Chapter 8: EPISODE 8: UNCAPTURED MEMORY
It was 8.30 a.m. at the Nagata's. At the time, Riko Nagata was waiting for her friends for her class reunion as the reunion was organised by herself. She greeted her friends happily when they entered the door.
30 minutes later, as they were about to slice the cake,
"Hello! Sorry, I'm late!", said Yuko as she entered the room hectically. Kazuya also entered the room with her as he is also one of her classmates.
Suddenly, Riko would reply with an answer that no one guessed.
"I'm sorry, who invited you here, traitor?", said Riko angrily.
"What? What do you mean? Isn't this supposed to be our class reunion?", asked Yuko.
"I'm sorry, 'our' class reunion?", Riko provoked.
"Riko, she's one of our classmates too. Don't be rude to her.", said Tamika, one of her other classmates to protect Yuko.
"I'm sorry, this reunion is not for betrayers like you, so, please, go back home. People like you didn't deserve to be in a celebration like this. Out!", Riko urged Yuko to get out of the studio. Yuko felt betrayed by her.
However, instead of being mad at her,
"I'm sorry, I think I shouldn't be here. Have a nice reunion, guys! Good day to you!", said Yuko before leaving the studio. Even though Kazuya was starving after watching the delicious food that was brought and served on the table along with the cake, he decided to chase after Yuko.
"I'm sorry! I have to go! Have a good day!", said Kazuya before leaving.
"Huh...Kazuya wanted to join the betrayers' club too? Fine.", said Riko loudly.
"Riko-chan, you shouldn't say that to Yuko. Isn't she's your best friend at school?", asked her mother who was a photographer for that occasion.
"Best friend? I don't even know people named Yuko in my life!", replied Riko. Her other classmates, at the time, didn't have the guts to say anything about the incident.
In the meantime, Yuko was still running while being chased by Kazuya.
"Riko, how could you say that to me? I was so excited to meet you! How could you...how could you, Riko?!", Yuko monologued while running away from Kazuya.
"Yuko-chan! Stop! I can't run anymore! I haven't had my breakfast yet!", said Kazuya who was chasing Yuko while struggling to catch his breath. Minutes later, he would fall onto his knees and fainted immediately in the process.
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Meanwhile, at the island of Iwanejima, two fishermen were on their boat at the time, waiting for fish to take their bait for almost two hours.
"Hey, I can't wait here anymore! I want to go home!", said one of the fishermen.
"Just wait for another 5 minutes!", said the other one.
"Oh, no, no, no. You have said that 50 times already today!", said the first fisherman.
Suddenly, the second fisherman saw one of the rods were pulled. He immediately called his friend to help him to pull. As it turned out, they caught a marble-patterned sphere instead of fish.
"Aaaah, another garbage! Hey, throw it away!", ordered the second fisherman to his partner. As his partner was about to throw it away back into the sea. The sphere burst into lights. The lights damaged their eyes. Later, the boat was cut into half like a knife through butter while the two fishermen's bodies were never seen again.
(Mebius no Uta played)
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Back at the Phoenix Nest, all of the members had gathered in the direction room for a meeting. As Ryu was speaking in front of his comrades. He saw that Yuko's head was down throughout the meeting. The captain called her name so that she could pay attention to the meeting. However, she didn't reply to all those calls. Moreover, she was silent throughout the meeting.
After that, all of the members gathered around her table to see if she's okay except for Eiji who went back to his 'habitat'.
"Yuko-chan, is there something wrong?", asked Konomi politely.
"Yuko, if you had something to tell, just tell us, okay?", added Ryu.
"That's right, we're like a family, remember?", added Mizuka. Instead of telling the truth within her silence, she stood up out of a sudden and left the direction room.
"Yuko-chan!", called Kazuya. "Excuse me!", said Kazuya's while bowing down to his other teammates. After that, he ran towards her. All of the members were confused because of yuko's current behavior.
"What happened to Yuko-chan?", asked Marina.
"I don't know, although she's a shy girl, she had never been this silent before.", added Teppei.
"Yuko-chan...did something happen to you?", Konomi monologued.
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Meanwhile, at the Nagata's, Riko started to argue with her parents about how she treated Yuko at the reunion.
"I don't get it! Why are you guys protecting her instead of protecting your own daughter?!", asked Riko loudly.
"No, the important question right now is why did you do that to her earlier? Isn't she's your best friend since you're still a kid?", asked Mr. Nagata. "Best friend? Huh...why would I have a best friend like her? I'll rather be alone than having a friend like her.", said Riko arrogantly.
"I don't get it. Isn't she the one who used to cycle with you during your youth? Isn't she the girl who came to each of your birthdays since you're 3?", asked Mrs. Nagata.
"Yeah... that's the same Yuko I've known since I was a kid. However, I would never know that the girl that hanged out with me since my youth is a betrayer!", added Riko.
"What happened to you, Riko? I remembered clearly the moment when you cried each time Yuko has to go home right after you played with her each day!", said Mr. Nagata.
"It's true! I didn't see the face of a betrayer. All I see was a face who loved you like her own sister. We had a good connection with her parents because of you guys!", added Mrs. Nagata.
"Of course you said that because you've never the real side of her!", shouted Riko angrily. Her parents started to get confused after she said that.
"What do you mean, we haven't seen the real side of her?", asked Mrs. Nagata.
Riko started to tell her parents the story of how she got separated from her best friend.
"Since we moved to middle school, I started to notice that she started to get busy with her work from the photography club. I'm fine with that until one day, I asked her to attend my birthday. I also asked her to bring her camera with her for pictures. I waited, and waited, and waited for hours for her to come to my birthday. And, then, Tamika came...with a hand-cam. She asked me to watch a clip. I watched it and I saw with my own eyes that she said that, "Why would I have a stupid, needy friend like her? I have already achieved my dream. She was never there when I was struggling to reach my dream." I was extremely shocked when I saw that clip.", said Riko.
