StarFox Fan Fiction ❯ The Shards of a Broken Krystal ❯ The Pure of Heart ( Chapter 7 )

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 VII - The Pure of Heart

 

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“Fox!” the elder vulpine huffed as he finally made his way to the port of the Katina base. As he came within view of his son, he leaned heavily against the doorway he was standing in, his arm held high above his head and latching to the wall in hopes of keeping himself from collapsing onto the ground below. Half of the display was for show, hoping to guilt his son for making him run after him, but he really was getting up there in years. Fox didn't budge; he either hadn't heard him or didn't care, and James didn't like either reason. He let go of the doorway and walked closer to him, shouting, “Fox!”

 

Fox turned away from his Arwing, however slightly, to face the familiar voice coming from behind him. The younger fox's emerald eyes were at the peak of determination; something had taken a hold of him back in the hallway a few moments prior, though James wasn't sure what it was. He considered the fact that he had possibly turned insane, although that was a tad unlikely. With a curt, monotone response, he answered, “What, Dad?”

 

“I don't know what's gotten into you,” he began, closing the distance between them, “but what are you doing? Your Arwing isn't repaired yet.”

 

“The wing's already been replaced; that's enough to get airborne,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I don't need my shields reestablished just to get back to Great Fox.”

 

“And what if that creep O'Donnell's waiting for you out there?” James pointed out.

 

Fox showed how little he cared for the statement as he turned away and began climbing aboard his vehicle while he spoke, “That's unlikely. It's not Wolf's style.” He pulled himself up into the cockpit and dropped himself in, wasting no time in checking some gages and starting the engine.

 

“Fox, you're reckless, you know that?” James called from below as the shrill of the engine picked up.

 

“And you weren't?” he shot back without a glance. “I'm just going to rendezvous with Great Fox while it's still on course so we don't lose any time on the way to Sauria.”

 

“We?” James questioned with an arching eyebrow extending over his broad glasses.

 

Fox nodded. “I'd appreciate it if you came along for the ride. Maybe you can finally meet one of my teammates.”

 

“You mean the one you're head-over-heels for?” James said with a grin. Fox returned the smirk as his cockpit window began to close overtop of him.

 

“Possibly.” It was his last word before the glass enclosed and locked him in. He gave a small wave to his father down below before he kicked in the engines, levitating the ship about five meters above the ground before blasting out through the open doorway at the front of the port at top speed. James felt the rush of wind ruffling his clothes through his crossed arms, then adjusted his sunglasses back into place and casually headed towards his Arwing a short distance away. As he approached the craft, however, a small Bichon Frise turned from his stationed computer and blocked his way.

 

“Sir!” The little, fluffy dog's voice was high and squeaky, not to mention far too shaky to command the likes of James McCloud. “You can't use it yet! We still have repairs left to-”

 

“It can fly,” James calmly interjected while lightly pushing through the white furball to get to his ship. The Bichon continued, however, despite him.

 

“But sir, the control system is completely ruined! I don't know how you managed to pilot it in that condition. There were two gaping holes that seemed to have been created using some sort of purple, acidic compound. I don't advise-”

 

“You think too much,” James retorted as he smoothly entered his cockpit and latched his safety harness. Not bothering to listen to anymore of the little, white dog's rambling, he latched the glass cover shut and started his Arwing, proceeding to exit in the same fashion the younger McCloud had earlier. With a brilliant blue flash, the old vulpine was gone, leaving behind a very confused pup with his tail tucked between his legs.

 

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Night enclosed the feral landscape of Sauria like a blanket, hindering the eyesight of the majority of its inhabitants, save the small diamonds of light in the sky and a gorgeously full moon high above. The ground itself in this area resembled the moon high above, with oddly-configured igneous rock making up its entirety. The walls surrounding the paths of the area were jagged and arching this way and that, resembling an attempt at making a valley by a toddler with play-dough. Unsystematic bursts of a strange green smoke came from all around in small tufts, giving the region even more of an eerie mystique. Bunched along one of the serrated walls of the main path were about thirty Sharpclaw, give or take a few, the majority of which were fast asleep, clad in armor and all. Surrounding the group on its three corners were officers on watch, though they were beginning to feel the need for sleep overcome them. It had been a long trek from their homeland to the Krazoa palace and then down here, and it was beginning to get to even the most dedicated ones of the group.

