AN: Hello and welcome back to Ultraman Gallant. Today is a bit more of a fun chapter before shit starts to hit the fan in the story a bit. So enjoy. Also I just wanted to mention that as I was writing this Jiro Dan, the actor behind Hideki Go/Ultraman Jack sadly passed away. As someone who's seen Return of Ultraman, it wasn't my favorite season but Go was definitely one of my favorite Showa protagonists, it'll be sad no longer having him in the franchise but he's returned to the Ultra Star and is watching over everyone, I'm not gonna say something corny like this chapter is dedicated to his memory, I just wanted to bring up I liked him and was sad about his passing. That aside let's get to the chapter.
Ultraman Gallant
Chapter 8: The Beauty of Peace!
Planet of Ultraman King
Deep within the stronghold of the royal knights they were all placed in healing machines, most of them still seriously injured from Ranbu's escape. Though on his feet, even Ultraman Omega was still healing as he stood next to Ultraman King, both discussing what their next move would be, "Your majesty, are you sure that Gallant and Vee can handle things on Earth until everyone is healed?"
Ultraman King nodded, "Do you not trust your own pupil Omega? You and I both know Gallant has enough untapped potential to eventually defeat Ranbu." Omega nodded slowly, "I do believe in him, but I just worry about how much time we have before Ranbu gets bored of whatever games he's playing."
King said nothing as they heard footsteps approaching, walking into the room was Ultrawoman Crusader who nodded at them, "Omega, it's good to see you up and about." Omega crossed his arms and chuckled, "Crusader, I figured you'd be the first to be fully healed but I was hoping you'd take more time to rest."
Crusader shook her head, "Ranbu is out there and most likely causing chaos in his wake, I intend to head to Earth immediately." Ultraman King let out a small grunt, "That is not the best course of action, Gallant and Vee can handle things on Earth until everyone recovers, then you can all head to Earth as a united force."
Crusader turned towards him, "Your majesty I don't mean to question you but is it not better to be prepared for whatever Ranbu may do, he might not wait for us to be back at full strength." Omega looked at her and chuckled, "Crusader are you sure you just aren't worried about my pupil? I know you have a crush on him but I assure you if Ultraman King believes they'll be fine then they'll be fine." Crusader looked down, trying to avoid his gaze, "I.. I know Gallant can take care of himself, but it's best to not wait as it may be too late."
Before anything else can be said she readied herself and then flew off, leaving the two by themselves as Omega looked up at her, "Crusader would you just wait!" It was too late and she was out of earshot as Omega sighed. Ultraman King put a hand on his shoulder, "She was going to do that regardless of what we said, it's best now to just let things play out."
Omega nodded slowly, "Oh well Gallant will be happy to have her, and she didn't even deny my comment of her having a crush on him." Ultraman King sighed and shook his head, sometimes Omega shifted between leader and doting teacher to his pupil too easily. As she flew off Crusader couldn't help being curious, she had always wanted to see the planet Earth, a planet that countless Ultra's have fallen in love with. Still she couldn't help but wonder, was it really that beautiful?
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Tokyo,Japan(Earth)
Takato sat in a chair, Daisuke had woken up and was getting back to full strength. He was lucky to be alive honestly, taking an attack from Ranbu at that close range and in the face, it was a good thing he had a hard head.
As they sat in silence Daisuke frowned, "You know it's weird, it's been nearly a month since he attacked us and he hasn't made a move since, why?" Takato shrugged, "Probably because he knows we can be beaten easily, someone like him likes to play with his opponents before killing them." Daisuke nodded, "Well that's a bad decision on his part, just gives us time to get stronger."
Takato gave him a small smile, "Yeah, next time we fight him we'll be ready." As they sat there Takato felt his communicator buzzing, "Shinkishi here!" He heard Captain Kakuhiro's voice on the line, "Takato, I know you're visiting Daisuke but I need you to get over here right away, with Reika and Asuna assisting on a case in another city and Tsubasa off you're the only one on duty who can investigate."
Takato nodded, "Yes Sir! I'll be there as quickly as I can." Takato stood up as Daisuke raised an eyebrow, "Duty calls?" Takato nodded, "Something's happening and I'm the only field agent on duty right now so no time to waste."
Daisuke gave him a thumbs up, "Go kick some ass then." Takato gave him a thumbs up and ran out of the room, curious about what was going on that the Captain sounded so serious.
