Super Sentai vs Super Sentai
Author's note: And we're back for another chapter. Well all I hope this doesn't sound so off... had quite a trouble writing the last part... Still I hope you enjoy
ACT 10: The Emotion of Mermaid
"You're all FOOLS!" In the dimension of the villains, Radiguet was mightily angered. A lot of villains have gathered under him, but none of them even made a serious wound to their enemy, the Super Sentai. This bruised his ego. After failing with the rest of the Vyrams, he had hoped that this team would be successful, but they didn't. As a result, he yelled at them, and in the same time, with his hand raised, he let out lightning bolts to strike at his companions, causing them to fall to the ground, "You never do learn your lessons! Why aren't those Super Sentai dead yet? !"
"We apologize, but we never know that they'd surprise us with their comebacks even after their lack of fighting these years…" Jarmin hurrily tried to apologize, as she sensed a great anger swelling up within Radiguet and if let loose, it could be dangerous even to the group.
"SILENCE!" Radiguet was extremely furious hearing it and was about to zap Jarmin again. However, in a quick moment, both Juzou and Ahames quickly rose and even put their weapons on Radiguet's neck.
"I certainly hope you're not all big talk and fail like the rest of us, Radiguet." Ahames warned him in the coldest tone possible.
"You've seen how they fight…" Juzou added, putting Uramasa further near Radiguet's neck, "But you've never experienced it. Do you think you can handle them? Show us."
"Tch…" Radiguet bit his lip. Once again his bad habit of boasting his superiority rose, and he realized that even both of them make a point. Taking several deep breaths, he tried to calm down, "Very well. I will show you how I take my missions. If I do come out victorious against those Super Sentai… then you will acknowledge me as your supreme leader."
"You're on." The similarly ambitious Ahames confirmed Radiguet's challenge as she and Juzou lowered their weapons.
As Radiguet moved away, suddenly he turned back and looked over to Mazurka. "You… come with me."
"What do you want with me?" Mazurka was puzzled at hearing Radiguet's command.
"Just come. I have other future plans for you." Radiguet told her so and without wasting further words, he left.
"So, that's how it goes." In the morning, Sayaka gathered everyone into the Kizuna's meeting room for some briefing. It turned out that she was expressing her interest to research on their weapons. Taking interest in Takeru's discs, she thought that she might be able to upgrade their basic weapons into a more advanced versions. As currently they have discovered the Lightning Disc, along with Takeru's personal Lion Disc to create fire, she had calculated which combinations would be possible, "Well, what do you think?"
"You mean, I'll get something like a J-Flame Thrower?" Youhei said in excitement, thinking on what kind of possibilities that he could do with the would-be upgrade of his J-Machine Gun, "Sounds cool!"
"A lightning-powered Goggle Saber? Doesn't sound so bad!" Miki also agreed with the notion.
"Well, that sounds rather ambitious…" Takeru commented, taking a more thorough look to Sayaka's designs as written on the room's white board, "But do you think you can pull it off? It would be hard. Not to mention there are more discs than the two that we had so far…"
"I'm sure I can manage it." Sayaka said in confidence. Only Gai didn't look as enthusiastic, which kind of irritated Sayaka, "So, what do you think, Gai? I haven't heard anything from you. You'll do it, right?"
"Well, you do what you want." Gai said nonchalantly, "I'm pretty satisfied with what I have so far."
"What? !" Suddenly, Sayaka raised her voice, clearly annoyed at Gai's ignorance. Takeru and Youhei were taken aback at Sayaka's sudden anger, "Are you saying that you don't trust me? !"
"Why getting so angry? !" Gai also didn't take Sayaka's sudden scolding well, "I didn't say 'You are not allowed to do it'!"
"Yet, you don't seem to believe that the upgrade will be beneficial to us all." She continued, "I'm trying to do my best for the good of everyone…"
"Well, then don't make me your guinea pig." Gai said, "The rest may be willing to become one, but not me."
"Hey…" Youhei tried to protest, but before he could say anything further, Sayaka suddenly slapped Gai on the face.
"You're such an inconsiderate jerk!" She yelled at him, before finally she realized that she got too fired up, "Ugh, that's it. I'm taking a walk." With that, she quickly left the room, her mood completely ruined by Gai.
"Gai, you don't have to say things like that." Miki reprimanded him, "I know Sayaka is older than me, but she's still a woman with a delicate heart. Please be more sensitive next time."
"Sorry, but I fight with my way." Gai excused his actions, being reminded that last time someone tried to arrange his life the way he didn't like it. To him, fighting and life was the same, he's going to do it his way, and he wouldn't tolerate anyone who wouldn't respect it, "Sayaka tried to force her way into mine. I don't like it."
"But you did hurt her feelings. There are more proper ways to say 'no', you know." Youhei said, "I think you better go and apologize to her."
"And let her do what she wants with my weapons without consent? No. I'm satisfied with what I have." Gai scoffed off, trying to exit the room, before Takeru stopped him.
"You'd be best not to get too cocky, Gai." He gave a warning, "It could be your downfall if you never want to expand your style."
"Hah…" Gai still kept his cool even after the warning, confident that he's going to be fine. He then left.
Sayaka in the meantime had retreated to a park, sitting down on a bench, looking at the blue sky. 'So peaceful. I wonder if I can help to keep it…' In truth, although she still kept an air of grace, Sayaka was getting desperate. The best she could come up with after gathering with a team of fellow Sentai warriors were just modifying the communicator. Takeru, Gai, Youhei and Miki, all four have proven themselves in battlefield, be it courage, loyalty, passion and wit. Hoping that she'd mesh well with them, Sayaka tried to do what she did best: invention to help the team's combat.
'Gai… you're a fool.' She thought, annoyed, 'You don't trust me? It's not like I haven't learnt my lesson since last time…' She was reminded that last time, her invention went awry due to lack of sufficient testing, and thus her teammates distrusted her, with the exception of the Changeman leader Tsurugi Hiryuu, who continued to support her until her invention succeeded and saved the day. The reason why Sayaka was hurt was because Gai turned her down without even trying, as if predicting that she'd fail in instant.
As the winds blew, she was taken to the breeze of the air. The air was quite cool for the day. Slowly, however, Sayaka fell asleep…
But the sleep was halted shortly when she heard something. A lot of innocent people walking in the park, running frantically as several Grinam soldiers attacked them. 'What are those?' Sayaka stood up, wondering who these never-seen-before soldiers were, since she never fought any of the Vyrams yet. However, there was only one thing that she knew…
'These people are in danger. I must help them.'
