Sollgel Island was infamously known for two reasons; the weather experiments carried out near the end of the sixties, and its giant monsters. Colossal bugs the size of skyscrapers that could reduce a building to rubble with but a sweep of their spindly legs. Truly an entomophobe’s worst nightmare. How ironic that it was man’s meddling in science and the forces of nature that led to the creation of the very beasts they feared so much. The island and the experiments performed there were eventually abandoned after Godzilla had made landfall there and done battle with the native monsters, leaving the land, its beautiful landscapes and exotic wildlife to perish in an unnatural snowstorm created by the scientists working there to prevent Godzilla and his newly-adopted son, Minilla, from interfering with their escape attempt. And thus the island stayed that way for several years until the snow and ice retreated and the land was restored to its former glory. And once again man sought to use it as a site to fuel their desires of scientific progression.

The arrogance of man had spawned many destructive weapons in the name of science over the years. Some had been intentionally created to expand the arsenal of the world’s armies. The atomic bomb was one such example, a weapon that could level entire cities and leave the land polluted and unliveable. Other weapons of mass destruction were accidental discoveries, such as the Oxygen Destroyer in 1954. However, there is but one thing more terrifying than mankind’s discoveries in the world of science.

Its mistakes.

Many of Earth’s kaiju owed their existence to Man’s experiments. Whether intentional or accidental, it was often humanity responsible for the awakening or creation of the very beasts that trampled their great cities and slew their own kind. Whenever they tried to correct their mistakes, more often than not they failed. Gotengo, Mechagodzilla, MOGUERA, the Super-X series – all made for the specific function to exterminate their own mistakes and spare future generations from their wrath. Everything they threw at them, it wasn’t enough. And despite the will of some monsters like Godzilla and Biollante to protect the planet that they called home, humanity was still too afraid to live alongside the titans that walked the same earth they did.

That was where Sollgel Island came into play. The world’s smartest had come back to this almost forgotten land for one purpose: to finally put an end to the monster thread. Fighting them was pointless; the military’s countless failures to repel kaiju attacks had proven that. Instead of fighting the fire, they would redirect it, find a way to persuade kaiju from approaching their cities in the first place. Sollgel was still home to giant monsters, though not as many as the infamous Monster Island, which gave the scientists the chance to study them with less risk of them getting trampled or incinerated. They observed how they communicated, which in turn would help them theorise a way to communicate with them. With this, they could lure monsters away from human civilization and help keep those already in captivity under control. There would finally be peace on Earth between man and monster.

Of course, there were those against the idea when the project was first announced. Major Hicks of the U.S. Military and Captain Gordon of the Earth Defence Force were some of the many to claim that such an idea was impossible, that monsters could not be controlled and greatly opposed the idea. Nevertheless, the project went ahead under military funding, but after five years of research and experimentation resulted in no significant breakthroughs, the military had no choice but to pull funding from the project. And that would have been the end of it, had the scientists on the project not received new funding, equipment, and data from a mysterious new source, one that claimed to have great interest in their project and was excited to see it flourish. This did raise some suspicion among the scientists, but the data and equipment provided alongside the prospect of actually managing to communicate with kaiju drove these worries aside. Perhaps they were right to be cautious…

Two years later, a breakthrough was made. A beacon that could transmit frequencies matching those of any kaiju roar, screech or snarl they wanted, providing they had the data for said kaiju. Finally, it had all paid off. Now they needed to test it. A steady stream of reports had been coming in of Rodan raiding several fishing boats in the waters near Sollgel Island. There was no time to lose. If they were quick enough, they could test the beacon’s effect on Rodan while he was still in the area. Safety protocols were brushed aside, data readings ignored. In their haste they neglected all that they had learned over the past seven years; all that mattered to them right then was that they got the beacon transmitting as soon as possible.

Right now they were regretting their decision.

Huddled up in an emergency bunker in the bowels of their facility were what remained of some of the greatest scientific minds on Earth, bruised, scarred and humbled. The beacon had worked, it had attracted a kaiju. But it had not been Rodan. It was something much worse. Right now, all they could do was listen to the sounds of the creatures as they tore apart the building above them, desperate to get to the tiny, fleshy morsels within. A call for help had been sent out and a rescue team were on their way. But would it arrive in time?

