Author: Matthew Freese & Vincent Rodger | Banner: Matthew Freese

The darkness of night failed to blot out the fires of war. Smoke poured from burst open tanks of blazing oil as two titans collided, neither native to the Earth where their conflict raged. From the perspective of the watching humans, it was a clear battle of good and evil.

Ultraman, dodging the cannon fire of the Alien Baltan. The former, humanity’s great defender, and the latter, a foul invader seeking only destruction. As the humanoid dodged the attacks of the insectoid, which tore apart the oil refinery, the spectators cheered their alien angel on. When he took a knee on the ground, raising his right forearm and touching his elbow with the left hand to unleash his signature weapon, they cheered. The blue ray of light tore into the guts of the dull gray extraterrestrial, sending him crashing to the earth in a fireball.

A hero triumphing over a villain. A tale as old as time, told in every culture.

But a mere tale is all it was, for reality was always more complicated.

Ultraman got to his feet, his silver and red skin shimmering in the firelight. He turned, his bulbous eyes turning from yellow to blue as they discharged the Flouroscope Ray. The spotlights unveiled a metallic saucer in the midst of the sky. The Alien Baltan ship, their vessel of transportation.

The ship where billions more of them waited. Flying up to it, his fingers grasped the sides as he pushed it further into the sky. His face was an unreadable mask, but within that alien mind, two options presented themselves. He hated both.

First, push the ship back into space and send it off drifting into the vast depths. Force the Baltan to look elsewhere for a new home, their place of birth having been destroyed by a madman of their own kind with nuclear weaponry. It was the humane option, but it presented a clear issue. Why would they not just come back? They knew this world was suitable for their needs, why prevented them from returning except for the threat of death at his hands again?

If he spared them, would both species die in a bloodbath of constant war? This universe was cruel, extinction happened across it constantly, warmongering worlds ripping each other to shreds in a desperate bid for resources and power.

His other choice, it was an atrocity of the highest order. The billions of Baltan onboard were defenseless, hibernating. He could eliminate them with ease, and ensure humankind’s future with the blood of another species. It would cease the conflict before it could truly begin. The Baltan had made it clear they had no desire for co-existence. Their return would bring bloodshed. Their demise was the easiest option.

But it was genocide. There was no other word for it.

Countless hearts beat in stasis within this ship, he could hear them with senses beyond human scope. Every Baltan onboard was not a cruel warmonger or a murderer. There were mothers, fathers, and children. There were doctors, scholars, engineers, philosophers, and a vast array of others. It was a whole civilization compressed into one ship. If he did this, would he be any better than the conqueror he had just shot out of the sky?

Something deep within tugged him towards it. His grip tightened, denting the steel. It was his human host’s subconscious influence, the man’s body and conscience surrendered to him in this state, but he was not utterly absorbed. Shin Hayata did not know of the complexities of this situation, all he knew was an enemy to his people lurking in the object within his hands.

He released his grip, letting the ship drift away. Ultraman wanted to blame his host for this, act as if he had been coerced into this, but he knew he could not. Hayata did not force his arms to form the cross once more. The surging of energy that emerged from his forearm as the Spacium Ray was all his choice, swayed by the naive perspective of a human.

Had he already become so fond of them?

The Baltan ship detonated violently, fire swallowing five billion souls and casting them past the veil. And Ultraman could only sit there, submerged in the cold silence left behind. The sun began to rise, as if a great eye opened up to view his crime. The light shined brightly, only making the new shadow in his heart clearer.

***

Thousands of light years away, on a barren planet that could barely sustain itself, a contingent of survivor Baltan received the signal that their other escape ship had been destroyed on an unknown world. They did not know that some had escaped death via a Light Wave Barrier, and already plotted their own vengeance, but that would have been no comfort.

Lamentations filled the air of that desert wasteland. Their people, decimated and in danger of extinction. Friends and family lost in a horrific blast. It was as horrific as the end of their home world.

But there was one who did not openly weep. He stepped away from sight, staring into the dark sky above. He raised his pincers up, falling to his knees. His arms slumped, falling to his sides.

This was their leader. He hid his pain away from them, to be strong and to give them a rock, but it still twisted his innards into a knot.

“My son…” fell from his mandibles, as his head dropped as well.

***

2 Years Later, Japan

Situated in the countryside, not far from civilization’s clusters but not within them either, was a technologically advanced base. A runway connected to a large building, like an airport, but where thousands of people went in and out of airports daily, only a handful of people inhabited this space.

It was the Science Special Search Party’s Japanese headquarters. The Science Patrol, or SSSP, was one tendril of an international organization designed to guard the world from things that the militaries and governments could not. And though every branch of the International Science Police Organization often found itself embroiled in odd commotions, and the SSSP in particular all across the world was constantly working, the Japanese group had had the worst of it. Sometimes it felt as though every week was a new trial for them, a new threatening force.

Toshio Muramatsu, their captain, pondered this as he prepared for a new day. He scratched his head, fingers running through black hair that was almost short enough to be a military cut, as he read the paperwork for a recent incident. The French SSSP had published a report of an encounter in the Polynesian islands, of mutated iguanas irradiated by nuclear testing. Some had escaped, prompting the dissemination of the report to all available nations.

He and his team had less work since Ultraman’s farewell, but they had not exactly spent the year since then lazing about. And if this was going where he felt it was, they’d have more troubles. But that was another matter for another time. For now, they had a different task ahead of them, one that he could tell had some members of his team more nervous than the idea of fighting monsters or aliens.

“Fuji, do we have to do this? Can’t we just say there’s a kaiju off in the wilderness and call the visit off?” The voice of Mitsuhiro Ide came through the hallway, his messy hair coming into view as he stepped past the captain’s office. Alongside him was Akiko Fuji, the team’s sole woman, who bore a face of annoyance at her teammate’s words.

“Ide! Come on, you can handle taking on Baltan, but you can’t handle talking to kids?”

Toshio chuckled at the overheard discussion. Today was the day that some kids would be visiting the SSSP’s headquarters. Global waning of support for the ISPO had prompted contests all across the world for lucky visitors to the bases, hoping that a look behind the curtain would help assuage feelings that they were slacking in regards to keeping the world safe.

“You don’t want Hoshino running this place all by himself in a decade or two, do you?” He chimed in, to Ide’s surprise. “I know you’re nervous. But it’ll all work out.”

“If you say so, Cap.”

“Speaking of Hoshino,” Fuji spoke. “Where is he?”

Ide paused for a second. “Should be with Arashi.”

***

“What are you doing?” Spoke a young voice, but not that of a visitor. They had not arrived yet, so the only child present was Isamu Hoshino, and his orange suit matching that of the SSSP members showed he was no outside viewer.

Polishing a silver, futuristic gun was a larger man, sitting across from the youngest member of the defensive group. “We’re showing that we’re not slacking, right? Then I gotta show off our weapons, and they can’t be dirty.” Daisuke Arashi replied with a smile.

Isamu shrugged his shoulders. “Guess you’re right. Hey,” he got closer, voice lowering as if telling a secret. “Are they gonna make me guide them around? Give some stupid pitch?”

Arashi stopped what he was doing, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Because I’m a kid, and they’re kids. So I’m the most ‘relatable’,” he said with sarcasm.

“Yes? I don’t see the issue.”

“Because they’re just random school kids! They haven’t had to actually be out there helping you guys. I’m not like them.”

The SSSP’s marksman did not pick up on his young comrade’s feelings. “But… you’re a school kid too? You don’t work here except on vacations.”

Isamu scoffed, before walking away. The weapons expert raised an eyebrow in confusion, before returning to his previous task.

The youngest defender moodily walked through the base’s halls, a specter hanging over his head. By being elevated to the position of an actual member of the SSSP, they had unintentionally saddled him with feelings of inadequacy. When he was merely the tag along kid, there was no standard to be met, so when he rose above what a typical citizen did, it was a surprise met with praise. Now, however, he needed to rise up and prove himself. He believed they now looked down on him, an unsubstantiated idea, but still it clung to his brain.

What did not help was that an injury to the leg shortly after his promotion had made it so he actually could not help out much amidst the last string of challenges faced during Ultraman’s tenure. As the hero that had saved his and countless other lives fought and died, the Science Patrol base being torn asunder by the greatest threat yet, he had been at home watching cartoons.

His hands clenched into fists. At school he was so popular for being able to fight alongside the Science Patrol, the other kids always asking him questions and reacting with awe as he recounted the tales. But how much had he actually done? Did he deserve to be called a hero?

Isamu suddenly bumped into someone else, nearly falling back. He caught himself, profusely apologizing. “Hayata, I’m so sorry sir!”

“I’m the one who should be sorry, Hoshino. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” Replied Shin Hayata, the team’s primary pilot. He was also often the one to take charge when Muramatsu was unavailable, for the simple reason that he was perhaps the most reliable and steadfast member of the team.

Usually, at least.

“You too, huh?” The young boy replied. “What’s up with you?”

Hayata sighed. “I’m not looking forward to the kids’ visit. I know they’re going to ask about Ultraman, I swear every other kid in the country has a figure of him.”

“Oh,” Isamu replied, his own internal feelings being pushed down for a brief time. “Yeah, I didn’t think of that. That is going to be rough…” he continued, tone dour as his head began to hang slightly.

Shin Hayata had a gap in his memory, spanning roughly a year. He remembered battling the space kaiju Bemular in his jet, a sudden flash of light, and then waking up in the field outside of the Science Patrol base. For him, it had been an instant, but as he soon learned, many days and nights had passed. It was as if he had been in a coma, but he had been up and active the entire time, battling the many threats that faced Japan and even Earth in that time.

Extensive medical tests had shown no brain damage or other side effects. It was as if someone had simply reached into his mind and plucked the time out of his memory like a tree branch. Hoshino could have sworn that Muramatsu and Ide knew something further, the subtleties of their body language and tone whenever those events emerged in conversation, but he was reluctant to press either.

“What’s wrong?” Hayata replied, concern clear in his voice.

“Nothing!” The boy replied hastily. He felt awful wallowing in negativity after being reminded of his comrade’s plight. Shin was the kindest man he’d ever met, someone who would give you the shirt off his back, and to know he had outright lost an eventful year hurt.

“Isamu.” Shin Hayata placed a hand on his fellow patroller’s shoulder. “You can tell me. Something’s bugging you too, don’t feel bad about confiding in me just because I’m also dealing with something rough.”

After a sigh and a brief pause, the preteen spoke once more. “I feel… the other kids showing up is making me realize that I haven’t helped you guys a whole lot since actually becoming a patrolman. I’m feeling like I’m no different from them, that I’m just a visitor.”

“But you helped us deal with that whole Dr. Who incident!”

“We didn’t even need to be there! Kong was already handling the big metal gorilla and someone else was already handling Who himself.”

Hayata took a deep breath. He wanted to say something more concrete, but he could not. The majority of the battles Isamu had been a part of fell under that blank space in his mind. But he was able to think of something.

“I don’t remember it, but if you got promoted, it was because I agreed to it. Which means you exceeded my, and everyone else’s, expectations. You’re a child, Hoshino, and yet you’ve already done so much. You’re not a visitor.”

A third voice cut them off. “They’re here!” Arashi shouted, letting everyone know that the time to put on their best faces was here.

