Before we begin this chapter, I'd like to say something. In spite of years of watching tokusatsu and other action shows, I have zero knowledge of martial arts. Or how to write a battle accurately using martial arts or characters explicitly described to be martial artists. In spite of this, I hope that this chapter's battle using characters explicitly said to be martial artists will still entertain and amuse you all.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me. Mizuki's opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the author. Well, except where a certain red ninja is concerned…

"Wait, there's more than one AkaNinger? I thought it was supposed to be one red Ranger per team," said a confused Kiriya. "And yes, I'm aware that there is more than one ShinkenRed, but that's not exactly a common circumstance."

"I think there are three of them," Emu said, vaguely recalling something like that from playing Cho Super Hero Taisen to completion. (Not counting the time when he was actually INSIDE the game.)

"Four," Mizuki corrected, an unhappy expression on her face. "Takaharu Igasaki, his father Tsumuji Igasaki, his grandfather Yoshitaka Igasaki, and his son Yoshiharu Igasaki."

Taiga raised his eyebrows. "Four Reds?! That seems a bit excessive."

"Are there that many of the other colors on the team?" Parad asked.

"No, just the Reds," Mizuki said, still seeming displeased.

Nico snorted. "Typical. The red Rangers get all the good stuff."

"Wait, the fourth AkaNinger is Takaharu's son? But the team only debuted a few years ago. How could he be a Ninninger already?" Emu asked.

Mizuki sighed. "He's not. Or at least, not yet. An older Yoshiharu from the year 2029 traveled back in time to prevent his father, aunt, and cousins from being killed in a battle to the death with the Zyuohgers in 2017."

Nico rolled her eyes. "More time travel. Naturally."

"Wait, why were they fighting to the death?" Asked the surprised Parad. "I thought Sentai were all buddy-buddy with each other, and are willing to help each other out the instant they meet each other, instead of trying to murder each other all the time like way too many of us Riders do. Heck, I'm pretty sure most of us have tried to kill or least seriously injure each other on multiple occasions! Including me!"

"And I dearly wish I had succeeded…" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD grumbled.

"They were manipulated into fighting each other by an intergalactic hitman who'd been hired to take out the Zyuohgers," Mizuki explained.

"That… Doesn't exactly sound like the sort of thing that a hitman is supposed to do," said the confused Emu.

"Neither does the death of both teams somehow putting an end to the Super Sentai legacy, but apparently that's what happened by Yoshiharu's time," Mizuki said sourly. "It doesn't make the least bit of sense, but given the Ninningers were involved, it's hardly that surprising."

"You don't like the Ninningers?" Taiga asked, failing to see Hiiro and Satsuki frantically waving for him to shut up.

Mizuki's eyes flashed in anger. "Don't like the Ninningers? Whatever would give you that idea? After all, it's not as if Takaharu Igasaki is the loudest, stupidest, most obnoxious, and all around worst excuse of a ninja I've ever seen. Or one of his cousins callously turned his back on the family legacy to run off to Europe to learn how to be a wizard."

Hiiro sighed. Satsuki gave the alarmed Taiga an exasperated look. "Great, you've gotten her started now."

"Wait, Europe…wizards…Hogwarts is REAL?!" Nico cried, eyes wide.

"No, of course not," Hiiro said with a snort. "Now, Boarbunions, on the other hand…"

"And it's not as if they seem to take an absurd amount of pride in being ninjas that don't hide! I mean, sure lots of ninjas these days are more flashy and visible than tradition would dictate – – myself included – – but it's not as if we go around BOASTING about it! And their sixth Ranger CERTAINLY isn't an absurd American stereotype with a cowboy mecha and a cheeseburger morpher who they allowed to join the team even though he wasn't a member of the clan! And the family patriarch definitely isn't a pathetic failure who got his powers stolen at a young age and, instead of continuing his training in spite of this handicap, dropped out! After all, it's not like there aren't LOTS of ninjas around the world who don't have any special powers, but make do without them!" Mizuki continued ranting, a throbbing nerve forming on her forehead. "And the matriarch ISN'T a complete bitch who only married into the family because she's a fan of ninjas, seems to think having given birth to a pair of ninja heroes and being the agent for several famous ninjas makes her an expert on our culture and heritage, never tried to force her own son and nephews to quit being ninjas so that she could use the Ninninger name for her precious 'Ninnin Girls' fighting idol magical girl team, or showed a horrific amount of disrespect to the dead by giving the transformation shuriken from a fallen adversary to a rookie ninja with no ties to the family!"

"Um-" Taiga stammered, eyes wide.

"And they definitely aren't obsessed with some stupid title of 'Last Ninja, 'which would seem to imply that said ninja, who of COURSE is a member of their family, would be the greatest in the world, and none of the rest of us matter, or always going on about how their clan defeated some warlord back in the 1500s and saved Japan and later the world from his Yokai reincarnation almost 450 years later! Big deal! It was the Sengoku Period, everyone was doing that! My clan prevented ODA NOBUNAGA from coming back from the dead as a Demon King to destroy the world five times, averted three alien invasions, killed Dracula, tamed several clans of hostile Yokai, and are the agents of an actual freaking Dragon God, but you don't hear US bragging about it!" Mizuki raved.

Everyone but a weary Hiiro and Satsuki, who looked as if they'd heard these complaints many times before, stared at her, stunned. "Wow," Nico said finally, eyes bulging.

"Wait, what was that about Nobunaga? And aliens? And a Dragon God?" Asked a dumbfounded Emu.

"And Dracula?!" Parad added.

"So, I take it that all those things you just said about what the Igasakis aren't are, in fact, what they are, and that you aren't fond of them," Kiriya said fairly slowly.

"What gave you that idea?" Mizuki snapped.

Satsuki put a hand on her shoulder. "Mizuki…"

The ninja blinked, closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and allowed her lover to hug her. "I… I'm sorry. That outburst was unbecoming of me. I just… Really, really, REALLY don't like the Igasaki clan. And since I am the heir to my clan, I have to deal with them – – especially Takaharu – – at a lot of the ninja conferences." She sighed. "In all honesty, I don't hate most of the Ninningers – – they're decent people and competent ninjas for the most part, their family's flaws notwithstanding, I just… Can't STAND Takaharu…" She said through gritted teeth.

"If this Takaharu guy's really that bad, why is he even still on the team?" Asked an astounded Taiga.

"Nepotism," Mizuki said flatly. "And they don't really have anyone else who can take the job without looking outside the clan since Tsumuji is woefully out of practice. If he weren't family, I'm sure they'd have gotten rid of him a long time ago, although I admit that might be personal bias speaking. I can't see any other reason why they would bother keeping him around, no matter how strong he is. I mean, all right, he's a great fighter, but he's absolutely SHIT at stealth, which we all know is one of the most crucial elements of being a ninja!"

"Sounds like you dodged a bullet earlier, then," Nico pointed out. "If he and the other ninjas had showed up, you might've been stuck dealing with him instead of those super cool Dino girls."

Mizuki made a face. "When you put it that way, I suppose I did luck out, didn't I? I suppose I should be grateful that whatever mission he and his comrades are on kept them too occupied to bother me."

Elsewhere…

"Guys… I don't think we're doing so well," Takaharu observed from his perch atop the Super Ha-Oh Shurikenjin.

