AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):

Alright, I'll admit that I screwed up. I had intended for this story to have four parts, but when I went to cut the third part out of the original one-piece document, I realized how short it was. Since I'm none to fond of short chapters, I decided that the last two parts needed to be merged into one. Therefore, this is actually the last chapter.

Chapter 3 of 3: One Final Reconciliation

Krystal stood up and brushed the wet sand off of her fur and clothes before walking towards a wooded area, where a pathway had been cut through the trees. Fox closely followed her, finding a certain joy in watching her hips sway back and forth as she walked along. Reading into Fox's thoughts, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. Moments like this made Fox feel incredibly lucky to have Krystal as his wife. For someone as headstrong and stubborn as she, the vixen was closely in tune with Fox's wants and desires.

The two foxes entered the lush forest, following the path that led to the mountains. All around them, the exotic wildlife of Cerinia flourished in its natural state—the way that it had before it was destroyed. Fox tried to avoid thinking too much about the planet's demise for Krystal's sake, but he couldn't help but wish that it was still around for them to visit. Perhaps he and Krystal could have lived out their lives on the beautiful planet.

Sensing Fox's thoughts, Krystal turned around with an understanding smile and said, "You're not the only one who's thought about that, Fox. My family would have loved you—actually; we all would have loved you."

Fox gave his wife a weak grin and patted her arm before they began to walk again. He noticed that the elevation had already increased, but the rate of ascent seemed wrong to him. The mountains were surprisingly close to the ocean, but they towered over the body of water, standing more than a thousand feet tall. Fox feared that a strenuous climb was soon to come.

Strangely, he also began to feel hungry; and his stomach confirmed it with a growl that even Krystal was able to hear. Stopping in her tracks and turning to Fox, the vixen asked him, "Feeling hungry, Fox?"

"Well, yeah," he answered, "Is that normal?"

Krystal quietly laughed and replied, "I'm not sure, Fox. You ate quite a bit at dinner, so you shouldn't be hungry. However, if you need something to eat, I'll be more than happy to give you a special treat. Follow me."

With a spring in her step, Krystal jogged through the woods with Fox close behind. The two of them navigated through dense vines, lush tropical flowers, and a shallow forest creek before they stepped out into a clearing where a single palm tree stood. The tree itself was remarkable in size. Standing over fifty feet tall and sporting eight enormous fronds, it towered over the vast majority of the palms in the area. At the very top, at the base of the leaves, were several clusters of yellow, melon-like fruits.

Pointing up at the yellow bulbs, Krystal explained, "Those were my favorites when I was a girl. We Cerinians definitely had a sweet tooth."

"What do they taste like?" Fox asked, intrigued by the prospect of eating one of the fruits even though he didn't have the slightest idea of how he would be able to get his hands on one, considering that they were fifty feet above his head.

"You're about to find out for yourself," the vixen replied, grinning from ear to ear. "Watch and learn."

Fox shook his head in amazement as Krystal approached the tree, kicked off her sandals, and began to climb it. The protruding portions of its trunk enabled the vixen to find her footing with ease, although Fox couldn't help but think that climbing the tree without shoes must have been excruciatingly painful. He remained silent while the native Cerinian skillfully ascended the tree trunk, breathing heavily and focusing in order to avoid falling to the ground below. She had seen several of her own people plummet from similar heights and wind up seriously injured—or even paralyzed or killed in some cases.

In time, Krystal reached the top of the tree trunk that had narrowed significantly compared to its thick, sturdy base. Reaching out her hand, she swatted at one of the fruit clusters, sending it to the ground below. "Catch, Fox!" she yelled, grinning as her mate leapt through the air to prevent the largest of the three bulbs from hitting the ground. He caught the fruit and rolled over onto his back, covered in sand from head to toe. In a matter of seconds, Krystal climbed down the tree and dropped to the sand below. Picking up one of the other bulbs, she sat down next to Fox and carved an incision down the yellow fruit's equator with her claws, slicing it in half. The food's aromatic smell began to work its way into Fox's olfactory senses, nearly causing him to salivate while he attempted to cleave his snack in two.

