StarFox Fan Fiction ❯ The Shards of a Broken Krystal ❯ A Weakness Revealed ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Surprise. I don't own the Star Fox series or any of its characters. I do, however, own the story. Keep that in mind before you steal it.

 

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The Shards of a Broken Krystal - by Staindgrey

 

Chapter I - A Weakness Revealed

 

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The Cornerian Military supplies warehouse lay dormant within the shade of night. No lights were on, leaving the depot in a blanket of shadows. Outside its three main entrances stood four guards each, all equipped with blasters and night vision helmets. The majority of them were hardly doing their job, choosing rather to sit comfortably against the walls of their outposts and chat about their civilian lives. In these times of peace following the Aparoid War over a year ago, there was little need for heavy security around the facility, let alone still having the facility. These guards knew this, and they took full advantage of their easy-money job.

 

“They're ripe for the picking,” an eager, smoke-killed voice said hoarsely. The body from which the voice came was enclosed in a black cape-like garment, covering most of his body, save his face and lower legs. He turned away from the wall of branches he had been looking through and back towards his squad sitting neatly in a circle, all of their eyes focused on him. They were dressed just as their leader, wrapped in large pieces of gray cloth that covered their bodies and the assortments of weapons beneath. They wore black pants and stealth boots made of leather, further showing their determination for secrecy. Their beady eyes remained hidden under their cloaks, but their black and white snouts were exposed just enough to tell that they were there beneath the darkened sky.

 

The group had named themselves `The Raccoon Renegades'. Their leader, Romura Kune, was bent on overthrowing the current Cornerian government. His ambitions had been put on hold, however, during the Aparoid War, as the military was far too prepared for a measly group of stealth fighters to do any harm. But now, after more than a year of calm, the government was, as he said, “ripe for the picking.” His plan was simple: overtake small military warehouses and commandeer their weaponry. By staying under the radar, the military would have no idea who to go after, and would try to keep the outbreaks concealed. With the Renegades' power increasing and the military's diminishing, they could accumulate more members and start a rebellion, eventually ending in a complete overthrow of the Cornerian government. Kune's plan was full-proof, and so far, it had been running quite smoothly. This was their fourth warehouse in just the first month, and yet the military didn't even bother to post more guards. Pathetic, Kune thought, a government so weak deserves to be demolished. With a sneer finding its way across his snout, the Renegades' leader spoke.

 

“Alright, men, it's time. We shall now split up into our three divisions and execute the plan as it was drawn up before. There are only four guards stationed at each entrance, so killing them swiftly and silently shouldn't be a problem. Also remember not to trip any alarms; if you do, your head is mine.” At that moment, his smirk faded into a menacing frown as he examined his crew, all still sitting and listening intently to their master's orders. He continued, “Any questions?”

 

One of the members in the very back of the circle stood to his feat, his head lowered so that his cloak covered all of his face but the snout. “Sir, what if we encounter some trouble along the way?”

 

“Trouble?” Kune's head cocked to the side as he tried to understand what he was getting at. “You should be able to handle whatever they throw at us, that's what you've been trained to-” He stopped as he noticed something peculiar about the standing member. He didn't wear the same black pants and leather boots as the others; instead, he sported dark crimson boots and green military cargos. Was he...?

 

“A spy!” Kune exclaimed as he reached beneath his cloak for his beam saber. As his bewildered followers hastily tried to ready themselves as well, the intruder unveiled his blaster from beneath his robe and started firing away. He hit each gang member with precision unlike any normal military combatant- he had to be part of some elite unit. As he fired, his accomplice stood to her feet as well, firing at the opposite row of Renegades. Finally, the ones still remaining began to charge, their beam sabers in hand and ready to attack. Both spies leapt back and continued firing, though most of their shots were deflected by the Renegades' now drawn sabers. As the group quickly came closer, the two intruders surprisingly lunged towards them, each slamming one of them with the butt of their blaster and knocking him out cold. They then took the fallen one's saber and blocked the incoming strike with it, then followed by countering with their own slash. It was obvious that they were well trained for this mission; Kune could see that very easily. But as he watched the two slaughter his men, fear began to take a hold of him, sending chills up his spine like the bitter winds of Fichina. Finally, he had seen enough, and dashed forward in an attacking position.

