Krystal opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the brightness of the room surrounding her. Computer monitors and lab equipment filled the space, making her wonder where she was and how she came to be there. I remember now, she thought to herself. We were in the tunnels on Venom when Falco, Katt, and I were attacked. Soon after they split up, the trio reached a dark, empty chamber. At least we thought it was empty, the vixen recalled. As they entered the area, the thought patterns of dozens of enemies became clear, but it was too late. A short fight led to the team's inevitable surrender, outmatched in unfamiliar territory with nothing but their blasters to defend themselves. The last thing Krystal remembered was blunt trauma to the back of the head before waking up in what she presumed to be a research facility.

As Krystal surveyed the room, her head throbbed in pain from where she had been struck. She tried to walk forward but couldn't even take a step; something from above yanked on her wrists with a light clanging sound. With a glance upward, she realized that her arms were stretched above her head, each bound in chains hanging from the ceiling. Her blaster was missing from the holster around her waist and her jetpack was no longer strapped to her back.

A voice sounded from across the room, alerted by the sudden noise. "I don't think you will be escaping from there. The boss has special plans for you." Krystal searched through the lab to identify the source of the voice when a short pig appeared from behind a desk, wearing a white lab coat and spectacles resting on his snout. He studied a handheld computer while punching in several commands, refusing to make eye contact.

"What do you mean by special plans? Who are you, and what am I doing here?" Krystal asked, curious but frightful as to why she was captured alive rather than being killed. 'The boss' must be the pilot who killed Bryan Grey... but why would he spare my life after trying several times to end it?

The pig snorted and adjusted his glasses while looking up from his computer. "You are special; unlike the bird and cat friends of yours. Your hidden powers have truly captivated my my boss' attention, but why he is so interested, I do not know."

What could he possibly mean? With a shock, she suddenly realized what he was saying. He must be referring to my telepathic abilities! Trying her best to act calm, she lied, "What are you talking about?"

The pig scientist turned his back and faced a larger monitor behind him while setting his handheld device on the desk. "You cannot hide your telepathic abilities from me. I have been studying your mind and trying to uncover all its secrets, and it's unlike anything I've ever studied before." A warning flashed on the screen and the pig began to pace toward the door on Krystal's right. "The time is nearing to begin another series of tests. Try not to get too comfortable while I go to alert the boss." The metal door slid open as he passed through and slid shut behind him, leaving Krystal alone in the room.

Oh Fox, why was I foolish enough to deceive you? We agreed to work as part of a team and I have done the exact opposite. The only reason she was in this mess was because she lied to him. When the tunnel on Venom split into two, she told him that she could no longer detect which way Oikonny was, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. She knew that he could be found by taking the left path, but she sensed another presence following the path to the right. The new commander of Andross' forces, the fox who was responsible for Bryan's death, was in the tunnels as well. She led Falco and Katt towards the source of his brain patterns, only to find themselves outnumbered and outgunned. If they had stayed as a group of six and taken the left path, they might have captured Oikonny and escaped.

I'm so sorry, she apologized silently to her friends who had been captured with her. I thought I was strong enough to face him and end this; but I've only put your lives in jeopardy along with my own... What happened to Falco and Katt, anyway? What if they were with her, wherever they were? Krystal closed her eyes and meditated, scanning the area for a trace of their thought patterns. The two pilots were somewhere in the building, but quite a distance away. I have to escape from here somehow, so I can save them and undo this mess I've created!

The she-fox tugged at the chains binding her wrists, but they didn't budge. She scanned the surrounding area doubtfully for anything of use with no success. Just when she was about to give up on her own prospects of escape, she realized that her legs were unbound and her boots still intact. You took my blaster, did you? Krystal smirked while using her left foot to pry at her right boot. It slid off with a kick and fell to the floor with an unnatural clanging sound. A thin blue rod rolled out from the purple boot and Krystal surged with newfound courage. The Venomians failed to search for her staff, concealed in her footwear as it had been previously when disguised as a Cornerian.

