Interstellar Space
With fresh fuel the engines of the Great Fox were humming steadily, as the ship tore through space. The wonders of the galaxy-bright stars, strange planets, colourful nebulas-were drifting past outside the windows, but the two passengers inside the ship paid it little attention.
They were sitting crosslegged on the floor of the common room, sharing a couple of army rations and his last bottle of that twenty year old single malt. He recalled how she had coughed the first time he had given her a hard drink that night in Corneria, that most magical night of his life. Now she was knocking down glass after glass, and didn't seem to get influenced by it, like it was apple juice. It didn't surprise him that much. He doubted that anything about her would anymore.
After that initial outburst, which had shown a brief glimpse of the Krystal he had known, Kursed had withdraw inside her hard shell again. He couldn't read her thoughts, and he didn't need to, because from the way her gaze moved around the room and the twitching of her ears, he could tell that a fierce battle was raging within her mind.
She had found one of his old jackets and put it over her shoulders. Her black eyeliner was smudged from wiping away tears, and one of the armbands had slipped down, revealing just a little bit of a white tattoos. She hadn't erased everything that was Krystal. Was she loosening up a bit? But with every breath he took, his ribs ached from her beating him up. A few were probably cracked, even though he was sure she'd held that last kick back. Gods, what have I done to her? What has she been through? She must be more f-d up than me, he thought.
Thanks for the compliment.
He startled at hearing the voice inside his head.
"Still freaking you out?" she said aloud.
He shook his head. "Yeah, it's weird ... but I've missed it."
"You know I could show you where I've been," she said and waved at an invisible line between their heads. "But I'm just not in the mood right now."
"Okay, I get that. But I wished I'd been more openminded about your telepathy. I should never have told you to get out of my head, and I'll forever regret that. It was my biggest mistake."
"What about pushing me off the team?" she said with a puzzled look.
"I'm sure if I'd let you in my mind, you would have set me straight. If I'd just listened to the words that were left unsaid," he continued. "I was too afraid you'd see something you wouldn't like, so I got so busy protecting my thoughts, that I forgot to be myself. I always though I wasn't good enough for you, and still do. How's that for a self-fulfilling prophecy?"
They sat in silence for a moment. She filled up her glass again, studying the contents as she was swirling it around.
"Odd," she said and sniffed the liquor. "You're low on food, fuel and parts, yet you've kept this."
"It's a special bottle," he explained. "I've saved it for my last mission, my final flight, if you know what I mean."
"So that thing with the Arwing and the asteroid is not a nightmare?"
"Nope!"
"That bad, huh?"
"Yeah, after you disappeared my life become a slog to make the money I needed just to do the same again the next day...," he said and drained his glass, deep in thought. "I suppose a lot of people do that, but they might have some purpose. I didn't. Life needs purpose."
"Why didn't you come for me after the Anglar Blitz?"
"Oh, I did! First I thought you hated me, but when I heard the rumours that you'd gone missing from Star Wolf, I search all over Sauria, went through all of Sargasso, and everywhere else I thought you might be. After that I just didn't know where to go."
"Why now? Because of the Cerinians?"
"Yeah, I knew what it would mean to you, and that maybe just maybe we could help each other. Then I got a clue from Caroso."
"Panther?" she said and her eyes blackened. "He was only in love with this."
Her hands gestured towards her body.
"Can't blame him," said Fox and just in case looks could kill quickly added, "but there's so much more to you. I guess he never saw that. Somehow he knew your alter ego though."
Fox studied her reaction closely. How had Panther known? He had a feeling there was something she wasn't saying, but now wasn't the right time to pry, so he continued.
"He didn't give it up easy though. He probably thought he was dying."
"Did you kill him?"
"Goodness no, he was trying hard enough himself. I had to save his butt."
She sneered, took another gulp and sat quiet for a while, thumbing the glass, her gaze lost in the amber contents.
"Were you thinking that I'd just throw myself into your arms?"
"Hoped for sure," said Fox. "But never expected. I just want to help you."
"Why do you think I want help?"
