And... Go!

It was almost like she was dreaming. The quiet hum of the engine, the lighted hallways wide enough for three people to walk through.

Even the crappy military food.

She had missed it more than she allowed herself to admit, and it did feel good having a team behind her again. Even if they only did it out of necessity. "Well, except him." She fought against the smile that tried to form on her lips, but eventually failed. There was something about Shattered that she just couldn't ignore. She could barely remember when she felt this way; but she knew something for certain.

She was ready to move on from Fox.

Her old love would certainly remain in her heart, and she would never forget him. But she knew deep down that he would want her to be happy.

"Hey."

Kursed turned to see the same vulpine she had been thinking of standing in the doorway. "What's up?"

"Nothing, just getting tired of listening to our fearless leader talk faster than he can think." Shattered grinned. "Feels weird eh? Being inside a Cornerian warship, and not being a prisoner."

"It was something I didn't think would happen to me again."

Shattered walked passed her and look out into space. "I know the feeling."

Kursed made her way to stand beside the vulpine. "I assume you visited Corneria before you became a hunter?"

"Yeah, used to live there." Shattered spoke just above a whisper. "It's were I met Fox for the first time, and her..."

"Your former flame? The one that left?" Kursed asked bluntly but in the same hushed tone. The vulpine nodded. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be."

"I've been thinking about that myself." Shattered glanced over at the vixen. "It was great, the time that we had together however short it was; maybe it is time to move on though."

Kursed opened her mouth to speak but stopped. Her telepathy flared and suddenly she could hear the vulpine's thoughts. 'I'll always love you Krystal, but maybe there is a future with Kursed...'

Kursed gasped and took a step away from Shattered. "I...I..." The vulpine turned to face her, and then she saw it. The look of concern that flashed in his eye reminded her of him. But how could she be sure? If only she could...

Great Fox 2 – 4 1/2 years ago

Krystal sat cross-legged in the middle of her room. She had been meditating for some time now, not for any particular reason. In her mind's eye she could see herself sitting in her room; the light blue carpet and matching walls, to her left was a small desk with a laptop on it. Behind her was the bed which had been neatly made, and to the left of that was a small plant Peppy had given her some months prior as an anniversary gift for her one year of service with the Star Fox team.

She expanded her vision, now able to see the entire ship. Falco and Slippy were in the rec-room, Peppy seemed to be up at the bridge with Rob. But Fox...

There was a sudden knock at the door, Fox was the easiest for her to find, more so now that they been dating for a while. With a smile she pulled herself back into her room and opened her eyes. "It's open Fox."

The vulpine smiled as he looked at her. "You've always known when it's me." He waited for her to stand before pulling her into a hug. "Would you mind terribly to be the captain of this ship for a few days? Those debriefings are starting to get to me."

Krystal laughed as she gave him a quick kiss on the side of his muzzle. "We both know I have a horrible poker face, besides, I'd likely fall asleep if I had to sit through those things."

Fox sighed comfortably. "Can't blame me for trying, eh?" Krystal giggled resting her head against his.

While she normally had to focus to read other people's thoughts, with Fox it was natural. It was almost like she was having thoughts in his voice at times.

"What are your plans for the evening Krys?" Fox asked squeezing her tighter in his grip.

Krystal loved when he called her 'Krys' it was just the way he said it, she could feel every emotion he used when he called her that, and she couldn't put to words how it made her feel. But she knew, and had known for a while, that Fox was her soul-mate. She knew he felt it as well to some extent.

Had they been on Cerinia, they would have both started linking their souls. It was a custom there for a courting couple to attempt this bond, if it didn't work it was a sign that their love for one another had not yet matured. But if it did work, it was considered a boon for their relationship, and they would quickly be approved for marriage.

'It'd be worth a shot.' She thought, pulling Fox into a kiss. "I want to try something with you."

Fox gave her a toothy grin. "That'll have to wait for a bit Krys, you know that."

Krystal playfully hit his shoulder and giggled. "That's not what I meant dummy." She shook her head and broke their hug. "I want to try something couples did back on Cerinia. It was something all couples did at least once. It shouldn't take too long."

Fox nodded and sat down on the bed. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it!"

Krystal sat down beside him and cupped his jaw. "Just follow my lead." She used her free hand to bring his left to her jaw and leaned forward so that their heads were touching. After that she placed her hand over his heart and waited for him to do the same. "Close your eyes and take three deep breaths, then hold it for ten seconds. Let the air out slowly and concentrate on my presence."

"After that?" Fox asked glancing up at the blue vixen. "How will I know if it's done?"

