Hey everyone, Shunya Toshiki here bringing you my Ultraman Zero story. I'm very excited to work on this story, since Zero is my favorite Ultraman in the series.

Also I want to point out a few things for this story.

1. This is set after Ultraman Geed's movie.

2. This story will feature an OC villain.

Anyhow...Cue disclaimer!

I don't own Ultraman Zero and Girly Air Force, those belong to their creators. This is for fun, not profit.

The Zero Air Force

Chapter 1: I am Ultraman Zero!

In the vacuum of space lies the Sol System, the home system of the planet Earth.

Then a wormhole suddenly opens up and flying out of it is a giant wearing armor before he stops near to the Earth.

The giant had a human shape, that is colored silver, blue, and red, in the middle of his chest was a blue light and has a grey armor chest piece that also reaches to his arms and below his wrists, has two fin edges on the top of his head, has a green light on his forehead, and has rectangular yellow eyes.

The armor he was wearing, has chest armor is shaped like a shield with two shoulder guards that resembles wings and on the top center of that chest piece is a blue gem, and has two pointed pieces on his back with two blue gems on the top end of them, and has a sword attach on his right wrist with two blue gems one on the bottom and the other on the tip of the blade.

This is Ultraman Zero, an Ultra Warrior from the Land of Light.

Then Zero's armor changed into a bracelet wrapped around his left wrist. The Bracelet was colored silver with two blue lines on a set of swings pointed downward, and had a blue light on the center of it. Thi is the Ultra Zero Bracelet.

"Thanks for your help, Ultimate Aegis." Zero told his Bracelet. Zero then looks at the Earth.

"So this is Earth? And this is where I'll finally find him." Zero said in strong determination.

Before Zero could enter Earth's atmosphere, he heard screaming on the planet, he then looked and saw two ships, in the middle of the ocean, and the ship was carrying several groups of people on it, and saw that it was being attacked by a giant Kaiju.

"Looks like there's trouble. Well like the old saying, a hero's work is never done." Zero said as he flies to the Earth and to where the ships and the Kaiju are.


(Meanwhile)

On one of the ships that were being attacked by the aquatic Kaiju, is Kei Narutani. A teenage young man with short green hair and matching color eyes, wearing a black shirt with a blue dress shirt with brown shorts and shoes.

Standing beside him was his childhood friend, Minghua Song. A girl around his age has purple hair tied in a ponytail with a pink scrunchy around it, and has orange eyes.

They were traveling with other refugees, heading from China to Japan after their home country was attacked by an unknown.

In the middle of their journey, a giant Kaiju appeared from the sea.

It was colored black with fins on its back and forearms and has aquatic feet, and has gills on the sides of its neck.

The Kaiju then fired a water beam attack from its mouth to the ships.

As it was attacking, the refugees were panicking as they ran to take cover.

"Come on, Kei!" Minghua said as she grabbed onto his hand to run as well. "Don't worry! As long as I'm with you, you'll be safe!"

"But Minghua…" Kei said before Minghua begins to drag him as they both run together.

The aquatic Kaiju then charges at the ships to destroy them, along with the refugees on board.

Just when all hope seems lost, a comet made of light falls from the sky and crashes into the ocean nearby and in between the Kaiju and the ships, causing the Kaiju to stop in its tracks, creating a large splash of water.

This causes the Aquatic Kaiju and the refugees on the ship to turn to it. When the water splash falls back into the ocean, they soon see that it was Ultraman Zero before he stands up and faces the Kaiju.

Kei and the refugees were shocked by the Ultraman's appearance.

"I am Zero...Ultraman Zero!" Zero declared as he strikes a combat pose.

Then soon the Ultra Warrior and the Kaiju charged at each other to battle against each other.

The Kaiju slashed at Zero two times using the claws in each of its hands, but Zero dodged its attacks with ease and Zero counters by landing a few punches on its chest.

The Kaiju attacks Zero once again with its claws, Zero parries it with a kick and throws in another kick on its head.

As Kei and the refugees were watching the battle, Kei was in awe of Zero's strength.

"Amazing…" Kei mumbled.

But they heard something in the sky…

"It's the Xi!"

Kei and his fellow refugees looked and saw several strange alien-like aircrafts flying towards them. They appear to be made out of crystal-like material and are colored in multiple colors.

After Zero lands a few punches on the Kaiju then sees the Xi flying in the air.

"What the...what are those things?" Zero said.

Then the Xi fired a beam on one of the ships which cut it in half, and the refugees that were on it fell to the ocean.

"Oh no! The people!" Zero said as he was about to run and help them, but the Aquatic Kaiju grabbed hold of Zero, preventing him from doing so. "Damn you! Don't get in my way!"

Zero manages to break free and punch the Kaiju away but then the Kaiju manage to move in front of Zero.

The Kaiju attacks Zero as he dodges his attacks, while at the same time keeping him away to help the people that were in danger.

The refugees on the remaining ship got on board the lifeboats, they soon saw a squadron of Japanese fighter jets flying towards the Xi to help them.

"It's the Japanese army!"

Kei looked and saw one that caught his eye. It was a JAS39 Gripen type fighter jet, and it was colored red and yellow with eye lights and had the symbol of Japan on it.

Then that Gripen jet begins to fly in equal speed against the Xi, and manage to shoot them down, and Kei was left surprised by this.

