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Chapter -8- Everyone's in Love

Near by...

Peppy paced in front of the holographic display of his wife, Vivian. "I'm sorry I haven't been a better husband."

Vivian frowned. "Where is this coming from? I mean, don't get me wrong - I love hearing you tell me your grand plan to live together on Corneria. I love hearing that you're going to have an actual desk job. I just ... where is this coming from?"

"The heart?"

Vivian chuckled softly. "No, I mean, really. This isn't your way of talking to me."

Peppy frowned. "That kind of hurts."

Vivian pretend to gawk. "I just told you I love hearing you open up like this. I just ... you never even opened up like this on our wedding day. You're acting like you wanna pretend we're both young again. I just don't understand where this is coming from."

Peppy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, honestly. I just miss you. Physically, emotionally..." He lowered his voice, adding, "...romantically..."

Vivian pointed at the holo-viewer, so that it looked like she was pointing at Peppy. "This. This, right here, is what I'm talking about. We're not teenagers anymore, Peppy. But, God, you're making me feel younger than I've felt in years, right now."

Peppy smiled softly. "I'm glad to hear that. I wish you were here right now. Or I wish I was there. Whichever. I'd wrap my arms around you, and I would..."

Vivian looked away with a tired but effeminate giggle. "I never knew that you became a lecherous old man."

Peppy laughed. "Only for you."

"You haven't talked to me this way in years."

"Well, I apologize for that. After this job, I'll tell John Pepper that I accept his offer to become a full time General. His position is kind of strange where he gets to nominate his own replacement, within reason. He has the political clout for the committee and the secretary to accept my application for the position. He'll introduce me to the Prime Minister, and we'll put things into motion."

"Well, you did win the war against Venom with a trio of teenagers."

Peppy continued with a grin of amusement. "Then, I'll pick out a home near one of the best medical facilities on that continent, and we'll settle down together the way we should have done years ago, when we were young. But, now, we'll both be mature enough to enjoy it, and I'll bring in enough money that we can keep it forever, until we're old, grey, and dust."

She offered him a soft smile. "I'd really like that. It sounds like you came to your senses."

Peppy chuckled. "I wish I'd done that sooner."

"No use dwelling on the past. Your work with Star Fox put Lucy through the best university in her field; I will be forever grateful that you provided so much for our baby girl, Peppy. Just come home to me, now. That's what will make me happiest. We can focus on our future. Or, at least, what time I have left of it."

"I love you, Viv."

Her expression brightened. "I love you, too. Look, Peppy, I understand why you did what you had to do. Maybe, in the next life, we'll find each other earlier and do it the right way. I can think of no one I'd rather spend every one of my lives with than you."

"God, I feel the same way, Viv. You'd better not come back as a Venom lizard."

Vivian laughed. "Yeah? And why not?"

"Because, for one, it would be taboo for us to be in love. Secondly, we wouldn't be able to have kids together, and lastly, you'd have a miserable childhood growing up on Venom."

She shook her head, her laughter trailing off to a dry chuckle. "Fair enough." A brief pause, then, "What about one of those Saurian lizards? I could be a stegosaurus."

Peppy laughed with a shake of his head. "That would make the romance a little awkward. I mean, how does a stegosaurus even have sex?"

"Very carefully." She shook her head with a grin. Her holographic picture became blurry, briefly, then resolved back into crisp, sharp, high definition imagery of her face and ears. "I assumed the female lays eggs, and then the male fertilizes it afterwards, like some sea creatures."

"Sauria research suggests they copulate the old fashion way. I just can't understand how."

"I can't believe we're even talking about this."

Peppy laughed. "Yeah, you're right. I'd much rather be talking about us copulating."

"Peppy!" she laughed. "You'd better get that cottontail back to Corneria quick as you can."

"You have my word."

"Good. I might be old, and I might be sick, but I'm not totally broken. You'll just have to be, you know ... gentle."

"I'll start slow and return whatever intensity you give."

"My god, this has turned into quite the conversation. Very well. Don't be all talk. Show me what you've got."

"Oh, I'll show you, all right."

"I might even let you have a cigar afterward."

Peppy laughed. "I'm more interested in what happens before the cigar."

"Are you, now," she said in a coquettish tone. "Then hurry up and finish your mission. I have a therapy session to do, and our daughter is knocking on my bedroom door, asking if I'm ready to go, yet."

"All right. I love you. Look forward to loving you in person."

"You better make good on all this sweet talk."

"I'll bring a bottle of your favorite wine. See you soon."

Vivian leaned in closer to the camera lens from her end. "I love you," she said with an endearing smile.

"You, too. I love you." Peppy ended the transmission and exhaled.

Silence.

"Holy smokes, what in the name of Lylat's husband, Corneria, was that?" he whispered to himself. Peppy cleared his throat, exhaled hard, again, and called Fox on his gauntlet.

Fox's bodiless head appeared above Peppy's communicator. "Peppy! Uh, what's up?"

"Did I call you at a bad time?"

"Oh, no, uh, not at all. No sign of Andrew yet, in case you're wondering."

"Mm, well, hurry it up. I've been talking to Vivian and I've decided I want to settle down with her in the Cap City. I want to take my wife out on a date ... and enjoy my time with her while she's still well enough to do things. I have memories to make with her, Fox, you know?"

"Aw..." The voice belonged to Krystal, somewhere near Fox. "If anyone deserves a little happiness, Peppy, it's you. Why not go now and we'll take care of this mission? We'll stream the data to you."