"You'll know Fox. Trust me, you'll know." Krystal smiled and closed her eyes. On three."

Fox smiled as he counted down mentally, as soon as he hit one their breathing was in sync. At the third breath they stopped. Once again Fox counted down from ten before they slowly released their breath and focused on one another. For the longest moments he could remember Fox felt nothing, he wanted so badly for something, anything to give him a clue as to what Krystal had meant.

'Fox, I told you you'd know when it was finished.'

Immediately Fox opened his eyes and saw Krystal doing the same. He slowly pulled away, too shocked to speak. "Did you... feel anything?"

"K-Krys." He stuttered grabbing her hands in his. He stared at her, concentrating hard on her beautiful eyes. A mixture of happiness, confusion, love and lastly;

Concern.

'Squeeze my hand if you can hear this Fox.' Krystal nearly jumped as Fox instantly squeezed her hand. She through her arms around him and hugged him hard. "We passed Fox!"

"What exactly was that Krys? How can I sense your thoughts so suddenly?" Fox had more questions that he knew what to do with, but Krystal seemed content with hugging him. "Krys?"

"Sorry, Fox I should have explained it more, but I wasn't sure if it was going to work with a non-cerinian. We just did a mind link, it takes the best qualities of us and passes it on to the other. Since you've already used my staff the bond must have seen that you were capable of telepathy."

"So... I can read peoples minds now?" Fox was still in shock but finally started completing their hug. "Like you?"

"I'm not sure Fox. It's the way that the couples on my planet used to communicate." She pulled back, locking eyes with the vulpine. "I know you're confused right now Fox, but any information I have you should be able to read from my mind."

Fox closed his eyes, trying to emulated how he had seen her when she was delving into people's minds. Suddenly he felt as if a door had been opened and the gust of wind pulled him into her mind. He was assaulted with her emotions towards him, and had he been standing he would have fallen on his ass at the sheer feeling of being within someone else's head.

He quickly opened his eyes and slumped down onto the bed, breathing heavily. "Holy..."

"We'll have to start giving you some practise Fox. Maybe we can start that later, when we're both off the clock so to speak." Krystal giggled and laid down beside him. "It'll take you sometime to get used to that feeling, but I can tell you for the moments you were in my head I never felt happier."

"I love you Krystal."

Cornerian Juggernaut Cayuga - Present

Kursed shuddered as she snapped back to the present. There was only one way she could truly find out if he was who she thought he was. "I'm going to go relax for a bit, come to my room in an hour or so okay? I want to show you something."

The vulpine was silent for a moment. "O-okay, sure. See you later then." He watched she hurried out of what Falco had deemed the common room before looking back to space, Katina was just barely visible to the naked eye. He smiled, finally feeling his luck change. "Looks like I've still got it."

"Hey Shattered, it's Falco." Falco's face popped up in front of the vulpine. "Just a heads up, we're about an hour and a half out from Katina. Slippy here it going to a scan of the planet for the same coding he found on Corneria. Maybe he'll save us some time so we don't have to search the entire planet. Falco, out."

Shattered folded his arms across his chest and rested against wall near the window. He personally thought that chasing down his employer was a waste of time. But what choice did he have? With a sigh he simply left the question unanswered.

Wolf paced back in forth in front of Peppy's desk, it was the first time he felt nervous meeting with Peppy. But he knew he had good reason for that. Wolf was anything but dumb, and he always felt as though Peppy would never fully trust him or his team. But if anything this act would prove his loyalty, even if it was mostly for the paycheck. If Bowman had Andross than it could very well be the end of Corneria, and therefore his paycheck as well.

While his reasons for staying sided with Corneria weren't solely for money. They did boil down to how many times he had been burnt by Venom and by extension Andross was more than enough reason for him never to work for that backwards planet again.

"Bastard never did pay." Wolf muttered turning around as the door opened. "General."

"Good morning Wolf." Peppy said as he held the door open for someone. "You don't mind if I bring an old friend in on this conversation do you?" Wolf shrugged and looked over at Pepper.

"Well well well, I had heard you weren't doing the best Pepper. You certainly are a tough old dog."

Pepper chuckled as he quickly made his way to the chair in front of Peppy's desk and sat down. "It'll take more than some illness to keep me down O'Donnell. I thought you'd know better by now."

"I don't keep up on current events all that much Pepper, unless it involves me and my team helping out this system." Wolf leaned against the wall and looked over at Peppy. "So, should I start or?" Peppy nodded and sat down as well. "Alright, well yesterday afternoon I was contacted by Dash Bowman. He wanted to buy my services against Corneria."

