Ultrawoman Faire

Chapter 2: Boiling Point

Introducing: Water Alien, Oozela


GEAR Far East, Tokyo Bay, Japan, April 30, 2025

"Three points, suckers!" Kazuto called out as his shot goes into the basket.

The members of Raptor Team and Ranger Team Taurus were spending their morning in a basketball match. To make it more interesting, the teams were scrambled up instead of Raptor versus Taurus so the list goes like this:

- Sven (Taurus), Jake (Raptor), Otoha (Raptor), Roderick (Taurus), Kazuto (Raptor)

- Kiyoshi (Raptor), Valeria (Taurus), Kai (Taurus), Vic (Raptor), Nobu (Raptor)

Maiko, Eun-Bi, Tawfik and Becky decided to sit out the match and instead watched from the sidelines with a few other off-duty Rangers.

Kazuto, as expected, was chosen last, but now Kiyoshi was regretting not taking Kazuto when he had the chance, since Kazuto was proving to be an exceptional basketball player.

In fact, Kazuto's arrogance had lowered ever since his first mission with Raptor, with Jake, Nobu, Captain Maiko and the members of Ranger Team Taurus beginning to warm up to him in the last two weeks, though he was still a cocky man-brat. From what Kiyoshi knows, Otoha was fairly neutral with him like Kiyoshi himself, so the only ones still getting used to Kazuto's presence were Eun-Bi and Vic.

Meanwhile, unknown to the others, Otoha had other things in mind. Faire has bonded with her for two weeks, and despite the fact that the Ultra Warrior had kept her end of her bargain, Otoha failed to realize one little issue.

Faire's uncontrollable curiousity to try things on Earth.

While Otoha doesn't blame Faire for her eccentric habit, she had nearly given away herself and Otoha on multiple occasions for the last two weeks. For example…


April 17, at a park during a meet-the-public session…

Oh, this is new. So you get rid of the weeds so the plants can grow properly on Earth? Faire asked as she engaged in a telepathic conversation with her host.

Yes, something like that, Otoha replied as she shovels out another pile of weed.

I want to try…

Faire, wait!

Too late. Faire had partially taken over Otoha's arms and, with a single scoop, tears up a 4x4 meter chunk of the park's ground along with part of the pavement. Panicking, Faire quickly stomped the pavement back into position while letting the ground fall back into the hole. Thankfully, no one noticed it as Otoha was quite far from the others.

Sorry… Faire said while Otoha sighed.


April 20, school visit event

Nobu nearly jumped out of his skin when a balloon burst behind him. Turning around, he stared at Otoha, who was holding the remains of the balloon she was trying to help him with while clutching her lips in pain while Kazuto and Kiyoshi popped their heads out from behind the stand they were decorating.

"Did you not just take that from the bag one second ago?" Nobu asked.

"I think I underestimated my lung capacity," Otoha mumbled in reply.

As Nobu decides to shrug it off and turn back to his own balloons, Otoha stared at a mirror behind her and glared, hoping that the image would be transferred mentally to Faire, who had decided to take over her lungs trying to blow one of the balloons.

Sorry… Faire muttered with a tone of embarrassment.


April 23, unknown mall

Passers-by stare at the revolving door of the mall, which looked like four trucks had smashed right into it from all angles as it laid on the floor of the entrance. Meanwhile, Otoha was sneaking away, thankful that the mall's security cameras were not pointed at the entrance but at the lobby.

You don't have revolving doors in your home world? Otoha mentally asked in anger.

Sorry…

You always say that! Seriously, my salary can't cover for the damage done!


April 25, a farm in Izumo

"Now, now, it's not your fault. Things like this happen," the farmer said as he, Vic and Jake leads a badly traumatized Otoha, whose uniform was covered in blood and chicken feathers, back into the farmhouse.

"Yeah, if it makes you feel better, I crushed one of my father's ducks by accident after I tripped and fell on it when I was a boy," Vic added.

"Besides, this isn't America, so you don't need to worry about the hypocrites from P*** sending their keyboard templars after your hide," Jake commented.

Of course, Otoha was not the only one affected. Inside her, Faire was shivering at what she had accidently caused Otoha to do, after her eagerness to try and experience catching the chicken ended in horrifying tragedy. Meanwhile, Captain Maiko remained standing outside, staring blankly at the now-headless chicken…


Present day

Once the both of them had gotten over the chicken incident, Faire was back to her antics, and Otoha, who was normally placid, was starting to actually get angry. Even as the basketball match was going on, she knew that it won't be long before Faire finally gives in to temptation and takes over her arms…

"Otoha, catch!" Roderick called out as he threw the ball to her.

Snapping back to attention, Otoha caught the ball and avoided Kiyoshi's attempt to steal it before jumping into the air to perform a fadeaway, at which point Faire could no longer hold back herself.

Otoha, let me try it!

No, wait! You'll…

Unfortunately, Faire was already taking over Otoha's arms just as she was about to shoot, resulting in the ball flying about thirty feet into the air, much to everyone's shock. Jake, Roderick and Becky, the only three who knew about Faire sharing bodies with Otoha, nervously looked at her direction, but then the ball enters the hoop, netting Otoha's team three more points.

"Woah, shit, Otoha! Who taught you how to shoot? Was it Midorima?" Kazuto asked.

"I was not expecting that! How did it even happen?" Otoha replied.

"Hey, no worries! I can do that too," Kai replied as he grabbed the ball and shot it about twenty-five feet into the air before it dropped into the hoop.

Otoha sighed in relief, thankful that Kai had unknowingly covered for her "miracle shot", but deep inside her, she was reaching boiling point.

"Ranger Team Taurus, Ranger Team Taurus, please report to briefing room at 1000 hours," the base's PA system announced.

"Drat, that ends the game… Okay, Taurus, go wash up. We got a good one hour to rest before whatever briefing we're supposed to attend begins," Sven said as his men groaned.

"Catch up with you later, little bro," Roderick said to Jake before turning to leave with the rest of his team.

As Otoha went over to grab her canteen, she accidentally knocked it to the ground, at which point Eun-Bi bent down and picked it up for her.

"Thanks," Otoha said.

"No problem, but you're looking a bit pale," Eun-Bi asked in a concerned tone.

"Ah, I haven't had such an exertion before. Besides, I'm a paramedic! I'll know if I'm having trouble with my health. Don't worry about me."

Eun-Bi giggled.

"Well, I guess you hve more experience than me regarding that field."

"Hey, Eun-Bi, you saw that shot I made just now?" Kazuto asked as he suddenly approached them.

"Oh, yeah, I did. Hey, Otoha, I'm gonna go first, all right? Catch you later."

With that, Eun-Bi quickly left the court.


Having finished washing up, Otoha went to the roof of the hanger with a slushie in hand. It was part of her stress reflex: Drinking slushies whenever she is mad psychologically calms her down.

Sorry about just now. I couldn't help it, Faire said.

