Corneria is in danger... attacked by Oikonny... Fox is in trouble, I need to help him! Krystal shook herself awake, forcing her mind away from dreams of fear and destruction. Something dreadful, she sensed, must be happening on Corneria. Perhaps Oikonny attacked during the ceremony, as we all feared, the vixen thought. She felt like a traitor to the Star Fox team for leaving at the time of Oikonny's resurgence, but then she remembered back to her dreams.

In her vision the day prior, she saw what she believed to be the fierce Redeye tribe of Sauria attacking and killing the dinosaurs of the Earthwalker and Thorntail tribes. Krystal knew little of the Redeye tribe, except that they normally did not attack the other dinosaurs openly. In fact, she had not seen any of them herself during her brief visit to Dinosaur Planet years ago. A she knew about them came from Fox, for he had battled with many of them on his quest to save the planet and save her life.

Krystal's Arwing was set on auto pilot, directed towards Sauria while she slept. Thus far, her travels had been peaceful, but she realized that her ship was approaching a thin asteroid belt that surrounded the planet. She flew straight into it, swerving as asteroids flew past her ship. Krystal realized how fortunate she was that wherever she had to travel on planet Sauria, she would only have to navigate through the asteroid belt once. During Fox's adventures on the planet, Sauria had been split into five different pieces. The planet had broken apart and was on the verge of destruction; the four Spellstones and six Krazoa Spirits holding the planet together had been removed from their rightful places by General Scales, a dinosaur tyrant working under the influence of Andross.

Finally, Krystal reached Sauria's atmosphere and realized that her Arwing was soaring above the planet's beautiful landscape. The dark void of space outside her was suddenly replaced with bright, clear skies and lush green terrain. Sauria's geography varied from frozen wastelands to warm tropical beaches and thick green forests, with some dynamically different regions located just several miles from each other. Krystal soared above a canyon filled with tall pyramid-shaped buildings that must have been the Walled City, rebuilt after the damage it suffered from the aparoid assault a year ago. I hope the dinosaurs have recovered since the aparoid invasion, Krystal thought as she soared over the old battleground. This new threat to their planet is poorly timed during their recovery... or very well orchestrated...

Beyond the walled city, Krystal spotted a small grassy hollow where she could land her Arwing. She knew this place well from Fox's description; she was landing in Thorntail Hollow, home to the dinosaurs of the Thorntail Tribe. This is where she would begin her investigation, knowing only that these dinosaurs were in danger. A shallow blue stream ran through the center of the hollow, flowing from a waterfall that poured down a cliff wall. The cliff wall seemed to have another wall of stone built around it, featuring large round pillars and images of green scarab beetles between them.

A hole in the cliff wall opened up beside the waterfall, leading to what Krystal guessed was the Thorntail Store, the only store to be found on planet Sauria. Fox had explained his many dealings with the shopkeeper, Shabunga, a cold-hearted haggler. He described it as... odd... that Shabunga sold many items that did not belong to him. Unfortunately, Fox had to pay for a Hi-Def. Display Device that Slippy had originally airdropped to him, but had been picked up by the shopkeeper instead.

Krystal landed her Arwing on a round patch of dirt, surrounded by light green grass. If the Thorntails are in danger, I will need to make my appearance as subtle as possible, the vixen thought as she opened the cockpit of her ship and dropped to the ground. She hoped that by landing near the outskirts, her presence would remain unknown to any enemies that lay in wait for her.

"Why couldn't I bring my blaster?" A familiar voice startled Krystal. She looked around and realized that Fox had appeared beside her, speaking to the previous Cornerian Military General, General Pepper, on his wrist communicator.

"It's always the same with you, Fox... Shoot first, ask questions later," Pepper barked. "This mission is about saving a planet, not blowing it up!" The old brown hound dog appeared years younger, and Krystal tilted her head in confusion. How did Fox know she was here and why wasn't he speaking to General Peppy instead?

Then she realized that she was having a vision. This must have been where Fox landed when he first flew to Dinosaur Planet on his quest to save it years ago. For some reason, he was not allowed to bring his blaster. The thought made Krystal laugh; Fox did have a thing for being trigger-happy at times... Thinking of her friend made Krystal wish he was with her on this mission. She really could have used his help to save the planet once again. Maybe I should have told him about my visions, and where I was going...