"Well judging by the fact you're still here I have to assume you've made your choice." Peppy motioned for Wolf to continue.

"It wasn't a hard choice to make." Wolf smirked. "But he also asked me to take care of Beast. Which I absolutely no problem doing. So you'll excuse the mess that I made."

"Yes, I was told that someone had been killed near the prison." Peppy looked over at Pepper. "Not the first time something like that happened I'll bet."

"I wouldn't have any idea what you're talking about." Pepper replied while nodding.

"Bowman did say one last thing after I told him were Star Wolf's loyalties lied. And that was that we have one week before he sends not only his armies but something else we thought long gone."

"Andross." Peppy grimaced as if he had been shot. "Pepper, would you be so kind as to inform Wolf why you're really here?"

"I suppose he does have the right to know." Pepper cleared his throat and looked over at Wolf. "There is something you should understand about Dash Bowman's 'secret' weapon."

"You guys knew..." Wolf growled. "You guys fucking knew about this?"

Pepper raised his hand and silenced the lupine. "We have know since before it was even an idea in Dash's mind Wolf."

"And how's that?" Wolf fought to keep his composure, angered at the fact that they had this information but had done nothing to stop Andross from coming back.

"It was just before we sent your team in to stop Dash's forces after the Anglar Blitz." Peppy explained.

"Peppy, Beltino, and I met up for an emergency meeting to discuss how to ensure our cease and desist order would remain in tact for the longest time possible." Pepper lowered his eyes to the floor. "The best solution we could come up with would only ensure peace for a year at best. And that was with some generous rounding."

Wolf narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here Pepper?"

"I'm here to apologize to this military for the idea I offered." With a heavy sigh Pepper looked over to Peppy then to Wolf. "I decided we would help Venom rebuild Andross so that Corneria's army would have reasons beyond the public eye to continue it's research into upgrades and technologies. We had no real reason to continue after the Anglar Blitz as Lylat had received only minor damages and the threat didn't last near as long as the last few major conflicts we faced. It was only in the silence of peace could we fuel the fire to another war."

Wolf shook his head and leaned his hands against Peppy's desk. "You created another Lylat war just so Corneria could stay ahead of it's enemies?" He laughed despite how angry he was. "If this had have been years ago Pepper, I might have applauded your tactics. But right now I can barely believe a war hero like yourself could stoop as low as to help rebuild the greatest enemy Coneria has ever faced." He slammed his fists into the desk. "And you guys once called me a criminal."

"Watch yourself Wolf." Peppy quickly straightened the holo discs that had scattered. "We made this decision for Lylat. It seems there is always someone determined to destroy the peace we have worked to hard to build. Normally it's a new enemy we've never faced before and we lose a great many soldiers in their wake before we finally defeat them. This time we wanted to control our enemy so that we would be able to ensure a quick and easy surrender with little to no casualties."

"How the hell did you even manage to keep this thing under the radar?" Wolf demanded slowly pulling himself upright again. "How is it that the media hasn't even heard a word from Venom about them rebuilding Andross?"

"Please Wolf, controlling the media is rather simple. You simply threaten to withdraw their funding and they normally smarten up real quick." Pepper smirked. "It was something I was quite good at."

"Over the last few years we've been slowly 'losing' cargo ships near Venom, allowing them to get exactly what they needed when they needed it. But we forced them to work to our schedule, making it nearly impossible for them to work around us." Peppy slid a hologram to Wolf. "Take a look at that itinerary when you get back to Saragasso. You'll notice they're missing something that even we couldn't get our hands on."

"Not even Beltino could make sense of what it was, so I doubt that they'll be able to any better." Pepper looked over at Peppy. "Speaking of him, where is he?"

"He's taken over Slippy's projects while he's a mission with Star Falco."

"Star Falco? You gave that retired bird a team? And a mission?" Wolf growled. "What the hell Peppy?"

"They're going after the one who hacked our military network." Peppy explained. "I just hope they get to him before he goes public with what he got."

"And what did he get Peppy?" Wolf asked, looking down at the hologram finally. The first thing he saw was the same image Dash had sent him.

"That." Peppy replied. "If there's nothing else Wolf, we've got other things to do. You are dismissed." Wolf said nothing as he walked quickly out of Peppy's office and headed towards his ship. There was a thought he had at the back of his mind that continuously flickered as he looked down at the image of Andross. He placed the hologram inside of his pocket and picked up the pace. But still, that thought lingered.

'Whose side was he truly on?'

