Aftershocks
Corneria
Suddenly the crystal cage shattered around him. I'm free, he thought, but underneath him was just a gaping hole, leaving him to fall to the darkness of the depths.
Then, something unexpected appeared. The staff! He reached out for it, but his blue arm ended in a stump without a hand to grab a hold with. He looked up to see who had tried to save him, and he saw his own emerald green eyes wide open in shock, and his own face twisted in horror as he continued falling down into the abyss.
He looked straight up and could see an enormous, streamlined starship which shimmered like gold.
"Help us! Save us!" called a thousand voices, but then the starship went up in flames, exploding like a supernova. He heard the echoes of a billion cries from a doomed planet, building louder and louder inside his head. Without hands to cover his ears, he couldn't shut the voices out, and the anguish overwhelmed everything else. He just wanted the fall to the end, so oblivion would swallow him up for eternity.
And Fox awoke with a gasp, his heart pounding in his chest and his fur damp from sweat. His head was spinning and his vision was blurry. Things slowly came into focus, and in the relative darkness he started making out stainless steel instruments and the interior of a hospital room. A nearby heart rate monitor was beeping fast, racing, demanding attention.
He tried to sit up, fighting with cords and tubes. He reached for the railing of the bed, but misjudged the distance on first attempt. Realising he could only see with his left eye, he put a hand to his head and felt a stab of pain as he touched the bandages. He managed to pull himself up and swung his legs over the side of the bed as a nurse stormed into the room.
"Mr. McCloud!" said the young man in a tone that was much more nervous than his words. "It's so good to see that you're awake."
"Where's she?"
"You should really lie down and rest."
"Where is Krystal?"
"She will be fine. Now, why don't you..."
"Need to see her," Fox demanded, still dazed and slightly slurring.
A black Labrador walked in through the door with confident strides, a holo-clipboard in one hand, and glasses perched on her muzzle.
"Good evening, Mr. McCloud! I'm Dr. Layla, your surgeon," she explained in a gentle voice. "You will make a full recovery, but you need to rest."
"Krystal needs me," persisted Fox.
"Under normal circumstances, that would be out of the question." The surgeon paused to think for a moment and then turned to the nurse. "But these are not. Nathan, can you get a wheelchair, please?"
A minute later the nurse returned, and they helped Fox into the chair. The nurse pushed Fox out of the room and wheeled him down a corridor, with Dr. Layla walking by their side. A few doors down they stopped and let Fox peer in through a window. All he could see was someone lying in a hospital bed.
"Need to be closer," he mumbled. The doctor nodded and held the door open, so that the nurse could push the wheelchair into the room and up to the bed. In it lay Krystal hooked up to all sorts of machines, and with the bandaged stumps of her forearms resting on top of the sheets. A heart rate monitor beat erratically. She whimpered as her head was turning from side to side, and her eyes twitched under closed lids.
"Physically she is above our expectations," explained Dr. Layla. "There's no irreparable damage to inner organs, her blood levels have been restored, and the hands we can replace as soon as she's a bit better."
She paused as Fox reached out with a paw and gently touched Krystal's cheek.
"But she hasn't regained consciousness, and we don't understand why."
Fox's brain clicked into gear, and it became clear to him what was going on.
"She's dreaming," he said. "And she's afraid of waking up."
He knew that it was her nightmare that he had received, and still could, a cry of help from her subconsciousness. He realised that the last thing she must have heard before passing out, was the self-destruction warning. That's why she was dreaming about the ship exploding, and the last survivors of Cerinia perishing with it. But since they could talk to each other telepathically, he wondered if they could dream together as well. He gently stroked her forehead, closed his eyes and conjured up a vision of his own to share with her.
The Arwing dove down into the abyss at full speed, with Fox riding on its wing. The fighter levelled out under Krystal, and he caught her in his arms. She wrapped her handless arms around his neck and buried her muzzle in his soft fur. Then those sea-green eyes opened and looked into his. He turned upwards, and she followed his gaze, where up above the engines of the starship ignited, and it took off to another destination.