No one wanted to leave. No one wanted to make a run for the jungle. No one wanted to go outside and face the insatiable hunger of the Kamacuras.

Of course, the attack wasn’t a complete surprise. A small population of the mantises had existed on the island ever since the team arrived, but they had always stayed to the south and center of the island, around the old weather station; no Kamacuras had ever come this far north. With no sensors or early warning system around the facility to alert them of any monster attacks, no one even knew about the three mantises until they had claimed the lives of the technicians monitoring the beacon outside. Panic ensued as they tore apart the building to get to the tasty humans inside, crushing more of them than eating them. An error on the scientist’s part: they hadn’t fought to consider the call of one kaiju could attract other kaiju, especially the more territorial ones. Worse still, the beacon was still on, constantly transmitting Rodan’s call from atop its tower perch. Thus, the Kamacuras still lingered around the area, looking for a challenger that didn’t exist.

As two of the Kamacuras tore into what little building still stood, the third acted as look out, making sure that no other Kamacuras or any other kaiju tried to steal their lunch. Humans may be small, but to the Kamacuras their taste was addicting. The lookout had already eaten two of the fleshy treats; a delicacy in their standards, if you could ignore the awful screams they made. Then something caught its attention. Out of the corner of its multi-compound eye, a shape soared through the sky above, highlighted by the sun’s glare. The Kamacuras turned its attention to its object, trying to figure out if it was edible or not. Suddenly it realized what it was − it was one of the fleshy treats! It didn’t know they could fly. The mantis’ wings buzzed with excitement. Finally – dessert!

An excited screech escaped its mandibles as it unfolded its wings from under its carapace and took to the skies, eager to dine once more on human flesh. But as it got closer, it noticed that something was off with this human. It was much bigger than it had appeared from the ground, and its skin was an odd mixture of colors. Suddenly the Kamacuras realized the not-human wasn’t slowing down – and heading straight for it!

Something sharp stabbed into the Kamacuras’ thorax as the being flew past, causing the insect to lose control and plummet to the ground below. Its impact alerted the other two Kamacuras, who turned away from the rubble in time to see a shower of dirt rise into the air from the other side of a hill as their lookout made contact with solid ground. Screeching in surprise, the two bugs scanned the area for the aggressor, expecting an attack from the giant bird they had seen prowling the coast of Sollgel. Instead they witnessed an extremely different creature touch down in front of them.

“SHIAH!”

The muscular form of Ultraman descended from the sky and touched down, pillars of dirt and stone rising on both sides due to the sheer force of the landing. Immediately he adopted a fighting pose, ready to take on the insectoid menaces. He could already see the rescue helicopters in the distance making their way toward the compound. It was a good thing that Ultraman had spotted the group on his way back from recharging by Earth’s sun – they would have stood no chance against the Kamacuras without him. With him distracting them the rescue team could get the researchers out and to safety without interference. The two mantids clicked their mandibles hungrily. If they couldn’t have the small, fleshy treats, they would feast on the flesh of this silver giant instead. Yet despite the damage they had caused and the threat they represented, Ultraman couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Kamacuras. They weren’t evil by nature, only following their natural instincts as they did before their mutation. It was certainly not their fault they were like this. As much as Ultraman cared for humanity, he still looked down at them with shame at the chaos they unintentionally caused. With every great discovery they made came dangerous potential, and Ultraman dreaded the day they made a mistake he could not fix.

Ultraman was snapped out of his thoughts by a hungry shriek as one as the Kamacuras lunged at him, claws outstretched. Thinking quickly, the giant hero grabbed the insect’s claws, using its momentum to throw the insect over his shoulder and meet the ground face-first. Leaving the dazed mantis behind, Ultraman turned his attention to the other one, which was already flying toward him, its wings an almost invisible blur. Ultraman caught the bug midair, halting it in its tracks. The two struggled against each other, both trying to force their opponent to the ground to gain an advantage. Ultraman was surprised by the sheer strength this frail looking kaiju had, and decided to use that strength against it. He rolled onto his back, taking the Kamacuras by surprise. With nothing to stop it, the giant insect kept charging, its many legs tripping over Ultraman’s own as it fell to the ground. Ultraman quickly got back on his feet in time for the Kamacuras to do the same. It was angry now, he could tell, as it buzzed its wings and slammed its claws together. But its rising anger only seemed to diminish its already low intelligence, as it charged the giant hero again, as its friends had done so many times already. This time Ultraman was waiting. He pulled back his arm, a blue energy disk in the shape of a circular saw forming in his palm. With great strength and precision, he threw the Ultra Slash at the approaching mantis. The disk cut straight down the middle of the insect, splitting it in half midair before it even had a chance to dodge. As both halves of the Kamacuras skidded across the ground, Ultraman looked around for the other Kamacuras. It was gone from the spot he had left it, which worried him. The rescue team had landed now, helping the scientists into the helicopters. In such an open area they were vulnerable…