A nearby roar interrupted Krystal's thoughts and the images of Fox and General Pepper disappeared. Behind her Arwing, the ground sloped downward and led to a passage with a raised iron gate. Underneath the arch stood an angry tyrannosaurus, roaring as it spotted the intruder. The green scaled dinosaur stood to over twice Krystal's height, and its furious red eyes glared at her. This creature must have been one of the Redeye Tribe, as it matched Fox's terrifying portrayal. I wish Fox was here now! At once, Krystal's blood began pulsing with fear at the enormous dinosaur. Quickly, she tried to force her feelings away and concentrate as the Redeye charged at her from up the slope.

Fox doesn't want to go on missions with me, so I don't want his help. Instead of reaching for her blaster, Krystal drew another gun that was strapped to her back. This round, blue weapon was equipped with a series of rotating barrels that allowed for shots to be fired rapidly at a close distance. The Gatling gun that Krystal wielded was made especially to combat enemies with tougher armor, precisely the reason why she chose it over a jetpack. She knew the dinosaurs on Sauria would be nearly impervious to the normal blaster rounds.

Krystal pulled the trigger and a series of rapid rounds sliced through the air toward the incoming Redeye. As she predicted, the bullets pierced through the thick scales of the tyrannosaurus, causing it to roar again in fury as it continued its approach. To the vixen's surprise, her weapon did not send the Redeye running; instead, it seemed to make the dinosaur even angrier. It had almost reached Krystal and opened its jaws to attack when she knew she needed a new plan of attack.

The enemy's thought patterns were difficult to read; Krystal was not as accustomed to reading the thought patterns of dinosaurs. Using her intuition rather than her telepathic abilities, she leaped sideways to avoid snapping jaws. She rolled as she landed, bracing herself to fire her weapon again. The armor-piercing rounds penetrated deep into the Redeye's flesh, but it refused to back down. The Gatling gun is less effective than I thought it would be... These dinosaurs really can take a hit!

Racing past the Redeye and down toward the iron gate at the bottom of the slope, Krystal slung her gun over her shoulder and reached for a grenade attached to her belt. Checking to be sure that her enemy was still in pursuit, she pressed a button on the round, yellow orb and it began to glow. When she could feel the warm breath of the tyrannosaurus at her heels, she threw the grenade behind her and leaped forward to avoid the blast. An explosion behind her caused her to fly forward with increased speed, landing on the ground just past the gate with a rough scrape. The Redeye behind her turned tail and fled back up the slope beyond the Arwing, growling with rage and pain.

Surely this was not as difficult for Fox when he was here last, Krystal thought as she hauled herself to her feet and shook dust from her purple space suit. She cautiously paced up the slope toward her Arwing, listening for the sound of any more Redeye when she spotted a wooden signpost that she had not noticed before, pointing like an arrow toward the gate. Something was written on it in Dinosaur Language, but Krystal's familiarity with the language allowed her to decipher its meaning without the use of technology. In the common language used in the Lylat System, the sign would have read "Cape Claw."

"So this must be the pathway leading to Cape Claw," Krystal spoke her thoughts out loud. She recalled Fox's description of the cape, a beautiful beach area with warm sand and crystal clear waters. The entrance to the Ocean Force Point Temple was located there as well, according to Fox. He had explained that he returned the two water Spellstones to this location in order to keep the planet from splitting apart. Prior to joining the Star Fox team, Krystal's travels had her across the majority of Sauria, however, she had just begun exploring this area when she had been captured by Andross and imprisoned at the top of the Krazoa Palace.

Krystal headed for the top of the rise, back to where she had landed her Arwing. The Redeye that I faced will likely inform others of my location. I need to find a safe place to investigate the hollow, somewhere out of their reach... Just when the thought hit her, she noticed a ledge high above the Thorntail Store. There she would be safe from the Redeye and would also have sight of the entire hollow.

Casting a quick glance across the opening, Krystal raced up a small trail leading to the top of the waterfall that preceded the stream flowing through the center of the hollow. She passed underneath an arch that appeared to once have been part of a wall of earth. On the other side, the river leading to the waterfall continued, channeling into a circular moat surrounding an enormous, stone statue. The stone figure, towering above Krystal's head, resembled a male from the waist up with two stone arms thicker than tree trunks. The figure's face appeared as if it was sleeping, with eyes closed and head lowered.

