AN: Oh boy this one has been in the works for a while, honestly I wanted to get this out back in August but I kind of had a burn out with writing and really considered giving up for awhile. But this month really got me back in my groove. Alright last time Gallant and Vee had their first encounter with Ranbu and got really beaten. So without further delay let's see if our hero can regain his confidence.
Ultraman Gallant
Chapter 7: To Save Everyone
A Small Village outside of Tokyo
It was night time as lanterns were the only thing lighting up a small village. Drums could be heard as a crowd of villagers could be seen carrying some sort of float with a large throne on top of it.
The villagers were chanting as the mayor of the village was screaming to the village, "With this ceremony the great Ikagami will be appeased!" The float arrived in the middle of the village, the float being set down as the drumming got louder. Sitting on the throne was a young girl, dressed in a fancy robe and made to almost look like a princess.
She appeared nervous as she looked around, the villagers refusing to acknowledge her on the throne. The mayor arrived next to the float, holding a torch, "It is time to begin the ceremony! OH GREAT IKAGAMI HERE OUR PLEES!" The chanting got louder as the mayor began to place the torch beneath the float.
Suddenly as the float almost got lit on fire a figure appeared from the top of a small house, "Stop calling this a ceremony when you're sacrificing my sister!" The girl leapt from the house onto the float, taking out a small pocket knife and cutting at the ropes that held the girl to the throne. The mayor glared at the older girl and pointed the torch at her, "Do not interfere Kairi, if the ceremony is stopped then that could be disastrous for the village."
The older girl, Kairi finally freed the younger girl and helped her off the throne, "I don't care about the village, I'm not letting you sacrifice Hikari to that thing!" The two jumped from the throne, moving past the villagers as they began to run out of the village.
The mayor watched clearly fearful, "You stupid girl, don't you understand if we don't appease Ikagami then the curse will get worse." As the sisters ran away from the village, hoping to find someone to help them, a figure watched in the distance, piercing yellow eyes glowing as the sisters ran towards the city.
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The room felt cold as he listened to the beeps coming from the heart monitor, he never liked going to the doctor back at the land of light, he certainly didn't like hospitals. It had only been a few days since their confrontation with Ranbu and their failure to save the people of the satellite from within Ligatron.
Takato Shinkishi looked down at his friend lying in a coma on the bed, Daisuke had gotten it worse than him, a beam straight to the face from Ranbu. He hadn't woken up yet and his face was wrapped in bandages but Takato knew he'd heal in a week or two, Ultra's always did. As his mind wandered he heard a voice from behind him, "Hey rookie you ready to go?"
Takato turned around to see Reika standing in the doorway, a black arm band around her upper right arm, they were all wearing one, it was what the JSDF did instead of wearing suits at a memorial. He got up and nodded and slowly walked towards the door, "Yeah sorry I was just checking on Daisuke."
He expected her to say something mean but instead she just gave him a light smile, "Just be glad you still have him rookie, that's more than some of us can say today." Takato nodded as he followed her out of the room, "This is Ultraman's fault, he failed to save them."
Reika sighed, "It's not Gallant's fault, neither is it the blue ones. They at least tried saving them, the other one is the one to blame." Takato shook his head, "It's Gallant's fault because he couldn't stop that one, he wasn't strong enough."
Reika frowned and turned around her fist gently hitting his chest, "Look it doesn't matter which one of those damn aliens' fault it was, what matters is when we get to the memorial we are there for Asuna and nothing else. So drop the Ultraman stuff for now."
Takato nodded as continued to follow her, as they arrived at the memorial that killed him, seeing all the families of the people that were on the satellite. He and Reika walked over to their group, Captain Kakuhiro giving a supporting hug to Asuna, Tsubasa watching the two of them, nodding at Takato.
As the memorial started and Takato began to listen to the memories that everyone had of the 30 individuals who died on the satelite he began to feel himself drown in pity, he could've saved them, he knew he could've. If only he was stronger, or maybe if Master Omega had been here.
As Asuna got up to speak about her parents that was when he couldn't take it anymore, getting up and leaving for some fresh air. As he leaned against the wall of the JSDF building he heard the door open and out walked a man he barely remembered, "Yamsei sir?"
The man let out a small chuckle, "I see you remember me, Takato was it?" Takato nodded as the older man walked over to him, pulling out a cigarette and beginning to smoke. He offered one to him but Takato shook his head as the two stood in silence. Mako Yamsei took a long drag on his cigarette before speaking, "I remember you really wanted to save those people didn't you?"
Takato nodded, "I really thought we would've been able to, I just wasn't strong enough to do so." Yamsei scowled for a moment, "You shouldn't be so naive, as you get older you'll learn you can't save everyone, no matter how strong you are."