As Zero lands a flying double kick on the Kaiju forcing it to stumble back, he soon notices that as well as he soon saw that.

"Not sure what's going on, but thanks for the help!" Zero said as he focused his sights at the Kaiju. "It's time to finish you!"

Zero then channels energy around his arms, as he swings his left arm to his left and the right arm inward to his side before he brings both arms together in a 'L' shape cross.

"Wide Zero Shot!" Zero declared as he fired a yellow beam attack at the Kaiju, and when his attack landed on it, the Kaiju was destroyed as it exploded.

Zero did a 'V' sign with his hand as he defeated the Kaiju.

As the Gripen fighter had defeated the last remaining Xi fighters something went wrong as the light around its body died down as it crashed landed on the ocean.

Kei saw this before he immediately undid his seatbelt and walked to the only hatch of the lifeboat before he opened it.

"Wait, Kei!" Minghua called out as Kei jumped out of the lifeboat and soon swam to the fighter jet to help the pilot.

Zero soon saw this and was deeply interested in Kei's actions.

Kei then made it to the fighter jet as he soon climbed on top of it, near to its cockpit.

"Hey, are you alright?! Say something?!" Kei called out as he knocked on the cockpit, before it suddenly opened.

The pilot of it was a girl with a small body, she looked around his age and had long pink hair and was wearing a blue military uniform.

"A girl?" Kei said shocked, before the girl opened her eyes as she looked at Kei. "Hey are you alright?"

"Pretty…" The girl said before she leaned her head towards Kei and soon kissed him on the lips "Nova era…"

"Eh?" Kei mutters before the girl suddenly falls asleep. "Hey!"

A rescue helicopter was flying above the jet, Kei was standing on it as it lowered to him.

Seeing that his work here is done, Zero soon leaves as he flies into the sky and disappears in the horizon.


(Meanwhile)

In a dark room, a figure was sitting in front of several holographic screens that showed live footage of Zero battling against the Kaiju.

"So...You've followed me all the way here, Ultraman Zero." The figure said with a robotic voice as a mouthpiece lights up red. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. Soon...not even you can stop me in completing my goal."


(Days later)

After arriving in his grandparents house in Japan, Kei was sleeping soundly on his bed in the room his grandparents had provided for them.

As he was sleeping the astral projection of Ultraman Zero appeared above him as the Ultraman was looking down at him.

"I saw what you did." Zero said as he remembers how Kei saved that female pilot who crashed on the ocean water. "You definitely have courage."

Zero then flies into Kei's body to merge with the young man.


It was morning, and Kei had fallen off of his bed. He looks around the room.

"Oh that's right. I'm now in my grandparents' place, in Japan." Kei said as he rubbed the side of his head.

Then Kei felt something around his left wrist, he looked and saw it was the Ultimate Bracelet.

"What the heck is this?" Kei asked as he looked at the Bracelet.

"Yo, Narutani Kei!" Said a voice.

Kei was a little surprised to hear that voice as he looked around for it.

"What the...who's there?!" Kei asked.

"Calm down, I'm Zero, Ultraman Zero." Zero answered.

"Zero? Wait, you mean that giant from before?" Kei asked as he remembers seeing Ultraman Zero on the evac ships. "Where are you? How am I hearing your voice?"

"Well to answer those questions, I'm currently inside of you." Zero told him.

"Inside of me?" Kei repeated as he placed his hands around his body. "How? I don't even feel any different? More importantly, how can someone as big as you can fit inside of me?"

"Look, calm down." Zero told him as Kei stopped placing his hands around his body. "I know you're a little confused, but don't give me so many questions at once. Just sit down so I can explain."

Kei had sat down like Zero had requested of him and was looking at the bracelet around his wrist. Zero had told him that the bracelet is the symbolization of his connection with Kei now. The Ultraman then told the young man where he's from and why he's here on Earth.

"Okay...Let me see if I got this right." Kei said as he was looking at the bracelet. "You're an Ultra Warrior from a place called the Land of Light from another universe, and the reason why you're here on Earth is because you're looking for someone dangerous. Right?"

"Yeah, that's about it. Have to say you took the news rather well." Zero said, and Kei rubs the back of his head.

"Well...Truth be told this all sounds crazy to me. But after everything I've seen it's hard not to believe it." Kei told him.

"Guess that's true. Anyway, the reason why I'm in your body is because I need a host while I'm here. I can't exactly conduct my investigation in a city as a giant, it would draw too much that way." Zero told him.

"Okay, but why choose me? You don't even know me." Kei said.

"That's true. But I did see what you did." Zero stated.

"What do you…" Kei said before he realized what he meant as he remembers saving that female pilot when her plane had fallen on the sea.

"That's right. I saw you saving that pilot. That showed me that not only do you have courage, but that you're also the kind of person who risks his life for others. And that's the kind of thing I like in a man." Zero told him.

"Well...I don't know what to say…" Kei mutters as he rubs the back of his head.

"In any case, you should probably get ready. Don't want to miss out on breakfast." Zero told him.

"Oh right." Kei said as he stood up and began to take off his clothes.

'A Japanese fighter crashed in the Chinese territorial waters. I went to save the pilot, and it was a girl. And she kissed me. That's impossible. So I haven't told anybody.' Kei thought before he saw someone opening his door.

