I do not own Star Fox or any of the characters.

Fans

"It's Fox McCloud!"

Fox swore just before cameras began to flash and people began to flood toward them from all sides. Krystal shrank back from them, never really having adjusted to being mobbed. Not that Fox particularly cared for it either. Fox grabbed her hand, shoving his way through the crowd, toward the cab. However, the more he fought to get through, the more the crowd pushed back, desperate for their heroes to stay. Fox grit his teeth, pushing harder. He could feel Krystal's desperation in his mind, fear beginning to set in as her grip tightened. Then, he felt the shift. One moment the mob was pressing in, demanding attention, the next they were grabbing. He heard Krystal gasp harshly and spun, shoving a fan who had grabbed her other arm away. Then, he felt something pull at his vest and spun, knocking the hand off, hearing his vest tear in the process. More hands grabbed. More clothes tore. Someone made off with a tuft of fur from Fox's arm. Another with a few hairs from Krystal's tail, and a sore rear end from falling when Fox shoved him away. Fox looked to the cab and swore. They were barely halfway, and the crowd was only getting more and more violent. He had seen it one other time, and the crowd then had ended up looting three streets before law enforcement stopped them. Suddenly, he heard the telltale scraping and click followed by a low hum of a blaster being charged, his trained ears picking it up even through the crowd. He spun, seeing a topless cheetah with wide, crazed eyes and the blaster in her hand emerge from the crowd, aiming at Krystal.

"Get away from my future husband bitch!" the cheetah shouted.

Fox spun, pulling Krystal to out of the way and felt his side flare in pain. It was instant chaos. One of the fans had been hit directly by the shot that grazed Fox. He was on the ground, screaming. The rest of the crowd had gone into a complete frenzy. A lot were trying harder than ever to grab at Krystal and Fox, though most, the barely more sane ones, were tackling the psycho that had tried to shoot Krystal. Fox felt Krystal's hand slip out of his and almost instantly she was hauled away from him, screaming. He slammed his elbow into the face of a dog holding him back instantly, lunging forward and bludgeoning his way through the crazed fans, catching Krystal's hand and slamming a foot between the legs of a fan who had been in the process of unbuckling his pants. Then, he slammed his other foot into another fan's chest, push kicking him backward and finally breaking free of the crowd, Krystal in his arms as he sprinted away from the crowd, thanking God that his body was fully recovered.

As he ran, he heard the psychotic cheetah screaming in agony and fear, the screams getting louder and louder, despite Fox sprinting away. He risked a glance back, catching sight of blood, knives, and body parts that should not be out in public. He spun back around, as a massive sea of fans turned away from the cheetah, chasing them. He skidded around a corner, leaping to the wall on the left side of the alleyway they were in then off of it at a tall fence, using his right hand to vault over it before catching Krystal again and landing on his feet, sprinting away from the fence. Just as they skidded around a corner he heard the fence crash to the ground, several fans screaming in pain as they were trampled. Then, Fox ducked into another alleyway, this one winding along through a thicker set of buildings before giving way to suburb. Fox sprinted harder, his entire body screaming at him to rest. He forced his burning legs to pump faster, his burning lungs to pull in more air. Up ahead, there was a building that clearly hadn't been lived in for years. It was two stories, with a large oak tree beside it and numerous holes in it, with a "CONDEMNED" sign resting against the front porch.

Fox reached the tree and jumped, grabbing the lowest branch with one hand, pulling both himself and Krystal up onto it before picking her back up and turning, leaping from one branch to the next around the tree like a sort of staircase. Then, he stopped on one facing the building and sprinted along it, leaping into a hole in the roof. He landed in a roll, shielding Krystal from most of the impact, then rolled to a stop, panting as the cloud of dust he had kicked up slowly settled, the only light in the area coming from the hole in the ceiling, the rest of the room being dark.

"Where are we?" Krystal asked.

"The attic," Fox said. "We should be able to rest here for a while. This house is like sacred ground. Even at the height of their insanity, fans won't come here."

"Why?" Krystal asked. "Whose house is this?"

"Mine," Fox said. "It's the house that my family and I lived in until Andross killed my mother and my father left to start Star Fox. It's been condemned for years, but no one is willing to tear it down."

"I see," Krystal nodded. "You're hurt."

"I've had worse," Fox smiled, looking down at his side, his torso hidden only by the tattered remains of his green shirt, his vest completely gone and several patches of fir and jeans also missing. "Even my jeans. Fans are terrifying. Are you alright?"

Krystal nodded silently, but when he pulled her into a hug he could feel her trembling. He began to gently stroke her back and she began to calm slowly. Finally she pulled back, sniffing, and Fox tore the remains of his shirt off, tearing it into strips and bandaging his side with it. Once he was done, he pulled out his communicator. A moment later, Falco's face appeared over it.

"You're interrupt...what happened?" Falco asked, face serious the moment he saw the makeshift bandages.

"Fans," Fox said. "We're at my old house."

"We'll be there soon," Falco said. "Is everyone okay?"

"Fine," Fox said. "And Falco. We're leaving as soon as we get back."

Falco nodded and disconnected. Fox called Connor next.

"Connor, we're leaving Corneria," Fox said. "Wanna come with?"

"Hell yes," Connor said.

"We'll be back to the Great Fox in about an hour. Meet us there."

Connor nodded and Fox disconnected. Then, he tipped his head back and sighed. Krystal wrapped her arms around him again, setting her head on his shoulder and sighing.

"Thank you," Krystal said quietly. "You saved me."

"Of course," Fox smiled. "I'll aways be there to save you."

Krystal smiled and closed her eyes, drifting off. Fox remained silent for several more minutes before hearing a loud whine, which began to quickly grew louder. He grinned widely, waking Krystal who also grinned. They stood, walking outside only to instantly turn and walk back into the building. It was surrounded by fans, a few of which actually had pipes and pieces of rebar rods. Fox walked to the hole, looking up at the arwing hovering over the building and waving at it. It floated down to hover in front of the hole and Fox climbed up onto one of the wings, turning and helping Krystal up onto it before scrambling onto the opposite one. Both grabbed the external harnesses kept in a small storage compartment, attaching themselves to the wings before the arwing took off, heading back toward the hotel. Fox sighed in relief, lying down on the wing, the harness automatically removing slack to keep him on it. The wind didn't really bother him from riding on the wing, though Falco was going slow enough that there wasn't really much of it, so a small smile soon grew on his face. Finally all that he had learned began to set in. His father might be alive. Finally, he had some real hope in the search.

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