The Go-Busters weren't easily startled, but still, the hole that opened in the sky and dropped a duplicate of the Red Buster on the ground in front of them was certainly something. Especially since the Metaroid they'd been fighting seemed just as startled as they were.
Even Jin was silenced long enough for the duplicate to leap up and look around, appearing agitated. "This isn't hyperspace. Is it some new trick of Enter's?"
Hiromu cleared his throat. "Aren't you the trick?"
"What?" The other Red Buster whirled around.
In the background, the Metaroid was stamping its feet and demanding attention. Jin hollered at it: "We'll get to destroying you in a minute."
Hiromu powered down, crossing his arms and glaring. "What's the deal this time? I'm waiting."
The other one powered down as well, hands on his hips. He looked exactly like Hiromu except for the very military haircut. Everyone (including the Metaroid) stared back and forth between them.
Hiromu blinked. "Oookay. I actually didn't expect that."
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the other Hiromu asked...no demanded.
"Me?" Hiromu looked around at everyone. "I live here. You're the one who dropped out of the hole."
The other looked around as well. "I'm Sakurada Hiromu and this is my team. I'd recognize them anywhere."
With a scream, the Metaroid got tired of being ignored and threw itself at the other Hiromu, who lifted his weapon and fired at point-blank range without moving. The Metaroid was thrown a good 20 meters and pounced on by Yoko and Ryuuji.
"Hmm," Jin said.
Hiromu turned to look at Jin, finding he'd grabbed J's arm and was poking at buttons and staring at some kind of readout. "He's not from hyperspace and the Enetron readings are all wrong for him to be a product of a Metaroid."
"Then what is he?" both Hiromus said, before turning to glare at each other.
"I think he's you," Jin said. "This is just precious." He did a little amused jig, before looking at the other Hiromu. "I hate to disappoint you, but you're definitely not the original here."
"A clone?" Hiromu asked.
Jin shrugged. "Clones aren't my field. The energy readings we're seeing, though...those are. Get me back to the EMC and I can probably tell you something."
The Metaroid exploded with a scream and Yoko and Ryuuji jogged back. "What did we miss?" Yoko asked as she and Ryuuji powered down.
"Apparently I might have a clone?"
"This is crazy." The other Hiromu took a step back, looking alarmed. "Ryuu, Yoko...you know me. We've trained together, we grew up together."
"Huh?" Everyone turned and stared at him again.
"What?" He turned his head back and forth. "What? You all know what happened. Our parents transported to hyperspace and we all lived at the center. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Forming a loose circle, they all closed in. Shaking his head, Hiromu said, "Rika didn't let me train with them. Who are you?"
Chest heaving, the other Hiromu held his hands up. "I don't know. Right now, I don't know."
Jin and J guarded the intruder while the others destroyed the Megazord, and when they arrived back on the scene, Jin was arguing with the commander. "What? You think he's a bomb in disguise?"
The commander's annoyed voice could be heard clearly. "We don't know what he is, which is the entire point."
Jin snorted. "Then at least get me the equipment I need out here."
Yoko was once again staring between the two Hiromus. "It's really uncanny how much you look alike, except for the hair."
The other Hiromu, who'd been sitting on the ground, looked up. "You convinced me to grow it out five years ago and I hated it so much that I cut it off within a week." His voice had lost most of its conviction and now sounded sad.
"Five years ago, I still hadn't seen you since I was three," she said.
"I don't understand."
"Join the club," Ryuuji muttered.
Equipment began transporting in around them and Jin and J started a frenzy of setting things up and attaching sensors.
Hiromu stood off to one side, shifting uneasily on his feet as he looked at his duplicate. Growing up at the EMC. What a crazy idea. Sure, Rika had been a pain, but she loved him and she'd given him as normal a life as she could.
It took over an hour of wrangling, but Jin somehow convinced the commander that the new guy wasn't likely to explode or suddenly start shooting anyone. He kept muttering about anomalies and needing a physicist.
Ryuuji sidled up to Hiromu. "This may be the first time I've ever heard Masato admit there was something he didn't know inside out. I'm worried."