While Fox tried in vain to cut open his snack, Krystal scooped the mash of seeds and pulp out of her fruit's core and buried her mouth in it. She ate it daintily, but with a ravenous appetite that Fox couldn't help but notice. A few seconds later, she looked over at him with her mouth covered in yellow juice and fruit particles. "Do you need help?" she giggled, mumbling through the food in her mouth.

"Yeah—I can't open this stupid thing!"

"Hold on," she replied, smiling as she took Fox's fruit out of his hands and deftly carved a line through its center. Just like hers had, it split cleanly in two, revealing its tasty core.

"Thanks," Fox mumbled, giving the fruit a quick sniff before sinking his teeth into it. The taste of the exotic Cerinian fruit was one that he would never forget. The overwhelming amount of sugar contained in each bite shocked him, although he didn't notice the tingling sensation in his teeth that he received whenever he ate a candy bar or drank a soft drink on Corneria. In terms of flavor, the yellow snack fell into the 'citrus' category. The predominant flavor was similar to that of an orange, albeit with a far more robust, sweet taste that almost entirely lacked acidity. He savored every bite and sated himself with it until only the rind remained. With his muzzle in the same state as Krystal's, he smiled at the vixen and remarked, "That was unbelievably good."

"I thought you'd like that," Krystal replied. "Care to help me up?"

"Sure thing," said Fox. He stood up and offered his hand to Krystal, but instead of helping her to her feet, he pulled her off the ground and swung her onto his back. She screamed in glee and wrapped her arms around his collar bone for support, while her legs found a solid anchor in his lower chest.

With Krystal clinging to him and giggling like a young fox kit, Fox made his way back to the forest path that steadily increased in elevation. Carrying Krystal's extra weight caused him to begin panting after a matter of time; and not too long after that, he realized that his body was drenched in sweat. Deciding that he had carried Krystal far enough, he stopped and set her down on the ground. The blue vixen tickled his muzzle with a smile and pointed to her right. "Look, Fox."

Fox glanced at the area that Krystal had indicated and gasped. Far below them was the clearing they had arrived in, along with the enormous tropical forest that surrounded it. At their current elevation, Fox noticed that the types of trees that dotted the landscape were quite different from the trees below. Some of them featured red leaves rather than green. This trend persisted as the path continued to climb; with red eventually overtaking green as the predominant color.

The narrow path ended in a sharp, black cliff wall that reached upwards for more than a hundred feet. At first, Fox believed it to be impossible to climb; but he began to think otherwise when he noticed a set of subtle footholds carved into the sheer rock face. Turning to Krystal, he asked, "Couldn't you have picked an easier way up?"

The vixen grinned at him and put her foot into the first impression in the rock. "Yes, I could have; but this is the fastest way." She reached her hand upwards and grabbed at the next grip hold, pulling herself up until she was able to catch her footing on another one of the cleverly-placed footholds. "Come on, Fox!" she urged her mate, temporarily looking down to where he stood.

Fox uneasily wedged his foot into the first foothold, easing himself upwards and trying to avoid making a fatal error while Krystal ascended the vertical wall with the grace and fluidity of someone who had climbed walls such as this one many times before. Not to say that Fox was incapable of pulling himself up, though. His campaign to Sauria four years ago had forced him to learn the intricacies of survivalist tactics that he otherwise wouldn't have felt the need to acquaint himself with. For a moment, he paused and looked up. Krystal had just finished pulling herself up to the ledge at the top of the cliff, while thirty more feet stood between him and his goal.

His muscles began to grow tired as he neared the top of the cliff wall, and it seemed to him like his hands were losing their tackiness and causing him to slip whenever he reached into one of the footholds. Nevertheless, only one step remained. As he pushed himself up with his feet while reaching for the ledge, his right foot slipped out of its hold. He yelled in terror, fearing that he would fall to the ground below and be killed—if that was possible in a dream. Then, he felt Krystal's soft hand grasping his own and helping him to regain his balance. She gripped his hand and assisted him in the final leg of his climb, using all of her strength to help bring him safely to the top of the cliff.