Takato frowned and shook his head, "You're wrong, if I was stronger then I'd be able to save everyone no matter the strength of the enemy." Yamsei took another drag, "Strength for saving others is meaningless, if you want my advice become strong for yourself, become strong enough so you won't ever be thrown around by your enemies like that 3rd Ultraman did to the other two.
Trying to save everyone is just setting yourself up for failure no matter how strong you are." Takato said nothing as he pushed himself from the wall, leaving Yamsei behind who smiled, finishing his cigarette as he disappeared in darkness.
By the time he got back inside the memorial was over and people were now chatting amongst themselves. He saw Asuna who seemed to be by herself, watching something on a tablet. He walked over to her and gave her a weak smile, "How are you feeling?"
Asuna wiped a tear from her eye and frowned, "I at least got to say goodbye to them, that's better than everyone else here." Takato frowned and put a hand on her shoulder, "But it doesn't make your pain any less valid than there's."
Asuna gave him a weak smile, "I know but it's helping me forget that they died on my birthday." Takato frowned as he saw what she was watching on the tablet, the video of the fight between him, Vee and Ranbu, "I thought the Captain told you to stop watching that."
She nodded before shutting it off, "I know just, watching it I can't help but feel bad for Gallant and his friend, they were really trying to save my parents." Takato sighed, "Yet they still couldn't in the end, they were too weak to."
Asuna shook her head, "No they weren't weak. If I could talk to Ultraman Gallant right now I'd tell him it's not his fault they died, and I'd thank him for trying his hardest." Hearing this, Takato's hand clenched into a fist as he held back tears, how could she really say that? Of course it was his fault, he was pathetic.
He turned around and avoided eye contact with her, "I just remembered there's something I gotta do, I'll see you at headquarters later." Before she could respond he practically ran out of the memorial, he couldn't stand there and listen to that, she shouldn't be thanking him. No he failed because he wasn't strong enough to defeat Ranbu or anything else for that matter.
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Gallant Opening
Polaris by Blue Encount
ano hi "mamoru" to kimeta, yakusoku wa kono mune ni
A large hand is shown reaching for the earth as the song begins, it's revealed to be Ultraman Gallant who closes his fist around it, signifying he'll protect it before flying down to earth. A guitar solo starts as it shows each character, Takato Shinkishi, Reika, Tsubasa, Asuna, Captain Kakuhiro, Daisuke and Ranbu's human form. Finally the logo is shown.
subete wo ushinau koto de, ima sukueru inochi ga aru no nara
The entire Japan Special Defense Force is shown together before flashing to each of them individually, Takato is shown drawing with Gallant's image behind him, Daisuke helping out at the school with Ultraman Vee behind him,Reika is shown chasing after an alien, Tsubasa is flying in the firehawk, Asuna is working on something in the headquarters and Captain Kakuhiro is shown gazing out a window with his glasses off.
yorokonde zenbu wo ageyou, kono kimochi ga hajimete no ikigai da
Ultraman Gallant is shown with Vee and the rest of the royal knights as Ultraman King appears behind them all, it then suddenly flashes to Takato alone on earth appearing sad before a man shrouded in darkness appears behind him, the darkness disappearing as Daisuke appears next to him.
kizuato wa kakusanaide, zetsubou mo buki ni shite, ikiru to kimetan da yo
Takato gaining a determined face runs into a portal of light and is shown summoning the Gallant Spark and transforms into Gallant as he rises into battle.
seiippai kono namida kakiwakete, kimi ni subete wo ageru kara
Ultraman Gallant arrives into the city fighting several monsters as he switches between his three forms, Lightning Justice, Medieval Justice and Xalted Justice before he settles on Lightning Justice to perform his finisher.
onegai dou ka kienaide kure, ano hi "mamoru" to kimeta
The Firehawk is shown firing at some monsters as a dark force appears within the city, Daisuke transforms into Vee who arrives and attacks a few monsters ,the shadow of Ultraman Ranbu appears as Gallant charges at him, the two locking hands as they fight.
yakusoku wa kono mune ni, kiesou na hikari da to shitemo ike
Takato is shown struggling to stand as Ultraman Gallant's head lines up with his, flashes of his royal knight comrades and the JSDF appear before Takato lets out a scream, the opening finishing with the cast assembled, posing as Ultraman Gallant in his three forms appear behind him along with Ranbu in the shadows and Ultraman Vee before the logo appears.
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22 Years Ago
It had been awhile since all 12 royal knights had gathered. They all stood assembled in their meeting room, no one spoke as Omega crossed his arms, "I assume some of you know why I've gathered you all?"
