Rizanto Episode 11 Star Crossed Demons (2024)

Disclaimer: There is none, you knew what you were in for when you saw who was writing this.

Hot and Bothered[]

The sun’s heat beat down on Japan in record levels, leaving the residents of Hakaikano City pressed to cool down however they could. Even with the issues of proper dress code and everything involving those things, bosses within countless offices and corporations themselves were forced to remove their suits and cool themselves off however they could. Outside, people decided to profit off of these troubling times. There were multiple arrays of stands selling water that would slowly bake under the glow of the star above, or there would be indoor pools and locker rooms with their air conditioning modified to be colder than the interiors of classrooms in the morning.

Speaking of, school would be called off for the time being. Even to the chagrin of a certain imprisoned individual who was absolved of such responsibility, so the youth of Japan had to do other things in order to pass the time. In such a short amount of time, coolness was king and heat was something to be lamented and considered an irritant. However, it would be foolish to think this is the work of the sun. I mean, I'm not heating up where I'm at, so where could it be from?

The answer lies beneath the veils of Earth itself. Cutting through the thick orange-yellow ooze that is considered the mantle of the blue planet, there is a space created by a mix of the density of the core itself and some sort of unknown-unexplainable property. To surmise, there's another world far more terrifying and intense to where maybe you would want to be sent to the Monster Graveyard instead when you perish. This place was known throughout many cultures on this planet. But, there was one name that always managed to stick. When its name was uttered, connotations could only be considered strong and absolute damnation would be an insult at the lightest interpretation. Hell.

The eternal inferno could be considered similar to those popular interpretations. The ground being a light pink, stretched on for miles on end as groups of monsters of various sizes thrashed around in the bloody rivers simply known as Wrath, eternally battling against each other while a strange humanoid sat atop a pillar wedged in the middle of the lake. Reveling in the unbridled fury. Fires and flames flickered and twisted about, various levels descending and ascending with the most foul tortures imaginable to man. In-between frames of anime pressed against the eyes of the unlucky, mispronounced names during rollcall, and even some familar faces had found their way down there somehow. Instead of the Monster Graveyard, a place where either Kaiju or the evil of the evil could find themselves dwelling....those of moderate twisted morality found themselves there. Or....really, perhaps they were too stupid to even realize the full ramifications of their actions. Or....they were too stupid to know the directions to the former place.

Sitting down with crossed legs was none other than a certain collector, chained down and forced to grab onto a limited edition mold of a weapon Blazar used. An axe combining the features of Ultraman Reiga and even more promising, Ultraman Noa. However, try as he might, he was unable to grasp onto it. Even for a moment. And this ate at him.

"AHHHH! Lemme have it!!!!" shouted the collector. "Let me! I want it! I want it! AHHHH!!!! Curse thee!!!!"

Beside him was a former invader. Barred from the Monster Graveyard for the potential of somehow entering the brainwaves of the resting residents.

".....SHUT UP HIMALA! Consider your personal tortures the least of your worries...."

Beside him was a spirit nuzzling against his otherworldly body, something that infuriated the invader to no end. This drifting spirit had already been in the Graveyard, but was removed after consistent harassment against specifically two of its residents. So, instead she was given neither punishment nor pleasure. Instead, a limbo that she mildly enjoyed with the closest thing she could call a partner.

'Ahh....' she presumably purred. 'The heat you exude is exceeding this place's so....intensely. Keep going, Kelb-'

"Belt up, wench! The more you communicate with me, the more I wish to have all my mental faculties cease so I can be like my braindead brethren."

'Aww.....But aren't I your pookie?'

"You are the reason why I wish I was capable of a second death. Maybe there's a Super Hell that can make me escape you."

Suddenly, Kelbim came to a realization as he looked above. Clarity and hope flooded his mind and breached through the intensity of the flames.

"Ah~! Wait, that's the narrator! Don't you hear him?!"

'.....Come to think of it, yeah, I do!'

Himala briefly stopped his Sisyphean task of obtaining Bandai Premium to look up as well.

"Yeah!" he acknowledged. "It's gotta be....just like strange fellow said. When the narrator is present-"

"That means a story'll happen! Just like Lecuum said!"

'Leccum? The hooded guy?'

".....Right" responded Kelbim promptly. "He probably wanted to associate with you as little as possible."

'What's that supposed to mean?!'

"It means no one can tell where your hunger ends and where your sick fantasies begin you perverted Adele."

'And just who is this Adele everyone keeps talking about?! Half of the souls here keep saying she bamboozled them down in this place!!!'

"Ahem!" cleared the throat of Kelbim, continuing to look up from his eternal torment. "Narrator! You are here, which means that the story will revolve around us! And I have some concessions to make!"

What?

"Let us beat Rizanto!"

I have no control over that.

"Nonsense, you're the one writing everything!"

This is like playing a video game tutorial, I have control over what happens but it's in a controlled environment. That being said.....it was never about you.

"W-Wait....what?! WHAT?!"

Meanwhile-

"NO, NO don't you meanwhile me! I'm not going to spend the rest of eternity chained to a pervert and a professional Bandai paypig! LET ME OUT OF THIS PRISON!!!!"

His words fell on deaf ears however and he like many of the countless souls in this accursed place continued to be tormented. However, the thing that made this different from its ethereal and seemingly boundless counterpart, were that it hosted a completely unique environment. Not one that was dictated by the presence of souls, but seemingly by one that had existed long before the designation was there to host any to begin with. These stomping grounds were home to a litany of creatures, but the most common ones were large reptilian beasts with hard black armored skin, long canines and a distinctive yellow gem on their heads. The Demaaga. And now, they had begun flooding the entirety of this realm. Some of them clashed, some of them kissed, most congregated and began to throw a party by making some of the denizens who were once musicians play a remix of a snake charmer flute. They slithered and slashed around without a care in a world, all the while a lone wallflower sat at the edge pondering things.

Lurching its own reptilian body over things was none other than a large gray beast, important areas in the chest and hit being lit a noticeable orange and having slits in its hands, indicated that there were things that could potentially come out. In this place in the universe, one couldn't help but grow lonely. The roars of the monsters forever locked in hedonism and combat, or the souls adjacent to them being far too presumptuous in their innocence and crying in vain during the day and night. It would tire on the mind and the mind of this individual had been progressively getting more and more worn out. However, it seemed today would be a breaking point with this surge in Demaaga.

With some rumbling footsteps, the beast turned to see a large monster with a mace for a hand and a rather imposing appearance.

'Hey.....' the Inferno Demon Monster presumably said. 'Demonicon, right?'

"Yeah....' Demonicon responded, tilting its head in confusion. 'That's me.'

'Yeahhhh, look, as you can see Hell is running out of space. The Demaaga are here because it's the summer, you know? They wanna party and relax for the duration of their vacation. And, you know what my job is.'

Demonicon nodded.

'Uh huh.'

Scratching his bulbous blunt weapon on the wall, Zaigorg exhaled.

'I think it'd be best for you to leave.'

It took a few seconds to register, but soon it would hit Demonicon like a full power strike to the foot by a random wage slave. A warbled roar of surprise was let out as her eyes began to roll around before locking back into place.

'W-Wh, What do you mean I have to leave?!'

'Yeah.....It's not just Demaaga this year, ever since all that conflict above, we got a massive influx of evil souls either too stupid or too smart for the Monster Graveyard. There's just not enough space man, sorry. You gotta go.'

"B- BUT I'VE PUT IN A LOT OF WORK FOR HELL! I-I....No, this can't be! You let Suel stay! He's not even from this timeline!'

Both of them looked back to see the masked producer nonchalantly bathing in a sauna not too far from the intense scene of the party.

'Suel is cool people.' you could assume Zaigorg abruptly interjected with. 'The point is, there's not enough room, and I think it's just for the better of everyone, including yourself that you get out there and make some noise.'

'B-But-'

'No ifs, buts, or coconuts!!!!!!!' shouted Zaigorg as with the mere tapping of his large item against the chin of Demonicon, the Destruction Beast would be catapulted into the sky and breached through the openings in hell, now being further propelled underground. Feelings of betrayal, discontent, irritation at the fact all those Demaaga had to be there and the fact that when she looked down, Demonicon could see a random Demaaga asking if it could bring a friend over. To which Zaigorg happily agreed. She was abandoned, tossed away and cast off like nothing more than a tool. Even kaiju could feel that kind of pain. However, as she was about to reach the world of the surface, a spark occurred.

Her heart seemed to flutter inexplicably. The rate of its beating increased several times. And throughout the recesses of her mind, she kept being told by her heart to follow it wherever she went. Wherever it would take her. And from the stretches of space, breaching over down into Earth's atmosphere, it seemed that would be her destination. And if so, so be it. It seemed that with this new found love, a new heat overtook Demonicon's body and past emotions of feeling unwanted washed away. Although, this newfound emotion would begin to wash away and erode the stability Hakaikano had against its heat troubles.

Concurrently, Hakaikano had reached peak lunacy outside. The streets themselves began to light themselves on fire spontaneously before the fire department would have to go out and put out all the fires. Shows and events cancelled as even water itself would get set on fire from the sheer amount of heat, as anthetical as it sounds to the concept. But, this was the work of the diligent fire department, the team responsible for the strange phenomenon's explanation and control were at the moment too busy, even if in addition to that no one had requested for them to do anything. Yes, minutes, close to an hour passed by as the team responsible would actually end up being at a place you wouldn't expect a bunch of professionals being.

"Ahhhh....." let out Soreo with a sigh as he began to fan himself consistently with a newspaper. "Can someone turn up the AC?"

Sprawled out on the wooden floor of the establishment replied Ichigo, who said "No can do....I-I can't move that well." His lab coat had been reduced to just the shirt underneath it and he had lifted his jeans up. Still, it did little in the way of cooling him off. Beside him was Mendou, rolling around next to him much to his confusion.

"And....Mendou! Why have you been rolling around in my sweat for the past hour....?!"

"I'm trying to see if it'll cool me off" he replied with a heavy sigh. "But, it doesn't seem to be working."

A brief silence occurred before Ichigo used all of his physical strength to grab Mendou by the collar, yank him to where he was now in his face and shouted "THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT OF SWEATING YOU BUFFOO-"

Ichigo collapsed to the floor in an even heavier sweat, moaning "Foonnnn....." as he slipped further into lack of motion. Mendou not being one to waste a good sweat now, decided to roll around in the fruits of that labor as well. Above them, Kiriko was at a table removed from the booth her Captain was sitting at, looking down below in disgust. Just like Mendou and Soreo, she was reduced to the shirt/tank top that had been now tied around their waists. Boutaro was at another table, looking down and smiling.

"Ah, I haven't done my jacket like this since I was a kid!"

Kiriko leaned back.

"Yeah, I guess that's the only good thing about this. Except.....I haven't been able to get anny sleeeeep....."

Boutaro tilted his head.

"Isn't that a good thing? Aren't you already well rested?"

"I NEED MORE REST....!" she groaned in response. "And I can't just go to sleep even after it gets cooler, I just saw Mendou roll around in the sweat of another man! That's....That's nightmare fuel...."

Drooping his arms down, a singular drop of sweat went down Boutaro's forehead as he awkwardly laughed at hearing that.

"You draw the line at sweat sharing but find the ordeal of me getting forced CPR funny....."

Kiriko began to laugh out loud hysterically at the thought of that whole thing, only to have that laugh interrupted with more vicious bouts of coughing that caused her to slam her hand on the table and say "Stop- Stop! I can't afford to laugh in this heat!!!" She continued to plead in-between laughs, much to Boutaro's dismay.

Soon, the owner of this establishment would walk out with more water, setting down a glass for each of the members whether they be at proper tables or on the floor. The nonsense collectively stopped as everyone got parched. They would all let out a sigh of relief afterwards.

"You're a life savior Mr. Aihara!!!!" praised Soreo with a smile on his face. "We'd be cooked if it weren't for you, COOKED, I tell you!"

Shaking his head, the humble owner of the sushi restaurant that had been destroyed its fair share of times chuckled.

"It's the least I could do. Consider it help to a friend of an old friend...."

Smiling warmly, Soreo raised his glass and replied "Cheers to that!"

Aihara would step behind the booth and begin polishing materials while keeping up conversation with the group.

"So, how's the situation outside?"

"Awful!!!" shouted Boutaro. "Ever since this heatwave, it's like all of Japan came to a halt. Wires and circuits are getting fried from all the heat, so we couldn't even play Sparking Zero to ignore the heat!"

"Hm, I remember checking out Sparking Meteor when it came out. Fun game."

"Really?! W-....."

Boutaro's eyes watered.

"We share taste with a GUYS legend!"

Aihara pointed at him.

"No glazing."

"Y-Yes father- Sir! I mean sir!"

Ignoring that, Aihara nodded and continued his work while Ichigo adjusted his glasses after drinking again.

“I don’t know what the meteorologists have been saying, but I did a few scans before the real thick of it….the real source of the heat isn’t even due to the sun!”

“Huh….Well, it’s good you and Kiriko held down the fort that one day. I made enough to get all this water.”

“How much?”

He folded his arms, a grin brimming with confidence.

“Enough to fill up King Kappa’s head!”

Collectively the entire team pumped their fists into the air as a sign of victory. Even with the strange phenomenon in mind. Soon, everyone would gather around the sushi bar after being sufficiently cooled off and watched the master at work. The former GUYS member whipped a storm for them to eat, even giving larger portions to Mendou so he wouldn’t randomly tax the others while eating.

Turning into an epicurean, the large man let out a moan of pure ecstasy and enjoyment after having one bite and soon the others began to dig in as well. In the back of Soreo’s mind, he silently thought (“This is for you, Munchagaizer! To this wonderful meal!!!!”) As they dug in however, a knock came at the door of the bar.

“I’ll get it!” shouted Boutaro with his mouth half full. He ran over to the door and swung it open, only to find a pair of familiar faces sweating up a storm while being next to a strange contraption indeed. A large TV on treads that resembled a certain computer wife under the sea.

Boutaro gasped.

“Ryuga! Horrible haircut guy!”

“Hey!” said the other one cheerfully, almost out of breath.

“Hey!!!” spat out the other harshly.

However, there was little time and the two promptly rushed in with the LEGACY member closing the door behind him. They wheeled the TV in the center of the room and collapsed in the nearest chairs with a huff. Everyone turned to look at them, perplexed by their sudden arrival.

“The Wailing Rounders, eh?” remarked Soreo. “How goes the life of an intern?”

Ryuga shrugged.

“Pretty good! I get to work out, lift all sortsa heavy stuff! And I don’t get yelled at for the smallest things!”

The last one was said with a slight glare at Takumicchi. He however simply rolled his eyes with disinterest and answered himself.

“It’s awful…! Try cleaning up after the mess that Kabuki kook leaves in his room! Then I also gotta scrape the barnacles he has developed on his back for some reason, surf through his search history to clear it, do I gotta mention what’s on th-“

A collective “NO!!!!” was uttered by all, most with disgusted looks on their faces.

“Anything but that….” grimaced Kiriko. “Keep that to yourself, or tell Ichigo.”

“Not even” he replied. “The less I know about his home life, the better….his goon cave is a labyrinth of something else…”

“Again with gooning!” groaned Boutaro. “Let’s just get back to the elephant in the room!!!”

Everyone turned to see Mendou still eating; he grumpily pointed at the TV and everyone else went “Ohhhh” before Takumicchi slapped a switch on the back that turned it on. Afterwards, it would be the man himself, Mr. Kabuki on screen and seemingly in a different location. He seemed to be in a vast grassy area and lying down on some sort of lawn chair, basking in the shade. It also seemed like there was a great many of people nearby.

“Ah, Soreo! I’m glad to have seen you!”

The Captain of LEGACY nodded.

“Yes, it’s good to-“

“Of course, this is a pre-recorded message and no doubt my lovely interns have somehow delivered the device that has this message transmitted. I’m sure you’re aware of the technological issues brought on by the heat wave.”

Kabuki’s lighthearted demeanor changed and he cleared his throat before sitting up and promptly leaning forward on the lawn chair.

“This heatwave as you’ve probably surmised by now, is far from normal. The geological activity and readings we’ve received from many around the world suggests the core of Earth itself is baking the area in which a deep vent, a part of the mantle has opened. And….it’s the work of a monster.”

“Darn it! I just got started eating!!!”

Ichigo sighed.

“Yet another one, huh?”

“It’s already landed in Japan by now but luckily it’s only at Mount Fuji and its activity is pretty low. We’ve occupied it with LEGACY-themed subway surfers gameplay over curated Reddit stories. That being said, not just Japan, but the world is watching what moves we make now….”

He sighed.

“After the construction of the Minecraft server, it seems competition between branches has gotten even more fierce.”

Aihara raised an eyebrow.

“Minecraft server?”

After cramming some more food down his gullet, Mendou happily said “Yeah! We decided to make one since it’d be fun. Although….I’m pretty sure Mr. Kabuki griefed one of the other higher-ups’ house.”

The owner of the sushi shop shook his head.

“Another reason to dislike that childish man.”

“LEGACY has an official leaderboard now, and with this monster from hell coming out of nowhere destroying our infrastructure, I need you lot to stand on business! Use the funding I gave you to make sure that we get to the top and protect everyone!”

Wiping some sweat from his brow, he stood up and saluted them. Of course in turn, even with some of their opinions of him, they could not help but do the same themselves.

“Thank you, fine gentlemen for being my subordinates!”

All of them stopped saluting. Though Kabuki had some final words to say.

“I’ll be eagerly awaiting your coordination and response to the situation with the JSDF. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to do a public service. My wife’s milkshakes are bringing all the boys to the yard and I gotta help out!!!!”

He sprang up and continued humming “And they’re like, it’s better than yours-“

The machine was turned off before anything else could be said and afterwards Soreo would turn to his subordinates who stood at attention.

“Well everyone, we have our mission! Let’s prove why LEGACY Japan is simply built different!!!!”

“RIGHT!!!!!” they all shouted as they grabbed their clothing off of the floor in a hurry and rushed outside the sushi place. Smiling at the good work of his own subordinates Soreo then turned to Mr. Aihara.

“Thank you, we needed the rest. Especially now that we have this operation going.”

“It’s no problem!” he assured as he swung a towel over the black shirt of a chef he wore. “I’ll always be glad to help. It’s what comrades do.”

“Even if for only 3 days….”

He chuckled.

“In my books that’s enough.”

Soreo glanced behind to see the two interns slumped down, no doubt resting from the strain of their journey here.

“About-“

“They’ll be fine. I’m putting them to work though once they’re in a shape to. I’ll try passing out all this water to the people in Hakaikano while you all take care of business.”

Soreo nodded.

“Alright!”

He would get his things too and run out. As he did so, Aihara smiled and quietly spoke to himself.

“I’ll be watching you too, when I can. I’m counting on you to uphold those oaths of ours….Good luck, Soreo.”

Love at First Fight[]

At the foot of Mount Fuji was the site of many Kaiju battles. One would be remise to remember the military's ambitious attack on Gomora back in the 1960s, even if that didn't go the best way. Ah yes, it would seem that the military this time would try their best to actually combat and fend off monsters without the need of a proper team in place for defense by their side. It was the pride of Japan's military force that made them stay outside with an array of barbed wires, fences, and even some landmines all around the edges of their impromptu command posts supported by heavy tanks lining the backs. Brave men and women hurried back and forth, various helicopters landed on the ground with officials, reporters, and even scientists arriving on the scene. There were even groups of shirtless and sweaty soldiers all lathered in oil and lifting weights with their glistening abs.

Standing under one of the military tents was an eager commander. A young general overlooking the courageous soldiers tasked with the defense of this glorious nation. He smiled, they didn't have to endure the horrible leadership under the incompetent General Casey, nor the trigger happy nationalist they recently had in place, also recently having gone missing after ordering a kamikaze strike on a certain fish monster when it made landfall and began to rampage. He had his arms behind his back as a subordinate of his who seemed to look a lot like him, albeit, no older than a 5th grader in an oversized military uniform having a tablet in hand.

"Ahhh, this is nice. Soon, we'll be able to take action on that foul beast...."

Even with the sweltering heat, it had died down its fair share. The air still felt distorted, melting near the area where the beast was occupied with very stimulating content for the brain. In fact, important plans were being carried out on large flats being lifted by a few other shirtless soldiers, it was just a shame that a heavy blowing was detected in the area that not only blew all the important sheets and materials away, but sent a few of the men tumbling too. The general ran out with his younger subbordinate in tow. Eventually, after running for a bit they could already tell who it was just by seeing the large and gaudy ships lowering before touching down completely on the site. The General spit at the ground with distaste and sighed as various soldiers and engineers began screaming at the ship to shut off its engines, to be more specific, the larger more bulkier ship.

Hopping out of the slimmer one was none other than the Captain of LEGACY, Soreo, who promptly ran over to the General and waved. Though the man he was waving at was less than pleased to see him.

"Hello! Nice to see that we have a new general!"

Soreo leaned towards the military leader, a sly look on his face to match the remark he would say next.

"Last one was a realll kook if you know what I mean...."

"Yes. Yes he was."

Hands behind his back, the General closed his eyes while the man nearly exceeding a decade ahead of his current age remained in that same position. He only jolted back when the General coughed loudly.

"Oh, you might want to get that checked out. I hear Kemular Cough is all the rage these days."

"I assure you...." the General asserted with a smile that did a poor job of hiding his latent contempt. "There is no Kemular Cough, and there are no issues here. You and LEGACY can fly right back to base and we'll take care of things here."

Soreo shook his head.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, sir. Orders are from Mr. Kabuki himself that we assist you in limiting the reach of this beast, to defeat it. With the world watching us-"

"With the world watching us we can't let goofballs like you make them think that Japan is this unserious setting only befitting of gag manga and erotica!!!!" shouted the General indignantly. "If you really want to do your part, go and evacuate the civilians or something, just stay out of our operation."

