The cold void of space.
A streak of rainbow light shot past. The countless people on planets along its route thought it was nothing more than an ordinary shooting star.
To them, seeing a shooting star during the day was a little strange, but hardly astonishing.
Traveling at faster-than-light speed, it soon left the North Galaxy behind and headed toward the South Galaxy.
Meanwhile, on distant Planet Helka.
The place was barren. A tent stood nearby, and in front of it was a campfire that had gone out only recently, with some scraps still unburned in its ashes.
A blue-skinned, white-haired boy wearing a Galactic Patrol uniform took a piece of grilled meat from the rack. He blew on it twice, then took a bite.
"Phew, this is delicious!"
The boy wore a blissful smile. On a planet like Helka, where there was nothing at all, having grilled meat to eat was already pretty good.
After all, the people here had destroyed themselves a hundred thousand years ago, after overexploiting their energy resources and plunging into a war over what remained.
They were here because they had heard that the Ginyu Force, an elite unit under the Frieza Force, planned to establish a base on the planet. So they had come ahead of time to lie in wait.
"Hey, Merus! You're sneaking a bite without me!"
Just then, Jaco returned from his patrol. Seeing Merus eating grilled meat with grease all over his mouth, he stormed over in a huff.
"Jaco, come have some."
"The Ginyu Force won't arrive until tomorrow!"
The boy named Merus spoke with complete certainty.
Jaco sat down, not believing him at all. "Don't think you can make things up just because you're an elite member of the Galactic Patrol. I'm one too."
Though Jaco had given himself the title of elite member of the Galactic Patrol, he was still an elite.
"Right, right. You're the best, Jaco."
Merus smiled and shook his head.
As for why he was so certain the Ginyu Force wouldn't arrive until tomorrow, the answer was simple: he had just checked with the Angel Staff.
The Ginyu Force was still aboard their spaceship. Judging by its speed, they wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.
That's right. Merus was actually an angel still in training—in short, a trainee angel.
The Grand Minister had sent him to the Galactic Patrol in Universe 7 to gain experience and become a qualified angel.
"Jaco, Merus, thanks to you two, I've got inspiration for a new novel."
Just then, a golden-haired young woman came over from nearby, carrying a pen and paper despite her otherwise unremarkable outfit.
She wasn't a member of the Galactic Patrol, so she wasn't wearing a uniform like Merus and Jaco.
"Tights, how many times have I told you? The Ginyu Force is dangerous. A girl like you shouldn't go wandering around."
Jaco looked exasperated. "If they get their hands on you, we'll have to rescue you."
"Why can't you just stay at the safe Galactic Patrol headquarters?"
If Tights hadn't insisted on coming along—and even sneaked aboard the spaceship while he wasn't looking—Jaco really would have left her at headquarters.
Having read the Ginyu Force's files, Jaco knew all too well how terrifying they were!
"Hmph! Because I don't want to!"
Tights put her hands on her hips, looking indignant. "I've run out of inspiration at the Galactic Patrol headquarters. I need to see aliens fighting each other to find ideas for a new novel."
Jaco was at a loss for words.
He just couldn't understand how a human girl from Earth could be so fearless. According to the records, weren't human girls on Earth supposed to be timid?
So why was Tights so bold? The Ginyu Force was someone most people would avoid at all costs, yet she was going out of her way to get close to them.
"All right. We'll just make sure to keep Tights safe."
Merus smiled, trying to smooth things over.
"Easy for you to say."
Jaco rolled his eyes at Merus and sighed. "What did I do to deserve this? Getting stuck with the two of you."
He could already imagine how difficult this mission was going to be.
Facing the Ginyu Force was one thing, but he also had to bring along a tagalong. At least Merus was there; otherwise, Jaco would have considered a strategic retreat and abandoning the mission.
While Jaco was still hanging his head and sighing, a shooting star crashed into the ground with a tremendous roar.
Boom!
A cloud of dust rose not far from them.
"What? What happened?"
Jaco turned toward the smoke, staring at the sudden commotion in utter confusion.
Merus reacted instantly, drawing his gun and warily aiming it at the smoke.
Seeing Merus draw his gun, Jaco slowly came to his senses. Right—what if the Ginyu Force had arrived? He drew his own gun too.
The two Galactic Patrol guns were trained on the smoke.
Only the girl beside them, Tights, still looked completely bewildered.
"Get into the tent, quickly!"
Jaco roared.
If a fight broke out here, he wouldn't have the attention to spare to keep a girl safe!
Tights snapped out of her daze at Jaco's roar and hurried into the tent, though she still stuck her head out.
She wanted to see the alien battle she had been dreaming about for so long.
The smoke cleared.
Whis appeared, with Mu Yang close behind, holding Bulma's hand.
"Who are you?!"
Jaco didn't dare let his guard down for a moment. Tightening his grip on his gun, he aimed it at Whis's head and demanded an answer.
"Brother Whis!"
Merus was overjoyed. He lowered his gun and hurried over.
"Huh? You know him?"
Jaco was dumbfounded.
So all that commotion had just been a misunderstanding!
They were on the same side, then.
"Long time no see, Merus."
Whis looked a little surprised too. He hadn't expected to run into Merus while the latter was still out gaining experience, but he smiled all the same.
"I feel so much better with you here, Brother Whis."
Merus looked delighted.
With Whis here, what did he have to worry about from the Ginyu Force?
"Bulma!"
Tights ran over in delight and crouched down to hug Bulma.
"Big Sis."
Bulma wrapped her arms around Tights's neck, looking happy.
Seeing the sisters reunited, Mu Yang couldn't help smiling.
"So you're all family?"
Jaco's mouth twitched. He could feel how cruelly fate was playing with him.
The main thing was that all his teammates had been reunited with family, while he had no one. It made him feel like a complete fool.
"Ultraman Tiga!"
Mu Yang ran over excitedly and grabbed Jaco's hand.
"Huh?"
Jaco was completely stunned. He had no idea who this person standing in front of him was.
"I'm your fan."
Mu Yang said solemnly.
Who hadn't been a fan of Ultraman Tiga as a child? Who hadn't lent Tiga their light?
Jaco and Tiga looked so much alike.
They both had huge, round eyes, and their builds were similar too—like a miniature Ultraman.
"My fan...?"
Jaco scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed and delighted.
He never thought he'd have a fan too.
Before you continue