Hey, everyone! Sorry that I hadn't updated anything for a while, my computer has been acting a bit off these past few months and I was worried that I might need a new one. But thankfully, I had a cousin who's good with computers and it turns out it was an easy and simple fix.

Anyway, that's enough with my problems...Cue disclaimer!

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

Chapter 5: Independent Mixed Test Unit

In the outskirts of the city, a train was seen heading to Komatsu. Seated on a chair was a teenage girl with dark green hair and yellow eyes. She was wearing a white shirt with a violet skirt and black shoes.

The girl with green hair was leaning on arm with a smile on her face.


(Accentier by Eir Aoi)

(Instrumental) (Ultraman Zero is seen flying in the sky and joining with the Anima Gripen, Eagle, and Phantom had joined him as they flew together before they flew up in the eternal sky and then the title appeared on screen.)

(Nanimo kanjitenai furi de) (Kei had entered the kitchen as he yawned as Minghua began to scold him for sleeping in before Kei sat down on his chair.)

(Kimi wa kyou mo yarisugosu) (Kei then remembers his first encounter with Ultraman Zero as he looks up at him, before it changes to Kei wearing his pilot uniform and showing off the Ultimate Bracelet.)

(Yasashikusarechattara) (Gripen was leaning on her jet before she looked up at the blue sky as she reached out to it.)

(Tate naku naru kara) (Flashes of Kei and Gripen encounters appeared one at time, when they first met and their reunion.)

(Yarinaoshite mitai kako to) (Next to her jet, Eagle is seen hugging onto Haruka which was much to his annoyance.)

(Wasuresatte shimau hikari) (Sitting on her jet, Phantom was chuckling as she watched Eagle.)

(Dochira ga daiji ka nante wakaranai yo ne) (In his dark laboratory, Zeiber was seated on his chair before the screens zoom out revealing his kaiju experiments inside of their tubes.)

(Kibou ya ai no uta ga afureteru riyuu wa) (Kei soon brings out the Ultra Zero Eye Neo as he puts it on and transforms into Ultraman Zero.)

(Sore wo mitai to minna ga negatteru kara) (As Zero lands on the ground, he then notices an army of kaiju has surrounded him before he battles them.)

(Ima kimi wo mitsumeteru AKUSENTIA) (First Zero attacks the kaiju army with his Sluggers, destroying each of them, before he changes into his Strong-Corona Form as he unleashes his Garnate Buster destroying several of them.)

(Sono kokoro ga kowarete shimawanai you ni) (Zero then changes into his Luna-Miracle Form as he unleashes Miracle Zero Sluggers at the kaijus around him. As Zero changes into his Base Form, he soon notices a large kaiju firing an energy shot at him and Zero counters it with his Wide Zero Shot.)

(Zutto tatta hitori de) (In his lab, Zeiber was putting the finishing touches to his Ultimate Lifeform as its head was formed.)

(Aruke wa shinai sa) (Then its arms were formed as one of them had the head of a monster.)

(Sou sa kyou mo asu mo kitto ichinen tatte mo GOORU janai) (Then the legs were formed before Zeiber's Ultimate Lifeform raised its head as its eye lights up red.)

(Soshite kimi wo dakishimeru AKUSENTIA) (Zero had fallen on one of his knees after being hit by an attack from Zeiber's Ultimate Lifeform as it was standing in front of Zero.)

(Toridashita no wa chiisana okurimono) (Kei was panting inside of Zero's body before he roared as he wasn't going to give in.)

(Kokoro to kokoro wo tsunaide iku) (Kei soon brings out the Zero's Riser and uses it to scan New Generation Capsules Alpha and Beta, he then brought the Riser in front of his face and pressed its trigger.)

(Sonna chikara wo kimi no sono migite ni) (Zero soon transforms into his Beyond Form as he faces Zeiber's Ultimate Lifeform.)

(GAN! GAN! GAN!) (Then it changes to Kei standing on an airplane runway with his friends standing with him.)


In her Daughter, Gripen along with Kei were flying in the sky before she dived to the ocean before she pulled up.

Kei was leaning his co-pilot seat from the strong pressure of Gripen's flying. Kei then saw a boogie behind them on the radar.

"They're gonna get behind us, Gripen!" Kei told her.

"I know!" Gripen said before she made her Daughter do a few spins and Kei groaned from the increased pressure. "Kei, are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me. Concentrate!" He told her.