This being was called the WarpStone, a mysterious stone creature whose origin was supposedly unknown. The WarpStone was a living individual who helped Fox teleport to the Krazoa Palace whenever he needed to release Krazoa Spirits, the spiritual forces that held the Spellstones in place. Seeing that the WarpStone was asleep, Krystal passed him and stood just beside the top of the waterfall, looking down the short drop to the stream below.

The waterfall flowed through what appeared to be a crack in the stone wall surrounding the edge of Thorntail Hollow, with jagged edges suitable for climbing. Surely, climbing to the top of this wall would keep Krystal safe from Redeye and provide her an outlook from which she could view her surroundings. Hesitantly, the vixen placed her left foot into the flowing water in front of her, shivering as the icy cold waves penetrated her boot. After a moment of adjusting to the water's temperature, she placed her second foot into the stream, feeling the same effect.

The stream just before the waterfall was not deep; it only rose to the top of Krystal's ankles. Her boots, however taller than the waves, did not fully insulate her feet from the water that soaked through them. She tried her hardest to ignore her wet feet as she began climbing up the broken cracks in the stone wall until she reached the top, gazing out at the hollow from above. Her Arwing was now almost directly across from her, and she was above the entrance to the Thorntail Store.

Sensing a new presence, the Star Fox pilot crouched low to the ground with the fear of being seen. On the opposite side of the hollow from her Arwing, she spotted three Redeye, one being the brute that had attacked just after her landing. Krystal could infer this from the many round wounds on the dinosaur's side, bleeding just slightly. The injured tyrannosaurus was communicating in grunts and growls to its two companions, who appeared to be guarding a cave entrance.

The injured Redeye pointed its large head in the direction of Krystal's Arwing, clearly alerting the other two of her presence. The vixen kept low, hoping that they would not locate her above the wall surrounding the area. Biding her time, Krystal reached for her Gatling gun to check its ammunition supply. As she feared, she had used many more shots than she thought necessary to escape from her attacker earlier. The Gatling gun, while stronger than its predecessor the Machine gun, held less ammunition and shot with less accuracy. Facing the three Redeye guards head on would be impossible with her limited ammo.

Krystal would have found it useful if any of the Thorntail dinosaurs were there to help fight back. With a second glance around the hollow, she finally realized that there was not a single Thorntail to be seen. Maybe the Redeye are keeping the Thorntails prisoner behind that entrance. I need to find out; I will need their help to gain control of the hollow. Just as the thought crossed her mind, two of the three Redeye left their post, heading toward the Arwing resting across the hollow. This was her only chance to discover what they were guarding; she would have to maneuver behind the last guard while remaining out of sight.

With great stealth, she crept along the top of the wall until she reached its edge. The ground below her was covered in light grass, so Krystal allowed herself to drop several feet, making sure to roll as she landed to avoid injuring her legs. Ahead of her, a wooden gate sealed off yet another pathway, but Krystal was uninterested in where it led. Instead, she spotted a wooden ladder that extended down to the ground level. Quietly, she jumped off the edge, spun around, and slid down the ladder using only her hands to decelerate. The gloves that accompanied her space suit stopped her hands from burning, although they felt very warm for several moments due to friction.

At this point, Krystal was positioned to the side of the guarded entrance, behind a tall round structure that she could not identify. She guessed it had an opening that led underground, but her curiosity did not keep her waiting. Fox had once described a time when he was sent to collect white mushrooms, called grub tubs, from a place below Thorntail Hollow's surface. White grub tubs act as medicine for the Earthwalker tribe, and Fox needed them to cure the Queen Earthwalker's sickness before he could start on his quest to save the planet. Maybe this was where Fox had found them, Krystal reflected.

Pushing the thought aside, she darted for the structure and pressed her back against it. She pivoted around until the Redeye guard came into view and quickly backed away as the tyrannosaurus turned its head, barely missing her. She was fairly close now and only needed to reach the wall of the hollow before she could sneak up behind the guard unnoticed.