"Thanks," he said, gasping for breath and wondering what would have happened if Krystal had not been there to rescue him. Standing up, he took the vixen's hand and kissed it in a gentlemanly manner. Krystal smiled at him and nodded in approval of his amorous token of thanks as she began to walk towards a series of gray buildings not too far from the edge of the cliff.

The architecture seemed very different from the mirrored, modern texture of the distant city buildings that Fox had seen from the cliff overlooking the ocean. The area around them was best described as a courtyard. In front of them stood a shallow pool of water covered in lily pads. Around the water, a series of stone benches had been built; and at the assumed entrance and exit of the courtyard were two exotically-designed wooden arches with matching Cerinian glyphic symbols carved into them.

Hand in hand, Fox and Krystal strode through the area, admiring the red foliage of the autumn trees that resembled maples from Corneria. The main difference, however, was that the leaves of the Cerinian trees blazed a bright red that caused even the most brilliant autumn forest in the Lylat to seem unimpressive in comparison. On the other side of the courtyard was a long, stone building held up by a series of columns and pillars. Torches burned on each and every one of them. At first, Fox thought that the natural light sources were unnecessary; but he soon realized that the sun was slowly disappearing behind the horizon. He had been enjoying his time with Krystal so much that he had completely lost track of time. In truth, several hours had gone by; but to him, it seemed like it had only been 30 minutes.

The red sunlight on the clouds above gave the illusion that the sky itself was on fire. The bright colors descended through the skies and reflected off the red-leaved trees around them, adding to the effect and prompting Fox to stare wide-eyed at the spectacle while Krystal wistfully gazed into the heavens. Moments like these helped her to remember the joy that she had once held as a girl on Cerinia. As a kit, Krystal remembered watching the skies every night, playing in the warm ocean, and picking flowers in the open fields near the shoreline after a thunderstorm. It saddened her that the closest she would ever be to reliving those experiences was when she dreamed about them. At least this time Fox was with her.

While Fox looked on, she thought about one last thing she could do to make her mate's experience on Cerinia unforgettable. It would be almost certain to stick in his mind for the rest of his life; but at the same time, it would bring great sadness to her. Deep in her heart, though, she knew that she needed to do it, even if it meant that the dream would collapse due to her own sadness.

Squeezing Fox's hand, Krystal looked into his eyes and murmured, "Fox, there's one more thing I need to show you."

"What, Krystal?" he asked in return. The Cerinian's melancholy demeanor caused him to believe that what she intended to show him was something very dear to her heart—something that she would never be able to retrieve in the real world. He felt his wife's downheartedness through her touch as she led him through the pillars into the long, ancient building that contained numerous books and artifacts. Before he could ask Krystal what the purpose of the building was, she intercepted his thoughts and explained, "This was something similar to what you would call a shrine. My people called it a Ha'arava. It was a place dedicated to the study of the spirit realm. I spent many hours here when I was younger, learning from the elders who lived and studied here."

"Interesting," Fox mumbled, although his interests in the esoteric studies were less than keen. The shelves of books and scrolls contained in the halls were of slight interest to him, but in comparison to the natural beauty of the planet, they came across as virtually insignificant.

Another hallway crossed over the hall which Fox and Krystal found themselves in, with the waning evening light flooding in through the pillars to their right. Motioning for Fox to follow her, Krystal turned left and stepped into the second corridor. The hallway adjacent to the one they had formerly been in was significantly darker; but in the distance, the sunset could be seen. The hallway led to another set of pillars on the opposite side of the stone building, which in turn led outside to another courtyard similar to the first one that Fox and Krystal had passed through before entering the shrine-like structure.

