A chapter so long I had to divide it in two acts. Luckily, it fitted perfectly. Krystal getting Fox out of Nether. How will Fox react? Especially after all he has been through? Will he forgive and forget? Or will he join Délarbé permanently.

Chapter 13: Judgment and Punishment

Act 1: Krystal

A familiar coolness surrounds her. The neutral temperature of the boring, white-plated Nether. Light seems to have returned and the room shows no sign of it ever changing shape. No scent and no noise aside from her own breathing. Without any special welcome, she's once more in the room where she first came in, but it looks bigger and more rectangular than before. As no voice speaks of her arrival, something seems wrong. It gives her a chill running over her back.

'Is this still that room?' she wonders. She takes a look around. The hallway leading to Fox's room isn't there anymore. Did their rooms merge? 'Ooh... I knew shouldn't have traveled without Nether to guide me.' she says in hindsight. 'Without him, Délarbé can do whatever he wishes to do.'

But she stays strong. He isn't here otherwise she would be able to sense him. She picks her ring of ground and puts it back on her finger. She taps the jewel so see if the spirits are still with her. They are but severely weakened by the power they had to commit to get Krystal here without Nether to help her.

'I'm only gonna need you once more today. Take some rest.' she wishes to them before she tries to orient herself. She walks around the room, checking every corner and scanning the entire interior. But no sign or trail of Fox. So she decides to try one of tiles, to see if they are loose. She picks a random one on the wall.

'Let's see if... hrrrrr!' She pushes and pulls at the tile as hard as she can. 'Argh! What kind of super glue did they use for this one?'

She takes a few steps back and readies her shoulder for a charge. It seems a little stupid but sometimes brute force beats careful thinking. After talking some bravery into herself, she charges at the tile only to have it backfire on herself. She lands on the floor as she starts to feel the pain on her shoulder. Brain beats brawn here.

'Aw! Aw aw aw! Dammit! Ow! That really hurts.' She stands up and dusts herself off. She feels her shoulder; the pain was a little hyperbolical thanks to the startling of the unexpected backfire. 'Bah! Now what?' she wonders desperately as she fixes her hair back the way they were.

Unknown to her, another person has entered the room. Silent, he comes a little closer to Krystal, to see if it's really her. Krystal feels the presence of that person behind her stopping in his tracks. She turns around to see the person she has been searching for: Fox.

He hasn't changed. His scarf, fur color and overall outfit aren't different from when she left Starfox that day. The only thing is that, despite being free from being bound, that's off is that he doesn't look up at her. He keeps his face down to the ground. Krystal has no problem with it, treating it like he's thinking about all that happened. Maybe it was a surprise to get out or to see her here.

'Fox!' she exclaims overjoyed at the sight of him in one piece.

'Krystal, what are you doing here?' he says with a less vivid voice than he always had.

An unusual way of saying hello but she doesn't give it that much attention. 'I'm here to get you out of here. So we can be together again.'

Fox looks up in the air. 'Nether is not with you I see?'

'No. Otherwise it would be impossible to get you out of here.'

'Hm.' He lowers his head and looks right into Krystal's eyes. It's not a friendly gaze, seriously affected by something villainous. His behavior and eerie radiance surely matches it. 'So how did you get here then?' inquires Fox even colder.

*Why does he react so lifeless? He wouldn't have heard about... no! That's impossible. Nothing more than a stupid mistake.*

She puts that awful thought aside as she answers Fox's inquiring. 'I got here because of my mother's spirit ring. They have just enough power left to bring to the both of us back home.' she explains persuasive.

Unfortunately for her, Fox has different plans. He crossed his arms in dismay and shakes his head. 'I'm not coming with you.' he marks simple.

Krystal doesn't understand. 'What do you mean Fox? I'm getting out of this place.' she repeats hoping to change Fox's mindset.

'Are you deaf?' he says with a raised voice. 'I'm not coming with you.'

'But... why not? You-you hate this place.'

'Meh... not so much anymore.' He walks around, looking around Nether like it was his elderly house with so many memories. He can, in fact, picture the whole house in his head. 'This place was once my confinement.' He grabs something off his belt. 'But I was wrong to call it that way.' He turns his back on Krystal. 'Someone here showed me the truth behind the vilest scheme I've lain my eyes and ears upon. That someone said: 'Learn the truth or live on like an ignorant fool.'

He reveals the object he grabbed from his belt to be a grey tape recorder. He holds it in front of his face so that Krystal can see it too. 'On this tape, I heard the very reason why I shouldn't leave this place with you. Why I should call it... more like home.'

He turns his back on Krystal, still holding the tape recorder in his paws. Krystal in the meantime has been trying to process what's going on. Why would he turn her away? Who is that someone?

*That someone! The demon I saw in the storage!*

It's a shocking eye-opener for her. The someone Fox is referring to is Délarbé! 'Fox? Is it... that someone... that demon?' No answer. It's dead silent on his side. It nerves Krystal a little.

'Fox.' she says with a raised voice. 'You can't trust anything he says! He's a twisted, manipulative being.'

Fox says nothing. The only thing he does, is raise the recorder in the air. He pushes the play button and the truth comes to light. Luckily, Délarbé had a spare copy lying around. And the trap he set, closes down on Krystal now. What should have happened in the storage, happens right here.

Krystal is frozen solid as her moaning, her sexual pleads are heard all over the room. It echoes and bounces throughout the room. Her worst fear has become reality: Fox's discovery of her cheating with Panther. Everything is on the tape. From start to finish. Even Phantom's interruption is recorded after which it cheerfully continued. Tears of regret and feeling of being caught break out of Krystal's eyes as she can no longer suppress them. They are mostly out of regret.