"Kei, when are you going to get up?" Said Minghua, wearing an apron and a dust sweeper in her hand, and Kei was in the middle of putting on his pants.

"M-Minghua? Don't you know how to knock?" Kei asked.

"I've seen you in your underwear plenty of times. There's no point in being embarrassed now." Minghua told him.

"It's not like when we were kids!" Kei told her as he puts on and zips up his pants. "What if it were the other way around? What if I walked in when you were changing?"

"I'd get mad." She answered.

"That's not fair!" Kei exclaimed.

Minghua then placed a piece of paper on his table which was a grocery list with four items written on it.

"Here's the shopping list. This is for lunch, so go now! Hurry up!" Minghua told him as she left his room and closed the door.

"Why are you bossing me around? This isn't even your house." Kei said.

"So...Was that girl your girlfriend or something?" Zero asked and Kei blushed before he looked at the Bracelet.

"Of course not! I don't even see her like that!" Kei told the Ultraman.


Kei had ridden his bike to the grocery store and bought the things on the list, as he did, Kei told Zero his relation with Minghua and why she was living in his grandparents' house.

"I see. So you knew Mingua from childhood and grew up with her. The two of you are refugees here, but since she was separated from her parents and had no one to turn to, your grandparents decided to take her in." Zero said in understanding.

"Yeah. That's about it." Kei said as he put the bag of groceries in his bike's basket.

"They sound like good people. Not anyone would do that for a complete stranger." Zero said.

"I guess." Kei said as he began to walk with his bike, as he was walking he noticed a few groups of people around him.

First was a mother and her son going into a convenience store as the son requested his mother to buy him gummies.

The second was a mother and daughter meeting a family friend of theirs as the daughter was petting his dog as the mother remark on the dog has gotten bigger.

The third was a group of teenagers playing games on portable systems.

Kei stops walking as he hears the loud engine sound, he then looks up and sees a passenger airplane taking off into the air.

"That's right. There are still civilian planes in the sky here." Kei remarks and that gets Zero's attention.

"Hmmm…?"


Kei had returned and Minghua soon cooked lunch for the both of them. After finishing eating, Minghua was washing the dishes, and they were also listening to the news.

It was a news report about the Xi and there was a title in it, 'What Do They Want?! Mysterious Military Group The Xi'.

"More and more refugees from the continent are arriving daily. Overcoming cultural differences and difficulties."

Kei was bringing his dirty dishes to the sink.

"Thanks for the food." Kei said as he placed the dishes by the sink.

"Sure. Just put that there." Minghau told him.

"What are the authorities doing, letting these Xi continue…" The other news reporter said before Kei turned off the TV and began cleaning the table.

"They're saying the Xi are just an 'armed group'. Japan's so peaceful." Kei said.

"What's wrong with that? It beats running for your life every day." Minghua said.

"But…" Kei said as he turned to her.

"I like this city. The breeze is so peaceful and tranquil. It's the first time in ages I've really been able to sleep." Minghua said as she finished washing the dishes and began to dry her hands.

Kei soon stood up.

"Sure, but…" Kei said before Minghua walks to the door and takes off her apron.

"I'm going to keep cleaning. You go water the garden." Minghua told him.

"Don't you think you're overdoing it? Grandpa said you don't need to do all this, right?" Kei said and Minghua turned to him as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm freeloading here, you know? And if I'm not busy, I'm going to start thinking about things." Minghua told him and Kei looked down as he understood what she meant.

"I see." Kei said as he remembers when he and Minghua had boarded the evac ships.


(Flashback)

When Kei and Minghua were boarding the ships with so many people around them, they were separated from Minghua's parents by the pushing crowd of people.

"Minghua! Minghua!" Her father calls out.

"Dad!" Minghua calls out as well.

(End of flashback)


Ever since they had arrived in Japan, Kei and Minghua hadn't received any word from her parents. Kei then showed his childhood friend an assured smile.

"Your parents will show up on the next evacuation ship. I'm sure of it." Kei told her.

"Y-Yeah, you're right." Minghua said as she felt hopeful about that.

"Yup. They'll get rid of the Xi eventually. And once they're gone, we can go back to China." Kei assured her.

"Kei?" Minghua said.


Kei standing in the backyard of the house as he was watering the plants while at the same time looking at JASDF Deployments for equipment and the jets they used.

"Hey, Kei," Zero calls out which surprised Kei.

"Zero, give me a bit of a warning next time." Kei told him as he still wasn't used to him speaking in his head.

"Sorry about that, but I need to talk to you about something." Zero said.

"What is it?" Kei asked.

"It's about those things you call Xi. I need you to tell me what you know about them." Zero told him.

"What? You don't know about...Oh right, you're from another planet." Kei said. "Well...I don't know much about the Xi, in fact no one does so far. They appeared out of nowhere a few years ago, and conquered most small countries and not long after China had fallen under attack by them. Because of their advanced weaponry, it didn't take them long to conquer China. Which is why me and Minghua are living in Japan right now."

"I see. Thanks, that's all I needed to know." Zero said before he went silent as Kei blinked in confusion.

"I wonder what that is about?" Kei said as he went back into looking for any info on his phone.

In his pocket dimension, Zero remembers seeing the Xi for the first time when he arrived on Earth.

