StarFox Fan Fiction ❯ The Shards of a Broken Krystal ❯ The Line Between Good and Evil ( Chapter 11 )

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 XI - The Line Between Good and Evil

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A hundred wasps had just stung him. No, a thousand. A million even. Even better: a million wasps, lit on fire, just went kamikaze on every inch of his body. This is what Fox McCloud was imagining with every painful second that passed.

 

He was used to having bones broken or heavily bruised, or having an open wound, or even a few of both simultaneously. But the pain he felt now was different. It was like a fresh paper cut on every square centimeter of his skin. His formerly golden-tanned fur was now, for the most part, painted a deep burgundy, with some bits matted and wet with still fresh blood. By all means, he looked like he was hanging onto his last breath, though he felt otherwise. He'd had worse, physically speaking. The only problem now was fixing himself up to avoid multiple infections on this prehistoric planet, and quickly. Fox could already feel a buzz in his senses from the loss of blood, most likely due mainly to the largest wounds he had, located on his left oblique directly under his already aching ribs and on the thigh, just above the knee of his right leg, which he was currently dragging in a moderate limp. He wasn't in the greatest of condition, no doubt, but he didn't have time to stop and take a breather. Not now.

 

Fox let out a disgruntled sigh as he forced his body to continue, to suspend its much-needed rest for just awhile longer. Whether he'd find Krystal before he passed out or not, he had no idea, but he at least had to get to a fresh water source before that happened. He'd have to simply trust that there wasn't any hazardous bacteria in the water and clean his wounds out; he really had no choice at this point. Both of his communicators failed to get any response from Great Fox, and Corneria was far beyond his simple technology's range. Until he got a hold of his James on Great Fox, he had no support. “Dad, where are you...?”

 

He'd come to the conclusion that either his father had taken the luxury of heading back to Corneria to see some old friends or there was something in the atmosphere blocking communications. Either was plausible- Krystal had mentioned that she was tricked into capturing a Krazoa Spirit, so there had to be something of larger proportions going down on this planet, but Fox could only hope that it didn't involve her...

 

“Aha!” Before he could delve further into the agonizing thoughts of where the vixen could be now, he spotted a single curve of a small running creek just past the row of trees a few tens of meters ahead of him. For the first time since finding Krystal's staff a couple hours before, Fox displayed a positive emotion as his ears perked and a content smile graced his lips while he quickened his limping pace. Once he cleaned up and bandaged himself, he could go after her again and find out where the hell she went to now.

 

The creek wasn't large at all, explaining why he couldn't hear it before he spotted it. It was only a fourth of a meter deep, if that, but the fact that it wasn't still water was enough to convince Fox it wouldn't kill him. With a grunt of satisfaction, he practically threw his bulging backpack against the blanket of leaves on the ground, loving the loss of weight on his aching shoulders before falling to his knees at the edge of the lazily running water. Immediately he leaned down to scoop some up and taste it, just to make sure there wasn't anything peculiar about it. By what he could tell, it was just water. Nothing to be afraid of. He slurped it up like a parched dog for a moment, then wiped his lips and turned back to his bag to find his canteen.

 

“Man, am I glad I found you,” he told the creek with a joyful smirk. With a wet and bloodied paw, he twisted the cap off of the container, then held it against the weak stream, letting the bottle fill up. His free paw, meanwhile, dipped into the liquid and began to clean off his face, in particular, just over his eyes, where he could feel the nasty sensation of dried blood clinging to his fur against his eyelids.

 

Once his canteen was filled, closed and put away, Fox began to undress, not caring in the least if a passing native saw him in his birthday suit. It wouldn't be much of a sight at this point anyway. He started scooping more handfuls of water and cleaning his fur, the feeling of those half a billion paper cuts returning tenfold whenever he ran his hand over the many spear, claw and teeth marks located anywhere and everywhere along his body. Despite his failure to save Krystal, her disappearance seemed to be luck finally shining down upon him- had Chief Lightfoot not sent the whole tribe after her right away, he'd surely be a goner. But still...