 

“Krystal!!” one trespasser yelled as the other felt a searing pain in her left arm. Kune had struck her from the side, but only nipped his target's arm, missing the bone. As Krystal grabbed the tear in pain, she felt a furry yet firm arm grab a hold of her and yank her against its owner's hard body. Soon after, she felt the hot sensation of a beam saber held dangerously close to her now exposed neck.

 

“Put down your weapon!” Kune demanded. The cloaked figure about ten meters away stared him down from his shadowed position for a moment, then dropped his saber to the ground beside his blaster. All of Kune's men were now disposed of, leaving only him, his hostage, and her potential rescuer left. “Reveal yourself!” was his next order.

 

The spy replied by quickly shedding his gray cloak, unveiling his tan fur and space armada uniform. It consisted of the green cargos and crimson boots, along with matching green and crimson sleeves and a white bulletproof vest with the Star Fox emblem embroidered on the left side.

 

“Well, if it isn't the legendary Fox McCloud,” Kune stated with a chuckle. “I've heard stories about you, McCloud, about how you're invincible... about how you defeated Andross's army single-handedly... about how you've fallen for a certain blue fox...” He then clutched Krystal's arm where the wound was located, sending shots of searing pain through her body and a yelp through her mouth. Fox started towards him, but was immediately stopped by the sight of Kune's saber inching even closer to the sapphire fox's collar. Fox growled at the raccoon, who merely sniggered in response. “Don't you dare come any closer, McCloud, unless you'd like to see what a beam saber can do to a young girl's delicate neck...”

 

“You...” he scoffed. What could he do, though? Fox tried to examine the situation systematically, but the thought of Krystal in danger was all that consumed his every thought. How could he save her if he couldn't even stop to think up a plan? He tried to shake away the thought of her as any more than an accomplice, but it was useless as he heard her trembling voice utter, “Fox...”

 

“Let her go!” he howled, his fists clenching into balls of rage at his sides.

 

“Why should I?” the raccoon shot back. “You've killed my entire squad, and now you expect me to just let you two go free?”

 

“Of course not,” Fox snarled in return, “I'm gonna have to kill you for that to happen.”

 

“You're in no position to be making threats here, boy,” Kune growled.

 

The two mammals stood in a stalemate from there on out. Kune had control of Krystal's fate and Fox was too scared for her life to do anything. He had a mini-blaster concealed in his right glove, and he could use it to shoot him right through the head before he even knew what had happened. But... What if he missed? What if he wasn't fast enough? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he were responsible for Krystal's death. But he had to do something! His mission was to eliminate Kune and his band of rebels, and all he had to do now was finish the job. But Krystal... The image of her dying in the arms of that blasted raccoon kept playing over and over inside Fox's head; he couldn't think of anything else.

 

C'mon, Fox! he screamed in his mind, You have to put personal feelings to the side and complete your mission! Why can't you do that?? The entire situation was hopeless until he could make himself do something, but he just couldn't do it. Krystal meant so much to him...

 

The sound of a laser blaster ended the prolonged silence. Instantly thereafter, Kune lifelessly fell forward, his eyes white and dead before he even landed. Krystal, still in danger of being decapitated by the beam saber in his inert hand, threw his arm away from her and kicked back, letting his unanimated body hit the ground without her. The hole in his head could barely be seen in the pitch black of the night. The Renegades' leader's sudden death utterly surprised Krystal- as well as Fox.

 

“You two alright?” a familiar voice called out to them. Out from the brush came a suited blue bird with a blaster in hand and night-vision goggles lying snuggly atop his large, golden beak.

 

“Oh, thank goodness you came!” Krystal exclaimed, her accent adding to the eminence of her feminine voice. But rather than lash out in a hug for Falco for saving her life, she turned back to Fox, her tone full of concern. “Fox, are you alright?”

