Chapter 72

The day had finally come, moving day. It was like moving out for college, except it was something better than college. It was their dream, to finally be what they all wanted to be. Two pilots, a mechanic, and a military-grade medic. Fox looked around his room as he made sure that he wasn't leaving anything behind.

'Guess I don't need everything, just clothes, hygiene products, maybe my desk and computer. Won't hurt to bring video games, not like we'll be piloting 24/7.'

He looked over at the boxes and bags he had already put together, awaiting the trip. 'I guess that's just about everything.' He left his room to pack his things in the back of his mom's SUV, she and James would drop him and Krystal off at the ship's docking bay later in the day.

'I wonder what Krystal's doing?' The thought that always lingered on his mind about the vixen that lived only a few minutes down the street from him.

After loading all of his bags and boxes in the car, he was ready for the trip. "So when are we leaving?" He asked his dad the question as he shut the trunk of the SUV.

"Whenever you guys are all ready. It would probably be best if I'm there to show all of you around the ship and help you move in. So until then, I suppose let's do whatever you want." They walked back in and Fox looked in his room, it was rather barren now besides his bed. This room, that he had spent the past 17 years in, was now obsolete to him. The time drew close for him to say goodbye to it, perhaps sometime in the future, around Christmas, he would be able to return to it. Something he had never thought about, that one day perhaps he will return.

But that day won't be soon, he wanted this to happen at last. "Hey, I'm gonna go over to Krystal's house." He poked his head out of his former room to alert his dad of his actions. He walked outside and down the street, admiring the springtime weather that would soon be summertime weather.

"Fox, please come in." Krystal's mom invited him in once he knocked on the door. "She's in her room." Fox walked to the door, opening it to see a frantic vixen.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know what all to bring. What do you think I should bring." Fox looked on her bed, at the bags and boxes that she also had already packed up. Looking at the labels on the outside was his best attempt at deciphering what all had already been packed. "It looks to me like you've already got everything packed that you need. I mean, you have bathroom stuff, hygiene, plenty of clothes." Krystal gave him a small glare at his exaggeration on the word 'plenty'.

"What? I'm just-"

"Oh shut up and help me finish packing." The two of them looked around Krystal's room to ensure that they had everything.

"Are you bringing the memory box from the other day?"

"I don't think so. I mean would I even have a place to put it? I thought I'd leave it here, maybe come back for it later."

"But Krystal…I don't know when later will be. I mean yeah we'll definitely come home for Christmas, but that may be the next time we're back on Corneria."

She sat down on the bed, she forgot sometime how big a commitment they were making. The next time she might see her parents was in half a year. "I guess you're right. I'm sure I can find somewhere to put this." Fox rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

"Don't worry, we can still call them and talk to them. Dad told me a little about some of the stuff on the ship, it's all great." This lifted Krystal's spirits a little, she was ready for it regardless of the small price she had to pay.

"So do you think you're ready now?"

"Yeah, I have all my clothes, bathroom stuff, hygiene stuff, my music, phone stuff, memory box, computer. I think I'm ready to go."

"Great, I hope we aren't forgetting anything. I think Falco and Slippy both said they're good to go, so now we just have to actually go to the ship and move in."

"So when is that?"

"Whenever you want it to be. We can go now, granted Slippy and Falco actually are done, or we can go later." She laid down on her bed, looking around at the near-barren room that was currently still hers.

"Let's…stay here a while. Just us." Fox could imagine how she was feeling, likely the same way that he has been. Now, the day had finally come. All of them had been looking forward to it, but now that it was here they realized that perhaps they weren't as prepared for it as they thought. Fox took a seat next to her on the bed, as he too looked around the room.

There was plenty that conspired in this room that he remembered. He and Krystal doing their homework, sneaking out of this room, he remembered on more than one occasion seeing Panther in here with her. Now all of those days were long gone, and he had to look forward.

"So…if you could go back and do anything different, would you?" Krystal's question caught his attention as it broke the silence.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean in high school. Would you do any of these things differently?"