"Their weapons and designs are definitely leagues above Earth's technology. Could they be a result of his doing. If so then why?" Zero said.

Minghua was vacuuming Kei's room before she noticed something on his study table.

Kei was looking at JASDF fighter jets for the red one he saw on that day.

"I was sure that red fighter was Japanese. I didn't dream it, did I? No...It was real, even Zero is real and he saw it too." Kei said as he remembers how easily that red fighter was able to destroy the Xi. "If I could pilot one of those things, I could take down the Xi. I could avenge my mom!"

Minghua runs down the stairs and opens the backyard doors.

"Kei!" Minghua calls out as Kei turns to her. "We need to talk."

"Hmmm…?" Zero said as that got his attention.

"What is it?" Kei asked.

Minghua then showed an air force academy handbook in her hand as it was the thing she noticed in Kei's room.

"What's this about joining the JSDF Air Force Academy?" Minghua asked.

"It's just what it looks like. You can train to be a pilot at an academy in Yamaguchi Prefecture. You don't need to pay for the dorm or tuition. You even get a salary. It's a pretty sweet deal, right?" Kei asked.

"Oh...So what if tuition is free?" Minghua asked.

"You understand, right? If I took advantage of that, even somebody like me could become a pilot." Kei said.

"I see. So that's how it is." Zero said in understanding.

"Baka." Minghua said.

"Why are you calling me an idiot?" Kei asked.

"Because you're an idiot. A Self-Defense Force School? That means you'd be a soldier, right? You're going to fly a plane and fight the Xi? Do you want to get killed?" Minghua asked.

"I'm not going to die! You saw it when we escaped from Shanghai, right? That red fighter jet. Nobody's ever been able to shoot down the Xi, but it was mowing them down like it was nothing! I'm pretty sure it's a secret JSDF weapon!" Kei said.

"But the 'secret weapon' you're talking about crashed." Minghua reminded him and Kei flinched. "You'll never make it as a pilot. You've never been able to beat me at arm wrestling."

"That was years ago." Kei said.

"I won at racing, the long jump, and even the vision exam, too." Minghua reminded him.

"But...That's nothing. I was chosen…" Kei started.

"Kei, don't!" Zero shouted at him which made Kei stop. "Don't forget I'm supposed to be undercover here. And if you tell this girl about me, you'll only put her in danger."

Kei grits his teeth but he'll respect Zero's decision to keep Minghua out of the loop about him.

"I meant...This is the fastest way! I'm going to be a JSDF pilot and fly in that jet." Kei told her.

"I said no, and I meant it. I'm telling your grandparents. I'll tell them that you've got a dumb idea in your head, and they should stop you." Minghua told him and Kei grits his teeth before he walks in the house through the other opened door.

"Hey! What are you going, Kei?" Minghua calls out but Kei ignores as she watches him leave.


After his argument with Minghua and rushing out of his house, Kei had arrived at the beach where he was throwing rocks in the sea in frustration.

"Damn that, Minghua...Just because she's a year older than me doesn't give her the right to boss me around!" Kei growled as he gritted his teeth and clenched his hands.

"She's only like that because she's worried about you." Zero told his host as he had his hands on his hips. Kei then looks at the Bracelet on his wrist.

"Your point?" Kei asked.

"My point is that you're all she has left. She's a refugee here with no one to turn to and nowhere to go. And you mention you hadn't heard anything from her parents, right? Well...not to sound heartless or anything, but that would either mean that they never made it to the evac ships or worse they could be…" Zero said.

"I know!" Kei exclaimed which stopped Zero and then Kei sighs as he sat down. "You don't have to tell me…"

"Kei…" Zero mutters before he sighed and shook his head. "Look, just because I'm sharing your body right now doesn't mean I'm going to tell you what to do. It's your life, so you decide on how you want to use it. But you need to consider how your actions will affect those close to you, that girl and your grandparents included."

Kei lowered his head as he tightly clenched his hand before he looked at the Bracelet.

"Hey Zero, you mention that you're looking for someone here, right?" Kei asked.

"Yeah. That's right." Zero answered.

"Can you tell me who this person is? And why are you after him?" Kei asked.

"Sure. It is fair that I tell you since we'll be working together." Zero said as he began to explain.


(Meanwhile)

In a dark room with several computer screens serving as the only light source, the figure who was spying on Zero when he arrived, has brought out several data files of known Kaijus.

He was going through several of the data files as mechanical tentacles were being plugged into the machine in front of him.

"The person I'm after is known as Doctor Zeiber." Zero said.

"A doctor?" Kei said in surprise.

"He used to be a renowned scientist and was well respected by a lot of people. But things sort of took a dark turn for him." Zero said.

"Like what?" Kei asked.

Zeiber was tapping large silver claw-like fingers on his armchair as he was going through his data files at a fast speed that would normally be impossible for a normal being.

"At first he sought to use his intellect to help people, but over time he became obsessed with one thing, creating the ultimate lifeform." Zero explains.

"The ultimate lifeform?" Kei repeated.

Zeiber then stops in a data file of a monster that might be a match against Zero.

It was Eleking Discharge Dragon. A kaiju with a white body with black markings around it with a tail and two crescent shaped horns on its head with a glowing 'mouth'.

Zeiber's cable-wires soon detached from their plug-ins and began typing on a holographic keyboard at a fast speed to prepare Eleking.