He looked at the illuminated ship behind Soreo.

"And take your freaky aircraft with you!"

"Hey! My aircraft is not freaky!"

The blank stare on the man's face made Soreo slowly turn around to see that the larger ship was gyrating near constantly, the constant pressing of buttons executing various functions and the like. One where it just started blasting country music, the disco function where there were various sparkling lights coming from it. Another where it started bucking back and forth like a bronco. After a few seconds, things finally simmered down and getting out of the vehicle were the rest of Team LEGACY, including Ichigo, who happily smiled alongside his friends in the field.

Ichigo gave a thumbs up as they walked towards the two commanders.

"We've worked out the kinks with one of the Midgers."

"That's good to hear" smiled Soreo. He turned back to the General. "See? Our LEGACY Midgers are far from freaky."

Suddenly, a giant wave of water burst from the aircraft and sprayed itself on some nearby mechanics. They turned back to see the unamused face of the General glaring at them.

Sweat dropped from Soreo's forehead.

"Ahh....well, it's been hot. Isn't it nice to cool off with some water once and a while?"

Ichigo leaned forward and coughed, pulling his Captain slightly off to the side and whispering "That's not water, sir. There was a note on the back of that TV thing at the bar that said to deliver that liquid over to his place."

"Huh? Does he want gasoline or something? The liquid seems to be quite translucent so...."

"It's....better if you don't worry about what it is and just how we'll deliver it to him after this is all over."

"Ah....One of THOSE things about Kabuki."

"Regardless!" interrupted the General. "Team LEGACY, I don't want your help! I don't want your assistance! Whatever language, pseudonym, or euphemism you need me to describe that gets you to go away and leave then please tell me what it is. Goofballs like you aren't needed when the JSDF is capable of doing what you can, with severely less strain on the taxpayer's dollar!"

"What's his problem?" whispered Boutaro, as he continued ranting.

"Trauma from all the other awful generals that came before him probably" answered Kiriko. "And Baltan knows how many there were at that."

Before the General could continue ranting and raving, his younger comrade rushed to his side and looked up at him.

"General Nakashima!"

"Ah...." he said, calming down. "What is it, Hoshino II?"

"Oh, so we're too goofy to battle but a literal child'll do, huh?!" remarked Mendou. "Squirt looks like he hasn't even learned how to count yet!"

"I'll have you know that Hoshino II here is far more reliable than any of you dolts, any LEGACY member globally."

He rested his hand on Hoshino's head, patting it.

"Hoshino II here has a bright future, unlike the rest of you college dropouts."

Soreo, Kiriko, and Ichigo had to do their best to hold Boutaro and Mendou back from lunging at Nakashima while Hoshino II spoke up.

"Sir, it looks like they'll be taking a lead in the operation. It's true, we can't stop em. We'll have to give them our resources...."

"HAH!" shouted Boutaro as he pointed and laughed. "You do need our help! In fact, you help us!"

Giving the eager LEGACY member a side-eye, Nakashima just sighed and turned around. What he said next was so disarming that Boutaro and Mendou's fit stopped and the two people who were stopping the latter, Soreo and Kiriko, dropped to the ground from exhaustion and from then on just sat down on the slightly warm grass.

"I suppose if they put that much stock in you, then I'll just be obstructing yet another pipeline to help people.

He looked down, almost a bit regretfully.

"Time after time, we've been assailed by giant monsters, and it feels like each time.....command over here at the military has been getting duller and duller. As acting General, I can't stand for that any longer."

He looked up at Team LEGACY yet again, this time with a mild glimmer in his eyes.

"Just, if you're going to do something goofy, have it be effective at the very least. You already know that the world is watching us."

Seeing his plea, Soreo stood up and nodded, holding out his hand for the General.

"Then we'll put on a show for them. One that highlights your power and our expertise."

Seeing this, Nakashima smiled and shook his hand.

"Very well, Captain Soreo. Show us how a proper LEGACY operation is done."

"Oh..." he smiled. "We will..."

And with that, it seemed one of LEGACY's finest was going to be concocted. And just in time too. Demonicon stomped about recklessly after knocking away the large Ipad that was precariously dangling from the mighty pull of various large helicopters. She rolled relentlessly as the very heat that exuded from her body caused various small explosions to ignite in the surrounding area, scorching the trees and burning the dirt into charred and black clumps not unlike that of coal or soot. Time after time, while she never quite understood the mechanics of humanity's military might or even really cared for the implications involved with them, she certainly was annoyed by their persistence. It didn't help that she herself was abandoned, alone out into this new world with nothing else to do but wander around, while everyone else was partying down below.

However, that was when she looked and saw something strange. The tanks were all lined up directly behind the barbed wire, yet they didn't seem to fire. The aircraft that was flying near the area that she sensed above, were gone. The jets were nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a hastily assembled stage of boxes and crates compounded onto strange looking plastic items that seemed to be combined all too well and of various colors. And even more curiously, as she saw some of the soldiers run back, a few remained. Formerly shirtless, the men were now in black tuxedos and were all in front of corresponding microphones. In the center of them was none other than Boutaro, not that'd she'd be able to know who that is. Well, they could've met back in High School, but that was neither here nor there.

'Huh....?' pondered Demonicon potentially as she tilted her head. 'The heck are they doing down there?'

Below, Soreo was next to the stage. He clapped his hands and shouted.

"A one! A one two three four!"

Above in the scaffolding of the hastily assembled construct were none other than Ichigo, just as hastily blaring some loud instrumentals. The music resonated with the voices of the men below and soon, a song would play. In a language she had only heard seldom down below, something instantly clicked within the infernal monster. Her pupils began to shrink in size as she squinted in a form of bliss, enjoying the melody and song for what it was. The choreography was enthralling and amazing to say the least, the men went up and down, carefully and beautifully surrounding the young LEGACY member as though they were a group of Swans gently going down the stream. Yes, that calming river, that soothing water. The magma's of hell were what Demonicon had been reminded of. As the heavenly cacophony of voices swelled up, LEGACY took action. Above, Mendou piloted the thicker Midger while Kiriko was behind the controls of its counterpart. Bobbing their heads in conjunction in the music, they respectively took aim at the ground surrounding the dazed kaiju as it began to blink more slowly, its roars getting deeper and deeper until they had reverted to nothing more but soft purrs.

Blasts flew from the skies and struck the ground below, causing it to shake and rumble. Coupled with the weight of the monsteress from hell, it was only a matter of time until her body began to tip over and cause the earth she stood on to tip, collapsing beneath her large size. Yet, she didn't care. As she continued to listen to the enchanting vocals of the humans in front of her, she fixated on the warm sensation that permeated through her being. It was reminiscent of the prior summers in Hell, days where she would take in the heat as much as possible so that when the frigid and unforgiving winters came in, she could feel that reassuring inner heat. This heat was telling her that even in her imposed isolation on the surface of Earth itself, she could still find joy and peace in just that. Dirt and silt poured down into the LEGACY-made hole that had now swallowed Demonicon up to her upper flanks, her arms calmly resting on the ground that lay in front of her like she was going to order a drink at a bar. Doing another flyby past the monster, Kiriko informed and confirmed the success of their strategy over communications.

"We've scored direct hits, she seems to be doing just fine."

"Ahhh" appreciated Mendou, continuing to enjoy the music. "I could do with an encore after this operation, and I ain't too proud to beg for it either...."

On his end, Soreo laughed and wiped some sweat from his brow.

"Me too Mendou, me too. Now, we'll enter the second phase."

He turned to an approaching General Nakashima, hands behind his back. Next to him was Hoshino II, tablet in hand. He nodded, confirming it to the General who in turn did the same for his subbordinate. There was a bit of delay though, since the boy had to tap around a bit to get to the proper modules to continue. Upon further inspection from the two men who were clearly taller than the boy, they saw footage of similar programming Demonicon was viewing that seemed to have been nearly an fifteen minutes in to the video at least. Without saying a word, the Nakashima awkwardly smiled and whispered "Even a professional like him is still a kid..."

"I see..." nodded Soreo, glad that at least he wasn't sucked into the root of all evil: video games.

The dialing of the tablet wasn't just some sort of random assortments of button clicking. Shortly after Hoshino II was finished, the tanks that had been pulling back now began to slowly approach and near the line of barbed wire that was yet another precautionary measure in case the ground and the dilapidated state of Demonicon were not enough. Cocking their weapons, the instinctual urges to roar or to use an attack at the sight of the tank were beginning to stir within her. After all, the infernal monster was a monster all the same. Fortunately, the kaiju was perfectly content by the chorus of the song that was yet again being played, a temptation flowing over her body and forcing her to remain stationary while the tanks opened fire. Rapidly, missiles were shot consistently at Demonicon and once they reached within a certain distance of her, they burst apart and beneath the capsules were none other than those strange blocks that LEGACY had deployed on prior missions. But of course, with their newfound funding, they need not settle for the off-brand ones in a non lethal situation. With each shot a new block was set down in front of the beast. It would only be within a matter of 10 minutes that the build was complete. All the blocks were now forming a rather humble structure comparable to the size of Demonicon that encased her in what seemed to be a little hut. The only really notable feature was the roof had a small hole in it and the Midgers were now flying over it, the operation would now be concluded quite soon.

Whilst the plan was in the process of being completed, while both the soldiers of the JSDF and the members of LEGACY silently celebrated at the relative ease of the operation and the newfound cohesion that seemed to be present with each other after all this time, someone was enjoying a well-needed break. At least, given what he had to go through before. Within a certain field of energy, a space where he rested on a couch with a strange looking snake in the shape of a wheel mounted on his wall and a picture of a certain human alongside his alien rival and wife with pitchforks and on a farm, it was none other than the hero himself: Ultraman Rizanto. He always enjoyed his time off from fighting his battles on Earth. It wasn't that he particularly disliked it, but when he was free, he always wanted to learn more about what was going on Earth itself. All the sights to see, all the foods that they eat even when he didn't really need to do that sort of thing, all the various lifeforms and such. Rizanto currently was laughing to himself while reading a book he managed to pick up when LEGACY was in the UK briefly, well, his host moreso had the chance to, but regardless it was a fun read and he quite enjoyed himself.

Next on the agenda besides reading would be figuring out why Tapirs were so terrifying, or really anything else he could to to pass the time. Maybe, he'd pick up Sparking Zero himself if he had the chance, but that he wasn't so sure about. The Land of Light didn't really have games- fighting games as much of a concept, he was more accustomed to actually just fighting his friends outright, but then again people there were also curious about who in the Ultra Brothers and the New Generation Heroes would win. And....thinking about it, now he'd probably stand to bet on other warriors himself, but no no that was a bit blasphemous to think about. For these sets of heroes to surpass his expectations of others, something like Mebius' son would have to join their ranks. He laughed about that too to himself.

("Fancy that, a son of Mebius....")

He then paused for a moment and set his book down on a table he quickly materialized, darting his head from one side to the other. Even though he was alone, it still felt wrong somewhat to entertain the thoughts he was having. Staring at the vacant floors, Rizanto thought to himself.

("Is....Mebius in a relationship? Is...THE Ultraman Mebius in a relationship?! I'd be.....uhhh-")

He did the corresponding math with his fingers before finally confirming it fully, slamming his fist in his palm triumphantly when he got it right.

("I'd be the first cousin in-law, twice removed!!!! That'd be wonderful!!!")

Suddenly, his thoughts were quickly disrupted with the knock at the door. He briefly slipped from the couch, but dusted himself off and hurried to the entrance in order to greet the guest, whomever it might be. And as he opened it, pleasantly surprising him although it being a bit awkward because of what he considered prior, it was-

"Master Mebius!"

Nodding, Mebius waved a hand and the two firmly dapped each other up. Snapping their fingers afterwards, Rizanto then welcomed the decorated hero into his home as said hero closed the door behind him. He was originally planning on summoning a chair for himself to sit down, but remembering his master's policy on 'glazing' as he had heard about, he quickly snapped his fingers and summoned a simple but comfortable chair for Mebius to sit on while he remained comfortable on the couch.

"I see you've taken my words to heart...."

Rizanto nodded himself.

"Earth's been really delightful and....ever since that battle together, I can't help but think I'm enjoying myself more. I need to be glazing this planet more if anything."

The older warrior couldn't help but laugh at that, pointing at the youth.

"George would like you."

"I hope I get to meet all of your comrades from GUYS someday, I've already seen that Ryu fellow."

"How's he doing."

"Good. Soreo and the others took care of his business and now with the situation in Hakaikano heating up, he's been delivering water to everyone in need."

Mebius shook his head a little bit. For a moment, just a moment, Rizanto could swear he saw a small golden drop of light gently fall from an eye of his senior. He didn't say anything, but he lightly gripped the couch by the thought. He would feel like that recalling memories with LEGACY, wouldn't he?

"That sounds just like him...." he said quietly. "I need to visit him soon." Quickly afterwards, he cleared his throat and straightened up his posture. There was business at hand.

"Needless to say Rizanto, Earth is in the hands of you and most importantly: humanity. But, that doesn't mean we won't be there to help you from time to time."

"Is that why you're here, master?" he replied, leaning forward.

Mebius nodded.

"Yes, not directly but I need to warn you of something."

"What could it be?"

"Do you....remember the attempted invasion on Earth a few days ago?"

"Oh!" remember Rizanto, raising a finger. "The one with the Mephilas and Zarab?"

"Yes. Exactly that. Well, your imposter-"

Rizanto mildly shifted his head to the other side, Mebius sighing but letting it slide in the end. At the end of the day, it meant he was more in tune with human culture at the very least. Besides, he soon focused back to the topic at hand, serious as ever.

"Your imposter fought in the conflict within the M-36 Nebula. You've probably only heard allusions to it but, Lecuum stirred up more than just a few monsters infected with Devil Splinters. He....collaborated with the Absolutians, for a purpose we have yet to know. One of those things involved traveling through time."

"Traveling to do what? Will Earth's history be affected?!"

Mebius shook his head, causing Rizanto to let out a sigh of relief.

"No, nothing like that. Rather, there's a monster from space that seems to be rapidly approach Earth. We're....doing other things aside from the fact its imminent arrival will surely occur before we even get the chance to show up. What I'm trying to tell you is, this beast came from the past and escaped the battle, worst of all:"

"What?!"

"It was born from Grimdo."

Stumbling off of his couch, the shock from such a revelation caused it to dematerialize, poofing into nothing. From the floor, Rizanto shouted "From Grimdo?!!"

"Yes. It's probably stronger than what you've dealt with, but you've gotten stronger too. I'm mainly worried about Team LEGACY, since they've been going through a lot lately. From Destruction Beasts in other worlds, to dimensions colliding and collapsing from Lecuum's madness.....they might not be able to leave unscathed. Other defense forces have been ran through simulations and it seems they stood little chance against it by themselves."

"....Cyber Gomora?"

"Defeated."

"Surely King Joe-"

"Quite.....swiftly."

"Even Earth Garon?"

"I'm afraid so."

Springing up, Rizanto stood firmly as Mebius got up from the chair himself.

"I came here to just say that you aren't the only one who'll grow from your time here. I want to see you and your comrades come together to beat these enemies."

Rizanto clenched his fist and nodded.

"We will! I can assure you that both me and them have gotten far stronger since your last visit!"

"That's good."

They soon met each other at the door, where they said their final words.

"I just came to give you a heads up. I have faith in you and LEGACY."

"Thank you, Master Mebius. And try visiting some time aside from these things too. I wanna hang out with you and see all there is about Earth!"

With a final nod, Mebius replied "I will. One day, Rizanto."

With the close of a door, Rizanto immediately got to work. He set aside his things and quickly materialized some dumbbells. Then, he looked at a backpack in the corner of the room and snapped his fingers, teleporting it in front of him. Opening it, one would find a large and bulky, almost clunky and impractical armor for combat. Rizanto assumed it and was soon met with a screen that asked him what percentage he wanted to adjust the settings to.

("98%....sounds good....")

Quickly, his body dropped to the floor with a loud thud. He didn't stop however, slowly reaching his hands towards the dumbbells and slowly but surely, he began to take a try at lifting them. That was the least he could do until he was called forth to fight off the threat. Unlike the situation with Deathfacer, there was no questioning nor no handing of responsibility. It was originally, purely, totally ordained to him. To him and the ones he considered to be the other heroes fighting the battle of their lives before he fought the battle of his: LEGACY.

Speaking of, LEGACY's battle had just come to a close. Mendou and Kiriko had fired the Midger's lasers into the funnel created by the makeshift house, adding force on top of Demonicon's back. With yet another encore on the way and nestled within the warm home, not only was the kaiju completely subdued by the warm melodies ever persisting in her ears, but the heat from each shot would build up within the home. The explosions felt like relatively nothing in comparison to the sheer euphoria the monster was feeling. So, when it came time for hot smoke to rise out of the hole through convection, a final shot from the tanks filled the hole up, compressing the heat and slowly but surely, the heat became directed towards the ground itself. Sinking and sinking, the hole became deeper and with it Demonicon began to submerge into the ground. Scolding and burning away through subterra with the consistent heat, when the deep purring of the monster got fainter and fainter, the people of both LEGACY and JSDF let out a collective sigh of relief. On stage, Boutaro sung the last vocal before collapsing on the stage with a huff. Soon afterwards, Soreo rushed over to him with a bottle of water in hand as Ichigo descended from the rafters above. Albeit, in the background there was a bit of a debacle of getting him down, forcing some of even Boutaro's back up singers to get rope at the command of Nakashima to get him down.

After chugging down at least 3/4's of the bottle, the youngest of LEGACY wiped his lip before putting the cap over the bottle.

"Thanks, sir...." he said grateful, although exhausted. "The tux was really hard to pull off in the heat...."

Soreo patted him on the back twice.

"Well, now that it's all over my boy-"

"Sparking Zero tournament?"

Soreo smiled like a grandfather would after having found out his grandchildren listened to a band he had back in his youth.

"Yes."

Just then, the two heard some footsteps behind them. Turning around, they looked up and saw none other than Nakashima with hands behind his back, a warm smile on his face. Behind him they could see the other soldiers placing bets on who would win in a competition based purely on Osu skills between Hoshino II and Ichigo. It really seemed that they had come together for such an operation.

"Captain Akira...."

Soreo stood up, looking to meet the general in the eyes.

"Please, just call me Soreo. I feel as though....we'll do more in the future together."

Though there was a bit of conflict in his facial expression, Nakashima warmed up a bit more and nodded.

"Hopefully, we will. But, hopefully, a situation won't get as bad to where we'll need to."

Soreo shrugged.

"That's all we can hope for really."

And it seemed like that was that. Slowly but surely, heat levels began to drop as the military and LEGACY were starting to demobilize. Orders were in place to have them stationed in the area just a bit longer. Not only to scan the area for any traces of radiation, but also lingering heat that could indicate Demonicon's resurfacing. They had to be absolutely sure after all, as if she had resurfaced, the ensuing heat might've been enough to already put a lot of people who already had their foot in the door through the whole thing when it came to heatstroke. So, after around 30 minutes, anyone who was there would see the sight of soldiers talking to each other about the days events. Mechanics touching up on vehicles, soldiers lying against them or sitting atop them as a resting place. The jets flew in the skies whilst the Midgers were down below. Mendou could be seen playing blackjack with Boutaro and some other soldiers, Kiriko was taking the opportunity to get a tan while the heat was manageable at the current point. Even though she was getting some attention from the other soldiers, she didn't really care all that much. Ichigo and Hoshino II continued their intense Osu match whilst their direct superiors watched on, seeming to be at peace.

And yes, being at peace was quite good. It was relaxing for all, even for Demonicon herself. As she sank to the depths of Earth, she didn't even seem to really care about what was going on in Hell. If she would be kicked out again, then whatever. If she would stay, then she didn't mind. What really had her attention was that song. It reminded her of a particular kinship she sensed when she was propelled out into a world she never understood all that much. It was like what she felt during that particular connection; although, it was magnified beyond her wildest dreams. As a monster, even just a hellspawn one at that, she never really knew anything at all could ever be a such a way. To where words would go beyond a certain point, and those feelings were the main thing being processed, enjoyed. Only knowing what lie directly in front of her, her future and the uncertainties involved. Nourishment, rest, and now a third factor she had to account for....'love', was what she had only heard of in passing. But, perhaps now that she had actually been able to understand somewhat, it was time to embark in a new chapter, a new era of her life. The question was, when would it really start?

Luckily for her and unfortunately for the planet Earth, that answer came careening through the atmosphere, past all the defense turrets in space leaving them nothing but mangled pieces of scrap drifting out into the expansive void, and abruptly smashed onto the beaches of a particular set of islands. This opportunity was shrouded in smoke and fire at first, before announcing a roar and blowing all of it away. People ran in terror and fear as said opportunity swung his tail around, letting out a low growl and observing his surroundings for the first time. Small things running from between his feet like they were terrified of him. That was nothing new particularly, so he only continued walking past, ignoring them and sniffing the air for his real objective. Out in the vastness of space, he detected something of a connection that was alien to him, as ironic as that was to say given his origin. It was beyond even the connection he had with the being he originally merged with, but then again....steam flew from his face as he turned red just thinking about that, to Hell with that connection. Actually, speaking of, was that where it was felt? Whatever the case, he pressed forward and stomped brazenly, plowing through infrastructure and smoke and fire burst from both buildings as high as him and ones diminutive even in comparison to his gigantic feet.