There were a few nods before Gallant stepped forward, "Master Omega what's going? Usually his majesty Ultraman King gathers us all." Omega nodded at his student and sighed, "A few days ago an event called the crisis impact happened, Ultraman Belial who we usually leave to Ultraman Zero and the Ultra Brothers nearly succeeded in destroying a universe. However Ultraman King sacrificed himself in order to fix the universe and merged with it."
Ultraman Crania stepped forward, his gaze lingering at Omega, "And what of Belial?" Omega shook his head, "Unknown, I haven't been able to contact the Ultra Brother's or the Father of Ultra to find out what really happened."
Ultraman Ganko nodded, the younger members of the royal knights listening to the older members speak, "What do we do about the old man then? Do we know if he still lives?" Omega sighed again, "From what I've been able to gather with the assistance of Duft, he's alive but in a deep coma, we could retrieve him but doing so would destroy the universe and all life in it."
It was here one of the other younger members spoke up, Ultraman Dynas stepping forward, "Then what are we waiting for, let's go retrieve his majesty, one universe is a small price to pay for Ultraman King's strength." The room was silent as no one spoke before Gallant finally stepped forward, meeting Dynas's eyes, "What are you talking about? Not even his majesty is worth allowing all those people to die."
Dynas scoffed at him, "Don't be naive Gallant, his majesty is much more valuable than all of those people. Or are you not truly as devoted as the rest of us." Gallant shook his head, "I am loyal to his majesty as he's given me a place here but he sacrificed himself for all of those lives. Do you really want to spit in the face of his sacrifice?"
Dynas growled at him, "YOU DARE SUGGEST THAT I WOULD EVER DO SUCH A THING." The two began to approach each other before a foot slammed to the ground, "ENOUGH!"
The two turned to see Omega glaring at the two, "We will settle this as we do all matters, a vote. Whichever side receives the most votes will be what we do." The two nodded as they backed away from each other, Vee placing a hand on Gallant's shoulder trying to get him to calm down.
Unfortunately voting didn't seem to be as easy as Omega had hoped, it was a split decision. Gallant, Vee, Jes, Crania, Ganko and Magna all voted to not retrieve Ultraman King. While Dynas, Crania, Crusader, Duft, Kentaurus, and Exa all voted in favor of retrieving him.
The royal knights were at an impasse as Dynas stood forth again, "We're at a stand still, Omega you're our leader tell me you have a way to settle this." Omega crossed his arms, "I am only the leader because I am the strongest amongst us, otherwise this is a democracy not a dictatorship."
Dynas scoffed, 'Fine if you do not want to do something I will take matters into my own hands. I will retrieve Ultraman King myself." Omega glared at him, "Dynas do not act alone in this endeavor, your devotion to his majesty blinds you." Dynas turned towards Omega, "Conversation won't get us anywhere Omega, unless you intend to physically stop me then I am going to do what I feel is necessary."
The room was silent again, no one wanted this matter to devolve into a physical confrontation. Gallant heard his master whisper something about damn younglings as finally Gallant stepped forward, "I challenge you!" Dynas turned around and nearly let out a chuckle, "Excuse me Gallant?"
Gallant stepped towards him, "Since you're too thick headed to do this peacefully I'll give you what you want, I challenge you to a duel. I win, we let this situation play out, you win, we go retrieve Ultraman King and leave the universe to die." This time Dynas did let out a chuckle, "Gallant in case you forgot I defeat you every time we spar, I'll only crush you in this duel."
Gallant nodded in agreement, "Maybe but if I don't at least try to fight for what I believe in then I won't forgive myself if those people lose their lives." Dynas scoffed again before turning to Omega who reluctantly nodded in agreement, "Fine then Gallant, I'll give you the fight you want and prove my devotion to his majesty trumps your loyalty to these lives you don't know."
Omega sighed as the younger Ultra's stared each other down, "As per our custom you two shall have a year to train for this duel, then once it's settled the victor will carry out their idea immediately. I wish you both luck, train hard." Dynas said nothing as he walked away, the rest of the royal knights leaving as Gallant felt Omega's gaze fall on him, he was in for a scolding later.
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Present Day
He sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling as the same thoughts consumed his mind. He looked at his hands as he clenched them into a fist, "I can't save anyone anymore." He felt useless as he felt himself sinking into despair, what would Master Omega say in this situation? What would Vee?
Hell he even found himself thinking what Dynas would do. His thinking was interrupted however as his door opened and Tsubasa entered, "Hey you had your comm off so the Captain sent me to get you." Takato sat up and nodded, "Right sorry, I just needed some time after the memorial."
Tsubasa nodded as Takato stood up and slipped on his jacket, "Captain said he understands, I do too, you're dealing with a lot after what happened." The two arrived in the command center after a silent journey to find Reika and Asuna already sat down, gazing at the main screen.
