The Search for Shalla-Bal

This was one of the oldest fanfics TheIkranRider has ever made! At around 2009-ish, just 2 years after Rise of the Silver Surfer, she decided to make a continuation and combine the film with the infamous NES game, The Silver Surfer. Needless to say, she kinda regrets this as the intel is inaccurate, there was a shallow development of certain elements, the list goes on. However, she doesn't find it as bad as the rest in her Fantastic 4 OC Series, though. Like a diamond in the rough.
== Chapter 1 ==
thumb
Her OC, Terri Thatcher, has been preoccupied on wondering what happened to their missing ally, the Silver Surfer, aka Norrin Radd. So, one day, she decided to call in her own space vessel, the AstroWing, in order to take a look. At one night, she did just that, and it began to act strange with a reaction to some radiation from an unknown source. It began to malfunction, while also shooting out a nova bomb toward the mysterious, lustrous being causing these mishaps. It lunged back and the ship went down toward the Arctic. Terri was actually saved by that metallic humanoid riding a board, and by the next morning, she came to and surveyed the damage. She suspected someone was here since she was covered by a thick blanket! She took out a crowbar and faced her intruder, who was actually Norrin!!
He explained he was put on exile ever since he blew up Galactus; he wanted to reunite with his beloved, Shalla-Bal, but there was a massive forcefield disallowing him to leave the Milky Way and into the Deneb Galaxy. She figured that maybe, since he helped them save the world and their lives aside from Sue's, she and her friends can help bring Shalla-Bal and some of his family to him instead! She and Reed both accepted, and perhaps live on Mars and help its colonization. He volunteered to be the captain of the voyage, since Ben lost a couple contests, while Terri's the co-pilot. She gave it a long-awaited test run and made sure it was loaded fully with Liquid O2.
Both Reed and Terri lifted off, and Norrin followed close behind them! The AstroWing went thru the entire solar system, even watching over Mars, Saturn, and other planets. In addition, they'd went thru a dangerous asteroid belt with help from the Surfer's skills. Unfortunately, by the time they passed the dwarf planet, Pluto...the shield was activated, disallowing Norrin passage! He wished them luck on heading to his home planet, Zenn-La, and retrieve Shalla-Bal as well as his family.
As they went into more unknown territory, Reed and Terri both had nightmares on Shalla-Bal's welfare, especially when it came to that intimidating, powerful demon, that seemed to have murdered her! They finally reached their destination, and the Zenn-Lavians were on high alert! They were surrounded by shotguns, till Elmar calmed them! Fennan, Norrin's half-brother, led the defense teams, all because Shalla-Bal went missing last night! Elmar, Norrin's mom, and his father, Jartran, introduced themselves, and led them to where she was taken from! They suggested to collect several memos for their long, lost son, and each Zenn-Lavian had a unique vision, as they use them to solve mysteries like this, rather than high-tech surveillance much to Reed's doubt:
* Fennan had a vision she could be located at a dense, vegetated planet ruled by a large tyrannosaur.
* Elmar had a vision of a planet still being developed by earthquakes, volcanic activity, and lava flows.
* Jartran had a vision in a planet where there were tons of advanced tech, weaponry, and fortitude, though its atmosphere was very toxic.
* Reed and Terri then talked about the forbidden planet ruled by that said monster, putting the Zenn-Lavians in total dismay.
Both Jartran and Elmar enlisted their men to help them on their mission to retrieve Shalla. A few days later, after hanging out at the palace, they were on their way back to Earth. It was smooth sailing, and Reed had the hypothesis that they can go thru the Aurora Borealis above the Arctic Circle in order to get to the Deneb Galaxy without detection, allowing Norrin to visit it.
== Chapter 2 ==
thumb
In a cold April afternoon, Terri and John Myers were hanging out at their usual spot, Central Park. He kissed her goodbye and good luck, and he watched the FantastiCar approach the large mothership piloted by Fennan, and his second-in-command, Trake. They lifted toward the Borealis, and Norrin was able to make it through.
Their first destination was Reptilyx, the lush, fertile planet according to Fennan's vision. Terri volunteered to investigate using her AstroWing, and she asked for Ben to standby if the worst should happen. Norrin went immediately on the prowl, as they fought off some flying fish and anthropomorphic reptiles baring firearms, and crazy monkeys! Even a large machine able to shoot out swift, massive lasers! Eventually, they'd reached an open field, and they were ambushed by Reptyl itself! They went all out, and even Ben was teleported there! He provided as an excellent decoy, even when he grabbed its tail while Terri fired a nova bomb in its mouth!! They evacuated the area just seconds before it exploded!! There were some creatures waiting to shoot them, but the AstroWing made it to the mothership, and scans had confirmed that Shalla was never found, much to Norrin's despair. So, the team continued to the next planet in Elmar's vision.