"No! Really? What could possibly give you that idea?!" An angry Isshu Kasumi, KuwagaRaiger, snapped from within Revolver Tenrai Senpuujin.

"Maybe because we're getting horribly thrashed and are now being slowly crushed by Orochi's coils?" Takaharu suggested as the giant serpent, several of its long necks wrapped around the giant robots, squeezed tighter, sparks flying from their joints as explosions rocked their forms and the ninjas struggled to maintain their balance in the cockpits. "I mean, I'm not the only one who noticed that, right?"

Isshu spluttered in incredulous disbelief.

Fuuka Igasaki, ShiroNinger, sighed wearily. "Did you forget? My brother is an idiot and doesn't understand the concept of sarcasm. Or rhetorical questions."

"Exactly, I have no idea what she just said!" Takaharu said cheerfully.

"You don't have to sound so happy about it!" She shouted at him.

"Don't worry, everyone!" Samuraiman, who'd managed to wriggle free and jumped to the top of a nearby ridge proclaimed. "I'll save us! Hyaaaaaaaaaaah!"

He leaped into the air, raising his javelin over his head…

And four of Orochi's heads shot out, latching their jaws around his wrists and ankles. Before he had time to cry out in surprise, they tore him limb from limb, pieces of blue metal falling all over the place.

"Wow, it's a good thing that was just my straw doll," Samuraiman, perfectly intact and standing next to the entangled giant robots, commented. "Otherwise, that would be it for me."

The ninjas stared at the pieces of scrap that were quite clearly not a straw doll, then back at the robot. "How-" Nagi Matsuo, KiNinger, began.

"Just… Just don't ask," Saizou, NinjaBlue, said wearily. "It's not worth it."

"Everyone, I just had an idea to get out of here," Kasumi Momochi, MomoNinger announced. "Orochi's coils are too strong for us to break free from… So we'll have to break OURSELVES instead. End our combination, so we can all slip free from its grip and attack the beast with all of our individual mecha. They'll be weaker on their own, but there'll be too many of them for it to keep track of at once, even with eight heads."

"That's a great idea," said an impressed Yosuke Shiina, HurricaneRed.

"Indeed. Everyone, disengage!" Tsuruhime, NinjaWhite, commanded.

Immediately, all three giant robots split apart into their constituent mecha, causing the surprised Orochi to close its coils on thin air as the numerous machines flew in all directions. "What?!" Kyuubi cried, startled.

"It worked! Great plan, Kasumi!" Said the excited Luna Kokonoe, MidoNinger.

"Ha, just what we'd expect from our resident genius!" Fuuka said proudly.

"Okay everyone, now is our chance! Spread out and-" Sasuke began.

"GATTAI!" Takaharu shouted.

"Wait, what?" Asked a confused Tenkai, Shurikenger.

"If we couldn't beat it in our strongest robots, then clearly what we need to do is combine ALL of our robots into a giant super ninja robot powerful enough to win!" Takaharu suggested.

"… Takaharu, it doesn't work like that," said an exasperated Yakumo, AoNinger.

"Sure it does! We were able to do it with the ToQgers and the Zyuohgers, so why shouldn't we be able to do it with both of our predecessor ninja teams?" Takaharu pointed out.

"That's… Almost a good point," said a startled Kouta Bitou, HurricaneYellow.

"Could that actually work?" Kinji Takigawa, StarNinger asked.

"Maybe… Perhaps if we-" Kasumi started.

"I'll start it off! GATTAI!" Takaharu shouted, piloting the Sky OtomoNin Lion Ha-Ojo towards everyone else.

"Takaharu, wait, this isn't-" the giant lion flying fortress robot's spirit, Shishi-Oh protested.

"GATTAI!"

"TAKAHARU, WAIT-"

"GATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Takaharu crashed Lion Ha-Ojo into the others. Instead of miraculously combining, the collision sent the giant robots and other massive vehicles flying, smashing into each other in a massive domino effect which knocked flying machines out of the sky, pinned mechas underneath each other, and culminated in the colossal Super Karakuri Revolver Mammoth tipping over and crushing just about everyone beneath its massive weight. Samuraiman, who had miraculously managed to avoid all the chaos, slowly backed away in hopes that he wouldn't be noticed, only to trip over one of the smaller Karakuri and fall over.

Kyuubi and Orochi stared in disbelief, and then burst into raucous laughter. In Kyuubi's lap, Neko stirred and woke up, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Mmm…Kyuubi? What's going on?" She asked drowsily, blinking her eyes blearily.

"Oh, you're up," the kitsune said happily. "A pity you didn't wake up earlier, because I just witnessed the funniest thing I've seen in centuries." She shook her head in amusement. "These are the legendary ninja Sentai so many Yokai and other evildoers seem to fear? I have to say, I was expecting better."

"Well, we might have given it to you… If SOMEONE hadn't screwed things up…" Kouta snarled, glaring at Takaharu as all the ninjas pulled themselves out of the wreckage of their machines.

Takaharu nodded. "Yeah, if you guys had just combined when I told you to, we could've avoided all this!"

Quite a few ninjas had to be held back to keep them from mauling Takaharu. Somehow, he failed to notice.

Kyuubi chuckled in amusement. "After such a hilarious but pathetic display, I'm almost considering sparing your lives…" Her eyes turned cold. "However, you harmed Neko, and for that, there can be no mercy."

"Kyuubi-" Neko asserted.

"My love, were our situations reversed, can you honestly say you would not feel the same way?" Kyuubi interrupted.

Neko hesitated, then reluctantly shook her head. "… No. No, I would not."

The great Fox nodded. "I thought as much. Orochi? I believe it's dinner time."

Orochi grinned and opened its eight jaws wide, slavering as they surged towards the terrified but resolute ninja…

"Kyuubi no Okami! I have come to bargain!"

"Hmm?" Kyuubi lifted a hand, causing the many heads of Orochi to freeze in their tracks. Seeing an opportunity, Takaharu shouted a battle cry and tried to attack, but thankfully his teammates piled onto him before he could do something rash. The fox frowned, noticing that there was now a giant mechanical toad perched atop the nearby ridge, a ninja in purple armor standing on its head. "Oh? And who is this, now? Another ninja Sentai come to interfere?"

The ninja bowed. "Not a Sentai, milady, but a Rider. I am Rentaro Kagura, Kamen Rider Shinobi."

"Shinobi? Yes, I believe I have heard of you," Kyuubi murmured, intrigued. "Have you come to assist your fellow ninja? If so, I advise you to turn around and leave this instant. I have no quarrel with you, but I have had enough of ninjas meddling in my affairs and trying to stop me from reuniting with my family. This does not concern you."

"I beg your pardon, my lady, but it does," Rentaro said politely. "I cannot allow you to harm my fellow shinobi. However, I do not seek to fight with you. I know of your power and reputation, and the ease with which you have vanquished my ninja senpai makes it clear that I would be squashed in an instant if I dared to raise my sword against you. However, I hope to convince you to change your mind and spare my fellows by offering you another solution to your problem, one which will hopefully avoid any further bloodshed."

"Kagura… What are you doing?" Murmured a perplexed Tsurihime.

"Whatever it is, I hope it works, because I don't see any other way we can get out of this alive," Nagi commented.