 

Meanwhile, along the outskirts of the path was an odd couple watching the tranquil bunch of ruffians. Their heads were poked around the corner of the eastern wall of the path, one small and furred, the other large, boney, and overbearing. After taking in the surroundings of what lay ahead, they brought themselves back around the corner, then began their quiet planning.

 

“I count twenty-eight thought patterns,” Krystal started with the whisper of a mouse. Tricky nodded in confirmation.

 

“Twenty-eight. Right. That's...” Krystal didn't have to be telepathic to realize that he was trying desperately hard to configure that into his own language. With a slight, playful roll of her eyes, she translated it for him.

 

“Knodko-oawxk.”

 

“Oh, okay. Yeah.” Tricky thought again for a moment, trying to estimate just how hard of a battle it would be for him and Krystal alone. “Well, if we split it up and took... Shoot...” He looked at the ground as he counted slowly in his head in Cornerian, then continued, “Oh, fourteen each, then...”

 

Krystal interrupted with a faint giggle, trying not to let herself be heard by the Sharpclaw guards stationed not too far away. “Tricky, we're not going to take them on by ourselves. Your father can handle that on his own at daybreak. What we need to do is get to the Krazoa Shrine down the road without being detected.” She then took another glance around the corner and surveyed the group once more, then proceeded to speak back to Tricky while she did. “I don't understand what they're waiting for. The shrine is only a short distance away and yet they're setting camp here and waiting for morning. Why wouldn't they go for the Krazoa now...?” She was more thinking out loud than asking Tricky for answers. Krystal was a telepath, but not a perfect one. She could sense the emotions of a nearby person, but she couldn't read their thoughts like a book. She couldn't simply dive into one of the thugs' heads and determine what they were planning; most of them were asleep anyway, leaving only dreams and nightmares for her to sense. The guards were thinking of nothing more than ways of staying awake, and would casually begin talking to one another in their native language. Krystal couldn't tell if there was anyone up ahead, it was too far, but her instincts were telling her that that was their plan. But, could they really do anything without a pure heart...?

 

“Krystal?” she heard from behind her. She snapped out of her daze and turned back to Tricky standing idly behind her. “Something wrong?”

 

“No, nothing. It's just... How are they planning to get the Krazoa out of the shrine? One must be pure of heart to enter it in the first place.”

 

Tricky gave the best attempt at a shrug that a four-legged creature could. “Maybe they didn't think that far ahead?” he mused. “Heh, they aren't exactly known for their brains, ya know,” he added with a chuckle.

 

“Yes, but...” Krystal still couldn't help but think that something else was up, but she didn't have the slightest idea what it could be. “Call it a woman's intuition. They may not be brilliant but they're smart enough to know that they can't release a Krazoa Spirit with the intention of conquering Sauria. Perhaps it's a trap to bring your father here...?”

 

Tricky violently shook his head. “No way. Even if it was, my dad would cream their sorry tails like they were nothing. I know he would.”

 

Krystal gave him an `okay, little boy' look and turned back around to look over the group ahead. They still lay there, motionless. There were only a couple short hours before the sun would begin to rise, and standing here watching them wasn't helping their cause at all. Krystal thought for a moment, then once again turned back to the Earthwalker Prince with the demeanor of a Star Fox operative. “I'm going ahead to get the Krazoa Spirit. There may be a few more Sharpclaw there, but I should be able to handle them on my own. You stay here and wait for your father. Keep an eye on these guys, but don't let yourself get caught, understood?” Tricky nodded his head enthusiastically. “Good.” With her last statement she began to look over her surroundings for some sort of branch to climb, preferably from one of the moon seeds native of the area. It was a little hard to find in the darkness, but her adjusted eyes found exactly what they were looking for along the wall they were hiding behind about twenty meters down. With a smile gracing her muzzle, she left her companion behind with a quick, “Be careful, Tricky,” and jogged on towards the trailing plant.

 

The uncanny plant was tall enough to reach the very top of the rocky wall, and had a glowing purple seed still visible at its root. She grabbed one of the leafy vines, which was surprisingly cold to the touch, and pulled herself up far enough to put a foot on another adjacent vine. She then pulled up again with her opposite arm, and continued the motion until her paws felt the cool sensation of the moon-esque rock above. She pulled herself up onto the ledge with a small, feminine grunt and proceeded to walk down the ledge, keeping a small distance between her and the rickety wooden fence along the outside.