"But…" Gripen turns to him in worry.

"I'm begging you…Don't let me slow you down!" Kei requested.

"All right." Gripen said before she saw an incoming missile appearing on the radar as it was heading straight behind them.

"You're kidding me." Kei mutters as he sees it too.

Then the missile hit…but there was no explosion and a message appeared on the screen.

'Exit the training'

This showed that this flight was only a training match against another Anima before she laughed at them as they could hear her voice in the communication.

"I won!" Eagle cheered as she was flying ahead of them in her own Daughter. "Eagle wins again!"

"My winning streak continues!" Eagle cheered while doing a V-sign.

Gripen lowered her head to have lost this match.

"We lost, huh?" Kei mutters as Eagle continues to laugh. "Barbie 01, RTB."


After returning to the base, both Gripen and Kei were walking to the hangar with Eagle following them before she called out to Kei.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm really strong, right?" Eagle asks before Kei stops and turns to the blonde-haired Anima. "Incredible, right?"

"Yeah, you totally beat us." Kei said, Eagle snickers before she follows Gripen and Kei sighed.

"Hey, Kei, you shouldn't let it get you down. I mean, this is like what, the seventh match in a row?" Zero asked before Kei looked at the Bracelet.

"More like the eighth match." Kei told him.

"Oh, right. Right. Of course." Zero said before he coughs in his hand.

Eagle soon walks beside Gripen.

"Hey, you think I'm amazing too, right?" Eagle asked her fellow Anima.

"Not really." Gripen answered, and Eagle stopped as she frowned at Gripen.

Eagle then made a smug smile on her face before she turned to the side.

"That last battle was just luck, then!" Eagle stated, and Gripen stopped as she went on. "A lightweight fighter like you can't possibly do better than me!"

"But you couldn't protect the town on your own." Gripen reminded her.

Eagle was offended to hear before she drops her vest and runs to Gripen to grab her wrist.

"Hey! You just lost to me!" Eagle said.

"Knock it off, you two!" Kei shouted as both Anima turned to him as he was holding Eagle's vest in hand.

Eagle huffed before she took her vest and walked away.

"It's frustrating." Gripen said, and Kei turned to her. "When she says what you and I worked hard to do was just luck…"

Kei then pets her on the head much to Gripen's surprise before she turns to him.

"I'm sorry." Kei told her before he removed his hand. "Next time, let's show her who's better!"


After changing into his casual clothes, Kei visited Haruka in his office. They were seated close to the coffee table as Haruka pulled out a fresh cigarette from his ashtray.

"An Anima is capable of climbs, turns, and descents exceeding 10Gs." Haruka said as he checked the cigarette and lit it up. "But…Now Gripen is carrying an extremely fragile piece of luggage. You."

Haruka's cigarette begins to smoke up close to Kei much to his annoyance.

"The usual limit given for humans is 9Gs." Haruka said as he inhaled his cigarette and exhaled. "Think of it like trying to do acrobatics while holding a spoon with a raw egg on it. It's gonna limit what you can do, no matter what. There's no way you can beat a solo Daughter like Eagle."

"So you're just going to keep telling Gripen to lose? It's really getting to her! There's no telling what will happen if she goes out into a real fight like this." Kei told him before Haruka breathed in and out his cigarette once again.

"Well, the real answer is to train your body. Strengthen your muscles, increase your lung capacity, and train in anti-G breathing patterns." Haruka told him.

"I really like the way he thinks." Zero said.

"I'm lifting weights and jogging daily." Kei said.

Haruka puffs out some smoke.

"But still, anything past 10Gs is gonna be rough. And negative Gs are impossible to deal with, no matter how much you train." Haruka said before he placed his cigarette in his mouth.

"So what do we do?" Kei asked and Haruka saw the resolve in his eyes.

"A way for a human and an Anima to fight, huh? I understand the situation. I'll see what I can do." Haruka said as he snuffed his cigarette in his ashtray before he leaned back on his chair. "But I'm a little busy now. To be honest, I don't have time to take care of Gripen. I'll have to ask you to keep her in a good mental state."

"You're busy? You do look a little tired." Kei said before Haruka placed a hand on his head.

"I'm dealing with a lot of problems. Oh…are you free tomorrow? I have something to talk to you about." Haruka said.

"I think I'm oka-" Kei said before he heard the phone ringing.

Haruka then picks up the phone and answers the call.