"Else you wouldn't be here. What you are and what you do now ... that's not you!"
"So what if I just join the Cerinians instead of your fight against them?"
"If that's what you need to heal, you should do it."
"Or I could just kill you and take you ship." She looked up with cold eyes that stared straight through him, but he called her bluff.
"You've had your chances, and I think I'm of too much use to you. But if you wanted to, I doubt I could stop you, not after what you just showed you can do to me." He grimaced and touched his sore chest. "You life is more important than mine."
"How can you think that little of yourself?"
"With ease, after what I did to you. But I never stopped loving you and never will. Isn't that what love is? You before me!"
"Love is ... sharing," said Kursed and looked down. A tear was beading in her eye as her mental battle raged on, but she blinked it away and continued, "So, how exactly do you plan on beating a bunch of people like me who can read your mind like an open book?"
"That's where I need your help," said Fox. "Maybe you can help me understand Kamuy. Perhaps she has a weak spot."
"You're thinking about taking out the queen again? Without the leader the others might fall?"
He nodded and continued, "Or maybe you can help us protect our thoughts and our plans from them."
Kursed held up her glass. "Enough of this stuff dulls the sixth sense too!"
"Brilliant!" he chuckled. "Let's throw them a party and get them properly drunk."
"Or if all else fails, maybe flying in with guns blazing isn't such a bad idea?" she said and drained her glass. "The plan is to not have a plan, just those instincts of yours. Surely nobody would expect you to be that stupid?"
Her mouth was twisted into a sly grin, vaguely resembling a smile. He couldn't help smiling a little too.
"You know me too well!" he said, filled up his glass and pushed the bottle over to her, so she could do the same. They raised their glasses. "Here's to instincts and stupidity!"
It was a long way home. They had to travel trough empty space for several weeks, and they kept themselves busy with planning, preparing and training. Their conversations were generally rather cool and professional, focussing on the task at hand, but there was an underlying tension of more sensual nature. A hint of the teaser named Krystal had returned. It was just small things - the flutter of an eyelash or the flick of her fluffy tail here and there - but he'd also noticed the way she sometimes checked him out, and she had started grooming herself a bit.
On top of everything the central heating had malfunctioned. After temporary repairs using scraps and even the odd piece of duct tape, it was running but on limited capacity. The interior of the ship was colder than ever, so to compensate they spent a lot of time making each other sweaty.
In the gym, that is.
Kursed screamed and came at him again with her staff on her shoulder parallel to the floor. Setting down her right foot in a long front stance, she guided the staff with her front hand, pulled hard with her back hand to generate momentum, and brought the staff crashing down in an overhead front strike. Fox blocked it at the last moment with his own staff, feeling the shockwaves from the powerful hit reverberate trough his arms. Then she hit out with a lightning-fast four point strike. He was forced into a cat stance and managed to counter the blows, but there was no time to think. He was just running on pure instinct.
She backed off for a moment and just stood there in the cold room exhaling small clouds of vapour, and with steam rising from her fur as the sweat evaporated. She nonchalantly did a one-handed flower spin, just to show off. He didn't let it bother his confidence, but it distracted him a bit though. It was the same feeling as when she'd snatched the staff out of his hands to take on Andross all those years ago. He found her strength and confidence just so damn attractive.
He was rusty of course, since he hadn't practise with a staff in years, but their training sessions were paying off and it was quickly coming back to him. They were closely matched too - he was stronger, but she was faster - if it hadn't been for her senses. If there only was a way to catch her by surprise.
Holding the staff in thirds as he'd been taught, one hand palm up and one palm down, he held her gaze. In the blink of an eye she attacked again with stabs and uppercuts. He blocked, thought he saw an opening and counter-attacked, but she sidestepped him and hit him on the arm instead.
"Ouch!" he called out. That would be another bruise to add to the ones he already had, and he had obtained a black eye too.
"You're thinking too much!" she growled. "How do you think you can beat a telepath if you think?"
