Ultraman Solaris

Chapter 7: "The Fall of Ultraman Solaris"

"What do you mean 'we're done for?'" Gino asked, his confusion evident. Masato let out a deep sigh and prepared to explain the situation to his team.

"Well... I don't really know what happened exactly," he began. "We were going to attack the Dark Lord's stronghold, and then we found out the place was rigged with explosives. One of our agents ended up getting hurt during the operation."

Gino nodded, trying to understand the gravity of the situation. "That doesn't sound too bad, though. At least it gives us more chances to strike back later. I assume you want us to take this opportunity to finish the job?"

Masato hesitated before responding. The truth was, there hadn't been much left to do when they had defeated Mijiro the first time. However, before moving on to the next target, the team needed to ensure everyone was okay. "Yeah, but I'm not sure if it'll be enough to deal with the next target."

Koshiro interjected. "Oh yeah, what was that again?"

"A couple weeks ago, we heard rumors that the Dark Lord is planning something big," Masato explained.

Koshiro and Gino exchanged glances, unsure whether to be worried or excited.

The rest of the day went by quickly. Soon, the team stood outside their new target building, which looked like some sort of castle with stone walls and tall towers, surrounded by the remains of a moat. Although there didn't seem to be anyone around yet, they knew it would only take a minute for someone to notice them.

"Alright guys, let's go get those bastards!" Koshiro announced.

The team headed inside, with Koshiro leading the way. The interior of the castle was unimpressive, consisting of a long empty corridor lined with broken doors.

"Hey, look over here," a voice came from behind them.

They turned around just in time to see a man emerging from one of the rooms. He was dressed all in black, except for his face, which was covered completely with dark green goggles. The rest of the members froze for a moment, unsure of what to do next.

At some point, Masato started to wonder whether they should head home already. He was starting to get a little tired from all the waiting and didn't want to put in more effort than necessary. As if on cue, the door to the room suddenly opened, and an enormous creature emerged from it, looking even bigger in person than on TV. Masato was awed, and although he thought the monster looked pretty cool, there was something about him that made him stand out from the rest of the group.

The group quickly formed a circle, and Captain Yuujiro Tanaka gave a brief speech before they launched a frontal assault. However, Kei suddenly got up and ran toward the entrance. The group followed, but Yuna Sasaki kept making her way out of the base. Eventually, she managed to get close to Masato and tried to speak with him, only to be interrupted before she could do more than introduce herself.

Masato and Yuna sat alone together, watching TV and discussing many different subjects. At first, Masato couldn't understand her ambitions, but he eventually realized that Yuna had been living an ordinary life while trying her best to make it exciting and adventurous. However, he could feel that she wanted to become famous and make a name for herself. Although she hadn't realized her dream yet, she certainly wouldn't let that stop her.

That was why he decided to help her along her journey towards her goal.
Yuna told Masato about her past and about how everything she did was for the sake of others, as well as herself. Masato listened intently, amazed at her passionate spirit. Even though she was young, he felt confident that she would grow into a strong woman who would be able to fight with her head held high against whatever adversity lay ahead of them.

She also told him her story, how she grew up without a mother, and how she always dreamed to have a family someday. Her parents both died when she was young.

But sometimes even the things might get a little intense... 
In the end, they became good friends, despite Yuna still being a little hesitant about sharing so much personal information with a complete stranger.

That didn't matter to Masato, because he didn't mind listening to stories that showed Yuna had lived such a wonderful life, and even if she couldn't tell him every detail now.

The next day. Gomora was here again but he destroys even more aggressive and Masato take things quickly and he transformed himself into Ultraman Solaris again and he's getting more tricky to fight with that monster. This is bad, the mission was a success only once, and now they will lose two comrades in one day...

Masato thinks, feeling frustrated. They need a new plan, another strategy, anything to keep this from happening anymore. But it seemed that the universe just loved playing pranks on the Black Knights.

After the battle against Gomora, Masato was ready to head straight for the castle and destroy whatever was inside the building. Unfortunately, before he could move forward any further, Ultraman Solaris came crashing down, shattering the building. Masato's team was caught in the crossfire, but luckily, the enemy wasn't willing to give up easily.

Ultraman Solaris landed heavily near the building and sent waves of energy in all directions, destroying everything it touched. There are holes everywhere and pieces of rubble are flying through the air, covering Masato in dust. Thankfully, it wasn't very heavy to him and he flew away.

His eyes scanned the area, searching for Yuna, hoping he'd find her. It must've been hours since he last saw her. He was so worried, wondering where she was, if maybe she escaped safely.
However, the second he looked up, he spotted Ultraman Solaris hovering above him, pointing directly at him. A huge wave of energy shot out from the weapon and hit him, sending him flying far away.

Before he could land, his body exploded, leaving only a smoking pile of ash and metal.
No, not my armor... He thought, feeling despair creeping upon him. Why is this always the case?!

Why can't I do anything right!?
When Masato finally regained consciousness, he was lying helplessly on the ground, in the middle of nowhere. What happened? Was this a dream...? He wondered. It certainly felt real, though. He felt pain in multiple places and a massive pounding headache. But he did it to defeat Gomora and he's surely can communicate better with Ultraman Solaris.

Maybe he'll be able to fix everything...
Wait a minute. No! No, you mustn't dwell on the past. Focus. Think about the mission!
He reached his hand in front of him and used his powers, trying to summon Ultraman Solaris.

When nothing came up, he frowned and tried again. Still no luck. Maybe his power was gone. He didn't remember it being taken off, but maybe that meant it was useless to him now. He closed his eyes, trying to think clearly. His head hurt like crazy and he was having difficulty thinking straight.