Her bare right foot touched the floor and she almost jumped at its coldness. After a moment, she was able to rest it comfortably next to her left foot while a plan formed in her mind. If she could get her staff higher, she could use it to melt the chains binding her wrists. She braced her wrists to carry her full weight as she picked up her feet and grasped her staff between them. Now to get it to head level, she wondered.

Rocking back and forth, Krystal tossed her legs backward and forward until she could lower her head and grasp the staff in her teeth, bending her knees to shorten the distance. The weapon began charging with magical energy and a bolt of fire pulsed from its tip, striking the chains on her right wrist and destroying them. Right arm free, she took her staff from her mouth and shot a ball of fire at her other wrist, releasing her left arm. Her wrists stung with red ligature marks from supporting her weight for so long, but all that mattered was that she was free. "Time to find my friends," she thought out loud, knowing that she would not have long before the pig researcher would return.

"She is ready to begin testing," a voice sounded from behind the door to the room. "Come, see for yourself." Krystal's heart almost leaped from her chest when she realized that her new enemy was outside the door with the swine. Before she could think of any way to hide herself, she thrust her staff into the ground and shot upward into the air with a rocket boost. A second later, the door opened and the two figures walked in while the she-fox concealed herself in the rafters.

Immediately the pig jumped in astonishment and Krystal realized her mistake; she hadn't the time to put her boot back on before disappearing from sight. The scientist stooped down and picked it up with a worried glance at his superior. "She was just here," he stammered. "She couldn't have gotten far by now..."

The fox glared down at the pig with rage and tensed his muscles beneath his space suit. "You miserable fool! I'll find her, and make sure to keep her locked up this time! I have to confirm my suspicions once and for all!" He turned his back to exit the room and disappeared through the sliding metal door. The pig was left alone in the room, he thought, studying the contraption that Krystal had been bound to. His thought patterns revealed confusion mixed with large amounts of fear. He must have been left speechless by the way that the chains were burned and melted away.

What is he talking about? Krystal wondered. Why is this guy so interested in me... sure, I'm a telepath, but I feel that he's after something more. Without lingering on her thoughts too long, the vixen realized she had the opportune moment to strike; she leaped from the rafters and descended, landing behind the swine with a roll. She stood behind him, waiting for his reaction as her shadow fell over him. The researcher spun around slowly and opened his mouth to call for help when she interrupted him.

"You know, it's not nice to take things that don't belong to you." With a pause, the she-fox twisted her body sideways and kicked him backward with her bare foot, sending him flying into his own equipment with a crash. From there, he did not stir.

Krystal leaned down to retrieve her boot which the swine had dropped in shock. She slipped her foot in as she paced toward his desk, grasping his handheld computer. "Subject: Krystal. Abilities: Telepathy. Homeworld: Corneria, formerly Cerinia." As her eyes scanned over the words she dropped the computer in bewilderment. They know more than just my telepathic powers; they have access to my homeworld and background... Where are they getting access to so much information? And why is that fox so interested in my history?

Making for the door, Krystal first checked if it was safe to exit. No thought patterns from directly outside; I should be safe for a short distance. As the door slid open, she poked her head out, looking both ways, and then proceeded down the hallway. Along the right wall, thick glass walls revealed the vacuum of space, with the exception of several large asteroids hovering outside.

I must be in a space station... But where is it located? After Krystal had been taken from Venom, she lost her sense of direction and had no idea where she was. Pushing the thought aside, she continued down the hallway leading up to a sharp left turn. I can worry about that later. Right now, I need to find Falco and Katt, she thought, desperately hoping that they were not in any danger.

The hallway turned and Krystal cautiously peered around the corner. There were no enemies in sight, but she detected a strong concentration of mental activity. Rounding the corner, she slowly paced forward until she spotted an open glass window along the left wall. She crouched low so that she would not be seen and poked her nose above the lower border to view what was on the other side.

A wide, open room could be seen from where she was hidden, connected to the hallway but extending below it. A multitude of scientists of different species worked there in isolation, some studying computer monitors and others mixing chemicals for some purpose unknown to Krystal. The vixen spent several moments observing their equipment and analyzing their screens, hoping to identify the purpose to their research. She couldn't hear what they were saying through the glass, but tried to read their thought patterns as they went about their business.