Krystal's breathing and heartbeat settled down, the whimpering stopped, and her face relaxed as Fox continued to pet between her ears. Her eyelids fluttered and then opened. She looked at him for just a moment, before her eyes closed again and she fell back into a peaceful sleep.
"I won't leave you this time, Krystal," he whispered. "I'll always be there for you."
"Beltino and Slippy are hopeful they can reverse the mining process, with some help from Lucy, even if I do say so myself." Peppy's face radiated an amount of smugness when he mentioned his daughters name, and who could blame him? Not Fox anyway, where he was sitting in his wheelchair opposite Peppy next to Krystal's hospital bed. The vixen herself was awake, half-sitting in the raised bed, and listening with intent to her old friend's stories. She had her arms tucked under the sheets, as if she didn't want to see what was missing.
"At least the tremors are not getting worse, since the mining stopped," the old hare continued. "The seismic activity is stabilising, however slowly, and it will take years to undo what was set in motion by the Cerinians."
Krystal winced at the mention of 'her' race.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Peppy's voice was regretful, but he continued in a more positive tone. "Still, the volcanos will settle and the smoke clear, even if it will take time. It seems we were close to the point of no return, probably just a few weeks away. You helped save Corneria from certain doom. Again, at that."
The vixen's gaze just darted around the room. No wonder, thought Fox, it was all quite a lot to take in.
"The losses in the final scuffle were minimal," the General continued. "Slippy, Falco, Katt and everyone are fine, and are busting to see you, but Dr. Layla is a tough cookie. I practically had to beg on my knees to be allowed a visit." He chuckled and shook his head. "That's only because she cares about you and your recovery of course. She's one of the best."
"What about Kayuq?"
Peppy was perplexed by Krystal's question, not knowing the name.
"Is that name of the old red vixen?" Fox asked.
Krystal nodded.
"She helped us defeat Kamuy, as did several others. It seems there were good people among them after all," Fox explained for Peppy's benefit. Then he turned to Krystal. "Did she tell you, you know, about your past and all that?"
Krystal just shook her head. "The fight was too intense, and there wasn't enough time. She was talking in riddles. I asked her who I am, and she replied saying, 'I am not certain,' as if she knew something but would't tell me what. I asked her if there are more survivors from Cerinia, but she didn't know that either. Where is she now?"
"We've found no one by that description," said Peppy.
"She must have been on the starship when it warped out. I saw her get hit before she could reach an escape pod, but she was alive at least." Fox's voice was very solemn. He turned to Peppy. "What about the other escape pod?"
"They were badly hurt." The old hare paused, picked up his cap from his lap, and fidgeted with it. "They didn't survive. I'm sorry, I truly am."
Krystal's ears flattened, and she lowered her gaze. Peppy continued talking, trying to bring up good news, and emphasising how relieved and excited he was that Corneria was safe. The vixen neither moved nor uttered another word. She just kept staring at nothing in particular.
Fox didn't pay it much mind either to be honest. He could only think of the cruel irony of it all. Corneria had turned its back on Krystal, yet she had come to their defence, albeit after some hesitation to be fair. But at the end of it all, the one thing she needed, the one and only thing she had to gain-answers-she had been denied.
Soon the surgeon returned and kindly but adamantly ushered the General out of the room, insisting that Krystal needed rest before the upcoming prosthetic procedures. All the hare could do was to obey the Labrador, who as usual let Fox stay, understanding the special bond he had with the vixen. He watched over her, until she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep. Then something struck him; not once since Krystal had woken up, had she tried to reach out to his mind. He missed the tingling sensation, longed for the mental chatter, and wondered what was amiss.
Not for long though, as he needed to recuperate too, and exhaustion caught up with him. He drifted off to a dreamless sleep, and didn't notice when nurse Nathan slipped into the room, propped Fox's head up with a pillow as best as he could, and covered the vulpine with a spare blanket.
