Note: Seeing as it's December, I decided to do one more chapter for the year. Don't worry, the story's not over. Once the new year begins, I'll resume progress on it. Before moving on, I want to say something to two reviewers.
Big Bossk Man 92: That's a bit of a mystery for the story. For all we know, it could just be two random people who Star Wolf saw as worthy of being vampires. An alternate option could be two familiar faces from the franchise. Stay tuned to find out. I hope that you like this chapter!
Ron: Don't get your hopes up. Krystal, more or less, doesn't want to be a killer like the other vampires we've seen so far. Even though she had killed a gang leader several chapters ago, that was out of reluctance. Other than that, she's not like the other vampires. I hope that you're ready for whatever happens next.
Now that I've done that, it's time for chapter ten.
Chapter 10: Star Wolf Returns
As they flew to Corneria City, Star Fox could see three familiar ships flying in the sky. The ships were undoubtedly the Wolfens, but something about them looked different. The windshields on them were now dark-tinted glass, looking like they were made from the same glass that was used for sunglasses. In addition to that, the wings had a different design, almost looking like they came off a bat. Upon seeing these updated designs, Star Fox knew that General Pepper wasn't kidding about Star Wolf having new features on their ship. It was clear that they would have to give it all they had for this battle.
While Fox, Slippy, and Peppy were shocked by Star Wolf's updated ships, Falco and Krystal flew towards the space pirates. The two were determined to take down the rival team and keep them from harming anyone. Krystal in particular licked her lips, desiring to take down her enemies as fast as possible. The cobalt vixen had her sights set on Wolf, wanting to destroy his ship and expose him to sunlight. Falco wanted to fly his Arwing near Leon's, knowing that the chameleon would die when his Wolfen got destroyed. Even if he died in the mission, he wanted to take down a vampire first.
Seeing that Star Fox had arrived, Wolf decided to greet the rival team.
"Hello, Star Fox." He spoke. "I suppose that you're impressed by our new ships?"
"Hardly!" Fox said. "We're only here to take you down, Wolf!"
"And don't think that the lizard's safe," Falco shouted, "because all I need to do is break his windshield!"
"So, you knew?" Wolf asked.
"Didn't take me long to see that he was a vampire!" The pheasant snorted.
"Too bad you won't be able to kill me, Bird." Leon said.
"We'll see about that, Star Wolf!" Peppy said.
Flying at their rivals, Star Fox opened fire. The team were intent on taking them down, to the point where they aimed at their wings and thrusters. However, Star Wolf seemed to notice this, as they dodged each attack. The modified Wolfens appeared to have better armor as well, as they absorbed each shot that was fired at them. Fox threw a Nova Bomb, hoping that it would do something. While it did knock Wolf and his team out of the sky for a moment, they were quick to recover from the explosion.
Deciding to go after Panther, Fox had Falco and Peppy fight with Leon. As for Slippy and Krystal, they were told to fight against Wolf. The team complied, wanting to take down Star Wolf as fast as possible. In fact, Falco and Krystal appeared to be hellbent for leather against who they were fighting, going so far as to shoot at their windshields. Slippy tried to fire charged shots at Wolf, but he was afraid of taking down Krystal as well. Peppy was flying in different directions, hoping to distract Leon long enough for Falco to take him down.
"What's up with these new strategies, Pup?" Wolf asked.
"Oh, it's just a working theory of mine." Fox said.
"And what would that be?" The one-eyed lupine asked.
"That you would burn up in the sun!" Slippy shouted, firing a charged shot from his Arwing.
Upon being hit by Slippy's attack, Wolf found his Wolfen being knocked off balance for a brief moment. After that, Leon was fired at several times, causing minor damage to the wings of his ship. Falco was about to fire at the chameleon again, but he was unable to. Panther fired at the pheasant, intent on destroying his Arwing. In return, Fox fired at his Wolfen, trying to take him down. Both Peppy and Krystal fired, aiming for the windshields of their rivals' ships.
Annoyed, Leon fired at Peppy, trying to take him down. However, Krystal intervened, firing at the chameleon without mercy. While it didn't take him down, it did additional damage to his Wolfen. Panther dived between Slippy and Falco, intent on damaging their Arwings. He fired multiple times, trying to destroy their wings. Slippy was quick to do a somersault, but that only put him in Wolf's line of sight.
Fox unleashed a Nova Bomb, hoping that it would take down Star Wolf. The blast radius managed to get all three of them at once, as they were unable to get away from it. The rest of Star Fox, on the other hand, dodged the blast radius, knowing that they would get caught in it if they didn't move. When the blast subsided, Star Wolf's ships had major damage done to them. The wings on each Wolfen were greatly damaged, to the point where it looked like each one was about to fall off. The windshields were cracked, but not enough to destroy them.
Seeing her opportunity, Krystal flew in behind Star Wolf, intent on taking all of them down. The cobalt vixen didn't go unnoticed by the team, as they were quick to fly into the sky. Letting out an annoyed grunt, she followed them, firing quicker than she usually would. Star Fox watched in awe, having never seen the Cerinian be so ruthless on the battlefield before. Knowing that she was a vampire, they figured that it gave her some newfound aggression. However, they wanted to join the vulpine in the sky, as there was a chance that Star Wolf would find a way to take her down.
Now that she was ready to shoot Star Wolf out of the sky, Krystal readied herself. However, the cobalt vixen saw the space pirates stop mid flight.
"So, Krystal, why are you still helping your team?" Wolf asked.
"Because, they're my friends!" Krystal said.
"You're really staying with them?" The one-eyed lupine asked. "Aren't you grateful for being alive?"
"I'm not alive anymore!" The cobalt vixen snapped. "Thanks to you, I'm now a monster who feeds on the blood of everyone around me! For that, I'm going to expose you to sunlight myself, so that I can free myself of this!"
"Now, you don't have to do that." Leon said. "I feel as though murdering us would be unprofessional from your end."
"You're one to talk!" The Cerinian-vampire said. "Keep in mind that you worked for the bastard who killed James McCloud, refused to give up Pigma when you had the chance, insulted my teammates like there was no tomorrow, and tried to kill us multiple times!"
"Krystal," Fox's voice came out of the communicator, "take it easy! They're damaged enough as is, so calm down!"
"Wolf is the reason why I'm a vampire now!" She said. "If you would've been turned into one of them, Fox, then you would've done the same to the one who turned you!"
Fox sighed, not knowing what to say. While he was shocked that Wolf had turned Krystal into what she was now, the orange tod had a feeling that it was what had happened. There was no way that the one-eyed lupine had no ulterior motive for helping the cobalt vixen out, especially since he wasn't someone who practiced chivalry. As much as he wanted to blast his rival out of the sky, the vulpine knew that Krystal wouldn't like it, so he restrained himself from doing so. He simply flashed his lights, signaling for her to come down. The Cerinian-vampire reluctantly did so, flying down to the roof of a building.
"How do you feel knowing that Krystal is like the three of us, Fox?" Wolf asked.
"Not very good, but she isn't like any of you!" Fox shouted.
"Yeah," Peppy said, "she ain't a killer!"
"That's where you stand corrected, Peppy." Krystal said. "I have actually fed on someone."
"What?!" The hare was shocked. "Who?!"
"It was the leader of the gang that was holding the city council hostage." The cobalt vixen said.
"You should've seen it!" Wolf said, sounding eerily excited. "Not only did she bite him, but she turned him into a husk!"
"I thought you were just eating that stuff in the fridge, Krys!" Falco said.
"The gang leader was my ONLY victim!" Krystal said.
"Which is a shame." Leon scoffed.
"Either way, I'm not going to start going around Corneria, draining people of their blood!" The cobalt vixen said. "I'm fine with the stuff that you have been sending to me!"
For a moment, there was dead silence from both Star Fox and Star Wolf. However, Wolf broke out laughing, sounding as if someone had told him a really funny joke. Leon and Panther followed suit, though their laughter sounded forced. The space pirates figured that they needed to find another way to convince Krystal to join them. It would've been difficult, as she seemed eager to blow them out of the sky at the moment. The cobalt vixen was told to stop by Fox, but it didn't seem like that she would hold back for longer.
"Okay, okay, I think that we've battled enough for today!" Wolf laughed. "Panther, Leon, let's head back to Sargasso!"
"You're giving up?" Falco asked.
"Yeah, our powers are weak!" Leon chuckled.
"We'll fight your team later!" Panther laughed.
Star Wolf then flew up into the air, making their way to the horizon. However, Krystal started to fly after them, eager to take down the team. Fox flew up beside her, signaling for her not to do so. The cobalt vixen reluctantly landed on the roof of an apartment building, turning off her Arwing shortly after doing so. Landing beside her, Fox got out of his ship, deciding to speak with the Cerinian vampire. She was sitting next to her Arwing, watching the horizon with present fury on her face. With that in mind, the orange tod was cautious about speaking to her when she was like that.
"I really wish that you hadn't done that, Fox." Krystal spoke.
"I didn't want to stop you, Krystal, but I didn't want you to get hurt, either." Fox said. "While I understand that you wanted to take Wolf down, but we couldn't risk losing you as well."
"I would've been fine!" The cobalt vixen blew up. "My telepathy has increased to the point where I can sense anything without even trying, and I could've easily dodged any attack they threw at me! I'm not willing to get injured in a battle, but I'm willing to take down the creeps who turned me into a monster!"
Fox pulled Krystal into a hug, attempting to calm her down. The cobalt vixen still felt angry, but she knew that taking it out on her teammates wouldn't feel right. Being hugged by Fox made her feel a little better, even if it didn't mask how he allowed Star Wolf to get away when they were open for an attack. The Cerinian vampire hugged the orange tod back, ignoring the sweet smell when it came to her. Her vampirism told her to feed on her leader, so that she would be sustained for the time being. Knowing that she could just eat the jellied blood when she got home, Krystal ignored those instincts.
"You won't drain me while we're doing this, right?" Fox asked.
"Of course not." Krystal said. "If I ever wanted to kill you, it would be if you did something to push me over the edge."
Releasing his hold on Krystal, Fox found himself getting a kiss on the cheek. He smiled after receiving it, looking at the Cerinian vampire. Falco, Peppy, and Slippy parked their Arwings near theirs, landing on the same building. They got out of their ships, walking up to Fox and Krystal. Both of them were sitting near Krystal's Arwing, not saying a single word. This awkward silence annoyed Falco, so he went over to the two.
"Hey, did you forget about us, Fox?" Falco spoke.
"No, I just thought I'd speak to Krystal for a few." Fox said.
Walking up to Fox and Krystal, Peppy and Slippy saw that the two were close. Peppy feared for what would happen next, knowing that Krystal was a vampire. Even if the cobalt vixen only killed one person, and had renounced her role as a killer, that didn't mean that she wouldn't wind up feeding on another person. The hare hoped that it wouldn't come to that, as he didn't want to stake her in the heart. No one in the team wanted to do it, given how the Cerinian vampire was still an important member of Star Fox. Peppy wouldn't want to stake Krystal in the heart if she went berserk, and he wouldn't want anyone else in the team to do it, especially Fox.
Slippy sat in front of Fox and Krystal, curious as to what the team's next move would be.
"So, now what?" The toad asked.
"We're going to see Orlando and Fara." Fox said. "They might prove to be instrumental against Star Wolf."
"But, we can't go to Mr. Helsing!" Falco spoke. "What if he tries to kill Krystal?!"
"It will be okay." The orange tod said. "We'll explain what's going on, and tell him what he can do to help us. Krystal won't be in danger as long as we clear up that she isn't a threat to the Lylat System. All we need to do is get all the help we can get."
Note: Now that Star Wolf have revealed themselves to be vampires, things might get interesting. And it appears that Fox is considering enlisting the help of Orlando and Fara. Will they be willing to lend a hand? Will they try to stake Krystal, or will they be willing to listen to her side of the story? This is my last chapter of the story for the year, so I will resume work in January. Until next time guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace! And also, have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!