Disclaimer: This is just a work of fanfiction. The Ultra Series belongs to Tsuburaya Productions
The events of this fanfiction takes place twenty years after Mebius left Earth, and dozens, if not hundreds of years before the events that took place in the Ultra Galaxy: Mega Monster Battle trilogy, so Zero and Belial won't make any appearances apart from being mentioned occasionally.
When life is victorious, there is birth; when it is thwarted, there is death. A warrior is always engaged in a life-and-death struggle for Peace.
- Ueshiba Morihei, founder of the Japanese martial art of Aikido
Ultrawoman Faire
Chapter 1: Shieldmaiden
Introducing: Iron Claw Monster, Mauleon
Land of Light, Nebula M78
Zoffy silently stared out into the horizon from the edge of the Land of Light, deep in thought as Taro approached him from behind.
"Penny for your thoughts, Zoffy?" Taro asked.
"Ah, forgive me, I was thinking…"
"About her, right?"
Zoffy let out a soft laugh.
"It has been two years since she went to Earth. I wonder how she and that planet is doing, and if she might take on a human host or a human appearance."
"Ah, one of the first batch of Blue Ultras that graduated from the Space Garrison after switching from a scientist's role to a combat role. Hikari's really made an impression on the Blue Tribe, huh?"
"True. It's been almost twenty years since Mebius defeated Empera Seijin. Earth, along with the galaxy as we know, is finally at peace. Yet strange rumblings have been going on recently. A Babarue civil war, sudden decrease in the aggression of the Baltan Seijin, Planet Guts suddenly going dark, not to mention that there have been some disturbances on our moon…"
"The moon where he is locked in?"
"The guards assigned to the prison reported that he's become silent all of a sudden, only muttering to himself about how things were going to change and that the Land of Light is not ready for his return. The defeat of Empera Seijin has upset the power balance of the universe and now everyone's gunning for his position as top dog of the galaxy."
"Then we of the Space Garrison must be even more cautious at peaceful times like this. That was what you said when you became captain. Now, back to the matter at hand, I came to you to discuss some strange sightings 80 reported around the space area of Planet Huber…"
Zoffy nodded and turned to leave with Taro, but not before taking one last glance at the direction of Planet Earth...
Space, near Earth
A sphere of blue light gently floats around the orbit of the planet Earth, avoiding the multiple satellites by sticking closer to Mars. The sphere's glow suddenly intensifies as it suddenly sped towards Earth, somehow avoiding the satellites, before slowing to a halt as it hovers just above the country known as Japan…
Narrator: The power balance of the galaxy was thrown off balance by the defeat of Empera Seijin at the hands of Mebius. While peace reigned upon the galaxy, chaos was slowly seeding itself into various planets as different power players begin their attempt to clain the position vacated by Empera Seijin. Now, it is the year has been twenty years since then, and on planet Earth, GUYS have been officially disbanded. But the United Nations are all too aware of the possibility of a new age of monsters.
Narrator: In the year 2022, the first monster attack occurred in Washington, D.C., though thankfully, the attack was repelled with few casualties despite the damage. In response, the United Nations commissioned the creation of the Global Emergency Active Responders, aka GEAR, which is split into eight main branches: North America (Hawaii, USA), South America (Chile), African (Cabo Verde), Europe (France), Arctic (Russia), Oceania (Australia), Middle East (Qatar) and Far East (Japan).
Narrator: Each GEAR branch runned by a General and have divisions located in countries under their direct protection which are lead by Commanders. Using the highly advanced Satellite Crisis Alert Network [SCAN], a series of 117 satellites orbiting around Earth, GEAR can quickly notify the public when a monster attack is imminent. Each of these satellites are also equipped with weapons to deal with space-faring threats
Narrator: GEAR's military are mostly limited to ground forces, but each branch have a special strike teams which takes the fight to the monsters. These strike teams have access to high-tech equipment and are allowed to operate on an international level. The most notable, however, is GEAR Far East Branch's Strike Team, Raptor, which boast the highest monster kill rate. However, Raptor Team recently underwent a huge change after several of its members were found guilty of monetary misconduct. The sole remaining member has been made the new captain, and the team was being rebuild, with two more slots remaining…
Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, Mongolia, April 13, 2025
It was a cold night in the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park when the ground began to shudder. As cracks began to form, a giant claw burst out from the ground, consisting of three long talons the length of two buses. Before long, a lion-like head emerged from the ground as well, and finally, the fifty-meter tall monster fully emerged, unleashing a dreadful roar into the night sky before stomping off.
GEAR Far East China Division, Yan Mountains, China
A young Chinese man wearing a green and UN-blue military outfit was operating a radar-like machine with several others in the same room when a red dot began flickering on one of the screens which displayed a map of Mongolia. Realizing what was going on, he immediately called out to an older man dressed in a white military officer suit and a black tie with a badge indicating his role as the commander on his right sleeve.
"蔡司令, 戈壁沙漠出现不明巨大生命形式!"
"什么? 马上切换到卫星27, 放大影像!"
The young man pulls up a holoscreen with the words "SCAN Satellite 027" on the bottom right corner, which showed the Gobi Desert from space, but then the young man began zooming in until, to the horror of everyone in the room, an image of a humanoid lion-like monster is seen prowling the desert.
"快通知GEAR远东总部!" the commander said urgently.
GEAR Far East Main Headquarters, Tokyo Bay, Japan
Located in the shallow parts of Tokyo Bay, GEAR Far East's main headquarters is a sight to behold. Designed for practicality, the headquarters consist of four buildings, two of which are partially submerged for aquatic research, confinement and submersible deployment.
The first building is the administrative building which also serves as the field hospital and the checkpoint which leads to a bridge that connects the headquarters to the mainland. The second is the engineering facility which stands at six stories high, where engineers work to improve the efficiency of GEAR's fighting men and women. The mess is also located there. The third building, which resembled a tower, serves as an intelligence building, which also consists of the temporary holding cells and the research facility.