“Thanks, Hayata.” Isamu said with a smile, one not quite full, but still present. He felt better, but the dark feelings were not gone. Simply bubbling beneath the surface.

“Looks like we have something in common. Neither of us quite feel we deserve to be here. But here we are, so let’s make it worthwhile.”

Isamu was shocked at that comment, but a moment’s thought made it something that should have been obvious. Hayata’s greatest heroics were told to him, not felt. Unfortunately, the time to dwell was not present, as both moved to the main entrance to meet the lucky school kids who got to spend a day with their heroes.

***

The children all stood in the middle of a long hallway, the entrance room to the Science Patrol being empty as the adults were doing their usual tasks for the day. They were told it would only be a few minutes before their tour guides would arrive, leaving bored children with the simplest of opportunities.

“So, who is your favorite monster?”

“Gamera of course!” The oldest of the group declared with a pridefully booming voice, standing with a stern smile and his arms to his sides. The few other children looked at him as he announced his favorite daikaiju louder than he should have. “If it wasn’t for him, we would have all died when Viras invaded!”

“Yeah, but,” The younger of the duo stated as he stepped into the conversation, standing up beside him, his best friend from another nation adding to the conversation. “Ultraman’s saved us time and time again, he’s not even from this planet and he put his life on the line without a second thought.”

“He said monsters,” the older kid replied with a slightly raised voice. The tone of his voice had become somewhat aggressive, but this was not on purpose. “Not aliens! Otherwise yeah, we only have the one superhero from space.”

“I uh…” The second youngest of the group began, earning the attention of the other children rather quickly. The boy hid his face for a moment, looking down at his feet while holding his yellow cap on the top of his head. “I think Godzilla is cool.”

The others all looked at him with slight disgust and confusion, while they were all quite young and used to living in this age of monsters, it had genuinely baffled the group to hear his answer to the question he had asked. “Godzilla?” The oldest asked the younger boy, earning a shake of his head from him as he stepped forward towards him. “The monster that attacks almost every year and kills thousands?”

“Akio,” His friend said as he reached for his shoulder, attempting to reach out before he said something to hurt the younger member of the group’s feelings. “Let him speak.”

A few seconds of silence passed before the younger child could work up the courage to add to the subject, the boy no longer looking at the floor and instead looking at Akio head on. “People can change, animals can change under the right circumstances, even monsters have been shown to change. It’s true that he attacked before, but he also helped save our world from when aliens attacked with King Ghidorah. The last we’ve heard of him, he was holding a baby in a snow storm,” The group all listened closely to what he had to say, their opinions slightly changing as he continued. “Mothra attacked looking for her priestesses, but she isn’t a bad guy. Even Gamera was once seen as nothing but a monster, but eventually he started helping kids like us…”

The air hung silent for a moment, the tension slightly rising before the boy finished his thoughts. “If Mothra and Gamera can change, to genuinely care about us… then why couldn’t Godzilla?”

“That is an interesting question, young Ichiro;” The older voice earned the attention of the group in a second as Shin and Isamu entered the room, the two members of the Science Patrol making their presence known. “You have a bright mind, more than most kids your age.” Shin continued before turning towards the other children. “Tell me, what started this conversation?”

“We were talking about our favorite monsters!” Yelled Aiko’s younger sister, wanting to be part of the conversation. The young lady pointed at Aiko and Ichiro before speaking. “Big brother said Gamera, Ichiro said Godzilla.”

Shin took a moment to choose his next words carefully. Today was a day for children to meet their heroes, but the thought of a “favorite monster” was lost on him. While it was true, not all monsters were evil, his friends for years had defended Japan from alien invaders and kaiju alike. Though admittedly, while he was there fighting for his life and all the lives that inhabited his home country… What right did he have to tell them that was not okay when he couldn’t remember a single battle?

“Well those are certainly picks,” Shin spoke with a slightly disappointed voice, not towards the children, but more so himself that for the life of him he had no idea how to approach this subject. “What is your favorite monster, young Tomoko?”

“Mothra! She is so pretty, and no one could have bossed Godzilla and Rodan around to fight Ghidorah like she did.” Tomoko said with a bright smile, her answer reflecting how she felt entirely.

“I bet Gamera could,” Akio stated with a slight cocky tone, wanting to show he was above his little sister. “Gamera is able to understand human speech after all, I can see him convincing other monsters to fight for the greater good.”

“True, but I don’t know if he could convince monsters like Godzilla. It’s possible, but Mothra just seems to have a specifically gentle nature to her.” His transfer student friend replied.

“Well who is your favorite, Tom?” asked Akio, the young man wanting to prove why his favorite was the best of the monsters listed within the conversation.

The young man pondered for a moment, placing his hand under his chin as he continued to think. “I know I said Ultraman earlier, but if I had to pick a ‘monster’, then I would have to go with Frankenstein.”

Shin and Isamu waited for the boy to continue, the answer being a curious one. “When my father was moving us here from France, we were of course worried about what kinds of monsters were lurking in the dark but truthfully, I am more scared of what people can do because of what happened to Frankenstein. All he did was live, he didn’t do anything wrong, and yet, he was deemed as nothing more than a livestock eating monster and hunted down… and he still helped defend people against the rampaging Baragon. He died because of what we did.”

“There was a monster on the SSSP once,” Isamu stated, interrupting the thought to try to comfort the boy even a little as he saw sadness begin to overtake his face. “He had saved Shin and my other friends from monsters a few times, paying with his life so that they could defeat the kaiju.”

“What was his name?” Tomoko asked with curiosity, waiting to hear the end of the story.

“Pigmon. He was a Kaijin that they had found on an island deep in the Pacific, he aided us then and when Geronimon attacked.”

Shin Hayata sighed to himself as his fellow SSSP member added to the conversation, moments like this digging deeper that a whole year had been stolen from him. How had he done during these crises? Could he have saved Pigmon during the attack? What could he have done differently?

The older man nodded towards his comrade, motioning to begin moving the tour. “Well kids, I am sure we will have much to discuss while on the tour. Ask any questions that come to mind, and we will answer to the best of our abilities.” Shin stated with a smile, turning around and motioning for the group to follow behind.

***

“This is Daisuke Arashi, our weapons expert and sharpshooter.” Shin gestured towards the larger man, who bore a big smile.

“Hey kids!” He replied, standing next to a rack of futuristic weapons behind glass.

“Hi Mr. Arashi!” The kids replied in unison, excitement clear on their faces and voices.

“Oh, drop the mister. I’m not your school teacher. But I am indeed the man who gets closest to the threats, guns blazing!” He gestured to the weapons cabinet. “Though the standard Science Patrol pistol is usually enough,” he drew it, spinning it on his finger like a cowboy in a motion that Shin knew he had practiced 20 times in the past few days. “Whenever it’s not, these do the trick.”

Though the other two members of the Science Patrol saw through his bluster, despite their genuine respect for him, it was clear the visiting children were hooked. “You use these things to fight kaiju and aliens?” Akio said with awe.

“Of course! My favorite is this one,” he exclaimed, putting a gloved finger to the glass over a two-handled, short weapon that resembled a machine gun. “The Spider Shot.”

“I used that one time!” Hoshino said, a little too quickly. “Shot- I shot out Neronga’s eye. With it.” He kicked himself internally, but if the contest winners had picked up on his stumbling, they did not show it in favor of clear admiration.

“Man, you’re barely older than us, and you got to take out a kaiju’s eye?!” Tom nearly shouted.

Hoshino nodded, and felt a wave of confidence surge at the “wow!” He got from his peers.

“But,” Ichiro questioned, “how can you hurt kaiju with these things? Aren’t they indestructible, except to each other?”

“You’d think that,” Arashi cut in. “And it’s a reasonable assumption. After all, you think of kaiju, and your first thought is them wading through the military with no sweat, right?” They nodded. “Even a weak kaiju can take a tank shell to the chest and barely feel it. But these guns hit a lot harder than a tank shell.”

“But they’re so small.”

“Also true, but just like our friend here,” he put a hand on Hoshino’s shoulder, “little things can have big surprises.”

Isamu’s face contorted into a mixed, but ultimately negative, one, prompting some laughter from the other kids.

Shin leaned in, “and we, of the Science Patrol, have access to technology that not even most governments do. We’re supposed to deal with things that the military can’t, afterall.”

“Could you deal with, uh,” Tomoko began, impulsive youth compelling her to ask a question of the extreme. “King Ghidorah?”

Arashi made a startled noise that was like the beginning of a yell, before stammering out “of- of course. We could. Yeah.” The mood of the room dropped, so Shin quickly picked it up best he could.

“We would try our best. But that would be an international collaboration, not something we ourselves dealt with.” He said with genuine confidence in his voice.

Tomoko, sensing that she had said something upsetting, apologized. “Sorry…”

“Oh, no no. You’re fine, you did nothing wrong.” Arashi replied immediately. “I just got caught off guard.” He chuckled, masking the genuine fear that had twinged his heartstrings at the thought of facing the single most destructive kaiju in recorded history.

“You kids know too much about kaiju…” Hayata mumbled under his breath. He assumed Tomoko was too young to remember the feeling of watching King Ghidorah ripping a city asunder in record time, and just knew of him as ‘the deadliest one’. The fear of a colossus that bore only a misanthropic madness and power unimaginable was lost on her.

“Do you guys have any more questions for Arashi?” Isamu asked.

“What’s the scariest thing you guys have fought?” Akio asked, feeling a slight desire to prod and see if these defenders were all they were cracked up to be.

There was no hesitation. “Alien Baltan. Maybe not the deadliest thing we’ve fought, but just dang creepy. Right?” He turned to Isamu, who nodded. Hayata did the same, picking up on the cue and recalling archival information on the crustacean-like aliens.

The visitors shivered, any doubts faded as they realized the SSSP had to fight those, twice. News footage stuck in their minds, more specifically, that cold, cruel laughter echoing out. To have to hear it in person, amidst a battle of life and death, it was a level of fortitude they knew they would not be able to muster.

***

But that laughter did not ring out as Baltan saw his approaching destination. Earth, such a beautiful world, glittering with blue and green like jewelry. Within the dull, silver ship, he could see even now what his comrades had been willing to fight for. The muscles in his arms clenched, his claws closing with a sharp clack!

“I will avenge you, my brothers and sisters. We all will. Where you fell, we shall rise, and make this our kind’s home. And Ultraman will pay!” He spoke to nobody, his comrades in stasis and thus unable to hear him.

Whispers throughout the universe had revealed to him that Earth had been protected by Ultraman during the time of the first invasion, meaning that only one possible force could have stopped them. Nothing native to this backwards, primitive planet could stop the Baltan. He had heard rumors that Ultraman was gone from Earth, but he was unsure of this. Regardless, even if he had left, surely he would return once Earth fell to them.

And then, glorious vengeance. For his people, and his son.

***

“So, where were you guys last year, when Viras attacked?” Akio questioned as they walked down the hallway, approaching their next destination.

“The Jet VTOL, which we’re almost at,” Shin Hayata began. “Was out of commission at the time, and that had required us to go by boat to the island of Solgell, which you kids may recognize.

“Oh yeah, that was around the same time as Viras. When Godzilla found Minilla and they both got put into hibernation.” Ichiro replied.

