Krystal scanned Corneria City with her mind, desperately searching for another trace of the enemy leader's mental activity. I'm positive that he is in the city somewhere, she assured herself, but I cannot locate a source. Every time I think I have his position, he is nowhere to be seen. The vixen turned her ship to leave the middle of the fighting and flew toward the outskirts of the city, sensing stronger thought patterns in that direction. Aparoids scattered throughout the roadways and Krystal fired the Cloudrunner's alternating guns into the masses, hoping to take out a few of their numbers in her pursuit. She spotted a hatcher clutching the base of a small building and destroyed it with a charged beam, ensuring that less aparoids would spawn in the area from then on.

"Help, I've been hit!" The voice of a Cornerian pilot sounded from beside her.

Glancing out her window, Krystal followed the dog's ship until it crashed into the side of a skyscraper with an explosion, helpless to come to the pilot's aid before it was too late. She searched for the enemy that had shot him down, but could not identify the shooter. She thought she caught a glimpse of black in her peripheral vision but it faded before it could be seen clearly.

Then she sensed the thought patterns of the new leader of Oikonny's army. Again, he was close, but impossible to see among the masses of friendly and enemy ships mixed with aparoids. I must have seen a glimpse of his ship when he shot the Cornerian out of the sky, Krystal thought, but he is definitely using a cloaking device. How will I ever manage to shoot him down when he is constantly hidden from me? The vixen's mind wandered back to the top of the Krazoa Palace during her fight against General Scales. He also fought with the power of invisibility, but my telepathic senses helped me to predict his moves and counteract them, she recalled. Somehow, she would have to do the same again.

Maneuvering through Corneria's skyscrapers, Krystal cast her senses outward to foresee the enemy's next target. Wait a minute; his next target isn't another ordinary fighter... It's Fox! He's growing impatient on light fighters, he wants to hit us hard! Immediately she searched the skies for her friend, using her ship's boosters to propel her toward his marker on her radar. She found him destroying an aparoid hatcher on the top of Persimmon's, but could not read her enemy's exact position.

He is almost close enough to get a shot, Krystal thought as she approached Fox. He has him locked in his sights... "Fox, look out!" She cried. But before she could tell him what was happening, something slammed into the Cloudruner's right wing, rocking her backward and causing her ship to spin out of control. Fighting back panic, she opened her ship's cockpit and ejected from it, using her jetpack to escape her damaged ship. The Cloudrunner crashed into the ground and skidded along a road just outside Persimmon's. Its right wing snapped in half as smoke and fire rose from it.

Krystal landed atop the building, using her jetpack to slow her descent onto the rooftop. On the ground beside her aircraft, a thin black ship lay covered in dents and slices. Its pilot was gone, but the vixen knew that she had collided with the new leader of Oikonny's forces.

"Are you alright?" Fox asked frantically through her wrist communicator. "What happened?"

"I'm fine," Krystal assessed herself to be sure that she was not injured from the collision. "Although I think I found our pilot. He must have been so focused on taking you down that he didn't notice me intersecting his flight path. Even I didn't know we were so close," she admitted. "His ship was invisible, so I hit him entirely by mistake trying to warn you."

Fox soared over her head in his Arwing, assessing the damage while continuing the fight in the air. "At least you're safe," he breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you know what happened to him?"

"I'm not sure," the vixen answered as aparoid crawlers climbed up the building and appeared from over the rooftop's edge, "but I'm a little busy up here." As they scurried toward from her on all sides, she reached into her boot and drew her staff, extending it to full length and leaping into the air. She slammed the tip of her weapon into the rooftop as she landed with a ground quake, sending shockwaves of energy out from her in waves. All of the insects were thrown off the edge with terrified screams, surprised at the power that had overthrown them.

"Well done, well done!" A voice from behind Krystal applauded.

The vixen spun around to find that the fox pilot she crashed into had survived the impact as well, using a jetpack to slow his descent onto the rooftop of Persimmon's to join her.

"You managed to read through my attempt on Fox's life and saved him. You were lucky once," he admitted, reaching for a machine gun strapped to his right leg, "but not again. I think that it is time you stop interfering with my affairs once and for all."

Krystal readied her staff, surrounding it in a sheet of purple reflector energy. Wind ruffled her hair and she tossed it behind her head. "Is this your affair?" She asked, looking to the war surrounding her that brought only ruin and destruction to her adopted home planet. "What is the purpose of all of this madness? What wrong has Corneria ever brought you?"

"Krystal, don't fight him!" Fox interrupted from in his Arwing above them. "Wait for me; I'm going to land so we can take him together."

The fox in the jet-black space suit laughed at the sudden intrusion. "What's wrong, Fox? Still can't trust your little vixen to win her own battles?"