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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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Takato arrived at headquarters and came running into the command center, seeing Captain Kakuhiro gazing at a screen, 'Captain what's going on?" Captain Kakuhiro frowned, "We received an alert that something alien is flying towards the planet at an alarming speed, I'm working on getting a visual now."
He hit a few keys on the computer and it zoomed in on the object, Takato's eyes going wide. It was a travel sphere from the land of light, which meant an Ultra was coming towards Earth. Was it one of his comrades? Or was it another Ultra like Zero and Z? Seeing now other options he turned towards the Captain, "Sir don't worry about this, I'll go investigate, just promise not to report it to anyone until after I check it out."
Kakuhiro raised an eyebrow before shrugging, 'Very well, but make sure to give me a report as soon as you've finished your investigation." Takato nodded and ran out of the command center, leaving Kakuhiro with a small smile on his face, "Must be urgent Ultraman business, oh well no need to interfere."
With that he took a sip of his coffee and went back to monitoring the rest of Japan. Takato may have had that covered but no doubt anything involving an Ultraman will inevitably lead to some kind of trouble.
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Planet Servile(5 Years Ago)
Gallant grabbed hold of a foothold as he carefully climbed up a mountain, above him was Crusader, the two had been assigned a mission together and were tasked to observe a species on a planet. Gallant nearly lost his footing before recovering, letting out a long sigh, "Remind me again why we couldn't just fly up the mountain?"
Crusader reached the top and reached out her hand, pulling him up, "Because Omega said we don't want to be seen by this species, we're here to check if that devil splinter from the traitor Belial affected them at all."
Gallant nodded as they had a good vantage point of the species they were observing, "Right, well they seem pretty peaceful so I'd wager they haven't." Crusader nodded as they observed the rock like species, "His majesty was worried that when Ultraman Geed arrived to claim the splinter he didn't do so subtly and may have scared the natives, but they seem to be fine, best to observe for a little bit longer just to be sure."
Gallant nodded and the two sat there observing the natives for hours, neither talking much as they were technically working. Still Gallant had to admit his heart fluttered a bit as it almost felt like a date, probably the closest he'd ever get with Crusader considering her aloof personality.
Still he couldn't help admiring the peaceful aliens as they went about their lives unknowingly watched by two beings from another planet. As he watched them he heard a small chuckle from Crusader, "I have to admit I admire this planet, it's so beautiful, especially the natives." Gallant looked at the rock people and looked back at his comrade, "I don't know if beautiful is the right word but I respect that they seem to be fine."
Crusader turned towards him, "It's because you don't understand true beauty Gallant, you have the standard definition of it, my definition of it is more evolved than your own." Gallant nodded slowly, "Care to share then what your evolved definition of beauty is?" Crusader shook her head, "I prefer to keep that to myself, if you don't know it then I can't help you."
Gallant looked back at the aliens, it was rather annoying. She brings it up and then avoids the question when asked, but that was Crusader, difficult to read and didn't like sharing what was on her mind. Gallant sighed, "Well even if I don't understand it, at least I can say that I appreciate them a bit more if they're beautiful like you claim."
Crusader let a small hmph and stood up, "There's hope for you yet Gallant, perhaps one day I'll tell you what I mean. For now let's go, the natives are clearly fine." Gallant nodded and she offered her hand, pulling him up as they started to depart. As they left the planet he couldn't help but think of his words, perhaps he needed another Ultrawoman's perspective to see what she meant, thankfully he knew where to find one once they got back to base.
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Present Day
It didn't take long for Takato to arrive where the travel sphere seemed to be heading, whoever was in it was at least smart enough to not alert humans about their arrival. Still he wasn't sure who could possibly come to this Earth, Zero had said he wouldn't tell anyone else on the Land of Light about what was going on, and Vee said the rest of their comrades were still injured.
As the red sphere touched down, Takato's eyes widened at who exited it, "Crusader?" The giant with pink and yellow armor attached to her mostly silver body rose to her full height, looking down at him in confusion, "You human, how do you know my name?" Takato frowned and looked up at her, revealing the Gallant Spark on his wrist, "Uh it's me Gallant, I've taken a human form like previous Ultra's who've visited Earth."
Crusader looked down at him and cocked her head to the side, "Why would you want to lower yourself to being a human? We Ultra's are the greater species." Takato sighed, "Uhhh because human's from this Earth recognize Ultra's so it was easier to move around disguised as humans." Crusader thought for a moment before nodding, "I see your point, very well."