"And, then...", asked her father.
"The next day, when she was on the way with his 'boyfriend', Kazuya, I walked straight to her and I slapped her as hard I can. I couldn't believe that she said those sentences about me. She didn't reply to my statement at all. She didn't do anything to fight my statement back. I thought she would say things like, "I've never said such things about you." But, it never happened! Since then, I would never treat it like my best friend ever again.", said Riko.
"Are you sure the friend that Yuko mentioned was you?", asked her mother.
"Mother, she has no other friends other than me in school. She stuck with me almost every day in school until she entered the photography club. I thought we're still best friends although she had a lot of work to do. Instead, she betrayed me right in front of my eyes!", said Riko.
"No way...no way a girl like Yuko would say such things to you! I don't believe it!", said her father. She became terribly angry and hit the table as hard as she can.
"What's the matter with you guys? I thought you wanted to protect your daughter who is sad here? Or, is it because Yuko is more important to you. She's more deserving to be your kid than me? Is that it?", asked Riko.
"Riko, we didn't say that because we love her more than we love you. We just can't believe that you're mad at her.", said her father.
"Aaaahhhh, that's it! I'd never believed that my parents are on her side. Fine!", said her while running towards her bedroom. Her parents, on the other hand, were left silenced.
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Back in the direction room, Kazuya returned half an hour later. However, the others were expecting a man and a woman to return.
"Hibiki, where's Yuko?", asked the captain.
"I've been told by an officer that he saw Yuko took a bus at the entrance gate. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to ask her where's she going.", said Kazuya.
"She took a day-break today to go to her house. She said she wanted to release her stress.", explained Chief Sakomizu who entered the direction room just in time.
"That's weird. She has never behaved like this. Wait, Hibiki, you said you guys went to a reunion this morning, right?", asked Ryu.
"Yes, sir.", answered Kazuya.
"So, it must be connected to this morning, right? Because she was just as happy as always yesterday.", said Mizuka. Kazuya didn't answer back to Mizuka's statement. At the same time, an officer entered the direction room.
"Excuse me, Hinode-san asked me to tell you guys that the lunch special is almost out.", told the officer.
"Well, I think we should have our lunches first. You guys must be tired and hungry, right?", said the chief.
"I agree with you, captain. I think it's time for us to eat. Then, we figure out what to do with Yuko, okay?", added the captain while patting Kazuya's shoulder. "Let's go, guys.", asked the captain. One-by-one members left the direction room unwillingly.
"Kazuya-kun, let's eat first, okay? I know that you're worried about Yuko-chan. Yes, I'm concerned about her too. But, you need to concern about yourself too, okay?", Marina advised Kazuya who was silent for a couple of minutes.
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All of the members eventually went out of the direction room but not all went to the cafe. Instead of going to the cafe, Kazuya went to the balcony to get some fresh air while thinking about his best friend since middle school.
"Kazuya-kun, you'll regret if you didn't order your lunch special yet.", said Konomi who followed him secretly.
"I'm not hungry, Konomi-san.", replied Kazuya with a flat tone.
"Kazuya-kun, I know you're concerned about her. But, she will be more worried if you're sick. I've noticed that you haven't eaten since morning. It's not good for your health you know.", said Konomi.
"I'm not hungry, Konomi-san.", replied Kazuya again.
"You know, you can tell me what really happened to her.", said Konomi.
"But...Konomi-san, I've promised to her...that I wouldn't tell the others what happened.", said Kazuya.
"Kazuya-kun, GUYS is like my family. You guys are my younger siblings. Isn't it a responsibility for the older sibling to take care of the younger ones?", said Konomi. Kazuya was still hesitant about that. "I'll promise. I won't tell the others.", added Konomi while letting out her pinky. Kazuya agreed as he made a 'pinky promise' with Konomi.
Then, Kazuya started to tell her what really happened to Yuko.
"This morning, our classmate has organised a class reunion. The others asked us to come as well. Both of us were hesitant about whether to go or not. Eventually, we've decided to go. But, things didn't go very well, as she was kicked out of the organiser's house. She got mocked terribly by her, but she didn't fight back. She apologised politely and left the house. I didn't get kicked out, but I got out willingly.", said Kazuya.
"That's terrible. The organiser, she must be in a bad mood.", said Konomi.
"That organiser...was her former best friend.", said Kazuya. Konomi was quite confused when he said that.
"Her best friend...?", said Konomi.
"Yes, in fact, she's her first friend and her only friend during primary school. I met Yuko-chan when we're in middle school but her friend took it very well. She didn't get offended because of me, fortunately.", said Kazuya.
"I see...So, what made her best friend turn against Yuko-chan?", asked Konomi.
"One day, I was going back home. Then, I saw her, sitting on a bench, crying heavily. I immediately ran towards her. I asked her, "What's wrong?". Then, she replied, "Kazuya-san...she turned against me...". I was extremely shocked when I heard that. "I didn't say such a thing to her...I swear! But, she didn't believe me...She called me a liar...She said I've betrayed her. She said that I'm willing to replace her with my hobby. I never compared her with my hobby...! She's my only friend, Kazuya-san...! But, now, I'm all alone!", she said.", said Kazuya.
"So, her friend thought that Yuko-chan was more concerned with Yuko-chan's hobby than her?", asked Konomi.