The boss wants us to hurry... The boss expects results soon... A prisoner has escaped... thoughts continued to swim through her head until she came across a thought of significant importance. At the end of the room, a team of scientists stood surrounding a table with an enormous computer screen at its head. One of their thoughts was: We have nearly completed our research. Soon we will be able to produce the results that the boss is expecting. The image of an aparoid hatcher was on the screen, displaying biological information necessary for the team of investigators to study. A survey of the research center revealed that nearly all of the scientists were researching aparoids and bioweapons.

Aparoids and bioweapons... A highly dangerous combination. The vixen's new discovery meant that her fears about the aparoids were very real. If the enemy was continuing to study them after their destruction, there must be a reason why. It would be a pointless venture to research a species that had gone into extinction unless there was any practical use for the results. "I can't be sure what they are up to," Krystal whispered while rising to her feet, "but now I can be sure it has something to do with the aparoids. It also appears that they are close on the verge of a breakthrough. This will surely spell trouble for Corneria."

She wanted to stay and learn more, but was anxious to find her friends and escape from the hands of their enemy. As she continued past the research area, the brain patterns of Falco and Katt became clear, meaning that they must have been imprisoned somewhere nearby. This gave her a surge of confidence and she picked up a boost of speed, now running down the hallway until it turned to the right. Around the corner, she found herself facing a patrol of ape soldiers wearing silver helmets and dark space suits.

"There she is!" The leader of the group pointed and began firing his blaster. The four monkeys behind him spread out to provide backup fire as Krystal weaved through laser rounds. She spun sideways as energy beams flashed past and jumped, kicking off the wall and swinging her staff sideways. Its tip smacked against the first ape's helmet with a crack and hurled the enemy backward, rolling across the floor.

As she landed, she hurled a blast of ice at the nearest gunner, freezing his weapon solid. Before he could react, the vixen twirled her staff around her torso and slammed it into his arm, quickly ducking underneath his next punch and following it with a kick into the side wall.

Krystal read an incoming shot telepathically and summoned a barrier of purple energy with her staff, reflecting the beam back into the chest of its shooter. A yellow laser sword flashed into her line of vision as she bent her upper body backward, touching the floor with her hands as she arched her spine. She then threw an upward kick into the jaw of her attacker and tossed her legs straight up in a handspring that put her on her feet again.

The last soldier in the patrol backed toward the end of the hallway to a balcony behind him, firing his blaster furiously as Krystal charged him. When she hit pointblank range, she leaped and slammed her staff into the floor with a ground quake, sending a multitude of shockwaves pulsing through the air. Though her enemy tried to flee, he was struck in the chest and flipped over the balcony, screaming as he descended.

That should alert more company than I would like, the vixen thought as she noticed one of the apes she had taken down was wearing a jetpack. She swiftly unhooked the device and strapped it to her back, testing its fuel levels before she trusted it with confidence. Then she sheathed her staff by dropping it into her boot and equipped two of her enemies' blasters. Fully armed, she raced to the end of the hallway and overlooked the balcony, realizing that the ground below was nearly twenty stories down to the bottom. An elevator with a clear glass window was the only way down, but it appeared to be far from vacant; a patrol was ascending to the upmost level, armed with blasters, machine guns, and sniper rifles.

I'll never make it to the elevator in time, Krystal thought as blaster rounds flashed past her face. Enemies had suddenly swarmed the balcony, firing at will as she backed into the hallway before the elevator shaft. I only have one shot at this... Here I go! With a pause, the she-fox raced back toward the balcony at full speed. As she neared its edge, she activated her jetpack and soared over the wall, cutting the fuel so that she could fall downward to the ground floor.

The second floor passed by, then the third, then the fourth from the top. Monkeys on every level shot at her as she passed by, extending her own blasters and returning gunfire as she fell. As the next few levels passed by, Krystal pulled her guns to her chest and flipped her body so that she was descending head-first. Gunfire streamed through the air, returned by her own shots as she fired at her upside-down targets.