"The two of you need logistical support and..."

Fox interrupted this time. "Nonsense, Peppy. You're here right now, you put your thumb on this job, you have the best mercenaries in Lylat running point. This is the part where you head back home and handle your stuff. We'll send you the raw data files, and you compile them later."

Peppy rubbed his chin. "You'll need some measure of ground logistics, and you'll need someone running things on the carrier ship in case you need air support. What if..."

"What if what?" asked Fox.

"What if I had Slippy come down and set up a base camp. In case you have to restock water or food, you know? Falco could stay on the carrier and fly some patrols in the new Arwing to make sure that Andrew doesn't have any forces incoming to help him."

Fox chuckled. "Let's ask him. I'll patch him in." He tapped on the gauntlet, causing his image to distort slightly on Peppy's end.

After a moment, Slippy's visual showed up in a group chat. "Hey, guys!"

Peppy cleared his throat. "Slip! I have some things to take care of back home. Would you consider running logistics from planet-side? Or, well, moon-side?"

"Sure, but I've been working with a friend on some science stuff. Uh, Fox, I'd like to invite her here. She won't be in any danger and she won't get in the way."

Fox shrugged in a nonchalant way. "You're a grown-ass-man, Slippy. If you want to hire a scientist to help you with something, do what you want. Just so long as paying her comes out of your cut, heh."

Slippy chuckled. "All right. Deal. She's willing to give me a discount. Thanks Fox. Ahem, okay Peppy, I'll be down shortly to relieve your position, and you can head back to do whatever you have to do."

Peppy nodded firmly. "I'm going to call Vivian back and let her know the good news. Thank you."

"No problem," said Slippy.

"And, yeah, Fox is right. You're a grown-ass-man, son, and you've made me proud of you. Of all of you. See you shortly, Slip. Let Falco know."

"I will. Slippy - out." Slippy's holographic head disappeared.

Peppy eyed Fox. "Are you dressed? I saw fur on your shoulders when you shrugged, earlier."

Fox cleared his throat. "Uh..."

Krystal's voice came from somewhere in the background. "Peppy, Fox is a 'grown-ass-man,' too."

Peppy laughed. "I feel like I should be admonishing you both, but if Vivian was here with me, right now, I would want to do the same-darn-thing. On that note, I'm closing the channel. See you soon, future-Mr.-and-Mrs.-McCloud. Enjoy your ... mission. Good luck with putting Andrew behind bars."

"Take care, _General Hare_," said Fox with a grin. He turned to Krystal, just outside of the holographic viewer's sight, and said, "Nice one, hon." The transmission ended from Fox's end.

Peppy shook his head with a chuckle. "Ah, young love."

X

X

Meanwhile...

Fox dropped his head back down on the concrete floor adjacent to Krystal's naked body. He sighed softly and looked up at the ceiling above. "God, that was close. Almost like a parent knocking on the door after you just got dressed."

Krystal grinned at him. "Only we're not dressed. But I think I get what you mean. I like that he called us Mr. and Mrs. McCloud."

"I liked that part, too."

She shook her head with a sigh of content and a smile. "I can't believe we've done this twice on this moon."

Fox chuckled. "Yeah, I know right? I'm not complaining, though."

"And it's really sweet of Peppy to want to go home to his wife."

"Yeah, but pretty sudden. I mean, right in the middle of a mission, you know? I've known him my entire life and he has never done that sort of thing."

"Yeah, true. Makes you wonder if he found out something about her that made his decision that much easier." Krystal rubbed her chin. "I didn't sense anything concerning, though."

Fox shrugged. He half-draped his arm and head across Krystal's naked body. "We should secure the campsite, but I don't feel like moving unless it's to have a round three."

A devious sort of smile tugged at the corners of Krystal's muzzle. "I mean ... if you think you can manage another round, champ."

Fox laughed. "Of course I can."

"Well, prove it. Don't just tell me, Fox ... show me."

"But, uh, let's find another pet name - champ is a little weird."

"Fine. Your new pet name is sexy beast until I think of something better."

A grin tugged at the corners of Fox's muzzle. "Works for me." He leaned over her, cupped her face, and slanted his maw across hers, again.

She reached up and ran her fingers through his head-fur, pulling him closer with a murmur of delight.

X

X

On the opposite side of Miracle...

Andrew threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "What was my uncle obsessed with this nonsense for?! Why?!" He snatched a small holo-recorder from a nearby workstation, covered in two thousand years' worth of dust. The vacuum-sealed bunker had no shortage of dust, unlike other areas of the moon.

Andrew took a deep breath and blew some of the dust from the holo-recorder. He turned back to an audio recorder and continued to narrate to it. "The Krazoa were on the verge of extinction and they knew it. They had two factions - one group turned their third moon into an ark. They sent a large group of the population to a world now known as Kew. My uncle said the system is known as the Krazoa system because they successfully made it. But the usage of a lunar ark caused a small chunk of that moon to crash back into Sauria, causing an extinction level event that devastated the Saurian surface for a time. But it didn't matter because the population had moved to the moon now known as Miracle during that time..."

Silence.

Andrew sighed. "The second group, the ones that stayed on Sauria and this poorly-named lunar body, Miracle, wanted to bolster their numbers by flooding the Miracle atmosphere with hormone stimulators ... synthetic pheromones. Surprise, it doesn't work on Simian-kind. It works on reptiles, and there's no documentation to see if it works on other mammals, but Uncle Andross thinks it would work on most Cornerian races. But is that what he wanted me to see?!"