The vixen risked one more glance at the guard, who had turned its head to face the Arwing and the other two guards. Seeing that it was safe, she darted from her hiding place and reached the earthy wall of the hollow without being seen. The ground sloped downward again behind her as it had done before, and another wooden signpost displayed the name of another location on Dinosaur planet. Reading the ancient writing, Krystal identified where the path led: Moon Mountain Pass

Suddenly another image appeared in Krystal's mind. The green grass and bright skies of Thorntail Hollow were replaced with darkness, and a towering figure with a red cloak appeared before her. Fox was again beside her, and she realized that she must be seeing another vision from the past.

"Do you wish to accept our test?" The figure, a Krazoa Spirit, asked Fox with a tilt of its head, covered by a large golden mask.

"What is it talking about? What test?" Fox shrugged.

"I was released when she completed my test," the spirit replied. "But she is now in great danger, and for her to survive, you must continue what she started and collect the remaining Krazoa Spirits. For only the pure of heart can enter our shrines."

Krystal realized that she was viewing Fox's first meeting with the Krazoa Spirits. His first encounter, however, was a deception. The spirit that appeared in the Moon Mountain Pass was not a Krazoa, but the spirit of Andross in disguise. The deceased mad scientist of Corneria, Fox's nemesis, used the disaster of Sauria to force his hand; for the only way to save the planet was to reunite the six Krazoa Spirits at the Krazoa palace along with retrning the four Spellstones to the Force Point Temples. Little did Fox know that, although bringing the six together would save the planet and Krystal's life, it would also allow Andross the ability to revive himself. He did so using Krystal's own magical powers, by trapping her inside a giant crystal prison and channeling her energy.

Krystal immediately forced the thought away and returned her mind to the present. Why am I seeing all of these visions? She shook her head, trying to focus on her current mission. She hated being used by Andross to fulfill his evil schemes, and continued to question the mysterious Krazoa for their hand in her demise. She feared to even trust them. They were the guardians of the planet, a force of light and purity, but seeing them corrupted by Andross placed a seed of distrust in Krystal's heart. And the Krazoa Spirits reminded her of her past, to a time long before Star Fox, before the series of events that set her life's current trajectory in motion.

Mother... Father... Cerinia... Sera... As a tear slid down Krystal's cheek, she froze in horror as she caught her mind from wandering back to the time her home planet was destroyed and all she ever loved was taken from her. I promised myself I wouldn't go back there...

Finally recovering herself and remembering the task at hand, the vixen crept along the wall leading away from Moon Mountain Pass, toward the Redeye guard that was still unaware of her presence. Ahead of her, the ground sloped upward, leading to a platform with a wooden beacon at its center. The beacon was decorated in white paint with an intricate design, and a bright yellow fire burned from an opening at its top. Krystal approached it, keeping low as not to be seen, and crouched behind it. Though the pillar was short, it was still large enough to hide her while she crouched behind it, planning her last move.

There was only one complex series of maneuvers left to execute before gaining access to the area that was being guarded. Krystal knew the path and rehearsed it in her mind before darting out from her cover. The platform of earth stopped with a short drop ahead of her, similar to the drop she had done previously. Knowing the distance from before, the vixen dropped and rolled to prevent any leg injuries and approached a low stone wall surrounding the guarded cave entrance.

The lone Redeye guard was facing straight ahead and had not heard Krystal's approach, so she neatly threw her legs over the wall and scaled it with ease. Before she could be seen in the open, she silently raced behind the guard and under an arch, leading to the tunnel that the Redeye was guarding.

I hope the Thorntails are being kept down here... If not, I have wasted a lot of time and will surely be captured soon, Krystal thought as she proceeded into the opening and the ground sloped downward. She sensed dinosaurs ahead, but could not identify them by their thought patterns alone. The light from outside faded quickly as the tunnel took a sharp right turn, replaced by the light of several brightly blazing torches lining the walls. Suddenly, Krystal came face to face with a group of dinosaurs huddled together in front of a stone stairway. Her muscles tensed, prepared to combat new enemies when one of them turned to face her with a curious expression on his face.

"Who are you?" The dinosaur asked. His speech was translated automatically through Krystal's wrist communicator, allowing her to hear what was spoken in the common Lylat language. The long, four legged dinosaurs had dozens of sharp spines running down their backs and their skin was an earthy tone of brown. These must be the Thorntails! Krystal finally realized that she had found the natives of Thorntail hollow, held prisoner by the Redeye Tribe. Fortunately, the peaceful dinosaurs had not been wiped out as Krystal feared in the depths of her heart.

