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Fox and Krystal were overjoyed that not only had they buried the bitter, hurtful past, but they were now actually engaged to be married. Fox held his vixen's paw as the two walked along the shore of Cape Claw on their way back to Krystal's little bungalow.

"There it is," said Krystal.

"Nice little place," said Fox. "You like living there?"

"Not as much I'll like living with you once we're married," said Krystal, putting her head against Fox's shoulder.

Fox walked inside the bungalow, seeing that it was probably adequate for a single vulpine, but the thought of two residing there was not an idea that appealed to him. He stood in the doorway as Krystal packed up what little belongings she'd brought with her after leaving Star Wolf. Most of it was clothing.

"I've always been curious about something," said Fox.

"What's that?" asked Krystal.

"Did all Cerenian vulpine wear that type of clothing, or was it just you?" asked Fox.

"You mean the loincloth and bra?" said Krystal. "The females all wore a loincloth and bra, the males just wore a loincloth."

"Why is that?" asked Fox, scratching at the back of his head.

"Because," said Krystal, folding up her clothing. "Cerenians believed the vulpine body to be a thing of beauty, and it should be displayed for all to see without of course showing the private areas."

"Really?"

"Well," said the vixen. "That and it was very hot on Cerenia, so wearing a bunch of clothing wasn't very comfortable."

"I see," said Fox. "So there was a philosophical as well as practical reason in the choice of clothing."

Krystal laughed. "I never thought of it in those terms, but I suppose that's accurate."

"Gonna take me a while to get used to the idea of standing in front of all our friends in one of those things," admitted Fox. "Might feel like I'm naked."

"You'll be fine," said Krystal, turning around and smiling at him.

"Easy for you to say," said Fox with a slight chuckle. "You've worn that sort of thing for most of your life so you're used to it."

"Perhaps you're right," said Krystal. "Tell you what, if right before our wedding you're still uncomfortable with wearing it in front of everyone, you don't have to."

"I'm sure by then I'll be okay with it," said Fox. "I'll just picture everyone else at the wedding in one of those too. Maybe that way I won't feel so self-conscious."

Krystal laughed again. "Whatever works for you, Fox."

The orange vulpine grinned at his fiance. Looking over at the wall next to him, he noticed Krystal's staff was held there by a simple wooden mounted display. He reached his paw over, grasping the staff in his paws. A strange feeling washed over his body. The staff somehow knew what he wanted and he could extend his will to it. Krystal turned around, seeing her husband to be just standing there like a statue. His expression was that of shock.

"Fox?" said Krystal. "Is something the matter?"

"Strange," said Fox, not taking his eyes of the vixen's staff. "It felt like the staff was talking to me."

"That is odd," said Krystal. "I've never known the staff to be able to speak to anyone except those with telepathic powers." Krystal took the paw from Fox's paws and he felt normal again. "I'm all packed now."

"To Walled City then," said Fox, taking hold of Krystal's belongings in one paw and Krystal herself with the other paw.

The engaged couple told King Tricky of their plans to marry in a month and hoped that the ceremony take place on Sauria and that their honeymoon would be enjoyed on Cape Claw. The King Earth Walker was overjoyed to hear the news. He told the the engaged couple that he would be honored to have the wedding on his planet and that they were welcome to stay on Cape Claw for as long as they wanted. Fox and Krystal gave King Tricky a hug and thanked him for everything that he promised to do before exiting for the Great Fox.

Slippy and Falco were surprised when Fox returned from Sauria so quickly, but they were even more surprised when he came back with Krystal. Neither the bird nor the toad thought that she would be willing to come back to Team Star Fox after the bitter breakup that had taken place.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," said Falco, gtting out of his chair. "Krystal, are you actually back with us now?"

"I'm back with Fox," said the vixen, giving her husband-to-be a kiss on the cheek. "Fox tells me that he's retiring and you'll soon be in possession of the Great Fox."

"Yeah," said Falco. "But when I take ownership of it, it will be the Great Falcon."

"Seems appropriate," said Krystal, smiling.

Fox spoke up. "Krystal and I just wanted to let you and Slippy know that we're getting married on Sauria a month from now and you're both invited."

