Ch.1
Frustration
In the Lylat System, on the planet called Zoness, the Great Fox is docked at the space-port of one of the more classier places on the planet. A well known vacation spot, many species from across the galaxy travel here to get away from life, and to relax and unwind. Here, the Star Fox team is no exception. The legendary mercenary team was relaxing at the white-sand beach in front of the motel where they were staying, joined by the Phoenix family respectively. While Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Cody romped around in the waves, the rest were sunning themselves on the sand. Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix laid on lawn-chairs, while Krystal was lying on a beach towel, sunglasses over her eyes as she took in the warm sun. Then, a beach-ball landed on her stomach, making her sit up involuntarily, and saw a drenched Cody in swim trunks come out of the water. Krystal smiled, and tossed the ball back to the kit, who hurriedly ran back into the water to join the others. Mrs. Phoenix looked at Krystal, her sun hat slightly drooping in front of her. "Sorry about that. Boys will be boys, after all." she said. Krystal looked at her.
"I know." Krystal replied, putting her shades back on.
"Speaking of boys," Mr. Phoenix says, not moving his body. "Where's that other guy at?"
"Which one, dear?" his wife asked.
"Jim, the human." he replied. Krystal sighed as she answered.
"More than likely training again, when he should be relaxing." she said, almost ruefully. Jim, the sole survivor of the planet Earth, was rescued by the team and was made one of them over a year ago. In that time, he has helped stave off an invasion from another dimension, while developing something of a romance with the cerulean vixen. Onboard the Great Fox, Peppy Hare sat at the console reading one of the many war-stories that he has saved on his PAD, while keeping an eye on the monitor in front of him. In another part of the ship, the other member was engaged in the only thing that could possibly take his mind off of the tedium of his present life.
In the middle of the ruined city, people ran for their lives as a hulking behemoth loomed over them. It was more than fifty meters tall, with a saurian-type body, complete with a long, whip-like tail and an armored head with the armored plates coming to a point just above the crown. It looked at the fleeing people with orange eyes that glowed evilly, and shrieked into the heavens. This, was Golza, the same monster that legendary Ultras Tiga and Dyna had faced before. The giant reptilian horror walked down the street, knocking over buildings and smashing automobiles as it went, not paying any heed to the tiny, screaming creatures that scurried beneath its feet. Then, the top of its head glowed red, and a type of beam fired from it. It struck a building, turning it into a fireball of debris, making the building next to it follow the same fiery fate, as well as the adjacent structures next and near it. Golza looked on, and nodded in satisfaction. However, that was when he appeared. Flying in at mach 3, the giant red and silver form of Ultraman Zenith landed in front of the saurian abomination. Golza looked at this new foe with a puzzled expression, tilting its head to one side, then roared a challenge at the red and silver Warrior of Light. Zenith gestured for Golza to came to him, then struck his combat pose. Golza charged. Running like an enraged bull, Golza intended to smash itself against the red and silver alien. However, Zenith had other plans. He leapt over the beast, executing an aerial axle in the process, and landed nimbly behind it. Golza stopped in its tracks, and whirled to face the alien warrior. Then, it charged again. This time, Zenith didn't move. At the last possible second, when Golza was mere inches from him, Zenith grabbed the beast, and rolled onto his back, using Golza's own momentum against it. The beast was sent flying into a couple buildings, bringing them down around it. Buried under several tons of rubble and debris, Gorzul burst from the mound that it had created, and cast an evil glare at Zenith. Then, Zenith leapt up, and landed on Gorzul, sending both to the ground. Zenith was on top of Gorzul, and started to rain down blow after blow to the beast. Golza tried to dislodge the Warrior of Light, but to no avail. Then, his tail lashed from behind him, knocking the red and silver Ultra away from him. Zenith came up to a kneeling position after doing a somersault, and shook his head, trying to clear it from the incredible blow. Then, as he looked up, he got bowled over by a charging Gorzul. As Zenith rolled around on the ground, Gorzul continued to kick him. When Zenith came back up, he was met with a claw-swipe to his face, knocking him back to the ground once more. Zenith got back up into his combat stance, and was about to be tackled to the ground by Golza when he jumped over him, and landed right behind him. He grabbed Golza's tail, and started to spin around, lifting the saurian clean off of its feet in the process. After several swings, Zenith let go, and Golza was sent flying into some ruined buildings. After Golza got to his feet, the top of its head began to glow red, and its signature beam attack was fired at Zenith. However, the red and silver Warrior of Light brought up a barrier of shimmering blue light, rippling almost like water, and the beam was soundly deflected. Golza roared its displeasure, and Zenith retaliated with his own attack. He raised his right hand straight up into the air, his left hand curled into a fist at his side. Energy crackled into his right hand from the air and surroundings. "SPACIUMMU-" Then, he brought his hands into a plus shape, his left hand in front of the right, and a bright blue beam of light was fired. "KOUSEN!" As soon as he said this, the beam struck Golza, and after several seconds of exposure to the beam, miniature explosions erupted all over its body. The Spacium Kousen died, and with it, so did Golza as his body fell to the ground. As soon as it did, his body glowed green, and dissipated into green molecules.