As such, Sayaka ran towards the rampaging soldiers and started attacking them, one by one throwing and knocking them to the ground, letting as many people run from the battle.
At the same time, Gai was already out riding on his motorcycle. He claimed that he was out for some fresh air, but deep down he did admit that he was quite rude to Sayaka, even though he didn't mean it. Fortunately for him, when he was riding, he found Sayaka already engaged in the battle against the Grinam soldiers.
"Those Vyram bastards…" Gai muttered as he got off his bike and cracked his knuckles, steadily moving forward, "I hope you're in for an ass-kicking…" He then prepared to run into the battle. Before he could take a step, however, he saw a shadow moving through him. When he looked up, he saw a man leaping towards the Vyram and helped Sayaka to fight in place of Gai.
"Hey, wait…" Gai only witnessed the man proceeding to beat down a lot of the Grinam soldiers, saving Sayaka in various occasions and eventually managed to drive the soldiers away.
"Are you all right, Miss?" The man offered his hand to Sayaka kindly.
"Um, thank you." She said in gratitude, "But why did you…?"
"Nah, it's just that I can't stand seeing a girl being harassed like that." The man replied in a kind voice, "It's against my policy."
"Really…" Sayaka muttered, before she noticed that there was a slight bleeding on her arm.
"Ah that!" The man suddenly said, and took a band aid from his pocket, "Thank goodness I carry this around."
"No, I'm all right. It's okay…" Sayaka insisted to not trouble the man, but he got to cover it with his band-aid anyway.
"It could cause an infection. Please be careful." He smiled at her.
She was surprised to see such a brave and kind man, who wasn't even a Sentai warrior, but held on his own against soldiers they usually fought, and even was kind enough to try and help her mend her wound, even if it's just a little. Just then, she was reminded of something, "Ah! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Sayaka. Nagisa Sayaka."
"Ah, such a lovely name." The man praised, before he coughed up a bit, "Well, now it's my turn. My name is…"
"Hey! Sayaka!" The moment was interrupted when Gai eventually approached them and calling her, "You OK?"
"Well, as you can see." Sayaka only replied, but while her tone was okay, somehow Gai realized that she's still mad at him.
"Oh, and who is this man?" The man then looked at Gai, "Your boyfriend, perhaps?"
"NO!" Both Gai and Sayaka vehemently said in unison.
"We're just…" Sayaka attempted to cover the misunderstanding, but somehow Gai managed to finish the rest in her place.
"… Friends. Yeah, we're just friends. I just happened to pass by when I saw her being attacked and you saving her…" He said, "So, yeah. Thanks for saving her. I'm Yuuki Gai, by the way."
"Ah, right. Gai. Then allow me to introduce myself to both of you." The main said, politely taking a bow, "My name is Raiga. Nice to meet you." With it, he finally offered his hand, in which Sayaka also followed with a handshake. Both Gai and Raiga shook hands. However, a certain chill stung on Gai when he shook hands with the new man, "Something wrong?"
"Oh, ah. Nothing, really…" Gai dismissed the thought.
"Well, I'll have to continue on my errand." Raiga said, preparing to go. However, he handed out a card and gave it to Sayaka, "If you wish to contact me, you can use that card. I bid you farewell. Take good care of yourself, good lady." With that, the man left, leaving both Gai and Sayaka as they looked at him from behind.
"So kind…" Sayaka muttered, touched with the man's kindness. But then, one look at Gai, who spaced out, was enough to make her stop thinking about the man, "Gai, what are you doing?"
"Oh! Ah, well…" Gai was reminded with what he came for originally, "Well, okay… What I said back then was a bit rude. I apologize."
"Oh is that so…" Sayaka said nonchalantly, "So you want to finally participate in my experiment?"
"Well, I didn't say that." Gai's words disappointed her, "Still, good luck on it. I hope it's a success." He then walked back to his motorcycle, leaving Sayaka alone, who was still disappointed.
'Okay, that was an improvement…' Sayaka thought at how he didn't really acted impulsively like before, 'Still I wish he could learn a thing or two from Raiga…'
In the meantime, however, while Gai rode on his motorcycle, he couldn't forget that one chill he felt when he shook hands with Raiga. 'That feeling… it was familiar. Am I supposed to know that guy…?' Just then, he remembered how Raiga fought against the Vyram, 'Wait, how come he is that powerful? How could he beat down those Vyrams like eating breakfast? Normal humans shouldn't be able to do that…'
Determined to make her experiment a success, Sayaka ended up often visiting book stores to find some knowledge books that would help her. It was at one day when she was purchasing a book in a store.
"I'll be purchasing this…" Sayaka said at the cashier, putting the book and the money at the table, only to be replied with a familiar voice.
"Thank you… Miss Nagisa."
"Eh?" Sayaka was shocked and when she looked up, it was Raiga, "Raiga, so you work here?"
"Ah hah hah, this is just one of my part-time jobs." Raiga laughed light-heartedly as a reply, "I've got a lot."
"Whoa, that's incredible." She commented.
"So… I'll be taking the money." He said as he took the money in exchange for the book.
"Thank you very much!" Sayaka smiled as she bowed down in gratitude and tried to leave. However, Raiga's voice stopped her.
"Um, are you free this afternoon?"
"Eh?"
"Well, you see…" Raiga said, checking his pocket, "I've got some extra cash today and I feel a bit lonely for lunch today. So I was wondering if you're willing to eat with me…"
"N… no thanks, I…" Sayaka tried to deny the offer, but her stomach produced a sound that signified that she was hungry. Blushing in embarrassment of the sound, she eventually gave in, "Well… all right."
Soon after, Sayaka ended up eating together with Raiga. They got to know each other well, even though Sayaka kept her identity as Change Mermaid a secret. Raiga was a kind, polite man, which made him get along well with Sayaka. Soon, as days passed, she found herself visiting Raiga's book store often, at first just to see more books but later on, she visited there just to visit Raiga. She slowly developed a crush on him, as he reminded her to her best friend, fellow Changeman Tsurugi Hiryuu. Shortly after, they started dating…
"Okay! It's done!" Days later, in the Kizuna, Sayaka finally finished her first project, creating compatibility between Youhei's J-Gun with Takeru's Lightning Disc. As such, the J-Gun now had a thinner handle, in which the Disc can be inserted.