"Yeah. In Zeiber's view this ultimate lifeform is supposed to be his new race of superpowered beings, capable of almost anything. In his pursuit he conducted horrific experiments on entire planets, most of them with intelligent life." Zero told him.

"Horrific how?" Kei asked.

"Trust me, you're better off not knowing." Zero said. "Back to the story, he even discarded his old body and replaced it with a tank grown one which he enhanced using cybernetic enhancements."

Zeiber's head was briefly seen as it showed a brain in a glass case as it was twitching.

After typing in the last preparations of Eleking, lights turned on and showed the said Kaiju in a glass tube filled with green liquid and has several tubes attached on its body as the tubes begin to channel electricity into its body.

Eleking's body begins to twitch as its 'mouth' begins to light as the electric Kaiju awakens.


"I see. So you think he's here on Earth, right?" Kei asked.

"That's right. I've been hunting him down for months and the trail led me here. I know this is a lot to ask, but I hope you'll cooperate with me in my search for Zeiber." Zero requested.

"Sure. I don't mind. But tell me this though, was the Xi created by this Zeiber?" Kei asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. Zeiber tends to commence his experiments in the shadows. The way these Xi do things isn't his style. But I definitely tell, they're not from Earth, in fact they're something I've never seen before." Zero said.

"I see. Well, thanks I guess." Kei said as he leaned backwards on his hands. "But still, what can I possibly do?"

"That I can't tell you. That is something you need to find yourself." Zero said.

Kei didn't bother to talk back as he stayed silent and wondered to himself.

That is felt the earth shaking beneath him, and Kei blinks in wondering what was going on before he heard something erupting in the city.

Kei quickly stood up and turned to it and saw the Kaiju, Eleking Discharge Dragon appearing from the ground as it began to attack several buildings around it.

"What the...A Kaiju?!" Kei said in shock.

"That's Eleking Discharge Dragon?! But how…" Zero said.

Eleking soon begins to fire electric disk waves from its 'mouth' as they destroy several buildings as people run away from the Kaiju.

Even from a distance Kei could hear the people as they ran away in fear and he clenched his hand in frustration.

"Dammit...If only I had that jet…" Kei mutters.

"You don't have to! I'm here, remember?" Zero calls out and Kei soon looks at the Bracelet.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Zero, what can I do?" Kei asked.

"Don't worry, it's very simple but there are some risks to this. Do you still want to try it?" Zero asked.

"Of course." Kei told him.

"Alright, but I need you to promise me one thing. Be sure to consider the feelings of those close to you." Zero told him.

Kei blinks to hear that before he remembers Minghua and how she was against him becoming a pilot. Kei was hesitant at first but soon nodded.

"I promise!" Kei told him.

"Then let's go!" Zero shouted as the Bracelet gave up a flash of light and it soon took the form of an item.

It was an eye mask that resembled Zero's eyes and it was colored silver with red and blue markings and a green jewel between the eyes.

This is the Ultra Zero Eye Neo.

Kei was looking at the Zero Eye in amazement.

"Now Kei put them on and pushed the button!" Zero instructed him.

"R-Right!" Kei said as he grabbed the Zero Eye and put them on his eyes and pressed the button that was on the top right side.

The Zero Eye gives off a flash of light as Kei was in a different space with a blue light around him.

Kei spread his arms to the side as he spun around as silver, red, and blue ribbons of light appeared around his body as Kei transformed into Ultraman Zero starting from the head to the rest of his body.

Zero was now flying up in a tunnel of blue light as he grew larger and larger before he thrust his hand forward.

"Zwei!"

With his transformation complete Zero soon appeared before Eleking as the Kaiju stopped its rampage as the people in the city were looking at the Ultraman in shock and in awe.

In a pocket dimension inside of Zero's body, Kei was also in awe as he looked at his hands as he could feel Zero's power coursing through his body.

"Incredible...So this is Zero's power." Kei said in awe.

"Don't be amazed just yet. This is only the beginning." Zero told him before he turned to Eleking Discharge Dragon.

"What are you doing here? Did Zeiber send you?" Zero asked.

Eleking roars and fires its energy shots at Zero and he dodges them by rolling on the ground. Eleking then charges at Zero.

"So we're doing this the hard way? Fine by me!" Zero said as he assumes his combat stance and charges at Eleking as well.

Eleking attacks first by swinging one its arms at Zero and Zero dodges it by ducking under it and lands a few punches on Eleking's chest which forces the kaiju to stumble back.

Eleking soon stops stumbling and swings its tail at Zero and the Ultraman dodges it by jumping backwards and Eleking uses that chance to fire its Disk Waves at Zero and Zero blocks with a purple energy shield as the Waves crashed into creating a smoke cloud.

"Ultra Zero Kick!" Zero shouted as he dived out of the smoke cloud and at Eleking aiming a flaming kick at the kaiju as his attacks landed on its chest which sent Eleking to the ground.

Zero soon landed on the ground before he turned to Eleking as it slowly stood back up.

"Now to finish you!" Zero said as he channeled his energy to fire his Wide Zero Shot. "Wide Zero-!"

"Kei!" A familiar voice calls out.

Both Zero and Eleking turned to the voice and saw it was Minghua running through the city looking for Kei despite people running away from their battle,

"Kei!" Minghua calls out.

"Minghua?!" Kei said in worry.

