Ultraman; Advent of Darkness
Chapter 7
"They're falling back?" Jim asked. The arwings were still flying escort for the Great Fox while Fox, Slippy, and Amanda took to the ocean in the Blue Marine and Tad Pole. Hearing what was happening over his headset made it next to impossible for the human to not transform into his Ultra self. However, he kept himself in check, not wanting to expose himself to those who did not know his true nature. At the word that the Devil Shark was retreating, he felt a sliver of relief course through him, but he did not let his guard down; the uneasy feeling he had still persisted.
"That's what it sounds like, but," Falco began. "I don't like it. I think they're giving up too easily."
"You mean they're being led to a trap?" Dash asked.
"Wouldn't surprise me," Jim muttered. Beneath the ocean's surface, the Blue Marine and Tad Pole were still pursuing the wounded Devil Shark. The Anglar's underwater base was coming into view, and Fox could make out the features better as they got closer to it; it floated in the ocean, several hundred meters below the surface and didn't seem to be connected or tethered to anything. But what was most peculiar was that it didn't look like any underwater base that Fox or the others have seen. Most of the walls looked to be made out of some type of metal or alloy, while there seemed to be no walls around the other half of base and various bits of electronics and technology was exposed to the water, while the Anglars floated and swam freely about the base.
"What kind of a base is that?" Slippy asked, getting a look at it.
"The kind that would be built by an aquatic race, apparently," Amanda answered. Fox said nothing as he steered the Blue Marine closer to the Anglar's base. The Devil Shark entered one of the docking bays, and Zako swam out of the hatch and towards the hallway while the various personnel went to assess the damage and make repairs where needed. As he walked down the hall, he caught sight of Zazan and moved towards him, with the icthyoid walking towards him as well.
"Zako, it's good to see you relatively unharmed." Zazan said with a grin that seemed to be a sneer.
"Never mind me, why did you call me back?" the hammerhead demanded.
"Your ship had taken too much damage. I didn't want to lose a valuable unit such as yourself." Zazan explained. Zako matched his smirk.
"I didn't know you cared," he replied. "Either way, I'm sure to have been followed. How are we going to deal with the interlopers out there, and on the surface?" Zako asked.
"The emperor already gave the order. He said to use it now." Zazan replied, holding up the control box in his fin. Zako looked at it.
"Is that really going to turn the tide in this?" the hammerhead asked.
"Only one way to find out," Zazan replied. His fin closed around the small device and pressed the button on it.
Bottom of the ocean: The call has been given. Now, the great thing rises from its lair on the sandy bottom and heads for the surface.
Jim felt his danger sense sky-rocket, the sensation being enough to make him shout out in pain and hold his head as a splitting headache threatened to tear his head in two. Krystal felt what Jim was feeling through their rapport. "Jim, are you alright? What's happened?" The human lifted his hand away from his face as groaned in pain.
"It's…coming…" he said softly. In their underwater base, Zako and Zazan felt a tremor, like a great turbulence in the water. Then, a massive shape passed by them, blotting out the sun with its immense bulk. All Zako and Zazan could do was stare up at the immense being as it rose. From outside the base, Fox and Slippy in the Blue Marine and Amanda in the Tad Pole watched as something gigantic rose from the ocean floor, and was still rising. Up above the surface, the forecast had been sunny and clear. But then, dark storm clouds materialized out of nowhere. The sun was blocked behind the clouds, throwing everything into a darkness that borderline night. Krystal looked around in alarm, and felt a great pressure that seemed to close in around her, and threaten to crush her.
"What…is this…" she said, holding herself tightly.
"Pure…evil…" Jim muttered. All the while, their headsets were alive with chatter from the other arwings as their pilots were discerning what was happening. Jim looked down, and saw the surface of the water begin to churn and roil as something big was moving underneath.
In another Realm: "Yes, yes! The Dark Kraken has been unleashed. While it was given to the Anglars as a weapon of mass destruction, they have no true idea of its true purpose." A voice laughed maliciously in the dark, while a chorus joined it.