 

As she rounded the corner where Tricky was located down below, she glanced down towards him to see that he was beaming back. She gave him a confident wink and continued on. As she came into the view of the front guard, she crouched down onto all fours, tucking her large, bushy tail between her legs and up against her tummy as she kept herself concealed behind the old fence. She stayed as silent as possible, remembering the stealth tactics she had learned from Fox back during her mercenary training. Fox... he unexpectedly popped back into her head like a sudden, vicious rush of wind, but she shook her head fiercely as if to try and shake his image out of it like quarters from a piggybank. Not now, Krystal, she reminded herself. Forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand, she continued on, keeping her steps light and quick before the guards could notice she was there. She didn't have to worry too much about them; they seemed more bored and unneeded than intent on finding intruders. She passed the clearing with ease and made her way to the next break in the fence, where a moon seed plant was conveniently located. She gracefully threw her legs over the ledge, her feet catching two sturdy vines while her paws held on tightly to the solid ground above. She then advanced down the stretch of vines in the same way she's climbed them before, all the while refusing to make a detectable sound. With a sly grin from her own crafty accomplishment, she looked back at the remote group of Sharpclaw, then continued along the open path towards the Krazoa Shrine. She still couldn't sense any thought patterns whatsoever in the area, but she kept silent just in case. Like she had said earlier, the Sharpclaw weren't stupid. They had something cooking, she just had no idea what it could be. Regardless, though, she had to get to that Krazoa first; then she could take it back to the Palace where it belonged.

 

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“Rob, how long until we reach Sauria's airspace?”

 

“Approximately eight hours and thirty minutes,” Rob estimated while looking over the computer screen at his hands.

 

“What course are we taking?” Fox asked, his paw rubbing slowly against his muzzle in thought.

 

“We are crossing between Sector Z and Venom, through what was once Area 6 for Andross's defense fleet,” the robot responded.

 

Fox was just across the room from him, sitting straight up in his commander's chair and looking off in no particular direction. His father, James, was standing silently against the wall near the entrance, his opaque black glasses neither proving nor disproving that he was dozing off. Fox took a moment to think, then answered Rob's response with a question, “What if we cut through Sector Z? How much will that decrease our arrival time?”

 

Rob made a few calculations then replied, “That course would decrease the distance by twenty-two percent. Approximate arrival time: seven hours and three minutes.”

 

“Good. Take that course instead,” Fox ordered.

 

“Affirmative.”

 

“You sure that's a wise idea?” Fox's ear twitched a little at the sound of his once silent father across the room. “Sector Z is known for ambushes. Crooks like to hide in the clouds of stardust there and intercept anyone who happens to pass through.” His son turned his blank gaze towards him, taking in the image of James McCloud with almost as much wonder as the first time he laid eyes on him only a few hours prior. It was still a marvel to him how his father had survived, and despite everything that was going on, just the sight of him made the fox warm up inside. His keen expression abruptly turned into one of a commander, however, as he gave the elder fox his stern reply.

 

“It's a risk I'm willing to take if it'll cut down the time to get there. Besides, I'm pretty sure the Great Fox can handle a few waylaying bandits.”

 

James smirked slightly as he made his way towards Fox with his arms still folded. “You're really head-over-heels for this girl, aren't you?” Fox's superior demeanor vanished at his words, which gave James quite a bit of amusement. His grin only widened as he tried to suppress a laugh. “You don't have to hide this stuff from me, ya know. You can't, anyway. I can see through you like a plastic baggie.” He finally found the empty chair next to his son- the one usually intended for Krystal- and took a seat. “Now, spill.”

 

“Well, what is there to spill?” Fox asked innocently. The topic of girls was never his forte, especially since he hadn't had these father-son talks while James was gone. He thought it sad, really, that he was going on thirty and yet only had one girlfriend to his name, and that was back in his days at the academy. Fara Phoenix... She was quite a gal, but not the same as Krystal...

 

“Let's start off with how you even met this girl. I've been gone for awhile, Fox, you need to catch me up to date.”

 

“Alright, um... Well, Sauria, the planet we're heading for, was breaking apart. It was a weird phenomenon, and Pepper sent us over to check it out. I went down to the surface to try and find the source of the problem, and I did. Some guy named General Scales was breaking apart the planet to rule over it, yada yada yada... Anyway, when I was busy trying to find these `spell stones' to bring the planet back together, I heard the cries of this girl in trouble-”

 

“And that was her?” James interrupted.

 

Fox gave him a cold glare for his disruption, then answered, “Yes.”