'It was a... stupid mistake Fox. Please...' She falls onto her paws and knees. As if out of mercy, with a click of a button, Fox makes the tape stop running. He puts the recorder back on his belt and turns to a broken Krystal.

'Get up Krys.' he commands even colder. 'I'm not done with you yet.'

Slowly but surely, she gets off the floor. She's not sure what to expect from what's coming. 'Y-yet?'

'Yeah. You know? Yet!' he shouts, treating her like an idiot. 'Why shouldn't I trust him who give me this overwhelming evidence that you, YOU of all people, was stabbing me in the F-ING back, again!?'

Krystal has no answer for that accusation. The realization and outburst of Fox, the second she has to endure, has made her into a zombie. Shuddering and with a floaty mind, her heart beating in her throat, her breathing stagnating, she stands there. Taking Fox's very true words and feelings like the bitter pills they are, hoping that after this all will okay again.

'You know what has happened in this place? That made me call it more like home?' he inquires still flamin' pissed.

No answer comes from the guilt-filled vixen. Fox uses the same reasoning Délarbé used: no answer is still an answer. 'When you first promised to get me out of here, you resurrected me from the ashes that, for the record, you created.' He only brings that up extra accusation up to thicken Krystal's feeling of guilt. 'I was a man again. Thinking that our lives would better again, together.'

He spitted a little at that last word so he wipes his mouth, groaning in between that it interrupts his building ranting.

'So along came the devil, aka Dé himself, following you in your departure. It seems that you nearly killed him when came here guided by Nether. He froze when he was with the Russians. When he offered me to come along with him to take care of all those that would bug with our new beginning, I said yes.'

'A-all for us?' she says shaky, again having underestimated Fox's dedication to their relationship.

'Yes. For "us". From there on out I've seen the death of my father, Leon and Wolf. I couldn't be present when Dé skewered my father to the wall. Délarbé hated that. But fortunately I got my revenge when I gave Wolf his apology. That was all last night Krystal.'

'I-I... had no idea.' she confesses woeful. 'What happened next?'

'I saw a change in Dé. He began to... like me more than he did with any other host. That however, made him weak. When he tried to get me on his side, his last chance, it was this very morning in the storage. Dé had it all set up. But when I saw it was you who was the last he wanted to get rid off, I fled the scene. Because I didn't want to believe that Dé was right. Pah! What a fool I've been to not believe what the reincarnation of my inner evil said.'

He can't believe how much of an enormous idiot he has been not to trust Délarbé. As his inner evil, he sees things from another angle. Krystal is no exception. He saw that she was a lost cause from the beginning. Perhaps that was the reason why Fox was always so distant when faced with his relationship with Krystal.

The longer Fox continues, the fewer chances are that he's gonna forgive her. She feels his rage building up from the inside, ignited by Hellfire. It's her final chance to do something. Instead of talking it out, she ventures into Fox's mind to uncover who's pulling the strings in there.

'I'm doing this for us Fox. This will feel a little strange in the beginning.' she states as she closes her eyes and focuses deeply. Fox is too late to react to anything she just said; the surprise effect left his mind open and unprotected.

Like having a pounding headache, Fox grabs his head as pain forces him to the ground. 'Is this what you meant with a little strange!?' screams Fox to a Krystal who's already in his head.

'You are resisting Fox. Just let handle it for a minute.'

His breathing gets heavier as he feels her digging through all his thoughts and memories. He has had quite enough of everyone trying to mend his mind to their liking. Krystal might be the worst of them all

'Enough! Get out of my head!' he commands powerful as he prods his finger in the sides of his head.

'Fox. Please, just let me...'

'Get... OUT!' he screams elaborate as his fur color begins to wither along with a change in eye color and form. Krystal is back in her own body after the forceful expel as she witnesses upon a changing and furious Fox McCloud.

'Why the hell did you do that!? Like I haven't been through enough!'

'You resisted Fox. If you didn't...'

'Are you... seriously trying to start an argument?' asks Fox in disbelief. 'Oh my lord. So darn stubborn! I've been through enough torture as it is now. When I bailed out at the storage, Délarbé got back at me. Hard!'

Once more, Krystal is silent. Her last change just shattered in front of her eyes as Fox keeps tormenting her.

'You had no idea, did you?' he accuses. Once more, she has no idea. 'He sent me back to the chair and forced me by means of screeching souls circling around my head! Trying to… pfff… talk me into joining him.'

It seems like Fox is calming down. Fur color changes back as well as the eye color. His rage subsides as the Hellfire is reduced to a candle flame. Maybe her intervention helped to see what monster that "Dé" really is.

'It was absolutely... horrendous.' he says crying as he looks up at Krystal with questioning eyes. 'I nearly broke under it. It was such... ugh… I don't the words for it.'

Krystal comes carefully closer to a more humane looking Fox. This is the Fox she remembers, the one she fell in love with. The one who's not afraid to show his emotions to her and yet still be able to lead a team of ace pilots.

'Fox.' she says soothing as she is within arm's reach. 'Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright.' she assures as she hugs Fox.

Fox permits it, still too flabbergasted to react. It seems all will be fine between the two again. Krystal even prepares her spirit ring behind Fox's back after leaving a kiss in his neck. She can't wait to show Phantom and the rest of Lylat that Fox is fine and they are back together. Fox even hugs her back, making her blush.