"What is it?" Haruka asked before he signals Kei to leave.

Kei was disappointed by that before he stood up.

"I'll be going." Kei said as he left the room.


After leaving Haruka's office, Kei was walking in the hallway as he was in deep thought about his words to him. Kei looks at his hands.

'Our usual limit, huh?' Kei thought before he looked at his Bracelet.

"Hey, Zero, do you have any ideas on what I should do?" Kei asked the Ultraman inside of him.

"Sorry, Kei, but I'm no miracle worker. Even if I can take control of your body, it won't change the fact that you'll still have your limits." Zero told him, and Kei was once agains disappointed. "But, you do have something that is stronger than any weapon."

Kei looks at the Bracelet.

"Really? What is it?" Kei asked.

Zero then placed a hand on his chest and answered.

"It's the heart." Kei blinks in confusion. "Even if you're born with a weak body or even if you had a strong weapon, none of those matters because the thing that matters is your strength in spirit. As long as you keep your spirit strong by never giving up, you'll overcome anything."

Kei blinks once more before he chuckles.

"That's a cheesy way of saying it." Kei said, and Zero huffed as he folded his arms.

"Well, you were the one asking for advice." Zero said, and Kei smiled at the Bracelet.

"But, thanks for that. I'm starting to feel a little better now." Kei said, and Zero chuckles as he wipes his hand on his nose. Kei then placed a hand on his chest. "The strength of my heart and spirit, huh?"

Kei then continues to walk in the hallway before he stops and sees that Gripen and Eagle were in the gym.

They were both wearing tracksuits, Eagle was doing some pull-ups while Gripen was keeping track with a clipboard.

Kei then entered the gym and Eagle soon spotted him as she stopped.

"Oh, it's Kei!" Eagle said.

"What are you guys doing?" Kei asked.

"Physical training. We get regular exams once a month. But all she does is mess around." Gripen said before Eagle drops to the floor.

"'Cause it's boring! You're so slow no matter what you do!" Eagle told her, and Gripen frowned at her.

"I was better at the side step test!" Gripen stated, Eagle blinks before she begins to laugh at her.

"That boring test? You took it seriously?" Eagle said and Gripen continues to frown before Kei walks in to calm things down between them.

"Calm down…" Kei said and Gripen turned to him with a serious look, Kei blinked in confusion before the pink-haired Anima gave him the clipboard.

"Write it down." Gripen requested.

"H-Hey…" Kei said.

Gripen was now under the pull up bar and jumped to it but wasn't able to reach it due to her short height, she jumped higher and managed to grab onto the bar this time.

Gripen then struggles to do a pull up but fails as she drops to the floor.

"That doesn't count. Forget it." Gripen told them.

"Hey!" Kei said before Eagle began to laugh at her once again causing Gripen's cheeks to turn red and lowered her head.


After recovering from her humiliation both Kei and Gripen head to her room as Gripen lowered her head in some shame of losing to Eagle.

"My back hurts. And my thighs and my arms…" Gripen mutters.

"Jeez. And Haruka said that you were fragile." Zero said to Kei.

"Yeah." Kei nodded in agreement before he spoke to Gripen. "You hate losing, don't you?"

Gripen looks out the window to see a fighter jet flying in the sky.

"I lose in the sky, and on land too." Gripen said before they stopped walking.

"And then she calls me slow!" Gripen said as she raised her head and clench her hand in determination. "I can't take that. I'm so mad, I could scream."

"It's that bad?" Kei asked.

Gripen then falls to her knees as she is still sore from all those exercises. Kei then knelt down to her.

"I'll do my best, so you hang in there, too." Kei said with a smile before Gripen looked up at him. "Hey, Gripen…I'm glad I got to fly with you again."

"Yeah." Gripen said.


Both Kei and Gripen had arrived at the base's women's dorm and were inside the pink-haired Anima's room, but Kei was a little to be here as she was standing outside of the room and was ready to leave.

"I-I'll be going…" Kei said.

"Why? You've come this far. You can come in." Gripen told him.

"But this is…" Kei said as he turned to the left and to the right.

"I'll. Show. You. A. Good. Time." Gripen said nonchalantly, and Kei gave her a narrow look.

'Where did she learn that?' Kei thought to himself.

"Come in…" Gripen offered.