The last was the barracks, where GEAR Rangers reside. Also consisting of the armoury and the garage, a runway lies right beside it along with a hanger. And on top of this hanger was the main Ops Room of GEAR Far East's special Strike Team, Raptor Team.
There were two entrances to this Ops Room, with a single large wall-mounted screen in the middle and a conference table in the middle. A desk meant for the captain of the team is situated behind the conference table, and another desk filled with computers and other electronics can be found on the left of it, right beside the reinforced glass windows that take up the entirety of the back wall.
At this moment, the doors opened and two individuals, a male and a female, entered. Both of them wore a grey flight jacket with orange sleeves and green hues, the white insignia of GEAR on their sleeves and their full names printed on the right, along with black combat trousers, fingerless gloves and combat boots. A small flag of Japan was also sewn on top of their names.
The woman was Akinaka Maiko, whose shoulder-length hair was held up in a bun. At 33 years old, she was among the youngest member of GEAR to become the captain of a Strike Team. The sole remaining member of the previous Raptor Team, she found herself watching over a new team after the scandal that saw the dismissal of everyone else. Because she was the captain, her uniform had an extra two golden stripes on each of her sleeves, but she prefers her subordinates address her by name, only referring to her as "Captain" when other officials are around.
The male, on the other hand, was Shinoda Kiyoshi, 35 years old. A helicopter rescue specialist who also served as a combat pilot in the JASDF who left service with a rank of Major, he was originally supposed to be the new captain of Raptor Team, but chose to step aside and pushed for Maiko to take the reins. Tall, lanky and shockingly good-looking, he was also notorious for being a flirt and has a known reputation of trying his luck on every women he meets.
"So, Maiko, how did the selection ceremony go yesterday?" Kiyoshi asked.
"Two this time. Both look promising. Both Japanese, though the male used to live in America and recently gave up his citizenship. He is currently undergoing naturalization to become a Japanese citizen. Anyways, the male scored full points in the flight combat simulation test while the female impressed the observers during the three disaster relief simulations test. The moment I saw the results, I knew who General Zhang was going to select."
"Ha, those two must have really made an impact. Anyways, do the others know we're getting two new members?"
"Of course. I like to keep my men informed. They should be arriving now."
Those words had just left Maiko's lips when four others arrived, also wearing the same outfits.
One of them was a Japanese youth with a buzz cut named Ishibara Nobushige. Usually referred to as "Nobu" by his teammates, he was the youngest of the group at 19-years-old and serves as Raptor Team's communications expert and analyst. He was also a certified genius, well-known in the field of engineering, and had a hand in reformatting most of the technology used by GEAR Far East, especially the SCAN satellite systems which he also happened to have a hand in developing.
The remaining three were not Japanese. The sole female of the four with her long hair in a ponytail and bangs covering her forehead was a South Korean pilot named Park Eun-Bi. At 21 years old, she was a graduate from the previous batch of trainees, she was noted for having scored very high for air-to-ground rescue simulations as a pilot. The man beside her was a 23-year-old Singaporean with spiky, messy short hair named Jake Soh. Originally a Ranger from GEAR Oceania Branch's SEA Division, there are rumours about internal politics being the cause of his transfer. A former firefighter, his older brother Roderick serves as a GEAR Ranger in the Far East Branch assigned to Taurus Team. Both Eun-Bi and Jake were from the same batch of trainees that managed to make it through the harsh three-month training course that earned them positions in Raptor Team.
The Caucasian man with short, textured blonde hair was 26-year-old Viktor "Vic" Tsvetaev. Big, energetic and friendly, he was a talented pilot from GEAR Arctic Branch's Wolf Team, but recently transferred to the Far East Branch to live with his Japanese girlfriend. He was also something of a scientist, something that others find difficult to believe in given his fascination for heavy weapons, and seem unnaturally happy whenever he fiddles with his science equipment.
"We're here, Maiko," Jake greeted.
"Where are the new guys?" Nobu asked.
"Collecting their uniforms and stuff like that, most likely. How was dinner?"
"Pretty great. We took some for the newbies," Eun-Bo replied as she placed a thermal bag on the table.
"Hey, Vic, I heard both the newbies scored pretty damn high on their flight test. You might lose your status as the ace pilot," Kiyoshi teased.
"They can have it. I just want to do my job."
"Oh, so modest…"
"Hey, Nobu, if we're not having any alerts, mind showing the live telecast of the Pacific League?" Jake asked.
"Oh, yeah, almost forgot! The Lions vs the Hawks!"
The screen in the middle suddnely flickered to life, and a Chinese man dressed in a dark blue military uniform with a black tie appeared on the screen.
"Captain Akinaka, we have a problem."
"General Zhang!" Maiko exclaimed as she and everyone else stood to attention.
"Sorry to ruin your evening, Raptor Team, but an urgent message came in from our China Division. This was a video taken from SCAN Satellite 027 just half an hour ago," the man in charge of running GEAR Far East Branch, General Zhang Yijie, said.
Raptor Team watched as a secondary screen appeared and showed the video of the monster that had emerged from the Gobi Desert.
"Wait, isn't that another Mauleon?" Vic asked as he pointed at the screen.
"Yes. This is the third time we're encountering this monster species. Right now, it is making a beeline for the city of Tavan Shar, and according the China Division's calculations, it would reach by morning. I need you all to prepare to move out. The Mongolian Armed Forces and the Russian Air Force are already in the process of preparing to aid us. Remember, even though Mauleon's threat level has been reduced to Medium, the first one caused a lot of deaths when it burst from the grounds of Washington, D.C.," the general said before the screen goes black.
"All right, Raptor Team, you heard the man. Prepare to move out. Nobu, prepare for comms and set up the strategy map."
The doors suddenly opened and two individuals entered, both Japanese. The male had a small fauxhawk haircut and a slightly cocky look on his face while the female had a styled bob haircut and looked uncertain.
"Let me guess, the newbies?" Kiyoshi asked.
"Er, yes. Sorry we're late…" the female replied.
"So, this is Raptor Team, huh? Not quite what I was expecting for a monster fighting team," the male said as he glanced around the room.
