A New Beginning

Chapter 1

Krystal winced. She felt an impact, a wave of energy surging through her, but her mind was too clouded to know where she was or what was happening. At the edge of her consciousness, she recognized the urgency. However, it got lost in the black tar that was her slumber. She pushed against her inertia, struggling to will her body to move, to open her eyes, but it wouldn't obey her.

Again and again, she was struck. An immense energy built up inside her, more than her body could hold. Muffled and distorted sounds reached her ears. Wind howling. The pitter-patter of rain. The roar of thunder. A scream. The power accumulated in her chest, like a raging and writhing monster that trashed against the confines of its cage. Krystal groaned. Her eyes shot open, and the energy burst out of her.

She stared directly into the unforgiving face of a Krazoa. Colossal and with a hard metallic gleam. However, it was tinted in a purplish hue and hazy, as if she was looking through a frosted glass window. The ghostly blue shapes of Krazoa spirits streaked towards the statue in front of her and merged into it. Raindrops pattered against the translucent surface that separated Krystal from the rest of the world, and whirls of light danced around her.

"Wake up! Wake up!" a voice shouted at her. Its urgency pierced through her blurry mind.

Suddenly, the memory of where she was and how she had ended up in her crystal prison tore her out of her daze. The ominous presence she had sensed. Its insatiable greed and its malice. The shock she had felt as she had recognized it. Her eyes widened in horror, and she fought against her paralysis.

Her fingers twitched. An explosion shook her prison. Its crystal walls burst. She fell. Krystal shrieked. Frantically, she grabbed for anything to catch her fall. Her hand closed around something cylindrical, and a jolt ripped through her body.

Krystal's feet dangled above a seemingly endless abyss. However, she instantly recognized the metal object she was holding on to. It was her staff. But how was that possible? Hadn't she lost it?

The flow of energy that pulsed through it was as familiar as her own reflection, and the warmth it emitted gave her strength. Too shaken to try to make sense of what was happening, she swung to the edge of the circular hole, she had almost fallen into, and grabbed on to it. She was at the center of the uppermost platform on top of Krazoa Palace, she now remembered. Krystal put one foot against the wall for support and pulled herself up, propping an elbow onto the platform and digging her fingers into the wet stone, not to lose grip of its slippery surface.

Her eyes widened and she cocked her head to the side in wonder. In front of her knelt a stranger, with a concerned look on his face, and extended his hand for her to hold on to. He was a fox, just like her. For the first time in what seemed like eternity, Krystal met another person who wasn't a dinosaur, and although she had never seen him before, she felt a strange familiarity, as if she knew him from a dream.

But, of course, she did. He had found her staff, which was tied to her through a magic bond. It wouldn't have obeyed him if it hadn't sensed a likeness in his heart. While she had been unconscious, a part of her had been with him, accompanying him on his adventures. Hazy and fragmented impressions remained. Emotions. Sensations. The smell of flowers from Thorn Tail Hollow lingered in her nose.

The stranger returned her gaze, and Krystal lost herself in the green of his eyes. A soft smile played on her lips, and for a moment, all danger was forgotten, as if time had come to a halt.

However, a rumble snapped her out of her trance. Behind the stranger, the head of the Krazoa statue shook and detached from its neck, slowly floating upwards. Its hard features and the cold glow of its eyes emanated an uncanny aura. Krystal sensed its power, and she recognized the ominous entity that had locked her up in her crystal prison.

"I am reborn! The mighty Krazoa God!" Its voice reverberated across the top of Krazoa Palace. Laughing, it floated around the platform, always facing the two foxes.

With a final effort, Krystal pulled herself up, the dark flame of hatred burning in her heart. She rose to her feet, held the statue's cold gaze and bared her teeth.

"Kneel all those that stand before me!" the statue boomed.

Krystal took a step towards it and balled her hands into fists. "We will never kneel to you."

The stranger stood between her and the floating head. He pointed her staff at the creature, but he seemed uncertain, hesitant. A pang of fear spurred her into action, as the Krazoa began to drift away. Krystal sprung forwards and ripped her staff out of the stranger's hands.