Ultraman quickly learned they were not the target, as two unseen arms hooked under his own and restrained him. The second Kamacuras dropped its camouflage, clicking its mandibles excitedly as if to taunt Ultraman. Another Kamacuras slowly materialised in from of him; the one he had knocked out of the sky, now sporting a green blood-stained hole in its thorax. The Kamacuras sliced its clawed limb across Ultraman’s belly, bright sparks flying in its wake and earning a pained yell from the giant of light. Another slash left a jagged cut across the hero’s stomach. But instead of bright crimson blood, the Kamacuras was surprised to see a golden light emitting from the wound. It stared into it, enthralled by its beauty. Ultraman took this as an opportunity to escape. He raised his right leg and slammed his foot into the thorax of the Kamacuras behind him. The insect squealed in pain as his protective exoskeleton cracked under Ultraman’s foot. It released him, clutching at its chest as best it could, only for Ultraman to grab it by its head and throw it atop its companion. The two bugs flailed around as they tried to untangle themselves, Ultraman taking a brief moment to chuckle at their predicament. Suddenly both Kamacuras vanished, fading away into thin air. Ultraman stopped laughing, shocked at what he had just seen. Where had they gone? He scanned the area, frantically looking left and right to try and spot them.

Something slammed into Ultraman’s side hard, sending the giant hero crashing to the ground. Pain flared across his body as golden light shone out of the gash on his side. Ultraman slowly staggered to his feet, only for his invisible assailant to ram him from behind and floor him once again, earning a pained groan from the alien warrior. This battle was taking a disastrous turn; Ultraman knew of the Kamacuras’ camouflaging ability, but he had hoped he would be able to defeat them before they could utilize it. Now he was facing off against a foe he couldn’t see. But Ultraman wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. The lives of the scientists and the rescue team relied on him. The Kamacuras may be smart, but Ultraman was smarter. And while he couldn’t see them...

Ultraman skilfully leapt up onto his feet, striking an attack pose as he scanned the area, listening for the two mantis. He concentrated, blocking out the noise of the helicopters and the jungle, waiting for something, anything to happen. The faint buzzing of massive wings came from his right, increasing in volume as their owner came closer and closer. Ultraman quickly spun on his heel to face the source of the noise. Bringing up his hands in a plus shape, he fired his trademark weapon, the Specium Ray. The stream of particles struck home, and the cloaked Kamacuras exploded into flaming chunks. As one insect went down, Ultraman was immediately on the hunt for the other. The buzzing of wings came again, fainter this time. When it didn’t get any louder, Ultraman realized something was up. He looked up at the sky, toward the source of the buzzing. Twin beams of light shot out from his eyes to meet their target. The last Kamacuras flew for its life, unaware its camouflage had been disabled. Fear ran through its mind, driving it to run back to the jungle and take its chances with the bird. But Ultraman wasn’t going to let it get off so easily. He raised his arms, hands crossed in Specium Ray preparation –

A golden hued beam came out of nowhere to slice through the Kamacuras’ neck, decapitating the mantis in one swift strike. Its wings and legs twitched violently for but a moment before it fell like a rock. Ultraman lowered his hands. If his face could show expression, right now it would have been frozen in shock. Where had that come from?!

A hellish shriek filled the air. Ultraman looked up as a demonic shadow soared in from the horizon. Its arrow shaped head and crimson hued skin was all Ultraman needed to identify the abomination in the sky above.

Gyaos, the Shadow of Evil.