The morning rain had stopped, the clouds were scattering and the rays from Lylat Prime were heating up the asphalt. The fallen precipitation was drying up from the streets and trees, and rising as steam back into the atmosphere. The people lining the streets were unzipping rain coats and tucking umbrellas away.
Fox McCloud loved the earthy smell of air freshened up by rain, but there was none of that kind in the climate controlled limousine he was travelling in. He looked at the bystanders and the police keeping them at a safe distance from the motorcade. This was different from previous celebrations, such as when he as a young man had been welcomed back to Corneria after victory in the Lylat Wars. There were no open vehicles this time. Security was tight. They were travelling in bullet and blast proof limousines, and surrounded by CDF guards on hover-bikes. The heroes and public were looking at each other through thick windows, which distorted the colours slightly. He was used to that from his Arwing, and suspected that the car had the same laser-proof glass, which would turn opaque instantly when hit by a high-powered light source.
He turned the other way and looked at Krystal instead, who was staring out her window with an absent gaze. The procedure to attach the prosthetics had gone well, but her new hands were still unusable, and she had them tucked under the coat that she was wearing. She hadn't uttered a word the whole trip, wrapped up in her own apathy.
Peppy was sitting opposite her on the rearward facing bench, dressed up in his full general uniform. He had coaxed and pleaded with Krystal-they all had-to come along for the celebration, in hope that it would improve her spirits.
Fox was seriously worried about her.
Finally, across from Fox was none other than O'Donnell himself, sporting his black and blue flight suit, less the spiked armouring. Instead, the medals he had received after the Anglar Blitz were pinned to his chest. The wolf was eyeing the vulpine with a satisfied smirk on his muzzle. Slippy, Katt, Falco and Leon were travelling in another limousine behind theirs. Fox wondered if the mood would be as sombre in that vehicle, with how Falco and Leon hated each other's guts.
"They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Wolf broke the silence and pointed to his bionic eye patch. "I guess I should be honoured."
Fox had a patch over the empty socket where his right eye had been, waiting for his skull to heal some more before a replacement could be fitted. He knew he looked a mess with the freshly grafted skin and fur over the metal plates, but it sure beat being dead.
"I can still keep one eye on you." Fox tried to glare at Wolf as best as he could with his good eye. Wolf just chuckled. Fox couldn't believe it. Here he was, sitting in a limo opposite his archenemy, trying to crack jokes.
"How's Panther?" Krystal's voice startled Fox, who hadn't been expecting her to speak up. "I noticed he's not here."
"He'll live," said Wolf matter-of-factly. He paused for a moment before continuing. "He's not in a good way. Broken bones, damage to internal organs, spine and even his brain, I've been told. He's been whisked off to some top secret medical program-even I don't know the details or where he is-but I'm told he will recover ... eventually."
"That's good, I guess."
The lupine put one leg up on the other knee in the spacious vehicle, inspecting his boot while deep in thought.
"He took an almighty hit for you. He did love you, you know. I guess that if he couldn't be with you, he was prepared to die for you. I've known the man for a long time, but have never seen him do anything like that before."
Wolf stared at Krystal, who looked ashamed, yet she held the canine's gaze. Fox cringed and squirmed in his seat, not liking where the conversation was going. Then Wolf grinned and continued.
"He really does have a big heart, probably too big for just one woman. His brain isn't quite as big, and too much of it is in the wrong spot-between his legs instead of his ears."
The canine chuckled to himself, while the vixen turned her attention back to peering out the window. Among the cheers and whistles from the bystanders, which the vehicles microphones picked up and relayed through speakers, they could hear the odd boo. There were even a placard or two saying the likes of 'Go home, Cerinian'.
"Déjà vu", she whispered.
"Yes, I know." Peppy frowned. "Star Fox and the Cornerian Army are not in the good books either this time, but I'm sure you can tell why."
Krystal looked at him with a blank face.
"You've read their minds, haven't you?"
"No, no I can't," said Krystal, her ears drooping. She let out a deep sighed and continued, "I really can't. I don't know how, but somehow in the fight with Kamuy ... she broke something in my mind. The telepathy ... it's gone."