Takato raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean very well?" Receiving his answer Crusader glowed for a moment before her figure shrunk down, becoming a similar size to him. One the glowing stopped Takato was in awe to see a woman with black hair and pink and yellow highlights, tied into two twin tails.
She wore a sleeveless yellow hoodie with a pink and silver shirt, a silver skirt with yellow lines on it and silver and pink leggings, the pink on the leggings connected to her boots. In her hair she wore a pink stair clip and on her hands were silver fingerless gloves. She was beautiful and Takato had to stop himself from staring as she raised an eyebrow at him, "How do I look in human form?"
Takato thought for a moment, not wanting to say something stupid, "Beautiful" He wanted to kick himself in that moment but stopped himself once he saw a small smile creep up on her face, "Well it's good to know no matter what form I take I look beautiful, thank you Gallant."
Takato frowned for a moment, "It's Takato here." She frowned for a moment, "What am I not allowed to go by name too while in this form?" Takato shook his head, "Kind of defeats the purpose of the disguise." She sighed and threw up her hands in defeat, "So then, Takato, have any suggestions for what I should call myself?"
Takato blushed as she looked at him, her deep yellow eyes seemingly staring into his soul, "Uhh how about Akemi? Akemi Jujigun." She thought for a moment before nodding, "I like it, it sounds beautiful but commanding and strong, excellent job Takato, as usual."
Takato blushed again before remembering the question he had, "I thought everyone was injured by Ranbu, what are you doing here?" Akemi said nothing for a moment before nodding, "I've recovered from my injuries so I thought I'd come see how things were going." Takato nodded, "Well Ranbu hasn't destroyed the planet yet, so I suppose that's something."
Akemi frowned, "Well that's good, he's dangerous. I also must admit I was curious about the planet that most Ultra's who visit have fallen in love with." Takato gave her a small smile, "Well you don't have to worry about me at least, I'm getting stronger by the day." Akemi turned away from him, now hiding her own blush, "I wasn't worried about you, I was worried about the damage Ranbu could cause if allowed to run around."
Takato nodded, "Well if you want to see Earth let's go into the city then, I can fill you in about what's been happening and show you some sights." Akemi crossed her arms and nodded, "Very well, let's see if humanity is as beautiful as some claim." Takato nodded in agreement and began to lead her towards the city, he'd have to make sure to contact the Captain on the way, but for now everything was under control.
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Mako Yamsei walked calmly through a dark cave, having seen Crusader's arrival he was searching for something that could distract the two Ultra's as he put his next plan into action. He could kill two birds with one stone, he needed another member of those idiotic royal knights to get more information on his current nemesis and he knew he could get her to leave easily.
Despite being aloof he could read Ultrawoman Crusader like a book just from the one fight they'd had. She cared only about protecting the things she considered beautiful, convince her that the Earth wasn't beautiful and humanity was the vile species he believed they were and she'd leave and go back to the royal knights without him ever having to truly step in. As he got into the largest portion of the cave he finally found his target.
Resting in the middle of the cave was a large dinosaur like kaiju with a horn on its head. He smiled as he approached it, "Hello Agira, you're going to help me with my plans today, so try not to give me too much trouble and maybe I'll spare you and your offspring." He turned towards what Agira was resting next to, a large egg the size of a human, smiling as he raised his hand towards the egg and it was absorbed into dark energy.
At this point Agira's eyes flashed open, waking up and roaring loudly as it barely noticed him there. As it began to rampage he smiled, he knew Gallant and Crusader would try to stop him, and he would be ready for them. After all even if Crusader was a weakling she still had her purpose, as perhaps with her unwilling help he could potentially figure out who Gallant truly was.
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Once he'd gotten her filled in on everything that had happened, he had decided to take her around the city to show her at least what he thought was beautiful. First he took her to a park, and it was nice at first, she even asked if they could stop and people watched for a bit.
But they had to leave once a local gang arrived and started fighting with another gang. Akemi wanted to stop it but he convinced her it was better to allow the police to handle things. Then he took her to an art museum, as he knew she liked the concept of art. But that was ruined as well when a young couple started arguing with each other over the boyfriend forgetting their camera at home.
The two's arguing was so bad that they decided it was better to leave. To make matters worse, as they were going to the third place he wanted to take her to, two men stopped them and tried flirting with her, but it didn't end well for them as she pushed them out of the way of the two.