'Is everything... going to be alright again Krys?' verifies Fox whispering.

She nods. 'It will Fox. It most certainly will.' she confirms. The darkness that has enveloped his heart and soul, seems to close it's eyes.

Act 2: Délarbé

*Everything is going to be alright Fox.* speaks a cynical and annoyed toned voice inside Fox's head. It's not Krystal, but rather Délarbé's irritated black metal voice. It seems ages have passed since the darkness inside of him closed its eyes.

*Are seriously falling for that shit? Already regretting your sealed deal? I knew you were nothing more than an ignorant fool.* waves Délarbé off like throwing Fox into a thrash can.

*I'm not a...*

*Was me, your other half, dying in front of your eyes, not enough for you? Was me, killing off those that fucked you over, not enough!?*

*It was, but...*
*Or was me building you up, me toasting with you upon her upcoming grave with the moon being the witness, ME preparing you for all of this! ...just not enough?*

*No... It's more than enough...*

*Open your eyes then Fox! She's playing you. Fucking with you, mending and stirring your shit. She's gonna break your heart again and again. Is that how you intend to spend the rest of your life? Do I need to impersonate your magician Henry again!? Or better yet: In that vicious circle I've described? Leaving you in a Limbo of love and pain!? Huh!? Wake up… you… FUCK!*

The darkness opens up wide as remnants of the recording spook around in his head. He feels dizzy as his vision is distorted. Like he got a mad smack against his temple. Krystal, still around him with a smile on her face, has a faint red glow around her in his vision. A marking saying she's an enemy. All sorts of memories start to replay in his mind. Everything that he has been through in highlights under the song Délarbé played.

*'SAVE ME G...'*

Well, you're my friend, and can you see?

*'S-sorry for what I did to you...'*

Many times, we've been out drinking; Many times we shared our thoughts.

*'Because... you weren't there.' 'You weren't there...*

But did you ever, ever notice, the kind of thoughts I got?

*'It backfired. I was fully merged with your inner evil so I heard the same eerie voices...' 'They just wouldn't leave me alone.' 'All they saw, was you.'*

But can you see its opposition, comes rising up sometimes?

*'Y-you can't die... please.' 'I'm sorry for what I did Dé. If I had known all this...'*

That its dreadful imposition, comes blacking in my mind?

*'The truth... play for the truth. Record to erase the truth.'*

And then I see a darkness,
And then I see a darkness,
And then I see a darkness,
And then I see a darkness.
Did you know how much I love you? Its a hope that somehow you, can save me from this darkness.

*'He can't be dead.' 'He needs... holy water or a crucifix to be killed.'*

Well, I hope that someday buddy

*'Moving on, or enter the vicious circle of Limbo.'
'Hey gramps! Back from Venom already?'*

We have peace in our lives;
Together or apart, alone or with our wives

*'Sshssh. It's alright.' 'How you're handling this, is fantastic. Very mature of you. Your father would have been so proud of you.'*

And we can stop our whoring,
And pull the smiles inside

* I'm not asking for a miracle! Not for a God or an angel, but for a...' '...for a friend...'*

And light it up forever,
And never go to sleep.

* 'And never again.' 'Call me like you would call an old friend. Call me... Bill.'*

My best unbeaten brother

*'I think you're aware of how Krystal and I sometimes used to settle our differences.' 'You okay Foxy?' 'It's horrible to see such good potential go to waste.' 'Let me show you potential.'*

This isn't all I see.
Oh no, I see a darkness.
Oh no, I see a darkness.
Oh no, I see a darkness.
Oh no, I see a darkness.
Did you know how much I love you?

*'Now this! This I like!' 'Finally things are getting better.'*

Its a hope that somehow you,
Can save me from this darkness.

*'Like hell I will.'*

With that ending message, one that starts to dawn upon him again, he sees the magnitude of everything Délarbé, his true friend, shaped him back into. Fox likes it, without any sort of force of manipulation from the demon. On the contrast, he also sees what Krystal, his "true" love, had broken down.

*She longing for judgement.* transmits Délarbé from a corner in the room, darkened for this occasion. *Don't let the fair lady wait.*

Fox's right paw lifts from Krystal's back where it was completing the hug they are still in. He slowly withdraws it, still above waist height. It forms a strong fist as Fox prepares to get Krystal off of him by sheer force.

*Give it your best Fox.* encourages Délarbé, having materialized to his anthropomorphic form in the meantime of staying in the darkness. While the red dots watch upon the ordeal, they do cower away when the blow actually hits. Even if it's for a split-second.

'Owh! That has to hurt. If I can almost feel it... whew!' comments Délarbé impressed as he would take his hat off for the intensive blow. Sweat breaks out on his forehead as he wipes it away, glad that Fox didn't use any of that power on him.

Krystal in the meantime, getting a stomp in the kidney, stumbles back in astonishment and pain. Fox isn't done yet; he gives her another blow. This time a firm punch on the for him left side of her face, just missing the muzzle. She stumbles even further and nearly drops to the ground. While Fox casts off his paw, he regrets punching her a second time but a heartless look overshadows this feeling.

'F-Fox... you... you just punched me?' she weeps, stroking the left side of her face.

She can't believe it. She thought all was fine again. Did she not see that Fox was too far gone? Or that he was already gone from the beginning of this entire affair...