Zoness: As Jim looked down at the ocean, he could see the water churn, as something underneath the water's surface were moving. Jim tried to key in on the Blue Marine, but all he got was static. Trying to key in to the fighters, the human could not raise anyone. He was only able to keep in contact with Krystal, via their rapport. The roiling was getting worse, and the human could make out a large, dark shape just underneath the surface, then something erupted from the water, and headed towards them. It was little more than a blur, but it was long and thick, and thrashed about in the air wildly, trying like mad to grab the fighters in the air. However, it found an even better catch; it wrapped itself around the Great Fox by the long neck extending from the base, and Jim and the others were able to see it clearly; it was a tentacle, not unlike the kind found on octopi or squid, complete with rows of suckers underneath that had hooks protruding from them. From the surface of the water, more tentacles snaked out, less energetic as their predecessor, but still reaching skyward for them. 'What…what is this?' Krystal wondered.
"Trouble." Jim replied plainly. He gunned his ship at the surface of the water and fired, sending in bolts of emerald light at the base of the tentacles. He knows that he hit something, and then a low groan, or was it a growl?, was heard. The tentacle holding the Great Fox released its prize, and sought after the thing that annoyed it. The rest of the fighters took the hint and started their own sorties at the monster itself. Some of them flew in low like Jim did and fired at the base, while others evaded the tentacles and fired at the tips and stalks. All the while, the thing that was underneath the water seemed to grow more agitated as the tentacles began to move with more intent. Then, Dash fired a Nova bomb, just above the surface of the water, and severed two tentacles. They fell to the water while the beast gave a mighty groan of pain, the other tentacles retreating back into the water. The water ceased its roiling for but a moment.
"Did we get it?" Krystal asked out loud. Then, Jim felt his danger sense soar.
"No. We just made it angry." Just then, almost a full dozen tentacles erupted from the water, flailing about in the air like maddened vines. The fighters were quick to dodge the assault, but at this rate it was only a matter of time. Meanwhile, the dark storm clouds continued to form, and lightning was shooting from between them. Jim looked up, distracted by the lightning for the briefest of moments, but it was enough; a tentacle wrapped itself around his fighter, and began to apply pressure. His canopy cracked as he struggled against the controls. Krystal saw what was happening, as did everyone else, and sought to help. They fired at the tentacle with Nova bombs and charged shots, but it stubbornly held onto its catch, determined to crush its victim in its overpowering grip. Inside his Beetle, Jim knew he had only one chance; his Spacium Brace was glowing a bright crimson, and his body was now a shining red as he shouted one word; "GAAAIIIYYYOOOO!" A bright red light materialized right next to the fighter and tentacle, taking on a humanoid shape until Ultraman Zenith was floating next to it. The Warrior of Light grabbed the tentacle, and with a mighty pull, he ripped the tentacle from the main body. There was another pain-filled groan, and Zenith removed the tentacle from the fighter as he floated next to the Great Fox. Gently, he placed the damaged craft inside of the hangar bay, just before three more tentacles wrapped themselves around his neck and wrists. Zenith fought against the crushing grip, but the constriction was starting to get to him as one of them crushed his windpipe. He was starting to see red, then the red turned to blood-red, and knew he had only one shot; He threw a shredding halo at the tentacle holding him by the throat, and the saw-blade cut through it cleanly, releasing him from its hold. The severed limb fell to the water and Zenith pulled against the other limbs, and the tentacles were ripped off, falling from his arms as he floated above the surface. The water's roiling intensified as something began to rise to the surface, and finally breached it. At first, it was just a large shapeless mass, dark gray in color. Then, the mass rose and then something more discernable was coming into view. It was a gigantic head that had angular flaps coming out from either side, with the tentacles coming from the base of it. Just beneath the head were a pair of eyes on either side that were blood red in color and slitted, like a reptile's eyes. Then, the mass continued to move upward, and beneath the eyes was a large maw filled with razor-sharp teeth and a large tongue that opened in a bellow of rage at the Ultra. The Dark Kraken had finally revealed itself, and its sheer size was enough to make even Zenith's heart drop. Its head alone was at least five times the Ultra's own height, while the maw looked big enough to swallow him whole. Those watching felt their hearts drop to their stomachs as they saw the thing that now faced off against Zenith. Zenith knew that the roar was directed at him, and the Ultra got into his combat stance. More of the tentacles shot out from the base of the head to ensnare the Ultra, but Zenith was quick to dodge them. He sent two more Shredding Halos to dispatch the coming tentacles, but the severed limbs were only regenerated from the base of the head. Then, one was wrapped around his waist and two more found his wrists once more, holding his arms to his sides like a cross. Zenith tried to pull his arms in, but the strength of the Dark Kraken was too much for him. He looked down at the gaping, waiting maw of the monster. As he felt himself get pulled in, he saw three craft fly right above the open mouth, and drop a Nova Bomb each into the mouth, the bombs exploding on contact and causing the Dark Kraken to scream in pain and release Zenith.