Now they sat in a rather nice restaurant, Takato was going to regret it later when he saw the bill but he thought she might appreciate the peacefulness of it. As they sat, she took a sip of tea he had recommended, giving him a small smile, "I must admit that this may be the first beautiful place you've taken me to, it's nice and quiet."
Takato raised an eyebrow, "You didn't like the park or the museum? I thought they were quite beautiful." She shook her head, "I did not see the beauty in them as you do, I'm sure some find them nice but I didn't think so."
He frowned, "What do you call beautiful then?" She took another sip of tea and avoided his gaze, "I haven't found anything on Earth beautiful yet, and certainly not humanity, there is no beauty from what I've seen." She avoided his question, which was fine since he knew she probably wouldn't have answered clearly, "I think you're wrong, there is beauty here on Earth and within humanity."
She shook her head slowly, "All I've seen is senseless violence, arguments for the pettiest reasons, those two disgusting males who made a pass at me and I even saw them keeping their fellow neighbors on Earth as pets. Animals are friends, not slaves for humanity."
Takato frowned, "I think you're being a little too harsh on them when you've only been here a few hours." She sighed, "All I'm saying is I do not understand why we as a species continue to insist on protecting them when they rely on us and refuse to grow themselves as a people."
Takato said nothing for a moment before looking at her, "Ultraman Jack once said that to love humans you need to know them, you must learn their strengths and weaknesses, beauty and ugliness. Only when you know both sides can you love this planet. I believe in what he said, humans are rough around the edges sure, but when it comes down to it they can grow and evolve with our influence until they don't need us anymore and they'll come together united as a planet. That's what I hope to achieve here, even after Ranbu is dealt with, I want to see what my love for them and this planet will achieve."
Akemi smiled slightly, "Perhaps you're correct, I suppose it's too early for me to make my judgment on them yet. You certainly have grown from when you first joined us centuries ago." Their lunch didn't have much problems after that, she seemed to enjoy trying human food and the idle chatter.
He had made a note of several embarrassing stories about Dynas he would have to use against his rival later. As they exited the restaurant, Takato's face completely drained of color as he saw Tsubasa walking towards him. Takato forced out a smile as he waved at his friend, "Senpai? What are you doing here?"
Tsubasa looked at him and then looked at Akemi next to him, "It's my day off Taka I was running errands, now who's this beautiful girl with you?" Akemi looked at Takato then at Tsubasa before both of them answered, "She's my friend." "I'm his comrade." Takato felt disappointment at her answer but then again Crusader wasn't the type to admit to having friends.
Tsubasa raised an eyebrow, "Really you sure? Looks like you two are on a date." Takato quickly shook his head, "Nope, just showing her around the city, she's new to the area." Tsubasa nodded slowly, "Ohhhhh she's from your hometown, I see get it Taka." Takato nodded, Tsubasa at least understood she was an Ultra like him. Still he wasn't prepared for what she would say next, "Are we dating? I wouldn't say that but I'm not opposed to the idea."
Takato nearly felt faint from her response but unfortunately it was all ruined when both his and Tsubasa's communicator went off. The two looked at each other as Akemi raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?" Takato sighed, "That was our boss, there's a Kaiju entering the city, we need to get to base." Akemi nodded, "Very well, allow me to accompany you, I wish to offer my services."
Takato started to protest but Tsubasa stopped him, "If you're anything like Taka or Daisuke then we'll be glad to have your services, I'll vouch for you with the captain." Takato reluctantly nodded as they headed off to base, there goes the rest of what he had planned for the day.
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Five Years Ago
Gallant stood in a training room in the base of the Royal Knights, he had wanted advice on how to get to know Crusader better and since he couldn't ask Dynas, he had only one other option. He felt embarrassment though as in front of him, Ultrawoman Kentaourus laughed at his question. He had figured she could help being the only other Ultrawoman amongst them but here she was laughing at his question.
Finally she stopped and the mostly red armored Ultra looked at him, "Crusader? Are you sure? You know she's a bit of an ice queen right?" Gallant nodded, "Don't you think I know that? Vee keeps laughing at me too since she constantly keeps to herself." Kentaurus nodded, "Alright, alright, I find your determination admirable, So I'll give you the best advice I can. Crusader is someone who's obsessed with two things, peace and beauty, if you can figure out her weird definition of beauty then you can win her heart."