"Oh man… This is great! I can't wait to use this!" Youhei said in excitement, holding his gun, before turning to Takeru, "So, all you do is just to focus and spin the disc on the handle, right?"
"Well, that's how we normally use it…" Takeru answered, "Though… can you really focus?"
"Just leave it to me!" Youhei said with confidence.
"Ah, that's good to hear…" Sayaka said, slowly taking steps to the door, "Well in that case, I'm off. I've got an important appointment with someone…" Then, she left the room.
"Where's she going?" Gai asked.
"Isn't it obvious? She's going to a date." Miki gave a straightforward answer. An answer that suddenly piqued Gai's curiosity.
"Date…? Could it be that Raiga guy?" He pondered.
"Oh, really, Gai? Is there really someone else in Sayaka's mind?" Miki playfully said in front of him, and then threw back what he said to her several days ago, "Or don't tell me… you're jealous?"
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Gai protested, "It's just that… something just bugs me about that guy, but I can't remember well…"
The words were cut down when the alarm rang again. The monitor, as if being automatically operated, showed them a beach under attack by the Vyram.
"Wonder about that later. The Vyram is causing trouble." Takeru said.
"Hoo… so you learn about technology fast enough, Takeru…" Youhei noted on how Takeru who wasn't that well versed in high technology from before was now confident enough to explain what the monitor was trying to tell.
"I'm not that much of a backwater person as you think, Youhei." Takeru said in annoyance, although he did admit something deep inside his heart, 'I still have much to learn, though.'
"At any rate, let's get going."
"Hey, what about Sayaka?" Gai asked.
"I think us four can handle this." Miki said, "Besides, I heard she's not dating on that beach… We should let her rest after all her hard work…"
"Agreed, agreed." Youhei nodded, "I just can't wait 'till I apply this to those Vyrams!"
Takeru, who was waiting by the door, grew rather annoyed at the discussion that sparked and made them stay and talk rather than going, "Can we go now?"
The team eventually made it to the beach where the Grinam soldiers have started their attack. Except that there was something missing.
"No Dimensional Beasts?" Gai commented as the team run to the attacking soldiers, as there was no such thing as something that sticked out amongst the Vyrams, "That Radiguet is getting cocky…"
"Wait, what about that one?" Miki pointed out at one certain Grinam soldier that stuck out. This soldier was bulkier than the normal ones, as well as possessing spikes on several parts of his body, like an armor adorning a warrior.
"Looks like the boss of those soldiers." Youhei noted, comparing to the boss of the Wular soldiers that he fought in the past.
"Let's reduce the talking and quicken our pace." Takeru said as he put more strength while he runs, increasing his speed. In the meantime, he prepared his Shodo Phone, in which the team took notice and prepared their braces as well.
"IPPITSU SOUJOU!"
"CROSS CHANGER!"
"BLUE TURBO!"
"GOGGLE PINK!"
With that, the team, even without Sayaka, began to fight the Grinam soldiers.
In the meantime, the villains, with the exception of Mazurka and Radiguet, were watching the Grinam soldiers fighting against the team, and despite being led by the Grinam Leader, they were losing.
"That Radiguet…!" Ahames cursed, still remembering how much Radiguet beat all of them down, "He said he knew another way to eliminate those fools. But why did he send such weaklings? !"
"He should've listened to me that sending out 'leaders' of the soldiers to battle is not a good idea." Jarmin noted, remembering last time the Wular soldier failed to defeat the Turborangers even after their king assisted them.
"… He has his reason." Juzou stated, "Though whatever it is… I have no interest. Watching these fools making a fool out of themselves just makes me sick. I'm out." With that, he suddenly stepped away. It was then, suddenly Ahames realized something.
"Reason? Could it be that he deliberately sent weaklings to distract the Super Sentai to hide his trump card?"
"Hm? What's this?" Jarmin took note when she looked at Blue Turbo drawing his J-Gun and Shinken Red lending his Lightning Disc…
"OK, Youhei, just remember." Shinken Red tried to warn Blue Turbo, "Try to focus on your power."
"Got it, got it." Blue Turbo said as he tried to calm down, holding the J-Gun attached with the Lightning Disc in one hand, and preparing the other to spin the disc. He tried to calm down and then he spun the disc…
However, rather than enchanting the gun with lightning power, it instead shoot electric currents to the surrounding. "What the? !" Blue Turbo shouted, shocked at the turn of events, until eventually one of the currents hit his body and electrocuted him thoroughly. "AAAGHH!"
"Youhei!" Goggle Pink approached the fallen body of Blue Turbo. After holding his chest, she was a bit relieved, "Thank goodness it wasn't life-threatening…"
"Miki, call Sayaka!" Black Condor said as he and Shinken Red covered both Blue Turbo and Goggle Pink from any upcoming attack, "She has to know what's going on with her invention!"
"Okay!" As Goggle Pink nodded, she reached her brace and tried calling, "Sayaka, come in… This is Miki, we got trouble…!"
'This is strange…' Shinken Red thought as he fought against the Grinam soldiers while Black Condor was fighting its leader, 'If the disc activation failed, it would just drain the strength and leave the user slightly powerless. How come this one unleashed uncontrollable energies?'
"I sincerely hope that you are having fun, Sayaka…" Raiga said to Sayaka as they were walking on a park for their date, "Or perhaps you didn't find my company fun at all?"
"Ah, no, really…!" Sayaka said sheepishly, "It was fun…"
Just then, however, her communicator rang, shocking her. "Ah, uh… this… I… I have to go now…!" Sayaka panicked, fearing that her identity might get exposed. However, Raiga only put up a smile.
"Ah, don't worry. I know you may have some unique communication device or something for your business." He said soon, "It's all right if you have to leave. I don't want to disturb your business either…"
"Thank you for the understanding…" Sayaka said as she ran off, unaware that a smile was formed on Raiga's face.
She quickly headed to a narrow pathway, whereas she reached her communicator and started speaking, "Sayaka here…" "What? ! Youhei was…!" "All right, I'll be there shortly!"
After cutting the communication line, she then typed to her communicator, as if commanding the Kizuna to transport her there so she can transport herself into the battlefield as quick as possible. Unfortunately, the ship did not respond. "There was a jamming signal around here? !" In the end, Sayaka ended up running off to the direction of the beach where they fought on their own. After running several miles, she felt slightly tired and tried to contact the Kizuna again. Fortunately for her, the jamming signal didn't reach her current location, enabling her to teleport.