Ninjaman, who had reverted to his regular size, nodded. "Yeah, I don't know how many more straw dolls I can sacrifice to avoid certain death."

"Another solution? Explain," Kyuubi demanded.

"Mighty Yokai, you seek to be reunited with your family, correct? That is why you have obtained the mallet, nail, and shuriken, in hopes of breaking open the Seal Door and freeing them?" Rentaro asked.

The Fox nodded. "That is correct."

"You are aware, of course, that doing so will free many, many Yokai other than those you care for, including those who would destroy this world utterly?" Rentaro continued.

Kyuubi sighed. "Yes, I am aware. Unfortunately, I see no other path to achieving my goal. I have exhausted all other options."

Neko nodded sadly. "It's true. We've been trying and trying for years. I don't want to see the world destroyed, but… If it's the only way to get them back…"

"And what would you say if I told you that I knew of a way to reunite you with your family without opening the Seal Door and dooming the world?" Rentaro inquired.

Kyuubi's eyes narrowed. "I would call you a liar and demand you explain yourself before I feed you and your frog to Orochi." Two of the great serpent's heads rose up at that, hissing and licking their lips as they gazed hungrily at Rentaro and his mount.

"I'm not lying," Rentaro assured her. "There is another way. The back door."

Everyone started at that. "The… Back door?!" Ikkou Kasumi, KabutoRaiger, asked incredulously.

"Wait, is he implying that the underworld has a back door?!" Asked a disbelieving Luna.

Jiraiya, NinjaBlack shook his head. "That's impossible. We would know about that!"

Ninjaman nodded in agreement. "Indeed! My Masters and the legendary ninja would never have allowed for there to be another passage to the Yokai realm and left it unguarded!"

"Do you think me a fool?! A back door?!" Kyuubi snarled, outraged.

"It's no lie," Rentaro said quickly. "There is a backdoor. When Izanami was banished to Yomi, Izanagi came to regret abandoning her there, but it was too late to free her, for she was now one with the land of the dead. Instead, he created a secret passage to the underworld through which he could visit his wife in hopes of making amends for his mistake and reconciling their marriage."

"… Wait, is he implying that Izanagi found a way to sneak off to the land of the dead whenever he wanted a booty call?" Asked an astounded Fuuka.

"Well, considering he's a deity… That… Is oddly plausible…" Said a disturbed Nanami Nono, HurricaneBlue.

"Wait, but isn't Izanami like a rotting corpse or something?" Asked an alarmed Sasuke.

"I… Guess some gods are just into that sort of thing?" Kinji proposed.

All the ninjas considered this. Then they shuddered in revulsion.

Kyuubi scoffed. "Preposterous. If such a thing were true, I would have known about it in my research, and surely the denizens of the underworld would have used it to escape and overrun the land of the living!"

Rentaro shook his head. "Not so. Izanagi was no fool and knew that the backdoor could be easily abused. He never told any of the other gods of its location, and it is ensorcelled so that only those who know of its whereabouts can find it, both in the world of the living and the dead. My clan are descended from the children produced by Izanagi's reunion with his wife, and we have guarded the door for millennia to keep any from either world from misusing it."

Neko gasped at this, and Kyuubi snorted. "How convenient. And let me guess, in return for sparing the ninja, you will lead me to this backdoor and allow me to use it to bring back my sister, sister-in-law, and children? How stupid you think I am?! Did you really think I would fall for that?!"

"Kyuubi, wait, what if he's telling the truth?" Neko asked, eyes glistening with hope. "If he is, then maybe…"

Kyuubi snarled. "Preposterous. It's clearly nothing more than a trap to lure us away so that he can kill us and save his precious senpai. I nearly lost you once today, I'm not going to risk your life again on a wild goose chase!" Her face softened somewhat. "We've had far too many of those already."

"My lady, I promise that I'm telling you the truth," Rentaro assured the Yokai. "Surely you, one of the eldest and mightiest of all your kind, can tell whether a simple mortal like myself is lying?"

Kyuubi huffed. "Appealing to my vanity will do you no good, human. However… You are correct. There are ways to verify that you are being truthful."

"Then use them. I will not resist," Rentaro said calmly.

Kyuubi narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but sketched a symbol in the air with one of her tail tips, flicking it with her mallet and sending it spinning towards Rentaro, who did not move as it was absorbed into his body and caused him to glow briefly. "Mortal. Is there a backdoor to the underworld?"

"There is," Rentaro confirmed.

Neko gasped. Kyuubi's eyes widened, and the ninjas started whispering in amazement. "That's… And you…You know where it is?"

"I do," Rentaro confirmed again.

"And if you take me there, you are not luring me into a trap?" Kyuubi asked, incredulous, a hint of desperate hope in her tone. "You will allow me to use the door to retrieve my family from the underworld and bring them back unharmed? You will not impede us in any way?"

"I will not," Rentaro promised. "I will help you get what you want. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Is he for real?!" Asked a stunned Saizou.

"We can't… We can't let him do this. Can we?" Asked an alarmed Luna.

"Right now, I am uncertain we have a choice," Tenkai said gravely.

Neko squealed and started clapping her hands joyfully. "Kyuubi! It's really happening! We're really going to get them back!"

"I… I don't understand," Kyuubi stammered, flabbergasted. "Why… Why would you do such a thing? What do you seek to gain from this? Do you think that I shall reward you for this act?" (Because she would, but he didn't need to know that.)

"If you had known of any other method to free your family that didn't risk unleashing the wrath of Daimaou and ending the world, would you have?" Rentaro asked.

"Certainly," Kyuubi answered at once. "Neko and I have grown accustomed to this world. We have no desire to see it destroyed or subjugated." (She actually controlled quite a lot more of it then they were aware of, but she didn't think they needed to know that.)

"So if you were reunited with your family, you would leave in peace, and not seek vengeance against humanity at large or the ninjas specifically who took them from you in the first place?" Rentaro pressed.

Kyuubi hesitated for a minute, glancing at the ninjas. "Kyuubi…" Neko implored her mate.

"Neko, I… They hurt you. They took them from us," Kyuubi protested weakly.

"Kyuubi, please…" Neko begged. "Let it go. I'm fine, and once they've been returned to us, is there really any need to continue pursuing vengeance on their behalf?"

Kyuubi sagged in defeat. "Oh… Very well. Yes, once my family is whole again, we shall leave in peace. With any luck, our paths will never cross again."

"And that is why I will help you," Rentaro said. "For the sake of peace between ninja and Yokai. And because… I understand what it is like to do anything, give anything, to make your family whole again."

Kyuubi regarded him for a moment, impressed. "Yes… You would, wouldn't you?" She bowed her head. "Very well. Lead us to this backdoor. However…"

She gestured, and three of Orochi's heads shot out, wrapping around the startled ninja Sentai, trapping them in their coils and lifting them into the air. "Hey, what gives?!" Cried an alarmed Nagi.

"Let us go!" Luna yelled, struggling against her bonds.

"While my truth spell indicates you are being honest… I didn't become as old or powerful as I am by taking unnecessary risks," Kyuubi told Rentaro, ignoring the pleas and protests from the other ninja. "I will hold your comrades hostage until my family is once again among the living. Should anything happen to my loved ones, myself, or Neko, should I detect even a hint of treachery, their lives are forfeit. Are we clear?"