"Chew on that," Krystal said as she pulled her fighter up. She was flanked by Faye and Miyu while Zenith flew upward, and ripped the tentacles from the main body. The limbs fell to the ocean and dissolved while new ones were re-grown. Zenith looked down, the Dark Kraken flailing its many arms about in fury at the frustrating situation. Beneath it, the Blue Marine and Tad Pole swam underneath and towards the underwater base. However, Fox noticed something about the Dark Kraken; A dark fluid was coming from the underside of the body, and it was spreading into the water. It was dark, practically black in color as it drifted towards them. His scanners indicated that the fluid was toxic. Up above, the Dark Kraken seemed to have slowed down, even stopped as it just milled around in the water. Zenith dropped his guard as he studied the monster with interest. Beneath it, the dark fluid continued to spread, like an underwater oil-slick. The Blue Marine and the Tadpole entered the underwater bay, and parked next to the Devil Shark. Donning their scuba gear, Fox and Slippy exited the craft and headed down the hallway, followed by Amanda, who wore the same oxygen tanks and rebreather as they did. Armed with their blasters, the trio headed for the interior of the base. A couple of guards met them, but were quickly dispatched with well aimed blaster fire. Reaching the command room, they found Zako and Zazan watching the battle that was going on from up above when the Kraken suddenly stopped to unleash its unexpected package. The two soldiers were completely unaware of the three intruders that entered the room.
"What have we done, Zako?" Zazan asked, as he watched the dark fluid spread itself across the ocean.
"That filth, it will kill all life in the water…" the shark said.
"Freeze!" A voice sounded. Both soldiers whirled, and found themselves facing the end of three blasters trained on them. "What the hell is that thing outside?!" Fox demanded, his voice somewhat muffled by the rebreather on his face. Zako and Zazan lowered their arms.
"It was supposed to be the secret weapon, a gift from our supporter." Zazan replied somberly. He turned back to stare at the screen. "But now…"
"Who's supporting you guys?" Slippy asked.
"We don't know. The emperor never saw him, only his underling as he offered a bargain to us."
"What bargain?" Fox asked, slightly lowering his weapon. Zazan sighed as he turned to face the vulpine.
"This may not surprise you, but Venom's seas are getting to the point that they will be completely unable to support any type of life. We tried to clean the seas ourselves, but it was all for naught. We would pass away, with no one learning of our existence, or our destruction. Then, when it seemed darkest for us, he appeared."
"Who did?"
"I don't know. I never saw his face. It was always covered by a cloak. But like a wraith from a nightmare, he appeared all the same. He said that his master was willing to help us, to aide us in not only finding a new home, but also give us an entire star system to settle and call our own."
"You mean Lylat," Fox said, his weapon lowering even more. "He promised you the Lylat system." Fox looked away s he processed the information. Zenith was right. Someone is backing the Anglars. He turned his sights back to the Anglar soldiers. "Is that thing some sort of bio-weapon?" he asked.
"We don't know. All we know is that, when unleashed, it would decimate our enemies. Or so we were told. We didn't know that it would destroy all life in the seas. That fluid its dispersing is a is a very powerful toxin. It breaks down organic matter on the molecular scale, leaving nothing behind."