Seriously, can you not just take over my body without warning? What happened to the deal we made when we bonded?

But there are so many interesting things on Earth! I just wanted to try…

Well, that's a good way to get yourself exposed! You want me to be strapped to some medical bed while evil government scientists cut me open to see if they can find you and use you for research?

Wait, humans do that?

What do you think? We're not exactly what you call an innocent race. We humans have problems. Lots and lots of problems.

I see. Look, Otoha, I'm sorry for angering you.

I know. Just please, try to curb your enthusiasm, please. For both our sake.

I'll do my best.

Come to think of it, I wanted to ask you something myself.

What is it?

I mean, I know you and I are sharing bodies, but why is it that when I transform into you, it feels like I'm the one doing the fighting? And when did I get so good at fighting?

Ah, that's because you are feeling what I am feeling, so your senses were confused into thinking you're the one fighting. But we need to be careful, though. I can shrug off most attacks, but due to the way we bonded, if an opponent's attack somehow gets through my natural defense, you'll be affected as well.

Wait, I'm already badly injured, and now you're saying I can get more injuries?

Do not worry. I've already fixed the most serious injuries on you. Now it's a matter of letting your body rest before you fully recover. Until then, I'll continue to bolster your health. As to why you got so good at fighting, it's because my combat experience is shared with you through our bonding.

I see… Thanks, Otoha mentally replied as she finished her slushie.

"Well, this is a surprise. Never took you for the loner type."

Otoha turned to see Kazuto approaching her.

"So, the self-proclaimed ace pilot turns out to be an ace basketball player," she commented.

"Hey, say what you guys want, I'm taking the ace pilot position, one way or another."

"What happened to your usual flair? Back when we were in training, you're often bragging without shame even when you're at the receiving end."

"Captain Akinaka kind of forced me to tone down. Guess it worked, since Jake and Nobu seemed to be getting more friendly with me."

"Huh."

From where she sat, Otoha threw the now-empty cup of slushie right into a bin about four meters from her.

"Nice shot," Kazuto commented.

"Is it true? What your father did?" Otoha asked all of a sudden.

Kazuto sighed.

"Yeah, most of it anyway. Doesn't matter, though. Once I prove myself in Raptor, it'll all be fixed. By the way, what do you think of Eun-Bi?"

"Eun-Bi? Why?"

"I don't know, I mean, she's really gentle and she's naturally pretty, like, nothing that looks like she went under the knife, so…"

"Oh, love at first sight? Let me check my crystal ball of womanly instincts. Ah, I see Vince McMahon's titantron, which means you've got no chance in hell."

"C'mon, Otoha! We're from the same batch! Help a fellow cadet out, would you?"

Otoha was about to ask something else when the alarm around the base suddenly went off.

"Code Blue! Code Blue! All members of Raptor are to assemble in the Ops Room immediately! Urgent incident at Nagano Prefecture!"

"What the hell?" Kazuto uttered as he and Otoha ran back into the building.


Raptor Team Ops Room

"All right, people, here's the deal. At about 0932 hours, workers at one of the new warehouses the Saibon Crafts Corporation recently built on the hills of southern Nagano were about relieve the night shift when they found the door ajar. They entered it only to find the whole warehouse turned upside down, with all twelve of the night shift workers missing, including two security guards," Maiko explained.

"A fight?" Kazuto asked.

"No. All the night shift workers' belongings were still in the locker room, and there are several signs of struggle, and the strangest part was that the entire interior of the warehouse was wet. Every inch of it."

"Perhaps the sprinkler systems went off?" Otoha suggested.

"On-the-ground investigators have already checked. No signs of fire, and the sprinkler systems were not activated at all. No pipe burst, absolutely nothing to suggest that any leakages."

"Sounds like a Cosmo Liquid to me," Jake commented, bringing up the water-based monster that Ultraman Taro encountered during his time on Earth.

"That was what I initially thought as well, until these were found on the scene. Nobu, show the images."

"Right away, captain."

Nobu brought up a picture of a strange gun, which looked like a mix of a pistol and a water tap, and another image which shows an otherwordly set of clothing resembling a jumpsuit lying flat on the ground.

"Guess it ain't Cosmo Liquid at all. Something tells me that aliens have something to do with the night shift workers disappearing," Vic said.

"Me too. Which is why local authorities has asked us to help investigate."

"Any additional support, captain?" Kiyoshi asked.

"No. We're on our own for this mission. Taurus' preparing to assist in a rescue simulation in Aomori Prefecture as part of the training which the current batch of GEAR Ranger rookies are undergoing, so they won't be joining us. Be careful and watch each other's back, understood? All right, now that that's done, I have a new toy for all of you, the Wristlite SCAN Comms."

Maiko opened a suitcase containing eight gadgets that looked like a wrist-mounted computer shaped like an Android phone.

"Nobu helped in its development. With this, you can swiftly communicate with other members out in the field. The Wristlite also connects directly to SCAN, so you can access files and archives quickly," Maiko explained.

"Oh, there's more than that. I also implemented a hacking system, a flare system, a substance-scanning system that links directly to my computers and a retractable lockpick into the Wristlite, so think of it as a multipurpose tool," Nobu added.

"Cool, I like it," Vic commented as he and the others put on a Wristlite each on their left wrists.

"All right, Raptor. Time's a-wastin'. Gear up and move out!" Kiyoshi said.


Saibon Crafts Warehouse 14, forested hills of southern Nagano Prefecture

The Wyvern Oroshi and Wyvern Helmwind arrived at the location of the warehouse which, although built on the hills, had a large clearing for Raptor Team to land their aircrafts.

"Take note, there isn't much space for us to do an acceleration take-off, so switch to VTOL mode before shutting off the engine," Kiyoshi said to Eun-Bi, who was piloting the Helmwind with Vic.

"Got it. Proceeding to landing sequence now."

"Captain Akinaka speaking. From today onwards, I'll be coordinating every mission you guys go out on, starting with this one. Jake, Otoha, keep circling around the area. Let us know if you two find anything," Maiko's voice came in through the radio.

"Roger that."

As the Wyvern Oroshi began making rounds around the area, the Wyvern Helmwind landed right beside the warehouse.

"The rest of you will be on the ground. I'll get back to you all with further instructions."

"Roger, captain. All right, let's get to business," Kiyoshi said.

A number of workers were already waiting for Raptor Team when Kiyoshi, Eun-Bi, Kazuto and Vic got out of the Wyvern Helmwind. Also there were a couple of local police officers and a man wearing a two-piece with a tie who immediately rushed over to them when he saw them.

"Ryōin Takashi, one of Saibon Crafts Corporation's board of directors. It's nice to see that GEAR has taken interest in our missing workers. If there is anything you need, just let me know. I want those men and women returned to their families," the suited man introduced himself.

"Do not worry, Mr Ryōin. While we can't guarantee it, we'll do our best to recover the missing workers."