"Mmm." Hiromu just kept watching. He could feel Ryuuji exchanging significant looks with Yoko over his head, but wasn't sure what to do about it that wouldn't get Nick upset with him for being rude, so he ignored it.
"What are we going to call you?" Jin asked, tapping his lower lip. "We can't have everyone calling you the same name. Just think of the confusion."
"We could just call him Sakurada," Yoko said.
"Good thought, kiddo. I was going to call them One and Two, but I like your idea better." Tapping the other Hiromu on the shoulder, he said, "I dub thee Sakurada."
Sakurada frowned, but didn't argue. "I don't care what you call me. I just want to get back where I belong. I'm still not entirely convinced you're not tricking me."
Hiromu rolled his eyes as they packed up and headed to the EMC.
After another long argument, the commander agreed that Sakurada could hardly do a great deal of harm in the gym and everyone seemed to feel they would learn something by seeing him fight.
Hiromu stood in front of the screen, watching the feed. Ryuuji and Yoko jumped in immediately to battle robotic opponents. Sakurada stood back for a moment. "What is he-"
And Sakurada dove into the fight, slotting as neatly into their pattern as if he'd been there all along.
"Wow," Morishita breathed behind Hiromu.
Even Nick, the traitor, was staring at the screen in surprise. "He's different than you, Hiromu."
Hiromu could see it. He could see the result of 13 years of training together. See the way the other him flowed in and out, never interrupting or interfering.
Jin snorted from his seat at the table, where he'd been studying a tablet and pretending not to watch. "Maybe he could give J some lessons."
Hiromu turned and left the room.
"It was amazing," Yoko was saying from around the corner. Hiromu froze. "He knew exactly what we were going to do before we did it."
"He must have studied a great deal," Usada said pointedly.
"It's just like you and me," Ryuuji replied. "Remember, he's got those 13 years working with us."
"Obviously."
Hiromu walked back to his room. Maybe there was some other dimension in need of a Sakurada Hiromu, slightly used.
He finally stomped out of his room in the morning when he realized he was starving and bored, hoping everyone else would be done already. The coast was clear and he grabbed something at random and sat down in the corner to nurse his sulk a little longer.
Jin, with his usual annoying ability, appeared out of nowhere and slid into a seat across from him, smirking. "Jealous of your other self? That's self-loathing taken to a new level. Congratulations."
"Go away. I'm not in the mood."
Jin feigned a swoon. "Oh, Hiromu baby, that's all I ever hear from you. You're never in the mood anymore. The thrill is gone."
Hiromu rolled his eyes.
"Okay, serious now. Can you really look at him and think that anyone in this place would choose him over you?"
"Yes. Have you seen how he fights with them?"
"Whatever." Jin waved his hand. "Yeah, he looks good in simulations, but he's got no heart, no soul." He smacked Hiromu's chest.
"Heart and soul won't destroy Messiah."
"And that's where you're the wrongest." Jin shook his head as he stood. "But I guess you'll have to figure it out for yourself."
"Where are my notes?" Sakurada asked Nick.
"I don't know." Nick sagged.
"Well, find them."
"Hey," Hiromu said, looking up. "No need to be rude to him."
"Rude? It's his job to assist, yes? So let him do his job."
Nick patted Hiromu's shoulder. "It's okay, I don't mind."
Not for the first time, Hiromu cursed how difficult it could be to read the Buddyroids when they weren't broadcasting their feelings.
A rare day with no attacks let Hiromu get some much-needed relaxation, although it also gave him time to worry. He hovered over Jin's shoulder for a while, nagging him about how they could send Sakurada back until Jin got annoyed enough to yell "Chicken" at him.
As Nick carried him out of the room, Hiromu could faintly hear the commander upbraiding Jin.
Nick deposited him on a couch in the lounge most frequented by the Gobusters. Eventually Hiromu felt his muscles unlock and he lay on the couch staring at the ceiling. For once, Nick was smart enough to not say anything.
Ryuuji and Yoko wandered in a few minutes later, Ryuuji with an engineering text and Yoko with a very large bun, and Hiromu sat up. Settling down on either side of him, they were a warm and comforting presence.