"Wouldn't miss it for the galaxy," said Slippy, happy to here that his two friends were getting married.

"Same here," said Falco.

"Good," said Fox. "Right now, let's head back to Corneria. Krystal and I will need some time to plan the wedding."

"I'd say let's start by making a guest list," said Krystal.

"Right," said Fox. "If you'll excuse Krystal and I, we have a wedding to plan."

"Have fun," said Falco. Fox and Krystal had their back turned, walking away from the avian and toad, so neither one of them noticed when Falco made the intercourse gesture with his paws to Slippy, who had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Fox, still walking away, turned around briefly, wondering what the noise was, but just as quickly turned back around.

"Okay," said the vulpine once he and Krystal got into another room of the Great Fox. "Time to get on the computer and start the list."

"Okay," said Krystal, sitting down next to Fox,who opened up a blank document on his computer. "Shall I start giving you names?"

"Shoot," said Fox.

"Lets see," said the vixen. "There's General Pepper, Peppy and his grad daughter, Slippy and Falco already said they come. There's Fara Phoenix, Fay Spaniel, Miyu Lynx, Bill Gray, Katt Monroe, Wolf O'Donnell, Panther Caruso . . ."

"Wait a second," said Fox, looking away from the computer monitor and towards the vixen. "Do we really have to invite Panther?"

"Yes," said Krystal. "Why don't you want to invite him?"

"I don't know," said Fox, making a nasty face. "Maybe it's because he's an asshole."

"Fox," said Krystal. "Please try to be understanding about Panther. He doesn't mean you any disrespect or harm. It's just how he is. Besides, don't you think Wolf would be hurt if we told him his boyfriend wasn't allowed to attend our wedding?"

Fox sighed. "I suppose you're right. Say, you knew about Panther and Wolf being an itme?"

"Oh yes," said Krystal. "I have to say, I didn't see that one coming."

"Neither did I," said Fox.

"You know, they're really good for each other, but I know it's kind of difficult for Wolf dealing with being gay. He's just such a private person, and Panther is pretty open about his sexuality. Kind of creates some tension at times."

"I saw that first hand when I was at the base in Fichina," said Fox. "Wolf looked like he was going to strangle Panther a few times."

"That's how it was when I was still there," said Krystal, laughing. "Wolf only threatened him about a hundred times a day."

"Sounds like a match made in heaven," said Fox, chuckling. "Anyway, one other thing I just thought of: I need to contact my lawyer back in Corneria to draw up the papers needed to transfer ownership of the Great Fox over to Falco, that way it's out of my paws after we're married."

"You gonna miss it?" asked Krystal. "I know it belonged to your father."

"Sure I will miss it for a while," said Fox. "But I have to put the past behind me and look forward to the future with you, and hopefully our future kits."

Krystal put her head on his shoulder. "Sounds like a future that I want to look forward to."

After finishing the guest list, Fox went ahead and contacted his lawyer in Corneria, who was surprised to hear that Fox was exiting the mercenary business and that he was letting go of the Great Fox, a ship purchased by his late father, James McCloud. Fox explained that he was getting married and wished to start a family, something that wasn't really that compatible with be a pilot-for-hire. The lawyer said he understood and that getting the paperwork around ans signed by both Fox and Falco would be no problem. Fox was assured that once he was married, the Great Fox, then to be called the Great Falcon, would be the property of Falco Lombardi. Fox thanked him and extended an invitation to the wedding. The lawyer assured him he would be there and that he would have the title to give Falco. Fox told him that would be wonderful.

With the guest list and legal matters out of the way, Fox and Krystal decided it was time to have a meal. Eating with Falco and Slippy in the galley of the Great Fox. As the four sat in the galley, Fox played absently with his food, staring at the beautiful blue furred vixen sitting across from him, thinking about how "Krystal McCloud" had quite a lovely ring to it and how he couldn't wait to start their new lives together.

Krystal noticed the goofy look her fiance had on his face. "What are you looking at?"

Fox found the question odd. "You mean you don't know?"