'How much of this situation does she understand? Maybe I need to have them sit down and give her a talking to. Tell her how a girl her age is supposed to behave, and what things she needs to watch out for. I was planning on going home after I walked her to her door, but this…And it's a weekday afternoon! Everybody's at their stations. This whole place is empty! In other words, it's just me, alone in her room, with the rooms on either side empty! It smells like a crime.'

Kei then shook the thought out of his head as he shook it.

"No, no! I'm not going to do anything wrong! But this is awkward! There are lots of men who'd take advantage of this!" Kei said to himself.

Zero sighed as he placed a hand on his head.

"Teenagers…"

Kei then heard someone walking up the stairs which caused him to slightly panic and rushed into Gripen's room while shutting the door. The person who was walking on the stairs was the female janitor of the women's dorms.

Kei was leaning on the door.

"I-I came inside." Kei said before he took off his shoes and stepped onto the floor. "E-Excuse me. It's really clean."

"If I put up anything too weird, they'll get mad." Gripen said.

"Really?" Kei asked.

"My life here is a part of my training." Gripen said before she pointed at a camera on the ceiling. "That camera there watches me constantly."

Kei finches as he looks up at that said camera.

"It's hard to relax around that." Kei said.

"Not really. I'm used to it." Gripen said before she began to take off her clothes, starting with her pants.

Kei was surprised by that before he turned to her.

"What are you doing?" Kei asked as he moved in front of Gripen to shield her from the camera.

"Changing. The sweat feels yucky." Gripen answered.

"Go to the changing room or the shower room! I'm right here!" He told her.

"Why? Why can't I change in front of you?" Gripen asked in confusion.

"It's because…" Kei looks at her before he turns away from Gripen with his eyes closed. "Because you can't, okay?"

"Fine." Gripen said as she walked to the shower room before she opened and closed the door.

Kei sighs before he hears the sound of running water in the shower room showing that Gripen must be taking a shower.

Kei then notices something hanging on the wardrobe, and saw that one of the drawers were slightly opening and hanging onto the edge was a pair of Gripen's underwear.

Kei blushes to see those sticking out.

"I hope you're not having any funny ideas, Kei." Zero told his human host and Kei angrily glared at the Bracelet.

"I'm not!" Kei exclaimed but quietly.

Kei placed a hand over his eyes as he walked to the wardrobe and put the underwear back into the drawer.

Kei sighed once again before he noticed a book on a shelf that was familiar to him.

"Is that…" Kei said before he pulled the book out and began reading some pages of it. "I used to have one, too."

Kei then closed the book and it was an exam prep book for a Chinese private pilot's license, and it was even written in Chinese literature.

"But why does she have this? It's in Chinese." Kei said in wonder.

The sound of running water had stopped as Gripen opened the door and left the shower room.

"What's up? Did you forget something-" Kei said as he turned to her but to his shock, Gripen wasn't wearing any clothes as she stood naked in front of him.

"What's wrong?" Gripen asked, Kei blushed.

"I-I-I-I'm leaving!" Kei said as he crawled to the door and quickly left the room.

Gripen tilted her head in confusion at Kei's behavior.


Kei was walking to the base's gate while pushing his bike, Kei was still exhausted after the event in Gripen's room.

"I'm so tired." Kei mutters.

"Hey, try to at least man up with that. Considering that girl lacks common sense, you may need to consider preparing yourself for another situation like that." Zero told him.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to tell me." Kei mutters before he hears his phone ringing.

He soon brought it and saw it was a message from Minghua.

'Can you buy stuff for dinner at the supermarket near the station? Komatsu spinach and ground beef.'

Kei was slightly annoyed by that before he replied.

"Roger." Kei said before he sighed and put away his phone.


Kei soon arrived at the supermarket and bought the things Minghua requested as they were now in his bike's basket.

Kei was now riding on his bicycle as head back home, but then time seemed to have slowed down as he passed by a certain green-haired girl with a man standing in front of her who was trying to hit on her.

Time resumes as the man placed an arm on the girl's shoulders.

"Don't ignore me." He told her.

Kei turns to them before he stops.

"Let me go!" The girl demanded.

Kei sighed as he knew he can't just ignore this.

"What's going on today?" Kei said.

"I said I'll show you around!" He told her, and the green-haired girl was a little scared before he leaned closer to her.

She then saw the man's phone in hand, showing that he was ready to take a picture of both himself with her.

"Hey!" Kei calls out as they turn to him. "If you're here, you should've said something. I've been looking for you."

