Ultraman, the Lylat Adventure

Chapter 9

Old Friends, Bitter Enemies

Great Fox, still docked in Corneria City: It was starting. The thing he had been dreading for a while had come to pass; the team was starting to lose its cohesiveness, and it was because of him. Steven was sitting on his bed, looking out of the viewport, and at the clear blue sky and clouds that passed by lazily. However, his thoughts were on other matters. 'I can't stay here for too much longer. If the team is to continue to function, then the alien element must be removed.' With that in mind, he started to plan on how to find the Baltan alone. 'I know that it must be near here, but I don't know which planet it is on. There are several planets that it could be hiding on, the least likely of them are Corneria, and Venom. Corneria, because I would have been able to sense it, no matter where on the planet it hid. And Venom, because it's hardly more than a barren wasteland. Then again, if a race of reptiles were able to survive, what else could be hiding there, I wonder.' After considering, Steven stood up. 'Very well. I'll head to Venom first, then I'll turn the Lylat System upside down if it isn't there.'

Krystal's room: The blue vixen was busy meditating, in effort to calm herself. However, due to the actions that had taken place a few scant hours before, such calm would not be able to reach her so easily. Falco's words still rung in her ears. 'We all know that you have a crush on Steven! Fox wasn't good enough for you, so you decide to head for the alien! I suppose that you've slept with him already?' These thoughts continued to haunt her, and sighing in frustration, she gave up on meditating for now. Instead, she decided to lie on her bed, and stare up at the ceiling, her thoughts swimming through her head.

'Is Falco right? Do I have a crush on Steven? I know that he's not really one of us, and yet, I can't help but feel something for him. It isn't exactly friendship, but something else. Infatuation, maybe? I've felt it, ever since I met him on Fortuna a few weeks ago when he first came to the Lylat System in pursuit of what he called a 'Baltan'. And now, he's a member of the Star Fox team. He's proven to be a valuable asset to us, and had made an impression on the team. Though, for some, not a very good impression.' she thought, thinking of Falco. She turned over to her side, and her eyelids suddenly got too heavy for her to keep open.

Bridge of the Great Fox: Fox and Peppy were going over the system start-up procedures before lifting off back into space. After getting the green-light, the engines on the famous vessel ignited to life, and the great ship lifted up into the sky once more. Soon, it was orbiting the planet, and was heading back out into the reaches of space. What the team didn't know was, that their newest member was about to make his own escape into space; Steven made his way to the hangar of the ship, and stood in front of the forcefield that blocked his way. He raised his Beta Capsule, and it flashed once. In a blinding light. Steven turned to his Ultra form, and the red and silver Shodai took one last look behind him, as if to say farewell, then flew out of the hangar. Once he felt he was far enough away, he became a ball of red light, and streaked for the planet known as Venom.

Venom: He could feel it. His old enemy was approaching him, and he was ready for it. He was surprised that the Garrison Member had taken as long as he had, but the wait was well worth it. When he had done what his predecessors, if not his whole race, could not do, he will have free reign of this system, and his whole empire will begin anew. He activated his ship's thrusters, and lifted out of the atmosphere, and into space. There, the red and silver Warrior of Light met his old foe, just in orbit around the planet Venom. After dropping his Travel Sphere, Shodai floated in front of the alien ship, a stand-off between two of the most famous rivals in the universe, an Ultra against a Baltan. The Baltan, still wearing his cloak, smiled underneath his hood. "So, Space-Patrol man, you finally found me. I say, it has taken you quite long enough."

"You picked an ingenious place to hide yourself, Baltan. One of the least likely places that anyone would guess to look for you would be a planet that is nearly incapable of supporting life. However, I found that if that race of reptiles could survive, why shouldn't you?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Well done. However, you have merely found me. Stopping me is quite another matter altogether." The Baltan replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Come now. Surely even you, with all your gifts, should be able to see what is inside this ship with me." The Baltan said, wearing a grin. Shodai used his X-ray vision, and what he saw made his heart nearly jump to his throat.

"No. I thought I destroyed that ship…" he says to himself. Baltan heard it, and laughed.

"You thought you did. When in reality, it was in hiding on Planet R, in the Sol System. You remember this ship quite well, don't you?" Shodai did, as his mind flash-backed to that time.

One year ago: He had just destroyed the Baltan on Earth, and was now carrying their ship to space. That's when Shodai spotted it, another Baltan craft floating in orbit just out of reach of the Earth's gravitational pull. When he saw it, he didn't think, he just acted; He used his X-Ray vision, and what he saw made his heart skip. Not wasting time, he grabbed the saucer. After he was far enough away, he released the two ships, and fired his Spacium Ray. The powerful white stream of energy tore through the first ship, and it promptly exploded in a cloud of fire and debris. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of either ships. After looking around, Shodai was satisfied that the threat had been eliminated. He returned to Earth, to be reunited with the man known as Shin Hayata.

