Falling Out

Past Time - After the Aparoid Invasion

A/N: This chapter should potentially be M-rated due to the adult themes covered. The short of it: what if Fox wan't jus afraid that Krystal would be hurt; what if she was? Reader discretion advised. You may always jump to the next chapter.


It had been three months since that enchanted night in the Luna Stone Hotel, and Krystal was grouchy. She just couldn't understand the man. It hadn't been a one night stand, quite the opposite. There had been more nightly encounters, she had cherished every one of them and always eagerly awaiting the next. When it was just the two of them, there was a completely different side of him, which was so surprisingly gentle, caring and vulnerable. She didn't have to look into his mind to feel how genuine his love was, and she found herself deeper in love with him every day that passed. Heck, he'd probably had her at 'I've got you!'.

But around others he was back to his old self. Whereas she wanted to shout out to the world that they were in love, he wanted it to keep it to themselves. They had promise each other to remain together forever, but there had been no ring yet. He wanted to give it more time and let everything settle after the war before telling anyone. Of course the others in the team had seen through it, but obviously he had not realised that they had realised. And she stubbornly and stupidly kept to her own promise not to use her powers on him. There was also something else that probably was affecting her mood.

The team had changed too. Peppy had kept his word and had indeed retired. There were some things to mop up after the invasion, like some rebels trying to use the most of the Cornerian Army's one-sided attention on the Aparoids, but missions were getting fewer and farther between. Falco had declared that he needed a holiday, which probably just meant that he was bored, and in his usual style he had just up and left just as quickly as he had turned up at the very end of the Plight of Sauria. That left just Fox, Slippy, ROB and herself.

Currently the four of them were on route to Macbeth in a decommissioned assault carrier, which Fox had purchased as replacement for the Great Fox lost on the Aparoid Home World. Replacement wasn't really the right word to describe it though, thought Krystal. Where the Great Fox had been majestic to behold, fascinating on the inside, and with state of the art weapons and defence system, their new home was utilitarian and stripped off technology and comforts. She saw the logic of course, since she knew Fox's father had taken out a huge mortgage on the Great Fox, which Fox had inherited, and the new ship was a lot less expensive to buy and run. At least it was roomy, but that didn't help her mood much.

While General Pepper was recovering from the suites of the Aparoid infection, and it was debatable whether he'd ever be well enough to resume his position, Peppy had become a freelance consultant for the Army and their new point of contact. Intel had been received about some rebels that may have gotten possession of surviving Aparoid technology, and were in hiding on Macbeth, hence why the remainder of the team were heading there to flush them out and retrieve or destroy the technology.


There was no launch bay on the 'new' ship, so the three of them were gathered around their Arwings on the flight deck, while ROB was busy flying the mothership and scanning the planet beneath them from the bridge.

"Ok, you Slippy come with me to the surface, and you Krystal cover from above," announced Fox as they were checking their gear before takeoff.

"With, all due respect, but you'll be going into the buildings and possibly underground, so you'll need your best close combat team," said Krystal with a slightly surly tone in her voice, and demonstrated by spinning her blasters in her hands before expectedly dropping them back in their holsters. On her back she was carrying a sniper rifle.

"What's that's supposed to mean?"

"It's OK, Fox!" said Slippy. "Krystal is right! I'll keep the air clear."

Fox grumbled and even though he was the captain, he decided not to overrule with an order. So off they went in their fighters and soon reached the surface of the industrial planet. In the darkness of night they flew over a wasteland with open pit mines and processing factories, which had been abandoned as the minerals and metals had been exhausted in the area.

"Subspace signals and heat signatures detected six miles ahead at twenty degrees," called ROB over a secured channel. Fox acknowledged and they put their ships on a path to circle the industrial complex a couple of times to scan for anti-aircraft guns and enemy aircraft. But they found nothing, so Fox and Krystal touched down behind a small ridge just out of sight of the complex, while Slippy kept an eye from above.

Crouching and running, Fox and Krystal found and followed a railway track towards the centre of the complex, using left-behind carts and equipment as cover whenever they could. Reaching the entrance where the tracks disappeared into the main building, they stopped and took stock.

"ROB, what does the scanner show?" asked Fox.

"Subspace signals still present, but unable to determine exact location because of disturbance from a large energy source up ahead, probably a generator."

"There are definitely people in there," confirmed Krystal and scanned with her senses. "But they're a bit too far away, so I can't tell how many."

"Ok, let's go!" said Fox and in they went, while flicking on the infrared cameras on their headsets. Guided not just by keen vulpine night vision, but also by the headset displays in front of their right eyes, they reached the end of the tracks where there was a loading mechanism and an overhead conveyor system. Krystal reached out again, and then pointed to their left along the conveyor. Fox signalled for them to split up and go on seperate sides, and then they continued through a corridor and out into the next building. There was a low rumbling noise and they could start feeling vibrations as they advanced. It was probably that generator up ahead.

