Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Come in.” Taro called when he heard a knock on his office door. He didn’t look up, choosing instead to finish the last lines of his report. The soft shuffle of feet waiting in front of his desk barely registered.

“Just a moment. I’m almost done." He murmured to his visitor without lifting his head. Only after writing a few more sentences did he exhale in satisfaction. He set his pen down and finally looked up—only to find a familiar figure standing at attention.

“Yes, Mebius?” He asked, his tone mild. No matter how many people hailed Mebius as one of Earth’s protectors, Taro still thought of him as his student. And to Taro, that title mattered far more than any praise the universe could offer.

“Sorry to disturb you, Master Taro.” Mebius said with practiced politeness. “Ultraman Zoffy sent me. They’ve discovered an unknown object, and a meeting has been called in the conference room.”

“Is it urgent?” Taro frowned, already suspecting the answer.

“He only said to ask you to come as soon as possible.”

“I see. You go ahead—I’ll be there as soon as I wrap this up.”

“Yes, sir.” Mebius nodded, admiration shining openly in his eyes before he stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Since Taro’s return from the alternate Earth, that look—half awe, half reverence—followed him almost everywhere. After all, he and Ginga had helped restore countless beings to their true forms. He was also the only Spark Doll who had managed to retain his consciousness while still in doll form. For many, that made him a legend.

Everywhere he went, crowds gathered, eager for stories of his journey. And every time he found himself cornered, one of his brothers or his parents came to rescue him. He appreciated their help, truly—but a quiet doubt had begun to form in his chest.

Was he relying on them too much? And… was he really worthy of the admiration people gave him?

“Where’s Taro?” Seven asked the moment Mebius slipped quietly into the room. Mebius jolted slightly at the sudden question before answering.

“He’ll come as soon as he finishes his report.” He moved to stand behind Ace.

“It’s fine. We should begin.” Ultra Father said, turning to address them all. “We can brief him when he arrives.”

Ultra Mother stood at his right, Zoffy at his left. In front of them, Ultraman, Seven, Jack, Ace, Mebius, and Zero stood at attention, the atmosphere heavy with unspoken tension.

“This morning,” Zoffy began, “a guard on patrol discovered a suspicious object hovering in space just outside the Land of Light. Taking extreme precautions, he managed to seal it and bring it back for examination.”

He unveiled the object—a massive cube etched with unfamiliar runes, large enough to stand eye-to-eye with any of them. A ripple of shock moved through the room as everyone stepped closer.

“We don’t yet know its capabilities,” Ultra Father continued, “but for now, we will keep it sealed within headquarters. 80 is currently researching it, so he will be unavailable for duty until further notice.”

He was about to elaborate when Zero abruptly leaned in.

“Hey, what’s this marking—?”

The moment his fingers brushed the rune, a blast of force hurled him across the room.

“Zero!” Seven shouted, sprinting toward his fallen son. Ultra Mother followed swiftly, checking him with practiced hands while the others dropped into defensive stances, forming a tight circle around the cube.

“How is he?” Ultra Father asked, his voice slicing through the tense silence.

“He’s all right—just winded.” Relief was unmistakable in Seven’s tone. He helped Zero to his feet, and together with Ultra Mother, they approached with greater caution.

“Be more careful next time,” Ultraman admonished gently.

“Yes, sir,” Zero replied, embarrassed, before resuming his stance.

All eyes fixed on the cube. It began to rotate—slowly, ominously. A soft hum filled the room as its top began to unfurl like an opening flower.

Everyone waited. One second. Two. Nothing emerged.

Ace glanced at Zoffy. Zoffy gave a small, steadying nod.

Taking a slow breath, Ace stepped forward and carefully leaned his head into the cube’s opening.

“Argh!” A sudden beam of light shot from inside the cube and struck Ace in the shoulder. He stumbled back, and Zoffy immediately pulled him behind his own stance.

“Ace!” Ultra Mother cried, rushing to her son. Ultra Father’s face tightened with worry, but when Ace offered a strained, reassuring smile, he released a breath and turned his sharp gaze back to the cube.

Jack stood unmoving, eyes locked on the object. He refused to be caught off guard again. When a faint silhouette began slipping out of the cube, he narrowed his eyes.

Trying to escape? Not happening.

With swift precision, he knocked the weapon out of the intruder’s hand. A startled shriek echoed through the room as a female alien materialized fully, light gathering dangerously in her palms. Her gaze darted frantically, searching for a way out.

Jack lunged, ready to subdue her—

“Sorry I’m late.”

The calm voice from the doorway made the alien whirl around in terror. She unleashed the blinding energy in her hands directly at the unsuspecting Taro standing in the entrance.

Realization crashed over the Ultra Warriors at the same time.

“NO!”

Taro spun at the sound of their desperate shouts, but the blast had already reached him. His eyes widened—then the world became pure white. Pain erupted across his chest, so fierce it tore a scream from him. It felt as though an invisible fist had crushed his heart, squeezing until he couldn’t breathe.

The impact knocked him sideways. Winded, vision fading, he dimly registered collapsing onto the floor. The last thing he saw was his father racing toward him, and his mother’s face—beautiful and streaked with tears—before darkness swallowed everything.

It had happened in an instant.

Jack froze mid-attack. Ultra Father’s blood ran cold as he heard his son’s voice—then saw the light strike him. For a heartbeat, he could not move.

Then Taro’s agonized scream shattered the paralysis.

No. No. Not my son. Not my son.
The mantra pounded in his mind as he sprinted.

He dropped to his knees beside Taro, hands trembling as he turned his son over. The sight made his stomach twist—the center of Taro’s chest was burned black, and his Ultra Timer blinked red, slow and weak.

If the timer wasn’t recharging… Taro’s condition was far worse than he dared to admit.

“How is he?” Zoffy’s voice wavered as he knelt beside them.

Ultra Father forced himself to swallow the rising panic. He couldn’t afford it now.

“Restrain the enemy first.” He ordered, though his voice shook. Zoffy gave a tense nod and hurried back to the others.

Gently—so gently—Ultra Father gathered Taro into his arms. The weight brought a bittersweet memory: Taro as a child, falling asleep on the couch while waiting for his parents to return from work, and him carrying his son to bed with this same careful tenderness.

He looked around and saw that the others fared no better than him. His wife stood frozen, one hand covering her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. Jack stared blankly, too shocked to respond to Ultraman’s quiet words of reassurance beside him. Ace’s expression twisted with fury; if not for Zoffy and Seven restraining him, he looked ready to tear the intruder apart with his bare hands.

The only ones who appeared composed were Mebius and Zero—though that, too, was a lie. Mebius’s hands trembled violently around the sword he held pointed at the enemy, and Zero’s eyes were hollow, unreadable.

He was dragged back to the present when Marie forcefully lifted Taro from his arms. She cradled their son tightly against her chest as healing light gathered around her hands. In that moment, he loved her more fiercely than ever. Even trembling with fear and heartbreak, she never wavered in her duty as a medic.

“Oh gods… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

The alien’s voice cracked, pulling every gaze toward her. She had collapsed to her knees, horror etched into her features. Ultra Father’s eyes burned with fury, and he clenched his fists so tightly his hands shook. Only his iron will kept him from lashing out in rage.

“Sorry? Sorry?!” Ace’s voice was ice. “That’s my otouto you attacked! If anything happens to him, I’ll kill you.”

“Ace! That’s enough.” Ultra Father’s command echoed sharply.

Ace tore himself free from Zoffy and Seven’s grip and rushed to Taro’s side, but the rage simmering in his eyes didn’t fade. Ultra Father turned toward their attacker, gaze hard as steel.

“Who are you? And what are you doing here?” He demanded.

The alien flinched, forcing herself to straighten despite her trembling.

“I—I’m Qiv, from the planet Vahn. I was tasked with exploring nearby civilizations… to learn more about other species.” She dared to lift her head, but the murderous stares from several of them made her shrink back. Compared to the Ultras towering over her, she looked painfully small and fragile.

“Vahn?” Zoffy muttered, frowning. “I’ve never heard of that planet.”

“It’s isolated,” Qiv explained softly. “Our ruler wants to improve relations with the outside world, so he sent me to gather information.”

“And your reason for attacking us and injuring our otouto?” Ace pressed, cold and unforgiving.

“I panicked!” she cried. “He appeared out of nowhere—and I still can’t fully control my power!”

Ultraman eyed her skeptically. “So you came here to… observe us?”

“N-no.” Qiv swallowed. “I actually went to Earth first…”

“What the hell are you doing here if you went to observe Earth first?!” Jack exploded, surging forward—only for Seven’s firm hand on his arm to stop him.

“I’m sorry! Please… let me explain!” Qiv cried, shrinking back in fear.

Ultra Mother, who had quietly watched the entire interrogation, felt a pang of sympathy. She gently handed Taro’s body to Ace, who blinked at her in surprise, and then walked over to the trembling alien. With soft but steady hands, she helped Qiv to her feet.

“Don’t be afraid. We’re not going to punish you—at least not right now.” She offered the frightened girl a small, reassuring smile. Though she was furious over what had happened to her son, she knew she had to stay calm and levelheaded if they were going to understand the situation.

She caught her husband’s gaze—filled with love, worry, and silent gratitude—and returned it with a faint smile of her own. Then she turned back to Qiv and introduced everyone one by one to help her speak more easily.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” She encouraged gently.

Qiv inhaled deeply and began.

“Earth was the first planet I visited. It’s a human world. Everything there was… fascinating. I never realized humans were so small compared to us. And their buildings—they’re almost our size. I still don’t understand how such tiny beings can create such enormous structures.” Her voice shifted from fearful to curious, even wistful, as she spoke.

But then she seemed to remember the gravity of her audience, and panic flashed across her face. She bit her lip, uncertain—until Ultra Mother gave her a small nod to continue. Qiv exhaled in relief.

“A-anyway,” she resumed, “when I used my powers on humans, I felt emotions I didn’t recognize. Misery. Agony. Helplessness. Distress.” She shuddered slightly. “Those feelings were so strange to me. We’ve experienced pain before, but never… that kind of pain. I tried reading deeper, but the results didn’t make sense.”

She clasped her hands together tightly.

“When I tried separating the emotions, I accidentally caught stray thoughts—thoughts about the Ultramen. I realized your species might help me understand these feelings. That’s why I hovered near your territory… to decide what to do.”

She lowered her head, her story told.

“What is your power?” Ultra Father asked, his voice steady but firm.

Qiv looked at each of them before lowering her gaze to the floor again.

“I can see the memories of anyone I strike with my light.”

“The same light you used on Taro?” Zero asked quietly. Qiv nodded.

“Hold on,” Ace cut in sharply. “You said your light lets you watch memories—but why did it injure Taro this badly?” He gestured at his brother’s motionless body cradled in his arms. Suspicion sharpened his gaze as Qiv’s expression twisted with guilt.

“I panicked.” She admitted. “When all of you confronted me, my emotions spiked… and my power is tied directly to my feelings. I didn’t realize I was using full force until it hit him.” Her voice broke slightly. “I’m truly sorry."

Ace groaned under his breath. How was he supposed to stay furious when the person he wanted to yell at kept apologizing like a scolded child? He rolled his eyes.

“Fine. Forget it.” He muttered.

“Thank you!” Qiv said quickly, bowing several times.

“Um… sorry to interrupt,” Mebius spoke up hesitantly. Everyone turned toward him. “But… how do we get out?”

All at once, the Ultras looked around the chamber—and froze.

The entrance was gone. Not just closed—gone. No door. No panels. No trace of the way Taro had entered moments before.

Slowly, every gaze swung back to Qiv.

“Oh—right.” She said weakly. “I forgot to mention… when I use my power, the room I’m in becomes sealed from the inside. No external force can break in either.”

“What?” Zoffy asked, repeating Mebius’s concern. “Then how do we leave?”

“To exit,” Qiv said nervously, “we have to watch the memories I triggered.”

Ultra Mother stiffened. “What memories?” She asked, suspicion lacing her tone. She sat between her sons, Taro’s head resting gently on her lap as she stroked his crest with a trembling hand. Ace hovered beside her, worry etched across his face. Ultra Father stood protectively behind them like a wall of resolve.

The sinking dread in the room thickened as Qiv bit her lip.

“I’m not sure.” She confessed. “I’ve never used my full power before. We may see his happiest memories… his most painful ones… or the thoughts he carries closest to his heart.”

Seven’s voice was sharp. “This is a violation of his privacy. There’s no other way?”

Qiv shook her head, eyes full of regret.

Silence fell. Slowly, every warrior turned toward Ultra Father, waiting—needing—his decision.

He looked down at Taro, his expression tightening. Ultra Mother met his gaze and gave a small, steady nod.

He inhaled deeply, bracing himself.

“Very well,” he said at last, voice quiet but resolute. “Let’s get this over with.”

Chapter Text

"Hey what's that?" Mebius pointed when they saw many shooting stars fell to the mountain at night. At first they thought it were shooting stars but then they realized it were not when the shooting stars blast the mountain and revealed to them a kaiju in an action figure form.

"Spark doll? That's means this is his memories..." Seven trailed off.

"...when he was stranded on the alternate Earth." Ultra Father said with a heavy voice. Ace scooted over and gave some space for his father to sit between his mother and him. His father brushed his knuckle to Taro's cheek fondly.

"Is this right? I mean to watch his memories?" Mebius said uneasily. Taro was his mentor and it felt wrong somehow to watch his hero private moments. Zero nodded too and looked at his father. Even though they were family but he felt unsettled to view his uncle memories. His father gave him a sad smile and nodded to indicate that it's fine.

"This is the only way." Ultra Father sighed and gripped Taro's hand lightly. His wife touched his arm briefly to show her support. The sombre atmosphere had been broken when a scream ripped the air.

"Taro!" They yelled and watched frantically at the shooting stars when they heard his voice.

"Over there!" Ultraman said eagerly and pointed to the brightest light that streaked down the sky.

"Why can't I stop?!" Taro yelled, panicking. Despite every effort that he made, his momentum didn't seemed to slow down.

"Grab that branch Taro!" Ace shouted when he saw his brother flailed his hands around. Even though it was amusing to watch Taro flailed around in spark doll form but they couldn't mustered the energy to laugh in their worried state.

Taro snaked his hand around the branch that was fast approaching. Ace sighed in relieved. His face rapidly losing colour when the branch snapped under his weight. He was paling even further when he saw a big tree stood in front of him. He quickly turned to his side and closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

CRACK!

Taro opened his eyes in shocked while the others flinched from the sound. That was definitely the sound of a broken bone. They knew it because they had experience it numerous times in their career as a warrior. Ultra Mother meanwhile scanned her son up and down to determine whether the broken bone healed effectively.

Taro tumbled down from the tree rapidly. He tried to grab the trunk but grunted in pain when he tried to raise his right hand.

"He's broken his right shoulder." Jack said to no one in particular when he saw the unnatural bent of the shoulder. Zero rubbed his own shoulder when the phantom pain of his broken shoulder during his childhood resurfaced.

"He's going to do something." Zoffy commented.

Taro had a hard glint on his eyes. He raised his left hand and scraped it along the trunk to slow down his movement. When it slowed down a little, he looked briefly to his right hand and took a deep breath. Slowly, he raised it until it reached his waist level. With a yell he thrust his right hand to the trunk. He bent both of his legs and kicked the trunk lightly to give it momentum to stop. The skin had peeled off and light trailed down his arms and legs.

"That must be hurt." Zero cringed at Taro's hands and legs. It was a mess.

"He was determined to survive." All of them jumped when they heard Qiv's voice. They had almost forgotten the presence of the young Vahn because she didn't uttered a sound until now. Ultra Father glanced and saw her wide eyed expression.

"Yes he is. He never know when to give up." He spoke with fondness and promptly knelt down and kissed his son forehead. The others smiled at the open display of affection. They knew their supreme commander loved his son dearly but he's not the one to parade his affection for others to see. He took his son from Ultra Mother's arms and laid him across his lap. He rocked him gently and sang a lullaby like what he used to do when Taro was a child. Zero and Mebius averted their eyes with pink tinged on their cheeks. They knew it was a private moment for the family.

"You love him. No, not love. It was more intense. What is it?" Qiv said in awed.

"Adore, cherish. Whatever words that have the same synonym. We love him more than our life." Ultra Mother spoke with affection. She smiled sadly at Taro. "But our sons grow up too fast."

"Yes they are." Ultra Father affirmed.

"Even if both of us are all grow up, we still need both of you to guide us. Who's going to bonk our heads if we made mistakes?" Ace grinned to both of them and they laughed.

At last, Taro descent from the tree came to a stop. He yanked his legs out and rolled over a few times. He stopped a few feet from the tree and stared at the sky with chest heaving from the exertion.

"I'm...blacking out." The memory turned fuzzy. "Damn." He cursed softly before the memory faded.

The others stood silently even after the memory faded. They watched Taro with appreciation with what he endured to release them from the curse.

"I never knew what he suffered to save us." Ultraman muttered. Jack nodded and suddenly whirled around to face Qiv.

"Hey we have already watch his memory. That's means we're free, right?" They all watched Qiv with hopeful faces. Qiv shook her head.

"No. As long as there's no door, that means we're not free yet." They slumped their shoulder in defeat. They didn't had long to lament the situation that they were in before the next memory came.

Taro stirred quietly and groaned. He opened his eyes and flinched when the sunlight burned his eyes.

"Ow. My head. It feel like the time when Ace nii-san dared me to get drunk." He complained.

Simultaneously, all eyes turned towards the sheepish Ace. The elders from Father of Ultra to Ultra Seven glared at him in displeasured. Jack nodded his head in approval before his ribs had been jabbed with Ultraman. Mebius jaw hitting the ground while Zero snickered.

"When did you dared him to get drunk?" Ultra Father tried to cross his arms in front of his chest but the action was futile with Taro unconscious on his lap so he settled it with staring his son intently on the eyes.

"Before he went to become Earth newest protector?" Ace meekly said.

"WHAT?!"

Ace rubbed his ears when everyone screamed at him. He caught Jack looked of amusement and his almost thumb up before he lowered his hand when he saw Zoffy glared at him.

"Ace! That was irresponsible of you. Your otouto was still a teenager in our standard." Ultra Mother scolded him. He apologized weakly to them. They turned their attention towards the memory Taro.

"Why am I on Earth?" Taro questioned himself. He tried to raise himself before he screamed in pain. Quickly, his left hand clutched his broken shoulder. His eyes widened in surprised when he saw his hand.

"What...happened to me?" He said in shocked. He rolled to his left side and slowly got up. He staggered to the nearby tree and slowly slid down. He looked dumbfounded at his body for a while.

"Is this the power of the Dark Spark?" he said in wonder. "I'm too little." He whined.

Seven burst out laughing when he heard his response. The others shook their head in fond exasperation.

"Only Taro can complaint about the state of his height when the others didn't even had their consciousness." Zoffy rolled his eyes.

"First thing first." Taro gripped his broken shoulder tightly. "Here goes nothing." He took a deep breath and jerked his shoulder forward. The sound of a bone been set rang at their ears. Taro's body shook like a leaf. He rested his head at the tree behind him.

"This will be quite sore for a few days." He got up painstakingly slow and stood still for a few moments. When he felt confident that his legs won't betrayed him, he took a step forward and surveyed his surrounding.