Captain Kakuhiro turned and nodded at the two, "Takato, Tsubasa, come and sit down, we've got a lot to discuss." The two nodded and sat down as Kakuhiro brought up the video of Gallant and Vee fighting Ranbu as Takato winced from watching it for what felt like the millionth time.
Kakuhiro sighed, "This new Ultraman isn't something good, it had no problem completely overpowering Gallant and the blue one and for all we know killed them." Reika frowned and crossed her arms, "I imagine if that thing really wanted to it could destroy the whole planet easily."
Tsubasa frowned and shook his head, "Oh come on, Gallant and his friend could defeat that thing, they just gotta get stronger." Takato shook his head, "No they can't, that evil Ultraman completely destroyed them without trying, they're useless against it."
Asuna looked at Takato with concern, "Takato you've always been Gallant's biggest supporter, do you really think they're that useless?" Takato nodded slowly, "You saw the video yourself, Gallant and the blue Ultraman were completely useless."
Tsubasa glared at him before standing up, grabbing onto him and dragging him out of the room, "Captain I'm just gonna have a quick conversation with Takato real quick." Captain Kakuhiro nodded before turning towards his desk, one of the guards at the entrance to the building was calling, he could only help but wonder why.
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Tsubasa nearly slammed Takato into the wall as they arrived in the hangar, causing Takato to rub his shoulders, "Ouch that hurt Senpai what's your problem?"
Tsubasa glared at him, "What's my problem? What's your problem? Going off about you and Daisuke can't beat that evil dude, you were making Asuna upset." Takato frowned, "I was just being honest, that Ultra, Ranbu he's who we've been tracking but he utterly destroyed us like we were nothing. We can't beat him, hell the entirety of the royal knights couldn't"
Tsubasa grabbed him by the shirt, "So what? Instead of giving up hope don't you think that maybe you should use this as encouragement to get stronger?" Takato shook his head, "What's the point? I'll never be able to save anyone anyway because of how weak I am."
Before he could yell at him again their comms went off, "Takato, Tsubasa back to headquarters it's important." Tsubasa said nothing as Takato broke free from his grasp and walked off. Clearly he wasn't going to reach him, but maybe he'd talk to the captain. If anyone was good at motivational spirits it was him.
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The two arrived at headquarters to see Captain Kakuhiro waiting for them. In the room was Reika preparing a few bags while Asuna was bringing over two drinks, the recipients of those drinks being two young girls that they'd never seen before.
Kakuhiro looked at the two and nodded, "Takato, Tsubasa, this is Kairi and Hikari, two sisters who've come from a village outside of the city seeking our help."
They greeted the two girls, the younger one Hikari shyly waved at them while the older of the two Kairi just stared at them, "We'd heard that the JSDF solves problems that normal police officers can't solve so we came here in hopes you could save our village."
Tsubasa crossed his arms and sat down in a chair, "Save your village from what exactly?" Kairi frowned, "A few years ago some fisherman in our village found a sealed up well and thinking there might be something useful for our village inside accidentally released something that claims it's a goddess, Ikagami. That thing cursed the two and now unless we appease it every month our food and water supply is tainted and we'll all die."
Kakuhiro narrowed his eyes, "Appease how?" Kairi looked down at her younger sister who hugged her tight, "Ikagami eats young girls, so every month a new little girl is sacrificed to this thing so the village doesn't die. This month Hikaru was picked and I couldn't let that happen to her so I stopped it and ran with her here to you. I know I can't offer much but please help us get rid of Ikagami so my sister or any other little girl doesn't have to die anymore."
For the first time ever Takato saw anger in Captain Kakuhiro's eyes as he nodded, "You don't have to offer us anything, we'll get rid of this thing before anyone else can be harmed."
Takato sat down, he couldn't go on this mission, he'd just fail and doom this village. Seeing the look on his face Kakuhiro walked over and took one of the stinger's from Reika, "The problems this village is facing, even I'm going to help out here." Reika raised an eyebrow at him, "Wait Captain you're going to go out into the field?" Kakuhiro nodded, "Of course, I'm not that old Reika. This mission is serious so we need all hands on deck for this one."
Reika said nothing and nodded as they began to prepare for the mission. Takato sighed and seemed to get lost in thought before feeling himself be tapped on the shoulder. He turned to see Hikari looking at him, "You seem sad." Takato, not wanting the little girl to see him upset, forced himself to smile, "I'm not sad at all, in fact I'm happy because we're gonna save your village."
He got up as they were nearly ready to go, the little girl following him as they began to exit the headquarters, "I don't believe you Mr, but don't worry I'll smile for the both of us." She gave him a big smile as she raced to go be with her sister as Takato felt pain in his gut.