Quickly, a call was made and as both media coverage, recordings, and the like were seen all around the world and over, it was only a matter of time before the military and LEGACY received word that they had to take action. As everyone was mobilizing in a hurry, tanks toppling over dirt and mud, flattening it in their stampede to reach some kind of point for safe bombardment, the Midgers with the same pilots flew in conjunction with the jets, only now Mendou's Midger had Boutaro, Soreo, Nakashima, Ichigo, and Hoshino II on the inside. Boutaro looked down at his phone to receive updates on the situation while everyone short for Mendou focusing on flying and Hoshino II on potential strategies and outcomes were downcast at hearing of the situation. After how cleanly their operation was executed, another had to be done immediately afterwards.

"I can't believe it...." said Nakashima, shaking his head. "There's yet another one we have to deal with. Each decade, it seems like ages of monsters always get more intense...."

"You've got that right." remarked Soreo. "There weren't nearly as many of these things when Ultraman Mebius was the one defending Earth....though I can't help but wonder if the two monsters here are connected."

Nakashima sighed.

"I hope not..."

Ichigo turned to Boutaro, still hunched over his phone and scrolling through social media.

"Any updates on the situation in Okinawa?"

He shook his head.

"Not really, but there's more footage- Check this out."

Handing Ichigo the phone, he pointed it slanted and sideways, forcing the scientist to grab Boutaro's wrist and force it up so he could actually see the video. Now that he could properly examine it, the contents showed just how dire the situation was. What military forces were stationed there were nothing to the monster, practically pests. The best artillery shells were bouncing off of his body and were being sent into nearby buildings, causing massive explosions that would in turn spawn flaming shrapnel that hit vehicles, once again having the same effect and producing a chain reaction. When provoked even further, the beast shook his head twice, causing the sharp horns on its head to shoot out pink crescents of energy that at first, remained stationary. Only a second afterwards though, they rushed swift speeds to outright slice both choppers and planes alike in half, them falling to the ground as soldiers parachuted onto the ground below. The person recording couldn't get a full view of the kaiju, both because he was at the side of a building still intact that obscured the full view of it and his friends ushering him to stop already.

"Hurry, Shaun! Come on, Shaun we gotta go!!!"

"Just wait...." insisted Shaun as he stepped back ever so slightly. "I gotta see this!"

"No! No you don't!!!!" shouted a feminine voice as both he and in accordance, the camera got yanked as well. Whilst they were running, the camera only showed shaky and sporadic views of the ground and then the monster's appearance. What could be made out was that it was dark purple primarily. Menacing black claws and horns, a long and bulky tail, with pink and sharp spines lining its back whilst its menacing abdomen shared the same color. Sharp teeth lined its jaws as well, which showed just how much of a threat it was when it took a chunk out of a building and spat it out at the military. Continuing to run down what seemed to be an alleyway, one would think that they'd be safer, but collapsing rubble both in front and what seemed to be overhead would be the certain death sentence for Shaun and his friends. Luckily, a green blur appeared into frame and tackle Shaun, as well as his friends. While his friends held on each other for dear life and screamed, it was Shaun who was calm enough (although probably distracted by the fact he had exclusive footage of the monster) to thank the helper. Their savior? A Ragon, who quickly put his finger over his mouth and then tilted his chin to the other side, calming Shaun's friends. It was there that the video ended.

After that, Boutaro spoke first, staring at the skies ahead through the cockpit.

"It seems like this monster's more formidable than the last one...." he noted. "And with the record heat levels the last one produced, it'll hit even harder because of how shaken up we are now."

"That mewing technique...."

Boutaro turned to Ichigo and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ah! Okay, okay, right.....tough monster."

"Does the READ machine have any data on this one?"

Ichigo shook his head.

"I'll have to go back to base to see. I haven't made a portable version yet."

Soreo folded his arms and looked ahead as well, narrowing his eyes almost knowingly.

"Whatever the case, chances are we'll have to arrive there double time. Speed up, Mendou! There's no telling what it's doing now when most of the military is on the other side of the country..."

"ON IT, CAP!!!!" shouted Mendou as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a whip and striking the controls. Rather than damaging it, the Midger moved even faster than Kiriko's and it seemed that they would be arriving there in a shorter amount of time. If only it were that simple.

Stirring beneath the crust of the Earth and heading deeper and deeper, something stopped. There was a loud resounding heartbeat within the planet itself. And, all life stopped to listen to that resounding beat. They heeded the call, the repetition of the beat. It kept going faster, hastening with each passing moment. Around the equator, itself, people living nearby could feel the water increasing in heat. Fish began to rise to the surfaces of the ocean, keeling over and unfortunately, having large masses of their bodies frying in the surface below. While scavengers and maybe even some opportunistic people could take advantage, fishing them out from boats and cleaning them up preparing them, that wouldn't turn out so well either. The heartbeat increased faster yet, now stimulating even the reaction of those lurking within the deep. A few Ragon were having a cookout in the depths of the oceans below, without a care in the world. Like any cookout, it was the uncle Ragon that was the absolute grill master when it came to preparing meals. Throw a little coral on top of the Ganza meat and old Guesera scales, you'd have yourself a meal. Even I'd be inclined to partake, were it not for the roar of a pained Gedos dashing over the cookout, the wave of water pressure propelling all of the materials to the side and into deep sea ravines below as the confused fish-folk could only hold each other wondering why he was reacting this way. Only then would they feel their bodies heating up as well would they have a similar reaction. And they were far from the only ones.

Beasts from the sea, whether it be Takkong jumping into the skies above like hot air balloons trying to cool off, or Twin Tail hopping up and down bouncing across the sea floor, it was truly a bad time to be on land, sea, or in the air. One of the Takkong smashed into a Birdon while he was trying to get back home, having collected a fresh catch of fish to bring back to his wife, who had estranged him after he nearly left her for Femigon. Both sadly plunged back into the steaming waters with a splash as the heartrate of Earth continued to increase. But, even though Manda was being cooked in the sea, Rodan were being fried in the air, the worst possible place to be in that moment were the tanks still trying to advance. More specifically: the stragglers. It's honestly a shame what would happen, especially given what a private sitting on top of a tank with his rifle pointed down at his sides would see.

The mountainside, for one. He was seeing it from a particular perspective. Moving away from it. He waved a goodbye to it, it was Mount Fuji after all. The mountain back in Hakaikano was destroyed, so he was sort of doing it as a send-off to that. He smiled, remembering the good times he'd wake up in the morning and see that majestic testament to the elements standing proud as ever. But, as he reminisced fondly, he start to feel....itchy. He scratched the side of his cheek, then the other side. He figured it must be his eczema flaring up again or something. Maybe he was just getting stuffy in the military uniform. After all, he was going to try and ask that one girl tanning in the middle of their temporary command post. He would've done it, but he remembered that he had a friend who was going to do that, but ended up being accused of just another HATEful person. He didn't understand why they always emphasized the first few-

There was a faint roar. The private tugged at his collar yet again and sighed, opting to look ahead to see if things had changed. He hadn't received word of any new orders and he thought at this rate some of these tanks were having mechanical issues. Maybe the treads weren't working properly. A few minutes passed by and soon, the tanks were coming to a complete halt. The faint roar seemed to grow louder and as a few mechanics hopped out to check on the situation, he regrouped with another soldier who was also riding a tank to see what the issue was. At this point, there were only two explanations for the faint roaring they could think of. They were just debating on which one it could be.

The private held his rifle down, sighing.

"I just think it's nothing but a big joke!"

His friend tilted his head.

"A joke?"

"A big joke!"

He leaned against a nearby tree, looking towards the sky. He had been feeling more stuffy in his uniform, and it was starting to get at him.

"Someone must be playing sound effects from a high point in the area again. That's the only thing I can think of at least...."

His friend put his sidearm back in his holster, fiddling around with it to see if it was doing alright.

"I think that thing might be returning."

The private raised his eyebrow.

"Didn't we just take care of it?"

"So? That doesn't mean we killed it. It could always come back, plus, I think you're just biased...."

There was a brief silence.

"There's-"

"I am NOT-" shouted the private, pointing his finger at his friend. "And I mean I am NOT just saying that because you decided to do that stupid nonsense back when I asked out my crush!!!!"

Rather regrettably, I'm sorry to say the private had a traumatic history with romance. When he was younger lad, a few months ago, he tried asking out who he thought would be his future girlfriend. But, the friend in question decided that at the moment of confession it would be appropriate to play 'GET OU-' on speakers, shutting down what future potential for a relationship could blossom. In fact, as red as the private became in the face, the hotter the area seemed to get.

"Hey man..." replied the friend, rubbing the back of his neck. "I had to do-"

"NO! NO YOU DIDN'T!"

There was a silence, but one that was interrupted by one of the mechanics scratching the back of his hair and saying "Well I'll be....the treads got melted. In fact....it's like they're sinking into the ground right about now....!!!"

The two soldiers as well as other men nearby were shocked. True to the mechanic's word, the treads of the tank began to slowly dig into the ground. The grass bent to the will of the oppressive vehicle, the ground yielding and everyone falling back as the mechanic signaled with the wave of his hand to do so. Soon after, the tank was submerged into the dirt via the treads on the front, while the actual cannon was poking out and aligning with the ground. Everyone could only just sit in silence as they pondered what could be the reason. The reason was obvious, but not a single one of them wanted to acknowledge that truth. The truth of the matter for why the tank was sinking, why others were lagging behind. Smoke rising into the air and the faint roars growing louder and louder. Turning off to the side, the private had the unfortunate aspect of the situation. Drawing the proverbial shortest straw, he was the one who had a chance to witness the full sight. Bursting from the casing that the LEGOs provided even at full efficiency and decent brand quality melting as a column of lava and ash sprayed into the skies above like champagne after the cork got popped off for a celebration. The private screamed as the men ducked down for cover or abandoned what training or reasoning they had learned during their time, it was useless and futile now as what came before them was something beyond even that.

Constant explosions burst from all around the area, the melted LEGOs now fully being done away with and nothing more than new ash while plumes of smoke had surrounded the emerging wildfire. With another roar, it was clear who this was, a revitalized Demonicon having now sensed a new presence. Shrugging off whatever fire that might come her way whether it be from other tanks getting wise to her arrival or soldiers steeling themselves and assuming responsibility, she continued without a care in a world. Drawn to wherever this new presence was, wherever this new....thing was. She had no choice but to communicate and roar at it. Hopefully, it would follow through and echo throughout the world so that it could be understood in fool. Arching her head back, she roared like no other, the sound causing everyone within a few miles to keel over and pass out like they were in the thick of it. Hot air surged through their bodies and elevated body temperatures to where they couldn't cope with the sudden change in temperature itself. In conjunction with the roar, a surge of heat succeeded the hot air and set fire to anything in the skies. Whether it be the projectiles of oncoming jets or choppers, or the trees in the area, what was clear was that she would be heard. And that there would be a response.

On the other side of Japan, it seemed like the LEGACY Midgers at least were now ready to assist the military in their siege against this new arrival. However, what met them wasn't a rampaging monster, but one that was merely standing there....menacingly. He waited and paused, sniffing through the air as a surge of heat had seemingly appeared. Mendou felt sweat dripping down his body even though the Midger had the AC turned to the maximum setting. Everyone in there were beginning to feel the heat as hot and distorted air made its way into the path of the beast. Not one person said a word. Granted the Ragon from earlier was trying to lecture Shaun and his friends from earlier about taking his life on the surface for granted and how the riots for shed snake skin were being actively disrespected, but the heat would cause the green looking merman to turn red like a pepper, flopping about the land like a fish out of water and forcing the trio of friends to try and find some help for him. Before a shot could so much as be fired, the visitor to Earth sniffed the air and rubbed his clawed hands together.

Sweat dropped from Ichigo's forehead as he tried to interpret what was happening.

("What....happened? Are the monsters reacting trying to plead him to stop? Are the monsters what drew him here?")

He gestured towards Mendou.

"Turn on the monster translator to see what he's gonna respond with."

Trying his best efforts, with each button Mendou pressed, the machine seemed to fry a minor bit. Sparks flew at the controls and originally thinking this was the same technical prowess that got the man hit with thousands of volts, Ichigo assumed control but soon discovered it was no fault of Mendou's. Hoshino II shook his head as Nakashima was the one to throw a question their way.

"What's wrong?"

"The machine can't do it...." he mumbled. "Whatever thoughts are going through that thing's head, they're exuding too much heat for us to access the brain waves...."

Hoshino II tapped on his tablet, showing Ichigo, Boutaro, Soreo and Nakashima footage obtained from what seemed to be LEGACY's defense systems in space. Automatic cameras that showed what looked to be a purple comet hurdling through them, obliterating them with slashes that utterly tore them apart before they even so much as had a chance to fire a single shot.

"They're upgraded against the likes of things like Bemstar or those space moth things!"

Hoshino II snapped his fingers, he hit it right on the head.

"Yes, but that doesn't hold a candle to what this monster is now. It's clearly more intelligent and more powerful, perhaps even moreso than that of the last monster."

"So then what do we do?! Just sit and wait-"

"Exactly that." interjected Soreo. "Give Kiriko the same orders.....wait for what it does next."

Mendou nodded and did just that over communications while they sat in silence, observing what happened next. Boutaro briefly threw his head down to look at live updates, reports on any new information as he did. And....it just so happened at the moment of response, Boutaro's scream aligned with the menacing monster from space arching his back in a way similar to his opportunity and announcing a distinct roar of his own. Sonic waves emitted from such a loud cry overpowered even overpowered the wind it traveled to, taking form and causing everyone to sit still or seize up, shaking and shivering as though primal memories were unlocked from such a roar. Boutaro, Ichigo, Mendou, and Soreo collectively recalled the moments they did so, almost reverting the apes they had become in the absence of the girl who was under the sickly possession of Femigon. The Midgers struggled to stay in the sky, many jets fell and crashed, the ejecting pilots being blown back as many partially damaged buildings fully toppled over. They collapsed onto each other, creating a canvas of rubble and carnage the likes of which not seen in a long time. The beast them calmly made his way forward until he reached a certain end point, diving into the waters below. Helicopters above whether military or that of the news could see the sea almost parting for his arrival, traces of it freezing up and solidifying as white mist ascended into the skies.

Those tasked with the defense of Japan didn't know what to do and in that uncertainty, another curveball thrown their way was finally made known. Shivering from the roar or from the reveal he had would be a mystery, but Soreo made sure to remember the face of an unsettled Boutaro raising his phone in front of his face. Once again tilted downward, Soreo briefly said "Boutaro, you can't expect people to see what's on your phone if you point it at them like a gun! If you want to mug people, I won't....disagree but now that we have fundi-" The footage. Shaky footage of what looked to be a large monster walking past as explosions lit up a nearby forested area in a familiar mountain. It couldn't be, right? The LEGOs, they were- A smoldering heap of ash and liquid metal sourced from the deepest pits of Earth's mantle smashed nearby, before the program abruptly shut off. The camera was probably annihilated by the heat itself at that point.

"Is that....?"

Boutaro nodded, inspiring dread as Mendou made the commlink open to all the military still present and conscious in Okinawa so that the news could spread as efficiently and concisely as possible.

"The monster from earlier is back. That demon has returned."

Wandaba on Business + Don't Go Breaking Your Heart[]

And so, the world had seen what Japan was capable of. Perhaps not the full extent, but the events of the morning and ensuing early afternoon were something that could fill even the most arrogant and close minded of superiors with shame. Clearly, they were standing on nothing and were in the business of a total shutdown. Two monsters in one day? Well, Japan had a track record of that a lot of times, but so did the others. From the danger of the Florida Men, to the roadmen of the UK, there was danger lurking around every corner. But, wasn't this danger something that couldn't be so simply dealt with. News spread of the two monsters ready to make the country their stomping grounds. People throughout all of Japan and even Hakaikano were quite downcast by the very idea, even with all the imminent fear that came with it. Some were wrecks who needed motivation to carry on like Takumicchi, who wailed all the while passing out bottles to people in the streets after Ryu whipped him into shape by yelling at him. Others like Ryuga were more focused on directly helping people. He grew up in this place, gangster or not, it's not like the Yakuza wouldn't help out the country that fostered their ideals and dealings. It was the least he could do, that hoodlum with honor. Of course, there were people like Ryu, a certain family that had given LEGACY their own financial backing, and a woman who had connected with the team a specific member as well even if the first impressions weren't the best. But, you couldn't make a good impression while under the influence of an alien ghost with an affinity for heat.

And, one last person had hope in LEGACY the most. In the Japanese military the most. On his knees in the yard, the boys with all the milkshakes and his faithful wife surrounded him, as well as a man with a microphone in hand. They all bowed down, praying to whoever they believed in or begging LEGACY themselves to directly take action. What of them though? Did they have the ability to make use of this situation, bounce back and counter? Well, an impromptu command post was set up somewhere back in Hakaikano, a good middle point to station as a way to gauge where each monster was heading and where they would converge. Under a green tent that was one of many somewhere in the city, soldiers rushed to and fro to make adjustments to their weapons, vehicles, and practiced as the minds behind the operations would discuss things. At a roundtable sourced from ones you'd find in a community center, Nakashima, Hoshino II, and the members of LEGACY sat around as Ichigo came in a dragged in a digital white board they had also so graciously borrowed from the center as well. Though Ichigo somewhat wanted to take it without permission in order to spite one of the youth coaches there, once again neither here nor there.

He tapped the board with a marker, always drawing what he meant to relay on the board like a teacher during a lecture. Even if it wasn't the most accurate. And, of course, the members of LEGACY and the military sternly looked at it. This was serious business after all, even if his rendition of the monsters looked like pivot animation dinosaurs stretched across a water bottle in paper form.

"So.....we already know these two monsters are both in Japan. After looking through the READ machine and cross referencing it with the data from the attacks, I found this."

He set down the READ machine on the table, plugging it into the large device and displaying the two monsters. One of heat on the right, the other from space on the left.

"It seems the one that irradiates excessive heat is called Demonicon, so Boutaro you calling it a demon wasn't far off by any means...."

In response, Boutaro patted himself on the shoulder a bit for doing so, only to get kicked in the ankle by Kiriko to pay further attention. Ichigo coughed, mildly laughing but pressing forward since they could be pressed on time.

"The other one is known in other worlds as Darking. It seems like Demonicon comes from a region called Hell, though it's not discerning to me whether Hell is actually in Earth or a realm on its own entirely. It seems to be one where Demaaga originates from as well as Zaigorg."

Soreo snapped his fingers.

"I remember Zaigorg, he fought Geed, right? He wasn't all that tough."

Mendou folded his arms and shook his head.

"Cap, Geed needed a portion of King's power to beat him! Without it he would've been mincemeat."

"Hey, didn't we see him-"

A marker of different colors were flung at the heads of the two, causing them to both yelp an "Owch!" and "Yeowtch!" respectively, now rubbing their bruised foreheads.

"Focus you two! We can have a powerscaling debate for another time, the point I'm trying to make is that Demonicon is said to come from some of the hottest parts of Hell. It's why it seemed so able to exude all of that intense heat in such a short span of time."

"I'd hate to know what Femigon would see in it..." muttered Kiriko.

"It's good you bring that up" Ichigo replied, pointing at her with a marker in hand. "I've analyzed their calls and while I can't access either brainwave to know for sure what they're saying, I do have an analogy as to what they probably were. Here's an intercepted call from two Arstron individuals." He pressed a button on the laptop, playing the audio in question. In response, Nakashima would cover the ears of the still young Hoshino II, not wanting to potentially corrupt his mind with any foul things Arstron were known to say in their crass language.

"HEY! Heyyyy, I want man! I want man now! Give me man!!!!"

"Woman, mmmm Woman! I want woman! Come with me woman so you can come with me!"

"Oh yes paternal holder of child, I WILL!"

"PLA-"

"OKAY!!!" shouted Ichigo as he abruptly pressed a button and stopped the audio from playing. He coughed into his fist, saying "Sorry, I think I got more than what I originally wanted...."

There was a momentary silence, only interrupted by Nakashima's interjection after he removed his hands from his confidant's ears.

"So in summary, they're going to mate?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Yes."

"Then....would it not be a good idea to lure them into the sea? I can coordinate with the Navy and have them funnel Darking into the deeper parts of the ocean. We can then somehow drop Demonicon there, they can mate, hopefully spending their time elsewhere and out of Japan."

"Unlikely."

"Huh?"

Nakashima tilted his head as Ichigo began to explain further.

"That's the thing....Darking comes from space, said to have been cast from the side of the Malicious Demon: Grimdo. A cosmic demon is meeting with natural demonic hellspawn to mate. Chances are, they'll make Earth their territory and let their young disperse around the planet and dominate it like the Nephilim did in the old testament."

Ichigo sighed, holding his head down a bit.

"But that's the best case scenario, assuming we let them make contact."

Everyone gasped in shock, even Hoshino II at the very thought. Ichigo gestured towards the boy actually telling him to come up and draw in the readings the READ machine gathered from Ichigo's research. He did just that, even more astounded and terrified by the results. Slamming his fist on the table, Mendou wanted answers as to what this could mean.

"What?! The heck's gonna happen normally, or even worst case?!"

Hoshino II looked at him and everyone in the room, a bit disappointed in relaying the information.

"Demonicon and Darking have something called....Polaric Compatibility. Beings from different planets and environments have different tolerances for temperatures, some can't live in environments a certain way, others can. If you're a hot blooded mammal, chances are you'll be able to control that temperature and heat up on your own as well as many creatures in the universe. Being demons....Demonicon and Darking regardless of origin can do that."

"However" continued Ichigo, raising a finger and beginning to draw a diagram. "The energy they emit to maintain that body temperature is in equal but stark contrast. Darking is expelling the excess heat he casually obtained from space. He's consistently heating up because that's the normal temperature he's accustomed to. However, Demonicon on the other hand is doing it to maintain her temperature. Hell is probably way hotter than we can ever hope to imagine, this world's too cold for it. If they're not mating, they're going to accelerate global warming faster than Kemular Galaxy Gas production, carbon emissions, all of it! What's worse...."