"I hate him already," Eun-Bi whispered to Jake, who merely gave her a slight nod.
"You're just in time, to be honest. I am Captain Akinaka Maiko. This is Vice-Captain Shinoda Kiyoshi. That's Eun-Bi, Jake, Vic and Nobu seated over there. No need for formality, we go by first names around here. Please give an short introduction of yourselves, and I mean short, because you two are about to go on your first mission already," Maiko said.
"Fūkami Kazuto. 21 years old. You guys should have heard about me, and you're fortunate to have me in on the team."
"Oh, the Japanese-American ace pilot from the United States Air Force…" Jake commented.
"Yeah, the one whose daddy crashed his F-16 on a dare and got a dishonourable discharge," Nobu added.
"Hey, that's no way to speak to your future ace!"
"I take back what I said earlier. I'm keeping my status as the ace pilot," Vic retorted.
"What about you, miss?" Jake asked the female.
"I'm Gekkō Otoha, 21 years old. Before joining GEAR, I was a paramedic."
"Nice to meet you, Otoha," Eun-Bi greeted.
"Hey, want to check out our Wyverns?" Kiyoshi asked.
"Do you have a boyfriend yet?" Vic asked.
"Shut it, Vic…"
"Yeah, I thought flirting was Kiyoshi's job…"
"Hey, it's not flirting, it's called making acquaintances!" the vice-captain defended himself.
"With your hands, apparently…"
Maiko looked at Kazuto's direction and shook her head in slight amusement, wondering why a man midway through his young adult phase was bragging like a ten-year-old, and she has to admit, her new team's eccentricity was more than enough to put him in his place, for now at least, before clapping her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Are you all forgetting something? Grab your gear and head to the hanger! C'mon, get a move on!"
"All right, you two. This are the Wyverns, Oroshi and Helmwind," Kiyoshi said.
Two highly advanced aircrafts stood side by side in the hanger as Kiyoshi leads Eun-Bi, Jake, Vic, Kazuto and Otoha inside, all six of them now carrying helmets with them.
The first aircraft, the Wyvern Oroshi, was a two-man fighter jet the size of a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, armed with various weaponry, thickly armoured, large engines at the back and its wings were designed to meld into its tail for some reason.
The second aircraft, the Wyvern Helmwind, was even bigger, clearly designed not just for combat but also for transport. Unlike the Oroshi, it resembled a Chinook crossed with a shrunken Douglas C-54 Skymaster while possessing a cargo hold large enough to fit an APC inside.
In fact, that was just what was happening right now, as an 8-meter-long APC with three pairs of wheels was slowly being pushed into its hold by large mechanical claws while six men and women wearing green combat uniforms, black Kevlar, gloves, combat boots and armour over their elbows and knees approached carrying all sorts of weapons. They bore the symbol of GEAR on their left sleeve and their country or origin's flag on their right.
"Kazuto, Otoha, I want you to meet Ranger Team Taurus. These six Rangers specializes in rescue operations apart from basic combat requirements, and are the only Rangers authoritized to work overseas with us," Kiyoshi introduced as a Caucasian man in his late forties with a crew cut and a full beard wearing a military cap gave them a salute.
"Captain Sven Janssen, 47 years of age, Taurus Team, at your service. You two must be the new members of Raptor. We look forward to working with you both," the Caucasian greeted.
"Nice to meet you, Captain Janssen."
"Ah, stow the honorifics. We're not so polite out here. Just call me Uncle Sven if you want to. Most of my team does that."
"Wait, aren't we supposed to be a monster attacking team? Why do we need a rescue team with us? Wouldn't that just make things harder for us and themselves?" Kazuto asked.
A smirk appeared on Sven's face.
"Well, boys and girls, listen to that snot-nosed brat! Sounds like someone thinks Taurus' are going to be a burden. We were even so nice to deliver arms to you," he commented.
The Rangers of Taurus lets out a mocking "Ooooh!" before breaking out in Norwegian language, which no doubt consists of insults thrown at Kazuto. Otoha was surprised at how fluent they were with their captain's native language and guessed that he must have taught them or something.
"You don't want to mess with this guy. He used to be a member of the JRCC NN and a Stabssersjant in the Forsvarets Spesialkommando," Jake warned.
"Not just him. Every member of Taurus Team served time in their respective countries' special forces. Tawfik Pratama, 36 years old, member of Indonesia's Kopassus. Valeria Ramirez, 29 years old, Mexican FES. Roderick Soh, 27, Singapore Police Force's STAR Unit. Umemiya Beniko, aka Becky, just turned 25, and Mizuno Kai, 30, both from Tokyo Metropolitan Police's SAT," Vic said.
"Woah…"
"Part of the responsibilities of Strike Teams in each GEAR Branch is rescue. This is why we have rescue specialists on the team, but only two of us can be on the ground at one time, which is where Taurus Squad comes in, and they sure as hell know how to defend themselves," Kiyoshi explained.
"They're not always deployed with us, unless urgent situations overseas like this one comes up. Sometimes they don't even bring their APC with them," Eun-Bi added.
"Hey, little bro, looks like you got yourself a sack of trouble," a shotgun-toting member of Taurus who resembled Jake but with slightly longer hair and glasses said as he gave Jake a friendly slap to the shoulders.
"Is he…"
"Yeah, Otoha. That's my oldest brother, Roderick."
"Otoha, huh? Well, if my little bro gives you any trouble, just come down to Block C's second floor, third room from the left. Me and Becky over here will teach him a lesson," Roderick joked.
"Now, the two of you come and take these," the Mexican Ranger, Valeria, said as she handed a metal briefcase to Kazuto and Otoha, which contained a pair of strange-looking handguns and two retractable batons.
"GW-1 Myrmekes Taser Baton, they're for melee combat as well as to subdue human targets. The GW-2 Cerberus is the standard sidearm used by Strike Teams in their individual GEAR Branches. Three modes of fire can be selected by turning the barrel. White is the standard shot, red is the blast shot and blue is the EMP shot for robotic enemies," Sven explained.