"I need to find everyone." He muttered to himself. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He opened his eyes after a while and frowned. "Strange. I can't sense Father, Mother and nii-san tachi. Where are they?"

"Wait. We're not there?" Ace said confused.

"I thought Master Taro managed to collect our Spark Dolls?" Mebius said and turned towards Ultra Father.

"I don't know. He never told us anything." Even Ultra Father spoke in bewilderment.

"But I sense something else. There is a residue of something powerful up there." Taro craned his neck at the peak of the mountain. "I better get up there." He decided.

"Ultra Nenriki!" He shouted and instantly vanished. When he emerged at the top of the mountain, he staggered and fall to his knees.

"What? Why am I too tired?" He braced his arms at the ground. His arms ware shaking with the effort to support himself.

"He's tired? Was it because he's little?" Zero furrowed his brows.

"It might be that. In his state, his powers were reduced greatly. It's no wonder that he got tired easily." Ultra Mother commented.

"No. I'm...fainting again." Taro swayed a little and fall down on his stomach. The vision turned blurry once again before it turned black.

"Been little really suck. I feel sorry for him." Ultraman grimaced.

"It will just remind us about our own inability to control our power. Frankly, I will be more surprise if Taro didn't get frustrated with the situation." Zoffy said. They continued to watch the scene that was playing in front of them.

"Again? Been little really suck." Ultraman grinned when Taro unknowingly repeated the words he just said. Taro got up slowly, mindful of his injured shoulder. He looked around him to pinpoint the source of the power that he just sensed before he blacked out.

"It's been here once but it getting faint. How long was I unconscious anyway?" Taro walked around slowly. He was struggling to lift his legs and picked his feet up off the ground. He knew that his agility had suffered greatly with his predicament.

"The trail is getting stronger from the foot of the mountain. I better made my way down now."

"Wait! You can't use Ultra Nenriki to travel long distance anymore." Mebius suddenly shouted. He grinned in embarrassment when the others looked at him amusedly.

"Oh yeah. I can't use Ultra Nenriki for long distance." Taro sighed. "Guess I need to make several trips to get down." The image blurred when Taro disappeared and reappeared at different places.

"Didn't he knew that it will make his energy depleted much faster if he kept doing that non-stop?" Jack crossed his hands and frowned at the memory.

"He's stubborn." Ultra Father said dryly.

"His endurance is always the most strongest among us." Ultra Mother commented with a chuckle.

"Alright. I need to stop now or I will faint again." Taro breathed heavily. He staggered to a nearby tree and sprawled under it. He watched pensively to the sky.

"Not much longer now before I can rest." The memory ended.

"I just hope that he would take care of himself better after that. He didn't tended to his wound at all." Ultra Mother fretted and examine Taro's fingers. "Thank goodness that there are no lasting damage."

"I just hope that he will not encounter too many obstacles. He didn't have us to help him there." Ace said.

"We're here and whole, right? Have more faith in your otouto, Ace." Zoffy told him. Ace blushed and mumbled an apology. His mother patted his arm tenderly.

"School? Why did the power reside here?" Taro suddenly said in a curious tone. He shrugged his shoulder. "No matter. I will take a look first." Taro used Ultra Nenriki and teleported upstairs. He arrived outside of a room where he could felt the strong pulses of power. He almost came in before he froze when he heard some shuffling from inside. He took a peek from behind the door.

"A student? No, she's a priestess." Taro eyed the appearance of the girl with straight raven hair.

"A priestess? Isn't her too young for a priestess?" Zoffy said astonished.

"She must be a priestess. She looked too natural when she did her job." Ultraman commented.

The girl was sweeping the room with a smile.

"Looks like I need to wait for her to go. I better get some rest first." Taro decided and teleported to the roof. He found a spot that would gave him protection against sunlight and quite hidden from humans view. He closed his eyes and the memory ended.

"Using his power in spark doll form tire him easily." Zero made his observation.

"He used to have so many raw powers at his disposal. Been little made him needed to estimate how much power he needed to use. Too much or too less power used in a technique would leave him exhausted later." Ultra Father explained to the crowd. The two youngest absorbed his explanation with rapt attention while the rest nodded their head in agreement. They turned their attention back at the memory.

Taro was stretching his arms. He yawned and rubbed his eyes with his knuckle.

'Adorable.'

That's what playing in the spectators minds. Mebius squealed inwardly with the act. Zero snickered quietly. Even Ultra Father pinched his son cheek in fondness. He looked in puzzlement when Ultra Mother transferred Taro from his arms to her.

"You already have your chance with him. I want to cuddle our son too." She cradled Taro possessively and glared at him in joking manner. Her husband mock pouted at her. The others averted their eyes to prevent their laughter from bubbling out while Ace turned his back on them. His shoulders shook while muffled laughter could be heard from him.

Taro shook his head to clear the cobweb from his mind. With little effort, he got up and blinked his eyes to his surrounding. "It's night already? Strange. I never slept this much." He pondered about it for a while before he teleported into the room full of enormous power. He watched his surrounding warily.

"Good. Expect the unexpected." Zoffy nodded in pride.

Taro smiled when he saw no one's there. With a move, he leapt towards a shrine that stood a few feet away from him. His gaze flicked upwards.

"Ginga Shrine?" He frowned.

"Ginga Shrine? Wasn't Ginga the name of that Ultra Warrior from the future?" Mebius asked.

"Yes, it was. Taro report stated that Ginga was the one who battle Dark Lugiel before we had been flung to the Earth." Zoffy clarified.

Taro walked slowly towards the shrine and disappeared inside. The memory turned blurry and it revealed the legendary Ginga Spark.

"Ginga Spark?" Taro spoke breathlessly. "This is one of the legend from the Land of Light. I never thought that I would see this with my own eyes." He traced the surface of the spark with reverent awed.

"Neither did we." Ultra Father said softly.

"If it is here, that's means that I need to find someone with the Mark of Courage." He blinked. "Wow, never thought that all the lesson with Father about history of the Land of Light will paid off."

Everyone roared in laughter. "That's my otouto!" Ace crowed delightfully. He patted Taro's head fondly.

Suddenly the door creaked as the signed of it being opened. Taro stiffened and whirled around. He blinked owlishly when he had came face to face with the human who swept the room earlier. They stared each other for a while, not knowing what to do.

"Hi. My name is Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Number Six. Pleased to meet you." Taro suddenly said.

"Awkward." Jack snickered.

"Umm. My name is Isurugi Misuzu. What are you?" She furrowed her brow and reached to touch him. Without missing a beat, Taro teleported on the table in front of them.

"Please seat down if you want to hear the story. Let me assure you, it was quite long." Misuzu gave a small gasp and scrambled to follow his order. She settled herself comfortably and gave her attention to him.

"My name is Ultraman Taro. I'm from nebula M78 or better known as the Land of Light. My people have been known as the Ultra Warrior. We protect the universe from monsters and aliens. Our sole mission is to maintain the peace and defend another planet from unfriendly monsters." Taro smiled turned grim.

"Not long ago, monsters and aliens had declared war towards us. They had been incited by an unknown alien. We didn't knew where he came from. Only, he brought destruction wherever he went. He never showed his face until later. I don't remember much from the fight. My memory still fuzzy. Only that he was the cause of my state right now." He said dejectedly. Misuzu watched sympathetically at him.

"How are you before this?" Misuzu asked, curious.

"I'm 55 feet tall." His said proudly. "But now I'm reduce to this." His face turned glum.

"Wow. He's really conscious about his height, right?" Seven rolled his head in fond exasperation.

"He's really funny." Qiv chuckled.

"I'm sorry for you." Misuzu said after a while. "What are you going to do now?"

"I need to find my parents and brothers first. Then I must find a way to return to my original form."

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" She offered. Taro thought about it before his face brightened.

"You can try using the Ginga Spark to restore me!" Misuzu looked dumbstrucked at the exclamation.

"Did he thought that it was that simple?" Ultraman said dryly.

"Apparently, he prepared to try everything. Don't underestimate people who are desperate. They will often do the unthinkable things." Ultra Father wisely said. The others kept their mouth shut after that.

"Wait, what?! But I'm just a normal human! I don't have any special power to help you!" She raised her voice in shock. But Taro didn't even listened. He was muttering softly to himself while pacing around.

"Misuzu, take the Ginga Spark." He ordered suddenly. She jerked and took it hesitantly. "What am I going to do with it?" She asked.

"At the bottom of my foot, you'll see a mark." She took him and peered at his foot.

"I found it!" She exclaimed happily.

"Touch the tip of the Ginga Spark there." She took a deep breath.

'Here goes nothing.'

'Please let this work.'

Misuzu and Taro thought simultaneously. She touched the tip but nothing happened.

"Erm, Taro? Nothing happen." She said hesitantly when she saw his forlorn expression.

"I know. Looks like I need to find someone with the Mark of Courage to dispel this curse." He mumbled the last part lowly to himself.

"What is the Mark of Courage?" He looked startled when she asked him that.

"Oh. The Mark of Courage is a mark on a hand of a chosen savior. It is said from the legend of my home that only someone who bear the mark can use the Ginga Spark."

"How do you want to find him?" She asked, puzzled.

"I don't know. I just hope we will cross our path sooner." He sighed sadly.

"Umm, Taro?" He turned his attention towards her. "I'm sorry but it's late. I need to get back home now or my parents will get worried."

"Oh, yes. Sorry to hold you here."

"Will you be alright alone here? Or do you want to follow me home?" She asked him. Taro blinked at her but shook his head.

"No, but thanks for the offer. I think I will just stay here."

"Alright. Bye! See you tomorrow!" She waved at him happily and got out of the door with springs on her steps. His gaze lingered on her until he couldn't saw her anymore. He shook his head on her antics.

"What a strange girl. It's odd she's not the bearer of the Mark of Courage herself. She's too trusting for her own good. And not screaming after she saw me talking? I'm impressed." He mused aloud and the memory faded to black.

"Speak for yourself." Zoffy scoffed while shaking his head.

"Sir?" Zero asked, unsure of what he meant by that.

"Taro is too trusting sometimes too. Who in their right mind will tell a complete stranger about our history?" Seven rolled his eyes.

"Looks like I need to drill into his mind that not everyone can be trusting." Ultra Father sighed, exasperated.

"Again?" Ultra Mother arched her eyebrow.

"Again." He grimaced, not looking forward to the debate about the better quality of all sentient beings with his son.

"And he will counter with saying that everyone can be trusted…"

"Until he stab you in the back, literally." Jack finished Ace's words, grinning.

"Really?" Mebius said with wide eyed expression. They simultaneously looked at him and burst out laughing.

"Sorry. We forgot that you never saw Taro in his earlier days. He was quite naïve actually." Ultraman shook his head fondly.

"What made him change?" Zero asked curiously. Everyone grew silent. Zero and Mebius looked at each other awkwardly. Zero cleared his throat to speak before his father stopped him.

"It was a long time ago. Just forget about it." Seven clapped his son's shoulder with a tight smile. Reluctantly, Zero nodded.

"Good morning, Taro!" Taro turned around and smiled when he saw Misuzu entered the room.

"Morning, Misuzu." He nodded and gave her a small smile. She smiled back and took a broom before proceeded to clean the room. She was humming softly to herself with him watching her intently. After a while, she stopped and looked at him with a frown.

"Why did you look at me like that?" She asked.

"Like what?" He furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Like you never saw a human before." She clarified. He gave a slight chuckled hearing her answer.

"Oh that. Sorry. It's not like that actually. I'm just perplexed."

"Perplexed?"

"Yeah. From what I gathered, your world had never been exposed to my kind before. But you didn't jumped in fright or even screamed the first time you saw me. It took plenty of courage to stand up to a different being like me." Taro spoke with a smile. Misuzu chuckled hearing his response.

"Actually since I'm a little girl, I can always sense people whether they are trustworthy or not. And the first time I laid my eyes on you, I can tell that I can always trust you. You are like the purest light I have ever seen." She said in awed. His smile stilled and he turned his eyes to the ground.

"Please don't say like that. I'm not as purest as you claim me to be."

Everyone stiffened and turned to look at the comatose Taro with varying expressions. The two youngest warriors shifted awkwardly.

"Did something happened before?" Zero and Mebius exhaled in relieved. They felt sorry for Qiv when all attention turned to her. They wanted to know it too but they're not so stupid as to ask it when everyone present tried to forget it.

"That's none of your business!" Ace suddenly exploded.

"Ace." Ultra Mother glared at her son and Ace deflated. He caught his father's disapproving stare and he backed down.

"Sorry, Qiv. But like my son told you just now, it's not your business so please don't ask about it anymore." Ultra Mother gave a bitter smile.

"Yes, umm. Sorry everyone." She blushed furiously and looked down. Everyone ignored her for the sake of watching the new memories.

"Hey Taro. I'm going to buy some grocery. Do you want to come?" Misuzu asked while she slung her bag. Taro shook his head. "Alright then. See you later!" With a wave, she closed the door. He could heard the receding echo of her padded feet. He hopped to the nearest window and saw she walked with a bounced on her steps.

"What a strange girl." He murmured to himself. He teleported to the front of the shrine and sat down.

"Now, how can I find my family using you?" He cocked his head and watched the shrine with concentration.

"That's it? What's the importance of this memory?" Mebius asked to no one in particular. All heads turned to look at Qiv.

"I…I really don't know!" She squeaked, afraid that her answer would invoked the wrath of the warriors present.

"It must be important enough if it's being played." Jack took pity on her and answered. She gave a relieved sighed and tried to convey her thanks with a subtle nod to his position. He took no notice of it as the next memory emerged.

"She's late." Taro suddenly said. "I better check on her." He flew outside. He tried to be sneaky by hiding behind the trees and bushes whenever a human was nearby. It taxed him but it was important to lay low and didn't revealed himself to humans.

"Where did she go?" He mumbled. He was tired but he couldn't stopped before he found Misuzu. He was afraid that she would be hunted if his enemy knew that she had made contact with him. He leaned back on a tree and closed his eyes for a quick rest. His eyes snapped open when he heard a scream penetrated the air.

"Misuzu!"

"What happened? Why did she screamed?" Zero leaned forward in anticipation.

"Don't just stand there. Find out now!" Everyone jumped when Zoffy suddenly yelled. He ignored the bewildered looks that directed towards him by everyone present.

Without further ado, he teleported. His head was turning to all direction to pin-pointed her location. His eyes widened by what he saw.

"What the…"

Misuzu was stuck in a baby cart that was falling down the hill. Her hands were flailing around, hoping that she could grabbed onto something to stop her momentum. It was quite an amusing sight if not for the dire situation that she's in.

"Poor girl." Ace chuckled before he winced when his father bonked his head. He rubbed it in mock indignation.

"Ace. Behave yourself." Ultra Mother warned sternly. He pouted but nodded in acquisition.

"MISUZU!"

Taro readied himself to teleport to save her but stopped himself when a young man suddenly lunged towards her. The young man managed to grab her and they rolled on the ground for a few times. Taro was too stunned to react and hovered on the air for a few seconds before he landed on the ground. He knew they were talking about something but he ignored it in favor of scrutinizing the newcomer.

"That young man seems promising. Could he be the one?" He wondered aloud.

"So that's Raidou Hikaru, the host of Ginga, right?" Ultraman looked towards Ultra Father for confirmation. Ultra Father nodded.

"It matched with Taro's description." Jack looked at Hikaru intently. He was startled when Zoffy's suddenly asked him.

"What are you looking for, Jack?"

"Just wondering why Ginga chose Hikaru. Was it because of his bravery, or something else?"

"I'm sure we will get our answer soon enough." Seven said.

Taro followed them discretely from some distance. He watched Hikaru looked far too interested in the 'relic'. He smiled.

"He's the one. I'm sure of it. He can't resist the calling any longer." He smirked when he saw Hikaru's hand twitched towards the shrine. He saw he greeted his other friends, Kenta and Chigusa with gusto. He observed them playing football outside.

"Has your dream change?" He waited eagerly for Hikaru's reply.

"It hasn't! I want to see unknown worlds. Definitely!" He replied excitedly to Misuzu's question. He kicked the ball and Taro widened his eyes when the ball headed straight towards him.

"Ultra Nenriki!"

He teleported to the roof and sat down. "That was too close." He chuckled breathlessly. "I'm sure he's going to break into the shrine this night. I better get some rest first." He closed his eyes.

Taro sat down on the table when nightfall came. He was very sure that Hikaru would sneak into the room just to see the relic. True to his prediction, there was a slight footsteps outside the room just after midnight. He stood up and watched Hikaru's entered and made a beeline to the shrine with a torchlight. Hikaru knelt in front of it.

"Something about this is bothering me." Hikaru clasped his hands in front of his chest as if in prayer. He opened the door and with a frown, took out the spark.

"This is the relic?" Hikaru mumbled aloud. Suddenly, the spark let out the brightest light that made him gasped in shock. Taro leaned forward in anticipation. He didn't knew what happened but he could made a guess. The Ginga Spark was trying to communicate with Hikaru.

Hikaru jerked back suddenly. His eyes were wide with shock. "What's this?" He mumbled while inspecting the relic more thoroughly. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the back of his right hand glowed to form a symbol before it disappeared. He frowned and squinted his eyes to see it more clearly but to no avail.

"That is the mark of the chosen one." Hikaru was startled when a voice suddenly spoke. He darted his eyes around him to find the one who had spoken just now.

"It seems that the legend of the Land of Light is true." He turned around and automatically his eyes set on a doll that was on the table. He knelt down and frowned at it.

"A doll?" He asked in confusion.

"I'm Ultraman Taro."

"It talked!" He spoke in delight. He grabbed the doll and turned it around to inspect it fully. "This must be a prank. There must be a mini speaker hidden somewhere…"

Everyone laughed at Hikaru enthusiasm. Zoffy shook his head with a smile.

"I almost forgot how infectious human joy are."

"Yeah. Did you look at Taro's face? He was really ticked off." Ace snickered and ruffled Taro's head roughly. Ultra Mother swatted his hand and glared at him.

"Don't disturb your brother. Let him rest."

Ace pouted but complied.

Taro was a bit annoyed when the boy manhandled him like that. Using Ultra Nenriki, he teleported and hid himself in some crevices .

"Eh? Where did it go to?" Hikaru was baffled when the doll disappeared. He turned around when a voice sounded behind him.

"I've been waiting for you. Bring that relic with you and come to Mount Furuboshi."

"What are you?" Hikaru asked to no one in particular. His eyes darted to the shadows to see if he could spotted the doll just now.

"Aren't you seeking an adventure?" Taro used his trump card. He knew Hikaru would be more inclined to join if he said that.

"Eh?"

"Don't you want to see unknown worlds?" He left that as his parting words and promptly vanished. He reappeared on the roof and sat down. He leant his back on the wall and looked longingly at the sky.

"Forgive me everyone. I will not fail you again."

"Fail us? Why did he thought that?" Zero looked at his father who smiled sadly in returned.

"Who knows how Taro's mind works? Maybe he felt guilty that he paused his search on us." Seven answered with a sigh.

"He always tried to carry the weight of the world on his shoulder. I told him to stop doing that but he never listened." Zoffy added.

"Why did he need to feel responsible for everything?" Qiv suddenly asked, curious.

"Because he's one of the Ultra Brothers. And because he's the son of the two of the most influential person of the Land of Light. That huge responsibility forced him to be matured before his age." Ace looked sadly at his little brother.