"How do you know all this?" Slippy asked.
"Because we were developing a toxin just like it back on Venom. How this thing is manufacturing it, we don't know."
"Is there a way to neutralize it?" Fox asked. Zako and Zazan looked at eachother, then at the floor.
"No." Zazan said simply. Fox let out a groan.
"Can we kill that thing?" Amanda asked, gesturing at the Dark Kraken on the screen.
"I don't know. We didn't even know what the weapon was until we saw it just minutes ago."
"Wow, are you guys a couple of geniuses," Slippy said, rolling his eyes.
"Is there anything that you do know?" Fox asked, getting impatient. Zazan and Zako looked at eachother, then back at Fox. Zazan was about to reply, when the monitor flashed to life. The image of the Anglar Emperor took up the screen as he sat upon his throne. Zazan and Zako kneeled down before the monarch
"My faithful lieutenants, rise." Zazan and Zako stood back up. "The time has come for me to see the error of our ways. In our blind quest to find a new home, we have unwittingly unleashed a weapon with the power to destroy all life, and render a planet barren for eternity. For that, we must stop it."
"But, sire. We have no way of neutralizing the toxin it's producing."
"It is not producing that toxin. At least, not naturally."
"Sire?" Zako asked.
"That thing, the Dark Kraken, was given the toxin by our benefactor, after I told him the secret about it. That thing is producing it artificially. Because of this, I believe that we are able to kill the beast with its own weapon, if not at the very least weaken it. That will solve half of our problem. The other half is getting rid of the toxin that's already in the water."
"Leave that to us." Fox said. All eyes were on him that moment. "We have a powerful friend on our side. He's probably fighting that thing right now. If we can kill the Dark Kraken, he can probably get rid of the poison as well."
"You mean the Ultra being," Emperor Anglar said. Fox nodded. "Very well. I leave everything in your hands, now." The Emperor signed off, and the two Anglar soldiers turned to face the others.
Up on the surface, the Dark Kraken was still secreting the toxin from its body as it stared up at the Ultra. Zenith saw the beast just float in the water, while it let out an occasional growl. 'What's it doing?' he thought. The beast continued to stare up at the Ultra as the toxin was released from its body. Krystal was doing a fly-by, when her scanners picked something up, beneath the monster. It was then that she contacted Zenith through her rapport.
'Jim, can you hear me?'
'I hear you. What is it?" Zenith asked.
'My scanners picked up something. That thing is releasing a type of fluid into the water. It's killing the life in it, even on the bacteria!'
'What?' Zenith asked. 'Is this part of the Anglar's secret weapon?' he thought.
'I don't know. I thought they were only interested in only military targets, unless,'
'Unless their benefactors had other things in mind.' Zenith finished for her. Krystal could only nod. 'Then what are they really after, then?' the Ultra pondered. However, he knew that first thing's first, as he readied a Shredding Halo. He fired the energy saw blade at the Dark Kraken, but the beast swat it away with a tentacle, and then reached up for the Ultra. Zenith evaded the tentacle, and sent another Shredding Halo at it, this time severing the limb. While the severed appendage fell, another grew from the stump, and grabbed Zenith by the torso, the pressure almost crushing him as he was being pulled in. then, other tentacles wrapped themselves around him, making sure the Dark Kraken's victim does not escape. At that time, Zenith's warning light was starting to flash, and the Ultra could feel the pressure start to intensify as the gaping maw got closer and closer to him. An explosion blossomed underneath the Dark Kraken, causing a plume of water to erupt next to it, and apparently hurt the beast, causing it to bellow in pain and release its hostage. Zenith flew upward, away from the tentacles. Under the water, the Blue Marine, Tad Pole, and even the Devil Shark assaulted the Dark Kraken from the rear, firing torpedoes at its unprotected rear flank. The tentacles nearest to the water twisted and lashed at them, trying to ensnare at least one of them, but it has all in vain, the submersibles were just to quick underwater.