Andrew picked up another holo-recorder, and then he abruptly slammed it back down on the table in disgust. "I doubt it! He said there would be a secret weapon, but there's no secret weapon here! Just an abundance of resources. That doesn't help Venom right now. We can't trade with other Lylat worlds. They would just find out about our mining operation, shut it down, and take the resources for themselves."

He slumped in an ancient chair. The cushion deflated under his weight but didn't provide any cushioning due to its advanced age. "I hate this place. I never should have come here. Star Fox has me pinned down, and they're closing in. My forces have returned to Venom. I came to the location my uncle told me about, but there's no secret weapon!"

He opened a drawer in one of the desks in the bunker, but it was full of more holo-recorders, covered in slightly less dust than the ones that were atop of the desk. He groaned in frustration. "I've looked at everything my uncle left here for me to find! Do you know what I found?! I found that the Krazoa were pacifists! The lunar ark that caused Moon Mountain Pass? That was an accident. They realized that they doomed a large portion of Sauria, and without food and water coming from the Saurian surface, it was only a matter of time before the population on this moon died out from starvation. I can only imagine how it must have felt to accidentally destroyed the other half of your race. I wonder if there are any records on Kew that mention it, or if they buried their atrocities, promising never to speak of them to their offspring..."

Another pause. Andrew paced in frustration. "You know, the Kew, according to Uncle Andross, aren't nearly as tall as the Krazoa. I wonder if they got shorter over the last two thousand years to create a smaller carbon footprint. To require less resources. They would have had the ability to alter their genetics to make that happen. Or perhaps a different oxygen density on Kew, or a change in diet would have caused their height difference. Hmm..."

Andrew turned to face his personal recorder. "If they could engineer their genes, they would have stashed away the technology to do that. It would be here. It would be a guarded secret, I'm sure, but it would be here, forgotten by the race that died out and left it for me to find."

Another brief pause.

"If I could find it, here, on this dead moon, I could unlock the secrets of the Krazoa. I could make changes to myself. I could become smarter, faster, ageless, and able to heal any injury..."

His eyes widened.

"That's it! That's what Uncle Andross wanted me to find on this blasted old rock! It has to be! I think I've stumbled upon it, but it's obvious that Uncle Andross wanted me to finish his work, here. He would've wanted me to take up the torch! He would have wanted me to use it to bring respect to the Oikonny surname. He would have wanted his legacy to be more than an emperor of a short-lived empire. Andross would have wanted to be remembered as more than a dictator that was ... assassinated by the child of a man, which he defeated in a time of war."

Silence.

Andrew sighed. He ran his hand up through his unruly hair. "My uncle would have wanted a weapon that he could use to make the Simian line the most superior species in the galaxy. We could leave Lylat and populate a new galaxy, and plant roots into our own soil ... our own terrain. Terrans. We could call ourselves ... Terrans."

Andrew sighed with a shake of his head. He rubbed his face with his palms, then, with a smirk, he reached out and traced his thumb over the recorder's holo-lens. "More on this soon. Back to searching through their ruins." He closed the recorder and put it in his pocket.

His holo-recorder looked a great deal different from the dusty old Krazoan holo-recorders, filled with data from the Krazoa, and, some, from his uncle. It was easy to tell them apart. The Krazoan holographic recorders were ocular, and the ones his uncle used were square and less dusty.

Andrew hunched over one of the old Krazoa workstations. Off to the side was a laptop hooked into a data port of the Krazoan workstation. "Uncle, you may have found a way to have our technology talk to theirs, but by now, that damned frog would have figured out how to do the same thing."

Andrew took his personal recorder back out of his pocket and started a new file. He cleared his throat and stared at the holo-lens on the side. "Recording file number sixteen. Ahem..." He sat the recorder on the dust and walked over to the Krazoan workstation with the Cornerian-style laptop, which belonging to Andross.

Andrew tapped on the laptop, trying to use it to search for key phrasings in the Krazoan workstation, to see if it had access to the files he required. "Interesting how my Uncle's only nemesis, on an intellectual level, was Beltino Toad, and now I am Slippy Toad's intellectual nemesis. People tease us for not being the best pilots on our teams. They tease us for being worthless soldiers. But ... we both know that the two of us are the only ones likely to crack the secret of the Krazoa."

Andrew made a fist and shook it in the direction of the holo-recorder. "I hate you, Slippy. And, just like you protected Corneria Precious Metals LTD, the empire of your uncle, Grippy, the fact remains that I protected the empire of my uncle, as well."

Andrew's voice reverberated off the walls of the empty command center.

He continued. "So, the race is on, Slippy - once again, we're one another's rival. But you don't even know what you don't yet know, and I'm way ahead of you in knowing what to search for. You're smart, I'll give you that, but you really need to stick to the pond, Froggie."

Andrew continued typing on the laptop. After a moment, he stood up, closed both hands into fists, and sighed through clenched teeth. "Not this one, either. What workstation did they keep this information on? It would have to be in a fortified location, because they would have kept it safe. Well, this is a fortified location! It was sealed for years, except for when my uncle worked, here."

He reached down and unplugged the cable from the laptop that led to the Krazoan workstation. "There's mention of it on every workstation I've searched, but where are the files that hold the secrets to Krazoan genetic manipulation?"

