My First Fanfic

[Mr. Krystal]

Chapter 1: Tragedy in Orbit

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...78, 79, 80! Fox set the weight down. He had just completed his exercise routine for the day. He looked over at the door. Falco and Slippy had finished long ago and were waiting around the landing next to the towel bin. Falco was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes closed. Slippy was completely covered in sweat and panting heavily. Fox chuckled under his breath at the sight of Slippy as he walked up the ramp towards them. He shook off a bit and began mopping his face with a towel.

It was a huge exercise room, complete with all the equipment a hundred member crew could ever need. The room was over 30 meters wide and 50 meters deep with a large viewport along the back of the room, overlooking the rear of the ship. Outside, Solar was rising over the shadow of Macbeth for the second time this hour. The window immediately began dimming itself.

"Kind of a waste for just four people," thought Fox, "but who could turn down such a generous offer?"

After the Great Fox had been destroyed, Star Fox needed a place to live and park their Arwings. General Pepper made it his last official order in military command to allow them the temporary use of a Cornerian Class R Cruiser[*1]. He called it a bonus for a job well done.

Fox looked down, deep in thought. The Aparoid invasion had taken its toll on everyone. General Pepper left military service shortly after his recovery. He had told Fox that they had forced him, kicking and screaming, into retirement. Fox knew him better than that, though. The emotional scars of having his mind taken from him were deep. Peppy finally did retire, as he had promised, but only to assume General Pepper's position. "Being a former member of Star Fox carried a lot of weight in military circles," he said. Slippy got a girlfriend. Falco... well, he never changes. And Krystal, she was growing into a more competent pilot with every training mission.

Fox looked back at the end of the exercise room. Krystal was still going. "You'd never think she was so athletic just looking at her," thought Fox. Krystal's routine was always longer than anyone else's. Fox arrived at the landing and turned his head back towards the others to find that Falco had opened his left eye slightly.

"She does this every time, Fox. You think you could hurry her up a bit?" Asked Falco. "You just want her to cook," replied Fox. Falco tapped his foot, growing more impatient. "Well, she's the only one on board who can, you know," Falco said as he closed his eyes. Krystal had become the unofficial cook for the team. She enjoyed it; probably happy for all the attention after her long time alone before the Saurian Incident[*2].

"Clang!" Krystal let the weights hit the housing on one of the larger machines, signaling unintentionally to the rest of the team that she was finished. The others looked up. Krystal got up and walked towards them. When she noticed all of the expectant faces looking at her, she giggled slightly. But then she realized that she had left her towel on the equipment. Slippy groaned as she turned around and walked back to the far end of the room. As she reached for it, she froze. For two seconds she stood there, bent down in an awkward position. Fox's ears perked up. Krystal whipped her head around towards the group, an expression of horror on her face. "HOLD ON!" She screamed and began to make a dash towards the landing.

Then, the wall exploded.

"BOOM! ffffffffffffsh!" The explosive decompression was deafening! The huge suction of the escaping atmosphere turned the equipment near the hole into oddly shaped missiles. The hole was getting bigger each moment. Fox fell forward and grabbed the railing. Falco had fallen over it, but was safely behind some equipment bolted to the floor. Slippy had dropped to the floor, using his natural suction pads for grip. "Sh-bang! Bang! Bang!" The emergency decompression panels[*3] fell from the ceiling and covered the hole. The relative silence of this new situation revealed that warning sirens were going crazy. "WARNING: Decompression in Aft Recreation Chamber C! Crew, please confirm status!" Falco looked up wide-eyed. His head whipped around to the doorway. "FOX! We need to..." Falco trailed off. The he saw Fox sprinting down the hallway just as the doors slid shut. He had never seen Fox move that fast before.

Fox saw only one thing as he ran, an image burned onto his eyes, the image of Krystal violently rotating in zero-g, no longer holding her throat, going limp.

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[*1] Cornerian Class R Cruiser - Basically a military supply vessel with minimal firepower, but a large space hanger.

[*2] Saurian Incident - The events of Star Fox Adventures.