'No longer will you be able to play me!' marks Fox with a snarling and insulting tone. 'I'll never, ever belong to you.' His tone subsides to the cold manner it was before. 'Dust was all that was left of the ashes after you tore it all down. He built me up again. The rest of the ashes... May you perish it.' he wishes to her. He could just said 'drop dead' but he knows this hurts more.

Out of the shadows, Délarbé comes to aid and reinforce his only friend. Dressed in the red cape the Russians gave him. Just because Fox hates to see him naked all the time. Not for any other purposes. Well, maybe stealing the show with his appearance.

He stops next to Fox and places a supportive paw on Fox's left shoulder. He actually a little smaller than Fox to Krystal's surprise. Maybe a half-inch if it isn't less.

'You!' hisses Krystal at the sight of him, her ring-jewel shuddering in sync with her anger. 'You did this to him. You turned him into your slave!'

'Slave?' reacts Délarbé ludicrous with a snigger at the end as he lifts his paw from Fox's shoulder. Krystal is a little startled at the hearing of his unusual voice. 'Oh my dear. You have it at the wrong end. Fox here is not my slave. I' am in no control of his mind or body.' he tells, his voice unnervingly calm. 'Frankly, I've only been here for, what? A minute or so? Geh heh, Fox is free to roam wherever he wishes. Heaven, Hell, a different timeline, another realm...' He stops counting as the possibilities are once more endless. 'To the end of space and time shall we say?'

The two vulpines share some facing-time together to conclude with a shrug before looking at Krystal again. Opinion is not the only thing they share, also the grin are like each other's twin.

'Fox my friend, I think it's time for the final verdict.'

'Indeed it is Dé. The time is right.' agrees Fox as Délarbé begins to repeat what happened when they were alone at the view of the moon. This just to gross out Krystal; the transformation doesn't need to happen twice. Of course Krystal doesn't know this so this is just to further mend her weakened state of mind. And Délarbé wants to make this faked transformation extra special, just for Krystal. He places his right paw back on Fox's left shoulder.

Krystal's eyes are divided into parts of crying over the loss of Fox and sheer disgust of a moving blob underneath Délarbé's skin. A blob that moves towards his right paw, the one on Fox's shoulder.

Délarbé himself experiences a tickling, almost arousing sensation when it crosses through his arm. The sensation gains in effect to closer it gets to the fingertips. Once it arrives at the paw, it seems to have hit its mark; the claws on his paw puncture in Fox's shoulder as they transport the blob into Fox's body.

'FFFFUCK YEAH!' moans Délarbé triumphantly as if he just ejaculated. He feels so in control right now. Almost as if he was his Uncle Gilles, spreading his seeds across innocent children. Délarbé is back baby! 'Pwoeh! Mother Maria... wow! That was something.'

Fox has a less pleasant feeling. As the "recipient", he shivers as the blob multiplies and is absorbed by his body.

'Brrr! It's like that beer all over again.' he remarks with a sour face. He spits a bloody clot of saliva mixed with shards of the black blob on the floor to get rid of the bad taste it left in his mouth.

'At least this time it didn't force you.' comments Délarbé funny.

'Let's get it over with Dé.' says Fox fed up already.

'Fox! Don't do this!' pleads Krystal desperate.

Too little, too late as Délarbé already transmitted himself into Fox. He goes up in smoke, leaving only the cape on the floor. The smoke becomes thinner and within seconds it's like Délarbé vanished. But in fact, he's currently within Fox, talking to his free soul.

*Hey Fox?*

*Yeah?*

*I was thinking... you know. To elaborate the transformation a bit.*

Fox has no idea what sick way of "elaboration" Dé is talking about, but he doesn't care. As long as Krystal takes the beating... for now.

*You still feel for her, don't ya?*

*Yeah. Of course I do. But I need to subside everything. Get away from all this. Until that subsiding, you can have her whole.*

*You will not be disappointed. Please stay for a while though. As her verdict will be spoken soon enough.*

On the outside, Fox looks as lively as a switched off robot, that shut down in mid-motion. Krystal, shocked, scared but with a stronger feeling of being with Fox despite everything that happened, starts to approach Fox with an increasing pace. When she's again within arm's reach, she kisses him, maybe hoping that fairy tales could have some effect. When she lets her lips go, some warmth returns to Fox's skin.

'D-did it work?'

Hope returns to the lifeless eyes that were Krystal's as Fox moves again. Displaying normal emotions and expressions, he seems to recover. Krystal can't hide it anymore; she has been through so many emotions in the time span of only minutes. She just pounces at Fox and gives him her most passionate kiss.

Yet, something is wrong. Fox's warming up doesn't stop. In fact, his skin starts to color red from the high body temperature. Krystal sees this and begins to feel her lips warm up as well. When it starts to hurt and even burn, she backs off.

Hope that only just came to light already pulverizes itself as Fox looks upon his own skin blistering, his own fur withering under the heat. In agonizing pain he starts to scream as his skin melts off. Along come flesh, veins and bones in fairly large portions. A bloody, cooked and hairy pulp of all four previously mentioned, spatters on the floor and many more follow.

Krystal stumbles back, gagging and heaving at the vomit-inducing ordeal. She covers her mouth and nearly drops down on the ground. She turns her head away; she cannot bear to look upon Fox melting.

'Let us help!' speak two crooked voices behind her. She looks behind her and sees two Sons of Plunder behind her. It's Cuisac and Doctor Frankenstein. They overwhelm her immediately and force her on the ground.

'You witness!' commands Cuisac of them as he lifts her head and keeps her eyes open à la A Clockwork Orange.

