Ultraman, the Aparoid Invasion
Chapter 4
Wild Hog Chase, pt.2
"We have arrived at Fichina." ROB stated.
"So, Fichina huh? That's just great. Nothing there but snow and ice." Falco commented when he saw the image of the snow-white and ice-blue planet.
"Uh-huh. But since the building of the climate control center, the planet became inhabitable." Fox commented when the image turned to a picture of a dome-like structure with an energy field around it. The team was gathered in the command head when the Great Fox neared the planet, upon the tip they received from the Star Wolf team not too long ago. It was then that Peppy spoke up.
"We got a crisis team. The climate control center's...well it's been out of order for quite a while."
"What do you mean, Pep?" Fox asked.
"There's a huge blizzard that's raging over more than half the planet, and it's originating at the climate control center." the hare said when the screen switched to a meteorological map of the planet, showing a massive cold-front sweeping over the planet. "If the blizzard keeps up, the planet will once again become barren."
"I wonder if this is Pigma's work. Could he be...laying a trap?" Krystal wondered.
"Oh, we can't fly our arwings in this weather." Slippy moaned.
"What about you, Steven?" Fox asked, turning to the other vulpine's direction. Steven gave him a puzzled look.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You think you can work down there?" Falco asked. Steven took another look at the image, then shook his head.
"Sorry, but I don't I can work very well in that kind of weather."
"What? What do you mean?" Falco nearly shouted. Steven almost looked ashamed.
"It's humiliating of me to say this, but one of the few weaknesses my kind has is extreme cold. We need a strong light and heat source to sustain ourselves, after all. Put us in this kind of environment, and we won't last long in our Ultra forms." Steven said.
"Seriously? So your secret weakness is extreme cold?" Falco asked incredulously. "Dude, I was starting to think you were invincible!"
"That's enough Falco!" Krystal snapped. She saw the ashamed look on Steven's face, and tried to console him. "Don't worry about it, Steven. Like you, not everyone likes the cold." she said, shooting Falco an icy glare. Falco shrugged.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm no fan of it either. It's just that he's supposed to be this all powerful being, and yet he's stopped by a little bit of snow." he said.
"Getting back on track here," Peppy said, clearing his voice first to get everyone's attention. "We need someone to go down there and start the generator back up."
"I'll see If I can reach the control center. I get to that, I can get the Control Center up and running again, and we should be okay."
"Playing the hero again, Foxie? Hey, more power to ya, buddy. Me, I hate the cold." Falco commented.
"Brrrrr, it makes me want to hibernate." Slippy said, shivering visibly.
"I'll go with you." Steven said, catching everyone off guard.
"Whoa, whoa. I thought that you said you couldn't take the cold." Falco said.
"In my Ultra form, I can't handle it very well. However, in my guise as a Lylan, I should be able to take it as well as you guys." Steven said. Fox nodded.
"Alright, both me and Steven will head down to the control center. You guys wait up here for the go ahead to launch."
"It's up to you two. I'll make sure that the rest of us are ready to launch at any time." Peppy said. Fox and Steven nodded as they left for the hangar.
Half an hour later: Fox and Steven were standing on a snowy rise overlooking the Climate Control Center. Fox had the binoculars while Steven, dressed in the same gear as Fox was, was keeping a sharp eye on the center itself, using his Ultra senses to try and peer inside. "ROB, try to scan the Control Center." Fox said, still looking through the binoculars. Through them, Fox could see a type of energy field surrounding the Center like a barrier.
"The Climate Control Center is protected by a shield. Unable to scan interior." ROB said in his monotone voice.
"I can't get through, either. The barrier is obstructing my vision." Steven commented.
"Hmmmm, we need to turn that shield off before we can get in." Peppy mused. "Alright. Fox, Steven, you two will have to attack the generators directly."
"On it, Peppy. We'll have them down and out in no time." Fox said, lowering the binoculars.
"Don't go overboard, Fox." Peppy cautioned.
"It's under control." Fox replied, though Steven wondered what would be considered 'overboard' in this case.
"Then get going and do it! We're just spinning our wheels here!"
"Be careful what you wish for, Falco." Fox said, turning off his communicator and putting the binoculars away. He looked at Steven, and both nodded at eachother before heading down the slope of the rise. Fox caught sight of the first generator; sitting atop a spire that was almost covered in ice, the diamond-shaped power source spun around in its icy sheath. When both of the vulpines were at the base of the spire, Steven could see that the structure stood at around thirty meters, almost as tall as him when in his Ultra form!
"How are we going to reach that?" Steven asked out loud.
