Without giving too much away, I have to admit that a few of you reviewers were eerily spot on with your assumptions/guesses. Sanitarium doesn't count because he's too skilled at predicting my stuff.

000

Everything was blurry at first. Her head throbbed and the room around her seemed to spin as she tried to sit up and collect her bearings. Though trying to piece together where she was, or what had happened, was still beyond her. Instead, she merely lay there and kept her eyes closed, allowing her body to work itself free from the numb and paralyzed sensation that had so suddenly overtaken it.

Ugh, I feel so dizzy. What...what happened?

Timidly she opened her eyes, keeping them narrowed as the light from the outside world filtered between her lashes and struck her pupils. Her sight was still fuzzy, but with every small blink her clarity improved until she was finally able to recognize an all-too familiar ceiling above her.

Oh. I'm in my room. On Great Fox.

As the thought echoed through her mind the vixen continued to lay there, staring up into the gray paneling that ran throughout the dreadnought's ceiling. There was something wrong about that. It felt right to be resting here, almost as if she was back where she belonged, but at the same time a part of her knew it couldn't be true. To be back on Great Fox would mean that Fox couldn't have kicked her off the team. He would have never broken her heart. He wouldn't have left her with nowhere to go but to StarWolf.

It would have all just been a dream. A terrible, gut-wrenching, soul crushing dream.

But it wasn't.

Her heartbeat began to quicken its pace as the vixen continued to come to her senses and take in her surroundings, forcing herself to her feet only to stagger to her left and collide with the wall as the blood rushed to her skull. She took a deep breath and clutched her forehead with a paw, staring down at the floor and immediately biting her lip in disbelief at the dark blue carpet. The same carpet that she'd gotten so used to over the course of those many months when living here.

Frantically she glanced around the room, her eyes widening in further disbelief as she took in the all-too familiar sight of her old living arrangements. This was her room back on Great Fox! This wasn't the same bedroom she'd been forced to stay in for the past few months on Star Wolf. It was smaller, it had that aged yet beautiful scent...something that was impossible to mimic. This was her room!

But how? How am I here?

She fell back against the wall and brought her hands to her head, clutching her hair and fighting back tears provoked by an unexplainable array of emotions. Frantically she searched her mind for an answer. This didn't make sense. How could she be here? This had to be a dream right? Everything that had happened; Fox kicking her off the team, the pain and heartache, the words, being forced to join Star Wolf just to survive, all of that couldn't have been her imagination could it?

Finally though, after standing there and fighting against her own mind for another few minutes...it came back to her.

I was with Star Wolf. We were heading to Sauria-

It was then that she remembered it. The green cloud of smoke that had come upon her and Panther. It had happened so suddenly and worked so quickly that she'd been unable to react to anything other than choking and growing lightheaded. The only thing her memory provider her with was the feeling of Panther's arm around her waist and his head against her own. They had been sitting there, just enjoying the scenery that Sauria had to offer them, and then everything had went black.

And now she was on Great Fox.

I can't be here. Not now. Not after what he did to me.

The vixen forced herself forward, running across the room and still slightly struggling to keep her balance as she reached her door. She placed a paw on the sensory pad, getting a quick beep of acceptance as the door before her slid open. Heart still racing, she stepped out into the hall, glancing in each direction and seeing no one before taking off towards the lounge.

She had to find someone. She had to ask them what was going on and how she got here.

This has to be a dream! It can't be real!

The truth was that she was afraid.

Afraid that she wasn't dreaming. That this was reality. That somehow she was back on his ship, the one place he'd forced her from so long ago. She didn't want to meet him. She couldn't stand the thought of coming face to face with the vulpine again, not after what he'd done. What she'd do...she wasn't sure, but it wouldn't be good.

I can't be here. Not on this ship. Not with Fox.

She rounded the corner and entered the lounge, once again glancing in each and every direction for any signs of life but getting none. This was looking more and more like a dream now, but it still felt all too real. Even to a Cerinian such as herself this was too much to pass off as her subconscious playing tricks on her. But if that was the case, if she wasn't dreaming, then where was everyone?

She ran past the couch and looked down at it, her heart falling as she hoped to see Falco's stretched out form laying there. Not wasting any time though, she headed for the kitchen, stepping past the counter and looking around the small room before letting out an uncomfortable sigh and turning back. Still at a run, she made her way across the living room and towards the bridge, her mind desperately hoping to find someone. Anyone. Something to prove to her that she wasn't losing her mind and that this wasn't some surreal nightmare she couldn't wake up from.

And...she did.

No, not him...

The two of them froze, bodies going stiff, tensing up as gazes locked. What she was looking at now was...sick. Something terrible had happened to Fox...and yet, he still possessed that same handsomness and good looks that reminded the vixen of why she'd been so crazy about him. But that was hardly what she focused on now. Instead, it was the defeated, broken, and...scared...look that flickered across his expression and filled his eyes. All whilst her own began to narrow, her tail thrashing behind her as the realizations finally began to set in. She bared her fangs and ignored the battle raging within her heart.