"That's what I understand. I actually never knew what really happened but it seemed like my assumption is correct. Since then...her best friend behaved as they've never met with each other. Yuko-chan tried multiple times to make up for her mistake, but her best friend had never accepted her apology. She became stressed about it. I've once heard from her parents that she didn't eat for five days straight after the incident. She only drinks glasses of water when she's thirsty. Her weight was lost drastically. That's why I'm concerned about her. I'm afraid that the same thing could happen to her again. I didn't want to see her be like that again. That's why I'm sticking with her wherever she goes.", said Kazuya.
"Yuko-chan is very lucky to have a friend like you, Kazuya-kun.", said Konomi.
"It's me who felt lucky to meet her, Konomi-san.", replied Kazuya.
"I felt the same way as you, Kazuya-kun. I always wanted to have another friend who is willing to hear my feelings. Yes, we've just met recently but we're like besties nowadays. And, I'm grateful because of that.", confessed Konomi.
"I felt grateful as well. For a few years, I've been waiting for that smile. And, I never believed once in my life that she'll smile again.", said Kazuya. Konomi felt sorry for Kazuya when he told her, his feelings for Yuko.
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An hour after lunch, the CREW GUYS gathered back at the direction room. Suddenly, they were notified by an incoming message from Director Misaki.
"Teppei, answer that call.", ordered Ryu.
"G.I.G! Projecting to the screen.", said Teppei while projecting the call to the screen.
"I've just received a call from the headquarters. CREW GUYS has been ordered to investigate the lake of Iwanejima Island. Two fishermen were reported missing this morning in the middle of the lake.", said Misaki.
"Is it a kaiju attack?", asked Donna.
"We can't confirm it yet but we received information from the locals the boat that carried both fishermen was cut into two. The locals didn't notice any terrorist attack on them. Therefore, it might be a kaiju attack.", said Misaki.
"Got it... we'll dispatch immediately.", replied Sakomizu.
"I wish you the best.", said Misaki before she closed the call.
"Ryu, order your team to dispatch.", ordered Sakomizu.
"G.I.G! You heard what the chief said!", said Ryu.
"Ryu-san, I think it's suitable for all of us to go to that island since we didn't know yet whether it's a kaiju or not. Besides, if the kaiju's amongst the citizen, with our numbers, the chances of it getting busted would be increased.", said Teppei.
"But, be careful if the kaiju starts to attack the people. We don't want any casualties, okay? GUYS, SALLY GO!", ordered Ryu.
"G.I.G!", all members replied. Kazuya, meanwhile, stood still for a while as he remembered something.
"Wait, if I'm not mistaken, Yuko lived on that island. I better go!", Kazuya monologued. He immediately ran towards the hangar through the hangar door right after he realised.
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Yuko, in the meantime, was hanging out at a noodle restaurant. Minutes later, her order has arrived in front of her. She thanked the cook for preparing the food before eating. As she was eating, a woman entered the restaurant.
"Good afternoon, uncle.", said the woman. The woman in glasses took a seat beside Yuko. "Uncle, one ramen, please, same as her.", said the woman again.
"Alright, miss. Please wait, okay?", said the waiter who is also the owner of the restaurant.
After the woman made her order, "The ramen here is delicious, right?", said the woman. Yuko felt awkward as the woman asked her out of a sudden.
"Y-Y-Yes...", answered Yuko hesitantly.
"I felt weird, though. The ramen should have tasted bad.", said the woman.
"Why? Have you eaten ramen here before?", asked the curious Yuko.
"No, this is my first time here.", said the woman.
"But...how can you determine the taste of the ramen whether it's good or bad?", asked Yuko again.
"The ramen should have tasted bad because you had lost your sense of love. How can you still feel something good although your feeling of love is gone?", said the woman in black. Yuko started to feel weird about the woman. She started to change her seat to the other side of the counter.
"What did she said just now? "I've lost my feeling of love." Well, I can't say that's wrong, but how did she know that?", Yuko monologued curiously. At the same time, another woman entered the restaurant. She sat between Yuko and the woman in black. Yuko, on the other hand, didn't take a peek at her left as she sensed something weird from the woman in black while the particular woman kept staring Yuko who was eating quickly so that she could get out of the restaurant as soon as she could.
As she was done eating the ramen, she called the owner, paid for the food, and left quickly as possible. When she was leaving, the hand of the woman in between both of them accidentally collided with her glass. Yuko realised the situation and reacted swiftly as she caught the glass just in time before it hit the ground.
"Here you go, miss.", said Yuko while giving the glass to the particular woman. She was exquisitely surprised when she realised that the woman in between was Riko. Yuko ran out of words when she saw her former best friend's face right in front of her. Riko had a sudden change of plans as she asked the owner to pack the food instead of eating there. As soon as she received the food, she stood up from her seat, and then, left the restaurant. Yuko, on the other hand, started to chase her. Meanwhile, the woman in black stood up and left the place as soon as her order arrived.
"Eh.... where's that woman? She hasn't taken her food yet. Well, at least, she hadn't left the place with the food without paying. Oh, well, I guess it's for me.", said the disappointed owner while eating the unclaimed ramen.
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Back to Yuko's situation where she was chasing Riko. After minutes of chasing down her former best friend, she finally caught her friend just right in front of a walkway tunnel. Riki resisted watching her former best friend's face.
"Riko, tell me! Why do you hate me so much?! Why haven't we talked to each other for years, now? Why are you angry with me?", asked Yuko. Riko didn't answer her questions, unfortunately.
"Riko, if you have problems with me, I wish to settle it right now!", said Yuko while holding her shoulders.
"Stop it, Yuko.", said Riko while pushing Yuko's hands off her shoulders.
"Riko, just say it! I don't want to be like this anymore!", said Yuko. Riko, on the other hand, gave the same reaction.