He closed the laptop and coiled the cables around it, then tucked it beneath his left arm with a sigh. "Uncle Andross, I know you found something on this moon. I know you found it years before anyone else. I know you used the technology to create bioweapons capable of living on the surface of Solar. And I know that Cornerian scientists wiped your network servers. But I'm going to find whatever it is that you found. And I'm going to use it to greater effect than you did. I'm going to make the Simian species the most feared species in Lylat. And, if I can't, then I will take them to new terrains and call them the Terrans."

He walked away from the workstation to find another that would have the answers he needed. "And anyone who stands in the way will join me or die. Just like Andrea Bowman. I swear, when I find her son, Dash, I will only give him one chance to join me, or he, too, will die. He is not the true heir of Andross' military might - I am. Dash may have confidence, but I have the intellect to create the weapons that will shape Lylat in my image."

Another pause, then, "No, Uncle Andross, I am not contradicting myself! I will only leave Lylat to create a new home for Simian-kind if I have no alternatives. If I can stay and fight for our home, I will! I would only leave and create an ark, of sorts, to send the perfect Simians to create a ... a Terra if I can use the genetic-rewriting technology to make the perfect Simian. Our legacy will not be to doom our race. Our legacy will be to save it. I doubt I would even go with them." He shook his head with a soft sigh. "Right now, I have to focus on fighting for Lylat. It was supposed to be yours by now, Uncle Andross. Well ... ours. Oikonny or Bowman, it wouldn't have mattered - we would all be together. But Star Fox and Corneria's government ruined that. John Pepper's damned dogs. Disgusting creatures."

With the laptop under his arm, he walked out of the data center, and headed for the next Krazoan server center on his map. "I will find it, Uncle Andross. You left me a trail of breadcrumbs. I might not be the best pilot to fight in your name, nor the most confident, but I'm definitely the smartest. And I'll prove it to you. And Beltino Toad's son, too."

Andrew thumbed the portable recorder 'off', and folded it down, so that it fit back into his pocket with ease.

X

X

Meanwhile...

*Krystal shuddered with a sharp sigh of ecstasy. * Her lower lip quivered, as did her legs. She buried her face into Fox's shoulder, groaned long and loud, then dropped her head back onto the concrete floor tile.

She could feel it. The warmth within. She was dizzy with delight and proud to have provided her man with another climax. "God, Fox, that's it. Seed me and breed me."

His body relaxed, and he became still upon her, panting softly. In a muffled tone, against the side of her face, he murmured breathless words. "God, sex with you in unreal. You know exactly what to say to me. You know exactly what I need to hear. You know exactly how to touch me."

She nuzzled her face against the side of his head in return, and spoke in a hushed tone, directly into his ear. "Mm, well, I'd say you are the gifted one, here. You do all those things to me without telepathy. That's impressive."

Fox's breathing began to relax, and he wearily lifted his head to meet her gaze. "We go a year without much more than holding paws and kissing. Then, suddenly, this. And, God, it was worth the wait. I've never been this unprofessional on a mission. I just ... can't seem to keep my paws off of your body."

"Good." She replied with a tired smile. Her fur was matted with sweat. She reached a free paw upward and wiped her face. "Sorry. I'm a mess. A drenched mess. All over." A wry grin found her maw, and she added, "Inside and out."

Fox chuckled. "You know, some mammals around Lylat can't sweat. They don't have sweat glands. They pant a lot. And drool. Even a handful of vulpine-kind are born without sweat glands. A kickback to an earlier evolutionary cycle or some such."

Krystal scoffed. "That sounds even less attractive than sweating all over my fiancé."

"You like being able to sweat, huh?"

Krystal laughed. "Well, yes. At least I don't drool on you when we got each other in a lather."

Fox chuckled.

Krystal laughed.

"I always imagined it makes kissing a chore." Fox shook his head with another soft chuckle.

Krystal broke out into hysterics. She couldn't help it. She was high on hormones. Serotonin, dopamine, and whatever other endorphins were caused by reaching a double climax."

Fox tensed up a bit. "Man, I love when you laugh. You get ridiculously tight down there."

"Oh, well that's sexy. Next time we make love, I'll just say, 'make me laugh, baby.'

They both laughed again.

Fox reveled in his post-ecstasy sensations.

Krystal murred, sensing his pleasure. Her heart was still pounding wildly in her chest, but she started to relax beneath his comforting weight. She trailed off into a long, drawn out sigh of satisfaction, followed by looking up at the ceiling, her face flushed beneath her fur. "I said it once and I'll say it again. I didn't know sex could be like ... that."

"What else can you compare it to, if I'm your first?"

Krystal shrugged. "I was a virgin, not a prude. I handled my urges to keep them in check. But I've never experienced something so intense that it left my legs shaking. Certainly not this much."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Might I ask a personal question?"

"Krystal, we've exchanged bodily fluids multiple times. It doesn't get more personal than that."

"Well, yes, and that's exactly how I feel, but I'm still learning how to interact with non-telepaths, so I had to ask. Um, so, was it this enjoyable, for you, when you were with Miyu and Fara?"