Rentaro nodded. "I understand."

"Wait, you can't make the decision for us!" Seikai, NinjaYellow protested. Orochi squeezed a little tighter. "Right, shutting up now."

"Then we have an accord," Kyuubi said graciously. "Lead on."

Rentaro's robot to begin to hop away, and Orochi slithered after it. It's motions didn't necessarily sit well with its unwilling passengers.

"Ugh. I think I'm going to be sick," Kinji complained.

"This is not how I saw this day going when I got up this morning," Yousuke griped.

"You know, if I grew into a giant again, I might be able to break free," Ninjaman suggested.

"Wouldn't that kill the rest of us?" Sasuke said quickly.

Ninjaman considered this. "Oh. Right. I suppose that would be somewhat inconvenient."

"You think?!" Jiraiya snapped.

Tsurihime sighed. "I hope Rentaro knows what he's doing…"

"You know, if you guys had just combined when I told you to, we probably wouldn't be in this mess right now," Takaharu complained.

"SHUT UP, TAKAHARU!"

"Kuroto-" Emu began.

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped.

"The answer is four!" Emu continued.

"That is… INCORRECT!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD shouted.

"What?!" Emu recoiled, crying out in pain as he jerked back, his Rider Gauge dropping slightly. A buzzer sounded, the lights flashed chaotically, and the monitor changed to show a big thumbs down and emoji sticking its tongue out. The Bugster audience booed and started throwing things at the stage.

"What?! No, that's not possible!" Mizuki protested. "That's all the AkaNingers! Yoshitaka, Tsumuji, Takaharu, and Yoshiharu! Grandfather, father, son, and great-grandson! I didn't forget any!"

"Oh, but you did," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD crooned. "Dark AkaNinger."

Mizuki went very still, face blank. "Dark… AkaNinger?"

"Wait, so there really ARE five?! What is it with his team and it's disproportionate number of red Rangers?" Nico complained.

"Who is Dark AkaNinger?" Asked the confused Parad.

"An evil clone of Takaharu created by Dark Dr. Mavro of the Shadow Line as part of a plot to engulf the world in darkness," Mizuki said softly, slowly drawing her tanto.

Kiriya's eyes widened when he saw what she was doing. "No! NO! Bad Mizuki! We talked about this! No committing suicide!"

"Yeah, like you said before, you aren't a Sentai expert-" Emu began.

"This isn't about my lack of Sentai knowledge," Mizuki hissed as Satsuki struggled to force her blade back in its sheath. "This is about my failing as a ninja. I've been going to several of the same conferences as Takaharu for years. Every time he talks about all of his adventures, including the time he teamed up with the ToQgers and fought an evil clone of himself and defeated it with peppers and then he died, but was brought back to life by the power of imagination."

"Wait, what?" Asked confused Nico.

"The ToQgers are a… Rather odd Sentai. Don't overthink it," Taiga advised her.

"He's told that story so many times I could recite it word for word in my sleep," Mizuki continued.

"She has. Several times," Satsuki grumbled.

"I've woken up screaming from nightmares where the two of us are the last ninjas left in all the world, and he's still telling that same damn story," Mizuki moaned. "And yet somehow, when it mattered most, I forgot about the damn evil clone. This is unforgivable. Death is the only way I can atone for my failure… And so that I WON'T HAVE TO HEAR THAT STORY EVER AGAIN."

"Hiiro, you want to weigh in on this?" An exasperated Emu asked the surgeon.

Hiiro sighed. "Mizuki, put that blade away. Everyone makes mistakes. Granted, you and Satsuki have made rather a lot more today than I would usually be forgiving of-"

"Seriously?" Asked an incredulous Parad.

"But these are… Unusual circumstances. We can discuss ways for you to redeem yourself for this later," Hiiro told her.

Mizuki hesitated, then sheathed her blade. "Hai, Hiiro-sama."

"The relationship you three have is so weird," Nico complained.

"All right, Kuroto-"

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped.

"Who is our unlucky victim this time?" Kiriya asked.

"I'm glad you asked!" He slammed a fist onto a large red button on his podium. Air horns blew, and the audience cheered as the words BUGSTER TIME flashed on the screen with a wobbling Virus head sandwiched between them.

After a moment, the screen changed to show what appeared to be a mix between a laboratory and a training dojo, the walls lined with padding and weapon racks. A very attractive and incredibly fit teenage girl was sparring with a bulky orange training robot. "This is Natsume Masaki, daughter of Miki Masaki, a high executive and head of the special development department of SCRTC."

"SCRTC… That's that sporting goods company, right?" Emu recalled.

Kiriya nodded. "Yeah. 'Supporting Sports through Science and Heart.' They make good stuff."

"They should. They're also the organization which houses and supports the Juken Sentai GekiRangers," Satsuki spoke up, much to the others' surprise.

"I didn't know that," Taiga commented.

"Huh. Neat," Nico said. "… Who are the GekiRangers again?"

"A group of martial artists utilizing a technique devised 4000 years ago in ancient China in which one mimics the abilities of animals," Satsuki explained. "They were originally formed to perpetuate this martial arts style as well as oppose a rival school that threatened to dominate the world. They were able to destroy the rival school, but continue using their powers for justice and teaching others their style to help promote spiritual peace."

"I'm kind of surprised we're hearing this from you instead of Mizuki," Taiga commented, raising an eyebrow. "I thought your thing was Kamen Riders, not Sentai."

"It is, but I'm a martial artist, as are they," Satsuki pointed out.

"Oh, so you go to the same conferences and stuff?" Parad guessed.

"And tournaments," Satsuki agreed. "I've never actually had the honor of fighting any of them in a match, but have watched several of their battles. They're quite good. Even the more senior martial arts Sentai like the Maskmen or Dairangers have trouble against them."

"Aren't all Sentai martial artists?" Nico asked.

"Some specialize in it more than others," Satsuki explained.

"Wait… Hold on… Kuroto-"

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped.

"Are you seriously about to infect the daughter of one of the staunchest allies of a Sentai who specialize in beating the crap out of their enemies with animalistic fury?" Parad asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD confirmed.

"… Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Taiga cried, realizing where Parad was going. "You're going to have an entire team of color-coded non-spandex wearing superheroes on your ass! I'd have thought even you would be smart enough not to poke this sleeping bear! Wait, are any of them bear-themed?"

"No, most of them are actually based on giant cats, although one of their most dangerous enemies was bear-themed," Satsuki told him.

"I thought even you would be smart enough not to poke this sleeping lion!" Taiga amended.

"Tiger," Satsuki corrected him. "They don't have any lions. Any living ones, anyway."

"I thought even you would be smart enough not to poke this sleeping Tiger!" Taiga amended again.

"I have had enough of Sentai meddling in my affairs," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD growled. "I think it's high time I pay them back!"

"Are you SERIOUSLY so petty that you aren't considering the inevitable consequences of this, and how hard they're going to pound you for it?" Asked an incredulous Emu.

"I think we all know he is," Hiiro pointed out.

"I see no reason to fear any retribution. Once this game is over, the Gekirangers, and all other allies of justice, will be unable to lay a finger on me!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD declared, laughing malevolently.

"Isn't that more or less what you thought right before we've kicked your ass in the past?" Parad pointed out.

"… Shut up," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped.

