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Krystal and Chase: Birth of the Ronins

After Chase had left, Krystal was looking through the closet for something to wear. While she searched, something caught her eye. A brown box labeled "memories and stuff" lay at the foot of the closet, half hidden behind Chase's battle armor. Krystal sighed, her curiosity getting the better of her as she reached for the box.

Sitting on her knees, Krystal placed the box in her lap and opened it. As she looked into it, she smiled, running her hands across the familiar outfit. It was the outfit she'd been given for the Sauria mission she thought Chase had been killed on. Picking it up, she looked over the familiar twist top and bikini-like bottom.

"I wonder if it still fits..." the vixen thought, setting the box down, "I don't think I've changed much since then. Sure, I was nineteen then and I'm twenty-five now, but my body shouldn't have changed that much right?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Krystal was examining herself in front of a mirror. She's put the native outfit back on and, to her surprise, it fit perfectly! The patterns had faded over the few years they'd been apart, but it was still easily recognizable. The top held her breasts comfortably, but a bit more snug, as a slight breeze from the air conditioning units wisped between her exposed legs. Even the shoulder plates and forearm guards still fit like a dream. All she was missing was the staff and sandals.

"I'd forgotten how good it feels." The vixen though with a smile, "I wonder how Chase would react if he saw me in this."

Krystal giggled and decided to find out. Setting her civilian clothing beside her, the vixen crouched down and reopened the box. After digging a bit deeper, Krystal pulled out a necklace. The golden pennant looked familiar to her, but from where she wasn't sure. Then she remembered that, when they were younger, Chase had always worn the locket during training.

As she lightly turned it over in her hands, the vixen caught a glimpse of something.

"Hello, what's this?" Krystal asked herself as she examined the side.

There was a catch on the side of the pennant. It was a simple press catch, but it held the locket hidden within shut tight. Judging by the simple design, it was an older locket.

"I wonder why Chase would hide a locket in a box of old clothes." Krystal thought as she released the catch carefully.

As it opened, Krystal smiled to herself. Inside was a picture, and one she recognized. The image was taken a few years before the Sauria mission, back when Chase and Krystal were sixteen. The image was of a smiling, younger Krystal pouncing on Chase; her arms around his neck as Chase smirked, holding onto her.

He had seemed happier during those days, but then again, so had Krystal. Neither one thought that only three years later they would be separated. The two had always been like siblings, watching out for one another. But the day frozen in the picture was one of the few Krystal considered the most important in her life.

Sighing, Krystal thought back to that day...

*Nine years earlier*

Krystal had been laying back, her eyes closed as the sun warmed her body. The morning hadn't been easy, but finally she and Chase had finished their final test. All that was left was to wait until they got called to see their training overseer, Hiigan.

"I really hope we passed it." Krystal thought as she looked up at the clear skies above her, "I mean, despite how reckless that fox is, I know we did well."

With a giggle, Krystal remembered that, to date, they were the youngest pair to get to the final test. The test had been an all out fight against a team of veteran mercenaries from the corporation. Both sides had been armed with stun weapons, but the veterans had modified theirs to fire faster and with much more accuracy. To make things worse, Krystal and Chase had been thrown into a combat zone during the early hours of the morning without any information on how many there were or where their 'enemies' would be.

Running blind, with low ammunition, no armor, and very little sleep the pair had worked together to fight their way out of a maze-like training zone. While Krystal relied on stealth and her wits, Chase had gone in guns blazing as always, using snap decisions and tactically sound cover as he'd moved to keep the 'enemy' on him instead of her.

Together, they'd lured the 'enemies' into a makeshift trap with Chase as the bait. The end result had been Chase dodging from cover to cover, firing until he was out of ammo; while, above him, Krystal nailed their foes with accurate bursts of gunfire from the darkness. Now, it was all up to Hiigan and the mercenaries they'd fought against whether or not they became the newest mercenary team.

Sighing, Krystal sat up and moved a lock of blue hair away from her eyes. Since they'd returned to the corporation grounds, she hadn't seen her partner at all. Pushing herself off the ground, the vixen decided to find him.

* * *

It didn't take long before Krystal found Chase. The fox had been in the training facilities, in a match against several robotic enemies. But when Krystal walked up to the control deck, she had a feeling that Chase wasn't faring well. As she walked into the monitoring deck, the vixen kept quiet as she examined the room.