"VANISH!" said the mechanical voice. And with that, Zenith dropped his pose, and the city, as well as everyone in it, disappeared, replaced with a plain white room with the Ultra standing alone. Then his body began to glow, and he turned from a red and silver alien, to a young man wearing a uniform that was dark blue with a black vest, a cap and digitless gloves. On his right hand was a brace that was mostly silver with a red arrow shape going through the center. It glowed slightly, then died. With that, Jim took his leave from the simulator.
Jim Andrew Howards was the last of his kind in this universe. At least, half of him. When he was born, there were complications that would have lead to his premature death. However, something amazing had happened; an Ultra, a being of great power, had merged his life-force with the infant, sparing his life and ensuring that he would live. As time went on, his power remained dormant, until when the boy was about eight years old, when another of the same Ultra's race brought him to another world to begin training as an Ultra warrior. There, he first met Krystal. However, their meeting and relationship was only short-lived, as Andross sent his fleet to the planet to destroy both him and Krystal. However, both survived, and it wasn't until Jim reached adulthood to find that he was in fact an Ultra, after finding Krystal literally landing in his backyard. However, they did not remember eachother, on account of the same Ultra that had brought Jim to the planet, Cerinia, wiping both of their memories to protect them from Andross. It was also at that time that a great evil had targeted Earth, and was the guiding hand behind Andross's actions. Gorzul, the infamous being from the Dark Realm, had been unleashed upon the universe after Andross unsealed it and made a pact with it. However, while Earth would be devastated and the human race extinct, Jim would live among the Star Fox team as a member, and fulfill his destiny as the one to face and defeat Gorzul as the One with the Might of the Sun, along with Krystal, One with the Power of the Soul. It has been six months since Gorzul's defeat, and Jim found himself bored. The action, for him it seems, has dried up lately. Sure, the team takes missions to keep themselves financially afloat, but he rarely transforms anymore. The only real excitement is when he is training in the simulator, and even now it is starting to get stale. Walking down the hallway, he runs into Peppy, the wizened hare looking up at him. "So, how many monsters have you done in so far?" he asked, smiling slightly. Jim looked down, but Peppy chuckled in response. "I know what you're feeling. This whole peace thing doesn't really suit you very well, does it?"
"Considering that I was assigned this sector, I would figure that there would be a little more action than the usual riff-raff." he said, looking back at the hare. "I don't even need to transform anymore. With my power, fighting from a cockpit kinda gets…dull." Jim looked up as a thought struck him. "Good lord, I sound like Falco…" Peppy laughed a bit. "You know, you didn't have to stay here with me, Pep. You should go join the others at the resort."
"But then, you need someone here to make sure that you don't hurt yourself." the hare replied.
"'Hurt myself'?" Jim asked, raising an eyebrow.
"At least, that's what Fox and Krystal said."
"Fox, and Krystal?" Jim asked again, folding his arms.
"Well…mostly Krystal. Fox just agreed." Peppy replied.
"That's better." Jim said, smiling a bit. "Why does she worry about me so much?" he asked aloud.
"Because she cares, that's why."
"I know, but I don't need a babysitter."
"No, what you need, is to relax. This calm won't last forever, you know."
"I certainly hope not." Jim replied. "I'm just not made for peace. When on Earth before I found out I was an Ultra, I was a soldier in the military. And even before then, I was never the one to just 'sit still and relax'. I need action, not calm, for God's sake!" Peppy shook his head.