Taro watched intently from the cliff. He saw Hikaru climbed the mountain while turning his head everywhere. He watched for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Hikaru."

Hikaru raised his head up and smiled when he saw Taro. He walked towards Taro with exuberance.

"Ah! Found it."

"I awoke here." Taro spoke and tried to suppress the wince when Hikaru grabbed him after he climbed the cliff. "In the distant past, a terrifying dark power turn all the Ultramen and kaiju into dolls and scattered the dolls across this mountain."

"Is this doll really talking?" Hikaru frowned skeptically. Taro ignored him.

"Legend has it that the Land of Light has two mysterious devices. The first is one that can stop the life of any living being- the Dark Spark."

"No way. There has to be some mechanism somewhere." Hikaru poked and prodded Taro.

"Listen to me!" Taro, annoyed with Hikaru's childish behavior snapped at him.

"What's with you?" Hikaru huffed at him.

"I also discovered that the antithesis to the Dark Spark is in this area." Hikaru widened his eyes in shock. He raised the relic in his hand to his eyes level.

"That's…"

"The Ginga Spark." Taro clarified. "The only hope of breaking the dark curse. The only one that can draw out its great power is the chosen one."

"In other words, me?" Hikaru said, disbelieved.

"That's right, Hikaru. You're the only one that can restore me to my original form."

"How do I do that?"

"That might be how Master Taro regained his normal form, right." Mebius asked everyone.

"It should be. Hikaru is the chosen one. He should be able to restore him." Jack nodded.

"No." Everyone turned to look at Ultra Mother. "There's much to this story than what he told us." Everyone turned silence by that.

"Alright. This place is good." Taro nodded affirmatively. Hikaru meanwhile sitting cross legged in front of him, listening with rapt attention. "At the bottom of my foot, you'll see a mark that is similar to the one on your hand." Hikaru peered under his foot. "Touch the tip of the Ginga Spark there." He instructed.

"Touch with the tip?" Hikaru frowned in confusion.

"Don't be surprise." Taro sounded a bit cocky.

The others watched in trepidation when Hikaru slowly albeit reluctantly hovered the tip of the Ginga Spark to Taro's foot.

"Hikaru-kun?"

Everyone groaned.

Hikaru looked to the side. He seemed bewildered for a second before he quickly got up and hid the Ginga Spark when he saw Misuzu stood not too far away from him. In his haste to hide the item, he dropped Taro unceremoniously to the ground.

"Auch!" Taro moaned with pain at the rough treatment.

Everyone winced.

"I feel really sorry with Taro right now." Seven looked at his unconscious otouto with regret.

"What I don't get it is where we were that time. Why we're not with him?" Ultraman frowned.

"Another mystery." Ace snickered and laughed out loud when Jack had been bonked in the head by a glaring Zoffy. Ultra Father and Ultra Mother shook their head at Jack's antic.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" She asked.

"Taking a walk…a walk…" He stuttered and looking everywhere but her. "Misuzu, what are you doing here?" He changed the topic smoothly.

"I came to pick some ingredients to make sweets." She answered with a smile. "I found a place on this mountain that has good mugwort. I want to use that to complete a Japanese sweet for a competition. My dream is to open my own Japanese confectionery. If you're gonna continue pursuing your dream, I'm not going to lose out either." She beamed to him. He looked at her fondly.

"I see. I'll help you pick the ingredients then!" He decided.

"Really? Thanks! It's this way!" She grabbed his hand and proceeded to run there.

"Where?" He asked her while running.

"Hey, Hikaru!" Taro shouted after the boy. "And now he forgot about me already." He sighed dejectedly.

"Poor otouto." Ace ruffled Taro's head teasingly.

Taro teleported himself to a branch near the two teenagers. He saw them looked shocked at the sight of two people dumping trash there. He smirked and settled himself at the tree when he saw Hikaru's eyes changed.

"Now, Hikaru. Let's see what you got."

Taro looked intently at them. At first he tried to read their lips before he gave up when everything he read translated to something stupid. But their body languages clearly showed hostile. He narrowed his eyes when one of the thugs punched Hikaru across his face.

"Hikaru-kun!"

Hearing Misuzu's scream, Taro prepared himself to jump in and save the boy. He had been stop from interfering when a police cycling a bicycle came to their aid. He saw Misuzu questioned Hikaru's on the reason of the relic came to his possession. He teleported himself and waited for them on the table not too far away from them.

He chuckled when he heard they quarreled from where he waited for them. "They bickered like Father and Mother sometimes did. Only they are obviously not old, not married yet and maybe going to be a couple sometimes in the future."

"Did Taro just call Ultra Father and Ultra Mother…"

"An old married couple? Yup." Ace fall down to the ground from how hard he was laughing at his little brother's remark. He winced when he had been bonked by Seven.

"Have some respect to your elders, especially your parents." Rebuked Seven, although the senior warriors could saw his mouth twitched to stop himself from smiling.

"Jack nii-san started it first!" Ace pointed at Jack who was clasping his hands over his mouth to muffle his laugh. Seven narrowed his eyes at Jack. The younger of the two stiffened when he saw Seven suddenly smirked. He gulped and tried to cover his head but failed when his head had been swatted.

"Ouch. That hurts nii-san." Jack complained when he saw Zoffy was the one that punished him.

"Serves you right." Zoffy rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

"You're lucky that your brother is unconscious right now or you both are going to get it." Ultra Father said to his son with tone lacing of humor. His wife shook her head with fond exasperation.

"Did Taro put you up to this?" Misuzu asked, making Taro smirked.

"Yeah, Taro did." Hikaru answered. As soon as he uttered those words, he whirled around and widened his eyes at her. "Eh?!"

"I see! Hikaru-kun, you're the chosen one, right?" She said excitedly.

"Misuzu, how did you know that?" He frowned and asked, dumbfounded.

"I told her about it when she found me." Taro suddenly spoke, making Hikaru and Misuzu to turn their attention to the shrink warrior. Both of them rushed forward and sat down at the table.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"It was when I was examining the Ginga Spark. In this world, Ultramen and kaiju don't exist. Furthermore, I've taken a form of a doll. But Misuzu believed all that I said. She even tried to restore me to my original form. But it didn't worked out at the end." He bowed his head in defeat. Misuzu, hearing his sad tone took him with gentle hands.

"Hikaru-kun, I'm asking this of you too. Return Taro to his original form." She presented Taro to her childhood friend.

"Misuzu, you trust others way too easily." He chuckled. She gave him a small smile. "Alright, I will do it." He agreed. She squealed, delighted. Taro gave a relieved laugh.

"Thank you. I will be forever in your debt." He gave a formal bow.

"Hey, hey. No need for that. It's just a small matter. No need to bow to me." Hikaru told the small warrior hastily.

"It's good that he still have his manners even when he was frustrated." Ultra Father nodded in approval at his son.

"This means that he's going to get his normal form, right?" Zero asked everyone present.

"It should be. After all, Hikaru is the chosen one. He's the one that can break the curse." Ultraman said while crossing his hands over his chest.

Hikaru took Taro from Misuzu. With face full of concentration, he aligned the relic to Taro's feet. Misuzu was standing beside him anxiously. Slowly, he touched the tip of the relic to the intended place.

"Eh? Nothing's happening!" Hikaru creased his eyebrows in confusion.

"What? Why did nothing happened?" Mebius widened his eyes in shock. The elder warriors looked at each other before they simultaneously turned their attention towards Ultra Father. He just sighed in turn while caressing his son's cheek.

"Who knows? But I believe there was a reason for it."

"Our son is special. He's the only one who had his consciousness as a spark doll. So, it's not impossible for him to be the only one who couldn't be turned to his original form by Ginga Spark." Ultra Mother added.

"Taro is resourceful. He's sure to figure it out later." Jack smiled proudly.

"That can't be!" Taro sounded shocked. "Try it again, please! Again!" Taro's voice turned desperate.

Hikaru looked in pity towards Taro. He tried it several times but the result was still the same. He gave Taro back to Misuzu who was looking perplexed.

"Why didn't it work?" She said bewildered.

"Who knows?" Hikaru shrugged his shoulders.

"This is strange. This shouldn't be happening." Taro, still in denial shook his head.

"We shouldn't panic. I'm sure it will work next time." Misuzu tried to cheer Taro up, who was sounding bordering on hysterics.

"Hikaru found something." Ace suddenly remarked. They looked at the scene of Hikaru knelt, looking at something on the ground.

"A dinosaur?" Taro turned around when he heard Hikaru's voice sounded curious. "What about this doll?" He touched the tip of Ginga Spark at the doll's feet.

"That's Black King!" Taro was too shocked with what Hikaru found, making him too late to yell at Hikaru to stop. Taro and Misuzu averted their eyes when Hikaru had been enveloped by an intense light. When they turned back, instead of finding Hikaru, they found an alive Black King in his appropriate height.

"What?!" The Ultra Warriors yelled in shock. Even Ultra Father couldn't suppressed his gasp. Ultra Mother only tightened her embrace on Taro, understood what her son was going through.

"How can this be?" Zoffy murmured in disbelieved.

"Why could Black King changed and not Taro?" Seven said while looking at Ultraman and Zoffy. Both of the elders only shook their head in perplexed manner. The two youngest of the group was looking too speechless to say anything.

"Wait, wait. Let me get this straight." All of them turned towards Qiv. "The device in the boy's hand should transforming Ultraman Taro to his real state." They nodded. "But it can't while the Black King can. So, does that means that the all the dolls need to have specific requirement for them to be used by the device or not?" Their faces turned to realization.

"That might be. The only difference that Taro had with Black King that he still had his consciousness." Ultra Mother nodded her head.

"Does that means that the Ginga Spark also had its consciousness? Taro couldn't accessed its power because it could somehow sense that Taro was a living being too, like it?" Jack voiced his opinion.

"Yes, I think you might onto something. Let's continue watching this. We will surely find our answers here." Zoffy nodded.

"That can't be! How?!" Taro spluttered in shock. Hikaru looked too excited in the kaiju's body. "What is going on? He can't restore me, but he can UltraLive into a kaiju?" He spoke, incredulous.

"How did he knew that term?" Mebius furrowed his eyebrows.

"Do you think…"

"Maybe. I have that feeling too." Ultra Father finished his wife's sentence.

"A premonition?" Zoffy guessed.

"He can see the future?!" Zero hung his jaw in surprised.

"Not see the future in whole. Sometimes, he saw flashes what's going to happen. And it's not just about us. Every so often, it was about another planet or another alternate universe." Seven elaborated to his astounded son.

"Wow. That's means there's many lives that he can save by his vision only." Mebius looked awed at the prospect.

"No. I forbid it." Mebius and Zero looked gobsmacked at Ultra Father's statement.

"Why?" They said simultaneously.

"It's not a power that can be harness. It's an ability passed down genetically from my ancestors. When a vision came, it will left him with feeling dizzy and disoriented. Both of you surely know that we can't help everyone. It will make them depended on us without the need to protect themselves." They shut up after that.

"Having a vision it's not just you saw it and then you know what's going to happen. No, it's more than that. A vision can be changed by an action. It can be branched out, creating another vision. Sometimes you will see worlds beyond ours.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning came and strike the Black King. He and Misuzu both turned around. He watched in numbed shocked when the figure of one of a kaiju that he knew came into view.

"Thunder Darambia!"

"Another one?!" Zero yelled in shock.

"It must be the power of the Dark Spark!" Taro exclaimed.

With lightning on his side, Thunder Darambia attacked the newly transformed Hikaru. His relentless onslaught making the ground trembled and the wind to spin furiously around them. Misuzu's gripped on Taro's slipped and he had been knocked out by the wind.

Taro got up with a groan. He shook his head with dazed expression. It's been a long time since he felt this kind of pain. He looked up when he felt the ground had been overcharged with electricity. He gasped when he saw that Black King had been strangled by Thunder Darambia. For a moment, his mind blanked out and he didn't knew what he should do. Suddenly, a blinding light enveloped Hikaru that made Taro averted his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he looked up and gasped when an unknown figure made himself known. That body scheme was very familiar to him but there was no being he could associated with that face.

"Who is that Ultraman?!"

"So that's the first time he met Ginga. Interesting." Zoffy nodded his head sagely.

"Who are you? I was a high ranking officer of the Space Garrison but I never saw you before. Are you an ally, a survivor from a deceased planet like Ultraman Leo and Astra? Or are you an enemy, pretending to help us but will stab us from behind afterwards?" Taro spoke softly to himself as he watched the new Ultraman succeed in defeating Thunder Darambia. He left Hikaru and Misuzu alone and teleported himself somewhere before the memory faded.

Chapter Text

"Ginga's quite a mystery, right?" Zero spoke to everyone present.

"Yes, you're right. The only thing that we knew about him was he's from the future. Whether our future or that alternate Earth future, no one can clarified it. I'm not even sure if Taro knew about his origin." Seven said while crossing his hands over his chest.

"Even if Taro knew, he's not going to tell us." Ace said with a huffed.

"What do you mean?" Jack frowned.

"Since he came back from that alternate Earth, he's changed somehow. He became much more quieter and secretive about most things. Not even our parents can talk him out of his new habit." Ace rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Really? I never realized about it." Zoffy said in shocked while looking at his superiors.

"Ace's right. You are too busy lately, Zoffy. Don't blame yourself." Ultra Mother gave him a soft smile. Zoffy only nodded before he vowed to himself to watch his otouto more closely after this.

"Taro!"

Taro glanced behind him to see Hikaru and Misuzu ran towards him. He frowned and waited patiently for them.

"What happened? Why are you running around?" He asked in concerned.

"We're worried." Misuzu said, huffing and puffing after her sprint.

"You suddenly vanished. We thought something happened to you." Hikaru continued after taking a few deep breath.

"Sorry for making you worried." Taro lowered his head a little, submitting to his mistakes.

"Still too formal." Seven shook his head, resigned to his little brother's antics.

"Stop being too formal around us, Taro." Hikaru frowned in annoyance. Seven smirked at Hikaru's words.

"Sorry. Old habit die hard." Taro winced.

"Anyway, why didn't you waited for us?" Misuzu suddenly said. Taro quieted down and looked at both of them solemnly.

"That Ultraman…"

"Oh yeah. Ginga is so cool, right?" Hikaru said enthusiastically, cutting Taro's words.

"Ginga? So his name is Ginga, huh?"

"Yeah. Didn't you heard it when he said his name?" Hikaru tilted his head sideways in confusion.

Taro shook his head. "It was normal. Only a host can hear what an Ultraman was saying." Taro clarified for them. They nodded in understanding before Hikaru suddenly shrieked.

"You mean I'm hosting a parasite?!"

Everyone laughed humorously. They never thought like that. Even Zoffy chuckled at Hikaru exclamation.

Taro widened his eyes in shock. "Wait-what?" Taro sputtered in shocked. He watched, puzzled as Misuzu laughed at Hikaru's confusion. He shook his head to clear his confusion.

"Anyway," he raised his voice in order to be heard by both humans. "I want to congratulate you Hikaru for your achievement. From the first time I saw you, I know you are destined for greatness. Congratulation." Taro smiled at him.

Hikaru blushed. "Thank you." He uttered with a grin.

"One more thing," Taro looked at both of them solemnly. "do not tell anyone about the Ginga Spark."

"Why not?" Hikaru frowned at his order.

"The dark forces are already at work. You never knew where the enemy is hiding."

"So…it's a secret between the two of us." Misuzu beamed at Hikaru.

He grinned and looked sideways to hide his blushing face. "Yeah."

"Now, let's go home." Hikaru walked away with Misuzu before he suddenly stopped. "Taro, aren't you coming?" He cocked his head sideways when he saw Taro didn't moved.

"I…have nowhere to go." Taro lowered his head to the ground.

"Silly you. Of course you are staying with me."

"Really?" Taro raised his head in amazement when he heard Hikaru's replied.

"You can stay with me too if you want." Misuzu cut in cheerfully.

"After all, there are many things that I still don't know about this Ultraman business. So, who's better to teach me than you, an Ultraman himself?" Hikaru smiled. Taro slumped his shoulder in relieved.

"Thank you. Thank you everyone."

"I think I want to invite Raido Hikaru and all of his friends to our planet as a symbol of gratefulness for their help towards Taro later." Ultra Father suddenly said from his spot beside his wife. Ultra Mother nodded her head.

"Yes, I agree with you. If not for them, I don't know what's going to happen to our son." She caressed her son's cheek tenderly.

"I will arrange it later." Zoffy told both of them with a firm voice.

Taro looked down from his spot between the crevices. He observed the procession of exorcism that had been lead by Hikaru's grandfather to the two thug before.

"It seems that I know him somehow somewhere. But who is he?" Taro frowned while tapping his fingers on his crossed hands. He suddenly shook his head.

"No matter. What matter most are to find everyone and restore everyone back. And I need Ginga to accomplish that." He vanished from sight.

"I'm still wondering where we are. Even if we had been turned into a doll, Taro could honed our energy signature to know our location." Jack spoke while looking at Zoffy.

"Be patience. I'm sure everything will be explain later." Zoffy glanced towards Ultra Father who was looking at his unconscious son with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Ken." He had been snapped out of his reverie by a hand on his arm. He looked to the side and saw his wife was looking at him worriedly.

"Our son, Marie. He is our son. We are suppose to take care of him, to protect him. But even though he had been called one of our strongest warriors, I feel that we have failed him somehow." He spoke with clenched fists. She rubbed his tensed knuckles.

"We can't say that, Ken. We don't know our future. We don't know what threat that we are going to face later on. The only thing that we can do is to prepare our son both mentally and physically. Our son is strong, both our sons are." She spoke earnestly. Ace who sat beside her nodded his head.

"Yes, Father. You can't shield us forever. We are strong. Trust us."

Ultra Father shook his head ruefully. "Since when my eldest son have so much wisdom?" The others laughed at his statement while Ace pouted.

Taro sprawled on his back while looking at the sky. He watched the cloud overhead from his position on the school roof. He raised his hand to the air and watched it for a moment.

"There must be a reason why am I the only one to still have consciousness. But what?" He clenched his fist in frustrated manner. He exhaled heavily and used the hand to cover his eyes.

"Father, Mother, nii-san tachi. Please help me. What should I do?"

Everyone flinched from the begging tone of Taro. Ace meanwhile clutched his otouto hand harder. His otouto was known as a fearless warrior and not one to beg. Seeing his miserable state like this making him wanted to turn back time and saved his otouto from that pain.

"Oh Taro." Ultraman exhaled in regret. "If something can be done to spare you this pain, we will surely do it." Jack put his hand on Ultraman shoulder, giving each other support. Seven patted Zero and Mebius shoulder when both of the rookies stood awkwardly at the side, not knowing what they should say or do in the family situation.

Taro scrambled to get up when a scream pierced the peaceful atmosphere. He flew to the balcony and gasped when he saw Misuzu almost getting run over by a motorcycle before Hikaru managed to carry her bridal style out of the way. His relief was short lived however when the motorcycle still intended to hit both of them. Throwing caution to the wind, he teleported himself in front of his charges and raised his hand.

"Ultra Telekinesis!"

Taro roared loudly and there was a blinding light coming from his body and out from his hand. Everyone closed their eyes reflexively when the light was too bright for their eyes. He let his power poured from his hands for a moment longer before a soft voice snapped him back to reality.

"Taro?"

"Hey! What are you doing over there?!"