"Where is the suit the police found?" Eun-Bi asked.

"Over there, in the tent. You don't think my missing workers may be…"

"Abducted by aliens? There is a high possibility, but we'll see what we can do," Kiyoshi reassured Mr Ryōin as he and Vic entered the police tent where the strange suit laid on a table.

"How unique… HQ, you getting all this?" Vic asked.


GEAR Far East Headquarters, Raptor Team Ops Room

"Clear as crystal. Do a quick scan so that I can try and match any known substance on it with our archives," Nobu replied.

"On it… Which button was it?"

"The green one. Point it at the suit."

"Okay, here goes…"

One of the five computer screens on Nobu's desk showed a complicated program drawing out a grid version of the suit Vic was scanning.

"All right, this is going to take some time, anything else you can get for me?"

"On it."


Saibon Crafts Warehouse 14, forested hills of southern Nagano Prefecture

Kazuto and Eun-Bi looked around the interior of the warehouse, which was still wet all over the place.

"Damn, smells like a sewer in here," Kazuto commented.

"Those reports were right, though. No burst pipe, no signs of sprinkler systems being engaged, so forced entry either. Creepy," Eun-Bi said.

"You know, I'm very good with dealing with creepy situations…"

"Must be why you're single."

"Oh, I- Hey, that was a cheap shot!"

Eun-Bi merely smiled before continuing her way down a corridor.

"Yeah, I guess I forgot about the thorns on roses," Kazuto continued.

"Like the ones Jake gave to me earlier this year. He forgot to remove the thorns. Wish he was here, but no better person to guide Otoha through the first few months."

Kazuto swore he felt something inside his body shatter.

"Well, let's scan these puddles and see if they're just water or something else," Eun-Bi continued as she did a scan of a large puddle in front of her with her Wristlite.

As she did so, Kazuto noticed something strange. As Eun-Bi continued her scan, Kazuto walked over to a door leading to the security office, which was slightly ajar, with what looked like wet footprints leading to the door. With his Cerberus primed to fire at anything that moves, he slowly crept up to the door, mentally counted to three, and kicked the door opened.

"F***!"

Taking two steps back and nearly tripping in the process, Kazuto found himself staring at a corpse that looked like something had drained every last drop of moisture from it. Hearing his shout, Eun-Bi came running over and gasped at what she saw.


"That scared the hell out of me, damn it!" Kazuto muttered as Vic covered the corpse they had found with a white cloth.

The police had removed the corpse from the warehouse, which Mr Ryōin had identified as the security guard Yoshimichi Shōma, one of the missing night shift crew. This has caused the police and Raptor to fear the worse.

"Any updates on what we sent you?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Yes. In fact, Nobu's found some very interesting things from the analysis of the water puddles in the warehouse, the suit found at the scene and the corpse of the security guard," Maiko replied.


Raptor Team Ops Room, GEAR Far East, Tokyo Bay, Japan, April 30, 2025

Nobu displayed the results of his analysis on the big screen in the Ops Room. Maiko walked up to the large screen as several unidentified materials are displayed and matched with existing chemical compounds on Earth that are closest to them in terms of make-up.

"I got to say, this is really interesting… There are a couple of alien chemicals on the suit that my systems are identifying as closest to the slime excreted by snails and slugs. Most of the materials on the suit, however, are either ordinary water or something close to water," Nobu commented.

"So it is alien in origin… Anything else you got?" Kiyoshi asked.

"We did, Kiyoshi. Nobu found a record made in the year among the CIA files shared with GEAR by the United States Government," Maiko replied.

"Go on."

"On the twenty-second of July, 1982, in the borough of Almere Haven in the Netherlands, there were seventeen disappearances all in a single night. One of the missing was later found dead in an abandoned cellar, and like the security guard you found, he was also a dried corpse. No explanation culd be given at that time, but it drew the attention of the CIA, whom after further clandestine investigation, determined that aliens were responsible for the disappearances and the deceased's demise."

"So this is a similar incident committed by possibly the same perpetrators. I am sending you some pictures and files taken by the CIA investigators responsible for that particular file," Nobu added.

A hazy black-and-white picture of some humanoid with a watery appearance armed with a strange gun is uploaded into Kiyoshi's Wristlite.


Saibon Crafts Warehouse 14, forested hills of southern Nagano Prefecture

"That's not very clear," Vic commented as he and the others stared at the picture on Kiyoshi's Wristlite.

"Best the CIA could do. Besides, with all the ongoing political and security scandals in the United States turning the country upside down, it's already a miracle that they were willing to share at least some information," Nobu replied.

"How bad can it be? I mean, the USA aren't exactly strangers to scandals," Eun-Bi asked.

"The recently elected President is the second black president of the USA, the super-conservatives aren't happy and are encouraging the more fascistic elements of the rightist groups to create violence, and the leftists are retaliating in full force, so we now have a brink-of-civil-war scandal in good ol' America," Kazuto explained

"Wow, you know a lot about US politics," Vic commented.

"Er, duh? Ex-USAF, remember?" Kazuto replied.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you used to be American," Kiyoshi apologized.

"Can we get back to the main topic?" Nobu spoke loudly through the Wristlite.

"Sorry, please continue."

"Anyways, the picture was taken during a rain, so it wasn't clear at all. The CIA were not able to get any other clues, so they stowed the file away under their 'X' category. And this 'X' category is shared by the FBI, which brings us to the next similar incident. August 1995. A group of hikers went missing in the Big Thicket National Preserve. The search went on for two days before Texas Game Wardens found their belongings scattered all over an abandoned hut."

"Sounds like a scene from the Blair Witch Project," Eun-Bi said.

"Close enough, Eun-Bi. According to the file Nobu's putting up on screen, the hut where the missing hikers' belongings were found was completely wet yet there were no rain during the two days of searching and even before the hikers disappeared. Also, the nearest water source from the hut was a good two miles away, according to the report," Maiko is heard saying.

"Which means we have an alien abduction on our hands," Kiyoshi muttered.

The sound of a branch breaking had all four of them spinning around with their GW-2 Cerberus aimed at the direction where it came from. Naturally, the cops and others around them backed away as something stumbled out of the forest.

It was one of the missing workers. He was drenched, bleeding from abrasions and scratches, and looked dehydrated.

"Water… Water, please…"

The worker collapsed as Vic and Kazuto ran towards him. Picking him up, the two brought him over to a chair where a police officer came running over with a bottle of water.

"Matsuda! What happened to you? Where are the others?" Mr Ryōin asked as he approached the worker.

"Aliens… They showed up last night… We all got caught… Woke up in tanks… I escaped… Others… Still there…"

"We need Jake and Otoha back. Jake has first aid experience and Otoha's a paramedic. Someone radio them to turn around," Kiyoshi said.

"We've been trying, but all I'm getting is static," Kazuto said as he tapped his Wristlite.

"Me too. I can't raise them," Eun-Bi added.

