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Chapter -8-

"It's complicated"

One month later...

Fox rubbed his eyes with his palms. He glanced at Falco who refused to talk about how long this was taking, then he turned to Amanda. Her eyes were spellbound, watching the Landmaster tank from the satellite feed. Fox approached her and placed a paw on her shoulder. "Hey, you want one of us to take over for a while? You've been watching him for two hours now... if your eyes get tired, you might miss something important."

She nodded reluctantly but her eyes were still mesmerized by the screen. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. Slippy, being down there alone, bothers me for some reason, you guys... If something were to happen, this is the time they would attack. Would you two mind if I took the Tadpole fighter out? I need to stretch my legs."

Falco folded his arms, standing adjacent to her. "C'mon, sister, why don't you take his Bullfrog instead? It's way better equipped and the shields are great. I know it doesn't have very good boosting power but... it's a solid ship, y'know?"

She looked back at Fox then returned her eyes to the screen and nodded. "And it's easier to land, just in case. Very well... I just like knowing he has options, and today is a very clear day so they would see him coming from miles away."

Fox gently guided her aside and moved in front of the monitor. "Amanda, if you want to call it a day, Slippy has been down there for quite some time. I understand. Although at least there's no sandstorm today... that's a rarity, huh?"

She shook her head. "Yes, it's a rarity, no I'm not asking us to pack up for the day. When days are this good, we have a better chance." She cleared her throat and called for ROB on the other side of the bridge. "Hey, trashcan, can you come over here and keep an eye on this monitor? I want someone whose eyes won't tire," she then turned to Fox and added, "No offense, of course. It's best that a leader leads his crew." She pivoted, facing Falco and told him, "You've got to be exhausted. You were on night watch; why don't you take a nap?"

Lombardi rubbed the backside of his head. She had a point, though, and he was kinda' tired. "Yeah. I guess I might do that. This mission turned out to be the most boring five weeks of my life. And if either of you are offended by that... too bad. This sucks. I'm sure Slippy would agree with me, even though I know he likes drivin' around in that tank." He left the bridge with a shake of his head. Falco made his way down to his room and the door slid open.

The feathered pilot approached a cabinet full of expensive liquor, opened the case and took out a bottle of aged avian firebrandy. He gripped it firmly about the neck with both hands and used his right thumb to force the top off. It gave and the aroma of smooth hard alcohol filled the room. He looked around for a shot glass but couldn't find one.

Lombardi grinned. "Raiding that Pirate's base was the best damn thing Fox ever let us do." He placed the glass top to his mouth and tilted his head back, guzzling so as to keep from tasting the potent brew. His throat bulged three times then he pulled the bottle from his beak. The creases at the side of his beak contorted then he exhaled hard, eyes clenched. After a moment to get used to it all, he put the stopper back on and returned the glass bottle to its home in the case.

Falco headed across his quarters, into his bedroom and dropped down onto his bed. He kicked off his boots and stretched his talons then wiggled his backside to shift his weight so as not to sit wrong on his tail feathers. He flopped back, hands behind his head and stretched out.

The door to his quarters opened and Fox McCloud walked in. His nose twitched and he headed for the bedroom. "Damn... it smells good in here, man. Is that your sleep aid?"

"Yeah... I'm overtired, so... it takes the edge off and then I'm straight for a good eight hours. What're you doing in here?"

McCloud shrugged and dropped down onto the edge of the mattress, arms folded. "So what do you think about Slippy and Amanda?"

"Huh?"

"Permanent team members?"

"I guess." Falco yawned then continued. "I've not seen Amanda on the ground. I'm not sure if she's a mercenary but... she does fine in the sky."

"That's my problem," said McCloud with another shrug. "I need to make sure she can handle herself with a gun, first. After we raided the pirate's hideout, Slippy told me she was skittish about wasting people with an assault rifle. I totally respect that... but even Krystal had no problems pulling out a freakin' Gatling gun and wasting a thousand rounds on everything in the area. I've seen her do it - remember?"

"Yeah, that one job on the Setti Bravo Island. All of Zoness was watching us. I think that's where Krystal got her edge - she wasn't messin' around that day, man." Falco grinned casually and pushed his head back into the pillow. "Damn that's good stuff. It's burnin' in my belly like... fire. It's amazing. It works fast and hell. Speaking of Krystal, what the hell is going on with you two?"

"Don't be an idiot - she left. You were here when it happened. She went back to Panther."

"Katt said your girl is back on Corneria. Don't you keep with things?"

Fox blinked. "Katt said that?" He gave one of Falco's overturned boots a firm kick then dug his toe into the floor panels. "But I just heard that Panther is currently banned from Corneria as of two weeks ago. Maybe three. Why would she be there?"

"I don't know but Katt said she was in uniform. You think she went back to flying for the military?"

"Hell if I know. Free health insurance, good pay check, free housing. I guess that makes sense. You think her and Panther broke up?"

The alcohol was starting to kick in. Falco put both of his hands behind his head and yawned again. "Y'know how everyone wishes I would just get my crap together and go hook back up with Katt for the long haul? Everyone also feels the same way about you and Krystal. No joke, man. You love her - I know you do, you pansy. If I were you, I would fly to Corneria and super smash that tail tonight. I mean it. Straight up punish her, man. But I'm not you and my cockamamie complicated feelings are about Katherine Monroe. But YOU... You're the last McCloud and she's the last Cerinian. You know you've gotta go make up with her and do the deed, son! You gotta find that girl and you gotta take her to your room and you gotta... freakin'... Super Smash, brother. That's the name of the game. Hey, if she is still mad at you, fine... you give her back that staff thing... you let her beat you around until she's gotten the melee out of her system. But after you guys brawl, she'll feel better and... you'll just have a few bruises, you know what I mean? Then you guys do the kissy-face stuff, make up and... BAM! Thirty frickin' kids, you sly dog, you."