Fox tensed up. He eased himself free of Krystal's body and sat up with an awkward expression. "Uh..."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know there was shame involved in that, too. On Cerinia, everyone knows about your past lovers. Hard to hide something like sex. Everyone handles it differently. Some aspire to outdo their mate's ex. Some share their past mates with their current ones. Some abscond from mating until they find someone more suited to their tastes, so they forego making love for a while. Some aspire to know how to make the act of sex comfortably familiar, and some want something very different than their last. But everyone in my race saw it as a bodily function, where as people from Lylat treat it as a deeply personal and almost religious sort of experience. Getting into the mind of your mate is what makes for the best release. Making love to their mind."

"No, no, you've described at least half the people from Lylat. There are a lot of similarities between our peoples. Um, to answer your questions, though, uh, Miyu dumped me because she thought I was comparing her to Fara. The truth is, I was still trying to figure out how to process the loss of Fara at the time. I ... sorry, hon. It's just that, uh, bringing this up ... well, it kills the mood."

"Sorry, Fox. I don't want you to think I judge you. I already telepathically learned all about both of those women ages ago. I learned the basics of what your memories of sex was like, and many other things about you, just from studying you."

"That's a tad bit on the invasive side, Krystal, no offense."

"Mm, well, I wasn't trying to be invasive. It's just ... second nature to know everything about one's mate, not to mention wanting to understand my new community. It's how my culture and my people worked."

"How did people, well, lie on your world?"

"Oh, Fox ... lying and deceit was a concept introduced to Cerenia by the Kew and by Dr. Andross when he came to our world; it otherwise didn't exist on Cerinia. At least not in the same capacity as Lylatians."

"I get it. There's no filter, because your people were networked together. You're not used to filtering your thoughts or whatever. I just ... wanted our romance to be perfect."

"Lylat's obsession with trying to make romantic perfection this fairy tale notion is, well, silly. Just because fairy tales don't mention people's natural curiosities and insecurities doesn't mean they don't exist if you bottle them. Bottling things is unhealthy. To think otherwise is really just a bit daft."

"Yeah, I know. It's just ... awkward to bring past stuff up during sex. I'd rather keep things on topic - you and me."

"Mm, well, if you stop putting things in a bottle, you'll live much longer. Women already live almost a decade longer than men in this star system because they're more in touch with their emotions. Imagine never feeling judged. Imagine never feeling afraid to speak your heart. You'd live twenty-five years longer. I'm sure of it. At least, the average Cerinian lifespan is about that, and, genetically speaking, it's not because our DNA is any better than yours. In fact, it's eerily similar in nearly every regard."

Fox chuckled. "There's something ... well, taboo about being inside of you while having a conversation that compares how you stack up to the only other two women I've slept with. You really don't find it weird?"

"That's my point, love. My race wouldn't even have to bring it up. We're already linked in a way that we would have all those answers about our mate. Thus, the lack of insecurities. To me? It seems taboo to have insecurities, now. But, because I sense the insecurities of those around me, I also now have them."

"But ... why?"

"Because I can't help but wonder if I make you happy. Our minds don't link, telepathically. It's just a one-sided connection, and when emotions are involved, it becomes harder to read you. So, when I get emotional, I can only read your feelings. I become more of an empath than a telepath at times. I don't care that you've slept with two other women in the past. That's only natural."

"Well, my culture romanticizes being so completely true to the one you're 'with' that it's frowned upon to think about one's past sexual partners. That's ... that's really the best way I know how to explain it."

"Ah. So you put your past in a bottle, and you push it down and forget about it?"

"Yeah," Fox replied with a firm nod. "Exactly like that."

"I understand, now. I'm sorry, Fox. I didn't mean to kill your mood."

Fox exhaled. "To answer your question, Fara was my first. So, she's ... special to me. Miyu was the one that tried helping me get over my first, and it was fun at the time, but it was also ... really kinda messed up. We had sex because we were sharing a trauma or ... whatever. I'm not a head-shrink, but that's the best way I know how to understand what she and I had. The thing is, our short-lived romance ruined our friendship."

"Ruined? How does sex ruin things between two people?"

"Because Lylat relationships are complicated, sometimes. Sex can ruin things for two people. But this? You and me? It's amazing. I've never felt so carefree in my life. I've never felt so ... I don't know. I'm a guy; I don't know how to explain it. Like, complete, I guess, would be a better word. You know? I know this sort of explanation should be pretty straightforward, but it's not. It's ... I don't know."

"Don't worry about it. Faffing about is a rather Cerinian pleasure."

"Faffing?"

"Taking unnecessary time to do something that should've been straightforward. A Cerinian loves nothing more than a good faff, love."

"Yeah, but you and I? This conversation, I mean? It's not taking unnecessary time to do something that should have been straightforward. It's talking about something that shouldn't be talked about when I'm inside of you."

"I'm ... sorry, Fox."

And now he felt bad. He saw it in her eyes - she really didn't understand what the fuss was about. She asked a question without judgment, and he was the one that freaked out. He sighed softly. His ears dropped a bit and his eyes lowered. "No, I'm sorry. I know our cultures are a bit different, and I know that your kind doesn't have quite the same concept of privacy."

"No, no, Fox. I'm not a gormless nitwit. My race may have a different concept of privacy, but I understand the fact that you value yours. I really am sorry I chose such a poor moment to ask such a private question."

Fox fidgeted with a bit of dirt in his claws. "Okay, well ... for the longest time, I thought Fara was the love of my life, and I lost my soulmate prematurely. So, I figured whoever I wound up dating was just ... me settling. But the more that I got to know you, the more I began to realize I was wrong about Fara. I don't know who her soulmate would have been, but I'm sure, now, more than ever, than you are truly the women meant for me."