Did he really have the strength to protect this little girl? Could Ultraman manage to defeat this Ikagami that was plaguing her village? He wasn't sure but he knew one thing, he'd at least try to push how he was feeling aside, people depended on it, and he didn't want to let someone down again.
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21 Years Ago
He punched a training dummy and watched as it went flying backwards, hitting a wall. He let out a sigh as he walked over to pick it up. It was almost time for his fight with Dynas and he wasn't sure if his training was really paying off.
Master Omega had ended up not completely lecturing him as he was happy that someone challenged Dynas before the Ultra who was barely older than him did something stupid. However the problem as his Master had told him is that when training for a duel is that no other Ultra was allowed to help in his training as it was counted as outside help.
So Master Omega couldn't train him, Vee couldn't spar with him and he couldn't go to anyone else seeking advice. So here he was spending the last 11 months alone, training in solitude as he didn't want to be distracted from his goal. As he set the training dummy back up he heard footsteps approaching him, turning around to see Crusader arriving.
Taking his hands off the dummy he awkwardly waved at her, "Oh uh Crusader what brings you here?" Crusader crossed her arms, "I've been wanting to come over here for awhile, I'd just been busy with a few missions for Omega."
Gallant nodded slowly, "How come? I figured you wouldn't have come over here out of support for Dynas, you two are always together." Crusader lifted her head for a moment before seemingly ignoring his comment, "I honestly curious, you know Dynas will beat you so why did you decide to face him?"
Gallant sighed, "Because we don't know what Ultraman King would want. Dynas is so confident that we need him back but we don't know why he did what he did, maybe there was something he knew that we didn't." Crusader looked at him in curiosity, "His majesty is known for his secrets, still you'd stake his life over him not telling his knights something?"
Gallant shook his head, "I'm not staking his life on it, I'm staking the lives of the entire universe he sacrificed himself for on it. I would hate myself if I didn't fight for those that Dynas intends to sacrifice for his majesty."
Crusader scoffed at him, "Do you not have any loyalty to his majesty though? You're here because you were chosen by him, not by the people of that universe." Gallant looked at her, shaking his head, "I'm doing this out of loyalty to the King, he loves all life in the universe and would never agree with what Dynas wants. He would want us to protect the universe he saved, not him."
There was silence for a moment before Crusader nodded, "You're an odd Ultra, good luck Gallant. Oh and by the way Dynas and I aren't like that, he's more of a little brother."
She turned around and left, leaving him alone on the training field. He sighed to himself and went back to the training dummy. An odd Ultra? Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Though he did have to admit, he felt a bit more motivated by her confirming her and Dynas weren't a thing.
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Present Day
They had arrived at the village and to say things were weird would be an understatement. While the villagers were clearly trying to go about their daily lives it was clear they were struggling as the group saw people who were hungry, thirsty and just weak in general as they walked down the road in the village.
Kairi had told them they may have to wait through nightfall to go after Ikagami so she figured they'd take them through the village. Captain Kakuhiro told them to be alert as who knows what the villagers would do, and as they walked they felt eyes on them but no one dared say anything since they knew who the JSDF was it seems.
Kakuhiro had assigned Takato and Asuna to watch Hikari and as they walked along with her they watched as she simply walked along, occasionally humming to herself without a care in the world.
Asuna smiled at the little girl and sighed, "From how she's acting you wouldn't guess that everyone here wants to sacrifice her to some evil spirit." Takato nodded and frowned, "How could a village be willing to sacrifice such a happy little girl like that?" Asuna watched the people passing by, each looking at them in fear, "As far as they're concerned it's just one person versus all of them, it doesn't matter who that is or how old they are."
Takato said nothing as he grabbed Hikari by the shoulder to prevent her from wandering off. She looked up at him and smiled brightly at him. He tried smiling back but couldn't really muster up a smile as Asuna watched him, "You've been upset about something, even I've noticed it despite me going through grief myself."
Takato shook his head, "I'm fine, just worry about yourself." Asuna frowned, "You can't blame yourself for what happened with Ligatron, you aren't Ultraman, we did everything we could to save my parents." She walked after Hikari leaving Takato alone with his thoughts, oh how wrong she was.
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It was evening and the JSDF was resting outside the village, they had tried to gather info on Ikagami but no one would talk to them. Takato had been quiet since his talk with Asuna and Tsubasa kept eyeing him but wasn't speaking to him.
As he leaned against one of the cars they'd taken he sprung up as the rest of them turned to him, "Something is coming." They all looked at him weirdly, they didn't hear anything but he did thanks to his super hearing as an Ultra.
Sure enough a mob approached them holding pitchforks and torches, the mayor of the village stepping forward, "Listen here we understand that you JSDF folks are here to help us but just give us the girl and you can go back to the city and forget what you saw here."
