Chapter 1

(this is just something that I've been working on in between things so it may not be updated very often...it's just to help with my writer's block but...my friend suggested that I post it anyway so...)

Time seemed to slow to a crawl after the Aparoids were destroyed, Fox's team helped with the rebuilding of Corneria city. Their base had been hit especially hard for some reason; the tower was a bit difficult to get back into working shape but within the month it...as well as most of the city itself was back up and running. Even in the light of the newly rebuilt city though a dark cloud hung over the heads of all the city's citizens...General Pepper was beloved by every animal on Corneria, his funereal was especially hard on the team however, most of all their newest member. Krystal's telepathy increased her feelings of sadness, as she was forced to take in all of the sadness from around her, she hadn't known Pepper very well but, she like all others that knew the old hound had quickly grown attached to him. Most nights at the base she simply cried herself to sleep. The entire team seemed to be happy for Peppy's new promotion to General but...the old hound would always be missed. Fox himself seemed to be terminally depressed, he hadn't spoken a word since Pepper's funereal, not even to Krystal, who even for her short amount of time on the team he hadn't been able to stop talking to her. Luckily this new development in the vulpine's attitude had not slipped by a particular blue vixen's attention. Krystal began to worry about Fox and went to Katt whom she'd only recently gotten to know...Katt did the only thing she thought to be a good idea...she took Krystal to see Peppy...

(Corneria Military Base)

Krystal had never been inside the base before, she found that she liked the decoration of the place; the floors were decorated with new gold and silver tiles, the walls where hung the pictures of ace pilots and high ranked officers of differing importance, their many accomplishments listed below the pictures, a small fountain that wasn't quite running yet was placed in the center of the huge lobby...a pretty young avian girl sat behind the receptionist desk. Her feathers were a lovely array of different reds and her eyes were the lightest sky blue.

"Look I'm very sorry but, I'm swamped. If you need to see the Ge--" She cut herself off as she noticed the newest member of Star Fox, "Oh it's you. If you need to see the General his office it's just down the hall from..." She stopped herself from saying the old general's name, "...21st floor, sixth door to your left."

"When did you get a job here Sonya?" Katt asked.

"About a week ago..." The red avian said with a sigh as she sat down a large stack of papers, "...it's so hectic in here though, you'd think I was better off in the flight academy."

Katt laughed as they walked off, "Maybe you're right...I'll see ya later girl."

Krystal was always intrigued by Katt; her mannerisms, her way with words, and mainly how she was so much like Falco that it wasn't even funny. Krystal had looked into the feline's thoughts and had often found Falco there. They made their way to the elevator and rode it to the 21st floor...Katt the whole way complaining about the music that flooded the small box which Krystal found sort of relaxing. Katt gladly rushed off the lift as she heard the confirming ding as the elevator doors opened. Peppy's office was easy enough to find; a golden plate on the door was engraved with the name Peppy Hare, when they knocked on the door Peppy allowed them in. His office was a bit smaller than expected; it was only about forty feet from one end to the other, other than a desk, bookshelf, and a small plant the room was bare. Katt and Krystal took their seats in the empty seats before his desk...

Katt couldn't hold back the comment of seeing Peppy in a uniform just like Pepper's, "Cute uniform Peppy..." She giggled mockingly.

"You're a little late to start with the wise cracks...Lucy started that this morning."

"I think you look very nice Peppy." Krystal cut in.

Peppy sighed, "Well...thank you Krystal. How can I help you ladies?"

Krystal and Katt exchanged glances, "I'm worried about Fox," Krystal said, "He keeps to himself all day and never says a word anymore...I think it has to do a lot with all he's been through here recently."

"It's understandable...he hasn't had a vacation in some time and there has been a lot of stress around here recently..." Peppy said, "...I've noticed it too...and I think I know how to relieve a lot of that stress. There's a place on Papetoon that seems like the perfect place to make all his problems go away...Lylat Palms Resort and Spa...they just recently finished building the place a month or two ago. I called in ahead and they seemed happy enough to let the Star Fox team have a free vacation at their resort..." Peppy said handing the two a brochure each, "...think it over and call me with an answer."

(Meanwhile at the Star Fox base)

Fox was having a hard time dealing with all the different things that had recently happened, especially the attack on Corneria as he was on the ground when the whole attack was happening, he'd first hand witnessed the damages done by the Aparoid invasion. The one thing that hung over his head the most however was Pepper's death, it was his own hand that took Pepper's ship down...being the person he was Fox withdrew himself from all the others when they first returned to Corneria to find that Pepper had only recently passed away...he blamed himself, not just Pepper's death, but the attack on Corneria as well. He knew there was a deeper reason when the Aparoids attacked Sauria, but he had no clue that it was a diversion to get his team out of the way. The only thing that helped was the thought that his team had somehow survived through the ordeal...especially Krystal...he held himself personally responsible for her safety on their missions because it was his idea for her to join the team, even if his motive was to keep her close by. At the moment he was putting some finishing touches on his new teammate's room, he wanted her to be surprised when she got back from her visit with Peppy...

'I don't know why I can't stop thinking about it all...maybe Falco was right. Maybe I just need a vacation.'

The only vacation he could think of however included only himself and Krystal...he often wondered how she would handle learning about the feeling he'd been harboring for her. From the day he saw her for the first time at the Krezoa Palace, she was always on his mind, even now when all he could think of was Pepper's death and the city, his thoughts would briefly slip back to her floating in that huge crystal, or when he'd finally saved her and had reached out for her hand, the first time their eyes met. He'd tried to tell her how he felt a few times but, he could never find the words...this wasn't a new problem for him though; it followed him through high school and through the flight academy, any time he found himself in the presence of a pretty girl he froze up. He at the time had the base to himself; Slippy was visiting his father and god only knew where Falco was. As it was getting late he finished his job on Krystal's room and headed to the kitchen hoping to cook something before Krystal and Katt got back.