"You know, you're right." Jim looked at the hare. "You DO sound like Falco." Peppy smiled a bit, and Jim joined him. Peppy sighed and went on. "On that note, I don't suppose that you'll be joining the others anytime soon, will you?"
"Sorry, but as you said, this calm won't last forever. I need to be prepared for anything. And that means that I need to keep on training and polishing my skills."
"Right, and what scenario would you like this time? Another monster, or something different, like an invasion?" Jim thought for a moment, then answered.
"Make it both. And this time, I wanna sweat." Jim replied. Peppy nodded and went back to the command head while Jim went back to is room for a little break before the next encounter. As Peppy entered the door, he brought up the communicator on his wrist up, and brought up Krystal's frequency. At the resort a few miles away, Krystal was busy sunning herself at the beach still when her comm's alarm went off. She picked it up, lifting the shades off of her eyes. Peppy's holographic disembodied head floated in front of her.
"Something wrong, Peppy?"
"Yeah, you owe me twenty credits." Peppy replied.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that Jim isn't leaving the ship anytime soon. Looks like I was right in that he won't leave before noon, because it looks like he doesn't have any plans on leaving anytime soon." Krystal sighed, and shook her head.
"I'll be right there, Peppy." she said. Krystal gathered her up her towel and sunscreen(seriously, a vixen who needs sunscreen?) when the Phoenixes noticed.
"Something wrong?" Mrs. Phoenix asked. Krystal looked at her, and smiled a bit.
"Just going to take care of a slight issue."
"Is it your boyfriend, Jim?" Mr. Phoenix asked. Krystal blushed some from embarrassment, while his wife shot him a stern look.
"Well, sort of, yes." Krystal replied, uneasily.
"Ah, young love…'OULPH!'" Mr. Phoenix gave a loud grunt as he felt his wife's fist connect with his gut. "What did I do?" he asked. Krystal chuckled at the scene, then moved to her arwing that was parked several yards away. Fox noticed the ship takeoff, wondering where it's headed. The flight to the Great Fox took only a few minutes for the vixen. After seeing the Great Fox in the docks, she angled her fighter into the hangar bay of the massive ship. Fitting the arwing in the bay like a glove, she exited out of the fighter, and made her way to the command head. As he heard the door open, Peppy turned to see Krystal, still clad in her bikini, walking towards him.
"Where is he?" she asked promptly.
"He just entered the holo room." Peppy replied. The screen in front of him showed the human in the bare white room, and transforming into his Ultra form. "He just asked me to program for him a doozy this time."
"Oh, he'll get a 'doozy', I promise you."
"Just one thing…"
"Don't worry, I won't beat him up too much."
"It's not him I'm worried about."
"That's sweet of you Peppy, but I'll be.."
"It ain't you, either." he replied.
"Then what…"
"I don't want this ship come crumbling down around us. The Great Fox ain't what it used to be, you know. So please, take it easy for her sake." Peppy said.
"Don't worry, Peppy. I'll make sure to go easy on Jim for the Great Fox's sake." Krystal said, turning away and rolling her eyes when her back was turned to him. Making her way down the hall, she stopped by her room to grab something that she'll need to convince Jim to go with her, and to avenge the twenty credits that she lost. In the holo room, Jim, aka Ultraman Zenith, was facing off against a horde of incoming Pedan ships, along with the robotic King Joe as the vanguard. The scene was at the United Nations building, which was now burning and smoldering with people running to and fro from the towering giants and the cruel invaders. However, just as Zenith was about to attack, the scene went white, leaving Zenith alone in the bare-white room. The Ultra looked around in confusion, puzzled at the sudden change in environments.
"Hey, what's going on here?!" he shouted.
"I am." Krystal's voice sounded over the P.A. system. Then, a door opened, and the cerulean vixen stepped in. She was wearing her Cerinian garb of the brazier and loincloth, arm guards, tiara, and to the Ultra's surprise, her staff, which was fully extended as she walked into the room. Zenith eyed her warily.
"Alright, Krys. What's this all about?"