"Like so." Fox replied, pulling a grenade from behind himself. He threw it at the power source, where it detonated right beneath it, instantly destroying it. The Spire began to emit a low audible whirring sound, as if it just lost power, which is most likely since the generator was destroyed. Steven looked in Fox's direction when he started to move towards the next shield generator, with Steven close behind him. Fox looked behind him, and saw that the other vulpine had his arms wrapped around his body and started to shiver a bit. "Hey Steven, are you alright?" Fox asked. The other vulpine looked up, his voice sounding slightly shaky.
"The sooner we leave this damned ice-cube, the better off I'll be." Steven replied. Fox laughed a bit at the remark.
"I hear you. I guess being a super-evolved being does have its draw-backs, after all."
"You say that, and you stand there without showing any hint of the cold reaching you!" Steven almost exclaimed. "There are times when I envy you. You weren't born in a world where there is no winter, nor snow or ice."
"Just hold on. Once we get the generators down, we'll be able to get inside the center where it'll be warmer for you."
"That's just dandy. How many of them are there?" Steven asked.
"Four, and we just took down one."
"So, just three left?" Steven said, thinking. "Where are they at?"
"Here, I'll give you the info." Fox raised his communicator, and hooked it up to Steven's. It downloaded the data to Steven's device, and when the download was complete Fox pulled away.
"Thanks. We'll split up, and get done all the more sooner."
"Good idea. See you in a few." As Fox went in one direction, Steven went in another. Following the coordinates on is navi, Steven found the other generator. Using the same technique as Fox, the grenade detonated right beneath the power source, and the spire lost its power. However, despite how well things were going, Steven could not shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Fox got done with his own generator, and met up with Steven right before he disabled the last remaining one. After Fox chucked his grenade at it, the shield surrounding the Control Center dissipated. The journey to the Climate Control Center wasn't very long, at least not to Fox, but to Steven, who was being tortured in the low temperature, it seemed to take forever. Upon reaching the entrance to the Climate Control Center, Steven felt the change in temperature instantly, feeling the warmth as soon as he stepped inside the structure.
"Feeling better?" Fox asked. Steven nodded.
"Little bit." he replied.
"Great. I'll get to work on the generator and get things up and running again." As Fox moved towards the console, Steven spoke up.
"Fox, wait!"
"What's wrong?"
"Something isn't right here."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. We took down those generators much too easily. If Pigma were here, or if there were any Aparoids about, why haven't we seen any trace of them around here?"
"What are you getting at?" Fox asked.
"I think we're being set up. This whole thing reeks of a trap." Steven replied. Fox seemed to consider. It was easy taking out those shield generators, maybe too easy. If Aparoids were sighted here, along with Pigma, then where were they? Nevertheless, he still had to put the Climate Control back in order. After reaching the console, he typed in a set of commands, and the positive beep seemed to assure him, along with the female computer voice.
"Control settings confirmed. Beginning adjustments." On the Outside, the blizzard was slowly dissipating until all that was left was a slight stirring of the loose snow on the frozen ground. From the Great Fox, the meteorological map of the planet showed the blizzard that was covering the surface was beginning to disappear.
"Woo-hoo! That's the end of the blizzard!" Slippy cheered.
"You did it, Fox!" Krystal added. When she heard no reply, she grew puzzled. "Fox? Steven?"
"What's wrong, Fox? Respond!" Falco urged. Inside the Control Center, Fox stumbled back as Steven pulled out the sidearm that Fox had given him on the Great Fox, taking aim at something that was coming towards them from the shadows.
"Quit yelling, Falco, we're fine." Fox replied. "Just a little hitch in the plan." Fox ducked as a laser blast scorched the panel behind him as a dozen mechanical figures made their way towards them as Steven open fired upon them. They stood at about shoulder level to the vulpines, having what looked like wings folded behind them, their rectangular bodies hovering closer to them. Fox pulled out his blaster as they came closer. "Must have been an I.D. problem; the sentry bots have taken a liking to us."
"Must've been Pigma's work. Gah, I'll be right down, hold on!" Falco said as he started to bolt for the hangar.
"Yeah, could you hurry?" Fox asked before signing off. Steven looked behind him at Fox.
"What'd I say? It was too easy! I've been working at this for too long to not smell a trap!"
"Yeah, well, just concentrate on these guys for now!" Fox said, aiming at a sentry bot and firing. With the 'wings' closed, they served as a type of shield to protect them. The blaster was only deflected off of the body. Steven was having the same problem, and barely rolled out of the way as two of them opened their 'wings', and lunged, the appendages acting like claws.