"And before you start asking why we Rangers get the bigger weapons, I think you ought to know that we would gladly trade ours for the Cerberus," Roderick added.
"All right, let's go already. Mauleon might be at Tavan Shar by now for all we know. Vic, you take Kazuto in the Oroshi…"
"Can I take Jake or Eun-Bi instead?"
"Out of the question. I want Jake to guide Otoha on the ground once we reach our destination and Eun-Bi's the only other person apart from him and me who can handle the Helmwind's controls."
The Russian pilot grunted and got into the Oroshi with Kazuto while the others got into the Helmwind.
"Status Red. All personnel, clear the runway immediately. Status Red. All personnel, clear the runway immediately. Status Orange. Wyvern Oroshi, ready for launch. Wyvern Helmwind, ready for launch," the speakers announced.
The Wyverns' engines began blazing.
"Status Green. Wyverns clear for take-off."
The Wyvern Oroshi tore out of the hanger, across the runway and finally into the sky, followed shortly by the Wyvern Helmwind, as the two aircrafts headed straight for Mongolia.
Mongolia, April 14, 2025, Morning
The Wyverns soared across the plains of Mongolia as it approached the city of Tavan Shar when Maiko's voice came int through the aircrafts' radio.
"This is Captain Akinaka speaking. Remember, as always, we got to use formal terms on official missions. There has been an incident during your journey to Mongolia. Four members of GEAR Arctic's Wolf Team attempted to take down Mauleon just two hours ago. They managed to drive Mauleon away, but all contact with Wolf have been lost and Mauleon's began approaching Tavan Shar again. GEAR Arctic fears the worst."
"What should we do?" Kiyoshi asked.
GEAR Far East Main Headquarters, Tokyo Bay, Japan
Maiko, General Zhang and a few other top dogs of GEAR Far East Branch stood around the table of the Ops Room, which now displays a holographic 3D image of the area around Tavan Shar, Mongolia, with two green arrow icons representing the Wyverns and a red blinking dot representing Mauleon. Meanwhile, Nobu typed furiously onto his multiple keyboards.
"Drop off Taurus to search for Wolf Team and get them to Tavan Shar. By our calculations, you have two hours before Mauleon finally reaches the city. Nobu, send them Wolf's last known location," Maiko said as she tapped an 'X' on the map.
"Roger that, Captain. You guys receiving the coordinates?" Nobu asked.
"Received loud and clear."
Mongolia
Inside the cockpit of the Wyvern Helmwind, Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi began lowering the aircraft until it was about ten feet from the ground. Meanwhile, Jake, who had been manning the weapon systems with Otoha, got up from his seat and tapped Otoha.
"Time to hit the ground, newbie."
"Eh?"
"Otoha, you'll be following Jake on the ground. Assist in rescue operations conducted by Taurus Team," Kiyoshi explained as he also got out of his seat.
"Vice-Captain, you're coming too?"
"Nope, I'm the crew chief."
Jake and Otoha followed Kiyoshi out the cockpit into the cargo hold, where Taurus Team were seated.
"Sven, you got the coordinates, right?"
"Ja, and our first priority is to locate Wolf Team. How many are out there?"
"Four. Hopefully they're still around their last known location."
"Not to worry, we'll get them out if they still breathe. Everyone into the Rhino! It's game time!"
"What is this vehicle supposed to be?" Otoha asked as she stared at the modified and heavily armed APC in front of her which had "RR-03" printed on its hood and two logos representing the UN and GEAR Far East on each side of the vehicle.
"The Ratchet Rhino. GEAR Rangers' main mode of transport. And it's extremely tough, trust me on this one. The GEAR Rangers at the North America Branch took out a King Joe with ten of these beasts," Jake replied
Kai took the driver's seat while Roderick sat beside him to operate some sort of communcations and radar system. Behind them were two other seats which is shown to be capable of elevation, and right on top of those two seats were hatches. Otoha quickly realized that those were the gunners' seats after seeing two minigun-like weapons on top of the Ratchet Rhino's cabin before going into the back with Jake, Sven and Becky.
"Max load is ten passengers, minus the four in front. Depending on the number of people we rescue, we either get to sit or we stand for the whole journey, hence the hand grips on the ceiling," Becky, who wore a Tokyo Yakult Swallows baseball cap, explained when Otoha inquired about the hand grips.
"Everyone strapped in?" Kiyoshi asked through the radio.
"We're green to go. Drop us!"
"Eh, drop?" Otoha asked.
"Yeah, drop. Might want to grit your teeth and hold on tight," Becky replied.
Outside the vehicle, Kiyoshi strapped himself to a safety harness and activated a few switches. The cargo hold opened and the Ratchet Rhino is slight tilted up.
"Releasing in three… Two… One… Go!"
Pressing a button, Kiyoshi releases the Ratchet Rhino from the clamps and straps that held it in place. The Ratchet Rhino immediately rolled backwards and out of the Wyvern Helmwind, dropping ten feet to the ground with the impact causing it to bounce twice as its engines started and the moment it landed from the second bounce, the Ratchet Rhino was on the move. Meanwhile, the Wyvern Helmwind closed its hull and lift back up into the sky.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…" Otoha muttered as she tried to calm herself down from the drop.
"Damn, you almost burst my eardrums!" Jake said as he removed his fingers from his ears, having had a bad shock when Otoha screamed during the drop.
"What kind of drop is this? Can't we just land the aircraft and drive out?"
"Normally we do that, but this situation is a bit urgent. So sorry about the scare," Sven replied as he checked on her.
"You did well, though. First time I did it, I threw up," Jake added.
"Kai had it worse. He hit his head on the steering wheel on his first drop and knocked himself out," Becky added.
"Hey, I can hear you guys from here, you know? By the way, newbie, the Ratchet Rhino has its own internal intercom, so if you need anything, just inform us," the driver retorted with a laugh from the front.
"Now that we've got that sorted out, let's get back on the mission. The last known location of the four members of Wolf Team are about 20 kilometres west from where we are now."