"Give me that."

"Hey! W... wait...," the fox said, as he spun around to face her. However, she pushed past him, aimed at the floating head and shot.

Uselessly, the red bolts of energy dissolved as they struck the face of the statue, but Krystal wouldn't ease up. She couldn't let this abomination escape. Not, after all it had done to her home-world. Not, knowing what would happen to Sauria if she couldn't stop it.

The stranger turned away and ran down the ramp of the uppermost plane on the platform, leaving her field of vision. Higher and higher the head floated away from her. A vortex of blue light formed behind it and opened a gate in the stormy sky.

No.

Krystal sprinted after the creature, the cold hands of despair gripping her heart. She jumped onto the wall that enclosed the central platform and kept firing. She couldn't lose another planet.

Even after the Krazoa had disappeared, Krystal continued to shoot at the vortex. She let out a scream of pain and rage, not sure if tears mixed with the torrent of rain that poured down on her face.

A spaceship shot past her and zoomed towards the gate in pursuit of the floating head. Inside, she sensed the stranger. A bead of desperate hope sprouted in her heart. The power she had sensed in the creature was enormous, but she wanted to believe that, somehow, the stranger would be able to defeat it.

As the vortex dissolved, Krystal lowered her staff but never turned away from the sky. Unblinkingly, she watched the raw forces of nature at work. Volatile, in constant motion and yet never changing. The storm whipped waves of raindrops against her, striking her from different directions. Lightning and thunder raged in the sky. Like the fight for Sauria's survival raged somewhere above. Like the war between fear and hope raged in her heart. It was befitting, in a bleak way. Black clouds for a black day.

The raindrops stung like icy needles in her face. Trickles of cold water streamed through her fur. Krystal didn't know for how long she stood on top of the wall, but the tips of her fingers had gone numb. She would have prayed, but she didn't know to whom or to what. The Krazoa spirits were imprisoned in the monstrosity they had revived and fueled with their energy.

Faintly, in the distance, a diffused speck of yellow light appeared, visible through the thick layers of clouds. Krystal forgot to breathe. Did it bring salvation or doom?

The light grew in intensity and size until it reached a blinding brightness and covered the entire sky. Krystal yelped and jumped off the wall, screwing her eyes shut. As she saw the light wane through her closed lids, she blinked, tentatively, and looked into a changed world.

The rain had stopped. The clouds were gone, and her gaze fell upon a clear, blue sky. Soft rays of sunlight warmed her soaked fur. The smell that hung in the air was no longer that of the dark foreboding a thunderstorm carried but of the renewing power water held. Sunlight glistered in the puddles, and the previously dreary landscape was bathed in vibrant colors. A rumble traveled through the planet, but it felt rhythmical and calm.

As Krystal looked around, her mouth fell open and a breathless smile spread across her face. She pressed both palms against her chest, as if to stop it from overflowing with gratitude and relief. An enormous landmass hung in the air, and it lowered towards the planet. At first, all she saw was the dark silhouette of rugged rock from deep within the ground. The sun stood diagonally behind and cast only a rim of light onto its upper and left side. However, the floating island continued to descend, revealing the lush vegetation and magnificent temples on its surface.

"Thank you," Krystal whispered.

On shaky legs, she climbed back onto the wall to get a better view, blinking away tears, as she watched the planet heal itself. There was an unspeakable beauty in the resilience of life and its ability to mend its wounds. Slowly, the landmass reconnected and the last cracks sealed. The rumbling stopped, and no trace was left of the catastrophe that would almost have torn the planet apart.

Krystal ran a hand over her fur, applying pressure to squeeze out the water. The drops beaded off like the long sorrow that had lifted from this world. With all her senses, she savored the miracle that lay before her. Viewed from atop the mountain peak Krazoa Palace was built on, the land stretched endlessly, and its forests, temples, hills, rivers and meadows looked like a patchwork of miniatures. Towards the horizon, the rich greens, the deep blue of clear water and the brown and gray hues of Sauria's rocks faded into a light blue color that merged with the sky. In the brilliant sunshine, the landscape almost seemed to glow. A soft breeze brushed through Krystal's fur. The flow of magic that transfused the planet was in harmony.