“Yup. So while we were sailing to Solgell due to the anomalies, to rescue people who managed to save themselves, that whole incident began and ended.” He sighed. “Not one of our prouder moments…”

“Why wasn’t it working?” Tom questioned.

“Because,” a new voice cut in. “I had been sick, and thus we had to bring in someone else to repair the VTOL after a tough mission.”

Ide, crouched before a panel of the sleek and elegant aircraft opened to expose the machinery which he carefully picked at with his tools like a surgeon, looked to his guests. “And then they get on my case for not trusting others to work on our stuff.” He smiled.

“Kids, this is Mitsuhiro Ide, our technician and inventor. If it weren’t for him, we’d be left chasing kaiju with bikes and BB guns.”

“Arashi would probably still do that.” The light laughter from Shin’s joke intensified at that remark. “But, before you all ask me any questions, I’d like to ask you one. Is that ok?”

Confused by the statement, Akio, Tom, Ichiro, and Tomoko nodded affirmatively.

“What would be your ideal world?”

As Ide closed the panel, full attention on the other people in the room, the kids pondered. Akio was first. “Well, I guess mine would be a world without wars or traffic accidents.”

“Traffic accidents?” Shin Hayata questioned.

“I don’t know how else to put it. People getting hit by cars, no more of that.” He said with a genuine sadness tinging his voice.

That cleared things up for the two older men in the room, their faces lowering somewhat. The news was filled with stories of roaming kids, their parents at work so they got to wander free, getting killed by cars. It was why so many children were made to wear bright yellow hats whenever they went out, to make it easier to see and avoid them.

“That would be a wonderful world.” Ide replied warmly. “What about the rest of you?”

“What Akio said.” Tom replied, Tomoko nodding. The latter was obviously just going along with her older brother, but Tom’s compliance told the Science Patrol members that clearly this subject hit close to home. Prying further would have been immoral, but it did not take much of a leap to come to the conclusion a friend of theirs was gone thanks to this.

“What about you, Ichiro?”

The odd one out of the visitors, the one not part of a pre-existing friend group, was quick with his answer as well. “A world where humans and monsters are friends. Where we don’t have to shoot at them and they don’t stomp our buildings.”

“Then it sounds like you all have very similar ideas. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“No more war would include war with monsters too.” Tom stated, understanding clear in his tone.

“And we can’t befriend monsters if we can’t get along with each other.” Ichiro added.

“There we go! Now…” Ide began. “How does that world come about?” Silence filled the room, but Ide’s smile didn’t fade. “That is the question an inventor needs to ask. Not just what, but how. How does a world where humankind exists in harmony with each other and monsterkind come to be? How do we stop cars from crashing into one another and pedestrians?”

Still silent, the children’s faces locked in the haze of unknowing. “I… don’t know.” Tomoko admitted, the boys clearly feeling the same.

“And that is the first step. Knowing that you don’t know. I don’t expect an answer in this room, or even for you to have the answer for a while. But think on it. A better world doesn’t come about from us just wishing for it, it requires us to work for it.”

“I think…” Ichiro began, surprising everyone. “We need to learn to forgive. Each other, monsters, everyone.”

“Some things are unforgivable, you know?” Shin Hayata replied, part of him shocked that those words came from his mouth. Somewhere deep in his mind, he felt like it was being said from personal experience, and he was not on the side of that equation he would want.

“I know, so maybe just stop wanting revenge. I guess…”

“Is this about Godzilla?” Akio said, his previously mean tone regarding the monster king gone.

“Yeah, and his son. I hear people talking about wanting to wipe Solgell off the map, blow it to smithereens. But Minilla didn’t do anything to anyone! Why should he die because his dad did something bad?”

They fully understood his sympathy for the destructive leviathan now. It was not just Godzilla, it was the new life under his watch that would have to live every day branded by actions it did not commit.

“Sorry.” Akio apologized, surprising Ichiro. “For how I acted earlier.”

“No worries! I get it, I know what he’s done. You were actually one of the nicer people about it…”

“Keep your chin up, young Ichiro.” Ide replied, surprisingly charismatic to his two comrades. “Think about how we can change the world, and maybe one day, you’ll be the one to bridge that gap and end decades of struggle between man and nature.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

“Well said.” Shin put a hand on Ide’s shoulder. “Now does anyone have any questions for Ide?”

The inventor’s expression turned, his typical timidness clearly rising back to the surface. Isamu rolled his eyes, mouth curling into a smile. Had he only prepped himself for that long of talking to people?

Before they could ask anything, Muramatsu appeared. “Sorry kids, but I need to talk to Ide about something, urgently.”

“Oh! This is our captain, Muramatsu Toshio. He’s the most reliable man I know.” Hayata quickly rattled off, not having expected this.

As the kids welcomed him, he waved. “You kids wanna hear about paperwork?” Their voices stopped, only murmuring awkwardly in response. “Joking, schools make you guys memorize enough numbers and words. I trust you’re enjoying the tour?”

“Yes sir!” They said in unison, more in sync than previously.

“Wonderful,” he said with the clap of his hands. “Run along, Fuji’s dying to meet you all.” He said with a tone befitting a teacher, which prompted Isamu to begin moving the guests along. A quick glance to Hayata, who returned it, confirmed the older of the two would stay for a moment.

“What is it, captain?” Ide questioned, Hayata slowly walking away with an ear pointed back. What he heard made anxiety scratch at the door of his mind.

Muramatsu sighed. “Gamera’s on the move.”

***

The waters of the ocean burst up suddenly, falling as a misty rain while a colossal body soared. Steam followed, a result of the immensely hot propulsion method. There had been no warning, leaving a nearby man aboard a fishing vessel with a rapidly beating heart and heavy, fast breaths from the sudden fright.

Black armor plating was layered like the petals of a flower over the oblong construct, which spun through the air via four jets of blue flame from parallel ports. The smoother underside of the object was covered in lines, like a grill.

It was Gamera, the friend to all children. Where most monsters were looked upon with fear, even the likes of Mothra due to her brutal ways of enforcing justice, this guardian was beloved by the masses. It had not always been this way, his initial interactions with humankind as aggressive and destructive as the likes of Godzilla, but a surprising kindness had blossomed after that.

What other kaiju would go out of their way to save a human child from death?

There was darkness approaching. A threat to life that would attack with remorseless fury, and though he did not know the specifics, he refused to sit back and let it happen. He was a hero, a light for the people to look upon when all else was blackened, and that torch would shine no matter what blotted out the sun.

***

“And here is Akiko Fuji, our communications expert!” Hayata exclaimed, nervousness underlining his voice. Fortunately for him, the kids were too busy looking at the room with numerous machines to notice, but his aforementioned comrade clearly did notice. He pointed back with his thumb, bearing a questioning expression. She nodded.

Of course she knew, Shin thought. She had to have been the one to see it in the first place, it was her job. The problem was not Gamera himself, the Science Patrol saw him the same as everyone else. It was the fact that his movement most likely meant something else was approaching, something they did not yet detect. Kaiju had an odd sense for encroaching danger, better than any human device, and Gamera was unique even amongst the giants.

“Hey kids!” She said with a bright smile, any fear she held being buried. Unfortunately, before Akiko Fuji could continue, there was a loud crash!

And then the power went out, emergency lights activating and bathing them all in a red hue. The remaining members of the Science Patrol ran into the room, the captain’s earlier demeanor gone in favor of a commanding presence. “What’s going on? Are the kids alright?”

“No clue on the first part, and yes, they’re right here, sir!” Hayata responded, saluting.

The visiting youth huddled closer to him, shaking with fear. Each member of the SSSP drew their sidearms, holding it close to their person. They formed a defensive position around the civilians, not needing any communication to do so. Isamu joined the kids, but kept his combat-ready stance. He was not doing so to be protected by his comrades, but to ensure the civilians were safe.

“Ok, kids. We’re going to make our way out of here, slowly. Keep close to us, no matter what.” Muramatsu spoke, calmly but firmly. The kids did not need to be told twice, nodding.

And then, through the haze, a sound came. One that nobody on the planet thought would ever be heard again, and certainly one the Science Patrol did not want to hear.

A warped, warbling laughter as deep as a lake.

Ide gritted his teeth as it seemed that the one he had feared the most had returned, even if not as powerful as Ghidorah or Zetton, this old foe still threatened the entire world.

The others quickly followed in their comrade’s example, standing next to him as they guarded the frightened children. The small group of visitors realized that they were standing at ground zero for an event, they had only heard stories or seen footage on the news due to school, but they were now in the real thing. Tomoko held onto her brother tightly, it was uncomfortable but he simply stood his ground as they stared forward.

If something was going to try to hurt his sister, they would have to get through him!

Suddenly, Fuji stood up violently and turned towards the group, Ide instantly realizing what had occurred as he stared at his comrade. “Let go of my friend, Alien Baltan!”

“So it is true,” The alien spoke out of the young woman’s vocal cords, a robotic tone exiting from her mouth as the extraterrestrial possessed her. “You are the people that aided Ultraman.” Fuji took a single step forward, alarming the group as they continued to point their firearms at their friend. “The people that aided in the genocide of my people, without a second thought, letting billions of lives end in a single action.” Fuji smiled before she dropped to the ground suddenly. Ide quickly rushed over to her when the alien’s true form revealed itself, teleporting into the room without a single noise before striking the inventor across the torso, throwing him across the room.

He crashed into the wall with a loud thud and groan, the children all screaming for a moment as the Science Patrol member was taken out with a single strike. While his vision became blurry, he pondered on how he had failed yet again to stop the Baltan, and without Ultraman here to correct for his mistakes, he only hoped his friends could.

Arashi whipped out his Supergun, only for a bolt of energy to blast it apart. “Goddamnit!” He yelled as burns now coated his hand, only for his fighter’s instincts to propel him into a roll as another streak of energy launched towards him. He avoided it, crashing into a console and sending another wave of pain shooting through his body. The Baltan was on him in an instant, cracking a hard kick into his chin which had him lying limp.

“Take the kids out of the room now!” Murmatsu ordered Hoshino and Hayata, the older member shooting his firearm at the Baltan only for the alien to simply move out of the way before another appeared next to the retreating group of children. The alien’s laughter began to echo from both forms, fear entering their minds as the alien and his double simply began to walk forward, causing the group to once again fire at them.

“Run!” Hoshino ordered, continuing to fire his weapon at the invading force only for the extraterrestrial to simply disappear from his vision. “I’ll catch up, just go!” The young member of the Science Patrol once again told the children, the three visitors not arguing and running for the door when Baltan appeared once more. He emerged from the shadows, standing in front of the doorway with both arms pointed at them, the children stopping in their tracks.

Before Hoshino could react, he was suddenly struck on the head with the Alien Baltan’s arm, slamming him downwards into the ground. He groaned in pain, taken out swiftly.

“You humans are an infestation, with your deaths I shall draw Ultraman here and avenge my people! We will replace your people and give this planet a new age!”

Hayata fired his weapon, the electrical energy slamming into one of Baltan’s doubles, missing his mark as the three turned towards him. The senior officer once again fired, aiming to at least take down one of the invaders, only for the beam to simply pass through the target. His eyes widened while the copy laughed before disappearing. The experienced officer was being put on the back foot quickly, as the extraterrestrial invader appeared right beside him.