Things like this were things that Fox didn't think about. Since she was the one asking, he did think about it this time. "Would I do anything differently in high school given the chance? Well, let me see." He put real thought into the question, closing his eyes as he draped his arm around Krystal's clouded the room as he took the question in.

"No."

One word was his answer, nothing more.

"Why? Why do you think you would do nothing differently?" There was a bit of annoyance in Krystal's voice, be it because of some of the events in their high school days or because of his abrupt answer.

"Because I think we turned out great either way. Yeah, us dating sooner would have been great. Maybe though we needed some time to learn about each other, mature a little." She looked up and his eyes were open again, looking right back at hers.

"Then for a while we were dating, then I lost my memory. Maybe it was some way of us needing more maturity, maybe a little more growth you know? Makes me think or realize that we actually haven't dated for all that long. Overall, a few months?" Krystal hadn't thought about that, he was right.

"Yeah, just a few months really. But it feels like it's been so much longer, like we've been part of each other for a long time. Don't you think it's funny how that works?" Fox laughed a little, there was something funny about it.

"Yeah, weird how time works don't you think? Everything seemed like so long ago. Even that night when your car broke down and I finally found you." Krystal sensed his emotions, even now he would sometimes dwell on what might have happened if something else had happened that night.

She reached up and brushed his cheek to soothe his thoughts. "You don't have to think about that any more. Or anything else that you don't want to. I'm here, and I always will be, even when flying around in space." He always loved the small touch she provided when he felt this way, he gladly took her hand in his.

"I wanna leave soon. I want to move forward, so we can have our own time." Fox nodded to her as she stood up, allowing him to dive into his pocket and retrieve his phone. Soon after, James brought their SUV down to Krystal's house and they began loading all her boxes and bags.

As they finished, there was one last thing to take care of. She turned back to them, her eyes wet with tears, less prepared than she thought she would be.

"We love you. You know that."

She couldn't hold back the floodgates any more as her parents told her one more time. She leapt on them with a tight hug, tighter than she even hugged Fox. Fox stood beside his dad, watching with a sad smile.

'Just the way I wanted them to be.'

She separated from them and stood beside Fox. "We'll be back soon, don't you worry." He was happy to assure them, Christmas was only a few months away after all. One last goodbye took place as she waved once more, walking out the door.

"So, let's do this." Krystal said as she buckled herself up in the back seat by Fox. James grinned as he adjusted his mirrors, preparing for the drive towards their future.

They arrived by bay that housed their future, the ship looked incredible. "Wow." The two foxes said almost in unison. It was gigantic, no telling how much was housed inside it. James drove up next to the area it was housed as he looked at his watch.

"Close to time, are Slippy and Falco here already?"

"They said they're on their way, almost here. Falco's parents decided to drive the two of them." The three foxes stood outside the SUV, eagerly awaiting the final two teammates.

A few long minutes later they arrived, wearing rather eager faces. "So are you guys ready? I'm pumped for this!" Falco being excited was new to them, this was one of the few times he showed great excitement.

They all headed towards the ship and boarded it, James wanted to give them a tour before they moved in. "So, here she is. All her glory still without blemish." He flipped all the lights on, easily coming on without a problem even though it had sat dormant for so long. The inside of the ship looked even bigger than it did from the outside, the interior being maximized concerning space.

James walked with the four teens all through the ship, trying his best to leave no stone unturned. "Here are some of the quarters. There isn't much inside but it keeps from having to load furniture." James told the truth, inside there seemed to be only a shelf or two, a desk for a computer or otherwise, and a closet wasn't large but it was accommodating enough.

"One floor up there are a few more rooms and a small gym. There are a few more miscellaneous rooms around the same spot, so you can set up a game room or whatever else you might want. Some of our old ones may still be up there." James let out a small laugh remembering how he and his friends played some video games when they were younger.

They walked into a larger room, looking to be a living room of a sort. "As you might guess, this is the living room. Back over here is the main kitchen. There's another kitchen upstairs but it's not as big as this one. The living room is well, a living room. You can see for yourself." After showing them where all the stairs and an elevator was, James asked once more if there was anything they needed to know.