"Riko...! Can't we be best friends like before?!", asked Yuko. Unfortunately, Yuko's actions made Riko reach her breaking point, as she slapped Yuko as hard as she can and pushed her.
"You can ask me multiple times but I will not change my opinion on you. That is...the garbage equality of a human!", said Riko. Yuko felt heartbroken when her former best friend said that straight from his mouth. Moments later, Riko started to enter through the tunnel as she refused to go back. Unexpectedly, she was greeted by a medium-sized Ragon. She screamed loudly as she was shocked by the presence of the kaiju. Luckily, Yuko was there to save her as she pointed the Triger Shot when she heard the scream.
However, Yuko was still struggling to use the Triger Shot, as she usually does the action from the direction room. She started to shake heavily while pointing the Triger Shot. The Junior Ragon 'croaked' as a response to Yuko. She immediately let go of her Triger Shot. Then, she realised that she brought her camera at the time. Out of panic, she used the flash from the camera to scare away the kaiju. Luckily, the kaiju got afraid and left the scene.
In the meantime, Konomi and Mirai arrived at the scene as they detected an unidentified lifeform and heard someone screamed from far.
"Yuko-chan, are you okay?", asked Konomi.
"Konomi-san, Mirai-san, how do you know I was here?", asked Yuko.
"We were investigating a case here on this island. Coincidentally, I heard someone screaming from far. I immediately looked for the source. And, then, I found you and your friend.", explained Mirai.
"Okay, right now. Let's go somewhere safer for us, okay?", said Konomi. Yuko agreed to her. Riko, on the other hand, resisted when Mirai moved towards her.
"Go away! I don't want to be saved by you guys!", said the rebellious Riko.
"It's not safe here, miss! You've just faced a kaiju!", said Mirai.
"I don't care! I don't want to be saved by you weirdos!", said Riko. Mirai insisted to save her but he got pushed away from her. At the same time, he heard a sound coming from the tunnel.
"Konomi-san, Yuko-chan, I will chase after the kaiju. You guys take cover, okay?", said Mirai.
"We'll be okay! Good luck, Mirai-kun!", replied Konomi. After that, Mirai went on to chase the kaiju while Konomi and Yuko urged Riko to go to a safer place.
After Konomi and Yuko brought her to a safe place, Riko became rebellious and slapped Yuko again for not hearing her.
"Let go of me, you betrayer! You didn't deserve to hold these hands anymore, you know that?", said Riko. "So, you left me for this, monster-chasing madness? Good for you, good for me, then, cause I'm no longer be in the same direction as you. I'm satisfied, you know?", continued Riko.
"I don't get it! Why are you being so mad at me?", asked Yuko.
"Easy, because you chose your career, your hobby over your friend who has been at your back since we were younger! You told me many times, that you would never separate from me! But, you didn't keep it! Adding to the misery, you've confessed that I'm a useless, idiotic, and spoiled girl to your other club members, remember?", said Riko. Yuko was silenced while Riko continued to scold her. "You know what is the biggest mistake of my life? Meeting you.", said Riko before running away from Yuko and her senior.
Yuko was bitterly disappointed, as that insult made by Riko was the cruelest amongst all. Her tears started falling down her face.
"What did I do wrong...Riko? What did I do wrong?", said the sad Yuko. Konomi felt touched when she saw her junior experiencing a bad time.
"Yuko-chan, calm down. You're not alone. I'm with you.", said Konomi.
"But, Konomi-san, she's special to me...I don't know what happened to her. But, our childhood memories...are precious to me.", said Yuko.
"Yuko-chan, I never said to you to forget her, right?", asked Konomi. Yuko felt confused with that question. "Don't get me wrong, I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone. No matter how much you were betrayed, no matter how far you're separated from your loved ones, never lose your love to them. Your love for them will eventually show them the way back to you. Like we did with Mirai-kun!", said Konomi.
"When Mirai-san was far away from you guys, you guys had never lost your love to him. And...", said Yuko.
"He returned to us. Even though he lost our memories with him, he did come back the same Mirai we knew. And, that's one of my most precious treasures...Yuko-chan, sometimes in a friendship, you had some downs. However, you should never lose hope in your friends. Because sometimes, it is hope that makes a friendship tie strong.", said Konomi. Yuko silenced while understanding what Konomi really meant. Then, Konomi brought out Yuko's uniform from her bag. "Yuko-chan... we'll help you, we'll help you to repair your friendship with your friend, okay?", said Konomi while handing Yuko's uniform. Yuko started to wipe her tears as she received encouragement from her senior.
"G.I.G!", said Yuko with enthusiasm.
"We're a big family, Yuko-chan! Family sticks together!", added Konomi. After the words of encouragement from Konomi, both of them hugged it out.
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Riko, in the meantime, was running through the abandoned road beside the river. She was scared to walk there as the road was blocked with abandoned cars, cars that were on fire, broken signs but she had no choice but to run through the road to avoid herself from Yuko.
Unfortunately, she was greeted by the woman in black.
"You're... you're that woman in the restaurant!", shouted the terrified Riko.
"Riko...Riko...I can't believe you recognised me from the restaurant. But, I'm sure you didn't who I am yet, right? Although, I gotta disagree about that. You know me very well.", said the woman in black.
"I know you very well? What do you mean?", asked Riko. The woman immediately put off her black shades. Riko was shocked when she found out that the woman in black was one of her classmates, Tamika. "Tamika-chan, what's the meaning of all this?", asked Riko.
At the same time, Heolstor arrived at the scene. "Well...well, the little girl didn't know the truth yet. A poor little girl. Tamika, if you please...", said Heolstor while clapping his hands.