When the ground floor came into sight, the vixen withdrew her staff and flipped herself so that she would land feet first, activating her jetpack to slow her descent. Enemies swarmed the lower hallway, rapidly shooting in her direction as she charged her staff's magical energy and thrust it downward, sending energy streams quaking through the base as its tip met the floor. The surrounding monkeys were thrown from their positions, some slamming into the walls and others soaring down the hallway on the right.

Though her enemies had been disrupted, Krystal found herself evading laser fire from all sides, isolated without any form of cover. A blaster shot flashed past her shoulders and another whizzed behind her. She read the thought patterns of dozens of Venomian soldiers shooting at her, but could only hope to predict their movements for so long before she was outmatched. A sniper round flashed downward from one of the higher levels and Krystal spun out of the way, only to realize that she had rotated into another sniper's line of fire. Panic gripped when she sensed his thought patterns, knowing that the laser would strike before she could evade fast enough.

Instinctively, during the one second it took for the sniper shot to reach her, she raised her staff to block and a dark energy surrounded it. The laser reflected back to its source, striking the sniper and sending him off the balcony. My reflector... It formed itself around my staff, creating a weapon that can repel laser fire... As Krystal twirled the rod in her hands, she noticed that its normal colors were undistinguishable through the shield of glowing purple reflector energy encasing it. As shots rained down from above, the vixen thrust her staff into the ground and a large white veil of light surrounded her.

I am too immobile like this, but I can't release the shield unless I want to get shot, she reflected. Suddenly the light barrier changed in color, darkening as enemy fire began to repel upward toward the shooters lining each balcony. With a glare of triumph, Krystal realized that she had been able to combine her staff's stationary shield and reflector, creating an impenetrable force field that could fight back. Once the enemy fire ceased and all the enemies had either taken cover or had been shot by their own gunfire, she released the shield and raced for the hallway beside her.

Leaving the elevator shaft, Krystal found herself confronting three Venomian ape soldiers, two armed with laser swords and the third wielding a machine gun. The she-fox immediately summoned a rectangular barrier to reflect machine gun rounds as the two swordsmen approached, one on each side. The thought patterns of each attacker became clear as Krystal engaged her telepathic powers. The ape on the right will strike first; I can avoid his attack by dodging to the side and then countering. I can then bend my shield so that gunshots reflect into the second attacker.

As she predicted, the monkey on her right swung his sword diagonally downward, aiming to slice her across the shoulder. Instead of blocking with her staff, Krystal shifted her weight to her left and evaded the blow, spinning and swiping her staff across his knees. When they collided, the Venomian's legs buckled under him and he rolled behind her. Before the next swordsman could get in range to strike, Krystal rotated her shield, reflecting machine gun rounds into his chest. A swift fire blast to the chest disabled the gunner when thought patterns warned that the monkey behind her would strike again.

Krystal parried the lunge from behind, sensing the target of his attack. She then placed her staff's lower tip to the ground, rocket boosting over her enemy's head and landing behind him. She followed with a spin of her staff, clashing with the laser sword several times before the two foes backed away from each other. When the Venomian soldier made another move to attack, Krystal released a bolt of ice from her magical weapon, striking the laser sword's hilt and freezing it solid.

The ape gasped in shock, hesitating just long enough for the vixen to slam her knee into his chest. Her first attack winded her enemy, but the kick that followed threw him backward into the wall of the hallway. His helmet cracked against metal and he fell to the ground, limp.

Krystal proceeded to the end of the hallway, approaching a room that resembled a dungeon. Prison cells lined the walls, empty except for two chambers near the back, barricaded by walls of glowing, red energy. Two familiar sets of thought patterns emitted from the cells, recognized immediately as those of Katt and Falco. I found them at last! Krystal almost leaped for joy when her thoughts were interrupted by a loud, cranking sound. Two machinegun turrets, dark with long rotating barrels, protruded from the opposite wall and began shooting lasers throughout the room.

Racing toward them, Krystal coated her staff with reflector energy, causing it to glow purple as she parried turret fire. She twirled her staff in both hands and leaped toward her targets, releasing two swift fire blasts before she landed with a roll. One ball of fire destroyed each turret, leaving Krystal alone in the room except for the two prisoners trapped in their jail cells. She sheathed her staff and rushed to them, pressing her furry ears to the wall so that she could communicate with her friends.