He drew a bunch of squiggly lines, which most of them thought meant that they were going to make flaming broccoli? Was it kale? Maybe cabbage or cauliflower, but no it wasn't a vegetable or the head of a carrot like Mendou assumed for some reason. It was-

"An explosion that could wipe out the solar system as we know it, if they even touch once."

He put the cap on the marker and set it down as everyone sat there, dumbfounded.

"Their compatibility is explosive enough to where the energy exchange can create that much of a reaction. On the atomic level....them meeting is no different than an unquantifiable amount of atoms splitting at once, and WE have to stop that from happening...."

There was yet another silence in the room. For all the countermeasures that would need to be in place, the fact that the two monsters were advancing, currently and even now as they discussed plans. However, Ichigo while shaking his head developed a grin and soon on their own, each member of LEGACY had a smile over their own, which in turn was something that confused both Nakashima and Hoshino II, both looking around the room as they saw the sight. Were they going mad? Were they the ones with a Kemular cough set on by the Gala- Ginga Gas?

"Soreo!" said Nakashima, looking in the eyes of the man many years his senior but in a similar position to him. "Are you and your men alright? Why are you smiling?"

Soreo turned to him and didn't say anything as he continued.

"The entire solar system is at risk....and yet you're smiling like this is a classroom! I get things seem scary now but, you don't-"

The Captain of LEGACY raised a hand of his, waving it a bit dismissively.

"In the words of a hero from Boutaro's childhood 'Wait! Say no more.' Look at the people who are going to be given the job, this job that no one else has actively gone out to do yet."

He stood up from his chair, hands on his hips as he looked around the room and continued to smile, both to encourage the two new to all of this and to further cement the faith he had in his subordinates, the same ones he had fought tooth and nail alongside in the past.

"Think about it for a moment. No doubt around the world, they've been calculating and coming to similar conclusions about the projected result of their contact. Even if the planet itself is forfeit, no other country has overstepped their boundaries. No other LEGACY branch has reached out to us, friendly or not. Can you guess as to why that is?"

Nakashima folded his arms.

"Not to be dismissive, but Japan's administration in the military is like that of a middle school student council. We've been an absolute circus-"

"Japan's been an absolute circus!" interrupted Soreo, taking on a more serious expression. One that actually showed his seniority, both in direct age and experience. The experience required to lead a team throughout all the nonsense Japan had experienced in this short span of time. "And at times....I'll admit, we're a circus too. Even so, we're the ones who ultimately fought against an inter-dimensional war criminals. We've fought against reality itself, against the likes of beasts beyond our world and comprehension. Every step of the way....we've been fighting tooth and nail not only to defeat them and to protect the people behind us, the ones who rely on us-"

He clenched his fist, pounding his chest and barking "WE'VE FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO SECURE FUNDING TO DO SO!!!! I apologize for my brazenness, even for shouting at you....but, we'll overcome this. All seven members of Team LEGACY Japan with your resources of course, will make it through this."

Nakashima stood up too, staring at him. For a moment, it seemed as though they would come to blows. Boutaro and Kiriko both worried a minor bit, and even Ichigo was a bit surprised as well. Not at Soreo's behavior per se so much as it was how direct he was even to the likes of someone in similar standing to him, regardless of the age gap. Mendou however seemed to look off to the side with a grin on his face knowingly, outstretching his arm and stopping Hoshino II by merely putting it in front of him when he tried to go to the general to get him to calm down.

"I know what you told me before, Soreo Akira. But....I won't do it."

"Sir!!!" pleaded Hoshino II, only to be met with a quick "Pipe down..." from Mendou.

Soreo, looking the General in the eyes nodded, leading to him telling the Captain of LEGACY his provision.

"Swear to me not a single inch of Hakaikano is destroyed. Not a single building, not a single bit of this city is damaged in the slightest."

"Sir that's outrageous-"

"Quiet..!!!" shouted Nakashima, continuing to look Soreo in the face. "Should this city fall, then it means the end of Japan. Frankly, it means the end of the world. I want all of your members to follow this stipulation....even-"

"Ultraman?"

Nakashima nodded.

"Ever since he was brought into the fold, I figured whether or not his true identity lied within your team mattered. All that did was his contribution, so pass on that word to him."

He smirked.

"Supposing you do follow through on my concession."

Soreo gave a smirk of his own and from across his table, he outstretched his hand. Seeing this, Nakashima did the same and the two gave each other a firm hand shake, a nice refresher from the rather awkward and limp one the principal from Otari High School possessed.

"I promise." Soreo further established with his word. "This city of ours has already gone through enough and....a recent experience has taught us how defeating the enemy at hand can be costly to the people that lie beyond the conflict. As unrealistic as it sounds, not a single man in your regiment, under my command or yours will die."

Pulling back from their hand shake, Nakashima shook his head.

"Ever since the days of old when we settled things with the sword, warriors of Japan pledged themselves to living and dying by the rules they fought by and for. Every single one of us entered this field knowing that possibility would happen. Every single person under my command is willing to die for that."

Soreo glanced over at Hoshino II, who now now had a glare the same of Nakashima. The same of the soldiers who in the time their conversation had taken place all stood outside at attention, saluting and shouting "SIR!!!!" at Soreo, brave men and women of all sorts of different roles and parts to play showing that they just as their leader were doing what they needed to do. Even ones who ran away originally, those caught by Demonicon in its initial rampage or Darking hobbled out of the infirmary with bandages and everything and stood at attention. Whether it was their fault or not, it was still a thing that needed to be rectified for the sake of everyone. Everyone they fought for, fought alongside, and even those they fought against. With a smile, Soreo looked at them and nodded, even the private and his friend within the crowd couldn't help but smile at that themselves. He then looked back at Nakashima.

"You have fine people under your command, General. ATTENTION!!!"

Boutaro, Mendou, and Kiriko shouted "ROGER!!!" and formed up in front of the soldiers, saluting both their captain and Nakashima as well. After that, he continued whilst putting his hands behind his back.

"Mine know that possibility too. To fight a life and death battle, to gain something from it but to acknowledge the possibility of loss."

He turned to Ichigo.

"What say you, Ichigo? Are there any plans you have in mind that we can use on those two?"

With all the attention now on him, Ichigo could only wipe some sweat from his brow. Air conditioners loudly blaring in the air at maximum output that were powered by fuel made it a bit difficult to think but it didn't matter, he already had a plan in mind. After all, he knew that they were the ones who ultimately had these decisive moments thrust upon them and no one else except them had the right to take that opportunity.

"The READ machine itself is the key. With our greater funding and....-a lot of idiots on FanChan I'll admit- I've been able to conceive many new weapons for LEGACY to use and apply some more consistent stuff into the fold. But, I think the real fighting chance we have is in this program I drafted up after the Lecuum situation."

He tapped a few buttons on the laptop, the screen now showing the large square boxes that had all sorts of different names on them. Ones such as 'GUTS', 'EYES', 'TLT', 'STAR', 'STARS', 'BOIS', 'ZTN', 'MEG', 'CAKE', 'SOTH', and many others appeared. He moved the mouse over the one called STARS, not only showing some of the primary information on what seemed to be an organization, but some of their weaponry and the ingredients on how to create them as well as some information on particular things they've done in the field.

"The READ machine's a window into other worlds, so far we've only been able to draw other things into our world. The last time anything of the sort happened was dragging Ultraman and Lecuum in through the others. I thought it'd be good to make a program called 'SUB': Superficial Universal Backlogging, which will scan other worlds of information automatically and backlog all the military teams that defend their worlds. We'll use a hybrid of out strategies and theirs, new weapons of our own fruition and of others in order to do everything we can to halt them. I drafted up a few plans we can do on the way here."

Nakashima stepped forward a bit, asking "Do you guarantee the viability of those other world's strategies?"

Ichigo nodded.

"They've long since put their troubles behind them. Some are still in battles of their own, but the only one I've seen really lacking still has enough in some ways to make use of. We'll need anything we can, if for a moment we falter because we're unsure of our plans.....Hakaikano's cooked for sure, Japan is."

"I see...."

"Very well!!!!!" shouted Soreo as he raised his hand in the air, shaking it like he were in a karaoke booth about to sing a song. "Operation Third Wheel At The Triple Axis Maximimus Of Heart Breaking With A Side of Celebratory Bug Shaking Playing Cell In Sparking Zero After The Fact With Our New Friends In The Military As Heroes is a GOOO!!!!!!!"

"ROOOOGER!!!!!!!" everyone, even Ichigo and Hoshino II shouted. Quickly, everyone went to further prepare for the coming, leaving the remaining four left in the tent. Ichigo and Hoshino II quickly met up and began immediately setting off to collaborating on what particular things to implement. While that happened, Soreo took one last look at Nakashima, his throat a bit sore from yelling a longer operation name.

"I'll be sure to pass on the word to Ultraman."

"However you may do that...." smiled Nakashima. "Thank you."

With that, Soreo left the tent first. They would need to do everything that they could with the little time they had. Between the monster from space pushing past the waters of the sea and continuing further inland and the steadily approaching monster setting everything ablaze in its path, it would not take long for action to be taken. Even within his host, Rizanto understood the direness of the situation and continued to accelerate his training, intensifying it and attempting to reach new heights in the short time span. Maybe they had gone through the motions of something like this before. Against Munchagaizer, against Deathfacer, and against Lecuum. However, with new resources, a resolve firmly established in protecting and taking the fight back to the enemy to minimize destruction itself, with the new resolves formed since then, it would be a wonder how it'd go. On my end? Well, aside from my own personal enjoyments I can safely say that that group, that team LEGACY is quite the interesting one. Being made to watch their journeys, their battles, even I struggle to anticipate the exact outcome of this renewed LEGACY and these revived demons. Only time will tell.

And with that, some time passed, around 30 minutes to be exact. Demonicon had been ambling across the Japanese countryside, passing through Kyoto without so much as a single shot being fired. It would be only until the beast had reached Osaka that things would start to get hectic for it. And when the plan could take proper action. Smoke rose into the skies, the heat now no longer causing explosions but setting random fires to vegetation in the area. And, the closer that the hellspawn had neared the city, smoke would begin to rise off of buildings. Whether it be wooden floors or their concrete counterparts, the kindling and asphalt either way would be a cause of the phenomenon. An evacuation order was already in place, but a group of brave locals whether they be actual civilians or soldiers native to the city, police officers, decided to stay and guard the castle. It was foolish yes, but it was a sentiment both the military and LEGACY had respected. Tanks lay outside the other side of the city as the sky seemed to take on an odd green hue, perhaps being a sign of delirium from the growing heat. Soldiers were peaking their heads through windows of buildings, strategically holding what seemed to be assault rifles and rocket launchers. And, it seemed like the target would be arriving soon enough. Demonicon was now within only a short reach of the city.....and yet, it seemed that it would be protected. At least manageably. After all, within what seemed to be a cockpit with all sorts of wires attached to him, Boutaro could be seen grinning at the prospect. Not at the fight, but being able to be a first line of defense.

Behind him was none other than Mendou. Yes, back to back, they faced both challenges approaching them. Even though they were far apart, thousands of miles or so, they felt like they were just as close with only a commlink to connect them. A similar position that was set up in Osaka was practically the same but now on the coastlines of Kagoshima. While blossoms precariously blew in the wind before eventually shriveling and contracting when the waves of heat set in the area, a large mass dark purple, a sickening indigo began to rise out of the waters as steam bellowed throughout the oceans. The ocean seemed as though it were foaming at the mouth and it didn't take long for various sea dwellers such as Gubila, Takkong, and even the more deep ocean dweller Diplas sprung out of the waters and retreated. The demon from space Darking wasn't impressed by what he saw to be the obstacles, yet he like his soon-to-be beloved moved as though they could be patient. And much like them, Boutaro and Mendou both clenched their fists as they began to sweat, just as ready. In the communicators installed in their general area, it was Soreo who was giving them orders while Ichigo was in the background to give any particular back up when it came to what they were actually using.

"I hope this works...." wished Boutaro. "I don't think I'll be a fan of dying before that Sparking Zero tourney."

"Eh, it'll be fine bro!" assured Mendou. "Just keep your look straight, eyes on the ball like it's tennis so you don't get a strike out!"

Boutaro laughed.

"It's baseball Mendou, baseball! Tennis is-"

There was a minor silence before he conceded and said "You knew that, didn't you...?"

"Yeah" laughed his friend, "I'm ain't that dumb!"

"How much of the stupid stuff you say is actually what you believe and how much of it is to mess with us?"

A grin curled across Mendou's face.

"Survive, Brotaro, and I'll give ya the answer!"

Sighing and shaking his head, Boutaro then nodded.

"Good enough for me!"

Moments. That's all that they were after that point. Boutaro was younger, so he could recall a sort of similar school memory for what was about to happen. The bell would ring at the end of the day, but before that, the minute, the exact minute before the fact was always the longest out of the entire day. He had actually relived that memory during his investigation during a previous job, and with Soreo whispering "Steady..." tension built up in his arms and eventually his fists. He relaxed former, giving the illusion that any power in his fists would go away or that any potential energy would be gone to waste before it made the transition to kinetic. This was as far from the truth as you could get. Hoshino II actually was right next to Soreo with a tablet that showed both monsters on a radar, no doubt because of their heat signatures and as the large red blips got closer and closer, it was Mendou who grit his teeth in anticipation.

"Steady... Steady..."

There was a silence, their minds nearly gave way and began to think about other things. But in that moment, they would snap right back into action with a "NOW!!!! JUST LIKE IT'S ANOTHER RANKED MATCH BOYS!!!!!"

Dashing forward in sprints, Mendou and Boutaro took off like track stars. As they did, Mendou asked "AGAINST WHO?! WHO?!"

"IT'S DUOS AND LEGACY CHINA JOINED THE LOBBY!!!!!"

The soldiers at the ground level could see it. They had heard the news, sects closer to the approaching monsters raining artillery after the kaiju got irritated by being peppered with the standard fire they had. The tanks began to fire their standard shells, most of them melting, burning, or exploding before proper impact with Demonicon whilst Darking arched his head back and spread his arms. With that monstrous roar of his, he clasped both of his hands together, creating a sonic wave of energy that caused a massive explosion amongst the coasts of the city he was just passing through by. A passing through lover, a title that no doubt would put the Casanova in the crosshairs of another traveler if he didn't already have faith in the people of this world. But, both Demonicon and Darking could see their respective challengers leaping out of the smoke and above the meaningless gunfire beneath them. They were thin. That's all either party could make of them before the image of a fist collided with their eyelids, knocking both to the ground. One saw the earth, although the dirt below quickly melted under her face whilst the other only saw concrete that was quickly replaced by the feeling of red, of rage. Luckily for the latter, the man who attacked him was more than equipped to deal with those little anger issues of his.

Demonicon shrieked at her attacker and sprang up to deliver a swipe, only to see that the mysterious foe had ended up dodging. Yet, another powerful strike got her in the back of the head. She figured that this might've been the elbow and so, she countered with a tail swipe. Yet again, all she felt was the swish of air, like she was punching through the clouds above. Multiple blows were landed against her chest and she endured them, if only so that she could see what was attacking her. A bit confused, her pupils widened and her roar warbled and funnily enough, she was soon met with a direct punch to the throat that had her wretch out a ball of granite, fire, and some magma that struck the ground below with a thud. Smoke rose off of the object as it began to catch fire; however, her attacker decided to be even more petty and pick it up, grunting in pain as he jumped in the air with such a glorious motion, and it was there while Demonicon looked up that she had the clearest view of him in such an immaculate form too. Her attacker seemed to be a large machine with strange features. Even though it wasn't natural, it seemed to be weirdly atrophied and skinny but also having monstrous traits like a prominent horn on its head and sharp teeth. The coloring was that of black primarily, with aspects of a striking red and eyes that pierced her soul, looking like rubies or jewels. Then again, she did recognize where this could be from, since a lot of souls down in Hell she saw had photos and pictures reminiscent of this very machine, only to be followed by.....those of girls corresponding to them.

The ball of magma shortly thereafter collided into her face and created a repulse, an explosion that sent the fighter skidding back into the city and smashing into the pavement, while she remained outside of its bounds. She looked up, recovering again, only to see that in the blink of an eye, a great deal of smoke was in the city and then in front of her, materializing into yet another strike to her face. She clawed, scratched and swung her tail around in a vain attempt to hit her foe, but was countered with blows to the knees, kicks to the arms, and even a spin kick to both of her eyes, temporarily blinding her. She growled, wincing as she began to look back on how it was down in Hell. Maybe, this newfound opportunity wasn't worth it at all? Certainly, with a snapping kick amongst her median line and followed up with a jumping elbow slamming her head into the ground, perhaps it would be the right decision to retreat now.

Conversely, a brutal brawl was occurring within the streets of Kagoshima. The robot grabbing Darking in a chokehold and wringing scolding foam onto the sidewalks below was far bulkier, having more proper muscle definition and even looking more heroic in some aspects. He was a bright blue with hints of yellow and red, quickly hitting Darking with an uppercut. For the demon from space? The vision of the skies were hazy only for a moment, but it took even less than that for him to counter with the snap of his teeth. The soundwave caused air pressure to shatter windows in the area, provoking more artillery fire. Growling, the demon dinosaur attempted to turn around and grab his foe, putting him in front of the barrage. However, a cloud of smoke had made him vanish. A confuddled Darking was not only met with a flurry of explosions littering his eyes with brief and abrupt flashes, but genuine pain set in when during them this seeming robot appeared to 'deck him in the schnoz' in Metronian terms before lifting up his body and pile driving him into the ground. People began to wobble and shake as the entire area seemed to be affected by the after shocks of such a thing. All except the two titans above continuing their battle. A swipe to the left, the foe's shoulder instead of being hit instead blowing a puff of smoke into Darking's eye. A punch was made in response. Same thing happened on the opposite side, so it happened again just with a right hook instead of a left. With a backhand, the sent spit flying out of the space monster's mouth, the man within the strange contraption began to mock his enemy.

"Sorry, Loverboy! You're not seeing her any time soon!!!"

Darking presumably barked in response 'SHUT UP! STOP INTERFERING!'

He jumped into the air and began to spin around like he was an action movie hero on a wire, his tail becoming a deadly weapon that knocked a building clean off of the ground in its entirety and causing it to smash on top of another that was far smaller in the area. When he landed, the mix of rubble and smoke was a faint for the machine casually standing there to simply drop his elbow on top of his skull, sending him to the ground again. The mecha then jumped into the air and twirled in all sorts of different directions akin to a certain 6th Ultraman before landing on Darking's back, pummeling him with several shots to the back, forcing minor tears of ice to fall from the eyes of the demonic dinosaur.

"He's losing his dog!!!!" shouted Ichigo in amazement, seeming to be on a rooftop in a different city. "Keep up the pressure, Mendou!!!"

Within his cockpit, Mendou smiled. It was a neutral color, but seemed to be turning red by the minute as droplets of sweat gently fell from the man's forehead.

"Got it!!!! I'll be sure to give him a punishment for ruining the savory peace we was having!!!!"

Just as he pulled back his fist for another strike, Boutaro did the same by sending Demonicon to the ground. However, the beast from Hell was starting to have enough of all of that nonsense, Springing up and spreading her arms, large spikes jutting out of what seemed to be holes in her palm and now being on the back of her hands. With a growl she got into something akin to a boxing stance kaiju would probably call 'Caesar-Fu' and began to swing with more precision, forcing the smoke to puff in different areas. While she endured more blows on her part, eventually a hit of hers blew past the fist of the robot, forcing the hand to be done away with and the machine to jump back. Inside, Boutaro grit his teeth and did a spin in the air, kick flipping like he was on a skateboard and drop kicking Demonicon further away from the city. He ran towards her and established his dominance by coming in with a dropping knee to her jugular. As he continued to press further with it and the ground rumbled from the impact, the LEGACY made sure to note how precarious the situation could become.

"I can't lie, I think Demonicon is starting to adapt! Plus...it's getting hotter in here...."

Ichigo on the rooftop was typing away at his keyboard, Kiriko lying on yet another lawn chair and seemingly resting in the meantime behind him. On his screen were none other than blueprints looking at the very schematics of the weapons the two were using. Not only that, but he had a few alternate tabs on the side open, one showing the heat signatures of the two kaiju and the other a video feed of Soreo's end where he was consulting Hoshino II on courses of action to prepare with their particular situation. Generally, the longevity of this strategy was being called into question. Of course this plan was quite literally running on fumes, so it was of no surprise to Ichigo when Demonicon managed to slink under a distracted Boutaro and latch her arms around his body. Before the body could turn to smoke, a bright flash of red and a large explosion sent the machine flying into the dirt and ever closer to the city limits, it gripping the ground as it turned to smoke once more. He reformed in the middle of the road and just in time too, explosions ringing out as Demonicon ran into the thick of the city. Some of them were both misfires and direct hits of the soldiers who were now running out of their hiding spots once the beast from Hell came knocking on their door. Buildings filled with heat before the ensuing hot air caused it to catch fire and spontaneously combust. Through the litany of flashes, explosions, not to mention the consistent artillery fire, Demonicon sprang forward and connected a deep slash into the side of the machine's throat. This earned a scream on the part of Boutaro as blood sprang from his mouth as liberal as the amount of pyrotechnic activity happening in Osaka. He was soon slammed into the pavement, turning to smoke briefly before a brutal stomp on his chest made him reform, if only so that Demonicon's foot wouldn't be through his chest. As he squirmed under the beast's step, facing a gilded glow from its mouth, Mendou would get distracted by this.

