Down near the foot of Ice Mountain in one of the denser parts of the forest, a blue vixen darted over gnarled roots and under leafy branches with the speed and the grace of a woodland elf. She had been running down the mountain and through the woods for a long while now. Her chest was burning, her eyes and mouth were dry, and it hurt for her to breathe. Yet she didn't stop. She couldn't lose the trail.

"K-Krystal!" A voice called to her, belonging to the young CloudRunner that was flying somewhere far behind. "Are you sure they went this way?"

Kyte's question went unanswered for a moment, then for two. Krystal had an answer, yet she didn't think it was necessary to give. She knew for a fact they had gone this way.

The three riders had passed by the duo over an hour ago, and the sun had begun to slowly set in that time. And yet, the image of what Krystal had seen was still burned into her mind, as if it had only happened seconds ago. And the more she ran, the more she was sure of what it was.

She couldn't afford to lose it.

She came to a shallow, stagnant stream and, without missing a beat, she dashed across it, ignoring the chilling water as it splashed up from her footfalls and soaked her fur and clothes.

"They're close. I know it." She muttered, more to herself than anything.

The trail that the bikes had left was minimal at best. The most obvious signs that Krystal had noticed were bushes that had likely been knocked over during the chase and indentations in the dirt that the flying machines had left as they passed over. Were Krystal more of an experienced tracker, she might have been able to discover a more concrete trail, but for now, she was moving on instinct and instinct alone.

Some deep part of her heart knew she wasn't acting normally. Yet, that part was strangely silent as well.

"Krystal!?" Kyte tried to call her, but she went unanswered again.

Minutes passed, and Krystal had yet to slow down. The fatigue on her muscles was growing by the second, but she refused to let them rest.

I'm so close…

As she jumped over a fallen log and through a set of twisted trees, she realized that she had emerged from the forest into a small, grassy, vaguely-circular clearing, graced with a plethora of flowers, fallen logs and branches, and other vibrant plants.

From here, she allowed herself to slow her pace, just a little. Her eyes shot back and forth, trying to see if she could see where to go next. Tall trees surrounded her on all sides, like a cage. There were no trails to follow. No paths to take. Perhaps it was that way… or that… Over there?

"Krystal!"

The vixen's eyes turned and she slowed to a stop as Kyte finally caught up to her. The young girl's chest was heaving with a tired breath as she landed on the ground next to the vixen.

"Kyte," Krystal said, the urgency in her voice only barely hiding the fatigue. "Did you see which way they went?"

Kyte, still winded from her long flight, looked up at the vixen with a confused look on her face.

"What? N-no, I didn't."

Krystal didn't seem perturbed. "We need to find the trail. Hurry!"

She spun around, eyes furiously scanning the clearing for any signs that the riders may have left behind. The slightest mark in the dirt, the tiniest bent blade of grass. Back, and forth. She couldn't see anything. Everything looked the same.

"K-Krystal?"

"No." She said, her breath heavy. "They have to be somewhere. They're close. We… we need to…"

She stepped forward, but her muscles refused to continue. Exhaustion finally caught up with her and crashed down upon her shoulders with an overwhelming weight. She fell forward onto her knees, only barely catching her body with her hands. Her chest was rising and falling with a labored breath. Her muscles and her joints hurt. Her head hurt. Everything hurt.

"Krystal!" Kyte dashed to the vixen's side, face and voice clearly betraying concern for her friend. "Are you okay?"

Krystal didn't answer. It didn't seem as though she had heard Kyte's question. She instead just stared at the ground quietly, her mouth slightly agape, and her sapphire eyes appearing distant and strangely empty.

It's too late. I lost them. I wasn't fast enough. They're… gone...

"Krystal…"

The vixen's eyes closed. It really was just her imagination. Nothing more than the fleeting wish of a little girl.

"P-please… stop…"

She was alone. She was alone, and afraid that nothing would change. Afraid that she would remain trapped. Trapped by impossible desires. A lost little child, selfishly searching for answers. Wandering forever, and forever lost. Never…

Her eyes opened as she suddenly felt something wrap tightly around her arm like a blanket. She gasped, and she looked over to see Kyte grasping her forearm in a tight embrace.

"Please… don't be sad…" The young CloudRunner whispered, her voice on the verge of breaking.