While Ultraman had never encountered a Gyaos, their reputation was well known to him. The ancient enemy of Gamera was one of the few monsters on Earth that could be considered inherently evil. Whilst the Kamacuras didn’t include humans as part of its natural diet, the Gyaos did. Following the recent influx of Gyaos births, the governments of the world had made it their top priority to eliminate the Gyaos from the food chain because of the damage they caused. It was the Gyaos where the idea of communicating with monsters partially came from, to keep them away from human civilization. The fact that a Gyaos was here, at the very sight where they had been developing the very tech, could almost be seen as a sign that it wasn’t possible to control monsters in such a way. But the Gyaos’ appearance also raised several questions in Ultraman’s head. Where did it come from? No Gyaos flocks had been reported around Sollgel Island. Only Rodan had been sighted.

Unless those who saw the Gyaos had mistook it for Rodan, Ultraman realized. It made sense; all the attacks on the fishing boats had happened at night, with only the survivors of the attacks to give their reports. If all they had seen and heard was a flying red blur and that warbling cackle, a lone Gyaos could potentially be misidentified as Rodan. This fact also partially answered one of Ultraman’s other questions: why was it here? Had it mistaken the call of Rodan for one of its own kind? Their calls were somewhat similar. Ultraman had so many questions but little time to find answers for them.

At this point, the rescue team had completed their mission and were taking off, the noise of the helicopters growing in volume. To the Gyaos, the sound was like a dinner bell signifying a free meal. Golden energies lanced from the flying demon’s maw as it fired a sonic beam toward the complex, narrowly missing one of the choppers. The Gyaos fired again, this time hitting the tower housing the beacon. The beam of condensed sound sliced through the steel structure with ease, allowing the top half of the tower to topple over and explode on contact with the ground. With the destruction of the beacon, the Gyaos noticed the call that had attracted it had stopped. Confusion racked its primitive brain, followed by rage. The humans had tricked it, lured it in with a bad mockery of its own call in an attempt to trap and kill it. They would pay!

A flash of silver below caught Gyaos’ eye. Ultraman flew through the air, rapidly approaching the demonic bird. Gyaos, being much more skilful in the air, easily manoeuvred out of Ultraman’s path, its focus solely on destroying the human transports. Ultraman was quick to follow after it. Raising his left hand and placing his right one atop it, he fired a stream of arrow shaped rays toward Gyaos, but the demonic bird dodged to the side at the last second. Another shot of the Slash Ray missed, Gyaos firing its sonic beam at the choppers as he dodged, barely missing the underside of one of them. Undeterred, Ultraman fired again, this time tracking Gyaos with his hand as it maneuvered out of the way. Two bolts finally made contact with Gyaos’ neck, causing the ancient evil great pain. Abandoning its pursuit of the choppers, it turned to face its attacker – but Ultraman was nowhere to be seen. Gyaos suddenly found itself hurtling toward the ground as Ultraman rammed it from above, grappling with the giant bird as they plummeted toward the ground. The giant hero swiftly dealt two chops to the side of Gyaos’ cranium in the hopes of stunning it, but Gyaos was unaffected and slammed its head into Ultraman’s own, causing him to release his grip. As the two fell separate from each other, Gyaos fired off his sonic beam again, this time scoring a hit on one of the choppers and slicing its tail off.

Ultraman and Gyaos both hit the ground hard, large dust clouds forming on impact to hide their fallen forms. Ultraman was quicker to recover, groggily getting back onto his feet. A warning alarm and the sound of panicked screaming reached his ears. Looking up, Ultraman saw the chopper that Gyaos had hit spiralling out of control to the ground below. A shocked gasp escaped Ultraman’s mouth as he ran toward the falling vehicle, leaping forward and grabbing it moments before it crashed. He rolled upon contact with the ground to quickly get back onto his feet and gently placed the damaged helicopter and its occupants atop a nearby cliff. Nodding his head in satisfaction once it had been determined no one was hurt, Ultraman’s attention was brought back to the battle at hand as the call of Gyaos filled the air. The demonic bird, while still clearing its head from the landing, stood on its hind legs and faced Ultraman, screeching its hatred of the silver and red hero. With an angry yell, Ultraman launched an Ultra Slash, which split into two disks midair and homed in on Gyaos’ arms. Gyaos was quick to react, flapping its wings to take flight. The two disks missed its arms, instead tearing through the much more fragile wing membranes. Gyaos’ brief period of flight was cut short as it fell back down to the ground, its wings no longer able to effectively gain lift due to the holes they now sported.