"Tamika, who's that freak? What's the meaning of all this?", asked the panicked Riko.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Riko, Yuko was 100% innocent from the start. She had never talked bad about you! In fact, she loved you so much to this day. But, who did drive her out from the reunion earlier today? Hmmm, let me guess. Oh yeah, you! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!", said Tamika.
"But, why did you...?", asked Riko.
"Oh, you wanted to know why I separated you guys? Cause I was treated like an outsider when we moved to this neighborhood! Didn't you remember? We were best friends before we moved here. I wish we haven't moved here in the first place. You know why? Because I don't want you to meet her. The day we moved, both of you quickly become best of friends! How about me, you ask? I WAS LEFT ALONE! YOU TREATED ME LIKE WE HAVEN'T KNEW EACH OTHER! And, for your information, the day I separated you guys was the greatest day of my life! That is...until now.", said Tamika. Riko suddenly felt goosebumps all over. Tamika, using the power that was given by Heolstor fused her with a big black sack. Thus, changed her into the gigantic Mother Ragon. The sack contained the passed-out Mother Ragon that was separated from her son.
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Mirai, on the other hand, was tracking the junior Ragon before the mother appeared.
"Gun Loader! This is Mirai, kaiju detected on the site! I'll send you the pictures!", reported Mirai immediately through his Memory Display. Then, he took some pictures using the same gadget before sending them to Teppei who was in the Gun Loader.
"Document SSSP has a record for the kaiju. Undersea Humanoid, Ragon.", said Teppei to all members of CREW GUYS. Then, Kazuya realised that the kaiju acted weirdly as it's afraid of something.
"Wait! Don't attack the kaiju yet!", warned Kazuya.
"What's wrong, Kazuya-kun?", asked Marina.
"It didn't attack the city.", said Kazuya. All members would observe the kaiju's behavior. It turned out that Kazuya was true.
"You're right, Kazuya-kun. It didn't even leave a scratch to the city.", said Mizuka.
"Maybe it's looking for something.", said Eiji out of a sudden.
"Eiji-san, what do you mean?", asked Haruzaki suspiciously. All members hesitantly waited for his answer.
"I don't know, maybe it's just my intuition...", answered Eiji. The answer was quite disappointing for all the members who have waited hesitantly.
"Ryu-san! Allow me to take over. I'll see what I can do with it.", Mirai volunteered.
"Looks like you're the only one who can communicate with it. Counting on you, Mirai!", said Ryu.
"G.I.G!", responded Mirai before bringing out his Mebius Brace, and then, changed into Mebius.
MEBIUS!!!!
Mebius faced the terrified kaiju. The kaiju, on the other hand, still didn't want to fight at the time causing Mebius to not attack. Instead, Mebius would try to communicate with it. Within seconds, the kaiju told Mebius what did it wanted. Later, Mebius would do hand signs to the crew in-flight to indicate what did the kaiju wanted which is her son. Unfortunately, all members didn't understand what Mebius meant as all guesses from the members were incorrect.
"This is bad. They didn't understand me. I wish I could them that Ragon wanted to find her son.", Mebius monologued while scratching his head.
Suddenly, "Ragon wanted to find her son?", said Marina. All members were shocked when she said that. Mebius heard her as well, and gave her a thumbs-up, indicating that guess was correct. "Oy, Marina. How do you know that?", asked George.
"I don't know... it just comes to me.", said the confused Marina. "What was that? I felt like somebody is speaking to me telepathically.", Marina monologued internally. The mechas started to move out to find the son while Mebius arrived to calm down the kaiju.
At the same time,
"Huh, that's it? I thought the feeling of hatred would make it more fierce. Oh, well, looks like I have to go with the plan B.", said Heolstor who observed the kaiju and the Ultra. Then, Heolstor would give the kaiju, the virus of Chaos Header. The kaiju started to become violent as the eyes of the kaiju turned red and a crest on the face appeared. Mebius was shocked when the transformed kaiju started to strangle it. Fortunately, he managed to release him from the kaiju's hands. Mebius realised that at the time, he had to fight like usual as the kaiju started to attack. However, he also realised that although the kaiju was violent, its power was never upgraded as the ray emitted from the kaiju was the same as the ray of the original.
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Meanwhile, Yuko and Konomi who were ordered by Ryu to find the junior found the junior at the edge of a river.
"Ragon Jr. detected. We'll approach him slowly.", reported Yuko.
"Alright, approach him with extreme caution. We don't want him to be afraid.", said Ryu. After that call, Yuko and Konomi started to approach him slowly.
Unfortunately, their effort of approaching slowly was pointless as the kaiju ran towards them and hugged them tightly instead of running away from them. The two were shocked but grateful at the same time as they didn't have to chase it again.
"Hey, there, Ragon-chan. What's wrong?", asked Konomi. The junior kaiju would immediately point to his mother.
"Oh, your mother, I see. What happened?", asked Yuko. The little kaiju tried to explain with hand signs but both Konomi and Yuko didn't understand what he meant to say. Luckily, the little kaiju somehow knew how to draw. Coincidentally, he realised that Yuko was carrying a piece of paper and oil pastels inside her bag. The kaiju pointed to her bag indicating that he wanted to use paper and her oil pastels.
"Oh, you want these things? Here...here!", said Yuko while handing those things to the little kaiju. The kaiju, then, would use his drawing skills to tell them what he wanted to say.
After he finished drawing, he pointed to the paper so that the two members would have a look at it.
"So, that's a girl, that's a girl in black clothing, and a guy in a black robe, carrying a sack. Am I right?", asked Konomi. The kaiju nodded. "The girl in black clothing threw some sprinkles onto the girl and the sack. Am I right?", asked Konomi again. This time, he shook his head sideways indicating that her guess was wrong. Konomi continued to guess what Ragon Jr. wanted. At the same time, Yuko saw something odd on the other side of the river. She would find a grey jacket and fish fins.