He prepared himself for the next barrage, settling into a light cat stance, weight on his back foot. But what's the point anyway? I can't beat her like this. Then she was upon him again, the staffs flying around in a blur, until the butt end of hers connected with his chest, and the electric shock knocked him backwards onto the floor.
It was lucky for him that it wasn't her own Cerinian staff, just the practice weapons out of aluminium that Slippy has fashioned based on the principles of her staff. The tip was blunt, but contained a small stun blaster. The butt end was fitted with a rather unpleasant taser, which Fox had just tasted. The practice staffs were even telescopic, although manually operated. Fox recalled how desperate Slippy always had been to get his hands on Krystal's staff, most certainly to try and take it apart to study the technology it was made with. For all Fox knew it could well be made of pure magic.
"That's enough bruises for a day," said Fox and sat up, panting and dripping with perspiration.
"What's the point anyway? You can't beat me like this," taunted Kursed. "Not like you to give up so easily. Where did that thought come from?"
Shocked he stared up her with eyes wide open. Was it you?
"Do you think I'm still only capable of reading thoughts?" she smirked, leaned over and scratched him under his muzzle. Despite her taunting, the touch sent waves of pleasure through him. "Okay, let's do some mental training then."
She dropped her practice staff, which hit the floor with the clang of a tubular bell, and sat down with crossed legs a couple of metres from him. Fox collapsed his staff and put it on the floor next to him.
"There is something about you, and I mean it," she said in a serious tone and locked onto his gaze. "I'm not just talking about you hearing your father. You're the only one - except maybe for Wolf - who can sense me reading you, and you're the only one who's ever answered me. You snuck up on me in the kitchen. You reached out to me on The Pristine."
"I thought you just sensed me?"
"I wasn't searching for you," she said and shook her head. "It wasn't like listening to voices in a crowd. You were shouting to my mind."
Fox understood the analogy, but he still had no idea how he'd done it.
"Now, try to keep me out of yours instead," she demanded. Fox felt that familiar tingling sensation and tried to focus on it, willing it to go away
"To easy, I can read everything. Tingle, tingle!"
He tried to blank out his mind instead, moving his gaze from her eyes to her hair, but his thoughts kept wandering.
No, I'm not going to change the colour back, said her voice inside his head. Actually, on second thought he didn't mind the purple at all. He rested his eyes on her, the sweaty hair and her fur glistening in the gym light. She looked hot. As in, you know, hot!
Liking what you see? Just focus on the training.
But he couldn't help himself. He looked at her arms, which were slender, yet more muscular than he could remember and deceivingly strong. And that beautifully curved neck line. Then he lowered his gaze to her chest, where her fur turned from cerulean blur to creamy white, and where her tank top was showing just a little bit of cleavage. His left hand slowly reached out for the staff on the floor.
What do you think you're looking at, naughty Fox?
The damp fabric was clinging to her body as well as to those two amazing round shapes on her chest. He was longing to put his hands on her body. His fingers closed around the staff and slowly angled it upwards.
Stop perving already!
His thumb touched the trigger, and a flash of light flew out of the staff. Kursed screeched and jumped up, holding her hit hand. He looked up and could only see hate in her face. Oops, maybe that was taking it a bit too far? She took two strides up to him and planted a boot in his chest, pinning him to the floor.
"Distraction? Like the illusionist keeping his audience so busy looking at one hand, so they don't see what the other is doing," she growled, leaning over him. "Good, you've finally learnt how to deceive a telepath, but how can I trust you now?"
"I'll ... just ... have ... to ... show ... you," he wheezed, as she was putting enough pressure on him, so that he could just barely breathe.
She took the boot off of him and started walking. He scrambled off the floor and followed, watching her figure from behind.
"You are hot though!"
She spun around, grabbed his shirt with both hands and pushed him back against the wall. Her face with the angry eyes were right up against his, and he could feel her warm breath through his fur.
Then she kissed him. It wasn't a soft little brush of lips, no there was intensity, and he could feel her tongue touching his lips. He went to put his arms around her, and he eagerly parted his lips, wanting more. But she broke off.
