Note: Last chapter was a bit of a surprise, wasn't it? Not only did we see the two vampires Wolf had sent out, but we learned their identities. Before we move on with the story, I want to say something to four reviewers.
Big Bossk Man 92: Yeah, but their fans might want my head for turning them into villains. Then again, I don't think anyone attacked the story's original version for them being villains, so I shouldn't let a little bit of backlash keep me from writing. Also, I was originally going to end the chapter with Fay and Miyu capturing Krystal, but I changed my mind. Stay tuned for what happens next.
Ron: Actually, no I haven't. There are a LOT of vampire movies that I haven't seen. For one thing, I think we can all agree that the Twilight movies are garbage. Also, I'll have to go through the world of vampire cinema to find any hidden gems, because there might be a few good ones. I'll give From Dusk Til Dawn a watch sometime, assuming it's on any streaming services. I hope that you like this chapter.
King Tutenfoxenkhamen III: Actually, I never considered what powers Krystal would get on account of her vampirism. As for Wolf, I wouldn't say that he and Krystal are going to fight just yet. You'll just have to see for yourself, my friend. Thanks for the compliment, by the way. It's not every day that someone adds vampires to an environment you wouldn't expect to see them in and receive positive comments for it.
As for your idea of a story involving a dhampir Fox falling in love with Krystal the mummy, it reminds me of Irwin's family on Billy and Mandy. I wonder what Fox and Krystal's kids would be like if they were a half-vampire and a mummy, respectively. That's something that I'll ponder for quite some time. I hope you're ready for this chapter.
The White Wolf named Alex: Thanks for the reviews, man. I wasn't quite sure who you were talking to in your second one. Then again, knowing that Krystal was up, you could've been talking about her. Maybe you'll find out whether she contacts her teammates or not as you read the new chapter. Stay tuned for what happens next!
Now that I've said that, it's time for chapter thirteen.
Chapter 13: Bloodlust
Watching Krystal step out into the docking bay, Wolf couldn't believe what he was seeing. Not only had the cobalt vixen defeated Fay and Miyu, but there was nary a scratch on her. The one-eyed lupine could sense that her aura was much larger, but it didn't seem to matter to her. As the Cerinian-vampire approached her supposed master, her emerald green eyes burned into his. She was resisting the urge to kill him where he stood, despite desiring to free herself of her vampirism. The vulpine had her blaster and staff on hand, so she wasn't completely defenseless.
"You!" Wolf spoke. "How were you able to defeat them?"
"I'll tell you," Krystal coldly said, "when you agree to leave the people of the Lylat System alone."
"That won't happen, dear girl." The one-eyed lupine said. "As long as my army finds a way to keep themselves alive, there will be no shortage of food."
"Not unless my teammates stop you." The cobalt vixen said.
"Come now, Krystal, do you think that I don't have a plan to keep your pathetic friends off of my tail?" The space pirate-turned-vampire scoffed.
"I'm aware of what you're capable of, O'Donnell." The Cerinian vampire said.
With the sound of banter filling her ears, Miyu stirred awake. She sat up, her head spinning with the pain that she had felt earlier. The pain had come from a strike the lynx had received to her head, courtesy of an angry vixen. Now that she was back up, she wanted to return the favor, but with a few additional strikes. Before the feline could do anything, Fay held her arm out in front of her. The spaniel made sure that her teammate and fellow vampire saw it, deciding not to say a word.
"What's going on?" Miyu asked.
"Krystal's talking to Wolf." Fay said.
"About what?" The lynx asked.
"I don't know, but it's interesting." The spaniel said.
Back to Wolf and Krystal, the two were continuing on with their conversation.
"So, tell me, what do you really want to know?" Wolf asked.
"I want to know how you became a vampire." Krystal said.
"That's all?" The one-eyed lupine tilted his head. "Rather pointless to ask me that, isn't it?"
"I thought that, too." The cobalt vixen said. "Then, I realized that you didn't have any teeth markings on your neck. From what I can tell, Fay and Miyu are the same way."
"Well," the space pirate-turned-vampire said, "since you're oddly interested, we had created an isotope called SW-42 that could turn any subject injected with it into a vampire. Leon thought that it would only make the subject invincible, but that was only half-true. He, Panther, and I injected ourselves with the isotope, doing the same to Lynx and Spaniel when they came here."
"That's a shame." The Cerinian vampire said. "I was hoping that Fay and Miyu were bitten, so that we could cure them of their vampirism."
"Sorry, my dear, but they're on my side now, not Star Fox's."