[*3] Emergency Decompression Panels - A security measure in most Lylatian ships larger than one-occupancy spacecraft. When decompression is detected, large sectional panels made of outer shielding grade metals fall from inside the walls, plugging any holes created by weaponry or debris that penetrates normal shielding. The time from detection of decompression until a permanent seal is established is approximately 2 seconds, depending on the size of the hole.

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[Note to readers:]

I hate stories with a bad ending, so you can rest assured that this fanfic will not have one, no matter how bad it may seem. Besides, I could never kill off one of my favorite characters.

You can critique it if you want, but keep in mind that I've never made one before. Not only that, but this is pretty much my first work of fiction period. I mostly write technical articles or papers.

Chapter 2 is almost done.

[Guest Snytbaggen]

This is good! I like it!

Would you mind telling us what categories it'll fit in?

[Mr. Krystal]

Categories?

Um...

Sci-fi, action, fantasy?

[Mr. Krystal]

Here it is at Fanfiction.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3050357/1/

Here's Chapters 2 and 3:

An Unlikely Enemy

Chapter 2: Pain

"I have no time to feel, no time to worry, no time to question why," thought Fox, as he sprinted down the main corridor. "I have much to do and no time to do it." Fox was utterly at peace, his tactical mind taking over as his emotional one shattered. He was in the zone.

Fox yelled upward, "ROB! Prepare to receive multiple simultaneous instructions, all have ordered maximum priority!" "Acknowledged," responded Rob through the ship's comm system. "Bring maneuvering engines to full powered standby. Track heat source of approximately 40 degrees Celsius originating from this vessel at approximately 90 dash 1 dash 0 degrees and plot an intercept course. Begin pursuit as soon as previous two steps are complete. Maintain distance of 10 meters with respect to the heat source and starboard. Prep a space suit at the starboard airlock. End instructions!" Fox said with a single breath. "Instructions confirmed and underway. Full completion in approximately 20 seconds." replied Rob. "To slow," thought Fox as he made a sharp right turn and headed towards the starboard airlock.

"Hey, Fox! What should Slip and me do?" Asked Falco over the comm system. "Falco, meet me at the starboard airlock with an equipment mover. Slippy, get to the medical center and prep a stasis pod. We're going to need 100 stasis," replied Fox. Slippy gasped, "You mean... she'd already dead!" "Do it, Slippy, there's no time," sighed Fox. He heard a whimper from Slippy before the comm channel cut off.

At last, Fox arrived at the starboard airlock. A panel containing one of the space suits had already opened and extended outward, displaying a bright orange suit made of metal and plastic. Fox pressed a button on the chestplate, causing the it to mechanically hinge upward and the legs of the suit to rotate open. Fox climbed up and slid into the suit. He tapped the button again and put his arms down the sleeves as the rest of the suit sealed itself. Fox grabbed the helmet and dashed to the airlock controls. He smashed the large "OPEN" button and stepped inside. The door shut behind him.

"Rob! What's the status of the instruction set's completion?" Fox yelled into the ceiling. "Heat source located and followed. Requested orientation complete," responded Rob. "Good. I'm in the starboard airlock and will be retrieving the heat source manually. However, I want you to maneuver the ship as close to the heat source as possible without touching it," ordered Fox. "Understood. Now approaching 5 meters distance from heat source," said Rob.

Fox lowered his head and put on his helmet. Once it was attached and locked, he hooked the space-walk cable to the suit's harness and pushed the button to open the outer airlock. "Full decompression in 10 seconds. Artificial gravity off." Noted the small holoscreen in front of him. The outer wall opened and light started pouring in. Fox pushed off and floated forward at a slow speed still adjusting to the intense light from Solar. It was a couple of seconds before Fox could see, but he soon made out Krystal's outline. Only a few meters in front of him, she was rotating, arms and legs flailed out. Fox was approaching her quicker than he expected.

"Wait... My God!"

His mind reeled at the sight of her. Her body was devastated. Her arms and legs were swollen to almost twice their normal size. Her chest had collapsed. Fox could see that she would be bleeding from her mouth if the blood hadn't already frozen in her throat. Most of her fur was frozen solid from the sweat of exercising. Much of it had simply broken off into hundreds of blue needles. To top it off, it looked like several pieces of exercise equipment had connected with her on the way out of the hole. There were several large gashes on her legs and torso. Fox grabbed her by the arm and began pulling on the cable.