"Guys, hold on a second," Kiriya spoke up, before anyone else could. "Let's think about this for second. Are we actually trying to dissuade Kuroto-"

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped.

"From doing something that will result in severe bodily harm?" Kiriya continued.

Everyone considered this for a moment. "You know what? Kiriya's right right. Go right ahead, Kuroto-"

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped.

"And release the virus. We're curious to see what will happen," Emu said.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD scowled. "And now I'm beginning to have second thoughts… Oh well, too late now."

He hit a large button on his podium.

ERROR!

"Eh?" He pressed again.

ERROR!

ERROR!

ERROR!

"Something wrong?" Taiga asked in amusement.

"Hold on…" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD growled, pulling up several holographic displays. "Oh. Well, that's embarrassing. It seems as if the Bugster I was planning to use isn't quite ready yet."

"Does that mean we're going to skip the boss fight?" Emu asked hopefully.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD shook his head as he interacted with his display. "No, no, I must have something in reserve… Let's see… No… No… Aha! Yes, that should do it," he said, pressing the button.

The mechanical Beast-Fist Trainer Robo Tough thrust the large circular pads making up its arms forward in simulated punches, Natsume blocking and each attack with ease, fists and feet flying as she pushed the sparring robot back. On the far side of the room, an attractive middle-aged woman, her mother Miki, and an anthropomorphic caracal in red robes were constantly glancing back and forth from the young woman's training to a tablet in Miki's hands.

"Hey, is that a Zyuman?" Nico asked.

"No, that's Master Sha-Fu, one of the seven kensei, disciples of the creator of Juken who used a forbidden technique to turn themselves into ageless beastmen to combat their fellow disciples, the three kenma, who betrayed their master and sought to conquer the world," Satsuki explained.

"Oh," Nico said. "Neat."

"Come on…" Miki murmured, chewing lip as she concentrated on the readouts on her tablet. "Just a little more…"

"Perhaps," Sha-Fu suggested. "We should push her a little harder?"

Miki considered this for a moment, then nodded and adjusted her tablet. In response, Robo Tough started moving faster and hitting harder, forcing Natsume to struggle to keep up. After a few seconds, however, she managed to find her rhythm, striking and blocking and countering and dodging even quicker than before. As she did so, a golden aura began flickering to life around her, and her blows began dealing heavier damage to Robo Tough, sparks flying as the robot attempted to keep up with her and block her attacks. Natsume snarled and responded by fighting even harder, her aura growing stronger and stronger, her blows lashing out with such ferocity and speed they were almost faster than the naked eye and rocked the robot's entire frame with every blow, sparks flying from its joints as it struggled to match her performance.

Finally, with a feral cry, her aura exploded around her, forcing the robot take a step back. "Gekiwaza: Leopard Fist Fierce Ki Break!" With a savage roar, she surged forwards, punching Robo Tough with all her might as her aura flared around her, taking the form of a leopard. Robo Tough attempted to block the attack…

Only for its shields to shatter, the power behind the blow so strong it was flung across the room, slamming into the wall hard enough to crater it. The machine convulsed, sparks and arcs of electricity crackling off its frame, before it eventually slumped to the ground, deactivated.

As Natsume's aura faded away, she staggered, barely managing to catch herself. "Huff… Huff… That all you got?" She taunted, grinning as she wiped away some sweat.

Miki burst into applause, startling her daughter. "You did it! You cleared the final level!" The proud mother declared.

Sha-Fu nodded proudly. "It is clear that you have been taking your training seriously, young Natsume. Well done! I dare say you are stronger now than your mother is when she was your age. In fact, you may even be stronger than the GekiRangers were at this stage of their training!"

"Does that mean… I'm going to get my own GekiChanger?" Natsume asked hopefully as she mopped away some sweat with a towel, painting from exertion.

Her mother shook her head. "I don't think you're quite ready for that just yet. But keep training, and you'll get there someday!"

Natsume pouted. "But mom, I want to be a GekiRanger now!"

Miki frowned at her daughter. "Young lady, what did we agree on?"

Natsume sighed. "'Don't be consumed by ambition, pride, or impatience and take your training at the proper pace or else you stand a good chance of turning to evil to fulfill your desires and possibly killing your master and fellow students.'"

"I'm quite keen on avoiding that fate," Sha-Fu spoke up. "I'm frankly astonished none of the other kensei or myself were slain during the last clash with the forces of RinJuken and GenJuken. Seems like that's the sort of thing that would've happened at some point near the end."

"I think we can all be grateful that nothing like that has happened yet," Miki said, handing her daughter an energy drink, which she happily guzzled down. "And with any luck, the seven of you will remain to teach future generations for centuries to come."

"Yeah, kind of a shame the technique to become like you guys is the one thing you refuse to teach anyone," Natsume grunted.

"Natsume!" Miki said harshly. "We just talked about this!"

"I'm just saying," Natsume said defensively. "I mean, wouldn't it be better if there were lots of immortal beastmen warriors running around instead of just seven?"

"Not when the danger of using the technique, or the potential harm of the wrong person performing it, comes into consideration," Sha-Fu said gravely. "Remember that both Gou and Bae attempted to perform the technique, and Gou spent years as a werewolf while Bae was reduced to an oversized fly. The risks of performing the forbidden Gekiwaza incorrectly far outweigh the benefits of doing it right."

"Yeah, I guess," Natsume admitted reluctantly. "Still think it would be pretty cool to be an immortal leopard woman, though."

She gasped suddenly, doubling over in pain. Miki's eyes widened in alarm as her tablet started flashing warning signals. "What the… Your vitals are spiking!"

"Ugh… Guess I… Overdid it a little…" Natsume groaned, face scrunched up in discomfort.

"It's worse than that! According to this, you have the Gaming Illness!" Miki cried. She shot her daughter a look. "I thought you got vaccinated!"

"I did! I got it the other day! This must be a new… Strain or something…gah!" Natsume squeezed her eyes shut and cried out in pain as an orange mass formed on her back and burst outwards, shifting and growing as it hit the ground and taking on the form of a black and gray blank-faced robot with a Gashat plugged into the top of its head. It was wearing a red chinstrap-like armor piece, red and gold armor with flame decals on its upper body, and had oversized red metal fists that also had flame decals.

Sha-Fu's eyes, usually closed, widened in surprise. "Well, that's new…" He muttered.

"Wait… Is that a Collabos Bugster?" Emu asked in surprise.

"We haven't fought one of those in years," Hiiro remarked.

"We haven't seen one in in this form before," Taiga added. "But something about its armor seems familiar…"

"Wait… It looks kind of like one of my level 50 forms… Hold on, is that Knock Out Fighter plugged into his head?!" Parad cried indignantly.

"Proto Knock Out Fighter, to be precise," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD corrected him. "It seemed fitting. Monster based on a fighting game, spawning from a girl who is a trained fighter, set up to fight a martial arts-based Rider."

"Then it is at last to be my turn?" Satsuki guest.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD nodded as a warp point appeared. "Indeed. And this time, no meddling Bugsters are going to get in the way!"

Parad raised a hand. "Um-"

"No meddling good-aligned Bugsters," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped.

"I guess you're finally up," Mizuki said, holding her girlfriend's hands. "Be safe."