"Kiyoshi to Base. We found one of the night shift workers. He said aliens attacked them and he somehow managed to escape. I'm trying to get medical aid for him but I haven't been able to reach Jake and Otoha for a while. Their last report was twenty minutes ago," he said to Maiko through the Wristlite.

"We're not having any luck either. But I don't think they're in any danger at the moment. I'll let you know once we are able to raise them. Have one of the police officers bring the man to the nearest hospital. Ranger Team Taurus have finished conducting the rookie training session and are on their way to assist along with Ranger Team Libra. See if you can get any more information from the survivor, and track down whatever alien is responsible if possible."

"Roger that, Captain. Vic, Kazuto, stay here and keep a look out for anything else. Eun-Bi and I are going to follow the survivor's tracks and see if we can locate anyone else. If we do not come back within half an hour, take the Helmwind and perform an aerial search. See if you can contact the Oroshi at the same time. Eun-Bi, let's go."

"Aye, vice-captain," Eun-Bi replied as she drew her GW-2 Cerberus and followed Kiyoshi into the forest…


Forested hills of southern Nagano

"Spot anything?" Jake asked as he made another round over the forested hills surrounding the area.

"Nope… Hey, mind if I ask you a question? Well, a few questions, to be exact."

"Fire away."

"Can you tell me more about the team?"

"Sure, but you got to interact with them yourself to known them better. Maiko's the captain, so she's got a lot of authority over us, but she's like the team mom. In fact, she would rather be out here with us instead of commanding from the Ops Room. Kiyoshi, well, he's cool, watches out for us when we're in the field, but you might want to not introduce your female friends to him."

"I head he's a womanizer."

"More of a serial flirt. He's not the type to disrespect the other gender. Then you got Nobu, super smart guy for his age. Earned two Degrees at the same time, engineering and biochemistry, before joining up. Vic, he's like the stereotype Russian strong guy, likes workouts, big explosions and heavy weapons. And very, very good at flying planes. But he's real protective of those he trust. Saw him challenging one of the higher-ups who accused Nobu of cheating to get his double Degrees. Mr Suit-and-Ties backed off once he realize Vic was one insult away from tearing his head off and making it look like an accident"

"What about Eun-Bi? The last two weeks I interacted with her, she's like a big sister and all."

"You think?"

"Yes. She's like the kind of person who I wanted to grow up to be when I was a brat. Gentle, sweet, hard to anger, cares for other people…"

"Well, you got almost everything right, except for the anger part. She's probably the one person you do not mess with in Raptor, and that's coming from her current boyfriend."

"Her current boyfriend… Wait, what? You're dating her?"

Jake laughed.

"No, of course not! It's an inside joke of GEAR. See, Eun-Bi and I graduated from the same batch, so there were rumors that she and I were in a relationship, which of course isn't true since she had just broken up with her ex and got close to me because we were the only foreigners in our batch. Still, the joke stuck and we like to refer to each other as 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' just to mess with people who think the rumors are real."

"Urgh, that's disappointing. But whoever becomes her boyfriend should be the luckiest man alive! Why would someone break up with her?"

"She has… Issues. See, she came from a background where success means everything, so there's a lot of stress build up in her, and it doesn't just affect her, it affects everyone else. Family issues, love issues, work issues, lawsuit issues, all kinds of problems you can get just by entering her life. Some people even call her a jinx, but not in front of me or Vic 'cause they know we'll punch their teeth out their asses. So that gentle smile of hers? Not exactly genuine."

"She has it that bad? I wish I can help… Maybe I can introduce a friend of mine. He just turned single and is really patient and understanding. Might be a good fit for her, maybe turn her gentle smile into a real one."

"Hey, that's a nice thought. We should set Eun-Bi and your friend up and see if he might be the one to break her out of her shell."

Otoha, Jake, something's not right, Faire suddenly spoke in telepathy to the two.

"Woah, what the hell, Faire?" Jake exclaimed as he nearly veers off the wrong direction.

I sense a disturbance in the surroundings…

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I'm only getting static on my radio and comms," Otoha commented.

Otoha could feel Faire inside her looking around, though she wondered how it was possible since she assumed Faire's point of vision would be the same as her own since they were sharing the same body, but then Faire suddenly got excited.

Left side, below us. There's something there, Faire said.

"I don't see anything. You sure about this?"

It will be easier if I show you.

"Faire, wait! What are you doing?" Otoha yelled as Faire suddenly took over control of her limbs.

Before Jake could protest, Faire had armed a Stalk-Trak Missile and launched it using Otoha's arms and hands. Cursing out loud, Jake swerved around, switched his system from 'Pilot' to 'Gunner' and entered the disarmament code, causing three containers to pop out from the top of the launched Stalk-Trak Missile.

"Phew, that was close…" Jake muttered as the Stalk-Trak Missile falls harmlessly from the sky.

"Are you crazy? Are you crazy? Do you know how dangerous the Stalk-Trak Missile is? You want to start a forest fire?" Otoha lashed out at Faire.

But…

"Napalm, magnesium and white phosphorus each contained in a specially designed canister before being loaded into a Stalk-Trak Missile, which penetrates the target and detonates three seconds after contact, causing widespread damage!"

I know, but…

"I thought we already talked about this! You keep seizing control of my body without thinking of the consequences!"

"Otoha, chill out! Enough already!" Jake suddenly roared, his tone so terrifying that it caused Otoha's anger to immediately disappear.

Seeing that both Otoha and Faire had fallen silent, Jake sighed.

"Look, Faire's just trying to help. I know she's been giving you a lot of problems, but what happens if she brings you to her own planet? Would you be so curious to the point where you touch everything around you as well?"

"Well, maybe…"

"Besides, Faire's an Ultra, so she clearly has stronger senses than us, especially since she is psychic, so if she says something is there, it's got to be there. You really got to calm down, you know?"

Otoha sighed and nodded.

"And Faire, I have no reason to doubt that you are aware of how humanity's ugly side looks like, right? We're not some saintly race of beings that always appreciate good things that happen to us. I don't know if you know Ultraman Mebius personally, but my father said that humanity turned on Mebius not once but three times in a single span of a month, just before the Empera Seijin Incident."

I know about that.

"This is why Otoha is really serious about keeping you a secret, though you keep breaking your own rule. She's not angry that you keep taking over her body, she's angry you're puting yourself at risk from our kind. Saying that you're sorry isn't going to help much when you keep making her worry about you and herself."

I have not been at my best behaviour. I guess I was too reckless. Otoha…

"Look, I'm in the wrong myself… I mean… Oh, this is difficult…"

"Look, you're both room-mates now. Faire needs a place to hide while keeping an eye out for threats to the planet while Otoha, if what you told me is true, needs a biological walking surgery room fused with her to fix her insides for at least six months in order not to die, so you both got to learn to share with each other while you're at it, okay?"

"Sorry…"/Sorry…

"Damn, I haven't lost my temper in, like, three years… By the way, I'm going to land at that clearing over there."