There were another voice yelled a second after Misuzu. He saw a policeman cycling towards them. He abruptly ceased his attack and teleport somewhere else before the man spotted him.

Taro fell to his knees and panted in exhaustion on the school roof. He blinked and watched his hands tiredly.

"Damn it. Not again." He swayed and fell to his side. His vision turned blurry for a moment and he knew no more.

"We were supposed to be there!" Ace punched his thigh in irritation.

"Will he be okay?" Zero suddenly spoke, startling everyone. They turned towards him for clarification. "This dizzy spell that he kept getting. It's not normal, right?"

Everyone widened their eyes. In their frustration, they forgot about Taro's health. Ultra Mother quickly hovered her hands on her son's chest. A white glow emitted from her hands and she closed her eyes. A moment passed in silence which to them was like a lifetime before she opened her eyes.

"He's fine." Everyone breathed in relief. "The reason for his fainting maybe because he overexerted himself doing the Ultra Telekinesis. He was in his spark doll form but he tried to exert his power like he was in his normal form. His small form could not contained that much power in a single attack so it rebelled." The others nodded at her explanation.

"Taro? Taro? Hey, you alright?"

Taro scrunched his face and tried to swat the hand that touch his shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly and watched his surrounding in confusion.

"What happened?"

"I saw you lying here. I thought something happened to you." He turned his head to his side and saw Misuzu knelt beside him with a worried expression.

"I'm fine. Sorry for making you worried. I'm just tired." He yawned and massaged his neck. He blinked and looked towards her critically. "You okay? That man didn't hurt you, right?" There was a flash of anger in his eyes. She chuckled.

"No, he didn't hurt me. Thanks to you and Hikaru." She lowered her head.

"Why are you sad? Is something the matter?" He cocked his head to the side and studied her face. She bit her lower lips and hugged her knees to her chest.

"I was so scared." She whispered. "I thought that I was going to die. When I'm little, I once lost in a forest. Hikaru was the one who found me. What happened today made me remember what it was like to feel helpless. I can only hope that someone can save me. I don't want to feel like that anymore." She gripped her knees tighter.

Taro slumped. "I'm sorry for bringing all this trouble to you. If I can, I never want to involve humans, much less teenagers in my problem." He had been yanked out of his guilt when he had been raised from the ground by a hand on his waist. He blinked when he was face to face with Misuzu.

"Don't say that. I never blame you. I just need someone to listen to me. I can't tell Hikaru. I can't stand it when someone look at me with pity, especially my friend."

"So, am I not your friend?" He teased her but there was a sting of hurt in his voice.

"How dare her." Jack clenched his hands in anger.

"Calm down. Listen to her words first." Zoffy replied even though everyone could saw the promise of retribution if Misuzu didn't picked her words carefully after this.

"It's not like that!" Her face paled and locked to him in horrified manner. He just chuckled and waved his hand as if to made light of the situation.

"Taro." He frowned and truly looked at the young girl in front of him. She furrowed her eyebrows and watched him intensely. Only thousand years of practice stopped him from squirming in her grasp.

"Hikaru is my friend. So are Kenta and Chigusa. But you, Taro are something else. You are not only my friend. You are my teacher, my mentor, the one that I can depend to save me when everything went wrong. And if you ask Hikaru, I'm sure he will say the same."

Misuzu looked at him earnestly. Taro swallowed down his choked gasp at the trust that had been displayed by her. His throat convulsed for a few seconds before he managed to clear it to utter a word.

"Thank you."

"Why did he thought that he had no friend?" Mebius blurted out. That question had been on his mind since the start of Taro and Misuzu conversation but he didn't know how to phrase it. He felt liked he wanted to slap himself when everyone turned to him with a blank stare. He glanced towards Zero but the latter had already inched away from him while giving him- 'sorry, can't help. You are on your own' - look. 'Traitor' He hissed in his mind while giving the younger ultra the most venomous stare that he could mustered without alerting the others. Zero only gave him a smug grin in return.

"Why did you say that he had no friend?" Ace looked at him challengingly.

"Err…"

"Ace. Stop harassing him." Ultraman berated him. Ace huffed and turned his back on them. Ultraman sighed.

"You are one of his student, Mebius. Have you ever seen him with another ultra warriors besides us?"

"No?" Mebius squeaked. He still felt the chilled stare from Ace.

"Exactly." Ultraman continued. "If you ask him, he will say that he have many friends but in reality, there is no true friend for him. Except him." Ultraman spoke under his breath. Half of the older ultras looked in pained while the rest looked angry. Mebius and Zero did not want to incite their anger again so they kept quiet although they were burning to know who he was.  

"I don't think I understand." Qiv furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"As the son of two of the most powerful and influential Ultras in Land of Light, everyone will always try to take advantage on him by groveling at his feet." Jack huffed, irritated. "Sometimes I needed to haul them away from him and threatened them to stay away from him. It was annoying."

"You too? Why didn't you told us?" Seven asked him.

"You mean you knew about it?" Jack asked back, ignoring Seven's question.

"Yeah. Ultraman nii-san and I had tasked ourselves on looking out for him. It was worse during his childhood. Almost everyday we needed to shadow him to make sure they were not going to mess with Taro. If they were not trying to ask for something, they were trying to hurt him. Then one day it just stopped. We don't know what happened but it was a relieved to us and to him."

"Of course it stopped. I was the one who personally came to everyone who tried to take advantage on him." Zoffy scoffed.

"What did you do?" Ultraman asked curiously.

"You don't want to know." There was a hard glint on Zoffy's eyes that made everyone shuddered.

"Taro, thanks for helping out today." Hikaru spoke from his place on the makeshift tent door. Taro who was standing on a table in front of him nodded.

"My pleasure. You truly are a courageous person. That's why you were able to Live into Ginga." Taro smiled and looked fondly at Hikaru's blushing face. "But, there had never been an Ultraman named "Ginga" in the Land of Light's history. Just who is he?" He frowned.

Hikaru scrunched his face in a thoughtful manner. "Hmmm, in the first place, what is an "Ultraman"?" He spoke curiously.

"You want to know?" There was a smile on Taro's face. "It's gonna be a long story."

"Ah~ good night then!" Hikaru suddenly laid on the tent with his back to Taro.

"Hey!"

Hikaru laughed at Taro who was looking indignantly at him. "Just kidding!" He got up and sat cross legged in front of Taro. "I wanna hear it." He gave an innocent grin to his somewhat mentor.

"Alright then." He took a deep breath and started to narrate the story of his home. "My home planet is in the M78 Nebula. It's in distant space, far from here…"

"I don't think he remember that story." At everyone questioning face, Ultra Father elaborated. "The history of Land of Light. It was his bedtime story when he was a child. Never thought he still remembered it all this time." He gave a small smile to his wife.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Taro asked worriedly when Hikaru suddenly entered their room and laid his back on a mattress.

Hikaru turned to look at Taro and sighed. "I have no idea what's on Misuzu's mind. She said that it's better for us to not be together."

"Hikaru. It's the strength of your heart that allows you to become Ginga." Taro almost chuckled at the young man dumbfounded expression.

"Eh?"

"When you Lived into Black King, you protected Misuzu without thinking of your own safety. What were you thinking then?" He saw Hikaru furrowed his brows and waited patiently for him.

"I…want to protect her."

"Why?"

"Because she's my friend. And I can't bear it if something were to happen to her." He said determinedly. Taro nodded.

"Yes. That's why you can Live into Ginga. One of the characteristics to be an Ultraman host is to have burning need to protect everyone. Even at the cost of your own life."

Hikaru nodded, understanding. "So you are saying that as long as I want to protect everyone, Ginga will lend his power to me, right?"

"Exactly." Taro smiled, proud with his quick learner student. He opened his mouth to speak before his face slacked and his eyes turned unfocused.

"Taro?" Hikaru crawled forward to kneel in front of Taro when he saw Taro's eyes dimmed. He snapped his finger in front of Taro's face.

"Misuzu." Taro breathed out.

"Wh-what?"

"She's in trouble."

Without wasting any more time, Hikaru ran out of the room, leaving the still disoriented Taro behind.

"How did he know the girl was in trouble?" Qiv suddenly asked them.

"He had forged a very deep connection with all of them there. That allowed him to sense where they were." Ultra Mother explained.

"But I also have a very deep connection with all of my friends. Why I didn't sensed them in trouble when I was on Earth?" Mebius frowned, thinking about a few times he and his GUYS teammates encountered a problem.

"Because they are your friend." Ultraman told him.

"I'm sorry?" Mebius frowned.

"Your bond with your friends based on friendship. It's different with Taro. They were not his friends. They were like his charges. His wards. He was responsible to them as a guide. A mentor if you prefer." Ultraman explained before his smile turned to smirk. "Besides, weren't you one of his wayward students once?"

Mebius ducked his head to hide his blushing face. Everyone chuckled at his bashful reaction while Zero punched his shoulder friendly.

Taro took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A few seconds passed before he opened it back and promptly vanished.

"Hikaru." He appeared besides the still running teen. "She's outside."

The teen nodded and turned to his right. Taro made to follow him before he stopped and turned to his back.

"Something's wrong." He tensed. "There is a presence of dark energy here." With a whisper, he darted his eyes everywhere.

"He can sense dark energy?!" Zero blurted out in awed.

"Of course he is. He's the son of Ultra Father and Ultra Mother so he had been exposed to the power of the plasma spark since he's just a boy. That's means he was very attuned with everyone energy." Seven answered his son.

"You too, Sir?" Mebius turned to look at Ace who was shaking his head.

"I'm attuned but not as powerful as Taro. Only someone with the same lineage as Ultra Father had been bestowed with that gift. That's why Taro is our first line of defense if an invasion happen. Father will be needed at Headquarters to mobilize our troops. So Taro will be dispatch first due to his ability to pinpoint the energy. He will be responsible to dispose the threat before it made to the city." Zero nodded his head while Mebius frowned.

"How can he sense the energy?"

"By the horns on his head. What, do you think it was just for decoration only?" Jack countered. He widened his eyes when he saw Mebius looked sideways abashedly. "Don't tell me that you think it was for decoration?" He couldn't helped it but laughed uproariously when Mebius turned as bright as a tomato.

"Oh my god. It's been a long time since I laughed like this. Thank you very much Mebius."

"Hey! How should I know that the horns have its uses." Mebius pouted when everyone laughed.

Seven patted his shoulder in sympathy. "Don't worry, Mebius. Actually I'm sure you are not the only one to think that." There were mirth dancing in his eyes.

"I will make sure to tell Taro to explain to his students about his horns after this to avoid misunderstanding in the future." Zoffy spoke dryly.

"Taro was lucky that he didn't get horns that were as big as mine." Ultra Father stroked Taro's horns tenderly.

"But your horns were the reason I fell in love with you at the first place." Ultra Mother looked deep in her husband's eyes. He was entranced in her soulful gaze. Unknowingly, their faces came closer. Their trance state had been broken by Zoffy clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I don't think the youngsters want the image of their superiors kissing each other seared into their mind. Not to mention your own son looked green in the face right now." Zoffy spoke flippantly. True to Zoffy words, Zero and Mebius were blushing bright red. Their eyes roamed everywhere but to their superiors. Ace meanwhile winced and dragged his hand across his face.

"Mother, Father. Please restrain yourself. It's bad enough that Taro and I always stumbled upon yourself when both of you were kissing during our childhood. Don't corrupt their mind, please?" Ace sighed, faking to be irritated but everyone knew better from his own scarlet face. Both of the superiors composed themselves with a tinge of red on their cheeks.

"Apologize." Ultra Father spoke coolly.

Taro vanished and appeared in the room that he shared with Hikaru. He stood on the window sill, watching Misuzu had been confronted by a Kemurujin. He clenched his hands into fists at his side.

"Come on Hikaru. It's time for your hero entrance now. Misuzu needs you." Taro whispered. His eyes stared intently towards Misuzu while his enhanced hearing focused on the sound of hurried running from the next block. He waited for Hikaru to save her but he also prepared to protect her if the young boy couldn't made it.

He exhaled in relieved when the host of Ginga at last came with a peculiar entrance. He snorted when he saw Hikaru kicked a ball to the back of Kemurujin's head. "Kick a ball. Go figure." He rolled his eyes in fond exasperation. He saw Misuzu hugged Hikaru tightly before the alien looked pissed and proceeded to attack Hikaru.

He winced at every beating that Hikaru took. He crossed his hands over his chest and look at the scene with stoic expression on his face.

"Umm, can I ask something?" Qiv raised her hand hesitantly. Ultra Mother nodded and smiled at her.

"What is it Qiv?"

"Why Taro didn't helped Hikaru?"

Ultra Mother chuckled. "I forgot that you didn't know. Taro actually is an instructor here. He prefer to let his students stumble in their learning but he will make sure to catch them before they fall down. You can ask Mebius if you want to know more."

Mebius nodded. "Yeah, Master Taro will only guide us. He always said that we can only learn by making mistakes. But he will never abandon us even if we had already graduated. He will continue guiding us and give us advice whenever we need it."

"You too?" Qiv turned towards Zero.

"No. I never got him as my teacher. I learned from Ultraman Leo and Astra. So I didn't know his method of teaching."

Taro smiled when he saw Misuzu stood up to help Hikaru. His happiness didn't stayed long however when the alien grew in size to rival the school. He quickly teleport himself on the table and looked at the spark dolls of Thunder Darambia and Black King.

"Who should I choose?" He looked at both dolls critically. He huffed a sigh a moment later. "Whatever." He teleported with both dolls to where Hikaru and Misuzu were hiding.

"Hikaru!"

Both teens looked behind them to see Taro hovered in the air. The shrunk warrior slowly descended to stand on a crate with a quiet thud. Beside him were the dolls of Black King and Thunder Darambia.

"Time to UltraLive!" He whispered excitedly.

Hikaru grinned at Taro and took Thunder Darambia. "Thank you." He stood.

He UltraLive to Thunder Darambia and faced Kemurujin. From the start, Taro knew the battle would be hard to win because Kemurujin had speed as his advantage. He looked forward to see what strategy would be employed by Hikaru to defeat the alien. He almost laughed when Hikaru tripped the alien by extending Thunder Darambia's hand.

"Way to go!" Zero punched his hand to the sky.

"He did it!" Misuzu crowed happily.

"Alright! Good job!" Taro was quite reserved on his praise but everyone could detect pride in his voice.

Kemurujin rubbed his aching cheek and looked down when he felt something wrapped his legs. He looked up to see Thunder Darambia gave him a smug look. He looked uncomprehend by the look before he got his answer a second later when thunder ran through his body. He spurted a purple gooey from his head to Thunder Darambia, making half the latter head vanished.

Misuzu gasped. Taro breathed out a quiet "oh no" to the scene.

She stood up. "Don't lose, Hikaru-kun!" He yelled at the downed Hikaru.

They watched transfixed as Thunder Darambia glowing brightly. Both of them averted their eyes until the light died down. When they turned back, they saw Ginga had replaced Thunder Darambia.

"Ultraman Ginga!" Misuzu yelled excitedly.

The doll of Thunder Darambia fell down from the sky beside Taro, making the shrunk warrior toppled forward with a grunt. He raised himself and hovered on the air, looking at the fight with interest. He saw Ginga easily wiped the floor with Kemurujin. He almost laughed out loud when he saw the alien had been sent spinning to the space with Ginga following from behind.

"He flew!" Misuzu looked on in wonder.

Taro nodded and waited for the telltale that the fight had been won by the warrior. He smiled when he saw a tiny speck of light flared brightly on the sky before it dimmed.

"Hikaru win." He stated simply.

Misuzu whirled around to face him. "Really?" Her eyes widened considerably.

Taro only nodded, making the teen girl squealed happily. They both saw Ginga descended from the sky before a white light enveloped him and turned him back to Hikaru. Misuzu ran forward to greet her friend while Taro stayed behind. Using his power, he teleport himself with Black King and Thunder Darambia to find their latest doll.

"There you are." Taro muttered and raised his hand to make all of them teleport to the room he shared with Hikaru. Suddenly he heard rustles from the bushes behind him. Quickly he whirled around and looked at his surrounding warily. He stood still for a few moment, letting his eyes roamed around him to spot anything peculiar. When nothing came, he relaxed his body and sighed.

"You have become too paranoid, Taro. Relax." He chided himself. Casting a final glance around him, he took a deep breath and vanished from the spot.

"Yes, I agree. He had become too paranoid. Even when he's home, sometimes I saw him looking behind him as if he expected to be ambushed anytime soon." Ultraman nodded.

"His paranoia rivaled even Zoffy nii-san." Seven chuckled.

Zoffy crossed his hands over his chest and arched one of his eyebrows at Seven. The latter gave an innocent smile to his elder brother, making Zoffy grunted and shook his head.

"Paranoia is the reason we are still alive today. Still, I agree with Seven. Paranoia didn't suit him."

"I wonder how much more we need to see." Jack spoke aloud, making everyone serious. They glanced at each other.

"Well, we won't know until we see the next, right? Just let's get this show started so that we can get out of here." Everyone looked at Ace who was gazing at his unconscious little brother with an unreadable expression on his face. Everyone nodded and waited for the next scene to appear.

Chapter Text

Taro looked intently at the three dolls on the table. He crossed his hands in front of his chest and sighed.

"It's hard to believe that all of this happened in a span of three days only."

"Three days!?"

Everyone spluttered. Zoffy widened his eyes in shock while Zero and Mebius looked in awed disbelieved.

"Impossible!" Ultra Father whispered.

"Father?" Ace spoke hesitantly. The others took a step back warily when the temperature inside the room plummeted drastically.

"Ken. Calm down." Ultra Mother rubbed his knuckles with soothing voice. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breathes. When he opened back, the others saw that his eyes turned a few shade paler than normal, indicating that he was reigning his anger.

"I'm calm." He spoke slowly.

"Three days with two separate group using two kaijus dolls to fight. I feel that there is someone out there orchestrated all of this. But who? And why?" Taro spoke, frustrated with the mystery.

Taro whirled around quickly. There were quiet footsteps heading towards the room he was in. He teleported himself to hide between the crevices with the dolls. He peeked around the corner and saw someone opened the door slowly. That person entered and closed the door quietly.

"Taro?"

Taro almost sagged in relieved. "Misuzu?" He teleported back on the table. She smiled and sat down in front of him. "What are you doing here?" He questioned.

"Nothing. I just want to see how you are doing." She lied on her front, facing Taro. He kept his quiet for a while before he sighed.

"Misuzu, what do you think about my theory regarding the various strange occurrences? There's a possibility that someone is behind all these strange incidents. Some evil force is using the darkness in people's heart." Taro clenched his hands in anger. "That's right. That must be it." He was too absorbed in his theory, making him startled when the door suddenly opened from the outside.

"Oh no!"

He quickly teleported in front of her, hoping her size could concealed him while she grabbed all of the spark dolls to hide it. Having not much time, she only managed to turn her back to that person. She bit her lower lips anxiously while he stood still, praying that she saw his reassuring nod just now.

"Misuzu, what are you doing?"

She turned back when she heard a very familiar voice.

"Oh, it's Hikaru." Taro popped up from behind her shoulder blade.

"Don't scare me like that." She complained.

"This is my room though." Hikaru grinned and walked towards them.

"I was talking with Taro." She paced around while looking at the two space dolls on her hands.

"About?"

"About the stuff that happened since the shrine burnt down like that biker and those arsons."