"I shall be," Satsuki promised. She smiled. "I actually look forward to a chance to demonstrate my skill before a celebrated master like Sha-Fu. Maybe he can even give me some pointers!"

"Knock 'em dead, champ," Kiriya encouraged.

"We all believe in you," Emu added.

"Even Hiiro, right?" Taiga asked, glancing at the surgeon.

Hiiro nodded grimly. "I have high expectations for this fight, Satsuki. Do not let me down."

"I shall not," Satsuki promised firmly.

"All right, all right, enough, just get going already," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD growled in irritation.

"Hold on, does Satsuki actually need to go?" Nico interrupted. "I mean, you just materialized a monster inside the GekiRanger's headquarters. What's to keep them from tearing it apart?"

"The GekiRangers are not currently in residence. They're all out either competing in tournaments, on secret missions, or in training," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD said smugly. "You see, I am capable of planning ahead."

"Debatable, but okay… Then what's Ms. Misaki doing?" Nico asked.

"Eh?" Everyone turned to look back at the monitor.

"Mom… I don't feel so good…" Natsume moaned, her body flickering and glitching out.

Miki looked down at her daughter, horrified. Then she clenched her hands into fists and glared at the Bugster with a steely gaze. "Don't worry, sweetie. Mommy's going to make everything better," she said calmly as she pulled on a pair of gloved arm guards.

Sha-Fu's eyes widened again, realizing what she was about to do. "Miki… Are you certain?"

"Its very existence is hurting my daughter, Master," she said coldly. "It has to pay."

The felinoid nodded and knelt beside Natsume, putting a paw on her shoulder and concentrating, a golden aura forming around him as he poured energy into the ill girl, causing her flickering to slow down somewhat. "I shall use my power to keep her stable for as long as I can. Show this interloper the results of your training."

Miki nodded and stalked towards the Bugster, giving her daughter a reassuring smile and nod as she passed. "All right, you. I don't know what you thought you were doing, infecting my daughter… But I'm about to show you why that was the biggest mistake you could've possibly made." She held her hands out before her, index fingers and thumbs extended at right angles. "Tagire! Power of the beast!"

She spread her arms to her sides, then punched a fist into her palm. "BEAST ON!"

She cracked her knuckles, then thrust her right fist forward. Energy ribbons appeared from out of nowhere to wrap around her body, covering her in an outfit of shimmering gold not-spandex with black markings on the sides and shoulders resembling the rings of a Leopard. A feline helmet vaguely resembling the head of a Leopard materialized over her face.

She struck a pose. "A brilliant intellect honed through constant stimulation! Peerless mind! GekiGold! My Geki is proof of justice!" With a bestial snarl, an explosion shaped like a large golden mechanical Leopard erupted behind her, though thankfully it wasn't too close to either Natsume or Sha-Fu.

"What?! WHAT?! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD screamed in disbelief. "SINCE WHEN WAS SHE A RANGER?!"

"Wait, you mean she isn't normally?" Asked the surprised Parad.

"I certainly wasn't aware she was one," said the startled Mizuki.

"Nor I. Either this is a recent development, or she's never felt fit to use her powers out in the field like the others," said an amazed Satsuki.

"Understandable. Not everyone is suited for fieldwork," Hiiro acknowledged with a nod.

"Or maybe she just figured she was better off in the lab, building gear for the others," Taiga suggested. "And, apparently, herself."

"So… Does this mean Satsuki doesn't have to go? I mean, it looks like she might not be needed…" Nico murmured as they all watched Miki viciously attack the Bugster, clawing and striking with the speed and ferocity of her animal namesake.

"No! I didn't go to all the trouble of sending out this Bugster just so someone else can defeat it!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped. "Mizuki, get into that warp point and get over there already!"

Satsuki nodded. "Very well. Mizuki-"

The ninja cut her off with a full kiss on the lips, much to the surprise and delight of the others. "Good luck! And have fun!" She said cheerfully.

Satsuki nodded, bowed to Hiiro, then strode into the warp point, teleporting away.

Elsewhen…

"Alcohol… Alcohol… All alcohol must be destroyed!" The monster snarled as it viciously attacked the rows of bottles behind the bar, shards of glass flying and liquor splattering all over the place as the creature smashed bottle after bottle with a twisted G-shaped sommelier knife and ripped each tap out of its setting, the fractured mirror taking up most of the wall displaying a mostly black figure with a gnarled huge red G on its chest, similar Gs wrapped around its bloodshot yellow eyes, and a G and the number 2009 printed on its shoulders.

Catching movement in the mirror, it whirled around to spotted several of the terrified bar patrons making a break for the exit. "All alcohol… And those who drink it!" It roared, vaulting over the counter and lunging towards the nearest fleeing lush, too fat, slow, and drunk to put one foot in front of the other without tripping himself up.

Fortunately, before he could kill the drunk, Geiz appeared from out of nowhere and struck him with his Zikan Zax, flinging the monster back behind the bar and breaking more bottles as well as the mirror. "Go! Get out of here!" Geiz yelled at the drunk, who hurriedly complied.

"What do you think you're doing?! How could you let that monster escape?!" The actual monster demanded furiously as he pulled himself back to his feet.

"The only monster I see is the one right before me," Geiz growled, brandishing his weapon.

"Do you have any idea how many people that man might kill if he gets behind the wheel in his current intoxicated state?" The monster demanded angrily. "People could die… Just like my wife and child!"

Geiz hesitated at this. "Your family was killed by a drunk driver?"

The monster nodded angrily. "Alcohol is a disease that's killing our society, but nobody wants to address it! Hundreds of people are dying every day due to drunk driving accidents or liver failure from drinking too much! And that's not even getting into all the people who destroy their lives due to addiction to drink, and their families and loved ones have to pay the price for it! Oh, and don't even get me started on fetal alcohol syndrome, and the bastards who drink too much and start taking out their frustrations on their families! Destroying all the world's alcohol and those who would imbibe it without consideration for those they're hurting, including themselves, can only have a positive net benefit for mankind!"

"That's… Well, okay, I guess I can sort of see where you're coming from," Geiz admitted. "But if you destroy all the world's alcohol, not only will that put a lot of people involved in the alcohol-producing business out of jobs, will it really change anything? People will just find some other substance to get addicted to. There's no shortage of them."

"Maybe not, but it's still a start," the monster insisted.

"No matter how much alcohol you destroy, or how many alcoholics you'll kill, it won't bring your family back," Geiz continued.

"Actually, it will," said Hora, who was sitting nearby. "We promised him."

"… Oh. Well. Still," Geiz said awkwardly.

Sougo rushed into the establishment. "Geiz, I got the G Ridewatch!" He declared. He tossed it to the other Rider, much to his surprise.

"You're giving this to me?" Geiz asked, startled.

Sougo nodded. "Sure. Any Ridewatch you have is one I can't use against you if I ever turn evil. Also, your name starts with a G, and mine doesn't."

"That's… True," Geiz admitted, baffled by Sougo's logic.

"Geiz," Tsukuyomi hissed into his ear, tugging on his shoulder. "Geiz. You should kill him now."

"What?" He asked, giving her a startled look.

"She's right, my Savior. You should kill him now," agreed White Woz, tugging on his other shoulder.