Part of her was dying without him in her life...and to see him like this...it didn't help at all. Unfortunately, an even larger part of her was filled with nothing but hate, bitterness, and sorrow because of what he'd done to her. She'd trusted him with everything. She had been so in love with Fox McCloud that it hurt. And then? Then he cast her away and left her with no place to go but into the twited arms of StarWolf.

She wanted to hurt him as much as he'd hurt her, but it was honestly hard to tell if that was even possible from the looks of things. That being said, the vixen ended up doing the most conservative thing she could manage without outright attacking him...and that was simply spitting out the name of the vulpine she'd once loved with every fiber of her being.

"Fox."

000

The way she'd muttered his name was like a knife to his heart. That beautiful voice he'd fallen in love with was still full of hate and anger, just as it had been the last time he'd heard it. The only difference now was that he could actually see her as she spoke, rather than only hear her through the headset in his Arwing. But that only made it worse. Now he could see the pain and hate she shot at him, and he knew he deserved it.

He'd expected this, not that it made it any easier to cope with. He knew he'd have to suffer such a tone, and the hateful looks that came with it, in order to go through with his plan; whatever the hell it was. For some reason he had no idea what to do at this point, and had only made a little progress after completing the 'kidnapping' portion of all this mess.

That's what he'd been doing just then. He'd changed all the codes and passwords for the Arwings, the controls in the command post, and even the door to get inside of it. He knew she'd try to leave, and he couldn't blame her, but that couldn't happen. She had to stay here with him until he made sure she knew how he felt, no matter what. Even if she hated it.

"You're awake." he finally managed to reply, voice soft and struggling to sound the least bit firm.

Her response was immediate and cold. "Why am I here?" the vixen snarled, stepping forward and sneering at him. "What did you do?"

The vulpine couldn't help but softly smile at her words for some unknown reason, which only caused her to growl all the more. He couldn't help it though. In his mind he was replaying the scene from earlier that day, watching himself throw Panther Caroso into a bush full of thorns and nettles before carrying the sleeping vixen off into the woods and back to his Arwing. He'd executed that phase of the plan flawlessly.

Now he had to deal with his next problem.

"I brought you back to StarFox." came a somewhat firmer and more confident retort. "Where you belong."

"No." she shot back, "If I belonged here then you would have never forced me to leave."

He stiffened at her words. He'd expected her to say just that, though it didn't numb the sting that came with hearing it. She was right. He was contradicting everything he'd said and done in the past, and he couldn't change that. That wasn't the point of all this though. The point was to forget about all he'd done wrong and start over.

That is, if she'd be willing to.

"I know." he finally answered, voice still clear and firm, yet far more broken and disheartened now. "And I'm sorry. Forcing you off the team was the worst decision I've ever made. I just...I wanted what was best for you. I..."

"Best for me?" she scoffed, cutting him off. Her tone was much harsher now as the vixen straightened her stance and watched his gaze fall to the floor, "Star Fox was the only place I had left and you forced me to leave! I had to join up with StarWolf just to have a place to live and food to eat! How is that what's best for me!?"

"I just thought-

"No, you didn't! You didn't think!" she yelled, refusing to let him speak and making her way closer with every word. "I don't want to hear any more excuses. I don't know what you think bringing me back here is going to change after everything you've done, but it won't ever be enough to keep me on this ship with you again for more than five minutes!"

His gaze continued to rest on the floor beneath him, his ears pinned down in sadness as she stepped up to him. But she didn't stop. The vixen instead slammed her shoulder into his own and threw the vulpine to the side of the bridge as she made her way to the command post's door.

She was going to try and leave, just as he'd expected. Plus she was pissed off at him, also expected. All of this was par for the course in his mind but that still didn't make it any easier to bear. The fact that she could speak to him so harshly. That she could look at him the way she did, and even go so far as to physically show her anger...it only proved how much she really hated him for hurting her like he had.

"Krystal-

"Shut up!" she spat back at him, reaching the door and placing her paw on the motion pad to open it. "It doesn't matter how sorry you are Fox. If you think kidnapping me will change anything then you're even stupider than Panther." Her words were less yelled and more sneered at him now, spoken in a dark tone that actually made them even painful to hear.

Of course, the door didn't open for her the first time. As expected, she merely raised her paw and lowered it back down again, her head turned to the side as she looked over at the vulpine and spoke on.

"I'm not staying here." she muttered roughly, once again raising and lowering her paw after being declined entry to the command post. "Unlike you, there's someone who cares about me with StarWolf."