"And…so?" The teen asked distractedly as he tried to light the lantern.

"We were wondering if the people were being controlled by the kaiju."

"That's right." Taro chimed in. "Someone must be attempting to control the evil hearts with the spark of darkness and the kaiju."

"Can such an evil person exist?" Hikaru frowned in disbelieved.

"Furthermore, somewhere in this town…"

Suddenly there was a small explosion coming from behind them. Taro whirled around and spotted fire came from the outside.

"Another kaiju?!" Hikaru exclaimed and ran to the window to see. Misuzu followed behind him anxiously.

"Hikaru!"

"Misuzu! Come and join us!"

Two of their friends, Kenta and Chigusa yelled from below simultaneously.

"Don't surprise us like that." Hikaru huffed and walked back to where he was standing before.

"Fireworks? It is summer indeed." Taro mused. He almost fell down when she whirled around to face Hikaru.

"What do you wanna do? Join them?" She asked brightly.

"No way." He shrugged his shoulder and chuckled. "Fireworks are fun but I'm too old for them." He walked outside. "I'm going to see they play below. Wanna come, Misuzu?" He walked backwards while asking her.

"Of course! Wait for me." She stopped when Taro teleported himself on the table. "You don't want to come with us, Taro?" She asked curiously. Taro chuckled.

"No. I will just look from here. Have fun."

"Okay! Bye Taro!" She dashed to follow her friend. Taro flew to the window and looked down. He laughed when he saw Hikaru was running around while waving the firework in his hand.

"Children." He shook his head fondly. "Always so happy in every situation. This is why I fought all these times. To preserve their precious smile. Thank you for reminding me about it. I will protect you all forever." He vowed. Unknowingly a flare emitted under his foot, directly where the mark was.

"Woah! Did you see that?" Zero punched the air enthusiastically.

"His mark flared." Ace said in shock.

"But why?" Ultraman spoke dumbfounded.

"Did you noticed that it flared as soon as he spoke he would protect them?" Jack looked at Ultra Father for confirmation. The latter nodded.

"Yes. From this we can conclude that his mark reacted strongly when his sense of protectiveness emerged."

"It just showed us that he had a destiny to fulfill there." Ultra Mother spoke.

"More mystery. I'm starting to hate it already." Zoffy shook his head..

Taro stood still as soon as he heard thundering footsteps came towards the room he was in. He ignored it and let the teenagers talked among each other. He heard an unknown female voice with them but assumed that she was their friends. He almost dozed off before straightened when he felt someone was looking at his back with so much hatred, making his spine straightened. He exhaled the breath he was unknowingly held when the unknown human walked out.

"Something's not right." He whispered, knowing only Misuzu there to hear him.

"Taro?" She sounded worried.

"I'm fine, Misuzu. Don't worry." It was silence for a few seconds before he heard the last footsteps got out.

"She's not what she claim herself to be. I need to watch her more carefully." He deduced, still feeling the chill from her stare.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Seven crossed his hands over his chest.

"Yeah, did you see how she stared at him? It was creepy." Jack shuddered.

"Do you think she's going to be like that biker before?" Mebius asked to no one in particular.

Both of the parents were silent. They looked at their unconscious son with pride mingling with worry. The father stroked his son's cheek tenderly while the mother gripped her son's hand tightly as if to shield him from everything.

"I don't know about you guys but the respect for my otouto have raise a few notches higher." Ace declared with pride.

"He always have our respect, but this? This shows us how resilient he can be in the face of danger." Zoffy announced. The others nodded their heads.

"He is my instructor. Of course I respect him as my teacher." Mebius proudly stated.

"Hikaru get up! How long do you plan to sleep in?!" A voice brought Taro out of his sleep. He looked blearily when Kenta tried to wake Hikaru up. He smiled when he saw Hikaru was being herded out by his friend. He closed his eyes, intended to continue sleeping when a voice jolted him to the present.

"I'd like to change my clothes."

"That woman again!" He whispered in shock.

"I'm starting to feel that this is a mystery novel that we have to solve." Zoffy quipped dryly.

"Shhh!" Ultraman shushed him, eyes planted solely to the memory.

"Wait a minute. She's changing here?!" Taro automatically turned around in shock when her words registered in his mind.

"Oh! What should I do…? He whispered awkwardly when he heard rustles of fabrics.

"Do we have to see this?" Zero's cheek turned red. He watched the others surreptitiously. They either looked on stoically (in the case of Ultra Father and Zoffy), frowning in disapproval (Ultra Mother, who also glared at her husband if he ever dared to look on the scene with so much of a twitch of a mouth), winced with beet red expressions (himself, Mebius, Ultraman and thankfully his own father), watching gleefully (he was very sure Jack and Ace just wanted to have a blackmail material for Taro) and worse yet, looked on in amazement. Wait-what?

"Wait a minute. Why do you look like that?!" Zero pointed in shock at Qiv who was looking in open admiration. He swore he saw she was drooling just now.

"Looking like what?" She shrugged innocently.

"Like…like you never saw people change clothes!" He was blushing by just saying that words.

"Oh you mean she's going to strip naked?"

"What?!" Everyone spluttered.

"That's what she's going to do, right? I had read it but I never saw how the art of seducing took hold. It was truly magnificent." She said in awed. The others glanced awkwardly, wanted to ask the question but didn't wanted to be the one to ask.

"You didn't know how to seduce men?" Ultra Mother asked with gentle, as gentle as she could be with that awkward question.

"No. At my home planet, if we like that person we just ask for their hand of marriage. And it is a custom for the other side to accept." She said with a smile. The others blinked, didn't know how to respond.

Taro's cheek turned redder and redder when he heard the sound of clothes been unzipped. "No, I will not look!" He said firmly. "I will not look!" He reiterated, aware how his voice shook just to reign in his impulse. By now, all of his face had turned red, the same shade of color of his body. As soon as he heard the clothes fell down to the ground, he quickly turned around to face her.

"Just a peek!"

Jack was howling with laughter at this point. He grabbed Seven by the shoulder to help him from rolling on the ground. Ace didn't had any problem with that, rolling on the ground while clutching his stomach.

"This is the most funny things I have seen by far!" Jack wiped the tears from his eyes.

"There goes my respect for him just now!" Ace was huffing while still clutching his stomach.

"You are embarrassing me, otouto." Zoffy dragged his hand across his face with a sigh. He was shaking his head, mumbling about the integrity of Ultra Warriors these days.

"Where did you get these perverted behavior, my son? Surely not from me." Ultra Father chuckled and shook his head. He frowned and turned around when he felt someone stared at him. He gulped when he saw his wife looked at him intently. "Hey, I never behaved like that!" He widened his eyes in shock.

"Really?" She replied, deadpanned.

"Of course." He nodded furiously.

"We will speak about it later. The four of us." She emphasized at the word 'four'. Both her husband and her son shuddered at the tone, feeling sorry for Taro and afraid for themselves.

"W-What's this?!" Taro exclaimed in shock. The woman stood in front of him. One of her hand was holding a candle holder while the others gripped a Dark Spark and a doll.

"There goes our funny scene." Ultraman spoke, making the others shut their mouth. They looked on awkwardly when they realized things were going to turn bad when the woman revealed her true color.

"The spark of darkness!" He exclaimed, still in shock.

"Heh! It's too late to notice that now, Taro!"

"That voice!" He tried to turn around to face the owner of the voice but he had been gripped on the waist.

"The great Ultraman No. 6 has been reduced to this form." Alien Valkie spoke with mirth while poking Taro's head simultaneously.

"You will pay for harming my otouto." Ace said darkly at the scene.

"Alien Valkie, why aren't you a doll?" He spat, trying not to wince by the rough treatment.

"What do you think?" Valkie smirked and shook the doll, enjoying the warrior helplessness.

"Are you their boss?!" Taro demanded. He clenched his teeth in pain, feeling dizzy to speak but his overwhelming need to know forced him.

"That's right! You're spot on!" Taro narrowed his eyes, spotting sarcasm on that sentence. "…is what I want to say. But I'm simply an agent." Valkie twirled around. Taro closed his eyes and took a few deep breathes. "My master is far greater and far more dangerous than me!" He then twisted Taro's waist to the side a few times.

"Arghhh!" Taro screamed.

"My son!" Ultra Mother hugged her son tightly. Her shaking hand hovered a few feet from her son's waist and cried. "Our son had a broken hip, Ken. It didn't healed properly. All these times, he walked with a fractured hip." She looked with anguish at her husband. Ultra Father cradled Taro with shaking hands.

"My boy! My poor little boy! Why didn't you told us that you were hurt badly?" He rocked his son's body, disbelieved and anguish warring on his emotion.

After that, Valkie punched Taro several times on the face and body, earning a distressed yelled from Ace.

"NO!" Ace wailed in agony. His hands covered his face. He couldn't looked at the memory any longer or he would be tempted to blast it to eternity.

"Arghhh! Stop!" Taro moaned, lying limply on Valkie's cruel hands. He gasped harshly when he felt his hip bone cracked and shuddered every time a crack sounded. Tears fell from his pain filled eyes while his fingers tried to dig somewhere to ground him to reality.

"Arghhh!" They had been shaken out of their stupor when a crater formed not too far away from them. They turned to the side and saw Seven stood gasping for breath. His eyes were glassy and a few of his tears were leaking from his eyes.

"I'm suppose to protect him." His knees buckled and he put his head on the ground while screaming out loud. Zero shuffled to his father, still shaken from the memory and put his hand on Seven's shoulder.

"Dad."

In a flash, Seven was clutching his son tightly to him as soon as he heard Zero's voice. He mumbled a few unintelligent words to where Zero would agreed meekly. He raised his head upwards and saw Ultraman was comforting both Mebius and Jack, in which the former stood catatonic while still staring at the memory and the latter gripped Ultraman's arms while crying unashamedly. He looked to the side and saw Qiv was wiping her eyes and looked forlornly at the scene. She snapped her head to look at Zero and smiled sadly when she saw he was looking at her.

Taro registered Alien Valkie was talking but the pain was too much. He just realized something was happening when he saw the woman dropped the candle holder.

"W-w-what are you doing?!" He said between his gasp for breath. He widened his eyes when he realized what she was attempting to do. "Stop!" He yelled. He gathered his remaining strength and teleported out of Valkie's hand. He appeared a few feet away from all of the dolls they managed to collect and focused his powers to teleport out with all of it despite his pain. Suddenly the room he was in exploded and he only managed to grab Kemurujin before he had been thrown out.

Taro screamed when he felt his body had been burnt badly by the fire. He fell to the ground with Kemurujin doll below him to soften his landing. He gasped when the impact jarring his broken hip and raised his head frailly to see Hikaru looked to him bemusedly.

"I'm sorry. This was the only one I could save." He let his head thumped weakly to the ground as the memory faded.

"He was hurt. Badly." Qiv whispered. The atmosphere turned sombre by the memory.

"How many times do he have to hurt before he can be happy?" Ultraman said brokenly. He punched the ground, lacking in force.

"Can we made the vision go faster?" Mebius spoke with a shaking tone. Seeing his mentor in a distress state made the young warrior wanted to rip everything that made his childhood hero hurt.

"I'm sorry but I can't." Qiv replied with a bowed head.

"Toughen up, Mebius. We need to see this. If you can't stomach what agony he had been enduring, remember that he did that to save us. Watch with pride that even after all this, he still walked with confidence befitted of a hero." Zoffy spoke gruffly. He had already walked towards where Taro was laying. He sat down beside him with his head stared straight ahead. His hand was stroking his little brother's knuckle in slow movement.

Taro awoke with a gasp. He stood still while looking around him in shock, noting that he was in a cage.

"You're awake."

He quickly turned around and saw a boy sat on a chair while tapping on a device.

"Where am I?" He asked, feeling that the boy had an ill motive towards him. "Open up!" He tried to use Ultra Nenriki but realized belatedly that all of his energy had been directed to his healing. Even though it was not a full healing but it was passable for his standard. He still needed to see a real medic to mend his hip but for now he needed to make do with what he managed. He shook the cage and to his dismayed, it didn't budged a bit.

"It's useless. You currently don't have the strength to get out of there." The boy spoke with a bored tone.

"Who are you? Where is this place?!" Taro yelled while shaking the cage, frustrated with the situation.

"I'm Ichijouji Tomoya." The boy spoke and lowering his device. "And this place is within my partner, Jean-Killer!" He revealed the Dark Spark he was holding to the stunned Taro.

"What? How many evil human he must encounter in a day?" Jack said in shocked.

"Can't he get one day of rest from all of this excitement?" Zero asked after he managed to get out of his father's embrace.

"It's going to turn from bad to worse soon." Zoffy winced.

Chapter Text

Taro was pacing around in his cage. He gritted his teeth in anger. "Hey boy! Ichijouji! How long do you plan on keeping me here?!" He punched the cage in anger.

"As long as possible." The boy suddenly materialized and sat down on a chair in front of Taro. He was tapping on his device, making Taro frustrated with his nonchalance.

"What do you get by trapping me here? If you think that making me hostage will persuade Hikaru to give all the dolls to you…"

"You're wrong." Ichijouji cut in. "I don't need you to be my hostage. Do you think they're looking for you?"

"What? Of course they are!"

"You're wrong again. Watch." Ichijouji tapped something on the device before the screen flickered and came to life. Taro watched numbly as he saw Hikaru and Misuzu were laughing and fooling around.

"What?" He whispered in shock.

"How dare they? Are they forgetting about Taro already?" Jack clenched his hands in fury.

"Wait." Seven put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't judge yet. We know that this is Taro's memory. We don't know their side of story."

"Agreed." Ultraman nodded. "We cannot judge them first." He raised his head and gave the most chilling stare to the memory of two humans. "But if somehow I know they were neglecting Taro, I will never forgive them. I object to the plan of letting them come here." The others shivered at the cold tone.

Taro watched numbly at the screen. He saw how Misuzu was posing in some outfit before someone took her picture with Hikaru and Kenta cheering from the sideline.

"Now you see." Ichijouji snapped his fingers and the image disappeared. He got up and walked out from the room. Taro stood paralyzed. His eyes still locked where the image had been displayed.

"Please." Taro whispered. His body sagged on the ground. With heartbroken expression, he leaned his back to the cage with arms encircling his legs. His hunched shoulders and bowed head showed how devastated he truly was. "Please don't forget me. Don't leave me here alone. Father, Mother, nii-san tachi. Help me.

"Never." Ace spoke vehemently. "We will never forget you." He reiterated. He turned his head to look at his father.

"Father. How can I convince him?" He looked pleadingly. Ultra Father sighed.

"Just be there for him. I'm not sure what else we can do."

Taro stood in the cage. With hands gripping the bars, he looked calmly at the sitting Ichijouji. "What are you after?"

"Looks like a few days had already passed." Mebius noted.

"What are you planning to do with me?" He continued. "No, more importantly, why are you attacking them?"

Ichijouji looked blankly at Taro. The shrunk warrior could clearly saw the boy's mind was a few miles away. He could detect a faint anger and hatred from his eyes.

"You seem to have hatred for something." Taro deduced. Ichijouji glared at him. Taro stared back calmly.

"Awkward." Zero whispered to Mebius.

"Now, aren't you a precious booty!" A gleeful voice sounded beside the sitting boy.

"You!"

Everyone shouted in anger at the image of Alien Valkie who stood smugly beside Ichijouji.

"Alien Valkie!" Taro gritted his teeth in anger.

Valkie proceeded to walk to where Taro had been trapped and swing the cage without care. "How unsightly, Taro-san!"

"Get your hand's off him!" Mebius shouted, startling everyone there.

"Hey, hey calm down!" Zero gripped his comrade's arm. Mebius took a few deep breath to control his temper.

"I'm calm." He said. Zero looked at him for a few seconds before he nodded and released him.

"I'd love to play with you but I'm not here to see you!" Valkie swung the cage without care.

"What?!" Taro spoke with a clenched teeth to prevent himself from throwing up.

Valkie put the cage back without concern and skipped to Ichijouji. "Yo! Yo yo yo yo! Yo, my friend! How long has it been since you were given the spark of darkness?" The alien leaned towards the still silent boy. Ichijouji got up and walked a few paces further.

"I know what you want. I'll defeat Ultraman Ginga." Valkie chuckled, hearing Ichijouji's answer. The boy suddenly turned towards the shrunken warrior. "It'll be over quicker if you're willing to help me out."

Taro looked neutrally towards the boy. He let the silence stretched on for a few seconds. "No. Forgive me but I will not help you."

"I know you are going to say that." Ichijouji tapped a few keys from his device. "That's why I'm going back to Earth to defeat him myself." He turned to face the alien. "You better get out of here." He ordered.

Valkie shrugged his shoulder. "Alright, alright. I'm going. I want to see this confrontation up close. Bye Taro!" He waved sarcastically to Taro before he promptly vanished.

"Whatever plan you cooked up, it won't succeed."

"Because Ginga is strong?" Ichijouji cut in, raising one of his eyebrows in disdain.

"Not just that. Because you lack conviction." Taro noted how the boy's shoulder turned stiff when he said that. He filed it later for further contemplation. "You have the objective, the aim. But you lack the reason why you must do that. For that, you will lose."

Ichijouji scoffed. "I will show you my 'conviction'." He sat on his seat and tapped a few keys. Taro looked on in silence as the robot soared above Earth. He watched in trepidation as Hikaru ran outside to confront the robot.

"Hikaru! Hikaru!" He yelled telepathically to the young boy.

"Taro? You're in there?!" Hikaru's eyes widened when he made contact. "Wait right there. I'll come and save you!" He looked resolute. Taro only nodded his head.

"Be careful." He whispered. He was startled when Ichijouji suddenly got up.

"Sit here." The boy commanded to someone behind him. Taro whirled around and gasped when he saw who was it.

"Kenta?!"

Taro looked shocked at one of Hikaru best friends. His eyes spotted something in his hand.

"The Dark Spark!" He exclaimed in shock. "How?!" He turned and narrowed his eyes to Ichijouji. "You! You manipulate him! You want them to fight each other. You know Hikaru will never hurt his friend. With this, you don't have to get involve in the fight. Kenta will do all the dirty works for you!" He hissed in realization. Taro grabbed the bars tightly when Ichijouji sneered.

"Good job deducing my plan. But what good of it when you can't warn Raido about it?" Ichijouji clicked something on the device before he took the cage with him.

"What?"

"You don't think I will let you to stay here when Raido come, right?"

Taro shut his mouth. He took a deep breath and tried to communicate telepathically with Hikaru. He suddenly winced and massaged his forehead.

"Whatever you're doing, it's useless. I have already erected a barrier around the cage. You cannot use your power inside it." Ichijouji told him without emotion.

"Damn." Taro whispered.

"Thank goodness it has no lasting effect on him." At everyone questioning face, Ultra Mother explained. "Taro is one of the warriors that had so much raw power. Restraining his power will result to massive energy build up. He was lucky he didn't exploded from that much power."

Ichijouji suddenly materialized beside Alien Valkie with Taro kneeling in the cage. The shrunken warrior gasped and clutched his chest tightly with one hand while the other grasped the bar tightly in order to get up. He raised midway before he fell back to his knees with a moan. He distinctly heard Alien Valkie said something to Ichijouji but he was too far gone to comprehend their words.

"Hurt. Please make it stop." He panted and wheezed in pain. He fell sideways and saw from his peripheral vision the showdown between Kenta and Hikaru. He outstretched his hand with greying vision.