"That's really sweet. So, then you've not just had sex with her ... you made love to her."

"Well, yeah."

"It set the bar, mm?"

"Yeah, it did. A bar that you and I surpassed, by and large. A bar that Miyu couldn't compare to, but she realized it before I did. And she told me that I would doom any relationship I have if I tried dating before being completely over Fara's death. So, I avoided dating. Until now. And I'm glad for it. I'm glad I met you. I'm glad you and I have something truly magical together."

Krystal sat up. She rolled over, onto her knees, and crawled over to him, and cupped either side of his face. She kissed him softly. Then, she whispered against his maw, "Thank you for giving this part of yourself to me."

"I, uh ... thank you for giving me the gift of your virginity. At the risk of sounding sappy, I'll treasure that."

"Cerinia doesn't put as heavy of a..." She drew her head back and tried to think of the right word, but her head was fuzzy from having just experienced exquisite sex with her mate. "We don't obsess over its, uh, you know, its meaning. Not quite to the same degree. But I'm glad you're my first."

"Hopefully, I'll be the only one for you."

She grinned at him. "I meant that I'm glad you've set the bar for what I will think of when I read a romance novel, or when I watch a romantic comedy holo-vid. I'm glad you're the one all those thoughts and fantasies will be based on."

Fox replied with a soft smile at the corner of his muzzle. It slowly spread across his face. "It sounds like you understand the meaning of giving away your virginity after all."

"It was only ever just being able to say you have a lover on Cerinia. Status on Cerinia sometimes meant having several mates. At least in some nations. My mother and father never practiced it, but it was a known fact in quite a few of the nations on the other side of our world from where I was born. If you got along with more than one person, fine, but if you shared a deep ultra-telepathic connection with two people, and they shared the same connection with each other, then it became a house of three."

Fox chuckled. "Yeah, Corneria has three-ways, too, but it's not really ... I guess the best word would be to say that it's taboo. If you're public about it, you'll be judged for it."

Krystal chuckled. "No offense, but your culture is stuck in the stone age. I'm not saying monogenism is wrong. It's very black and white. Nice and neat. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl marry and have babies. Boy and girl grow old and become grandparents. But life isn't always that simple. On my world it was rare to have the perfect mate-ship with your first lover, let alone to keep that between the two of you forever. My parents had that."

"They did?"

Krystal nodded with a soft smile. "Yes. And now I have it, and I appreciate that fact. But my grandparents had two, each, on my mother's side, and three and four on my paternal grandparents' side. My paternal grandmother had four mates, and my grandfather had three, but not at the same time. Yet their relationship yielded the child that went on to become a brilliant prince. And that prince married my mother, a princess from another nation. Their relationship yielded a love that you're talking about. They started a global senate, and both became senators in it. Royalty no longer mattered after that. They were an unstoppable force together, and they changed the face of Cerinia politics across the globe with their love and their motivated personalities. What started as two nations led to three unions that ultimately encompassed all the nations, save for a handful of small countries that wished to stay true to the old ways."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around a planet having multiple ... nations? God, Corneria hasn't had nationalism like that since before it started doing trade with other planets around Lylat. So, what happened? Your parents' relationship was a fireball between two people that changed things all of Cerinia, is that the gist of it?"

"Yes," she said with a firm nod. "They drafted a treaty that led to Cerinia's government being completely overhauled. The houses became one government. Royalty became elected officials. It was the will ... the demand ... of the population, spurred on by the first mega union of two nations, which was started by my mother and father."

"Wow. So you guys were making massive global progress when Andross came to town and ruined everything."

"Yes, exactly! Cerinians wanted to be one people when represented in talks with other planets in neighboring systems. My parents became celebrities for putting their crowns away and working to be elected. They ushered in change together. At first, the media ridiculed them for only having each other, romantically. It was strange. But they were happy having only one another."

"Wow," Fox murmured. He rubbed his chin. "What royal rank did they hold before becoming senators?"

"After the coronation, their marriage made them King and Queen, of the union over two massive nations. But, after they decided to overhaul the political system, they renounced titles in exchanged for true loyalty of the people. That led to reforms around the globe in a matter of a single decade."

Fox cleared his throat. He reached back and rubbed the nape of his neck with a slight chuckle. "I mean, y'know, I'm asking because I've never ... I mean ... with a princess, before now."

Krystal laughed softly. "By comparison, Fara Phoenix's wealth could have bought several nations on Cerinia."

Fox looked away again. "Krystal..."

She placed her paws on either side of his face. "I shouldn't joke. I know what her death meant to you, and I have no right to speak her name, because I know you feel responsible for her death. But, please, do not think that such an incident could ever happen again."

"I'd hate to lose you, too."

Krystal moved her right index to Fox's lips. "Shh. I am telepathic. Enemies cannot sneak up on me. Andrew's army cannot box me in, because I will know their intention before they act on it. And, since we've already defeated the Aparoids, it seems to me that the only threat left to Lylat ... is one that can only harm me from afar, and with a great amount of luck. And something tells me that such a threat would have to go through you in order to get to me."

Fox relaxed a bit. "Just keep reassuring me every now and then."

"My pleasure." She slid her paw back to the side of his face, leaned in close, and whispered. "No, really. It really is ... my pleasure. This entire mission has been my pleasure, thus far. I have never felt luckier in my life than to have you by my side, Fox. I enjoy having a team, but, more importantly, I am delighted to have a teammate and a partner."

Fox licked his lips. There was no point in beating around the bush with a telepath. She'd already know how he felt. So, he simply said, "I love you."

A smile brightened her face. "I love you." She leaned forward and met his lips with her own, while still cupping either side of his face. "I know we have our cultural differences, but ... I think I'll really enjoy having a relationship like my parents - just the two of us. I sense you're a monogamous man, and I respect and appreciate it."

"Yeah, one vixen is definitely enough for me." Fox grinned against her lips. "It's pretty normal for vulpine peoples to mate for life with one person. So far, I've had bad luck with women, but we have a saying in Lylat..."

"Which is?"

"Third time's the charm."

"Oh, so I'm your charm, am I?"

Fox grinned. "You're my good luck charm, yes."

"Good," she said, smiling against his lips. "Let's hope it doesn't get bloody parky outside again. But, if it does, well, we still have a bit of daylight left. Let's find out what mysteries lay in wait for us on the mysterious Miracle, shall we?"

Fox thought about saying 'let's' again, but, instead, he said, "Together. As a team."

Krystal melted inside. Something about this man made her heart sing. She wanted him all to herself. She nodded emphatically. "Let's ... check out the tunnel beneath his tower."

"Hey, now. I'm the team leader." Fox grinned.

"Oh, sorry. Guess I'm just so used to ... being a princess and taking charge." She offered him a wry, playful grin. It evaporated quickly. "In all seriousness, though, I'm ready when you are. I put that royalty lifestyle behind me. And, well, since you're the leader, you take point." Krystal paused with a smile. She leaned closer and spoke into his ear. "And, yes, I'll be looking," she said, referring to his backside. "Because I can."

Fox snickered in amusement. "Good." He stood up and started to gather his clothes. "I know I got weird when you brought up Fara and Miyu, but ... I'm glad we cleared the air."

"As am I. I suppose we wasted a bit of time to, how you say, 'air our laundry,' but ... as I said, earlier, we Cerinians love a good faff."

"Even if it's taking an unnecessarily long time to sort our differences, instead of just being straightforward about them?"

"Yes, of course. Getting to know my man better is the best faffing of all."

Fox pulled his shirt over his head, and down to his waistline, then he reached for his boxer-briefs. "Fair enough." As an afterthought, he added, "What does your kind call it when a mercenary plays hooky when they should be working?"

"Skiving. But we only let ourselves skive off work a little bit. We're going back to work, now."

Fox pulled the undergarments up, until they met the bottom of his undershirt. He reached for his pants and vest, drawing the pants up his legs, and the vest over each arm. "Your language sounds kind of fun."

"We could waffle on about it later. We've done enough for one afternoon." She tucked the hem of her shirt into her shorts while watching him get dressed. "You know ... what you said earlier, you're right. It's as fun to watch you get dressed as it is to watch you get undressed."

Fox grinned.

She grinned back.

X

X

Twenty-five miles away...

Slippy shook hands with Peppy and said, "Hey, I know you took me in because it's what Fox wanted. And I know your role on the team was to keep Fox alive for his father. And I respect all that. But ... I just wanted to say that I also appreciate..." The frog trailed off, trying to think of how to phrase what he was trying to say. He pointed at Peppy then himself. "I grew up with a smart dad who had a lot of money, and lots of government connections. You know? And ... I probably disappointed him for a while. I ran off to live in a tree in poverty with you, and Fox, and Falco, to try and make a difference in Lylat. And under your protection, we did that. We did the thing. And then my father finally got it. But, what I'm trying to say is ... thanks for believing in me."

Peppy put a paw firmly on Slippy's shoulder. "Of course I believed in you. And of course I was happy to be there for you. All three of you. I saw you, all three of you, as my stepsons. But, Slippy, don't think for a minute that Beltino was ever disappointed in you."

"Well, I mean, yeah ... he was."

"No, Slippy. He and I were in constant contact. We were old friends. We went way back. He was afraid for you. He was frustrated that Corneria didn't listen to you, but he felt he didn't have the courage to walk away from his life on Corneria to join you on Papetoon."

"I ... really?"

Peppy drew Slippy into a hug and gave him a firm, manly pat on the shoulders. "Yeah, Slip. Really. And you helped save the Lylat system. Several times. Your father couldn't be prouder. And neither could I. I mean that - I am so proud of you boys and all that you've achieved."

Slippy hugged him back, returning the firm pats on the back. "Thanks, Peppy. I really mean that."

"I know, Slip. Sorry I was so hard on you back in your teens. But you're a grown man, now. So, at this point, the best thing I can do is to lead by example. And what kind of example would I be setting if I didn't go home to my wife?"

"We've got this, Peppy. We'll make you proud."

Peppy stepped back and straightened his shirt. "I believe in you boys. The three of you have tons of potential. And Krystal? She's a telepath. You guys are in good hands. Just ... make sure you find someone special. Someone who makes you smile the way Croakella used to make you smile. Find a someone special, all right? I know you well enough to know you need a companion."

"Falco already turned me down."

Peppy blinked. "Wait, what?"