"Falco? Katt? Is that you?" She called, scanning a nearby hallway for a sign of enemies approaching while waiting for a response.

"Krystal!" Falco's voice sounded from behind the energy barrier, thankful to be rescued. "We didn't hear you being held prisoner beside us, and had no idea if you were alright! Get us out of here, will ya?"

That's his way of saying 'thanks for saving us,' I guess, Krystal sighed as she drew a blaster from her belt and aimed it at a small control panel along the wall. "Stand back, both of you," she warned as she fired at the controls, destroying them with a spark. The energy barriers holding her friends captive dissolved and the two pilots raced into the open, greeting Krystal with looks of gratitude.

"I wasn't sure how we were ever going to get out of there," Katt sighed. "Thank you for saving us."

But in her heart, the vixen knew that it was her fault that they had been captured in the first place. "This is all my fault," she tried to explain, but was interrupted before she could finish her thought.

"That's crazy talk," Falco interjected. "We all knew the risks flying to Venom to capture Oikonny. Forget about it; we need to find a way out of here."

Katt scanned the room, fixing her gaze on the hallway across from her prison cell. "I was awake when they took us here," she recalled. "There should be a hangar bay just beyond that corridor. If we can commandeer a ship, we could escape that way..."

Leaving the others, Krystal backtracked to the bodies of the three monkeys she had taken out before entering the prison, where two laser swords and a machine gun lay on the ground. She retrieved them and returned to her teammates, gesturing for them to each take a weapon or two. "The enemy knows that I escaped," she warned them. "The pilot who killed Bryan Grey is here, and I expect hijacking a ship will be difficult..." She paused while Katt chose the machine gun and left the dual laser swords for Falco. "But it is the only choice we have. If we can get past the guards or at least stall them long enough for us to get into a ship, we should be alright."

Krystal led the way into the next hallway, guilt weighing heavily on her heart. She tried to tell the others that it was her decision to split up in the Venomian tunnels that led to her capture, but they didn't give her the chance to explain; they were too focused on trying to escape. Perhaps that's what I should be doing as well, she thought as she pressed her back against the wall, but my brash decision put their lives in danger, which is something that I cannot live down. She decided that once she returned to The Great Fox, she would explain it all to Fox himself. Maybe then she would feel free from the guilt that consumed her mind.

Pushing the thought aside, she signaled for her allies to halt as she studied the room ahead. Katt was right; it was a hangar bay, filled with Venomian fighters and two Venomian battleships. Supply crates were scattered throughout the entrance, surely to provide excellent cover while the trio fought their way to the battleships. The grey boxes, lined with yellow edges, stood slightly taller than the average pilot. On each of their six sides, the face of Andross was depicted with apelike facial features and long, pointed ears. Monkey soldiers patrolled the ground and along a balcony stretching across the room, but there was no sign of their leader.

"Well, what's the plan?" Katt asked, surveying the room from behind Krystal while crouching around the corner.

Falco raised his glowing yellow laser swords and nodded his beak toward the closest of the supply crates. "We need to get to those crates over there. Those blasted apes will try to shoot us down as soon as we step foot into the hangar, but we should be able to take most of them down." The senior member of the squad gave his orders, telling each member what to do. "Katt, hit the guys along the balcony with your machine gun and cover us. Krystal, concentrate your fire on the enemies on the ground, clearing a path to one of the battleships."

Krystal nodded, drawing her staff and extending it to full length. "Not a problem," she narrowed her eyes and tensed her leg muscles, preparing to dart from behind their cover into the line of fire. "On my signal, we rush for the supply crates and take cover," she whispered. "Three... Two... One... Now!" Flanked by Falco and Katt, the vixen raced from around the corner into the bright lights of the hangar bay, darting for cover when the soldiers lining the balcony spotted them.