Just as it recovered from one attack, Gyaos found itself subjected to another as Ultraman grappled with the bat-like kaiju once more. A swift chop made contact with Gyaos’ chest, followed by a harsh kick to the face that send the putrid creature flying backward into the cliff face behind it. Dazed by the attack, Gyaos was unable to react as Ultraman pulled its legs out from underneath it and held Gyaos firm as he spun round and round. Gyaos could do nothing more than let out a garbled shriek as its world became a blur of color. Ultraman finally let go, sending Gyaos flying through the air and crashing back down to the earth. Thrashing its arms wildly, Gyaos managed to gain some air and got back up in an instant. A barrage of sonic beams lanced toward Ultraman, but the giant hero traced a rectangle of energy in the air before him to form a glowing Ultra Barrier. The beams were reflected off the barrier, striking Gyaos’ wings and the ground around it. Gyaos screamed in rage as its wings were reduced to nothing more than tattered scraps of skin. How could this creature reflect its beam?!

As Ultraman lowered his barrier, Gyaos fired its sonic beam again, catching the giant defender off guard. He barely dodged the beam, stepping to the side at the last possible moment. The beam kept going, slicing through a rocky outcrop which tumbled down the cliff and hit the ground. Ultraman paid this little notice; Gyaos and the safety of the scientists was his priority.

A high-pitched chime filled the air. Ultraman’s Color Timer began to blink.

The bright orb located on his chest, normally glowing a healthy blue color, now flashed on and off with red light, a warning that Ultraman was running low on energy. He had to finish this fight soon. Ultraman was just about to form another Ultra Slash when the ground began to shake. Ultraman, Gyaos and the scientists struggled to keep their balance as the earth shook. At the spot where the rocks had landed, the ground began to buckle. Dirt exploded into the air, Ultraman turning around in time to see something emerge from underneath the earth. A long, black and yellow leg emerged, followed by another, and another. Eight pairs of legs crawled out of the hole, carrying the colossal body of Kumonga.

Ultraman was surprised to see Kumonga. He was sure the giant spider had been killed by Godzilla years ago. Was this the same creature, having somehow survived its clash, or another creature of the same species? The mystery of its survival was as perplexing as its origins. Was Kumonga another unfortunate mutation like the Kamacuras, or a relic from a bygone age? Whatever the spider was, it was clearly another product of human meddling. What Ultraman did know about Kumonga was that he was no guiltier than the Kamacuras. The arachnid did not willingly eat humans, he just ate whatever food he had access to. Left to his own devices, Kumonga was more than happy to prey on the Kamacuras and the other fauna on the island. Kumonga was just another victim of humans playing in the realm of science. The Gyaos were the real monster here, as they wanted to feed on humans. The Gyaos were a pest, and if Ultraman had his way, he would finish off Gyaos and leave Kumonga be.

Kumonga had different ideas. The giant arachnid was not too pleased to be woken from his slumber so early, and his stomach ached with the urgency to feed. His eight eyes focused on Ultraman and Gyaos. They weren’t his usual prey, but Kumonga wasn’t one to argue when it came to food.

Ultraman found himself in a dangerous predicament. Low on energy and trapped between two angry predators, his chances of victory were becoming slimmer. Still, he would not submit so easily. His main priority was protecting the scientists. All he had to do was kill one of the monsters and hold off the other until another helicopter arrived. Ultraman looked back and forth between Gyaos and Kumonga, trying to determine who to attack first. Deciding Gyaos was the weaker opponent, he charged the crimson beast and wrapped his hands around its neck before it had a chance to fire its sonic beam. Kumonga saw this as an opportunity and leapt at the duo, slamming into Ultraman’s back and causing him to release his grip. Gyaos cried out as a flick of Kumonga’s legs sent it flying, the spider’s attention solely fixed on Ultraman. The warrior of light turned to face Kumonga in time for a stream of silk to leave the spider’s mouth and collide with his chest. Ultraman was forced back by the sheer pressure of the stream and pinned against the cliff behind him as Kumonga continued spraying. Ultraman tried to break free, but the amount of webbing was too much, and soon the giant hero was cocooned to the rock face.