He straightened his stance and tried to think of a response. Honestly though, he was still at a loss for words. The only thing the vulpine really could seem to do was gaze over the vixen's backside and recall the memories of how it used to be between them. Back when she was kind and softhearted. When she smiled at him. When every single thing she did was perfect and left him blushing, smiling, and eternally grateful to have her in his life.

And now...the fact that she could act this way towards him...it was impossible to comprehend. This wasn't her. This wasn't the Krystal he remembered. But, then again, she had no reason to be.

"I can't let you go." he finally muttered, watching the vixen raise her paw a fourth, then fifth time as she tried to gain entrance to the room. "Not again."

At this she seemed to freeze, her palm open and resting over the scanner and her head bowed as his words reached her. He knew she understood what he meant. He wasn't going to give her the chance to leave. Not a second time. He'd die before suffering that pain once more.

"What are you saying Fox?" she finally replied, her tone somewhat soft but also harboring anger. "That now that I'm back, after kicking me off the team, you're forbidding me to leave?"

The vulpine took a deep breath and swallowed, his gaze running up the vixen's body before resting on her open hand that was slowly forming a fist. He couldn't see her face as it was still bowed and somewhat in the other direction, but he was sure the expression she was wore was one of absolute hate and anger, mixed with disbelief and sadness, all of which he was the cause for.

But she was right. He was forbidding her to leave.

"I'm sorry..."

No sooner had he given her an answer did the vixen turn on him. Her blue fist narrowly missed the side of his face as the vulpine slid to his right. It was then that he caught the emotionally distraught look in her eyes. The look that reflected anguish and rage, sadness and fury, all of which fueled her attack whilst seemingly sucking the desire to avoid it out of his body. He knew he deserved it. To be hurt in every way imaginable by her. Mentally, physically, emotionally. To suffer a thousand times as much as she had because of what he'd done would still fall short of proper recompense for what he'd put the vixen through.

Still, he jumped back as she swung at him once again, barely avoiding her haymaker as she lunged forward. And despite everything...she didn't let up. The past few months had built up a rage and anger within her, and now she had a chance to let it all out on the one who was responsible for it. He couldn't blame her one bit.

"You selfish bastard!" she screamed at him, tears in her eyes as she forced him down the bridge, still throwing blows at his face and reminding the vulpine of just how quick, strong, and skilled of a fighter she was. "All you think about is yourself!"

"No, Krystal it's not-

Finally she connected, landing a left hook against his chin and causing the vulpine to stumble backwards and into the lounge. Frantically he looked up, only barely being able to roll his head out of the way before a fist landed in the carpet where it had been. Now he was on his back, kicking against the floor and trying to get away from the vixen as she lunged forward again.

"Why can't you just let me be happy!?" she yelled, halfway sobbing whilst tackling the vulpine into the wall just as he managed to get into a near standing position.

He felt another punch connect with his stomach, causing his head to fall forward. It was then that he met her gaze for the briefest of moments. He could see it. The look complete heartache and brokenness that blanketed her face. She hated him, she was angry, that was more than obvious. But there was a sadness there too. A longing for what had once been, but would probably never be again. He saw it...and that was why he knew he had to stop this.

He lowered his hands and got lucky, timing it well enough to first grapple her left wrist, and then her right, as she tried to further release her anguish upon him. Then he managed to turn around, ignoring the pain across his body and pinning the vixen up against the wall. He struggled whilst holding paws above her head, mind desperately working to retrieve the words he needed to say to help fix all of this.

"You...weren't happy...with Star Wolf." he panted, still slightly winded trying to catch his breath.

"You don't know that!" she cried back, both in anger and tears. "You don't know what makes me happy Fox! I figured that out a long time ago!"

Once again she'd said something that left him speechless. Not because he didn't have an answer, but just because of how true the past made it seem. He'd hurt her so bad that no matter how he approached anything from here on out, she'd have a reason to hate him for what he'd done.

As if the silence meant he was accepting the truth to her words the vixen gave up her struggles, her body going limp and sliding down the wall until she was on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and hiding her head behind them as she silently cried. Looking down at her, he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her tight until the pain went away, but he knew she'd never allow it .He couldn't touch her, or hardly talk to her for that matter. Not now. Not after what just happened.

"Do whatever you want Fox." she spoke, her head still buried behind her legs, "It's not like you can possibly hurt me any more than you already have."

"I'm not doing this to hurt you." he replied gently, lowering his hand towards her, only to freeze in place as she snapped her gaze up at him. "I'm doing this to protect you."

He briefly heard the growl in her chest before she, once again, lunged forward. This time she really caught the vulpine off guard. He doubled over and stumbled against her form, falling onto his ass with a thud and rolling. But whereas he expected her to commence to beating the hell out of him, he felt nothing. Instead, he could only look up at the vixen as she stood over him and allowed the tears to trickle from her chin and land across his palm..

"The only thing I need protecting from is you." she sneered, turning towards her bedroom. "And no matter how long you keep me here, that is never going to change."

000

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