Rumbling through the sandy plains, it didn't take long for them to see smoke coming from in front of them. Kai sped up and within a minute, the vehicle had come to a stop in the middle of four wrecked fighter jets.
"Taurus Team to Raptor and Base, RR-03 has arrived at site. Whole place is a mess. Beginning search for survivors," Roderick reported to the others.
Sven and Becky got out, followed by Jake and Otoha.
"Guys, Base just reported that they've lost track of Mauleon," Roderick called out as he opened the door on his side and poked his head out.
"Acknowledged. Keep your weapons ready. Mauleon might be hiding somewhere around here," Sven replied as he and Becky readied their rifles, the GW-3 Othrus.
"Stick close to me, okay?" Jake said to Otoha, who nodded.
"So this Mauleon, is it the same as the one that emerged in Washington?" she asked.
"Same species. The second one popped out during a concert in the Phillippines just six months ago. GEAR Oceania took care of it but I heard everyone at the concert were killed."
"How tragic… Yet I don't think we can blame the monsters for attacking. I mean, most of them are predators of some sort, right?"
"Oh, you one of those monster rights activists?"
"No. I just meant, you know, it's their nature. They're acting out of instinct."
"Yeah, I agree with you on that. But survival comes first, and we got to protect our own. Anyways, I'm just kidding about the activist part. Guess you're more open-minded about things that I thought, given how shy you were…"
"I just felt uncomfortable. I mean, I read up on each of you in Raptor Team. All of you have a combat or police background despite working in the rescue industry, while I'm just a paramedic who decided to do more than just deliver people to the hospital."
"You're a paramedic? Hey, I respect that line of work."
"You do?"
"Anyone who saves life is deserving of upmost respect. Just because most of us have a combat background doesn't mean we do nice things. We're trained to protect by taking lives. You're trained to protect by maintaining lives. Kind of why I chose to transfer to search-and-rescue before signing up with GEAR."
"I see, I-"
Brushing against something, Otoha turned only to see the corpse of a Russian pilot hanging out of the cockpit of his wrecked fighter jet, causing her to shriek and fall backwards.
"What happened?" Sven asked as he and Becky came running.
"We got a dead pilot here… Shit, man…"
As Jake helped Otoha up, Becky pulled the dead pilot out of the cockpit.
"Leave no man behind. I'll take him back to the Rhino," she commented.
"That really caught me off-guard," Otoha said.
"Ikke bekymre deg. This happened to me before. Now, look at these tracks. They're faint because the environment is covering them up, but I think we can still follow. Komme, let's hope the other three are still alive," Sven reassured her before pointing to a direction.
As the three walked past the rest of the wreckage, Sven held up a hand to stop everyone before tapping his ear and then pointing at a small cave formed by boulders in front of them. Jake nodded and called out in broken Russian. Almost immediately, they heard a faint reply, and from the cave emerged three men, one of whom was limping and needed support from his fellows.
"все в порядке?" Jake asked.
"Я могу. I can also speak English and Japanese, if it is easier," one of the Russians replied.
GEAR Far East Main Headquarters, Tokyo Bay, Japan
"Wyvern Helmwind to Base. Taurus Team has found three survivors. One of them has injuries that, although not life-threatening, still requires urgent medical aid. Taurus Team is taking them straight to Tavan Shar with Jake and Otoha," Kiyoshi reported to Maiko.
"Roger that. What about the fourth?"
"KIA."
Maiko sighed.
"Understood. Any sign of Mauleon?"
"Negative. We're combing the entire area with the MAF but no signs of it. There are a lot of disturbed ground, though. We suspect it might be underground."
"Roger that, Helmwind. Stay vigilant."
"Captain? We got a problem…" Nobu suddenly said as he looked up from his screens.
"What is it, Nobu?"
"SCAN's picking up something moving through the ground towards Tavan Shar… I think it's Mauleon."
Maiko's eyes widen when she saw the data from the satellite feed on Nobu's screens and quickly contacted Kiyoshi again.
"Kiyoshi, turn the team around and head for Tavan Shar immediately!"
Tavan Shar, Mongolia
"He was only twenty," one of the three survivors of Wolf Team commented with sadness as the deceased Wolf Team pilot was zipped up in a bodybag and loaded into a helicopter with the injured member.
"He fought well. Few people would be willing to stare down a monster the size of an apartment block in order to protect others," Sven replied as they watch the helicopter lift off.
The city of Tavan Shar was being evacuated as they speak. Half the city was already emptied out while the combined forces of Rangers from GEAR Far East Branch's China Division and the Mongolian Armed Forces were busy clearing out the rest of the city. Meanwhile, Russian air forces were patrolling the area, with a number of Sukhoi Su-34 and Kamov Ka-50 zipping past the sky.
"So, we just wait for the Helmwind to come back and pick us up?" Otoha asked.
"Yup," Jake replied.
"So, is it always like this?"
"Not really. There are times where we don't even leave the Wyverns at all. So, why leave your job as a paramedic and join GEAR?"
Otoha turned red upon being asked that.
"I never really thought about that. I just felt that I might be able to prove myself as a life-saver if I were to join GEAR and play a more active part in protecting and saving people instead of being stuck as an ambulance driver who's not even allowed to leave the driver's seat because I'm a girl… I mean, is it wrong? Was it selfishness on my part, joining GEAR just to show up my misogynic colleagues?"
"No, I think you made the right decision. Besides, everyone has their own reasons, doesn't matter if it's selfless or selfish. Like your fellow newbie, Kazuto, he clearly wants boasting rights, or Eun-Bi, who joined Raptor out of a rash choice after breaking up with her boyfriend. And Nobu? We were in dire need of a tech guy even though he barely passed his physical tests. Heck, I myself joined simply because my older brother joined. So, don't worry about it too much, okay?"
Jake gave Otoha a reassuring tap on the shoulder, making her smile, but then the two were suddenly aware of the ground rumbling. Just then, several buildings to their left began collapsing as dirt and debris shot into the air like geysers, followed by a lion-like creature bursting out from the ground as Roderick and the rest of Taurus Team came running to the pair.