"I'll deal with him alone," Krystal declared. "We are bound to lose this war unless you stay in the air and help the others. Please, if you care about me, let me handle this!" She dared not mention stalling the battle until help came from Katina and Fortuna, but she needed Fox to know his place in this matter.

"But last time I let you go alone, you were captured!" Fox argued. "I can't risk losing you again!"

"It was my decision that put myself at risk, not your own weakness," she retorted. "I need you to trust me!"

Fox hesitated, clearly unsure how to decide. His thought patterns betrayed mixed feelings of doubt and worry. "Alright," he sighed. With a sudden burst in confidence, he added, "take him down, Krystal!"

She only replied with a brief nod, turning to face her enemy once again. "Answer my question," she started, hoping to buy some time before the reinforcements arrived. "Why have you brought this devastation upon Corneria?"

The nameless pilot held his position, all too pleased at the idea of stalling their fight. He thought he had the upper hand, Krystal sensed, believing that delaying their fight would result in more Cornerians being killed. "My motive is simple; I only wish to fulfill my mentor's destiny!" He grinned and laughed from behind his dark visor, relaxing his posture while he spoke. "I want to destroy the Lylat System just as he would have... no, better than he would have, starting right here with Corneria! Once my limitless aparoid army wipes out the Cornerian military, I will be able to spread my forces throughout all of Lylat!"

An image flashed through Krystal's mind of the moment when the Star Fox team had finally succeeded in unlocking the mystery behind the aparoid files. The password used to unlock the final code was 'DR ANDROSS.' "Andross?!" She stammered. "You knew Andross?"

"Andross..." he repeated. "His ambition was little... Yes, I was a young fox when he took me under his wing, working as a scientist for Corneria at the time. I studied and researched with him for years, knowing the truth about his plans to overthrow Corneria long before he ever carried them out. Yet the ape was somehow foolish enough to arouse the suspicions of General Pepper, get exiled to Venom, and eventually be destroyed by Fox McCloud. I was left alone in search of another alternative, another means of conquering this planet."

"And then you found the aparoids," Krystal murmured, almost too shocked to believe what she was hearing.

"Fortunately, I discovered their existence several years before Andross was exiled. Eighteen years ago, a single aparoid destroyed an entire Cornerian fleet... Did you honestly think that it was some kind of accident?" Without allowing Krystal a chance to respond, he continued, "No, I brought it to the Lylat System, curious of its power and wanting to see it in action. With the control of an army of these creatures, I thought I would be indestructible."

Krystal began to circle the rooftop, forcing her enemy to match her slow footsteps as they wheeled around. "We must have proved you wrong after destroying the Aparoid Queen. Your indestructible army seemed to have a weakness," she grinned triumphantly. "How did you manage to cope with this loss?"

The fox stopped in his tracks and began pacing in the opposite direction, never taking his eyes off Krystal.

She quickly changed her direction to match him, anticipating his nearing decision to strike.

"The army assembled here would have been larger, if not for your... intrusion... on Sauria," he jabbed back, shifting the verbal battle in his favor once again. When Krystal failed to reply, he continued, "you don't seriously think that the recent incident on your precious Dinosaur Planet was some coincidence, do you? That idiot Scales would never have been able to release the Redeye unless I made it possible for him. The aparoid assault on that primitive planet not only lured you away from Corneria, but also weakened Sauria to the point that Scales could rise to power again. He would have succeeded, if you hadn't returned to stop him..."

"So it has been you, all this time?" Krystal inquired. "You helped Oikonny escape, you put Sauria in danger... You have been manipulating Corneria from the start. From the betrayal of Bryan to the misguided information involving Corneria's military... It has always been you. But why Sauria?" The vixen challenged, raising her staff threateningly. Thinking back to her pervious encounter with the fox commander, another question came to the vixen. "You mentioned earlier that you wanted to confirm some suspicion of yours. Why are you targeting Star Fox and our loved ones? What have we ever done to you?"

The nameless pilot threw his head back and let out a maniacal laugh. "You really don't get it, do you?" Underneath his dimmed visor, Krystal could sense that he was starting directly into her eyes as he spoke, "I've always been connected to Andross, including all his plans that have come to pass even after his death. You and Fox McCloud have always put a stop to them, but no longer!"

The evil fox grinned. "With the downfall of Andross, I was forced to abandon my research on Corneria. I was gone, but my influence never left. I am far wiser than my former mentor; I knew not to let my plans become revealed until it was too late to stop them." Glancing at the battlefield surrounding them, he marveled at the chaos he had created. "Now, we stand here, amidst the final ending of Corneria." He stopped moving, gripping his machine gun firmly in his hands while preparing to fire. "We've had a good run, but this is the end of the line for you, my girl."