Takato grabbed hold of Hikari and shook his head, "We aren't going to let you sacrifice this girl just to appease some spirit. Do you really think it's better to just sacrifice lives rather than working with us to stop this thing?"
The mayor stepped closer, Kairi needing to be held back by Reika who whispered to her, "Let the rookie handle this, we don't need you hurt too." The mayor glared at Takato, "You don't think we've tried to rebel against Ikagami? That only caused more death, tell me will you really sacrifice all of us for one life? Which is worth more: an entire village or one little girl who's barely lived anyway."
Takato froze, he couldn't answer, he faced this problem once and wasn't willing to sacrifice the universe of lives for one being. As he was distracted by his hesitance the mayor grabbed Hikari from his grip, running away with her as a few of the villagers threw down the torches to prevent them all from chasing after them.
As Takato stood there trying to regain his composure Reika pushed him out of the way, using a setting on her stinger to put out the flames. Kairi came up and glared up at him, hurt in her eyes, "How could you! I trusted you to protect my sister and you just let them get away with her."
She ran down the road, intent on getting her sister back, leaving Takato to simply stand there. Takato took a step forward but was stopped by Reika who equally wasn't happy with him, "Stay here rookie, your head clearly isn't in this and you'll just be useless to us."
She left to chase after Kairi with Asuna and Tsubasa not far behind her, Tsubasa giving a still spooked Takato one last look as he left. Takato stood there for a moment unsure what to do before he felt a hand grab his shoulder, turning to see Captain Kakuhiro smiling at him, "Let's talk Takato."
Takato gulped as he turned to face him, "Captain, I'm sorry I failed." Kakuhiro frowned, "Don't apologize to me, apologize to Kairi and Hikari when we rescue her." Takato nodded slowly, "Captain I'm not sure I can…" Kakuhiro nodded, "It's a difficult choice isn't it? One girls life for the whole village."
Takato frowned, "I just, I already failed once." Kakuhiro sighed, "Tsubasa brought this to my attention, the incident with Ligatron is really affecting you." Takato nodded, "I just feel like I failed to save all those people."
Kakuhiro frowned, "That wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could have done and continuously blaming yourself will only harm your attempts to save the next person."
Takato avoided looking him in the eyes, "But Captain what if I could've saved them? What if I could've done something and instead I just failed because I wasn't strong enough?" Kakuhiro took off his glasses and put a hand on his shoulder, "Takato you won't always be able to save everyone, it's just unfortunately a fact of this job that I've learned over the years. However, that doesn't mean that you just accept the fact."
Takato looked down at his feet, "Captain…" All of the sudden Kakuhiro grabbed him, pinning him against the nearby tree, startling him, "Just because you failed to save one life doesn't mean you give up! It means you fight harder to save the next person!"
Takato nodded slowly as Kakuhiro continued, "The desire to save everyone is what makes us strong, that strength, the strength to save everyone comes from never giving up on that desire. The minute you give up on saving anyone is when you truly become useless and weak but until then as long as you do your best to truly save lives then you will never fail."
Takato said nothing for a moment, the Captain was right, if he gave up then Ranbu would win, that's what he wanted, to break his spirit. He couldn't give up, he needed to save everyone he could or else those that he didn't save died for nothing.
Takato looked at the Captain and nodded, "Captain I understand what you're saying, I need to go save Hikari!" Kakuhiro nodded, "The others will try to stop the villagers, you go find that Ikagami and try to stop it."
Takato nodded, "I think I might be able to track her, with a name like Ikagami, maybe she's hiding near the water. Captain, I'm off!" Captain Kakuhiro nodded and watched him run off, smiling, "Go ahead, Ultraman Gallant"
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21 Years Ago
The day had come, his duel with Dynas and the duel to decide the fate of the universe Ultraman King had sacrificed himself for. He couldn't help but feel nervous as Dynas stared him down in the arena, the two being watched by the rest of the royal knights.
He charged at Dynas, the two beginning to trade blows as Gallant had to admit Dynas was stronger than him. As he managed to land a punch on Dynas he heard him snicker, "I have to admit Gallant your punches actually sting a bit now, but it still isn't enough!"
He kneed him in the chest, followed by a vicious right hook to the face sending Gallant down to the ground. As Dynas turned his back to him, thinking the battle was finished, Gallant got back up again, launching a kick at him.
Dynas caught it, elbowed him before throwing him down again, "Stay down if you know what's good for you." Recovering quickly Gallant tried tripping his legs but Dynas caught his legs and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying again.
Dynas let out a deep breath, "Yield Gallant, I have no intention of critically injuring a comrade and friend but I will do what I must for his majesty." Gallant got up slowly again, getting into a fighting stance, "I refuse to give up, I won't let an entire universe die just for his majesty when you're too blinded by your devotion to him to see this isn't what he wants."