 

He had no idea where she was, or how she got away. He assumed she didn't break free, as her first instinct would have been to rescue him. As stupid and reckless as it would be, he knew that she would have flung herself into the melee with whatever blunt weapon she could find- hell, that's basically what he did. Perhaps she would have shrewdly drawn attention to herself first as a distraction, but she wouldn't have just left like that. No, someone else got to her while Fox distracted the whole tribe. That would explain the stump left from the pole Krystal had been tied to, which he saw when looking frantically for her in the ghost town of a village after the whole tribe went in search for her. Whoever had captured her from her captors, Fox had to assume he wasn't on his side, otherwise he would have at least attempted to save his life as well, or at the very least let him know that Krystal was safe somehow. His instincts told him that he, or she, was affiliated with whomever had tricked Krystal into bonding with the Krazoa in the first place. That gave him a moderate sense of peace, though, since she would be spared for the Krazoa within her for the time being, assuming of course that that was their plan all along. Fox's best bet now was to continue through the forest until he reached Thorntail Hollow. He may run into her captor along the way; if not, he'd be able to rest in the Hollow for the night, then continue towards Krazoa Palace, which was, for now, his only good lead for where she could be heading.

 

“When I find her,” he playfully mused as if talking to the creek again while he pulled the first aid kit from his pack, “there's two things I'm gonna do. First, I'll take her back to Great Fox and introduce her to my dad. Then, I'll take her back to my room and show her just how much I missed her.”

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Krystal couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu as she slowly regained consciousness. Her head was searing in pain and her body was strapped uncomfortably against a hard, dry log. Her eyes remained closed for now as she tried to will her migraine to nonexistence; alas, it wouldn't work. The back of her neck continued firing waves of pain throughout the rest of her head and she could hardly take it. She tried to concentrate on what had just happened, or where she was, who was around her... anything, really, but this persistent earthquake in her skull just wouldn't leave her be.

 

“Ah, you're awake.” The voice sounded far and distant; she could hardly make out anything about it besides the fact that it was low-pitched and masculine. Her eyelids fluttered to a half open gaze as she tried to look around, but everything was just so bright. She clenched them shut again, repeating the process until her full vision came back.

 

“Fox...?” It was her first instinct. She couldn't help it. “Is that you?” Her voice was rather weak but still strong enough to reveal her accent while her muzzle began to form a hint of an excited smile.

 

“Sorry, but no.” Her smile quickly faded. She waited for some kind of confirmation of who it was, but he stopped there, not saying another word. Her face contorted as she struggled to read his emotions, but she was just too distracted. That voice, though... she knew that voice.

 

At last, she could open her eyes without feeling like they were burning right out of their sockets. She turned her head towards where the voice was coming from, realizing now that she was lying on the ground as she beheld a towering figure blanketing her from the sun that was high above him. He sat on a large, moss-covered rock of some sort, supporting his large upper body with his elbows on his knees, both of which shined with the bright silver patches of his otherwise deep lavender uniform. His features were mostly shadowed and dark from their eclipsing of the afternoon sun, but his beady, golden eyes seemed nearly as bright as Solar itself. She knew those eyes.

 

“Panther?!” Her eyes exploded past their normal size, a feat for the vixen who couldn't hardly open them moments before. She received a nod in confirmation as the cat stayed seated beside her, looking down upon her.

 

“Yes, lady. Panther is glad to see you've regained consciousness.” That was him, alright.

 

“Where's Fox?” Panther seemed a bit caught off guard by her sudden question regarding Fox McCloud, as if he honestly hadn't expected it.

 

“He was fighting off those dinosaurs back there while I came in and rescued you.” His low purr was proud and diligent, highlighting the part about rescuing her as if to remind her that he had, in fact, done just that.

 

“You mean you left him there?!” Krystal now didn't look at the cat, once again clenching her eyes shut as she tried to calm the fires of her migraine. Her booming feminine voice, however, was anything but relenting.

 

“He was alive,” he did his best to console her. It was a little awkward to do, however; after all, wouldn't she know that he wouldn't have any motivation whatsoever to save the leader of his rival team? Unbeknownst to her, his mission was supposed to see him die anyway. “The entire group chased after us once I took you; they let him be.”

 

“You're sure?” Her eyes, flooded with a very light violet that Panther couldn't help but notice and perplex over, came open again as she gave him a pleading look that he couldn't overlook. The feline nodded with a faint smile.