"Remember, we need to wound it so the toxin can seep in and poison it from within." Zazan said, in the copilot's seat behind Zako.
"No need to remind us," Slippy said under his breath while Fox took aim at the thing and fired again.
"Slippy, I'm running out of torpedoes here. Switch me to the hyper lasers!" Fox said.
"Way ahead of ya, Fox." Slippy said. Fox took aim at the Dark Kraken, and fired, the blue bolts of light striking the area that received the most torpedoes and damage. However, even that failed to do any noticeable damage, if any.
"Damn! Now what?" Fox asked. Just then, a shape sliced through the water, and towards the Dark Kraken. Having spent the last of their torpedoes, the Devil Shark made a run at the beast. "What are you guys doing?!" Fox shouted.
"Redeeming ourselves for the mistakes that we have caused." Zazan's voice cut in.
"Even though we met as enemies, I'm glad that we were able to fight side by side for this brief moment as allies. Please, remember us kindly in the future." Zako said. The sub smashed against the Dark Kraken, and an explosion grew from underneath the best up above, water erupted around the Dark Kraken while it was slightly lifted from the water and let out a roar of pain. A gash appeared in the thing's hide, a stream of red blood leaked from it, while the black fluid seeped into it. Suddenly, the thing gave a low groan and began to lurch. Topside, the Dark Kraken began to flail its tentacles in the air, as if trying to swat at an invisible foe while it bellowed in pain.
"What's it doing now?" Falco asked.
"Looks like it's freaking out." Faye said.
"This is Fox, can anyone hear me?" Fox's voice sounded over everyone's headset.
"Hey, I hear Fox!" Dash said.
"I guess the dampening field has been weakened somewhere. We hear ya, Fox." Falco said.
"Listen to me, me and Amanda, along with the Anglars if you can believe it, just found out the Dark Kaken is vulnerable to its own poison. We've wounded it on the underside and some of the poison got in. You must kill it now!"
"Wait, did you say you and the Anglars?" Falco asked.
"I'll explain later. Just kill this thing!" Fox replied. Falco keyed off, and began to fly the Sky Claw towards the flailing Dark Kraken. He targeted the screaming maw, and fired two Nova bombs into it. Some of the teeth and fangs were blown out from the maw, while the tongue was reduced to ash as it wailed even more. Zenith nodded at Falco, and began to charge up his Mega Spacium Kousen. He brought his arms into a cross-shape, and the cross-shaped ray of blue/white light streaked towards the Dark Kraken. Striking the beast in the face, the beam went right through it, and nearly struck the two subs on the other side. The Dark Kraken glowed for a moment, then erupted into tiny particles of blue sparkles. The storm clouds over head dissipated and the sun shone down from the sky. There was a large black mark in the water, like a stain, from where the Dark Kraken released the toxin. Zenith placed his arms in front, meeting at the wrists while keeping the hands outstretched. A blue ray of light was fired from his hands and hit the toxin-stained water. Instantly, the toxin vanished, leaving the sea a deep blue once again. Zenith looked around, and saw the two ships breach the surface of the water, and nodded as he looked up and flew off into the sky. Fox opened the hatch and he and Slippy climbed out as the Great Fox was coming by to pick them up. As the Blue Marine floated into the hangar, along with the Tad Pole, Jim was waiting next to his damaged fighter. As the pair got off the Blue Marine, Jim walked by to greet them.
"Well, that got a little hairy." Jim said with a smirk.
"Yeah, a little." Fox replied. "Hope that thing didn't do too much damage before you were able to clean up the slick,"
"Don't worry, the poison was still in the local area, so the wildlife wasn't affected that much." Jim replied. Amanda got out of the Tad Pole and Slippy turned around to meet her.
"Amanda! I'm happy to see you're alright." Both amphibians embraced eachother, Amanda actually having to stoop down to hug him. Fox and Jim chuckled at the scene, while they broke away from eachother.
"I'm fine, Slippy. I'm just happy to see you're alright." the pink amphibian replied. Jim turned to Fox.