"Why?"

"We got to retrieve the canisters. Those are UN-regulated ammunition I popped out from the missile just now. Can't just leave them lying around…"

Jake's voice trailed off as he stared at what was in front of him. Otoha looked and was surprised by the disarmed Stalk-Trak Missile seemingly floating in the air. A closer inspection reveals small ripples forming around the missile.

"A forcefield? Faire, was that what you were trying to hit?" Otoha asked.

Yes, and I recognize it, which was why I acted rashly. This is a special forcefield used by the Oozela Seijin that hides their spacecraft and jams all forms of communications, which would explain why you both have been having trouble with your radio and communication devices, the Ultra replied.

"Oozela Seijin?"

A race of aliens that feeds on moisture. They hunt other species of their planet to drain them dry but overhunted and resulted in their planet's destruction over time, which is why they have become nomadic. They are a danger to all and after a series of mass abductions, murders and blatant refusals to negotiate or compromise, Commander Taro of the Space Garrison was forced to issue a kill-on-sight order on them.

"Jesus… It's that bad?" Jake uttered, a disturbed look on his face.

I am afraid so.

"Hey, hear that?" Otoha suddenly asked.

"Yeah, gunfire… Where the heck is it coming from?"

"Faire, sense anything?"

Trying to… Oh, no… Your vice-captain and female comrade are engaging the Oozela Seijin in battle, just somewhere below us!


Kiyoshi hoped that Jake and Otoha saw or at least heard him and Eun-Bi as the Wyvern Oroshi soared past them, and he was damn glad when it switch to hover mode and begin turning left and right, likely trying to locate them.

At the same time, however, he and Eun-Bi are pinned down by enemy gunfire as strange blue aliens with only one white circle for an eye and wearing the same silver-and-yellow suit they found at the warehouse fired their weapons at them. Now that he had a closer look at them, he realized that these aliens were also partially translucent and their suits actually resembled old diving suits.

"Why aren't we hurting them?" Eun-Bi asked as her shots went through their suits but does nothing to their physical bodies.

"I don't know, but they look like they're made of water, maybe that's why!"

A shot missed both of them by inches as it struck a tree behind them. Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi turned around only to see a hole clean through the tree's trunk. Distracted, the two failed to see one of the aliens sneak up on them, and by the time they did, the alien had thrown something at them which immediately exploded.

Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi find themselves encased in a silvery liquid that hardened on them almost immediately. As the two struggled to free themselves, the rest of the aliens converged on them. Speaking in a incomprehensible language, the aliens sheathed their weapons, grabbed the two of them and began dragging them away.


"Shit, shit, shit!" Jake cursed as he finally managed to land in a clearing.

Both he and Otoha had finally located Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi, but by then, the latter two had been captured by what Faire had identified as the Oozela Seijin and Jake and Otoha did not have a clear shot to save them from the air. Now, the two of them were going to try and mount a rescue on foot.

This might have been my fault. I must have alerted them when I launched that missile…

"No, no, don't even start on it, Faire. You had good intentions. I don't want to hear you blaming yourself," Otoha replied.

You're not angry?

"I'm done being angry. We're in this together, and I think it's time I start trusting you a bit more instead of worrying about you affecting my daily life. So yeah, all those times you were apologizing to me, I should be apologizing to you."

As Jake and Otoha stealthily made their way through the forest, Jake bent down to pick up something.

"The napalm canister! Good, that's one off the list… Ah, the magnesium canister…"

"You found them both?" Otoha asked.

"Yup, now for the white phosphorus. I got a plan to save Eun-Bi and Kiyoshi, but I'm gonna need these canisters, so help me find the last one," Jake replied as he stuffed the two canisters into an ammunition bag he had on him when the two heard footsteps through the forest.

The two quickly dived into cover behind a large tree, and as the footsteps got closer, the two become even more tense. Finally the footsteps can be heard just behind the tree they were hiding at, and Jake and Otoha burst out with their weapons pointed at…

"What the f***?!" Kazuto blurt out in shock as he stared down the barrel of Otoha's sidearm.

"You scared us, you dumb shits!" Jake exclaimed as he and Otoha holstered their Cerberus, as Vic came over to join them while Kazuto had to sit down on a log to get over the shock.

"What are you both doing here?" Otoha asked.

"We couldn't raise contact with you both, and then one of the missing workers showed up, so Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi went into the forest to track down the rest. We heard gunfire and came in to investigate, and we found this just a minute ago," Vic explained as he held up a canister.

"The white phosphorus! I was looking for that!"

"You guys disarmed a Stalk-Trak Missile?"

"We had a misfire. By the way, Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi got captured by aliens."

"Shit," Vic cursed.

"Wait, both of them are captured? We got to do something!" Kazuto said.

"Yeah, and we got a plan. Well, more or less. Vic, can you help me make an IED out of these?" Jake asked as he took out the canisters containing magnesium and napalm.

"Sure. You got the stuff?"

"Scavenged what I could from the repair box."

"Good enough."

"Where are the aliens at, actually? And what are they?"

They're Oozela Seijin.

Vic and Kazuto nearly jumped out of their skins upon hearing Faire's voice in their heads. Quickly working out what Faire was up to, Otoha and Jake pretended to be shocked as well.

"Who was that?" Kazuto demanded.

My name is Faire. On your planet, my people are referred to as Ultramen, or in the case of females, Ultrawomen. I know who you all are. Viktor, Kazuto, Jake, Otoha. I'm communicating with you all to assist you. The aliens that took your comrades Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi are known as Oozela Seijin. I can help you save them, but you have to listen closely.

"Wait, you're the one that appeared in Mongolia earlier this month, right?"

Yes, I am.

"This is weird, having a voice in my head like this all of a sudden," Vic commented.

The Oozela Seijin are not your run-of-the-mill alien invaders. They do not stay long on one planet, so they grab whatever victims they can and leave, which means you do not have much time. Their spaceship is cloaked with an invisible forcefield which keeps it protected from enemy attack, but not infiltration. Find it, and you'll be able to save your friends and the other victims.

"Can you help us find it, then?"

No. Not now, at least.

"What? Why? I thought Ultras protect Earth?"

Yes. But for now, I have to hold back. I promise you all, however, that once you have saved the abductess, I will come to your aid. The spaceship is about a hundred and forty meters ahead of the direction Kazuto is looking at.

Otoha, Jake and Vic turned to the direction of Kazuto's sight.

"Okay, we'll do as you say, but don't ditch us," Vic said.

I won't. Now hurry.


Inside Oozela Seijin's spaceship

Eun-Bi let out a gasp of pain as the cocoon she was wrapped in was attached to a hook and she was lifted six inches off the ground. Beside her was Kiyoshi, as well as all the missing night shift workers.

"Damn it, can't believe we got captured like this," Kiyoshi muttered.

"You think the others would find us?"

"Sorry, kid. You saw how the spaceship was cloaked. We might have to face the reality of our situation right now."

"Don't say such things so casually!"

"I was just kidding around… Don't worry, I know damn well Jake and Otoha saw us. Most likely they'll be trying to find a way to save us…"

The faint sounds of lasers were suddenly heard, followed by Vic and Kazuto shouting and jeering, as several more aliens were seen running towards the entrance of the spaceship.

"What do you know, they must have followed us or something…" Kiyoshi commented.

"Jake, Otoha, please hurry…" Eun-Bi whispered.


Outside Oozela Seijin's spaceship

"Why aren't they dying?" Vic yelled as he and Kazuto find themselves taking cover behind an abandoned car.

After locating the forcefield thanks to the remnants of the disarmed Stalk-Trak Missile still looking as though it was floating in mid-air because it was lying on top of the forcefield, the four had gone through it to find a large spaceship within the forcefield. Jake's plan was reckless, but given the situation, they did not have much choice. Vic and Kazuto would lure the Oozela Seijin's attention while Jake and Otoha sneak in.

So far so good, except they did not realize that the aliens were impervious to their firearms. Everytime Vic or Kazuto hits one, the laser shots simply goes through them. The Oozela Seijin's firearms, however, were chipping away their cover at an abnormally fast rate.

"We need a new plan! This one sucks!" Vic complained.

Kazuto, who was peeking out from his cover, suddenly laughs.

"What's so funny? We're about to get ourselves a twenty-one gun salute if this goes on!"

"I got a plan! See that old tanker over there? I bet it's still flammable!"

"Wait, what are you trying to do?"

Switching his Cerberus mode from Basic Shot to Blast Shot, Kazuto pops out of cover and fires a fist-size ball of energy at a tanker right next to the Oozela Seijin, causing it to explode and take out at least ten of the Oozela Seijin, who made high-pitched screaming noises as their bodies began to melt away.

"There! Four left!" Kazuto commented.

Vic stared at him with a shocked expression on his face, like as though he had done something wrong.

"What? It was worth the shot!" Kazuto exclaimed.

"Your plan was stupid, dumb and we could have died!"

"So?"

"I LIKE IT!" Vic yelled at Kazuto with a crazed happy look on his face before goes back to firing at the surviving Oozela Seijin.

"Wait, what the hell? Was that a reprimand or a praise?" Kazuto mumbled to himself in confusion before shrugging it off and continuing to shoot.


Inside Oozela Seijin's spaceship

You two are really good actors. I'm surprised you caught on to my intentions almost immediately, Faire commented as Jake and Otoha snuck their way down a corridor.

"Well, we can't let them know that you're inside me, right?" Otoha replied.

"Yeah, besides, I've never seen Vic had such a scare in my whole one year of knowing him," Jake added.

I am sensing Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi nearby. We are on the right track, Faire said.

"Okay, Faire, which way?"

Left, then go straight down. That is where I feel their presense the strongest.

The two nodded and followed Faire's direction until they finally reached…

"A dead end?" Jake asked.

They're behind this wall.

"But we can't get through, can we?" Otoha asked.

"Yes, we can. Faire, do you sense anything directly behind this wall?"

None. You should be safe to do whatever you are planning to… What are you doing?

Before they launched their risky rescue, Vic had used the canisters retrieved from the disarmed Stalk-Trak Missile to create seven IEDs, and Jake was taking one out of his bag right now, priming it and sticking it to the wall before grabbing Otoha and running as fast as he can.

Diving behind a pillar, Jake held the younger woman against him as the explosion took out the wall and everything that was not behind a stable cover. When the two peeked out, the pillar they had been hiding behind was partially in flames and what looked like an Oozela Seijin laid on the ground screaming in pain as the fire consumed it. As for the wall, it's been taken out.

Despite the heat, Jake and Otoha went running towards the opening they have made, and true to Faire's words, Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi were right inside with the rest of the missing night shift workers that disappeared from the warehouse.

"Quick, we got to get them out," Jake said as he and Otoha tried to tear apart the cocoon Eun-Bi was in.

An Oozela Seijin suddenly appeared. Otoha immediately fired at it, but the laser shots goes right through its body as it lunged at her, knocking her to the ground and pinning her down, but in the scuffle, Otoha fires a shot into some sort of device attached to the Oozela Seijin's suit, causing it to short circuit as it reared back up to its feet and ripped the device off.

The Oozela Seijin made to kick Otoha's head in, only to suddenly get shot in the head by Jake.

"Hey, that killed him," Jake asked in surprise.

"But my shots kept going through it like nothing…" Otoha commented.

"Could it be because of this device thingy on its suit that you shot out?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Let's just get you all out first before we talk about it," Jake replied.


Outside Oozela Seijin's spaceship

"Okay, just how many of these water bastards are there?" Kazuto asked as he shot down another Oozela Seijin.

After the two accidentally discovered that shooting the device attached to the Oozela Seijin's suit allows them to shoot them dead after that, the two had racked up quite a body count, with Kazuto's latest kill bringing it to the grand total of forty-six. However, there were still more aliens emerging from the spaceship and both their Cerberus were down to the last power cell, and there were still no signs of Jake, Otoha, Kiyoshi, Eun-Bi or anyone else until…

An explosion rocked the left side of the spaceship, drawing the attention of the Oozela Seijin. This was followed by another explosion on the right, then a third on the left again.

Suddenly, Vic and Kazuto saw their comrades running out of the spaceship, firing away at the Oozela Seijin as they guided the missing workers out.

"They made it!" Vic cheered as a fourth explosion occurred on the top of the spaceship.

The Oozela Seijin seemingly abandoned the fight as two more explosions finally sends the spaceship toppling to the ground, resulting in even more unplanned explosions as Raptor Team guided the workers into the forest.

"So what happened?" Kazuto asked.

"Well, after freeing everyone, Jake and I could not find the engine room or any other important places on the spaceship, so Vice-Captain Kiyoshi decided we should just place the remaining IEDs in random places around the place," Otoha replied.

"Nice, I like that," Vic commented.

"Well, you're not going to like this one! Look!" Eun-Bi cried out as she and Jake stared at what was happening behind them.

The surviving Oozela Seijin were slowly merging into a giant form right behind them!

"No wonder those water aliens fell back! We got to hurry! Vic, Kazuto, Eun-Bi, with me! We'll cover the workers' escape! Jake, Otoha, wherever you landed the Oroshi, get back to it on the double and try to hold it off long enough for the big guns to arrive!" Kiyoshi ordered.

"Roger!" Everyone replied in unison before Jake and Otoha ran off into another direction, towards the clearing where the Wyvern Oroshi was.

As the two finally reached their aircraft, the Oozela Seijin had completed their merge. Right now, a single Oozela Seijin. Instead of wearing a suit and looking like anthromorphic water, this giant Oozela Seijin was covered in white crusts, with cracks showing their water-like structure flowing through the body, and a hole in the middle of what was supposed to be its head serves as the only facial feature on the giant.

"Signal's getting clear! SCAN's finally picking up images and I am in contact with the rest of Raptor! Kiyoshi? Vic? Jake? Anyone?"

"We hear you, Nobu! But now's not the time!" Jake replied.

"I know! Captain Maiko and I are staring at some giant water alien on our screens right now! What happened?"

"No time, but we've found and rescued all the missing workers!" Kiyoshi is heard shouting.

"Hang tight! Ranger Team Libra 4th Squad is arriving to your location in thirty seconds! Taurus should not be far behind. They just linked up with Ranger Team Aries and both should be reaching within five minutes!"

No sooner had Nobu finished his transmission did Jake and Otoha see seven advanced fighter jets soar past them. These two-pilot jets were the Cog Condors, GEAR's mass-produced combat aircrafts used by the air-combat specialists, GEAR Ranger Team Libra. On each left wing of the Cog Condors were numbers indicating the callsign of each jet, with the current ones being numbered 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14

"C'mon, Otoha, we got to hurry!" Jake said as he strapped on his seatbelt.

"Got it!"

Once both were ready, Jake took the Oroshi into the sky to join the aerial combat as Ranger Team Libra 4th Squad opened fire on the Oozela Seijin, which now lacks its earlier immunity to firearms due to a lack of the device on it. Once the seven Cog Condors have cleared the space, the Wyvern Oroshi fired two Stalk-Trak Missiles at the alien, knocking it down.

"Nice shot," Jake said to Otoha.

"Wait, that thing's doing something," Otoha said as she pointed at the Oozela Seijin's face.

Blue energy was charging at the hole on Oozela Seijin's face. Sensing trouble and seeing Libra about to perform another strafing run, Jake quickly radioed the leader.

"Raptor Team Member Jake Soh to Libra 4th Squad Leader, abort strafing run! It's about to attack! Pull up, now!"

"4th Leader to all, pull up now! Emergency maneuvers!"

Oozela Seijin fired a blue, water-like energy beam at the jets. Jake made a sharp turn to avoid the attack as Otoha lets out a shriek. The Cog Condors also dodged the attack, but one of them is struck in the tail.

"Mayday! Mayday! Libra 24 is going down!"

"Libra 24, hold it together! Both of you eject now!" Libra 4th Squad Leader is heard yelling.

"Ejection systems failed! We can't get out!"

"No! Libra 24!"

Frantic screaming can be heard on the radio as Jake and Otoha watched Libra 24 about to crash into the forest in horror.

I can't watch this happen! Otoha, transform into me, quickly! Faire urged.

They will be able to see me transform into you! Otoha replied, careful not to speak out in case the others on the radio chatter hears her.

Jake, can you bring us to an attitude where they won't see Otoha transform into me?

Got it, Jake replied as he flew the Oroshi up, facing the glaring sun as he did so.

Realizing that Jake was using the sun's glare as a camouflage, Otoha quickly reacted, pulling the Luna Grip out of her jacket and used a wrist-flick version of her transformation movement due to space constraints.

"Faire!"

In that instant, a flash of light, unseen due to the sun's glare, engulfed the cockpit of the Oroshi before a sphere of light shot out and down towards the ground, which then enlarged and formed itself into Faire.

Catching Libra 24's Cog Condor in her hands, Faire sets the jet down gently on a flat area in the hills before getting into a fighting pose as the Oozela Seijin roared at her…


Raptor Team Ops Room, GEAR Far East, Tokyo Bay, Japan

"Captain Maiko! The female Ultra that stopped Mauleon in Mongolia has reappeared!" Nobu said as he pulled up a video image of Faire about to face off against the alien.

Maiko got up from her seat, the tension she was experiencing when she heard that Libra 24 had been hit disappearing at the sight of the Ultrawoman.

"Thank the heavens… Nobu, inform all members of Raptor as well as the GEAR Rangers to support the female Ultra as best as they can!"


Forested hills of southern Nagano

Faire and the Oozela Seijin exchanged punches with each other as they slugged it out in the forests, leaving fallen trees and craters in the ground as they tried to get the upper hand. The Oozela Seijin was surprisingly tough, and Faire was having trouble with it despite the assistance of the Wyvern Oroshi and the remaining airborne members of Libra.

Meanwhile, the Wyvern Helmwind had joined the fight, with Vic and Kazuto assisting in gunner positions while Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi flew it.

"Bastard, you want to abduct us? Here's some payback! Fire Stalk-Trak Missiles and Stream Shot!" Kiyoshi ordered.

The Wyvern Helmwind unloads its heavy weapons on Oozela Seijin, knocking it off its feet as Faire jumped on it and began punching away until her opponent managed to grab her by her face and slam her head against a hill. As Faire got dizzy from that attack, Oozela Seijin backhands her, then picks her up to slam her to the ground before stomping on her a few times.

Managing to roll out of the way after the fifth stomp, Faire got to a kneeling position as she raised her right hand, which began charging light energy on the back of her palm. The energy then formed into the shape of a spinning three-bladed shuriken which she then hurled at Oozela Seijin, repeating the attack two more times. The energy shurikens exploded upon contact with Oozela Seijin, but it wasn't enough to keep it down.

Damn, that bastard's tough. Otoha, any ideas? Faire communicated with Otoha.

It's made of water, right? You got any electrical moves?

As a matter of fact, my current form happens to be electrical-based.

Charging electrical energy into her right hand again, Faire creates a whip of electricity and lashes Oozela Seijin with it a few times. While it did cause annoyance to Oozela Seijin, it did nothing to injure or weaken it.

Okay, so it's immune to electricity… Faire complained.

Oozela Seijin suddenly struck Faire in the chest hard with its own energy beam attack, knocking her to the ground. It then began beating down on her, savagely punching, kicking and stomping on her while pinning her down even more with its energy beam before pulling Faire into a sleeper hold. As Faire struggled to break free, the Color Timer on her chest began flashing.

Faire, your triangle jewel thingy… I thought you don't have a time limit! We've only gone, like, four minutes!

I have one. Seven minutes and thirty seconds. The golden armour and pauldrons on my body store solar energy in them which is why I have a longer time limit, but it charges slowly, so I try not to use too much energy attacks since it reduces my time limit quickly. That is why my Color Timer is blinking. It's warning me that I don't have much time left.

How long do you have left now?

Given my current remaining energy? About two minutes and forty seconds…

Meanwhile, in the Wyvern Helmwind, Kazuto was watching Faire about to be beaten by Oozela Seijin while the Helmwind and the Oroshi continued to fire at it when he remembered something. While rescuing Kiyoshi and Eun-Bi, he had shot the tanker and noticed how the small Oozela Seijin had evaporated due to the heat and flames as well as the reaction of the big Oozela Seijin they were fighting when the Stalk-Trak Missiles struck it. As he slowly put two-and-two together, he realized Oozela Seijin's weakness.