Nick made his excuses and left them together, Yoko offered him a bite of her bun, and they put on the TV to a mindless comedy.
Just as Hiromu was relaxing, the door opened and Sakurada stomped in, looking annoyed.
"What's wrong with you?" Hiromu asked.
"Why are you sitting around?" Sakurada asked, staring at them.
"Uh, we usually call it 'relaxing,'" Hiromu said. "It's a thing humans do occasionally."
Sakurada scowled at him. "I can think of a dozen more important things you could be doing now. Training, research, simulations..."
"Wow," Yoko said. She covered her mouth when everyone looked at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean..."
Ryuuji spoke up. "We're just surprised. We're not used to a Hiromu who's so singleminded."
Hiromu thought he probably wasn't supposed to be hurt by that.
Sakurada transferred his scowl to them. "You too? Why aren't you training as well? Are all of you in this dimension less dedicated to the mission?"
Hiromu sucked in a breath as Yoko's eyes filled with tears and Ryuuji drew back as if slapped.
Standing, Ryuuji took Yoko's arm. "We'll be leaving, then."
As the door closed behind them, Hiromu took a moment to be glad none of the Buddyroids were present. Usada's reaction didn't bear thinking about. "Wasn't that a bit harsh, even for me? I mean, us?"
"Why?" Sakurada looked honestly puzzled.
"Questioning their dedication. You just said Yoko didn't care about her mom."
"Nonsense. I didn't say that."
"You impli..." Hiromu sighed, wondering when he'd turned into the one lecturing others on polite behavior. "Just don't say that again. Jeez, what do you do to relax?"
Sakurada frowned. "Relax?"
The door opened and Jin sashayed in. "Wow, Ryuuji and Yoko look like someone stole their candy."
"My genius other self just accused them of insufficient dedication to the mission."
"Ouch." Jin didn't say anything else directly, but the sharp glance he sent Sakurada didn't bode well for anyone's peace of mind.
Hiromu winced. He'd forgotten how protective Jin could be of Yoko and Ryuuji. "Have you made some progress?" he asked hastily.
Not looked fooled in the slightest, Jin still allowed the diversion. "Definite progress. You should be prepared to go back at any time."
Sakurada nodded, following Jin out of the room, and Hiromu sighed. This couldn't be over soon enough, as far as he was concerned.
"What is Rika like?" Sakurada asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Hiromu blinked and looked over at him..
"I don't, I mean, I haven't seen her much since I was 7." He looked a bit embarrassed. "She came a few times and fought with the commander, but that's it."
"Well, I...I don't know how to describe her. She's always just been there for me, even when I didn't want her to be."
"Oh."
"She's a very talented artist. Um, unfortunately, she likes to draw...you know."
Sakurada stared at him.
"She draws children's books with those things we don't mention in them. And she likes her tea lukewarm, which I've never understood." Hiromu wracked his brain. "She likes children's movies and mystery novels."
Sakurada looked away. "I think our mother did too."
"Yes." Hiromu sighed.
"The mission is all I've had. It's all I've wanted for so long, that I don't know how to do anything else or be anyone else."
"Did you go to school?"
"For a while. I convinced the commander I could learn faster on my own and when I proved it, he let me do most of my studying here." Sakurada snorted. "There. Whatever."
"I had a teacher..." Hiromu couldn't help the smile that broke out. "She dragged me, and I mean literally dragged me, to a meeting of kids learning to be street performers. She showed me that I could learn and also do other things."
"I'm not sorry I did it my way." Sakurada looked up.
"I'm not sorry either."
Sakurada nodded absently and Hiromu looked away.
Hiromu knew it was time when Jin called everyone into his lab. It just figured the man would need the dramatic reveal with everyone present. Hiromu settled on one side of the lab as Sakurada sat down on the other side, both of them avoiding each other's eyes.
"I know how to connect to the other universe," Jin said when everyone was looking at him. "All we need is a connection from the other side at the same time and place and it will work perfectly."
Ryuuji frowned. "But how can we arrange that if we can't contact them?'
Chuckling, Jin tossed a spanner in the air and caught it. "That's easy. Who's on the other side?"
There was a moment of silence and then nearly everyone said "We are!" at the same time.
"Precisely. Now we just need to figure out when and where we would pick and that's the time and place."
"Does that actually make sense?" Yoko whispered.
"I'm not sure," the commander whispered back.
"Of course it makes sense," Jin snapped.
"Would we go back to where it happened in the first place?" Yoko asked.
"Good thought," Jin said, "but there's no need to be there, so I doubt I'd bother."
"In the hangar?" Ryuuji asked. "There's space and equipment."
"Maybe," Kuroki said. "But I'd worry about the safety of the zords."
Jin looked offended as everyone nodded.
"Uh," Hiromu said, "with both of us, both mes, on this side, can you be sure that the other you will even figure out what's happened?"
Jin shrugged. "No way to be sure, but he should be able to. He'll have the same energy readings from the wormhole."
"Can we assume that you, I mean, the other you, would figure the answer out at the same time?" Nakamura asked quietly.
"I think we have to," Morishita said.
"Otherwise we'll be debating this all day," Ryuuji said.
"It already feels like that," Hiromu said.
"I agree," Sakurada said.
"I think..." Hiromu looked around the room. "Jin, could you open it right now? Right here?"
Jin blinked. "Er...yes, I could."
"I think it would be now. I think the other team would also sit around and argue and then decide to try right now and see what happens."
There was a long moment of silence as everyone considered it. Everyone looked at Sakurada who shrugged, saying, "The sooner, the better."
"Do it," Kuroki said.
Jin started bustling around the complicated tangle of equipment on the table, while several other engineers poked and prodded at things.
As one, Hiromu and Sakurada stood and walked toward each other. Everyone else pretended they weren't listening avidly.
"Um..." Sakurada said. "Thank you for helping me. I'm sorry I was rude."
Hiromu snorted. "I guess I was rude too. So...good luck. Good luck destroying the Vagras."
"You too."
They shook hands, which felt...weird, Hiromu decided. Then he stepped back as Jin gestured to Sakurada and with a flourish pushed a large blue button.
Everyone held their breath. For a long moment, nothing happened.
The hole in the air in front of Sakurada appeared with no warning. It wasn't a large hole, but on the other side Hiromu could see Yoko and Ryuuji and Jin, waving and cheering. Sakurada glanced once over his shoulder before dashing through the hole into their arms.
The hole closed. Jin whooped his excitement and high-fived some of his assistants, while the others congratulated him.
Hiromu took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now...he wished he drank, because this sounded like a good time to get drunk. Edging away from everyone else, he started for the door.
Before he could get there, Ryuuji grabbed his arm, looking worried. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Hiromu tugged out of Ryuuji's grip, crossing his arms and trying to come up with an excuse to get out of the room quickly.
"Our little boy thinks nobody loves him," Jin said, draping his arm over Hiromu's shoulders.
Hiromu threw Jin's arm off. "Go away, Jin."
Jin jumped backward, laughing. "He thinks you would rather have kept Sakurada."
"What?" Nearly everyone in the room spoke at the same time.
Hiromu could feel his face turning red. "Don't be ridiculous."
"He's afraid he's an inferior fighter." Jin danced backward as Hiromu threw a half-hearted punch. "Now it's up to you to convince him he's wrong."
Yoko spoke from behind him. "Hiromu?"
He couldn't turn. "I saw how you fought together. We work well, but we'll never look like that, even with another 13 years."
Ryuuji sighed. "Sure, he looks good when we're fighting in a simulation. But he has no imagination, no creativity."
"That's what I said," Jin crowed.
Hiromu turned around. "I don't understand."
"In a real fight, he's going to go by the book." Ryuuji stepped forward and grasped his shoulder. "I worry that's going to get his team killed."
Yoko took his other shoulder. "You bring new ideas and new energy, Hiromu. We wouldn't trade you for anyone."
"Besides," Jin said with a grin, "the other one was a jerk."
Hiromu blinked and Yoko and Ryuuji grabbed him, Jin yelling "Group hug!" as he pounced, and even the Buddyroids tried to get in on the action.
-end-