"No," said Krystal. "I'm not reading your mind right now, silly."

"Oh," said Fox. "But I gave you permission to read my mind. Thought you might be in their right now, hearing me thinking about how much I'm in love with you."

"I see now," said Krystal. "I thought you gave me permission just that one time to read your mind. Didn't know it was okay to do it beyond that."

"Fox, man," said Falco. "You mean to tell me you let her see everything in your mind?"

"Everything,," said Fox.

"Oh fuck," said Falco, putting his hands over his face. "Now that means she knows all the stuff you know about me, including the embarrassing stuff."

"First of all," said Fox, getting irritated. "Watch your mouth in front of my future wife. Second, letting her see my deepest thoughts was my way of showing her that I trusted her completely and wasn't afraid of letting her know everything about my life."

"You're not going to tell Katt about some of that stuff, are you Krystal?" asked the avian nervously.

"Don't worry," said Krystal. "I won't tell her about the time you were in Corneria City and hired a prostitute, only to find out the prostitute was male."

"Oh god," said Falco, getting up. "Why did I tell you about that, Fox?"

"Why? I don't know why you did, but need I remind you that when you told me and Slippy about that you were super wasted?"

"Remind me never to touch a drop of alcohol again, will you?" asked Falco.

"If I were you," said Slippy, entering the conversation. "I'd sell him the Great Fox at a much higher price in exchange for keeping this quiet from Katt.

"That's extortion," said Falco, growing angry with the toad. "You better not say a word, Slippy, or I'm going to kick your scrawny ass."

"Okay, okay," said Fox, quickly rising to his feet. "Everybody settle down. That's an order. Slippy, nobody's going to say anything to Katt about that little lapse in judgment of Falco's. Falco, calm down. Your secret is safe with all of us. I'm not going to say anything, Slippy's not going to say anything, and I'm sure Krystal won't either. Okay?"

"Okay," said Falco, trying to calm down.

Fox sat back down and looked over at Krystal. "Anyway, where were we? Oh yes . . . Krystal, I love you so much that you have permission to read my mind anytime you want."

"If that's what you want,' said the vixen. "Then so be it."

"It is," said Fox. Indeed, the vulpine was so in love with the Cerenian vixen that he didn't mind at all if she entered his mind whenever she pleased. He stared lovingly at her, gazing into her turquoise eyes. She gazed back into his green eyes, and it was then that Fox felt something. He could feel her presence in his mind.

"Krystal," he said. "You're able to be inside my mind without touching me?"

"Oh yes," said the vixen. "It's the focusing gems on my forehead that amplify my telepathic powers and let me be inside your mind. Doesn't hurt that I'm also intimately familiar with your mind after our melding on Sauria."

Falco and Slippy watched as the two vulpine held paws and gave each other a quick kiss on the cheek. The avian was still amazed that Fox would allow Krystal to do such a thing.

"Wow," said the bird. "Gotta say, you must really love and trust her, huh, Fox?"

"I certainly do," said Fox.

"He loves her so much," said Slippy. "That he would never go to Corneria City and try to hire a prostitute."

"God dammit," said Falco, jumping to his feet. "I'm going to kill you, Slippy!"

Krystal and Fox stood up, watching Falco chase Slippy out of the galley. Fox shook his head. "I swear it's like dealing with children."

Krystal couldn't help but laugh not only at Falco and Slippy, but her fiance's observation. "You think you'd better put a stop to that?"

"I suppose you're right," said Fox. "Be kind of hard to sell the Great Fox to Falco if he's in prison for murdering Slippy."

Krystal saw her future husband run out of the galley, only to return a few minutes later holding Falco and Slippy by the collars of their shirts. He brought them back to the dining table. "Okay, you sit there and you sit there," he ordered the misbehaving crew members. "Next one of you who starts any trouble is going to be confined to their quarters until we get to Corneria, understood?"

"Got it," said Falco, folding his arms like a pouting child.

"I understand," said Slippy, also folding his arms in a similar fashion.