Kumonga chirped excitedly, his venomous barb extending and retracting in an almost taunting manner as it advanced on the trapped hero. Fortunately, fate had other plans for Ultraman. Gyaos slammed into Kumonga, not about to allow the giant arachnid the satisfaction of finishing off Ultraman. Kumonga slowly turned to face the demonic bird, but Gyaos leapt out of the spider’s grasp and landed atop him. Adopting a quadrupedal stance, Gyaos dug its claws into the sides of Kumonga’s carapace as the spider thrashed around wildly in an attempt to dislodge it.

Within his cocoon, Ultraman struggled to free himself. Although his strength was great, Kumonga’s silk was one of the toughest substances on the planet. Escape would not be easy. The sound of Ultraman’s Color Timer increased in volume, the pause between beeps becoming smaller and smaller as his energy diminished. If Ultraman couldn’t escape in time he would be forced back into his more vulnerable human form − or worse, perish. The silver hero continued to push against his silky prison, but it was no good. A red glow suddenly appeared through the sheets of silk, blinding Ultraman as it got closer. Parts of silk covering his face suddenly caught flame, slowly burning away to reveal Ultraman’s face to the outside world. Ultraman was confused, but his questions were quickly answer as he looked toward the cliff he had placed the scientists. One of them held an empty flare gun in their hands, clearly scavenged from the wreck of the helicopter. Ultraman was thankful for the rescue, but it remained to be seen if the flames would break down the web in time…

Gyaos hung on for dear life as Kumonga flailed around beneath it like some twisted bucking bronco. Gyaos had had enough at this point and fired its sonic beam at Kumonga’s head, but the spider jerked suddenly, causing the bat-like fiend to miss his head and slice off one of Kumonga’s left legs instead. Kumonga screeched and jerked around even more, causing another sonic beam to slice through another leg, this time on the right side of his body. Gyaos finally lost its grip and fell off the spider’s back. The now six-legged arachnid turned to face Gyaos as it stood upright again. Gyaos screamed angrily at Kumonga, but its cries were cut short as one of Kumomga’s legs stabbed into its chest. The spider slammed the putrid creature to the ground, pinning it in place as he fired a venom barb from his maw. Gyaos screamed in protest and pain as the bard planted itself in its chest. Another barb flew from Kumonga’s maw, this time scoring a hit in Gyaos’ left eye. The demonic bird’s cries of agony filled the air, but quickly faded as the spider’s venom took effect. Gyaos’ movements become more and more sluggish as its organs shut down, and soon the Shadow of Evil let out its last breath. Kumonga chirped happily at his newly acquired meal before turning his sights back to his cocooned--

A pair of hands grasped the spider’s side, and the next thing he knew, his world was upside down. Kumonga squirmed helplessly as he tried to reposition himself back on his legs, Ultraman watching him as he wiped the last few burning scraps of webbing off his body. He had hoped to simply allow Kumonga to leave freely, but even he had to admit the spider would cause even more trouble if he allowed him to live. Crossing his hands, Ultraman fired the Specium Ray at Kumonga’s underbelly. Sparks flew from the spot the beam connected with the spider’s armor, but Kumonga remained unharmed. Surprised, Ultraman fired again. This time, the weakened armor burst into violent flames. Kumonga squealed in agony as he started burning alive, but another Specium Ray brought his suffering to an end as it blasted open his thorax and sent burning spider guts flying across the jungle.

Ultraman watched Kumonga’s movements subside before turning back to the cliffs. Another helicopter had landed at this point, rescue workers quickly helping the scientists aboard. Ultraman watched them leave, the scientists looking back and waving, cheering and praising Ultraman for his efforts in protecting them. Ultraman merely nodded back; their praise toward him were not really necessary, but he couldn’t ignore the warm feeling of friendship it brought. The constant beeping of the Color Timer reminded him of his situation, and with that he turned and leapt into the sky.

“Shuwatch!”

The scientists continued waving even after Ultraman had disappeared from view. The giant hero continued his ascent, breaking through the atmosphere and into the cold vacuum of space. As Ultraman began absorbing solar energy from the sun, he looked down upon the Earth below him. Few humans could admit to seeing the same sight as Ultraman did, but those who did would admit that the planet was a beautiful thing to behold. Ultraman had seen many beautiful things in the millions of years he had been protecting the cosmos. He had seen the births and deaths of countless stars, the rise of magnificent civilisations and the fall of malevolent empires. In the vastness of the universe, Earth seemed so insignificant.