Her ears perked up as she sensed someone approaching. Sharp Claw. A lot of them. Krystal released the fluffy fur on her tail, she was wringing the water out of, and grabbed her staff tightly. She didn't want to fight on such a glorious day, but she was ready to defend herself.

However, the very next moment, a wave of exhilaration and bliss washed over her and she relaxed her shoulders, lowering her weapon. This wasn't the army that had come to conquer Krazoa Palace but an exuberant celebration. As the Sharp Claw drew closer, cheers and excited chatter reached her ears.

Jumping and dancing Sharp Claw spilled onto the platform on top of Krazoa Palace. One of them held General Scales' belt high up above his head in triumph. Krystal hopped off the wall and mingled with the crowd, wallowing in their happiness. The Sharp Claw climbed all over the arches and walls of the platform and onto the now headless Krazoa statue, leaping into the air and raising their arms. The few that had brought their maces lay their weapons down wherever they got tired of carrying them. All around her were her former enemies, and she didn't sense a trace of animosity or distrust. Today, the planet was united, in a way that went far beyond its physical integrity.

Their happiness shouldn't have surprised her. The Sharp Claw had a brutish culture and they weren't the smartest folks, but it didn't take a genius to see you were in trouble if your planet was falling apart. She had sensed their worry and their gloom throughout the war, but fear had made them obey their tyrant and take their frustration out on his enemies.

Krystal gazed around, smiling at every Sharp Claw she passed by. However, after the first intoxicating surge of euphoria had worn off, a longing restlessness took hold of her heart, and she looked up into the sky. Not a trace of the stranger. Wouldn't he return for her?

She pushed aside the unease and uncertainty and replaced them with determination. This time, Krystal wouldn't leave her fate up to any force outside her own control. This was her first chance since she had crashed on Sauria to reconnect with people like her. And she wouldn't miss it.

Krystal turned to one of the Sharp Claw next to her. "Excuse me," she asked, "Do you have an airship, I can borrow."

"Yes. We parked some at the main entrance of the palace." The Sharp Claw pointed downwards for emphasis.

"Thank you," Krystal said with a small bow, before she turned away and dashed towards the airlift.

When she reached the round hole near the outer wall of the platform, she jumped in and let the updraft carry her down. Krystal kept herself in an upright position and her arms and tail close to her body to reduce the surface the wind could push against. Although the airlift used a ventilator to generate the current, it was channeled and controlled by magic to allow for the safe travel of species of various sizes and proportions.

Her feet touched down on the stone slabs next to the grid that covered the ventilator. Krystal stepped into the round hall at the center of the palace, which connected its many stories with a system of airlifts. The hall was well over a hundred feet wide, and most of it was taken up by a circular hole in its middle. She ran to the edge and dropped herself into the updraft. Floating from one airlift to another, Krystal quickly descended through the building.

By the time she reached the lowest story the central hall spanned, the wind had almost dried her fur. The rest of the way, she'd have to run. Her heart fluttered in her chest, acutely aware of every passing second. She couldn't be too late.

Racing towards the exit, Krystal barely perceived the red and golden tapestries, ornate pillars and complex patterns on the walls. Blue and orange flames in torch bowls bathed her path in ever-changing light. At the outer walls, the colored glass windows split the sunrays and tinted them blue. It created an effect almost like sitting at the bottom of a clear lake and looking at the water surface from below.

Krystal darted down the last stairway and skipped its lowest steps. At the opposite end of the long hall, she spotted a massive metal gate. Daylight seeped in through a gap. She sprinted towards the door and almost threw herself against the gate leaves. With all her strength, she pushed, willing the Sharp Claw ships to actually be there and the stranger to not have left yet.

The gate creaked and slowly swung open. Sunlight flooded her senses. She stumbled outside, panting for breath, and hastily looked around. The ships were there, parked to both sides of the entrance and huddled together due to the limited space on the mountain top. Krystal felt some of her pent-up nervous energy dissipate but wasted no time to dash to the nearest spacecraft.