== Chapter 3 ==
thumb
Three days had passed when they reached the planet, Xandar. Terri and Norrin decided to investigate the place, though the former was the most insecure on account of the Astrowing taking the heat. Johnny offered to come along, much to her dismay. They fought thru some machines popping out of the lava and spiky landscape, as they made their way to the colossal volcano!
By the time they made it in, there were even more of those machines within every crevice, including the stalactites and lava pools. There were even some fires being shot out from a distant enemy, which later happened to be Firelord, aka Pyreus Kril! Johnny took on the assault; however, he was immune to his and Norrin's onslaughts! Then, Terri made a risky move, as she looked thru the wires under the motherboard, disconnected them leading to the air conditioner, reconnected them to the lasers, and fired making her own ice jets!! This resulted in Pyreus helpless and frozen solid! However, the vessel was shutting down on sacrificing its coolness and succumbing to the intense heat. Johnny fired up the engines and Norrin followed to the mothership!
Reed was giving her cold water, to which she drank fast and nearly choked. She regretted on making such a foolish move, but at least she was still alive, and the AstroWing had minor damage to its outer hull. The ship decided to take a pit stop at a nearby space station to recharge, and Sue and Trake went ahead to survey it. As long as they didn't arrive at another world, it'd be no trouble.
== Chapter 4 ==
thumb
As the hyper sleep and the heavy air pressure was activated, everyone dosed off. The small ship housing Trake and Sue was being intruded by an unknown deity. She woke up first and noticed some commotion, hoping for Reed to show up. No such luck, as she was being ambushed by a being with a pair of red, glaring eyes, and layers of white hair!! She struggled to prevent him from seeing his glaring eyes, though the dark matter he emitted possessed her body, forcing them open! She screamed Reed's name, and he woke up, with his head off the motherboard.
Sensing his distress, Terri queried if he was alright, though he offered to help the team! He activated the red alert and disabled the air pressure. Everyone woke up, and the leader stated Sue has been abducted by some being possessing her! Terri and Norrin were on the prowl, and the station was bombarding them with machine guns, lively artifacts and lasers. They'd barely made it thru, till they were nearly controlled by that same small ship, and an elderly man by the name of Possessor, aka Kamo Tharnn!
As they gave him everything they had, Sue and some of the night Zenn-Lavian crew from the small vessel intruded the mothership, attacking Fennan, Trake, Reed and Ben! Johnny was desperate on saving his sister, so he immediately took a fireproof space suit, ignited and flew to the fray! Terri and the AstroWing headed back, and she fought off the possessed Sue! She even forced her to gaze into a large mirror, as she instructed Ben, the dark spirit was encased in it, she brought it out, and it shattered onto space rock, restoring Sue to normal albeit comatose. Johnny then unleashed his supernova, and Reed fired a nova bomb, incinerating Possessor! By the time the men made it back, Reed scolded Johnny of his folly, then carried Sue to their chambers. For the first time, he was distraught on what he'd done.
== Chapter 5 ==
thumb
Eventually, after several hours, Sue came around as her normal self. The Zenn-Lavians agreed to be more alert both in and out of the ship, till Shalla was found. And so, they progressed to the toxic planet, Skullros, rich in methane and carbon monoxide, according to Jatrtran's vision.
It led them to the enormous fortress smack dab at the center, with the AstroWing being accompanied by Norrin and the mothership! They made it inside and came across numerous boobytraps. Fennan tried to intervene, though the fortress was protected by a forcefield; the Zenn-Lavians had no choice but to wait. The Emperor, also known as Kylor, had captured Sue in a large net, Johnny and Norrin had been separated from the fiery walls, and Reed, Ben, and Terri failed to save her! Suddenly, Norrin was lucky to materialize thru the trapdoor, and finished him off and rescued Sue!
Ben disabled the traps as well as the forcefield, allowing the mothership to fire upon the tower, forcing it to collapse! The team made their escape, only there was a trifecta: Reed and Sue took the left, Ben and Johnny took the middle, while Terri was being carried by Norrin at the right. Fennan ordered his crew to fall back, and Terri and Norrin emerged first, Reed and Sue next from the rubble, and lastly Ben carrying an unconscious Johnny out from the heap! Terri volunteered to revive him using mouth-to-mouth, he came to, albeit weak. Everyone cheered, but it was short-lived since Shalla wasn't found.
Norrin clammed up and became desperate. By the next day, very early, he was gone...