Grumbling, Fox sat back down at the table across from Krystal and smiles once more as he looks into her loving eyes. "You know," he said. "When I first met you, I was deathly afraid of you reading my mind. It was just so . . . so strange to think that a vulpine could possess telepathic abilities, made me feel vulnerable. But after I talked to Wolf when I came looking for you in Fichina, he convinced me that I was only as sick as my secrets. I thought about that, and it made sense, but I didn't really, truly believe that until after you read my mind, then it I felt liberated, like a giant weight had been lifted off me. I'm glad that we don't have any secrets between us anymore."

Krystal watched as Fox stared dreamily at her once more, his eyes fixated on the gems on her forehead. She smiled back at him, and there it was again. He could feel her in his mind. Her presence was warm , comforting to the orange vulpine. He was now like an open book to her.

"Krystal," said Slippy. "What' Fox thinking.

She knew that her future husband didn't mind the toad asking such a question. "He's looking forward to be married and he thinks the name "Krystal McCloud" has a lovely ring to it."

"That's right," said Fox, still dreamily staring at the future Mrs. McCloud.

"And Falco?" said the vixen.

"Yes?" said Falco.

"I was serious when I said that I wouldn't reveal anything I learned about you from reading Fox's mind to Katt," she said. "I would never betray a confidence like that."

"Thank you," said Falco, breathing a sigh of relief. He'd never known the vixen to break a promise in all the time he'd known her, and he didn't expect that she would start now. Satisfied with her assurance, he looked over at Slippy. The toad put his hands in the air, signaling that he had no intentions of saying or doing anything to piss the bird off; at least not with Fox still present.

Dinner ended, and Fox and Krystal retired to the lounge of the Great Fox for the evening. The two lovers sat on a couch, gazing out a window at the countless stars that the ship was passing by. The two vulpine had their heads leaning, touching each other. Being in close physical contact with the Cerenian vixen, Fox could feel her presence in his mind to be quite strong. It was soothing, comforting to the orange vulpine, who felt as though nothing else mattered whenever she was inside his mind. His mind drifted to thoughts about how the Great Fox, soon to be the Great Falcon, didn't feel so empty, so lonely with his wife to be now present.

"You guys really did a great job restoring the ship, you know."

"Holy crap," fox blurted out. "I could hear your thoughts in my head."

Krystal shushed her fiance, putting a paw up to her mouth. "Hush you," she said. "Now that your mind is so receptive to my presence, I can talk to you telepathically, and you can answer back with your thoughts."

"Oh," said Fox with just his thoughts. "Fascinating."

"You know," said Krystal, continuing their telepathic conversation. "I hop that you'll be okay with Panther attending our wedding. He's actually a really good guy, and once I made it clear to him that I wasn't interested in having a sexual relationship with him, he acquired and told me he would no longer try and proposition me."

"I've been thinking about it," said Fox, still conversing with the vixen telepathically. "I'm not going to get mad at Panther anymore for his hitting on you, or for taunting me. Truth is I probably deserved some of those taunts for how awful I treated you. I promise I will never, ever treat you like that again."

"I believe you," said Krystal back to him. "It still kind of humors me to think about Wolf and Panther being a couple. There so very different people, but I know from reading just their empathic responses that they dearly love one another."

"Who knows," said Fox to her mind. "Maybe them coming to our wedding will inspire them to take things further in their relationship? Wolf and I have become good friends since Star Wolf turned legit, and it would make me very happy if he settled down with someone he really loved."

"It would make me happy too," said Krystal. "Fox, where do you want to live after our honeymoon?"

"Been thinking about that," said Fox. "I was born and raised in Corneria, so that's really my first home, but Sauria sounds pretty inviting. With all the money I'll, sorry, we'll be getting after Falco buys the Great Fox, I don't see why we couldn't have homes on both planets."

"I wouldn't be opposed to that," said Krystal. "What about work. What do you want to do?"

"Krystal," said Fox, his mouth shut but smiling at her. "I've made quite a bit of money from mercenary work. I don't think we'll have to worry about me working for money for a long time, or maybe even ever. That being said, I plan on maybe getting a job at the Cornerian Flight Academy in the future, just so I can still be involved in flying, though that would be after our kids get older."