The transformation continues as Fox is completely skinless and furless. Everywhere, including his face unlike the original. The only change to his face is that eyes start to roll up into his skull, leaving swollen and black-colored veins to be seen. Accompanied by that, a serpentine-like string of rusty barbed wire starts to circle around Fox's legs, lower and upper body, arms and his neck. It tightens, puncturing all that is left and chocking Fox, who reaches his bloodied paw out to Krystal.

'Help... me!' he pleads as clear as a choking man can pronounce. Whoever as Krystal tries to reach for him, a Son grabs both her arms and forces them on her back.

'Ack! You filthy Plunder! That hurts.' she struggles fierce.

The Son didn't like that insult and covers her mouth with a strip of black goo, acting like tape.
Now unable to do or say anything, she can only watch as Fox gets his skin and fur back in small bits, the barbs of the wire connecting it to the flesh. But it's a different kind of fur: the color is bleached and slowly turns into the spooky grey that is Délarbé's fur color. A clear, blue flame erupting from the ground wields it all together, the molten wire acting like glue.

Everywhere except for the wires circling on the outside around his lower legs. They tighten to gain the same effect. They also start to outline his feet, putting the most barbs on pressure points like the heel. So that every time he walks, it will puncture even further. A strong barb pointing downward seems to act as a shoe heel, lifting him a centimeter in the air. And for a sick finishing touch, they even tangle in between Fox's toes like thorn bushes. The flame left Fox's back blackened and hard as stone while the front looks healthy enough.

The transformation is almost completed; only the small details are left to be dealt with. Out of spontaneous combustion, Fox's left index burns. To some hilarious slapstick-ish extent, Fox tries to blow it out, only turning it into a small flamethrower. Before he knows it, the claws come out of his fingers. Not by the usual unfolding, but by breaking through the per-existing nails and the skin of the fingertips. The screaming gradually turns into open-mouthed mocking laughter, where Fox's teeth crack and break apart to make room for misshaped, ragged fangs. As the symbol 1 till 3 burn their way back around his right eye, the eyeballs themselves make a full roll backwards. It snaps the veins, creating a stream of dark red blood that's dotted with black spots that runs down his cheek ending in a teardrop. The red dots and magma-colored pentagram have taken over Fox's once brown eyes as Fox himself is forcefully expelled, no longer controlling this body. That is the illusion Délarbé wants give Krystal, that there is a part of Fox that didn't wanted this. It reinforces Krystal's earlier claim.

Délarbé has one last trick up his sleeve. He sticks his tongue out and brings his right index finger closer by. With the claw on it, he cuts his way through, splitting the tongue in half. As if that wasn't enough, he grabs two thick and blunt bolts without an end out of an additional pocket attached to the side of his backpack. One of them has a nut in the middle. Délarbé grabs the left half of his split tongue and forces the blunt front of the bolt with the nut in the middle one into it. It takes some brute force and patience he barely has but after some struggle it's in. Knowing the right way now, it's easier to put the other end in the right half. He does the exact same thing with the other screw, a little further down the tongue.

'That! Should do the trick. Thanks for the recommendation on that D.I.Y. Fox.' he thanks with some improved pronunciation as his tongue is back together.

He turns his attention to Krystal, leaving his tongue hanging out of his mouth to let it bleed out and rest for a bit. The Sons keeping Krystal down disappear the very moment the first drop of blood dripping from the tongue spatters on the floor. She gets up from the floor and sees Délarbé to his fullest. In the storage, he didn't had the fiery expression he has now. Smug, he checks out his stronger claws, plucking some dead skin off of them.

'What have you... done?' speaks Krystal out of disbelief having silently witnessed it all. 'That was impossible.'

Délarbé sniggers, sounding a small bit like a snake with his tongue hung out. 'Nothing is impossible when you are able to do whatever your mind comes up with dearest Krystal.' claims Délarbé using parts of Fox's voice in his own, trying to show Krystal that he is still Fox. 'What's wrong my glistering crystal?' he asks psychotic as he comes closer like a creep doesn't no for an answer. Whose dictionary doesn't have the correct meaning of the words "personal" and "space". Krystal walks back, away from the creature trying to be Fox. She aims her ring for him. Posing at least some treat, Délarbé knocks her paw away and therefore the ring unto the floor.

'It's still me.' he claims very innocent. 'It always has been me. Who do you think was such an animal in the bedroom huh? The goody two-shoes? No... none other than ME!'

This statement deserves a fierce slap of Krystal's paw. Utterly disgusted by the thought that it was Délarbé being the beast underneath the blanket, she delivers a red spot on Délarbé's left and pale cheek. It dazzles him but he comes back to his senses very quickly to return to his act.

'Don't you recognize me anymore?' he continues. 'Perhaps some of my talents might convince you otherwise?'

Krystal suddenly feels the wall of the room against her back. She has no way out as Délarbé comes creeping up on her. He sticks out his tongue, seemingly pointing at her face.

'You said Panther was the best? Let's give that a second opinion.'

His right index finger strokes her belly downwards to her private area. With his claw unfolded only as far as the sharp tip, he makes a subtle rip in Krystal's catsuit. She pushes him away when he begins stroking his finger along the right side of her face, coming too close. In that, Délarbé necked her tiara along.

'What is this?' he says as he looks down his right paw. He brings it closer to his nose and begins to sniff it.

'Hmmm…' he hums enjoying the scent coming from it. 'What kind of shampoo do you use? A hint of lemon with…' He takes several more, intensive sniffs, much to Krystal's disgust. 'Mmmm… aqua. Those fit you well.'