"Sorry." The girl said while the man was annoyed by this as he clicked his tongue and removed his arms.

"Aw, she's with somebody already?" He mutters in disappointment as he leaves.

"Nice move there, Kei." Zero said as he was impressed by Kei's intervention there.

Kei then walks to the green-haired girl while pushing his bike.

"Sorry for interrupting. But you seemed like you were in trouble." Kei said before she smiled at him.

"No, you saved me. I don't know this area and didn't know what to do." She said before she bowed her head.

Now with that done, Kei was now ready to head back home as he was now on his bike and said his farewell to the green-haired girl.

"Okay, I'll be going." Kei said.

"I'm sorry, but how do I get to Komatsu Airport?" She asked.

"Komatsu Airport?" Kei repeated.

"Yes, I'm trying to get to the JSDF base." She told him.

"The base?" Kei said before he pointed to a certain location to reach the base. "The fastest way is probably to take the bus at stop #5 and then get off at Ukiyanagi. But it's a long way, so you might want to take a taxi."

"No, I'd rather use my own legs as much as possible. I've been looking forward to coming to this town for a long time." She told him.

"I see. Anyway, be careful. Stay away from weirdos like that." Kei told her.

"Hai. Thank you." She said before Kei rode away.

As Kei was riding back home, Zero was in deep thought about that girl, he wasn't sure why but there was something about her that made the Ultraman wary of her.

Then the man who was hitting on the girl with green hair screams in dismay as his phone had suddenly fallen apart into pieces and was now on the ground.

"What the hell's going on?" He said as the green-haired girl was looking at him.

"How obnoxious. Maybe I should've dismantled his body as well." She said as she looked at a hairpin that she used to dismantle his phone along with the skull phone accessory that was now in her phone.

She then turns back to Kei with a smile.

"Narutani Kei-san, is it?"


(Next day)

Kei had arrived at Komatsu Base as he was standing on the road gate while sending some papers that the guard gave him as the said guard was speaking with Haruka on the phone.

"He wants you to come to Hanger 3 today." The guard told him.

"Huh? Hanger 3?" Kei said.

Kei soon arrived at the said hanger and that's when he saw a new Daughter standing close to it.

The Daughter was based around a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, it was colored in a bright green color with yellow and green lines around it along with the Japanese symbol on the side.

Kei stops next to Funato before the engineer turns to him.

"Hey, there you are." He said.

"So this is the Phantom?" Kei asked.

"Surprised you knew that. The Phantom II, specifically. Modified for tactical recon. You can see that extra tank on its belly, right?" Funato asked before Kei looked at the said tank. "That's a recon pod."

"This is a Daughter, right?" Kei asked.

"It was deployed to Misawa Base in Aomori, but now we've decided to bring it here. It just got here last night." Funato answered.

"Then the Anima…" Kei said before Phantom's engine turned off before Funato along with the other engineers moved to it and Kei followed.

The hatch soon opens showing Phantom's Anima who was the dark-green haired girl that Kei helped yesterday except that her hair was now in a brighter green color.

"Oh." She said.

"Huh? You're…" Kei said as he was a little surprised to see her again.

Phantom then walks to Kei to greet him.

"Good afternoon. Thank you for your help yesterday." Phantom said.

"Oh, you know him?" Funato asked.

"Yes. He gave me some directions yesterday." Phantom said, Kei turns back and forth at Funato and the Anima before he stops and answers.

"Yes…"

"I apologize for not introducing myself. I am RF-4EJ-ANM Phantom II. Please call me 'Phantom'." Phantom introduced herself.

"Okay…But your hair…" Kei pointed out, Phantom placed a hand close to her hair.

"This? I dyed it yesterday. I don't really like standing out when I'm outside. Or did you prefer it black?" Phantom asked, and Kei turns away from her as he scratches his finger on his cheek.

"No…Um, I'm…" Kei mutters.

"Narutani Kei-san, right?" Phantom said and Kei turned to her. "I know you well. Gripen's partner. I've heard about you."

"Kei."

"Oh, it's Kei!"

Both Kei and Funato turned around and saw both Gripen and Eagle had arrived. That's when they spotted Phantom among them.

"Huh? An Anima?" Eagle said.

"You're all here. The director's waiting. Take them to the TRDI building." Funato told them.


Kei and the three Animas were now in Haruka's office with Phantom standing beside the scientist while Gripen and Eagle were standing next to Kei.