"Slippy, tell me you have that stasis pod ready," Fox whispered into the radio. "It's ready, Fox," Slippy solemnly replied.

A few seconds later, Fox and Krystal were inside the airlock. "Falco, you there?" Asked Fox. "I've got the mover right outside the door," responded Falco. "Okay, I'm going to leave gravity off in here when I re-compress. Be ready to help me move her and... well, just be ready for the worst," Fox said.

Fox quickly overrode the normal re-compression procedure and activated it. The door opened a few seconds later, revealing Falco with a large floating platform. Falco was wide-eyed. "Don't just stand there! Help me!" Yelled Fox. Falco regained his senses and rushed to guide Krystal's body onto the platform.

During the run to the medical center, time seemed to move in slow motion. What was he doing to do now? He had her body, and sure, they were near a large industrial planet with some of the best hospitals in the Lylat system. But what could they do? Krystal had been outside for more than a minute and she had tried to hold her breath during explosive decompression. Her organs were probably crushed. He looked down at her. Her arms and legs were beginning to shrink from the re-pressurization, causing blood to begin pouring through the cracks in her skin. Some of the larger gashes were thawing and beginning to bleed.

"Fox, wake up! We're here," Falco cautiously said. "Right," replied Fox.

Falco and Fox moved Krystal's body into the large stasis pod and activated it. The pod filled with mist and Fox lost sight of Krystal's body. He sank to the floor shaking, the emotional reality of the situation hit him for the first time. Fox put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.

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Note To Readers:

It gets worse before it gets better.

It might be a little longer before chapter 3.

Thank you reviewers. I will modify any chapter at any time based on your suggestions for improvement.

An Unlikely Enemy

Chapter 3: The Hospital

Fox felt dizzy and a strange sensation of movement. When he opened his eyes, he was blinded by brilliant light and everything was blurry. There was a sharp pain in his right arm, but when he tried to feel it, he couldn't move. Groggy and disoriented, he closed his eyes.

When Fox awakened again, he sat up suddenly. He was in a bed with white sheets and surrounded by curtains. "Wha- Krystal? Um... hello?" Fox cautiously called out. There was a shuffle on the other side of the curtain. They suddenly parted, startling Fox.

"Well, you picked a fine time for a nap," Falco smirked. Fox looked at Falco quizzingly. He then noticed the pain in his arm again. It wasn't as bad as before, just a slow, throbbing pain. He reached to comfort it and found it bandaged. Fox looked at it, then at Falco.

"And that would be where you cut your arm when you fell," said Falco in reply. "Fell?" Asked Fox. "Yeah, after me and you put Krysta-" Falco was cut off by Fox. "Is she alright? Where is she!" Cried Fox. "Easy man, one question at a time. She isn't good, but no worse than when she got put in the stasis pod," responded Falco. Fox raised his ears as Falco continued, "Remember? 100 stasis? Freezes the entire body? Well, they haven't turned it off yet. So anyway, like I was saying, after we put her in the pod, you were sitting on the floor, but then you stood up quickly, I can only assume to get us here, you know, a hospital, but apparently there was some high blood pressure or shock or something. Slippy tried to explain it to me and so you fell and I-" Fox cut him off again. "Wait, what do you mean turn it off?" Asked Fox.

Falco hesitated. "I think you'd better talk to the doc about that," said Falco. He disappeared for a moment and reappeared with a grey badger in tow. "Oh ah, you're awake Captain McCloud. Good to see you're alright. I'm Dr. Sharp. I've been tasked with handling your crew's needs," said the badger to Fox.

"Dr. Sharp?" Asked Fox. "Hmm yes?" He responded. "Why are you going to turn off the stasis pod?" Fox asked in a deadly serious tone.

"Oh! I see. Yes, well, Krystal's condition is critical. To be honest, she's a strange case. We haven't had many victims of explosive decompression. Those that aren't killed immediately always fall into two groups: those who recover quickly and those who expire quickly. The length of vacuum exposure is usually the key factor in separating the two groups. Krystal was in space for about one minute, right in between the survivable and the deadly time-spans. You did get her into a stasis pod quickly, but she also tried to hold her breath which was the worst thing she could have done. Her internal organs were..." Dr. Sharp droned on and on.