"Brotaro!!!!" he shouted before realizing he had slipped up. For a moment, only a moment was all that was needed for the thick tail of Darking to send him crashing through a building, an abandoned hospital, a knick-knack shop, a restaurant that only sold fish swallowed by Gubila because of the preservatives in its saliva, and finally another knick-knack shop. Mendou looked and ended up seeing that he was face first in all sorts of memorabilia that involved all sorts of robots and mecha. He was even surprised to see a new toy that seemed to be limited edition, called the 'UK Fighter'. In his head, his brain cells were frantically running an Olympic race across what seemed like an entire universe, infinite timelines to make that connection. Only when he felt teeth dig into his foot did he grit his teeth and acknowledge what it meant. "LET GO OF MY FOOT! I'M GONNA GIVE IT TO BOUTARO AS A PRESENT!!!!!" With this, he sprang up and kept kicking at Darking's snout, causing it to snort and sneeze out purple plasma that sprayed all over the face of the robot. He had gotten what he wanted, that Mendou. The only catch was he was as blind as a bat, ready to get pile driven into a fish paste factory nearby because he had used the smoke ability too early and was now in the clutches of Darking. The demonic dinosaur after the fact arched his head back and roared as two pink crescents of energy remained stationary, hovering over the factory. When Mendou attempted to rise from the damaged building, the immediately shot forward and caused yet another mighty explosion, an eruption large enough to reach the skies above and kiss the clouds.

'Serves you right-'

"GET SERVED!!!!" shouted Mendou as his machine appeared to the side of Darking and retaliated with a harsh elbow to the eye. Whilst the monster from space stumbled back, the robot held onto his arm as did the man piloting it.

"I ain't gonna lie, Ichigo. I'm at the end of my rope too."

On his end, the scientist nodded in agreement, briefly setting down his laptop and drinking a bit of Prime to sustain his energy.

"It only makes sense....It was always intended to be a distraction anyway, but your performances gave me a lot of hope that we'd be able to defeat them before the problems start to show themselves."

Panting, Mendou went on to ask "What problems....?" He avoided another two large energy crescents that caused a large eruption of debris and fire behind him, countering with a lethal full body spin, converting into a take down. While Darking was on his side, he leveraged off of that and sprang up, spinning around when the kaiju came to and met him with the full force of his boxing capabilities. Mendou began to put moves on him. Moves that now even Suel saw when it came to his boxing, uppercuts, hooks, jabs, he had to cap it off with a powerful strike to the chin; however, unlike before, Darking merely stood there and opened his mouth, simply biting on his wrist and causing the LEGACY member to grunt in pain before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He then reappeared and kicked Darking in the back, but was sent flying into the air and crashing into a nearby business district building, lying on his back.

"To make those bots of yours, I had to repurpose tech from the Midger's monster communicators. But, the actual bodies of those machines are S.H.I.L.L gas, just a bit though."

"Y-Yeah....and it was real convenient not being able to be hit but-"

"I had to solidify them with the same freezing agents STARS use to immobilize targets. You and Boutaro need to cut your losses and pull out before you get burned by either of those two!"

Boutaro would be the one to respond next, now having escaped the oppressive foot of Demonicon and standing bravely in front of the Osaka Castle. He spread his arms and shouted "I'm not leaving until I know for sure Osaka's safe! Just because our orders are to....p-protect Hakaikano, i-it doesn't mean we can't-"

"Don't be ridiculous! Don't let your selfishness jeopardize the final defense!"

Boutaro looked to the side, seeing determined soldiers nod at him, them now having regrouped around the castle and now taking aim at Demonicon. The tanks that lay behind began to roll up, if only to provide further support even if it was more tactically sound to remain in the back. At the very least, their covering fire would be a bit more helpful now that they were in closer proximity. Looking back at Demonicon, the creature noticed that he hadn't moved away from the castle, not even one bit. Raising her brow, the beast began to have an idea. A very naughty idea. He wanted to interfere with her goal? Fine then, she opened her mouth and unleashed a volley of fire balls. Smoke began to rise as a large wall of fire burst around the castle. When the smoke clear, it became apparent to the men who took cover that the smoke was moreso from the attack and that while the castle was not harmed, the same could not be said for the machine, or 'machine'. Pieces, bits of it began to shake and crumble, blocks and chunks of the body smashing to the ground, now being pieces of ice doused in a mild green. Boutaro's robot dropped to its knees, as things like the shoulders, some of the ribs, and even his fingers began to fall apart. The 'cockpit' so to speak was now a flashing red as heat began to compound on him, turning from what was a sauna into a full on oven now.

"D-Darn it!!!" cursed Boutaro as he slammed his hand on the ground. Once again, ash rose into the air as the green skies above Osaka started to have a similar red hue to the one of his cockpit. Fire and explosions shot up across the entire area everywhere he looked. It was like he was given the front row seats to a volcano erupting and there was nothing he could do about it. Even with wanting to protect people, the desire to defeat the enemy at hand had somehow annulled that priority yet again and he couldn't help but curse himself at the fact it happened again. "Ichigo...! I-Is there any other way?!"

"Boutaro...." muttered Ichigo as he stared at the screen. Even from his view, the smoke of Osaka was pluming into the atmosphere to the point he could even see a diminutive black splotch from where he was. Over his shoulder was someone that could speak to both the weakened Boutaro and the now pressed Mendou, who was starting to undergo the same effects. The only difference was, he had been a second too slow and the arm of the machine had been lobbed off, dropping to the ground and shattering to ice. Just as Boutaro felt his body grow tender from the different pain, or rather numbness in different areas and just as Mendou's affected arm, his right, went limp, it were Kiriko's words that reached them in this moment.

"We have other opportunities you two! Come on, give one last push and stage a retreat!!!"

"B-But-"

"Please, Boutaro!"

Hearing the sincerity in her voice, Boutaro nodded before smiling.

"Thanks.....But, I don't think there really is any kind of final push here."

He watched as walls of fire began to shoot up from behind and around the sides of Demonicon, slowly advancing on him and the castle. The men and even the tanks remained steadfast in their defense, not moving an inch. Neither did those locals or people who didn't want to evacuate. Nakashima's words weren't conjecture on the military, but perhaps they were on the behalf of the entire nation's feelings after all the nonsense they had been through. Even so, Boutaro's voice reeked of desperation and Mendou's of exhaustion.

"Not unless there's a secret contingency."

Mendou shook his head, wiping sweat from his brow with his left hand.

"What do continents have to do with any of this....?"

"You know me...." replied Ichigo eagerly to Boutaro's remark. "There always is. At the end of the day, they're connected to your brain. I enabled 'limit-break' modules for you to access, but they'll only be in effect for 15 seconds. You'll have to make them count."

Standing up, even with a lack of body parts, Boutaro clenched his remaining fist as did Mendou, both of their machines reflecting their actions in the cockpit.

"It's all we'll need, Ichibro." they said in unison.

Ichigo pushed his glasses up, the sun reflecting off of them and shining as he grinned cheekily.

"The code is- Well, we've been in more than a few parties together....I'm sure you know."

Closing their eyes, Mendou and Boutaro said the activation code at the same time. As they did so, a faint red aura began to circle around the bodies of their respective robots, causing both monsters to temporarily stop their one track goal, if only to understand what was happening. Even the wall of fire began to halt and slowy be pushed back once Boutaro opened his palm and directed it towards the wall. "MY series of attacks will hurt you. A lot." With that, both shells of S.H.I.L.L oriented ice and constructs burst apart like the shell of a certain bug themed hero. As the pieces scattered apart, what remained was something to behold. Smoke rose into the air as on one side of Japan, there was a large and imposing figure with a large chainsaw sticking out of his face and one for each of his four arms, having a bulkier frame and even a scarf. The other, a large automaton resembling the former but with all sorts of guns and assault rifles that would make the most seasoned Call of Duty veteran question the sanity of all those different attachments and their uses. And yes, they did have switches, they were morally dubious weapons of destruction and ones that wasted no time in pushing back the confused kaiju that only had their eyes set upon them momentarily.

For Demonicon, she was met with a whirlwind of slashes by the chainsaws at speeds she couldn't even comprehend or begin to understand. Just as the light was reflected back into her eyes, she felt the sensation was being cut in half itself and her retinas were being blocked off from seeing anything. Deep cuts, which would then be continuous on top of that formed on her body. The wall of fire began to push back in a massive wave and while the general combustion of flame would eradicate what little remained of the buildings in that wake, brimstone and magma began to flow from the neck, chest, and legs of the monsteress while she screeched in pain. The constant onslaught of chainsaws were starting to become too much, but was that really any better than what happened to Darking. Essentially, all the weapons were pointed in the direction of the space monster and bullets of all sorts of shapes and sizes far larger than their actual counterparts struck through and pierced the body of the beast. He yelled, even cursed in his monster language in an attempt to get Mendou to stop, but unfortunately the combination of old musketts, assault rifles, miniguns, rocket launchers, and even things more modern like the SSSP's original raygun, TAC's weapons, the guns as recent as GUYS unloading themselves into the body of the demonic dinosaur. Sparks shot off of his body before outright turning into explosives that caused chunks to fly and crash into buildings, causing sights and scenes you'd only get in a Hollywood movie. Devils Vs Demons, and the demons were on the losing end for these final moments.

On opposites sides of each other, unknowing of what the others were doing, Boutaro and Mendou were still connected. In a dark space, they could see each other, and began to walk towards the other as their respective alternate forms pulled their right and left arms back respectively. Revving up two chainsaws while the other shifted his body to where all the guns on one side were directly aimed at a now stunned Darking. Just before the critical second where the fate of Japan, no, the fate of this particular fight and its conclusion would be decided, Boutaro and Mendou whether it be through psychic, supernatural, or pure sentimental means pulled their hands back the same and smiling at each other, their hands touched and their fingers firmly locked. They had dapped each other up and just as the chainsaws plunged into Demonicon full force, sending a powerful wave of torrential energy that caused the entire construct of the machine to vanish into nothing while the beast herself was sent crashing into the ground and being submerged in a bed mixed with rubble, dirt, fire, and other aspects of the wreckage caused by the fight whilst Osaka Castle remained unharmed. Darking on the other hand was met with so much lead that he might as well have become the material itself, with one final push, the construct itself turned into a massive bullet and struck the kaiju square in the chest, sending it back into the oceans it traveled in and sank to its deepest depths as bubbles of air and steam from the water started to rise to the surface in place of the one being the root cause. And with that, it was done.

The first phase and battle in their attempt to protect Japan had concluded. When the dust settled, both monsters seemed to be incapacitated for now, but, what of Mendou and Boutaro? The statement that they were on the opposite sides of each other, thousands of miles away from each other was true in terms of perception. Their bodies truly, trapped inside thick capsules that opened as steam and smoke blew onto the floor below. Where they actually were? It turned out to be a similar base camp; however, it seemed to be based somewhere in Fukuoka. Some soldiers quickly carried the two hurt and near delirious man after hoisting them up with their arms, Boutaro needing only one while Mendou needed quite a few. Before they were carried off to a nearby medical center, the two weakly open their eyes and slowly with some encouragement from the soldiers carrying them, they had a fist bump. After falling unconscious, they were carried away and it was quite a few minutes past that event when Ichigo would receive some words from Soreo, seeming to be asking about updates.

"Status on Boutaro and Mendou?"

"In the infirmary, sir. The limiters being released took quite a toll on their body, not to mention they experienced all the physical pain those units received in combat."

"Hoshino II has more word on the monsters."

Back where Soreo was, Hoshino II tapped on his tablet, seeming to upload a video recorded by drones of the given situation. While yes the monsters were stunned by the fact, both were still far from being dead. It was actually Demonicon who recovered first, magma leaking from her body as she slowly ambled through the ruined city. She let out a snort towards Osaka Castle but otherwise left it unharmed. It was actually past that point that she let out a familiar roar. Of course, drones above couldn't see what happened next, but those sent in the bottom of the ocean could. Static began to congest the vision of the camera as pink with small iris of black burst awake. Slowly swimming up, the ocean began to rumble as multiple roars caused rocks to fall into ravines below, fish darting away whilst the static intensified. It was there that with one distinct cry, one distinct call to action that seemed to make this burning passion from the stars ever more clear to the people trying to separate them that the drones finally shut off. Case in point-

"Darking's back at it again I'm afraid...." said Soreo as he leaned back in a chair he was sitting on. "We'll need more of your plans, it's clear that both have been emboldened by that attempt of ours."

Ichigo nodded.

"Let me review some footage of their rampage."

Typing away, Kiriko peered over his shoulder as the screens of their renewed interest in each other was magnified. Demonicon slowly limped, explosions leaking out amongst the area once she cleared past Osaka. However, it seemed the lingering fire of the city was drawn to her, trailing behind her as though she were a princess and that were a flowing dress. If anything, embers in the air were now following her in the sky like they were birds drawn to a Disney princess. Darking on the other hand seemed unhurt. His body looked pristine, like it hadn't been touched even remotely. Any lingering military presence in both areas were quickly decimated and without pause, causing both LEGACY members to silently and solemnly observe before making their conclusions.

"Darking looks totally unharmed! I thought you said the limiters on those things were broken...!" Kiriko said, flabbergasted at his appearance. "I'd love to have his skin care routine..."

Ichigo typed up a bit at his laptop, cross-referencing the heat signatures from what Hoshino II found and what he was seeing currently.

"It makes sense. It makes perfect sense actually."

"How?"

Ichigo pointed at the screen.

"Look. If you see the old readings of heat we had of Darking, he wasn't expelling it the same way Demonicon was. If you remember-"

"Yeah, I wasn't asleep during that. Darking's temperature is just passively being emitted, Demonicon is doing it so that she can remain a constant temperature or whatever."

He nodded.

"Which is still the case but....it seems like there were pockets of heat all over his body, as if it was scattered around. At first I thought they were vitals, but it's strange two of them clumped around his chest.....especially so large to-"

Kiriko clonked the scientist on the head, causing him to splutter and cough both out of surprise and a bit of laughter.

"Get to the point!"

"Y-Yeah, sorry. Basically, space monsters either are silicone based life or have silicone in their system so that they don't die in space. But....some of them consume minerals on carbon rich asteroids and the like so either they can have it in their blood consistently, or even having a personal atmosphere."

Pulling back, Kiriko tilted her head.

"But where does Darking fall into this?"

Stroking his chin, Ichigo paused for a moment.

"I think....I think it's the latter. Those chunks of skin Mendou blew off were immediately ignited, but- but maybe it was at a first glance."

Now Soreo was getting interested, interjecting by saying "So, it had no effect on Darking, but rather blew away his personal atmosphere?"

Ichigo nodded.

"I think so, sir. Which means we don't actually know what will dent in the guy's armor, for all I know, the unit Mendou used could've reached his skin because of the S.H.I.L.L gas. But, it does give me an idea."

"Being?" both Soreo and Kiriko said in unison.

"It's a secret. I think I'll apply it once he gets closer to Hakaikano, in the mean time we can use Plan B and....a bit of C to stave them off then. Darking's the real threat, but I think Demonicon has more than meets the eye with her."

"Very well then, Ichigo. Nakashima and I are at the ready, so we'll be well prepared."

"Good luck, Cap." said the scientist with a smile. "Someone needs to be the referee for the tournament after this."

"I hope I get to. Can you believe it, Ichigo? The little guy over here doesn't even know what Sparking Meteor was!"

In the background, a "It's not my fault I grew up with Xenoverse!!!" causing Ichigo to wince at hearing that. Some people really were destined to grow up with mediocre, but then again he felt a certain kind of way about Sparking Zero and DBZ in general, so it was best for him to hold his tongue.

"Anyways-"

"Oh!" shouted Kiriko as she jumped forward and shoved Ichigo aside. "Jynx! You owe me three vacation days!"

An audible slam of the desk could be heard as Soreo announced "AGGGH, I could just ground you for that!!!!" Then, it sounded like something slumped to the floor. There, they could hear some mumbling before Hoshino II went on the microphone to interpret what the Captain said.

"He says you got him good, but he'll see about that after the operation is done."

Ichigo nodded while Kiriko giggled.

"Alright, keep your channels open. I might get back to you with more."

"Yes, Supreme Incumbent Minister!"

With that, the transmission shut off and both Ichigo and Kiriko sat in silence before the latter would say, "Really? Really?"

Ichigo shrugged, not one bit shameless.

"He's a kid, he might as well know what's up."

"You....you should never be around kids. You'll start corrupting them with your ideas...."

"Please, what could-"

"They'll become like Kabuki."

Ichigo stopped mid-sentence, lowering his gaze before swallowing his pride, both figuratively and literally swallowing a lump down his throat.

"Fair point."

The head scientist of LEGACY Japan closed his laptop and stood up, holding it at his side as he looked beyond the horizon of the building they were standing on. As it turned out, they were on one of the buildings on Hakaikano themselves, Ichigo's lab coat loose and his black shirt caked with sweat, while Kiriko wore hers around her waist much like she did earlier that day. It had actually cooled down somewhat, so the two could appreciate the view of the afternoon sun with little worry other than mild discomfort.

"Say....Kiriko, you think you can do a favor for me?"

She glanced at him.

"What? Still want more girl advice?"

He shook his head, knowing that even with her countless and consistent coaching of him, there was no way he could feasibly speak to a-

"Put a sock in it, Narrator." they both replied. And, what else could I say more? They were right. To that concession they both chuckled to themselves.

"I actually want you to fly me over to Kabuki's mansion."

This sentence alone caused all of Kiriko's hairs to stand up as she took a step back.

"H-Hey! I'll risk my life for you and all that but-"

Ichigo dismissed her concerns with the wave of a hand.

"Listen, it's not like that. I don't mean in the sense of retreating there but....my next plan requires some flexibility. For all his weirdness, Kabuki still had faith in us."

Sighing, Kiriko nodded.

"Yeah....enough to give us a load of funding too. We've played our fair share of Minecraft with him too."

"So, whaddya say, wanna break protocol?" smiled Ichigo, adjusting his glasses. Thinking about it, Kiriko looked across the city, recovering and springing back from the countless damages it had suffered in the past. Something in the process of healing wasn't worth more destruction, there surely wasn't even enough able bodied people to have a dance-off with the two demons in love should they arrive anyway.

"Eh, sure, why not? Besides, you were the one to actually show me the ropes seriously on the team....for all of Cap's and Mendou's efforts. That's the most I can pay you back with besides the coaching."

"Thanks, Kiriko. You're the best."

She laughed.

"Don't I know it."

Pointing her thumb back at the command post below where the heavier LEGACY Midger remained, tended to by a few engineers, she said "Now, let's get going."

Ichigo nodded.

"Right."

And with that, they set off for their journey. New plans were being enacted as the monster's resolves were further steeled by the grievous attacks dealt to them. It really was a question of whether LEGACY would prevail or not.

President Business of Wandaba + Vs OTP Darkingicon + Yes King(saurus III)[]

Surrounded by three sides, the three hills, Fukuoka was being prepared steadfast for the arrival of Demonicon. Once known as just mere hellspawn rising above to attack Earth, it seemed after all it was more than that, having been revealed by Ichigo during his presentation that it was a destruction beast. Soreo was walking around the camp as all sorts of infantry and different squads formed up with him. The tanks remained stationary as various jets shot off into the skies above. Numerous backpacks were being stuffed with all sorts of technology, weaponry, and the like. After a few minutes, Soreo blew a whistle and the true intent by what was happening would soon be revealed. There wasn't just one STAR-Rusher rolled out, now refurbished with a new coat of paint. There were around ten and each was loaded with TWERK-athon missiles loaded in their backs. Numerous men and women hopped into the all-terrain vehicles as Soreo went into a singular one at the front. The original. He was rather calm by the prospect of the fight. It wasn't just another battle for him, but the fact he looked so relax was probably comforting for all of his juniors who only heard very little of his actual temperament. With another whistle, they set out from the command post and the tanks as well as the STAR-Rushers began to ascend, scaling above the hills of Fukuoka as the roaring of jets could be heard in the background.

15 minutes had passed. Tanks lined the hillsides in wait, camouflaged to remain within the forests. STAR-Rushers were camped around various edges and corners, sometimes near rivers and ponds as to be discrete as possible. Soreo was one of these people, being at the base of a hillside and holding a TWERK-thon missile himself. A nearby private, the same one who had a rather.....poor track record when it came to asking women out had decided to walk up to him while his friend was off to the side adjusting his weapon. He trembled a bit. The roars of Demonicon were faint, but still present throughout the air. To make matters worse for him, he couldn't tell if it was because they were nearby or because it carried that far.

"Um....Um....S-Sir?"

Soreo looked back at the private, a bit surprised but otherwise pretty affable to his presence.

"Ah, yes?"

Putting his fingers together, the private was going to ask something when his friend threw a rock in his back. The private looked back as his friend whispered something into his hand.

"Hey....! You're acting like you dress up as Homger at conventions...!!!"

Not wanting to be compared to the ravenous Homger fanbase, the private turned around at Soreo who seemed unaware of the interaction.

"Sir, you dealt with that uh....monster in the UK, right?"

Soreo nodded, deciding to hop and lean back on the front driver's seat.

"Yes. I did. It wasn't much after all...." he noted, basking in his glory like it was the sun itself giving it to him. "Something like that was a piece of cake in its totality, something expected of a LEGACY Captain...."

Nervously, the private nodded and went along with what he said, seeming to avoid eye contact.

"Well, I actually ended up being right up close there when Demonicon revived....Honestly, I wanted to quit right then and there but- This sounds a little selfish of me to say-"

Shaking his head, Soreo cast aside the arrogance he had in times of levity and once again showed his age with his expression. A look of understanding.

"I'm sure it's fine." he assured kindly. "We're only human after all."

The private scratched the back of his neck with one hand while the other had his weapon, an assault rifle, lowered to the ground.

"Yeah. Well, I kinda sorta....wanted to stick around because I wanted to see Ultraman in action."

He looked up, his eyes watering a bit.