"I don't think so!" Krystal raced toward her enemy as machine gun bullets sprayed through the air. Time seemed to slow down as she read the thought patterns of the gunman, predicting where each bullet would land and reflecting them off her staff. She twirled it in front of her when she approached him, leaping into the air and spinning with a lunge.

The fox pilot sidestepped, using one hand to force her momentum past him while continuing to shoot at her.

Reading this block telepathically, Krystal landed beside him and bent her reflector from her staff to form a wall of energy between them, repelling his gunfire. After recovering from her landing, she kicked the machine gun from the enemy's grip and followed with a series of staff lunges.

Dodging backward, the male fox retrieved a blaster pistol from his hip and began firing at pointblank range.

Lasers flashed past the vixen as she bent backward in a handspring, letting them soar over her head while returning her reflector energy to surround her staff. Raising her weapon to block the last shot, she forced the laser back to its source, penetrating her enemy's space suit along the left arm. While he staggered backward in pain, she used this advantage to rocket boost over his head and behind him.

Before she could land another blow, the commander threw a kick to force her away. His foot was blocked by her staff, but still he thrust forward, pushing her against the edge of the rooftop while preparing to fire his blaster pistol.

You aren't getting rid of me that easily, the she-fox thought as she forced her foe away and charged her staff's energy, releasing a volley of fire and ice blasts at him. She evaded his gunfire, ducking as a laser whizzed over her head and jumping as she predicted another aimed for her feet.

The male fox avoided bursts of fire and ice heading in his direction and charged her, leaping into the air and aiming to follow his gunshots with a punch.

Krystal darted toward him, countering laser fire with her staff. Instead of meeting him in the air, she ducked and slid under him. When she rose to her feet, she barely had time to raise her staff in defense as the enemy drew one of his laser swords and swung it at her. The two weapons clashed, but Krystal quickly rotated her staff so that she could thrust it into the ground, unleashing a series of shockwaves forming circles around her.

"Formidable, but predictable," the dark fox grinned as he was pushed back slightly, unwilling to let the ground quake take him down. "I remember your moves all too well, even after all this time." Regained his footing he raised his vibrant yellow blade over his head while pointing his blaster at Krystal, willing for her to make the next move.

What do you mean by all this time? I escaped from your base only several hours ago..."You're saying that to the telepath," Krystal countered. Standing tall, she sized up her opponent. I need to find a way to disarm him. I am stronger up close; maybe I can put him on the defensive... Adjusting her strategy, the vixen raced toward her enemy, aiming her staff for his blaster hand and firing a barrage of ice blasts his way.

The male fox blocked with his laser sword, slicing through each frozen projectile until Krystal was only several inches from him. When she lowered her upper body to swing her staff at his legs, he lowered his blade accordingly to repel the attack. Krystal read his mind and thought of countermeasures, altering her attack pattern; instead of following her original plan, the vixen flipped herself sideways, throwing her legs into the air with her increased momentum. With the enemy's sword low, she targeted his two exposed weaknesses; his blaster and his face. One leg swung for each, hitting their targets as Krystal completed the midair rotation, landing on her feet once again.

The dark-furred enemy was knocked backward, his gun thrown from the rooftop and his visor receiving a crack down its center. Pausing to regain his form, the pilot lifted the helmet from his head and tossed it aside, rolling across the rooftop until it vanished off the side.

Gazing into his eyes for the first time, Krystal finally realized the pure rage and hatred reflected in their depths. He drew his second laser sword, flexing his muscles while preparing to strike. "Alright, I've had enough of the stalling," he growled. "I am going to kill you so that you cannot interfere ever again!" He ran forward, picking up a boost of speed from his jetpack and swinging both swords at Krystal.

She countered by forcing her staff between them, barely able to match her enemy's brute strength. Two overhead swipes came her way after forcing him backward and she gripped her staff at its center, blocking the first with its tip and twirling it to block the second. A furious lunge followed, but Krystal rolled to the side and swung her staff for her enemy's legs. He jumped to avoid it, just as she predicted. This is my chance to strike while he can't dodge! She thought, charging her jetpack and throwing a powerful uppercut into the jaw of her attacker.

But the enemy was too agile; as Krystal's fist closed in on his lower jaw, he activated his jetpack and flipped backward, just out of reach for the entire duration of the punch. He hovered in the air while Krystal joined him, circling around the rooftop until they both dove for each other, clashing weapons as they passed by.

Krystal spun around and boosted toward him again, blocking both swords with one swing of her staff. She deactivated her jetpack and landed on the roof of Persimmon's, exchanging her staff for her blaster to fire at her enemy.