"Vice-Captain, is the cockpit soundproof?" Kazuto asked urgently.

"What kind of stupid question is that supposed to-" Eun-Bi demanded when Kazuto cuts her off.

"Is it soundproof or not?!"

"No, it's not, why?" Kiyoshi answered and asked in response.

Without replying, Kazuto pressed himself against the glass of the Wyvern Helmwind's cockpit and started shouting.

"FAIRE! It's weak to heat and flames! It's WEAK! To HEAT! And FIRE!"

"Faire?" Eun-Bi and Kiyoshi asked in unison.

"The Ultrawoman. Her name is Faire. She communicated with me, Kazuto, Jake and Otoha earlier, and guided us to rescue you both," Vic explained.

Despite the muffled shouts of Kazuto, Faire's superhuman hearing was able to make out what he said. Nodding in the direction of the Helmwind, Faire managed to break free from Oozela Seijin's hold, deliver a gut kick to it and rolled away into a kneeling position as she raised her right hand, the jewel on her gauntlet glowing a bright red, and then punched the ground.

A pillar of flames engulfed Faire, and when it dissipates, Faire was standing up, but something had changed. The yellow, lightning-shaped stripes on her body had changed into red and orange flame-like lines, and the area around her Color Timer has also turned red.

As Oozela Seijin charged towards her, Faire held up both fists which suddenly goes up in flames as she punches Oozela Seijin several times, each punch leaving a scorch mark on its body before she ends her barrage of punches with a fiery enzuigiri kick, sending it crashing to the ground. As Oozela Seijin got back up, nearly half of its crusty armour had been shattered.

Refusing to give up, the Oozela Seijin rushed Faire again, but an uppercut, a kick to the knee and a vicious headbutt from its opponent leaves it stumbling backwards in a daze. But Faire was not finished yet. Grabbing Oozela Seijin, Faire threw it into the air before charging up a sphere of heat energy about twice the size of her own head in her hands and taking aim at Oozela Seijin.

"Lunium Grenade!"

With that, Faire launched the energy sphere towards Oozela Seijin. Unable to defend itself, Oozela Seijin is struck by the energy sphere and is literally obliterated in a huge explosion that rocked all the aircrafts near the scene of battle.

"Wooo! That was some finisher!" Kazuto said once the Wyvern Helmwind regained stability.

"Damn, she really is strong! Sure glad she's on our side!" Vic added.

"She's an Ultra. She's definitely on our side," Kiyoshi replied.

"Can't wait to see her again. I wonder what drives her to protect humanity from monsters?" Eun-Bi wondered out loud.

With her work done, Faire gives the gathered warriors of GEAR a salute before taking off intothe air and disappearing from view. Once out of sight, she turns back into light particles and re-entered the Wyvern Oroshi, changing back to Otoha.

That was intense! Faire, you all right? Otoha asked.

I am fine. But I need to rest now…

Otoha grinned as Faire's snores could be heard in her head telepathically.

"Man, that was some fight… Can't believe Faire can change her form. That might be useful," Jake commented.

"Yeah. C'mon, I want to go home already," Otoha replied.


Raptor Team Ops Room, GEAR Far East, Tokyo Bay, Japan, May 1, 2025

"So, her name is Faire?" Maiko asked as Raptor Team is wrapping up their debriefing.

"Yeah. All four of them could vouch for it. If Faire had not communicated with them, Eun-Bi and I might not have made it," Kiyoshi replied.

"Ultrawoman Faire… Pronounced in the Scottish Gaelic language, not to mention that. If I recall correctly, 'fàire' means distance, horizon or skyline… It's quite fitting, actually."

"You think so? Well, let's just call her Faire from now on, then," Otoha replied.

"And you did great as well, Kazuto. You were able to figure out the weakness of these, how you pronounce their name? O-zi-la… Yes, Oozela Seijin. I think Faire owes you one now for helping her to defeat them. Anyways, keep up the good work, stay vigilant and watch each other's back out in the field. That is all. It's midnight now. Get some rest. You're dismissed for the day," Maiko said.


Raptor Bunk

Otoha and Kazuto wre not sure what their more veteran teammates were running on. Captain Maiko had told them to rest, and for the two of them, rest means sleep.

Instead, the two were now forced to watch the rest of the team duke it out on the Playstation 5 in their bunk as Vic continues his winning streak on the fighting game they were playing.

"Don't you guys need to sleep?" Otoha asked Eun-Bi.

"Once you've settled in with Raptor, you'll learn that the words 'take a break' means we got a problem incoming," Eun-Bi replied.

"I win again!" Vic cheered as Nobu lets out a frustrated noise and passed the controller to Jake when…

"Code Red! Code Red! Three Bostangs attacking Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture, all GEAR Rangers and Raptor Team please respond immediately. Repeat: Code Red! Code Red! Three Bostangs…"

"Raptor Team! Gear up and move out!" Kiyoshi ordered as he shut the PlayStation down as the guys began pulling their pants up and running all over the bunk to grab whatever they had left hanging at wherever.

"See what I mean?" Eun-Bi said to Otoha with a wink as the both of them jumped off their beds to attend to the latest emergency…


Next time, on Ultrawoman Faire…

Chapter 3: Proof of A Rising Ace

Kazuto becomes upset when Otoha finally earns the right to take the pilot position while he failed, and his attempt to outshine her lands him in hot soup when he nearly causes an irreversible mistake that puts his position in Raptor at risk. Meanwhile, a German cargo vessel found adrift by Indian authorities is revealed to carry an ancient terror…


SCAN Archives Data:

Water Alien, Oozela

Height/Weight:

- Normal: 1.8 mtrs/?

- Merged: 54 mtrs/51,000 tons

Abilities:

- Normal: Unique firearm, suit device that makes it impervious to attacks, merging

- Merged: Super strength and endurance, electrical immunity, blue energy beam

Known Weakness: Extreme heat

First Recorded: Almere Haven, The Netherlands, July 22, 1982

First Identified: Nagano, Japan, April 30, 2025

File Category: New

Threat Level: High


Character Guide: Gekkō Otoha (月光 音葉)

- Age: 21

- Height: 1.65 mtr

- Weight: 53kg

- Nationality: Japanese

- Affiliation: Strike Team Raptor (Raptor Team), GEAR Far East Branch

An orphan who was brought up by her uncle, Otoha used to be a paramedic who was deliberately relegated to driving the ambulance despite her skills as a medical practitioner due to gender bias on her employer's part, which spurred her to leave the hospital she worked at and join GEAR Far East when given the chance. She was one of two rookies who passed the rigorous three-month training and selection test to get into GEAR Far East's Strike Team Raptor. In a unexpected turn of events during her first mission, she became the human host of Ultrawoman Faire, with the only ones aware of this being fellow Raptor member Jake Soh as well as GEAR Rangers Roderick Soh, older brother of Jake, and Umemiya "Becky" Beniko from Ranger Team Taurus.