"Huh…"

Krystal's mind left itself, and she could suddenly sense that the poor girl was racked with awful feelings and thoughts. She was terrified, and felt utterly helpless. Powerless. What was causing her to feel this? And why had Krystal not sensed it earlier?

Kyte breathed deeply, clearly holding back tears. "I-I know how you f-feel… I-i-if you want… I can c-cry with you…"

Krystal blinked. Once, then twice. Bit by bit, her mind cleared itself from its dark haze, and light slowly returned to her eyes.

"Oh, Kyte… I'm so sorry…"

She fell on the girl and returned the tight embrace, letting out a sob as she did.

The two girls remained locked together, giving Krystal a chance to finally let out the biting emotions that had been pushed back so deep into her heart. Seconds passed, then a minute, then two. Tears were soaking both the vixen's and the CloudRunner's face, but eventually, Krystal managed to break away from the hug, attempting to collect the pieces of her broken composure.

"I'm so sorry." She repeated, breathing deeply and wiping her eyes. "I… haven't been acting like myself, have I?"

"What's wrong? What happened to you?"

"It's… It's difficult to explain. Very difficult…" The vixen's eyes fell away to the ground and she let out a sigh. "It's nothing… nothing that you need to worry about."

To Krystal's surprise, Kyte responded by stomping the ground with an angry huff, though tears sprang to her eyes again as she did. "No! You can't say that! I know something's wrong with you, and you need to tell me!"

Krystal's mouth fell into an O of surprise. "Kyte-"

"I can't cry your tears for you." The girl continued, crossing her wings stubbornly. "I don't know why you're feeling the way you are, so I have to find out before I can help you. That's what you said!"

"I-I…" Despite herself, Krystal found a small grin pulling at her lips. "I only just start teaching you, yet you're already using my lessons against me? Really?"

"Please, Krystal. You have to tell me!"

"It's noth…" Krystal shook her head and closed her eyes. "It's… complicated."

"What happened?"

Krystal was silent for a moment, but eventually opened her lips. "Did… did you see the people riding those bikes?"

"You mean those fast things on the mountain? Someone was riding them?"

Krystal nodded. "Yes. And one of them was… I only caught a glance but…"

She paused.

"Yeah?"

"One of them… I think he was from my world…"

"Really? Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I… I hope so. In my travels, I've never seen anyone else like… like me, I suppose… And I don't know..." She trailed off.

Kyte seemed confused. "So, was he the outworlder Barun mentioned?"

"Perhaps."

"Then, doesn't that mean he's a bad guy?"

Krystal cocked her head, as though she didn't understand the question. "What?"

"Well, Barun said that someone like you showed up in ThornTail Valley the same time we did. So, doesn't that mean it was the jerk who attacked us in Krazoa Palace?"

"I don't think…" She paused. Kyte's words made sense to her. Yet... she didn't want them to make sense.

However, she couldn't deny it either. If what Barun had said was true, then it was too much of a coincidence that this stranger appeared at the same time they were kidnapped and suddenly whisked away to the valley. Even if he wasn't the one who had attacked them, it was still probable that he was involved somehow.

"It's a possibility." She sighed and shook her head. "It hardly matters now. We've lost the trail. They could be anywhere."

Kyte didn't seem discouraged. "Don't look so sad! They still might be close, right? What if we tried to find them with our gifts?"

Krystal shook her head. "There are limits to how far we can sense others. I doubt they're within that range."

"Come on, we still need to try! We just need to focus!"

Krystal sighed, but couldn't bring herself to shut the girl down. Besides, she desperately needed to rest for a while anyway.

"Alright, let's give it a shot…" She said, trying to keep any doubt out of her heart so that Kyte wouldn't sense it. "Just remember; it's easier to hear someone when you're not talking yourself. And the same applies here. Try to clear your mind of any distractions, alright?"

Kyte nodded. "Okay!"

With a sigh, she shifted her weight on the grass so that her legs were crossed in a meditative position, while Kyte perched on the top of a short log next to her. Then closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath, Krystal cleared her mind and her heart as best she could, so as to better "hear" the world around her.

Even if they didn't find what they were looking for, Krystal had a feeling that this would still be a good chance to clear her mind.

Things were hushed at first. Even though she could feel Kyte trying (and partially failing) to quiet her mind and heart, it wasn't too distracting for Krystal. In time, as the cool mountain air soothed her skin and the smell of old leaves and lively earth relaxed her muscles, she found herself slipping away, lost in the vast world around her.