Fox spoke up, beginning to be agitated, "Just tell me why you want to shut off the stasis pod." Dr. Sharp stopped his diagnosis and looked directly at Fox, "Ah, well, long story short: even with the 100 stasis, she is slowly dying. The nerves in her brain are starting to fall apart, to say nothing about the rest of her body. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for her. However, I thought I should leave the decision to shut off the stasis pod to you, her being part of your crew."

Fox's ears drooped and he looked at the floor. "How could this happen?" He thought, "Why couldn't I save her? It's not fair!"

"May I see her?" Fox asked the sympathetic looking doctor. "Of course," replied Dr. Sharp.

Fox was silent in the wheelchair as Falco wheeled him down the hall. There were patients, doctors, and nurses busily walking here and there, pushing things, talking, attending to their own business. The scene of organized chaos was parted down the middle with a sagging orange fox being rolled towards the intensive care unit. Many stopped and whispered to each other, "Hey, isn't that Fox McCloud?" "Yeah, I heard Krystal got injured really bad, he must be going to see her. Poor guy, she was so young too." Fox heard none of it. He was again in his own world, cursing himself for not being able to help her. "I wasn't fast enough," he thought, "now she's going to die."

The sharp turn into the observation room jolted Fox from his trance. He looked up to see several technicians and Slippy monitoring Krystal's pod on several monitors. Slippy noticed Fox and walked to greet him, "Hey Fox, I've been thinking, the exercise room is no-where near any ship system that's even possibly explosive. We had shields up and there was no warning alarm about an incoming attack. How could the wall have exploded?"

Fox sighed wearily and spoke, "I don't know Slippy, why don't you go and check the ship? It's really not my main concern right now." Slippy laughed sheepishly, "Ha ha, sorry Fox, I guess I just got carried away on the details. I guess I'll go check the ship then, I'm no help around here." Slippy briskly left the room and Falco wheeled Fox to the monitoring station.

Fox got out of the wheelchair and began walking slowly towards the front of the pod as Dr. Sharp spoke to him further about the diagnosis, "As you can see here on these screens, she has no life signs. She's medically dead, but there's still traces of brain cell activity." Fox continued his shuffle towards the pod. Dr. Sharp continued, "There's nothing we can do for her, even if we could restart her brain, her internal organs are beyond repair." Fox put his hand on the glass door, as close as he could be to her. He shed a tear, she looked so much like when he first saw her, trapped in that crystal. That time, he saved her. This time... "So, you see, we need to shut off the stasis pod soon. There's no point in drawing out the inevitable. Let her soul rest," finished Dr. Sharp.

Fox removed his hand, looking down at the floor. "Give me ten minutes to think it over," he said as he shuffled out of the room.

"I need some fresh air," thought Fox. He found a balcony off a side hall and stood looking over the huge industrial capital of Macbeth. "I don't know if I could stand her not being here. I've already lost my family," desperate thoughts echoed in his head. "Maybe, I could slip... No! No, I couldn't do that. It's not right and that's not what she would want for me," Fox dismissed the horrible idea. But he still had a decision to make, a decision that had only one logical choice. It was a choice he didn't want to make. "I wish he was here," said Fox to himself.

"I'm so terribly sorry," said a deep, slow voice to Fox's left. Fox turned sharply to look, his eyes suddenly wide.

"I'm so... very sorry, my son."

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Note To Readers:

Don't you just love cliff-hangers?

Lot of talking this time. Chapters 4 and 5 will likely be the same, but action shall soon return.

I'm terribly sorry for the somewhat graphic nature of these first few parts. I'm not trying to make it that way, it's just what seems realistic to me. I guess it doesn't seem so bad to me because I know what happens.

Krystal will be perfectly alright within a few chapters, I promise.

[EvolutionSFox]

!

Dwight's fanfic.