Wolf cocked an eyebrow and studied Krystal closely. Fox didn't know what to say, but things fell into place, and he understood why he hadn't sensed her in his head lately. Peppy removed his hat and thumbed it, as seemed to be his habit when he pondered something difficult.
"Many people don't believe that the mining and earthquakes were a problem, or that they were even connected," he explained. "It didn't help that many political and industrial leaders, including the Phoenix family, were proclaiming that the risks were exaggerated." He paused, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, before he continued.
"That includes myself of course. Kamuy really had a knack for knowing who to put under mind control for maximum effect. The conspiracy theorists are having a field day, claiming that the Cornerian Army faked the risks, instigated the revolt, and pushed the Cerinians away because they were a threat to our dominance. That with all the new fantastic technology we'd be getting from the Cerinians, Lylat would be at peace and the CDF needed no more." He clenched his fists and crumpled the cap in his hands. "I trust my own daughter's research! Well, now that I can think freely again, I do."
"Too many people just see what they can have now, and don't care about the future consequences," Wolf chimed in. Fox was surprised at the rare moment of clarity from his old foe. As PMCs they were used to having to fight for the next pay-check, having funds to plan for the future being a luxury. He found himself wondering if that's what O'Donnell was playing at; a life after mercenary, a future not involving being knocked off and taken out by the next big bounty hunter, a career protected by the CDF? Very few mercenaries made it to retirement.
Still, he couldn't argue with the canine's observation.
The motorcade reached the Parliament building, where masses of people were gathered around the huge screens, which had been put up around the building. Instead of stopping and letting their passengers ascend those magnificent marble stairs, the vehicles went around the back of the complex and down into an underground car park.
CDF soldiers awaited them as the vehicles' doors opened, and guided them through a back door and narrow corridors into the very heart of the building. Eventually they entered a scene in a large presentation hall, frequently used for press conferences. Fox took in the sight of the hall, which was full to the brim with politicians, business people and news media including interplanetary representation, as well as a respectable amount of security personnel. He spotted metal detectors at the entrances.
An official was fussing around them, making sure they all took their designated places; Fox, Krystal and Wolf to the left of General O'Hare, the others to the right. Closest to Peppy stood Leon, who seemed to enjoy the limelight. Slippy found his family in the audience and waved frantically, while Katt took Falco by the wing and said something that made him blush briefly. They were all dressed up in uniforms and flight suits, except for Krystal, who wore more comfortable and loose fitting clothes because of her injuries. Public Relations at the CDF had had the idea to dress her up in the colours of her Star Fox days, to show that she was one of 'us' instead of one of 'them' as in the Cerinians. She wore a blue coat with black trims over black pants and blue boots.
Peppy stepped up to the podium, basked in the floodlights and camera flashes, and called for silence as the broadcast began.
"This is General Peppy O'Hare of Corneria!" he started into the microphone. "Good people of the Lylat System, I have called this ceremony to celebrate our freedom, the elimination of a crisis unlike anything we've seen before. Our liberation from an enemy that threatened to not destroy us by force, but from within."
He gestured to the mercenaries-his friends and former enemies-on both sides of him.
"It is also to celebrate the freedom fighters, who saw through the smoke and mirrors, and without whom the whole planet of Corneria would have been in great peril. Their bravery shall never be forgotten. Still, sacrifices were made. Several Cerinians fought for our cause, and paid the ultimate price, while the fate of the insurgence leader Kayuq is unknown. Panther Caroso also very nearly paid with his life, hence why he is not present today. On behalf of all Corneria, I want to express our gratitude and best wishes for his recovery."
The General stopped, and looked away from the prompt with the prepared speech before continuing. "Krystal, our own resident Cerinian, did not only sacrifice the opportunity to reconnect with her people. She also suffered horrific injuries, and lost the gift of her sixth sense, the telepathy unique to her people."