The base was five stories all together, the lobby was on the first floor with the power grid below that in the basement, the second floor was all essentials, bedrooms, the rec room, the training room, and of course the kitchen. The third floor was also referred to as the War Room where all team meetings were held, the fourth floor was reserved as a hanger for the Arwings and the top floor was...never actually used.

Fox headed down the silver colored halls to the kitchen which was only on the far side of the base from the bedrooms. The kitchen was nearly the same size as the one on the Great Fox...unfortunately the Great Fox was no longer a part of the team. It still hurt him to think that his father's old ship had been destroyed. The kitchen had several booths instead of chairs and a large cooking area that resembled that of a major restaurant, the large windows of the east wall overlooked the the shore that separated the city from the small island the base sat on. By the time Fox had finished making supper he could hear the sound of a hover car outside and looked out the windows to see, the image that haunted his dreams stepping out of the vehicle with his old friend Katt. Krystal looked up through the window noticing Fox and smiled brightly while waving to him, though his expression didn't change he lightly waved back...

The two were amazed at how much difference there was in the base's appearance inside; the base had been so unused that the first thing that hit the team when they'd first arrived and opened the door, was the stench of rotten food and old mold that had settled on the first floor lobby. It had been even worse when Fox had to clean out the fridge, the power had somehow failed over the years and all of the food left in the fridge had gone horribly bad. Katt and Krystal were in a bit of a hurry to get to the kitchen, they wanted to share the vacation idea with Fox. They were invited into the kitchen by the smell of a nicely prepared meal of pork chops and several side dishes, Katt was happy to see and smell the extra dish of salmon that had been prepared...Fox was well aware that it was her favorite fish. The girls weren't too happy though as Fox still seemed to be thinking pretty deeply, he didn't say a word to them, his only greeting to them was a smile. Halfway into their meal Krystal looked to Katt who nudged her head toward Fox several times...

Krystal cleared her throat, "Fox...?"

Fox's only reply was meeting her gaze...

"Look...you haven't been yourself since..." She stopped herself from talking about Pepper, "...anyhow...everyone seems to think that a vacation wouldn't be a bad idea. You need some time to get all of this off of your mind..." She said sliding the pamphlet over to him..

Katt cut in as Fox looked silently over the brochure, "Not only you...your whole team could use a break...I mean when was the last time you all had a vacation Foxy?"

Fox looked at Katt and then to the piece of paper he'd read, then finally to Krystal who was biting her lip in hopes that he'd agree, he couldn't help but smile at the innocent look, "Looks expensive...we didn't get paid for that last mission you know."

Krystal grabbed his hand causing him to freeze up and blush a bit, "Come on Fox...Peppy said he can take care of everything. I just want to see you happy again."

"...umm...err...I..." Fox stuttered as he had a few high school flashbacks, but soon he caught a look at her face again, "Fine...you win...you're coming too right Katt?"

"Only if that was an invitation Foxy..." Katt responded with a smile.

"You're a member of this team too now...though I doubt this is Falco's style so he probably won't come."

Katt rolled her eyes, "Less noise..."

"Oh while we're here Katt I found out what was causing that smell in your room..."

Katt had been curious since they'd all gotten to their rooms, "Really what was it?"

"Very, very, very old cheese...why was there a plate of cheese in the closet by the way?"

"Search me...milk's one thing but I hate cheese."

"That reminds me that Slippy's off with Beltino." Fox said.

Katt burst into laughter, "Hahahah...waitwaitwait...Old cheese reminds you of Slippy?"

Fox didn't see what was so funny, "Obviously you've never caught a whiff of his boots."

The three spent hours going over the brochure, Fox was just happy that someone had suggested the vacation before he had to himself. Also for the first time in days he was actually seeing Krystal smile again...he wondered if her attitude recently was a reflection of his own. He watched Krystal as she laughed at one of Katt's jokes, he couldn't even remember why he'd been so down recently to begin with, it was as if her smile alone was enough to make everything else seem insignificant...

'I've gotta ask her out on the vacation...a movie, dinner, something...'

Krystal's ears perked up, "You say something Fox?"

It was then that Fox realized that with her telepathy had she been bothering could have just heard that, "No...nothing. Maybe you're just picking up on random thoughts again..."

Krystal smiled, "Yeah...maybe you're right."

After some time they finished their meals, Fox finally stood up, "Well...I'm gonna go pack then hit the sack. Krystal, since this is your plan you can call Falco and Slip and see if they're coming...then Peppy to get things ready."

Krystal looked forward to the whole trip, to tell the truth she hadn't had a lot of alone time with Fox, and she really wanted to get to know him better. Katt was well aware of Krystal's feelings for Fox, being a girl herself she could pretty much tell. Katt could instantly tell it was going to be a great vacation...

(The next morning)

Fox was up late choosing what to and not to take on their trip, Krystal had come back to inform him that Peppy set up the vacation for nearly a month of off time. He nearly through his clock across the room when it's alarm went off, but managed to hit the snooze button and went back to sleep. Ten minutes later the alarm sounded again, Fox quickly grabbed the clock and hurled it into the wall with all the force he could muster causing the clock to fragment on impact...

"What time is it now you son of a bitch!!" Fox shouted at the shattered clock,