"I never really got the chance to see one in action....I was barely conscious back when Ultraman Mebius was on Earth and....at every turn all I saw were second-hand videos in class or on the news. I've never seen one in person, especially not the Ultraman you guys fight alongside."

He sighed.

"If I do end up dying, I don't care. I absolutely don't care. I-I just wanna see Ultraman in person before I go, that's all."

"Is it?"

The private darted his eyes to the side, cheeks flushing red while he bashfully said "And....I'd like that girl on your team's number....but, it's weird to ask you that...."

Taking a deep breath, Soreo looked up to the sky and calmly listened to the distant calls of cicadas. Their behavior the only thing being unchanged between the hectic weather or the presence of the kaiju.

"Well, as someone who was around when Mebius was, it wasn't exactly peaches and cream. Ideally, it seems almost nonsensical to want to see something that's only there when you absolutely need it."

"Do....we absolutely need Ultraman?"

Setting aside the launcher, Soreo looked back down at the private.

"Well, that depends on how you view their purpose in this world and yours. Like I said....there's something intoxicating about wanting something that only appears when you need it. I, we fell in love with those Ultraman above because they appeared in times where we needed something like that....and ever since then, we became enamored by them."

He folded his arms.

"Call it a selfish desire if you want, it is. They don't show up at your back and call, frankly you don't deserve to see it either just because you never have."

While the private was going to lower his head, perhaps turn around in shame that he even asked the question to begin with, Soreo would calmly place a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at the seasoned LEGACY member, formerly one of GUYS.

"But, that's just how love is. It's something that bends and twists logic in ways that you can't begin to understand, even as you grow older. It's something that can linger on, forever and ever.....just as immortal as those giants seem to be."

Patting him on the shoulder, he concluded "It's just a matter of how you go about....the resolve I suppose. I love my team, I love this job, and, yes, I have a love for the Ultramen too. But, what you have already can be more important than that love, don't forget that. Mindlessly chasing after that desire makes you no better than the monsters that have us here in the first place."

A single tear dropped from the private's eye and slid down his cheek as he saluted.

"YES SIR!"

With another pat on the shoulder, Soreo lightened up and said "Attaboy! Oh, and one more thing..."

"Oh? What?"

Soreo leaned forward, his eyes bulging and his other hand firmly grasping the young man's other shoulder. He peered into the depths of his soul, almost like the grim reaper himself was coming to collect. The private felt like he was going to be swiftly dragged into the afterlife with what LEGACY's acting captain had said next.

"If you ever consider asking out Kiriko again, I will ensure you don't have a house, income, or credit to your name. I will make you a homeless drifter forced to wander the Earth like Cain did and I will inflict pain upon you tenfold of what it felt like having you ever propose that I give you her number, twenty if you go through with it AND make her feel bad in anyway. Do I make myself absolutely clear?!"

"Y-YES SIR!!!!"

With that, the private ran off to go alert his friend so that they could get ready for the operation. Soreo smiled and let out a sigh of relief, happy to both clear up the private's worries and so that....Kiriko wouldn't run off with some random soldier were it to actually happen. He was all for the tea and everything, but none involving anything with her.

There was a glimmer in his eyes, something akin to a flash of red that briefly eclipsed their normally brown color.

("Of course....") he thought to himself. ("I'll be sure that you can see Ultraman. It's the least I can do.")

Concurrently, Nakashima was based somewhere in Nagasaki. It being later in the day made it somewhat enjoyable for him. Not being present for the operation itself or really any of this taking place and happening, but for once it felt relieving. All of this. Seeing hard working men and women competently putting together all sorts of contingencies and plans in effect. Even if he disliked LEGACY and some of their previous methods, their lack of professionalism and their questionable work ethic, he had to admit that the results spoke more for their case than anything else. And, he wouldn't have it any other way. The people of Nagasaki had cleared the streets, the roaring of water in the distance. Darking's second landfall would no doubt cause a typhoon that could ellipse the city without so much as a single action of being there. After hearing the reports of Darking's apparent durability and the outright proof with the navy's failed attempts at stifling his re-emergence failing, even with calculated projections of warheads in mind. These thoughts of his almost distracted him from the fervent rattling of the cage that was behind him.

Yes, a large metal cage with loud, rather obnoxious crying. The wailing at first was quite difficult to bear for some people, but they ultimately adjusted. Better than hearing the impending doom of two monsters, who when colliding would signal the end of all. Currently, he was being outfitted with some gear. State of the art military running boots, compact and thick armor the military had recently put in effect. Simply put, Kevlar but for monsters. He could resist upwards of a Chandora's fire- well, his armor would. It wasn't actually that heavy. It was far lighter than he could've presumed and after being handed what looked to be a flare, a soldier patted him on the back before muttering something.

"You're good to go...." she whispered. "But-"

"But?" Nakashima said, a bit cold. He was normally pretty relaxed around his men, just that the importance of the mission outweighed any sort of attitude he could put up to calm anyone down or be calm. "If this is about-"

She sighed.

"Yes, I know, sir....it's just- Wouldn't make more sense for someone like me? Maybe another one of us.....Not one of the new guys, but....maybe someone-"

Looking at the woman, she was actually older than Nakashima by a fair amount. 5 years, but given how people can age she could've been around Soreo's. The contrast between age and rank was mildly amusing, but the content of the conversation made the General a bit glum by her mindset.

"Listen. People aren't simply expendable, none of you are an exception. None of them, LEGACY, are either."

"I understand your mindset, sir." she replied sternly. "I may be speaking out of turn, but frankly you're the best leader we've had since GUYS' era. But, logistically, shouldn't someone who's less important-"

"That's the thing though."

Nakashima smiled, almost as though he was preparing to say this all along. A sort of sense of humor to his more straight laced personality.

"None of you are any more or less important to the operation. If I don't make it, then that just means this idea of me being the best one is a façade."

He looked forward, gently setting her aside as she in turn stepped back. Everyone around the area did as they could hear the faint roaring of Darking coming in the distance, followed by what looked to be the sound of the ocean's tempests being at their fullest. Despite the loud noise, one thing was audible to her and made the soldier who could've had ten years on the General decide to follow his orders aside from the intrinsic obligation to do so.

"There's always someone who can be just like you, someone who could be better. So, if I do die, just be better than I ever was."

Of course, at the same time in Fukuoka, the same thing could be said to happening. The heralding of Demonicon, who was steadfast approaching into the valley, each stomp rumbling the earth below her as the surrounding forest began to set fire. Deer in the area began to flee in the opposite direction. Birds were also taking off in the skies, their metal counterparts going in the direction opposite of them and unleashing a volley of missiles that promptly detonated in the face of the demon. Upon the smoke clearing, Demonicon slinked and swerved out of the consistent stream of tank fire coming from above. Before they even pierced the smoke, she was made aware and rushed through in her own way considering her large stature, it was akin to an elephant charging at an attacker and betting it all on its own strength. But, the strength of LEGACY, the military, Japan was made apparent once missiles began to find themselves detonating on her legs and calves. She let out a brief roar before snorting a bit. She would soon then collapse to the ground with a thud as she was further bombarded with shots to the back. Both by the swift and concise movements of the planes above, as well as more drawn out attrition, now tanks from all sides deciding to get in on lightning her body with all sorts of sparks. Even so, it was far from an easy matter. She raised her head and then shot a powerful read beam from her horns. It began striking everything on the hillside, causing everyone there to either retreat or find some stability in a frenzy. Boulders began to burst from the hillside and roll down, smashing onto the forest below and turning into rocks. The rockslide brought on surprising gifts such as tanks and even down airplanes, smoldering heaps of scrapped that caused more explosions in what was formerly a quiet valley as everything came crumbling around Soreo, he took a deep breath and alerted both private and his smart mouthed friend. Once they adjusted their seats the former shotgun and the latter in the back with a TWERK-athon launcher in hand, he got something from out of the compartment.

"W-wait...."paused the private as he pointed at the item. "Is that alcohol?!"

Chugging the flask that was in his hand, Soreo quickly tossed it into the air, to where it quickly ignited and burst into flames from the sheer heat that Demonicon was emitting. With a dumb looking grin on his face, the Captain of LEGACY didn't even care to respond properly and put the car into high gear.

"If I'm tooo slow, then that just means I'll go and take the car and you guys with you! B-But, I'm not letting that happen!"

He sped off away from the kaiju and around the similar time frame, once the retreat was in full swing it wouldn't take long for the tidal waves to overcome the city that was behind Nakashima. Activating the flare, its scarlet glow was soon raised into the air as the wailing abruptly stopped, soon turning into vicious growling. Abruptly starting and stopping. Surprisingly, Nakashima's eyes were closed during the fact and he tossed it behind him as hard as he could before he started to run. Those military boots? They started to get momentum and inertia, consistently boosting the kinetic energy that was started by the potential of what could happen to him. Fueled by the sciences of technology, by memories of running from his mother when she'd see his shotty report card, distracting human Skydon so his friend could have a chance with his true love (at the time) all of that allowed him to dash and dance around the city as a wave of cerulean engulfed everything behind him. Ripping apart buildings, throwing around the crate, and yes, heralding the arrival of Darking. With a snort, he could detect how relatively close Demonicon was. It was in his nostrils. And soon, it would be in his mouth with how close he could taste it. Debris began to be flung forward at the General, so he dodged and ducked under things like flying pots, pans, and rolled under what looked to be a car before jumping on top of a lamp post and spinning around on it like a gymnast, shooting into the air and landing on a rooftop that he began to hop from one to the other as the tsunami and eventual beast behind such a disaster could catch up with him.

Despite all the danger involved, Nakashima couldn't say he was happy to contribute. First of all, he was bravely defending Japan, the world from the deadly connection between the two beasts. He resisted against the stunning, or rather, the brutal roaring behind him that felt like every cell in his body was being forced to capitulate at just hearing them, nearby buildings collapsing in an instant before as so much as a drop of water could even begin to touch them. The way he was darting and swerving around the city made him think that he was playing an old level from a childhood game of his. In a way, he figured it was some sort of a City Escape, so it made sense to make that connection. Just as he had this thought, he saw shards of metal burst through part of the roof he was running on. The building was tall, so it was going to give way by the upcoming waves approaching. Taking a leap of faith, he thought to himself.

("It looks like Darking ended up seeing its face!!!!")

Burned into Darking's eyes was.....he remembered seeing something like them in space. When the water began to settle a bit more and the building violently crashed down, he finally realized what exactly he was seeing once it came in his face and attempted scratching at his body. It was a bare bodied and pale-skinned gray humanoid, soaked in blood with sharp teeth. Its eyes were effectively communicated that it hated the very thought of even being witnessed and so, it would be livid that its appearance was burned in the very retinas of this interloper from space. It clawed and scratched at the eyes of Darking only to be flung to the side like a fly. Post-effortlessly swatting the thing away, Darking continued to move as Nakashima did. Attempting to outrun the ire of both monsters as jets flew in the air past him, unleashing a barrage of missiles directed at the body of the beast. This was only a diversion. It did little once the beast arched his head back, announcing a loud and mighty call that forced the technology to submit to its will. The pilots ejected while the planes plummeted into the oceans. The metal birds of the skies being like Albatrosses now. However, before Darking could continue, he was once more assailed by the strange gray creature, the sudden surprise of its weird body clinging to his face causing him to stumble over and smash into yet another building before fully plummeting and a large geyser of water shoot into the air. As they calmed and receded, Nakashima took a breather, now on what seemed to be a Mcdonald's where there were less waters only about shoe high below.

He panted for a bit, but groaned mildly once he saw a gray body being rag-dolled into the air and then smashing down into what used to be a shop, the growling of the demonic dinosaur would be the next thing he heard. Seemingly, his stance lowered, and the spines along his body, his face including his annoyed glare, as well as his horns appearing while the rest of his body was submerged. He carried on in a serpentine crocodile like motion, gaining speed as Nakashima resolved to outrun him once again.

At the same time, an equally absurd sight was occurring back at the valley. The singular STAR-Rusher was being spun around various explosions in the forest. Trees, burning logs falling down as Demonicon back up again and let out another loud roar, signifying a massive repulse in heat that managed to fry some of the technology within the jets, causing more of them to rain down onto the ground below. The private in the truck was clinging onto the door for dear life while his friend with a launcher slung over his back attempted to comfort him in anyway he could. As for Soreo? He has his tongue out like a dog appreciating the refreshing wind from the safety of a car seat. As a wave of heat accentuated by bright flames came towards the truck, he used an upturned tree as a ramp and spun into the air, twirling around in 360 degrees and sticking his tongue out specifically at Demonicon. The beast actually noticed the gesture, emboldening Soreo to start clapping his hands and shaking his head like he was a certain internet personality. With that, he touched back on the ground and evaded another explosion, spinning around the wheel as thought it were a toy. Demonicon however wasn't amused by it, merely slamming her tail on the ground and subsequently catapulting the vehicle into the skies once more.

The sustained tank fire was being repelled consistently by the barrage of fireballs that Demonicon let loose onto the area. The rock slide had been annihilating the positions, so as was apart of the plan, they opted to stage a tactical retreat. Scaling above the valley and setting up a defense in Fukuoka proper so that she would have more resistance even after climbing the hill, assuming that she would. Seeing the files, it was clear that Demonicon was a good burrower, so how should the hellish dino be dealt with so that wouldn't happen? The answer was quite simple: Soreo being drunk. He started laughing like a maniac, the real stuff was starting to kick in almost instantaneously. It wasn't just an old sort of alcohol that was brewed, it was the kind of stuff confiscated by Sran immigrants that made them accelerate so fast they would end up crashing out into Bank of America locations when they were originally situated somewhere in Brisbane, Australia for example. At the right moment, just as they heat rising up and the ever-present burning of the forest seemed to be too much even for the trained soldiers present, Soreo had run up the monster's tail. The truck was now catching on fire with the private and his friend being forced to use the tarp originally meant for covering the launcher to try and fan the flames out, only for that to catch fire too. Wagging his tongue disrespectful, Soreo cackled as he snatched the launcher from the hands of his subordinate, hoisting it over his shoulder and jumping from the flaming vehicle.

As it smashed down into a smoldering heap of slag, sending both private and friend in the safety of an unharmed tree, albeit with some hostile birds that weren't too keen on their nest being disturbed by them or Demonicon, the Captain of LEGACY aimed the weapon and immediately fired the missile into the eye of the kaiju. A loud shriek, one that quickly deepened into a far more pained and threatening bray that switched to that of a roar echoed throughout the area like a collective alarm. One that was not lost on her counterpart, her glorious opportunity on the other side of the country being ever closer to her. Soreo seemed to be falling to the ground to his demise, meanwhile, Darking's irises began to narrow before they widened at hearing the call. Nakashima could see this too, looking back before hastening his pace. He was just about to see the horizon and he was going to try his hardest to grasp at it. If only so that those under his command could be able to do the same after this operation. The large mass that was formerly known as Darking began to ran at full speed towards the direction of the call and from there, it became a three way race to see who would reach what any faster.

The skinny and gray humanoid jumped on the back of the beast, attempting to dig its claws in his back and bite it however it could, but it seemed to do no good. Darking didn't comprehend anything else in the the area. Not the water seeping through his toes. Not the buildings that were no more than paper to it. It didn't seem to view the world as anything else anymore. Fully consumed, fully engrossed by something that he had not understood as such since the time he was with the larger mass known as Grimdo, that hive mind of souls and things beyond the comprehension of even beings ordained to guide and construct the cosmos as it was known now. In a fraction of a second, that's when Darking saw it. A small figure no more than a spec to him in the middle of the air while what seemed to be a thin ship larger than the other planes was directly hovering behind him. This was the little human's plan, wasn't it? He hadn't even noticed him until then.

Midair, Nakashima spread his arms like an angel. An angel ready to smite the demon before him. A powerful beam shot from the Midger and struck his armor, but didn't actually damage him. Instead it was more compact, more sturdy. It actually ended up turning into something of a full-body metal suit with the armor being more segmented now. Gritting his teeth, the newly appointed general of the JSDF swallowed his pride and any remaining fear he had while staring down the destructive demon in the face, whose horns were now glowing. Materializing as a result of the beam, a large katana appeared on the hand of the general as he curled it back, it being enshrined, almost enveloped in a purple energy akin to the body color of Darking. Closing his eyes, he rushed forward and put everything on look. Darking rushed forward and put everything on what he wanted to attain. Two slashes of energy passed North and South. The exchange of attacks were so great that the water began to ripple and shake. Ebb and flow. Spinning around each other, Darking looked over on the other side to see Nakashima in the waters, nearly face first and struggling to even keep himself above water. Chortling a bit, the demon looked and saw the gray creature on his nose now. Without so much as a second thought, he raised his head abruptly and with the snap of his jaws consumed it. And that seemed to be the end of that.

It was time to go save her.

As Nakashima's vision started to fade, he heard the distinct sound of what seemed to be a ship akin to the Midger in the sky, seeming to remain in the air due to some form of autopilot. He couldn't hear much, but he did latch onto some words. Words that were being exchanged as a rope was lowered down and he instinctively grabbed onto it.

"He managed to do it....He- He-"

"General Nakashima! General Nakashima!"

He couldn't really tell who they were, but he smiled before his consciousness faded away like the clouds in the sky. Parting ways for the sun to slowly set while the beasts on opposite sides of mountains would further collide in a middle ground familiar to LEGACY. Hakaikano was on one of the island chains and would surely be next. A meeting place and nexus point of destruction.

It was sunset. Would Japan, would the world itself die at sunset as a particular hero had more than 50 years ago? Well, that remained to be seen. Over where there had used to be a vast mountain, a large beast could be seen traveling and looming his dark shadow over the horizon. On the other side near the more woodland areas, forests where villages lay and the wilderness had dominated. Yes. The woodlands here had dominated for thousands of years, throughout many wars and events in Japan's history. Their fierce history of civil wars during the ages rife with feudalism now seeming small in comparison to the larger conflicts of galactic scale. Yet, it ws these woodlands for one of the very few times in history, burning with the intensity that could have only occurred when a large asteroid had struck the Earth millions of years ago. Walking through woodlands set ablaze was none other than her, the monsteress. She let out a roar and in return, her opportunity, her future mate let out his. There would still be some time before they met in the middle of the city, so for now, they would keep on a straight path. They rang out in silence, only being met with the sounds of crickets. After Plan B had fallen through, an evacuation order had already been put in place. Or rather, a response to have people stay within the city limits, considering that while they were on track towards Hakaikano the plan was to do everything in their power to make sure they wouldn't meet there. And, not just for the sake of a promise made to a man who could've been dead by now.

It would be revealed shortly. Demonicon lumbered forward, but briefly lurched back once she felt a stinging sensation in her foot. She spat out some fire abruptly, equivalent to saliva essentially. it began to sting again. Stepping on one thing led to another sensation, drenching her body in constant pricks throughout her skin, agitating old wounds that seemed to still linger from when she battled against that random human inside the 'robot', if you could call it that. She screeched in pain, motivating both oncoming tanks to roll in and jets to take to the skies to bombard her body with more missiles and artillery. Explosions shot up from the grass, knocking down trees and tossing aside any burning foliage which in turn were projectiles that would jam themselves inside tanks. The pilots would soon have to hop out before they abruptly exploded. If any remained, it would quickly detonate once a distraught but nonetheless determined kaiju stomped on them. Flames shot up into the air as she countered against the jets by merely raising her hands, rebounding back the missiles at them and forcing the pilots to eject as fire began to enhance the already warm-orange colors in the skies. But, her screams weren't just motivators for the remnant of the JSDF. They were for Darking as well.

Darking started to increase his gait, his stride going faster and faster. Men in jeeps and armored vehicles poked out of their windows and shot rocket launchers at his eyes, only for them to be swatted away and detonated prematurely with the mere flashing of his teeth. In fact, one of the soldiers in an attack helicopter in the many ordered to orbit around the beast from a safe distance for the scanning of data so that information would be more up to date had sworn that the beast could've had some strange form of grills. Either way, Darking would soon reach a similar check point, and it was all too obvious what this was now. A burst of more capsules, white smoke dousing itself all over his body and causing him to swing at the air rapidly. Roaring in vain, he began to slam his heavy tail onto the earth below, causing cracks to form and everything to shake. The heaviest of tanks toppled over. Being compressed under their own weight as the beast attempted to move past, beginning to limp for some reason. Perhaps some old wounds of his, if there were any, were being agitated due to the cunning of the humans. However, neither monster would stop overlooking them, they had to see each other. And, if it was at the point where they had to decimate the presences before them, so be it.

Both kaiju abruptly stopped movement and scanned the area. They saw the wide array of tanks on their respective sides lined up a bit past the edge of the city limits, preparing to fire whilst jets peppered their practically indestructible skin with projectiles. Sounds of cracking filled the air whilst the monster from space narrowed his vision, seeing soldiers in camouflage attempting to wade through taller grass and get closer shots at him with their rifles, which were less than specks to him. With them stopping their movement, it seemed a ceasefire against them would've been possible. But, no. Not only had so much been done at that point, but on one side a monster from space had a natural wildfire trailing behind him and letting smoke bellow into the air gently, the declining sun seeming to waft in the smell on its way out. The demon from Hell on the other hand was outright producing smog as everything surrounding her was beginning to be reduced to kindling. So, they continued to open fire and an exchange of explosions, screams, and roars began to ensue. Demonicon focused on shooting abrupt variations of the beams from her horns. When they were shut off just in time, massive chain reactions would occur and send heaps of burning metal into the air, causing the small humans to duck and run for cover however they could. Darking on the other hand was a lot more direct, lowering his head like a bird trying to get at rats in a burrow. He would then rush head first towards the tanks, toppling them over and ripping them to shreds. Whatever did manage to hit him in these instances were typically done away with either by the casual swipe of his tail or razor sharp claws. This sight of carnage and destruction was one that was being beheld to the entire world, even if they weren't witnessed to it by any form of recording. It was that important.

At that time, the command post in Hakaikano was in a frenzy. People were being pulled back from the battlefield to and fro to the point where the medical area became a free for all that forced the JSDF to reach out to any medical practitioners within the city to help. The doctors of Hakaikano worked in conjunction with those of the military to do their best, even if there was a witch doctor or two that kept on trying to throw ground-up Pagos remains onto the foreheads of patients for good luck. Weirdly enough, it at least made them more calm, so it was allowed. Standing in the middle of the chaos and about the only able bodied member of the 'elite' in charge of the operation accounted for, Hoshino II was in a tent completely swamped for time. He had his ipad on the table, a phone, another phone but it was based off of Mebius' likeness, another phone seeming to be from a western friend, and all sorts of different communicators. He was tapping them constantly and consistently, while there was another phone off to the side showing him Subway Surfers gameplay to stimulate his mind.

A soldier walked in, another one of the many people revolving in and out of the camp aside from charging all his devices to inform him of new developments as they happened. Blood was dripping down from his forehead even though it had already been bandaged, seeming to be exhausted with the bags under his eyes.

"Sir!"

Hoshino II didn't look up from his work, continuing about his business in a rhythmic pattern but nodding.

"Plan C is having dismal results, sir! The remaining Capsule Mines are starting to detonate prematurely now that the targets have turned up the heat. Our men can't even move the tanks out of the field, and some of them are coming in with hypothermia."

Hoshino II began to grit his teeth (still mostly baby teeth) as sweat began to drip from his forehead like he had just come from the heaviest monsoon known to man.

"Uh.....Umm...."

"What should we do, sir?"

"Uh....Try-try...."

"Sir!!!"

Hoshino II began to realize just as the Subway Surfers phone shut off. He and the soldier looked up, some who were passing by with supplies or to man different stations looking around as well. Some places in the command post had their power shut off, even though most of it in the city was being diverted to the base itself. It flickered on and off. It was there that the boy looked into the terrified eyes of the men he were now put in charge of, the brave men and women who were willing to offer up their lives in this siege. He was too. But, a thought came to his mind. Though he was willing to sacrifice himself, there was one thing he had to admit with his rather astonished yet also fearful expression.

"I'm not built for this...."

The soldier looked back down at the boy as he began to pull back, running towards him when he saw that he was hyperventilating.

"What? S-Sir....stay calm, breathe! Breathe...!"

He knelt down next to the boy and began to pat him on the back, trying to get him to calm down as he repeated to himself.

"I'm not built for this....I'm not built for this....I'm not....I'm not...."

"You have to be, sir" replied the soldier as he grabbed the boy by his shoulders. "Come on, you can do this. You can, you can, even if it's not a primary role you can do something!"

"Y-You're right...."

Hoshino II nodded, taking another breath.

"You're right but....all I know is support! I need someone else.....at this rate-"

Suddenly, the two began to hear a loud noise, one that rung through their ears louder than the persistent banging and roars outside, as well as the crackling of the flames steadfast approaching the city. The two inside the tent nodded, rushing out to see what had confirmed their suspicions. Just as they thought: two Midgers were flying in the air and rushing towards the battlefield that was courting the sunset. The personnel inside waved and cheered, some throwing their hats into the air when welcoming their particular arrival. While the thinner one rushed off in the area where Demonicon was attacking, the larger variation soon touched down at base. People made way and rearranged some things as some people got out of the ship, Hoshino II rushing off to meet them. And who he saw first had surprised him the most-

"S-Sir!"

General Nakashima was hoisted over the arm of Kiriko, smiling at his assistant and putting a hand on his head, ruffling his hair.

"Glad to see.....you've been doing well....I take it the plan's not working out, eh?"

Hoshino II gulped, clutching his Ipad close to his chest.

"I tried- We tried our best, Sir..."

"I'm sure you did. But, it- It l-looks like Hakaikano might be cooked...."

Turning to him, Kiriko shook her head before throwing him a thumbs up with her left hand, the free one.

"Don't count us out just yet, General. We have yet to even bust out Ichigo's next plan, not even mentioning our seventh member."

He coughed a bit, causing Kiriko to help him after he had finished, since he slumped down while doing so. Afterwards, he relented.

"I-I guess you're right....Though, I suppose I'll have to see this battle to the end at the Med Center....Thank you, LEGACY."

"No problem...." smiled Kiriko as she transferred the General of the JSDF into the arms of more capable soldiers who then put him on a stretcher, moving him to the overcrowding med bay, that was its own battle and chaos in of itself. Stepping out of the Midger next was Ichigo, waving at Hoshino II before putting his hands in his coat pockets and walking up to him.

"Hey, Hoshino!"

"It's Hoshino II...." grumbled the boy at first, before smiling eventually. He couldn't hide the fact he was glad to see them. "Things have been real bad now, those two things are gonna burn this entire area down while they're at it!"

Ichigo nodded, his smile disappearing and turning into a more serious expression.

"So we've been seeing. It seems like at this rate they'll melt Hakaikano before they even have a chance to touch....That being said, I've put two new plans in place and...a third back up in case things really hit the fan."

"What are they?"

"You'll see. We don't have much time to exactly discuss them, all I need you to do is send out an order to Hakaikano."

Hoshino tilted his head.

"What kind?"

"I want every active member of the Fire Department to assist on the side with Demonicon if possible, we....have countermeasures in place, but lot's of men from what I know are trapped under there."

The boy nodded.

"Got it. Anything else?"

"One more thing, actually!" said Ichigo as he began to walk back with Kiriko. The three briefly stopped what they were doing as the scientist said one last thing to the boy. "Transmit the commlink we have into this LEGACY Midger."

"Alright."

With that, the two rushed in the Midger and took off once again with a bit of fanfare while Hoshino II went to his tablet and got back to work. And hard work it'd have to be, coordinating all of that in such a figuratively and literally hot battle as this one. It was no small quagmire in terms of things, that was for sure. Soon the order was made and numerous fire trucks would be on the scene rushing over in the heat of the warzone, artillery no longer being used as a weapon solely for staving off Demonicon but now a viable way of ensuring their comrades would be rushed to safety in addition to having some reliable people there to help stave off the intense flames. Most soldiers were covered in heavy ash, the firefighters doused in larger doses and spraying their hoses at the highest settings they could, holding steady while others pulled comatose, burnt, somewhat crushed, and near frozen soldiers out of makeshift ditches made by metal vehicles being tossed about the place. Some of them cheered while others whistled as a Midger came flying in, striking Demonicon with blasts and causing sparks to shoot off of her body a bit. But that did little in stopping her. As one continued to pilot, a member of LEGACY jumped down with what seemed to be a fire hose as well. Wiping sweat from his forehead, the young man ran up to the other firefighters and nodded at them as his larger friend above kept up the firepower needed to hold off the hellish Carnosaur. Sure they were injured, but they weren't out of this fight completely with what time they had to recover.

On the other side of the battlefield, the very same thing was happening. Touching down in front of a massive explosion caused by those cursed energy crescents, the Midger landed gently in the shredded mounds of dirt and grass below, long since scorched and yet another one of the newly created trenches men were now using for cover at this point. Darking stopped briefly, growling and almost eliciting a grin. If they were bringing out things like this, it at least meant that there was an end in sight to this and he would finally unite with his well awaited opportunity, an opportunity to be free from it all. Things went silent, gunshots briefly stopping with only the roaring of the jets above, the battle going on on the other side of the city, and the mild crackling of the flames ahead as two new contenders stepped out. An unassuming man with glasses and a girl who quickly pointed at the kaiju, almost as if she knew that it was possibly asking 'Who are you people?!' To which, she would respond rather sardonically.

"Just a passing through LEGACY member, remember that!!!"

The man rolled his eyes a bit while the woman laughed, justifying her actions by saying "Look, I've always wanted to say that, alright....It's fun."

Clearing her throat, she stepped aside as did the man. Darking's eyes began to wince, before completely widening them. He was conned, confuddled, run astray and run amok. Throughout his travels across the country in the span of what was a day, which was rather fast in retrospect, he had never seen anything like this. A small looking man- although calling him that was doing no credit to his diminutive height, with blue hair and a tuxedo on, with what seemed to be a microphone in his grasp. Insulted, the beast arched his head back and let loose a roar that sent loose shrapnel and entire vehicles flying, forcing all but the new arrival to cover their ears and crouch before the mighty decree of the demon of the stars. The scientist and the woman were the first to get up again, although shivering a bit and their ears ringing. The woman glanced at the new arrival first.

"Are you sure you've got this....?"

Adjusting his collar, he nodded.

"As long as everything's been set up properly."

The scientist heard a noise coming from the Midger. The microphone briefly spiked in noise, causing an uncomfortably screech that even made Darking wince. Once it was done, he pushed up his glasses and smiled.

"Perfect. Seems like you're on."

As the man with the microphone stepped forward, it would be the scientist who would go on to say "I'm not really fond of you Wailing Rounders, but....that ability's useful. So, go out there and break a leg!!!"

Pumping her fist up and cheering, the woman encouraged him as well.

"You got this, Boyfriend! Go get him!!!!!"

That name! He had heard that name before. Darking recognized it. Perhaps it wasn't a memory inherit to him, because he could've sworn beyond the court of the demon that spawned him, that very man had challenged someone beyond any order he could've ever known. And it terrified him, sending chills down the spine of a kaiju who only knew the frigid environment of space was no easy feat. But still, he remained firm, knowing that forever being lonely in that void again was not an option he was going with. He would carry on as would this 'Boyfriend' individual. Tapping the microphone, Boyfriend looked up and sighed before taking a deep breath. He looked around at the surrounding area and the surrounding damage. Opting to say just one simple thing. "This goes out to all the real ones still fighting the good fight against these two. If they fight for they're love, we'll fight for our city, our country our Earth! So don't stop it, you all! The people of Hakaikano, the people of Earth, they don't want you to stop!!!!!" And in that moment, music began to play inexplicably and blare throughout the battlefield, overpowering and flowing through both the bodies of man and monster in the area. It caused Demonicon to stumble back in shock as another blast struck her in the throat, meanwhile, Darking was on the total backfoot as the land around him began to take all sorts of different shapes. The land began to shoot up from the ground as the soldiers, scientist, and the woman ran for cover, switching color and form, taking the appearances of all sorts of different cars from around the world. As what seemed to be Mater the Towtruck on top of a massive boombox appeared during the rift of various contients, fleet of vehicles primarily made of racecars the size of your average quadrupedal kaiju began to spin around the area, taking part in a large emerging racing track made of the planet's natural resources and assets itself. They'd ram harshly into the body of Darking as he flung large energy slashes at them, ripping them to shreds only to be hit with things like massive 18 wheelers made of dirt and rubble. Even so, the beast would continue and Try & Fight if he must.

That actually gave him an idea. He clenched his sharp teeth and began to open his maw, letting out a counterpoint against the massive sonic waves that the microphone Boyfriend had in his hand was emitting. They fiercely clashed, ripping apart the very constitution of the land around them and atomizing the ashen dirt into nothing more than particles ready to be blown apart into the wind. Everyone nearby began to hold their ears, but nonetheless in their support pumped their fists into the air in the hopes that it would work, because at the end of the day they had faith. No matter how far fetched or ridiculous it was, they continued to have faith no matter what. They began to chant in conjunction with the song, further pushing Darking back and causing him to stumble on his feet. Even then, the kaiju still held his ground and whilst thinking of the pain that his one and only was going through, he actually continued to counter, jagged spikes of the earth making their way towards and even from behind Boyfriend. The heat being emitted from the microphone was great, but not too great to the point where he wouldn't be defenseless at some weak point. Boyfriend somewhat new this, subtly faltering and even affecting the other battlefront. Demonicon was now unleashing beams and fire balls in conjunction to blow apart fire trucks, tanks, and everything around the land all the same, contributing her voice to the song somehow and in the process, melting the area where it was primarily taking place. At this rate, if they overpowered the master of the mic, Hakaikano would be blown away with a single wave of the sound, if not at least melting everyone within its path. But, someone in the trenches wouldn't let that happen. Clenching her hand onto dirt, that woman, Kiriko gritted her teeth and looked to her friend. No words were exchanged, she simply nodded and rushed towards him, avoiding a spike of dirt and blowing the other one off with the quick firing of her blaster. When she reached Boyfriend, they said nothing and she only grabbed the microphone as well. And there, the song changed. And there, things completely turned around.

Fire that was once simply the byproduct of Darking's heat, the byproduct of Demonicon's began to rise from the ashes like a reborn pheonix, reaching into the skies as the sun was ready to disappear from the horizon, briefly eclipsing it in its brilliance almost as if everyone the world over could see the turnaround and the spectacle that had signified it. It swirled around the microphone as Boyfriend and Kiriko sung together in conjunction with each other, bringing forth an inferno that put off the demon from space and forced him to scream, to shriek both in anguish and vain in a vain attempt to maintain his dominance over the situation. Whatever constructs that were being made from the result of their clash were being instantly burnt to utter crisps. To those watching such as Ichigo, it was like watching a Habachi except pillars of the ground were abruptly shooting up to the very skies themselves. And soon, it seemed the the sheer heat being emitted from the microphone stirred such a reaction that potentially reached the Earth's core. Having struck a cord with it, both humans and kaiju were propelled to the heavens themselves on an individual pillar. The setting sun was a spotlight as the final bridge of the song was about to be sung. The two looked to each other and nodded, both deciding to sing the bridge as another individual sprang up on a pillar completely unannounced. Darking coughed and spluttered, seeing a mildly inebriated man in his thirties clinging to a pillar for dear life as he clutched onto his damaged uniform, a look as stern as ever that made the beast reconsider his choices like he was being scolded by his father. His ad lib was reiterating something akin to what another had said, a tyrant king highlighting the resolve of his brother despite his detestable actions.

"Monster! We're Team LEGACY... We may have been completely silly, and descended in a path of utter nonsense... But, we do all those things alongside protecting people! I am the leader of such a team, Soreo Akira!!! And....And...."

The heat from the area finally culminated in something, an actual phoenix constructed from the heat, appearing behind them as the two singers continued, sweating as much as Soreo did when he shouted his final declaration at the top of his lungs.

"We will....defend the world, your love be darned!!!!!!!"

A large explosion detonated in the skies, causing a massive wave of explosive energy. Just as the sky went dark, did the meteors of fire began to fall, disintegrate, and then rain down onto the battlefield harmlessly as nothing but powder. The fallout from the explosion caused people below on either sides of the battlefield to duck their heads as the flames passed over Hakaikano harmlessly, but harshly blasted anything that wasn't hiding within the trenches with the harshest heat known to mankind. One of the Midgers crashed into the ground with a mighty explosion, dragging Boutaro along for the ride and jerking him into the fires. Not before having the hose in all the chaos he was holding striking Demonicon down the gullet directly and causing her to tumble to the ground. In the end, the military was exhausted, the members of LEGACY seemed to be incapacitated, and a now irritated set of demons on opposite sides were now going to make their move. Even emerging from a large crater and mountain of smoke, Darking remained somewhat unharmed with only scratches and minor bits of steam rising off of his body. Another sign was how noticeable his limp was. Demonicon was less worse for wear, but it seemed the injuries she sustained from before were going to take their toll soon. Their hearts continued to drive them forward as it was now night. Complete darkness aside from the light from the base. However, no one seemed to be panicked. Almost as if they were expecting some other contingent or aspect of the plan. And, the biggest sign at least from my perspective would be the smile Ichigo had as he looked to the sky, seeing a bright light that dashed and waved around the area. You could mistake it for a shooting star, you know? To an extent, the kaiju did as well. Hoping this would be the sign that there was light at this end of the tunnel that their loneliness had driven them to.

The light darted down towards Ichigo, in a blink of an eye delivering Boyfriend. The man with the microphone who was built like a munchkin waved at his rescuer, also grateful of the back up he provided on his last work against Vernon. From the trenches everyone looked in silence as smoked bellowed into the air like a chimney on Christmas Night. The light then rose in the middle of Hakaikano. It expanded and expanded and expanded further more until it was revealed who it was: a warrior clad in tight and restricting armor that was quickly burst off with a grunt and a flash of red. Pieces of the armor fell with great haste, smashing into both the heads of the weary Kaiju and causing them to growl in response. If this was the final battle, so be it. They’d overcome it no matter what.

Looking in the skies above as everyone gave him a resounding round of applause, you would only know it to be the one and only all time GOAT of Hakaikano City and future class of 2023 prospect when it came to being a transforming hero: Ultraman Rizanto. He waved but did not waste any time what so ever. As the two beasts roared, a deceleration of a challenge, the Ultra spread his arms as his Ultra-Mitten began to glow a bright blue. Waters that had flooded Nakashima, boiling hot and affected by the matter Darking had no doubt gotten on his skin from space began to swirl around the Ultra’s arms like a makeshift dress. He then clasped his hands together as the awe inspiring stream of liquid coiled and was concisely packed into a whip ten times the length of the warrior manipulating it. With a grunt, it twirled around his body and shot off into the sky like a majestic fountain. But, appearances can be deceiving you know?

“Rizzium Belt!!!!” shouted Rizanto as the current went sharp and spiked down at Demonicon first. A splash of azure light and a scream in pain gave the humans below confidence while the monster on the other side growled, more motivated to attack the warrior. He tried to rush towards the city as Demonicon dropped to the ground almost dead as a doorknob. However, Rizanto touched into the center of the city gently, abruptly turning and spinning around, causing the current to wind in a serpentine direction not so much as hurting or touching anything until the powerful mixture of blue and white struck Darking in the chest like a bullet before it tilted and struck the beast in the side, causing foam to spray out of his mouth as he dropped to the charred ground beneath him.

As people cheered his name, the young fighter did something unexpected. The Rizzium Belt was recalled back to his body before spraying in the other direction and latching onto Demonicon around by the waist. Steam lingered in the air as while literally kicking and screaming, the consistently dubbed demonic dinosaur got flung into the air like a firecracker and subsequently crashed on the other side where Darking was. At that moment, everyone either began to panic, trust in the plan nervously, or outright call Rizanto a fraud for what he had just done. The two were now a fair amount of meters apart, but could easily close that gap by running. In fact, when they both got up they stared at each other, marveling at their appearances and unsure of what to exactly say to each other. During this brief pause, Boyfriend turned to Ichigo, in the same boat with many of the concerned soldiers and citizens.

“Is this a part of your plan…?! You said if they touched-“

Ichigo simply turned and pressed his finger against his own lip, without saying anything.

“Trust.”

Shaking his head, Boyfriend clutched the dirt anxiously.

“If you say so….”

Regarding the monsters, they continued to stare, enamored with each other and completely taken aback. All this time, all this time and they didn’t know with what to start with.

Blushing a bright red, Demonicon tried to take initiative.

‘I caught y-your….signal, Darking, right?’

Darking stood still like a statue, forcing Demonicon to take a few steps forward and begin waving her claw in front of his face, causing everyone save for Ichigo to start panicking even further, it was going to be all over.

‘Hello….? Hello…?’

‘AHHHH!!!!’ roared Darking in fear, swallowing a lump down his throat before hopping backwards like a crippled Kangaroo in a bayou. The roar in question was so loud it caused a few soldiers to drop to the ground, paralyzed by the noise.

‘Hello. I-I’m…. Demonicon….’ she presumably cooed, attempting to still introduce herself.

‘D-Darking….y-yeah! YEAH!!!!’

Demonicon at the noise of his roar there nearly went paralyzed, sending the demon from space into a frenzy.

‘W-W-Wait!!!! A-A-A….AH!’

He dropped to the ground with a thud, doing his best dogeza he could manage given his upright saurian build.

‘I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!!! I’m so so so sorry, you’re the most beautiful monsteress I’ve ever seen babygirl pleeasseee forgive me, queen!!!! I-I’m so pathetic I didn’t mean to-‘

Kneeling down, Demonicon attempted to lean forward to comfort him but a spark of energy sent her going back a bit. He looked up and both of them could feel it, their connection. For her, the butterflies she felt in her stomach caused multiple new wildfires that were being fought to be put out while his….Darking didn’t know, deciding to ignore them.

‘Together we can….travel the stars together…’ you’d assume he went with. ‘You can be my traveling companion, and- I won’t need to be alone anymore.’

Demonicon bobbed her head.

‘It’s such a drab down in Hell. I-I want to see the rest of the universe with you. Even if we somehow go there, I’d…I’d spend the rest of my afterlife with you.’

They looked into each other’s eyes.

‘Oh Darking….’

‘Oh Demonicon….’

“OHHHH MY!!!!!!” shouted Mr. Kabuki from his mansion, eager to see what would happen next since he was watching a military recording of the incident.

Some soldiers were repulsed by it, others touched by the romantic scene. But, just before that could happen, a warrior dove from the skies and came between them directly. They only gave a little ground, but found they were divided by the one and only hero-

‘Ultraman Rizanto…!!!!’ hissed Demonicon probably. ‘Of course you’d be here to get in the way!’

Though the warrior wasn’t facing either of them, he then looked the monsteress in her eyes to see the hatred from her gaze.

‘You know Rizanto too?!’ growled Darking potentially.

Demonicon pointed her claws at the despicable giant, at least in her view.

‘This little welp right here’s the reason why Hell got so crowded! All the new annoying souls are down there in the first place because of him!!!!’

She let out a deeper, more guttural ground you’d hear from a Tiger just before it would charge at you.

‘And to make it worse, they never shut up about him!’

Growling with a similar tone, Darking seemed to nod in agreement, having similar opinions.

‘That little pest was the reason why my masters ended up retreating! Leaving me for dead against every New Generation Hero!!!’

Rizanto awkwardly chuckled, stepping back a bit to still be between them but enough to where he could see both of them instead of just having to turn around every time.