"My name is Krystal. I had a vision of a distress call sent from your planet. I'm here to help in any way that I can," the vixen answered, unsure of what to say. She knew that there was trouble on Sauria, but not exactly what was causing it or how it could be handled. Her only guess was that it had something to do with the Redeye.

The leading Thorntail studied her for a moment, as if trying to remember something he had long since forgotten. "Krystal..." He repeated her name back to her. Finally, after a moment in deep thought, the Thorntail's eyes widened as if he had remembered whatever it was he had forgotten. "Krystal! You are a friend of Fox McCloud, right?"

"Yes, I am," she replied, "but how do you know me?"

"When Fox came here to save our planet, he met a Cloudrunner who knew you," the Thorntail explained. "He told me that you were a friend of Fox when you came back to our planet to save us from the aparoids. We are forever in your debt, but are in need of your help once again. Our planet is being overrun!"

"The pleasure is mine," Krystal whispered, aware of the Redeye on guard outside. "But we can discuss the details later. There are three Redeye outside this tunnel, and who knows how many more are lying in wait. I barely managed to slip past the guards, but we need to get out there and fight back to take control of the hollow."

At first the thorny dinosaur seemed hesitant to respond. "Those three dinosaurs forced us down here; we are no match for their brute strength. Can we really defeat them?"

"We are doomed if we don't," Krystal argued. "They know that I am in the hollow somewhere, and they will kill us if they find out I am here to help you."

With this realization, the Thorntail changed his mind. "If you think we can take them, climb aboard." He used his head to point over his shoulder, gesturing for Krystal to climb on his back. There were fewer spines than normal there, enough for her to ride as long as she was careful. Without hesitation, she threw her left leg over the dinosaur's lowered body and secured herself. "Hang on, this might get bumpy. Let's go!" The pair led the charge, followed by the other four Thorntails being held prisoner. With roars of rage, they burst through the tunnel entrance into the bright Saurian light to face the Redeye guards.

To Krystal's surprise, all three Redeye were waiting at the tunnel entrance. They spun around at the sound of the Thorntail dinosaurs and roared furiously, determined not to let their prisoners escape. The Thorntail leader grunted back, signaling with his spiked tail for the others to hold their ground. With a roar from the lead Redeye, they began to charge.

The Thorntails fanned out, spreading themselves so that each Redeye was outnumbered two to one. Then the fighting began and the clearing erupted with the roars and cries of dinosaurs locked in combat. Krystal drew her Gatling gun as she rode toward the leading Redeye, the enemy that she had faced before on her own. The tyrannosaurus snapped its jaws at her, but she tilted her body sideways and her Thorntail steed rammed his head into its legs, shoving it sideways and almost knocking it over. The Thorntail spun his body around, trying to whip his tail spines into the Redeye's face. As it recovered its balance, it lowered its head and bit down on the tail, ignoring the spikes as its teeth sank into Thorntail flesh.

With a roar of agony, the lead Thorntail flinched, unable to free his tail from the Redeye's grip. Krystal aimed her Gatling gun and fired several rounds into the face of her attacker, who released its grip as bullets pierced its thick green scales. Free to move, Krystal's Thorntail began to race around the Redeye as she continued spraying armor-piercing rounds into its hide. For several seconds, the Redeye was confused, tossing its head back and forth trying to locate its attacker.

Krystal fixed her eyes ahead of her and realized too late that an enormous green tail was swaying at her chest level. Before she could react, she was swept off her feet and knocked off her mount. She hit the dirt with a thud and her gun was tossed out of her reach. The lead Redeye, realizing that she was alone and vulnerable, glared at her with gleaming red eyes and charged toward her, each step causing the ground to quake.

Krystal leaped to her feet, but before she needed to react, her Thorntail friend reappeared from amidst the brawl, slamming into his foe from the side and penetrating its scales with his back spikes. With a growl, the tyrannosaurus rammed its attacker with its forehead, forcing him back several paces. Then it turned its head and bit down into the Thorntail's neck.