"I can't tell you how happy I am that you want to have children with me," said Krystal, holding her fiance tighter. "How many do you want to have?"

"As many as we can," said Fox. "I grew up as an only child and I always wanted siblings to play with. Plus, having a brothers and sisters would have helped me better deal with the loss of my Mom and Dad. It would have been nice to have had siblings so we could comfort each other."

Krystal looked into Fox's eyes. She could feel how much he loved her, and she felt the same way about him. The blue furred vixen felt herself passionately kissed by the orange todd, his tongue licking at her face and cupping her breasts. She was still dressed in traditional Cerenian attire, a loincloth and bra, and the scant clothing was causing Fox to grow increasingly aroused. He knew that she could pick up on his overwhelming desire to mate with her, so he stopped his kissing.

"No," he said, this time speaking out loud instead of telepathically. "Krystal I . . . I do want to make love to you, I want you to give me little kits we can love and cherish right now, but I know how important it is to you that we wait until after the wedding to consummate our marriage."

"Oh, that means so much to me," said Krystal, hugging him. "Being chaste until one is married is very important in Cerenian culture. I know how much you want to make love to me, and I want to make love to you too, but I would feel like I'm betraying the customs, the ancient traditions of my people if I did that."

"Then we'll abstain from sex until after the wedding," said Fox. "But for now, I want to kiss you, my lovely vixen."

Krystal closed her eyes, feeling the orange vulpine's lips pressed against hers. The two kissed deeply before she broke broke free. Pressing her forehead against his, she opened her telepathy fully, projecting her love for the Cornerian vulpine. Fox, feeling even more intense emotions than when she read his mind for the first time, went limp from being overwhelmed. He whimpered happily as Krystal held him in her arms.

The Great Fox continued on its journey to Corneria and Fox and Krystal said goodnight to each other mentally before retiring to their quarters for the night. Krystal went to her room, directly across the hall from Fox's. Inside, she washed her face and paws before getting undressed. Naked, she went over to a mirror and looked at her own figure. She was in near perfect physical condition and it was all she could do to restrain herself from going over to her fiance's room and letting him take her right then and there. Conscious that she would regret having intercourse with Fox before they were properly married, she sat down and began her nighttime ritual of meditation.

Across the hall, Fox was busy washing his face and paws like he did every night before going to sleep. Stripping his clothes off down to his underwear, he threw the garments into a hamper in the corner of his room. He walked over to the mirror on the wall and examined himself. He grinned as he flexed his arms, admiring that, like his future wife, he was in excellent shape. He looked over his body, thinking about how badly he wanted walk across the hall, open the door to Krystal's room and make sweet love to her. He shook his head, dismissing the idea. As much as he wanted to do it, he knew he would regret it if he was to take Krystal before their wedding. Cerenian custom was very specific that a male and female were to be chaste until the wedding ceremony had been completed. Fox knew that he couldn't completely live up to that, having had sex with several females over the years, but he would not deflower Krystal until they were properly wedded.

Yawning, Fox stretched his arms before climbing into bed and pulling the covers over himself. He felt a little lonely since Krystal's presence was not currently in his mind, but still he was incredibly happy. This had been the greatest, most important day in his life so far. As he lay in bed, his thoughts drifted to how lonely he felt after Krystal had left Star Fox and joined Star Wolf. It pained him back in those days to think that not only had she left Star Fox, but that she might be running right into Panther's arms. The thought of the dark cat making love to her, night after night, her calling out his names, it was almost unbearable to him. Much to his relief, Krystal had never slept with him and Panther was in a relationship with Wolf now. Fox thought back to earlier in the day when Krystal had returned to the Great Fox with him. He felt a few tears run down his face, thinking about how lonely he would feel if he ever lost her again. Without his sweet, loving, blue-furred vixen by his side, he might very well lose the will to live, but with his beautiful, sweet, blue-furred vixen in his life he had every reason to live. Digging his head into the pillows on his bed, Fox yawned once more and closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep.

Fox opened his eyes, finding himself on the bridge of the Great Fox. He was sitting in his command chair. He could have sworn that he had just gone to bed He slowly rose to his feet and looked around. He was the only one on the bridge.