He grabs the little jewel of her tiara in between his thumb and index finger and shatters like it was a bug. He holds the crushed bits in the palm of his paw and blows it up in the air, very symbolic.

'Do you see that… beauty? Like a dandelion. You blow it up in the air and see them whirl down with their teeny tiny parachutes. It's… enchanting.' His gaze looks down upon Krystal. An uncomfortable shadow falls over his eyes as an evil smirk with a plan appears on his face.

'Almost as enchanting… AS YOU!'

Without any time to react, Délarbé forces Krystal against the wall, grabbing her wrists and slamming her arms against the back of the wall. She tries to fend him off but he resets his grip, pulls her a little forward before forcing her against the wall. Trying to break free has no point as Délarbé's grip is inhumanely strong.

'Hush my pretty one. I bet you love how I will treat you. Face it; you long for me!' He starts sniffing her odor, complementing it as his cold nose softly rubs against her neck. 'Just like Fox told me you would be. A delicate sapphire vixen.'
'Let go off me you psycho pervert!'

She resists all she can, but all in vain. She's forced to undergo a sexual assault; no one to help her. To her horror, he goes even further. As to grind his body against hers, licking and sucking parts of her neck and face.

'I'll bet Hell itself that you would love my new tongue-nut against your clit you cheating SLUT!' he states showing his awful tongue again.

'I said: Let go off me you...'

'Kiss me you skank!' shouts Délarbé, going for the kill.

'Mmmh?!'

Ferociously, Délarbé starts feeding himself with the inside of Krystal mouth, fallen open while she was trying to speak. His tongue-blood mixes with her saliva for a grotesque cocktail while her tongue tries to evade his for as long as possible. When he lets his guard down, too focused on the hunt for her tongue, she breaks free and pushes him far away from her.

Coughing and gasping, she collapses unto the floor, sitting against the wall. Délarbé regains himself as he wipes his mouth, grinning victoriously. He relives the experience to the fullest as her taste is one of a kind.

'Hmmm...' he hums critical. 'Not the taste I expected from you. Still not ready to give up your soul yet.' he judges a little disappointed. But he does it off with a shrug. 'You might be a harder nut to crack than Fox. No matter; everyone has their breaking point. Just... gonna find yours.'

The evil grin he gives at the end really finishes it off. 'Oh... Go to Hell!' says Krystal destroyed on the floor, glaring at him.

'Still a feisty one. Our verdict will silence you though.'

A snap of the fingers echoes hollow as the tiles begin to move away from each other. The interior of the place starts to look like a huge cave, with stalactites on the ceiling. The tiles on the floor move away for a stone ground. An earthquake starts to wreak havoc upon the forming stone ground. Cracks and whole pieces of the ground disappear underneath an upcoming blanket of dire lava until a narrow path is all that's left. Before her, the path breaks off and rises up meters into the sky, taking Délarbé with it. Smoke, ash and dirt start to fill the air and blur Krystal's vision. This gives Délarbé a chance to take a few steps back to talk over some more stuff with Fox and put the cape back on. That just for the verdict.

With another finger snap, Fox moves out of Délarbé before he stands next to him. Délarbé is indeed a little higher thanks to his new barb-heels, now able to look Fox right in the eye instead of looking up a little bit.

'How did you like the show so far Fox?' wonders Délarbé as excited as one who just preformed a flawless opera while trying to put his cape back on.

'A little too elaborate for my taste.' reviews Fox on a serious tone. 'But I can clearly see you know what to do. What's next?'

Délarbé is glad that Fox brought this up. Especially with a positive tonation. After finally putting on the cape, he reaches inside his backpack and grabs the being that had made him this way. The Gatekeeper himself looks as stiff and bloated as a failed cucumber without its green color. Even when knocked out, it was still powerful enough to keep Délarbé close to him. Any farther away would result in Délarbé's instant death. The chain around his arm, must be gone.

'That's your creator, right?' asks Fox just certainty. And Délarbé's nod confirms.

'This power hungry demom had control over a French madman and wanted me as his umpteenth victim. I escaped. And for that, he took my parents, my innocence and turned me into this. Just so he could make me a part of his mechanism that requires two sacrifices to open. Guess who was always one of them?'

'I'm as sorry for your pain as you were for me.' assures Fox supportive. 'So let's rid ourselves from this demon. What's the weapon we'll be using?'

Délarbé puts his burning index and normal middle finger underneath the third symbol. Lifting it again, he carries a flat yellow glowing representation of it in front of his face. The glowing effect is nearly invisible thanks to the gleam coming from the magma below but looking into gives the same effect as staring into the sun. He snatches the symbol with his right paw, after which it turns into a double-bladed hand axe.

'Pfffr. Is that it?' sniffles Fox at the size of the weapon. 'I see you're not compensating for something.'

Unimpressed by Fox's mockery, he stretches the handgrip out till it becomes as high as a meter. The blades also expand in size and appearance. From a simple hand axe to a medieval battle axe in the blink of an eye.

'Swallow those words Fox.' says Délarbé smug as demonstrates the axe's strength by splitting a large boulder in half, even cutting several dozens of centimeters into the ground.

'That thing is more impressive than at first sight.' admits Fox, showing he didn't meant of what he just said. 'I take back my words.'

'Very important.' reacts Délarbé sarcastic and seemingly hasted. 'Shall we?'