 

“Ahhh, I see,” James said with a slow nod and an even wider smirk spread across his muzzle. “So, long story short, you went in to save her and now she loves her hero, right?”

 

“Uhh... It's a little more complicated than that,” Fox responded with a bit of irritation in his voice. “You see, she was trapped in this... crystal thing.”

 

“And her name's Krystal?” James pointed out with a laugh. Fox merely rolled his eyes and continued.

 

“Yeah, so I encountered this spirit thing that told me I had to bring back all these `Krazoa Spirits' that kept peace on the planet. Once I did that, she'd be free.”

 

“And so you freed her?”

 

“Yeah. But, as it turned out, the entire thing was Andross's ploy to try and revive himself using the Krazoa Spirits. I had no idea they could do that.”

 

“Andross?” James questioned, his brow visibly narrowing at the sound of his name. Fox nodded.

 

“Yeah. He came back in his overgrown state again and I had to fight him all over again in my Arwing. But, it was way behind on repairs since we lacked a lot of funds, and he was actually getting the upper hand on me. That's when Falco came in out of nowhere- he quit the team a few years before to go on some `personal business'- and helped me destroy that ape once and for all.”

 

James slowly nodded his head as he took all of it in, holding his head up with his paws and his elbows against his knees in a hunching fashion. “Alright, well that's good that he's finally met his maker. But back to the girl...” He sat back up to an upright position as he continued the interrogation, “Is she even a Fox? Or have you fallen for some dinosaur?”

 

Fox nearly fell out of his chair at the comment. “Whoa! Whoa! Don't worry, Dad, she's no dinosaur. Quite the opposite, actually...” He began to reminisce on the image of her elegant, beautiful body for a moment. “She's a fox, a gorgeous one at that. But she's got blue fur. She's part of an alien race from another system; she's the last of her kind.”

 

James's head was titled now like that of a confused pup. “Wait, you fell in love with an alien? Isn't that worse than a dinosaur?”

 

“Dad!” Fox chided, “She's not what you're picturing, I can guarantee that. Just wait till you see her; you'll see what I mean.”

 

“Alright, alright, I got it. So... Why did she suddenly up and leave, anyway? I thought you said you guys were in love?”

 

“Wait, I never...” Fox tried to remember if he had said that or not, but merely pushed it away and carried on. “Whatever. We cared for each other, but... I had a little trouble showing it at times. I couldn't mix my personal agenda with business, ya know?”

 

“Fox,” James started with a brusque tone, “you've got to learn that love, at least in its truest form, isn't something you can simply brush away and let sit while you go out and do your job. It's something to cherish, something that should never come in second no matter what the situation. True, on the battlefield you never want it to cloud your judgment, but to use the excuse that you couldn't make time for it because of business, well...” He looked deep into Fox's emerald green eyes for a second before finishing, “...that's just childish. I'm sorry I couldn't be here to teach you that.”

 

Fox was speechless. Every inch of his mind tried to come up with some sort of rebuttal, but nothing came. His father was dead-on, and it was something he should have already known but never took the time to realize. All of this, the entire situation, it was his fault, all because he was too immature to accept his feelings for Krystal without getting nervous and running away. There was no doubt that Krystal would be risking her life by being at his side, but it was all she wanted, all that she was trying to do for the past two years. And throughout the entire time that Fox simply pushed her away, she stayed with him, waiting for the time when he would at last open up and do something about it. She had been waiting so long for him... And he sent her away.

 

Their last conversation began to replay in his head as clearly as a cinema:

 

“But Krystal, you risk your life every second you're aboard this ship. We could be attacked anytime, anywhere and by anyone. Every mission we go on, I fear for your safety. There's no use in someone like you risking your life so much.”

 

“But I risk it to be at your side! I know very well what dangers I face, but I do it anyway, because this is where I want to be. This is where I belong.”

 

“This is where I belong...” Those words practically screamed inside Fox's head over and over and over again. He couldn't get rid of them. He could now see her, sitting directly in front of him, on the verge of crying and tearing his heart open with her teary gaze. Her sapphire eyes were searching his for some sort of reason for him breaking her heart, and yet... there was none. He was being stupid and immature, and he was shattering both of their hearts to pieces with his mistake. She continued pleading, “This is where I belong... with you, Fox...”