Gallant sighed, "I already knew that for the most part, she teased me about it already." Kentaurus chuckled again, "Well sorry kid, that's the best advice I can give, Crusader is an interesting Ultra alright. But your crush is cute so I'll be rooting for ya." Gallant nodded, "Well thanks for the advice I guess, it was better than nothing."
Kentaurus shrugged, "Don't give up so easily, you never know, spend enough time with her and she might give you a clue. Besides I've seen her glancing at you, she might have a crush on you too." Gallant gave her a nod of thanks and turned around to leave, maybe she was right. Perhaps if he was patient she may end up revealing what she defined as beauty in the end.
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Present Day
It didn't take long for them to arrive back at headquarters, giving Captain Kakuhiro a quick rundown of who Akemi was. He crossed his arms and frowned, "Normally I'd prefer to not involve citizens, but with Reika and Asuna not around we could use someone on the ground with Takato while Tsubasa takes to the air."
Akemi gave him a nod, "I appreciate you allowing me to assist, I've been curious about this JSDF since Takato told me about it." Captain Kakuhiro gave her a small smile, "Well we're always ready to welcome anyone ready to help." Akemi looked away, there was something off about him, it was strange.
Takato said he was a kind man and a great captain but there was a nagging feeling there. She shook it off, he was a normal human, there was no reason to suspect otherwise. Takato watched as Tsubasa left the room to prepare the Firehawk, "We should go work on evacuating the city while Tsubasa gets a visual on the Kaiju."
Captain Kakuhiro nodded, "I'll monitor it from here, someone needs to do Asuna's job while she's gone." The two left and before long Tsubasa had managed to get up in the Firehawk, finding the rampaging Kaiju destroying buildings. But something was off, it wasn't just random destruction, it was looking for something. Soon he radioed in, "Captain something is off, it looks like it's looking for something."
Captain Kakuhiro raised an eyebrow, "Looking for something? Perhaps if we can figure out what that is we can end this peacefully." From where they were, Akemi turned towards Takato as they helped more people evacuate, "I like the way your Captain thinks, if this could be ended peacefully then that would be beautiful." Takato nodded, "Maybe it's time for Ultraman to step in."
Akemi frowned, "These humans rely too much on you, perhaps we should see if they could pacify it before we step in." Takato shook his head, "If we do that then there could be more destruction that we could've ended up preventing." Akemi frowned, "Still, perhaps we should wait for your friend to find out more first before charging in." Takato nodded, "On that we agree."
As they continued to evacuate people they finally got a good look at the Kaiju, Takato's eyes going wide, "That's an Agira! Ultraseven owns one, they're usually a peaceful race, why is it rampaging?" Akemi frowned, "This is horrible, such a beautiful race rampaging across a city, I will crush whoever caused this."
At this point both began to hear a high pitch ringing before they heard a devilish laugh, "That would be me Ultrawoman Crusader, but I doubt you could crush me as you claim." Both looked at each other, it was a frequency only Ultra's could hear, "Dammit Ranbu what did you do?"
They heard his ghostly laugh again, "I stole that thing's egg, knowing that it would destroy the city to get it back, you two are welcome to come and try and get it back, it's actually being held in a building near you." Akemi bit her lip as she turned towards Takato, "We need to go get that egg back, it's the only way to stop this without violence." Takato nodded in agreement, "But I don't trust Ranbu to be telling the truth, this could be a trap."
Akemi frowned, "I know that, but humanity certainly can't get the egg back by itself, didn't you say it's our job to help them?" Takato said nothing, she was always rather passionate about nonviolent resolutions to conflicts.
Reluctantly he nodded, "Fine let's go, but first, Captain we think we might have a clue about why the Kaiju is rampaging, we're going to check out a building nearby, if you don't hear back from us soon then assume something happened."
He nodded at her as they raced towards where Ranbu claimed the egg was, if this was a trap he wanted to have insurance that they could be rescued.
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It wasn't long before they found the abandoned building Ranbu had directed them to. As they walked in they noticed it was dark and quiet as Takato looked around, "I don't like this, something is off." She nodded in agreement, "On that we agree." As they continued in they heard another laugh, "Welcome to the both of you, come this way, you'll find what you're looking for."
The two frowned at each other as they walked forward into the building, eventually finding two massive doors that opened for them. As they entered they found the doors slam behind them as the lights turned on, revealing the flooring to have strange panels on them that once activated began to electrocute them, slowly bringing them to their knees.