Panic gripped at Krystal and her heart began pulsing rapidly. Though the Thorntail slammed his spiked tail into the Redeye's neck repeatedly, it would not release its fatal grip. Krystal darted toward her Gatling gun only to throw it to the ground when she checked its ammunition. I have no more shots left, and my friend is going to die! She risked a glance down at her belt and realized that she had one more grenade left, so she instantly pulled it off her belt and began charging it.

"Take this!" With a spin, the she-fox hurled her grenade at the massive tyrannosaurus. It exploded in the Redeye's face, just high enough in the air so that the injured Thorntail was out of range of the blast.

This was too much for any ordinary Redeye to handle; the explosion at pointblank range burned into the carnivore's facial skin and eyes, forcing it to release its hold on the Thorntail, who fell to the ground, motionless. The Redeye staggered several paces backward and collapsed to the ground, dead.

With this, all of the fighting in the clearing ceased and the two remaining Redeye glared at their defeated ally. With a glance at each other, they realized that they would lose the fight and retreated beyond Krystal's Arwing, down into the Cape Claw passage. For a moment, everything was silent and not a single being stirred.

After her enemies had fled, Krystal raced to the side of her wounded friend. Blood slowly pulsed from his neck, and she slipped off her jacket to wrap it around the bite marks. "Is it fatal?" She desperately asked the other Thorntails as they approached.

"I don't think so, but he's losing a lot of blood" one franticly replied. "We will carry his body into the tunnel where you found us. Find some white grub tubs, quickly!"

* * *

Fortunately, finding the white mushrooms was not difficult. Krystal knew where to look, deep down in the darkest places of the hollow. She entered the round stone structure that she had passed before and climbed a long wooden ladder deep into the depths of the earth. She retrieved three mushrooms, used to slowly heal the injured Thorntail to the point of stability. Almost an hour passed until he was able to speak again and the bleeding in his neck had finally stopped.

"Thank you, Krystal," the lead Thorntail coughed. "Your quick thinking might have barely saved my life." He had been moved into the tunnel, near the stone steps where he had been when Krystal found him. His pointed face turned toward the vixen with a look of sincere gratitude.

"I only repaid the favor that you did for me," she said, humbly remembering how he had thrown himself in harm's way for her. "You fought bravely, worthy of recognition across planet Sauria."

The Thorntail nodded his head in thanks, suddenly assuming a serious tone. "Now, down to business." Finally, he began to tell Krystal about Dinosaur Planet's current status. "The Redeye that we faced today are not the only Redeye attacking our planet. Dozens, even hundreds, have spawned out of the Walled City. The Earthwalkers that dwell there are in the greatest danger; for the dinosaurs that they imprisoned beneath their city have been set free, under the command of the Queen Redeye."

Already, Krystal's head was swimming with questions. Fox had mentioned defeating a King Redeye in order to obtain one of the four Spellstones, but he never said anything about a Queen. "What allowed the Redeye to escape their imprisonment?" She asked. "When Fox saved Sauria years ago, he defeated the Redeye King and helped the Earthwalkers to imprison the monsters once and for all. Are you saying there's another monster kept below the Walled City?"

Several loud coughs persisted, followed by the Thorntail's reply. "We thought we had seen the end of them as well. We have never known about a Redeye Queen as long as the Earthwalkers have reigned over the Walled City. Only recently, the sacred Redeye Teeth that have locked the Redeye Tribe away have been stolen. No dinosaurs know who is responsible, except maybe the Redeye themselves. We must find the two teeth and defeat the Redeye Queen before the other Tribes are destroyed and all is lost."

The danger to Sauria was much more complicated than Krystal had originally thought. She had assumed that the problem would be solved after she defeated the Redeye and set the Thorntails free, but that was only the beginning of her mission. Now she had to defeat the Queen Redeye... Even if she had any ammo or grenades left, she was sure that they would be no match for this new threat. There was only one weapon that she knew of that could defeat the Redeye Queen; she knew this because it had been used to defeat the Redeye King two years before.

"I know what I have to do," Krystal turned her head from her friend to face the light coming from outside the tunnel. "I must collect my staff and wield it once more."

"Your staff?" The Thorntail seemed puzzled, but then nodded in agreement. "I remember Fox wielding a staff when he journeyed across the planet on his quest to save it. Does this staff really belong to you?"

The vixen nodded. "It is the only weapon I know of that might be able to defeat the Queen."