 

“Fox,” James said while placing a paw firmly on his son's shoulder, pulling him out of his trance. “Don't worry so much. Everything will be fine. If she cares for you as much as you say she does, then one little mistake on your part isn't going to chase her away that easily. The question is, are you ready to finally ready to step up and be her man?” He obviously didn't expect a spoken answer to the question as he stood to his feet and continued, “I love you, son, and I'll always be proud of you, no matter what. Now, I'm not saying that this girl is definitely `the one', but by the way you're so eager to chase her to Sauria like this, I can tell she means a lot to you. We'll get there in time, don't worry, and when we do, you can go straight to the surface and find her. I'll keep watch up here in Great Fox in case anything happens. For now, though...” he gestured for Fox to get up, so he did. “...you've gotta get some rest. You look exhausted. Go get some shut eye. Rob will wake us when we arrive, right Rob?”

 

Rob turned his monitors up from the coordinates screen and towards the questioning fox, then replied, “Affirmative.”

 

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Krystal was a bit surprised to find that no one was even in the general area surrounding the shrine entrance. Maybe the Sharpclaw really were a little on the dumb side. Or perhaps, she mused, they had tried to enter the shrine and found that they couldn't, and now they were simply hanging around while they tried to figure out what to do. The thought of such ignorance amused the vixen, as was shown by her soft giggle that almost echoed in the dead silence of night. With that, she stepped onto the entrance gate, a fairly large, glowing platform with complicated metal engravings that swirled about in an elaborate fashion. Above her was an identical radiant circle that helped to illuminate her cobalt-furred body like a beacon amidst the shadow of darkness surrounding her. She stretched her arms out to either side, closed her eyes and let her head fall back so it faced the upper circle, then let herself be swept away by the Krazoa's energy.

 

It was a rush like no other as she once again felt her body evaporate for a moment in a flash of blue light. She was weightless for that short fraction of eternity, feeling nothing at all hindering her mind or soul. Her eyes were closed, and yet she felt as though she could see everything. The image of the shrine entrance and the Moon Mountain Pass outside swirled around her like ingredients in a blender, gradually forming into the shape of the Krazoa Shrine. The dark blacks and blues transformed into a fiery orange as she was now surrounded by aged brick walls. She felt her feet once again as they touched what felt like the exact same platform she had just been standing on, but it was in a completely different location. She opened her eyes again and beheld the shrine and all of its majestic, red beauty, then leisurely stepped off of the glowing, white platform and onto the brick path before her.

 

“Hmmm,” she thought aloud, “it seems to be a lot like the first one I visited so long ago...” She sauntered in with her usual feminine step, swaying her casually clad hips from side to side as she walked down the hallway, looking over every piece of it with her sapphire eyes. Torches lit the area for her to see, their flames dancing around the wick as if in celebration. She made her way to the end of the hallway and found an insanely tall ladder to which she couldn't even find the top. An unconscious, “Wow...” left her mouth as she observed it, her eyes growing at its sheer size. She had seen one before in her first visit to a Krazoa Shrine, but the utter length of the ladder still caught her off guard. “Well, here we go!” she told herself as she made sure the straps of her bag were secured tightly over her shoulders and began climbing up the oversized piece of lumber.

 

She went up it heedlessly, her mind beginning to drift as the constant, redundant steps began to bore her. Seeing as to how there was no opposition here besides the normal traps of a Krazoa Shrine, there was no need for rush. The Sharpclaw couldn't come in, and she had all the time in the world to get the Krazoa Spirit and take it back to the Palace. She began to hum a simple lullaby she remembered from her home world of Cerinia. It was a sweet sounding melody, and the extravagance of the vixen's voice only added to its splendor.

 

Suddenly, however, she was cut off as she sensed something nearby intent on attacking her. Without hesitation, she took her sandaled feet off of the peg they were on and grasped the outside poles of the ladder with them and her paws, then slid down a meter or two before a fire-consumed bat rammed into the section above her. It was a little dazed, but not unconscious as it flapped around violently and tried to go back up into the air for another strike at the blue vulpine. Placing her feet back on a ladder leg for better balance, she took out her trusty staff with her left paw and extended it, readying it for a fire blast. She aimed steadily at the flapping bat with the opposite jeweled end of the staff resting comfortably on her shoulder, then, with a small pull of the extended part, released a ball of red energy which slammed easily into the fiery bat and knocked it upward, only for it to fall back down towards her lifelessly. He quickly kicked off the ladder with her left foot, pulling her body out of harms way but still clinging onto it with her right paw. She watched as the bat hit the ground far below with a thud, then retracted her staff and placed it back in her bag, continuing on up.