"'Konomi-san, come here! I found something!", said Yuko who was at the edge of the river. Konomi and the junior would run towards her. Both of them took a look at the jacket and fish fins. When the junior got his hands on the fish fins, he would recognise that the fins were similar to him. He would put the fish fins beside his own fins.
"Ragon-chan, these fins are the same as yours!", said Konomi. Yuko at the same time saw the muddy footprints stopped at the same spot as it was drizzle raining at the time. Yuko would find a wallet inside and found out that it was Riko's.
"Wait a minute, the girl with black clothing threw sprinkles at a girl and the sack. Both of them later changed into his mother.", Yuko monologued internally. From that moment, Yuko would find out that the mother Ragon is also Riko.
Yuko, Konomi, and Ragon Jr would run towards Mebius.
"Mirai-san! Be careful! That Ragon is my friend!", shouted Yuko to Mebius. Mebius nodded indicating he understood what Yuko meant. Since then, Mebius started to act more carefully. He started to restrict his light ray powers.
Despite that, the mother Ragon was still controlled by the Chaos Header. Because of that, it continued to attack Mebius rapidly.
"The kaiju's getting more violent. Assist Mebius!", ordered Ryu. And, then, George saw something odd with Mebius' behavior.
"Hey, wait, why is Mirai not attacking? He kept blocking the attacks instead of attacking.", said George. All members would take a look at Mebius.
"That's not good! Mirai-kun would get injured again!", said Marina.
"Captain! Can't we do something?!", asked Mizuka. The captain would be mad. Suddenly, the Gun Winger started to move closer towards Mebius and Ragon.
When the Gun Winger was metres away from them, Mebius would kick the kaiju off him and then resisted them to attack.
"What's wrong, Mirai?!", asked Ryu.
"Looks like Mirai-san...is telling us to...", said Mizuka.
"Not to attack the kaiju...", said Haruzaki.
"I see...but why? He's got beaten terribly but still wanted to protect that thing.", said Ryu. At the same moment, he was contacted by Yuko.
"Captain! Please don't attack the kaiju!", begged Yuko.
"Yuko! What's wrong?!", asked Ryu.
"That kaiju, is fused with my friend!", said Yuko. All of them can't believe what she said.
"Wait a minute! So, you mean that if we defeat the kaiju...", asked Donna.
"... we'll kill her friend in the process.", continued Eiji.
"But, Yuko-chan...we can't just stay here, doing nothing!", said George.
"Please, I beg you! There's must be something we can do!", begged Yuko.
"Dammit! Teppei, any ideas?", asked Ryu to the researching Teppei. He started to get panic as he couldn't find a suitable solution for the situation until his pouch fell off his laps.
When he reached down to get his pouch, he realised that something came out from his pouch. It was a METEOR Capsule; Spirit Separator.
"This capsule...when is the last time I used it? Oh, yeah! The one I used to separate Misa-san from that kaiju Femigon.", said Teppei. And, then, he realised something, right away. "Wait, I used this for separating a human from a kaiju...I got it!", said Teppei. He immediately inserted the METEOR Capsule into the GUYS Tough Book. After that, he would analyse the capsule.
"Teppei, have you got the solution?!", asked Ryu.
"Ryu-san, I've got it! Use this, the METEOR Capsule.", said Teppei while handing the capsule to Ryu.
"Isn't this Spirit Separator?", asked Ryu.
"Yes. But, since we don't have the METEOR Shot with us, right now, we can use one of those slots by the maneuver mode lever. Insert it in, and the ray will be emitted using the Spacium Laser slot. But, we need Mirai-kun's help to use his Mebium Shoot alongside this.", explained Teppei.
"Teppei-san, isn't the METEOR data could be transferred into our Memory Display?", asked Konomi.
"Yes, but not all data would be transferred. This will decrease the level of effectiveness.", said Teppei.
At the right time, Yuko saw something inside The METEOR wirelessly installed into her bag. Coincidentally, she found a blue capsule.
"'Konomi-san, what is this?", asked Yuko to Konomi for recognition.
"Oh, this is it! Yuko-chan, this is the Spirit Separator!", said Konomi. "Ryu-san! Yuko-chan found the Spirit Separator capsule in her bag!", reported Konomi.
"Really?! That's good news!", said Ryu.
"How did it get in the bag? Hmmmm.....", Teppei wondered. Then, he remembered that he made another Spirit Separator capsule the night before, where he was bored at the time. He made another capsule just for fun. And, when he took a nap, one of them hit Teppei's hand and fell directly into Yuko's tote bag. "Oh, I made another capsule. Maybe that's what hit my hand yesterday when I took a nap.", Teppei monologued.
"Yuko-chan? Do you have a METEOR Shot?", asked George. Yuko checked her bag as well as Konomi's bag. However, none of them contained the METEOR Shot.
"Oh no! I forgot to bring it with me!", said Konomi.
"It's okay! Just use the Triger Shot. Insert the capsule into Memory Display. After the METEOR data got installed. Install it into the Triger Shot. But, you have to hold the trigger longer so that all cartridge would be used.", explained Teppei.
"Alright, then! We'll assist them! Marina, use the Laser Net to restrict its movement!", ordered Ryu.
"G.I.G! Laser Net, fire!", said Marina while firing the Laser Net from the Gun Loader. As the net was fired onto Ragon, the kaiju started to move slower as its body got stuck onto the net. Konomi, meanwhile, took the chance by installing the Spirit Separator into her Memory Display.
______________________
At the same time, Kazuya would find a crucial discovery.