Clenching his fingers into a fist, makes Fox move back into Délarbé as the axe taken out of his hands by Cuisac for a while. He walks towards the edge the floating plateau as a stone altar rises in front of him. Cuisac walks with him

Like a ceremonial master, a waving movement of the arms is enough to silence all the rumbling noises and pulls Krystal's attention to him. As the smoke and heat clear, her vision improves; very necessary for the pledging of the verdict.

'Krystal!' he speaks hard, heavy and hollow, shaking the entire cave system. 'You have been accused of stubbornness, being narrow-minded leading to cheating on Lylat's greatest hero. How do you plead?'

'N-not guilty?' she answers awkward.

'Denied!' barks Délarbé at her, the cave shaking again. 'You cannot escape your punishment. I hear him calling out your name. And I think I've enough evidence to prove your unforgivable crimes.'

He pauses his speech to lay the Gatekeeper, still out of this world, on the stone altar. Behind him, he's handed his battle axe by the humble giving Cuisac, who's still carrying an innocent victim with him. The axe now acts an execution weapon; the only one that can kill the Gatekeeper. He puts it straight up next to him, so Krystal can see it as well.

'Your punishment will exist out of two parts. The first one to be executed... immediately.' he says with an evil grin as he plants a message in her head. *I know you Cerinians hate the use of axes in executions. But for this occasion, you'll have to swallow it.*

Délarbé takes a few steps back as prepares to decapitate his former master and creator. It's tougher than he at first expected. Doubt if it's even possible strikes. Will he will not die when his creator is dead? Will he finally be free or...? Willpower becomes less as the axe feels a lot heavier than before.

'Come on then.' he hears in back of his head. 'Don't give up you cheap creepypasta knock-off. I've worked my butt off for you, taking in a lot of "truth" just so you can do your thing. Let's do this one together. See it as compensation for my absence when you arrowed my father.'

Délarbé feels Fox's presence never so close. Power runs through his veins again as all of the sudden every bit of reluctance vaporizes. 'Thanks buddy. It means the world to me.' says Délarbé grateful.

'Now don't get too emotional and finish this. Or should I grab that onion?'

'I hate you...'

'I know.'

Together, they hold the axe above Délarbé's head. 'From here on out...' speak Délarbé and Fox together on the same level. '...Krystal shall be convicted to roam our personal Hell for all eternity! This until she surrenders her soul. By means of beheading the monstrosity that is responsible for a portion of the sheer pain, the punishment shall be commenced. Us against the world! For a free us amongst the destroyed others!'

Fox takes it over for a moment as a brief silence after the verdict allows it.

'Krystal. Don't try to beg for mercy. You've never shown it to me either. Embrace your punishment.' tells Fox calm and cold, just like he spoke in the beginning.

'Welcome to your nightmare slut!' laughs Délarbé in the background, adding insult to injury. With no further time, words or breath wasted, Délarbé and Fox swing the axe towards the Gatekeepers neck. In a clean slash, the head and body are separated as the axe cuts all the way through the altar. Black smoke erupts from the opening as all life seeps out of the Gatekeeper. The smoke forms a screen, behind which Fox stands next to his friend. A friend who keeps staring at his wrist, hoping for something to happen.

'Anything?'

Disappointed, Dé shakes his head. 'No. Nothing.'

'I'm sorry buddy.'

'Sure you are.' he fusses as turns away from Fox, pinching his nasal bone. He has no idea what's gonna happen next. Is he gonna die or is this whole place gonna come down on top of him? All his work for nothing. 'A fitting ending for the bad guy.' he comments sad as his claws fold back. He sits down on a nearby rock and puts his face in his paws.

Fox comes closer to his friend who just doesn't know anymore. 'Hey pal?'

'Hunh?' he reacts trying to hide his sadness as he lifts his head from confinement.

'Whatever happens from now on, I'll always support you.' he states. 'As you never dropped on me, I'll do the same for you.'

Délarbé takes a deep sigh, taking things a little more positive again. 'I can always can count on mister hero to save my sorry ass huh?'

'Haha. Always buddy.' He sits down next to him and brings a little closer. Shoulder to shoulder, they'll be supportive to each other.

'Isn't this perfect insanity?' wonders Délarbé almost directly after Fox sat down next to him.

'You mean this unlikely friendship working so perfectly.' reacts Fox. 'Perhaps that's insanity? The perfect friendship doesn't exist.'

Délarbé's wrist suddenly shake and shiver once. As if a small shock went through it.

'Could it be... Yes!' cheers Délarbé as the chain that always kept him as part of the mechanism, the Gatekeeper's child, appears around its wrist. It starts to show cracks before euphorically bursting into pieces. Délarbé is free. No longer dependent on the Gatekeeper keeping a mean look on him. He stands up and raises his arms in the air. His claws unfold gloriously as the flame on his finger burns big and proud. He slashes himself out of his caped prison as he feels the hellish heat against his naked body.

'Hello Hell. I'm back! Whahahahahaaaa! Hahahahaa! YEAH!'

It feels good to laugh so hard and villainous after such a long time of having to deal with an identity crisis. He opens his right paw which receives his axe in normal form. He turns it back into the yellow representation it was and returns it to the symbol.

'What does it say?' says Fox out of the blue, trying to read the scriptures on one of the blades.

'You really know how to buzzkill a moment, don't cha?' he says without looking.

Fox answers with a shrug. Délarbé turns his upper body towards Fox and points at the blade.

'These writings you mean? Is Sanskrit. Let me translate it: S-S-D-D.'

'What does the mean?'

