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Chapter Text

Manaka Kengo had been through better days than today. Today, the monster that had shown up to attack the Earth was one calling itself Blizzard. After hitting her with his Zeperion Beam proved ineffective, Kengo decided to change Types and attack with something else. Ultraman Trigger: Sky Type! He then pulled out and aimed the Sky Arrow. Runboldt Arrow Strike! But this attack did nothing to pierce the monster’s hide that the Zeperion Beam couldn’t. The monster growled as she blasted her opponent with a beam from her chest that froze the Sky Arrow and caused Trigger to fall backwards from the cold, before turning around to reveal a red version of the same appearance, who blasted him with fire, buffeting the giant further.

“I see.” Blizzard and Trigger then looked down to see an old man in a trench coat who seemed to be addressing the monster. “So this is where the last of Black End’s Saucer Beast eggs ended up. Seems that all of their creations were bred in bulk.” He then pointed his hand forward, showing off a prominent ring. “Leo!” The ring began to glow, causing the man to transform into another Ultraman. The new Ultra then leapt towards Blizzard, with his foot first, spinning around. “Leo Corkscrew Kick!” He collided with the monster, sending her backwards. The newcomer then went over to help Kengo up. “Stand up, Trigger!” He then generated energy from his hands, that melted the ice away “Leo Full-Body Emission!” As the ice melted, Leo put his hand on Trigger’s head and turned it towards Blizzard. “Observe the enemy. You must’ve noted something.”

Kengo thought back on the fight, realising something. “I’ve got it.” He then reverted to his base form. Ultraman Trigger: Multi Type! He then reverted the Circle Arms to its basic form. Multi Sword! He proceeded to hit his opponent with the weapon several times, managing to damage Blizzard greatly.

“That’s right.”, Leo nodded as he ran forward, delivering his own flurry of blow to the Saucer Monster. “”This creature is immune to energy attacks. But physical blows will work much more effectively against this creature.” He then pulled his fist back, before throwing it full-force into Blizzard. “Leo Punch!” As the monster reeled, the Ultra leapt into the air, bringing his foot down. “Leo Kick!” This connected with Blizzard, discombobulating her. “Trigger, do it now!” He then pulled out a fraction of energy from his colour timer, sending it towards the rookie Ultra. “You’ll need this.”

Within his inner consciousness, Kengo saw a new Hyper Key appear in his hand. He pressed the button, activating it. Ultraman Leo! “I’ve got it.”, Kengo nodded as he inserted his new item into the Circle Arms. Maximum Boot Up! Leo! In reality, he swung the weapon while pressing the trigger. Kick Sword Finish! The weapon made contact with Blizzard, destroying her on contact. “Thanks for the assist, Mr…” But when Kengo looked around, the other Ultra had vanished “Leo?”

Later, at a cafe, a man in a trench coat walked in through the front door, signalling one of the waitresses, who was currently cleaning the tables. As she walked over, he spoke for the first time. “All is going according to my plan, Carmeara.”

Carmeara grunted at this. “Then you’re doing a good job of hiding it, Hudram. That last monster you called on failed to do anything to Manaka Kengo. And this is the latest in a long line of instances where you have called upon a powerful foe. Dark Lugiel, Greeza, Night Fang, King Pandon, Mogunezun, Lunaticks, Birdon - all of them defeated with the aid of these other giants.”

“None of them were meant to be victorious.”, Hudram explained. “All of them had one purpose. I wanted to lure those giants here so that Manaka Kengo’s allies could gain Hyper Key data from all of them. In previous instances where these giants appeared, they caused the Eternity Core to react in some way. The one that appeared to battle Alien Barossa and the Dada virus led to Yuzare’s full awakening. And the one who assisted everyone when the Absolutian tried to claim the Eternity Core, Manaka Kengo was able to unlock the full power of the fragment he possessed. Ergo, if I can gather enough energy from these giants in one place…”

“Then perhaps we may be able to pinpoint the Eternity Core’s location.”, Carmeara surmised. “But how will we know if this will succeed?”

“There is only one way.”, Hudram answered, as he got up and walked out. “We wait.”

Meanwhile, at GUTS-Select’s mobile fortress, the Nursedessei, Kengo returned to the workshop of the organisation’s technical officer (and his personal tech guy) Hijiri Akito, handing him the Hyper Key he had received from Ultraman Leo. “Here. Another one for your collection.”

“Very funny.”, Akito sighed as he picked it up and went over to a draw, which he opened to reveal 33 other Ultraman-based Hyper Keys, numbered from U-04 to U-36. Akito had forgotten what 17-19 were, but that didn’t stop him from cataloguing all of these in case the Nurse Cannon required some extra firepower. “If we keep getting all of these visitors, then you might just end up out of a job, Kengo.”

“Luckily for me they aren’t sticking around for longer than two days, at the most.”, Kengo noted as he took out his 4 Hyper Keys. Then all of the Ultra Hyper Keys began to glow. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know.”, Akito said in response as he observed the phenomenon. “Something’s causing all of these lights to resonate with it. But what, I can only guess.”

Elsewhere, the being that was inhabiting the body of the last Lishurian, noted that the Hyper Key for his own true form, which had been dubbed “Trigger Dark” by the Key itself. “Fascinating.” The Key then shot out a beam from its tip, pointing far away.

In a distant wasteland, Darrgon was alerted to the appearance of several beams of light shooting across the sky. “What ther-? Where are these beams coming from?”

“Those would be my doing.” Darrgon turned around to see Hudram approaching. “You see, I always wondered why the source of the humans’ ability to use the powers of other creatures were called ‘Hyper Keys’. But then I remembered that they are used as a new container for the power that was held within the ruins of the citadel that housed the Eternity Core. Ergo, the Keys will unlock the power of the Eternity Core after 30 million years.”

“Amazing.”, Darrgon gasped, before having a realisation. “Wait, this isn’t another of your attempts to seize power, is it? You know we should all be united in this endeavour.”

“I know, I know. ‘Trying to act on my vendetta is a needless action’.”, Hudram sighed. “But there is an upside. Manaka Kengo and his human allies will show up to investigate and do the hard work of excavating the Eternity Core for us and eliminating any guardians placed on it. And then, you will have the chance to fight your worthy opponent decisively.”

Darrgon didn’t need to think about that. “That seems… acceptable. A contest to determine who will claim the ultimate power. I relish the challenge.”

Chapter Text

Ultraman Leo had always been a hero to the people of Earth. He had battled evil and saved countless lives. But there was one problem that he could never defeat. That problem was Ultraman Dyna. He had first met this mysterious Ultra during the Belial Revolt, when he had aided Man, Seven and Mebius, along with the ZAP Spacy team against Belial before Leo’s own pupil, Zero, had made his grand debut to save everyone. The Ultra known as Dyna had vanished from the scene soon after, next being seen on Future Earth, where he played a pivotal role in stopping the Hyper Zetton created by Alien Bat. Once again, Leo had no idea who this mysterious Ultra was. He didn’t hail from the Land of Light and he didn’t stick around any one world long enough to identify a point of origin.