She could feel dozens, if not hundreds of minds on all sides, minds that she had previously been ignoring out of simple habit. The vast majority of them were simplistic; belonging to woodland creatures of all kinds that Krystal couldn't hope to identify in her current position.

As she became more relaxed and more focused, her range grew steadily larger and larger, giving her access to the minds of more and more creatures. Everywhere she "looked", she could feel the drive to eat, the drive to avoid being eaten, the drive for shelter and territory, and the drive to mate. All base instincts, ever-present to every creature in existence. Even though none of it was worth spending more than a second on, it was still so fascinating to her.

Life was so simple, yet so marvelously complex at the same time.

Yet, beyond those base instincts, she could sense nothing. No complex emotions or thoughts betraying a rational mind. Even though she expected this to be the case, she felt her heart sink down in her chest regardless.

There was no point. She may have had a chance, but it had long since slipped away; gone forever. She had no hope left of...

A flicker. Like a spot of green in a crystal-blue ocean. It was so faint and so far away that she almost passed it by. With the apparent distance between her and it, she was shocked she could sense this mind at all.

It was different from a common animal. It seemed to be slightly more complex, focused, and definitely more aware of itself when compared to a more simplistic beast. However, these pieces of information were faint, and difficult for her to focus on, not to mention they didn't necessarily prove that she was sensing a truly rational being.

Instead, the thing that really caught her attention was a dull yet deep-set sense of… isolation. Seclusion. Loneliness. Sensations that were rare if absent in creatures who spent their lives in the crowded wild. It was enough to make her feel sad…

But it was also enough to prove that this one was worth investigating. It may not turn out to be what she was looking for, but at least she had a chance now.

Opening her eyes and withdrawing her mind, Krystal leaped to her feet, causing Kyte to let out a small yelp as the sudden movement startled her.

"Krystal?" She asked, looking up at the vixen. "Did you find them?"

"I think I did!" She turned and pointed in a direction that led further down the mountain. "That way, somewhere down there."

"Alright!" Kyte whooped, genuine excitement on her face. "I knew you could do it!"

With a gesture, Krystal let the CloudRunner hop up onto her shoulder before spinning around and beginning a swift sprint in the direction she had sensed the stranger. She couldn't sense their presence at the moment, but now that she at least had an idea of where to go, she was confident that she'd be able to locate them once she got close enough. She just had to hope they weren't on the move.

"What are we going to do once we find this jerk?" Kyte asked as the two left the clearing and entered the borders of the forest once more.

"I don't know. I suppose we'll figure out his intentions first, then go from there."

The young princess grinned. "And now that we've got a chance to sneak up on him this time, you're gonna kick his butt without even trying, right? And then we can force him to tell us where he's keeping the prince!"

Krystal wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she instead just shrugged lightly and said. "Perhaps."

To be honest, making an enemy of this stranger was something she wanted to avoid, if at all possible. If he was truly another survivor, then… well, Krystal didn't know for sure what she'd do. What came next was barely even on her mind. She mostly just wanted… confirmation, if nothing else.

Yet, she also knew it was naive of her to assume he must be an ally, not to mention it could be potentially dangerous. Regardless of how she felt, she had to remind herself that her first priority was to protect Kyte. And if this stranger proved to be a threat, she knew she couldn't hesitate to defend herself and the princess.

Regardless, that thought didn't do much to dampen the spark of hope burning in her heart.

Not too long later, Krystal found herself following a definite trail. After traveling through the forest in the general direction that she had sensed the distant stranger, she soon detected that same stranger again.

And now that she was closer, she could feel sensations of fatigue, frustration, and very slight but definite hints of aggravation. Curious. She might have been able to scan their thoughts to find the origin of these feelings, but that would have required more concentration than she was willing to give at the moment.

Instead, she just focused on finding them. Dashing through the woods with Kyte on her shoulder, the stranger's mind became clearer and clearer, helping Krystal to know that they were getting closer.

And as they got closer, Krystal also realized that there seemed to be a second mind somewhere near the first. This one was… confident. Incredibly so. Almost naively so. As if its owner believed it to be completely invincible. Yet, paired with this confidence, there was a sense of fast-paced energy, an energy that seemed to be somewhat shared with the first mind she had sensed. If Krystal didn't know better, she might have said that the two were fighting with one another.