The leader of Andross' army blocked gunshots with crossed swords, diving for the vixen while she was more vulnerable without her staff drawn. She sensed the timing of his move, wielding her staff and thrusting it into the ground to create a veil of white light surrounding her. The male fox's blades clashed against the barrier of magical energy as he fought to break through. Tension built between the two combatants until Krystal released her shield, forcing her enemy backward.

What is his next move? Krystal asked herself, searching deep into her foe's thoughts. Instead of his own brain patterns, she sensed another force dwelling inside him. Suddenly, visions of aparoids flooded into the young vixen's mind, obstructing her thoughts and clouding her vision.

All for us... Everything in the universe... exists for us... SUBMIT TO US!!! The feminine voice of the Aparoid Queen forced its way into Krystal's mind, overwhelming and consuming her thoughts until at last, she broke free of her telepathic grip on her enemy. But while her thoughts were trapped and blinded by the aparoids, her enemy moved to strike. He knocked her staff from her grip and sliced her across the left shoulder with a laser sword just as she returned to complete consciousness.

Krystal shrieked in pain, collapsing to the ground as blood pulsed from her wound. What was that? She thought, fighting back panic and fear at what she sensed inside the mind of her enemy. His thought patterns... they were not his own! He seems to have been filled with the essence of the aparoids!

"What's wrong, Krystal?" The fox intimidated as he paced toward her, staggering slightly with light spasms. He shook his head rapidly and continued on, forcing her to crawl her way backward as she grasped her shoulder in pain. "Are you amazed at the power of the aparoids?" He asked, dropping a laser sword so he could pry Krystal's right arm away from her body. "You'd be surprised at the effect that aparoid DNA has when combined with your own. The power... I can feel it coursing through my veins!"

The vixen fought, but was in too much pain to resist. The enemy grabbed her by her right arm, pressing his fingers into the healing stitches beneath her space suit. Krystal cried out in agony as her arm, stained by her own blood, began to burn in searing pain at the pressure applied to her previous injury.

"You know, you would have made a valuable ally," the fox sighed as he jerked Krystal's arm upward, lifting her so that she was standing on her knees before him. "I was hoping that you would have joined me, especially after I discovered that you had survived the destruction of your home planet," he grinned as his face twisted in satisfaction. "But in the end, you would never submit. Not then, not now." He raised a single laser sword, aiming to pierce his victim through the chest. "Now, you die!"

Pain filled Krystal's body and she closed her eyes in defeat. She could feel her heartbeats pounding in her chest, slowing in rhythm as time seemed to come to a halt. No, I can't afford die here, the vixen thought as she reflected on those who were depending on her. If she failed and her enemy was victorious, the war raging through Corneria City would surely be lost. Everyone is counting on me... Wolf's team... My own team... Fox... She took a deep breath and imagined a laser sword thrusting toward her, begging to land the finishing blow.

I'm a survivor, the vixen reflected. He's right, I somehow managed to survive the destruction of Cerinia... I didn't survive that hell just for it all to end here. Feeling a sudden rage burning within her, Krystal There's too much riding on the outcome of this fight, I can't afford to let all those down who put their faith in me! I won't die here, she rebelled silently in her head. I refuse to die here!

Krystal's eyes flashed open and determination surged through her, blocking out the pain that pierced both of her arms. As a gleaming sword lunged for her chest, she twisted her right arm further into the enemy's grasp and interlocked them together. Rising to her feet, she threw a kick to her enemy's kneecap. With a crunch, the fox was thrown off balance, turning his lunge into a swipe as his sword bore down on her. Pure adrenaline forced Krystal onward, throwing her arm up to counter the attack and knocking the sword from his hand. Finally she drew her blaster from her belt and fired a charged laser through her enemy's chest.

His eyes widened in pure shock as he froze in pain, staring down at the gaping hole in his body. But instead of collapsing, his eyes narrowed and a grin formed on his face. "You asked me how I could have coped with the loss of the Aparoid Queen." The fox's words came in echoes, as if they were combined with a second voice coming from the same mouth. "I have learned much from the defeats of Andross. The only way to control the galaxy's most powerful bioweapon is to become the galaxy's most powerful bioweapon! I am the Omega Aparoid, the end of Lylat comes with me!"

Suddenly, the fox's body convulsed and threw itself to the ground. His fur became infused with a dark purple hue and he began mutating, suffering the horrible effects of aparoididation as the disease took full control of his body.

Krystal did not stand around to witness the monster she knew he would become. She retrieved her staff and made for the ramps leading down to the ground floor, sliding down to the first story rooftop and front-flipping off it. Her right arm stung from where her stitches had been pressured and her left shoulder bled slowly as she raced from Persimmon's toward the outskirts of the city.

I need to get to a ship before the aparoids take full control of his body, she thought, knowing that the Cloudrunner was damaged beyond capable flight. "How is the situation in the air?" She asked into her wrist communicator while running through the streets, avoiding minor brawls between aparoids and Cornerian soldiers.