The teens all shook their heads as they exited the ship to officially move in. "Hey Fox, don't you know that you're supposed to carry her in?" Fox had a confused look on his face, until he remembered that there was only one "her" in their company.

His face shot a little red at Falco's comment, now knowing what he was saying. He brushed it off, considering Krystal had done the same as she winked at him before walking down the hall.

He and James brought his belongings into a room that was two doors down from the living room and kitchen. "Thanks dad, for everything."

"Oh!" His dad visually was snapped back into attention.

"I almost forgot. Look, I'm not suggesting anything but…this is just in case. Like you said, it may be a while till you guys come back to Corneria, and this way you'll be prepared." James reached into his pocket and handed Fox a small object. Fox took it and inspected the minute object, realizing what it was

"But…this is yours. I remember you telling me about it a long-" James cut him off.

"No, it's yours now."

Fox smiled as he fiddled with the old ring in his hand, looking at it and both the value and emotion behind it. He tossed it up and down a little while he thought, then reached his hand back out to his dad.

"I'll come back for this one day. I'm not ready for it now." Fox handed the ring back to his dad, unsure of what the expression on his face meant.

"I'm proud of you, Fox." The dad hugged his son happily when Krystal poked her head inside room.

"What's going on guys?"

Fox laughed a little as he walked towards her, "It's…nothing."

He smiled at her as he grabbed her hand and walked across the hall to her room, helping her unpack. Later on it was nearing time for James to leave, it was getting late and the new team would either turn in for the night or prepare to launch.

"Right, one more, important, thing I forgot." James tapped on the keypad on the wall as all of them heard some kind of robotic whirring sound. Shortly after did a medium-sized robot approach them.

"Yes sir? It has been quite some time, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Everyone, this is ROB64. He's here to help with everything on the ship, just call him ROB." James looked around on one of the bookshelves in the living room, looking for something particular.

"Here everyone." He laid two large books on the coffee table, a hand resting on each of them.

"This is the manual for ROB, Slippy, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one. And this one is the general manual and maintenance for the ship. I'd suggest checking everything out before launching." James pushed them closer to the new team so they could inspect them.

"Just remember that you can call me any time if you need help. I guess I'll…see you guys later." James waved goodbye, trying to hold back a tear as he realized that it was finally happening. They all heard the door shut, realizing that their dream was finally a reality.

"Shall I prepare the ship for launch, sirs and ma'am?"

"Hah, smart robot." Krystal remarked at the last comment made by ROB.

"Yes ma'am. Master James programmed me with the most adaptive and cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Simple identification is as easy as 3.141592653…"

"Hey whoa! We get it, you're smart!" Falco cut ROB off, he felt like there was already plenty of proof concerning ROB's artificial intelligence.

"He has also informed me of a new captain, by the name of Fox. Welcome home, master Fox."

"It'll take me some time to get used to that, but thanks ROB."

"Of course sir, your delayed answer leads me to believe that you do not wish to launch now. Am I correct?"

"Yes ROB, that's correct. We'll launch tomorrow."

"Understood. Is there a particular location you wish to launch to? I can map a route before launch and we can embark at any time you wish."

Fox looked around at his new home, his new team. Seeing Falco recline in a chair, flipping through the channels on the TV, Slippy reading the manuals on the ship as well as ROB. And finally, right next to him, was Krystal.

He gripped her hand tightly as he looked at her, thinking about ROB's question. "Yeah, there's a place we can head towards tomorrow."

"May I know the name or coordinates of this location?"

Fox looked once more at Krystal as he squeezed her hand.

"Cerinia."

The End.

Well, it's done. It took a while, I'm sure you noticed. But finally it's done. I enjoyed it all and I thank all of you for your support on it, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. I'm not good at these little author notes/farewells, so I hope I say enough. I'll be doing some more projects in the future. My SFA Locked and Loaded is on that list and has already got one chapter posted, more to come soon, so give it a look in the future. Been considering a college life/college days Starfox AU story. Not a sequel to this, but perhaps another imagining on what it might be like if they all met in college. Hope that sounds interesting, if there are any questions about this story/the other two I mentioned just shoot a DM. Hope you all enjoyed this, ciao.