"What is this all about, you ask?" she replied, smiling sarcastically. "Well, to start off, you said that you were going to take it easy,"
"Now, see, here's the thing…"
"And that you were going to join us at the resort at around noon,"
"Are you going to let me finish?"
"I even let Peppy keep an eye on you to make sure that you do that,"
"You're not going to let me finish, are you?"
"And instead you plan on playing hero all day long, missing out on spending time with us, and relaxing, like you should be."
"You just love hearing yourself talk, don't you?"
"No, I just want to make sure that you get the point, that's all." Krystal replied.
"With your staff?" he asked, pointing to Krystal's Krazoa staff in her hand. She regarded it, and looked at Zenith, her stare becoming hard.
"This, Jim, is to make up for the credits that I lost because of you."
"Credits? What credits?" Zenith asked.
"Peppy bet me twenty credits that you wouldn't show up at noon, and that you were going to spend the whole day fighting monsters in the holo room. And, unfortunately for you, you did just that. And now, you owe me." She swung her staff around, and got into her combat stance.
"You're kidding." Zenith muttered. However, Krystal caught it.
"I most certainly am not, Jim. I'm going to make sure that you relax, even if it's in a hospital bed in a body cast!"
"Okay, but why are you so damned determined that I take a rest, huh? Why go to such great lengths?"
"Because you need to, that's why! Because you promised me that you would take a break from all this!"
"So now I'm not allowed to keep my skills sharp, because you think that I will just wear myself out?" he asked. "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard! You realize that I need to do this to keep myself prepared for any contingency?!"
"Like what contingency, you bloody idiot?! When have you ever needed to use your powers recently?!"
"EXACTLY!" Zenith shouted. Krystal was caught off guard at this, and was even more surprised to see Zenith's eyes turn yellow to red instantly due to the anger and frustration he was feeling. "Ever since Gorzul was defeated, things have been calm around here to the point that I might lose my mind! I am a Warrior of Light, for Chrissakes! I need to use my abilities every now and then, otherwise if I don't I might start to lose who I am! I can't let this peace impede me. If something were to happen, and I'm not in peak performance, then who knows what will happen." It was then that Krystal lowered her staff, even if it was slightly, and her expression went from hard, to almost puzzled.
"You mean that you're isolating yourself in these mock-battles is because you are afraid that you will lose yourself?" She shook her head. "That…is the stupidest thing that I have heard you say in a long while."
"Wh-what?"
"You think that just because you haven't used your power in so long, that you will lose sight of who you are? Jim, even before you knew that you were an Ultra, you have always been who you are. Just because you haven't used your power in so long, does not mean that you will lose yourself. It's not your power that defines you, it's your heart." Zenith only looked away.
"I don't think it's that simple…"
"Really? You're just being stubborn right now. If only you could look past this, you will see." She raised her staff into a combative stance. "Nevertheless, I am here to collect."
"Forget it. I'm not in the mood for playing around with you." Zenith said, heading for the door behind her. Krystal raised her staff to block the red and silver Ultra's path.
"You don't have a choice." Zenith looked at her, then shoved the staff out of her way. He took two steps, then felt something whack itself on the back of his head. He stumbled forward, then whirled. Krystal was in her combat stance, her expression serious.
"Oh, you just did not…"
"I did." the vixen replied. Zenith's eyes glowed a darker red. "I'll make you a deal. You beat me, you can go back to wallowing in your own self-pity. If I beat you, then you come with me." she smirked as she said this. "Deal?" For an answer, Zenith fired his Slash-beam at her. Krystal barely got out of the way of the attack, then faced Zenith. He punched his fists out, and with each strike, a yellow blast of energy was fired at her. Krystal swat at these with her staff, making them dissipate. However, he was increasing the power behind each attack, making her take a step back from each attack. She brought up her shield, the blue forcefield keeping the attack at bay. However, the blasts were starting to make the shield bend and give. The vixen could feel the strain on the shield, as well as something else. It was coming from Zenith, and it wasn't an attack. She could feel the rage and frustration that he was putting into his attack. It was like he was trying to hurt her. She has sparred with him before while he was in his Ultra form, but she hasn't felt him fight like this before. Then, she noticed the crack in the forcefield, and it started to grow gradually. She tried to put forth more power, but Zenith did the same as well. Then, abruptly, the assault stopped. Krystal lowered the forcefield and saw what he was doing. Zenith raised his right hand into the air, energy crackling into it, and that's when Krystal felt her heart sink.