"The fleet has reached casualties of nearly forty percent and the enemies just keep coming," Fox answered. "What happened down there? Are you alright?" He questioned urgently.

Krystal paused when she spotted the clear waters surrounding the island city, just before a bare patch of artificial grassland. She tore off her right glove and stuffed it inside her space suit at her left shoulder, covering the patch that had been cleaved away by the Venomian leader's laser sword to stop as much of the bleeding as possible. "I'm fine," she muttered, "but I need you to pick me up." She spun around and glanced back into the city, sensing that a mighty force was rising out from the mass of skyscrapers. "I fear that the leader of the enemy forces has become somewhat out of control..."

A shrill cry rose out from the chaos of the warzone, drowning out the sounds of battle.

"Somewhat out of control?" Falco exclaimed through Krystal's wrist communicator. "Is that what you call somewhat out of control?"

In the distance, Fox's Arwing became visible soaring above the city, heading straight for Krystal's position. Following it was a creature larger than the tallest Cornerian skyscraper. It was a leviathan; a sky dragon with the lengthy body of a serpent and the purple aura of an aparoid. The monster slithered through the city, gliding on two enormous wings lined with sharp claws and covered with aparoid mortar turrets, glowing blue as they surged with energy. Two enormous red eyes glimmered from its heavily armored face, leading down a long snout to two rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Krystal, I am almost to your position," Fox called as his ship neared, "but I can't stop to descend! What in the world is following me?!"

The vixen said nothing, placing the tip of her staff to the ground as magical energy pulsed through it, lifting her off the ground with a rocket boost. She reached Fox's height and climbed higher, cutting the power once he came within range. Using her jetpack to slow her descent, she landed along Fox's wing and adjusted herself so that she could stand while enduring the gusts of wind blowing through the air.

"That," she pointed to the monstrous aparoid behind them, "is the commander of Andross' forces, and the leader of both armies."

"What?" Fox gasped. "How?" He circled around as he reached the water's edge, facing the enormous creature head on.

"He's merged with the aparoids, infused with their DNA and mutated into the Omega Aparoid," Krystal shivered at the mention of the aparoid's name. "When we fought, I sensed that the aparoids had infiltrated his mind. When I thought I had defeated him, he transformed."

The aparoid leviathan wove through the last of the buildings, stopping as it faced Fox and Krystal. With a terrible screech, it rose to its full height, towering far above any of the tallest Cornerian structures. At the center of its snake-like body, Krystal noticed a round honeycombed barrier surrounding the former body of the mutated fox. The aparoids had a similar effect on Pigma when he was corrupted, growing from his original body and combining him with machines to increase his power.

"Bow before us... submit to us..." The twisted creature spoke, echoing the words and desires of the Aparoid Queen before she was destroyed. "We are perfection. We possess all knowledge and power."

"Yuck!" Slippy croaked from his Landmaster. "This thing is even creepier than the Queen!"

"How are we supposed to beat it?" Falco complained. "I am busy enough trying to win a war over here!"

"I need some backup," Fox requested. "Falco, Wolf, someone–"

"–No," Krystal interrupted, studying the Omega Aparoid at a safe distance aboard Fox's wing. "Just you and me. Falco's right, we can't spare any more pilots. We won't hold out much longer," she admitted with a glance to the skies. The Cornerian ships were few, and still largely outnumbered by the Venomian fleet. "The Cloudrunner is down, but together we have what it takes to defeat him!"

Fox hesitated, but then nodded from within his cockpit. "Alright, everyone, keep the Cornerians going. We have to put our faith in the reinforcements to arrive on time." Turning to address Krystal, he said, "just be careful over there, and hang on."

The vixen nodded and braced herself as he engaged his ship's thrusters and they took off, facing the Omega Aparoid.

The great leviathan gave a roar and extended its wings, revealing a multitude of mortar turrets protruding from their interiors. As Fox and Krystal approached, the cannons on the aparoid's left wing generated green plasma torpedoes, firing rapidly and locking on to their ship.

Fox took several shots at the enemy as he passed by, destroying some of the turrets and tilting his Arwing diagonally to avoid the torpedoes. "Krystal, the missiles have a lock on me, can you take them out?" He asked.

She nodded in reply. "Sure thing, keep firing at him while I cover you. Destroy the cannons and weaken his offenses!" The vixen turned around carefully to engage the missiles tailing them, aiming her staff and shooting fire blasts to intercept the rockets as they came close. "Swing around for another attack run," she suggested as Fox aimed his sights on the massive aparoid. This time, the dragon opened its mouth and released an orange plasma burst stream, nearly striking the Arwing as Fox maneuvered around it. Krystal took the offensive, destroying several mortar turrets on the aparoid's left wing with fire and ice blasts as they flew by.

"Great shots," Fox called, "but is this getting us anywhere? We still do not know how to beat it. Can you sense any weak points?"

Krystal scanned her enormous enemy, trying to read its thought patterns and identify any potential weaknesses. "I can't get a good read on it, Fox," she replied, having difficulty interpreting the aparoid's complex mental processes. "But do you see that shielded area at its midsection? That should be the location of its heart, but also the body of the fox that transformed into this terrible creature. After one more attack run on the enemy's guns, we should be safe enough to engage this weakness head on."

Fox positioned for another attack run while Krystal turned to destroy the plasma torpedoes bearing down on them. He swerved again to avoid the plasma breath as he came close, almost throwing Krystal from his wing with the force of the maneuver. "Sorry, Krystal!" He called, charging his Arwing's main guns and launching a smart bomb into the center of the Omega Aparoid's right wing, destroying a large cluster of its turrets.

"Excellent, the enemy's offenses are losing power! Now, let's hit him with everything we've got!" Krystal directed as Fox forced the enemy into retread, flying toward the ocean as it turned to make a final stand.

"Here it goes!" Fox engaged his ship's breaks, slowing his flight speed as he unleashed a volley of laser shots at the honeycombed barrier on the aparoid's chest. The outer force field collapsed after the intense round of laser fire, but the Arwing's guns did not have any effect on the enemy's thick armor beneath.

"What do we do now?" The ship's pilot asked, dismayed to find that the barrier protecting the body of the mutated fox regenerated itself as quickly as it had been destroyed.

Krystal glanced upward in panic as a shadow fell over her. The dragon's armored head was raised in an attempt to swing down and crush them from above in a single blow. "Fox, watch out!" She cried, too late as Fox was distracted aiming for the enemy's weak point. When the aparoid's head struck the Arwing, the ship rocked back and forth, throwing Krystal from its wing. She fell down toward the ground, activating her jetpack just in time to slow her descent.

"I got you!" Fox called out as he dove past and jerked his ship upward, allowing her to land on his wing again. A burst of orange plasma exploded from the dragon's mouth, but Fox swerved out of harm's way as he circled around its lower body, preparing for another attack run.

"Thanks for catching me," Krystal acknowledged while attempting to regain her balance.

"How do you think we will be able to break through that tough armor?" The Arwing's pilot asked. "I am out of smart bombs, and it is impervious to blaster fire; its shield will come right back up unless we strike quickly."

I wonder if a full powered attack from my staff would be strong enough, Krystal thought to herself. What other choice did she have? The longer she and Fox remained absent from the battle, the sooner that the Cornerian defenses would be wiped out. "Get close and knock out his shields again," she told Fox without any form of explanation. "Only this time, tilt your ship straight down once the barrier has been destroyed. I will try to finish it off with my staff once its weak point is exposed."

"What do you mean?" Fox questioned. "You're going to fall off my wing!"

They approached the aparoid leviathan again with only seconds to spare. "I don't have the time to explain, you have to trust me!" Krystal begged, placing her staff's tip against his wing.

Fox didn't hesitate this time. "Alright, now!" He called, shooting a rapid series of lasers from his ship's guns. Immediately, he tilted his ship's nose to the ground and Krystal charged her staff's energy, propelling her forward from the Arwing to pursue its laser shots.

When the aparoid's shields vanished, Krystal activated her jetpack, giving her a sudden boost of speed as she flew toward its exposed weak area. Though the dragon fired plasma breath at her, she summoned a reflector to surround herself, slicing through the stream without being harmed. "Here I come!" She cried, unleashing a wave of fire from her staff's tip as she impaled the Omega Aparoid through the chest. She sliced through the dark fox's helpless body as she burned her way through the massive leviathan, bursting out through its back.

On the other side, the clear waters of Corneria glistened in the sunlight as Krystal hovered above them. She wondered if her strike on the Omega Aparoid's exposed chest was effective enough to take it down when a massive shadow cast itself over the waters. The vixen spun around to find that the great leviathan was collapsing right on top of her! She boosted away from the impact as fast as she could, but she was too late. The serpent's armored head crashed down on top of her, engulfing her in water as she was pushed below the surface.

The light from above faded as Krystal descended deeper into the ocean. She fought and gasped for breath, but could not find her way around the body of the dead aparoid. The water felt as cold as ice, gripping at the young she-fox's lungs as she clawed her way forward, desperately searching for a light to guide her to the surface. Her shoulder and arm wounds stung with the intensity of fire and ice as her limbs gave out and she could swim no more. Unable to bear keeping her eyes open any longer, everything went black and Krystal let her limp body sink into the darkness below.

Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her waist. Forcing her eyes open in the fear that something dangerous had grabbed her, she realized that Fox was in the water with her, wrapping his arms around her as he activated his jetpack. Water churned around them and the darkness began to lift, giving way to the sunlight of the world above. Just when Krystal thought that her lungs were going to rupture, her head burst out into the air, followed by Fox as his jetpack carried them into the air toward the shore. Their path sloped downward and Fox flipped himself onto his back, landing in the grass with a long skid. Finally they came to a halt and Krystal coughed out several mouthfuls of water while lying in her savior's arms.

"Krystal, you did it! We did it!" Fox panted, speaking between deep breaths. "The Omega Aparoid's lifeless body is now sinking into the depths of the ocean, never to be seen again."

Opening her eyes to see for herself, Krystal realized that he was right. She pulled her wet hair out of her eyes, turning her head back to look at the cityscape behind her. "But we still have a war to fight," she sighed, knowing that there was not an ounce of strength or will to fight left in her body.

As she spoke those words, a shadow fell across the grass. At first it appeared to be a single entity, but then dispersed into a multitude of smaller shadows, each with the outline of a familiar Cornerian ship. Krystal gazed up into the clouds and her heart almost leaped from her chest. "The reinforcements from Katina and Fortuna! Bill and his pilots have arrived at last!"

The cavalry appeared to be large in number and formidable in strength, with dozens of Cornerian battleships and cruisers coming to the aid of those fighting in the city. Fox and Krystal did nothing but watch as the Cornerians soared over their heads, straight for the center of the city to turn the tide of the war in their favor.

"Hang on, help is on the way!" The grey bulldog Bill spoke through his ship's communicator. "Bulldog Squadron, Husky Squadron, engage all hostile units with full force and do not hold back! Reclaim the city!"

Krystal breathed a deep sigh of relief, collapsing into Fox's arms and letting the gleaming Lylat sun warm her drenched fur. "I think we can leave the rest of the fighting to Bill and his teams," she murmured. "The enemy will hopefully be low in resources by now; with their leader gone, their pilots will be lost and confused."

"Yep," Fox nodded, adjusting himself to a sitting position and unhooking his jetpack from his back. He tossed the dented equipment aside, damaged from the impact as he collided with the hard ground. "How did you know that your staff would be strong enough to defeat the Omega Aparoid?" He asked curiously. "Where is it anyway?"

The vixen almost leaped out of her fur when she realized that her staff was no longer in her possession. "Did it slip from my hands when I sank into the water?" She asked herself as she stood up, searching up and down her figure with no success. "I couldn't have lost it!" She panicked and stomped her right foot into the ground. Her boot felt heavy, weighed down by a surprisingly large intake of water and she slipped it off her foot. She carefully turned it upside down onto the ground as water spilled out of it, followed by a soft 'thud.'

"I think you found your staff," Fox joked, gesturing toward the thin blue rod lying in the grass.

Krystal retrieved her weapon and slid her foot back into her boot. "Somehow, it must have found its way inside my boot as I hit the water," she reflected, thankful for its safety. Answering Fox's question, she said, "I'm still not sure how I knew what to do, or why. It felt like instinct, as if something inside me told me that my staff would be the answer." She thanked the Krazoa Spirits again silently in her mind for allowing her access to her powerful magic weapon.

"Hey, where are you guys?" Falco's voice interrupted the vixen's thoughts. "The enemy is in full retreat now, and we have finally disposed of all the aparoid hatchers! We won the war!"

Fox rose to his feet, pressing a button on his wrist pad to answer. "We are near the outskirts; on our way to the city center now." He pressed another button, terminating the communications link. "Well," he addressed Krystal, "I guess that it's finally over."

"I guess so," the vixen replied, not even bothering to dry her hair and space suit. She instead let the sun do its work, enjoying the warmth as if she had not experienced this level of peace and comfort in days. "Thank you, Fox... for trusting in me. I'm glad that you finally understand... I chose to become a part of the Star Fox team because I wanted to fight by your side every step of the way. You have given me so much more than a place to live and a ship... In the past two years since I have joined the team, I have never been so happy. You have given me friends... family... a place to call home..." A small tear formed in her eye, sliding delicately down her cheek as Fox approached her.

"The only reason that I ever wanted to protect you was because I couldn't stand to see anything happen to you," he murmured. "After already losing my father and mother at the hands of Andross, I feared that the same would happen to you..." He paused as if deep in thought, taking his eyes from Krystal and staring at his feet. "But I know that I was wrong to ever doubt you, and my own abilities. Sometimes we have to take risks, trusting in each other to do the right thing. That is what it means to be part of a team..." Fox raised his head, staring into Krystal's eyes with a feeling of compassion that she had never seen in anyone before. "All of this has made me realize... well," Fox paused, looking for the right words. "Krystal, I care so much for you... actually... I love you," he whispered.