The final rays of the sun began to disappear beneath the horizon as Fox and Krystal descended the steps leading from the shrine and entered the back courtyard, where an elaborate fountain in the shape of a Cerinian vixen wielding a staff stood in the middle. As with the first courtyard, benches were positioned on both sides of the fountain. On the stone bench closest to them sat two blue foxes, one male, and one female. Both of them wore white attire similar to Fox and Krystal's, albeit more modest.

Upon seeing the two of them, Krystal stopped in her tracks. The two Cerinians stood up and approached the vixen, who vainly attempted to hold back the tears that she felt prompted to shed at the appearance of her long-lost parents.

Her mother placed a hand on Krystal's shoulder and whispered into her ear, "Don't cry, Krystal. We're so proud of you. We always knew you would grow up to be someone special in someone's eyes." She pointed at Fox. "Is this your mate?"

"Yes," Krystal replied, turning to face Fox.

The pair of elder Cerinians ran their eyes over Fox's figure, observing him in silence while their tails whisked back and forth behind them. This time, Krystal's father was the first to speak. "It saddens me that I never got to see your love for each other blossom into what it is now. I can see that you love my daughter very much, and it brings joy to my heart that I can't even begin to express."

"Thank you, sir," Fox replied, showing obeisance to the older Cerinian.

"You're supposed to bow, Fox."

The vulpine looked back and forth across the courtyard until he realized that it had been Krystal who had placed the telepathic suggestion in his mind. "Oh…sorry…"

He stiffened his posture and bowed in front of Krystal's father, who chuckled at his awkward mannerisms and assured him, "Relax—you haven't offended either of us. Although I would have thought that my daughter would have explained more of our culture to you… After all, she is destined to be the mother of the new Cerinian race."

Krystal's eyes widened as she stared at her father. "How do you know that?" she asked, intent on receiving his answer.

"Many things that are unknown in the temporal realm are revealed in death, Krystal," he replied. "You and your husband will carry on the legacy of our people. Even though he is not one of us, it makes no difference in the end. I pray that you will take care of your children when they come. And please, remember to be grateful that you live in a world where they will have a chance to grow and experience life, unlike the millions of innocent Cerinians whose lives were brought to an untimely end."

"We will," Krystal assured him, speaking on behalf of both her and Fox.

As the sun disappeared below the horizon, Krystal's father sighed and extended his hand for Fox to shake. "It's been my pleasure to meet you. What is your name?"

"Fox," he answered, not mentioning his last name in order to retain the consistency with Krystal's former lack of a surname.

Krystal's father gave him a faint smile and said, "Fox, take care of my daughter. If you do this, I promise you that she will show you depths of love that you wouldn't have thought possible. As a foreigner, do you understand how fortunate you are to have her?"

"I do," Fox replied.

"Be thankful that she loves you," the Cerinian continued. "For years, I and my wife prayed that our daughter would find someone worth loving—not just for his strength and intelligence, but also for his heart. After all these years, our prayers have been answered. Take care of her, Fox."

"I will."

"I know you will," the Cerinian replied. "It is with great resignation that I say that it is time for you two to go now. Don't worry—we can wait for another day to see you again." He reached out his hand, and Fox grasped it and firmly shook it. After Krystal's father released his grip on Fox's hand, Krystal's mother approached Fox and put her arms around his neck. Her embrace felt so similar to Krystal's—even her scent was similar, as was the soft, downy texture of her fur.

"Goodbye, Fox," she whispered. "We might not be there to physically watch your children grow, but we will be watching them every step of the way." She pulled away from Fox and turned to her right, where a stone frame stood with a blue substance occupying the space between its borders.

Krystal turned to Fox and took his hand, gripping it the same way that she had when they had entered the dream. "Looks like it's time to go now, Fox."

As the two began to walk, he asked her, "Are we going to be able to come back here again?"

Krystal's eyes softened as she replied, "Maybe, but probably not. As wonderful as it is, it's only a shadow of what used to be. We have lives to live, and spending our time in a place that doesn't exist anymore isn't going to help us live them out."