Fay walked up to Wolf, hoping to speak with him. The one-eyed lupine walked off with her, leaving Krystal with Miyu. Unwilling to let the person who turned her into a monster escape, the cobalt vixen attempted to run down the hall he went with Fay. Miyu touched her on the shoulder, preventing her from going any further.
"I do believe that we have unfinished business, Krystal." The lynx said.
"We can fight later!" Krystal snapped. "Now, I want to fight Wolf and kill him!"
"What for?" Miyu asked. "To prove your superiority? To protect the rest of the team? To make Wolf suffer?"
"You just don't get it, Miyu." The cobalt vixen said, rolling her eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, this is for everyone Star Wolf has transformed into a vampire, including myself."
"Are you crazy?" The feline asked.
"No, I'm as sane as I ever was." The Cerinian vampire stated. "I'm fighting for a good cause, something that YOU don't understand anymore."
Walking down the hallway she saw Wolf go down, Krystal was intent on finding him. Once she found him, the cobalt vixen was going to take him on in a fight, using her staff and her blaster. If she had to fight with her fists, she would. Even if Wolf defeated her, the Cerinian vampire would let him kill her, so that he would lose a potential member to his army. She was also hoping that she would win, so that she would be able to stake the one-eyed lupine in the heart. It might not turn Leon, Panther, Fay, and Miyu back to normal, but it would cure everyone who was bitten of their vampirism.
As she walked down the hallway, Krystal had her telepathy on, hoping that it would find the room Wolf was in. The first room in the hallway had its door open, as if someone had forgotten to close it. Peeking into it, Krystal saw a rack full of syringes with an open cabinet full of vials. Above the vials was a plaque that read "SW-42 Supply". Taking out her communicator, the cobalt vixen took a picture of the room itself. She sent it to her teammates, along with a message explaining what everything was.
Realizing that sending a picture of the room over to Star Fox wouldn't be enough, Krystal grabbed one of the vials and put it in her pocket. After that, she continued down the hallway, her telepathy scanning for Wolf. The cobalt vixen could pick up his thoughts from a few feet away. She could also hear Fay's thoughts, but she wanted to ignore them, finding these thought patterns to be distracting. With her priorities set, the Cerinian vampire went to the second-to-last room. Pressing a button on the door, she waited as it came open, barely able to keep her intentions in control.
Inside the room, Wolf was standing up while Fay was on her knees, clutching her abdomen. Krystal didn't need to surmise what had happened to the spaniel, given how she was breathing heavily and moaning. Wolf didn't seem at all concerned for her, just annoyed. This made Krystal mad, knowing that the one-eyed lupine was just glaring at a potentially sick member of his army. She clenched her hands into fists, hoping to punch the Star Wolf leader in his face. Her eyes glowed, her vampiric powers surging through her body.
"This is why I tell you to feed every so often, Fay!" Wolf scolded.
"But I did feed!" Fay whimpered. "I bit someone down on Corneria!"
"You didn't drain him, you only gave him a small bite!" The one-eyed lupine said. "It wasn't even enough to turn him into a vampire! For that failure, you will starve!"
Krystal couldn't watch this anymore. As mad as she was about Fay sacrificing her mortality to become a vampire, the cobalt vixen felt that she didn't deserve to starve to death. She felt the same way about Miyu. Both of them were traitors, but being punished in the way Wolf was doing to Fay was too harsh. It wasn't like Krystal could turn them back to normal, as they were injected with the SW-42 formula instead of bitten. But, traitors or not, the Cerinian vampire could sense that there was still some good in them.
"That's enough, Wolf!" Krystal snapped.
"And just what are you doing here?" Wolf asked.
"I came to fight!" The cobalt vixen said. "Now that I see you abusing one of your subordinates, I have another reason to do so!"
"You really want to fight me?" The one-eyed lupine asked.
"Feed Fay first!" The Cerinian vampire said.
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Wolf knew that he had to get rid of Fay before fighting Krystal. Going over to a small freezer, the one-eyed lupine took out a blood bag, making sure that it was still fresh. He took it over to Fay, allowing her to open the bag in order to feed on the blood inside. As this happened, Krystal watched carefully, sensing that something bad was going to happen. Fay was clearly starving, and she was drinking more than enough blood fro satisfy herself. The cobalt vixen still consumed the jellied blood instead of draining those around her, but she knew how much blood was too much.