They were bulky and misshaped, with a tick metallic hull and massive thrusters on their sterns and undersides. Too primitive and slow to travel long distances through outer space, but capable of leaving Sauria's atmosphere and reaching its moon or the floating islands, before the planet had reconnected.

Krystal squeezed herself through as soon as the hatch of the ship had opened far enough for her to fit, rushed into the cockpit and jumped into the captain's chair. Due to the Sharp Claw's height, their broad build and long arms, three of her size could have fit into the chair, and she had to lean forwards to reach the controls. Luckily, they looked familiar – like an enlarged and simplified version of the ones in the spaceship she had arrived in.

The Sharp Claw hadn't built their ships themselves, but had acquired them from mysterious visitors, who had left as quickly as they had come half a year ago. Krystal cursed herself because she hadn't noticed sooner that those ships were inferior versions of the spacecrafts the aliens that had brought about Cerinia's doom had used. Perhaps, the Sharp Claws' benefactors hadn't wanted to hand them too much power, lest they could turn against them.

Krystal started the engine and lifted off the ground. She checked her instruments and breathed a sigh of relief as she detected a big spacecraft still in Sauria's orbit but further away than the Sharp Claw would go. Tapping some buttons, she hailed the vessel, praying someone would answer.

The face of a middle-aged rabbit with gray and white fur popped up on the monitor of her communication system. "This is Peppy Hare of Star Fox. Who am I speaking to?"

"Hello, Peppy Hare of Star Fox," Krystal said, bowing her head. "My name is Krystal, and I've been stranded on this planet." Her voice sounded unfamiliar as she tried to speak a language she hadn't used in a long time.

"Ah, yes, Fox told me about you. Stranded, you say? Are you looking for a lift home?"

"I'm looking... for a lift off this planet, yes. Can I- could you take me with you?"

"Of course," Peppy Hare said. "You have clearance to land in the hangar of the Great Fox. You have our coordinates, don't you? If you need any help, just ask." He had a calm, almost fatherly demeanor. Yet, talking via the communication system felt slightly disconcerting. Krystal couldn't sense his emotions through a screen.

"Thank you. That's very kind." A sudden smile flashed across her muzzle as an idea sprang to her mind. "Fox is with you, isn't he, but he doesn't know about our conversation?"

"Yes, that's right."

"If I record a message for him, could you play it to him after I've docked?"

"Yes?" Peppy Hare raised an eyebrow at her. "I could do that."

"I'd like to walk in and surprise him right after he has heard it," Krystal explained.

"We'll be meeting on the bridge shortly. There's an elevator next to the hangar. You need to go to the uppermost deck."

"Thanks, Peppy Hare. I'll find it."

"Just Peppy, please."

"Alright, Peppy." Krystal gave him a warm smile. "I'll send you the message once I've recorded it."

"And I'll relay it to Fox once you stand in front of the bridge door."

Krystal ended the call, contemplating the words she wanted to say. She shook out her hair and looked for a reflecting surface to inspect her face and arrange the strands. The tangled mess was impossible to tame. Stubborn hair insisted on sticking out no matter how many times she tried to smooth them down. Krystal frowned at her reflection. Given how crazy this day had been, it'd have to suffice. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and started to record her message.

"Hi, Fox. I really appreciate what you did for me. I'm just so sorry we didn't get much of a chance to talk. I'm left with just one more thing to do."

Now that she no longer had to fear that the stranger might leave without her, a thousand thoughts raced through her head. Fox. An oddly simple name, but it filled her with a pleasant warmth. She sent her message to Peppy before she could start to overthink. So many close calls today, but everything had turned out well. No, not just well. Better than she could have dreamed. Gratitude and excitement flooded through her veins like a potent drug. Her only regret was that she hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye to her friends back on Sauria. Especially little princess Kyte.