"Ok, I'll tell him. Yes, that's not a problem. Man, when the hell where you this nice to me? Oh sure, blame it on joint. Whatever, later."

Jay looked over at Ghost who had just entered his hideout. "Let me guess who that was." He laughed as Ghost growled in frustration. "He's got that effect huh?"

"He's a damn asshole." Ghost muttered before sitting across from Jay. "He said he'd meet up with you soon; to help ease things along as he put it. But I gotta ask Jay, why not just call Shattered and Kursed and tell them to meet up with you somewhere closer than Venom? What's the point of this long waiting period?"

"I've got my reasons Ghost, you know that." Jay sighed he reached for his bottle of beer and grabbed it, dragging it closer to himself. "They've got to remember how to be a team if they're going to beat him."

Ghost groaned and grabbed the unopened bottle of beer in front of her. "That's another thing. Why don't we just go deal with Andross ourselves? Dash wouldn't stand the chance against us three. Those damn pilots would be shaking in their cockpits if they saw our ships flying towards them."

"I've stirred up a hornet's nest Ghost. The Cornerian Army wants my to answer for what I've done. The images I took are worth more to them now than every fence on Kew combined. If I do anything within near a planet of Lylat they'll know. I've been able to outsmart them for these last few years, but I'm running out of tricks."

Ghost twisted the cap off the beer and took a long drink. "Then go show them who you really are. That'll throw a wrench or two in their plans."

Jay chuckled, and took a drink of his own beer. "We both know the time isn't right for that. When Star Falco meets up with us, that's when I'll drop this name."

"Fine, fine. But I'm bringing a camera to get their reactions once they see you."

"I'm sure it'll be a shock for everyone." Jay smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here. We should be able to get to Venom just before, what was you nickname for him again?"

"That asshole." Ghost replied before chugging down her beer. She slammed the bottle on the table and shuddered. "How the hell can people do that for more than one beer?" She quickly caught up with Jay as they made their way to their ships. "You sure that old thing is going to make it to Venom?"

"It's helped me survive this long, I doubt she'll fail me now." Jay rested his hand against his ship, letting it slide along as he got to the ladder. "You will make it there, right old girl?"

Ghost chuckled as she powered up her ship and waited until Jay's comm line was green before leading them off of Kew, blasting at full speed towards Venom.

Kursed swore under her breath as she opened her eyes once more.

For the better part of the hour she hadn't been able to focus her telepathy as much as she used to. She knew she was well out of practise, but she figured that the natural ability of her race wouldn't be so damn hard to use even after years of suppressing it.

She had used it only twice when she started her bounty hunter career, and she couldn't handle the emotional stress it gave listening to a person plead with her mentally then suddenly stop. The silence haunted her for weeks, and she soon locked away the ability deep in her mind.

Now it felt like reading a dusty old book; it was something to be treated carefully and gently. If she tried to hard to extend her telepathy's range she could end up knocking herself out. While it felt like she was getting no where she actually had managed to be able to sense the entire room she had been given on this ship as well as the hallway next to it.

"Fuck it." She muttered. "What we did isn't something we'll be able to ignore. The mind link only worked for couples destined to be together. Even if we did split apart, it should react like we've never left each other."

There had been one case of this on Cerinia before. A couple split up after they had mind linked, due to a major fight between their families. At first they had resented one another, but after a few years they randomly found each other in the marketplace, and they instantly continued their relationship as if nothing had happened between them. If she remembered correctly those two were married in secret in the local temple. Their bond causes a peace between the families.

She scoffed. "Mom and Dad faced a situation just like this. But I'm not sure if I want it to be him."

A knock at her door caused her to gasp. "C-come in." She brushed herself off and moved to her bed, forcing a smile as Shattered walked into her room. "Please, sit." She patted the bed beside her and waited for the vulpine to sit before continuing. "I asked you here because there was something I wanted to show you. But before I do, I want to have your word that you will follow my lead."

"I'd trust you more than I'd trust the other guys on this ship Kursed." Shattered grinned. "But if my word is what you want, then you have it."

Kursed nodded and cupped his jaw his her hand. "Thank you." Almost like in her memory she moved his hand up to her jaw and leaned her head forward until it was touching his. "Close your eyes and take three deep breaths, hold for ten seconds and release it."

Shattered closed his eyes. But something about this seemed familiar. Like he had done something like this before. "Three." He said, his mind searching for an answer. "Two."

"One." Kursed finished before they took their first breath, then their second. On their third breath she began to count down from ten, focusing with all her might to try and reactivate a link she hoped she wouldn't find.