"Jake, Otoha, we need to move! Mauleon is- What the bloody hell? It's here!"
The sight of Mauleon sends everyone into a panic as the orderly evacuation of the city broke down. Civilians left and right were screaming in fear as they barged past the military checkpoint to flee while the GEAR Rangers and MAF rushing to protect as many as they could.
"Roderick, Becky, stay here with Jake and Otoha, get as many people out of the city as you can! The rest of you, with me!" Sven ordered.
"Roger, captain!"
Sven, Valeria, Kai and Tawfik boarded the Ratchet Rhino and sped off to join the ground assault on Mauleon as several tanks of the MAF engaged the beast. Meanwhile, the Sukhois and Kamovs were unleashing their payload on Mauleon, but the monster seemed unfazed until the missiles hit, causing it to roar in pain as it stumbled backwards, but then it eventually got back up without so much of a scratch and, with a swip from its claws, took out three Sukhois at once.
A flurry of laser blasts struck Mauleon in the back, and Otoha saw the Wyvern Oroshi speeding towards Mauleon, followed by the Wyvern Helmwind.
"Target in range. Eun-Bi, prepare Stream Blaster," Kiyoshi said to his co-pilot as the Wyvern Helmwind approached.
A cannon-like device emerges from a hidden compartment right below the cockpit area of the Wyvern Helmwind.
"Stream Blaster ready!"
"Steady… Steady… Now!"
"Firing Stream Blaster!" Eun-Bi said as she pressed a blue trigger on her control stick.
The Wyvern Helmwind lets loose an energy beam that struck Mauleon in the face and neck, leaving scorch marks all over the monster as it roared in pain and fell to the ground. As the Wyvern Helmwind swooped past, the Wyvern Oroshi took over.
"All right, Kazuto, prepare for a second volley," Vic said.
"It's down already! We got to finish it off!" Kazuto replied as he prepared the Oroshi's Stalk-Trak Missiles instead.
"I said, second volley."
"We can finish it off with the missiles!"
"Look, you've been arguing with me the entire bloody flight, and now you want to launch explosive weapons within the vicinity of civilians? Do you want to start an international incident so badly? If you want it so badly, we'll leave you here in Mongolia so you can explain to the government why you blew up their people!"
"But…"
"Kazuto, I'm warning you, you'll face a court martial by the UN if you launch those missiles. Now do what Vic tells you to do!" Kiyoshi roared through the intercom.
"You're all cowards. We can finish off that monster but you guys want to do things the soft way. Fine, I'll play along, but that thing will get up again and start rampaging, and you'll regret not listening to the one with the most combat flight experience…"
"Look, you want to f*** with a former лейтена́нт with eleven actual engagements on his work resume? Last I heard, you were just an E-5 Airman in the United States Air Force with no combat experience despite being the ace pilot!"
Kazuto finally shuts up and did what Vic told him to do, lining up Mauleon for the shot.
"Firing Twin Gatlasers…"
Mauleon roared as the lasers hit home and its eyes dimmed, laying lifeless on the ground.
"Raptor Team to base, Mauleon is down. Not reading any life signs... Wait! Cancel that!" Kiyoshi reported back to HQ when suddenly, the life sign detector on the Helmwind's systems began beeping.
On the ground, the defenders watched in shock as Mauleon's skin began to break apart, and without warning, two pairs of arms burst out from it, followed by a completely new Mauleon with red skin, black mane and an even more ferocious look on its face.
"It shedded its skin?" Otoha asked.
"This is bad, really bad!" Jake replied as he, Roderick and Becky directed the fleeing civilians to head to a safe location.
The revived Mauleon stared at the tanks around it and opened its mouth. Immediately, a blast of green energy fired from itsmouth and blows up six tanks.
"Fall back, fall back!" Sven shouted as the Ratchet Rhino began reversing, along with the surviving tanks.
Mauleon continued its rampage, its energy attack destroying buildings and houses. Air combatants were forced to pull back as some of their planes and attack helicopters fell victim to Mauleon.
"Get to a safe distance!" Roderick said as he and Becky urged everyone to follow them as they headed for the city's exit.
Jake and Otoha were about to follow when Otoha suddenly spotted two young children hiding in a shop under a building, and one of them was using a crutch.
"Oh, no… Those kids…"
"Otoha, where are you going? Otoha!" Jake called out as Otoha rushed over the the children.
Reaching the kids, Otoha picked the disabled child up and got the other to follow her away from the shop as Jake rushed over with Roderick and Becky right behind him just as Mauleon blasted the building behind them, causing the building to collapsed towards Otoha and the children.
"Run! Hurry!" Otoha urged the child who was on foot.
The second child ran faster, overtaking Otoha and into the safety of the other three, but the building was about to hit her. Despite the others screaming for her to hurry up, Otoha knew that she was not going to make it, so with all her strength, she hurled the disabled child and the crutch towards them. As Roderick caught the child and Becky the crutch, Otoha stopped running and…
"OTOHA!" Jake screamed in horror as his new colleague disappears in a storm of dust, concrete debris and metal.
"Oh God, no…" Becky uttered in shock as the Soh brothers began desperately digging through the wreck with their bare hands with the faintest hope that Otoha had survived…
Space, near Earth
The sphere of blue light that had been hovering just above Earth suddenly shimmered, having been going around Earth in circles for the last few hours. Stopping above Mongolia, it began descending to Earth, going faster and faster until it was like a speeding comet, bursting through the atmosphere and straight for the city of Tavan Shar, where two individuals could be seen digging through a wrecked building while a lion-like monster with four arms terrorized the city.
Smashing through the wreck, which caused the two individuals to be thrown off, the sphere of blue light burrowed through the wreck until it found what it was looking for: A young woman, barely conscious, lying among a pile of wreckage…
Otoha opened her eyes, wondering why she was having a floating sensation. Looking around, she noticed that everything around her was glossy, with a few light reflection here and there. She tried to move, and noticed how it felt like she was underwater.