Fox rolled his eyes. "You're already drunk - if we got back together, why would we fight? On that note, thirty kids would take years and... dude, just... you're drunk, Falco."

"That crap is one eighty-five proof! YOU would be drunk by now off an eyedropper of that stuff! Now, you know what you need to do. Find Krystal, super smash that tail, then merry that girl so she doesn't get away from you again." Then, rather suddenly, he changed his tone and calmly announced, "I'm going to bed. As Pepper used to say, back when we flew the prototype Arwings for him... Good luck!" And, with that, Falco rolled over and pushed his feathery fingers beneath the side of his head, and, to Fox's surprise, he abruptly began to breathe deeply and loudly.

McCloud stood up, snagged the blankets from the foot of the bed and draped them over Lombardi's form. "Guess I'll run a mission with Amanda to see if she's ready for this mess... Thanks for the pep talk, Falco... even though you wound up making an ass of yourself... I'll make you a promise, man... If I ever cross paths with Krystal, face to face, ever again... Ever. Even just once... I'll tell her I still love her. Cool?"

The avian was unresponsive. His only reply was deep, heavy breathing. Fox shook his head and left the room. "What the hell does he mean by super smashing a girl, anyhow? Sometimes he makes absolutely no sense, like he is bringing up a joke that is only relevant to another universe." McCloud ambled down the corridor in a reflective mood. If Krystal really did break up with Panther again... he had a shot. He also had to admit that things between her and Star Wolf didn't last very long.

The doors leading out to the hanger swished open and Fox saw Amanda over by the Sky Claw and Bullfrog fighters. He approached her and asked, "Falco thinks I should track down Krystal and work things out. I just thought I'd ask you for the feminine point of view."

"Do you love her?"

"Yeah. I love her."

Amanda smiled. "You just answered your own question. Do you think anyone else could do a better job of loving her than you?"

Fox blinked at the inquiry and pondered it for a moment. Finally, he said, "No. Panther is full of hot air and he doesn't mean half the things he says because he says them to half the women he sees. I can't see anyone else at her side - Krystal doesn't deserve someone who's only going to give her the runaround later down the line. However, I know I can't give her all of me, because the part of me that is surrounded by danger is..."

Amanda glowered at him. The look caused Fox to hush and, when he did, she smiled. "Slippy must be right... we girls do have some sort of 'look'. Anyhow, Krystal was telepathic, right? That means she was in less danger than you. You've got gut and instincts... she has a far greater edge. On that note, you opened up a path for her and she happily accepted the duty of a mercenary hero. Did the Aparoids shoot her down? Slippy told me she fought on the surface with a gun twice during that war. She kept the Saurian temples secured while you ran around the outer rim areas. Then, on the Aparoid homeworld, you drove around in a tank while she fought for her life on her feet. Suddenly, you get feelings for her and then you dismiss all her professional work and say it's TOO DANGEROUS? Are you KIDDING? Do you KNOW how many people DIED from the Aparoid invasion? She didn't and she was in the thick of it, surrounded by them, on their PLANET, while you were a mile away, using a tank! I think she's EARNED the respect of EVERYONE."

"Amanda, well, I mean..."

She cut him off. "Then! Just to prove she's STILL GOT IT... Krystal fought the Anglars! She brought news to Corneria that there was a secret device on Titania. Next, Peppy, Dash Bowman, Star Wolf... everyone heads to Titania to find that device. Everyone wants it! Krystal braved a lot to prove herself. The only time she's ever been a damsel in distress, according to Slippy, is when she was at the Krazoa Palace. I heard she was dazed after releasing the spirit back into the palace proper... and that's when Andross snuck up behind her and threw her into a reverse polarity tractor beam. Am I missing anything here? If it were you that Andross captured, it would have been her rescuing you. Boy, that would have been a bruise to your masculine ego, Mister Fox. Look... you should talk things out with Krystal. You two belong together. After all, behind every great man is a woman to help him shine."

Fox smiled quietly and nodded. He rubbed the side of his head and looked at the floor. Amanda approached him and hugged him. He wasn't sure why but he didn't argue. After a moment, he slid his arms around her and sighed. It was actually kinda' nice to be hugged again after so long.

Amanda's lengthy canary-yellow bow strands rested on her shoulders like faux blonde hair. She placed the side of her face against the side of his, knowing he just needed a good hug. There was a moment of quiet; the silence was full of reverence and respect that she offered Slippy's venerable team leader. She knew that he wasn't a bad guy and even though she didn't know the details of Fox and Krystal's break up, she knew that it was his fault and that he deeply regretted his mistakes. She turned her head inwards and kissed the side of his softly furred face. "You're a good guy. If and when you get the chance to make things right, you should do it."

"I'm not going to lie," he murmured in reply. "Being single sucks. But..." He trailed off then glanced around the empty flight deck. "You have this disarming trait about you, know that? Mind if I get something off my chest real quick?"

"You want me to keep it between us?"

"Yeah, please." He drew in a slow breath then said, "I used to date a girl named Fara Phoenix. She was so perfect for me and I was just... crazy about this girl. I really was. Anyway, she was on 'leave' from the military and stayed with us on the old GreatFox ship. She even ran a few patrols with us to make sure the sector was clear of Andross sympathizers. She was a great pilot and I decided to send her out on a patrol alone.

"The next thing I hear is that her parents are angry with Corneria; she's dead and the Arwing she used was taken to a 'clean-room' on Corneria for investigation. I never even got to see it. Or her. The memorial service was a quiet little thing and there was no way to find out if she was cremated or... anything. Because they were high-profile people, they wanted to keep everything private and ...the only thing I could think of was that Vivian Hare warned me about this. (Reflections of Fox McCloud, chapter 1) I mean she told me exactly how to avoid it, too. She said something to the effect of, 'What if you had a love interest flying on your team? Could you live with yourself if she followed your orders and died on a mission?' She was a smart woman. So, for the longest time, Krystal lived with us as a friend and a romantic interest that I refused to pursue.