A strange feeling came over Fox. Later he called it premonition, speculating that maybe Krystal was right that there was something about him, that her skills had rubbed off on him, or that his sixth sense was awakening. But at the time he did not have time to think about it, he could only feel that O'Donnell was up to something, and he looked sideways just in time to see the wolf throw a backhand towards the vixen. Fox's arm shot out as fast as lightning and stopped Wolf's hand just in front of the face of Krystal, who yelped and jumped in fright.
He glared at Wolf, who had a surprised look on his face, but then the lupine just shrugged and put his arm down. But the biggest shock to Fox were the scattered laughs from the audience. That's when he finally and truly decided to put Krystal before Corneria. They had to leave. This place was not for them anymore.
Neither of them were healed enough to leave Lylat, but at least they could escape Corneria City.
The sky-rail led out of the bustling metropolis, the carriages flying along at neck-breaking speed over fields and forests, deep into the surrounding mountains. The train stopped at a station in a small town on a hillside, and the two of them stepped off onto the platform, both dressed in plain clothes to blend in with the other passengers. Fox sported jeans, baseball jacket and a cap, while Krystal wore a raincoat over her clothes to hide her tail. With her hands in her pockets and a hood over her hair, only showing her white muzzle, she could pass for a snow fox or even a dog.
He held her by the arm, gently leading the way through the station, while carrying a basket in the other hand. They caught a short ride with a cab to their destination. Krystal had become worryingly introverted since the ceremony, and he hoped a little trip would cheer her up, but his proposal had been met with complete indifference. Still, she had come, if only because he had practically dragged her out.
He led her through a gate with a stone arch into a park on the mountainside. With their bodies still in healing, it took them some time to walk through the garden, along gravel paths, over wooden bridges and down stone steps. The spring air was cool, but the rays of the Lylat sun were warming. The maple leaves were coming out in colours of bright green and deep red. The branches of the cherry trees were full of blossoms. The murmur of waterfalls and bubbling brooks were soothing in their ears. All sorts of colourful spring flowers were bursting out of the ground, their scents mixing with the sulphur in the air.
Fox found a secluded spot halfway down the hill and spread a blanket onto a patch of grass. They sat down and looked out over the lake at the bottom of the hill. There was a mist hanging over the water, until a gust of wind dispersed it for a moment, and revealed that it was not fog at all. Krystal's eyes grew large as she saw the steam rising around a cooling lava flow, which had stopped just after reaching the lake.
"I guess you didn't pick this park randomly?" Those were the first words she'd spoken in days.
"No," admitted Fox, although he had seen it by chance on the evening news. "We stopped the mining and the destruction just in time. If it wasn't for you, this beautiful place wouldn't be here."
She kept staring straight ahead as the mist settled over the lake again. He wished he knew what was going on in her head, what she was thinking, so that he could help her better.
"Still," she finally said. "People don't see it that way. Everyone hates me."
"No, they don't. They hated you joining Star Wolf, but I did that to you."
"I didn't have to join them. I didn't have to betray you."
"And we don't have to keep blaming ourselves for the mistakes we made." They looked at each other, and he tried to gauge her expression-Was it sadness, despair, relief, or love, hopefully?-But he only found himself drowning in her sea green eyes as usual. Still, the furrows in her brow slowly disappeared. "How about we try to enjoy ourselves for a change?"
He opened the generously sized picnic basket, and placed food and drinks on the blanket. There were bottles of soda in a cooler compartment, and a huge selection of gourmet submarine sandwiches; pastrami, falafel, turkey and cranberry, dry-cured ham and whatnot with all manner of salads, cheeses and condiments. There was way too much for the two of them, but he didn't want to skimp on choice, plus he'd always loved leftovers.
Krystal wore long gloves over her hands and underarms, to cover the scars from the surgery until they would heal. Getting movement back was going to be a slow and painful process, but she could just about gently pick up a sandwich using both hands, since the thick submarines were relatively easy to grasp. She took a bite and let out a deep sigh in content. They ate slowly in silence, a comfortable silence, while enjoying the sights of the garden and the sun upon their fur. At least he hoped she was enjoying it. She didn't complain when using her hands. He knew how difficult and painful it was for her to get used to her new bionic hands, but at least it was a change from the repetitive rehabilitation exercises.