"There might more of that when you've kept all your promises," she said and turned away. His legs gave way and his back slid down the wall. Slumped on the floor he watched her walk off, while his heart was pounding in his chest. By the stars, what a woman!
The door to her room slid shut behind her, and she had to lean her back against it and catch her breath. Her heart was racing. What had happened? That kiss had been a bad move. She had surprised herself and it had nearly brought her undone.
Kursed should be cool and collected. She didn't feel and didn't care, and knew the art of taunting and tormenting to get what she wanted. She needed to keep Fox around for transport and information, and he might be a handy tool when she finally would meet the Cerinians, so keeping him keen was a good strategy.
But someone else inside her had already forgiven Fox and was craving his love. And she was kicking and screaming, ready to break out of the Krystal cage that Kursed had so carefully built around her heart.
Kursed the Bounty Hunter was creeping through the dimly lit corridors in the dead of the night. Expertly she touched the right buttons on the panel on the wall and set the door to manual mode, so that it wouldn't hiss and open by itself. Then she could silently pry it open just enough to slip through unnoticed. She slid it shut again and turned to where she knew the bed was. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and in the light from only a small alarm clock, she could see that the man in the bed was facing the wall. Still, he had noticed her, because he stirred.
"Move over!" she hissed to Fox.
"Kay... What the..."
"And don't talk."
She pulled back the blankets a bit and crawled into the bed. With her back turned to his she was lying there, shaking.
"Can you fix that blasted heating properly? I'm freezing by tail off!"
"You know, to share body heat, it's best to be close."
"Shut up and sleep!"
And he did. Shut up anyway. She could hear on his breathing that he was awake. She was still shivering. This was a bad idea. It was stirring up too many memories. Then he started whispering.
"You know... There's one thing we haven't spoken about yet."
"I said shut up!"
"Ok, whenever you're ready."
Of course she knew what he meant. The one thing she still had nightmares about most nights, that woke her up clutching her stomach, touching the scar. Tears were welling up. Damn you, Fox! Kursed doesn't cry. But Krystal does.
"I failed to protect you, both of you," he said. "Living with that guilt has been the hardest thing of all."
"You didn't fail me. I disobeyed orders."
"But that was because you wanted to prove yourself, because I didn't let you, always holding you back."
"No, it was my decision, so it was my fault."
"Look, nothing good will come from blaming each other or ourselves," he concluded.
She was quiet for a while, anxious about the answer to her next question.
"Did you want it? I mean... If you'd known..."
"Yeah, but I didn't get a chance to look forward to it, did I? 'Here, you could have had this, but it's gone already.' That really messed with my head ... but that's still no excuse to mess up your life," he said with a voice that was trembling slightly, as if about to crack. He paused and Kursed could hear a faint sniffle before he continued. "I'm dreaming about it nearly every night, but I've got no idea what it would be like. I couldn't see myself as a father with my profession and all."
"Same job as your dad! Lucky he didn't have kits, right?"
To her surprise he started chuckling.
"I know. I've already been told the same by both Amanda and Falco."
"Pfft! Falco? Is he a frickin psychologist now?"
His sniggering continued for a while. Still cold, she tried to fall asleep.
Then there was a soft knock on the door to her mind, as he for the second time reached out to her. She opened the door and in rushed two figures, laughing and shouting and swooshing model Arwings in their hands. One was small and had blue hair with an unruly white tuft on top. The other was fully grown but not grown up, and looked exactly like the man next to her in the bed.
"So you think it's all fun and games, do you?" she said.
"Isn't it?"
"Shut up and sleep!"
She turned around and tried to move as close to his back as possible. She didn't know what to do with her arm, until he grasped it and put it around himself. Kursed hoped that he wouldn't ask if she wanted another child, in fear of Krystal tearing down the walls and opening herself up then and there. But she finally felt warm and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a little blue kit running around playing with its parents, while her frozen soul slowly thawed.
Author's Note: I'd like to extend a big thanks to EquinoxWolf for beta reading. Also, I know one half of nothing about bÅjutsu, but after some research I hope the fight seen felt somewhat realistic and entertaining.