Present: Shodai was staring down the same ship that he thought he had destroyed so long ago, and felt his anger rising up as Baltan laughed from inside. "You poor, stupid fool. If only you had been a bit more thorough, you would have found this ship escaping to the planet known as R. How else do you think we were able to mount another assault on the Earth? And while the rest went off to prepare the way to Earth, I was left behind to oversee the ship, until the signal was given that you were finally defeated. However, after I found that you had defeated us again, I did the only thing that I could think of: I took the ship, and got as far away from the system, and you, as possible. Throughout the time I was given, I hunted down planets that I could use to start over. And just when I was about to find it, You come along. However, fortune had smiled upon me, for you pursued me right to this very system. A perfect place for me to raise my new empire!" Shodai knew that the Baltan wasn't bluffing. If the contents of that saucer were accurate, then Baltan wasn't just planning on turning the system into a slave colony.

"I will not allow you to turn this peaceful system into a place of death. I will stop you, here and now." Shodai got into his Spacium Ray pose, and fired the white stream of energy, only to have the ship fly out of the way. Shodai looked up, and flew after the saucer. This time, it will not get away from him.

Sector Y, at that time: Krystal had headed for the gymnasium, to clear her thoughts, when the alarm went off in the corridor. Immediately, she headed for the bridge, and saw what the disturbance was; flying right at them was the Baltan saucer, and Shodai in his Ultra form. The scene reminded her of the first time that she saw the pair, to the point that she thought that she was reliving it. Only when the others came streaming in did she realize that it was reality. "Is that Steven?" Slippy asked.

"Yeah. And look who he's chasing." Falco said, pointing at the screen.

"Looks like he found the Baltan after all." Fox said, almost under his breath. The two sped past them, as if they were not there, and were headed on a b-line for Corneria. "Slippy, turn the ship around, and follow them."

"On it, Fox." Slippy replied. After setting in the proper commands, The ship turned, and was pursuing the two alien rivals. However, it wouldn't be later until the team would arrive to do anything for either side. After a few short minutes, both aliens had arrived at Corneria, the saucer stopping just short of entering its gravitational pull. Shodai also stopped, and the two had a stand-off once more.

"All I have to do to possess this system, is to get rid of you, Garrison Member. Once I have taken care of that, the pathetic military of this system will be all too easy to overcome. I could do it, single-handedly." the Baltan's voice said, a hint of triumph showing. Shodai remained stoic.

"Your kind always did proclaim victory before actually winning, Baltan. You still have to face me. A very difficult task, as you are well aware."

"Difficult, yes. But not impossible to say the least. I will not make the same mistakes as my predecessors did. This time, you will die here. I will personally see to that." That said, the ship fired its main weapon, and the energy beam nearly collided with the alien warrior. Having been dealing with this system's technology had almost made Shodai forget how much more advanced the Baltans were than them, its weapon more deadly than Oikonny's own heat beam. But still, he was not about to give up. He fired his Spacium Ray, and the laser duel started. Back and forth, the two fired their lasers, not one landing a hit. The two combatants danced and weaved amid eachother. It wasn't until the Great Fox arrived from hyper-jump that things started to heat up. On the bridge, the team scrambled to their arwings, and headed for the battlefield. Shodai was firing away with his Spacium Ray, while the Baltan ship continued to try and blast the Warrior of Light. Finally, Shodai was able to land a hit on the saucer, and it was sent careening down to the surface of the planet. Shodai followed it down, with the team close by. The alien warrior failed to take notice of their presence, focusing solely on the task at hand. The saucer, the damaged top still smoking and sizzling, made a crash landing in the center of Corneria City. The saucer made a large crater in the middle of the intersecting street, and debris kicked up from the landing rained down over a few kilometers. Inside, alarm klaxons were going off, and the panel was shorting in front of the robed figure, throwing sparks and sprouting flames. The Baltan quickly got up, and the automatic fire extinguisher overhead quickly went to work, spouting water onto the flames, dousing them. Kemur came running into the room, panting as he did so. The Baltan turned to him, anxiety evident in his voice. "Is the brood chamber secure?"

"Yes, milord, it is. Only the outer walls were damaged, with no loss of life within."

"Good, good." the Baltan said, relief clearly showing in his voice. He looked up at the ceiling, his fists clenched. "It's time for me to take matters into my own hands. I will deal with the meddlesome Garrison Member and take his life, no matter what."

"Sir, let me handle it. I can defeat…"

"Silence!" Baltan shouted, making its faithful servant take a step back in surprise. Baltan saw this, and recomposed itself. "Forgive me, old friend. A lot has happened in the short amount of time."

"There is no need to apologize, milord. It is perfectly understandable."