"Well then," the Thorntail slowly rose to his feet to bid his friend goodbye with a bow of his head. "Go out there and defeat this menace. Go with the blessings and gratitude of the Thorntail Tribe. May we meet again before this is all over."

Krystal returned his kind words, hoping to return to him when all was said and done. Determined, she began pacing out of the tunnel until her walk turned into a run. She emerged from the tunnel entrance, embracing the sunlight that shone down on her. Part of her was terrified of facing the Redeye Queen, but she continued with the strength of the Thorntails carrying her on.

Before reaching the location where her Arwing was landed, she approached a small bed of blue, yellow, and red flowers. She stopped where she stood among the beautiful plants and noticed a small indent in the ground between them, as if something sharp had once been wedged into the planet's surface.

Suddenly, another vision appeared to her. She was now several paces from where she once stood, and Fox was standing in her place. He gripped a long, blue weapon that was embedded in the ground where the indent was. The staff was decorated with a series of deep blue swirling patterns and came to a thicker golden tip, pointed at the end. Krystal realized she was reliving the moment when Fox first found her staff!

He pulled and tugged at the magical staff until it finally wrenched free from the ground, twisting it in his hands as he observed his makeshift weapon. An image of Krystal's head appeared in a message to Fox, telling him that if he found this staff, then she was in danger. The message continued on while Krystal tried to recall how her staff found its way to Thorntail Hollow in the first place.

It must have fallen here from the skies, the she-fox thought. I was flying high above the planet's surface on the back of a Cloudrunner when I lost it from my grip. It was foolish of me to leave it behind, but I knew I had to locate the source of the distress signal immediately. I could not leave the dinosaurs of Sauria to face the power of Andross alone... her home planet Cerinia had been destroyed, but she wasn't going to let the same fate come to Sauria as well. The message to Fox ended with the words "take care of my staff, and it will take care of you." The image faded from Krystal's mind and she found herself standing beside her Arwing.

Again, she shook her head to clear it. "I know what I have to do," she repeated. "I must retrieve my staff from the top of the Krazoa Palace." She left her continued visions of Fox behind with her Arwing as she followed the trail leading back to the WarpStone. Fortunately, Krystal had left her staff on Sauria when she departed to become a full member of the Star Fox team. She thought that it would prove to be inferior against blasters and lasers, so she left it under the protection of the Krazoa. For some reason, the staff acted as a key to the planet, unlocking many of its secrets while in the hands of Fox; it was only natural that it stayed on Sauria for future use.

Krystal found herself lost in thought when she reached the enormous WarpStone. It was still fast asleep in its slumber, undisturbed by the fighting that happened outside. Hopefully he will take me to the Krazoa Palace... Fox did mention that he could be cranky to strangers. "WarpStone?" She called, gazing upward at the figure's closed eyes.

The ground shook as the WarpStone stretched its trunk-like arms into the sky and yawned. Its eyes opened wide as it spotted what had awakened it. "What do you want? Why can nobody leave a poor stone giant to rest?"

Definitely rude... But Krystal let it slide, as there were much more important things to complain about. "Could you take me to the Krazoa Palace? Please, I must speak to the Krazoa," Krystal asked politely.

The WarpStone simply laughed at the question. "Now why would I take some stranger to the Krazoa palace? Do you want to remove them from their rightful place and put the planet in danger again?" The giant hunched down as far as it could without a lower body and stared Krystal face to giant face.

"Actually, I was one of those trying to save the planet... Fox McCloud told me that you had teleported him to the Krazoa Palace before. Would you please take me there? It is urgent," Krystal pleaded, trying to hide her frustration.

"Wait, you're a friend of Fox?" With a nod from the vixen, the WarpStone changed his tone entirely. "Well of course I can take you there!"

Krystal tried not to let him see her rolling her eyes. Now he will listen to me... she sighed.

An open stone palm made its way toward her, stopping just before her feet. "Come on then, let's get you to the Krazoa Palace." The WarpStone motioned for her to come forward, so she took a step into the statue's stone hand that was larger than she was. Suddenly, everything went black. Krystal felt that she was alone in the dark depths of space, her body swirling amongst the stars and planets. She was tempted to feel at peace with the sensation of teleportation, but she was immediately drawn to the reality of what awaited her on the other side. I must retrieve my staff; then, my battle with the Redeye Queen awaits!