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By the time the Ultra Brothers arrived-- only Seven and Ace, for the rest were away in other far-flung corners, unable to reach in time-- there was no sign of Tregear, who had fled.
Instead, a small sun hovered in the emptiness of space where the battle had taken place.
It pulsed viciously, a raw and blazing wound in the darkness. In the centre, barely visible but for their trained eyes, curled into a ball himself, was their youngest brother.
Taro.
A sound emanating from the ball of flame was like the roar of the sun itself, hoarse with fury and pain and grief. With every ragged sob and curse, the artificial sun grew and grew. Soon, it would explode and consume the ring of planets around them, if not the solar system itself.
Struggling to keep his own emotions in check, trying not to think of his dea-- missing nephew, Ace turned to his older brother. “I’m going in.”
“Don’t be stupid. You’ll burn to a crisp,” Seven snapped, his own nerves frayed. They had all seen the video of Taiga and his poor friends. Seven was a father too.
“Taro won’t hurt me,” Ace insisted stubbornly, with a wild and desperate confidence. “Send me your energy, Seven-niisan.”
Not waiting for his agreement, the Silver Ultran conjured a makeshift Ace Barrier around himself, and like a bullet, shot through the ball of flame. He felt Seven’s energy catch up to him, strengthening the barrier of light around his body, vibrating the particles so fast as to separate his space from the fire around him.
A blaze hotter than hell itself.
Even when watching from afar in countless missions, the power of Taro’s Ultra Dynamite was apparent. Yet it had never felt like this before.
It was fueled by something other than simple energy.
Anger. Betrayal. Guilt.
And something else…
It was a familiar feeling to Ace, who had faced Yapool many times.
He flew so fast that he slammed into Taro, but Ace barely felt the impact. Instinctively, without thinking, he wrapped his arms around his younger brother, and folded the Ace Barrier around them both to contain the sun’s core.
When he met Taro’s eyes, Ace was not prepared for what he found.
With his tear-streaked face, dark eyes unseeing, body engulfed head to toe in flame-- Taro looked like the horned beast of Earthian legends, a sorrowful god about to drown the universe in his pain. He growled a guttural chant, over and over, rattling Ace to his bones.
“I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him.”
Hate. That’s it.
Love twisted by grief. Oh, Ace had seen it many times, through the dark hand of Yapool and in the deepest reaches of the human heart. Love twisted created the most dangerous emotions of all. And few had such abundant love as Taro.
“TregeAR. I’ll kill hiM. I’ll kiLL HIM.”
His poor, good-hearted, innocent brother.
“Calm, brave one,” Ace whispered, invoking Taro’s name. “Brave one who loves justice. He who loves.”
“I’LL KILL HIM. I’LL KILL HIM.”
“Sixth of the Ultra Brothers. Son of Father and Mother of Ultra. Father of T… Taiga, who embraces the sun…” Ace continued murmuring gently, never loosening his hold, letting the flames sear him as Taro thrashed and raged in his arms. “Calm now. Stay with me…”
“TREGEAARRRR--”
“…Stay your grief, give it unto to me. You, who love. Brother, my brave brother.”
As if something snapped in him, Taro gripped Ace's shoulder suddenly, so deathly strong that it made him wince. Taro’s eyes fixed onto him, as if seeing his brother for the first time. When he spoke, his voice was choked.
“Taiga, he… He was my life, my heart… I saw him-- Tregear, he-- he--!! This hurt…”
Anger. Betrayal. Guilt.
For his bright, innocent brother, this was a pain he had never felt before.
“I want to HURT HIM… Niisan, help…”
Ace saw fresh tears well up in the corner of Taro's eyes.
Although he felt a glimmer of fear that his barrier wouldn’t hold (of course it wouldn’t; Taro once held the flame of the Land of Light in his very being), Ace cast it from his mind.
His brother was hurting. That was all that mattered.
“You’ll not hurt anyone, Taro. Stay with me.” Ace put their foreheads together, beam lamps touching lightly, sending all his reassurances through that touch. “We’re safe here. All your pain. All your hurt. Let it out here.”
Taro paused, confused.
And then, with a ragged sob, entrusting himself to his brother, he unleashed an Ultra Dynamite into the pocket space.
Ace felt the hellish flames tear through his skin, burning him through body and soul, as Seven predicted. As his mind threatened to unravel under the pain, he held on to the thought over and over, like a prayer.
It’s okay. This is nothing compared to his pain. It’s okay. Taro won’t--
Slowly, a thread of green light made its way towards them. It brought with it the scent of fresh wind, the light touch of rain, and a deep calmness.
Ginga Comfort, Ace realised dimly, barely registering it.
Bit by bit, strand by strand, the energy from the New Generation Ultras-- every little spark they could spare after their battle with Tregear-- wove in rainbow-coloured ribbons through the fiery wall, lending their soft and gentle power to the Ace Barrier.
The young hearts that Taro had loved, nurtured, and protected all this time. They had come to his aid.
Just as the Ultra Dynamite reached its peak, threatening to erupt and tear through even the Ace Barrier into the universe, the gentle strands dispersed the flames like the wind.
Like that, it was over.
When Seven came to take the exhausted Taro from his arms, though he was barely conscious and rather charred himself, Ace mustered up a grim smirk.
“Told you. Taro would never hurt me.”