 

“Your commander is strong, I'll give him that. I'm sure he's after you as we speak.”

 

“So that's why you've still got me tied up.” Krystal's eyes were locked with his now, remaining a challenge despite her current predicament. She knew him by now, and she knew the invisible leash that any strong woman had over him. It was obvious that the only reason he came to her rescue was for love interest, as his expression hardened the more she mentioned Fox.

 

“Not exactly.” Panther leaned his head back, rolling his neck around while he continued. “You were left that way to make sure you didn't lash out at me when you awoke, or try to run away. You see, we were hired to dispose of you.”

“What?”

 

He quickly clarified, “Someone hired Star Wolf to dispose of your team, either by death or capture. For the lovely Krystal, Panther chose 'capture'.”

 

“I'm flattered, really.” Her rather thick accent was quite apparent as she tried to sound grateful; she had to keep toying with him if she expected to be freed. She tried to push thoughts of Fox in danger to the back of her mind- she should trust that he had survived and was well. Panther said it himself: Fox was strong. “So what will happen to me now that you've captured me?” Her voice showed a small hint of seduction, just enough to catch Panther's attention. He didn't seem fazed.

 

“Commander Wolf will have the final say, but if you decide to join Star Wolf, I'm positive he would allow you. I'd be more than pleased to see that happen.” His lips curled into a sultry smirk, one that Krystal did her best to return with a flutter of her eyelids.

 

“Well, assuming the alternative is much worse, I don't see how I could possibly refuse...” Amidst the conversation, Krystal couldn't help but feel extremely unappreciated. Here she was, trying to seduce an enemy for the betterment of the one she cared for most, the one who had shunned her away just days before. Yes, he had come to try and save her, but... how could she forgive and forget so quickly? Krystal weeded out these stray thoughts for now and remained appealing for show, knowing it's what Panther wanted. Whether he knew it was a front or not was anybody's guess since he was quite intelligent but seemed to be falling for the ploy anyway. Then she remembered the others and couldn't hide a quick look of shock when it hit her. “And what about the other members of Star Fox? Are you after them too?”

 

Panther chuckled in his low, sultry purr, amused by her obvious worry for her friends. “No, if you mean Falco, Slippy and Peppy. We were informed that they had all left the team if only momentarily. Our mission was to eliminate the remaining members, but let Great Fox be.”

 

“Let Great Fox be...?” she repeated in a lost tone.

 

Panther nodded. “Yes. I'm not sure if Wolf knows the reason for it, but if he does, he didn't inform me. We don't particularly care what our proprietor's intentions are with your ship, to be honest.”

 

“How kind of you,” Krystal shot back with more than a hint of sarcasm in her accented voice. Panther merely sneered. “So, how long do you plan on keeping me tied up, sir?”

 

Panther's almost menacing smile didn't fade; he seemed to be enjoying this very much. “As long as it takes to convince you that life is better than death, m'lady. Panther is doing you a favor, believe me.” He at last stood from his rock, letting Krystal notice for the first time the sheathed fencing blade leaning against the same stone under his leg. “Your only viable choices at this point are committing to Star Wolf in some way or death. Commander O'Donnell doesn't oft keep prisoners for more than a day.”

 

“Heh,” Krystal scoffed lightly, “commit to Star Wolf? In other words, you're keeping me tied up until I commit to you.”

 

Panther purred a laugh as he turned around and began leisurely pacing in no particular direction. “No, Krystal, you've got me all wrong. I'm trying to protect you. Panther does not ever hold a lady against her will for his own pleasure.”

 

Krystal was beginning to find his random switches to third person amusing. “Well, I'm sorry, Panther, but I won't be `joining' you anytime soon. My heart is taken.” She spoke proudly, holding her chin high as she remained tied to her log on the ground. Panther stopped and turned his head to look at his captive, his golden eyes doing their best to pierce her soul.

 

“Or so you believe, m'lady.”

 

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Alright, once again school has taken over my life for a little while. This is what I have so far, reviewed and all, but there will be more added to this chapter, don't worry. My finals are in a couple weeks, then I'm helping my family move to Chicago and hanging with them for awhile. I was hoping to get this story finished by the end of the summer, but it's becoming more difficult since I'll be a nomad for most of the summer. I'll do my best for you guys.