And sure enough, Krystal soon heard something. Someone deeper in the woods, she could hear voices shouting incomprehensibly. Krystal wasn't positive, but she thought she could hear two distinct voices, though it was difficult to pinpoint their location as the sounds echoed through the trees. Her eyes flitted into every direction, searching for the owners of those voices.

"Krystal! Over there!" Kyte whispered.

Krystal followed Kyte's digit through the trees until she caught a flash of color among the forest of brown and green, close to where she was sensing the two minds. She had found them.

Like a bolt of lightning, Krystal dashed towards the strangers, attempting to remain relatively silent despite her haste. The duo came to rest hidden from sight behind the trunk of a large, old tree. As Krystal rested with her back to the tree, Kyte hopped off the vixen's shoulder to the ground below.

"Krystal?" She whispered as quietly as possible.

Krystal didn't respond, instead putting a finger to her lips. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her mouth was as dry as bone, and not just because of how long she had been running. This was it. Time to find out.

Little by little, she worked up the courage to turn and peek out past the tree, finally able to see what they had been following, while Kyte followed suit standing down near Krystal's feet.

A couple dozen feet away, there was a hill, and out near the foot of that hill, something that looked to be the mouth of a fairly deep, rocky gulch. Near the mouth of that gulch, Krystal saw two figures, one relatively small, while the other was closer to her own size.

The small one she quickly realized was an EarthWalker, clearly a young one, since he was much smaller than the other EarthWalkers they had hitherto encountered. Her mouth fell open in surprise. Was this the prince that they had set out to save? Perhaps her hunch that he was a part of that chase wasn't so unfounded after all.

However, the other figure was the one she was truly focused on. With only one glance, she knew that he was indeed the one she had seen on the bike. She could feel her heart fluttering, and her breath growing short and shallow.

He was a vulpine, one with orange fur, pointed ears, a light tan snout, and a rather fluffy tail. He was dressed in odd clothing, with green pants tucked into sturdy, brown boots, a grey, sleeveless vest, and a short, red scarf wrapped around his neck. He seemed to be well-built; so much so that Krystal could tell he was a fighter just by looking at him.

Though, he didn't look built like a man who was searching to be the strongest and most powerful. Rather, he looked as though his focus was dedicated to speed and agility. Lightness of foot, as opposed to heaviness of fist.

She also noticed that he seemed to be in a small-scale scuffle with the young EarthWalker. The little child was darting back and forth with a surprising speed, and it looked as though the vulpine stranger was furiously trying to catch him, though failing miserably. Even as Krystal watched, she saw him dive for the young dinosaur in an attempt to tackle him, only for the child to barely escape his grasp, causing the vulpine to fall flat on his face.

Now, Krystal understood where that irritation she had sensed in him was coming from, not to mention the exhaustion.

"He's really angry." Kyte muttered.

The vixen tore her eyes away and looked down at her ward. "That's him. That's who I saw."

The young princess' face seemed to be frozen in a steely glare as she watched the struggle. "He's trying to kidnap the prince."

"I don't know. It might just be a misunderstanding."

As they watched, the stranger managed to dash forward and grab hold of the EarthWalker's tail, pulling back with his whole weight to prevent the child from slipping away and escaping. From here, Krystal could hear the child suddenly cry out.

"Ouch! Help! Help! Someone, help! Stranger! Bad guy!"

"He's hurting him!" Kyte almost growled. "Come on! I'll distract him, and then you get him!"

Krystal barely had registered the CloudRunner's words before the girl suddenly took flight.

"Wha… wait! Kyte, NO!"

Fox's day just didn't seem to want to get better.

One moment, he was getting his butt handed to him by a runt half his size for almost three minutes straight; three minutes that felt like three separate lifetimes to him.

The next moment, right when he thought he had finally caught the loud, little irritant by grabbing hold of its tail, he heard the telltale sound of flapping wings behind him, moments before suddenly feeling something small bash into the back of his head.

He let out a cry as he stumbled forward, giving the EarthWalker a chance to slip out of his grip and start booking it. A pang of panic shot through Fox's chest, as he knew he couldn't afford to let the kid run off and disappear somewhere into the wilderness.