"Are you two serious?!" Geiz demanded, incredulous. "Don't you think the Another Rider takes priority here?! And Tsukuyomi, how is it that I'm the one who's advocating not killing Sougo when you were the one who used to adamantly defend him and claimed there was no way he could ever become the Demon King and promised you'd stand by him no matter what?!"

"That was before we found out he has the power to shape the future in his dreams!" Tsukuyomi hissed.

"You're such a hypocrite," Geiz snarled.

"Uh, guys, we can talk about killing me or not killing me later, but shouldn't we do something about Another G?" Sougo asked, nodding at the Another Rider, who was sneaking towards the exit.

"Oh, right," Geiz said, shaking off his hangers-on and raising the G Ridewatch.

"Hey, mind if I help?" A hideous monster vaguely resembling a humanoid grasshopper asked, walking over. "It's been a long time since I got a chance to team up with other Riders, and if you let me, I could tag along, be a sidekick, help you out in future fights… Honestly, I'm not picky, ANYTHING's better then sleeping in a cardboard box another night, especially in winter-"

Tsukuyomi screamed and drew her blaster. "It's another Another Rider!" She frowned. "Wait, that doesn't sound quite right… A second Another Rider?"

"And the ugliest one yet!" Geiz cried, recoiling in disgust.

"Hey, that's not nice," the grotesque creature complained. "And I'm not a Another Rider, I'm a regular Rider! Kamen Rider Shin!"

"Yeah, right, like any Rider would be so ugly!" Tsukuyomi said in disbelief.

"Okay, now I'm starting to feel really offended here," the abomination of nature pouted.

"If it's an Another Rider, it's not one I made," said the puzzled Hora. "I don't think the others made it, either."

"That's because I'm not a Another Rider!" Shin protested. "Or is it an Another Rider? What's the proper grammar for this?"

"Sougo, did you have any weird dreams and create future Riders again?" Geiz demanded.

"No!" Sougo protested. "At least, I don't… Think so?"

"Seriously, I'm not an Another Rider!" Shin insisted.

"Nobody believed the clear sign that even God can make mistakes, and Sougo Tokiwa transformed into Zi-O II to destroy the creature," White Woz dictated into his notebook.

"Wait, what?" Shin asked, startled.

"I don't believe you!" Sougo declared, holding up the Zi-O II Ride watch, splitting it in two, and plugging both halves into his Driver, giving it a spin.

ZI-O!

"HENSHIN!"

"Oh, shit!" Shin screamed, realizing where this was going, and rushing for the exit as behind him, a pair of giant watches appeared on either side of Sougo, the katakana for Zi-O flying off of them as rings spun around the Rider, garbing him in the armor of his super form, Zi-O II.

RIDER TIME!

KAMEN RIDER! RIDER! ZI-O! ZI-O! ZI-O! II!

His transformation complete, Sougo rushed outside…

Only to find Shin was nowhere to be found. He thought he heard the sound of a train receding into the distance, but that was odd, they were nowhere near a station. "Huh? Where did he go?"

"My overlord, what are you doing out here? The Another Rider is inside," Black Woz said in confusion, walking over.

"Another Another Rider –-a second Another Rider? Does that sound better? – – Appeared, so I chased after it, but it seems to have vanished," the puzzled Sougo explained.

Woz's eyebrows raised in alarm. "TWO Another Riders at once? This is most irregular and very concerning. The last time there was more than one active at the same time, the timeline was almost destroyed. Which one was it?"

"He said his name was… Shin? But he claimed he wasn't an Another Rider – – or is it a Another Rider? Which is grammatically correct? – – But the actual Shin," Sougo explained. "But there's no way that's possible, he was way too ugly and monstrous to be anything but an Another Rider."

Woz gave Sougo an exasperated look. "… My overlord, did he have a date or the word 'Shin' anywhere on his body?"

"Well. Um. Not as such, no," Sougo admitted.

Woz sighed and put his face in his hands. "My overlord, that was the ACTUAL Shin. He's that ugly due to the horrible genetic experiments he was forced to undergo by an evil organization. He can't help his appearance."

"… Oh. Well, now I feel stupid," Sougo muttered, embarrassed. "I'll apologize the next time I see him." He frowned. "Wish I knew where he went to…"

Meanwhile, on the DenLiner…

"Whew, that was a close one," Shin said as he was seated at a table in one of the time-traveling train's cars. "If you guys hadn't shown up when you did, that might've been it for ol' Shin!"

"You're pretty lucky. It's a good thing we were actually looking for you, or else you might be a goner," Momotaros agreed.

"Luck? Ha! This is probably the first good thing that's happened to me in decades!" Shin said with more than a hint of sadness.

"We're hoping we might be able to turn that around," Reiji said, taking the seat across from Shin. "It was no coincidence that we happened upon you. We were actually hoping you could help us with something."

Shin was startled at this. "You… You actually want me to help? Nobody ever wants me to help! I don't even get invited to the reunions or big team ups, I just show up on my own and get shooed off when it's all over!"

"We believe that your unique qualities are ideal for dealing with a certain problem we're facing right now," Reiji explained. "One which threatens the very fabric of space and time, and whom you've already become acquainted with: Sougo Tokiwa."

"That Zi-O kid? I mean, I know he was trying to kill me just a minute ago, but he didn't seem like a bad guy," Shin commented in surprise. "I mean, good Riders try to kill each other all the time due to simple misunderstandings."

"Sougo isn't evil… Now. There is evidence that indicates he may soon become the most feared and despised overlord the world has ever known," Reiji explained. "But even if that does not come to pass, he, his friends, and his enemies are making a terrific mess of the timeline. I've put together a special task force in response to this, gearing up for an operation to neutralize the threat Sougo and his cohorts present to the timestream once and for all, and you may be just what we need to guarantee our success."

"Seriously? Wow," Shin muttered, amazed and more than a little intimidated. "I don't think I've ever been part of something this big before. I mean, yeah, I've help save the world a few times, but I've never been, like, an integral part…"

"I wouldn't be asking this of you if I didn't think you were capable of a job of this magnitude," Reiji explained. "Everyone knows you didn't exactly get a fair shot. Your life was ruined, and any chance you had at justice was taken from you. Your adventure died before it even truly began. This could be your chance to finally make a difference. To be the hero you always should have been. If you agree, we'll provide you with a salary, all the food you can eat, and a permanent berth aboard the time train of your choice. What do you say?"

Shin stared at Reijin, stunned. This…this could be what he had been hoping for all these years. A chance at a new life. A new future. A chance to make a difference. To be a hero. To not have to fight rats for scraps of food, beat up hobos in illegal back-alley fights, or sleep in cardboard boxes.

However, there was one pressing question on his mind, something he needed to know before he made a decision as momentous as this. "Is ZO in on this, too?"

"No."

"Great, I hate that guy. I'm in."

When Satsuki materialized in the training room of SCRTC, she gave the occupants of the chamber quite a fright. "What the – – who are-" the startled Miki cried, providing the Collabos the opportunity to deliver a powerful right hook to her chin, sending her staggering back.

"Mom!" Natsume cried in horror, her body flickering more, and causing Sha-Fu to tense up and pour more energy into her to keep her stable.

"It's fine, darling, I've had worse," Miki said quickly, shaking her head and raising her fists as she got back into the game. "It was my fault for dropping my guard, even for a second. Who are you?"