Eleking then notices Zero's attention to the girl and sees that as an opening as he moves to Minghua and Zero soon notices it.

"Oh no!" Zero shouted as he chased after Eleking.

"Kei! Kei, where are you?!" Minghua shouted as she continued to look for him.

But Minghua stops running as Eleking moves in front of her and looks down at her, Minghua screams as she falls on her rear as Eleking charges its Disk Waves and fires at her, Minghua placed her arms in front of her head to braced herself and becoming to her rescue was Zero as he moved in front of Minghua using his back to protect her from the Disk Waves as they hit on his back.

Minghua lowered her arms as she saw Zero's right in front of her.

"Zero?" Minghua said in surprised to see the Ultraman again.

Eleking continues to fire at Zero as he takes the hits to protect Minghua as he grunts and groans before he falls on one of his hands.

Eleking then uses that chance and grabs hold of Zero's neck with its tail, then the horns on Eleking's head begin to rotate in different directions and soon electricity begins to channel between and spreads throughout its body and to its tail as it begins to shock Zero, dealing damage to the Ultraman.

Zero was groaning as he tried to pull Eleking's tail off his neck before his Color Timer began to blink red. Kei soon noticed that and was confused by it.

"Zero? What's going on?" Kei asked.

"Sorry...Probably should've told you, we can only maintain this form for about 3 minutes." Zero told him.

"Eh?" Kei said in shock.

Eleking then begins to swing Zero up and slams him to the ground and away from Minghua.

Eleking soon turns back to Minghua, and she is about to run away but Eleking stops her by firing a Disk Wave in the ground behind which spreads throughout the ground and shocks Minghua preventing from moving.

Eleking soon begins to slowly march towards Minghua as Kei notices that.

"Minghua!" Kei shouted in worry as this reminded of how he lost his mother, and Kei tightly clenched his hand. "No! You're not going to hurt her! Not while we're here, right, Zero?!"

"Yeah...That's right!" Zero said.

As Eleking was now close to her it soon raised one of its feet and was going to crush Minghua like a bug but stopped as someone pulled on its tail which pulled Eleking away from Minghua.

Eleking soon turned around and to its shock, Eleking saw that Zero was now back on his feet and was holding its tail.

"You think...This little shock can stop me? Guess again!" Zero shouted before he roared and began to swing Eleking up in the air and swung it around a few times before it let go of Zero's neck as Zero threw it to the ground as he let go of Eleking's tail.

Zero soon turns to Minghua and gently picks her up in his hand and then places her on top of a building as she is free from the static electricity from the ground.

Minghua then turns to Zero.

"Thank you…" Minghua told him.

"You're welcome. But you need to get out of here." Zero told her.

"I can't! Not without Kei." Minghua said.

"Don't worry, he's safe. I've already gotten him to safety." Zero told her.

"Y-You did?" Minghua asked and Zero nodded.

"He's a teenager with green hair, right?" Zero asked and Minghua nodded. "Then it's him. So you don't have to worry."

"A-Alright, thank you." Minghua said as she ran to the entrance that leads to the building's stairs.

Zero chuckles before he turns to the Eleking as it slowly begins to stand back up.

"Now then...Where were we?" Zero asked as Eleking roared at him.

Zero then taps on his Bracelet and his body lights up as he changes into a new form.

Zero's body was now red with the legs and protectors still silver, and Zero has gold markings from his legs that reach up to his torso, and the area around his color timer and the Zero Sluggers on his head were now colored gold.

"Strong-Corona Zero!" Zero declared as he punched his fists together.

Eleking then fires its Disk Waves at Zero and smashes through them using fire punches as he charges at the electric kaiju, and when he was close enough Zero soon landed a few strong punches on Eleking before landing a fire enhance reverse spin kick on Eleking's head which made the kaiju spun around.

Zero then grabs onto Eleking with its neck under his arm.

"Ultra Hurricane!" Zero shouted as he threw Eleking up in the air which had enough force to generate a miniature hurricane around.

Zero then placed his hand on his Bracelet and gathered fiery energy from it as it surrounds his fist.

"Garnate Buster!" Zero shouted as he threw a punch at Eleking which fired a fiery beam at the kaiju as it soon hit it and Eleking soon exploded.

Zero soon lowered his arm and with his battle over Zero soon flew into the air and away from the city.


(Later)

After the battle against Eleking Discharge Dragon, Kei had returned to human form, he messages Minghua saying he was alright and won't be home for a while.

Kei was now sitting outside of a convenience store, enjoying a popsicle while going through several different types of fighter jets for the one that had destroyed the Xi.

Kei was searching for a while and finally found it.

"This is it." Kei said as he read the jet's name and info. "The JAS39...Gripen. A Swedish fighter? Why did a Swedish fighter have a Rising Sun emblem on it?"

After he had finished his popsicle, Kei decided to head back home as he walked with his bike.

'I was sure if I joined the JASDF, I could fly one of those. Maybe I was wrong.' Kei thought to himself before he stopped as a military truck drove past him and behind it was a military jet covered in a tarp.

Kei was surprised by how huge the fighter jet was, as he turned to it as the truck stopped in front of a red light.

"What's that huge plane? Its wingspan is enormous." Kei said.

"Hmmm...Wait. Kei, doesn't it look familiar?" Zero asked and he was right as it looks familiar to Kei.