"Donna-san! Look at your sensor! I've sent you something!", said Kazuya. Donna would look onto his screen.
"Wait a minute. What's that rainbow thingy inside it?", asked Donna.
"After a body scan, I found out that the rainbow particles are able to mutate their cells. Therefore, I think that thing is the reason why that Ragon looks different.", said Kazuya.
"So, if what you said is true, then how can we pull the particles out of Ragon?", asked Donna.
"The 'crown' has a high concentration of that particle. Maybe if we attack that part, the cell would be out through that.", explained Kazuya.
"Alright. Captain! Requesting for METEOR usage.", asked Donna.
"METEOR Ban, lifted!", said Ryu.
"Permission to shift, maneuver!", said George and Donna.
As Donna was about to push the lever, he saw something came from above the Gun Booster. Some missiles were fired by the uninvited MONSTRO. Those missiles were fired towards the trapped Ragon.
"What is that? Are those missiles?", said George.
"Hey, people, didn't we decide to not attack the kaiju?", asked Ryu.
"It came from above us, captain!", said Donna. Ryu would look up and immediately saw a flock of jets, flying above them.
"This is Aihara! Please stop your fire! We're executing a plan here!", said Ryu. The other side, unfortunately, didn't reply. They continued their assault onto the kaiju.
"Captain! Why are they continuing with the attack?", asked Mizuka.
"Dammit! They didn't reply to my message!", said Ryu.
"Calm down! Looks like we're the ones to take down their missiles.", said George.
"Those MONSTRO bastards, I would never let you ruin our plans yet again!", said Haruzaki enthusiastically.
However, the uninvited MONSTRO jets continued to fire missiles towards the trapped Ragon although CREW GUYS tried to block their attacks. At the same time, Yuko heard something coming from behind her.
"Konomi-san! Did you hear that?", asked Yuko.
"I heard it, too. What's that?", answered Konomi after she heard the same thing that Yuko heard. The sound got louder, second after second. They kept looking at the tunnel behind them.
Moments later, they would see a light in the tunnel. The light started to get bigger from time-to-time.
"Hmmm, kinda sound like a missile. Don't you think so?", asked Konomi. It turned out to a missile for real after 10 seconds of staring at the tunnel.
"Konomi-san! Junior! Look out!", shouted Yuko while pushing Konomi and the Junior Ragon to the side of the tunnel to protect themselves from the speeding missile. The missile eventually hit the trapped Mother Ragon.
After the missile hit its target, a man with a missile launcher on his shoulder would appear out of the tunnel.
"That black attire. Isn't that a MONSTRO attire?", asked Konomi.
"Stay out of this. Leave this to the expert.", said the MONSTRO personnel.
"You're calling yourself an expert? Don't you realise that there's a human inside that kaiju? Isn't MONSTRO was built to protect humanity?", said Yuko.
"We're built to destroy those invading creatures. So, stay out of this!", replied the MONSTRO officer. Konomi tried to take the missile launcher away from him but the man easily pushed her away.
"Konomi-san! What are you doing? Stop it!", said Yuko to the MONSTRO officer after she took care of Konomi. Suddenly, they got trapped in a net when the officer used his net gun. The man changed his attention to the trapped kaiju. He started to point his missile launcher towards it.
As he was going to push the trigger, the junior Ragon's size started to increase. Its size eventually freed themselves from the net. However, that couldn't stop the officer from pushing the trigger. The junior Ragon would cover his mother by using his body as a shield. Luckily, Mebius was there just in time to use his Mebium Protector to block the missile from the man and the jets. The man kept firing although it's Mebius who covered them.
"Why are you shooting Mebius for?!", asked Yuko.
"Why not? He's not a human. He's an alien. He's an outsider.", said the officer.
"What are you talking about? He fought with all his will just to protect us, humans!", said Konomi.
"Not my business. Besides, who knows, maybe he'll betray you one day!", said the officer. Meanwhile, Yuko saw Mebius' color timer has turned to red.
"Konomi-san! The color timer!", said Yuko.
"Oh no! Hey, mister, stop the attack, please! If you keep attacking, Mebius will be out of energy!", begged Konomi.
"Good, then…our plan will succeed!", said the officer.
Mebius' Mebium Protector would eventually fade out as he started to lose energy. Konomi and Yuko thought that the officer would stop his attack when the shield's down. However, the man had other plans in his mind. He loaded several attachable bombs into his missile launcher and shot it towards the titans. The bombs would hit Mebius' knee and Ragon Jr's abdomen. Then, he would bring out the remote from his safety jacket.
"Once he push that button, Mirai-kun and Junior will be in grave danger!", warned Konomi to Yuko. Then, Yuko would take action by running towards the grounded titans.
"If you want to kill them…you have to take me down first. I would never let you separate me with my best friend again!", threatened Yuko. Konomi was shocked when Yuko volunteered to sacrifice her life for the titans. The man, on the other hand, would laugh as hard as he can.
"You?...HAHAHAHAHAHA, are you serious?! Look at you compared to their size! You're just an easy target for me.", said the man. He started to put his finger on his handgun's trigger.
"Luckily, I'm bigger than the humanity in you.", threatened Yuko. That statement has made the man mad. Then, he lifted his missile launcher to use it to kill Yuko.
"Yuko-chan!", shouted the worried Konomi.
As the man pointing the launcher, the man got himself a heel kick from Donna. The man would pass out while the heavy missile launcher would land onto him. The remote, on the other hand, faded into existence when Kazuya used his experimental weapon.
"Kazuya-chan, what's that?", asked Donna.
"My experimental METEOR capsule, Particle Destroyer.", replied Kazuya.