"After we defeated the Aparoids, I thought Lylat would see another long period of peace, just like after the Lylat War. Then guess what? Due to popularity, Star Fox stayed quite active and... I started thinking about how I would react if I got her killed. I pushed her away for her own good. I pushed her away so that I wouldn't be jeopardizing the whole team out of fear for her safety. I pushed her away so that I wouldn't be distracted with worry while we flew together.

"But you're right. Krystal is a tough girl. If she were to die, it would have happened a half-dozen times by now. She's even survived the destruction of her entire planet..."

Amanda tightened her arms around him to offer emotional comfort. "It's not her time. Nothing you can do will get her killed if it's not her time. I'm deeply sorry about Fara Phoenix but... perhaps it was 'her time'. But right now, it's YOUR time to shine again. When presented with the opportunity, you should find Krystal and show her that you love her. Don't tell her; words are just words... Show her, Fox. Prove it. Give her your heart when the time is right. You two are meant to be together. I'm sure you two could overcome all hell and high water together. You couldn't have defeated the Anglar Empire without her. You need her. Trust me."

"And right now she's long gone."

The pink and white amphiboid gave his right shoulder blade a tender pat. "Get your confidence back. Mind over matter. Lift your chin and believe in yourself. If you two are destined to be future mates, which I believe, then TRUST ME, you two will cross paths again. Then, you take that girl by her face, look in her eyes and tell her how you feel from the bottom of your heart. Then you take her back to where you two first met and watch the sunrise together. You'll know what to do from that point. Okay? In the mean time, I'm here. Any time you need a shoulder or to pout away from your boys... I'm here."

Again, Fox smiled quietly. He brought his paws to her shoulders and stepped back, holding her at arm's length. "Slippy and I go back to the beginning. A situation with my father came up and the evening of the funeral, I went to Slippy's house to stay the night."

"Funeral?"

Fox nodded. "My mother's funeral." He watched Amanda draw her left hand up to cover her mouth. The engagement ring sparkled in the deck lighting. He continued with the short story. "I never knew what Dad had planned that night. Whatever happened, Andross was angry and, a very short time later, he was banished from the planet. Anyhow... the night my mother's empty casket was buried, I went to Slippy's house. Maybe I needed some bonding time with dad that night but... I didn't get it. At least not that night. I was pretty young, too. But guess who gave me a hug, a handshake and treated me like a brother? Slippy Toad. We've been brothers for_ever_. I couldn't have a proper team without him. And now you guys are getting married; I was worried he would disappear forever and have a family and... that would be the end of things... but I'm so relieved you guys came back." He mentally hunted for words to say, not one for public speeches, no matter how small the audience. Finally, he lifted his paws from her arms and fixed her bow for her, tucking it back with a slight smile. "You'll be like my step sister-in-law. So... welcome to our family."

She beamed brightly. "That's so sweet of you, Mister Fox."

"Just Fox will do. And on that note, please don't get yourself killed. He would be devastated. I don't want Slippy to know what I've experienced first hand."

The moment was interrupted by a chirping sound. It came from McCloud's computerized gauntlet. He lifted his left forearm and pressed the 'receive' button and backed away from Amanda to give the holo-emitters some space to project a holographic image. Slippy's head filled the gap between the two pilots.

"I'VE FOUND THE BAD GUYS!! This is really it! I'm sure of it! I need backup and I need it right now, guys! This is the big one!"

Amused and excited by Slippy's enthusiasm, Fox laughed in spite of himself. "Good! It's about time! Amanda and I will cover you! I'm leaving Falco here in case of an emergency." He closed the channel and the holographic image disappeared. "Okay, promise me you won't go getting killed."

"Are you kidding? Let's go show these guys how awesome my multi-lock is!"

Fox chuckled and pointed towards the Bullfrog. "Its sleeker profile and stealth angles make it harder to see. Your rounded ship would be a dead give away from any distance. Besides, if these guys are on foot or speeder bikes... there's nothing to lock onto anyhow. C'mon."

She reached for Fox's paw and gave it a stern shake. "I promise I won't die. I wouldn't necessarily demand Krystal to make that promise, though. You'd be undermining everything she's already prove to you thusfar." She turned away from Fox and hurried towards the Bullfrog fighter. McCloud glanced over at another LandMaster, pondered using it... then changed his mind and ran down the deck.

The new Great Fox carrier was far larger than the old dreadnought. Way down at the end, the team kept a transport shuttle, painted black. He boarded the rarely used machine and moved up to the cockpit then booted the system. He put in his passkey and the computer scanned his bio-signs. Upon confirmation of his identity, it fired up the engines and hovered off the deck.

While not as fast as an Arwing, it would easily keep up with the Bullfrog. He eased into the throttle, cut to the port, and then tapped the boost. The shuttle raced through the hanger towards the shimmering field at the far end. Fox's machine passed into space, coming up behind Amanda in Slippy Toad's fighter. They set their bearing to match Slippy's location then raced into the Papetoonian atmosphere.

Within a matter of minutes the tan continent was displayed before them. The brilliant clarity from the dry, clear day made it so that a tiny silver dot glinted in the sunlight, thirty thousand feet below. The shuttle and fighter came side by side. Fox opened a channel to Slippy. "Hey, pal - pull back. I want you to send us exact coordinates for their hideout so we can soften up the area. Stay back and target the base with your cannon and don't fire unless it's necessary. I want to bring these guys in so we can find their scum-bucket leader."

"You got it, Fox!!" Down below, the Land Master began to move into a defensive position. Seconds later, targeting information came across the computers of both ships.