“To be fair, that was actually my copycat!”

Darking raised a claw.

‘You think the Mandela Catalogue is real?!!! I’ll tear you apart and show you some analogue horror!’

Demonicon raised a claw parallel to his.

‘We’ll break your wish bone for good luck, mate on your body, and use whatever remains as a good nest!!!!’

Rizanto briefly slumped his arms down, sighing to himself.

(“How do they know Earth internet horror and good luck, but can’t fathom the idea of a race copying my appearance….Demonicon I can excuse but-“)

Before he could finish his thought, Darking lunged forward with the chomp of his mouth, forcing Rizanto to leap into the air and land on his skull, shoving him into the ground. This had an effect that was a bit unintended though. The beast plunged into the ground wholesale and left a deep hole, causing Demonicon to fly into a rage and tackle a midair Rizanto who had been hovering over the hole and onto more stable ground. The two clashed and wrestled, the kaiju grabbing him by the arms and taking a bite into his neck, forcing the Ultra to use two of his fingers on his right hand, jabbing them precisely upwards at her jugular and forcing her to let him go. He dropped to the ground but didn’t have long to rest, rolling out of the way of a red beam of energy from the monsteress’ horns. The young Ultra leapt into the air before hitting her in the skull with a punch. He followed up with a series of blows at her neck before jumping back from a backhand swipe and even further when a spike jutted out of the back of her hand. A series of fireballs were thrown toward the Ultra’s way, who countered them by swatting them to the side before ducking under one and erecting a barrier of energy to withstand the others.

The explosions surrounding the Ultra, coupled with Demonicon’s insistence of using fireballs specifically. Just when he was going to cast it aside and continue fighting, he jumped into the air without even noticing and spun around like he were on a wire in a 1990s martial arts movie to avoid the other projectiles. It was only after a second that he looked down to see Darking acting like a crocodile with his jaws wide open. With a grunt, Rizanto swung his arms down sped downward before sending Darking down the hole he dug before rolling to the side and smacking away another beam into the sky.

"Oooooh Kay: Ultraman Beast!"

Now in his Beast Armor, Rizanto jumped into the air almost instinctively again, avoiding another attempt at Darking to snap at him from underground, this time abruptly stomping into the skull and whacking him back into the ground like a mole. He then used the space demon’s head as momentum to spring forward and slug Demonicon in the face. She countered by digging her spikes into his skin, but noticed that it was even solid. They only poked at prodded at his body, not even with enough force to shatter. It was there that she was met with a swift pile driver, then a haymaker, before finally being swung around by the tail and getting slammed into the ground belly-first. While she recovered, Rizanto quickly weaved to the side, nearly having his back to the ground himself as a large tail loomed over him. Of course, his attacker noticed something as well, a trail of lightning following behind him.

"Oooooh Kay: Ultraman Lightning!"

Disgruntled, his attacker not of Earth swung down, causing dirt and sod to fly into the air, but leaving him open for a gut punch that was coated in a read aura of electricity. Demonicon at this point had recovered, so after Darking briefly skid back the two rushed Rizanto and tried to attack him at the same time. His forearm blocked a swipe from one and his foot kicked the clawing of another away. Electricity spun around him as he did the same, a kick to ward off those claw spikes while a fist coated in red landed a mildly stunning uppercut. The more physically imposing of the two monsters rushed forward, but blue lightning trails in the air as he saw himself nearly about to bump a shocked Demonicon on the snout, making both of them blush. But, before any contact could be made, he got stomped on the foot and yanked back by the tail before it was capped off with a swift and brutal sidekick, causing him to wail a bit in discomfort.

Rizanto leapt back, motivating the two kaiju to try and unite together, to see how the other was doing. However, the Ultra simply crouched and shot lightning bolts from his hands in the finger gun sides, causing two large bolts of electricity to implant themselves in the ground. Opening his palms, electrifying energy filled between the two and made a net. With that, he made a makeshift ping pong paddle out of electricity and created an orb of lightning he’d whack at both monsters when they’d either try to attack him or to tear through the barrier.

With every time, they attempted to reason with their sworn enemy.

‘Come on! Just let me get my travel companion!!!’

“No!!!”

‘I need him! I need him!’

“No!!!!”

‘Pleaaaaseee Rizanto, I neeed this!!!! I’m kinda lonely, I’ve always wanted someone…’

Rizanto briefly stopped, ducking under a swipe as he was presumably criticized by Darking’s partner.

‘I’m watching your face, why are you laughing?!!! You’re so disrespectful!!!’

Rizanto clenched his fist.

“The answer is just….”

In a flash of light, he rendered the Beast Armor as his right arm became thicker, engrossed in electricity as the announcement “Miclas!” was heard. It bent through the makeshift net and caused what seemed to be a thunderstorm for anyone nearby, while those in the epicenter were met with a strike to the face for the gentlemen that sent him crashing onto the ground once again in a shocking heap, but also an equally as brutal backhanded slap for the fair maiden who skid on her back several meters away.

With smoke rising off of his fist, Rizanto finished by saying “No.”

Lumbering forward, their bodies lurched and ached as both kaiju got up. However, there seemed to be some congestion within the male’s throat. There was more than a noticeable lump in it and after some erratic coughing, a ball of grey coated in saliva spat out, Rizanto opening his palm and catching it casually. While Darking clawed at his throat trying to wonder what was up there in the first place. The answer was soon apparent, screeching and screaming in the palm of the Ultra. It attempted to lash out though when it saw the futility of its attacks, it only seemed to cover its face and turn away shamefully, whimpering into the night. It couldn’t stop the Ultra from looking at its face.

But, rather than doing anything particularly harsh, Rizanto’s other arm reverted to normal, and he used his finger to gently nudge the poor thing. It looked at him and it sniffled, still unsettled but relenting that it couldn’t really do anything else. A blue bubble of energy formed on the Ultra’s palm that covered up the being and it was gently tossed aside to one of the trenches to where it could be dealt with safely. He then looked between the desperate gazes of the monsters. Even with the scene and display of his strength, they still wanted to do more. As his gaze was fixed on Demonicon, Darking took the opportunity and tossed out the two energy crescents that tore through the air at such high speeds. However, Rizanto quickly spun around and clasped his hands around the attack.

He grunted and groaned, his muscles briefly bulging from the strain before he rubbed his hands together quickly, turning a combined energy crescent into a maroon color and having it lob off both of Darking’s horns, earning a shriek from him as they hit the ground with a thud. Rizanto then raised his right arm in the air, ready to finish this after seeing Demonicon wasn’t in much of a state to continue.

“This is over! Your love was strong, I’ll admit. But, it’s something too dangerous….I’ll have to ensure it never happens, ever!!!”

He spun the device on his arm, the sound ringing through the ears of the monsters. Their luck was over. Looking at this, Boyfriend seemed to be happy but looked over to see Ichigo frowning which was strange, given how this was his plan, right? Well, back at the battlefield, a flash of light and announcement occurred. Already assuming the kaiju he had gotten, Rizanto pointed his arm forward and shouted.

“Antlar!”

Silence.

“Antlar!”

He waved his arm, confused. He pointed it at Demonicon, but the same thing happened. The fact nothing had happened yet was starting to irritate the two kaiju who had already been trying to cope with the fact that they couldn’t do what they had always wanted.

“Kingsaurus III!”

There, the announcement finally got to Rizanto as he understood what was truly the case. A monster with three horns and sharp teeth was at one end of his arm and he was going to try to move it around to see how it worked. That was when all of a sudden, that arm moved on his own and Kingsaurus looked at him seeming to have an angry expression.

‘You schmuck! You gotta lotta nerve callin me out here like I’m some kinda mook!!!!’

“What?!!!” was all Rizanto could respond with, before he looked to see a newly enraged Darking charging at him. He shoved him back with his free arm a fair bit but was hit with a brutal swipe of the tail, knocking him into a swift head but in his back, forcing him to a knee. Even Kingsaurus decided to strike him in the head.

“Owww…!” he said, rubbing his head with his free hand. He then pointed at the rowdy attachment. “You’ve got a lot of nerve being uppity when you’re the one attached to me!”

‘Hey, hey wise guy, me bein attached to ya doesn’t entitle ya to my benefits, alright? You want my help, pay for it like everybody else!’

Darking at that moment let out a roar and was going to begin rushing Rizanto, only for the attachment to forcibly jerk the Ultra’s arm forward in conjunction with his neck movements.

‘Hey, pansy, stop right there!!!!’

Darking did so, screeching to a halt almost immediately.

‘I’m tryin to have a conversation here, and YOU’RE tryin to interrupt me! In fact-‘

He looked around, dragging the now tired Rizanto in conjunction with his movements. The Ultra’s timer began to flash, so not much time would be left.

‘What’s goin on here?!!!! ….Wait…’

A rose suddenly appeared in Kingsaurus’ mouth as he raised his eyebrow, looking at Demonicon.

‘Heyyy, Toots, whaddya say me and you go for a night on the town? Forget the bozo in indigo and indi-get away from im, I’m clearly better…’

He was promptly clonked on the head by Rizanto, prompting him to shriek in irritation at his interference. Since he didn’t have enough time, the Ultra explained the short of the situation to the attachment who looked around before laughing to himself, finding it quite stupid to think there even was a problem. Rizanto attempted to tell him Ichigo’s plan, but the attachment asserted his own idea.

“Are you serious?!! We’ll all die!!!”

‘Listen, this is a monster thing! I wouldn’t expect a no good Ultraman to even understand all of this. Just take it from me, kid.’

“Kid?! As far as I’m concerned you were born a few seconds ago!!!”

‘Listen, it’s not gonna be my problem if the solar system goes kaput, so at least try to listen, kid!’

Rizanto sighed, not really being able to switch the attachment off anyway.

“Fine, but if this kills me, I’ll haunt you as a ghost on behalf on the Earth!”

Kingsaurus III laughed.

‘Yeah, yeah whateva!’

Rizanto then jumped back, causing both monsters to tense up. Without any warning he jumped in the air akin to the Ultraman that returned and landed in front of Darking. With a single arm he tossed the beast into the air with ease and soon after did the same to Demonicon. He then landed on the ground, squatting like it was leg day and he had been doing it consistently since the day he was born. He then sprung upwards into the night sky with Kingsaurus III being put at the forefront. Both sides, both kaiju were flung into the air and the further atmosphere where they would eventually get closer, and closer, and closer. Everyone’s heart stopped in that split second while Ichigo looked at the skies and smiled, happy for them. Those two monsters. Darking and Demonicon looked at each other in the eyes before reaching out to one another. Their claws gracefully touched, if only for a moment, and it was all enough. As their bodies began to glow a bright red. It was as if a supernova was occurring on Earth itself. In-between the ever expanding ball of fire, Kingsaurus III came into the fold with his mouth agape.

The sphere of destruction that would’ve engulfed Earth, everything, but it didn’t. It retracted and retracted until the ensuing explosion was something more normal, perhaps even more mundane than the ones that had occurred that day at all. In the skies, the light of Hakaikano was like a star to the Ultraman who watched from above. His attachment had a smug, almost ‘I told you so look on his face’ before his arm returned to normal. Soon, Rizanto reverted back to his normal state and now with another thing to do, the Ultra flew away thereafter. It was finally over. They could meet wherever they were now forever more.

An hour or two would pass by. Hakaikano had been inspected for damage and not even so much as a pebble have been moved in any harmful way. It was untouched. It was the untouched city. The military would soon pack up and begin repairs on other countless cities that was already underway, though it seemed out of respect some foreign LEGACY members would assist with reconstruction. They were touched by the operation LEGACY Japan had executed and they had to pay their respects somehow. Soon, the military had largely returned to their bases or were doing other things, and electricity returned to Hakaikano proper. Maybe for others you’d find them in their base dreary and worn out. No doubt writing a report of the day’s hectic events that had taken a toll on everyone. LEGACY? They were already quite different from the average team. Instead, they spent their time elsewhere deciding to have more leisurely activities.

“Let’s gooo!!!!”

They were back at the quaint sushi place, having stayed open past its closing hours. The owner had been happy to, considering what those people had spent the day doing. Boutaro was bullying Takumicchi in Sparking Zero. Each time he’d try to rush towards Gohan, a character he was quite fond of playing, he’d always end up never landing any hits because of that accursed sonic sway. As a cheap Moro player, Takumicchi of course deserved to be relentlessly bullied by his former bully for such behavior, something that would conclude yet again with a simple Masenko. As the former Wailing Rounder was on the verge of rage quitting, an exhausted Kiriko opted to just relax and calmly drink some water while giggling to herself about Takumicchi’s struggles at the game. Mendou and Ryuga on the other hand even with the former’s injuries were locked in a fierce clash that only the strongest could engage in: arm wrestling. Their determined grunts could be heard throughout the quaint shop. Ichigo, Boyfriend, and Soreo were all sat at the counter eating sushi while talking to the owner about the day’s events.

Ichigo asked for some water to which Ryu obliged, handing him another bottle and drinking it. He then set it down on the table.

“Hey” said Soreo. “I-I need a bit more…”

Ichigo nodded and slid the water over to him, to which the captain arched his head back and poured the water into his throat. He then set it down and sighed.

“This hangover is something else…”

Ryu laughed, wiping down some of the table.

“I’d say that’s pretty light compared to what could’ve happened. You all are pretty lucky.”

He shook his head after pausing.

“Well, more like your plan came together. Even with complications….you and Ultraman managed to sort things out.”

Boyfriend turned over to Ichigo, a bit confused.

“That’s what I wanted to talk about, what exactly was your mindset there?”

The scientist pinched his chin, leaning back while trying to consider all the particular things that went into his mindset. As scatterbrained as they were during that time.

“Essentially, Plan A was to see if I could bypass their power but….realistically gambling that in of itself would’ve been dumb. So, it was an evaluation of their abilities.”

In-between groans, Soreo rubbed his head and looks up, adding his own input.

“Then B was to change their resolve….damaging them critically to where they’d want to see things through to the end and eliminating any threats stopping them rather than single minded-ly running through things.”

With that, Ichigo grinned.

“Now here’s the kicker. C was just reusing the ice capsules to slow them down, and I needed Boyfriend’s spectacular abilities to break through their seemingly endless reserves of stamina. Past that point, I counted on Ultraman.”

Boyfriend scratched his chin with his microphone, causing a bit of a loud noise which disturbed everybody, before adjusting it and continuing with his question.

“That’s the thing. Ultraman was dealing with both of them and….when it seemed he stopped them for good, you didn’t seem to like that. What happened now was by chance, so what were you going with?”

Ichigo sighed and scratched his messy hair.

“I…I figured that when Darking had a personal atmosphere, there actually was a way that they could’ve made contact without doing as much damage as they would’ve now. I felt bad….honestly. At the end of the day, monsters can lead lonely lives too, we’ve seen that with Munchagaizer.”

Having a more hopeful expression, he raised his head and continued with a bit more energy in his voice, even if he was still reserved.

“Ultraman was always going to bring a close to things, but I wanted them to be finished in a way that meant they’d at least get something too, even with all the bad they’ve done…”

Boyfriend raised an eyebrow.

“So, you risked the entire Solar System so two monsters could get play…?!”

“H-Hey! You make it sound wrong when you phrase it like that…!”

“That’s because it sounds wrong…”

Coughing a bit, the scientist cleared his throat and explained himself further.

“You saw how they were. Just like us, they didn’t know how to act when the opposite gender they’ve never interacted with was in their vicinity. But, aside from not really being predisposed to touching….I’ve spoken to Ultraman before. He’s fought alongside us and…I’ve fought alongside him more personally than anyone from this planet. I thought that if he could make the miracles he did that day then-“

Soreo raised his head, his hangover seeming to have disappeared from the genuine heart felt in his subordinate’s words.

“Then he could’ve here. He understood our intentions enough to at least follow through on things….he could’ve killed them, but he didn’t end up doing so in the end, and I think that’s miraculous. I thought he was the best today, for making that miracle happen.”

Soreo pointed at the scientist.

“Come on Ichigo, you made that miracle happen too. Your quick thinking got us all out of that jam. You and Ultraman, humanity and him made that miracle happen.”

Ryu looked at both sides and nodded in agreement.

“Well said, you two. Now….who’s up for seconds?!!”

Boutaro looked back and smiled, raising his hand and shouting "Me!" It seemed that the score between him and Takumicchi was 10-0, even after he picked both Beerus and Whis. Speaking of him, he weakly raised his hand in there and whimpered a dejected "Me too..."

"I'd kill for some!!!" shouted Ryuga at the top of his lungs. Mendou actually pointed at him because of this.

"Oh yeah you crook?! I'll arrest you for murder!!!"

"I want my lawyer!"

"You can't have one!"

"Ay?! Why not?!!!"

Kiriko yawned, raising her hand as well.

"Me too, now can someone tell these hot heads to cool off...?!!!"

To that, everyone in the room erupted in laughter while Ryu went on to make more Sushi. But, while the moon was still in the sky and looking down on Earth, what was happening beneath its surface? What could be happening now that both of the monsters were defeated? Well, deep in the recesses of Hell, it seemed that the party was just now winding down. Now in an area where the souls were at, Kelbim seemed to be continuously tortured by Femigon's spirit and this time no matter what his pleas would practically be unheard on my part despite his best wishes and attempts to get through to me. Himala never really did grab onto that weapon, only hopelessly reaching out with no seeming end in sight. But, aside from those souls were two nuzzling against each other. Curled up into balls of scales surrounded by their long reptilian tails, Demonicon and Darking had been like that with each other since they had gotten there. Throughout all that destruction and pain, they might not have gotten everything they had wanted, a little too much for that. But, they were content with remaining here in Hell, even if it was where all the idiots and tormented went to go, it was just tolerable with them being around each other. And, that's all they needed really. The waves of Demaagas were now next to a tear in space, no longer suffocating the expanses of hell as another one of them more elaborate looking like he was based off of razor blades stepped out. The Demaagas championed him as 'Kamisori'. He walked out of the crack as a strange monster hopped out as well, rubbing his hands as though he were expecting some sort of payment.

It would be Zaigorg who walked up to them to see what was going on.

'What's happening, Kamisori? Why are you here?'

The monster gestured back towards the tear in space.

'I was getting bored in that other dimension and I finally found a way for us all to party without putting too much pressure on Hell. I have Zadime over here, says he's doing this for five Sobgnets a piece.'

Zaigorg turned around, looking at all of the Demaagas.

'Who's gonna chip in for-'

"I will!" announced Suel, walking out of the nearby sauna with two shocker grunt women at each side of him, earning cheers from the Demaagas. "You wanna come along too, Zaigorg?"

Kamisori nodded.

'Come on, Zaigorg! We can't just leave you behind to manage this dreary old place!'

Zaigorg scratched his massive club arm on his neck, he was in an awkward position. Even the other Demaagas pleaded for him to go, presumably roaring things like 'We need you!', 'You're such a good entertainer', and 'Ain't no party like a Zaigorg party!'

It was there that he relented and sighed. But first, he had to do one thing. He actually took the time to walk over to the resting couple and ended up offering them his job. They didn't respond. Not out of any particular disrespect, but they were so....at peace, it felt wrong to weigh such a responsibility on them. Then again, maybe Hell needed something new after all, leaders and rulers firm enough to act when this peace was disturbed. He had heard whispers of their activity above and he couldn't say he wasn't at the very least captivated by that. So, he moved their souls to the highest point of Hell he could find, the watch below both tortured souls and the natural life of Hell while the others and him traveled en masse through the portal that Zadime the ever opportunistic penny pinching inter-dimensional cab driver was all too happy to allow, jacking up the prices to his leisure since they were covered by a rich friend. When the last Demaaga left, the souls of the cursed and the souls at the top who were at rest began to coexist in harmony whilst the natural life in Hell continued. It progressed as usual. Something akin to a pride rock, Darking and Demonicon lay on their bellies with monstrous grins on their faces, looking down on a new kingdom, one that they'd ensure was peaceful. One they'd ensure was a wonderful journey to explore.

And so, as the moon continued to shine, Hell continued to blaze gently under its light like a humble campfire. LEGACY had now known that there'll always be something new around the corner and no amount of wanting to rest or relax, or even really desires to change could justify that behavior. They could only act. You can rest gently knowing that even with their silliness, a promise is a promise when it comes to LEGACY. Nakashima fell asleep that night without even so much as saying a word to Soreo when the operation was over. His actions were more than enough to satisfy him. No amount of future interaction aside from those actions beyond words could change that. You can rest gently knowing that even with his mysterious attitude, a promise is a promise when it comes to Ultraman. A man would wake up in his apartment, rather tired and restless, only to see not the massive giant looming over him and making him seem insignificant in the grander scope of things, but something akin to his size. Raising the peace sign, the being nodded indicating to the man that a promise had indeed been kept. He smiled and nodded, whispering "Thank you, Ultraman. Goodnight." before closing his blinds and calmly returning to bed. You rest gently knowing that as long as Earth is defended both by a human willing to follow through on a sworn mission, a sworn promise. Knowing that an Ultraman is willing to assist and even cover for them in that endeavor. You can rest gently knowing that no matter your status as a human, as an alien, or even the worst of monsters, that promise is kept and secured to the end.

It's a miracle. It really is a miracle.

Next Time[]

Crops all over Japan are getting hotter due to the heat turned up by Demonicon and Darking's shenanigans, so LEGACY must get the milk! However, Japan's supply of milk is starting to disappear inexplicably. Team LEGACY dispatches to Boutaro's village to find the answer, only to be met with even more strange occurrences and people. While our heroes must convince a weary cow god to spare just a bit of milk, Boutaro must mend some old wounds involving dairy! Can they do it in time? Will Boutaro's father come back with the milk? Is the cow god still with Yapool?! Find out next time on Ultraman Rizanto Episode 12 The Milk Run.