And now, Leo, in his human form, about to depart the world he had ventured towards, ran into another man, in a white, red and grey uniform. One whose face seemed somehow familiar. “Are you sure granting your power to the rookie was the right thing?”, the man asked. “Especially with what’s coming next.”

“I wanted to ensure that these events would happen.”, Leo answered the man. “The Absolutians have already come here once and been repelled. If this world’s Ultraman is to be prepared for bigger threats, then he needs to take out the biggest threat he’s currently facing. The fragment of my power I gave Trigger was designed with a frequency to cause other Ultraman Hyper Keys to send out a beam of light, leading to the Eternity Core that everyone’s been looking for.”

“And what if he fails?”, the man countered. “What if the Dark Giants defeat him and recreate this universe as one of darkness?”

“He won’t fail.”, Leo stated as he transformed back to his normal form, flying off.

The man paused for a minute, before walking on. “I’m sorry, but I don’t agree.”

Some time later, helicopters had found the other end of the beams of light shot out by the various Hyper Keys and the TPU had cordoned off the area for Chairman Shizuma to bring in an archeology team to excavate the site. “I assume something of great importance to the 30,000 year civilisation.”, the chairman explained. “We should take great care in excavating it.”

“Don’t worry.” The head of the archeological team, one Rena Manaka, mother to Kengo who recently made a sudden emigration from Mars to Earth, assured him. “I’ll have this unearthed by the end of the day.”

Chairman Shizuma was confused by this remark. “Look, Rena. Far be it from me to question your skills, but surely it would take a week for this rock to be penetrated with your equipment.”

“Oh not at all.”, Rena said with an almost sadistic smile as she pulled out what looked like a golden version of the GUTS Sparklence. Shizuma knew it well. He had given Akito the original artefact to reverse engineer, having decided that if this world was to have its own protector, just as Tiga had been for his world, then he would require a more user friendly transformation item. That way, if someone came out wanting to control the power of Ultraman for themselves, like that young upstart Gondo, then they could simply go public with the hero’s human identity and ensure good press. Then the woman took out a Hyper Key, black with a golden centre, pressing the button. Carmeara! She then inserted it into the golden Sparklence. Boot Up! Carmeara Whip! Everyone on the research team saw what was going on and tried to make a run for it, only for a large, bulky man to block their one exit. “Tear down the past, the shadow of despair! Captivating Warrior, Carmeara!” Rena collapsed as the figure of Carmeara appeared next to her. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. For now. Just as long as Kengo Manaka shows up within the hour so that our business may be concluded.” She then bathed the unconscious woman in energy, shrinking her down and storing her within her body. “Just a little insurance in case he doesn’t show up.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that.”, Chairman Shizuma stated, as he pressed a hidden button in his pocket. “He’ll be here. But it may take some time.”

“Oh, that won’t be an issue.”, Carmeara replied as she summoned up her energy whip and began chipping away at the rocks with it. “Like I said, I’ll have this excavated by the end of the day.”

Back at the Nursedessei, in Akito’s lab, Kengo’s Sparklence opened on its own, flashing red with a high pitched beep sounding with each flash. “What’s this?”, Kengo asked.

“Oh, it’s an alert function the Chairman had me install.”, Akito explained. “It only sounds if something bad is… happening… in his…” Akito didn’t even finish his sentence before grabbing onto Kengo, showing an unusual level of concern in his voice, that he would normally not show to anyone. “You have to go. I’ll cover for you.”

Kengo nodded nervously. “I understand. He’s been your father figure for a significant part of your life. Don’t worry, I’ll save him.”

With that said, he turned around and set off running out of the lab, going past Yuna, the chairman’s biological child, who was on her way in. “What we’re you two doing in here?”, she asked, semi-playfully.

“Dad’s in danger.”, Akito blurted out, not willing to deal with any of Yuna’s teasing today. “We need to alert the captain.”

Outside the large carrier, as Kengo transformed into Trigger, shifted to Sky Type and took off, Hudram watched him going. “Phase one of my plan is underway.”, he commented, as he flew onto the landing bay. “Time for me to carry out stage two.”

Back at the excavation site, Carmeara had managed to crack fragments of the rock away, before she stopped as she heard a sound coming towards them at sonic speeds. “He’s coming.”, she stated to her muscular guard. “You know what to do.”

The man nodded, as he took out his own Sparklence and Hyper Key, inserting the latter into the former. Boot Up! Fire Beat! He then opened it and pressed the trigger, collapsing and unleashing the one possessing him. Darrgon! Sure enough, Trigger landed next to him, shifting colours and features in an instant. Ultraman Trigger: Power Type! “So, you came.”, Darrgon commented, as his opponent nodded. While he didn’t quite grasp what exactly the situation between the old Trigger and the new one he was fighting now was, he still treated both equally as rivals. “Let’s fight.”

Trigger nodded, summoning his weapon. Circle Arms! He then converted it into the appropriate form for Power Type. Power Claw! The two then ran towards each other, with Trigger struggling to hold off his opponent with his weapon. On the ground, the archaeologists took this as their cue to leave, but Carmeara shot her whip towards where they were moving, stopping them. “None of you are leaving.”, Carmeara yelled. “Not until I find the Eternity Core and obtain the ultimate power.”

The fight continued with Trigger managing to break free of the deadlock and insert his Hyper Key into the Circle Arms. Maximum Boot Up! Power! He then brought it down on his foe. Deracium Claw Impact! Darrgon blocked this with one hand, but he couldn’t hold out for long, taking the blow to the hit. Trigger then felt the light on his chest beginning to blink. Before Darrgon could fight back, he put his hand out and Kengo managed to do something he hadn’t done in his Ultra form before. “Why?”, he said.

Everyone was shocked by this, but none more than Carmeara. “That voice…”

“Why are we fighting?”, Kengo spoke again. “The two of used to be allies. Brothers in arms. And you’ve shown that you have the capability to be better than Carmeara’s lapdog. What do you get out of serving her?”

Darrgon stopped to think about this for a minute. “You’re right. I don’t even know what we intend to do with the Eternity Core. And since we revived in this era, both Carmeara and Hudram have become even more obsessed with obtaining it. All the while, I don’t even know the full story.”

Carmeara had stopped trying to break the rock and was now yelling at her subordinate. “Darrgon, don’t listen to him. Keep fighting. I command you!”