However, as Krystal left the planet behind, the cold emptiness of space engulfed her and threatened to extinguish the warmth in her heart, like a shroud that suffocated the flame of a candle. Before her lay an infinite blackness, penetrated by a myriad of stars. It could have been beautiful, but to her, it was tainted with sorrow. A reminder of her darkest time. Something tightened inside Krystal's chest, and she gripped the flight stick harder. Back on Sauria she had sensed life all around. Here she sensed nothing.

It would get better once she was on board the carrier and could leave the confined space of her smaller ship, she told herself. A dot appeared in the distance where her instruments located the spacecraft Peppy had called the Grat Fox. Gradually, it grew bigger. Krystal circled around it, searching for an entrance, and couldn't help but marvel at the ship. The Great Fox was huge. Impressive. It almost looked like a metal creature, with a head and a neck in the front, four wings and a dorsal fin. However, it was scarred from battle. Scratches and scorch marks covered its hull.

Krystal spotted a square opening in its underbelly. That had to be the entrance to the hangar. She guided her ship towards it and entered a short tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, stood three sleek, white and blue star-fighters ready to launch, with a fourth unoccupied space next to them. Two of the ships looked old and worn. The third was shiny and spotless except for a few recent damages.

She steered past the star-fighters into a wide hall, touched down off to the side and left the Sharp Claw ship. Tools lay scattered across the hangar. The metal floor was covered in scratches and grease stains. A light flickered on the ceiling. Some others had gone out. In one corner of the hall, stood another spaceship, identical to the ones at the entrance, but several of its hull plates had been removed, and one wing was detached. The place was messy and in disrepair. However, she didn't have time to contemplate what this said about its inhabitants. Better to just meet them in person.

Alright, now she needed to find an elevator. Krystal looked around, unsure if she was searching for an airlift or a moving platform. Doors. She needed to find the right door. Maybe the one with the up arrow symbol? She wasn't familiar with Lylatian architecture outside of Sauria and had never been in such a large spaceship, but these things tended to be quite self-explanatory. Krystal jogged over to the sliding door and tried to pry it open with her fingers until she spotted a button next to it.

A soft rumble and a ding announced the arrival of the elevator before the doors slid into the wall. A moving platform, not an airlift, by the look of it. Krystal got in and searched for the right button to take her to the uppermost deck. The ride was fast but smooth. After the initial acceleration, almost imperceptible. However, the wait brought the pounding of her heart to the forefront of her awareness. She tried to convince herself that it was excitement not nervousness she was feeling.

Once she had stepped out of the elevator, Krystal engaged her psychic powers to detect any lifeforms in her vicinity and found four people in the head of the metal creature. Just where she had expected them. She jogged down the hallway and stopped in front of its last door. With one ear against the door, Krystal listened and heard muffled voices on the other side. She tried to sense the emotions of the people within the room and recognized the stranger. If there had been any doubt left in her mind that Fox was really him, it washed it away.

Although she couldn't make out any words through the wall, Krystal meant to recognize her own voice. Hastily, she stood up straight, smoothed down her hair one last time, adjusted her tiara and took a deep breath. Calm and serene, she told herself. She observed Fox's emotions to determine when her transmission ended.

'I'm left with just one more thing to do'.

Krystal opened the sliding door with the push of a button. "and that is to say thank you," she completed the sentence as she met the stranger's gaze. A slight smile spread across her lips. He struggled for words, visibly flustered. Slowly, she walked closer, as if a magical connection pulled her towards him. All the people in the room looked at her, but she had eyes only for one.

AN: This was actually intended to be the first chapter of a multi-chapter story that takes place between Adventures and Assault. However, I want to focus on my original stories and don't think I'll write much fanfiction in the near future. That's why I'm posting it as a one-shot for now. Because it's still better to have it up in its current state than to let it rot on my laptop.

It's not the only fanfic idea I've played around with since that one story I posted more than a year ago, and out of the story ideas I had, it never was the one I wanted to prioritize. However, at this point, it's the only one worth posting, because the others remained little more than outlines, or their first chapter doesn't work as a one-shot.

If I'll ever continue this fanfic, the summary and perhaps the name of the story will be changed.