'I was over you Fox McCloud.'

Shattered pulled back instantly, grabbing his head. "What the hell? Kursed, what did..." He stopped feeling something he hadn't in some time.

Her presence.

"Krystal?"

Kursed felt tears forming in her eyes, and she couldn't tell if it was happiness or anger. "Fox."

Shattered wanted to reach out and touch her, surely this was a dream. He tried to speak but no words would come. He slowly reached out to rub her shoulder but his hand was hit away but the now sobbing vixen.

"I was over you Fox, I had finally moved on. I thought with Shattered I could give a relationship another shot. But somehow..." She took a shaky breath. "Somehow it just turned out to be you all over again."

"Krystal." Shattered repeated. "I..." He reached out to touch her once more, this time he grabbed her shoulder, confirming this wasn't a dream. "How didn't I notice this before?" He slowly began to rub her shoulder hoping in some small way to would comfort her. "You left Krystal, you left Lylat. I had nothing, no way to look for you."

Kursed sobbed. "I left when you needed me the most because you broke my heart. I knew it was a stupid idea but you needed to understand the pain I was in Fox." She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and turn away from him. "Our mind link was supposed to make us act as if none of this never happened, to just go back to what we were."

Shattered stood up and walked to the door. "I want that Krystal, but I need time to think this over. I'm sure you do as well."

"Fox?" Kursed asked before Shattered could open the door. The vulpine didn't reply but looked back at her, tears in his eyes now as well. "I'm sorry I left."

"I'm sorry I made you." He said as he walked out of her room and down the hall. Kursed laid down on the bed, letting her so perfectly bottled up emotions free for the first time in years. Through their link she could feel him doing the same. And she prayed that they could indeed continue like nothing had happened.

"Hey, the code is starting to act up again!" Slippy announced as Falco walked back into the bridge. "We might not even need to land on Katina!"

"Oh good, that place is pretty boring." Falco laughed as he sat down on his captain's chair. "Is it giving you the next location yet?"

"Not yet, it just started acting up. When we had it on Corneria it was plain as day. But this one is different. Nothing too difficult for me mind you, but still different." Slippy slid a finger across his screen, sending the image to the larger one in front of Falco. "The closer we get to Katina the quicker I can get us to the next planet."

"I figured that much Slip." Falco leaned forward, feigning an interest in the image. "So what letters do you got so far?"

"It's written in Zonian, so I'm not sure on the number of letters just yet. I was actually hoping you could help me out with that."

"Zonian is not something I remember a lot of. But I do know someone who speaks it. And she should be getting here soon." Falco grinned. "Katt's been meaning to say 'hi' by the way."

"I knew you'd get her in on Star Falco!" Slippy laughed. "I'm sure it took a lot of convincing too."

"Please she practically begged me to join." Falco leaned back in his seat and rested his hands behind his head. "Besides, she's a hell of a pilot and we don't really know what to expect from this Jay guy so I figured why not have one more ship on our side?"

"Incoming transmission from Katt Monroe." Rob stated before adjusting the flight path slightly. "Course adjusted for priority landing."

"Katt, good to hear from you again so soon!" Falco grinned. "As you might of heard you've got priority landing, courtesy of moi."

Katt giggled and rolled her eyes. "You act as if you didn't beg me to come along on Star Falco's first mission." Slippy began to laugh harder as Falco nearly feel out of his chair. "Oh I'm sorry Falco, was that not common knowledge."

"See you in a bit Monroe. Falco out." Falco quickly looked over at Slippy. "Shaddup you."

"Falco, I think you're more whipped than I am." Slippy snickered he began sending what he had of the code to Katt's wrist comm so she could be prepped when she docked.

"Rob call everyone to the bridge when Katt gets here." Falco ordered as he stood up and made his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" Slippy called after the avian.

"To make myself more presentable." Falco muttered before leaving Slippy alone to look over the code once more.

Questions, comments, queries, or concerns?

Ghost is owned by ~Kazila and used with permission.

In a reply to:

Blazehunter64 - Well if they do have some 'quality time' I'm sure it'll be behind closed doors.

Guest - I think if Corneria caught a break most of us writers would be out of ideas lol.

bryan mccloud - Thanks, and hey check out who's here! Katt! xD

Jesusismygod2 - Thanks! I read what you have so far on your story Broken, and even if I'm overly picky about how Tyronos acts, I'm enjoying the story so far!

Kazila - You know I don't take sucker bets. Also, I think that Ghost/Kursed beating up Falco would be lawls!