McCloud opened a channel to Amanda and said, "Use those plasma cannons and create a deep trench. Encircle the main base so they can't easily get away by foot or speeder bikes." Before he could even finish his statement, she powered up her ship's guns and began pounding the area from above until a large ring was created in the ground. Last of all, McCloud hailed GreatFox and said, "ROB, I want you to target the base with the main proton gun. Set the howitzer for maximum depth penetration. Contact the Papetoon government, tell them we think we've found the targets and inform them that we may have to blast a hole in the surface - next, contact Corneria and put them on standby until we identify the targets."

Now, only seconds from the surface, he drew back on the control stick and guided the shuttle down onto its belly just outside of the large, deep ring in the ground. The scorched earth also had traces of concrete and rebar sticking up through the trench floor. Fox slid from his seat and collected weapons on the way out of the shuttle.

Once armed, he approached the circle made by plasma guns. A grin spread across his muzzle. "Yeah this is definitely too wide for a speeder bike to get across without a ramp and good momentum." He lifted his wrist and spoke into the communicator. "Guys, stay on alert. Amanda and I will breach the front entrance, use flashbangs and stun these guys."

"Fox..."

Amanda cut her fiancé off. "Slippy, it's okay. I won't be in great danger - probably far less than last time, when we found those pirates. Just relax." Her tone changed. "My ship's sensors say this place goes pretty deep. What if they have an alternative escape route somewhere?"

"We'll see what happens. Do you get any biological readings?" He glanced up from the wrist pad then slid down into the trench carefully.

Amanda's voice returned to the computer gauntlet. "Three male mammals and one male Anglar. I also get readings of a lot of water down there. Probably for the Anglar guy. I'm thinking there is an intricate plumbing network. All four of them are really deep. I think this facility is surprisingly more sophisticated than we initially realized."

"All right, meet me at the trench. I'll help you across then we'll do this thing. Fox out." He lowered his left forearm and waited. A moment later, Amanda came to the edge of the empty moat, above him. He lifted his arms to her and she slid down and onto his shoulders. Fox carried her across the trench then braced himself against the wall while she climbed up to the surface. She rolled onto her stomach and reached a hand down to him. With a grunt, she helped Fox to scale the dirt wall. Together, the couple approached the entrance only to realize that it wasn't a door at all.

McCloud lifted his left wrist again and spoke into the communicator. "Slippy, this isn't a door, it's a ventilation duct. Do you think you can use a computer to determine where the exit is located?"

"Yeah, it'll take a few minutes but with the Bullfrog here, I can combine its sensors with the array built into this tank. What's the plan?"

A grin crept across the vulpine pilot's muzzle. "We're going to go down the vent shaft and create havoc. After we smoke'em out, you'll be sitting at the exit, targeting the door with the tank. They'll have to give up by that point!"

"We can sure hope!" Slippy began working on doing a deep scan using sound and concentrated radio waves to build a computer model of the underground base. "Okay, I'm compiling the data. This will take a few minutes." He closed the link while he worked. Meanwhile, Fox and Amanda crouched down adjacent to the metallic ventilation unit with their weapons.

Minutes flew by all too slowly while they waited. Finally, the Land Master began to change course, heading away from the area. Fox nodded to Amanda and she returned with a thumb's up gesture. He used the butt of his rifle to knock loose a metal cover designed to keep dirt out of the shaft. McCloud peered down into the dark ductwork and nodded again. "We'll be able to fit. Let's start with the fake fire routine, first." He opened a link to Slippy and asked, "You ready?"

"Am now! Nothing's getting passed me!"

"Outstanding." He retrieved a smoke grenade from the gear on his belt, pulled the pin and dropped the canister down the shaft. "They'll think there's a fire and leave to safety if we're lucky. At that point, Slippy will stun them with a blaster cannon mounted on the front of the tank. If that doesn't work, we'll go down into the shaft and open fire. No use rushing into things just yet."

She shook her head with a chuckle. "Falco is going to be pissed that he's missed all the fun."

A brilliant grin crossed Fox's muzzle. "You're right, he'll probably never forgive us." He winked then tossed a second smoke grenade down the shaft. "There, two smoke bombs are twice as nice." Now to wait.

---

*Krystal's eyes lifted in anticipation. * General Peppy Hare came around the Corner, opened her office door and approached her desk. He pulled up a chair and settled into it. "I'm sorry this one doesn't have wings but it won't be permanent."

"It's insulting," she said with a shrug. "This is the third day in a row."

Peppy frowned. "But you're primary duty to the Air Force is your telepathy - and as a clairvoyant officer, we need you to handle this mission with diplomatic grace. Where Octoman has gone, he currently has immunity because he's broken no laws. We've been in contact with this planet and they're not going to hand him over. We want you to negotiate with them."

She narrowed her gaze, looking at the elderly rabbit. "General, Kew isn't exactly a place for a Cerinian. Send Fox McCloud. You know he would go in a heartbeat."

"He probably will, but the Prime Minister wants to build relations with these people. He's asked you to go."

"It won't matter," she said. "I can't read their minds. Not the Kew - they've adapted against telepathic invasion. I can sense their emotions but they're practically emotionless. I can go there and try to smile for them but they're harboring a fugitive. We should go and extract Octoman by his neck."

Peppy frowned again, folded his paws and tilted his head. "Our communication with them has been limited to probe relays. The responses are slow. This morning, however, we received a reply from them. Our people down in the lab deciphered the language and claim that they'll let us go there and hunt for this guy. They won't stop us... but the Prime Minister doesn't know that yet - I've not yet reported to him. He had asked for you to go there in a nice dress, with a briefcase and represent Corneria. I've come to see how you'd feel about that idea then propose another. Why not go there with weapons and find Octoman. In a world of minds you can't read, finding him should be easy, right?"

"Quite." She looked to the left. "What else is on your mind? ...Oh." Her gaze returned to Peppy, mentally probing him. "I don't care if you do not think my behavior with Bill is a good idea." Before Peppy could speak again, Krystal widened her eyes. "Oh Peppy, how could you?"