"So, the Anglars helped you out, huh? Did they suddenly have a guilty conscience?" the human asked.
"Something like that. They also gave me this, just before they left. They said that the Emperor gave it to them, just before he sent them to Aquas." Fox was holding out a small computer disk in his gloved paw.
"What is it?" Jim asked.
"Let's go find out." The two headed for the briefing room and Fox uploaded the disk into the computer. On the table, the holographic image of the Anglar Emperor appeared.
"To those who receive this from my subordinates, let it be known that I never truly intended for things to become this drastic. I hope that you are reading this after the defeat of the Dark Kraken. Our benefactor lent us this weapon, just as he had lent us the Dark Ogre that you had defeated on Katina." Jim remembered the creature he defeated on that planet, the one that called his name and could regenerate. "He told us to use those weapons should the time arise, but I never really knew what his true intentions were. And because of that, I have almost caused the death of a world. I do not know much about him, but I do know that this person, or persons, has a particular grudge against you lot. Especially against the ones named James Howards, Fox McCloud, and Krystal." Jim stiffened when he heard his name. "If you come to Venom, I'll discuss terms of a cease-fire between our two races, and hopefully come to compromise, before we're all eventually wiped out. I'm looking forward to seeing you three, in particular." The Emperor signed off, with Fox and Jim looking at eachother.
"Well, looks like we know where we're going next." Jim said.
"Right. Let's tell General Hare what happened, then we'll head to Venom."
Heart of the Anglar Empire: As the Anglar Emperor sat in his throne, flanked by his two guards, he could only hope that his message was received in time, and that the three people were making their way here as quickly as they could. Suddenly, the underwater lamps in the throne room dimmed, until they were completely out. The guards looked around in alarm while the emperor looked straight ahead, knowing fully well what was coming. "Emperor Anglar, you fool!" a voice hissed in the darkness. "Did you truly think to defy the one who has shown you compassion, when he could just as well have wiped you and your little kingdom off the face of the universe?" Then, appearing from the shadows like a phantom, a cloaked figure walked towards the throne. The guards lowered their weapons at the intruder, while several more guards poured in from the large chamber doors behind the cloaked being. It looked behind itself in surprise, then turned back to face the emperor. "You will regret throwing the generosity of so great a being back in face!" it hissed.
"We'll see, as soon as my guards are done with you!" At that line, the guards unsoldered their rifles and fired upon the intruder, the red bolts of energy throwing light and eerie shadows across the throne room as the shots hit their target. When the shooting finally stopped, the room was once more thrown in darkness and the guards lowered their weapons. However, in the gloom, the cloaked figure stood, unharmed and unmarred in any way. The emperor saw this, and felt a chill go down his spine.
"Is that the best you've got?" it asked. "A little light show?" It turned back to face its attackers. "Now, let me show you what I can do." the being lunged at the guards, and seemed to move amongst them while lashing out at them with its robed arms. In the gloom, there wasn't much to be made out, but the screams of horror and pain the echoed through the halls made grisly images appear in the Emperor's mind, as well as the two guards that stood next to him. Coming towards the Emperor, the cloaked figure was holding one of the guards in a scaly, three fingered hand that had long claws, like those of a reptile's. The guard was still alive, but barely. It lifted him off the floor, and held him in front of the emperor. With a shake, the neck was snapped, and the body was dropped onto the stone floor. The remaining two guards rushed at the intruder, but the cloaked figure lashed out with movements too quick for the eye to see, and the guards fell dead at its feet. The emperor felt fear grip his heart as it walked towards him. "And yet, despite your transgressions, he still finds you of some use. We know about the message you sent out. And that will lead them all to their end." When the figure was no more than two feet from the Emperor, something bulged and writhed on his back, and several black tendrils erupted from his cloak, and stabbed at the Emperor. He let out a cry of pain, and yet he didn't die. Instead, he could feel something being injected into him from the tendrils. "When I'm done with you, you'll wish I'd have killed you." the being said as the tendrils continued to pump the emperor with some type of fluid. All the while his screams of pure agony echoed through the palace.