"There are the prisoners! Attack!" A monkey cried, alerting his comrades. Krystal leaned her shoulder against her shelter beside her friends, who had taken refuge just several feet from her position. Blaster fire streamed from across the room and the siege began, Katt and Krystal occasionally leaping from their cover and taking shots at their captors before ducking behind the supply crates.

"Take a few of them out so I can do something useful, will ya?" Falco complained, unable to assist with only his two laser swords as weapons. "If I go out there and fight now I'll just get fried!"

Krystal sighed impatiently. "Working on it..." She complained while retreating from her cover and shooting an ape with a fire blast to the chest. Another enemy stepped out onto the balcony above, and she fired a bolt of ice in his direction, barely missing and hitting the back wall. The gunner panicked, only to be shot by a series of machine gun rounds from Katt.

"Nice teamwork," the pink-furred cat called while tilting her head so that she could see down the machine gun's line of sight. She fired another several rounds in succession before crouching with one knee on the ground to assess her weapon's ammunition. "I'm almost out of shots," she meowed in dismay. "Anyone got any bright ideas?"

The Star Fox team was not heavily outnumbered in the hangar bay, Krystal reflected after a brief glance over her shoulder. If she and Falco could draw their enemy's fire, Katt could sneak aboard one of the battleships and prepare for takeoff. "Falco, how are you feeling about fighting in the open?" She shouted through the commotion of gunfire. "If we can hold them off long enough, Katt can get to the ship without being noticed."

"You don't need to tell me twice to get to work," Falco called back to her. "Lead the way and we can take them out one by one."

Krystal nodded and prepared to activate her stolen jetpack's boosters. Taking a deep breath and focusing her mind, she leaped from her shelter and soared through the air, swapping her staff for the two blasters at her hips. As she sprayed blaster fire into the crowds surrounding the hangar, Falco appeared from behind the supply crates and engaged the closest enemies with his swords. Out of the corner of her eye, Krystal detected Katt racing toward the enemy ships, weaving through Venomian fighters on her way to the battleships at the end of the hangar.

Rolling through the air to avoid laser fire, the vixen landed along the balcony and threw a kick at a nearby Venomian, sending him flying down to the first floor with a scream. Another soldier nearby began firing his blaster, only to have his shots reflected by a twirling staff, glowing purple with the color of dark energy surrounding it. His body tremored when struck by his own gunfire and he collapsed against the wall.

Suddenly, the thought patterns of a malicious presence entered the room and the sound of a jetpack soaring through the air could be heard from above. While Falco grappled with the last of the soldiers on the ground, the new leader of the Venomian army descended to join him, drawing his two laser swords and twirling them formidably. Falco drew a pace backward and took a defensive stance, allowing his foe to make the first move.

For several heartbeats Krystal could do nothing but watch as the two pilots fought, frozen where she stood on the balcony. The commander leaped toward Falco, spinning his body in the air with his swords extended. Falco bent his torso backward and threw a kick to his enemy's face, knocking him backward while ducking underneath his glowing blades. The bird retaliated with a lunge of his own, extending both of his swords toward the fox's chest. The thrust was blocked by crossed swords pointing downward, and the two held their positions and flexed their muscles in an attempt to force the other back.

Now's my chance to strike, Krystal thought and activated her jetpack, soaring toward her enemy with her staff tip facing him. She swung her weapon to strike, but the fox was ready for her. He turned from his fight and jumped, kicking her out of the air and landing again on his feet to clash with Falco. Krystal's jetpack deactivated itself and she found herself flailing into a supply crate, cracking her back against metal. A sharp pain pierced up and down her spine as she lay on the ground, too stunned to return to her friend's aid.

He saw my attack coming and countered it before I could even react in time, the vixen gasped for breath as she hauled herself to a sitting position and unstrapped the jetpack from her back, damaged from the impact. He may not be a telepath, but he is very strong and agile. She gazed up at the fox pilot, who was hammering Falco with a rapid series of slashes.

One by one, Falco evaded and parried with his own blades, forced backward into a supply crate. Another furious swing came from the fox, but the bird rolled sideways and his sword clashed against metal. Falco threw a kick at his enemy's hand and knocked the sword from his grasp, but before he could follow it with another attack, the fox grabbed him by the throat and threw him onto the ground with a loud thud. His two swords fell from his grasp and slid across the hangar, leaving him defenseless.