 

“Krystal, you need to be more careful,” she reminded herself. “Don't get careless in here. Your life is still at stake.” At last, she reached the top of the ladder and pulled herself up onto the stony surface there. Once she was up on two feet, she beheld the long room before her. Just in front of her was an extensive pool of water with small whirlpools swirling about on its surface. Beyond that was a tiny, winding path that occasionally spat out fire from beneath it, lighting up the room with the ferocity of Solar before finally vanishing back beneath the surface. At the very end of the corridor was a gate that had just begun to close, taking its sweet time as if to taunt the vixen. She had to make it through that doorway before it closed, or else be stuck here for good.

 

“Alright, here we go!” Krystal shouted as she leapt into the pool before her without hesitation. She had little time to waste debating how to go about getting past these obstacles, so she just went ahead and jumped in. She dove in between the front two swirls, but at an angle pointing to the left, as to avoid the third one up ahead in the middle. She broke the water's surface gracefully, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter. But as she entered, she could feel herself being pulled by the multiple currents; she had to hurry through and get out of there. Holding her breath, she pushed forward and to the left, trying to swerve around the whirlpool to her right. It tried to pull her in, but she was able to get past without too much effort. She then felt herself being pulled forward, directly towards another vortex. She adjusted herself in the water and placed her feet firmly against the left wall, kicking off of it with all the strength she could muster and passing the whirlpool with evident ease. She did the same for the next two underwater tornados, finally making her way to the opposite wall. Still being pulled backward by the strong current, she grabbed onto the stone ground and yanked her body out of the water, hurriedly getting back to a standing position and shaking off the water from her fur the best she could. She then realized that her bag was now soaked, including her spare clothing. She cursed her carelessness in her mind, but continued on towards the next obstacle.

 

The gate was about halfway down now, but she could already see the luminous, magenta Krazoa Spirit held within. Not letting the sight of the prize distract her, she looked down at the fragile path held over what seemed to be an endless black abyss. Again, a spout of fire erupted from the darkness, passing through a small metal frame in the middle of the path. Krystal noticed there were only two other such metal casings along it, and noted aloud, “Those must be where the fire passes through. Gotta avoid those...” Without wasting another moment's time, she carefully walked out onto the foot-wide path one foot at a time, making her way towards the burnt metal frame and stopping just before it. As she had thought, within seconds the long stream of fire erupted from beneath the frame, practically singing her fur from its short distance away as it passed. She winced and shut her eyes as it passed, its heat radiating like an exploding star right before her. As the flame passed, Krystal wasted no time in walking across the metal opening and continuing on down the path. She held out her arms horizontally to help keep her balance as she walked carefully along the curves and bumps in the path, not wanting to find out what was actually down there in that black void.

 

After passing the other two fire holes and getting back onto solid ground, she once again become conscious of the rapidly closing iron gate, which was now less than a foot away from spiking into the ground. The constant clink! clink! clink! alerted her of the immediate need to get under it, and so she hurried to do so. Flipping her sodden bag off of her shoulders and into her right paw, she threw it downward, sliding it stylishly underneath the falling iron fence. Following through on her own momentum, she kicked forward, letting her upper body fall back and almost touch the bricked ground as she just passed under it, feet first. She came to a stop on the other side, sitting up on her rump and pushing herself back up to her feet. She grabbed her knapsack and threw it back over her shoulders, still unable to shake the cold wetness it brought to her bare back. Within moments, she heard the clang of metal against rock as the gate closed behind her, leaving only her and the floating Krazoa Spirit ahead in the room. She strolled up towards it with the same attractive sway as usual, a smile gracing her lips and a twinkle coming from her eyes as she did.

 

The Krazoa Spirit itself was something to behold. It was a translucent, luminous creature that was surrounded in a mystic, pink aura. It resembled a floating head with long strands of hair blowing directly back with an imaginary wind, yet its features were far too ambiguous to make out. As Krystal approached, a hushed voice called out to her from what seemed to be every wall in the room, yet it was far too quiet to be so. Whether it was speaking telepathically to her or really was whispering in her ear, she was unsure, but either way, she understood its Saurian tongue and could hear it just enough to know what it was saying. “Kxaj aj kxo kojk ev semruk. Tovouk kxojo kod Sharpclaw ad u jfedtu, udt a um oeihj.”