He lifted his paws defensively. "Just hold on a minute, there. He's looking at a promotion to Colonel and the last thing he needs is to be creating a fraternization situation. He's a good boy and you're a good girl - why can't you just keep your romance off the base?"

She lowered her voice. "First of all, it isn't a romance. I'm not even sleeping with him. We just hold hands, make out and walk around the grounds together. Off duty, of course - I don't care what people think. If they judge, they're not worth my time. Let them judge." She paused, probing the older man's head again then she slumped back in her chair with a sigh. "You must be joking."

"Go on, what did you see?"

She looked away again. "This boils down to you not wanting me to date Bill because you think I should be with Fox McCloud. Peppy, I know you've raised Fox for quite some time. Sometimes, you even put Fox McCloud before your real family members. But I am not matched for Fox. Fox is not who I feel is best suited for me, either."

"I've already talked to Bill about your little public displays of affection."

She gritted her teeth. "Yes, I sensed that as well. I understand that it's military policy but why are you making it your personal business? You're not doing this as a General, you're doing this as Peppy Hare."

He reached across the desk and took her paw into his. "Krystal. If you let Bill fall in love with you, he'll be hurt when you move on. All you're doing is leading one another on when you're not truly in love with him."

She blushed, glad that it went unseen beneath her fur. "What makes you think that, General?"

Peppy leaned forward, looking at her over his glasses. "Krystal... I'm right, aren't I? You're not the only one with outstanding perceptive abilities, here. I've seen you and Fox together when you were madly in love with one another. That fire in your eyes is gone. You didn't love Panther, either. I know young love. I've got kids because Vivian and I were more than just friends but I have single friends who have kids because they couldn't become more than just friends with their mate. Love is important. I want you to stop seeing Bill because this nonsense will hurt you both if it is allowed to continue. It will blow up in your faces. Friends with benefits? What kind of nonsense is that, young lady? If you don't want to go back to Fox, fine... I respect that... but don't date until you're over him because that sort of dating will just end in disaster. I'm only telling you this because I love you like my own daughter."

"Things with Bill... well, they're... everything is just..." She grunted with a sigh. "It's complicated." She wanted to be upset with the General. She wanted to tell him to go to hell but she also sensed his honest intentions. She sensed that he was looking out for her interest-of-heart to the best of his ability. She sighed and looked away then ran her fingers through her hair. "I may have hurt Panther the same way. I may not love Bill but he treats me the right way. In time, I could come to settle..."

"Are you kidding?" Peppy released her paw and brought his down on the desk. "Settle? Settle? And what happens if another compatible version of Mister Right comes along after you've settled with Bill? I'll tell you what happens... emotions get trampled and feelings are..."

She lifted her paws to quiet him. "I can't... This is too much, right now."

"Krystal..."

She shook her head and lowered her voice further. "Peppy, I'm a drop in the bucket for Cerinia. Kew thinks there are five members left besides me... but I can't sense their thoughts. For all I know, they're lying. I sure feel like I'm the last Cerinian. I need to find a suitable man who would make a good father and a good husband, even if he wouldn't make a good soulmate. Bill is a quality man and, even though I'm not ready to take the next step with him, I don't want him to wonder off and find someone else. So I'm leading him on, as you said, so that he doesn't disappear into someone else's arms. When I'm ready to take the next step with him, I will."

"But why would you settle for someone with whom you're not in love? That's just goofy."

She felt shame in her chest and her lower lip trembled. She held back tears, realizing how selfish she just sounded. "He deserves a woman who is madly in love with him."

"And you deserve a man who is madly in love with you." Again, Peppy reached for her paws and drew them together, holding her hands with his. "Do you want some time off to get away from the base and relax?"

"I'm probably the only one who could find Ocotoman."

Peppy nodded and reached into his pocket. He kept his thoughts on other things so as to build up suspense then withdrew a small identification card. He placed it on her desk. "That's a bounty hunting license, which gives you the legal right and Lylat-jurisdiction to hunt down criminal bounties. We'll even pay you. Don't worry - the money comes from the Black Budget, so you don't have to admit it if you don't want to. Just go to Kew in the Cloud Runner and find that guy. When you come back, take a little while to relax and evaluate your situation. Consider your options. If you want to date Bill... then do yourself a favor and try loving him. If you can't, then find someone you're compatible with because a romance without love is no romance at all."

She looked at the license then lifted her gaze back to him. "It has my tax-ID number on it."

"Well, you sorta weren't born here, so you don't have a social security number." Peppy offered a slight grin. "But this is business, Krystal. If Fox finds this guy first... we have to pay Fox fairly. We just received word from the Great Fox that he may have located Octoman's team. He wants us to stand by while he identifies them. If that's true, he might be able to determine the location of Octoman and head to Kew. Corneria would rather you go so that we have a chance at starting some sort of diplomatic relationship with this new world. But if you can't pull it off, Corneria will allow Fox to 'jump' out there."

She stood up from her desk and removed her dress jacket. Krystal folded it neatly then offered it to Peppy. She took the nametag from her uniform shirt and handed it to him and said, "You're right... As much as I'd like to keep Bill around for myself, we're not in love... he deserves a woman with whom he's deeply in love; he deserves to experience that. Sadly, he hasn't felt that way before. He's never experienced what I felt for Fox several years ago... Fox was my first everything and I've never felt that way before about a man since. Perhaps I never will again. Perhaps I'm just cursed as the last of my race, to be a childless woman. Perhaps this is my destiny," she murmured, holding the Bounty Hunter license in her left paw. "And now I'm ruining all my hard work that I've put into this military career. What a shame."

"Krystal," Peppy stood up and frowned at her. He adjusted his glasses and said, "I'll reinstate you if you decide that the Cornerian Military is right for you, later down the road."

"Very well... and what is the official reason for my leave of absence this time?"