Slippy laughed and jokingly punched Peppy in the shoulder. "God, did you really just fall for that? Look, I invited this girl ... Amanda. She's going to help me with converting the Krazoan computer code. She's one of those people who can learn how to do anything once she puts her mind to it. She could be a pilot in no time, because she'd put her ten thousand hours into doing it, and she'd do it with gusto. But she's also smart with computers, and she's already been through the academy back when everyone thought Andross was going to win. Perfect grades, but she never did anything with her pilot's license, and, uh ... well, we've been getting close online."

"Online? Like chats? Private messages?"

"Wait ... you know what a private message is, Peppy?"

Peppy dead-panned at the frog. "My grandfather's generation invented the internet, Slippy. Of course I know what the internet is. And of course I know what direct and private messages are." A dry chuckle, then, "How do you think I started talking to Vivian?"

"Really??"

"Really, Slippy."

"You sly...!" He couldn't think of anything. Sly dog? Sly fox? Nothing came to mind for the rabbit. "You sly old fart." Slippy coughed, then added, "I mean that in the most respectful way possible."

Peppy chuckled with a shake of his head. "Well, this old fart is on his way home. Where's your friend? The girl?"

"Amanda. We're going to meet up on either Zoness or Aquas after this. She's going to be here in a virtual capacity."

"Probably safest. But if she winds up coming out here, in person, do whatever it takes to keep her safe, Slippy. Don't let anything happen to her. Fox is only just opening up to intimacy again, and it's been years since he lost Fara. So, you keep that girl safe. In general, keep her safe, not just right now."

"Eighteen-year-old me would have messed it all up with her, but I'm not that kid anymore, Peppy. And, yeah, I'll keep her safe. You can bet on that."

"Good. I intend to." Peppy took a step back, saluted Slippy, then turned and boarded his shuttle. The door shut behind himself, and after a moment, the shuttle lifted into the sky.

Slippy watched it disappear into the sky until it disappeared.

And, as if on cue, another twinkle in the sky caught his eye. A ship with a globe-like section at the end, lowered into the atmosphere, then set down on the ground not too terribly far from Slippy.

His heart began to race. Did she come in person? As he approached the ship, he realized it was just ... a drone.

The running lights went out on the sides, the engines went quiet, and then there was a moment of silence.

Finally, the hydraulic ramp door opened, and dropped to the ground. A pink, tall, lanky frog stepped off her ship and approached Slippy. Her lower limbs flashed a bit when making contact with the high grass, the only immediate indication that she was a hologram.

The tall pink frog approached Slippy and said, "Made it. Did a post-trip inspection. Locked down the computer with a pin code. I'm ready to see these two-thousand-year-old computers you told me about!"

Slippy greeted her at the bottom of the ramp and put his hand out. "Slippy Toad! Nice to finally meet you almost-in-person!"

Amanda laughed. "After all the roleplay we've been doing online, you're going to greet me with a handshake...? I wish you could hug me." She leaned over and wrapped her holographic arms around him. "I'm excited. You paid for my drone's fuel, you wanted to include me in this new discovery, and for once, it's not roleplay. It's real. I'm so excited. I only wish I could be there in person."

Slippy returned the hug with a laugh of delight. "It is so awesome to finally meet you even if it's like this. But, yeah, uh ... it's too dangerous to bring you to a potential battlefield."

Amanda beamed. "No, I understand! And it was brave of you to think about my safety! And, hey, how could I say no to at least being able to experience it with you, using virtual reality? Not to mention that you want me to help you corner one of the most wanted men in Lylat! Oh, and not to mention all the caveats! Learning the secrets of an ancient alien computer? Meeting the guy that I've been RPing with for the better part of a year? Yes. Count me in. Ten-fold."

"Awwah," Slippy said and rubbed his face. "That's so cool of you to say."

She smiled. "I am really glad you called me."

"Yeah, me too. And now that I'm down here, planet-side," I have had you on my mind since arriving. And now you're finally here! Well, virtually! I'm excited. C'mon. Let me show you to the computer workstations I found so far."

Amanda beamed. "Lead the way, Guy Green."

Slippy cringed slightly. "Let's ... keep our roleplay characters to roleplay."

"Fine by me. We can personally roleplay later. After we save Lylat from Oikonny."

Slippy laughed. "Sounds like a plan, Lady Carnation."

Amanda grinned. "Okay, you're right. It sounds a little silly in person, without context." She fell into step with Slippy and followed him to an enormous wall with a giant hole in it. "Wow, what caused this? ...Plasma cannon? Proton beam?"

"Yeah, it's how we got inside. Good eye, by the way. C'mon. I'll show you around and set you up on one of their computers. Maybe you can help me make sense of it."

Amanda bit her lower lip, followed by a smile and a nod. Her holographic form followed him through the hole in the enormous granite wall. She stayed close in the dark, although her form let off a very slight bit of light - enough for Slippy to see her in the dark without needing a flashlight.

She continued to follow him through a large warehouse, all the way to a staircase, which led up to some sort of command center on the second level. "Do you have some sort of onsite power generation?"

"Sure, why?"

"Because my holographic emitter drone, which is creating my image, can create hard light. But it takes a lot of power, so it has to be plugged in. Batteries would die in ten minutes if I had it create hard light without a continuous power source."

"Wait, I'll be able to hold your hand?" Slippy beamed.

"You are so sweet. Any other guy would only care that I could do half the workload with this technology, but you wanna hold my hand? You are the sweetest man alive, Slippy."

Slippy felt his face becoming tight and flush. "I'll show you how I'm plugging into the Krazoan generator. Follow me!"

X

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