“You see.”, Kengo pointed out. “You’re nothing to her. Just a way to deal with her enemies.” As Darrgon began to contemplate this, the familiar site of the Nursedessei pulled into view. The Nurse Cannon aimed and fired… at Trigger, knocking him down. “What the? You’re aiming at the wrong target.”

“On the contrary.”, Hudram’s voice echoed outwards, as he stepped onto the hull. “You are exactly what I was aiming at. He then projected an image of the entire GUTS-Select team, held captive by copies of Alien Baltan, Dada and Jugglus Juggler, created from infusing their Hyper Keys with his own essence. “I control this entire carrier now. And don’t worry, Darrgon. I’ll solve your dilemma.” He took out another Hyper Key, this one for the Barrier Monster Gagi. Boot Up! Barrier!

Hudram fired at Darrgon, causing his body to convulse, as he grew a pair of tentacles out of his hands. “How will these help me?”, Darrgon asked.

“Put simply, your DNA has been augmented by the coding for that Key.”, Hudram explained. “Now, you’re part monster. And that means…” he blasted his comrade with red-coloured gas, causing his eyes to glow the same colour. “I can control you like a monster.”

Darrgon then felt his body moving against his will, smashing into the mountain and causing rocks to rain down onto the people below. “What is the meaning of this, Hudram?”, Carmeara yelled out. “I am down here with these humans. If you continue with this haphazard unearthing, then you will crush me as well.”

“Yes, that is the general idea.”, Hudram announced. “You may have forgotten, but I haven’t forgot how you turned me into this… this freak. Once I dispose of you and my other enemies, I will recreate this universe into one with an order that prevents you and your ilk from thriving.”

“Under your control, I assume.”, Kengo commented.

“But of course.”, was Hudram’s response. “Such an order can only be truly excellent.”

As Darrgon continued to pound, he managed to regain control enough for a sentence to come out. “Trigger… destroy me! Please!” And then Hudram took him over completely. While the humans managed to get away from the falling rocks with little issue, but Carmeara wasn’t so fortunate, being totally buried by the rocks.

Trigger nodded at his new task, with Kengo taking out another Hyper Key, one that was very special for him. Glitter Trigger Eternity! He inserted the Key into his Sparklence and commenced his pose. Boot Up! Glitter Zeperion! “Illuminate the universe, the ultra-ancient light! Ultraman Trigger!” As he pressed the button, Trigger transformed into his orange and gold strongest form. Glitter Trigger Eternity! He then summoned the weapon for this form. Glitter Blade! He then set it so that the Crimson crystal was at the palm area, before launching an attack. Power Photon! As the blade glowed with red energy, Trigger plunged it towards the possessed Darrgon, who reacted a sphere of energy to block the hit. To get around this, Kengo spun the crystal section 360 degrees, so he could attack again with more power. Crimson! Eternity Bomber!

This time, the blade punctured the shield with ease and went straight for Darrgon’s chest, slicing right through it, and causing his body to crackle with energy, as his eyes returned to normal. “Thank you for freeing me from my curse.”, he wheezed out, as a ball of red energy appeared from his palm. “Here, take the last of my power. So that Carmeara and Hudram… can pay for all they’ve done to us.” And then he jerked backwards, before falling down. “Farewell, my friend.” And with that, he exploded completely.

As the red ball made its way towards Trigger, Hudram leapt in front and absorbed it entirely, giving himself a crimson aura. “Oh this is excellent.”, he laughed. “I’ll give you a few minutes to recover your energy, Kengo Manaka. But then, the final battle will be upon you. And only one of us will be walking away.” With that said, he floated back to the Nursedessei, re-entering the vessel.

From afar, Ignis observed the event in progress. “Oh, I agree with your declaration, Hudram.”, he stated. “Only one of us two will be walking away from this. And I assure you, it will be me.”

From beneath the rubble, Carmeara dug her way further into the cavern, discovering a glowing ball of energy she knew all too well. “The Eternity Core.” She was nervous approaching it. When she had allowed her beloved Trigger to touch it, it had allowed Kengo Manaka to corrupt him. But then she remembered she was alone, in several ways. Darrgon had been turned against her by that treacherous Hudram. All she had to rely on was herself. So she touched the Core, taking its energy in and allowing it to enter her body. “Yes, yes!”, she declared. “Fill me with power, turn me into a powerful monster so that I can passionately destroy everyone I despise.” Her body began to change shape as more rocks fell down.

Chapter Text

Earlier.

As the Giant of Darkness known as Hudram took his chance to seize the Nursedessei for his own purposes, he failed to anticipate that he was being observed. The same man that had spoke with Leo earlier had been waiting on the aircraft carrier, having snuck aboard during a supply stop. “What’re you up to?”, the man wondered as he pursued Hudram into the interiors of the Nursedessei. Having just arrived in this world a couple of hours ago, he noticed now that the uniforms of this team’s members looked a lot like the uniforms they wore back home, when he was a regular janitor. Luckily, his uniform wasn’t that different from theirs, so at least he had an excuse when one of them saw him and commented on it. “I’m from… administration.”, he claimed. “Doing a surprise inspection. But don’t tell anyone.”

“Okay.”, the low ranking officer nodded, to which the man sighed with relief before continuing on. He had to intercept Hudram and stop what he was planning before it was too late.

On the Nursedessei’s bridge, Akito and Yuna burst into the room, much to Captain Tatsumi’s annoyance. “Members Shizuma and Hijiri, just because there isn’t a crisis, doesn’t mean you can mess around and run on the -.”

“We’re not messing around.”, Yuna gasped out, exhausted. “The Chairman sent us a message. He’s in trouble.”

Captain Tatsumi’s tone instantly became serious. “Everyone, we need to change course immediately. We have a rescue mission on our hands.”

Marlulu, the sole non-humanoid in the bridge staff (though not in the organisation. There was an Alien Rattler in the IT department), spoke up in objection. “Hey, Captain. We’re already on course back to base for refuelling. The excavation site is too far away for a round trip.”

“Maybe, but that’s where you’re going.” A blast fired into the room, as Hudram entered the bridge. “This vessel is now under my control.”

Tesshin pulled himself up up from his console, running towards Hudram with his fist outstretched. “Take this!” But Hudram merely caught the punch, throwing the large man to the side as if he was doing callisthenics.

“Now, as I was saying.”, Hudram continued. “You will take me to the excavation site. And if you think I’m bluffing…” He pointed his arm mounted blade at the Captain, before turning around and firing on an unfortunate junior member who happened to be walking by, vaporising him. “Are we clear?”

The other bridge crewmen all nodded, with Himari, the ship’s pilot, working the controls. “We’ll be there in 12 minutes.”, she stated.

The carrier did a sharp turn, knocking the more benevolent of the two infiltrators over, within the corridors. “Who taught these people to fly?”, he asked as he pulled himself up and staggered onwards.