So then, why? Why did Ultraman dedicate this life to protecting this small blue planet?

To Ultraman, the answer was simple. In his many years he had been the protector of many worlds. Many of them had fallen to such terrible deeds. War, pollution and monster attacks had plagued these worlds, many times brought about by its inhabitants. Even when Ultraman had tried in intervene, to point out their flaws and misdirection, they still ultimately doomed themselves to extinction. But the people of Earth were different. They recognized their mistakes and the consequences they brought and tried to fix them. They tried to prevent war, they tried to cut down pollution, and they tried to stop the kaiju from destroying their cities. Even if their efforts were mostly futile, it gave Ultraman hope that this planet wouldn’t end up like the rest – a polluted world of war and death, like the Baltans did to their own home world. So what if they had created or awoken monsters? They were prepared to make sure their mistakes would not bring harm or death to others. Some of those monsters even defended the planet alongside humans in a sort of tense alliance. Man made mistakes, but they could learn from these mistakes, and in time potentially become something greater. And if humanity was doomed to befall the same fate as the others, to destroy their beautiful world and those who lived on it, Ultraman would still continue to protect it, if only to keep the view before him alive for just a little longer. That was why Ultraman fought for the Earth.

The Color Timer stopped beeping, glowing once more with its healthy blue light, and Ultraman, content with his answer, began his flight back down to Earth.

-

Unknown location,Japan.

Within a dimly lit room, two men sat patiently at the table. One of them, American in origin, briefly adjusted his glasses with a bored expression, patiently waiting for their contacts to arrive. His associate, born and raised on the same soil they stood on, wasn’t so keen on waiting, his irritation slowing building with each passing second. Finally, the door to the room slid open, illuminating the darkened room. Both men looked up to address the three men entering. All three wore identical silver uniforms. Their leader pulled up a chair and sat down opposite the two men already seated, his horned-helmeted subordinates standing behind him, guns in hand.

“I heard you had some important news regarding your little operation,” The man spoke. Although his face displayed no emotion, his tone had no problem conveying his amusement.

The American was the first to speak. “Not good news, I’m afraid. The facility where they were testing the kaiju beacon was destroyed in a kaiju attack.”

“Suffice to say,” Continued the Japanese man, “Operation: Beacon will not going ahead as planned.”

The silver-coated man paused, a slight frown crossing his features, then drew a cigar from his coat. Taking it into his mouth, he motioned to one of his subordinates, who removed a lighter from his coat and lit the cigar. The man took a deep breath, then removed the cigar and exhaled a cloud of smoke from his lips before addressing the two men in front of him again.

“I hope this isn’t all the news that you have to bring me”, he said, his face barely showing emotion as he let his tone do the talking.

“Not at all,” the Japanese man replied, presenting a large silver briefcase from underneath the table. He undid the latches before turning the case to face the silver-coated man and opened the lid. The man’s face briefly lit up in glee at the material safely secured within. “Element X…” he muttered.

“There’s one-hundred tons more where that came from,” the Japanese man proudly continued. “All pre-mined, of course, thanks to the workforce and technology you provided.

“And my factories are already being Cyber-Fly production to make up for the loss of Operation: Beacon,” add the American. “So there’s no need to worry about our little monster problem.”

The silver-coated man’s broke into a smile, and then full blown laughter. “I knew it was a good idea working with you two humans,” he said once he had finished laughing. “So much more intelligent and resourceful than the rest of your filthy kind.”

The American smirked at his words. “I can assure you, Supreme Commander Kuronuma, we aren’t like most men, and we’ll work to the best of our abilities to help fulfil your goals.”

“Assuming you keep to your side of the bargain,” the Japanese man cut in.

“Of course,” Kuronuma replied, motioning to one of his subordinates, who presented a large black briefcase. He then opened the case, revealing a large collection of fine-cut diamonds. “I am a man of my word, after all.”

The two men looked over the contents of the case, greed-fuelled smiles adorning their features.

“A pleasure doing business with you, Supreme Commander,” the American man said after a moment. “We look forward to our next meeting.”

“When we next met,” Kuronuma replied as he got up from his chair, “We’ll be the rulers of Earth.”

And with that, he and his subordinates left the room, leaving the two men to muse over their payment.

“A successful deal, wouldn’t you agree Mr. Winter?”

“I couldn’t agree more, Doctor Who.”