"Wonder where Krystal is?"

He looked around the ship, checking the galley, the lounge, the Arwing hangar where the fighters were docked. He could feel his heart beating faster and faster, sweat was accumulating on his forehead and he was panting. Where was she. In a mad dash, he ran to her quarters and opened the door, but she was nowhere to be found. He searched throughout the room, trying to find her belongings, but there was nothing, absolutely nothing; not her loin cloth, her bra or her forehead gems. He tried channeling her mentally, calling out to her. His only response was complete, dead silence. He ran back to the ship's bridge, hoping to contact King Tricky.

"Tricky, Tricky, where are you?" he said into the ship's communication monitor. The King Earth Walker appeared on screen.

"Oh, thank god," said the vulpine. "Tricky, I can't find Krystal anywhere. Is she back on Suaria again?"

The King Earth Walker gave the orange vulpine a disgusted look. Fox knew something was seriously wrong. He and Tricky had been great friends for years, and he'd never known the dinosaur to give him that kind of stare.

"You have some nerve calling me, Fox," said Tricky.

"Why?" said Fox. "What's wrong? I don't understand."

"Don't act like you don't remember, Fox," said Tricky. "You promised her that you would never keep any secrets from her, that you would trust her with all your heart, but you drove her away again."

"No," said Fox, gasping for air. "That can't be. I promised her that I would never drive her away again."

"You lied," said Tricky. "It was even worse than before. Not only did you fail to trust her, you treated her like trash."

"No!" shouted Fox. "That can't be!"

"You did all of that, Fox," said Tricky, looking angrier by the second. "Everyone on Star Fox was so appalled at how you treated her that they left you the day it happened."

"What happened?" asked Fox, fearing what the King was about to say.

"That day they went to go look for Krystal when she didn't report for duty in the morning. They went to her quarters, but there was no response. They opened the door and found Krystal lying face down on her bed. They thought she was sleeping, but they could rouse her from sleep. It was then they noticed the note and bottle on the nightstand next to her bed."

"What . . . what are you talking about?" asked a terrified Fox.

"She took her own life, Fox.," said Tricky, gnashing his teeth at the vulpine. "She couldn't stand the way you treated her anymore, so she got hold of some poison when Star Fox was at an outpost, wrote a letter and then swallowed the deadly pills to end her misery."

"No," said Fox. "No, no, no!"

"Yes, Fox," said Tricky. "You made Krystal kill herself!"

Fox dropped to the floor of the bridge, screaming and crying. He pounded his fists into the floor, bruising and bloodying them. "I don't want to live! I don't want to live! I don't want to live . . ."

Krystal was still up, having decided to have a long, deep session of meditation to think about all that had happened to her that day. She had gone from living by herself on Sauria, having left Star Wolf months ago, to having the deepest, most meaningful mind meld with her now fiance, Fox McCloud. This day had been the most important ever in her life. She couldn't help but drift into thoughts of what living with Fox would be like after they got married just one month from now. She thought about all the fun times they'd have together, spending the rest of their lives as husband and wife. She thought about how Fox said he wanted to have as many kits as possible. It warmed her heart. Both of them had no family members living, and the thought of creating a large McCloud family was what she wanted more than anything. She wanted to be a mother, raising a brood of kits into proper adults and she could think of no better father for vulpine than her beloved Fox McCloud.

"Fox?" she said aloud, having picked up some disturbing thoughts coming from across the hall. Something was wrong; very, very wrong. Getting to her feet, she put her loin cloth and bra back on and rushed out the door. She pounded on the door, trying to get a response from Fox, but there was no answer. She knew how to override the lock on his door, and quickly did so. Inside his quarters, she saw the orange vulpine, sweating, trashing around in his bed. She knew from the outwards appearance and the thoughts coming from him that he was having a nightmare. She went to him, tugging on his arm.

"Fox, Fox, Fox!" she said aloud.

The orange vulpine awoke and sprang up from his back. Sweating and breathing heavily, he looked over and saw Krystal was there.

"Krystal, you're . . . you're here," he said.