"Hikaru…" And he knew no more.

Ultra Mother sobbed. "My son. My baby boy." She rubbed Taro's cheek with her knuckle.

"Mother, how is he now?" Ace asked while looking at his little brother with pain-filled eyes.

"He's fine. Stop feeling guilty. All of you." She swept her gaze to everyone. "Ace, stop it."

"I was supposed to protect him! I am his older brother. It's my job to shield him from everything!" Ace punched the wall angrily.

"We failed. We failed big time." Jack bowed his head.

Zoffy suddenly strode forward to stand in front of the two most influential Ultra there. He promptly knelt in front of them. "I am not only his superior. I am his big brother. His safety is my responsibility. But I failed this time. Please accept my apology. I will accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate." He bowed submissively. He heard some rustles and glanced to his side and saw all of his brothers knelt beside him.

"We bowed to your judgement." They chimed in.

"What do you think you are doing, Zoffy. Get up all of you." Ultra Father commanded and walked towards them. His wife took his place and stroked their unconscious son's head tenderly. "Why do you think all of this was your fault?" He raised his hand when he saw Zoffy opened his mouth to speak. "What happened was not in any way your fault. It's Dark Lugiel fault."

"Do you think Taro will keep quiet when he heard all of you blaming yourself?" Ultra Mother cut in. They shut their mouth, knowing that their younger brother would not tolerated it if his brothers blaming themselves. He would made it his mission to alleviate his brother's guilt.

"Loyalty." Qiv whispered. They turned to look at her. "All of you are loyal to each other. Why? He just a soldier, not a royal."

"That's the difference between us and aliens. We might have hierarchy but our bond of brotherhood is much stronger than that. We will never leave our comrade behind. We will face everything together." Zero spoke passionately. Seven was looking at his son with paternal proud.

"Who said he's not a royal?" Everyone turned to look at Ace with questioning gazes. "He's a royal pain in my ass."

"Ace!" Ultra Mother reprimanded but it was drowned with the roared of laughter from almost everyone.

Taro grunted when he felt his back collided with something. He hissed and tried to get up with a blurring vision. He took a deep breath and promptly doubled over. He felt nauseous, making him clenched one of his hand to the cage bar while his other hand was gripping his midsection tightly.

"I can't stand people like you." He turned his head slowly and saw Ichijouji was standing in front of the monitor. "People who so thoughtlessly talk of impossible dreams." He touched something on the device before a scream permeated the air. He whirled around in shock, recognizing whose the scream belonged to.

"Hikaru!"

He looked on in horror when Jean-Killer pummeled Doragorie without mercy. "What the hell are you doing?! Stop! Stop!" He yelled towards the boy. His heartbeat sped up and he panted in hysterics for every beating that Hikaru took.

"Impossible dreams?" Taro heard the whispered words. He and Ichijouji turned to look at Doragorie.

"Don't decide that on your own!"

Ichijouji closed his eyes when bright light enveloped Doragorie. As a being of pure light, Taro only squinted his eyes to see through the light. He smiled when he saw who stood in front of them.

"I was waiting for you. Ultraman Ginga."

Taro ignored the boy in favor of looking proudly at his student. "Go get him." He whispered.

Jean-Killer transformed and he shot at the teenagers on the ground.

"Hey! Are you crazy?! They are just humans!"

Taro frantic cries didn't deterred the boy at all. He shot to the sky and out of the atmosphere. He suddenly whirled around and opened fire. Ginga turned around before his back had been shot.

"No!"

Taro waited with bated breath and sighed in relieved when he saw Ginga was unscathed. He smirked when he saw Ginga was about to unleash his attack before his face turned to horror in dawned realization.

"No, wait…"

An explosion rocked Jean-Killer, making him stumbled and cursed under his breath. "Hikaru, don't forget I'm still on board!" He yelled to Hikaru's mind.

Everyone laughed at his predicament. "Language." Ultra Mother shook her head.

"Taro!"

The warrior sighed in relieved when he's heard his young student's voice. He looked in alarmed when Ginga color timer started blinking.

"Again?!"

"Hikaru, quickly return to Earth!" He ordered the teenager. He winced inwardly when he remembered he forgot to mention about the importance of color timer to ultra warriors. 

"No way! I need to defeat it and save you, Taro!" A warm fuzzy feeling erupted in his chest. He felt like he wanted to grin stupidly because he's wrong and someone did care about him or cried in sheer foolishness of this young man.

"There's a time limit to how long you can 'live' into Ginga!" He ignored his emotion and focused on saving the innocent boy. He opened his mouth to speak when Ginga had been engulfed with light. He widened his eyes in shock, knowing what would happened next.

"No!"

"Falling from that distance will kill him." Zoffy noted.

"Nevertheless, the kid's alive. Meaning someone save him. But who?"

"Do you think it's Taro?" Zero asked his father who looked to ponder that question.

"Taro can't transform. He's also too weak from before. But it's too early to say about that. Miracle can happen anytime."

"Hikaru!" Taro cried helplessly when he saw Ginga had been reverted back to Hikaru. He looked down towards his shaking hands before his face morphed to determination.

"He's going to do something stupid." Ultraman noted.

Taro thrust both of his hands forward before his body was glowing brightly. He yelled in pain and fell to his knees.

"What are you doing?!" The boy cried.

"What I have been tasked to do. Protecting human." Taro smirked while panted. It was worth it to endure the pain just to see the gobsmacked expression on the boy's face.

Ichijouji arranged his feature to look emotionless. He looked towards Jean-Killer's palm who was supporting Hikaru. The latter looked towards the massive robot bravely with concealed curiosity.

"I underestimate you. Even when you are these weak, you still managed to force Jean-Killer to move without my consent." Ichijouji mused.

"Never underestimate me." Taro straightened himself and tried to conceal his weakness from the boy before him. Both of them stared at each other, unwilling to concede defeat first.

"Why do you save me?"

Taro and Ichijouji both turned towards Hikaru. The two of them had already forgotten the presence of the other teenager. Slowly Jean-Killer descended to the ground. Ichijouji looked to Hikaru contemplatively before he continued his staring contest with Taro. Taro stared back without flinching, his hands were gripping the bars loosely.

Out of nowhere, a ball of fire had been shot to the robot's back, making him stumbled forward. Taro looked on in horror when the form of Jean-Killer was shimmering in light, just like Ginga had been before. He clenched the bars tightly and clamped his mouth shut from crying out when suddenly the inner body of the robot had been replaced with open space.

A low sound of surprise sounded from beside him, making him whipped his head to the side. Ichijouji was falling freely in the sky. Without thinking, Taro thrust his hand forward towards the boy. He grunted and fell to his knees. His hands shook and he clenched his teeth from crying out in pain.

"Please. Give me strength." He pleaded and slowly clenched his hand. He knew he couldn't stopped them from plummeting to the ground but at least he could slowed their descend.

It felt like someone was ripping him from the inside out. It's hard to breath with the rapid change of altitude. He moaned and swayed dangerously to the side. His vision turned grey before he felt an impact and he blacked out.

"Why?" They turned towards Jack. "Why did he had been tested to this extent?"

"We don't know. What we know is he had a destiny to fulfill. Whether he have already fulfill it or not are yet to be seen."

"Destiny?"

Ultra Father turned to the young warriors there. Mebius was looking perplexed while Zero was frowning.

"Ultraman King told us that Taro will play an important role one day. We're not sure whether this is the important role or not."

"Really?" Mebius was looking in awed to his comatose instructor. "Wow."

"He's a bit like Zero, right?" Ultraman turned to Seven.

"Me?" Zero perked when he heard Ultraman called his name.

"Yeah. Taro in his youth was one of the powerful warriors. His raw power was uncontended even now. He's a bit like you. Only he didn't had time to frolic anywhere. His time was spent to protect the galaxy, training and learning etiquette."

"Quite a boring life he had. But what to do? It's his responsibility. He can't shirk away from that." Ace explained.

"Taro!"

His hands twitched when he heard someone was calling his name urgently. He opened his eyes and turned to his side to the sight of Hikaru staggering towards him. Hikaru looked at him worriedly for a second before he turned to face Ichijouji.

"It was you?" He asked without preamble.

"Hikaru," Taro cut in. "…who was behind that attack?" He mumbled, too tired to identify their attacker. His body suddenly froze when he felt a malicious energy directed at them. He gritted his teeth and forced his body to get up and leaned to the cage. He was lucky that the fall managed to rip open the cage and released him. He raised his head and couldn't stopped his widened eyes.

"That's…Ultraman Tiga!"

"What?!"

Zoffy looked on in disbelieved at the scene. "How can he transform to his real form?"

"I don't think that's Tiga." Mebius pointed out. "His coloring was different."

"Hikaru be careful. I don't think he's in friendly mode." Taro warned.

"What do you mean?" The teen asked without averting his eyes from the being in front of them.

"His coloring is different. Besides I had fought alongside Tiga before. And right now, his energy don't match with anything that I know associated with him."

"Good job Mebius." Ultra Father praised the young ultra who ducked his head in embarrassment.

Tiga turned and stared at them, making Taro shuddered. Taro flexed his hands, getting ready to save the teens if things gone south. He tracked Tiga movement while slowly got himself to his knees.

Tiga suddenly clenched his fist and a bright light was rushing towards them. With a yell of Ultra Nenriki, he managed to swat the attack to the side. He gasped and panted while watching at the sky dizzily. He tried to think what he was doing before and why he was lying on his back.

"Taro!"

Taro jolted forward and everything came to clarity. He glanced to Hikaru and saw the teen was kneeling in front of him. The teen sported a pinched expression and looking lost.

"Hikaru, run!" He managed to utter those words before he got on his knees. He raised his head and saw Hikaru was still kneeling in front of him with guilty expression. "What are you waiting for? Run, now!" He yelled, making the teen nodded and scrambled to his feet.

Hikaru almost running away before he realized Ichijouji was still staring at Tiga. "You too!" He urged Ichijouji to run with him.

"Why care about me?" He asked.

"That's what the bad guys say." Hikaru retorted.

"Quickly." Taro pressed. He widened his eyes when he saw Tiga was charging his energy and channelling it at them. "It's too late!"

Chapter Text

"Quickly." Taro pressed. He widened his eyes when he saw Tiga was charging his energy and channelling it at them. "It's too late!"

Hikaru grabbed Ichijouji's shoulder and dragged him down with him. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable pain of being burned alive. Instead, he felt a tingle running down his body. He opened his eyes to see the grassy field had changed to the inside of classroom.

"What happened?" He asked to no one in particular. He looked in shock when Ichijouji suddenly pitched forward and lied on his front.

"Seems that we made it just in time…" A raspy voice broke the silence. Hikaru whipped his head to the side to see Taro was swaying on his feet.

"Taro!" He exclaimed. Taro was too far gone to notice Hikaru's worried frown. He tried to raise his tired head before his knees buckled. The last thing he heard was footsteps approaching them.

"Marie?" Ultra Father asked with a frown.

"I'm worried. He had expanded too much energy in the span of a few hours only." Ultra Mother fussed around her son. Her husband shook his head.

"Our son is strong. You don't have to worry. He's from my lineage. Of course he's strong." Ultra Father boasted off. His wife rolled her eyes in fond exasperation.

"Whatever make you happy Ken." She replied with a chuckle.

"I'm shocked. I can't believe Tomoya used me."

Taro awoke slowly to the angry words of Kenta. His eyes flicked to his forehead, noting a wet handkerchief was there. He kept quiet, his mind was too far away from the state of Ichijouji.

"What's more shocking is that the enemy has obtained Ultraman dolls as well." Taro spoke quietly.

"Taro."

The shrunken warrior ignored the pity and concern dripping from Hikaru's word. He heard a shuffle and turned to his side to see Ichijouji got up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Hikaru got up and followed the other teen. He ignored them in favour of closing his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Why? Why is this happening? Someone please tell me what I should do. Father, Mother, nii-san tachi. I need your guidance. Please."

"We're sorry little brother for leaving you like this. We swear we never want this to happen. Please hang on." Ultraman sat beside Ultra Mother and touched Taro's shoulder in regret.

"He's giving up." Seven spoke lowly. "Is there something that we can do?" He raised his head and looked towards Zoffy and Ultra Father. The latter shook his head.

"Just be there for him. Remind him that we will always be there for him. That's all what we can do."

"I assume that it has something to do with your father?"

Taro looked startled when a new voice suddenly joined in. He glanced to his side.

"Principal?" He mumbled, parroting Hikaru just now.

"You're the son of the man who controls the distinguished Ichijouji Group." Taro perked up when he heard the principal response.

"Ichijouji Group…You mean…"

"That has nothing to do with me." Ichijouji cut in.

"Hey, what's your dream for the future?" Taro frowned when he heard Hikaru's tone.

"I have no such dream."

"Eh?"

Ichijouji turned around and face them. "I've gotten everything I wanted since I was a child. Since birth, anything I needed came to me without much effort." He smiled to them.

"That smile." Taro turned his eyes to the ceiling. He put a hand over his eyes. "That fake smile. We're much more similar than I thought."

"Fake smile? What did he meant by that?" Zero asked.

Seven and Ultraman looked at each other. "Just like we told you before. He only had us as his friends. But all of us were always busy. We sometimes don't have time for him. So he always smile and told us that it's alright and he's sorry to disturb us." Seven explained.

"Is it bad?" Taro turned his attention back towards Ichijouji. Without waiting for reply, the teen walked out from the room but not before pausing to look at the principal.

"Wait!"

"Hikaru." Taro stopped the Ginga's host from following the other teen. "Leave him to me."

Without wasting any more time, the shrunken warrior teleported out to find the teen. Ichijouji was standing with his back to the wall. He got faraway look on his eyes.

"When a child has such a great father, it's never easy for that child to live up to his name." Taro said while standing on Ichijouji's shoulder. He sighed and closed his eyes. "It's the same for me."

"Why is it blurring around the edge?" Ace asked while looking at the silent Qiv.

"Maybe it's his flashback. I'm not sure. This is the first time I use my power without supervision." Qiv shrugged her shoulder while looking at the memory with rapt attention.

"I think I remember this memory." Ultra Mother spoke while glancing at her husband. Ultra Father sighed and slumped his shoulder.

Taro as a child was standing and looking with heartbroken expression as his father turned around and disregard his son.

"I'm sorry my son." Ultra Father whispered with regret. His wife gripped his hand and looked at him lovingly.

"It's in the past. Let it go."

"Father!" Taro shot his hand forward as if to stop his father. He bowed his head and lowered his hand slowly with shaking shoulders.

"Father…" He called brokenly.

Ultra Father flinched at the tone. Ace sidled next to him and just sat there as silent support. His father looked at him appreciatively.

Child-Taro's body shook with repressed sobs. His mother was kneeling in front of him. She was rubbing his shoulder.

"I want to be like you, Father!" Taro raised his head when his mother said that. "Did he scold you when you told him that?" Taro nodded in shame.

"I think it's because Father doesn't want you to be just like him." Taro widened his eyes in shock when his mother told him that.

"Taro." Ultra Mother took both of his hands. She rubbed soothing circle on his knuckles. "You're unique. There's only one you in the entire world. The same goes for Father." He listened attentively. "You shouldn't become someone you are not. It's impossible for you to be just like Father." He flinched and bowed his head at her words.

Ultra Mother got up and turned around. "But you can surpass him." He gasped and quickly got up. He looked at her in wonder. "Father wants you to surpass him in the future. Mother believes that's what he wants for you." She looked to her back and saw her son frowned.

"Surpass Father…in the future?" He gaped at the notion before slowly his eyes showed fiery determination. He gave a nod and stood erect.

"I will. One day I will surely surpass Father."

"He's already surpassing me." Ultra Father kissed his son's brow.

"My otouto is one of a kind." Ace bragged.

"Too true." Jack crowed happily and nudged at the silent Zoffy. The latter cocked one of his eyebrows at him. "Don't you want to say anything?"

"Why should I say something when it's all true?" Zoffy spoke with an underlying smug tone. Seven and Ultraman high-five with a grin.

"I believe that's what your father is thinking about too." Taro returned to the present and spoke with conviction.

"To have a dream is merely to have a desire that can't be fulfilled." Ichijouji spoke in monotone.

"Eh?" Taro tilted his head to the side.

"Recall. Just look at all the people who have 'lived' into kaiju. They used every despicable means to fulfil their desire." Ichijouji raised the dark spark in his hand. "But…I'm different from them. That's how I still maintain my sanity." He smiled creepily, making Taro shuddered.

"But that isn't fun, is it?"

Taro whirled around to see all four teenagers running towards them. "Hikaru. Everyone."

"I'm sorry. But I just have to butt in." Hikaru smiled at the dumbfounded Taro. "Let me explain it to you. When you think of your future dreams, you should feel a sense of excitement, or thrill. Maybe you're unsure if they will come true and you feel troubled because of that. But that's part of having a dream. That's what makes having dreams so much fun!" Hikaru gave a blinding grin to them.

"I think so too."

"Yeah! Me too!"

Misuzu and Kenta said. They turned around when there was not another voice chimed in.

"Chigusa?"

The girl bit her lower lips with a bowed head. She suddenly smiled. "Yeah! Even though it's troubling, it's fun!"

Ichijouji scoffed. "How pointless. An idol, a cameraman, a confectioner and an adventurer?" He addressed them one by one. "Those don't count as dreams to me."

"What?" Hikaru walked forward and stood looking at Ichijouji from the side.

"I can be any of those without any real effort."

"He really is an ass." Kenta commented. Taro surely would be laughing at that comment if the situation was not tense.

Hikaru suddenly chuckled, making Taro looked at him with confused expression. "Alright. I'll decide your dream for you then!"

Ichijouji frowned at Hikaru. "Eh?"

Hikaru smirked. "Defeat Ultraman Ginga!"

"Hikaru-kun!" Misuzu took a step forward.

"If you're that good, this shouldn't be a problem for you, right?" Hikaru grinned.

"Of course. We'll settle this now." Ichijouji walked emotionlessly to the outside.

Taro teleported and stood on Hikaru's shoulder. "Why didn't you speak something, Taro?" He asked, curious.

"I feel that only your stubbornness can get through Ichijouji. Let's go outside." Taro suggested. Hikaru nodded and took a step forward before the warrior stumbled.

"Taro!" He managed to grab him from tumbling to the ground.

"You okay?" Misuzu asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I just need to rest." He smiled at the worried teens.

Hikaru looked conflicted before he nodded. All four of them ran outside to see Ichijouji had summoned Jean-Killer.

"Who's that?"

"That's Jean-Killer. Ichijouji's robot." Taro replied to Kenta. He watched as Ichijouji touched something on the device before a light enveloped him and brought him inside. "But I don't think he's just a robot. He have an otherworldly presence." He muttered.

"Eh?" Taro glanced to the befuddled Hikaru. He gasped as he saw Ginga Spark came to life.

"It can't be!" He exclaimed in shock.

"You're willing to help me, Ultraman Ginga?"

Hikaru said excitedly before he raised his hand to the sky. A gust of wind knocked Taro to the ground. He had been saved by the quick action of Misuzu. She cradled him protectively.

"You okay?"

"I'll live." He reassured the resident priestess. Both of them turned to see the fight between Jean-Killer and Ultraman Ginga. The two giants were punching, kicking and attacking each other with everything that they got. Taro tuned to them to hear what they were talking.