Dynas shot forward, his hand on his throat and choke slamming him down into the ground, clearly growing irritated, "As Ultra's Gallant it's our duty to decide what's good for every universe and you and I both know that Ultraman King being around to defend the universes is worth the sacrifice of one universe."
Gallant grabbed onto his hand, summoning all of his strength to knee him in the chest, getting Dynas off of him, "If this is what you've decided is good for all the universes then maybe we're out of touch with the universes."
Dynas growled as Gallant got up again, barely staying standing, "Gallant I will say it one more time, YIELD!" Gallant shook his head, "You'll have to kill me because I refuse to yield and allow this group to corrupt itself by killing all those people for one Ultra."
Dynas growled again and began to throw a punch, "THAT ONE ULTRA IS ULTRAMAN KING!" Gallant braced himself for the punch to come but it never did as a hand caught Dynas's fist.
Dynas turned to see Crusader blocking his punch, "Crusader what do you think you're doing?" Crusader turned to him, "This fight is over, I've changed my vote to not interfering with Ultraman King."
She let go of his hand as he backed up having now lost, "What? Why are you changing your vote now?" Crusader turned and looked at Gallant, "He's proven his ideals are stronger than yours, his loyalty has trumped your devotion."
Dynas let out a grunt of annoyance before turning towards Gallant, "You've proven yourself better today, but you still have a lot to learn before you and I are equals in strength."
He turned and walked away as the rest of the royal knights slowly left as well. Gallant felt himself about to collapse before he felt himself held up by Crusader. He nodded at her, "Thank you Crusader."
She gave him a brief pat on the shoulder, "Never lose that desire to protect everyone, let that unwillingness to sacrifice any life strengthen you." He nodded before finding himself collapsing again, she looked down at him and he swore he could almost hear her giggle, "You're an odd Ultra, but you're interesting at least."
He felt himself pass out as he heard what he assumed to be either Vee or Master Omega coming to retrieve him. It took about 18 years after that but his faith in Ultraman King paid off after Ultraman Geed saved the universe from Belial and King returned to them, happy to see that none of them did something stupid trying to intervene in what he was doing.
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Present Day
Takato had heard on the communicator that Ikagami had already taken Hikari and now his comrades were looking for her. He had decided to see if his hunch was right and it'd be hiding near the water. Sure enough he arrived at a large lake and there was Hikari tied up being faced by what appeared to be a feminine looking being in a robe getting closer to her.
Taking out his stinger Takato screamed, "HIKARI!" He took aim at the being, hitting it and causing it to jump back a bit, "Who dares to interfere again!" Takato ran up, getting between it and Hikari and pointing his stinger at it, "I do! I won't allow consume anyone else or terrorize this village any longer.
Yellow eyes glowed underneath the creature's hood as it gazed at him, "You, you aren't like the rest of them." Takato looked at it, wait this thing, it wasn't a spirit or a god, it was an alien wasn't it.
Takato turned to Hikari and looked at her, who was clearly scared, "Hikari run and go find your sister, I'll take care of this thing." Hikari nodded and turned to run, Ikagami trying to stop her but Takato shot it again, causing its robe to fall off revealing a squid looking creature that had feminine features.
She growled at him as Hikari managed to get far enough away, "Wait I know who you are, YOU'RE ULTRAMAN!" Takato nodded and raised his wrist, the Gallant Spark appearing on his arm, "That's right and I won't allow you to continue to harm this village."
Taking out a card he placed it against the Gallant Spark, "Knight of Loyalty: Justice like Lightning!" The Gallant Spark glowed as Takato threw the card in front of him as he placed his hand on it, "GALLANT!"
He ran into the card and began to glow, "ULTRAMAN GALLANT: LIGHTNING JUSTICE!" A human sized Gallant appeared with his lance and shield drawn as Ikagmai screamed at him, charging at him as Gallant slashed at her with his lance, Ikagami responded by hitting him with ink as he blocked it with his shield.
Ikagami rose up, flying at him and pushing him into the water. As Gallant struggled against her in the water she began to grow bigger as Gallant reacted in kind, the two growing larger as they reached the usual large size.
Gallant tried hitting Ikagami again but several tentacles shot out of the water, wrapping around Gallant and immobilizing him. Inside his mind Takato frowned before removing a card from his pocket, "Knight of Loyalty: Protecting the innocent with my strength!" The card glowed as within the tentacles Gallant began to glow, "ULTRAMAN GALLANT: MEDIEVAL JUSTICE!"
Ikagami began to scream in pain as a large ax began to cut out of the tentacles as Gallant Medieval Justice appeared, charging at her and his ax glowing, "CRESTIUM SLASH!"