Before the alien could act, sparks flew from his true form as the captain landed a blow. The energy from the gun knocked him back a little, allowing most of the children to run past him, Muramatsu’s eyes widened in fear as he came to a quick realization.

Where was Ichiro?

Without warning, the child made his presence finally known as he leapt from the table onto the wounded Baltan’s back. Raising his hand above his head before stabbing a pencil repeatedly into the invader’s flesh, bright neon green blood oozed from the wound as the alien let out cries of pain from the little human’s attack.

“You’ll replace humanity!? I’ll replace your organs with styrofoam!”

Baltan continued to attempt to shake the child off, but Ichiro continued to hold on, tightening his grip as he repeatedly slammed the sharpened lead into the alien. Even as it shattered in his hand, he just kept crashing his fist into the alien and biting him on the head.

Captain Muramatsu quickly acted, running over to Hoshino who was recovering from the sudden blow to his skull. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. We have bigger problems to worry about.” The young Science Patrol member stated as he quickly rose to his feet, witnessing Ichiro take the alien head on without fear. He looked past the extraterrestrial invader, noticing the other visitors standing in the doorway waiting for someone to guide them. Perhaps a mix of fear for their safety and the fear of what would happen to them if they left with no defenses, either way, Hoshino knew what to do.

“Captain, Hayata!” The young officer yelled, earning their attention in an instant. “I‘ll guide the children to safety, cover me!” Hoshino ordered before Ichiro was thrown to the ground, rolling across the floor before Baltan aimed his arm towards the child.

“Pest! You dare hurt your superior!”

“You are just a bully! Godzilla taught me to fight my own fights!”

Hoshino landed another strike with his gun on the alien, pushing him back before he could hurt Ichiro, prompting Hayata and Muramatsu to do the same thing as their young comrade rushed over to Ichiro and grabbed him before running out of the door. “Kids, follow me!”

Muramatsu gave a quick grin before returning to the task at hand, their youngest officer had shown true bravery and taken action without a second thought. A sense of pride entered his mind before fear quickly creeped back into his thoughts, the alien laughing as he cracked his neck and turned towards the duo.

“Your forces are eliminated! You will all perish for your transgressions against my people!”

The captain rolled across the ground, avoiding the energy blast coming straight towards him, only for another copy of the Baltan to suddenly appear and strike him so hard that he was sent flying towards the window. The glass broke upon impact, Muramatsu screaming as he rapidly descended towards the ground.

“No!” Screamed Shin, running towards the window to see if his comrade was somehow still alive, or at least to confirm the casualty. What he saw instead was spectacular.

There was no body, but a loud sound began to echo through the sky, hope filling the SSSP agent’s heart as he saw his captain’s savior. Though he still had yet to solidify his thoughts on kaiju, the one that was before him would more than prove his title as “friend” to humanity.

The terrapin looked at Muramatsu as he landed, the friend of all children landing with ease so as to not rock him out of his hand. The captain had been at the front lines for the last few years against kaiju and extraterrestrial threats to his home, but this was the first time he had been so close to one without the beast attempting to kill him or others. “Thank you Gamera, I am in your debt.” He spoke, wonder clearly in his voice. The guardian nodded as he heard the older man’s words, understanding the gratitude in his voice before turning towards the SSSP HQ and walking on all fours towards the building. He roared a challenge for the invader to answer, Gamera would not leave until this force was dealt with.

Shin smiled for a moment as he stared at the terrapin’s approaching form, help had arrived and it seemed that fate was in their favor as Gamera quickly arrived before anyone could die. He turned around, seeing the Baltan simply tilt his head and stare at the challenger.

“Your time will come, human, all of your times will. But it seems that I must first make an example of this foolish creature. The death of your guardian will mark a declaration of war!”

The alien disappeared without a trace. And with that moment, Shin quickly rushed over to each of his friends, checking their pulses to see if they were alive and to his relief it seemed that everyone was okay. A few broken bones was better than losing a life within their very home.

The laugh echoed once more, this time outside of the building as the alien reappeared before the structure. Gamera roared once again, swaying back and forth while he remained on all fours. He had dealt with invaders from the stars before, and he had managed to come out on top every time and help humanity live another day… but something was different here. The foe that stood before him was unlike anything he had faced, he could simply tell by the first glance, but he would not yield.

Until his bones were shattered, until every drop of blood was drained from his corpse, until the light in his soul was extinguished, Gamera would fight. And if he should die for the children of mankind, then so be it!

From thin air emerged more Baltan. They raced towards the one standing before the guardian, vanishing as they made contact with his form. With that reverberation of sick laughter, the arthropodic alien began to grow. Gamera charged forth, intent on stopping this transformation, but it was too late.

Now on the same titanic scale as his foe, Baltan thrust his claws forth and opened them wide. White lights like rods shot forth, crashing into the shell of the terrapin. He kept his quadrupedal stance, letting them bounce off with sparks as the distance closed. Jaws parting to reveal great tusks, he lunged forth…

Only for the boot-like foot of his foe to crash into his chin, lifting him up. The extraterrestrial assassin fired a volley of White Destruction Beams into his chest, making Gamera cry out from the assault. Smoke rose as shards of plastron fell, but the friend to all children kept his footing. Now on his hind legs, he swung his claws towards the invader.

Baltan’s claw shot up to block the strike, his arm being pushed from the unexpected strength behind the blow. The alien could already tell that this foe would not be an easy one to overcome, something becoming all the more clear as further pressure was applied. The ninja-esque alien struck back with his other pincer, earning a spray of blood as he dug it into the weakened part of his foe’s chest. Green ichor pulsed out, making him laugh once more. Already this guardian bled? What a pathetic creature.

Roaring, not out of pain but rage, Gamera unleashed a jet of flame from his mouth. Cackling became screaming as Baltan was immersed in the brutal heat, forcing him to back away and shield his eyes with his claws. The assault ceased, but when he lowered his arms, all he saw was Gamera charging forth once more with a war cry. A powerful smack with one of the guardian’s large hands sent him staggering back, struggling to stay on his feet. Baltan practically growled as his foe went in for another strike, thrusting both of his pincers forward to intercept. The great tortoise nearly fell back from the powerful strike, then was forced onto the top of his shell as Baltan followed it up by flying into him.

Soaring through the air, the alien turned and unleashed a barrage of energy projectiles from his claws. Gamera bellowed in pain from the onslaught, which only made Baltan laugh once more.

***

“Oh no, get up Gamera!” Akio shouted, seeing the fight’s current course through a window as they ran towards an escape. He went to stop and watch, but was quickly reprimanded.

“He’ll be fine, unlike us if we stay here! There might still be Baltans in here!” Isamu said in as brave a tone he could manage.

“I wish Ultraman was still here…” Tomoko whined, already getting tired from how much more she had to run to keep up with the bigger kids.

“We all do. Every day.” The youngest SSSP member sadly replied.

***

Gamera’s head and limbs retracted into his shell. Before Baltan could mock him for thinking that would protect him, roaring jets of blue fire erupted from the black fortress. They raised the shell up, the friend to all children flipping over in the air before racing towards his flying foe.

Like twin machine guns the claws of the alien scourge released their projectiles, but Gamera flew through them. Baltan’s image flickered for a moment, but he paid it no mind as he approached. The air was filled with the heavy thud of the guardian’s shell crashing into the alien at great speed, sending the fiend flying away. However, Baltan faded in midair, confusing the great tortoise.

Baltan appeared above him, delivering an ax-handle strike with his pincers that spiked Gamera down, sending the shell crashing into the earth. Concrete flew like kicked up dust from the impact, the organic shield lodged in the ground. His jets roared to life once more, but a foot pressed down onto him, keeping him pinned.

If he bore a mouth, Baltan would have smiled as his claws filled with energy, the white light turning yellow as he placed them against one another. A pulsing ray of power speared forth, blasting away shards of Gamera’s layered armor and forcing a groan to echo out from the reptilian colossus.

Gravel melted as the blue flames of Gamera’s flight intensified, forcing Baltan to stumble back. The benevolent beast rose into the air slightly, before releasing his limbs and head from their barrier, landing on his hind legs. A war cry left his maw before he charged forth once more, intent on slicing into his foe’s chest, only for that flickering to occur once again.

A second Baltan seemed to walk out of the first, stopping Gamera’s assault as he was taken aback. Both alien ninja rushed, putting out opposing arms to clothesline the terrapin to the devastated ground. Eyes narrowing, the guardian lifted both hands to catch the strike, but Baltan was one step ahead. As the second of the aliens vanished into thin air, the first made a swift motion to get to Gamera’s side.

An uppercut sent the defender of Earth stumbling, to which a new clone of Baltan suddenly standing in the air capitalized by kicking him in the side of the skull. In his daze he managed to unleash his flamethrower on the latter, dispersing it, but his focus on that left him open for his actual foe to leap up and fire another golden ray into the top of his head. Green flesh turned black as the force put Gamera on his stomach, his shriek of pain echoing far.

The alien continued to mock the defender of mankind, laughing as each attempt to harm him was only met with a swift counter. That the great tortoise was pushed back in such a quick time was embarrassing, he sought to defend these lower lifeforms but could not even save themselves from his power? How truly pathetic of this planet.

“You shall be the first slain by my claw! No one will stand in my way! No one!” The extraterrestrial screamed as he began to charge energy into his claws, aiming directly at the downed guardian’s skull. It was then that Gamera acted, flames surrounding his maw before a stream of fire billowed over the extraterrestrial, pushing Baltan back as he screamed from the pain.

Elemental fury consumed the invader’s form as he was continually pushed back by the guardian, Gamera charged as he continued the assault, walking on all fours as the flames engulfed Baltan’s form.

For a moment, the alien screamed into the heavens. The flames seemed to have an effect, until suddenly the screams were replaced by more sinister laughter from the extraterrestrial’s mandibles. Though Gamera couldn’t see the change, he knew that something was wrong the moment the invader’s vocal reaction changed, he had faced a number of foes with tricks up their sleeves and it seemed that this new threat was no different.

The body of Baltan fell over, Gamera wondering if he had succeeded for a brief moment before the truth was unveiled. The terrapin flinched as his adversary’s form glowed for a moment before he quickly got back to his feet, Alien Baltan molting away the useless armor before putting up a golden barrier, making the flames bounce back at their source. For a moment Gamera was pushed back, but the turtle simply opened his maw and began to devour the element that surrounded him, the flames becoming a quick meal and reenergizing the guardian to his fullest.

As Gamera began to step back, the shield protecting his foe disappeared. But, before he could act, more doubles began to emerge from the source body. The terrapin roared with fury as he looked left and right, a series of clones laughing at him as he prepared for the worst. He dug his heels into the ground and roared with fury, declaring to his foe that this would not end him.

The alien simply laughed as energy built up between the clones, their claws all glowing a radiant white as Gamera realized what was about to happen. His eyes widened as he prepared for the pain that was about to happen, but through his fights within the years, nothing would compare to what was about to transpire.

“Die as you lived, fool! Struggling to breathe!”