However, before he could even make a motion to give chase, he heard the same flap of wings behind him, one second before something that felt like two small hands grabbed hold of the fur on the back of his head and started to pull furiously.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Fox found himself yelling, raising his arms and swatting at whatever had attached itself to his head.

As he was swinging, his hand grazed something small, causing it to release its grip on his fur and fly off. His gaze turned upward to catch a glance of a winged something flying at impressive speeds a couple of feet above his head, darting back and forth in an attempt to disorient him.

His gaze turned to the young EarthWalker. He was getting further and further away, already almost out of sight between the trees. Fox knew he didn't have time to mess with whatever was pestering him.

Unfortunately, as he turned his back, the winged creature saw a chance to strike, and Fox could feel a rush of wind as it dived down at him. Before he could spin around or try to get out of the way, he felt something that felt like an oversized pair of pliers suddenly clamping down onto his tail with an impressively painful force.

Letting out an unflatteringly high-pitched yelp, he spun around and clumsily tried to swat at the creature behind him, but the little pest held on, only biting down harder and harder.

After a moment of fumbling, he finally managed to grab hold of something small and scaly with one hand, likely the creature's foot or some other limb, and furiously tried prying it off of his tail. However, the thing didn't budge, instead continuing to increase the pressure with which it was biting down on him.

"Come on, you little…" He growled, becoming more and more frustrated with every second.

He tugged harder, hard enough that he heard the creature make a high-pitched cry of pain. At the same time, it released its grip on his tail, and, still grasping it in one hand, he swung the creature around so that he was holding it upside-down in front of him.

He took half a second to observe what had been attacking him. It was some type of winged reptile, one with a pointed head, a long beak, and light orange-yellow skin. However, that half-second was all he had, as he suddenly noticed the sound of rapid footfalls somewhere behind him; footfalls that were rapidly getting closer.

Spinning around, he only just caught a glimpse of a blue figure sprinting towards him, right before it tackled into him and sent him tumbling backwards. His grip on the winged creature was released, and he vaguely heard wingflaps as it flew away to safety.

However, he gave no heed to that, as now he was facing something much larger and stronger. Currently, the blue assailant had him pinned down, putting pressure down on his chest with a knee while one hand was trying to keep his head nailed to the ground. He furiously shook and struggled, trying to push the attacker's body off of his own.

"A'cc veccen kx fhads!" He heard something with a young-sounding, somewhat feminine voice shout from somewhere further away.

From where he was lying, he could barely see the winged creature flying off somewhere deeper into the woods, and down below and further away, he could see the EarthWalker making its escape in the same direction, quickly disappearing into the trees.

"No!" He yelled. He was losing his opportunity, not to mention the danger that the ones attacking him might be attempting to kidnap the kid again.

With a growl, he lashed out and clumsily shoved at the stranger's face with his open palm, giving him just enough room and leverage to knock them off balance and turn the struggle in his favor. Unconsciously, he noted that he seemed to be a bit stronger than his foe was.

Soon, he had forced the two of them to roll over so that he was the one on top, harshly pinning his opponent's body down into the dirt and causing them to cry out with a voice that sounded like a woman's. With one hand clenched around her neck and forcing her head down, he raised a fist, ready to finish the fight with a single, savage blow to the skull.

However, before he had a chance, the stranger responded with a knee that struck between his legs. Even though the blow (thank the stars above) missed the sweet spot, it caused him enough pain that the stranger was able to curl up and throw Fox's body away with their legs.

Stumbling backwards but catching his balance quickly, he immediately leaped back in for another assault, just as his blue enemy leaped to their own feet. With a loud and guttural yell, Fox threw a light and fast, yet still devastating punch. However, with an impressive speed and show of reflexes, his blow was blocked with a forearm and pushed aside.

Not deterred, Fox threw a second blinding punch, then another, then another. It was no use. It seemed as though his enemy was blocking the blows before he even had a chance to throw them. Trying to switch it up and catch them off guard, he dropped down and tried to hit them with a leg sweep that would have sent them tumbling to the ground, as well as likely broken a bone or two.

However, even that was dodged, as the stranger leaped gracefully into the air, right over Fox's sweeping foot. Before Fox had a chance to recover, the stranger lashed out and struck him with an open-palm blow on his sternum.

Fox stumbled backwards with a groan, clutching his chest as the precise strike sent stabs of pain across his ribs. Far too slow for his liking, he forced himself to push through the pain and ready himself for whatever attack the stranger had next.