Akemi began to breathe heavily as she tried to stand up, "Dammit it was a trap, he's drained us of our energy." Takato tried to stand but fell to his knees again, "Probably wanted to keep us here so we can't stop Agira." They heard another laugh as Ranbu appeared before them, revealing behind him to be Agira's egg, "Oh you two royal knights were so close, but you fell into my lovely trap."
Akemi glared at him, "Ranbu, what are you planning?" Ranbu laughed as he removed something from behind his back, some kind of scanner like device, "Who me? I just thought with this little device here I could get inside of your mind, learn your weaknesses, see your memories, you know the fun stuff. I like knowing what makes my victims tick!" The two looked rather worried as he began to approach them, he wasn't going to admit what he actually wanted, to know more about Gallant.
He figured even if the poor idiot himself didn't know anything, maybe his comrade had some info that he wasn't allowed to know. He paused at Gallant first, activating the device as the poor fool tried to struggle and resist, "Oh would you stop your writhing, you can't resist the scanner."
His foes' memories popped up, but nothing he really wanted. He sighed as he stopped the scanning and turned towards Akemi as he approached her. Takato got up and tried charging at him, "Don't you dare touch her." Ranbu sighed and moved out of the way, tripping Takato as he fell to the ground, "Oh you poor lovesick puppy, just lay down and I'll be done with your girlfriend in a minute."
He approached Akemi who simply looked at him and glared, "I already know I can't resist that stupid thing so just get it over with." Ranbu chuckled as he activated it, "So far you're the smartest one here." As he looked through her memories it was all rather boring, but boy did she think of the idioctic knight of loyalty a lot, good to know she returned his pathetic little crush.
Finally he found something rather juicy, Crusader spying on a conversation between Ultraman King and Omega, King crossing his arms at Omega, "Omega I understand you wanted to recruit him, but he can never know about his true origins." The memory stopped there as at that point Crusader seemed to stop eavesdropping, still this was good, so little Gallant did have some kind of hidden origin and the poor fool didn't even know about it.
He'd have to do some more digging, but it was clear this was all she knew. He turned off the device and turned around, walking away from the two as they felt even weaker after being scanned, "Well that was illuminating, I suppose this is where I take my leave." Takato tried to stand again, "Wait! I'm not letting you leave here."
Ranbu chuckled again, "Oh my dear boy I don't plan to stay here, Agira is going to be here soon and destroy this building to find its offspring, I don't intend to die with you two." With that he teleported away, leaving the two to simply look at each other, this wasn't good, but hopefully they could either recover quickly or Captain Kakuhiro would send some rescue for them, because as of now they didn't have much time.
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5 Years Ago
Once again they'd been assigned a mission together, and Gallant was starting to think this was his mentor's way of trying to help him get closer to her. As they once again found themselves watching over a race that had been affected by a battle between Ultra and a Kaiju, this time Zero fighting a rampaging monster, they were making sure everything was fine.
Gallant finally broke the silence, "I haven't been able to get this out of my head, what is your definition of beauty?" Turning towards him, Crusader shockingly let out a tiny giggle, "Oh Gallant are you still thinking about that? It doesn't matter." Gallant let out a sigh, "But it does to me, I want to be able to understand you better so maybe we can have something to talk about."
She giggled again, "Gallant you already caught my attention, long ago in fact, so don't worry if you don't understand it for now, I'll tell you one day when I feel the time is right." He paused for a moment, it wasn't the answer he wanted, but he'd take it, she seemed open to talking to him in the future, maybe he had a shot with her after all. He let out a chuckle as he nodded, "Alright, I can accept that."
She nodded at him and stood up, stretching slightly, "Good, now come on, we should go let Omega know that Zero's recklessness didn't harm the people here." Gallant stood up and followed her, perhaps he shouldn't try to rush things, she was interested in him and for the time being he should take that as a win. Besides one day he was sure he'd figure out whatever her definition of beauty was, on that he was confident.
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Present Day
The two had decided to sit in the room they were trapped in, deciding it wasn't worth using the remaining energy they had left to try and escape. Takato looked over at her, "You've gotten quiet, everything ok?" Akemi frowned, "Because I've accepted our fate, your friends aren't going to save us."
Takato sighed and shook his head, "You're wrong, I know you don't believe in them and aren't all that impressed, but they'll come for us, because humanity just like us Ultra's can do extraordinary things when they come together."