She put down a half eaten sandwich and picked up a bottle instead, carefully holding it in both hands, and had a sip of soda through a straw. "I think I'm getting full."
"You've got to leave room for desert." He dove back into the basket and pulled out a tray from a heated compartment. He removed the lid, and Krystal sniffed the air with an eager look in her eyes. A small smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Yes, it's your favourite!"
Fox dished up the blueberry pie on two plates, and added some custard, while the vixen licked her chops, and her wagging tail made the raincoat move around. But as she tried to pick up a spoon and eat, she found that she couldn't quite hold it.
"Here, let me give you a hand," said Fox.
"Hand? Really?" She scowled at him.
He facepalmed at his own stupidity. "Sorry!"
"Don't be." Krystal looked down at her gloved paws. "It's a fair punishment."
"Now you're talking nonsense."
"No, I need it as a reminder of my sins. I saw something in Kamuy that scared me."
"Yourself?" She inhaled sharply and spun her head his way. He continued, "I saw it too. She looked like Kursed."
"Yes, these hands are a reminder that I must never lose my ways again, or I'll end up like her. I wonder ... my parents ..."
"No, she couldn't be your mother, because surely no mother could be that cruel to her own daughter," said Fox and finished the sentence that she couldn't. "But a relative, maybe..."
They sat in silence for a moment.
"Hey," said Fox and pointed with a finger towards his temple. "I'll guide your heart if you guide my head, deal?"
"Yeah, ... I think I'd like that." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "But you have to talk to me."
"I'll do better than that. I'll promise to listen as well." He nuzzled her ear, but she broke off.
"We can't let that pie go cold."
He picked up the plate and tried to spoon feed his beloved vixen, but with only one eye, he couldn't judge distance well. Most of the pie ended up in her mouth, but in the end the pristine white fur on her muzzle was a deeper blue than the rest of her pelt. Fox tried to help her clean it off as best as he could with a wet wipe, and by giving her a lick too.
"Stop thief! Trying to steal kisses, are you?" she complained with a wry smile. "Can we go for a walk? I'm getting a bit stiff."
"Sure," said Fox, somewhat awkwardly took her under her armpits and lifted her up. Then he dropped down on one knee and started packing their blanket and plates back in the picnic basket. His fingers closed around a little box at the bottom of the basket, but he hesitated, not sure if it was the right time yet. His thoughts were interrupted by voices from behind.
"Tegra, I don't think they want to be disturbed."
"But mum and dad, I need to do this!"
To his surprise a stripy feline girl appeared, her big eyes staring intently up at Krystal. The girl was clearly young, yet already above the vixen's waist in height.
"Excuse me. Are you Krystal?" wondered the tiger cub. The vixen nodded in reply. The girl's face beamed like Lylat Prime itself, and she threw her arms around Krystal. "Thank you for saving our planet!"
Fox thanked his lucky stars. He couldn't have planned something better for Krystal's self-confidence, no matter how he'd tried. He looked over to the girl's parents, who were standing a short distance away. The mother was a tall tigress dressed in a striking red sari with elaborate embroidery, while the father was a strapping young tiger with thick-rimmed glasses, wearing a bright yellow shirt over a plain dhoti. The man was pushing a stroller from which playful growls and meows could be heard. Despite their imposing stature, the couple looked shy as they smiled and waved at Fox and Krystal. While the parents were distracted, the cub in the stroller decided to pull a sock off a paw, and toss into a garden bed.
The girl loosened her grip on Krystal, saw the vixen's teary eyes, and her stripy forehead turned into a frown. "Are you okay?"
"Thank you!" replied Krystal. "I'm going to be just fine."
A/N: Again, thanks to SpaceCat010, Thespacedoge, EquinoxWolf, Hazelwolf and Nail Strafer for beta-reading and feedback.