Peppy pushed in his chair and quietly said, "Bereavement. Perhaps with all this whirlwind excitement Lylat has offered since your arrival, you've never had a chance to sit down and think about yourself for a few minutes. Bill said that you've mentioned Cerinia on more than one occasion. Have you ever considered taking some time to mourn?"

"I grieve in my own way, quietly, a little each day. That's personal." She stuffed the license into her shirt pocket. "But at least I have a duty, now. It's been quite some time since I've had a sense of purpose, especially after three days behind this stupid desk."

"That's because we don't have a squadron with an opening right now. That's just how the rotation has worked." Peppy saw her eyes widen. "...What?"

"Did... you just lie to me?"

He groaned softly and removed his glasses. "Krystal, you're the only non-Lylat alien in town... you're pretty popular and people watch you closely out of curiosity."

"Just get to the point," she said, trying to sense exactly what he was hiding.

He switched his glasses to his other paw and back again. "The fact that Fox asked you to fly for Star Fox during the Anglar War was a big deal to people; they cheered and celebrated. Then you just up and ran back to Star Wolf, but you were supposedly a military pilot all along. Technically you were, I just had you under 'leave' status. But it's not adding up to people... and a lot of Wing Commanders are afraid that you'll just up and leave their squadron as it suits you... and so your bid to fly for any squadrons.... Well it was overlooked, and no one has wanted to fly with you. Bill, as the CAG, has been trying to fit you in with someone so... for a while, he was flying with you by himself. Then everyone started to think that they only reason he flew with you is because you guys have been seen fooling around, holding hands and such. Basically, the military scuttlebutt is that you're sleeping with him to keep your wings."

"That's absurd!" She gritted her teeth. People outside of her office paused to look back at the stained glass window then continue on. She lowered her voice again and said, "I have sensed people were judging me but I was tuning them out so as not to let such dramatic nonsense bother me. But after saving this planet TWO TIMES... after all I've given to these people... for them to think that I'm... For them to... How ungrateful. If they will not fly with me, I would not want to fly with them. I'm going to Kew."

"Krystal, wait..."

She pushed her chair in and headed for the door. "Krystal died on Cerinia. I've been cursed ever since... perhaps that is a far more fitting name. Kursed, with a K."

"Will you relax? I don't want you storming off and..."

"I'm not," she interrupted, adding, "Peppy, I appreciate that you told me these things. I respect their judgments and I understand that the reason you didn't bring it up is because it's childish, nonsensical drama. That's very good of you to have not brought it up but... all the same, thank you for not hiding it from me." She brought a paw to her shirt pocket, and tapped where she'd put her new Bounty Hunting license. "I think I have a calling, right here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I wish to go and say goodbye to Bill, because he's the only man on this base that had the balls to treat me with dignity and respect.

"I may not be in love with him, but I do love him as a friend. So far as the slings and arrows of the populace... I've been ignoring the hisses and jeers and holding my head up high far too long for this 'ungrateful' place. They judge me because I abandoned Star Fox. They judge me because I abandoned Fox McCloud, their 'Holy Savior'. No more. I'm sorry, Peppy. I'm going to say goodbye to Bill then I'm leaving Corneria. You were a good man to me - thank you for your respect." She reached up and unpinned her hair. To Peppy's surprise, it rolled down to her shoulders. "What do you think of purple?" she asked casually, running her fingers through it. The vixen smirked then shrugged. "Nevermind, what does it matter? Purple it is." She walked out of the office and closed the door with a rather shocking slam.

However, as she left the office, she became more sensitive and attuned to the judgments of her peers. She felt hated and alone and without meaning. Krystal gritted her teeth and stormed out of the room. 'How could I have been so blind to all this nonsense? How could I have ignored it this long? The daggers in their eyes because I betrayed their precious Fox McCloud... they disgust me,' she thought to herself as she made her way out of the base and to her car. She slid into the rental's driver seat and headed to her home to start packing her things. On the way, she called Bill from her personal communicator.

When he answered, she realized that she'd been crying and sniffled miserably with a hiccup. "I, uh... Bill. Meet me at my place, please?"

"Krystal? Is everything okay? I'm off shift in thirty minutes, can it wait that long?"

"Thirty minutes will be fine. It gives me time to pack for my trip and take a shower to clean up. I'm not at my best right now."

"What's wrong?

"Just meet me at my place in thirty minutes. I'll leave the door unlocked."

---

*McCloud eased his blaster rifle down * so that it hung by its shoulder strap. He opened his arms and said, "You're clear." Seconds later, Amanda dropped from the ceiling and into his embrace. Fox eased a paw from beneath her legs, lowering woman to her feet then he drew his weapon back up. "Okay, Slippy has three of them detained. This Anglar guy doesn't want to play nice, though. Here's the score, so far... Slippy lined these guys up and charged the tank beam while they were cuffed to the entrance door just to scare'em. They sang like a church choir. We've got the location of that Octoman guy but they said it won't be easy to find him because he's staying ridiculously low-key right now."

"What does that mean for the Anglar slob?"

"We're going to take him down or we're going to take him out. It's up to him. Slippy says those guys claim that he's the one in charge and knows all the 'important stuff' whatever that may be. However, they told us where Octoman is and that's all that matters."

She lifted her weapon. "Now that we have all we need, he's kinda' useless. And the Anglar race - they're all just bio-weapons _any_how. They're certainly not a natural race. They probably all carry Andross' genetic programming to conquer Lylat or something. Let's just... I don't know... I hate to sound so cruel - we're talking about genocide after all - but this guy needs to go."

Fox grinned. "Now you're talkin'. I totally get what Slippy sees in you. You've got chutzpah, girl. As Falco would say, let's go blow stuff up."

"How far are we below the ground?"

He lifted his wrist pad and slid his fingers across a touch-screen display then pressed a button on the left of the panel. "Hmm... It was three meters of dirt then two stories down and it looks like there's another floor beneath this one."