 

“I'm fine,” he said, his voice cold and distant. Krystal could sense the agony inside him, but she couldn't tell what it was for. She was safe and their mission was accomplished, so what could be wrong?

 

“Fox? Fox, are you sure-”

 

“I said I'm fine!” he growled. His outburst caught both of his teammates off guard, and they each gawked at him, baffled. Without explaining himself, Fox sighed and began pressing some switches on the control pad on his right forearm. “Let's get out of here...”

 

As his Arwing came out from its concealed location and began hovering towards them, Krystal's cerulean eyes cried out for Fox. As his ship landed and he placed his blaster back in his holster, he paid no attention to her, shattering her heart like fragile glass. What had she done? Was he upset because she had let herself get captured? Was he mad at himself for not saving her? She felt his mind losing itself in distress, but she just couldn't figure out what it was coming from.

 

“Hey, missy,” Falco huffed from behind her, “don't just stand there. We need to get going too.”

 

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Darkness had overcome the indigo-furred vixen like the impending storm looming over her heart. What had she done wrong? What did she do to upset him? It had been three days now, and that fox had barely said a word to her, let alone anyone else. She hated being so cowardly about the situation- it was hardly her normal character- but something about the whole situation sent warning signals screaming through her conscience. It had only been two years since their encounter on Sauria, but during that time she had never once felt distant from Fox; it was almost as if they were somehow bonded from the moment they locked eyes. Although, of course, Fox had never taken the initiative to confirm their romantic relationship, but she knew it was there. She had decided to wait for him, to wait for her Fox to at last open up and display his true self, rather than the Star Fox commander veneer he never let down... But after two long years, he never had. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe there really weren't any feelings there. Maybe... Maybe he was upset with her because she couldn't get that. Maybe...

 

Her eyes were adapted to the darkness now; she could make out her shadowed knees huddled just beneath her muzzle by folded arms. She was sitting on her unmade bed, the plain, white sheets encircling her like clouds before a hurricane. The blue vixen let out an emotional sigh and began to move her limbs, feeling their shouts of resistance resulting from the long time she had sat there thinking. She stretched her arms high above her head, loving the feel of her extended back, but hating the sudden shot of pain stemming from her left arm. She immediately let her arms fall back down, her right paw clutching the wound and feeling a trace of blood soaking her bandage. Shoot, I broke a stitch... she thought. She then gingerly hopped off of her bed, landing on her feet and wrapping herself in a snug, black bathrobe. She loved its warmth and the way it clung around her slender form- she was sure the men on the plane loved it just as much. She inwardly rolled her eyes as she tied the belt of the garment and headed towards the door at the front of the room. Just before she pressed the `open' switch, however, she stopped and turned her head to give her window one final look, taking in the beauty of the mass of brilliant stars that always seemed to paint space's bleakness with aspiration. She had always looked to them for answers, for hope... But now, for the first time since the destruction of her planet, she felt... starless. With another internal sigh, the unusually dismal vixen pressed the unlock switch, allowing her door to slide open and welcome the light of the hallway to penetrate her shadowy dorm. With squinted eyes she sauntered out, wrapping herself in her own arms as she began the walk towards the first aid station, conveniently located on the opposite side of the ship.

 

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The room was silent. Cold. Dead. Silent. Nothing but the twitching and beeping of nearby electronics could be heard, and neither pair of ears bothered to catch even those secluded sounds. It was as if they were conducting a duel of silence, each player intently listening for the sound of the other's voice so that they would be proclaimed the winner. In a sense, it was just that, as both men were patiently waiting for the other to falter and give in, giving him the advantage in the approaching argument. Each combatant was well equipped with both willpower and sheer stubbornness, but it had already been a good half hour since they had sat down next to each other, and the strain of the silence was beginning to affect them.

 

“So what the hell's wrong with you?” Game over. Winner: Fox McCloud.

 

“Nothing,” was the fox's placid response.

 

“Bull.” Just as blatant was Falco's reply, showing that he wasn't about to just let this fight go away. He sat upright in his navy, cushioned chair with his equally blue wings crossed and his eyes narrowed, shooting flames of intimidation towards his old friend. Fox didn't even glance in return.

 

“Yeah, it is bull. But right now, I just don't wanna talk about it.” Fox's tone was serious, unlike practically any other time he ever spoke. This was a new Fox, one that had taken a turn for the worse.

 

“Whether you want to or not, you're gonna talk,” Falco demanded. Receiving still not so much as a glimpse from Fox, he slowly closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration. Why had the once overly cocky Fox McCloud suddenly decided to become so depressed? He was sure it was about Krystal in some way, but he couldn't seem to put the rest of the puzzle together. Krystal had been part of the team for over a year, and she had been in danger before, but Fox had never pulled this disgruntled stunt before. On the contrary, he'd usually bathe her with concern, never letting her leave his sight until well after she had already healed. It was obvious to just about everyone in the Lylat System that they had feelings for each other, but for some unknown reason Fox just refused to admit it. Two years... Damn, that's a long time for a girl to wait, Falco thought to himself. He had only wished some girl was that crazy for him. How Fox could possibly let something like this slip away, he had no idea. “Fox,” he grunted, reopening his eyes and reigniting the fire within them, “tell me what's up with you before I beat it out of ya.”

 

“Heh,” Fox chuckled, finally displaying a small grin that almost seemed to be a part of the past. “That's just like you, Falco, always jumping into a fight whether you need to or not.”

 

Falco returned the titter, then said, “When it involves the leader of Star Fox and a brokenhearted girl that's crazy about him, I think I have enough reason to pick a fight.”

 

Fox's ephemeral grin quickly faded back into the past at the comment. “What do you know...”

 

“I know a hell of a lot more than you give me credit for, Fox.” Fox finally looked over at his colleague, knowing exactly what he was getting at. Despite both of them already knowing the story well, Falco continued, “Katt Monroe... God, she was beautiful.” His tone had in seconds drastically changed from overly serious to abnormally dreamy, as if he were lost in a surfeit of wonderful memories. “She was the only one I ever... loved. Yeah, those were good times... But I let her slip away, let my arrogance get to me and destroy the one thing I loved most... love itself.” His wistful state went as quickly as it had come, the old overbearing Falco quickly taking its place. He continued, “Now you've got the same chance to make or break the rest of your life. You've got a choice to make, and you're running out of time to make it.”

 

“And what's that choice?” Fox asked with more than a hint of annoyance in his voice.

 

Falco hesitated for a moment as he searched for the right words to use. He wasn't used to talking about this emotional stuff, so he had to make sure everything he said stuck. “Krystal... or your job.”

 

Fox nearly broke out into laughter, but quickly silenced himself as if he was determined to keep his despondent attitude till the day he died. “You think that I'm avoiding Krystal `cause she's a distraction to my job?” He watched as Falco's expression rapidly shifted from omniscient to bewildered. “It's not that at all... She's more important than some mission... Way more important. It's just...”

 

“Just...?”

 

Fox locked eyes with the navy-feathered bird for a moment, then looked away. He wasn't sure why he felt like he had to seclude himself so much, but he couldn't just come out and tell Falco what was bothering him. The only person who should hear that... was Krystal. “It's just that I've got a lot of crap running through my head right now and I'm trying to sort through it before I do anything stupid. That's all. Now, if you'll excuse me...” Fox slowly pushed himself up from his spot on his chair, his tail whipping around behind him as he made his way towards the exit at the back of the room. He wasn't going to leave without some protest from Falco, however.

 

“So that's what you're gonna do? That's all the great Fox McCloud, savior of the universe, is capable of, sitting on his ass and waiting for the girl to do his job? Sheesh, you really haven't grown up yet have you?” Fox didn't stop or even hesitate. He continued walking, his hand finding its way to the `open' switch at the side of the doorway. “Fine. Run away. Run away from all your problems. That just means she'll run away from you.”

 

Fox stopped dead in his tracks as if paralyzed, his friend's last few words piercing into him like a knife and turning harshly. Fox wanted to protest; he wanted to defend himself and tell his teammate off, but he couldn't find any words. That damn bird was right. He was dead right. Nothing Fox could say would outmatch him, and any syllable of useless defense would only aggravate his loss. Finally, he flipped the opening switch, let the mechanical door slide up into the ceiling, and then walked out, letting the door slide back behind him and making a nice barrier between him and his oppressor for now. Once again, silence surrounded him as the echoes of his own footsteps were all that invaded his ears, and the resonance of Krystal's face was all that haunted his imagination. He knew what he had to do, and as much as he hated to admit it, Falco was right- he had to do it now.

 

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“Stretching, eh?” Slippy croaked as he began to cut through the blue mammal's stitches to be replaced.

 

“Yes,” was her direct reply. “I wasn't doing anything to aggravate it if that's what you were getting at.”

 

“Oh, I wasn't saying that,” Slippy muttered as he continued removing the old stitches. As little as he knew about women, there was one piece of knowledge that every man was born knowing: don't aggravate an upset female. Krystal, as the entire ship knew by now, was upset, as was Fox. What went wrong between them no one had a clue, but it was beginning to affect the mood of everyone onboard. Slippy wondered if he should bring it up, as it was pretty much the only topic he could think of while they sat in total silence. He decided to ease into it with a blatant observation. “Hey, Krystal, you seem pretty down lately...”

 

“Oh, sorry,” she said, returning from her daze, “I've just been thinking a lot, that's all.” To prove her point of not being depressed, she finished with a heart-melting smile for her slimy, green doctor. He returned the grin.

 

“`Bout what?” Slippy was now replacing the wire to keep her wound sealed.

 

“About...” Krystal once again seemed to lose herself in thought, practically becoming oblivious to their current conversation. Slippy stopped for a moment to wait for her reply, but received none.

 

“...About Fox?” The sound of his name kicked the normal Krystal back into gears as her eyes returned to their beautiful sober state and locked gazes with Slippy's. She then turned her vision back towards her knees hanging over the edge of her seat and gave a small nod in confirmation. Now that that was settled, Slippy could try to dive a little deeper. “Well, I dunno what's going on between you two, but I'm sure it'll work out. You two go great together.”

 

“You think so?” Krystal's eyes seemed to instantly regain their sparkle that they were known for at Slippy's words.

 

“Well, yeah,” he stammered, “Who wouldn't? It's obvious he's crazy about you, he just has a rough time showing it, ya know? Whatever this dilemma is, I'm positive you'll get through it together.”

 

“Thanks, Slippy. You're a good friend.” Another gratifying smile; Slippy could never get enough of those. What is going on in your head, Fox? She's crazy about you! What's holding you back?

 

“There,” Slippy said with a pat on the vixen's shoulder, “all set.” Much to the toad's surprise, he instantly felt the warm, wooly embrace of a fox's arms, followed by a very flirtatious kiss on the cheek. He fought every hormone in his body to keep his face from turning bright red.

 

“Thank you so much, Slippy,” Krystal said as she broke away from him, beaming. “But I've got a question...”

 

“Shoot.”

 

“Do you think I should go up to Fox and ask about the problem directly, or wait for him to come to me?”

 

Slippy scratched his head in thought, sliding his stubby green hand underneath his ball cap. “Well... What do you think you should do?”

 

“Well, of course I want to talk to him right away-”

 

“Then go for it!” Slippy exclaimed. “Don't wait around for him, do what you think is right.”

 

“Alright, I will. Thanks again, Slippy.” She gave the gifted young toad one final smile of gratitude then headed towards the exit, grabbing her robe off the table as she went. Okay, it's time to get over this. Slippy's right; whatever's wrong with Fox is only temporary. We'll be alright. I just need to talk to him...