"So this is sudden, but I've got an announcement. The Anima at Komatsu Base will now function as an independent unit. Your new name is the Independent Mixed Test Unit, or IMTU for short." Haruka told them.

"IMTU…" Kei said.

"In other words, from now on, we're a team." Phantom said. "The Daughters will be brought together in one place to increase Japan's ability to deal with the Xi. It's more efficient from a maintenance and management perspective to have us all in one place."

"But what brought this on?" Kei asked.

"The attack on Komatsu along with the appearance of Ultraman and the kaijus." Phantom answered before she explained. "It seems to have woken up the higher-ups. A plan that had been shelved for a while was finally approved."

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

Eagle was somewhat annoyed by Phantom before she spoke to her.

"Who are you? I was just listening to Otou-sama!"

"I'm sorry. I am RF-4EJ-ANM Phantom-" Phantom started before Eagle interrupted her.

"An F-4? I didn't know any of those were still flying! I thought they were all scrapped by now!" Eagle said with a mocking tone and smile.

"You've got a big mouth for a child whose airframe is only twenty or so years old." Phantom said with a similar tone.

"Both of you are old lad-" Gripen said before Kei stops her by covering her mouth.

"Hey! Don't make it any worse!" He told her.

"Was your embarrassing failure during the defense of Komatsu because you couldn't properly assess your enemies' capabilities?" Phantom asked.

"Are you saying you're stronger than me?" Eagle asked.

"Who knows? But I do know that if I'd been up there, I could've limited the damage our allies suffered." Phantom said, and Eagle puffed out her cheeks in rage.

"Then let's fight and see who's stronger! I'll show you what I can do!" Eagle challenges Phantom.

"Hey, I don't think…" Kei said.

"Very well." Haruka said, which surprised Kei.

"Yashirodoori-san!"

"Let's do some combat training to test out the Phantom." Haruka said before he turned at Gripen. "Gripen, you go up there, too."

"Me too?" Gripen said.

"I'll evaluate all three of you. We start in an hour. Everybody, get ready!" Haruka told them.

"W-Wait…" Kei wanted to protest about that.

"Okay! I'll smash you all up!" Eagle said.

"I'm looking forward to it." Phantom said.

Zero sighed as he lowered his head.

"Something tells me that this isn't going to go well."


After changing to their suits, the three Anima were now in their respective Daughters with Kei seated behind Gripen. They were lined up as they moved to the runway with Phantom in the lead.

"You three don't get along at all. Couldn't you be a little more cooperative?" Kei asked.

"Cooperative?" Gripen asked.

"You're all Anima. Can't you get along?" Kei asked. "You all want to defeat the Xi."

"I don't think that set of values is something we were given." Gripen said, and Kei was confused by that. "The concept you refer to wasn't in our initial conditions or personality adjustments programs. I am who I am. She is who she is. We do our mission and save humanity. That is all."

"I see…" Kei mutters before they are now ready to launch.

"Kei." Zero calls out and Kei looks at the Bracelet.

"What is it, Zero?" Kei quietly asked.

"You need to watch yourself against Phantom. There's something off about her." Zero told him.

"What do you mean?" Kei asked.

"I could tell by the look in her eyes. She's dangerous in more ways than one. I know this is just a training exercise, but you and Gripen need to watch out for her." Zero told him, while Kei was still confused but he still trusted Zero's judgment about Phantom.

"Right. Got it." Kei said.

The operators soon spoke to the Animas.

"Barbie 03, Runway 24. Cleared for takeoff when ready."

"Barbie 03, Runway 24, cleared for takeoff." Phantom said before she ran down the runway and flew into the air.

"Barbie 02, here I go!" Eagle said as she took off and followed Phantom.

"Barbie 01, cleared for takeoff." The operator told both Gripen and Kei.

"Kei…" Gripen turns to her partner in concern.

"I'm fine. Let's go." Kei told her.

Gripen soon took and flew into the sky.

Haruka then spoke to the three Animas now in the air.

"All Barbie units begin the training operation. Time at 18." Haruka said.

"Feel free to come at me two on one." Phantom told her sparring opponents, and Kei was surprised by that.

"I can get back to my maintenance faster that way." She said with full confidence, and Eagle was annoyed by that.

"You really do make me mad, you old hag! Fine! I'll shoot you down first!" Eagle said as she moved to Phantom.

"What do we do?" Gripen asked.