Soon enough, the Nursedessei arrived, as Trigger and Darrgon were engaged in their fight. “Now then.”, Hudram stated. “Aim the Nurse Cannon at Trigger and fire on my mark.”

“What?”, Akito blurted out. “You don’t really think that -?”

Hudram merely pointed his blade once more. “If you value your life, then you will instruct me in its use.” He then took out three of his collection of Hyper Keys. Those of Alien Baltan, Dada and Jugglus Juggler. “Or I’ll have these three deal with you.” He infused the three Keys with his darkness, causing them to fly out and transform into replicas of their subjects. “Understand?”

As the copy Juggler put his katana to Yuna’s neck, Akito nodded and went over to the controls for the Nurse Cannon. “You’ll need to plug a Sparklence into it.”, Akito informed him.

“Not a problem.”, Hudram pulled out the one he had created for his earlier experiment to replicate the human factor. “I have one I made earlier.” He plugged it in as the ship pulled into view of the combatants. “Nurse Cannon, fire.” The large carrier launched its weapon at Trigger, knocking him down. “What the? You’re aiming at the wrong target.”

“On the contrary.”, Hudram’s voice echoed outwards, as he stepped onto the hull. “You are exactly what I was aiming at.” He then projected an image of the entire GUTS-Select team, held captive by copies of Alien Baltan, Dada and Jugglus Juggler, created from infusing their Hyper Keys with his own essence. “I control this entire carrier now.…”

In the bowels of the ship, the mystery man had found his way to the entrance to the bridge. He walked in, calling out to draw attention to himself. “Hey, uglies. Over here.” The copied monsters abandoned their posts guarding the crewmen and went to confront him. “The real fight has just begun.” He ran in and engaged in hand to hand with all three monsters, dodging Juggler’s sword, before dealing a kick that knocked him down. Then the Dada pointed a shrinking gun at him, but the man jumped out of the way with an inhuman speed, causing the Baltan to get hit and reduced to the size of a human thumb. As the Juggler copy recovered, he inadvertently stepped on his comrade, crushing him to death. The man then proceeded to disarm and beat up the Dada, rendering him unconscious.

Captain Tatsumi approached the stranger in confusion. “How did you do that?”, he asked.

“I’ve been to a few places.”, was all the man offered. Then he saw the Juggler copy running out of the door. “Hold it!”, he called out as he ran after him…

But he was stopped by the reappearance of Hudram. “Exactly my thoughts.”, he stated. “You’re becoming quite an annoyance for someone who just crashed my operation. You’re not one of these humans, are you?”

“I haven’t been normal in a long time.”, the man smiled, before pulling out a Sparklence he had picked up. Everyone else looked in their hoslters, with Tesshin hollering when he found his empty. “Y’know, I like this system. It allows for guys like you and me to access our power if we can’t do so otherwise and it can be borrowed and returned easily.”

“We’re nothing alike.”, Hudram growled, as he went over to Himari, touching her hip, before letting her go and pointing his blade at the newcomer. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m going to enjoy destroying you.” He began to charge energy into the blade.

“I am Shin Asuka.”, the man replied as he pointed his borrowed weapon, before taking out what looked like an Ultraman Hyper Key. “Ultraman Dyna.” Ultraman Dyna: Flash Type! He inserted the key into the Sparklence. Boot Up: Solgent! “Another handy little feature of this gun is that I can use my beam attacks without transforming.” He pointed and shot at Hudram’s blade before the latter could fire, creating an explosion that consumed the Dark Giant, and would’ve caused greater damage to the bridge, if Yuna’s ancestral alter ego Yuzare hadn’t awakened at that moment to block the attack with her power. “I thought I was the only one with strange powers.”, Asuka commented.

Before he could check if anyone was okay, the room was shuddered again, this time by the Juggler clone, now a giant. “Never mind about us.”, Captain Tatsumi urged. “If you’re an Ultraman, then you’ll help us, right?”

“Roger.”, Asuka nodded. He opened the Sparklence and held it up, pressing the trigger while calling out “Dyna!” He then vanished, reappearing outside the Nursedessei to throw a punch at Juggler. Ultraman Dyna: Flash Type!

Captain Tatsumi then regained his composure and began giving orders as usual. “All of us need to get down there and assist with the cleanup. As soon as possible.”

“Alright.”, everyone saluted as they prepared themselves. But none of them noticed Himari’s eyes gleaming with an inhuman glow in their preparations.

Outside, Dyna engaged the copy of Juggler, who surrounded his katana with dark energy before sending it towards his opponent in a slash motion. Dyna countered by launching a disc of light that countered the attack and neutralised it. For, within Dyna’s inner space, Asuka took out his usual transformation item, the Lieflasher. “Let’s just see if I’m right.”, he thought as he flipped it open, causing the light to glow red. Sure enough, Dyna transformed from his red and blue form into his primarily red Strong Type. He leapt up and delivered a kick that knocked Juggler down, before smashing a fist charged with energy into the alien. As Juggler stumbled backwards, he launched another slash of dark energy, which Dyna absorbed and threw back at him, using his Garnate Bomber Shooting Version. But despite being surrounded by flames, Juggler emerged unharmed. Dyna tried initiating his Triple Change, knowing that while he could normally only Type Change once in a battle, he had hoped using the Sparklence would alleviate that. Sure enough, his body was coated in silver energy, clearing to reveal his primarily blue Miracle Type. “Nice, it worked.” He then leapt into the air and spun around at high speed towards Juggler, buffeting him further. Then, to end the battle, he initiated his Revolium Wave, which fired a beam behind Juggler. As the copied monster laughed at his opponent’s apparently terrible aim, a black hole opened behind him, sucking him inside with no resistance before closing as quickly as it opened. “Thank goodness that’s over.”, Asuka sighed as Dyna leapt into the air, flying off.

From the side, Ignis looked on at aftermath of the battle that had just occurred. “Huh, interesting.”, he noted before walking off towards the archeological dig nearby.

And onboard the Nursedessei, someone entered Akito’s lab, walking over to the draw with the Ultra Hyper Keys, beginning to remove them.

Chapter Text

Not half an hour since Ultraman Dyna had liberated the crew of the Nursedessei, they had disembarked to the surface, meeting up with the excavation crew to assist them in their recovery from the prior attack. Akito and Yuna met up with Kengo, discussing the events of their rescue. “So, another Ultraman showed up to help us.”, Kengo summarised. “Man, I wish I could’ve met him.”

“He seemed pretty powerful too.”, Akito noted. “He reduced Hudram to nothing like he was swatting a fly.”