"Incidentally, what does that word mean? The one you just used a second ago..."

Fox shrugged. "It means you have brass tacks... you have gall, nerve. You're daring but have attitude. You're, you know... audacious and stuff..."

"I've just never heard you use big words before. I was kinda' surprised." She moved to the door across the room and put her hip against the wall the way her and Slippy had done a month ago in the pirate's hideout. "Let's do this."

"There's that moxie again." He moved towards the door, stepped to the side, across from her, and opened it inwards. It swung on rusty hinges with a slow, drawn out creak. Fox reached up and touched a button on his headset. A small green glass plate whirred into place, covering his right eye. He switched a button on the side of his weapon, displaying a high-power infrared beam, invisible to the naked eye. Through the green eye cover, however, he was able to see as though there was a flashlight being shined in the room. Fox moved forward, his ears perked, his tail diagonally low and outwards to provide balance. He was ready for anything.

Fox panned his weapon from left to right then studied the room layout for a moment. He carefully made his way through the area then glanced down at his gauntlet again. The small, computerized cuff showed no reception now that they were away from the ventilation shaft. No longer connected to the Land Master, the Bullfrog or the Great Fox, they were now on their own.

"Do your sensors work down here?"

She moved near to him and whispered, "Sorta'... I've got a heartbeat monitor. I programmed it to ignore yours and mine. That leaves a very irregular rhythm coming from this floor. Slippy made this thing. It isn't getting reception to it's useless otherwise."

"Heartbeat, huh? It's the best we've got for right now." He opened the door and peered through. There were makeshift beds bolted into the wall. Eight racks in all, only three of them had pillows and blankets. Passing into the next room, Amanda recognized the cryobath containment unit. She felt along the side of it until a control panel illuminated. After a moment of tinkering with it, she turned to Fox and shook her head. He nodded in reply then quietly asked, "Do Anglars really sleep in those things?"

"Yes. Many amphibians and fish do, too. According to the control panel, he's not been in this one for at least twenty-two hours, so at least we know he's tired."

"Noted." McCloud moved to the next door and opened it. There was a dimly illuminated hallway with auxiliary power lamps to the left and right of the doorway, but no lighting at either end of the hallway. Fox sniffed at the air. His lips curled into a wry little smirk. "Oh, I've got you now," he murmured, turning to the right. Amanda followed him up the hallway slowly so as not to make a sound.

She glanced down at the monitor then put a hand on Fox's shoulder and gestured for him to look. The beating wasn't rhythmic. Instead, it was irregular and faint. He offered her a curious look and she replied with a shrug. They began tiptoeing again. "If this thing is accurate," she said, "Then he's dying."

McCloud stopped at the corner and peered around. His eyes widened; he pivoted on his heel and shoved, shouting at the top of his lungs. "GO! GO!" The two mercenaries raced up the hall, passed the door to the bunks and around the next intersection. As she rounded the corner, Fox was behind her shooting his weapon over his shoulder. He kept shouting for her to run.

They took the next bend and dashed up a flight of concrete stairs. Fox slammed the door shut then said, "Keep moving!" She did as she was told and hurried up the steps, two at a time, until reaching another door. She opened it and held it for him. Fox, however, pushed her through first. "Just keep going, and keep your eyes open - that was a fully functional attack sentry-bot down there. It's too large to go through the staircase door, though." A cacophony of noise filled the stairwell below. Screeching of metal and crumbling of plaster and concrete, Fox's ears flickered and he gave her another shove. They took off down the next hallway. By the time they were at the end, the sentry robot smashed through the door and wall, coming from the stairwell.

McCloud held his weapon back, at arm's length, depressing the trigger. Despite the assault rifle's recoil, he managed to keep it steady from the adrenaline coursing through his body. A volley of energy rounds struck the machine, causing it to flinch but Fox's weapon wasn't hindering its advance. As Amanda turned at the next corner in the box-like maze of hallways, Fox lobbed a grenade back, covered his ears with left paw and right wrist, then shouted, "Fire in the hole!"

Amanda looked back with confusion, but saw his paws on his ears and covered either side of her own head. They continued around the corner only to feel a concussive blast of hot air from behind. As they turned at the next bend, Fox glanced back and saw the sentry still in pursuit. Scorched on the front with a damaged faceplate hanging from wires, it opened fire with a round of metallic shards. The small shrapnel-like chunks of metal gouged the wall, floor, ceiling and...

Fox yelped but kept running. He gritted his teeth and continued to gesture her up the hallway. She snatched another grenade off of his belt as they rushed through the corridors then shouted, "Whatever you said earlier!" and tossed it over his shoulder.

The hallway ended with another door. Fox shot it off the tracks and saw another staircase behind it. They rushed up and around, taking the stairs two at a time... In the background, the grenade detonated, slowing their attacker briefly. Fox's computerized wrist communicator chirped loudly. The screen showed, "SIGNAL ACQUIRED" in large block lettering. He brought it to his lips and opened a channel to Great Fox. "ROB! We need a narrow beam straight into that vent shaft."

"Must... low reception... say... fire the...?"

"YES!" Fox shouted. "FIRE THE PROTON GUNS!" He repeated himself two more times rapidly. Rather suddenly, the base shook wildly. As they came out of the last staircase and hurried into a fairly illuminated hall, Fox put his paw against the wall to brace himself. Without the balance provided by a tail, Amanda stumbled but regained her footing and continued to run. They glanced over their shoulders just as the wall was blasted into bits. The mechanical nemesis romped after them, gouged and marred from sustaining two thermal detonation blasts.

"Fox, it's back!"

"Just keep running! Head for the exit!"

"Where is that?!" she shouted as they sprinted through the hallways.

"Just keep going until we find it!" he replied between heavy panting. He shouted into his communicator, "Slippy! We've got a huge problem! Are you still in the tank?"

"Yeah, Fox! What, you get stuck or something?"

