Kursed wasn't happy. In fact, she was rather upset.

Damn him damn him DAMN HIM!

Kursed wasn't completely sure if she was angry with Peppy, angry with Fox, or if she was angry with both of those bastards. All Kursed was able to piece together from her mind was that she was angry. Unfortunately for Peppy, his house would have to bear the brunt of her rage as Kursed attempted to relieve some of her stress.

*Crash. Thunk.* DAMN HIM!

Kursed was in the process of systematically destroying the room Peppy had given her to sleep in. If someone had walked into her room at this exact moment in time, they would have thought that it was a spawning place for hurricanes. Bits and pieces of glass, formerly parts of vases and intricate pottery, graced the floor. The walls, which were the same light-blue color, were marred with scratches. The walls also had several dents and holes, courtesy of Kursed and her hands and feet. The flat screen TV that was sitting upon her dresser was emitting sparks from a head-sized hole right in the middle of the screen. The bed sheets and pillowcases were completely shredded beyond recognition, with no hint of the former cohesivenessand wholeness they had before. The room Kursed had was originally a carbon copy of the one Fox had moved into. If someone compared the two in the present moment however, they would swore that wasn't possible.

Kursed strode around her room looking for more smashable trinkets she could disintegrate. She adrift on the sea of her emotions. All those pent up emotions. They were spilling over now, and Kursed didn't attempt to stop them. She them flow through her and consume her.

Bastards. Those mother- *CRASH* bastards!

Twenty minutes later, Kursed's anger was still not quite spent. Her energy, however, was. Exhausted from her battle with the inanimate objects in her new room, she threw herself down on what was left of her bed. Slowly trying to calm herself down, she sifted through the raging mess of her emotions and memories.

Kursed decided she wasn't overly upset with Peppy. He was idiotic sometimes, and in this case a jackass, but she could never stay angry with him long. Back when she was still with Starfox, Peppy was like a father to her. Peppy had always been patient, kind, loving, and humorous. Peppy had been wise and thoughtful, and a deep well of understanding when she needed guidance. While his bringing her and Fox back together was stupid of him, she couldn't find a way to think that it was of malicious intent.

Just real damn stupid.

Fox was an entirely different matter.

Fox McCloud...

Kursed was angry with him, without doubt. He'd taken so much away from her. Fox had been the bastard that had taken her heart, ground it between his hands, and shoved it back into her chest. Fox had been the one that had mangled and ruined her emotions.

Fox was the one that betrayed me...

Kursed simply sat there on her bed, staring blindly into nothingness.

He's the one...

_ A few years back_

Krystal could tell Fox was nervous. Very nervous. Naturally, this made Krystal rather excited. In her time with Starfox, she'd personally witnessed Fox remove fingernails, crack bones, gun down shady characters, and endure more than a little pain of his own. But Fox getting nervous just didn't happen.

It had started when he had invited her out for a walk on the beach. A walk was romantic enough, but a walk on the beach? With Fox nervous? After knowing him for as long and as personally as she did?

Maybe it's a promotion. Or a gift.

Krystal laughed to herself. The last time she'd seen Fox like this was back when he'd given her that necklace in the park at midnight. It was wonderful, touching, thoughtful, and Fox's expression when Peppy popped out of the dark was the cherry on top. Krystal continued giggling at the memory as she slipped her lithe body into a casual sundress.

Or maybe... Maybe he'll... Propose!

This was an exciting thought, and one that made her slightly nervous. Krystal had imagined that scenario many times before, and had long since thought up of all the things she'd say, and how wonderful their life would be. Anyone with a working pair of eyes could tell the two belonged together, and Krystal had occasionally amused herself with thinking ahead a little. Just a little. Still, thinking about how close that moment might be made her knees tremble.

Krystal checked herself in the mirror to ensure she looked her best, and strode out of the house. The house was a quaint, private affair situated on a long and luxurious private beach. Fox had rented it just a few days earlier, informed Krystal, and they'd just moved in yesterday to complete an impromptu "vacation." Fox had been growing increasingly nervous and restless in the days coming up to renting the beach-house, and that anxiety seemed to grow up until now. Krystal wasn't able to make out what he was thinking, so she took the liberty of indulging herself in a few scenarios to explain his behavior. And a proposal seemed to fit like a glove.

I wonder if I look oka-I'm fine, I'm fine. Just walk. Just walk. Be natural.

Krystal strode off the porch and down to the shore, going nice and slowly to enjoy the wonderful view . It was sunset, and the sky radiated with various hues and shades of pink and orange. The sea, resting below the cascade of color, was calm and serene. And there was Fox, down at the shore, as anxious as ever. Krystal smiled and quickened her pace.

"Hey Fox, you ready to take that walk?" Krystal said. She struggled to keep her voice calm, fighting the rising excitement. Fox however, seemed lost in thought.

"Fox? Are you okay?" Fox snapped out of it.

"Oh, I'm uh.. Sorry Krystal. It's just. Uh... Yeah, I'm ready." Fox seemed to sigh as he finished.

Strange, he seems... almost sad. Shouldn't he be happy?

"Come on, Krystal; let's go." Fox said. His voice was definitely tinged with sadness, a sadness Krystal couldn't identify.

The two foxes strode off to the right, slowly trudging their way to nowhere in particular. Krystal was upbeat, but Fox was... Fox was slow. Fox was uninterested in the beautiful sky or the many shells that Krystal ran ahead to point out. Fox wasn't interested in anything, and Krystal couldn't figure out why. Fox's drudgery began to effect Krystal, and eventually she quieted down and matched Fox's pace. Krystal was perturbed.

Something's wrong.. Something has to be. But no, he's going to propose to me! I mean, he has to. There isn't another explanation...

By the time the pair had walked twenty miles, the novelty of the walk was beginning to wear off of Krystal. Fox hadn't talk once, nor had he cheered up. And ominous cloud seemed to hang over himself and the feeling he radiated. Krystal couldn't help but feel concerned. Finally, Krystal broke the ice and got straight to the point.

"Fox, what's wrong?"

Fox turned and looked at her, directly at her, for the first time that evening. Fox's eyes were filled with pain and hurt, sorrow, self hate, and a conflicting pool of emotions. Krystal didn't see the eyes she was used to, and certainly not the eyes of a man about to offer his life to a woman. After staring at her for several seconds, Fox spoke.

"I'm sorry Krystal."

Krystal was a bit surprised. She didn't remember him doing anything wrong. Was this whole thing to apologize for something he'd thought had offended her?

"What do you mean Fox? What are you talking about." Krystal said, obviously confused. The previous excitement was now replaced with a cold hard lump of worry and doubt.

"You won't like what I'm about to do, and I don't think you'll let me apologize after it's said so I wanted it get it out of the way first." Fox looks completely depressed at this point, and Krystal's worry was mounting rapidly. This wasn't looking like a proposal anymore.

"Fox? I... I don't understand? I'll forgive you darling, just tell me. Please?" Krystal had seen Fox beat himself up for his perceived mistakes before, but this was different. The look in his eyes was not something she'd ever seen before.

"Krystal... I... I just..." Fox's voice was cracking. Krystal stopped.

"Fox? What's wrong? Tell me."

"I just... don't..." Fox looked down. He couldn't seem to form the words he loathed, but felt like it was his duty to say.

"Now please, Fox, you know I'm understanding. Just tell me." Krystal added a small smile to the end, hoping to cheer him up. For some reason, it only seemed to make him worse. Seconds passed. Then minuets. After what seemed to be an eternity, Fox finally mustered up enough courage and control to speak.

"It's over, Krystal." Fox said. He'd said this while looking at the ground. He couldn't face her.

What?

"W... What do you mean? Fox? Is everything okay?" Krystal was scared now, and confused.

"Krystal I.. I'm removing you from my team." Fox said. Fox was still looking down.

What the hell?

"Fox, I don't know why the hell you think this is funny, bu-."

"I'm serious, Krystal. I'm sorry. It's over."

Silence.

For the next ten minutes, there was no sound. There was no breeze. There was no time either. There was just two foxes, standing in the middle of nowhere in particular. Krystal couldn't talk. She couldn't form words, she couldn't move, she couldn't think. Not by her own volition, anyway. Krystal's thoughts had quite literally a mind of their own, and they raced up and down her mind faster than ever before.

What? What... What just.. What the hell?

Once she had regained control of her mouth, she tried talking.

"Fox." Krystal's voiced cracked, but she composed herself quickly. "I don't.. Are you.. Fox, are you serious?" Krystal was scared. She was frightened. Normally she would turn to Fox, as she had so often since what seemed like forever, but it was Fox that was causing her fear.

"I'm sorry Krystal. I'm so, so sorry. It's not because I don't... It's..." Fox didn't get any further. Krystal ran.

Krystal ran from the beach, from the house, trying to escape. But she couldn't run from herself. She panted wildly, her dress billowing behind her. Dimpling the ground was a trail of tears that Krystal had let fall behind her. Fox would later follow those dimples all the way back to the house. But not to Krystal. Krystal was gone. Krystal was gone forever.

Fox knew there was almost no point in chasing her. Why bother? After what he'd just done, she'd probably kill him after she finished deviously causing him pain in more ways than he could imagine. He'd done it for her own good, but Fox wasn't able to tell her that. He hadn't been able to form the words to soften the blow. Now, there was nothing Fox could tell Krystal to make her understand. Fox had known before the words had left his mouth that it would end like this.

Fox hated himself for it.