“Yeah. I would’ve thought Hudram would’ve put up more of a fight.”, Yuna added. “It’s almost like he wasn’t trying to-.” Then she realised something. “I think we should check the scene again.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”, Kengo said in response. “It seems unlikely that Hudram would die from a shot like that, especially since he absorbed Darrgon’s power. Something’s up.”

“Let’s go.”, Akito nodded as the three of them set off.

Nearer to where the rocks had fallen, Captain Seiya and Chairman Shizuma observed the rocks, trying to figure out the safest way to move them. “Are you sure we should be doing this?”, Seiya asked. “If Carmeara was crushed by these rocks, and the Eternity Core was buried, then why unearth it? That thing’s been nothing but trouble for months now.”

“If we leave it there, then anyone who might come looking for it will be able to retrieve it by simply chipping away at this rock.”, the Chairman explained. “Even now, Trigger Dark has been appearing intermittently for the last few months, and could be going after the Eternity Core like the other Dark Giants did. But if we can secure it, then we could make sure nobody touches it ever again.”

“Is that so?”, a voice came from behind them. The two turned around to see Himari standing there, her eyes glowing red. When she spoke, her voice was not her own. “In that case, then I’ll just take it now.” Her body was surrounded with black energy, before falling over, leaving nothing but a silhouette, who walked towards the two.

Onboard the Nursedessei, Akito was examining the scene of the battle, using his scanning equipment. “I knew it.”, he stated. “The energy release I’m measuring isn’t indicative of any kind of vaporisation. Meaning, that Hudram didn’t die.”

“But if he didn’t die, then what happened to him?”, Kengo asked, before he realised something. “What did Hudram do before he seemed to get destroyed?”

“He… grabbed onto Himari, for a while.”, Yuna answered him. “But he let her go afterwards.”

“Then he must’ve used that chance to implant a copy of his energy into her.”, Kengo realised. “And waited for his chance to come out and continue the job he started.”

As if on cue, the same alert device Akito had on him earlier beeped again. “Looks like we won’t have to wait around.”, he commented. “Something’s appeared. Right nearby.”

And sure enough, right outside the carrier, Hudram had reassumed his giant form. Only now, the white portions of his skin were covered with metallic armour, similar to Darrgon’s. He also now possessed a similar face. “With this extra power, I can break through that rock with ease.” Sure enough, he surrounded his fist with fire, managing to punch his way through the rock with ease.

On the ground, a figure that both the chairman and captain recognised as the Lishurian treasure Hunter Ignis. But something was off about him. “So, you’re making your move, huh Hudram.”, he stated, as his facial tattoos appeared and turned dark, along with his eyes. He hen took out a black version of the GUTS Sparklence and a Hyper Key. “Let’s settle this here and now.” Trigger Dark! He then inserted the Hyper Key into the Sparklence, and opened it. Boot Up! Dark Zeperion! “Stain the future, the deep darkness! Trigger Dark!” He then transformed into the last Dark Giant unaccounted for. Trigger Dark!

Hudram ceased chipping into the rocks and turned to face his new opponent. “So, you’ve shown up, Lishurian. Or should I call you Trigger? You don’t seem to have the greatest grasp on your identity right now.” Trigger Dark then proceeded to grapple with Hudram, only to find himself in a lot less of an even match than before. So he resorted to firing his Dark Zeperion Beam. Barrier! But Hudram generated a shield, similar to that employed by the Gagi-mutated Darrgon earlier. “You didn’t think I just mutated one of my allies purely out of spite, did you?” Sonic Boom! He then moved at speeds comparable to Melba, slashing at his opponent several times. “I’ve spliced myself with every monster and alien that GUTS-Select collected data on, along with a few of my own.” Electric! Hudram then summoned up manifestations of Deathdrago’s horns, firing electrical waves at the ground to disorientate his foe.

Trigger Dark managed to recover quickly. “Well, I may not have as vast an array as you.”, he snarled. “But you are not the only one who can use the abilities of monsters. He called upon the power of Zaigorg. Boot Up! Impact! As his face shifted, Trigger Dark summoned up red energy spikes, that he fired at his opponent to try and knock him down. But Hudram used his own natural speed to avoid the worst of it, boosted by Golza’s power. Ultrasonic!

It was then that Kengo arrived on the scene, in the form of Ultraman Trigger: Multi Type. “Stop it now, you two.”, he announced.

“So, you’re here.”, Trigger Dark commented. “The other me.”

“How quant.”, Hudram laughed. “Now I can destroy both halves of my irritation at once.” Deathcium! He launched beams of Ultraman Belial’s power at the two of them, which the pair narrowly dodged. “And now get a taste of Sevenger’s power.” Iron Fist! Hudram’s right hand turned into metal and launched itself towards Trigger Light, who caught the fist and threw it to the ground… which just left him open to an attack from Hudram, using the power of Zetton and Zetton II simultaneously. Fireball!

But Trigger Light recovered. “Perhaps we should do the same as always. Speed against speed.”, Kengo decided, taking out another Hyper Key. Ultraman Trigger: Sky Type! He removed his Multi Type key, replacing it with the Sky Type key. Boot Up! Runboldt! “Dominate the sky, the light of speed! Ultraman Trigger!” Trigger Light became entirely blue, with his chest armour changing its pattern. Ultraman Trigger: Sky Type! He then summoned his weapon and converted it to the appropriate mode. Circle Arms! Sky Arrow!

He flew closer to Hudram, engaging in a close combat brawl with the Agile Tactician in the air. But eventually, Hudram landed a punch that hit Trigger with such force he dropped his weapon and fell to the ground. “In the past, you were my equal in that form, Manaka Kengo.”, Hudram gloated. “But now that I have the power of Darrgon’s strength in addition to my own speed, you can’t hope to win. I am immortal.”

Trigger Dark went over to pick up the Circle Arms, inserting one of his own keys. Maximum Boot Up! Horoboros! “Take this!”, Trigger Dark hissed as he swung the weapon. Lightning Arrow Strike! The bolt of electricity hit Hudram while he was gloating, disorientating him. “Now, hurry up and face him, other me.”, Trigger Dark urged. “That shock should have short circuited his Kaiju Hyper Keys.”

“On it.”, Kengo’s Trigger nodded as he took out his strongest Hyper Key. Glitter Trigger Eternity! He took out the Sky Type key and inserted the new one. Boot Up! Glitter Zeperion! “Illuminate the universe, the ultra-ancient light! Ultraman Trigger!” As he pressed the switch on his GUTS Sparklence, he transformed into his golden coloured form, that possessed three Colour Timers. Glitter Trigger Eternity! He flew up, summoning his weapon. Glitter Blade! “Take this, Hudram!”, he declared as he initiated his attack. Cobalt! Eternity Banish! Trigger then flew around Hudram, slashing him at high speeds, causing him to be blown backwards by an explosion.