The firing squad of Baltans unleashed their respective shots at the towering behemoth. Gamera screamed as each bullet entered his soft flesh, green ichor spraying into the air as explosions detonated across his form. The terrapin’s cries of agony overcame the rapid sound of detonations across his flesh, black smoke rising to the sky as they continued to fire at him. The invader continued to laugh as he tortured the guardian, each blast throwing him backwards further and further away from the SSSP headquarters until he suddenly dropped.

The Baltans slowly merged back into the original, each clone firing off one last shot before they disappeared back into the void. The main body clapped his claws together as he took in his victory, taking in the act of cruelty that they had committed with joy before turning his attention away from the fallen body of the planet’s guardian. He ignored it completely as he stepped forward towards his true destination, the nearby city of Kyoto would be turned into cinders.

He had already defeated the SSSP, now he would cause destruction on a vast scale to draw out Ultraman. With the death of this new challenger, the timetable would be moved up by quite some time. The Alien Baltan continued to chuckle to himself as he marched forward, his war path was clear and it was time to exact vengeance upon this planet for their transgressions.

But, best to ensure that the Science Patrol would not harass him any further…

***

Shin Hayata, with Ide and Fuji’s unconscious forms slung over a shoulder each, flinched at the smoke-tinged sunlight hitting his eyes as he exited the building. Were he some kind of superhuman, he would have grabbed all three of his downed comrades, but he was merely an athletic mortal, leaving him only able to grab his two smaller teammates at once. Arashi would have said to leave him behind had he been awake anyway, but that was not enough for the amnesiac defender. He needed to rush in once more and grab the gunman, but not before ensuring the technician and communicator were safe.

“Shin!” A familiar voice struck him. It was Hoshino, the other children close to his side.

“Thank God!” Hayata replied, rushing over and gently lowering the two to the ground.

“Where’s Arashi, and the captain?”

“Still inside, and somewhere out here thanks to Gamera catching him. If he hadn’t been here, the captain would have been killed.” It was rather direct language, but Shin didn’t think sugarcoating things would be good now. “I have to go back in and get Arashi before-“

Gamera’s scream of agony as he was ripped into by the clone assault overwhelmed all thoughts. The kids looked utterly devastated, and Shin could tell his face was not much better. This was the worst case scenario, but not one that particularly surprised the Science Patroller once the initial shock dwindled. Baltan was a deadly force, combining cunning with power in a way that few could boast. And this member of the species in particular seemed to be impressive even by his kind’s lofty standards. He could only hope Gamera would be able to pull through and survive.

Without another word, he ran back in. He had little doubt Baltan would destroy the base, and if even a single member of the team was inside when that happened, it would hang on his conscience until he died. Hoshino went to chase after him, but Shin put a hand up and kept running. The meaning was clear.

You need to protect them.

Supergun in hand, red emergency lights still rolling over his head, Hayata’s shoes squeaked against the tiled floor as he raced towards the communications room. He looked outside, not slowing his stride, to see Baltan turn towards the base. His breathing quickened, as did his footsteps, but it would not be enough. However, the hero did not turn around. He was too far in, so all he could hope for was a miracle.

A blue ray burned against the invader’s head, staggering him in shock and making him turn. It was on the opposite side as the children, so Hayata smiled. Muramatsu was not a miracle, but he was close enough.

***

The captain of the Science Patrol stood bravely, weapon at the ready. He was willing to fight against impossible odds for the sake of his comrades, something he solidified with a second squeezing of the trigger.

Eyes larger than his entire body glaring with malice upon him was something that would make most men fall to their knees and beg whatever gods they prayed to for safety. But to Muramatsu, it was only further reason to steel his resolve. He ran, but not out of cowardice.

Concrete exploded into dust as Baltan fired at where he had just been, the ground shaking as those colossal footsteps began. “You won’t touch another hair on their heads while I’m here!” The captain shouted before rolling out of the way of another explosive blast, firing a laser beam in response. The growl that left the colossus only affirmed the veteran’s suspicions.

He was dealing with an impulsive foe who boiled with anger. Anger was a weapon, and like all weapons, it was only good if used properly. Tactically, blasting the SSSP base into ruins would be the best call, but this Baltan was so obsessed with vengeance that he lashed out at anything which scourged him. It would be pathetic if his foe was not so powerful. As well, a flaw did not mean his intellect was to be underestimated.

More of that back and forth carried on for a few moments, Baltan clearly sounding aggravated. Amidst another barrage, something blurred through the air near the colossus and caught the captain’s vision, but he was too distracted to pay it much mind.

An explosion went off too close to Muramatsu, sending him stumbling. He prepared to fire again, only to crash into something rigid. Staggering back, the captain realized only a moment too late that he had run into a human-sized Baltan. The alien, which had split off from the colossus, brought down one of its claws like a hammer onto Muramatsu’s helmeted skull.

His vision instantly darkened.

***

Shin Hayata rushed out of the building with Arashi over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry, meeting his allies. “Are they still out?”

“Afraid so. Baltan hit them hard.” Isamu replied, doubt and fear written in his expression.

“But not hard enough.” The older man said, putting a reassuring hand on his comrade’s shoulder. “How are you kids doing? Anyone hurt?”

The visitors, shivering with wide eyes, could only nod their heads to affirm that they were physically unharmed. Shock broke through fear, as Ichiro pointed back to the scene of chaos with a shout. “Look!”

That deep, rumbling laugh resounded as Baltan unleashed a beam of energy which rippled through the building, tearing it asunder in a cacophony of smoke and fire. Keeping up his laughter, he stomped forward and swung a claw through the weakened top of the structure, sending it crashing inwards. A kick to the foundation caused a collapse, almost half of the remaining structure imploding into debris. Flames erupted and sparks spewed from a vast network of technology being crumpled and bashed into itself. The grinding, rolling sounds of the place that had become a second home to them would linger in their moments of silence for a long time to come, backed by that sick cackle.

Satisfied, the invader took flight. Soaring without wings, he departed into the distance.

“Which way is he going?” Akio questioned, and it took little time for Hayata to answer.

“Kyoto.” He replied with a sigh. The rising smoke of the devastated base blocked out the sun, reflecting the dour mood of the situation.

Before his mind could begin a spiraling series of questions on how to proceed, a raspy moan echoed across the lot.

“Gamera!” Tomoko shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to the guardian.

His eyes fluttered open as another call rolled from his maw. He planted a hand on the ground, trying to push himself up, only to fall. Gamera tried again, but he did not even achieve lift this time. Rushing over to him, the kids shouted for him to keep still.

“Rest Gamera, please!” Tom cried, nearly on the verge of tears. “You’ve done enough!”

Claws which had sheared into titanic flesh dug weakly at the ground, carving shallow trenches as the Atlantean beast seemed to be trying to pull himself forwards. But strength had left his mighty form, leaving him a cumbersome and pathetic creature. He surveyed the children demanding he rest, and while he hated to see their eyes water and their voices grow raspy, he needed to do this. He could not rest while such horrors were bound to be taking place.

“Gamera!” A much deeper voice than what had been shouting at him rose above. The only conscious adult on the scene stepped up to the monster, the bulkier than typical gun known as the Spider Shot in his grip. “Stay here until you can actually fight, and watch over them.”

A weak groan left Gamera as his eye met the stern gaze of the Science Patrol member. He did not care for adults much. Children were innocent, free of the blight life piled on. They did not see him as a frightening impossibility which imposed upon their self-proclaimed status as nature’s rulers. They only saw him as something wonderful, another great proof that the world was full of mysterious and amazing things. Adults shot at him, hated him.

But this man right here, and the one he had saved earlier, he knew they were different. Perhaps all of the Science Patrol was different. Even if they were not, any who saved children at the risk of their own lives was right with him.

“They need someone to protect them. Hoshino,” he turned to his young comrade. “You stay here too. Gamera needs someone to protect him.”

“Shin, you’re not-“

“If I don’t, who will?” He said with his voice slightly shaking. Not of cowardice, but of self-preservation trying to wrench him away from what he planned to do.

“Mr. Hayata, you can’t fight that thing alone!” Ichiro shouted.

“There’s no other choice. I just need to delay him until Gamera can get back up, right?”

Isamu sounded like the child he was, terrified in a world far larger than himself. “Shin, please. Just wait here with us then! You can’t go, not without the whole team! Not without…”

“Without Ultraman?” Hayata replied, the faces of the children falling even further at the reminder. “Hoshino, he’s gone. We can’t rely on him anymore. And the rest of the Science Patrol is unconscious, I-“

“Then take me with you! Please! If you died, I wouldn’t know what to do!” Tears rolled down his face. “It’d all be my fault!”

The amnesiac hero knelt down. “And what if there’s still a Baltan waiting around here? And it did something to these kids, to Gamera, while you were gone? You can do this. And so can I.”

The words he spoke next cut to the young boy’s heart.

“We need to both prove we deserve to be here, don’t we?” With a smile like the sun’s warm rays, he stood back up.

Gamera watched him walk away, making his way towards a vehicle that had fortunately been parked outside the base. As the children gathered next to his side, the youth with a role to play in guardianship drying his tears, he saw a spark in Shin Hayata. Like something divine had lingered within him, and if the great warrior of another age had to guess, it had done so for a simple reason.

That was a man that all men should strive to be. Strong yet kind, one who sought peace and was willing to fight for it. Such a light needed to shine bright, and in that moment, he vowed he would ensure it did so.

***

Tires screeched as the silver car, with the Science Patrol’s logo emblazoned on its sides, came to an abrupt halt. Shin cursed as he unlocked the door, getting out and gaining a better look at the torn asunder road leading into Kyoto. It looked as though bombs had been dropped onto it. Crushed and burnt cars surrounding the ruin told him a dreadful story, one he did not look deeper into in fear of seeing bodies.

He wanted to search. Find any survivors, escort them to safety, but that would not be. Not by himself, not when far more lives were currently in danger.

His heart sank as he looked up to see the city, smoke trailing into the heavens as distant explosions rang out. Swallowing his fear, the Science Patrol member grabbed the Spider Shot out of the car, checked his side for the standard issue firearm, and began to march into the city.

***

Rockets trailed through the air, smoke billowing as they closed in on their target. Baltan looked over his shoulder, arm embedded in a building, before flicking that limb to send a spray of debris flying into the missiles’ paths. The air shook with their detonations as they struck cast aside bricks and mortar.

Keeping his arm extended, he opened his claw to shoot down the jets that had fired them. The white beams tore through the thin steel with ease, not even giving the pilots time to scream before their bodies became mangled charcoal. As the fireballs of man’s weapons hit the ruined streets, Baltan took to the skies.

Minutes. It had taken mere minutes to demolish vast swaths of Kyoto. Burning craters punched into the streets and buildings, pulverized structures further clogging up escape paths for the civilians within, and so much carnage. The smell was vile, smoke mixed with death and being carried by the fires’ winds.

And humanity’s response? Pathetic.

Tanks rolled over broken glass, their cannons pointing up with the muffled sound of hydraulics. Smoke burst from the tubes as shells flew far, crashing into Baltan’s body. The alien did not wince, instead responding by crashing both of his pincers into the sides of a building. Partially dug into the structure, the claws served to let him lift the top of the tower up, dust and bricks falling like rain as the two halves parted.

The arthropodic alien noted a human hanging on for dear life from a wall’s pipe, his fingers clutching the metal like a baby with their mother’s hand. Baltan shook the object in his hands, the force sending the man plummeting to his doom. A scream rang out, the sound of a life coming to a horrifying end.