"Where am I? Is this Heaven?" she asked out loud.
"I'm afraid not…"
Otoha shrieked as she turned around to see a silver being standing right behind her. The being was female in appearance and her body was mostly silver, with three golden bands could be seen around her collar area which goes to her shoulders to form shoulder guards of sorts. The areas of her body that are blue were her neck and chest area, from her elbows to her hands and the entirety of her legs from the hips down. Among the blue, however, were two yellow stripes resembling lightning going down from each of her shoulders to her chest area, with two more pairs around her arms and legs each, and finally two lines forming an 'X' around her stomach front and back. Her head had large bulb-like eyes that glow like lamps and some sort of crest that looked like a tiara, and spreads down past the head's neck to resemble a ponytail
The most unique item, however, was the triangular jewel embedded in the middle of her chest.
"Who are you? What have you done to me?" Otoha demanded.
"My name is Faire, a soldier and botanist from Land of Light in the Nebula M87. Following the footsteps of my predecessors, I have come to Planet Earth as its newest guardian, but because humanity was now capable of handling monster and alien threats on their own, I was allowed to delay my tenure to conduct my own research into the flora of Planet Earth."
"Nebula M87… Land of Light… I don't get it, are you an alien?"
"Yes, that's painfully obvious… I believe on your planet, my people are known as 'Ultramen'?"
Ultramen. Otoha has heard of them before. The mysterious protectors of Earth, who always appear during a new Age of Monsters to defend humanity from monsters and aliens. The last Ultraman to protect Earth was Mebius in 2005, when she was only one year old at that time.
"So, you're an Ultrawoman?"
"Well, you could say that. I am an woman, after all, so calling me Ultraman would be confusing."
"So why did you come down all of a sudden, when you said humanity was capable of defending themselves now?"
"As cliché as this sounds, we Ultras are rather emotional people. When I saw you sacrificed your own life to save two children you do not even know, I was so touched that I felt an urge to save your life, which is why I have come down from my perch. However, your body is severely damaged, and the only way for me to heal you is to bond with you. Think of this as a second chance, perhaps?"
"Bond with me? As in…"
"A benevolent parasite, so to speak. I promise I would not attempt to take over you or anything, and even if I did, I would ask for your permission and when you want to take back your body, you just let me know and I will relinquish control back to you. In the meantime, my energy will keep you alive while repairing your body. On the other hand, it doesn't seem like your friends can handle this giant monster you are fighting now."
"Sounds like a good deal… So, how does this bonding thing work?"
"I will guide you along the way. For now, take this."
Faire gave Otoha a strange knuckleduster-like object.
"This is the Luna Grip. It's my personal weapon, but shrunked down for human use. It would be the link between you and me. When the going gets tough and your friends are in mortal danger, draw a crescent with the Luna Grip and point it to the sky, which will enable you to transform into me."
Otoha nodded.
"Then it is settled. From this day forth to the day we part, thou am I, and I am thou, two minds and two bodies shared as one," Faire said as she entered Otoha's body…
Tavan Shar, Mongolia
"What was that energy thing just now?" Roderick asked as he and Jake got back up on their feet.
"I don't know, but we got to find Otoha… What the hell?"
Roderick and Jake stepped back towards Becky and the two children Otoha had saved as a translucent sphere of blue light emerged from the wreck, and all of them could see Otoha inside. She was awake, but her hair was floating upwards like a Super Saiyan and her eyes were glowing. And in her right hand was a strange device.
Without warning, Otoha punched her right hand to her left side, with the device glowing green, before slowly rotating her right arm back to her right and then into the air, drawing a green crescent in front of her. The device shuddered and began forming a metal gauntlet that reaches just below her elbow as her body began to shimmer.
A flash of light momentarily blinded Jake and the others, and when their vision return, they were stunned to see a blue-and-silver giantess standing before them.
"Otoha?" Jake asked.
"Wait, Otoha is an Ultra?" Roderick asked.
No, I'm not! I'm human!
"Woah, where did that come from?" Becky asked as she, Roderick and Jake heard a voice in their head.
It's me, Otoha, and this is Faire. She's sort of bonded with me. I'm communicating with you via Faire's telepathy.
"Telepathy?"
Yes. But Faire ask that the three of you keep it a secret from the others, okay?
The giantess, Faire, placed a finger on her lips, prompting the three of them to nod, before turning to face Mauleon. Taking flight, Faire soared into the air, turned back down and flew straight into Mauleon, slamming it in the stomach and taking it to the outskirts of the city where she dropped it to the ground before landing.
From their respective Wyverns, the rest of Raptor Team were staring in shock at Faire.
"Base, are you seeing this?" Kiyoshi asked.
GEAR Far East Main Headquarters, Tokyo Bay, Japan
"Yes, we are," Maiko replied as she, Nobu and everyone else in the Ops Room stare at the screen, where Mauleon was getting up fight with its new combatant.
"That's an Ultra, right?" Nobu asked.
"Yes, it is…" one of the older officers that had gathered in the Ops Room replied.
"I don't get it, one of that Ultra's arms is reinforced," another asked.
Going back to his computers, Nobu ran a quick scan of the Ultra.
"Seems like her right arm has more power in it. Must be a gauntlet-based weapon of sorts," he said as the screen shows the female Ultra punching Mauleon a few times with her right fist...
Tavan Shar, Mongolia
Faire punches Mauleon in the face hard enough for the monster to fall down, but it was quickly on its feet again, launching green energy blasts from its mouth. Faire was able to deflect a few, but then Mauleon launched them in quick succession.
In response, Faire raised her right arm in front of her and formed a hexagonal energy shield which she used to deflect the blasts, sending some of them right back to Mauleon. As Mauleon shook off the assault and charged at her with all four arms swinging, Faire slammed the shield into its face, stunning it before she repeats the action once more. Mauleon retaliates by striking her with its claws, which knocks her back a few steps, before firing an energy blast right at her face, knocking her to the ground.