Hudram, now badly injured, managed to pull himself up. “Not bad, Trigger. In fact, it was quite excellent.”, he wheezed out. But then he removed his face armour to reveal a mouth, that began to laugh. “But I didn’t just copy the Kaiju Key data to enhance my body.” Ultraman Cosmos: Lunar Mode! “Full Moon Rect!” Hudram surrounded himself with an aura, healing all of his injuries as if they had never existed.

“What the-?”, Trigger said as both he and his dark counterpart reacted in shock.

“And that isn’t even the limit of my powers.”, Hudram declared. Ultraman Z: Gamma Future! “Gamma Illusion!” Three copies of Hudram appeared. All of whom proceeded to attack both of their enemies at high speed. “And since you’re fond of using this move against me, Trigger…” Ultraman Tiga: Sky Type! Hudram pointed his sword, launching multiple energy arrows at the two Triggers, flooring them. “Face it, my new power makes me invincible. And once I acquire the Eternity Core, I will be a god.” Nut when he finished pounding the rocks to pieces, he found nothing in the caverns. “There’s nothing here!”, he yelled. “WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS THE ETERNITY CORE? I MUST HAVE IT!!!!”

As if on cue, a large dragon-like creature, which looked rather melted, emerged from the rock behind him, roaring. Hudram thought it looked familiar, but he didn’t care. If this creature was standing between him and ultimate power, he would destroy it without hesitation. As he leapt forward to stab it, his arm got stuck, until he resisted enough to break his own blade off. “Ah, so that’s a taste of your power, Hudram.”, the creature stated, in intonations that Hudram found a familiar. “I look forward to devouring you whole.”

“No, it can’t be!”, Hudram cried out, as he tried to back away, scared for the first time in millions of years. “Is it you, Carmeara?” Now he realised where the features were familiar. The horns on the creature, along with the ribbons hanging from this head and the patterns and colours on its chests were those of the woman who had ruined his existence and driven him to this. How could he have been so blind?

“Not anymore.”, Carmeara growled. Now I have the power of Eternity itself. I have become the goddess of evil who will reshape this universe. Now, I am Megalothor!” She then reached out and took hold of Hudram, opening her mouth. “And now, I will show you your place in my new universe. As fuel for my limitless power.”

Hudram’s last breath was spent screaming, as if crying for help. But, as if the universe itself was unsympathetic to his cries for help after all the atrocities he had committed, nobody did. His body vanished, absorbed by Megatanathor, who promptly vanished, to the confusion of the two Triggers.

Chapter Text

Both Kengo Manaka and the imposter were quivering in their skin. She could tell that much by looking at them. It was only natural, after all. She had devoured Hudram moments before, so she could claim his power, along with that of Darrgon’s, bringing their three powers into her holy body. Now, Megalothor merely had to crack the two in front of her open like eggs, and suck out the power of Trigger, brining the two together once again. And she was smiling at the prospect of doing so.

She remembered how this opportunity had been presented to her, back when she was still Carmeara. After she had been buried under rubble by Hudram’s betrayal, she had managed to survive, and dig her own way into the cavern. , discovering a glowing ball of energy she knew all too well. “The Eternity Core.” She was nervous approaching it. When she had allowed her beloved Trigger to touch it, it had allowed Kengo Manaka to corrupt him. But then she remembered she was alone, in several ways. Darrgon had been turned against her by that treacherous Hudram. All she had to rely on was herself. So she touched the Core, taking its energy in and allowing it to enter her body. “Yes, yes!”, she declared. “Fill me with power, turn me into a powerful monster so that I can passionately destroy everyone I despise.” Her body began to change shape as more rocks fell down.

But then she found that the power was resisting her, as was the human she had absorbed, Kengo’s mother Reina. “It won’t accept you.”, Reina warned. “The power of the Eternity Core is meant to preserve the balance of the universe, not to wreck it, as you seek to do. It will only grant its power to those with good intentions. It won’t let you twist your body this way.”

“Is that so?”, Carmeara asked, reading in and taking something out with her distorted fingers, which more resembled claws by now. It was the ultimate Hyper Key she had taken from Hudram, the one for Ultroid Zero, a robot that had the ability to absorb monsters to gain their traits. “In that case, then I’ll just have to find the power from another source.” She also took out another Hyper Key she had taken from Hudram, that of the Evil God Gatanothor. She threw it into the air, before inserting the Ultroid Zero Key into her own Sparklence. Boot Up! D4! “Now then, fill me with energy. The energy of the Great Dark One!” As she pressed the trigger, she absorbed the Gatanothor Key into herself, allowing herself to create a large wave of dark energy. Darkness! Carmeara’s body began convulsing as her appearance began to change, taking the form of a large, dragon-like creature, who devoured the Eternity Core in one fell swoop.

And now, she stood in front of both versions of her beloved Trigger in her new form as Megalothor, laughing after having eaten Hudram. “He tastes disgusting.”, she remarked. “But I’m sure you two will be very tasty indeed.”

“I won’t go down that easily.”, Trigger Dark growled as he picked up the Circle Arms again, placing one of his Hyper Keys into it. Maximum Boot Up! Zaigorg! The blade grew spikes on it as he swung it at Megalothor. Impact Sword Finish! But when the blow made contact, it failed to achieve much in the way of damage, with the damage being healed shortly afterwards. “What the-?”

“Ha! My body is immortal.”, Megalothor laughed as she moved in, launching several tentacles at Trigger Dark, that pierced his skin. “And now, I’ll add your power to it, to make myself invincible.” As he tried to struggle, she could see the impostor throw something out of himself at Kengo Manaka, which hit him on the chest, causing him to react briefly, before he disintegrated. “A worthless move. His futile attempt to destroy you won’t stand in the way of my more successful attempt.”

But that didn’t deter Kengo Manaka at all. “I have to defeat you.”, he stated. “For Darrgon, for Hudram, for Yuzare, for all the people you’ve made suffer, for the future of everyone’s smiles!” He then prepped his Glitter Blade for an attack as the light on his chest began to blink. Violet! Eternity Zerades! He surrounded himself in energy, before delivering a giant violet-coloured slash to her, which managed to make her stagger, but not fall. He then charged himself with energy before firing his Glitter Zeperion Beam.

But Megalothor was quick to react, firing her own beam of dark energy, that locked together with Trigger’s. “You won’t defeat me! Kengo Manaka!”, she growled, as her beam hit Trigger, causing him to revert to his Multi Type. Only now, his chest was turning black and beginning to become deformed in the area he had been hit in by Trigger Dark’s attack. But he ignored this, instead standing up and aiming at Megalothor again, before firing. “Hah! It will do you no good to keep resisting.” She generated a tornado to protect herself using Hudram’s power. But the blast briefly changed colour, breaking through the tornado and causing Megalothor to cry out in pain, briefly reverting her to the shape of Carmeara, albeit with blue and red auras surrounding her. “That power, what is it?”, she cried out before flying off.