Forcing herself to her feet, Krystal reached for the blaster on her right hip. The fox approached Falco and lifted his swords over his head to strike when she felt for the jetpack on the floor and kicked it up into the air. "Falco!" She called to her companion and he rolled away, just before Krystal shot the jetpack out of the air and destroyed it with a small explosion. The fox pilot was thrown with the force of the impact, rolling across the ground where he lay motionless for several moments.

"Get to the battleship," Krystal shouted as she raced for her feathered friend and helped him to his feet. "Tell Katt to take off! I'll distract him!"

Falco hesitated for only a moment before turning from her without a word. He said nothing, but she read his silent worries telepathically. Don't worry about me, she thought as she turned to face their enemy, who had gathered himself from the explosion. He reached for his belt and drew a black machine gun from his leg, gripping it in both arms as he fired relentlessly.

Krystal raced toward him with her staff drawn, coated in dark energy to reflect the gunfire. She parried multiple shots aimed for her torso and skipped over a bullet that strayed toward her legs. With a leap, the vixen swung her staff sideways, tossing the gun from the enemy's grasp and forcing him backward. When she swung a second time, the fox grasped her staff midway and ripped it from her hands, tossing it aside. He threw a punch to her face, but she dodged sideways and countered with an uppercut to the chest. Before her fist could meet him, the commander caught her by the wrist and flipped her over his shoulder with ease.

The hard floor stung as it met Krystal's left shoulder and elbow with a crack, causing a jolt to run down her entire arm. She winced in pain as she heard a light clicking sound and sensed that her foe had drawn a pistol from his belt. How many guns does this guy have? The she-fox thought in panic.

The fox fired his handgun at the ground where she lay, but she reached for her staff and summoned a reflector to repel the lasers back at him. He wasn't hit by the return fire, but dodged it instead, knowing that it would be reflected.

While Krystal had an opportunity to counterattack, she thrust the tip of her staff into the ground where she lay, sending a multitude of shockwaves pulsing through the air. The ground quake knocked the fox pilot off his feet and threw him into a supply crate, dazed.

"We're ready for takeoff," the voice of Katt sounded through Krystal's wrist communicator as the fox pilot shook himself to his feet.

"I need a little longer," the vixen replied and backed toward the battleship at the end of the hangar. "Just get off the ground and leave the entry ramp down; I'll get to you in time."

The long green ship's jets roared to life and the cruiser raised itself off the floor, hovering in the air above Krystal as she stared the fox pilot down. "They may escape, but the same cannot be said for you," he growled as he paced forward. "I won't let you get away this time, Krystal!"

The she-fox simply grinned at her enemy as she backed toward the Venomian battleship. "But you just did," she replied. A look of shock appeared on the fox's face, but before he could ask what she meant, Krystal thrust her staff to the ground and a white energy surged through it. With a jolt, the staff lifted her off the ground with a rocket boost and she back-flipped in the air, landing on the battleship's entry ramp. "Go!" She commanded as the ship began to accelerate, soaring toward the clear barrier at the end of the hangar.

They will just follow us unless we do something, Krystal thought as she searched for a control panel along the wall. She spotted a small red box almost instantly, and though she was moving, she could not afford to miss her target. If she could strike the controls with a fire blast, the base's emergency blast doors would trigger, preventing any enemy ships from pursuing them. I only have one shot at this; she relaxed her breathing while aiming her staff. Just before the battleship left the hangar, Krystal shot a ball of fire from her weapon, hoping that her aim was true. The flaming sphere hurled through the air, striking its target with a small explosion and the blast doors began to seal themselves shut.

Got it! Now we are free to leave the base without being pursued! "Maybe next time!" Krystal called to her enemy, who appeared to be stunned silent on the ground as the entry ramp raised itself and the Venomian base disappeared from view. The stolen battleship, piloted by Falco and Katt, fled the research station and soared into the depths of space. Finally, Krystal and her friends were free to set course for The Great Fox and leave their captors behind them.