[Guest Whirlpool]

Awesome story you have here Dwight. And even though you said you wouldn't kill off one of your favorite characters, there's still the feeling that Krystal is going to die if there's not a miracle or something. The suspense and action is great, I can't wait for chapter 4, if you ever decide to post it. :D

[Four-eyed Vulpine]

Oh no!  Krystal!

This is a really good story so far, and I like how the plot is moving along at a good pace--not too fast, but not droning on and on with details, either.

I know that it's been, what, six months, but I was wondering if you were going to still continue with this.  I like how it's going.

[PuffNStuff]

Right?! This guy should finish it!

[Mr. Krystal]

Sorry guys! You know me! Busy busy! Yes, I am going to continue it, although at a weird, inconsistant pace. I've already finished chapter 4 which I forgot to post here. Also, as of this week, I'm about 1/4th of the way through chapter 5, which brings the fic back into the actiony parts! Hurray! I'll try and get this going again.

An Unlikely Enemy

Chapter 4: The Right Choice

Fox couldn't move. He could hardly breathe. There he was, James McCloud, standing there in his casual flight suit, the suit Fox had modeled his suit after in the early days of mercenary work. He had his arms folded across his chest as he looked out over the thousands of buildings and factories of the megacity below. Fox realized that his father had not looked at him when he had spoken before. There was a wavering in his voice that informed Fox of his father's struggle to keep his calm demeanor. It was as if James could not look at Fox without crying. Fox couldn't tell for sure, however, because of the dark sunglasses James wore. James was exactly the way Fox remembered him before he died.

"Father! You're-," Fox was cut off by James as he raised his head and spoke.

"Fox, I know you have a difficult decision to make, but be calm, you will make the right choice. You MUST make the right choice," he said in a low voice.

Fox blinked. His father knew what he was struggling with. Krystal was dying and there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. He could either let her go or prolong her life in agony. Neither seemed like the right choice. Fox opened his mouth to ask which choice James was referring to when his father spoke again.

"You will know it when you see it. Fox, in your darkest time, your choice will be clear," said James and set his jaw, he was through talking. He continued to stare out into the distance.

Fox was still frozen where he stood. "This is crazy!" thought Fox. James was dead, but there he was in the flesh only a meter away. This wasn't the first time that he had mysteriously appeared during Fox's times of greatest stress. After his first appearance in the explosion on Venom, Fox had reasoned that it was just his imagination. But this was completely different. Fox could actually see his father right next to him. This wasn't some simple com transmission and an Arwing in the distance. If he was really there, then where had he been all this time? Fox wanted to ask his father that question now more than any other, even than his questions about Krystal, now realizing that his father's few words had already brought him encouragement.

James finally turned his face towards Fox and smiled, "Say 'hi' to ROB for me," he said, his serious tone temporarily gone.

Fox finally found himself able to move. He prepared to run and embrace his father for the first time in ten years. If not that, he could finally see if his father's appearances were only a figment of his imagination. Fox took his first step towards his father when a familiar voice yelled his name. Fox turned to look.

"Fox! Fox! I figured it out!" Cried Slippy. He was waving his arms in the air, some papers in his hands, as he ran towards Fox.

Fox turned back towards his father, but he was no longer there. Fox once again found himself in an awkward position. Fox straightened up and wiped a tear from his eye as he muttered under his breath, "I should have expected that. Slippy, your timing is impeccable."

"Imagined or not, Father has never told me the wrong thing to do," thought Fox. Part of the burden of the choice he would have to make about Krystal was lightened by his father's words. Fox no longer had to worry about it, the choice would take care of itself ...somehow. Fox's mood was lifted dramatically.

Fox looked back at Slippy as he arrived, huffing and puffing, from his excursion. Slippy held up a hand to indicate that he needed a moment to regain his breath. When he finished, he stood up and asked, "Hey Fox, I know you're really upset and this probably isn't the best time, but remember how I couldn't figure out how the wall exploded?"

"Yeah," Fox answered in his normal upbeat tone. Fox motioned for Slippy to follow him back into the hospital, "what did you find out?"

Slippy was taken aback by Fox's sudden mood change. He shook it off and followed quickly behind Fox, excited to tell him what he had discovered. "Okay, I was looking at the shield readouts before the explosion. You know what I found?" Slippy asked.

"No, what?" Responded Fox.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing was detected... BEFORE the explosion," Slippy declared.

Fox looked at Slippy quizzically, "Are you saying that whatever caused the explosion originated from inside the shields?"

"Yes and no," Slippy answered, "the key was what happened immediately after the explosion. That's when the sensors indicated the presence of a massive release of neutrinos outward, away from the ship."

The two rounded a corner into the main hallway which spanned the length of the building. The space dock was at one end while the intensive care unit was at the other. Fox stopped Slippy there to finish their conversation, knowing they would soon travel in opposite directions.

"Alright Slippy, you've baffled me. What hit us?" Asked Fox.

"I thought you'd never ask! We got hit with some antimatter! When antimatter touches normal matter, there's a giant explosion and neutrinos are released. Our shields only detect normal matter and energy. The antimatter must have passed right through our shields and hit the outer hull of the ship, where the explosion happened," Slippy finished explaining.

Fox had heard about matter-antimatter reactions in his technological history classes back at the Academy. Researchers studied the reactions hundreds of years ago as a possible new energy source. Funding had ceased when a technique to harness gravity itself was discovered. Those techniques were the basis of the G-Diffusion engines in all space-faring ships, including his own Arwings. Antimatter existed in nature, but rarely, and in small amounts. Fox wondered whether this explosion was accidental or intentional.

"So what do you think, Slippy? Were we hit by some antimatter beam or maybe some naturally occurring antimatter?" Fox asked.

"I don't know," said Slippy, "an explosion of the size we saw would take a fist size chunk of antimatter. As far as I know, naturally occurring antimatter only exists in chunks of a few atoms at a time. Then again, those energy scientists studying antimatter centuries ago only managed to create about one gram over the course of fifty years."

Fox nodded, "I guess that will just have to remain a mystery for now. Listen, I have to get back to Krystal. Can you make preparations for our ship's repair?"

"Sure, Fox," Slippy turned to leave, but quickly turned back, a sympathetic look on his face, "Fox, I'm... really sorry about Krystal. I know that this is hitting you the hardest, as the leader and her personal friend. Krystal was always so kind to me..." Slippy became teary-eyed, "Just... whatever choice you make, I... we will be behind you, 100 percent!"

Fox placed his hand on his comrade's shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry, Slippy. I don't yet know how, but this will all work out. I'll make the right choice."

"Alright, Fox. I'll be back as soon as I can," Slippy said as he wiped his eyes and turned towards the space dock.

Fox watched him go for a moment before sighing and turning towards the intensive care unit. There were fewer people in the hallway now that noon had passed. Fox took his time making his way back. "I'll have to make my choice soon," thought Fox, "and I still don't know which one is the right one." Fox walked down the hall, head down, deep in thought. He pondered the information he had just learned, his father had told him that there was a correct choice and that he would recognize it when he saw it. Fox wondered which it was, playing through multiple scenarios in his mind. None seemed to work out any better than another. Krystal was still going to die in a short time, never to be revived. And then there was the intel Slippy had found. A premeditated attack seemed functionally impossible, what with the amount of antimatter needed. Plus, why would an attacker use such an obscure weapon and on such a non-critical area of the ship? Then again, a freak natural occurrence of antimatter seemed even less likely.

Fox was still deep in thought when he reached the door of the intensive care unit. He stopped and looked up to see a grey wolf in military dress standing in the doorway, blocking his path. The wolf met his gaze and extended a hand in greeting.

"Captain McCloud! It's a honor to meet you. My name is Colonel Lee," said the wolf.

Fox took the colonel's hand and gave it a firm shake, "Nice to meet you. I apologize, I really need to get back to my teammate. Please excuse me."

The grey wolf held up his other hand, indicating his desire for Fox's attention. Fox, unable to get through the blocked door gave the colonel his full attention.

"Fox, I have been sent by my superiors to express our condolences to you and your team for this most unfortunate accident," Lee apologized.

"What are you saying? Do you know the cause of the explosion?" Fox asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid we know very well. You see, it's our fault that your teammate Krystal ended up this way. It was a mistake in an experiment we were running," the Wolf lowered his head in sadness. He frowned, but kept his eyes on Fox.

For a moment nothing happened. Fox's eyes widened. He could sense something was happening, but he couldn't quite place it. He noticed that the colonel's face began to show signs of confusion, and then apprehension.

Fox blinked. When he opened his eyes he found his hands strangling the wolf's throat. Fox's fingers reached deep into the colonel's fur and skin, crushing down on the windpipe. Fox had backed Lee against the wall and was hoisting the wolf into the air by his neck. Unnatural strength flowed through Fox in his anger.

"A mistake in an experiment?!" thought Fox, "you killed my teammate."

"You will pay for your mistake!" Fox said to the Wolf now clawing at his throat for air.

"Please... you don't under-urk!" Lee tried to explain, but Fox wasn't listening.

Fox continued to tighten his grip on the colonel's throat. Fox now had a guilty party to give his pent-up stress, anger, and confusion from the day's events. Fox could hear hasting footsteps behind him. Two new sets of hands tried to pry Fox's grip from the colonel's throat to no avail. Fox could tell from their shape and color that it was Peppy and Falco trying to stop him. Nevertheless, Fox kept his deathgrip on the wolf.

Colonel Lee began to grow faint from the lack of air. He slowed, and then stopped, his clawing at Fox's tight grip. As his left hand fell away to his side, Fox followed it with his eyes, getting some animalistic satisfaction from his victory. However, when his eyes reached the wolf's chest, Fox froze, seeing for the first time the colonel's name-tag.

It read, "Colonel Write Lee, Special Operations."

Fox stared at the name and mused to himself, "So this is the 'right choice' huh?"

Fox released his grip on the wolf who slid to the floor, crouching on one knee and rubbing his throat. Moments before Colonel Lee had been fearing for his life, but when he looked up, he was surprised to see Fox McCloud standing at attention a meter away giving him a salute.

Sound finally re-entered Fox's world and he heard the voices of his teammates. "Fox! What was that all about?!" Peppy asked.

Falco was more confused, "Why the sudden mood changes? First you try to kill him, and now you're saluting him. What's going on?"

"Quiet," Fox said, "I'll explain later."

The colonel recovered quickly and stood up to face Fox, a little apprehension and confusion still on his face.

"I apologize for my unprofessional behavior. I have been under immense stress as of late," Fox explained.

The wolf nodded, "I see! -cough- Your behavior is understandable in such a situation. I probably would have done the same in your shoes, no harm done."

"This might sound strange coming from someone who just tried to strangle you, but do you have something else to tell me other than your role in the accident?" Fox pressed.

Colonel Lee looked surprised, "Yes, as a matter of fact there is something." He laughed, "I guess security isn't what it used to be. I assume that you will take full responsibility for your teammates' health in situations when they can't make their own decisions?" the colonel asked.

"That's right," Fox answered.

"Excellent. My superiors have decided to do what they can to help rectify the situation since it is ultimately our fault that Krystal ended up here. They have decided to make some of the most high level top secret technology available to you. Krystal could potentially recover completely," the wolf said with a small smile on his face.

Peppy and Falco were surprised, but not as much as Fox who nearly jumped out of his skin, "If there's anything you can do for her, do it!"

The colonel shook his head, "Wait, there are a couple of problems. We will have to remove her from stasis and operate with virtually untested technology. If it doesn't work on the very first try, there will be no second chances, she will die."

"She's going to die as it is right now, the doctors here can't do anything. They want me to just pull the plug. Any chance is better than none at all," Fox reasoned.

"I thought you might say that," said the wolf, "but there is one other problem, one that you will have a harder time accepting."

"What would that be?" Fox asked.

"It's about the technology itself. It's not exactly untested, just untested by us. You've seen it before, the devastation it caused, not just to you, but to everyone..." Colonel Lee was having a difficult time bringing himself to admit the secret to Fox. He stammered and looked at the floor.

Fox reached in close, lowering his head so that he could see the wolf's eyes, "what is it, colonel?"

Colonel Lee looked up at Peppy, then at Falco, then at Fox. His gaze intensified as he spoke in a low voice, "the technology to revive your teammate is... Andross Biotech."

[Four-eyed Vulpine]

OMG!  Cliffhanger again!!

Fox's rollercoaster of emotions certainly threw me for a loop in this chapter, but I was able to get back on before the end, thank goodness. 

And Fox choking that guy was exciting!  Seriously, I was rooting for Fox on that one.

*waits patiently for Chapter Five*

[PuffNStuff]

I started reading it then I realized that i read it on ff.net. lol I live there now lol. Anways yeah dude can't wait

[Mr. Krystal]

OMG!  Cliffhanger again!!

Get used to it. One of my inspirations for this fanfic is the tv show Alias. Every single episode in that show ended in a cliffhanger (except the last one). My fanfic will be the same so far as I can manage.

[salmon45]

I have started reading this fan fic and have to say that it is good so far.

[Guest Chiro-Chan]

I loved how you did James' apperance. He just stands there, right next to Fox, and when Slippy yells at him, he looks back and he's gone. I applause this story, and the chapter! 

[nigel76]

awesome.  one question though, can guests see the fanfics section?  because some members of my forum would like to read this, and I was considering just posting a link to this topic.

[Mr. Krystal]

awesome.  one question though, can guests see the fanfics section?  because some members of my forum would like to read this, and I was considering just posting a link to this topic.

Glad you like it! As far as I know, except for forums about staff stuff, everything here is open to the public.

[PuffNStuff]

Yeah open to the pubic... Which the public should be viewing YOUR NEXT CHAPTER RIGHT NOW!!!!! If you don't write it, I will..... You wont like what I will so if you want her live, YOU WILL WRITE!!!

Oh thats right.... I'm holding her hostage!

*Puts knife to Krystal's neck, pulling it slightly to leave a small but crimson streak of blood where the knife had been seconds before*

You have one week......

[Mr. Krystal]

Yeah open to the pubic... Which the public should be viewing YOUR NEXT CHAPTER RIGHT NOW!!!!! If you don't write it, I will..... You wont like what I will so if you want her live, YOU WILL WRITE!!!

Oh thats right.... I'm holding her hostage!

*Puts knife to Krystal's neck, pulling it slightly to leave a small but crimson streak of blood where the knife had been seconds before*

You have one week......

She's medically dead right now, so that doesn't really effect her.

I appreciate your enthusiasm for my fic, but I'm only REBUILDING A WEBSITE FROM SCRATCH AND PHP!!! It takes time. I haven't studied C++ for days because of it. Tell you what. I'll start writing now and won't stop for at least 30 minutes. Maybe I'll get enough done to release. It'll probably be a short chapter though.

[PuffNStuff]

Oh, she better be dead... I only say this because truthfully, I want a happy ending.

[Mr. Krystal]

Instead of writing 30 minutes, I wrote for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. I'm a very slow writter though. I'd say I'm about halfway done with this chapter. It's at 1481 words (they're short chapters).

[PuffNStuff]

Yes your efforts are not inveign, I like it so far. Keep on writing! I know you won't do what I suggested, but it would rock if you did. from what I saw, there is really just political problems that tech. So really this is like those stem cell research debates in a lot of ways.

[nigel76]

very good, and I understand completely how much work redesigning a website can be. good luck, and I hope you find the time to write more soon.

and thx for letting me know, I added the link, and so far the topic it's in has had a lot of views, who knows, maybe it'll bring more new. members to sf-o too.

[Mr. Krystal]

Okay, first off, there was a major plothole in chapter 4, so I've re-written those parts and you can see it here:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3050357/4/An_Unlikely_Enemy

Secondly, I finally finished chapter 5. Actually, I didn't finish, I just realized that I had written over 3000 words and I still hadn't even gotten close to where I wanted to finish the chapter at, so, rather than cram stuff in, I stopped here and inserted a quick plot twist. It's apparently over 20000 characters, so I can't post it directly. You'll have to go over to fanfiction.net to see it. Enjoy chapter 5! Puff, stop torturing Krystal.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3050357/5/An_Unlikely_Enemy

[PuffNStuff]

*Opens the rusty gate, holding her in her cell.*

She is free, and I am sure; grateful....