Suddenly the factory interior was lit up by plasma blasts. Krystal and Fox returned fire as best as they could and ran for cover. She could see that he had ducked behind a large loading robot. He tried to peer out to both his left and his right, but was met with fresh plasma blasts, and there was too much open space around him to be able to make a run for it.

"I'm pinned and need backup," he called out on the comms.

"There's nothing in the air, so I'm coming down," replied Slippy.

Then it got worse as a hover bike came flying through the air, with the rider ready to fire with a blaster pointed towards Fox, but their foes didn't seem to have spotted Krystal yet. She raised her own rifle and fired upon the hover bike, at first not hitting it but distracting the rider enough so it didn't get any shots off on Fox. Then the bike fled and Krystal managed a direct hit. On fire it flew through the air for a few seconds, and then exploded as it crashed into a large machine some distance up ahead. No one had seen her staff since the Great Fox had been destroyed on the Aparoid Home World, but instead she had become really handy will all sorts of guns. Krystal could feel the enemies clearly now, and her confidence grew.

"I'm going to take them out," she announced.

"It's too dangerous in here! Stay behind me," replied Fox.

"No, I've got this!"

She really could do this. She could sense the thoughts of two snipers, and they were concentrated on that landing robot, not on her. Staying low, she slowly advanced from cover to cover, hiding behind crates, fork lifts and anything she could find. Constantly she stopped, searching and looking for the snipers, until one of them came into view. Carefully placing her rifle on a smaller box in the narrow opening between two larger crates, she first used her sixth sense to find the rough location of the sniper, then the infrared scope to find the exact target. No one was thinking about her yet, so she took a moment to steady, pulled the trigger half way, exhaled and then fired.

She saw a direct hit, and immediately ducked behind the crates as blasts started coming her way. The second sniper's thoughts revealed that she had not been seen. The enemy only knew the general direction her shot had come from. More minds were approaching, but they were confused, so she continued her daring solo mission. The second sniper was on the move, but Fox only had that single sniper to worry about now, and he was returning fire effectively.

Some distance ahead the conveyor system stopped, and she had to cover some open space to continue. The droning and vibrating machine was close. The enemies were distracted by Fox, so she started a dash across the floor looking for her next cover. Then ROB was on the comms.

"Warning! There is a large energy spike ahead. The generator is overloading."

Krystal stopped and realised something she had forgotten for the moment. She could sense other beings, but not all sorts of dangers. Where was that generator? She looked to her left at that large machine, the noise changing and the vibrations getting worse, and she saw the crashed hover bike, still smoking, wedged in between some pieces of machinery.

Then the whole thing went up in flames and the shockwave from the explosion sent her flying through the air.


She didn't know if she had passed out or not, but she found herself on the cold hard floor with her right leg pinned under something heavy. While the headset was still on his head, it was smashed and the display was gone. In the darkness here eyesight could just make out a large piece of machinery. She tried to reach it with her right arm, but there was a sharp pain from her dislocated shoulder, and the arm bent where it shouldn't. And she found that she was so terribly short of breath. Then the throbbing pain in her stomach really hit home. She tried to call for help, but could only manage a meek whimper.

"Emergency! Krystal's vital signs are abnormal," came ROBs voice in her earpiece.

"Dammit! Where is she?"

"Eighty metres in front of you. Immediate medial attention required."

Hyperventilating she looked down towards the source of the pain and saw a jagged piece of metal larger than her hand sticking out of her abdomen. With her left hand she touched her stomach next to the metal, and the cloth of her suit was sticky. She tried to hold up her hand, but it was hard to see much in the darkness, yet she could feel a thick warm liquid. She tried to grab the piece of metal and pull it out, but the pain stabbed through her again. She wasn't even strong enough to scream, so only a tiny yelp came out. Then Fox was over her.

"Better leave that alone," he said, trying to sound calm while panting after running, but his thoughts were nothing but calm. "I've got you!" Sh-t there's a lot of blood!

"Slippy, are you on the ground yet?" called Fox and started rummaging through his pockets.

"I'm entering the building now," came the reply.

"ROB, I need transport! Make it down to the surface on the double." I hope it's not too late.

"Emergency protocol has already been activated. Descent is in progress!"

Fox had found the pack of emergency bandages they always carried on their persons, and started working on her stomach as gently as he could, but the pain was unbearable.

"I'm just cleaning up a bit," he said. This is not good, so not good.

Slippy arrived and the two went to work to lift the machine off her leg, and a new source of pain overwhelmed her as blood started coursing through the veins again. She felt herself drifting off into unconsciousness.

"Stay with me, Krystal!" said Fox and gently stroked her cheek. "We'll get through this." Please don't die. She can't die!

She tried to stay awake, but her vision was getting blurry and the voices muffled.

"We need a stretcher. That door over there, bring it here. It'll do."

Hands were on her hips and shoulders, rolling her to one side, while something was pushed under her. Every movement caused anguish, but she was now too weak to even make a noise. Then she felt herself floating, as she was lifted up and carried away, while Fox was giving orders to Slippy and ROB.

"Is the sickbay functional, ROB?" We're hours from the nearest hospital on Macbeth.