"SPACIUMMU-" Zenith swung his hand down, and placed both of his arms and hands into a plus-shape.
"KOUSEN!" A bright blue beam of light fired out of the edge of Zenith's right hand. Krystal rolled out of the way barely in time as the attack struck the wall behind her. Zenith swung the beam around, hoping to tag her with it. However, the vixen nimble leapt from side to side, evading the attack. Then the beam died, and Zenith fell to the floor clutching his chest and breathing hard. Krystal made her way to the Warrior of Light, wary of anything that he might have up his sleeve. When she was a few feet from him, she reached her hand out to him. A few inches away from his shoulder, And Zenith's hand shot out from under him, grabbing the staff in the vixen's hand. Krystal tried to pull away, but Zenith flung her to the other side of the room, making her crash into the wall on the opposite side. It was then that she noticed that her staff was no longer in her hands. Zenith held her staff in a silvery fist. Then he flung it away from him where it clattered to the ground away from him and her. Krystal tried to get up and reach for her staff, but was still too dazed from the attack to stand up. She got up to a kneeling position as the Ultra looked down at her, his eyes still glowing red. "You always did fall for that." He said, his echoing voice sounded like it was full of malice. He raised his hand up, energy crackling into it.
'He wouldn't…' she thought. He swung his arm down. 'He couldn't…'
"I would." he replied to her thought. He brought his hands into a plus shape, and the edge of his hand glowed. Just then the lights went out, throwing everything into darkness. "What the…" Zenith said, looking around.
"Now, Krystal!" Peppy's voice sounded over the p.a. system. Krystal swung her leg out, and struck something. She heard Zenith's fall, along with a reassuring grunt from him. The lights came back on, and she saw the Ultra on the floor and acted. When he tried to rise, she kicked him squarely in the face. The silvery face hurt her foot, but she ignored it as she ran for her staff. Zenith got back up, and saw Krystal aiming the round end at him. Then, she fired her fireballs at him. Zenith swat these away with his bare hands. After the barrage ended, he started to advance on her, but was repelled by a searing blast of cold from the blunt end of the staff. Zenith back-flipped away, but Krystal kept at him, not giving him a chance to get a breather. Then, he brought up his barrier, blocking the chilled assault. The shimmering blue circle deflected the attack, but Zenith knew it could hold for only so long. Then, he reared his fist back, and threw a punch at it. The shield shattered, and the shards went flying right at Krystal. As she saw the shards flying at her, she evaded the attack by ducking down and throwing her aim off. She looked up, and saw Zenith's foot connect with her face, sending her against the wall. Pain exploded against her cheek, and she looked up to see the Ultra advance on her. She stabbed out with her staff, and she felt it hit something, and Zenith reach to his abdomen. He looked down, and saw the pointed end stuck itself in his stomach. Krystal saw this, and gasped in shock. Zenith pulled away, still clutching the staff in his body. Then, he pulled it out of his body, the luminescent blood still on the tip. Zenith flung it away from him, and reverted back to his human form in a flash of crimson. He fell to his knees, holding the bloody hole in his gut while Krystal ran to him.
"Leave me!" he shouted. Krystal froze in her tracks as she saw the look in his eyes. Pure anger raged through them. However, she continued to move towards him. "I said leave me!" he said.
"With you wounded like this?" she asked.
"It's what you wanted, isn't it? To beat me, to prove that you were right?" he asked sharply.
"This is not what I wanted, and you know it!" she shouted back at him. He could see the tears coming down her muzzle as her eyes burned with a rage of their own. "I just wanted you to be with the rest of us. I just wanted you to be a part of us, like you used to. But I guess that since there is no one for you to fight, there is no need for that!" she stormed out of the room after picking up her staff. The blood on it turned from glowing yellow to red. She still had tears in her eyes as she left. Even after reaching her room, she couldn't stop crying. She fell on the bed as the staff landed to her. She couldn't get the look in his eye out of her head, nor the emotions that he was feeling at that time. They had sparred before, but he never felt like that, not even when they were really going at it. She wondered, what had happened to him in just six short months since Gorzul's defeat. She dozed off when she heard the door chime go off. She got up, and answered it. She was surprised to see Fox standing in the doorway with his swim trunks and a type of Hawaiian shirt. "Fox, what are you doing here? It thought that you were still at the resort."