== Chapter 6 ==
thumb
The team was frantic looking for Norrin, and they suspected he has gone to their final destination! Mephisto's forbidden turf according to Reed and Terri's visions!! Despite their worst fears, they still went to it as both lives were on the line!! The Astrowing went all out with the quintet, bashing their way thru erratic enemies, and enduring some heavy gravitational pulls! Eventually, the onslaughts became too much for them to handle, till Norrin finally caught up with them!
They took a breather, and he sensed that his beloved's held captive here! He and Reed then decided to combine the heroes' powers into one, much to Johnny's dismay, like last time dealing with Victor as he hijacked Norrin's board. They did just that, and Reed and Norrin led the way! They soon met up with Mephisto, and it was confirmed he did kill Shalla! Distraught, Norrin fought and lost, then the AstroWing and mothership intervened! It was a one-sided fight, and the AstroWing was shot down!!
Reed and Norrin, along with the crew, were awestruck by Mephisto's destruction and invincibility. Yet, they still pushed forward. Minutes later, the guys and Terri came around, excepting Sue; without their powers, they'd surely be defenseless. They were stranded and Ben figured they needed to repair the AstroWing, as well as give a specially-fastly-made utility belt to Terri! She reluctantly volunteered to look for Shalla, and her alarm was activated to notify the duo. She went thru various corridors, no signs of Shalla, although there were a few zombies on her six! Eventually, she found her, cuffed to a wall! She released her, and she mentioned Norrin was worried for her. She escorted her back to the wrecked ship, and Ben offered to use some of the corpses as temporary repairs.
Meanwhile, Norrin and Reed followed the demon to a throne room, and the former was dissuaded by his words that Shalla was gone. Reed never wanted to believe it, as he can somehow sense her, having a similar essence to Sue from her and Terri's abilities. Still, the Surfer succumbed to his despair, and the demon was about to strike, till Fennan became his meat shield!! He was fatally stabbed and was dying fast! The AstroWing fired upon Mephisto, back and fully charged! They also evacuated toward the mothership, and Terri assured Shalla's alive! At the cost of Fennan's life... Though, the bad news was, as he reunited with her, Norrin can't touch her! Meaning they only retrieved her doomed soul!!
== Finale ==
thumb
Everyone was still grieving over Fennan's sacrifice, even not finding Shalla's body, as she can't live without it for long. Then, she came to the realization that her body has been taken to the Magik Domain; Mephisto's a soul-collector, so he just stole her spirit, ripped it out of her lifeless vessel, leaving it to drift into the interstellar graveyard! Being that Norrin can't go any further, the quintet was on their own using both the AstroWing and the FantastiCar, which the latter was finally enhanced by the Zenn-Lavians advanced technology!!
They were underway, avoiding any debris and space rock in their path! Till they'd reached the guardian of the Magik Domain which confirmed Shalla's body has been imprisoned; he also sneered the Fantastic 5 and their vehicles shall be priceless for his ever-growing space cemetery!! They fought him off, separated, and he grew more intrigued with their skills! To the point when he suddenly began to implode on himself! He was literally transforming into a black hole, with him as the singularity, Reed mentioned!! The five drastically boosted out despite running out of fuel and being severely battered just mere centimeters as the mothership carried them away in a tractor beam!!
Norrin aided on their evacuation and found Shalla's encased body. She was unsure if her spirit shall merge with her bloodied vessel by Mephisto. After a while...she did! And even Fennan was revived! Norrin wasted no time as he tearfully reunited with his loved one, together at last! The guys excused them as they all headed home!
They arrived back on Earth at the Arctic Circle, their mission accomplished. Norrin thanked everyone and wished to owe them their lives, Terri replied that a life's never owed when saved out of friendship. So, they made their farewells, and Norrin wished to visit his friends again, maybe colonize Mars as well. It was certainly a space mission the Fantastic 5 shall never forget!
== Soundtrack ==
*Silver Surfer - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
*Arrival - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
*Main Credits - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
*Mysterious Figure - Sleepy Hollow 1999
*Our Time Now - Plain White T's
*Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay) - N'Sync and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes
*Opening - Starfox 64
*Galleon Raid - Starfox Adventures
*Possessed by a Krazoa Spirit - Starfox Adventures
*FFIV Main Theme - Dissidia Final Fantasy
*Talk with Mom - Star Trek TNG; end at 1:20
*FFX Ending; end at :34
*Talk with Mom - Star Trek TNG; start at 1:21
*FFX Ending; end at 1:26
*Liu's Dream - Mortal Kombat 1995
* Only Way to Fly -Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
* The Silver Surfer NES OST
* Destinations Map - Starfox 64
* Corneria - Starfox 64
*XANA Attacks - Code Lyoko OST
*Boss A - Starfox 64
*Environmental Disquiet - Metroid Fusion
*SA-X Appears - Metroid Fusion
*Environmental Mystery - Metroid Fusion
*Environmental Shock - Metroid Fusion
*Mission 2 Enemy Airforce/Mission 3 - UN Squadron
* Chasing the Surfer/Camel - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
* Four in One - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
* Wrecked Ship - Super Metroid
* Cape Carnardo - Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge
*Rendezvous in Orbit - Red Planet OST/Graeme Revell
*Silver Savior - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer; end at 1:25
*Norrin Radd - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
* Bowser's Galaxy Generator - Super Mario Galaxy 2
*OMFG! GET OUT OF THERE!! - FFIV OC Remix, Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption
*Silver Savior - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer; start at 3:00
*Happy Ending - Little Mermaid; up to 1:07
*Ending - Super Metroid Arranged OST
*Gotta Be Somebody - Nickelback
== Trivia ==
* thumbThis was one of the most oldest fanfics TheIkranRider concocted, since around 2009. This was before she had gotten better on fanfic writing! Everything was wrong, including inaccuracies of locations/characters, and a cheap copy of the Arwing from Starfox, the AstroWing. There was hardly any development with it, just in addition for space travel since the FantastiCar wasn't capable of doing so yet...
* As noted, Terri does use a Fujifilm camera; this was the old camera Ikran used to have. But it got obsolete by the time she got a smartphone in 2021. Also, Saturn is known to be Terri's favorite planet, as well as Ikran's, even Trudy's, an OC for Cowboy Bebop. There were also some freeze-dried ice cream, which was quite a treat back in 2007, as Ikran visited Epcott the 2nd time; first was back in August 2002.
* This fic's got a crapload of references! Including an excerpt of the opening scene in Mortal Kombat (1995) while Shalla-Bal confronted and lost against Mephisto! There was also the AstroWing's provider, Lucille, which was based on the same thing from the ship in the movie, Red Planet. Reptyl's fight, as inaccurate as it was, was based on the Galdon from Starfox Adventures. Its breath weapon was based on Oozaru, aka the Great Ape from Dragon Ball, though he does use energy from it. And that massive miniboss was from the same one in the first Code Lyoko DS game. The fight with Possessor was based on the movie, Constantine, the opening battle with the demon as Terri shatters the mirror and forces Sue to look at it! After the team was separated by Mephisto, Terri's search for Shalla had some excerpts from Disturbia. There were, obviously, a lot of references to the Starfox series. Heck, Emperor's fortress even had some fire traps based on those in Quackshot.
* Ikran figured that instead of Drake or Jake, she decided to add a T to make it a stronger name for her military OC, Trake; this was an old idea she had since she had a book of names, symbolizing T names to having a stronger impact, before she lost it back in 2010.
* The Emperor in the game was actually known as Kylor, which was weird considering he's the governor of the Skrulls. Though she later noticed Emperor was a title he yearned for.
* Ever since she was a kid, Ikran was always given the jibbies whenever she saw Mephisto; out of curiousity, she wanted to see what the creepy demon was like. Wrong move!! The level was beyond difficult, and she was terrified with him!
* She first saw about the Silver Surfer since she played the NES, as well as seeing a comic at her parents' mom-and-pop shop, known as the Spider and the Surfer. Seeing the movie was a dream come true!! Though she didn't know of the animated, cancelled series on FoxKids till just a few years ago...!
* Since there was no trilogy planned, she figured this was closure to the film series. As she ran out of inspiration soon after, suffered from more scrutiny from her stepmom, and was very disappointed with Ioan Gruffudd's works, never wanting to bring the Fantastic 4 nor Hornblower back to life; no plans for Franklin Richards had been made, and his show, Ringer, was the official fallout! Even when she found out recently Ioan cheated on his family!
*Also...Ikran was very disappointed on the lore of the Surfer. He lost his mom when he was 7 via suicide, and soon his dad and were both taken by Mephisto; Shalla was too. Fennan was an illusion made by Galactus and took Shalla's love from him because of his absence, and Norrin had to save his parents and Shalla from the demon! In response, aside from Rise of the Silver Surfer, Ikran decided to change these things by making Fennan as a full-fledged brother and his parents still alive, with Shalla only for Norrin and Fennan respecting that.
Category:Fan Fiction
Category:Fanfiction
Category:Fanfics
Category:Fanmakes
Category:Fantastic Four
Category:Marvel Fan Fictions
Category:Stories that are rated PG
Category:Sci-fi
Category:Science Fiction
Category:Short Story
Category:Short Stories
Category:Shorts
Category:Epic Fanmakes
Category:TheIkranRider
Category:Books
Category:Inspired