Like a child watching a partially crushed insect spasm, Baltan’s eyes tracked the fall all the way to its conclusion, the body folding in half on impact with the wall of the portion of the apartment complex still on the ground.

As the invader flung his projectile into the platoon of tanks, burying them in rubble and condemning the crews to a slow demise, he pondered. That man was an individual, all of the people in this city who had met their ends were so. With their own aspirations, hopes, and dreams. Families were being snuffed out or torn apart, numerous potentials to achieve great things being crushed and ended.

A child screamed for their mother in the apartments below. Weeping, the young girl cowered in her room. Baltan’s eyes rolled to see a corpse with a brick currently crushed into her skull, slumped over on the couch. The child could not have been any older than ten Earth years, the alien presumed, and now she was faced with the carcass of her mother.

Baltan’s foot sheared into the base of the apartment complex, making it collapse. The girl plummeted into the dark abyss of devastation, her small voice lost in the tumbling rubble.

Perhaps humanity, after this, would finally understand a fraction of the pain that had been inflicted upon his kind.

***

Kyoto was a war zone, and Hayata a soldier charging into no man’s land. So many had died already, he could feel it with all five of his senses. Part of him wondered why he was even here, but still, his feet kept taking him forward. If he could save even a single life, one that would have ended without his presence, it would be enough.

Even through all of the billowing dust and smoke, Baltan was impossible to miss. Immense in scale, his footsteps were like shotgun blasts. Even as falling bombs onto his head drowned them out and shrouded him in smoke, those piercing eyes remained all too visible.

Something gnawed at his mind, a missing piece of a puzzle making its absence blatant. He shoved it down into the depths of his subconscious and charged forwards.

“Ultraman!” Baltan shouted, the detonation of a fighter plane against the earth like a punctuation. “Face me you coward! Face us, and atone for your sins! Our people have suffered so greatly, and it is all your fault! Will I have to kill every single human, as you intended to do to our people, for you to show your face?!”

A blue streak of light crashed against his mouth, making the alien stumble back so far he nearly fell. With a distorted growl, he looked for the source, finding Hayata standing his ground with the Spider Shot pointed forwards. Determination was etched on his face.

With smoke rising from his mandibles, Baltan stared at the last member of the Science Patrol. Something seemed off about him, like he was different from the other humans, but he could not make the final connection. As though a hazy aura drifted around him, too thin to clearly see but thick enough to register in his sights.

What neither knew was that this missing piece of Hayata’s memory and the odd sensation Baltan detected were connected to the same event, like dual trails of running water from the same spilled bottle.

“Do you know when to give up, human?” His warbling voice was like thunder at this size. “Is it your continued presence that halts Ultraman’s arrival, a misplaced faith in you?”

“Ultraman’s gone.” Shin knew that much. “Left the planet with another member of his own kind, went back to his home.”

There was a split second of silence, one which some small part of Hayata wanted to mean that Baltan would leave. But he knew that would not be the case, something confirmed shortly afterwards.

“Then we shall shore ourselves up here and pursue him. After your kind’s demise.”

Pincers opened, heralding the white light of desolation. Hayata prepared to flee, only for an unexpected third party to intervene. Blue streaks of pulsating energy blazed into Baltan’s side, making him cry out as he fell into the ruins of a group of buildings. Growling, he shot up to his feet to see a battalion of tanks rolling through the streets, but these were not the ones he had been casually destroying.

Trucks pulled along trailers that held colossal silver machines, a silver dish with a glass bulb protruding from the front. The Type 66 Maser Beam Tank was the latest in the JSDF’s anti-kaiju efforts, and the most successful thus far.

Baltan prepared to annihilate them, only for the Spider Shot’s payload to crash against the side of his head. His gaze snapped over to a fleeing Hayata, slipping into the gaps between buildings. The alien invader tore into the structures with his rays of desolating light, only for the maser beams to fire once more before he could accomplish more than taking out the top floors.

Another blast from the Spider Shot, from the other side of the rubble pile that Baltan stood over, told the conqueror that he was being made a fool of. The black marks in his carapace also made it clear that playing this game the way they wanted him to would yield only negative results.

But it was not as simple as they believed.

To the shock and horror of all bystanders, Baltan suddenly burst apart into thousands of smaller versions of himself. Like a swarm of bees they descended upon the Maser tank brigade, a storm of lasers falling upon the slowly retreating vehicles.

One landed atop one of the trucks, indenting the roof, before jamming a pincer into the crook where the door met the vehicle. He ripped the former off with a loud rending of steel, letting another of the insectoid aliens land and blast a hole through the terrified driver’s skull.

Hayata, breathing heavily, ran into a mostly intact store in order to hide from the chaos. Chitin-coated legs tore through glass, a Baltan beginning to fire before he had even properly found his footing. Unfortunately for him, the Science Patrol member’s reflexes had been sharpened like the finest blade, allowing him to dodge the barrage with a tactical roll.

The Spider Shot, which had once blown out the eye of a colossus who treated tank fire like bug bites, had predictable results when its blast met the body of something on a human scale.

Unfortunately for Hayata, he was not against a single foe. His enemies were numerous, so through the haze that was once their comrade, two more of the invaders fired rays of deadly power. One’s shots went wide, but the other landed true, reducing the Spider Shot to a useless smoking wreck. The Science Patrol member yelled in pain as his hand was burnt, dropping the weapon’s carcass to the carpet below.

“Why?” The question spilled out of his mouth, like the pain pushed it free. “Why are you doing this?”

“Your Earth is bountiful. Our planet was destroyed, and the one we found could not sustain us.” They blocked the door and broken window, and the one before the door was the one replying.

“But there has to be a million other suitable planets out there, ones without a civilization on them. This- this is barbaric!”

“Your planet was charted already. And our leader wants vengeance.”

“So you’re going to just follow him even if it means killing billions?” Hayata, taking the opportunity, slowly reached for his sidearm.

“Yes. Your planet cost us billions.” The insectoid continued in its monotone voice.

“Ultraman did. Humanity-“

“In service of humanity’s protection, Ultraman destroyed five billion Baltans. That is enough for the leader.” Their claws were pointed forwards, still closed, but Hayata knew that would change in an instant.

“Is that enough for you, though?”

“The leader’s will is our will. It is the only recourse in our species’ time of tribulation.”

“Then, do you understand that this is our only recourse?” The amnesiac hero pulled up the Supergun, firing it at the Baltan blocking the door. Taken off guard by the quick draw, the alien was catapulted through the entrance, smoke pouring off his chest as he yelled.

With a yell of exertion, Shin Hayata charged into the other invader, crashing his shoulder into the surprised alien. The Baltan hit the windowsill on his back, attempting to fight back, only for the Supergun’s barrel to be jammed into his mandibles.

The thin ray tore its way through the top of the insectoid’s skull, his body going limp.

Hayata breathed heavily, his heart feeling as though it were about to explode. But rest was not his to have, for a familiarly heavy set of footfalls revealed a terrible truth. The scene of the demolished Maser brigade, bodies strewn about like decorations, was framed by the thin legs of the gigantic Baltan, who looked down upon the storefront Hayata was currently peeking out of.

The Science Patrol member hurled himself free of the store, which detonated behind him a moment later. A quick shot from the Supergun was all that saved him from a second blast reducing him to ash. It nearly struck Baltan’s eye and thus made him flinch, allowing Hayata to turn and run deeper into the city.

***

The children had sat down in a circle next to the defeated Gamera. Silence had reigned, their short attention spans and hyperactive minds of youth driven into a darkness by fear. Even though they were likely safe here, for the time being at least, the closeness to death’s cold hands rendered them mute.

Until Gamera’s hand hit the ground palm-first, and then the other, muscles straining in those short yet strong arms. The children scattered back in shock, meeting the gaze of his eyes. They shone with determination.

His legs shifted as well, the soles of his feet becoming flat against the ground. With a long groan of effort, he rose up to his full height. Then stumbled back, finding his footing again after that split second. Looking down, he noticed the children weren’t cheering. Their faces still held fear, the source of which was obvious as Gamera looked down at his own form.

Blood did not flow down his chest, but scar tissue over great wounds revealed that he had been through a brutal assault. He was far from fully recovered. Battle would surely reopen them, and invite yet more. But he had the strength to stand, which meant he had the strength to fight. As well, a source of rejuvenation was close by.

As he walked over towards the Science Patrol base’s ruins, where fires still burned, Akio yelled at him. “Gamera, why? You need more rest, you can’t go now! You’ll die!”

“Please Gamera, heal more! You’ve fought enough for now!” Tom backed his friend.

As the guardian gorged upon the flames, he let the words wash over his mind. He did not want to distress the kids, he hated seeing children in pain, emotionally or physically, but this was what he needed to do. Other children were in danger, and to those in the midst of the rampage, he was their last hope.

“Because it’s what a hero does.” Isamu said, with a newfound clarity in the statement. He finally understood.

“What?” Akio replied.

“It’s why Gamera is still going to fight. It’s why Shin went out alone. Because they’re heroes. And it’s why I feel like I do, because I want to be like that. A hero, a true one… can’t fight ‘enough’. They do everything they can, and continue to do so every time someone needs their help. There’s no rest until the day is saved.”

“That sounds… tiring.” Ichiro said, with his head in his hands.

“It is. Isn’t that right, Gamera?”

The friendly giant looked towards the boy, and let out a softer roar than usual.

“But they do it. Because it’s what’s right. Because if they don’t, people die. And that’s inexcusable, if you can stop that but don’t.” Tears started to well up in the corners of his eyes, believing that he was failing at this lofty goal.

“So it’s about doing what you can?” Tomoko asked. When Isamu nodded, she followed it up with a statement that blindsided him. “Then you’re a hero.”

“I’m not-“

“Yes, you are.” Ichiro interrupted. “You saved us, didn’t you? And you even tried to go with Mr. Hayata, how is that not being a hero?” The other kids made their agreement clear by nodding their heads.

“Because, I-“ Isamu stuttered and went silent. He failed to think of what to say. Before any more excuses could be formulated, a roar echoed out. All eyes went up to Gamera, standing over a flameless ruin. He and Isamu locked eyes, those that had seen millennia meeting those who had barely observed over a decade.

And the ancient’s gaze was filled with pride for the youth.

Isamu was rendered silent in awe, like a religious devotee meeting their god. Tears flowed down his cheeks, but they were not those of sorrow. Myriad emotions roiled within his gut, but the one that fought its way furthest through the slurry was joy, a welcome sensation after the day’s terrifying events.

Gamera’s legs were replaced with roaring jets once more, sending him soaring into the distance. Hope was finally beginning to gain a foothold in the children’s hearts once more as they waved him away.

***

“Stand still you pathetic insect!” The alien screamed as he unleashed another volley of energy at the fleeing Science Patrol officer, Hayata running for his life as the blast struck the building next to him, causing the structure to collapse. As bricks fell to the earth, he dared not stop for a second, running as fast as he could as his feet felt like they were on fire. The hero took in heavy breaths as he turned his weapon behind him, attempting to strike his adversary as he fled. The bolt of energy missed every shot, the lacking aim failing to hurt the extraterrestrial invader.