Akemi scoffed at his claim, "I have seen enough, they fight with each other over petty things, and even when we were evacuating them, they stepped over each other to escape, willing to leave each other to certain death to save themselves."
Takato frowned, "So they fight a little bit, so they experience feelings of selfishness, what species doesn't? Even us Ultra's aren't immune to these feelings. Humanity doesn't just rely on us to fight for them, they rely on us to set an example for them and one day they will grow and unite just as they always do, and when they do they can achieve anything they put their minds to, even things we can't do, even everlasting peace."
Akemi sighed for a moment, "You really believe that don't you?" Takato nodded and smiled at her, "I may not know what you consider beautiful, I do know that Earth and those that live on it are, they don't always show it but when they do it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Akemi let out a small giggle, "I suppose before we die I can finally tell you what I consider beautiful. It's peace, anything peaceful, those who fight for it, those who understand it. There is a peace in beauty that I long to see in everything in the universe and that's why I fight for it, because if I can find that beauty then I'll know I've managed to find peace in everything I do."
Takato let out a sigh of relief, "You know I probably should've figured the knight of peace would consider peace beautiful, but I thought that'd be too simple." Akemi smiled at him, "And that's why i consider you beautiful as well, you who seek peace despite everything that is thrown at you, you look for the good in everyone, you Gallant are the best of us."
Takato said nothing, if he did he'd probably start shedding tears of joy from her complement. As a nice silence overtook them they began to hear rumbling causing both of them to stand up, "Agira is coming, Takato your Captain better get here soon." As they turned towards the door they began to hear it creaking as it slammed open, Tsubasa running in, "Captain told me you two might be here, time to get out of here now unless you want to be flattened."
The two looked at each other and nodded, running out of the building with Tsubasa, being out of the room seemingly giving their energy back. Takato turned towards the two, "Get out of here, I'll get Agira's egg back to it." Tsubasa looked at him in confusion, "Wait, that thing is a mother just looking for its kid?" Takato nodded, "That's the short version yeah, I'll give you a rundown later." Tsubasa frowned before nodding, "Alright you got this Taka."
He ran back to the Firehawk, leaving Akemi who stood next to Takato, "I'm not going anywhere, you have told me to believe in humanity, so I will, if you consider humanity beautiful then so will I, and I will defend that beauty." Takato nodded at her as he summoned the Gallant Spark onto his wrist, "Then let's go." She put her hands on her chest, focusing her energy as Takato performed his usual movements, "GALLANT!" "CRUSADER!"
Gallant rose from his usual white and red light as joining him was Ultrawoman Crusader from pink and yellow, the two arriving in front of Agira who roared at them. Crusader bent down and picked up its egg, showing it to Agira, "Please Agira calm down, your child is right here, you can go back to your home now."
Agira ignored what she had said as it roared and charged at them, moving with speed that was shockingly for its size, Gallant moving quickly to block its horn with his shield. Gallant pushed Agira back, "Dammit Agira isn't listening, we might have to tire it out." Crusader nodded and put down the egg, the two charging at Agira and began to punch it, Agira trying to use its horn to attack them but the two restrained it.
They were trying to not harm Agira as it continued to attack them, Crusader using tendrils coming from her head to try and restrain it, but it broke out of them as Gallant tried pushing it back by kicking it in the stomach. The two's color timers began to go red as Crusader turned towards Gallant, "We still aren't at full strength, Agira is too worked up, if only we could cool it down somehow."
Hearing this Gallant looked at her, "I think I have an idea of how we can." From within Gallant, Takato removed a royal card from his pocket and held it up to the Gallant Spark, "Knight of Determination: Comrade here my call!" The Gallant Spark glowed as an image of Ultrawoman Kentaurus appeared behind Gallant, "ULTRAWOMAN KENTAURUS!" Gallant's hands began to glow blue as he formed a plus with his arms, "FROSTIUM SHOT!"
A beam of ice shot from his hands, hitting Agira who slowly began to calm down, feeling the cool ice calming it down as Gallant stopped the attack. As Agira seemed to get back to normal Crusader turned to Gallant, "His majesty mentioned he gave you those cards but I wasn't expecting them to be that handy."
Gallant nodded as he went to check on Agira, "Looks like the old girl is calm now, let's give her what she's looking for." Crusader nodded and picked up the egg again, placing it in front of Agira who let out roars of joy, the egg beginning to crack as a miniature Agira hatched from the egg, its mother hugging it in joy.