"Equipment for basic emergency surgery is present. I have downloaded latest procedures."

"How far away are you?"

"Ten minutes until touch down, but suitable landing zone is three kilometres away."

"Too late and too far! Slippy, just help me put the damned door on your wing. I'll just ride with it and hold it, so we can just fly in and ROB doesn't have to find a place to land."

It was like a weird dream, drifting between awareness and sleep. She heard the screaming sound of a gravity diffusor, and wind blowing across her face, as if she was falling upwards through the atmosphere, all the while Fox was standing over her. Then stillness, hands and pain again as she was moved, the clatter of wheels on metal and stomping of running boots, and finally a bright light and ROB's mechanical face. Then she blacked out.


She came to very slowly. A first her vision was blurry and sounds were muffled. The first thing she could hear clearly was the bleeping of a heart rate monitor. I must be alive then, she thought. She was laying down and her right arm and leg were immobile, and there was a mask over her face. Gingerly she turned her head a little bit from side to side to try and look around, and she could see the fuzzy outline of a figure next to the bed. The sight slowly cleared, and she could see that it was Fox sitting there in a chair with his head in his hands. She tried to reach into his mind, but her sixth sense was numb, probably from pain killers she assumed. Instead she tried to speak and then reach him with her left arm, but she was too weak.

Still, he must have noticed something, because he looked up. He looked like death warmed up, with a pale face and red eyes, yet he still tried to smile at her.

"Hey there, gorgeous," he said. "You've been out for a while, but you'll be fine!"

He moved the chair a bit closer so he could sit right next to her bed, and then affectionately stroke her cheek with his finger tips.

"ROB has patched you up. It's pretty amazing what he can do. You're in the sick bay of the Great Fox. We're already halfway back to Corneria and a good hospital, where you can recover properly."

He didn't sound very convincing, yet it was soothing to have him there. Her head cleared a little bit, but then she felt that something was wrong, horribly wrong. She couldn't reach out to him, but she could sense her own body, or rather that something was missing. Lifting her left arm and stretching the tubes connected to catheter in it, she tried to reach the mask on her face.

"Hey, just take it easy!" he said gently. "You'll be all right."

She clawed at the oxygen mask, but couldn't get it off. He gently lifted it so she could whisper to him.

"Something... is wrong!"

"No, you'll be all right!"

"I... can't... feel it."

He looked puzzled now.

"The baby!"

His face went from pale to white, when the words sunk in. He broke her gaze, staring into empty space, and then started tearing at his hair. No, no, he's panicking, she thought, and so was she. He stood up and started pacing around the room. Don't go, she tried to plead with him, but the heart rate monitor kept bleeping faster and faster, and she passed out again.


She had been waiting for him to get down on one knee and propose to her, and she would have said yes, then told him that she was pregnant, and he would be overjoyed, and then they would marry, settle down and raise a family. Now that dream was shattered.

Krystal's body was badly broken, and it was going to be a long road to recovery. There had been more operations as soon as she had been transferred to Corneria, and weeks later she was still in a hospital bed, unable to move with her right arm and leg in plaster. She slept most of the time and was still on strong pain killers, but they did nothing for the pain inside her. She had heard the doctors talk about how lucky she was to be alive, since that jagged piece of metal had been millimetres from puncturing her aorta, which would have been certain death. She didn't feel so lucky though. She put a hand on her stomach where the new life had been. The void was consuming her.

The bedside table next to her was filled with flowers and get well cards, but they did little to cheer her up. She was only allowed short visits, and although her friends had been there, she had to spend way too much time on her own in between. Fox was visiting every day, but he was changed. Of course she understood that he was hurting too, but he seemed so absent, so distant when they spoke to each other.

Speak of the devil, the door slowly opened, and there was Fox checking if she was awake.

"Hey, beautiful!" he said. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. What could she say? The truth, that she was absolutely miserable? As with every previous visit, he had a red rose with him, which he put with the others in a vase on her bedside table. The vase was starting to get quite full. Then he pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, all quiet and serious.

"I've been thinking," he said. That didn't sound good. She didn't always trust the silly ideas he could come up with when he was on his own without guidance.

"Life on the Star Fox team can be really dangerous," he continued. "You know now, of course. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have taken you down to the surface."

He paused, hesitated.

"I can't have you on the team any longer. I won't allow you getting hurt again."

She gasped. Was he serious?

"And even being around me is too dangerous. I have too many enemies. Sooner or later someone might come for me, and then you might be hurt too. I'll find somewhere safe for you to live here on Corneria. I'll come and visit. But it just can't be us two."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Then she saw his jaws clenching and his gaze darting around the room. He was about to panic again. Tears were beading in his eyes, and he obviously didn't want to show them, because he stood up and started heading for the door.

"No, you can't do that! Don't go!" she called after him, her voice breaking.

"I'm so sorry, Krystal," he said and closed the door after him. She tried her hardest to reach out to him through the pain killers.

You're not thinking clearly, Fox. I need to be with you!

Get out of my head, Krystal!