 

This is the test of combat. Defeat these ten Sharpclaw in a jfedtu, and I am yours. Krystal recalled that a jfedtu was a short span of time on Sauria, spanning only about two minutes or less; she couldn't remember exactly. Regardless, that wasn't a whole lot of time, and ten fully armored Sharpclaw was no easy task. With a stern nod, she whipped out her Cerinian staff and extended it, holding it firmly in both paws. “A um houto.”

 

With that, the Krazoa vanished, and in the same instant, Krystal found herself surrounded by ten Sharpclaw, all varying in size and strength. They were all larger than her, of course, but some were only slightly, whereas some were nearly twice her height. They were all clad in metal helmets and chest plates, and every single one held some sort of weapon, whether it was a club or a spiked mace. Krystal turned to face each one of them, eyeing their open jaws, carnivorous rows of teeth and glaring, red eyes with a determined glower of her own. “Semo wok jemo, reoj!”

 

With that, the time began, and the green scaled monsters attacked all at once, hoping to beat down the navy vixen in one swift motion. Krystal avoided the bulrush, however, as she leapt backwards in a back-flipping motion, whacking an unfortunate Sharpclaw's head as hard as she could with her staff. A loud ring filled the room as the metal vibrated violently atop his head, giving him the king of headaches as he fell to the ground. Krystal landed gracefully on her feet, staff wielded behind her and ready for attack, as she waited for her next opponent to come near.

 

The two Sharpclaw directly next to their fallen comrade looked back towards her, their menacing leer only growing fiercer as they began to lust for the taste of her meat. They were two of the smaller, yellow Sharpclaw, but they were a force to be reckoned with in any case. As they began to run towards her with their maces held high above their heads, Krystal whipped her staff around in front of her and grasped it firmly with both paws, holding it horizontally at her shoulder level. She then brought it against her chest and bent downward, readying herself for the hardest forward leap she could muster. Once they were close enough, she kicked off the ground with a might far surpassing a normal young woman's and clotheslined them both with her extended staff, jamming the metal pole into both of their air pipes and stopping them instantly from their run. They each fell backward, flopping onto the hard ground, unconscious. The other seven Sharpclaw were now all facing her, ready to try another bulrush. To her dismay, the eighth one that she thought she had knocked out earlier stood warily to his feet as well, holding his head in obvious pain. He turned to face his attacker with a vicious glare and snarling teeth, signaling to his teammates with a grunt and a mace pointing directly at the blue fox.

 

As the group began to charge at her again, all at once and in no particular fashion as Sharpclaw were accustomed to do, Krystal jammed her pole into the hard, rocky ground and twisted the top part of it, signaling for the staff's rocket boost action. The rod was then overtaken in a strange, blue light within her paws, and she grabbed a hold of it for dear life as it suddenly propelled her upwards and over the heads of her attackers, much to their surprise. As she came back down, she gave another wallop to the back of the head of the same Sharpclaw she had before, once again knocking him harshly to the floor with a huge clang! from his helmet. And stay down, Krystal thought in the back of her mind. As she landed, she wasted little time in twisting the top half of her staff in the opposite direction, confirming its freeze option. Almost instantly, a cloud of white, smoke-like substance escaped the top jewel of her staff as she swung it past the four Sharpclaw to her left. The freezing mist put all of the four warriors on ice- literally- as chunks of translucent, blue ice overcame their bodies, freezing them in place.

 

Before Krystal could bask in celebration, however, she felt a club bash her on her right shoulder, slamming her to the left and into the ground where she rolled over and hurriedly tried to get back to her feet. She winced and grabbed her stricken arm, feeling the knot that began to grow there in reaction to the blow. It didn't feel broken at all, but she was sure it would hurt quite a bit once all of this was over. As the three remaining Sharpclaw came after her once again, she grabbed her staff as firmly as she could with both hands and charged as well, holding it down low for a defensive strike.