"Don't tell me!" Kei said.

The light soon turned green, and the truck drove forward, but a part of the tarp flew off exposing a wing of the jet which was colored red.

"That's…" Kei said as he sat on his bike and chased after the truck, but the truck was starting to get further and further away no matter how hard he tried to catch up. "Damn it!"

After exerting the last of his stamina, Kei was left panting as he stopped to rest. He then heard his phone ringing before he brought it out and saw that Minghua had texted him.

'Where are you? Dinner's ready.'

Kei didn't bother to answer before he had an idea where that truck was going. He brought out his phone's GPS and went to the one place that the fighter jet might be, the Komatsu Military Base.

"That's...a JASDF base? Komatsu Base?"


(At night)

After having dinner with his grandparents and Minghua, they decided to go to sleep. But Kei had other plans, he quietly sneaks out of his house as he carefully opens and closes his door.

"Are you really sure about this, Kei?" Zero asked his human host as Kei looked at the Bracelet.

"Don't even try to stop me, Zero. I know I made a promise to you, but this is something I need to do as myself." Kei told him and Zero sighed as he shook his head.

"All we agreed on is that you need to consider your friends' feelings. But this is an entirely different matter. Do what you want to do, just don't blame me for whatever happens next." Zero told him.

Kei soon got on his bike as he headed to the Komatsu Base. As he was riding his bike, Kei couldn't help but smile as he was getting close to his goal.

After several minutes, Kei had arrived outside of the city and was close to the military base but stopped as a wall was in his way and blocked the view.

"I can't see inside?" Kei said before he brought out his phone and looked at the map. "But I can't give up after coming this far!"

Kei then turns to the side and rides beside the wall to find a clear view of the base in the hope of at least seeing that fighter jet.

"Is there any place that'll let me see inside?" Kei said as he looked at his phone's GPS. "I'm at the edge of the base already!"

Kei then looked forward and saw a metal fence.

Kei soon got off his bike and ran in front of the fence, but still couldn't see anything due to being too far from the base.

"Damn it! I can't see a thing from here!" Kei grits his teeth in frustration before he feels someone placing a hand on his shoulder.

Thinking it might've been a guard, Kei turns around, but it was Minghua as she pants.

"M-Minghua?" Kei said as he was surprised to see her here.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Minghua asked.

"Wh-What…?" Kei said.

"The way you just ran off, and this late...I followed you because I wondered what you were doing. What the hell are you doing going to a JSDF base?" She asked.

"It's none of your business, Minghua." Kei told her.

"It is!" Minghua stated.

"Why?" Kei asked.

"I'm worried about you! If I'm not watching, you do all kinds of crazy things." Minghua said.

"She does have a point there, Kei." Zero told him.

Kei simply frowns.

"Listen, can you knock that stuff off?" Kei told her.

"What do you mean, 'that stuff'?" Minghua asked.

"Acting like you're my mom. Telling me what to do all the time!" Kei answered, Minghua was surprised to hear that as he went on. "I'm not going to be a kid forever! Just leave me alone!"

"I can't!" Minghua said.

"You can't?" Kei said.

"I'm worried because I think you need me! It doesn't matter whether we're in China, Japan, or at the North Pole!" Minghua told him.

"You're being weird." Kei stated.

"You're the one who's being weird. I'm normal. Now let's go." Minghua said as she grabbed onto his arm and was going to drag him back home. "We can talk when we're back home."

"Knock it off!" Kei shouted as he pulled his arm free as Minghua turned to him. "What's gotten into you? Even if my parents asked you to look after me a long time ago, you don't have to be so stubborn! That was when we were kids!"

"That's not why!" Minghua shouted and Kei blinked before she explained.

"You're the only person in this country I know right now. I was separated from all my friends and family. You're all I have left, and you want to join the army?" Minghua said as she showed tears forming on her eyes. "Am I not allowed to worry? Is that just me being a bossy mom?"

Minghua then cries in her hands. Seeing her crying like that made Kei remember Zero's words.

"You need to consider how your actions will affect those close to you."

That is when Kei understood Zero's words, right now he was the one thing Minghua had left and he were to die, it would completely crush her.

"Listen, Minghua…" Kei said before they noticed two black cars stopping close to them.

The doors soon opened and several men wearing black clothing with sunglasses and/or masks, as they soon moved to Kei and Minghua.

"Hey, what are you-" Kei said as the men grabbed hold of him and threw him to the ground.

"Kei!" Zero shouted in worry.

One of the men soon tied a piece of cloth onto his mouth. Kei then saw the others had tied up Minghua with a rope around her body and two pieces of cloth on her mouth and eyes. After covering Kei's eyes with another cloth and soon puts both the Chinese refugees in the trunk.

Then the car carrying them drives away.


Despite the darkness of the blindfold, Kei could feel the kidnappers dragging him out of the car trunk and was forced onto his knees. He then heard a man's voice.

"Okay. Take off the blindfold."

One of the kidnappers soon removes Kei's blindfold and the first thing he saw was two bright lights as Kei closed his eyes. He then removes the cloth on his mouth.

"Minghua! Minghua!" Kei calls out to his childhood friend as he looks for her but couldn't find her

"Now, I'm going to ask you a simple question." Kei looked and saw a man in front of him, but he couldn't make out his appearance due to the darkness but could tell he was wearing glasses due to the light reflected on them. "Who are you with? Who sent you?"