However, he realized that the stranger had retreated away a step or two, and didn't look to be intending to jump in for another assault. Even still, their body was crouched down in a light, defensive stance, seemingly preparing for Fox to make the first move.

He wasn't going to make that mistake again, so he instead stepped back in turn and took this chance to catch his breath for a moment or two. Even still, he kept his own fighting stance tight, his body light, and his muscles tense; ready for whatever could come next.

However, what actually came next was not what he had expected.

"Nit ua ir coth." The figure said, dropping the stance she had been keeping and slowly standing up straight.

Fox blinked as the smooth, melodic, and clearly feminine voice washed over him. His enemy had dropped her guard, as if she wasn't intending to fight anymore. Was she trying to call a truce? Though he didn't drop his own guard just yet, with a few, deep breaths, the red filling his vision began to drain just enough that he was able to take a moment to actually observe his foe.

And what he saw hit him with the force of a falling star. The creature standing before him was the single most beautiful woman he had ever had the divine honor of lying eyes on. He didn't think it was an exaggeration to say she was more angel-like than most angels, and the mere sight of her caused Fox's brain to flutter off to some wild and unknown land.

Her fur was a pure, vibrant blue, though there were sections that trailed off into untainted shades of snow-white, especially around her stomach and chest, the lower half of her face, and the insides of her pointed ears. She was clad in little more than a set of tribal-like garments, with a strip of cloth strapped around her chest and a loincloth tied around her waist. As a result, Fox could clearly see that she had two, stark-white tattoos wrapping around her upper arms, as well as two similar ones swirling around the sides of her thighs, perfectly complimenting the white parts of her fur.

Ignoring every single instinct in his body, save for one, Fox's guard and jaw slowly dropped as he drank in the pristine sight before him. She was thin, yet her muscles were toned and strong, and her figure was as close to perfect as could be. Her tail was long and looked to be very fluffy, though that fluff was partially collared by two, leather bands wrapping around the tail's length. The more he looked, the more convinced he was that he wouldn't find a single flaw. She was perfection personified.

His gaze turned upwards, to confirm that her face was just as flawless as her body. Her hair was short, and it was kept out of her eyes by a simple yet still-pretty headband. And her eyes… beautiful, shining, sapphire orbs that were looking right into his own. Looking right at him…

He blinked, and as though he had fallen from orbit, suddenly returned back to his body with a shock. H-how long was I doing that?

He realized that his mouth was still hanging open, and he quickly closed it. Embarrassment picked away at him like a vulture, and his eyes flitted away for a moment.

However, as his gaze soon turned back to the woman, he realized that she had an odd, amused grin pulling at her lips, not to mention the fact that any hint of further aggression had evaporated. He relaxed himself.

"Cin garu orn nin odden." She said, her eyes shining a bit. "Cin teri u'kor ki na."

"I… I-I… uh…" It took far longer than it should have to realize that he didn't understand her.

Bit by bit, his brain began to pick itself back together, he eventually found enough sense to bring a finger to his ear and flip on his communicator, though his eyes didn't stray from the woman.

"Peppy." He said.

A second passed. "Peppy here. How's it goin'? Is the kid-"

Fox cut him off. "Translate."

He could hear the rabbit let out an irritated huff, though he responded with a clearly annoyed, "Roger."

"Ki u cin pedna?" The woman asked.

"Got that?" Fox whispered.

"I got it, I got it." Peppy responded dismissively. "I'm translating. I guess that's all I'm good for anyway."

Fox ignored the grumbling coming through the other end of the communication. He was far too interested in the person standing before him.

"Who are you?" He asked, his eyes unconsciously falling down to her garments, though he forced them to return to her face as soon as he noticed his gaze staying on them a bit too long.

The woman cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. It was clear she didn't understand his words.

"Right… well…" He coughed lightly into a fist, shuffling on his feet uncomfortably. "I'm Fox. Fox McCloud, leader of…"

He stopped, and shook his head with a sigh of frustration. He really wanted to communicate, but he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with that. Instead, after a quick moment of thought, he took a breath and gestured to his own chest with both hands, in an attempt to make it clear he was talking about himself.

"Fox." He said, slowly and clearly, before repeating it for good measure. "Fox."