After dropping the empty blood bag, Fay had a dazed expression on her face. Krystal couldn't pick up any coherent thoughts from the spaniel, almost as if she were using her telepathy on a wild animal. There was nary a single thought in her brain, not even one that she had been thinking moments before. To Krystal, scanning Fay's mind at the moment was like she was trying to watch TV with reception so poor that every channel was engulfed by static. However, there was also a surge through the canine's mind, which was moving rather quickly. It disturbed the Cerinian vampire, to the point where she took a step back.
"Now, Fay, are you satisfied?" Wolf asked, seeming to be unconcerned with her.
"Must ... consume more!" Fay said, her voice raspy.
"Are you sure?" The one-eyed lupine asked. "Don't you think you've had enough?"
"No." The spaniel said, her voice becoming unhinged. "NOT ENOUGH! NEVER ENOUGH! MUST CONSUME MORE BLOOD! BLOOD IS NECTAR, BLOOD MUST BE CONSUMED!"
"Fay, no!" Krystal shouted. "You've had enough! You don't need anymore blood!"
"MORE BLOOD!" The canine screeched. "MORE BLOOD!"
"You heard her, Krystal!" Wolf laughed.
Unwilling to let Fay out of her sight, Krystal took out her blaster and her staff. She fired several rounds at the now deranged dog, hoping that they would bring her out of the daze she was in. Wolf immediately glared at the cobalt vixen, a mauve glow forming in his hands. He waved his hands towards Krystal, the glow turning into a fireball. The Cerinian vampire tried to dodge it, even firing at it with her staff, only to get bound in several rings of energy. As such, she was unable to stop Fay from leaving the room.
"Looks like the sweet puppy is going after your friends, assuming that she doesn't run into anyone else on Corneria." Wolf said.
"Then I guess I'll have to warn them!" Krystal said as she struggled against her bindings.
"And just how will you do that?" The one-eyed lupine sneered.
Letting out an enraged scream, Krystal broke free of the energy that bound her. After that, the cobalt vixen got out her communicator, intent on contacting her teammates. She dialed their numbers, hoping that they would respond. However, the Cerinian vampire was only greeted by voicemail. This didn't stop her from leaving a message.
"Everyone," Krystal spoke, "keep your eyes open! Fay is coming back to Corneria, and she's been driven insane by bloodlust! Take her down if you can! I'm at Sargasso, and I'm going to keep Wolf busy! If I don't come back, then I'm sorry!"
Putting her communicator away, Krystal looked at Wolf. The one-eyed lupine had a confident smirk on his face, knowing what the cobalt vixen wanted to do. He was never one to pass up a fight, even when his challenger was someone bigger and stronger than he was. It was a bit of a surprise that Krystal would be the one to challenge the Venomian, especially since she was supposed to be his servant on account of her being bitten. She was being rebellious, and he figured that he would punish her after he won the fight.
On the other end, Wolf's thoughts were not safe from Krystal. The cobalt vixen could tell what he was planning, and that made her more eager to defeat him. Even if she couldn't stop Fay from escaping, at least she would be able to fight the one who had turned her into a monster. The Cerinian vampire wasn't just doing this for her, as she was thinking about all of the people that Star Wolf had drained or converted into vampires. As she approached Wolf with her staff out, her grip on the weapon tightened, desiring to slay him. The one-eyed lupine could tell what she was thinking, so he only drew his blaster.
"So, do you think that you can defeat me?" Wolf spoke. "Are you really willing to defend those beneath you in order to get what you want?"
"You have no idea how I function, Wolf!" Krystal snarled. "I do what I do to protect the innocent and take down any bastard who dares threaten them! I don't do it out of a sense of superiority, I do it to save the day! You're just a deluded fool who simply wants to be better than everyone else, even though you have barely done anything to prove it!"
"Little girl, must you defy me?" The one-eyed lupine scoffed.
"I'm not a little girl!" The cobalt vixen growled. "Enough of this blather, we fight now!"
"Very well, prepare yourself!" The Venomian said, cracking a smile.
Fara was searching the area around her for Krystal. Her attempts were proving to be fruitless, as there just seemed to be no sign of the cobalt vixen. The fennec wanted to panic until she either passed out or had a stroke. She couldn't help it, she was only worrying about what had happened to her friend. If Krystal hadn't been taken back to Sargasso, then she was more-than-likely dead. Killing off a defector didn't seem out of the question for Fay and Miyu, seeing as they were turned into vampires by Star Wolf, but not like how Krystal had been turned.