"Where's Minghua? Where am I?" Kei asked.

"Start talking." The man warned him as he aimed a gun at him. "I'm not a patient man. If you don't start talking, I'll shoot you right now."

"Th-This is some kind of mistake! We were just going for a walk." Kei told him.

"That's a pretty lame excuse." The man with glasses said as he pushed up his glasses. "I guess intelligence agencies don't train their spies to handle interrogations anymore."

"Intelligence agencies?" Kei said in confusion before the man in glasses raised five fingers from his other hand.

"Five seconds. I'll be pulling the trigger in five seconds. I'm not bluffing. Four!" He begins to count down.

"Wait!" Kei said.

"Three!"

"You've got it all wrong!"

"Two!"

"I…"

"One!" He said as he began to lower his last finger, and Kei flinched in fear as he turned away.

But then something begins to light up behind Kei as the other two men notice it.

"Hmph...I knew you could move, you lazy ass."

Kei opened his eyes and turned around and saw something moving towards him, and it was the red fighter jet he saw battling the Xi as the tarp flew off its body.

The fighter's jet begins to turn on and its guns lock and load as the things around it fly away. Kei was surprised by this as the man with glasses raised his hand.

"Fine, fine. I'll stop playing around. Hey, let's get this cleaned up. The princess is ticked off." He calls out.

Then lights turned above him, and Kei saw that he was in a military hangar as he saw three men in military uniform approaching the red fighter jet as his kidnapper began to untie him.

"I'm sorry." He told him as the rope fell off his body.

"Narutani-kun, right?" The man with glasses asked as Kei looked up at him.

He appears to be in his mid-30s to 40s with messy brown hair and brown eyes and was quite overweight. He was wearing a lab coat with his other clothes which consists of a grey button shirt, black pants, and brown shoes.

"Come with me. We've got something to talk about." He told him before Kei stood up in front of him.

"Minghua...Is she okay?" Kei asked.

"She's fine. She's waiting at the guard post." He answered before he smirked at him. "She was worried enough about you to cause some serious damage. Is she your girlfriend?"

"It's not like that." Kei answered.

"I'll introduce myself. I'm with the Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development Institute. My name's Director Yashirodori, of the Special Technology Research Office." Yashirodori told him.

"Ministry of Defense? You're with the JSDF?" Kei asked as Yashirodori walked to his side.

"A technical officer, but yes. I mostly research how to fight the Xi." Yashirodori told him and Kei was surprised to hear that. "Do you know why the Xi defeat us so easily?

Kei was confused to hear that as Yashirodori walked to the red jet.

"Because there are more of them, and they have better fighters than we do?" Kei said as Yashirodori picks up a folding chair and begins to unfold it.

"The answer is gets you a 30%." Yashirodori said as he placed the chair on the ground and sat on it. "Their numbers are part of it, but still, only part of the reason. What makes them a threat is their special abilities. HiMAT and EPCM."

"Hima...EP?" Kei said in confusion.

"HiMAT. 'Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology', which lets them move in ways manned fighters can't. Normally, the most a human fighter pilot can withstand is 9Gs. But the Xi can easily surpass that, turning and accelerating at rates that humans simply can't. No normal fighter is a match for them. And let's say somebody did get within range and fired a missile. It wouldn't hit. It would go off course and then explode. Even if you switch to manual and get close, the closer you get to them, the harder they'd be to see. This is their other ability: EPCM. Electronic Perceptory Countermeasures. But we haven't just sat back and let this unknown super-technology run all over us." Yashirodori said as he and Kei turned to the red fighter.

"Adding HiMAT to existing fighter craft...Adding anti-EPCM capabilities...Equipping special fighters with an autonomous piloting device called 'Anima' and turning them to fight the Xi. We call these fighters 'Daughters'. This is one of them. It's a Swedish fighter called the JAS39." Yashirodori said and Kei finished for him.

"The Gripen…"

"Correct. It's also the fighter that saved you along with that giant during the evacuation of Shanghai." Yashirodori said before he stood up.

"We managed to get it in the air for its first flight, but it's incredibly unstable." He said as he walked to the Gripen and placed a hand on it. "As you know, it had an ugly crash."

Kei frowns to hear that.

"But then what happened?" Yashirodori asked and Kei blinked. "Some boy came out of nowhere and started grabbing onto its canopy, and it suddenly restarted. And then today, we see that boy on our security cameras. So we put on a little show for it. It was enough to make it boot up. When it saw you…"

"I don't understand." Kei said and Yashirodori shrugged.

"Don't look at me. I don't know, either. But what I do know is that you being here stabilizes the Gripen." Yashirodori said.

Then the red light around the Gripen turns off and the cockpit begins to open.

"Allow me to introduce you again. This is the JAS39 Gripen." Yashirodori said as the pilot stood up and it was the same girl Kei met who piloted the Daughter.

Kei was surprised to see her again as the girl turned to him.

"This is the fighter's autonomous piloting device, its 'Anima'. I want you to make it so she can fly properly. Will you do it for the sake of humanity's future, Prince Charming?" Yashirodori asked.

This left Kei with an important choice, one that would change his life forever.

To be continued…


There you have it, hope you like it. Review to tell me what you think of the story.