Fox sighed in disappointment and murmured, "You're right. We do have lives to live. But thank you so much for taking me here. It's more beautiful than I could have ever imagined." He paused and stopped walking when only ten feet separated them from the stone frame, which both he and Krystal knew was a portal that would end their out-of-body experience and send them back to their conscious reality.

"But it's nowhere near as beautiful as you."

Just before the two stepped through the blue portal, Fox drew Krystal in for a tender kiss sparked by the heightened sense of passion he felt for his mate in his state of altered consciousness. Krystal's father and mother watched as the two vulpines expressed their affections for each other almost as if they were unaware that they were being watched. Then again, they didn't care. Lost in each other's touch, they embraced and exchanged kisses for upwards of a minute before Krystal patted her mate on the shoulder and said, "Let's go, Fox."

The blue substance between the frame gave off a high-frequency whine as they approached it. With only two feet separating them from the end of one of their most memorable experiences as a couple, Fox stopped and looked around the now-darkened courtyard one last time. He looked at the red-leafed trees, the ancient stone building and its oriental décor, the rustic fountains, the star-filled skies above him, Krystal's smiling parents, and finally Krystal herself.

With his hand held tightly in hers, he stepped into the portal with her. The same way that they had arrived on Cerinia, the world faded to white, leaving Fox without any physical sensations apart from the constant feeling of Krystal's hand in his own. Colors began to return to his vision before too long, although the whites only seemed to turn to grays.

In a moment, he felt his consciousness snap out of the lucidity that Krystal had induced in him. He snapped his eyes open and found himself in his king-sized bed back on Corneria, pressed against Krystal's body with his hand locked in her grasp. He glanced at her just as she took a deep breath and awoke from her dream. Her eyes fluttered open, reminding Fox of why he often made it a point to wake up before her for the sole purpose of seeing her awaken.

"Good morning, Fox," she whispered, stroking his stomach and sitting up in bed. The bedsheets that covered her body dropped to her waist when she sat up, giving him two reminders that neither of them were dressed. In imitation of her, he sat up and stroked his mate's bare back until something outside his large bedroom window caught his attention. Feeling disoriented after his shared dream with Krystal, he climbed out of bed and shuffled over to the window.

Upon closer examination, he realized that an early-morning snowstorm was brewing up. He shook his head in amazement and sighed. It was seldom that snow ever came to Corneria City, especially in such heavy quantities. He was visibly peeved that it had to fall during one of his only vacation periods for the year, but knowing that he was snowed in with his favorite blue vixen brought a faint smile to his face that attempted to chase away the disappointment of being stuck with nowhere to go.

He walked over to the nightstand beside the bed, tested the light, and found it to be non-operational. "Power's out," he observed, trying to remain upbeat in spite of his growing frustration. Once again, he stepped in front of the window and watched as the white precipitation blanketed his back yard, his back porch, and all the furniture on it—even the fence at the back of his property. The swimming pool in the middle of the back patio was the only thing that hadn't been visibly affected by the snow. He thought about the prospect of turning on the water heater and going for a wintry morning swim with Krystal, but he remembered that the power was out and bit his lip in disappointment.

As he unhappily stared out the window, he heard the sheets rustle behind him and felt himself being forcefully pulled back into bed by his tail. He crashed onto the mattress on his back, giving Krystal a chance to fall onto his torso and give him a lick on the nose. "Looks like we're stuck, Fox," she giggled with a seductive grin. "There's only one thing we can do now."

Fox smiled and took a deep breath. "I think I can handle that."

AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):

Well, there it is. I'll leave it up to your imagination to figure out what happened next. Hopefully you enjoyed this short little piece of fluffy adventure. I was going to say that if there was enough interest, I would consider creating another story based on Cerinia; but then I remembered that The Oasis is going to be going there before too long.

At any rate, thanks for reading! And as always, your feedback is most welcome.