'Satan, Sin, Damage, Death. Sin was the nickname of the Gatekeeper. And Damage... well, moi of course.' he explains when something hits him. Some old lie about the meaning of SSDD. 'I think I once told someone it was "Same Shit, Different Day". Can't really remember who that was... Nah. If he really was important, you should have remembered it.'

'True. Sigh... I think you're done here Fox.'

'Yep. Time to visit other places and timelines. Just to see what's it like to escape reality. I guess now that you're free, you'll continue your death streak?'

'I've enjoyed being innocent Fox.' states Délarbé looking back as Loic. But it's time to say goodbye to that little guy. '7 to 800 years ago that was. That what was broken stays scarred after that amount of time.' He takes a deep breath before he says his goodbyes. 'I wish you the best of luck friend. Here. You need this more than I do.' he says as he hands Fox his backpack as a gift. So Fox can really travel. Cause what's a travel without a backpack? They gave each other a hand before they give a brotherly hug.

'Watch out of other persona's, deceiving friends and other scum, okay?'

'Yes mother.' he promises while rolling his eyes already on the verge of leaving.

'Oh yeah. Mitch, is not too bad, if you ever come across him. The one with a pink vixen as wife that is. *Cause apparently there are two of them. Confused the fuck outta me at first.* And if you happen to come across Kuraio, last name forgotten, punch him in the face for me. I sent him an invitation a good while ago and he hasn't replied yet.'

'Will do. Bye Dé.'

'See ya when I see ya!'

Fox walks away from Délarbé as he puts the backpack on. Ember begins to form a twister around him as it fully engulfs him after a few seconds. When the ember is burned out, Fox is gone.

Délarbé doesn't feel his presence any longer. A good thing; he needs to take care of some business on his own. He turns his attention with much joy to the one person that will grant him his fourth symbol: Krystal.

He walks towards the edge again. He ducks to grab the remnants of the Gatekeeper of the ground. Only now he feels some tingling sensation in his feet where it's barb-rich. It leaves a blood trail as it indeed punctures further into the flesh the more you walk on them, to the extent of touching the bone. As he comes closer, the pleasant scents of the bloody hot lava and molten rock come into his nostrils. The cracking sounds of the surroundings are calming to say the least. He stops when his wired toes hang just over the edge. He looks down upon Krystal, still in shock and awe. He shows her the severed head and the body that should be attached to it.

'Because Fox hated to see me naked, I'm not gonna put you through that exact same process. Heh heh. Oh no, I got something better for you. But just for your entertainment...'

He puts the head back on the body and forces the mouth open. He heaves deeply, hoping that a missing black blob will finally leave his body. After a few attempts, he feels it coming up.
'Here it is!'

Within a blink of an eye, he vomits a big black blob into the mouth of the dead Gatekeeper. He wipes his mouth and sighs deep, glad that its finally out.

'Whew. Those watching me had to wait for this one. Bleh... I really wish I had this one at the hospital as well. Usually two come out directly. Ah well… at least their mints were good.'

While Délarbé was complaining, the Gatekeeper started to shudder and Krystal noticed that. She knows the Gatekeeper is far stronger than Délarbé.

*Better him than that thing.* 'Uhm... that thing just moved?' she notifies.

'Huh? Ah yes. Thank you Krystal. I'm starting to see why Fox tried to resist. I said "starting" just to clarify shit.'

He puts the Gatekeeper's tail in between his legs and holds the wide open mouth to his neck. It's a little clumsy since the head is sitting loosely on the neck but he manages.

'He should be resurrected... right about... now!'

Just as Délarbé predicted, the eyes of the creature open. In its intense rage, they glow dire red before black, gooey stitches reattach the head to the neck. The tail tightens around the perineum as the spiked ball slams its way into Délarbé's rock hard back like a swung wrecking ball. Simultaneously, the wide open mouth shuts down around Délarbé's neck. The saw-like teeth easily puncturing the skin. Holding the pain to himself, he feels the whole creature tighten even more.

He would like to be completed without being crushed. But the re-animation effect is short as all vitals fall in silence again. Fitting like glove, tightened just enough around his body, he now wears his former master as his trophy. He even goes as far to puncture the second row of teeth into his neck, just so it sits even better.

'How do you like my new look Krystal? Very daring not?'

'Not too tight around the balls?' she comments brave, sick and tired of feeling meaningless and left out. She's taking everything of her sanity that she has left in her to tackle this problem. How big it actually is, is a mystery yet to be revealed.

'I'll never surrender my soul. And I will get out of here. You just watch and see!'
Admiring her bravery, Délarbé creates a hole in the wall where the path is leading to. 'Go right ahead then. I must disclaim this before you enter: this is my personal Hell. The real Hell is a little less brutal. But that's for all eternity. This is only for as long as you keep your soul. Best of luck. You'll need it BITCH!'

Laughing maniacally, he disappears into the shadows as Krystal ventures on her own towards the hole that will lead her to Délarbé's own Hell. Suddenly, she gets it cold. She has to fold her arms to stay warm even though the atmosphere and temperature are blistering. She sees that in hindsight, being brave when it was far too late, a very dumb idea was. With a questionable motive and an insecure feeling, she steps into the hole. Her judgment given. Her punishment commencing.

Fox chose Délarbé's side and now Krystal roams their Hell. What notoriously, horrible things and tests will await Krystal? Délarbé's sick mind is full of ideas. And he surely hopes you like it. Also, apologies for the absence of the poll on my profile. Forget to show it on the profile. It's online now. PLEASE VOTE!