The vixen froze with the feeling that her heart would burst. Her aches and pains vanished and the battleground surrounding her seemed to disappear. In this moment, she felt as if she and Fox were the only two beings in the universe, staring into each other's eyes forever as the world spun in motion around them. "I... I love you too, Fox," the words almost stumbled out of Krystal's mouth. Though she knew and could sense his feelings for her, he had never told her that he loved her before. All she could do was run to him and wrap her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder as he slowly returned her embrace.

"Come on, let's go meet the others," Fox whispered as they departed, slowly pacing into the streets of Corneria as they left the beautiful sunset rippling off the waters behind them.

* * *

Krystal and Fox met with the other two members of the Star Fox team, Star Wolf, and Lucy and Katt atop the circular landing pad at the heart of Corneria City. Around them, the city lay in ruin; some buildings burned, others were destroyed entirely. The bodies of many Cornerian soldiers lay lifeless along the streets, while the living searched among their allies for any who were only injured and not beyond saving. Never before had Corneria seen such a terrible battle, not even in the days of Andross himself.

The blue-furred vixen told her friends and comrades everything she had seen and heard from the mouth of the fox who was behind the attack. She spoke of his origins, dating back to the time of Andross working as a scientist for Corneria. She included his plans after the ape's defeat and his motives behind the aparoid invasion; everything that had fallen into place necessary for the war over Lylat to take place. The other pilots hardly spoke during her speech, too amazed and overwhelmed at the truth behind it all.

"I never would have guessed that he worked with Andross from the start," Lucy admitted. "This war has been almost two decades in the making..."

Fox stood directly across from Wolf, eyeing his rival as he spoke. "He was so patient, orchestrating everything from behind the scenes while waiting for the right time to strike. After we were weakened by the initial aparoid invasion, he thought that it would be possible to unleash his full strength on Corneria and finish us..."

"But he underestimated our united strength," Krystal continued, taking over for him. "Together, Star Fox, Star Wolf, and the Cornerian military were strong enough to repel his attacks and end his threats once and for all."

Katt stood between Falco and Leon, glancing back and forth at the two rivals with a smile on her face. Krystal read her thought patterns, sensing a thought that she couldn't help but agree with. They will be at each other's throats just hours from now, even after all they have come through together. "Hopefully Corneria will be safe for a long time to come," the cat purred. "The aparoids are finally gone for good, but it will take quite some time before Corneria has recovered from the hand of their master."

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," Falco insisted, surveying the wreckage around him and perhaps having second thoughts. "But I don't ever want to see another aparoid as long as I live! I've had it with those pesky insects!"

"Hmm," panther growled. He gave Krystal an almost threatening look, as if he sensed the feelings growing between herself and Fox. His deep yellow eyes barely left hers as his tail twitched back and forth impatiently. "In the end, we even caught Oikonny as well," he reminded them. "Hopefully this is the last we will see of his rebel scum."

Wolf continued glaring at Fox, his grin turning into a cold stare as he assumed a more serious tone. "You know, Fox... even after all we have been through together... this doesn't make us friends. If we ever see you in our territory again, we won't hesitate to shoot you down."

"Well thanks a lot to you, too..." Falco interjected. "Next time when we need help saving the Lylat System from eminent destruction, don't bother coming to help. Then maybe you won't be so smug about it afterward."

Krystal fought to suppress a laugh. It was Wolf and his team who volunteered to help in the battle against the Venomian and aparoid armies, not the other way around. Instead of starting a debate on which team owes a favor to the other, she remained silent and let the issue slide. She cast her thoughts around the circle, sensing strong feelings coming from Fox. She decided that she would ask him what was on his mind instead of probing into it herself. "Fox, are you alright?" She asked in concern.

Fox hesitated, gathering his thoughts before he spoke. "You start out with good intentions... but then the power gets to you and turns into greed and selfish ambition. Sometimes it's your own betrayal, turning your back on those who rely and depend on you... Other times, it takes the form of manipulation, being forced into doing what you know in your heart is wrong, that eventually leads to your own demise."

Krystal thought back to the death of Bryan Grey that she herself witnessed; she knew that once the aftermath of the war settled, the Star Fox team would have to inform Bill of their hand in his death, still unsure if the two were related. She pushed the thought aside, listening to Fox as he continued.

"In the end, it is not absolute power that makes you strong... it's the reliance and trust you have in your friends that makes you stronger than you ever could have been on your own..." The leader of the Star Fox team glanced around at his friends, spending a particular amount of time locked with Krystal's sapphire gaze.

"Thank you, my friends..." Fox sighed, closing his eyes and bowing his head in gratitude. "It is finally over."