As Mauleon pounces on top of the fallen Ultra, Faire quickly pulls her shield in front of her and launches it out like a shuriken, the energy shield exploding upon contact with Mauleon and dazing it. Taking the opportunity, Faire leap back on her feet and tackled Mauleon to the ground before unloading several right hooks to its face. Mauleon managed to throw her off, but Faire grabbed two of its arms and swing it overhead, slamming it to the ground so hard that the earth shook.
Watching this from where they stood, Becky became confused.
"Wait, I though Ultras have a three-minute warning thing?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's been five minutes already… That jewel on her chest should be blinking by now," Jake added.
"If my history is correct, Ultraseven did not have the time limit weakness, though I'm not sure why. Perhaps this Faire has the same unique feature?" Roderick said.
Meanwhile, it was clear by now that Faire was the one with the advantage. Mauleon, for all its powers, was clearly exhausted by now, but its rage was enabling it to continue to fight. Faire had initially wanted to spare it, but after seeing the destruction and death it had caused, decided that she did not have much choice left.
Electricity could be seen being generated around Faire's left foot right before she delivered a superkick to Mauleon's face. This was accompanied by an extremely loud thunderclap that had every human watching the fight covering their ears and squatting to the ground, thinking that a storm was approaching.
As Mauleon struggled back to its feet, Faire raised her right hand into the air, channeling light energy into it before pulling her arm as though preparing to punch something. As she did so, Mauleon finally steadied itself and began charging her once more.
"Lunium Rail!"
Yelling those words, Faire punched forward while grabbing her right arm with her left hand, firing a beam of destructive energy similar to Ultraman Zoffy's M87 Beam. The energy beam hits Mauleon hard, blasting chunks off its body as it roared in agony before its entire upper torso is obliterated in an explosion, leaving its bottom half intact.
As what remains of Mauleon dropped to the ground, Faire lets out a sigh before she flew off into the sky. As she disappears, Otoha reappears before Jake, Roderick and Becky by materializing from a faint pillar of rainbow lights.
"That was… Mind-boggling," Otoha said weakly before she collapsed into Jake's arms.
"Otoha, you okay?"
"Yeah, just tired."
Don't forget, she and I are to remain a secret, or I'll experiment on the three of you while you sleep, Faire said via telepathy to the three of them.
"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Roderick replied.
"Well, I guess you proved something today, Otoha," Jake said as he helped his junior sit down.
"Maybe…" Otoha replied with a soft laugh.
GEAR Far East Main Headquarters, Tokyo Bay, Japan, April 15, 2025
Raptor Team stood at attention in front of Captain Akinaka Maiko and General Zhang in the Ops Room, ready for the debrief.
"First of all, this mission was, at the least, difficult. No one expected Mauleon to have that ability. But you people managed to work your way through, and casualties were kept to the minimum. However, given what we saw at Mongolia, GEAR has agreed that Mauleon's threat level be set back to High, which means if a fourth Mauleon appears, we go in guns blazing," Maiko said.
"You, Otoha, Taurus Team had a lot of good things to say about you. You've impressed them somehow, and they're not easily impressed. 做得好, you deserve their praises," Zhang said to Otoha, who shyly nodded.
"But you, Kazuto… I do not know what you have that makes you think you're the best of the best, but if you can't get your head out your ass, you're off the team. I need team players who can keep each other alive, not a glory hound," Maiko said to Kazuto in a stern tone that actually made him nervous.
"I apologize for my insubordination, but I believed that…"
"Line of command, Kazuto. Did they not teach you that in the USAF?" Maiko asked.
"Sorry, Captain."
Vic and Eun-Bi snickered while Jake looked away to stop himself from laughing out loud.
"That is all for today. Go get some rest, but be ready for anything. Dismissed," General Zhang said.
"I'm beat," Eun-Bi muttered as she dropped into her bed.
The bunk were shared by all members of Raptor, and despite being part of a military-like outfit, the bunk looked more like a junkie's room. The beds were all over the place, with the sole double-decker bed having been claimed by Jake and Nobu, though they were all lined up against the wall. Two bathrooms were located in the back, with males on the left and females on the right. The lockers were located right at the entrance of the bunk, each of them bearing the name of their owners.
By now, most of Raptor Team had changed into their civilian clothing to prepare for their break, and Kiyoshi was showing Otoha and Kazuto their lockers and their beds.
"Otoha, your bed's this one," Kiyoshi said as he pointed to the one beside Eun-Bi's.
"Oh, nice…" Otoha replied as she quickly marked her territory and began unpacking.
"What about mine?" Kazuto asked.
"That one."
Kazuto stared at the mattress on the ground.
"This is mine?"
"Yes. The bed got damaged when the boys decided to emulate some wrestling moves a couple of weeks ago, so until the new one comes in, you're going to have to sleep like that. Consider it punishment for your behavior."
"Drat…"
Meanwhile, having finished unpacking, Otoha was about to lie down on her pillow when the alarm went off.
"Code Red! Code Red! All combat personnel report to your stations immediately! Mukadender spotted rampaging across Nakano! Code Red! Code Red!" the PA system blared.
"Raptor Team! Geat up and move!" Kiyoshi ordered.
"The fun never ends, does it?" Vic asked Otoha as the team jumped to their feet and changed back into their uniforms.
"Guess it never does," Otoha replied while a blue streak flashes within her eyes…
Next time, on Ultrawoman Faire…
Chapter 2: Boiling Point
Faire's difficulty in restraining her curiosity of human life drives the normally shy Otoha to breaking point. Meanwhile, a mysterious attack at a factory in Nakano leaves everyone puzzled, as the only clue available was how unnaturally wet the scene was…
SCAN Archives Data:
Iron Claw Monster, Mauleon
Height/Weight: 50 mtrs/18,000 tons
Abilities:
- (Before shedding) Metal-like claws, burrowing, tough skin
- (After shedding) Green energy blasts, extra pair of arms
First Recorded: Washington, D.C., March 17, 2022
File Category: New
Threat Level: High (2022-2023), Medium (2023-2025), High (2025-)