As the two Ultra's watched, Crusader crossed her arms, "I take it back, Earth and its inhabitants are truly beautiful." Gallant nodded, "I knew you'd get it eventually, now come on let's get these two back home."
The two created a small shield of light for the two Agira's and began to transport them back to their home, the conflict ending peacefully as the day and city were saved.
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Meanwhile back in his makeshift base Mako Yamsei looked through the information and memories he had obtained from his two captives. As he stopped at a few images of Gallant he let out a scream, "Why is it that those two have so many similarities, just who is he?"
Ranbu hated this, Gallant was bringing back memories he had long buried, memories of his once best friend. As he continued to look through memories he finally stopped at one that was interesting, an image of the Ultraman who had once appeared on Earth before Gallant.
He knew that Ultra, he recognized him, he wasn't sure why he hadn't recognized it sooner. Now he knew, if anyone could know anything about Gallant it would be him, he would find him, he would find him and then he would finally have his answers.
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Takato and a mostly healed Daisuke walked with Akemi out of the city, arriving at the same field she had first arrived in. Daisuke crossed his arms, "You sure you don't want to stay and help us protect Earth?"
Akemi nodded slowly, "No, I know it's in good hands with you two, I understand it's beauty now and that's all I wanted. Plus I'm sure his majesty and Omega are not happy that I flew off on my own." Daisuke smiled and nodded, "That's fair, besides if you stayed Takato would be a lot more distracted and we can't have that." Takato looked at him, "Oh come on, I wouldn't be distracted, ok maybe a little bit."
Akemi giggled slightly before stepping forward, grabbing one of his hands, "I have to thank you, Takato, without I wouldn't have seen how beautiful and peaceful this planet could potentially be. I'll return with the rest of our comrades when everyone is fully healed."
Takato nodded, "We'll be waiting for all of you, give my best to Master Omega please." Akemi nodded before pulling him in close, whispering into his ear, "By the way the answer to your friend's question if we are dating is yes." Before Takato could react she quickly kissed him on the lips, leaving him stunned before she stepped away.
She began to glow before returning to being Ultrawoman Crusader and giving a small wave before flying off, leaving the two standing there. Daisuke crossed his arms before turning towards a still stunned Takato, "Well looks like I missed some stuff, you good?"
Takato let out a small laugh, "I have a girlfriend." Daisuke chuckled as he put an arm around him and the two began to walk back towards the city, "Mhm yes you do buddy, now come on let's go get something to eat and you can fill me in." Takato let out another laugh as they continued to walk, for once things had worked out for the young Ultra.
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Takato's Ultra Navi
Tsubasa: Is it time for today's Ultra navi, uh Taka you good?
Takato: Oh uh yup sorry just daydreaming a bit
Tsubasa: Mhmm sure, think about your girlfriend later and let's get to it!
Gallant Spark: Ultrawoman Kentaurus
Tsubasa: Another Ultrawoman?
Takato: Yup Kentaurus is one of the oldest amongst my comrades and shows wisdom and strength in the situations that really call for it.
Ultrawoman Kentaurus: Knight of Determination
Height: 45 m
Weight: 30,000 t
Age: 15,000
Place of Origin: Nebula M78 Land of light
Flying Speed: Mach 15
Running Speed: Mach 10
Vertical Jump: Height 950 m
Moving Speed in The Water: Mach 5
Moving Speed in The Ground: Mach 4.5
Forearm Strength: 55,000 t
Grip Strength: 40,000 t
Main Special Move: Frostium Shot
Tsubasa: Wow she's almost as fast as Vee, do they ever race?
Takato: Sometimes, she was actually the reason Daisuke trained so hard to be fast, he was used to being the fastest until he joined the royal knights
Tsubasa: Wow that's pretty cool, wonder what would happen if they raced on Earth
Takato: I'd rather not think about it, see you next time!
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Next Time on Ultraman Gallant!
Takato is being held inside of a cell being watched by a mysterious scientist
"Soon we shall have no need of Ultraman"
Daisuke is arguing with Tsubasa
"Why the hell would humans ever want to get rid of Ultraman? We only want to help humanity!"
Finally Gallant and Vee are faced with a robot looking like Gallant
"BEHOLD THE DESTRUCTION OF ULTRAMAN! GALLANT KILLER!"
THE END!