The woman cocked her head again and put a hand on her hip. "Fox?" She repeated, as though asking for confirmation.

Fox felt a wide grin take his face, and he nodded vigorously.

A smile crossed the woman's lips, and then, taking a hand and placing it on her chest, she said. "Ninra et na Krystal."

She paused. "Krystal." Then, with a wide smile, one more time. "Krystal."

"Krystal…" Fox said, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

Even her name is beautiful...

Krystal nodded, her smile growing wide enough to reveal perfect, white teeth. A relieved, awkward chuckle escaped her lips, and her eyes began scanning him up and down, while her breath became a little short. Fox felt something odd tugging at his chest. He didn't know what to make of the way she was looking at him.

"Fox? Hello? What's going on down there?" Peppy's voice sounded, though somewhat faintly to Fox's ears.

"There's… uh... there's a girl-"

But before he could get another word out, Krystal suddenly dashed towards him. Panic seized his heart for just a moment, but he found that he couldn't get his muscles in gear in time to defend himself.

Luckily, it didn't seem as though he needed to, as Krystal instead stopped right in front of him, standing mere inches away from his face, far too close for comfort. He took an instinctive half-step backwards, but Krystal didn't let him escape and followed his movements, starting to circle around him. She seemed to be observing every inch of him, up and down, as though looking for something.

"Met cerio cin kra?" She said, her tone making it clear she was asking a question, almost demanding. Her breath had become short and stilted, and her body had been seized with an unusual intensity. Though that smile had yet to leave her lips; an odd, hopeful, excited smile, though one that didn't exactly seem happy either.

"I-I, uh…" Fox stuttered, holding up his hands defensively. "Peppy, what's she saying?"

"I… I'm having trouble…" He grumbled for a moment.

"Aebar wai cin o Cerinia?" Krystal asked, her tone becoming slightly more intense.

"Peppy…"

"I can't find… Fox, who are you talking to right now?"

"Aebar wai cin o Cerinia?" She repeated slightly louder, the smile finally having fallen from her face.

"Come on, Pep, give me something here!" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"Fox, I have no idea what she's saying! She's not speaking Saurian! It's something I've never heard before."

"W-what?" He muttered. Then what language could she be using?

"Cyn gyl nan." She said, suddenly placing both hands on Fox's chest, causing him to flinch slightly under her touch. "Mer, treika nin. Cerinia? Cerinia?"

"Look, Krystal… I don't know-"

"Treika mer nin. Mer. Mer! Cerinia!? Cerinia!?" She began repeating, her voice cracking and her hands squeezing the fabric of his shirt tighter and tighter.

"I-I-I really have no idea... what…"

He trailed off as his eyes suddenly met hers. Those beautiful, sapphire eyes. Lacking any light behind them, yet beautiful all the same. They had become obscured with tears, but Fox could see past those tears. He saw desperation. Final desperation. The desperation of a creature that was close to breaking. She was asking him, nay, begging him for something. Begging as though her life depended on it, and he was her final hope.

But whatever it was she was asking for, he knew for a fact he didn't have it.

"Mer…" She whispered with an unsteady breath.

His lips tightened, and though it broke his heart to do so, he slowly shook his head, wordlessly telling her that whatever she had been looking for, she wouldn't find it with him.

She seemed to know what his answer was long before he gave it. Closing her eyes, she took her hands off of Fox's chest and let them fall limply to her sides. As she turned away from him as though in a daze, Fox could see her muscles grow weak and her head slump down to her chest in mourning. Her hands clenched into tight fists, one of which came up to rest on her chest, as though she were in pain. He was legitimately worried that she was moments away from collapsing, and began making preparations to catch her if she did.

"Fox? What's going-"

Fox ignored him, switching off the communicator again. Instead, he stepped forward a bit closer to the young woman, though did so hesitantly. "Krystal…"

Some natural part of him was desperate to comfort the vixen, but he had no idea how to do it. He didn't even know what had caused her to sink to this point.

Stars, he didn't even know who she was. Why was she here? She clearly wasn't a native of Sauria. How did she get here? She couldn't be from Corneria, and it was possible she wasn't even from anywhere in the Lylat system. What language was she using? What was it she wanted so badly? Who was she?