 

Sure enough, the Sharpclaw were as predictable as ever. The front one, the last small, golden one left in the group, lifted his mace high into the air for a downward strike, just as they almost always did. Krystal responded with an upward strike with her staff, throwing her attacker's arm up and back over his head. Without wasting her momentum by stopping, she continued twisting to the left where her strike was angled. As she came around, she struck the smaller lizard in the side with the opposite end of her staff, flinging him over to the side and face first into the rock-strewn ground. She completed the spin by pulling her staff back around and striking one of the back two Sharpclaw forcefully in his armpit, smacking a main nerve there and throwing him into the other with all the force she could gather. They each fell backward, but weren't out for the count yet. While the one she had hit favored his left shoulder and grunted in pain on the ground, the other one stood back to his feet, snarling loudly as he swung downward with his spiked mace, intending on squashing the little blue fox in one huge blow. Krystal rolled to the side, keeping her staff in a guard position as she stood, then leapt away from him, hoping to gain some distance for her next maneuver.

 

She was never able to pull off that maneuver, however, as she suddenly felt her staff pried away from her hands by a stronger creature. She looked up with a stunned expression at the Sharpclaw she thought she'd knocked out twice, who was glaring down at her with the look of a predator about to finally consume its prey. Before Krystal could react, a large, scaly mitt latched onto her neck, lifting her from the ground with ease high above its user's head. The large, olive Sharpclaw then threw her away like a lifeless rag doll, letting her slam into the wall behind her to stop her projectile body. Air quickly forced its way out of her lungs, not allowing her to scream or even groan in pain as she fell back to the ground below her, hitting it with a thud on her side. She rubbed her neck tenderly with a paw while she tried to ignore the obvious pain in her back. She gingerly stood to her feet, wincing uncontrollably as she watched the two remaining Sharpclaw come towards her. Her staff had been carelessly tossed back behind them, and now she had no weapon to use for defense. Amidst all these problems, she didn't even know how much time was left. She had to finish these guys off and fast, or else the Krazoa Spirit would reject her. She had to prove she was capable of holding the Krazoa... She had to prove she wasn't a damsel in distress, once and for all.

 

With a sudden burst of adrenaline, Krystal ran toward the approaching Sharpclaw in an all-out sprint. They once again raised their maces in an utterly predictable fashion. The blue vixen leapt in between them at shoulder's height as they each swiped for her, their weapons colliding at the point where she once was and sending a shockwave through each of their arms. As Krystal flew between them, she twisted her body and delivered a hard heel kick to- once again- the back of the olive one's head, this time knocking him unconscious as he fell inanimately to the ground with a loud thump. One left.

 

Krystal landed back on her two feet, sending a slight jolt of pain through her back as she did. She didn't stop, however, and continued forward, grabbing her trusty rod with her left paw and stopping herself to face her last opponent. He had fully turned around now, rubbing his now sore elbow from the contact his mace had made a few moments earlier. He shook it off, however, and bent down to grab his fallen comrade's weapon with his free hand. He held both up in a menacing fashion, giving a hoarse growl to intimidate the smaller blue fox. She merely smiled in return, spitting out, “Rhadw ak.” Bring it.

 

Finally, he charged in for the final blow, each spiked club held back behind his head for a full strength downward swipe. Krystal refused to budge as she flipped her staff back onto her shoulder, using her injured right arm only to steady her aim. She cocked back on the front part of the rod, sending a red ball of fire directly at the quickly approaching Sharpclaw, ramming him right in between the eyes and passing straight through as if it were a rock thrown through wet paper. The attacker then stopped running, slamming into the ground with a loud crash, its momentum causing it to slide down to Krystal's feet and stop there. The sapphire vixen then retracted her staff, sliding it smoothly back into her backpack and resting her paws on her hips in triumphant fashion. In an instant, all the Sharpclaw vanished as abruptly as they had come, and in their place descended the bright, purple enigma that was the Krazoa Spirit. Krystal gave a small smile as she began walking towards it, knowing what was to happen next. She braced herself, and as she did, the spirit flew into her, invading her body and resting within it in one swift motion. Its soul joined her own within her body, and she levitated high above the ground for a moment as they joined together within her. In a bright blue ray of light, just like how she had entered the shrine, she disappeared, leaving the room vacant, silent, and hollow.

 

As she felt her feet once again touch solid ground, she knew she was back at the shrine entrance without even opening her eyes yet. She let her arms fall down to her sides effortlessly and heaved a sigh of success, feeling the strange sensation of having another being held within her. She opened her now flooded violet eyes and beheld-

 

“H-Hey, Krystal,” a nervous Prince Tricky stammered. He stood before her just inside the opening of the small cave she was within with two menacing Sharpclaw on either side of him and even more behind him, as she could sense. The entire squad was here, all twenty-eight of them, and every single mind, save Tricky's and her own, was thinking of only one thing: vengeance.

 

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