"Good. As I said, I will deal with the Ultra. I want you to remain here, and guard the ship, especially the brood chamber. You will protect that room with your very life, do you understand?"

"Yes, milord."

"Good. I'll be off."

"Milord, one last thing."

"What is it?" Baltan asked, pausing.

"Good hunting, milord." Baltan had to smile at that. How could it not. It exited through one of the doors, while Kemur went through another.

Corneria City: Shodai landed in the center of the city, almost right next to the crashed Baltan ship. Warily making his way to the downed saucer, the red and silver alien warrior notice a small opening, and a cloaked figure walking out. The figure raised a hand at the red and silver alien, and spoke telepathically. "This is the end for you, Garrison member! I will rid your existence from the universe, once and for all!" As he was speaking, the Star Fox team was able to catch up to the two aliens, and followed them to the surface of the planet. The Great Fox was hovering above the two combatants as Baltan conversed.

"Looks like Steven already took care of things down there," Slippy said, looking at the monitor.

"I don't think so, Slip. That guy down there looks really steamed to me." Falco replied. On the ground, Baltan lowered its arm, and laughed. It was low, barely audible. Then, it built up in pitch and volume, until it deepened to a point that no creature in the Lylat could match. The laugh sounded like something from a nightmare. Then, all at once, the cloaked figure began to glow, and flash. The light then became as dark as shadow, with a purple outline. The figure swelled to match Shodai, and when the figure finally took shape, it was one that Shodai remembers all too well; It stood at least as tall as him, and was humanoid in shape. It had two large lobster-like claws on the ends of each of its arms, and had an insect-like exoskeleton. Its head was like of a bug's or insect's, in that it had two large, glowing compact eyes that swiveled independently on the front of its face, and a type of proboscis in front, while the top of the head sported what looked like glowing/flashing V-shaped antenna. It issued the same haunting laugh as it did before it transformed. Shodai knew that he was looking at Baltan III, the third Baltan warrior that he has encountered. Baltan waved its massive claws at him in a threatening manner, before pulling them back to his body, bending his arms up at the elbow, slightly raising and lowering the claws as it continued to laugh. The Star Fox team looked on at what had just happened, taken by surprise at the sudden turn of events.

"Is that one of Baltan's monsters?" Slippy asked.

"I think…that is Baltan…" Krystal said. The sensations that she was getting from it sent shivers down her spine.

"So, it decided to face Steven itself." Fox said. He turned to his team. "Alright, let's get out there guys. Steven or no, we're going to show that over-sized craw-dad what happens when you mess with Lylat!" His words acting like a starter pistol, the team headed out of the door, minus Peppy and ROB 64, and made a bee-line for the hangar. On the ground, the stand-off between Shodai and Baltan III continued. Then, it was Baltan's turn to speak once more. This time, in a voice that was deep, and menacing.

"Doesn't this bring back memories, Garrison Member? Remember how you stood before my brethren twice before, almost exactly like this? How you defended the people from them, and how they worshipped you like a hero because of it?" The words were meant to be hurtful to the Ultra. "I remember. I remember how my race faced near extinction at your hands. And we were not the only ones. Oh, no. We were merely the first of many creatures to be murdered by you on Earth." The Star Fox team was floating behind the pair, none of them noticing what was going on, but the team was getting an earful of the conversation that was going on between the two giants.

"What did he mean by 'murdered'?" Slippy asked. None of the others had a clue. But Baltan went on.

"Shortly after, you fought creatures that were dangerous to the humans on Earth. Most of them were just large animals that were merely acting on instinct. But you killed them anyway, without remorse or regret. The monsters that you so callously ended with your bare hands, that are now stained with their blood. Gamikujira, Gavadon, Kemular, Neronga, Ragon, Gomorah, and countless others that you have killed. All to protect that race of selfish, greedy barbarians called the human race."

"They were dangerous and destructive. I had no choice but to end them." Shodai replied.

"You didn't even bother to help them! You're just using that as an excuse to justify your actions. Every sentient race that has heard of the humans knows their true nature. They wage wars upon eachother, pollute their environment, abuse and kill eachother and their planet, they are on a one way road to extinction. And you, by destroying the only things that can cull the human race, are aiding them. The only reason why you were not put before a trial, was because you were assigned to protect that planet from hostile forces. You, part of a race that like to fancy themselves as gods. Me, part of a dying breed, brought about by your hand. Two bitter enemies on the battle-field once more." The two giants got into their battle stances, and waited for the other to make a move. They circled eachother, a slow, tense moment before the moment when one of them would strike first. Then, both combatants charged forth.

Baltan's ship, in the room known as the 'brood chamber': It was mostly bare, save for two walls lined with what looked like glass drawers. Inside of these drawers were several thousand nearly microscopic oval-shaped yellow objects. One of them begins to quiver, and a crack appears on it, signifying that the new life inside is ready to be born.