Several training officers were around a panel of monitors, talking to each other.

"I don't see how he let himself slip up so fast." One said, "This isn't like him at all."

"From what I heard before he went in there, that young fox is trying something new." Another replied, "Something about trying to use strategy rather than his usual run-and-gun tactics. I guess he wanted to be like that vixen he was partnered with. Smart girl, that one."

A third officer chuckled, "I thought you had to have a brain for thinking like that. So far, Chase's not using it if he has one."

Worry entered Krystal mind as she moved to see the monitors, careful not to let the officers know she was there. Unfortunately, her feeling had been correct.

On a large screen was a red fox running from several robots. As the bots fired their weaponry downrange at him, the fox was dodging around the bursts, using the steel crates as cover.

"Come on Chase, think!" Krystal pleaded silently, "Don't just run."

"Heh, bet you a drink those bots take him out before he can take even one of them down." The first officer smirked.

"I will take that bet." A voice said from behind them.

With a slight jump, Krystal turned to find a human behind them. His emotionless face and all black outfit told her it was Hiigan.

"I didn't know you drank Hiigan." The second officer stated.

"There is much about me you do not know." Hiigan replied, "The same goes for this young fox on screen."

Krystal turned back to the screen. Her eyes widened in fear as Chase wound up pinned down behind a single crate. Bursts of laser fire shot all around him as he glanced around the side.

"Tell me how it turns out." Hiigan said turning away, "Krystal, I shall expect to see both you and Chase immediately after this is over."

The officers looked at each other, and then realized he had been talking to the vixen they had just noticed.

"H-how did you get in here?" the first officer asked, "This is a secured area!"

"The door wasn't locked." Krystal stated bluntly, "Besides, that's my friend down there."

The second officer smirked sheepishly, "Alright, let's let her watch her little friend get his tail kicked by security bots."

He moved over so that Krystal could see more. Once he had, Krystal watched the screens worriedly. On screen, Chase seemed to be fiddling with his weapon. To her horror, she realized that it was jammed!

"They've got him now." The first officer smirked, "I told Chase these new security bots were too hard for him. Everything they're made of is top of the line."

Suddenly, Chase moved! Dropping his weapon, the fox raced out from behind the crate. Krystal's heart raced as she watched Chase rush the bots, holding something in his hand.

The young fox leaped up to one of the bots, thrusting something against it before placing his feet on its chest and pushing off and shoving the bot back towards its comrades. Chase flipped once as the bots targeted him again. But before they could fire a blue shockwave emerged from its chest, engulfing it and its fellow bots. As Chase stood up, the bots fell to the floor, disabled by the EMP grenade.

"How the heck did he manage to sneak one of those in there?" the officer asked.

Krystal sighed, her heart still racing in her chest. Chase had been thinking the entire time. Now more than ever, the vixen felt the slight satisfaction from the knowledge that Chase had been trying to be like her, thinking instead of simply acting on instinct.

"Ha! You owe Hiigan a drink Sal." The second officer laughed, "Chase is smarter than he looks."

"Yeah, yeah." Sal replied, opening the door locks in the training facility, "He got lucky is all."

* * *

Minutes later, Krystal was opening the door to the locker room. As she did, the vixen noticed that no one was inside. With a sigh, the vixen began to turn around when she heard a locker close.

"Chase?" She asked, "Chase are you in here?"

A fox poked his head around the corner of a row of lockers, "You called me, Krystal?"

With a smile, Krystal walked down the rows to him, "Chase, now why would I call you 'Krystal'? You don't look a thing like me."

"I'm glad I don't." Chase smirked as Krystal walked over to him, "If I did, there'd be trouble."

When he reached in to pull out a shirt, Krystal saw the four marks that clearly set him apart from any other fox she'd ever meet. Across his chest were three rows of black fur, the fourth slash across his muzzle, the only things that hadn't healed after the plasma accident a year ago.

"Chase, you know you've really got to start thinking." Krystal said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, "Cornering yourself isn't a good tactic and you know it."

"You were watching?" Chase asked, his ears perked in surprise.

"I only saw the last bit." Krystal admitted, "You really worried me with that stupid move. But, I have to admit, that grenade trick was pretty cool though."

Chase smiled, "No reason to worry Krystal. You know they can't kill me in there."

Krystal's eyes looked down at his scars, "That's what they said before the plasma accident. You were almost killed then too."

Pulling on a shirt, Chase patted her shoulder, "I'll try to be more careful next time, alright? I got a bit cocky and that nearly cost me, I know that. I promise I won't let it happen again. And if I do, you have full permission to knock some sense into me."

Krystal nodded with a soft smile, "I'll remember that."

Chase gave her a quick hug and then pulled out his handguns, "So, did you come in only to critique my efforts?"

"Oh, Hiigan wanted to see us once you were done." Krystal explained, "He didn't say why though."

Chase nodded and holstered his Stingers, "Alright, let's go and see then."

* * *

"I believe that you two understand why I have called you in here today." The human said, sitting behind an oak desk.

"Actually Hiigan, we don't have a clue." Chase admitted.

Krystal nodded in agreement as Hiigan stood up.

"The higher-ups and I have decided your grade on the final test." Hiigan said as he stood before them, "As you know, this grade will either allow you to become the youngest pair of mercenaries the corporation has ever seen, or cause you to have to retrain like so many others before you."

Chase and Krystal both nodded. Hiigan had given them the speech before their test had begun.

"Hiigan, any chance we can skip the long speech and have you just tell us the grade?" Chase asked.

"As you wish." Hiigan said, "But it would not be the same if I told you it."

The human picked up a folder and handed it to Krystal, "Read it for yourself."

As she read the paper inside, Krystal's eyes widened. Her heart raced in her chest as her mind gripped what she had just read. Although it was a full review of their performance, the grade was listed front and center.

"Chase..." She said softly, "We...we did it."

"You mean-?" Chase asked.

"Congratulations." Hiigan said without even a ghost of emotion on his face, "The two of you are now officially the Ronin team. For as long as you are willing to work for the corporation, you will be under my command and mine alone."

"Yes!" Chase exclaimed, "We're in!"

"I can't believe it." Krystal said happily, "We did it!"

"Now, as you were." Hiigan said, "We will discuss your contract tomorrow morning at oh-six-hundred hours sharp. I expect you both to be in battle ready conditions. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" the two replied in unison.

* * *

*Current Time*

Krystal smiled as she closed the locket. The picture inside had been taken by Mira shortly after that meeting. Since that day, the two had been an almost inseparable team. At least, until Sauria. With a sigh, Krystal touched the necklace Chase had given her a few years ago, the red and blue orb sitting just above her breasts.

"Has it really been that long?" Krystal asked herself, twirling the orb in her fingers, "Nine years since we became Ronins and six since I thought he died."

Krystal smiled as she thought over everything that had happened during the six years she and Chase had been apart. She'd fallen in love with Fox McCloud and joined the Star Fox team, years later helped to stop the aparoid spread through the Lylat system. It was then that she realized Chase was still alive during a final assault against a slowly rebuilding aparoid force. Shortly afterwards, Krystal had left the Star Fox team to join the Star Wolf team and Panther after Fox tried to keep her from fighting. Now, here she was again with Chase and the corporation.

Setting the locket back into the box, Krystal slid it back where she had found it. Not a second later, she heard the slide open and closed. As she stood up, Chase walked back in. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at her, surprise easily visible on his face.

Krystal smiled and ran her hands along her exposed sides, "Like it?"

"Are you kidding?" Chase asked with a slight blush, looking her over, "Krystal...you look absolutely hot."

With a giggle, Krystal walked over to him, taking his hands in hers, "Be honest Chase, does it still fit me as well as it did?"

The fox nodded, blushing more, "Just as I remember, except you seem a tad more grown up now. But, where'd you find it?"

Krystal smiled and nodded to the closet, "It was in a box marked 'memories'."

"I thought that's where I put it after Hiigan gave it to me." Chase said, "So, we still on for breakfast or did you eat?"

"Just let me get changed into something much less revealing." Krystal said with a smile, "Then we'll go."

Chase nodded as she let him go and began to walk to the closet again, "Or you could just keep wearing that. I'm sure a lot of males would look you over in lust, but not every male in the outpost. After all, it doesn't leave much to the imagination."

Krystal looked back at him with a startled blush, "Chase!"

The fox raised his hands, "Alright, just suggesting the obvious. Don't kill me."

With a laugh, Krystal reached for her civilian clothing she'd put down. As much as she loved his reaction, the vixen knew well that, even in the years they'd been apart, their friendship hadn't changed a bit. And, secretly, neither had her strong feelings for him.