"Of course I'm here," she said. "Where did you think I'd be?"

Tears welled up in Fox's ears and he sobbed heavily. "Oh, Krystal it was awful. I had a horrible, horrible nightmare. I couldn't find you. Then I talked to Tricky and it he said I drove you away again. He said I made you take your own life!"

Krystal took hold of her beloved Fox, nuzzling her head underneath his muzzle. She stroked his ears, trying to calm him. "Oh, Fox. It's okay. It was just a bad dream. I've looked into the deepest part of your mind and I know you would never, ever do a thing like that, I know you love me more than anything, even your own life."

She sat on the edge of his bed, holding him, comforting him. She didn't concern herself with anything else but trying to get her beloved Fox back to his old self again. She wiped away his tears and felt that his mind was slowly coming back to normal.

"Fox?" she said.

"Yes?" said Fox.

"I still want to remain pure before our wedding, but tonight I'm going to sleep next to you."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Fox.

"Yes," she said. "With both of us right next together, I'll be able to help keep the nightmares from your sleep."

"You have that kind of power?" asked Fox, brushing the last of his tears away.

"I do," she said. "Come on, let's go to sleep now. You'll feel better once I've entered your dreams. I promise you that."

"Alright," said the vulpine, laying back down. "Krystal?"

"Yes?"

"I love you," said Fox.

"I love you too, Fox McCloud," she said.

The two lovers laid back down in Fox's bed. It took time, but eventually Fox drifted off into sleep once more.

Fox was back at the Star Wolf base in Fichina. He looked around, seeing that Wolf O'Donnell was standing close to him, as was Panther Caroso. He looked at them, thinking that they would be arguing like he'd seen them do before. They remained silent, so he decided to strike up a conversation.

"So," asked the vulpine. "How long have you and Panther been a couple, Wolf?"

Panther and Wolf looked at each other, confused by Fox's question. Fox noticed the strange looks on their faces.

"What in the hell are you talking about, McCloud?" asked Wolf. "I'm not some homo."

"Me neither," said Panther. "Why would I be with Wolf when I'm having so much fun with Krystal?"

"Wait," said Fox. "You're . . . you're with Krystal?"

"Damn right I am," said Panther, giving Fox a smug grin. "Best piece of ass I've ever had in my life, and I've had my fair share."

"You're lying!" yelled Fox. "Krystal would never sleep with you."

"Oh yes she would," said Panther. "Just ask her yourself."

Fox turned around, seeing Krystal approaching them. The blue furred vixen snuggled up against Panther, making him purr loudly. "Hi, handsome kitty-cat," said the vixen. "How's the best lover in all the Lylat System?"

"Better for seeing you," said Panther, putting his paws on her butt. "Fox doesn't believe that you're my lover now."

"Believe it, McCloud," she said. "Panther is the greatest lover a girl could ever have."

Fox could feel it happen again, his heart beating uncontrollably, sweat forming on his forehead, his breathing quick and shallow. He opened his mouth to speak, but felt someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned around to see who it was.

"Krystal" he said. "But I thought you were . . ." He turned around again, only to find that Panther, Wolf and the first Krystal had vanished into thin ari. He turned back around, seeing Krystal standing by him, smiling lovingly at him.

"It's me, Fox," she said. "I'm in your dreams now. I'll protect you from anything that's the slightest bit unpleasant to you."

Fox took hold of the vixen. "You're really in my dreams now?"

"Yes," she said. "And even if I have to be in your dreams for the rest of your life to protect you from anything harmful, I'll do it. I love you that much."

He smiled warmly at her and leaned in for a kiss. "I know you love me that much, Krystal, and I'll be here for you to, until my very last breath."

The two lovers locked their muzzles together, kissing each other deeply. Krystal then drew him down into a bed of flowers until he lay on his back. Her whole body below her neck then seem to melt and flow around Fox, solidifying into a blue-furred blanked that wrapped itself snuggly around Fox to keep him safe. With Krystal's love pouring into and soothing his mind, Fox knew that he would never have to worry about a nightmare ever again as long as he had the love of his life sleeping beside him.