Baltan aimed only a few meters behind the small human before firing one more stream of energy, this time detonating on the concrete behind him and sending him flying. Shin Hayata screamed in fury and surprise as he was thrown into the air, his eyes widening before he crashed into the battlefield below. The SSSP Agent, slamming his head into the concrete with a loud thud, was instantly struck with a concussion. The Supergun slid away from its user, leaving the concussed man defenseless as blood dripped from his forehead to the ground below. His eyes struggled to open as his vision became blurry, he attempted to move only to not find the strength to even flex his fingers.

This was it…

So many questions left unanswered, an entire year stolen from him and he had no answer as to why. He had failed. His friends, the citizens of Japan, the children… they would all die to this alien invader. After so many attempts on their small blue world from the stars, it would seem that the Baltan would be the one to finish the job.

“For… give me.”

Alien Baltan laughed with glee as he once again aimed his pincers directly at Hayata, the laughter growing more sinister by the passing second only for the moment of victory to be stolen from him as a familiar sound echoed in the sky, earning the invader’s attention. “Impossible!” The fused giant screamed with fury as the source of the sound revealed itself, Gamera returning to the battle with swiftness and a demand for the alien’s head. The terrapin roared as he charged directly at the invader, his arms reaching outward as he had caught his adversary by the mandibles, pushing him further into the city as he reached his absolute limits. His jets burned so hot that the shell began to glow red around the sockets, Gamera declaring enough with another shout.

The invader’s feet dragged through the dirt and concrete, every building that lined his path being crushed under the destroyer’s mass. Baltan attempted to free himself by pointing upward at the guardian’s stomach, only for the creation of Atlantis to quickly take action, the bolt of white energy flying into the sky as the terrapin spun mid-flight. The invader’s aim was thrown off as he was hurled from his enemy’s grasp, the momentum from Gamera’s act of bravery tossing him miles away with a single action, crashing into the landscape with a thunderous boom. The structures that surrounded him collapsed in an instant, burying him in rubble.

The friend to all children roared with a fist pump into the air as he declared the rematch to begin. Now that he knew how his opponent operated, he had confidence in his victory. Gamera landed safely away from the downed alien, turning his gaze towards the fallen Shin Hayata with a deep breath of relief. Though the lives of those that had perished during the conflict meant just as much as his own, the terrapin was relieved to see the SSSP Agent. The guardian saw a fellow protector in the once human host of Ultraman, if he were to perish then he would be avenged, on his honor as a defender of mankind.

The rubble exploded as the bipedal insectoid returned to his feet, the growl of frustration exiting his mandibles as he stared directly at Gamera. “We will disintegrate you!”

Through storms and damnation, through sheer torture as every battle maimed his flesh time and time again, Gamera would stand tall and defend all of mankind! The terrapin roared as he stared directly at the alien ninja, quickly changing tactics as he crouched on all fours just in time, a stream of yellow energy almost engulfing his head in one swift action. Gamera once again let loose a howl at the challenger, bee-lining towards the alien as fast as he could before leaping directly at the one responsible for so much destruction on this day, his maw opening wide as he tackled the Baltan to the ground. While the invader attempted to defend himself by blocking the great tortoise’s razor sharp fangs from reaching his throat, a scream of pain left his mandibles as they punctured straight through one of his pincers.

The black fortress began violently shaking his head back and forth as rage entered his eyes, the billions of yellow dots that made up the conglomerate’s eyes looking into his soul and seeing nothing but pure determination and fury. The size changing ninja attempted to raise his free pincer, only for Gamera to slam his paw into the arthropod’s limb and force it to remain still. Emerald ichor pulsed from the limb as suddenly, copies of the extraterrestrial appeared surrounding the terrapin, each charging to free their main body, only in that instant for the tide to shift in the guardian’s favor.

The other Baltans were forced to halt as he managed to flip his captured target towards them, giving them pause for a moment as their leader’s life was on the line.

Only for the hesitation to earn a scream of pure agony as flames coated the limb, the elemental fury turning his tusks into burning hot daggers and allowing Gamera to rip the limb off at the elbow.

The surrounding entities all screamed in horror as they all merged into one once more, this time appearing behind the artificial guardian and kicking him away for a moment. Quickly taking action and rolling into his shell, he ignited his jets as Baltan unleashed a volley of energy at the fleeing terrapin, the friend of humanity’s youngest managing to evade the continuing blasts with precision by simply hovering away. Buildings exploded into the air with every attempt, concrete and steel being thrown into the sky alongside the ash and smoke.

“We will take our time with you, rip you limb from limb as we fill your shell with energy before sending chunks of you into the stratosphere!”

Gamera quickly swallowed a chunk of meat from the Baltan’s removed limb, finally dropping it and unleashing a roar as he rose into the sky with remarkable speed.

***

Shin Hayata, consciousness fading, looked at Gamera soaring over him.

On the border between life and death, gazing up at a titanic benevolence which despite being beyond them, still cared for the diminutive humans skittering beneath his feet. He in particular had been saved by that divinity…

Sparks ignited a fire which forced away the fog, parting it to reveal the truth. A lost year returned in full force. The embrace of warm light, kindness and power in equal measure shielding him from the dark. Two minds becoming one and then parting after a fatal defeat.

Everything made sense now. The hand of sleep grasped his mind, the will to stay awake dispersed by the shock of the truth.

***

Rage blinded Baltan as he went to meet Gamera in close quarters, seeking to overpower him. The roar of rushing air resounded through the city, before they collided, shattering any remaining windows with a mighty shockwave. The invader had thrust his feet up to deliver a soaring kick, but the guardian had not been so foolish as to take it to the chin. Baltan’s curled up boots struck the front of Gamera’s shell, a hard surface that only resulted in pain shooting through his legs as the momentum of the jet-propelled terrapin overpowered him.

A skyscraper was flattened as the conqueror-to-be plummeted into it, smoke and debris shooting out from every opening as tens of stories became tens of feet. He looked up to see Gamera, fully retreated into his shell, coming down fast. If he stayed still, he would be crushed.

Unfortunately for the warrior of peace, Baltan retained the wherewithal to vanish just before impact, turning the ruin into dust billowing in all directions. Gamera, shell partially embedded into the earth, let loose a muffled scream as a yellow ray bore into his chest. His arms emerged, planting their hands on the ground and pushing himself free as his legs left their fortress to let him stand up.

Then, his face met the light once more, locking eyes with his foe.

Breaking into a sprint on all fours, the walking fortress closed the distance swiftly. Baltan knew he could not just keep running, so he needed to even this battle. He lacked a limb, so the same needed to become true of his enemy. He kicked Gamera in the chin, lifting the turtle up with the impact. His remaining claw locked onto one of his foe’s arms, charging up energy within its recesses.

However, if it were so simple, Gamera would have been rendered a paraplegic long ago. He lunged forward, twisting his head to bite down on the sides of Baltan’s skull. The alien’s scream of anguish echoed down his foe’s throat, the protruding tusks digging into the chitinous armor. He released Gamera’s arm, instead moving to fire the blast at the guardian’s throat.

Alien Baltan was the leader of an advanced species, a civilization that had explored the stars and invented technology that most could only dream of. So when he was outwitted yet again by a primitive beast, he screamed. Gamera’s head retracted into his shell, but did not relinquish the invader, cracking his skull against the top of the organic bastion. The rest of the Atlantean monstrosity’s limbs retreated as well, leaving Baltan to just place his pincer on Gamera’s side, hoping to pierce through.

Gamera spun with the roaring of his jets, the Baltan’s energy beam missing and carving a gash into the earth. The invader’s vision blurred as he was being dragged along by his foe’s ploy, but he had no intention of sticking around until its conclusion.

The turtle was surprised when his jaws suddenly slammed shut, a thin film impaled on his many teeth. He recalled the moment his foe had shed his skin to escape his flames, just before he was yanked downwards by the jaws. Baltan grasped his own molting, using it as a fulcrum to whip the defender of Earth into the broken city. Debris flew into the sky from the impact, another crater in a desolate landscape.

Fire turned the macabre fabric into ash, but Baltan had gotten all he wanted from it. Before Gamera could properly emerge, his vision was filled with the white light of the conqueror’s claw. Muffled screams were like music to Baltan’s ears as he rapidly fired bolts into the terrapin’s skull like an executioner.

The insectoid yelped as fire rushed over his “hand”, forcing him to pull it out of his enemy’s shell. Black splotches painted it, charred matter that was flaking off with each minute movement. He backpedaled as the roaring inferno kept spilling outwards, Gamera’s head poking out of his shield like a snake emerging from its burrow. Green blood oozed from numerous wounds, making him look as though his face had been run past a bed of razors.

“Why won’t you die!?” Baltan screamed as he swung a strike across Gamera’s skull, worsening the wounds. The guardian screeched back in reply, carving a row of gashes into his foe’s chest. A red ray of light emitted from Baltan’s claw, enveloping Gamera and attempting to paralyze him. Perhaps if Baltan had seen fit to use this move back when both his arms were intact, it would have worked, but as is, it lacked the power to halt the warrior of the children.

His hands grappled the sides of the invader’s head, before pulling him into a devastating headbutt which shook the city. Baltan stumbled, swaying back and forth as the world blurred. A wave of fire solidified his vision once more, making him shout in a combination of pain and rage.

“Enough of this!” He declared, his body flickering as duplicates slid out and surrounded Gamera in a circle. Even with the firepower halved, this firing squad would surely tear the terrapin in half this time! The group raised their claws high, ready to unleash hell, but this battle would not have been going downhill for the alien if his foe was not a learner by nature.

Gamera’s arms and legs retracted into his shell, roaring jets taking their place, but his head remained outside. “Do you truly think that pitiful shell of yours shall-“ the conqueror-to-be taunted, only to be cut off as the defender’s fire breath spewed from his maw, and the jets turned.

A whirling blur took the place of the tortoise-esque colossus, the geyser of flames from his jaws moving alongside and bathing the whole squadron of duplicates, and the original. He resembled a great buzzsaw of infernal origins, his speed reaching a point where the gap in the fire breath was only clear if one looked closely. The survivors in the city were forced to avert their eyes, spots dancing in their vision from the brilliance.

Smoke trailed from Baltan’s body as he hit the dirt, his clones dissipating. The reverberation of Gamera’s feet hitting the ground rolled below him, prompting him to look up and see the guardian standing tall.

A hateful shout rose up from the alien’s throat. “Why do you even protect them?!” He shakily rose to his feet, breathing heavily. “What have they done for you? All they’ve done for me and my kind is inflict destruction!”

Gamera stared at him, expression unchanging.

“Billions of my people’s lives destroyed in an instant! For what? To protect their idiotic, pitiful civilization? Look at them.” He gestured out, but the guardian had already been rolling his gaze across the city.

“Disgusting primates stuck in these crude buildings and confined to the earth, quibbling constantly yet not having the strength to fight back against real threats!”

Gamera saw corpses scattered around the streets, human debris mixed with the rubble. His fingers twitched, especially as he noticed smaller bodies amongst them.

“But we are forced to venture out from our destroyed homeworld! We are forced to fight tooth and nail for sanctuary, while they get to rest in this luxury!”

A child wandered the ruined landscape, shouting for his father. Tears spilled from his eyes, snot bubbling out of his nose. A low growl rumbled out from Gamera’s throat.

