poignant look at what was on the other side. "I remember being on the other side of this window. It was where I released the first Krazoa Spirit. It was where Elysia was pushed into the beam and that led to her imprisonment. Long after I narrowly avoided the same fate."

"We'll save Elysia, but to do that, we'll need to find a place to release the Krazoa Spirit that we currently have. Do you know where we could find it?"

"Give me a sec." She meditated for a moment. Then she found it. "Follow me." She then led Fox as they went over to the air lift in the center of the room. It levitated them in the air, high enough to reach another air lift that they drifted towards and then across to reach a higher level in the same room. When they landed on the balcony rim on one floor higher than the one they started at, Krystal led Fox quite a ways across the floor and then they found another Krazoa statue with a glowing pad in front of it like the ones she and Fox released the two previous Krazoa Spirits at. Krystal walked up to the pad, saying, "Hang in there, Elysia. I will save you." As soon as she stood on the pad, she then dropped to her knees in front of the statue. She felt the spirit strain to leave her body, and she gasped at the strain. Suddenly she convulsed and doubled over, and the spirit came floating out of her, moving towards the statue. The statue shook and seemed to chitter as the spirit resumed its proper resting place, and the eyes began to glow white. Krystal then breathed a sigh of relief as the spirit was released, and Fox looked behind him and saw the released spirit soar up the air ducts from the center of the circular room in the palace. The statue then opened its mouth and a blue light shone from it. Fox and Krystal were immediately sucked into it, and then felt floaty as they were drifting about a mystical either. Then...

Fox and Krystal immediately landed back in ThornTail Hollow. Fox then said, "Okay, we've returned the Krazoa Spirit. We have been through a lot today, though. Would you like a massage, Krystal?"

Krystal replied, "Oh, thank you, Fox. I'd love that." She crouched down on her knees and Fox started rubbing her shoulders. Krystal let out a sigh of pleasure. She felt very good. After confronting unspeakable horrors in the Test of Fear, and worrying for the safety of her dear friend, Elysia, Krystal was quite happy to see that Fox was there to help relieve her after so much stress. As Fox kept rubbing her shoulders, her fear and tension was dissolving away. But after a while, she began to feel quite a bit of arousal. She then asked Fox, "You mind massaging more than just my shoulders, Fox?"

"Okay, Krystal." Then Fox put his hand on Krystal's back and rubbed it. Krystal loved feeling Fox's fingertips slide up and down her back. A relaxing, but tantalizing feeling surged within her. Fox then started stroking Krystal's midriff. Krystal's sense of arousal was flared up even more. Then, with one hand, Fox started stroking one of her thighs, and she could barely contain her excitement any longer.

She then asked Fox, "Fox? Do you mind if I attend to some personal business?"

Fox then lifted his hands from Krystal's body. "Go ahead."

Krystal then went off to somewhere more isolated. Fox had a pretty good idea what Krystal was planning to do, and as far as he was concerned, he has been in her shoes… er, sandals, and he even spotted her self-gratifying last night as well. He waited a while. After Krystal came back, she had a look on her face akin to having already experienced an orgasm. She then said to Fox, "Thanks for the massage, Fox. You were right about it helping me feel better after such a rough day."

"You're welcome, Krystal. Anyway, it looks like we are halfway through our mission. We've returned half of the Krazoa Spirits and half of the SpellStones, so what should be our next order of business?"

"I think it should be the third SpellStone. The last two were located on two of the parts of the planet that broke off from the surface, so that might be the case with all of them."

"Maybe I should contact Peppy and Slippy, and see if they have anything on their location." Fox dialed in on his wrist-mounted PDA.

Peppy immediately responded as soon as Fox sent the transmission. "What is it, Fox."

"Slippy. Peppy. You have anything on the other two chunks that floated off from the rest of the planet?"

"Yep. Apparently, the other two Walled City, the home of the EarthWalkers, and Dragon Rock, which General Scales is now using for his experiments. Experiments that you need to put a stop to."

"We're on it. Fox out." The transmission ended. Fox then told Krystal, "It looks like we should head to Dragon Rock next to stop Scales' experiments and snag another SpellStone in the process."

Krystal replied, "Unfortunately, we'll have to find the GateKeeper first. But where could we find him?"

But the two vulpines heard a voice nearby saying, "You say you need to get to Dragon Rock?"

Fox and Krystal turned to their side and spotted a ThornTail that appeared nearby them. The ThornTail continued, "I too attempted to save our planet but I failed."