"You were gone for more than three hours. Fara and her family went home to Corneria and the others returned. We're going to head back to Corneria the day after tomorrow for reassignment from General Pepper." He noticed the tear stains her muzzle. "Are you alright? You look like you've been crying." Krystal put a hand to her face in reaction, the pulled it away.
"I'm fine. It's just that…"
"He got to you, didn't he?" Fox asked.
"What do you…"
"Jim. He wouldn't leave, would he?" Krystal looked away.
"No." she replied. Fox sighed.
"Well, I've got something to say about that." Krystal looked at Fox as he left, and followed him to Jim's room. He chimed the door, but there was no answer. He knocked twice, but still no answer. He opened the door, and saw his room was empty. Krystal saw this, and felt worry well up. Fox keyed the inter-comm. "Peppy, are you there?" he asked.
"Right here, Fox."
"Do you know where Jim is?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm reading him in his room." he replied.
"Well, he's not here Pep."
"Fox." Krystal said, going over to his nightstand. She picked up the small device that was lying there. It was Jim's communicator. Fox saw this, and left the room to the command head. As soon as he reached it, went over to the consol that was nearest to him, and started to key in commands into it. Krystal joined him when she entered the doorway. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm trying to find out where that crazy kid went. Since he's the only human around within this universe, it should be easy to isolate him with the bio-scanner." After several minutes, Fox grunted in satisfaction. "I got a reading. He's ten klicks southwest from here."
"I'll go get him." Krystal said, heading for the door.
"You mean 'we'll go get him'." Fox replied, following Krystal. Both headed for the landing bay in the Great Fox, and hopped into their arwings. As the engines started up, they keyed Jim's location into their navi-computers, and blasted off.
He felt it from the ship, the presence that seemed to beckon him to this spot. The beach was all but deserted, only a few people left on it and waded into the water as the sun started to dip into the horizon. However, he hardly looked at them. He was still drawn by the presence he felt on the Great Fox. As Jim wandered on the beach, a blue shimmer of light appeared behind him. Hearing a high-pitched hum that only he can hear, he whirled and was surprised to see the shimmer become a circular shape, like a Warp Gate that's often been used by the Lylatians, only it was a type of sky-blue, instead of emerald. He heard a noise, like the growl of an engine coming from it, and a shape was rushing towards him from the center of the portal. As it got closer, the noise got louder and Jim saw the figure in more details. He looked like he was riding a kind of motorcycle, and wore a black leather jacket, red shirt and blue jeans while his black hair flowed behind him. At the last second, Jim gasped and ducked as the motorcycle roared over him and crashed onto the beach. Getting up to a knee, the Ultra saw the other uneasily get up from his overturned back with a groan on wobbly legs. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, he walked over to the other figure, who looked down at his bike and gave a groan of dismay at the shape of his ride.
"What the hell, Vil Tas?! My bike just got totaled!" he yelled at the ruined bike.
'Maybe if you had better control of the bike, this would not have happened,' a voice said that Jim heard in his head. He was taken aback for a moment. He was sure he heard that voice, but where was the speaker? 'Ah, I see that the person I asked for is here,' the voice said. The person turned around, and Jim was thrown for another loop. It was a human! He thought he'd seen the human-like traits as he came thought the portal, but to see him face-to-face like this, 'I'd imagine that this might be a shock for you, but believe me, Calvin here is the real deal.'
"What do you mean I'm the 'real deal', Val Tis?" Calvin asked.
'I was talking to our friend here,' the voice replied.
"You mean, he can hear you?" he asked.
"Yeah, I can," Jim replied. "Just who are you?" he asked.
'My name is Vil Tas. And this is Calvin, my…associate. The reason why I brought Calvin here is because we need something from you."
"You do?" Jim asked.
"We do?" Calvin added, almost at the same time.
'Yes. Is there someplace private where we can talk?' Val Tis asked. Jim studied Calvin up and down, making sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.
"Follow me," he said. With that, Calvin got his bike up, and followed the Ultra to a café at the end of the beach.