From this point on you'll see the original story, cleaned up and edited in numerous places...but not without countless flaws, errors, and stupidly cliche happenstances. When I first wrote this story I was hardly out of 11th grade. I ask that you keep that in mind whilst reading.

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Prologue

They were called heroes, saviors to the galaxy. The group of mercenaries known as Team Starfox had earned their place in history, for without them there would be none. Everywhere they went fame and fortune followed. No key to the city was golden enough, no banquet or ball was big enough, no interview was publicized widely enough, for as long as the inhabitants of the Lylat System could repeat the story of Fox McCloud's victory over Andross there would be never ending fame for him and his team.

And he hated it.

There were times that he longed for Andross to return, to give him a reason to skip the banquets, interviews, and public appearances they had to put up with on a daily basis. He wished for battle, wanting to jump into his Arwing and take off without having to perform tricks for crowds but rather avoid blasters and obstacles while fighting for his life. Sure it was dangerous but it provided the adrenaline that reminded him he was alive and breathing, something he was only vaguely aware of at the moment as he watched the highest ranking military personnel in the Lylat system mingle at yet another ball to celebrate the defeat of Andross and his Venomian forces.

How does this not drive them mad? Living such a textbook lifestyle, dressing up every day and following a schedule like a service bot. They think they are doing this for my team, that we actually enjoy putting up with all these useless balls and meetings. Pepper knows I hate this yet he keeps sending us off like his show dogs to please the damn media.

But the more he thought about it the more he realized it didn't bother the others like it did him, mainly because the others weren't nearly as publicized. Falco didn't mind letting Fox take all the attention, just so long as he got his pay and could spend it on whatever he thought he needed. And Slippy and Peppy were basically in the shadows, so much so that they stayed on GreatFox or in the hotel whenever they could get away with it. He hadn't heard from either for days now.

After we unite to beat Andross our team begins to slip apart. I hardly see those two any more, and Falco could care less if he only met up once every year.

But as hard as he tried he couldn't forget the real reason why he hated all of this pampering so much. There were endless grounds that he could name off; being pulled out of bed by an assistant, made to get ready and sent off to another banquet or ceremony, not being able to show his face in public without being stormed by fans and reporters, being forced to give speeches and sign autographs, and so much more bullshit he had to put up with.

But the main reason he hated being put through all of this...was because she was had to put up with it as well.

He didn't have to be able to read her mind to tell that she missed the bond they had shared while fighting Andross and his forces. Before all of this they had been so close, and after defeating Andross he was sure that they would get to spend much more time together and eventually...he would tell her how he felt. But no sooner had they landed on Corneria were they were ripped apart and thrown into this world of fame and fortune. Krystal wasn't used to living like this, he could tell how much she wanted things back to the way they were and he hated seeing her in this state.

Even here they were apart; being told to sit at different tables so more people could talk to a Team StarFox member. Of course they were the only ones there and whenever he tried to make his way over to her someone else would call out his name or grab his shoulder and the vulpine would have to bite his tongue and force a smile to his face as he met yet another ambassador or diplomat or whoever the hell else thought they were important enough to be there.

He would almost instantly zone out and return his attention to her, casually glancing around the large hall for the sapphire vixen, his mind running wild with thoughts of her.

His feelings for her burned with such intensity that it was almost painful to look at her and not be able to hold her in his arms. He had fought the urge to just walk up to her, pull her close, and connect their lips in what he knew would be the best moment of his life. But fear always got the better of those urges, leaving him afraid that she would freak out and leave him if he did something like that. But he would eventually have to try. From the first time he saw her he knew that she was his and he had secretly claimed her from that moment on. But now, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find time to get either of them away from the cameras and the reporters to work on expressing those feelings.

He could feel the anger boiling up inside of him as he shifted his gaze across the hall. It was like they were trapped here, among all these high class people who just had to meet the famous Fox McCloud.