He didn't have an answer to any of these questions. Even still, that didn't stop him from slowly raising a hand, unconsciously wanting to reach out and tenderly rest it on her shoulder in an attempt to ease whatever pain she was feeling. Yet, before he did, he stopped. He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Before he could decide what to do, a voice in the distance suddenly broke the painful, heartbreaking silence.

"Krystal! Krystal! Kx fhads dootj xocf! Xo'j jkisb!"

Fox turned quickly to see the same small, winged creature that had been pestering him earlier, standing a ways deeper in the forest and furiously jumping up and down, as though trying to grab their attention. Was it the one speaking? Fox supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. He'd already run into a few animal-like creatures that had been more intelligent than he'd first guessed.

Furthermore, it seemed to be specifically talking to Krystal. Were the two of them friends? Was it her pet? Probably not. Even still, perhaps that was why Krystal had attacked him earlier. She might have thought that he was trying to hurt the little pest.

Even though it had clearly attacked him first.

Regardless, he turned to Krystal to see what her reaction would be. She didn't seem to have one. She remained standing there with her back to him, motionless. Staring down at the ground without a word. Fox couldn't tell if she had even heard the creature call to her.

"Sem ed, xihhoo if! Xo aj ad tudwoh! Krystal!"

The winged creature's voice was becoming more urgent, yet the vixen hadn't made a move. Fox looked at the creature, then back to Krystal, wondering what to do.

"Hey, Krystal…" He began, hoping his voice could draw her out of whatever slump she was in.

To his surprise, it actually seemed to work, and she turned her head, glancing at him over her shoulder.

However, what he saw was not what he had expected. In her eyes, behind a layer of moist, shining tears, he saw… anger. Burning anger. Anger that was so intense, he felt his mouth grow dry and he took a timid step backwards, away from her. He realized that she was bitter at him.

He realized that she hated him.

However, that glance only lasted for an instant, and she suddenly withdrew her gaze. Without so much as a word or even a sound, she turned to where the winged creature was hopping up and down and began sprinting in that direction. She didn't even look back.

Fox stood there with his mouth hanging open as he watched her run off and soon disappear with her companion into the woods, his mind still trying to process all that had just happened. He was also trying to decide if he should try to follow her. He couldn't come up with a good reason to do so off the top of his head, yet he realized that he wanted to all the same.

However, as he began turning away, his eyes unfocused and his mind lost in thought, he suddenly noticed that something was off. He was missing something. Something important...

He could feel his heart skip a beat as he suddenly remembered the EarthWalker kid, and his mission in general. What was he doing? He didn't have time to be playing around with strange, beautiful girls with ocean-blue eyes, who didn't speak a lick of his language, yet seemed to have-

He shook his head, once again trying to set his mind straight. Remembering that the little winged creature had been following the EarthWalker the last time he had seen him, he realized that perhaps Krystal and her friend were already on the kid's trail. So, it might actually be in his best interest to try following her if he wanted to find his quarry.

With a spring in his step, he turned and started moving in the direction Krystal had gone. Though, he quickly stopped and slapped his head with an annoyed grunt, before spinning back around and dashing over to snatch up his backpack from where he had left it on the ground. Then, slipping it over his back securely, he turned and began sprinting once again, hoping he could catch up with the peculiar, blue vixen with sapphire eyes.

The sky above was quickly turning orange. Night was coming soon.

Author's Note: 4 and a half years. It's almost taken 4 and a half years to get to this point ladies and gentlemen. Why any of you are still following is beyond me, ha ha ha...

But hey, least I managed to get this chapter written pretty quickly. Though I didn't get it finished quite as fast as the last chapter, two weeks is still an unbelievable time for me, especially considering how this chapter is the second-longest one so far. Perhaps it's too early to tell, but I might have actually found a way to break that chronic case of Writer's Block that I'm always suffering from. Hopefully.

Anyway, I think it goes without saying that this chapter was a blast to write. I've honestly been just as excited for "the" moment as all of you probably have been, and the fact that we're finally here... it's legitimately almost surreal. Thank you to all of you who have been following for a while now, and thank you to all those who might be picking up this story right now or sometime later in the future. Your support is the best motivator I have, and writing is just more fun when I know that I have people who will read it and enjoy it after I'm all done.

But that's all for now. Thank you all for viewing and reviewing, and I hope you all stick around for the coming chapters! The story should really start picking up pretty soon, and I'm very excited to continue on with it.

Thanks again,

Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman.