This story is a homage to Ultra Seven, Tsuburaya and dedicated to the Youth.

#20 epicenter

Epicenter X, where the series of earthquakes start to happen, is likely to be located around Usui Pass between Gunma and Nagano.  There have repeatedly happened swarm earthquakes.  KIRIYA, noticing something strange, sends YURI and MOROBOSHI to T Univ Earthquake Research Institute, in order to ark Prof Tamura for opinion.  SAKATO, his assistant, tells them that Professor has already gone for a field survey.  So, they leave for Kiridzumi Onsen, or hot spring, where Prof Tamura is staying.

  Talking with Kiridzumi, Kin To Kan (Gold Hot spring Inn) is famous as a remote inn.   Moreover, the main stage of Morimura Seiichi novel, in which Kiridzumi is referred to as kind of dialect 'Kiss me.'

"Mr. SAKATO is a cool guy, isn't he?  Intelligence and cleanlindss…  " YURI
"So is he."
Dan feels strange, not jealous, about him.  Near the dam on their way is one large rock, which has just rolled down in front of yellow Beetle.  Looking up over the mountainside, he finds similar rocks exposed from the tear, probably made due to earthquakes. 
"Beautiful rock!  This is the fist time for me to see such a stone.  Shall we have Professor look at it?"
(Ultnium.  The Earth's core is composed of Ultnium.   Why is such a material here?) 

Japan is, you know, an island country which has a lot of volcanic belts.  And there frequently happen a lot of earthquakes because it is located over the delcate spot with Pacific Ocean plate slipping into under North America plate.  The earthquakes this time around Usui Pass is not involved in volcanoes or plates, MYSTERIOUS earthquake.  

YURI and DAN call on Prof Tamura at the inn.
"Why do you follow me, nya?" Angrily shouts.
"Prof KIRIYA asked us to ask you for opinion about the earthquakes." YURI
"Arriving nyau, too late, nya!" Angrily.
" You are so early, aren't you?" SAKATO has just arrived with equipments and documents.
"Oh, you knyow SAKATO, my great assistant, nya." Calmly says.
"He told us where you are staying." YURI
"Professor, we found this on our way here." DAN
"It's Ultnyaum!  Where did you find it?" Excitedly. 
"Exposed from among the strata, it was solidified." DAN 
"Trenyandous!  The earth's mantle is spouting out for some reason, as if air were leaking out of a balloon.  If this continyues, the Earth would deflate like the balloon, nya!" Surprisedly.

KIRIYA gets the information,when FURUDA, AMABE, and SOMA leave for Mt Hanamagari, where they meet YURI and DAN.  DAN gets on HAWK 1 instead of SOMA.  HAWK 1 transforms itself from jet mode to magmariser, beginning to go underground for research.

Prof Tamura in the inn directs HAWK 1 to epicenter X.   SAKATO pats YURI on the shoulder and points to the mirror reflection of Professor's." 
She finds Prof Tamura an alien there. 
"Let's run away now!" SAKATO

Meanwhile, HAWK 1 underground loses touch with the ground above, runs short of oxygen, and has high temperature.
"Too bad!  Terrible." FURUDA
"Yes, as you tell me." AMABE
They try best to surviue.  At last HAWK 1 will not move, with the light off.
"NEVER GIVE UP LIVING UNTIL THE VERY END!" FURUDA
"There are more problems under ground than under sea.  Just another ten minutes left to the very end." AMABE
They lose consciousness. 
(It is difficult to teleport with HAWK 1.  I might well fail in carrying them at once.)

"Cannyot get in touch.  Nya?"
Tamura does not see anybody around.   He finds a bracelet SAKATO wear always with him.
"This does nyot belong to the Earth."

At the riverside a little far down from the inn, SOMA encounters SAKATO and YURI.
"Professor Tamura is an alien, as I saw it in the mirror." YURI
"Is he?  Really?"
Then, Tamura follows and appears.
"SAKATO!  What is this, nya?  It does nyot belong to the Earth!" Angrily.
"No, Professor.  It's not mine." SAKATO upset. 
"OK, nya, I'll destroy it."
The moment, smoke monster comes out of SAKATO's mouth, and takes back the gadget from Tamura's hand.  The smoke is given substance to by degrees.
"Who are you?"
"Alien SHAPLAY, from dark nebula!"
"What do you come for, nya?"
"Our planet consists of dark matter, having almost no substance.  If time passes by as it is, our great planet will vanish.  So, I have just come to get a good amount of ultnium, to substancialize the planet SHAPLAY."
"What was the reflection of mirror?"
"I kind of hypnotized you.  Anyway, I've already got ultnium enough.  I have to return in a hurry."
"We cannot allow you to take it."
SOMA makes a quick fire to hit the alien, which makes death call.
"GIRADORUS!  GIRADORUS!!  GIRADORUS!!!"
Then, the ground quaking and tearing, three tremendously huge monsters appear.

  The planet SHAPLAY has such harsh climate that the aliens have to manipulate GIRADORA, which can control the weather freely.  Also, the alien is planning to carry each GIRADORUS with ultnium full in its stomach, to its homeplant.

Red GIRAD, original species, can make it rain and wind, controlling rain clouds at its will.  A flash around cut its neck off, out of the section of which surplus ultnium crunmbles and falls down.  And it stops storming.  DAN succeeds in making HAWK 1 teleport to the above ground, which burns even more energy of his than usual.  

Charged with static electricity caused by the friction of atmosphere, Yellow GIRAD, its sub-species, can drop some lightning at the place it wants to.  Avoiding the lightning trailing after, DAN manages to cut off half its neck.

The weather changes rapidly.  White GIRAD, albinotic, can blow blizzard from its mouth.  Temperature around goes down all at once, which makes DAN slow down.  There is almost no energy left enough to beat the last GIRAD, which approaches just in front of him. 
(The end?)

The moment, from the cave HAWK 1 made with drill, leaving for epicenter X, some magma spring up, which makes temperature come up.  DAN barely stand up, waiting for the time to come, and concentrating with his knuckle on his forehead.
"Time!" 
The instant he raises his hand up to the sky high with his fingers open, a meteor, splitting through the cloud, hits the last one.  DAN has just found the meteor which is passing the Earth, and made it teleport at White GIRAD.
"Made it!"
Taking off glasses, he falls down again.

Although aftershocks are continuing even now, things settle down. 

FURUDA and AMABE in HAWK 1 wake up to find DAN lying without consciousness on the ground, with a straw hat on his face.  
Prof Tamura, Sakato, and YURI come there, and KIRIYA arrives by HAWK 3.
"Good job, nya!"  Tamura
"But MOROBOSHI…  " AMABE
"Transport him soon!" YURI
HAWK 3 takes YURI and DAN to hospital.

"MOROBOSHI, he is miracle.  In that Hell, he led HAWK 1 back to the ground above!" FURUDA
"Saved thanks to him.  We owe him one." AMABE puts on the straw hat.

The problem has been solved.  The sky clears up as if nothing had happened.  The sunshine hits and heals the young hero.

#20 the end

to Morimura, Seiichi