"In this worlds, there are things that can't be achieved easily! I need you to realize why dreams are so important!" Hikaru yelled.

"Is this coincidence?" Jack suddenly broke the silence. "I saw Taro in that boy."

"You are not the only one." Seven glanced towards the two oldest warriors there. Both of them looked with pride at Taro and Hikaru.

"Hikaru is persistent. Never give up. He will try hard until he succeed." Ultra Father grinned.

"Not to mention that he will try to sway everyone to follow his opinion. Just like one of our resident warrior here." Ultra Mother spoke fondly while looking at her son.

"My dream is to defeat Ultraman Ginga. And I'll surpass you!" Ichijouji said stubbornly.

"When chasing a dream, you're supposed to go all out and smile!" Ginga punched Jean-Killer in the face a soon as Hikaru spoke. There was a bright light and a gasp from Ichijouji. Taro frowned, didn't know what happened to make the unemotional teen to act like that. He smiled and sighed in relieved when he saw Jean-Killer's eyes turned blank. Taro was startled when he saw someone standing not too far away from Ginga and tried to warn the warrior when Ginga's color timer started blinking.

"Hikaru!"

"I can't see who's controlling him but I have a really bad feeling about this!" Hikaru replied.

Tiga suddenly attacked Ginga without mercy. Taro looked worried with Ginga's condition. The latter was looking fatigued and his movement had became clumsy.

"Look!"

There was a voice from behind them. Misuzu spun around quickly, making Taro dizzy with the action.

"Attention!"

"Alien Valkie!" Taro glared at the alien in front of him.

"I'm starting to hate that alien to personal level already."

"You're not the only one." Jack muttered to Ace.

Kenta and Chigusa quickly took a shovel and safety cone respectively. They put the items in front of them to defend themselves.

"Cute." Zero snickered.

"I wouldn't do that unless you want to get hurt."

Taro glared at the implication of Alien Valkie's words. He looked bemused when the alien fell down to his knees when he slipped on something.

"O…kay. This is starting to get weird." Taro shook his head.

Everyone burst out laughing. "Is he trying to be a jokester?" Mebius asked, snickering.

"Dangerous!" Alien Valkie spoke to himself. He got up and dusted himself off. "You gotta give it to them. They are very strong, aren't they?" The alien took a few steps forward while the teens scrambled backwards. "Ultramen, that is."

Taro looked uncomfortable with what the alien was implying. "Ultra Telekinesis!" He roared.

Alien Valkie had been pushed to the back and side. Taro was dismayed to find out his power still did not recovered fully.

"Dangerous! Dangerous again!" Alien Valkie shook his head. Chigusa raised the safety cone high to the air to hit the alien. "W-W-Wait wait wait!"

The alien quickly knelt and raised his hands placatingly. "Wait! Hold your horses!"

"As you said, the Ultramen are very strong!" Misuzu spoke bravely.

Suddenly, Taro got an idea. He winced at what he's going to do. "Sorry Father. I know you will hate me for this but it is the only way." He mumbled.

"Hmmm? What do you mean, my son?" Ultra Father cocked his head to the side.

"Can you hear me, the one who's controlling Tiga Dark? If you don't want Alien Valkie to be hurt then call off Tiga Dark right now!" He yelled to the dark warrior. Tiga turned his attention towards him.

"Should heroes use such underhanded means?!" Alien Valkie gasped. Taro managed to restrain himself from flinching at the statement.

"Oh Taro." Ultra Father gathered his son into his arms. He kissed his forehead tenderly. "Nothing you did or do will lessen my love for you." He cuddled his son.

"We will love you always, my baby." Ultra Mother cooed at her unconscious son.

"Why you still accept him when he's clearly fought dirty?"

Zoffy glared at Qiv. He almost snapped at her when he saw she's clearly confused, not trying to incite their wrath. He stopped Jack from coming towards her.

"Because we are family. And family means that we will accept him, flaws and mistakes and all that." Zoffy answered firmly.

"Even when he's doing huge mistakes? Over and over?" She frowned.

"Even that." Seven spoke firmly.

"Why?"

"Because we love him. Plain and simple." Ace shrugged his shoulder.

Alien Valkie pushed them out of his way. Suddenly, there were lights shot out from Tiga Dark's eyes towards the alien.

"Why?! What is this?!" The alien screamed. "I feel this power surging through my body!"

"No." The shrunken warrior whispered in alarmed. He couldn't helped but felt a small sliver of fear when he saw his enemy grew in size to his actual form.

"Oh no! There are more enemies now!" Kenta spoke.

"Ultraman Taro-san!" Chigusa pleaded.

"I want to be big again!" Taro moaned.

"Wow. I think that's Taro's new favourite words." Ultraman said sarcastically after they all stopped laughing.

"Is he going to change profession from warrior to comedian?" Zero snickered. Seven swatted the back of his son's head.

"Don't made fun of your cousin." Seven admonished even though his mouth was twitching to fight a smile.

Taro watched anxiously as Tiga Dark and Alien Valkie ganged up on Ginga. "Please, please, please. Someone help him." He pleaded softly.

There was a movement from the downed Jean-Killer. He watched bemusedly as Jean-Killer's eyes shone alive and he got up. The robot raised his arm and powered up his cannon. Taro opened his mouth to warn Ginga but to his surprise, the robot shot at Tiga Dark.

"Alright!" The three humans jumped excitedly. He sighed in relieved when Jean-Killer attacked the alien, cementing his believe that he's on their side.

"Yeah, nice one!" Kenta crowed.

Taro smiled proudly as Jean-Killer helped Ginga to his feet. Together, both of them stood to face the new challenges. They charged up their attack. Jean-Killer with his suddenly appeared gun and Ginga with the custom ultra warrior attack. They unleashed the attacks at the same time, creating shock wave and explosion.

"Alright, they did it!"

"Ginga's awesome!"

He chuckled at the enthusiastic shouts from the teens. He looked at the two beings who now stood side by side.

"Restoring Jean-Killer to Jean-Nine. It looks like his strong feelings have brought back a miracle."

Taro stiffened at hearing the unknown voice. "Impossible." He hissed in disbelieved.

"Ginga?" Hikaru asked excitedly.

"Ginga have his consciousness?" Mebius spoke in shocked.

"What does this mean?" Ace swiveled to see his father. Ultra Father looked pensive for a moment.

"Ginga and Taro both have his consciousness. Something must have happened at the final battle." Jack reasoned.

"But it was only possible because of your strong conviction."

"Is that you, Ginga?" Hikaru couldn't helped but grinned from inside Ginga.

"Ultraman Ginga, just who are you? Amongst all the dolls, why am I the only one that is conscious?" He widened his eyes when Ginga turned his sorrowful eyes to him. "No, you are too. Why? What do you know?" His questions went unanswered as Ginga shimmered and Hikaru stood at his place, the same time Jean-Killer or Jean-Nine deposited Ichijouji to the ground.

The teens ran towards Hikaru who ran with a big grin on his face. "Guys, do you see that?" Hikaru almost jumped excitedly.

"I see. Ginga's really awesome!" Kenta nodded exuberantly.

"Don't forget. Hikaru is powerful too!" Chigusa chimed in.

"So does this mean Ichijouji is in our side?" Misuzu couldn't helped but asked.

"I don't know. What do you think, Taro?" Hikaru shrugged his shoulder. He furrowed his brows when he saw the warrior in Misuzu's hand was looking a bit subdued. "Taro?" He bend his knees and touched Taro's shoulder with a fingertip. The shrunken warrior jerked and shook his head.

"What?" Taro turned to face the teens. All of them were looking at him worriedly.

"You okay?" Hikaru asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What was your question again?" He gave a reassuring smile to them.

"I asked whether Ichijouji can be consider on our team or not." Hikaru enunciated slowly while looking at Taro's face with a frown.

"You better ask him. From his action alone, it looks like he agreed to join us. There he is." Taro looked pointedly at Hikaru's back. The latter turned around and saw Ichijouji was standing not too far away from them.

"Thanks. I would've been defeated if you hadn't helped me." Hikaru grinned.

"There's no need to thank me. Ginga can only fall by my hand. I didn't want anyone else to have that." Ichijouji lowered his head for a second before he raised it back to look Hikaru at his eyes. "You said it, that's my dream." He turned around to walk away.

"Remember what else I said?" Hikaru stopped the other teen. "You're supposed to go all out for your dream, and it's supposed to make you smile! You understand, Tomoya?"

Ichijouji stood still for a few seconds. He didn't said anything and walked away from them.

"How rude." Kenta grumbled.

"Let him be. After all I have a feeling that we will see him again sooner or later." Hikaru shrugged his shoulder.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Chigusa asked with a smile.

"Hey, let's play football." Kenta suggested.

"Yeah. Let's go." Hikaru agreed excitedly. He started to run to the field when Misuzu's voice stopped him.

"Taro?"

Hikaru cocked his head to the side and saw Taro stood on a branch. "Taro, you're coming?"

Taro shook his head. "Go on. I will see you later." He promptly vanished and appeared in the room that he shared with Hikaru.

"Seeing Ginga just now, it seems I have forgotten something. But what is it?" He crossed his hands over his chest while looking at the teens who were playing happily. "I don't know why but I have a feeling that this final battle will be the death of me."

Ace gripped his brother's arm. "Why did he said that? I don't like it."

Ultra Father and Ultra Mother looked at each other. Ace frowned when he saw both of his parents were quiet.

"Mother? Father? What is it?" He inquired.

Ultra Mother nodded and her husband sighed. "We never tell you anything because we don't want you to worry senselessly. But there was a point in time when we both felt his life force suddenly vanished."

"No." Zoffy whispered in horror.

"What does it mean?" Qiv frowned when he saw everyone in the room were looking in disbelieved and sadness towards the comatose warrior.

"It means that he's…dead." Zero spoke slowly.

Chapter Text

Taro cocked his head to the side when he heard footsteps came towards his room at leisure. The gait was definitely Hikaru, making him straightened himself.

"Hi Taro!" Hikaru greeted with cheer.

"Hikaru." Taro nodded. "Where are the others?"

"On the way. They are so slow. That's why I come first." The teen grumbled while seating in a chair backwards. Taro chuckled.

"Hikaru-kun." Both of them turned towards the door. "Mugwort." Misuzu showed them the plastic bag in her hand.

"Oh yeah, the Japanese confectionary contest is coming up. So what will you bake?"

"It's a surprise." She wiggled her fingers to him.

"Hey guys!" Kenta and Chigusa came in, followed by the silent Ichijouji. The latter looked hesitant to enter.

"Hello Ichijouji. Come in." Taro greeted warmly.

"Thank you, Ultraman Taro." He gave a small bow as a sign of respect.

"Just Taro will do." Taro waved the formal greeting away.

Ichijouji sat on a mattress beside Taro. He took one of the doll to inspect it.

"If you like any of the kaiju, you can have one." Hikaru offered.

"It's fine. I have this." Ichijouji showed his gunpad with a proud smile.

"But Tomoya-kun, you sure are amazing. You're smart and great at sports!" Misuzu praised.

"Yeah! So vastly different from Kenta!" Chigusa egged her friend.

"Why did you drag me into this?" Kenta moaned while everyone laughed at their antics. "Say, Chigusa, you seem to have changed recently!" He nudged his friend.

"That's not true!"

"I'm sure it's because you've matured, unlike someone." Taro couldn't helped but joining in teasing Kenta.

"Not you too, Taro!"

"Say Taro, who was that black giant that fought against Ginga?" Hikaru asked curiously.

"You mean Tiga Dark?"

"Oh, so that's his name? What was the aim of all his manipulation?"

"I don't know either. But…"

"But?" The teen prodded.

"It's just a premonition. A very bad premonition." Taro replied heavily, making the environment turned gloomy.

"Premonition again. It's going to become a mystery novel if this continue." Ace frowned.

Suddenly the ground trembled, making everyone fell to their knees. "What, an earthquake?!" Kenta looked in wide eyed expression.

"What's with these energy readings?" Ichijouji mumbled while looking at his gunpad.

"Something's happening." Taro warned before he felt a distortion rippled through the universe. He closed his eyes to ward off the nausea. He opened his mouth to speak before his eyes widened.

"What the…"

"Is this…"

"The final battle. I never realized it was this terrible." Seven scrutinized the battlefield that had been shown to them.

"What are you looking for?"

"Us. Where were we?" Seven replied to Ultraman.

"There you are." Ace pointed. They saw Seven was fighting King Pandon. "I see Ultraman nii-san fought Zetton. But I don't see anyone else."

"We better keep our eyes open. This may contain answers that we are seeking from him." Zoffy spoke after glancing at Taro. Ultra Father nodded his head.

"The Dark Spark War." Taro breathed in shock.

"Dark Spark War? You sure like to be the first to dub everything, otouto." Jack snickered.

Taro floated slowly. He looked in wide eyes at the carnage around him. He froze when he saw two figures that he knew very well before his mind went overdrive and he was sprinting there before he knew it.

"Father! Mother!"

Ultra Mother gripped her husband's arm tightly. He patted his wife's arm.

"Don't worry. It's all in the past." He soothed.

"Seeing it do not make it any better." She argued.

"NO!" Taro screamed so loud making everyone flinched at the sheer panic he displayed.

An alien was leveling his weapon towards the kneeling Ultra Father who was tending to his wife behind him. Without thinking, Taro teleported in front of the weapon before it was shot. He tried to block the attack away but to his horror, the attack passed harmlessly through him. He swiveled to his back quickly and thrust his hand forward as if to stop it.

"Stop!" There was another voice that spoke besides him. He sighed in relieved when he saw his past self rushed through the battlefield and used his own body as a shield for his parents. The doll Taro clutched his chest and winced when he felt the echo of searing pain cut through him.

"Taro!" His parents cried. Both of them acted in blinding speed as Taro started to fall down. They managed to catch Taro and lowered him slowly to the ground.

Ultra Mother kissed his son's forehead. "You are always making me worry, Taro. Doing reckless things without any regard to yourself. You are not invincible, my son."

"Taro!" Both of his parents looked on worriedly. Taro groaned and blinked blearily to his parents.

"Are you both alright?" He asked with hoarse voice.

"Worrying about yourself first before you start worrying about others." His father chided. Taro lowered his head.

"Sorry." He mumbled. He sucked in a mouthful of breath when his father suddenly hugged him tightly.

"Be extra careful, please." Ultra Father let go before his wife did the same thing.

"We can't bear it if something happen to you." Ultra Mother spoke in trembling voice.

"You guys alright?" Zoffy suddenly materialized in front of them.

"We'll live." Ultra Father nodded decisively before they helped Taro to his feet.

"Something's happening." Ultraman frowned.

They watched as there was a dark blob hovered not too far from them. That blob took shape of a sinister looking alien. He grew in size, bigger from everyone else and watched impassively to the fighting around him. He was clutching something in his hand.

"Dark Spark? Who are you?" Doll Taro breathed out. He was alarmed at the sight of that.

"Dark Lugiel!" Jack hissed out. Ace glared to the memory.

"Who is he?" Qiv tilted her head to the side.

"Our enemy." She shut her mouth to Zoffy's curt answer.

The alien raised the Dark Spark and it emitted a red glow. Both Taro took a step back. The glow spread and attack everyone. To Taro's shock, the glow made every aliens, monsters and even ultra warriors changed to doll form as soon as it touched them.

"No!" Jack rushed forward and tried to block the attack with his body before he screamed and turned to doll.

Ultraman put a hand on Jack's shoulder. He glared heatedly towards the alien.

"It's alright nii-san. I'm fine." Jack gave a small smile to the older warrior.

"I know." Ultraman nodded tersely. Jack looked uncomfortable with the attention he got from his older brothers and Ace.

"Jack, let your nii-san tachi expressed their concern to you. After all if it's Taro, you will baby him like that, right?" Ultra Mother smiled.

"Yeah, sorry." Jack smiled sheepishly.

"Nii-san!" Taro yelled and tried to go to his brother when a hand blocked him. He looked wide eyes at his mother.

"Stay behind me!"

"Remember that we love you. No matter what!"

His mother and father said with love shining from their eyes. It's felt like everything was going in slow motion. He saw Ace fell after Jack, followed by Seven, Ultraman and Zoffy. He tried to stop the beam from coming towards his parents but it seemed like his feet had been rooted to the ground. He just managed to scream brokenly as everyone he knew had been turned before he faced the same fate as everyone else.

"So that's what happened." Seven spoke heavily.

"No wonder he looked like he saw a ghost the first time we met after we had been turned back from the dolls." Jack shook his head.

"But why we didn't remember anything?" Mebius frowned.

"I'm lucky I didn't remember it. I don't want that to be my nightmare. Imagine our molecules had been compressed to fit into a doll. It must be agony. I didn't envy Taro a bit if that's the price he had to pay to have consciousness during that time." Zero shuddered.

"That's why he felt reluctant to speak with us about his time there. He didn't want to drag the nightmare to surface. Moreover, he saw everything that had happened." Ultra Father spoke.

"No, no. Zoffy nii-san. Ultraman nii-san. Seven nii-san. Jack nii-san. Ace nii-san. Mother. Father. No, no please." Taro fell to his knees. He covered his ears and closed his eyes tightly to stop the image from playing in his mind, unaware that the memory had ended. He opened his eyes and glanced at his surrounding to see that he's back. With shaking legs, he rose to his feet and turned his back from the teens to compose himself. He took a few deep breath.

"Taro, you look troubled." Hikaru suddenly spoke, startling him.

"I recalled some of my memories." Taro spoke after a few seconds. "The kaiju and Ultra Warriors had their consciousness removed when they were turned into dolls. But it was different for me. I'm able to think and talk."

"And the reason for that is…?" Misuzu asked hesitantly.

"My brothers covered me. My parents too. Because of that I didn't take the full brunt of the dark wave." Taro sighed. "Everyone else sacrificed themselves for me. Even now, there are those who are wandering in the vastness of space." He slumped his shoulder in defeat.

"Don't feel down over that." Hikaru chuckled. "We'll just save everyone, even those in space."

Taro's throat convulsed for a moment, too touched with the simple admission. "Hikaru."

"Hikaru kind of simple minded person, right?" Mebius noted.

"Yeah. If he said that he will do it, he will do it. No compromise." Zero agreed.

"It's hard to find this type of human anymore." Ace smiled.

Suddenly the ground trembled. "Not again." Taro moaned.

"Let's find out." Hikaru grabbed Taro and sprinted outside. The others were following closely behind.

"Oh no. It's headed for the school." Kenta said.

"There's someone in there!" Chigusa pointed to the upper level of the school with shock.

Hikaru squinted his eyes to see before he gasped. "Principal?!"

"We need to save her!" Misuzu spoke determinedly.

"Alright, I'll go!" Hikaru gave Taro to Misuzu.

"Be careful." Taro advised.

Hikaru nodded. He changed to Black King and faced Dark Galberos.

"Hikaru…turned into a kaiju?!" Taro glanced to his side and saw Kakki looked bemusedly at the scene. He nudged Misuzu who grabbed Kakki to them.

"Hello." Taro spoke mildly to the still stuttering human.

"A speaking doll?!" Kakki shrieked, making Taro rolled his eyes to him.

"The name's Taro. Please stop yelling. You are hurting my ears." He spoke blandly.

Kakki blinked and nodded hesitantly. Misuzu chuckled at the confused looking policeman.

They turned their attention back to the fight before them. Taro didn't bother to eavesdrop the conversation between Black King and Dark Galberos. He just watched with a smile as Black King changed to Ultraman Ginga.

"First a kaiju, now a giant?" Kakki looked wide eyes at the transformation.

"It's Ultraman Ginga. Don't worry Kakki. I will tell you everything after this." Misuzu patted Kakki's shoulder.

"This is the first time a human didn't ranted why they have a dark heart. I'm not sure to be relieved or scared." Taro noted when he saw Ginga casually defeated the monster.

"For kaiju to be born the dark powers must be getting stronger."

"Huh?" Hikaru frowned while Taro froze hearing that voice.

"Ginga?" Taro breathed.

"His revival is near."

Ginga crossed his hands over his chest and light enveloped his body.

"Wait! What do you mean? Who are you referring to?" Taro asked rapidly. Ginga turned to look at him intensely.

"You will know."

He shimmered and vanished, leaving Hikaru at his wake. The teen frowned at the evasive answer before his face cleared and he beamed at his friends.

"Guys!" He hollered and ran to them.

Taro looked pensively before his back straightened all of a sudden. "Something's not right." He hissed and teleported inside the school.

He hovered at the stairs and looked around him with a glare. "I know the foul energy came from here but where is the alien?" Taro said, frustrated.

He teleported a few times around the school before he came back to his first stop. "Dammit, I knew it's not nothing. Where did the alien go?" He kicked the wall angrily. He took a few deep breath and wipe the emotion from his face. "Calm down Taro. Don't show your paranoid side here. Just keep your eyes open."

"He's getting paranoid, right?" Zero frowned.

"Yeah. He was starting to lost himself bit by bit there. I'm starting to get worried." Jack squatted down and poked Taro's forehead. "Don't lose yourself little brother. We love you."

Chapter Text

Taro teleported a few times around the school. "I'm still not satisfied as long as I can't identify the unknown energy." Taro grumbled. "Forget it. I better see what the kids are up to." He teleported after he honed where Hikaru was.

"This is completely irrational! This is absurd!" Taro perked when he heard a yell from an unknown voice.

"Why can't we get out?! Explain!" A woman demanded. Taro took a peek from behind some furniture. He frowned when he saw three unknown humans stood in front of the teenagers.

"Look, I've been telling you!"

"Everyone." Hikaru's grandfather, Hotsuma entered the room with the principle, cutting Hikaru mid-sentence. "For now, let's keep our cool."

"Why are you here, Priest?" The woman spoke respectfully all of a sudden.

"Figure. You will respect when someone with higher authority spoke to you." Taro scoffed.

"Careful little brother. You are letting your anger to rule you." Jack frowned.

"Thanks to Principal Shirai's goodwill, the shrine is currently housed here in this school." Hotsuma nodded in thanks towards the principal.

"Shirai?" The unknown woman asked in shock.

"Oh, this is the first time you two are meeting." The third guy, the most silent one suddenly spoke.

"Are you from Ichinotani Constructions?" Shirai furrowed her brows.

"Constructions?" Taro muttered in confusion.

"Kuroki Tomomi, the chief of development." The woman, Tomomi gave her name card to Shirai. "He's Kuwabara, the architectural designer." The other man looked disgruntled at her.

"Father, are they…?

"Father?" Taro widened his eyes in shock at Misuzu's term to the silent man.

"Yes, they're here to do an assessment for the demolition work."

"Demolition?" Hikaru's shock had been mirrored by the other teens.

"You didn't know, young boy?" Taro stiffened at the mocking tone of Tomomi. "A complex resort will be built here soon!"

"I see. This school will be destroyed." Hikaru said in subdued tone.

"That's kinda sad." Chigusa chimed in.

"I'm sorry…I kept it from you all." Shirai bowed her head.

"It's always difficult to share such heartbreaking matters." Hotsuma spoke, tried to defend the principle. She nodded her head as a thanks.

"Well, that's if you can beat the kaiju that destroying this place." Kenta said off-handedly.

"Kaiju? What nonsense are you spouting now?" Tomomi raised her voice. Taro's shackled raised in indignation on the behalf of Kenta.

"Even if we told you, you wouldn't believe us." Kenta smirked.

"That's true." Chigusa chuckled.

"How impertinent!" Tomomi yelled in outrage. Taro needed to bit his tongue in order to stop himself from cackling madly.

"Calm down." Hotsuma tried to stop the fighting. "It's about to get dark. Let's have dinner first." He suggested.

"Agreed!" The teenagers whooped in joy, making Taro shook his head fondly.

"Yeah, I'm really hungry!" Chigusa grinned.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Hikaru raced ahead of them.

"Hey, wait for us!" Kenta yelled and ran, followed by Chigusa. Misuzu started to run before she turned her back.

"You too, Ichijouji!" She beckoned him. The boy shook his head.

"You go ahead first. I will follow." He waved her. She nodded and ran to follow her friend. The boy ignored the adults who were still talking and walked out calmly. Taro teleported out and stood on the boy's shoulder after he was very sure there was no one following them.

"Hey." Ichijouji glanced at him.

"You okay?" Taro asked.

"Yeah." It was silence for a moment. "Hey, I didn't had time to thanks you before. So, thank you."

"What for?" Taro looked to his side and saw the boy looked everywhere but him. "Ichijouji?"

"You help me to see the depth of my father's love for me. I never realized about it until now. Thank you very much." The teen smiled gratefully.

Taro gave a small smile. "It's nothing." Taro looked to his front with sorrow. "I don't want you to feel regret for not expressing your love to him if something happen to your father. Only then you will realize how much you love and depended on him before."

"We will find them. Trust us." Ichijouji vowed solemnly.

"Oh my son." Ultra Father hugged Taro tightly to himself. "I know you love me. I know." He rocked his comatose son back and forth. His wife hugged him while he was keening softly. The others wisely kept their mouth shut. They knew this was a private moment for the family.

"Itadakimasu!" Everyone yelled and dug in their meals. Taro looked on in silence.

"Awesome!" Hikaru spoke with pure bliss painted on his face.

"Ah! How delicious!" Chigusa seconded.

"This is really good!" Kenta nodded in exuberance.

"Agreed!" Ichijouji spoke in decorum even though everyone can see him tried to eat politely and wolfing down his food in one go.

"That sure looks good." Taro spoke softly and twirled a spoon in his hand.

"Taro, don't you wanna eat?" Hikaru asked.

"Not in a mood to." He put down his spoon and teleported a few feet away. The others looked worriedly for a second.

"Misuzu, don't you wanna eat with your dad?" Hikaru diverted his attention towards his friend beside him.

"It's fine. Besides, he seems to have work." Misuzu gave a strained smile. Taro furrowed his brows at her forced smile.

"I see." Hikaru nodded in understanding and continued to eat. Taro saw from his peripheral vision how she looked on longingly at her father. He sighed.

"Looks like I need to solve another dad's problem. The things I do for this children." He shook his head.

Ace laughed at his brother's remark. "Taro the problem solver. Quite a nice ring to it." He bumped fist with Jack. Seven chuckled while Ultraman looked on with a smile.

Taro stiffened out of a sudden. Without saying anything, he teleported out of the room. He arrived at a quiet hallway and extended his power. He gritted his teeth in anger when he didn't sense anything.

"Dammit. I swear I sense a dark energy coming from here." Taro huffed in frustration.

"This is the second time he loss his temper in span of a few hours. This is worrying." Seven noted with a frown.

Taro teleported to see Misuzu was baking. He smiled when he saw Misuzu was spacing out.

"Misuzu."

The girl whirled around with wide eyes expression. "Taro! You scare me."

Taro chuckled. "Sorry. Are you okay? You are spacing out a lot." He frowned in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. No need to worry." She grinned but he could see there's a lot of sadness in that grin. Taro lowered his head for a second.

"My father is a very strict man, you know." He felt she stiffened at the words. "Since I'm little, there's no pleasing him. I tried everything. I trained hard, follow his lead. But not once in my childhood I can remember he told me that he love me. Sometimes, I thought that I better died than facing his disappointment."

Ultra Father hugged his son tightly to himself. "I love you, my son. I love you." He rocked his comatose son in regret. He turned to his wife who looked in tears at the scene.

"Marie, tell me how to fix this. Tell me how I can convince my son of my love." He pleaded. His wife shook her head and hugged both of the important person in her life.

"We can't change the past. But we can shape our future." Ace suddenly spoke. Both of them turned to their older son. Marie raised her hand and beckoned him in. Without wasting anymore time, Ace rushed forward and fell to his mother's embrace.

"We will get through this. Together. As a family." Marie spoke with conviction.

Misuzu widened her eyes in horrified realization. "Taro!"

"But as I became older, I realized something." He ignored the girl. "It's not that he didn't love me. He love me. Very much so. But he's a leader in our world. He couldn't show his affection for the world to see or the aliens and monsters would not be afraid of him. Both my parents couldn't spent all their time for me. They have worlds to protect, people to save. The only time I will get their undivided attention was when I'm sick or hurt. That's why sometimes I'm looking forward on fighting monsters. My mother will fretted over me when I came back injured. Not in the case of my father though. He will only showed his concern and love for me when I'm asleep. I don't know why. Tough love, maybe?" He smiled on sadness. He grunted as Misuzu hugged him tightly to herself.

"I'm so sorry, Taro." She sobbed.

"Hey, I didn't tell you for you to pity me. I just want you to know that even if sometimes your father didn't show how much he love you, deep inside I'm sure he cares. We are trapped now. Take this time to get to know your father better. Connect with him, okay?" He patted the girl's shoulder. She nodded her head and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Good girl." He vanished and appeared on top of the school. He tilted his head to the sky and smiled mournfully.

"Have I make you proud, Father?"

"Yes, you have. You have always making me proud. Never doubt that." Ultra Father choked. He caressed his son's cheek. Ace put his hand on his father's shoulder.

"Father."

"I'm the worst Father."

"No! You're not! You're the best Father one can really hope for! You love both of us unconditionally. You will always be the first to respond when one of us was hurt." Ace spoke in vehemence.

"That's just action. But have I ever tell you that I love you both?"

"...Action speak louder than words."

Ultra Father sighed in regret. He got up and embraced his son. "I love you, alright. I love you so so much. Both of you."

Ace's eyes turned wide as a saucer. He hugged his father back with moist eyes. "I love you too."

"I promise I will do right to both of you. After all of this end, I will sit with your otouto and tell him too." Ultra Father kissed his son's forehead. Ace blushed and mumbled some unintelligent words to his father's shoulder. Ultra Mother beamed at them.

"Hi Taro!"

Taro turned around and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Hikaru." He spoke fondly.

"I didn't see you at all this afternoon. Where did you go?" The boy lied on his back. He turned to his side to face the shrunken warrior.

"I'm here. Wandering. Thinking." Taro trailed off and his eyes turned towards the sky.

Hikaru sobered when he heard the helpless tone of his mentor. "Hey, don't be so glum. We will find them and save them all. I promise you that." Hikaru grinned.

Taro turned to him and chuckled hearing his optimism. "Yeah, you're right. We will save them all." The warrior turned back to the sky. Hikaru frowned before he turned to lied on his front.

"Hey Taro," the aforementioned hummed. "…can you tell me about yourself?"

"Me?" Taro blinked at the request.

"Yup. You." Hikaru supported his head with both of his hands. "You already told me about the history of your planet. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"There's nothing exciting about myself." Taro shrugged his shoulder.

"I don't care. Even if you have the most boring life in this universe, I still want to know. Please?" Hikaru pleaded.

"Very well." Taro spoke in resigned but fond tone.

"Yes! Ow ow. Hot! Hot!" Hikaru excited voice had been cut by his cry of pain. He quickly get up and scrambled to take Ginga Spark from his pocket. He threw the relic down and blown air to his palms.

"Hikaru?" Taro frowned at his action.

"The Ginga Spark suddenly turned hot as soon as you said that you will tell me about yourself." The teen explained while inspecting his hands.

"Hot? How come?"

"Yeah. Hot. Like he's excited to hear about yourself." Hikaru nodded and tilted his head to the side as if he was thinking. "As a matter of fact, it always heat up whenever you're with me. But not as hot as what happened just now. I wonder why?"

Taro furrowed his brows and reached to touch the Ginga Spark. As soon as his hand made contact with the relic, it brightened a bit before the light dimmed.

"Ginga?" Taro questioned. "Hey, what's wrong?" He caressed the centre of the relic where the face of Ginga was carved in. The relic emitted a low hum as a response.

"He's happy." Taro turned to Hikaru beside him. "Ginga happy when you touch him like that." The teen explained. "Do it again." He urged.

Taro used his knuckle to brush Ginga's cheek. "You really a mystery, Ginga. So you want to know about me, hmm? Very well. I will oblige you."

Hikaru perked up and started to listen to Taro.

"As you know, my name is Taro. I have been called Ultraman Number Six because I'm the first six of Ultra Warriors to come and protect Earth after Ultraman Zoffy, Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Ultraman Jack and Ultraman Ace. People also knew us…"

"Why did Ginga excited to see Taro? Do you think they had met each other before?" Zero looked at his father.

"Impossible. If they knew each other, Taro will surely informed us. He knew he can't keep this as a secret." Seven countered.

"Wait a moment. How did Hikaru knew Ginga was excited to see Taro?" Qiv frowned.

"Our host are link to us. We can communicate with them telepathically if we want to but we seldom did. We prefer to let our host to decide for their lives without our interference." Jack explained.

"Oh I see. So that's why Hikaru can sense Ginga's emotion." Qiv nodded in understanding.

"Ginga is an Ultra from the future. Do you think it's possible that he knew all of us?" Ace asked.

"Possible. And I really think that there's a reason why he time travel here. The question is what." Ultra Mother looked pensively at everyone.

Taro snapped his eyes opened. "Hikaru! Kaiju!"

Hikaru jerked awake at the shout. "Right now?" He grabbed Taro and put him in his breast pocket. He ran outside and true to Taro's words, Zaragas was demolishing the forest around the school.

"It can't be allowed to rampage here!" Hikaru patted his pocket. "Eh?" He widened his eyes in shock.

"What's wrong, Hikaru?" Taro turned to look at the teen.

"It's not here! The Ginga Spark's gone!" Hikaru patted all his pockets frantically.

"What?" Taro hissed. He gritted his teeth at the sight of the kaiju stomping towards them.

"Run, Hikaru! I will take care of this!" He decided. He teleport himself at the kaiju eye's level. He didn't know whether his power was enough to stop Zaragas but he needed to try. He raised his hand and tried to summon all of his power in a single attack.

"Ultra Tele-"

A fiery pain erupted at his midsection as soon as the kaiju horn connected. Ha gasped and only managed to grunt as he was swatted away. He barely heard Hikaru screamed his name before his vision blacked out.

"Damn." Jack cursed. He clenched his hands tightly to prevent himself from punching something, preferably the kaiju.

Taro awoke to a world full of pain. He locked his jaw tightly to prevent himself from crying out. He brushed his hand to his midsection and discovered lights were pouring out of his wound. A distant roar made itself known, making him glanced to his side. He saw the kaiju stomped towards him.

"Now is not the time for you to be resting, Taro. Get up. You need to fight. Now!" He whispered.

Using a tree as a support, he heaved himself upright slowly but painfully. He gripped his midsection tightly and took a step by step towards the kaiju. He almost fell down when another roar sounded. He raised his head and felt his heart almost stop beating when he heard the voice from Red King.

"Misuzu?!" He choked.

"Misuzu?!"

Everyone yelled in surprise.

"But how? I thought only the Chosen One can wield the Ginga Spark?" Mebius asked aloud.

"I don't know. I never recalled Taro spoke before about Misuzu wielding the Ginga Spark. Right?" Zoffy turned towards his superiors. Ultra Mother shook her head while Ultra Father looked contemplative for a while.

"I have a feeling that much will be reveal after this.

"Shit! Misuzu what are you doing, girl?!"

"Language!" Ultra Mother corrected automatically to the amusement of everyone.

Taro looked on worriedly at the sight of Misuzu tried to fight the kaiju. He couldn't count how many times his heart stuttered when Misuzu had almost been attacked by the enemy. A bright light appeared beside Misuzu, making Taro gasped.

"Ginga?!"

"Wait! How can Hikaru Live into Ginga out of a sudden?" Ultraman wondered.

"This is the first time, right? Before, he needed to Live into another kaiju or aliens first before he can Live into Ginga. Am I correct?" Ace frowned.

"Misuzu is Hikaru's friend. Do you think that Ginga reacted to Hikaru's protectiveness?"

"Or Hikaru helplessness." Ultra Mother answered Zero.

"What do you mean?"Zero frowned.

"Before, Hikaru Live because he wanted to protect everyone from any kaiju or aliens. But right now, he surely feeling helplessness when Misuzu was attacked by that enemy for protecting him. Ginga responded to that, letting he used his power freely."

Everyone nodded at her explanation.

Taro sighed in relieved when he saw that Hikaru had Live into Ginga. "Protect your friend, Hikaru." He nodded. He looked on with pride when two of his charges worked together to defeat the kaiju. Suddenly Zaragas released his spikes on his chest and back.

"No." He mouthed in horror.

It felt like time was slowing down for Taro. He could see clearly how Ginga tried to interceded Zaragas but failed.

"MISUZU!"

His yelled echoed along with Misuzu's scream who had been impaled by the spikes. He tried to teleport to where Misuzu was but only managed a few feet away. He cursed and snapped his head upwards when he heard a familiar sound. Misuzu was about to disintegrate!

Disregarding his own injury, he raised his hand and focused his power on catching Misuzu mid air. He grunted and fell to one of his knees when the strained of holding Misuzu became too much. His hands shook badly and he clenched his teeth to stop himself from crying out.

"Please." He gasped out. "Please Father, Mother, Brothers. Please help me. Lend me your strength."

"You don't need to ask otouto." Jack smiled sadly at his comatose little brother.

With one last push, he managed to land Misuzu on the ground safely. A quick check reassured him that she was okay. He tried to get up but a dizzy spell suddenly assaulted him, making him fell down to his knees again. He coughed to his hand and tried to purge whatever that was making his throat felt constricted. To his surprise, his hand came away bloody with light.

"Damn." He winced.

Ultra Mother put her hand on her son's chest and tried a deep diagnostic scan. Her lips pursed at what she found.

"What is it, Marie?" Ultra Father asked, seeing his wife's expression.

"There's too many untreated wound. Taro knew better than to let his wound fester like this." She voiced her disapproval.

The ground trembled suddenly, making Taro grunted in pain as his wound jostled. He raised his head and saw Ginga was kneeling while clutching his shoulder in pain.

"Who…" He trailed off as soon as he saw a shadow standing behind the downed Ginga. His hand fell from his mouth to stare at the figure in horror.

"Black…Ultraman?"

"Impossible." Zoffy hissed in confusion.

"Nii-san had been possessed by an evil soul?" Jack widened his eyes. Never in his million years he imagined to see one of his brothers to be a mindless puppet, let alone attacking their little Taro.

"Please don't tell me I'm going to fight my own otouto." Ultraman spoke in a low voice.

"It's not your fault, nii-san. Please don't blame yourself." Seven came and hugged Ultraman's shoulder.

"Yeah, he's right. I'm sure Taro didn't blame you too." Ace bumped Ultraman in teasing manner. The latter gave a small smile.

"Thanks guys."