After another minute of searching, Fara saw four Arwings land on the ground near her. Knowing that this was Star Fox, the fennec was relieved. However, that relief soon faded and got replaced with panic. She didn't know what to tell her former teammates, unless they had seen Fay and Miyu's Arwings taking off moments prior. If they hadn't, then they would probably have to question Fara about Krystal. What would the vulpine tell them if she didn't know the answer for herself? Would she have to lie, or would she have to tell the truth?
"Guys, you're here!" Fara spoke.
"Yeah, we came because we spotted two Arwings on a nearby rooftop." Peppy said, climbing out of his ship.
"And before we could investigate them again, they had already taken off!" Slippy stated.
"We did hear a loud noise, though, followed by what sounded like someone getting knocked out!" Falco said.
"What happened over here?" Fox asked.
"You aren't going to believe this, but Fay and Miyu are vampires now!" Fara said. "They came to attack us, so Krystal and I fought them to protect everyone in the agency! We were starting to turn the tables on them, but then they leaped up and started to make some awful noise! I got knocked out, and when I woke up, they were gone! Krystal wasn't here either!"
"Dammit, they must've gotten a hold of her!" Falco shouted.
"We need to travel to Sargasso and get her back!" Fox said. "Unless Wolf has done something to her, then we have to stop him!"
"I don't think that we'll need to go to Sargasso, guys." Slippy said, looking up at the sky.
Up in the horizon, an Arwing was speeding towards Corneria City. It appeared that, despite Star Fox planning to journey to Sargasso to see if she had been taken, Krystal had come back. While Fox, Fara, and Slippy were relieved, Falco and Peppy had a bad feeling about it. After all, it didn't seem possible for someone to go from Corneria to Sargasso and back in little time as possible. Even if one could, it didn't seem likely that they would get out of the Space Station unscathed. They didn't know who was really flying the Arwing, and they were about to get a really nasty surprise.
As it landed on the ground, the Arwing was deathly quiet. Fox carefully approached the ship, intent on greeting the pilot. However, the rest of the team stood back, wanting to be cautious. Due to not knowing what awaited them, Star Fox didn't want their leader to get eaten up by a monster. Chances are, Fay and Miyu could've come back to capture the rest of them. If it was Krystal, then the team wouldn't have been so cautious and worrisome.
The lid of the Arwing came open, which allowed Fox to greet the pilot.
"Krystal, there you are!" He spoke.
Instead of Krystal's hand, a hand with a white glove on it grabbed one side of the Arwing. Two red eyes shined from within the ship, being bright enough to blind someone. With the details they noticed, Star Fox could tell that it wasn't the person they thought it was. Rather, it was someone who they didn't want to see at the moment.
"That's not Krystal, Fox!" Slippy cried.
Before Fox could move, a white blur jumped onto him. The white blur happened to be Fay, whose eyes were glowing a bright red. She was letting out frenzied growls and panting, giving the impression that she was in a feral state. Turning her head towards her former teammates, the spaniel let out a deranged, bloodthirsty laugh. Seeing that, Star Fox knew that they had a fight to battle. Fara in particular had gotten out her gilded cross and an iron stake. The others had their blasters out, having them set to stun.
"Easy, Fay, we don't want to fight you." Peppy said.
"THEN I'LL FIGHT YOU!" Fay screamed. "I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU, RIP YOU TO PIECES, AND DRINK YOUR BLOOD!"
"I don't think she wants to sit down and talk it out, Peppy!" Slippy said.
"Looks like we'll have to put her down!" Falco said, ready for battle.
"That depends if we CAN put her down, guys!" Fara stated.
"Everyone, attack, but don't try to kill Fay!" Fox said.
With a violent Fay in front of them, Star Fox and Fara began to do battle with her. To begin, Slippy fired his blaster at the spaniel several times, which hit her. However, each stun round failed to knock her out. Up next was Falco, who was unable to attack his former teammate, but dodged each attack from her. Peppy didn't have it any better, but he did fire a stun round that temporarily stopped the canine in her tracks. When she snapped out of it, Fay wound up fighting Fox, receiving a few blows to her body. While they didn't seem to do much damage to her, she did react in pain.
Fara then rushed over to the fight, wanting to help Star Fox take down the rabid Fay. Taking out her gilded cross, the fennec held it out in front of her, hoping that it would do something. Her ears picked up a primal scream of rage, which meant that Fay was on the receiving end of the cross. However, the spaniel shook it off, jumping up in the air. She positioned herself to pounce on her former allies. Thinking quickly, Slippy got everyone out of the way and fired his blaster again. Before Fay hit the ground, she was hit by a stun round, which knocked her out.