"Join Eagle." Kei answered before he looked at the radar. "I'm worried how unconcerned Phantom seems. She's going out of her way to provoke us. She's got some trick up her sleeve."

"Roger." Gripen said.

"Begin mission." Haruka told them.

"Engage." Gripen said before she charges at Phantom. "I'm coming, too."

Eagle was following behind Phantom as they moved in the air.

"Fox 2!" Eagle said as she fired a missile at Phantom as it was now following her as Phantom tried to avoid it. "Too easy!"

Then Phantom unleashes some flares which hits on the missile as it explodes, but that was only a direction as Eagle was now close to Phantom's six.

"Now, it's over!" Eagle declared.

But then, Phantom suddenly disappeared from Kei's radar and Eagle's signal was now lost as well before it disappeared. Kei was surprised by this before Haruka spoke to him and Gripen.

"Barbie 02, lost!"

Kei then realized what Phantom's next move was going to be before he spoke to Gripen.

"Gripen, break!"

Then both Kei and Gripen saw Phantom's signal on their radar once again as she was now closing in on their six.

"She's behind us!" Kei said before he turned to the back and saw Phantom following behind them.

Phantom smirks before she says.

"Fox 2."

Phantom fires her missile at Gripen, and that's when the pink-haired Anima felt that something was off here.

Kei was feeling the intense pressure of her flying before Gripen unleashed her flares which caused the missile to explode.

Kei then saw Phantom had disappeared on their radar again.

"She disappeared again!" Kei said before he saw that Phantom had locked onto them despite that. "No way."

Then the cockpit's red lights turned on as Kei saw Phantom's Daughter was now close behind them.

"It's over. Return to base." Haruka told them.

"What the hell is going on?" Kei said.

Haruka had a hand on her chin as she thought about Phantom's disappearing act.

"Gripen, what's wrong?" Kei asked.

"Something…seems weird." Gripen said.


The three Daughters had returned to base as their Animas along with Kei were now standing on the runway where Phantom had confronted Eagle.

"Don't tell me that was your best shot, was it? All that talk, and you lost so easily to an old fighter like me. There must be some reason, right? Some reason that you couldn't use your full strength, and were instead shot down so pathetically." Phantom said in a mocking tone as Eagle was shaking in frustration with tears forming on her eyes.

"Shut up! You jerk! Jerk! Jerk!" Eagle exclaimed before she ran away but soon stopped to shout at Phantom some more. "I hate you! I hate your guts!"

Eagle cried before she ran away once again. Kei and Gripen were looking at Phantom with a disapproving look on their faces.

"You didn't need to say it like that." Kei told her, and Phantom chuckles as she turns to them.

"The worst people in the world are the weak who think they're strong. 'I'm strong. No one can beat me.' There's nothing more annoying than someone who's convinced of that fact that they stop thinking and go out of control." Phantom said before she shook her head.

"Are you talking about Eagle?" Kei asked.

"Who knows?" Phantom said before Gripen asked her a question.

"Why did you cheat?" Both Kei and Phantom turn to her.

"Cheat?" Kei said.

"I think it's wrong to cheat in what should be a fair fight." Gripen stated before she walked to Phantom.

"What are you talking about?" Phantom asked in confusion before Gripen stopped.

"Hey, Gripen…" Kei said.

"You inserted incorrect information into the data link." Gripen said, and Kei was surprised to hear that. "She cracked into the channel that Anima use to share information about their positions and sensor data, then fed us false information."

"Then the reason she kept disappearing and reappearing in that last fight…" Kei said in realization before Gripen turned to him.

"Those were fake Phantoms. She was feeding us false electronic information." Gripen said.

"I see. So that's how she did it." Zero said.

"That's cheating!" Kei said.

Phantom sighed as she shook her that Gripen figured out her little secret.

"What of it? In a real fight, you do whatever it takes to win, right?" Phantom asked.

"In a real fight, allies don't share false information with each other! Who is really worse to have as an ally, I wonder?" Kei asked.

Phantom chuckles before she turns away from them.

"I'll be going. I'm keeping the mechanics waiting." Phantom said before she leaves with Kei and Gripen watching her.

'So this is what Zero meant that she's dangerous.' Kei thought knowing that he'll have to be careful around Phantom from now on.

To be continued…


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

Again, no Ultraman action, but I'm still satisfied with this chapter. But hopefully I'll make things a little different in the next chapter.

Until then, later.