“They will just destroy themselves in time, I am sure of it. Without Ultraman to shield them. Just like us, but they won’t be able to escape like we did. But we are the ones who must face extinction!”

A woman kneeled over a tiny, limp body buried in rubble. She scooped the boy up in her arms, doubled over him as sound barely left her mouth. Just choked sobs that only Gamera heard. His eyes locked onto Baltan once more.

“Is it so wrong of me to ask that they suffer as we have suffered!?” He had a moment of silence. “Why do I even bother talking to such a primitive beast such as your-“

A scream from the depths of Gamera’s lungs cut him off as the warrior of the innocent closed the distance between them at speeds that defied logic. His clawed hand launched forwards like a piston, the organic blades punching a hole in Baltan’s stomach.

Baltan’s eyes met the monster’s. It was like staring into a star, raging with heat and energy that would incinerate anything that drew close. At that moment, he realized two things.

His foe was not a dumb animal. Only intelligence could birth such fury, the mind to reach out and understand everything laid out before it in order to fully fuel such feelings.

And, he was doomed. His fight was over, as organs were impaled and bone was made into a hitching post for the claws digging in.

Gamera’s legs were replaced by pillars of cleansing flame, carrying both upwards. The city shrank as the sky welcomed them.

“My son,” The Alien Baltan spoke as coughed up blood, his heartbeat being the sole thing that he could hear as his consciousness faded. “Was one of those lost in the battle against Ultraman… Defender of children… only for this planet. Avenger of the innocent, yet when the life is not from Earth, it does not require vengeance…” Gamera let out a small growl, the notion that any child’s life did not matter filled him with disgust.

No matter how much the world hurt us, we have no right to condemn those that had nothing to do with it to hell. A vicious cycle that only ended with tragedy, today families lost children, children lost their parents. A marriage would never come to be, a child would never be born, bonds that were broken could never be fixed. When this is the justice one would speak of, it is but a selfish vendetta born of sorrow and rage.

But none ever believed themselves to be the villain. Thus, conflict was born, from differing morals colliding to rise above the other and remain as the other faded. And Gamera had triumphed on this occasion, to the cheers of those below.

Emerald ichor poured down the guardian’s hand before the trail began to freeze over, each second that passed pushing them further out of the planet’s atmosphere. “My death will signal another like me to take arms against your world guardian, are you prepared to face them in battle?”

The terrapin simply turned his gaze towards the dying invader, flames surrounding his maw as his ivory tusks began to glow yellow with heat. Their eyes met once more as they finally began to see the stars, he did not respond to the alien’s statement, his stare the only answer that he needed. As Gamera opened his jaws wide, all Baltan could think of was his only son being brought into this world, watching as his offspring grew right in front of him.

The memory ceased, giving way to black as Gamera punctured the alien’s skull with his fangs, the burning tusks tearing through flesh and bone with no resistance before ripping the head off completely in one swift motion. Baltan’s eyes no longer glowed with a radiant gold, but now were faded and hollow as the body twitched, the final movements of a corpse as the friend to all children threw the skull away. His hand let go of the organs and bone, allowing the corpse to float within the void.

He turned his gaze away from the deceased Seijin, spotting a small floating vessel above the planet. The terrapin moved over to the arc, his jet boosters burning as he reached outward to it, carefully holding what remained of a dying civilization in his hands.

For a moment, ever so slight, the horrible thought of commiting an atrocity occurred within his mind, but just as it entered, it had just as quickly left. He would help guide these people to a world where they could be happy and safe, even if it was not a preferred world, they would survive.

The terrapin charged forward into the void, bent on helping these people even as their leader had slaughtered thousands. It was simply the right thing to do. It wouldn’t take long to arrive at Mars and with the act of kindness, hopefully they would see that violence was always the last option.

He had killed their leader in an act of war, but with those same hands, he would lead the Baltan’s people to salvation.

***

Moonlight struck the opening eyes of Shin Hayata, a silhouette blotting out much of it. As vision cleared, his mind swimming with all the recent revelations and events, the shade solidified to reveal Fuji’s smiling face. She was extending a hand to help him up. The sight brought a great sense of relief to Hayata, his mouth shifting into a smile as his hand reached up to take hers.

“How long have I been out?” He asked as he got to his feet. Physically he was on solid ground, but mentally he still had yet to gain his footing.

“A few hours. We’re heading back to base,” Fuji replied. “What’s left of it anyway,” she added under her breath as she began to walk towards the car she and Arashi had arrived in. “The others are still there, come on, I’ll explain more on the ride.”

As Shin began to follow, his eyes scanned across the landscape. Rescue crews filled the streets, soldiers and paramedics working together to extract as many people from wreckage as possible and attend to survivors. Being in a city with only the moon to illuminate the surroundings was an eerie scene, one Hayata hoped he’d never have to dwell within again. He wanted to help, and he imagined his fellows did as well, but they needed to attend to themselves first before they could accomplish anything.

“Horrible, isn’t it?” Fuji said as if she had read Hayata’s mind. “Especially because it kinda feels like this is our fault.” As Hayata’s head lowered a bit, ready to mire in self doubt, she continued. “Not that it is.”

The sole female member of the Science Patrol continued as her comrade perked up at the addendum. “We did everything we could. Hell, you apparently ran out here alone to try and take on Baltan? Nobody could blame this on us, except ourselves. And if you ask me, we should focus more on who we did save.”

He did not respond, but the words resonated with Shin. It felt like he had taken a great breath of air after a long submerging.

***

The car ride was silent. The former host of the world’s repeated savior assured that it was because he did not wish to repeat himself, and would rather explain everything once they arrived. The marksman and communicator raised no fuss, and thus their arrival was met with relieved applause at Hayata’s return. High fives, pats on the sore shoulders, and all the other celebratory acts a close-knit team that had known one another for years carried out. Then, the returning hero spoke, revealing part of the truth. Ultraman’s essence remained a secret, but the revitalization of his memory was told with great joy.

“Your memory’s back? Just like that?” Ide questioned with the tilt of his head. “How strange.”

“Yeah. Apparently it got lost from a bump on the head, maybe that’s also how it came back?” Shin feigned ignorance.

“Maybe we could fix Arashi like that.” Fuji said with a giggle as she tapped her knuckles on her taller teammate’s head.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He replied with indignation, prompting laughter from the whole team, himself included.

Muramatsu, always the one to keep things in check, came forward with sincerity. “We’re glad to hear that, Shin. Though it would still be for the best if you got to a medical professional ASAP, just to be sure everything’s fine.” Hayata nodded in reply, as his captain turned to the children. “We have informed your parents of your wellbeing, they’ll be here as soon as they can. I hope you all are doing well.“

“Sorry about the tour getting cut short.” Isamu added on.

“Don’t be! Thank you guys for protecting us, and showing that we’re in good hands.” Ichiro exclaimed, the other kids agreeing with him with great big smiles on their faces, as though their lives had not been put in danger. The adults present just figured that was the privilege of youth, the totality of the situation not sinking in.

“Sure, they did,” Ide pointed to Hayata and Isamu, who stiffened up and put on their most dignified expressions. “But we didn’t. They knocked us out before we could do anything.”

“Yeah, they had to get the drop on us.” Arashi replied. “If they hadn’t, they’d have gotten one of these!” He threw a punch through the air, only to wince as pain radiated out from his neck muscles.

“The tour was great before they showed up, too. I was learning so much!” Tomoko declared.

As they conversed, Shin Hayata pulled his captain aside. Muramatsu knew this was coming as soon as the revelation of returned memory was dropped, and prepared himself.

“Did you know? That I was Ultraman?”

“Yes, Shin. I figured it out a long time ago, while you were still one and the same with him. As a captain, I need to be observant and aware of everything going on with my team. Your disappearances coinciding with his appearances may have slipped by the others, but not me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? During or after? I- I was so lost after my memory was wiped, and you let me live like that?” The former host asked, desperate for answers.

“Would you rather I have completely upheaved you by revealing you were Ultraman? You were on a ship lost in a calm sea, I would have brought a typhoon by revealing that you had held the world on your shoulders. I hoped one day you would regain it yourself, and here we are.” He placed a hand on his subordinate’s shoulder. “You questioned if you deserved to be a hero?”

“How did you-“

“What did I just say? A captain needs to know what’s happening with his team. And how do you think that self doubt would have evolved had you known that in your amnesia, you were merged with a higher power who has now departed? But now, you have found it yourself, and in the process of being a hero without Ultraman.”

“You’re right.” Finally, Shin Hayata felt that he could stand on his own two feet once more. “Did Ide know?” He added, curious.

“Yes. He and I did discuss this after the battle with Zetton.”

“Anyone else?”

“No. Though I imagine had your adventures with Ultraman continued, they would have figured it out just the same.”

A moment of silence, one that grew heavy. Shin Hayata continued. “This is all my fault. The Baltans, Ultraman- I killed them.”

“Shin, you can’t think like that. You two did what you believed in that moment to be right. And you have reckoned with the consequences twice over. To tear yourself apart for what is done instead of working to be better, it’s a fool’s errand. And you have done the latter already.”

“Do you think Ultraman has as well?”

“I know he has. If he’s half as righteous as you, he has.”

The roar of Gamera drew all eyes to the descending guardian, his injuries plain to see but not dulling his spirit in the slightest. The children waved to him, shouting their thanks. He waved back as the adults of the Science Patrol did the same. In that moment, he reminded them of Ultraman, of the departed hero they came to view as another member of the team.

Shin and Muramatsu exchanged glances. The captain now understood what had sparked his subordinate’s memory, not a strike to the skull, but being once more in the presence of colossal benevolence. The former host of the warrior of light wished his partner could have been here, he imagined Ultraman would have loved to fight alongside a monster as wondrous as the friend to all children.

Gamera flew off into the night, and the cheers died down as he departed from sight. The Science Patrol knew now that they had an ally who they could trust with their lives, even if he was not ever present as Ultraman, they would still always know they could turn to him in their darkest hour.

Hayata looked down to Isamu, who he noticed a great change in. As well, he knew just what that change was, for he was experiencing it himself. He placed a hand on the child’s shoulder.

“We both deserve to be here, don’t we?”

“Yes, we do. We’re heroes, just like them.” The young boy said with a true smile.

It felt good. To finally be able to look inwards and say that they were what they should be. As they looked at their comrades, and at the joyous faces of the civilians they had saved, they knew this was something they wouldn’t trade the world for.

***

Cold water graced Gamera as he descended into the ocean, reaching the floor and curling up into his shell.

As long as the SSSP was alive, he felt at ease to rest his weary bones and ravaged flesh. There were others fighting the good fight, and that was all he needed to know. Whether they would fight together again, he did not know, but he looked forward to that day regardless.

He wished well to the remaining Baltan, hoping they’d either stay away or return to Earth with open arms instead of primed claws. He prayed that humankind never fell to such dark depths, of waging interplanetary war and committing global atrocity for the sake of survival. Perhaps, the Baltan could guide humanity away from that path. Perhaps their presence was already enough of a warning.

Gamera could have thought for much longer, mind dancing amidst countless possibilities, but sleep seized him. A long, peaceful slumber, until the innocent needed him again.

Winner: Gamera (Showa)