Now that Fay was down, Star Fox surrounded her, wondering if she was going to get back up. They all had their blasters out, ready to stun the spaniel if she was still rabid. Fara had both her cross and her iron stake out, realizing that she would have to kill her former ally if it got to that point. The canine picked herself up from the ground, letting out a pained moan. Hearing that, everyone backed away, unsure of what she was going to do next. She opened her eyes, letting out another moan of pain.
"Must ... kill them all!" Fay spoke. "I must drain them! Drain their blood! I MUST SUCK THEIR BLOOD UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT IN THEIR BODIES!"
Realizing that Fay was still in her violent state, Star Fox fired their blasters at her. For each stun round that hit her, the spaniel let out pained moans that sounded almost like a lion's angry roar. Fara held out her cross again, causing the canine to back up in pain. Her eyes started to change back from red to their natural blue color. Not only were the stun rounds effecting Fay, but the cross was preventing her from attacking Star Fox and Fara. She collapsed on the ground, landing on her back.
"Is she down now?" Slippy asked.
"Sure looks like it." Peppy said.
"We should check to make sure." Fox said.
Star Fox and Fara slowly approached the unconscious Fay, their weapons still out. However, Fox's communicator beeped, signaling that he had received a message. Falco's, Peppy's, and Slippy's did the same, causing them to take them out. By opening their communicators, Star Fox saw pictures of what looked like a lab. Most of them were focused on a vial with a plaque below it that read "SW-42 formula", with one being a picture showing a full supply of them. That wasn't the only part of the message, as voicemail was attached to it.
"Everyone," Krystal's voice came out of the communicator, "keep your eyes open! Fay is coming back to Corneria, and she's been driven insane by bloodlust! Take her down if you can! I'm at Sargasso, and I'm going to keep Wolf busy! If I don't come back, then I'm sorry!"
Upon hearing the message, Star Fox couldn't help but be shocked. Not only was Fay in some kind of bloodlust, but Krystal was out at Sargasso. While it didn't seem like the cobalt vixen had been abducted by Star Wolf, it still made the team worry. By the way she said it, she sounded like she was going to fight Wolf. Fara shared their shocked expressions, not knowing what to say. There was no way that Krystal would be able to defeat Wolf, and they knew it.
Back to Fay, she lie on the ground, knocked out by stun rounds. However, she heard something going through her head.
Fay, get up! Wolf's voice echoed into Fay's mind. Come back as soon as you can! We've gotten everything taken care of!
Getting up from the ground, Fay coughed up some blood. Upon hearing that, Star Fox ran at her with Fara in tow. Before anyone could catch her, the spaniel threw a fireball at them. This left the team unable to stop her from escaping in her Arwing. They fired at it with their blasters, but none of the rounds did anything to it. Having failed, Star Fox stood in the area around them, unsure of what to do next.
Taking out a vial, Fara scooped up some of the blood that Fay had coughed up. She put a lid on the vial, not wanting anything to spill out. Realizing that they couldn't stay out in the darkness for much longer, the fennec decided to try and get them into the detective agency's building. Walking up to them, the vulpine spoke to her former teammates.
"We should probably run a test on the blood sample that Fay left behind." Fara said.
"Why?" Falco asked. "What good will that do?"
"Remember those pictures of that vial Krystal sent to you?" The fennec surmised. "If we experiment on Fay's blood, we might find a way to cure it."
"How will we know if it works?" Slippy asked.
"If there's a vampire on the streets one night, we can bring him in and inject him with the new concoction." The long-eared vixen said. "If it doesn't work, then we can work on it again. If it works, then we're home free!"
"That's a brilliant idea." Fox said. "When should we get started?"
"Tomorrow, perhaps." The vulpine said. "Come on, let's go back inside."
Fara opened the door to the agency, allowing Star Fox to enter. One by one, the mercenaries walked into the building, agreeing to be as careful as possible. There seemed to be no vampires following them, but they wanted to be sure. While there was the old rule that a vampire couldn't be allowed into one's house unless they invited him, that wouldn't stop one from breaking in. Fox was the last one to enter the building, pulling the door shut behind him.
I just hope that Krystal's alright. Fox thought to himself. How is she going to beat Wolf?
Note: That's what we're all wondering, I would imagine. How IS Krystal going to defeat Wolf? Is that even possible? Can she win, or is Wolf too tough for her? What will he do to her if he wins? Will Krystal be able to get away from him?
Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!