Fox had always had his problems with the military and their strict rulebook tactics, but nowhere in the manual did it say that after saving the galaxy you had to attend endless balls and interviews. It may have been a little extreme to say that they were forced to attend all of these ceremonies but that's exactly what it felt like. It was his life and he could do whatever he wanted to with it. There were countless times in the last month he had thought about just resigning from the military or telling General Pepper what he thought about his new lifestyle.

But something was holding him back. As much as he wanted to just up and leave he knew he couldn't abandon his team, and he definitely couldn't leave Krystal. But he also knew he couldn't put up with this for much longer. He was dying. Fox McCloud was basically in a cage and the people around him were just an audience, inspecting and applauding him for doing something no one else could.

He couldn't get any sleep at night, he lay awake thinking about Krystal and his mind went back to all the times before Andross was defeated when they were on GreatFox, laughing and enjoying what they had. Loving each others company in the face of the most evil force in the history of the galaxy.

I want that life back! I don't care if I have fight Andross a thousand times over! If I could just spend time with my friends, and Krystal again.

He knew it would never be that way again and it put a sick feeling in his stomach when he thought about never being able to share that closeness with Krystal again. He just wanted one chance to be with her again, away from all of these fans and reporters, like it used to be back on GreatFox.

His mind flashed back to one of the nights on the flagship, almost a month after he rescued her from Sauria. He couldn't sleep that night and was standing in the command post of the ship, staring out into the vast space, thinking about her and the chances of them ever being a couple. He wasn't sure if she had sensed him or if she had trouble sleeping as well but it wasn't long before she was by his side, staring out into the endless galaxy of stars with him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, looking over at her.

"I heard you get up, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." she said, lightly letting a smile appear.

He knew that wasn't true, he had been practicing stealth since he was old enough to walk, there was no way she had heard him; at least, not with her ears.

"I'm fine," he lied, "I just can't seem to doze off tonight."

He still wasn't sure how far her powers went. He knew she could lock on to emotions without even trying. But he still wasn't completely sure how far her mind reading powers could go, meaning he had to do his best every second he was around her to hide how he truly felt, which was nearly impossible.

"You want to walk down to the hanger with me?" she asked, turning around and flicking her tail towards the door. "Maybe it will help."

"Sure," he replied, trying to sound calm and relaxed.

For the next ten minutes they talked. The topics started off normal and casual, but the more they walked the deeper they got. By the time they entered the hanger Fox was telling her about his father and how he had told him to live, how to fight for what was right, how to stick up for those who needed help.

He told her things about himself that he had never told anyone, he didn't know why he did, but being with her made him feel safe and secure. She must have felt the same way about being with him because before too long they were talking about Cerenia and what life had been like for her before it had been destroyed.

She told him about her friends, and some of her fondest memories and adventures she had been through while she was there. About their customs and holidays and the beauty of the planet before it, and all of its inhabitants were wiped out. Finally she told him about her mother and father. How they used to play with her in the lake as a kid, and take her to the beach or camping. It wasn't long before tears were running down her face as the ghosts of days gone by flooded her mind, bring back memories that were too painful to handle.

They were leaning against the rail that ran along the top of walkway above the hanger and he watched as her tears fell to the ground below. And then she was in his arms, letting her tears run down onto his chest as he held her close, breathing in her scent and stroking the back of her neck for comfort.

He held her tight and rested his muzzle on her head, "I'll take care of you Krystal, I wont let Andross...or anyone else take anything away from you again. I promise."

She looked up at him, allowing him to wipe one of the tears off her cheek and gently smile. She opened her mouth as if she was going to reply but stopped and simply smiled back before softly kissing him on the cheek, looking up at him and holding his gaze for a few seconds before finally whispering, "Thank you Fox, for everything."

She took his hand and squeezed it before turning loose and looking away as she padded back to her room.

It was one of the best nights of his life and it was after that night that he was sure she would be his forever. The next day however Andross was defeated and the memory of the night before was, as noted, just a memory.

He was back in the hall, people where still walking around and mingling, a few slowly dancing with their partners to the high class music being played in the background. For the first time in a long time no one seemed to be interested in Fox McCloud and he took a moment to savor the feeling, not knowing when he would get to feel it again.

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