Fox asked, "What happened?"

"I led a group of dinosaurs against General Scales. He learned of our plan before we could act, and he launched a full-scale offensive against us?"

Krystal was shocked. "He knew you were plotting something? But how could that be!?"

The ThornTail continued. "I don't know. But he has ways of spying on us. We never stood a chance. He imprisoned three of my closest friends on Dragon Rock. And it is also where he has taken the SpellStone."

Fox asked, "So, how did you survive? If Scales let you go, it could only be because…"

The ThornTail said, "I am the GateKeeper." The ThornTail then opened his mouth and a blue light started to glow in his mouth. Then that light left his mouth and shot its way into the sky. Fox and Krystal looked around them and saw that all the surrounding ThornTails were also emitting powerful energy from their mouths and all of their energy combined opened a portal in the sky. Fox and Krystal saw the portal in the sky and knew they had a chance to get to Dragon Rock. The first ThornTail then said, "The gateway to Dragon Rock is now open. Please help my friends. They are on your side."

Krystal replied, "We'll do it."

Fox replied, "You can count on us."

Fox and Krystal started heading towards the Arwing, and Fox then called Tricky, saying, "Come on, Tricky. We have a job to do." Tricky snapped out of his trance as Fox opened up the cockpit and bomb bay doors of his Arwing. Tricky crawled into the bomb bay and Fox and Krystal hopped into the cockpit. When the bomb bay door and cockpit closed completely, Fox took off in the Arwing and started flying it in the direction of the opened portal.

As Fox started to take off in the Arwing, an incoming transmission alarm appeared on Fox's dashboard. He answered it and immediately, Slippy was on the other side. He asked, "You called, Slippy?"

Slippy responded, "Yeah. General Scales has unleashed the full force of the planet's dark energy, mutating Dragon Rock into a desolate wasteland. He has captured a number of Dinosaurs and is planning to change them into powerful killing machines! It's rumored that one such creature already exists!"

Fox gasped, "Are you serious!? Can you identify that monster from where you're at? Do you have any info on it?"

"Sadly, no. That newly made weapon is obstructed by a fortress tower. That tower might be where the SpellStone is, but you'll have to fight that weapon in order to get it."

"Okay, Slippy."

"Good luck out there. Slippy out." The transmission ended.

Fox then said to Krystal, "I think your telepathy could come in handy in fighting whatever this monster we're going to face is."

"You got it, Fox."

Fox took off into space and started flying above a large chunk of ground that used to be a part of the planet. A bunch of Venomian space ships moved in to intercept Fox's Arwing, but he quickly blasted them, dodging their fire. After the Venomian ships were destroyed, Fox felt baffled. "This isn't right. The Cornerian Army blew up that Venomian base yesterday. How could the Venom army still have their ships around here?"

"Maybe they have another station on Sauria." replied Krystal.

Fox then flew his Arwing through a giant metal cylinder and then through a gargantuan asteroid with a tunnel in the very center, blasting apart Venom spaceships along the way. He flew his way through that cavern and another metal cylinder, blasting more enemy spaceships and mines along the way. "I'll admit, these Venom scum do are thorough and resourceful." Fox then flew through what appeared to be a gargantuan metal tunnel, blasting more Venom battleships. Then they found it.

Krystal called, "There it is! There's Dragon Rock. I hope Kite is there."

"Only one way to find out." Fox then headed his Arwing in Dragon Rock's direction.

Fox landed his Arwing in what appeared to be a fortress in the middle of a desolate wasteland, with a huge wall surrounding the area and a series of high-tech towers in various parts of the area. As soon as the Arwing landed, Fox opened the bomb schute, letting Tricky out, and then he and Krystal jumped out of the cockpit. Tricky looked around. He looked scared, saying, "I don't like this place. It's… creepy."

Krystal then replied, "Blame General Scales for that. He's the one who turned it into this desolate death land."

Fox then asked, "Okay, now, where do we start?"

Krystal then put herself in a meditative state. "The ThornTail did say that his friends were held captive here, so we'll have to find and rescue them." She finally picked up on something. "There's one over there!"

"All right! Let's do it!" Then he turned to Tricky. "Tricky, stay near the Arwing. You'll be safe there. We'll be right back." He turned to Krystal again. "All right, Krystal! You ready!"

Krystal smiled. "I'm a warrior of the Crimson Sun tribe, raised to battle evil and keep the innocent safe from harm. I was born ready."