Now left alone, Trigger collapsed to the ground, his light stopping its blinking as he reverted to normal. “Kengo!”, Akito and Yuna called out as they ran over to him, as they realised that the entirety of GUTS-Select’s attack team, plus a good number of the archaeologists they had been sent to rescue, were watching the whole scene.

“Well now.”, Capt. Tatsumi commented. “I can’t say I’m entirely surprised.”

Elsewhere in the city, Carmeara landed, now reverting to her normal human form. But she felt her skin convulsing, twisting into new shapes. “This energy.”, she wheezed as she staggered forward. “It’s too much for my body.” But she resisted. “I will simply adapt to handle it. And the next time I face Kengo Manaka, I will avenge Trigger. And then, I shall eradicate the entire pathetic planet Earth, for all the trouble it’s caused me.”

As Carmeara continued onwards, continuing to hold off against the mutations, Asuka watched her go, a look of concern forming on his face.

Chapter Text

Kengo came to, finding himself in a hospital bed. “So, you’re awake.”, Chairman Shizuma said as Kengo’s eyes caught him. “Everyone was worried about you. You’ve been asleep for a day.” Sure enough, Kengo saw that the entire crew of the Nursedessei was present.

His reaction to this was to sigh. “You all know, don’t you? About my secret.”

“Don’t worry, the truth of your identity as Ultraman Trigger is a complete secret.”, Captain Tatsumi assured him. “So naturally, the whole of GUTS-Select knows.”

Akito was the next to speak. “Kengo, what happened out there? You seemed to be infected with something towards the end.”

“I don’t know.”, was all Kengo had to offer. “I got hit with something from Trigger Dark before he was absorbed and then I found that one of my attacks managed to scratch Carmeara.”

“I can answer that.” This came from one of the nurses on site, who was carrying something in a plastic bag. “We pulled this out of Mr. Manaka’s body when treating his wounds. It didn’t seem to be causing any damage, but we felt it better safe than sorry.”

When Kengo looked at the object in the bag, he noted that it was a Hyper Key. In particular, he recognised who exactly was on said Hyper Key. “Trigger Dark.” He then had a realisation. “He was trying to tell me to combine our powers. That’s the only way we can defeat Carmeara with her current power level.”

“You might be a match for her, yes.”, Akito said in response. “But I doubt you could defeat her outright. She has access to the power of the Eternity Core.”

“So has Kengo.”, Yuna realised. “Yuzare’s power called forth a portion of it to create Glitter Trigger Eternity. If Kengo can get close enough, I can use that power to empower Kengo enough to defeat her.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll have the rest of us provide ground support by getting everyone to safety.”, Captain Tatsumi added.

Akito thought about it, before taking the Trigger Dark Hyper Key. “Alright, but I’ll need some time to work on it.”

Out in the streets of Tokyo, Carmeara was still stumbling through the streets, as she convulsed in pain. “Why?”, she asked. “Why is this happening to me? My body is perfect!”

“Perfectly falling apart.”, another voice commented. Carmeara turned around to the source, namely Asuka. “You can’t handle the power of that woman, the Eternity Core and your three comrades. They’re all rejecting you, trying to break free.”

“I will control them!”, Carmeara insisted. “And then the universe will bow before the will of Megalothor!” She took out her personal Hyper Key, inserting it into her Sparklence and transforming. She re-emerged in the middle of the city, which was blown apart to reveal a more monstrous version of the creature she had become before. Not only was her head now less humanoid, it had also turned upside down. Her upper body had now benn deformed to gain a pair of shells and several tentacles, while her arms had turned into crustacean-like pincers. “This planet will be the first to fall!”

As the people began running, Asuka looked around, finding that GUTS-Select had yet to show up. “I guess it’s up to me.” He opened his Lieflasher, transforming. “Dyna!” And then, Ultraman Dyna stood before Megalothor in his Flash Type. “The real fight begins now!” Megalothor fired bolts of dark energy at her new prey, but Dyna used his Flash Light Bullet to nullify these. He then ran forward and charged energy into the Dyna Tector on his chest, before firing his Spiral Burst. But this failed to buffet the creature, who merely pushed him down to the ground with her tentacles.

At GUTS-Select’s headquarters, Marulu noticed the entire fight taking place on the monitor. “Bad news. Megalothor’s reappeared in the city. And she seems to be fighting that Dyna guy from earlier.”

“At least he’s buying us some time, since the GUTS Falcon still needs repairing.”, Himari noted, before calling out to the lab. “Hey, Akito! How are you doing?”

“We’re almost done.”, Akito called back, as he observed the new Hyper Key being created. “Now then, Kengo. You just need to hold off Carmeara long enough for Yuna to call on Yuzare’s power to remove the Eternity Core.”

“I’ve got it.”, Kengo nodded. He then spoke into a communcator. “Yuna, are you ready?”

“Almost.”, was Yuna’s reply from her end, as she began to charge up the ring she had inherited from her mother’s family, passing through ten millions of generations. “What about you? What’s the progress report on your end?”

As she asked this, Akito’s machine dinged. “It’s ready!”, Akito stated as he presented Kengo with a new Hyper Key. This one was a similar shape to the Glitter Eternity Key, but was gold on cream instead of black on gold. It also had a differently shaped central image, which depicted Trigger Multi Type and Trigger Dark facing each other. “Since this embodies both the light and the dark, both vital facets of existence, I’m calling it ‘Trigger Truth’.”, he explained.

“Good to know.”, Kengo commented as he picked it up, before running out of the room and proceeding to the roof, where he activated his new Hyper Key. Trigger Truth! He then inserted it into his Sparklence. Boot Up! True Zeperion! “Let’s go, Carmeara!”, Kengo announced as he opened his Sparklence’s barrel, before doing his usual transformation sequence. “Ultraman Trigger!” He leapt into the air, being subsumed in a flash of light.

And at the site of the battle, as Dyna was being beaten down by Megalothor, he was saved from what would’ve been almost certain death by the arrival of a new figure. It resembled Trigger’s Multi Type, but now bore black stripes on his body, along with the facial markings of his Dark counterpart. “Thanks for joining the fight.”, Dyna said to him. “I was almost done for.”

“It’s alright.”, Trigger nodded. “Let’s just hope I can carry out my plan.”

Megalothor didn’t seem put out by this development. Instead, she started laughing. “So, you took back part of your darkness to be with me again, Trigger.”, she growled, as she fired more dark energy bolts at the pair, scattering them. She then launched her tentacles forward.

But then Dyna leapt forward, karate chopping the tentacles. “Trigger, whatever you’re going to do, you’d better do it now.”

“Got it.”, Trigger said in response as he ran towards Megalothor, grabbing onto her chest, and charging energy into the light on his chest, before firing energy at the creature, causing a hole to develop in her chest. “Yuna, do it now!”

From her safe spot, Yuna held up Yuzare’s ring, charging energy into it, which she sent into Megalothor’s body. Then the spirit of Yuzare took over once more. “Kengo Manaka, as before, the power of the Eternity Core will be yours to wield. And this time, you will inherit proctorship of that power.” Golden energy flowed out of Megalothor and into Trigger’s body, causing it to change again. Now, it sported Glitter Trigger Eternity’s body markings mixed with those of Multi Type’s. It also now had a fusion of the different lights on both their chests. He also bore golden armour, with a jewel in the centre, on his head.

“Carmeara!”, Trigger declared as he reached into the hole he had made, pulling the body of Megalothor apart to reveal Carmeara, who he pulled out. “I’m going to free you from your turmoil. You can’t destroy the universe with your own power.” He then reached in and removed his mother, Reina Manaka, from her body, placing her on a nearby building, where she collapsed into unconsciousness.

“Maybe not.”, Carmeara responded, summoning her whip to knock Trigger back, before revealing two coloured spheres in her hand, one red, one blue. “But maybe the powers of my servants can help me, just like yours have helped you.” She then devoured them, transforming again, though in a more subdued manner. This time, she gained armour on her head, shoulders, arms, legs and chest, in addition to a skirt, all resembling Darrgon’s. She also now had additional armour and shoulder pads that bore a resemblance to Hudram’s. “Now then, I will use the power of all three Dark Giants to crush this planet.” She then launched one of her whips, which now had Hudram’s arm-blade on the end towards Trigger, who dodged it, before summoning his two weapons. Circle Arms! Glitter Blade! He set the latter so that the crimson crystal was on the bottom, before transforming the former into the Sky Arrow and using both for an energy attack. Power Photon! The shot hit Carmeara, sending her reeling. “Curse you, Kengo Manaka!” She leapt up into the air, taking flight as she launched a dark fireball at Trigger, who likewise jumped into the air, going in close using his Power Claw with the Key for Sky Type. Runboldt Claw Impact! This made contact, knocking Carmeara down to Earth.

And back down at the original battlefield, Dyna was observing the remains of Megalothor’s shell. “I’d better destroy this thing.”, he decided. But before he could hit it, a familiar glowing, cylindrical object drifted downwards. “Sphere! So they exist here too?” The Sphere merged with the larger half of the Megalothor shell, causing the missing piece on top and the damaged tentacles to regrow, albeit with translucent, glowing eyes, as the entire body turned pearl white, with some blue segments. Dyna tried to launch his Solgent Beam, only for the creature to erect a barrier. “It seems that even in this universe, Synthetic Beasts are annoying.” The revived Megalothor moved closer, knocking Dyna down with this tentacles as his colour timer began to glow.

Ultra Dimension! But then a new Ultraman appeared from the sky, crashing to Earth and knocking both opponents back. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a new warrior who looked similar to Dyna, were it not for the different shape of the armour, the blue star pattern on his chest and the Colour Timer being on the left pec of his body. Ultraman Decker: Flash Type! As the revived Megalothor attacked, the new Ultraman, Decker, ran forward and chopped at the tentacles, before delivering a kick, that ended up being blocked. “Looks like I’ll have to try this.”, the newcomer stated as he pulled out a device, inserting cards into it. Mons Dimension! He raised the device up, pressing a trigger to summon three monsters Dyna recognised from the time he worked with Ultraseven during the Belial Revolt. Windom! Miclas! Agira! Miclas charged at Megalothor’s barrier, before Windom jumped onto the same spot, causing it to crack. Agira then moved at high speed towards the same spot, causing the entire barrier to be surrounded with cracks. Then Decker inserted a new card into his device. Ultra Dimension! “Burst Forth! Strong! Ultraman Decker!" He shifted into a mostly red body, with golden armour on his left arm and right leg. Ultraman Decker: Strong Type!

“I like this guy’s style.”, Dyna commented as he initiated his own Triple Change, shifting into his Miracle Type. “Go for it, rookie.”

“Got it.”, Decker nodded as he delivered a punch with his right hand. “Dolnade Breaker!” The energy of this blow shattered the shield, sending Megalothor reeling. Dyna then attacked with his Revolium Wave, banishing the creature into a wormhole that swiftly closed. With that done, both Ultras gave each other a thumbs up, before leaping into the air and flying off.

Meanwhile, back with Trigger and Carmeara, their fight had now been taken into outer space. “Good. Now we can’t cause any more damage.”, Trigger stated. “It’s time we finished this.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”, Carmeara nodded as both posed themselves, firing beams of energy from the lights on their chests. Eventually the two beams grew greater in ferocity, as the light of the two blinded both of them.

Within the light, both combatants saw each other’s entire lives flashing before their eyes. Trigger saw Carmeara’s entire life, how her parents had been killed in an accident of which she was the only survivor. How everyone, from the social group that helped her out, to the children she had once considered friends, had ostracised and treated her like an outsider for this. How Trigger was the only friend she had known since then, how she had only wanted the Eternity Core so that she could remake her own planet into one where no-one would suffer as she had. Meanwhile, Carmeara saw Kengo’s whole life, from his initial incarnation from the light within Trigger, to his rebirth on Mars 20 years ago, to his childhood, seeing that he had managed to be a positive influence on those around him, helping bullies see the error of their ways and bringing joy to people in depression. “Kengo Manaka.”, she stated, her voice void of emotion. “If only I’d had someone like you. I might have turned out differently. All this death, Darrgon, Hudram, the Lishurian people, my Trigger… it could’ve been avoided. And now, I’ve lost everything in the name of destruction.”

“You don’t have to keep destroying things.”, Trigger said, as his visage changed to that of Kengo. “You could be at peace with yourself. Don’t you want that?”

“Yes.”, the voice of Darrgon echoed from within Carmeara.

Hudram’s voice came next. “We all want a chance to be free.”

“Free of the pain of this vicious cycle.”, Ignis added.

Carmeara thought for a moment and then nodded. “I’ll accept that chance. All you need to do now is defeat me.”

“Alright then.”, Kengo nodded as he inserted his Trigger Truth Key into the Circle Arms. Maximum Boot Up! Truth! “Let’s go, Carmeara!” He ran forward delivering a slash to his foe’s chest. True Zeperion Sword Finish!

As Carmeara took the blow, her eyes started to blur as she saw Kengo’s face transform into that of her lover. “So this is… the light…”, she wheezed out as her vision began to fade. “It feels… warm. If only… I’d felt this… sooner.” And with that, she lost all awareness, her body lying prone on the floor.