The attack landed and sent Ikagami flying back, "Damn you Ultraman, I will destroy you and this village!" Seeing this Takato removed a card from his pocket, "Knight of Devotion: Comrade hear my call, lend me your power!" The Gallant Spark glowed as an image of Ultraman Dynas appeared, "ULTRAMAN DYNAS!"
Gallant began to glow with power as he pointed at Ikagami, "I'm going to make sure there's nothing left of you to torment this village!" The energy flowing around him turned almost dragon shaped as he charged Ikagami, "Wyvernium Dynamite"
He connected with Ikagami and exploded, Ikagami exploding with him in the white and blue explosion. It took a few moments before Gallant reformed, satisfied with the results of the battle before flying off victorious.
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The next day the JSDF stood at the entrance to the village, the villagers having all gathered to see the JSDF off. The mayor stood in between Kairi and Hikari and bowed to Captain Kakuhiro, "Thank you again JSDF, without you then we'd still be stuck under the thumb of that horrible alien."
Kakuhiro smiled at him, "It's not us you should be thanking, it's Takato for saving Hikari and Ultraman Gallant showing up to defeat her." Hikari stepped forward and went to hug Takato's leg, "Takato are you sure you have to leave?" Tsubasa let out a chuckle, "Takato looks like you got a little fangirl."
Takato knelt down and smiled at her, patting her head, "Sorry Hikari but I need to go back to the city, but come see us at the JSDF anytime. Keep smiling ok?" Hikari nodded, "Your smile seems a lot more genuine now."
With a few more goodbyes they departed, Takato walking alongside Asuna as he turned to her, "You were right Asuna, I'm not Ultraman but that doesn't mean I can't try to save people like he does."
Asuna nodded and smiled, "You know I'm still upset about my parents, and it's easy to blame Ultraman but I don't want to. I'll keep going knowing he did his best to save them and that I have my friends with me and we'll prevent people from losing their family like I did."
Takato smiled and sighed, "I suppose we will." The two walked toward the car to depart, the day was victorious and Takato had reaffirmed his desire to protect everyone no matter the difficulty. Next time he encountered Ultraman Ranbu he swore he would be ready.
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Takato's Ultra Navi
Takato: It's time for today's Ultra Navi!
Tsubasa: It's nice to be doing this again, who's up today?
Takato: We'll actually have two today! First up
Gallant Spark: Ultraman Ranbu
Tsubasa: The guy who beat you up? What's his deal?
Takato: Ranbu is an evil Ultraman who was once a student of Ultraman King alongside Ultraman Paladin, the founder of the Royal Knights. Eventually he turned evil and was imprisoned but escaped because another evil Ultraman's escape weakened his prison. Vee and I were sent here to find him but well you saw how our first encounter went.
Ultraman Ranbu
Height: 54 m
Weight: 50,000 t
Age: 45,000
Place of Origin: Nebula M78 Land of light
Flying Speed: Mach 18
Running Speed: Mach 8
Vertical Jump: Height 880 m
Moving Speed in The Water: Mach 1
Moving Speed in The Ground: Mach 6
Forearm Strength: 145,000 t
Grip Strength: 115,000 t
Main Special Move: Genocidium Wrecker
Tsubasa: Boy does he sound scary, please tell me the next one isn't as bad.
Takato: Not to worry because next we have!
Gallant Spark: Ultraman Dynas!
Takato: One of the younger Royal Knights, he and I have a bit of a rivalry stemming from us sparing a lot and a clash of ideals at one point. He may be rough around the edges but his devotion to his comrades is one of his best qualities and I know he'll have my back in a fight. He's usually seen with the one who brought him into the Royal Knights, Ultrawoman Crusader.
Ultraman Dynas: Knight of Devotion
Height: 53 m
Weight: 40,000 t
Age: 6,500
Place of Origin: Nebula M78 Land of light
Flying Speed: Mach 5
Running Speed: Mach 2
Vertical Jump: Height 800 m
Moving Speed in The Water: Mach 1.5
Moving Speed in The Ground: Mach 1.5
Forearm Strength: 70,000 t
Grip Strength: 50,000 t
Main Special Move: Wyvernium Dynamite
Tsubasa: Ultrawoman Crusader? Wait, isn't that one you have a crush on? Is Dynas your rival for her love? Talk to me Taka I could definitely help you out.
Takato: Alright this conversation is over, see you next time!
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Next Time on Ultraman Gallant!
Ultrawoman Crusader arrives on Earth
"I've recovered from my injuries so I thought I'd come see how things were going"
A monster is rampaging through the city as Tsubasa observes it in the Firehawk
"It looks like it's looking for something."
Finally Mako Yamsei is observing something on a computer screen
"Why is it that those two have so many similarities, just who is he?"
THE END!