When she eventually arrived, already transformed into Change Mermaid, however, most of the enemies have been taken out. The Grinam soldiers and their king wasted no words seeing their fallen friends and opted to retreat soon after.
"Am I too late…?" Change Mermaid asked.
"Damn right you are!" Black Condor shouted at her, clearly very angry at her.
The atmosphere at the Kizuna became tense, especially at the infirmary, whereas both Takeru and Miki tended and observed the wounds that were inflicted on Youhei, and in the meantime, Gai was talking to Sayaka, but not in a peaceful way. He was very cross at her for both being late and her invention causing.
"What were you doing, Sayaka?" He asked, "Still dating? Or you prefer your dates over the well-being of your friends? !"
"I told you I tried to come as fast as I could!" She protested back at him, "But I never expected that someone hid a jamming signal somewhere around my vicinity…"
"Moreover," Gai cut down her words and went to another subject, "Why didn't you ask Takeru to test that invention of yours first? Look at what happened to Youhei!"
"Well, I… I thought everything was going to be okay…" Sayaka said, starting to regret her rashness. Thanks to her lack of attention, Youhei was wounded the same way like the other Changemen thanks to a lack of testing of her invention. She was repeating the same mistakes, "I… I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Gai continued to press her down, "Okay, I know you were planning on a date or something, and I approve that usually. But this is too much, Sayaka. Do you really choose that guy over us, so much that you'd leave your invention to endanger us like this?"
"Are you telling me to leave him? !" This time it was Sayaka who got up and shot back at Gai, "Don't bring him into this argument!"
"I don't mean to say that!" Gai protested back, still thinking back about the chill he got from shaking hands with Raiga. He just couldn't say it right in front of Sayaka, "It's just… well…"
"You never change, do you." Said an immensely annoyed Sayaka, "You said you like to chase women, but you never consider their feelings. I've had enough about you!" Without saying a word further, she left the room, leaving a dumbfounded Gai.
"Wait…" Before Gai could finish his sentence, Miki already got up and also exited the room.
"Just leave it to Miki. I don't think you need to worry about her." Takeru tried to reassure Gai who was full of doubts and possibly guilt. Shortly after, Youhei woke up and started speaking as well.
"I heard, Gai. What's your problem with Sayaka? You don't seem to get along well these days…"
"Ugh, you mind your own business…" Gai tried to get away from the subject. However, Takeru stopped him.
"This is not your business alone. This is our business as well." He stated clearly, "You were suspicious of that Raiga, am I right?"
"Huh? How did you…" Gai was shocked at the revelation as Takeru continued.
"The way Sayaka described him… it's too much for a human. One thing I know that a normal human cannot take out that much soldiers of evil. Something is amiss."
"… You're right." Finally, Gai gave in and started to state his mind, "I did shake hands with him, but I feel a bit of a chill… As if… I met him somewhere before."
"Well, why don't you investigate him, then?" Takeru offered, "You can start with that book store Sayaka mentioned. He works part time there, right?"
"Gai, you should do it." Youhei added, "Maybe you'll learn more about that Raiga, and whether he's a good match for Sayaka or not…"
"Whether they fit together or not is none of my business!" Gai vehemently stated as he also attempted to exit the door, "Besides, without you asking, I'm going to investigate anyway!"
In a fit of despair, Sayaka teleported out from Kizuna, starting to walk. However, a voice stopped her.
"Sayaka, wait a minute." It was Miki, who followed her.
"Oh, Miki…" Sayaka replied, but her words contain no spirit or passion.
"Were you… taken aback with Gai?" asked a concerned Miki, "Well… that's just the way he is…"
"Yes, I know." Sayaka said, "He's a jerk, through and through. I don't know if I can keep up with him."
"But, you know, Sayaka?" Miki stated further, her words still full of understanding, "I don't think he meant it directly. Maybe he's got rough words and sometimes is rude… but I know he meant well deep down."
"You sure are patient, Miki." Said a still disappointed Sayaka, seeing that none of her friends understand her.
"Uh, are you mad at me?"
"No, not really…"
"Is that so… then listen." Miki continued, "Maybe you won't like the team due to Gai, but… we're not mad at you. People make mistakes. I'm sure Youhei is not mad due to your mistake. After all, he's okay now."
"Miki…" Sayaka muttered, realizing that she felt a bit better, "Really, you're so good at cheering people up. You're even more mature than your age tells… Even though there is Gai in the team, I'm glad I have you as a friend."
"Me too, Sayaka." Miki then held Sayaka's arms tight, "Promise me you'll stay, okay?"
"Hey, why do you act as if I'm leaving the group?" Sayaka smiled, at least she's glad that she had a strong support, "Remember, we can't return to our timelines if we don't stick together, right? Your words reminded me of that fact, so looks like I'll just have to keep up…"
"Ah… that." Now it's Miki's turn to be disappointed, "I know we had our own homes… but separating with friends still hurt me…"
"Don't worry, Miki." Sayaka reassured her, "Even if it's a short time, if we treasure it, it'll worth something that we'll keep for the rest of our lives."
"Ah… is that so." Miki then let out a sigh of relief.
"Yep. Now if you'll excuse me…" Sayaka then let go of Miki's grip on her hands, "I just need a bit of a refreshment. I'll be back later." With that, she left, waving her hands.
"Come back soon…" Miki waved back, and both girls smiled at each other.
In the meantime, Gai had been wandering throughout the town with his trusty motorcycle. He was looking for information about Raiga, starting with the places he worked part-time on. None know what his full-time job was, and he had a lot of part-time jobs, and none of his co-worker really know him except about his personality: a polite, kind, unassuming man. Basically, everything Sayaka said about him was true.
'God damn it, how come there's no more clues?' He thought, while riding his motorcycle, 'But… no, I'll never give up. I know there's something wrong with that Raiga and I am going to expose it!'
Just when he passed the book store again, he heard a sound of glass breaking. "What the… robbery?" Without wasting any other seconds, Gai rushed there. What he found was a boy throwing rocks to the mirror of the store.
"Come out here, you creep! You can't fool me with your innocent look, monster!" The boy shouted loudly, which made anyone who passed by give him a glance. He didn't have any relatives to stop him thus his shouting and rock-throwing continues. The shop was empty as well, but the boy kept throwing.
"Hey, kid!" Unable to stand it any further, Gai immediately ran to the boy and grabbed him, "You wanna get into trouble? !"
"Let me go, damn it! I want to expose that bastard Raiga…!" Hearing the word 'Raiga', Gai was shocked. How could he be liked by everyone, yet this one child hate him thoroughly.
"Okay, okay! We'll talk about it somewhere else!" Gai said as he dragged the boy away from the store.
Relocating themselves on a park's bench, the boy managed to calm down eventually, and Gai could start talking, first by introducing himself, followed by the boy, who introduced himself as 'Azuma'.
"So, kid…" Gai called him by name, "Why do you hate this Raiga? I asked about him, and he seems to be a nice guy…"
"You're being deceived like them, bro!" Azuma yelled out, "I know the true color of that monster…"
"Monster? Hey, hey, even that's taking it too far…" Gai tried to remind him, but Azuma's eyes were fierce, full of hatred as he recalled his memory.
"I'm just an adopted son of an old couple who lived quite far from civilization. My grandfather and grandmother adopted me, and I live with them and their daughter… Saki, my big sister."
"Wouldn't that make her your aunt?" Gai asked.
"I called her 'sister'. She's too young to be called 'aunt'." Azuma answered, before he continued.
"Just one day, I heard that Sis recovered a young man who was stranded in the ocean. That guy was Raiga. Sis was never a healthy girl and she often fell ill, but I heard thanks to him she recovered and became healthy. It would seem that they would fall in love… Until that day. That Raiga suddenly felt a headache… and ran off to the town."
"And… what happens?"
"He saw some sort of evil looking queen, fighting four men in suit with bird head-like for helmet. I think there are a red one, yellow one, blue one and white one… I think they're called… Jetman."
'Wait a second… that's Ryuu and the others!' Gai suddenly remembered, 'Where was I back then…? Oh yeah…' Then he remembered that they fought the Vyram Empress Jyuza. And at that time, she inflicted him with a spell that turned him into crystal, thus he didn't quite have a recollection of what exactly happened, "Interesting tale, kid. Continue."
"Just then I saw that Raiga suddenly declaring something. Suddenly, he transformed. His skin turned blue, his voice was filled with evil… he gained some sort of silver armor and black cape…"
Those description shocked Gai. And thus, he came to a conclusion… 'So… Raiga is… Radiguet? ! Sayaka has been fooled all along! She didn't know just how cruel he could be…'
"Well, um… bro?" Azuma asked, seeing that Gai was spacing out a bit, "You want me to continue?"
"Oh, uh… okay, continue."
"Well… in the end, Raiga and those Jetmen defeated that evil queen, with Raiga dealing the finishing blow. I thought he was no longer human back then. But then Sis came, who begged him to come back, as he was capable of loving her. I thought maybe they would live happily… but that bastard Raiga… instead he called her out, telling her that he would never acknowledge having a 'foolish' sensation called love. And then… then that bastard…!" Azuma started to hold his tears as his words started to tremble, "And then he killed Sis out of cold blood…!"
"You… saw all of it with your eyes? !" Gai was in utter shock, just learning how vile Radiguet was, 'Radiguet, you bastard…!'
"That's not all. Shortly after, when I returned home… I found my home being wrecked. My grandpa and grandma died inside." Azuma continued, "Somewhere… I heard echoes of that creep's laughter… there was no remorse… That's why… when he came back… I wanted to expose him of all his crimes…!" With that, Azuma couldn't hold back his tears and started to cry.
Gai, feeling for the child's loss, patted him on the head. "Kid… follow me. I have something to say." Sternly, he said the words and took Azuma to an empty house nearby.
"What do you want, bro?" He asked.
"Listen… don't tell anyone what you will see, or you're going to get it." As Gai said that, he put his hand on his Cross Changer, and solemnly said, "Cross Changer."
With that, he transformed into Black Condor and turned to Azuma. "Oh my God… You… you're one of those Jetmen!"
"Yeah. I am one of the Jetman. The name's Black Condor." Black Condor said, "Maybe you didn't see me fighting that queen because I was incapacitated. But I have one thing to say to you…"
"Really?"
"That Raiga's real name is Radiguet. He is the leader of the Vyrams… our enemy that invaded Earth back then." Black Condor explained, "Right now… even though we have defeated him previously, he came back. But I have sworn that with my new friends, I will defeat him for good. That's why, kid… Leave this to me."
"But… can you win?" Azuma said, doubtfully.
"Trust me. Even if I have to die twice or thrice… I won't stop until I defeat him." Black Condor assured him as he held Azuma's shoulders, "Trust me."
"Uh… Okay! I believe in you, Black Condor!" The boy smiled, "Get him for me, so Sis can rest in peace!"
"I'll get him all right… but it's not for revenge or anything." Black Condor reminded him, "But because… justice must be served." With that, Black Condor de-transformed back to Gai, "I'll see you later… Azuma. I hope you're well the next time we meet." With that, Gai left the house, with Azuma cheering behind him.
"Go for it, bro! You can do it! For great justice!"
As he got out of the house, Gai eventually activated the communicator to contact his friends, "Gai here. You there, Takeru? Anyone?"
"I hear you just fine." Takeru replied to him, using his Shodo Phone to communicate, as the other two also prepared their communicators, "So, what do you find about Raiga?"
"The worst." Gai replied, "Raiga is actually Radiguet in disguise."
"WHAT? !" A collective shout from not only Takeru, but also Youhei and Miki, was heard.
"Oh God, of all the people, it's one of the most sadistic, that you mentioned? !" Youhei expressed his disbelief.
"What will happen to Sayaka? !" said a very worried Miki, "Gai, please stop him! I… I just can't imagine what's going to happen to her if he had his way!"
"Yeah, okay, okay! I hear you!" Gai said.
"If there are any changes of situation, inform us." Takeru only gave a short message, "This is a very dire…" In the sudden, the communication wave became static and Takeru's message became garbled.
"Huh? I can't hear you. Takeru?" Gai tried calling him again, but there was no clear response. "Can't be… a jammer?"
His short thought was cut short when he suddenly saw two people walking together… Sayaka along with Raiga. 'No time for that. Gotta do what I can!' Gai thought as he ran in front of them.
"WAIT!" He yelled.
"Gai?" Sayaka asked, unaware of what's going on.
"Sayaka, I'm only going to say this once." Gai declared with a cold voice, "Get away from that man. Now."
"Oh dear, what has gotten into you, Gai?" Raiga still asked with a polite voice, "I have no intention to hurt Sayaka at all…"
"You ain't fooling me with that sweet talk, you bastard!" Gai yelled as he eventually ran forward and attempted to punch Raiga on the face. However, Sayaka stood up in front of him and grabbed Gai's fist.
"Gai, what are you doing? !" She scolded him, "Why are you interrupting us? !"
"He's not what you think he is, Sayaka!" Gai yelled again, "Leave him!"
"NO!" In instant, Sayaka slapped Gai, though that wasn't enough to stop him, "You're mad, Gai! Attacking an innocent man like this…!"
"He's ANYTHING but innocent!" Gai insisted.
"You really hate me that much that you want to separate me from my source of joy?" Sayaka's eyes started to get teary, not just on purpose, but because she was really angered at Gai's actions.
"Cry all you want, but this is for your own good. Leave him, now!" Gai's words started to get rash as he attempted to grab Sayaka's hand… only to have her shove it off and once again slapped him.
"Gai…" She muttered, "Maybe you are worried about me for whatever reason… but I cannot let you do this! I… I'm protecting Raiga!" She then took a fighting position, ready to defend what she thought was right.
"Hit me all you want, slap me all you want…" Gai muttered, "But I cannot leave you with that man!"
With that, Gai once again attempted to tackle Raiga again, but Sayaka always stopped him, mostly with violence since there's no other way to hinder his attempts. Raiga always kept a distance from the advancing Gai, and his attempts to evade the attacks along with Sayaka's interruptions only served to infuriate Gai more.
On the other hand, it hurt Sayaka to see her friend attempting to assault her new boyfriend with a dangerous instinct. If it was a monster, she would not hold back and attack with everything she got, but this was different. As much as irritating Gai was to her, he's still a friend and she couldn't bring herself to attack him like a monster, thus she only resorted to restraining him with every ounce of her might.
However, when Sayaka noticed Raiga, it looked as if he was slowly developing a smile. "Raiga? Why are you smiling?" She asked, while still holding Gai's legs, causing him to fall to the ground flat on his face, "Don't tell me… you're enjoying this?"
"Why yes, I did enjoy it… Nagisa Sayaka." Raiga's voice suddenly started to get distorted as he reached his neck and suddenly let out an eerie voice, "And now it's time I put an end to this!"
In instant, from his mouth, Raiga unleashed several bolts which struck both Gai and Sayaka. "AGH!" Both of them yelled in pain, as several bolts hit them.
"Raiga… what are you doing…? !" Sayaka asked while clutching her arm that was hit, until it dawned to her that he might not be an ordinary man, "Wait… don't tell me you're…"
"Well it was quite fun…" He said, boasting, "How you fell to my charms… how you crazily fell for me and tried protecting me, even if your friends told you to stay away. It's no wonder that they distrust you… because you don't trust them at all, Sayaka. You'd trust a stranger like me. Though I would prefer that you'd kill Gai by your own hands…"
"Why? !" Sayaka cried out, still holding her tears, "Why are you doing this? ! I thought you were such a kind man…"
"Kindness? Ha!" Raiga said mockingly, "You think I can possess such silly things like love, or kindness? !"
"What? !" Sayaka was shocked to hear such answer.
"Finally, you've shown your true face…" Gai muttered, even though he didn't want to. He didn't want to reveal Raiga's identity to Sayaka, in fear that he'd instantly crush her feelings. However, as it stood now, it would seem that there was no purposes to hide it anymore, "Radiguet…!"
"Radiguet? !" Sayaka was shocked at the revelation, "You… you're the leader of the Vyrams? !"
"Ha!" As Raiga flexed with his hands down, a blue flash emerged from him, returning him to his true form… Radiguet, "Indeed! I am Radiguet! And you fell for my charms that easily, thus creating a rift between you and your team. Now they won't trust you, who don't trust them at all."
"No…! What… what have I done…!" Sayaka fell to her knees, eventually unable to hold any of her tears, "Gai…! I… I'm sorry…!"
"This is not the time to cry about that… I never held a grudge on you." Gai said as he tried to get up, despite his wounds, "Radiguet…! If there's one person that I can never forgive… that'd be you."
"Hah. You who just died by a random mugger… what can you do against me? !" As Radiguet said it, he let out another thunder bolt from his hands, towards Gai.
"CROSS CHANGER!"
And thus Gai yelled, attempting to transform. However, for some reason, the Cross Changer did not respond. "What the…? !"
"You're open!" Radiguet said as he moved forward and choked Gai, lifting him, "Last time, I did set up a jamming signal, but this time, I am combining it with another wave that disturbs your transformation process. At this rate… I can kill you anytime."
"Ugh… damn…!" Gai tried to say something despite being choked.
"Still, it's no fun to just kill you like that." As Radiguet said that, he turned to Sayaka, who was still crying at what she had just done, "Nagisa Sayaka… I will let you decide Yuuki Gai's fate."
"Eh…?" Sayaka was shocked at Radiguet's words.
"If you want to save him… you will come to me, bow down and worship me as your God. Then I will let him go." Radiguet spoke, which shocked both Sayaka and Gai.
"Don't… listen to… him…!" Gai warned her, but it only served for Radiguet to tighten his choke.
"So, what will you do? Remember, do anything funny and I'll kill him." Threatened Radiguet. Eventually Sayaka gave in and moved forward to him. When she got near him, she knelt down.
"Sayaka…!" Gai called her out again, but she did not respond.
However, when she put her hands on the ground as if attempting to kiss Radiguet's feet, instead she muttered the words… "Brace Laser."
Suddenly, her Change Brace unleashed a laser that went through Radiguet's legs and destroyed a well put device hidden within the grasses. "What? !" Radiguet was shocked… Sayaka was actually destroying the jamming device, "You'll reap what you sow…!" As Radiguet said that, he started to tighten his choke on Gai, while raising his sword on the other hand to behead her. However, this divided his attention, thus Sayaka read an opening and shot another Brace Laser to Radiguet's arm that held the sword.
"Ergh…! Arrrgh…!" Radiguet keeled in pain as the laser gave him a stinging pain on his hand, and in process, letting Gai go as he fell to the ground, with Sayaka hurrying up and taking him to a further distance from Radiguet, "You foolish woman!"
"You tricked me…" Sayaka said, her voice containing nothing but anger, "You seduced me with a fake love you never possessed, trying to create a rift between me and my friends and attacking me when I am most vulnerable. You toyed with my emotions with no remorse and laugh at my… our misery…"
"Radiguet…" Putting her hand forward, Sayaka yelled, also preparing to transform, "I will never forgive you! LET'S CHANGE! CHANGE MERMAID!" With that, and the destruction of the jamming device, Sayaka transformed.
"You're a heartless bastard." Gai added, "You take away people's lives like nothing. You look down on emotions and humans… say they're foolish and ugly, while you're rotten to the core, you hypocrite! Radiguet… For that boy Azuma… and that boy's step parents and step sisters that you killed to piss on the name of love… I'm taking you down! CROSS CHANGER!" Alongside that, Gai also transformed.
"In the end, only the strong rules and tramples on the weak!" Radiguet still boasted, "Come then! Face the might of Radiguet!"
Both Sentai warriors lunged to battle against the vile earl of Vyram. Compared to them during the final battles, both Black Condor and Change Mermaid have vastly improved, managing to gain even grounds on Radiguet, who also improved by himself.
"Insolent fools!" Radiguet yelled as he concentrated his attacks on Change Mermaid. However, her heart was completely focused on defeating him and making him pay for manipulating her. Thus with only her sword and shield, she managed to repel most of Radiguet's attack and eventually found an opening where she puts her sword near his neck.
"It's over, Radiguet!" Change Mermaid yelled, "I'm serious when I said 'You'll pay for what you did'!"
"Really, now…" Radiguet suddenly opened his mouth, and blasted Change Mermaid away, knocking her to the ground. And this time, it was Radiguet's turn to point his sword next to Change Mermaid's neck, "You're a fool if you think you can defeat me! I am the invincible Radiguet. No foolish human shall be a match against me!"
"You let your guard down." In a sudden, Radiguet felt that someone held a gun behind his back. It turned out that Black Condor has snuck behind him and pointed his Bird Blaster on him. "Too bad, but I'll not give you any second chances!" With that, he shot his Bird Blaster to Radiguet's back. It was the same spot where he was wounded, which caused his defeat by the Jetman. However, after he returned, the wound has been healed, thus it didn't hurt much. However, before he could retaliate further, Change Mermaid quickly switched her sword into the gun and shot Radiguet from the front, knocking him away.
"You!" Radiguet snarled angrily, "But don't think I will be defeated this easily! I still have much in store for you!"
"Then show me." Suddenly a voice rang behind Radiguet and he felt that someone was trying to strike him. He turned back and saw Shinken Red leaping and attempting to slash him with Shinkenmaru. He quickly parried the attack and clashed a bit with Shinken Red.
"Who the hell… another of the Super Sentai? !"
"Shinken Red. Shiba Takeru." Solemnly answering, Shinken Red intensified his attacks as he continued to strike Radiguet.
"Damn it…!" Radiguet cursed as he realized he was quite at a disadvantage, "Come out! Grinam!" He called out the soldiers, but they didn't come out ready to strike. Instead, they were thrown down to the ground from a direction. "What…? !"
"They've been taken care of." Coming from that direction was… "I am Goggle Pink."
"Why you…!" When Radiguet cursed further, from the opposite direction, the Grinam King himself was thrown to the ground, with his armor holed up with several bullets.
"And this guy's hit the towel too." The one who came from that direction was… "I'm… Blue Turbo."
"Guys…!" Change Mermaid called.
"Are you all right, Sayaka?" Blue Turbo asked, uncaring of what she did to him previously.
"I… I'm sorry I…" She tried to apologize, but that got cut off.
"That can wait later… we have business to do." Shinken Red said as he turned to Radiguet, "So… you're Radiguet of the Vyrams."
"That I am." Radiguet answered, "So… you're those pesky Super Sentai…"
"Yes. Pesky we may be, we're united, even though we came from different timeline and universes." Shinken Red said, "And… today, you will pay for all the evil you've done!"
"Foolish humans!" Radiguet roared as he swung his sword, "Forward!"
"FORWARD!" As Radiguet also said the words, so did Shinken Red as the Super Sentai fought against the Vyrams.
As the rest of the team fought the Grinam soldiers under their king, Radiguet fought against Shinken Red himself, in a battle between leaders of both factions.
"Your might is similar as the one belonging to Red Hawk…" Radiguet complimented as he deflected another attack, "But you've got ways to go until you can even scratch me!"
"Bark all you want." Shinken Red said as he blocked another strike and continued the battle. Eventually, Shinken Red leapt and raised his sword, preparing to strike. Radiguet only prepared to block, but suddenly he didn't expect Shinken Red to have already inserted a disc on his Shinkenmaru and as he raised the sword, he spun the disc, transforming it into Rekka Daizantou.
"What? !" Radiguet was taken aback with this revelation.
"This will just scratch a bit." Shinken Red said slowly, but in the same time, he put all his might to this one slash and slashed at Radiguet, making him bleed.
"You… you cur…!" Radiguet was infuriated with how he could be damaged as such, "Hah… Congratulations, Shinken Red. At first, I was just going to target the Jetman first, but I changed my mind…" He began to speak further, each seconds his voice started to sound more insane, "I will enjoy seeing you break down and suffer before I end your miserable life!"
With an eerie laugh, Radiguet teleported away. 'I won for now…' Shinken Red thought, 'But somehow, I feel that he hasn't given everything he's got…'
In the meantime, however, the Grinam King was badly beaten. However, in the brink of defeat, he dragged a lone Grinam soldier and suddenly bit his head, in process turning the soldier into a matter of energy and restoring him in full health.
"Damn it, he's recovering his energy!" Black Condor cursed at the recent events. However, Change Mermaid noticed a red glow on his chest during that time.
"Wait, I have a plan… We have to batter him down until he needed to recover again." She said, and then she looked at both Black Condor and Blue Turbo, "I… I'm going to need your help. Please, trust me just this time!"
"Just this time?" Blue Turbo said heartily, "Don't say that! We'll always trust you!"
Thus, the four fought once again, battering the King down, although he became more powerful after consuming his soldier. As he was eventually battered down, he suddenly felt the urge to eat again. However, the soldiers has had enough and tried to flee and fight for another day. "You're not getting away." One soldier, however, didn't expect that Goggle Pink would chase him and tripped him. As the Grinam King grabbed the soldier, however, Goggle Pink used yet another of her specialty.
"PINK HEART HYPNOSIS!" The hypnosis affected both the soldier and the King. "Okay, now you, sit down like a good boy… and you… do it slowly…"
Completely tranced, the soldier and King did as she said, with the soldier sitting down, succumbing to his fate, while the King moved rather slowly to consume the soldier. As a result, the red mark on its chest revealed itself, in a longer time than usual.
"Now! Your firearms!" Change Mermaid said, "Focus on that chest!"
"Got it!" Both Black Condor and Blue Turbo nodded and the three fired their firearms, the Bird Blaster, Turbo Laser and Change Sword, all focused to the red mark. They concentrated their fire to the point that a big explosion occurred on the King, exploding it into pieces.
"Whoa… That reminds me of the Bird Bomber." Black Condor said in awe, "You impress me, Sayaka."
"I… I thought I should just start slowly..." She said, reminded that her attempt to combine the J-Gun and the Shiba House's Disc would be way too grand, and perhaps she should take her progress slowly.
"Wait, what about the other soldiers?" Goggle Pink noted as she realized that she only managed to snare one soldier for the plan.
"They're already dead." Shinken Red suddenly said, walking to the team, with the soldiers already turned to ash behind him, with his Kaen no Mai.
"So… victory at last?" Blue Turbo asked.
"Yes. This brings…" Suddenly Shinken Red stopped, "Well, you know the drill."
"What? ! I thought you're gonna say it!" Blue Turbo whined in disappointment.
'I'll say it on my own accord, thank you.' Shinken Red thought, 'I don't need you to lure me into saying it… This brings this chapter to a close.'
The guilt of mistrusting her team still lingered on Sayaka's mind, thus she distanced herself from the team and sat down on a field of grass near a river. 'To completely distrust my allies and trying to form a relationship with an irredeemable enemy…' The thoughts hit her quite hard that she buried her face in between her knees while sitting down, 'I've failed as a warrior that protects peace…'
"Hey, why are you alone here, huh?" A voice rang behind her. When she looked up, it was Gai who stood near her, with Takeru, Youhei and Miki tailing behind him.
"Gai… guys…"
"Look, I don't wanna this 'I'm sorry' crap from you, okay?" Gai said, tapping on her shoulder, "Because we forgive you."
"But… I…" Sayaka tried to protest, but Youhei also approached her.
"Nah, I'm not mad that your invention hurt me." He said, "It's perfectly justified that you as a girl, when in love, could act illogically."
"Yeah. It's just that Radiguet planned it from the start. The bastard…" Gai noted, slightly angered, "If anyone's at fault, it's him."
"I never thought I'd say this, but…" Sayaka said, "Do you know why I even tried suggesting to combine your weapons?"
"Huh?" Both boys gave a confused look.
"Because I… I feel that I might not have been contributing much to your team…" Sayaka started, "You've all contributed much for the team, through loyalty, courage, wit and passion… I thought I could try to contribute through my intellect, but it just ends up causing trouble. Sometimes, I wonder if I don't belong with you…"
"You belong." Takeru finally gave his say, "Sayaka… remember who kept believing in me back then, when I was unable to shake my fear towards ghosts?"
"Takeru…" Sayaka said.
"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Sayaka." Takeru continued, "Don't ever think that you're useless."
"As a moral support, maybe." Sayaka said, "But I just feel that I haven't contributed much in battle…" Before she could finish, Miki already circled her arms around her from behind, stopping her.
"That's wrong too." Miki said, "Contribution isn't measured with battle prowess alone. If we were using that, we'll be no different from those we fought against."
"We fight, uniting our strength and covering each other's weaknesses." Takeru said, "That's always the way it is. What we lacked, you have successfully covered. You have contributed a lot, Sayaka."
Sayaka then looked at her friends smiling at her. Even if she made a mistake that nearly costed their integrity, they'd still stick with her and forgive her. They might not be the same team of Changeman that she know, but this team was very similar in kindness.
"Guys…" A single tear rolled from her cheek as she smiled, looking at her friends, "Thank you."
"Well, Sayaka… I have good news." Youhei said, "Since Gai hasn't said 'sorry' for berating you, he's going to treat us all for an all-you-can-eat dinner."
"What the? !" Gai said in shock, "Don't just decide like that! When did I ever say that? !"
"So are you going to not apologize for that?" Miki said, giving a teasing smile, "Even if it turns out you're right, you were quite the jerk to her, you know there are better ways to express it without sounding like a jerk…"
"Look, okay! I'll apologize!" Gai suddenly went in front of Sayaka and bowed his head, "Sayaka… I'm sorry!"
"Well, what do you say then?" Takeru then asked Sayaka, "Accepted or not?"
"Well… hmm…" Sayaka gave it a thought and after looking at the nodding Youhei and Miki, she finally answered, "That's a forced, insincere apology. Apology not accepted."
"What? !" Gai said in shock.
"You heard the lady!" Youhei said triumphantly as the four except Gai got up and walked away, "Don't forget tonight, Gai."
"Wait a sec! I'm jobless, remember? !" Gai protested as he chased them, "I just came back from the dead! How am I going to get a job in such a short time, thus getting the money? !" Despite his frustration of the turns of event, he was at least glad that Sayaka was back to normal and her happiness has returned as well.
Thus another day ended for the Super Sentai. However, they have witnessed firsthand of Radiguet's cruelty. Would they even survive their next encounter? There might be prices to pay… but don't give up! Keep fighting! Super Sentai!
(And as of Gai's treat… thankfully for him, before the night, Takeru managed to slip some money from his household to Gai's inventory, lending him some for free so he could use it for the treat. Gai was thankful, but Takeru told him to keep this a secret.)
Super Sentai vs Super Sentai… will continue at Act 11
Author's note: Thus concludes the chapter and you got to see just how evil Radiguet is. Yes, I do say that of all the Sentai villains introduced so far, Radiguet is the most vile of all (beating even Doukokuu from Shinkenger! In my opinion). But if you think he's bad... I think the next chapter will make you scream for his blood... Why? You find out later, when the next chapter is out! For now, send in your constructive criticisms and reviews! See ya later!