"We're being chased by a metallic freak with scythes for arms! Be ready for us at the front entrance!"

"You got it!"

Fox and Amanda dashed madly through the hallway with Fox opening another channel to GreatFox. "You should open the beam wider, it didn't kill our problems! I want you to blow this place into pieces! He's gotta be receiving commands from somewhere in this base!"

"Your reception is improving now!"

"FIRE THE DAMN GUN!" Metal slivers showered the hallway, one caught Fox's right ear, and another cut the backside of his glove. A third became embedded in his metallic gauntlet, catching in the wristband part. The base shook so hard that the sentry stumbled backwards, through the broken doorframe and backwards, over the top step. It flopped back down a set of twelve stairs, rolled over onto its four scythes and began galloping back up the steps. At the top, it was greeted by an empty hallway and raced down to the far end and turned at the corner, seeing them disappear around the next side.

"Go, go, go" Fox chanted, seeing daylight up ahead. The droid sprinted to the end of the hall, turned and followed them towards the front door. There was a utility area with speeder bikes parked along the bulkhead. Fox brought his weapon up, wincing from pain where one of the metal pieces caught him earlier. He fired his weapon, blowing the exit door apart. The two of them rushed out into the sunshine and scattered.

Just as she turned left and Fox turned right, the sentry burst out into the sunlight. Up ahead, a Land Master tank turret glowed with particle charge. The glowing buildup was released and, at full power, struck the sentry full on, throwing it back into the base. A whistle from above caught everyone's attention.

Falco Lombardi's Sky Claw shrieked by and, from beneath it, an object tumbled through the air. Fox recognized it right away, gritted his teeth then ran back towards Amanda. He dropped to one knee and buried his left shoulder into her gut, causing her to double over with a painful grunt. Fox rose to his feet, with her head dangling down his back. He carried her away from the front entrance. The three remaining men hurried after Fox with their arms cuffed behind their backs.

The sentry stepped back into the doorway and Slippy began to charge his beam shot. Quite suddenly the bunker buster missile, dropped by Falco, exploded. An intense force projected the sentry forward, spewed from the main entrance. Slippy released the charged beam, striking the sentry in mid air. Its hull shattered this time, throwing its legs in every which way and its head straight back. An enormous eruption occurred below the ground. The front entranceway belched a fireball that dissipated seconds later.

Ascending back into the air, the Sky Claw celebrated with a victory roll and shot into the upper atmosphere. Amanda was sprawled out eight to ten feet from the tank. Fox was half-draped over her, covering her.

The three men working for Octoman were laid out in the dust and dirt with a fire and billowing smoke pouring out of the front entrance. Two distant plumes of rolling onyx rose from where two of the air vents were located just over the next sand dune. Amanda eased up onto an elbow, beneath the team leader. "He tries very hard to make the biggest splash possible, doesn't he? And here I thought he was asleep."

Fox gritted his teeth and stood up. "I don't mind that he came to help us after seeing the proton cannon wasn't going deep enough... The thing that pisses me off is I know for a fact he is drunk right now."

The tank hatch flopped open with a clang. Slippy pulled himself up and through then slid down the side and dropped to the dirt. He approached Amanda, hugged her firmly then turned to Fox. "Wow. Did you see Falco? I know he pisses me off some times but... that was pretty awesome. He did a dive-bomb swoop, then dropped the thing perfectly into the hole made by the Great Fox guns and pulled up with a roll. At that speed, he was just showing off but... that took some timing and skill for sure; we're talking a bomb the size of a person at mach-three, into a hole about fifteen feet wide."

McCloud turned away so that Slippy wouldn't see him seething. "Yeah, he did good. It's a real good thing he didn't miss."

Amanda whispered into Slippy's ear then moved from his arms. The shorter frog brought a hand to his mouth. "Uh oh..." He lifted his eyes back to the sky, watching the small twinkle of a dot in the upper atmosphere. "The day Fox met Falco (Reflections of Fox McCloud, Chapter1), Fox made him promise he wouldn't drink and fly. You're talking sixteen or seventeen years ago but... a promise is a promise, right?"

McCloud's ears flickered, glancing back to Slippy. "At least you remembered. And you weren't even there when that happened." He lifted his gaze back to the sky and said, "Everyone is entitled to make one mistake... but it better not happen again." He glanced back down at the three men scattered around on the ground. "Let's get these guys back to the shuttle and hull them in. We'll collect our pay on Corneria and wait for political approval to leave Lylat through a planetary orbital jump gate."

The female frog aimed her weapon towards the men on the ground and began to approach them slowly. "That could take a while. Who knows what Corneria will want us to do next? Obviously we should go back and make sure that guy is dead but... I'm sure the hallways have collapsed."

"No need," said Fox. "When I stuck my head around the corner and saw the sentry droid, the Anglar guy was right behind him... bubbling at the mouth. His eyes were rolled upwards. I think he took a poison pill to keep us from learning of their 'plans'. I hope it doesn't turn into a mess we'll have to clean up before heading out to this... planet. Kew or whatever." With the adrenaline wearing off, he realized he was injured. Fox winced. "Although you're right, Amanda. We'll need to exhume the body to collect the full purse. Let's see how much these guys are worth. If digging gear costs more than one quarter of the cut, fishboy can stay down there."

Slippy saw blood glistening on the back of Fox's clothing. He came back towards the team leader. "That looks nasty," Toad mused, coming up on Fox's side to survey the injured shoulder. "But lucky for you I think you were hit in the metal ball-socket joint (Reflections of the FUTURE, Chapter 16) - Corneria should be able to get you another. Dad made that thing to survive a war but I'm seeing flakes of shrapnel in the wound. We better get you a new shoulder. You'll need bandages for your ear and the back of your paw, there, too."

Fox's face contorted into a moue of disgust. He looked to the left with gritted teeth and muttered the word, "Neat."