"Damn! Alright, you asked for it!" Steven said as he pulled out his beta capsule. He pressed the switch, and a brilliant flash filled the room. When the flash died and Fox no longer needed to cover his eyes, he saw that Shodai was standing where Steven was, his red and silver form bristled with power as he struck his battle pose. He sent a shredding halo at a couple of the sentry bots, slicing them in half. He turned his attention to two more coming at him to his left, and leapt at them. He landed on one, crushing the top of it with his left knee, and threw a punch at the other one, his fist exploding out the other side with a mix of wires and oil. Wrenching his fist free, Shodai threw the dead body of the sentry bot at the others, where it exploded and took two more with it. Just then, both Ultra and vulpine heard a high-pitched whining sound, like the kind made by an arwing. Just then, Falco's arwing crashed through the roof and landed, crushing more of the sentry bots under its bulk.
"Wow. That was a flashy entrance." Fox commented, smirking.
"Quit complaining and get on, will ya?" Falco urged as more of the sentry bots began to swarm around them. Wasting no time, Fox jumped onto the wing of the fighter and held on while he watched Shodai face the oncoming horde. He fired his Spacium Ray at the crowd, destroying them in one fell swoop. He looked at Fox and nodded.
"Okay, Falco, take us up."
"Just do me a favor and try not to fall off." Falco commented, smirking.
"Hey, you just worry about not getting shot down." Fox retorted. When Shodai saw the arwing takeoff, he decided to fly up as well, acting as an escort to the fighter. Just then, Aparoids began to swarm all around the Climate Control Center, as if they were signaled to reveal themselves.
"Hey, sure-shot! Get your blaster out, and take care of our admirers will ya?" Falco said. Shodai looked down, and saw that several of the larger Aparoids, who looked like giant wheels for the most part, were aiming what looked like laser weapons at them. Shodai let loose his Spacium Ray, turning them all into ashes. "Uh, never mind." Falco said. Fox looked at Shodai and nodded. Shodai returned the gesture by giving a two-fingered salute. The Aparoids seemed to ignore the fighter for the most part, heading for the Climate Control Center instead. "What the heck're they doing?" Falco asked.
"It looks like they're trying to assimilate the Climate Control Center." Shodai said.
"Assimilate it?" Fox asked. Just then, Slippy's voice cut in over the communicator.
"Fox, I thought those bots looked suspicious, so I checked them, and get this, they were Aparoids!"
"Are you sure?" Fox asked. Shodai grunted.
"As I thought. They're trying to take control of the Climate Control Center. They're going to reform the planet to better suit their needs."
"Really?" Falco asked.
"It's just as Steven said. The Aparoids must be able to take over any other device or machine!" Slippy added.
"Seriously?"
"Yep!" A voice answered Falco's question. "And the one who's pulling the strings is me, Pigma!" Both Fox and Shodai looked behind them, and saw Pigma's ship coming up from behind them. "Up and at 'em, big fella!" he said, flying down low next to a pillar-like structure. It started to glow, then it erupted out of the snow, balancing itself on two, skinny appendages.
"What? That's part of the engineering, isn't it?" Fox asked.
"It's been infected by the Aparoids!" Slippy said.
"You dirty swine!" Falco cursed.
"So, you've thrown your lot in with them, have you? Very well, I still owe you for last time!" Shodai shouted as both arwing and Ultra pursued Pigma.
"I wouldn't bother with me, right now! That thing looks like it means business!" Pigma said, laughing in evil glee.
"Danger, danger. Climate Control Center generator reaching critical overload." ROB's voice rang over the communicator.
"Deal with Pigma later! Without the Climate Control Center, we won't be able to stop the blizzards again!" Peppy said. Shodai looked back, and saw the Aparoids begin to swarm the Control Center. He knew what they were doing; they were going to freeze the planet to the point that only they could use it. He cursed under his breath as he was faced with a tough decision. As Falco dropped low to the ground so Fox could get off, Pigma continued his mad laughter until he was out of the atmosphere. Just then, Fox's arwing materialized next to him. Jumping in, he flew right at the newly created Aparoid beast. However, he wasn't the only one; Shodai grew to his regular height, and flew right at the construct. He performed a drop-kick, and connected with the Aparoid. It fell on its side, while Shodai landed next to it in his combat stance. The Aparoid construct righted itself up again, and faced the new adversary. However, the rest of the team was present as well, each keeping their distance from the two combatants. However, the Aparoid construct opened the front portion of its body, like a mouth, and smaller units poured out. The smaller Aparoids swarmed around the Ultra while he tried to protect himself. Shodai swatted at the smaller Aparoids, knocking them to the ground and destroying them. However, they were just too many. That's when Star Fox intervened. Outmaneuvering the smaller Aparoids, the arwings blasted them left and right, double lasers and nova bombs making short work of them. However, the real threat loomed in the form of the Aparoid construct. Shodai acted swiftly, sending a haymaker at the thing, making it step back, and an upper-cut made the body swing directly up, like a see-saw. However, when the body came back down, Shodai blocked it, but some of the smaller Aparoids took aim at him, and fired. The laser blasts scorched his back and he groaned in pain. Then, the Aparoid construct lifted its body again and slammed it down on the stunned Shodai. The Space Patrol man rolled out of the way just as a thin leg was about to come stabbing down on him. He got back up into his combat stance while the Star Fox team dealt with the smaller units. Slippy chanced a look at Shodai, who was grappling with the Aparoid construct while it was trying to buck him off. Acting quickly, he scanned the giant Aparoid, and his readings did not disappoint.