"Mirai-kun, use your Mebium Laser and shoot it towards the crown on the mother's head!", ordered Konomi. Mebius would charge his power to execute his attack. "Junior, make way for him! It's okay! I promise you! We're gonna save your mother!", shouted Konomi to the junior who was blocking his mother from the threats. Junior was scared at first but his trust towards the humans would make his trust in Mebius stronger. Then, he made the way for Mebius to fire his Mebium Laser to the 'crown'.
The crown was destroyed into pieces. The kaiju became calmer after that. The junior would release his mother from the net.
"Mirai-kun! Use your Mebium Shoot and point it towards the abdomen of the kaiju! At the same time, I��ll use the Spirit Separator!", ordered Konomi again. Mebius would charge his power again to execute his finisher while Konomi would put the Memory Display inside the slot of the METEOR Shot.
"METEOR overdrive."
After that, Mebius would execute the maneuver towards Ragon. At the same time, Konomi fired the Spirit Separator towards the same target. Both light rays would fuse and then, hit Ragon at the same time.
As a result, Ragon would shrink into a regular human-size while Riko was successfully separated from the mother Ragon. Junior, at the same time, used his powers to shrink himself into his previous size.
______________________
The mechas, on the other hand, had an air war with MONSTRO jets.
"Dammit! What's wrong with these people?", said Ryu who was having difficulties, attacking multiple jets at the same time.
"Their jets kept coming out of nowhere! There's no stop to this!", said Marina. Unexpectedly, a light ray from nowhere destroyed the jets with one hit, saving their lives in the process.
"Whose ray was that?!", said the surprised George.
"Strange. As I remembered, Mirai-kun's Mebium Shoot has the same color as regular fire. But, that light ray….", said Teppei.
"…was gold and black-colored.", added Mizuka.
"Whose ray was that?", Haruzaki monologued. The mechas were able to go back home safely after the assist from the unknown source of the light ray.
______________________
Meanwhile, Yuko greeted Riko while Ragon Junior met his mother. The Ragons bowed down to the CREW GUYS for helping them.
"Junior, be a good son to your mother, okay?", said Konomi while rubbing Junior's head.
"I wish you all the best, okay?", said Yuko. The Junior would hug both Konomi and Yuko tightly. After that, the Ragons went back to their space-traveling sphere, or their spaceship. Mebius lifted it and flew into space. The crew waved them goodbye.
At the same time,
"Yuko…I'm sorry for all these years. I should have found out whether it's true or not…I was-", said Riko. Suddenly, Yuko hugged her friend as tight as she could. Riko, immediately, replied to her hug.
"Stop crying, Riko. The past is the past. At least, now…we're back together, right?", said Yuko. Both of them started to cry. Both Kazuya and Konomi were touched. "Friendship…so beautiful…I can't stand it…", said Donna who was crying a waterfall at the time. Konomi chuckled when she saw Donna cried like that. Later, she would give her handkerchief to Donna.
______________________
Then,
"Yuko, since we're back together. How about a picture to redeem my mistakes to you?", asked Riko. Yuko smiled brightly after her friend asked her for a picture together for the first time. She immediately agreed.
"Yuko-chan, let me take the picture, okay?", Kazuya volunteered. Yuko and Riko would enter the frame.
"Yuko, can you ask your comrades to enter the frame as well? Taking a picture with CREW GUYS is such a huge honor for me.", said Riko. Yuko would then called all of the members including the members who had recently landed.
"Captain! You guys! Enter the frame!", said Yuko. All of the members would race themselves into the frame except for Eiji.
"Not another picture…I want to go home!", said Eiji. Mizuka and Marina would pull both of his ears and drag him into the frame.
"Stop nagging! Just get into the frame!", said Marina.
"Okay! Okay! Just let go of my ears! It's painful!", Eiji begged them to release his ears. Eventually, both of them did release his ears, and Eiji entered into the frame, unwillingly.
At the same time, Mebius was back from space. "Mebius!!! Enter the frame!", shouted Yuko. Mebius immediately did a 'peace' sign as soon as he entered the frame.
"Okay, everybody, on the count of three, says 'GIG'! Three, two, one, GIG!", said Kazuya while taking the picture.
"G.I.G!", said the people in the frame.
After the picture was taken, Kazuya would take a look at the picture taken on the camera's screen. Suddenly, the glass lens cover suddenly became loose and fall to the ground. Kazuya reacted weirdly as his eyes opened widely.
"Oh no! It's glass!", Kazuya monologued. He would give the camera to Yuko and said, "You know what? I'm just gonna chill in the Gun Speeder, okay? See you guys there." Then, he would run towards the Gun Speeder while screaming all the way terrified. All members and Mebius looked to be confused.
"What on Earth, happened to him?", asked Ryu. All of them would lift their shoulders out of confusion.
"Thank you, Riko. For allowing me once again to share my happiness with you. I hope that our bond will stay strong. Thank you, Konomi-san, for giving me courage with your invaluable advice. Thank you, CREW GUYS. I hope this new bond of ours…will be 'Mugen'.", Yuko monologued internally while watching the sunset.
______________________
However, the CREW GUYS didn't realise that they were being watched by two entities.
"Curse you, Yuko! I'll get you next time!", said Tamika.
"What's your plan, then?", asked Heolstor.
"Don't worry, master! I'll never let you down. I'll just have to take down her loved ones.", said Tamika determinedly.
"I hope I've got the right person.", said Heolstor while leaving Tamika alone, staring at the CREW GUYS.
"CREW GUYS, you've ruined my plan! You've interfered in my plan. Alright, then...the next phase...will be arriving shortly.", Tamika left the scene while laughing sadistically.
(Believe – KIYOSHI played)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone