Note: Ah, February. You probably know where this is going, given how the title of the story mentions love. Unfortunately, you guys are wrong. Despite it being the month of Valentines Day, I don't write a whole lot of romantic stories. While I occasionally do some, I feel as though they're overshadowed by my major, ongoing stories. For that, I do apologize.

Before we move on, I have something to say to two reviewers.

The White Wolf named Alex: Of course Krystal would still work with Star Fox. I mean, just because Wolf turned her into a vampire, doesn't mean that she'll be under his control. It might be breaking the master/servant role, but Krystal's not willing to let her teammates die. Stay tuned for what happens next.

Big Bossk Man 92: You're quick when it comes to these guesses, aren't you? I won't lie to you, I kind of wish I could delete the old reviews, but I don't know how. Also, I kind of need them in order to help with the rewrite. Sorry about that. I guess I should make stuff more vague and mysterious when I write as well. I hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 12: Familiar

It was slow at the Great Fox, but things hadn't been terribly busy. Star Fox didn't have a mission, nor had they received a single call. It had only been a week since the team gave Krystal to Orlando and Fara, so it was much quieter at the Great Fox. Despite that, they worried about what would happen to the cobalt vixen. For all they knew, she would end up staked up in the heart or even exposed to something else that would kill a vampire, like garlic. Even if that didn't happen, the Cerinian-vampire was still in danger.

As he walked into the control room, Fox noticed that Peppy was looking at the pictures Orlando had taken at the morgue. The hare narrowed his eyes, looking closely at each corpse. He couldn't help but gag as he saw the mutilations with more observation than before. Not only was the lepus able to see the holes plunged into the necks of the bodies, but he was able to see how grisly the bites were. The bites went from the ordinary neck-biting method to downright mutilation. In fact, some of the corpses looked like they were inches away from having their heads severed.

Putting the pictures down, Peppy was ready to leave the control room. That was until he saw Fox walking towards him. The orange tod smiled at him, trying to lift his spirits. However, he was having a hard time staying positive himself. With Krystal at Orlando's office, the team didn't know if she was in safe hands. It didn't help that Star Wolf could've been planning anything at the moment, given how they had turned themselves into vampires, along with several others.

"How are ya holding up, Fox?" Peppy asked.

"Fine, compared to you." Fox said. "Are you looking at Mr. Helsing's pictures?"

"I might as well, considering that Star Wolf is now a bunch of vampires." The hare said. "What I'd like to know is if there's anyone else working with them."

"If there is, then we need to look for them." The orange tod said.

"But where would we start?" The lepus asked.

"Corneria, I guess." The vulpine said. "If we find no one there, then we'll check Fortuna, Fichina, and Titania."

"What are you guys surmising about?"

Looking over at the entrance, Fox and Peppy saw Falco peeking into the room. He didn't look curious, but rather annoyed. Though, given who the pheasant was, it was a given for him to be like that. Neither Fox or Peppy were silent as they saw their teammate.

"We were talking about searching the Lylat System for anyone who could've allied themselves with Star Wolf." Peppy said.

"That's not a bad idea." Falco spoke. "In fact, that's one of the best ideas we've had in a LONG time!"

"Problem is, we don't have anything that can help us detect a vampire." Fox said. "Apart from Krystal, the only ones we've seen are Wolf and his goons."

"And it would be weird to ask anyone if they're a bloodsucker out in public." Peppy said.

"Then we need to search at night!" Falco said. "I'll go get Slippy, while you stock up on weapons!"

Opening the door, Falco ran out of the room. When he was gone, Fox and Peppy grabbed whatever equipment they could and loaded them into their Arwings. After doing that, they met up with Falco and Slippy. The pheasant and the toad had their blasters with them, showing that they were ready for the search that awaited them. Once they had everything together, Star Fox entered their Arwings, deciding to take off as quick as they could. The team agreed that, even if they didn't find anything unusual, they would keep a watchful eye.

"I hope that you're ready for this, boys, because this will probably take until the sun comes up!" Peppy said.

"Might be a good idea to stop for coffee when we're down there." Slippy stated.

"We probably won't have enough time, Slippy!" Falco spoke. "For all we know, we could be near a vampire!"

"And if it's a member of Star Wolf, we can kill them!" Fox said. "It might be what we need to turn Krystal back to normal!"

Star Fox flew out of the Great Fox, setting a course for Corneria. Before entering the planet's atmosphere, the team turned on the scanners in their Arwings. The scanners would've allowed them to find anything odd, having been implemented a day ago. Whenever the device found something, it would notify Star Fox, signaling where it was at. From there, the team would be able to find what had triggered the scanner and do what needed to be done. Be it killing someone or capturing an odd creature, they knew that they would be locked into an encounter.

Meanwhile at Orlando's office, Krystal was sitting alone in the kitchen. The cobalt vixen was eating some of the jellied blood she had brought with her, needing to satiate her thirst for blood for the time being. Fara was just outside the kitchen, reading one of the books that Orlando kept on hand for research. She had promised him not to remove the bookmark that he put in, given how he needed the page it marked for his studies. Putting it down, the fennec went to check on Krystal, as to make sure that the younger female didn't lash out and kill anyone.

As she walked into the kitchen, Fara saw that Krystal was eating the preserves that would keep her from feeding on others. The fennec was relieved, but she kept her distance from her guest. While she knew that the cobalt vixen wasn't going to drain anyone of their blood, she couldn't help but feel cautious. She had been looking for vampires with Orlando for quite some time, meaning that she felt paranoid in everyday life. Looking over at Krystal, the long-eared vixen hoped that she would provide the key to stopping an incoming vampire invasion. If not, then Orlando would have to fight Star Wolf, regardless if there was any outside help or not.

"So, Krystal, how are you doing?" Fara asked.

"Apart from being a vampire, I'm fine." Krystal said.

"Mind if I take a seat next to you?" The fennec asked.

"There's nothing to be frightened of, I won't bite!" The cobalt vixen said.

Fara wanted to ask Krystal how she knew what was on her mind, but then she remembered how the younger female was a telepath. Vampiric attributes aside, the fennec hoped that the cobalt vixen's telepathy was the only power she had. She sat down next to the Cerinian vampire, hoping to have a conversation with her. Knowing that her guest was a telepath, Fara had no idea what to say. The long-eared vixen knew that it would be hard to talk to someone who could read her mind, so her mind was scrambling for an opener to a conversation. Krystal looked away, trying to keep her telepathy from scanning the mind of the vampire hunter.

"Have you ever seen any vampire movies?" Fara asked.

"Plenty of them," Krystal said, "except for the ones where the vampires glitter instead of being surrounded in darkness."

"Yeah, those movies suck!" The fennec chuckled. "I mean, the vampires are pretty, but they should still be unable to survive in sunlight!"

"There have been movies where vampires can survive in sunlight, but that's only because they are only half-vampire." The cobalt vixen said.

"Like you." The long-eared vixen said.

"Yeah, like me." The Cerinian vampire said.

Noticing that Krystal was looking down, having an ashamed look on her face, Fara put her hand on her shoulder. As cautious as she was around the cobalt vixen, the fennec wanted to be supportive. There might have been vampires in the Lylat System, but that didn't mean that she couldn't make friends and have a friendly conversation or two. Managing to get her guest to look at her, the long-eared vixen gave her a kind smile. Krystal responded in kind, giving a smile of her own. The two looked at each other, continuing on with their little talk.

"Thanks, Fara, I've just been feeling a bit down." Krystal said.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way to turn you back to normal." Fara said.

"No, it's not that." The cobalt vixen said.

"Then what's wrong?" The fennec asked.

"I sense something on the rooftops, something that's not alive!" The Cerinian vampire said.

Out in Corneria City, Star Fox was parked on the roof of a tall building. They had yet to find anything unusual, but they weren't willing to give up a search. In fact, before they even arrived in the city, the team sent a notification to the CDF, informing them to be on the lookout for something that was out of the ordinary. The only people who were able to answer the call were Bill and a few other soldiers, as General Pepper had turned in for the night. Despite being a bit annoyed about receiving a call so early in the morning, Bill agreed to let him know. That, of course, depended on whether the General was alright.

Knowing that it would be a long search, Star Fox had gotten some coffee at a cafe that was open 24/7. The team had gotten pure black coffee, feeling that it would keep them up for quite a while. However, they didn't drink a whole lot of it, not wanting to become too caffeinated to focus. This turned out to be somewhat of a bad idea, as each of them started to feel sleepy. Slippy was the first to fall asleep, not being able to stay awake despite having a cup of coffee. Fox and Peppy followed suit, leaving Falco as the only one awake.

Upon hearing a loud buzz from his Arwing, Slippy woke up as quickly as he could. Knowing what the noise meant, he woke up Fox, Falco, and Peppy. With something on their radar, Star Fox went to see what it was. However, what the team saw surprised them. On the roof of a nearby building were two Arwings, both looking like they were in perfect condition. But, by looking closely, Star Fox could see that there was some damage on the ships. While the damages weren't noticeable, it was enough to show that they had been in use before.

"These Arwings are what was triggering the scanner?" Peppy asked.

"Are they Krystal's and Fara's?" Slippy asked.

"Of course not!" Falco whispered. "Krystal's is at the Great Fox, and Fara's is black, remember?"

"Right." The toad quietly said.

"Then who do they belong to?" Peppy asked.

By getting a closer look, Fox began to search the two Arwings. While there was nothing out of the ordinary on them, something felt suspicious about the ships in general. The Star Fox team had no other pilots at the moment, so seeing two Arwings discreetly parked on the roof of a random building was puzzling. He thought about the team's allies and former members, wondering who the owners of the ships were. As far as he knew, there wasn't anyone who flew together when they were away from the team.

That was when it hit Fox: the Arwings were owned by familiar faces. Not only that, but they were two former members of Star Fox. It had been a year since the team heard from them, but there was no mistake now that Fox had pieced it together. He was stunned, feeling ashamed for having not realized it sooner. Worse, the fact that the pilots who owned the Arwings had parked at night gave a suspicious feeling. If it wasn't the right one, then Star Fox would've had to deal with something similar.

"I think I know who the Arwings belong to." Fox spoke. "We need to head to Mr. Helsing's office, because they'll need all the help they can get!"

Back at the detective agency, Krystal was laying down in a dark room, trying to take a nap. Her body didn't require sleep, due to the vampiric cells that were swimming inside of her, but she felt the need to get some rest. The cobalt vixen had eaten two jars of the jellied blood, wanting her stomach to be quiet throughout the night. No matter what happened, she wasn't going to give into her bloodlust, nor was she going to kill someone to feed herself. Even if it came to that, the Cerinian-vampire would've wanted someone to put her down.

Tossing and turning in the bed that Orlando had given to her, Krystal felt her telepathy detect something. It would often switch on while she slept, acting as an alarm for when there was something bad happening. She was never one to attract intruders to her room, but her powers seemed to disagree. The last time someone attempted to break into the cobalt vixen's room, she jolted awake and went to call one of her guards. This was back on Cerinia, which meant that the royal family was always at risk of being attacked. If not for their powers, they would've been separated from each other or killed several times over.

Without warning, there was a gust of wind, followed by several echoing footsteps. Sitting up in bed, Krystal opened her eyes, hoping to see what her telepathy was warning her about. The window to the room had come open, having been blown open by the wind. However, the cobalt vixen had a bad feeling about it. It wasn't caused by the weather itself, but by someone outside, which was clear by the footsteps that echoed throughout the night. Whoever was outside was bad news, and it wasn't hard to figure out why they were near the detective agency.

Before Krystal could close the window, a hand slammed on the other side of it. The cobalt vixen's telepathy went haywire, telling her that Orlando's office now had intruders. Her instinct told her to run for her life, but she knew that everyone at the agency would be killed. She sensed monstrous entities outside, no doubt having been sent by Star Wolf. However, it wasn't any of the three space pirates-turned-vampires. Rather, there were two of these entities outside, and they felt familiar, as if Krystal had met them before.

Unable to hold the intruders outside for longer, Krystal let go of the window. Instead of running away, the cobalt vixen bravely stood her ground. She was not going to let these monsters hurt anyone, but they weren't going to let her block their way. Both of the intruders were on the other side of the wall, just waiting to burst through it. With her blaster nearby, the Cerinian-vampire had a method to defend herself. If that didn't work, then she would go down swinging.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Krystal shouted. "Identify yourselves at once!"

All of a sudden, two voices laughed with mocking contempt. The moment she heard them, Krystal recognized who they belonged to: two former members of Star Fox. She had spoken to them before, even sitting down to have lunch with them on more than one occasion. Knowing that they were the source of the monstrous aura she had sensed, the cobalt vixen felt shocked, but that feeling quickly turned to anger. Her telepathy was reading their minds, and it told her that they were working for Star Wolf. They hadn't been kidnapped or brainwashed into doing so, they willingly joined the space pirates.

"Why would we need to identify ourselves to you?" A high-pitched, feminine voice spoke.

"Yeah, you should know who we are!" A deeper, but still feminine, voice said.

"I had a feeling that the two of you were the cause of this madness." Krystal said. "So cut it out, Fay and Miyu!"

Without warning, Fara rushed into the room. She had overheard Krystal shouting at someone, but had no idea who she was talking to. Now that the fennec knew, she felt that she had to come to the aid of her guest. Grabbing a stake and a gilded cross, the long-eared vixen saw Krystal standing at the window. Despite the cobalt vixen being a vampire now, Fara knew that she was in danger. Whoever was outside, they clearly weren't friendly, and there was a good chance that a bloodbath was approaching the detective agency.

"Krystal, what's wrong?" Fara asked.

"Fay and Miyu are outside." Krystal stated. "They're vampires now."

"WHAT?!" The fennec shouted, being shocked.

"I hope you have your stake at the ready, because we're about to slay two vampires tonight!" The cobalt vixen said.

Fara nodded, placing the cross in her jacket pocket, so that Krystal wouldn't be harmed by it. The cobalt vixen winced a little, but she shook off the pain. She ran outside with Fara, both of them ready to fight their now vampiric former comrades. Running in front of the agency building, the two vixens saw a spaniel and a lynx standing nearby. Knowing who they were, the Cerinian-vampire and the fennec got their weapons out, eager to partake in the battle that awaited them.

"Fay! Miyu!" Fara spoke.

"Well, hello Fara!" Miyu greeted.

"You have to help us!" Fay cried, trying to act like a scared victim. "There are vampires everywhere, and they're trying to kill us!"

"We're well-aware of that, girls." Krystal said. "But, vampires aren't trying to kill you, because you yourself are vampires."

Fay and Miyu both gasped. While they knew that Krystal was a telepath, they didn't expect her to immediately point out that they were creatures of the night. She glared at them with contempt, holding her blaster out. Fara clutched at the stake in her hands, not wanting to lose her grip on the silver projectile. The fennec had a cross on her belt, which she would no doubt be using in battle. While Miyu was eager to take down her friends, Fay was a bit more cautious, knowing that she would be killed if she got careless.

"Well then," Miyu spoke, "I guess Fay and I will have to kill you!"

"Bring it on, bloodsuckers!" Fara snapped.

Launching themselves at Fara and Krystal, Fay and Miyu began to battle with their former allies. Miyu tried to cut Fara with her claws, only for the fennec to dodge each attack. When the lynx slashed at the vulpine again, the former was parried by the stake the latter held. She was kicked in the abdomen, causing her to stumble back a little. Fara tried to stab the feline in the chest with her stake, only for the attack to be interrupted. Grabbing the stake, Miyu pushed Fara back, getting up from the ground.

With Miyu up again, Fara knew she had to be as careful as she had been before. If she had lost focus on the fight, she would either be turned into a vampire or drained of her blood. The fennec didn't want either to happen, so she kept a level head against Miyu. However, the vampiric lynx wasn't about to lose to a former ally, let alone one who wasn't a vampire yet. Before Fara could stab her with the stake, the feline grabbed it. She clutched it tightly, using her newfound super strength to hold the long-eared vixen in place.

"Give up, Fara!" Miyu sneered. "I know that you don't want to fight me!"

"I have to, so that you won't endanger innocent lives ever again!" Fara said.

"I do what I have to to survive!" The lynx snorted.

"Then tell me this, how did Star Wolf get you on their side?" The fennec asked. "Why did you sacrifice your mortality in order to work with those bastards?"

"Well, Rose Boy had convinced Fay and I to come to Sargasso, so we followed him there." The feline said. "Once we got there, we saw Wolf speaking to someone he had just converted to a vampire, and I asked if we could become vampires as well. He took out a needle and stuck it in our arms, but it was worth it! There's no greater thrill in life than making a sacrifice for the greater good!"

"You willingly sacrificed your mortality in exchange for power?!" The vulpine shouted. "Traitors, how many innocent lives have you taken in order to fill your bellies?!"

"I don't know." The vampire lynx said. "How many loaves of bread have you eaten in your life?"

"Not enough for comparison, apparently!" Krystal shouted.

Firing her blaster at Miyu and throwing Fay back, Krystal was ready to kill the two where they stood. The cobalt vixen walked towards Fara, helping her to stab Miyu with the stake. While it didn't hit the lynx in her heart, it did hit her in the side. The feline let out a scream of pain, stumbling back while trying to remove the stake. In alarm, Fay went over to help her fellow vampire, only for Fara to throw her cross at the spaniel. With Krystal by her side, the fennec went to finish off the former members of Star Fox.

"Krystal," Fay spoke, "wait, why are you helping a mortal?"

"Because she's my friend and I want out of my vampirism!" Krystal shouted. "Of course, you wouldn't understand because you and Miyu are bloodsucking traitors! For that, the both of you will pay for your actions!"

"And don't expect your deaths to be quick and painless!" Fara said.

Grabbing Fay by her shoulder, Fara readied a stake for her heart. The spaniel caught it, signaling for Miyu to stand up and fight. However, Krystal was immediately on her, wrapping her arms around the lynx's throat. Intent on knocking her out, the cobalt vixen didn't squeeze fairly hard, only enough to take down the vampiric feline. Unwilling to be defeated, Fay and Miyu freed themselves and flew up into the air. They took a deep breath, drawing in some of the air around them.

"Fara, get to cover!" Krystal warned.

Seeing what her former friends were about to do, Fara got away as fast as she could. However, she didn't leave the area, wanting to help Krystal defeat Fay and Miyu. Not leaving when she had the opportunity turned out to be the fennec's undoing, as the spaniel and the lynx let out a high-pitched screech that echoed throughout the night. The vulpine tried to shut it out, but the sound proved to be too painful to ignore. It disoriented her, causing her to lose her balance. Falling unconscious, the last thing Fara saw was Krystal standing defiantly, even as Fay and Miyu flew down at her.

Once the pain had resided, Fara got up from the ground. Curious as to how long she had been unconscious, the fennec looked at her watch, showing that ten minutes had passed since Fay and Miyu had let out that horrific screech. She looked up, wondering if they were still in the sky. To the vulpine's relief, neither of them were there. However, that relief soon turned to horror when she noticed that Krystal was no longer with her. In fact, by looking around for a few minutes, Fara saw that the cobalt vixen had vanished.

"Krystal!" Fara cried. "Krystal, where are you?!"

At Sargasso, Wolf was sitting in the docks, waiting for Fay and Miyu to return. He had sent them to capture Krystal and kill whoever stood in their way. Once they had brought the cobalt vixen to him, the one-eyed lupine would be able to convince her to join his army. If she resisted, then Panther and Leon would deal with her. If she was left with him, Leon would have to torture the Cerinian-vampire until she complied to join them. As a nonviolent alternative, Panther would be there to hypnotize the vulpine long enough for Star Wolf to reprogram her. Either way, Krystal would join the army whether she liked it or not.

Upon seeing two Arwings pull into the docks, Wolf got up and walked towards them. He was so eager to greet his fellow vampires, he didn't notice that Miyu wasn't flying hers. The ships came open, allowing the pilots to jump out. Fay was the first to approach Wolf, greeting him with enthusiasm. Miyu, on the other hand, was thrown to the ground. Standing above her was a familiar cobalt vixen. Her angry green eyes locked onto Wolf, looking at him with controlled rage.

"They failed their mission, Wolf. Looks like you're not as good of a commander as you thought."

Note: Well, it looks like Krystal defeated Fay and Miyu. But, why did she bring them back to Sargasso? What does the cobalt vixen have planned? How is Fara going to explain her disappearance to Star Fox? Will they be able to contact their teammate? Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!