"Hey, guys! I think I know how to beat this thing!" Slippy said.
"Well, spit it out, frog-boy!" Falco shouted.
"That thing's only weakness is the inside of its', er, mouth. If we can get a few shots in, then it should keel over and die!" Slippy said. Shodai appeared to have heard them, for he immediately turned his body around so he was facing the Aparoid construct's direction, while still maintaining his grip on it. Then, he reached up with his hands, and pried the three flaps that covered the mouth open. He looked at the Star Fox team and nodded at them.
"Alright, looks like Steven's given us an opening!" Fox said, turning his arwing to head for the Aparoid construct. He fired a nova bomb, which detonated inside of the thing. The rest of the team followed suit, firing inside the belly of the beast and doing horrendous damage. Steven let go, and let loose a high-kick that sent the construct staggering back while it shrieked mechanically in agony. However, Fox noticed something odd about Shodai; he was starting to slow down a little, and noticed a buildup of frost around his frame.
"Steven, are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Why?" Shodai asked.
"Your starting to ice up!" Fox replied. Steven looked at himself, then disregarded it.
"This is nothing. I can still fight." he retorted.
"Steven, you're beginning to slow down, and you have frost on you! You'll be frozen solid in a matter of minutes!" Fox said.
"I said I'm fine! It's more important that we beat this thing, no matter what!" Shodai nearly shouted at Fox. Just then, Shodai leapt up at the Aparoid, and elbow-slammed it on the top before delivering several chops to its body. However, the Aparoid construct bucked him off, and swung its body around to slam itself into the Ultra. Shodai fell to the frozen ground, and got back up to a kneeling position, frost and ice making itself more apparent on his body, and he was slowing down even more. He tried to punch the Aparoid, but it was too slow, and the construct swung its body again, knocking him back to the ground once more. Shodai tried to rise, but couldn't find the strength. His warning light was flashing rapidly, the chime constant.
"Fox, we have to do something!" Krystal said, seeing how helpless Shodai was as the Aparoid construct loomed over him. Fox gunned his engine, and let loose a nova bomb in front of the Aparoid. It back off from the blast, but also did something else that was unexpected; the extreme heat from the warhead thawed out the Ultra. Shodai jumped to his feet with a shout, and grabbed the Aparoid construct. He hoisted it over his head, and threw it to the ground. Shrieking mechanically, the Aparoid construct got back to its feet, albeit uneasily. Then, Shodai was upon it once again. He was facing in the Aparoid's same direction again when he grappled it, and pried open the mouth once more. However, he did more than just that; summoning his last reserves of strength, Shodai ripped off the flaps that formed the mouth, leaving the orifice open for an attack. The Star Fox team let loose their arsenal of nova bombs and charged shots, while Shodai fired his Spacium Ray directly in the center of the opening. What happened was a chain-reaction that made the Aparoid construct explode into millions of flaming metal debris. After that, the rest of the Aparoids turned into so much useless scrap as they seemed to just deactivate. The team let out a collective sigh of relief, as did Shodai.
"This is Fox. The Climate Control Center is undamaged." Fox said, doing a fly-by over the structure. The Aparoids were incomplete in their assimilation, and the Aparoids inside just died away, as did their alterations.
"Looks like the Aparoids are gone too." Slippy commented.
"Nicely done, Fox. You as well, Steven." Shodai nodded at the team. "But, try to be a little more careful next time." Shodai tilted his silver head in puzzlement.
"She's right, Steven. The one thing that's more important than completing the mission, is that everyone gets out of it alive." Fox said. Shodai seemed to consider it before responding.
"Alright. I'll try to be more…'careful', in the future." he said. He looked up into the sky, and with a loud shout, he was flying away towards the Great Fox.
"But man! Getting attacked by your allies, I mean that's just crazy!" Falco said.
"Machines are machines, after all. Those without strong wills can easily be turned to evil." Peppy said.
"Those without strong wills…allies or enemies…" Fox mused.
"What is it, Fox?" Krystal asked.
"Nothing. That just sounds like someone I know, that's all." he said. The Star Fox team streaked skyward, while the Aura Borealis played out in the night sky.