"My name is Satsuki Ogimachi," Satsuki introduced herself, bowing her head in apology. "I'm sorry for distracting you. I work for CR, and I'm here to help save your daughter by defeating that Bugster."

"Well, I think I've got this under control," Miki commented, ducking under a powerful swing from the Bugster's left fist and rabbit punching the robot in its ribs, which didn't really work because it was a robot. "But I won't say no to a little help. I'm not going to take any chances with my daughter's life."

Sha-Fu's eyes open. "Ogimachi … You're the heir of the Ogimachi school?"

"You know of me?" Satsuki asked, surprised and more than a little flattered.

The caracal nodded. "I keep tabs on all the up-and-coming martial artists. Especially those whom I have history with. If I recall correctly, your family helped us put down a RinJuken uprising a few centuries ago. And didn't your great-great-grandmother defeat a fist demon? No relation to the kenma, this one was from Mongolia, I believe."

"Indeed," Satsuki confirmed. "The jar she sealed it in is still on display at the family estate."

"… A fist demon?" Asked the baffled Taiga.

"A hyper-aggressive monster with very large fists that grows stronger from conflict. Naturally, the way to defeat it is through nonviolent means," Mizuki explained.

"Naturally," Taiga said deadpan.

"So… Is this, like a thing? Every martial arts and ninja clan in Japan has a long history of fighting monsters and stuff?" Parad asked.

"More or less," Mizuki admitted. "Also, the founder of Satsuki's line received fame for punching a Dragon in the heart. No relation to the one my clan serves, of course."

"Speaking of which… You serve a Dragon God, but worship a deity from a different pantheon?" Kiriya questioned.

"Oh, I talked to him about it a while back. He's fine with it," Mizuki said dismissively.

"… Not the sort of thing I'd expect a god to be fine with," said the baffled Emu.

"I certainly wouldn't be," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD agreed.

"You aren't a god," Parad said bluntly.

"Says you!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD retorted childishly.

"Well, it's less that he's fine with it, and more like he doesn't really care one way or the other," Mizuki admitted. "He's less a deity then a living embodiment of universal balance and neutrality who only acts to preserve that balance and tasks his servants, such as my clan, with doing our part to maintain that balance before things get bad enough to warrant his intervention."

Taiga frowned. "Wait… Cosmic Dragon that enforces balance? Something about that sounds familiar…"

Kiriya's eyes widened in alarm. "Wait a second… You work for Daijinryu?!"

"That is correct," the ninja confirmed.

"Who?" Nico asked.

"A more or less omnipotent Dragon God who showed up in the 90s and destroyed most of Tokyo and several other cities around the world, as well as mind controlling hundreds of people to jump off of buildings, because the battle between the Dairangers and Gorma clan threatened to upset the balance of the cosmos and he figured extreme measures were necessary to tell them to cut it out," Kiriya explained. "… Didn't quite work, so eventually he just got fed up and blew up the bad guys. Don't know why he didn't do that in the first place."

"Fruit Jesus!" Nico swore, horrified. "How could he do something like that?!"

Mizuki fidgeted uncomfortably. "My Lord is a being of cosmic neutrality. He is less interested in preserving lives than in maintaining the balance of the universe. If he feels that killing hundreds or thousands of people, or even more, is necessary to preserve the balance, he will do so without a second thought."

"And you work for him?!" Emu asked incredulously.

"He isn't exactly the sort of being you can say no to," Mizuki said wearily. "Which is why ever since then, we've been working overtime to make sure he doesn't have a reason to come back again. We really screwed up during the Dairanger-Gorma conflict. It took three visits from Daijinryu before things settled down, and it shouldn't even have taken one!"

"And… How exactly do you go about doing that?" Parad asked hesitantly. "Making sure he doesn't have a reason to come back, I mean."

"I'm a ninja. How do you think we do it?" Mizuki said flatly.

There was a horrified silence. "Holy shit," Kiriya said after a moment, stunned.

Mizuki flinched. "I… Don't suppose telling you that most of them were very, very bad people who really deserved to die doesn't help?"

"I'm… Not sure it does," Emu confessed.

"Wait, you said 'most.' What about the others?" Taiga asked shrewdly.

"…Daijinryu demands balance," Mizuki said slowly. "Which… Isn't necessarily always threatened by bad people."

There was a long, long silence as they processed this. "And you're okay with this?!" Kiriya demanded of Hiiro.

The surgeon shrugged nonchalantly. "What Mizuki does on her own time is none of my concern."

"But it's like a freaking huge violation of the Hippocratic oath!" Kiriya protested.

"Which we ourselves have violated… How many times?" Hiiro retorted. There was an uncomfortable silence. Nobody felt like replying.

"Hey, wait, how come no ninjas have ever come after me?" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD demanded.

"I'm pretty sure you aren't even on this guy's radar," Parad muttered.

"This is an outrage!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD shouted furiously. "I most certainly AM a threat to the balance of the universe! I demand to be taken seriously!"

"Too late for that," Nico snarked.

"So… You mean you DO want to be the target of the wrath of an omnipotent Dragon God?" Taiga asked slowly.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD hesitated. "… Dammit, now I'm feeling horribly conflicted!"

"And I'm assuming that you are a Rider now? Most prestigious. Your family must be proud," Sha-Fu assessed.

"Actually, this will be my first time transforming," Satsuki confessed. "I only received the compatibility surgery a little while ago."

"Then let this first battle as a superhero be a most auspicious one!" The caracal said, gesturing dramatically. "Go forth, and show us all the results of your training!"

Satsuki nodded. "I shall. For the honor of my clan, my master, my goddess, and my beloved, I shall not fail."

She strapped on her Gamer Driver, and raised a Gashat.

| KNOCK OUT FIGHTER 3! |

Satsuki went through a kata, making martial arts noises before slamming the Gashat into her Driver. "Henshin!"

| CLICK AND OPEN! LEVEL UP! THE STRONGEST FIST! ROUND THREE! KNOCK OUT FIGHTER 3! |

A holographic screen passed over Satsuki, covering her body in a sexy skintight red and gold bodysuit with gold form-fitting armor accentuating her curves resembling a qipao with red accents and flame decals, puffy shoulder armor resembling sleeves, spiked bracelets, and oversized red and gold fists. Instead of sculpted spiky hair like the other Riders, she had a very thick metal queue dangling to her heels, each segment separated by a spiked ring.

She struck a crane stance before stomping on the ground hard enough to crater it, cherry blossoms billowing behind her, even though they were indoors. "I am…Kamen Rider Knockout! Let my fists blaze the path to heaven!"

"Ooh, she looks badass!" Nico gushed.

"Magnificent," Mizuki whispered, blushing at just how well her girlfriend's armor emphasized her physique.

"Wait, what's with the hair? That seems kind of impractical," Taiga commented.

Kiriya nodded in agreement. "Yeah, seems like someone could just grab it really easily. Seems like a major weakness."

"Lots of people and strong fighters in games and anime have really long hair," Emu pointed out. "And it never really bothers them."

"Yes, but this isn't a game, it's real life," Taiga pointed out. "… Says the guy who can transform into a Kamen Rider using a videogame and is friends with living video game characters. Right. I guess if it's working on videogame rules, it should be fine."

"Wait, since when is there a Knock Out Fighter 3?!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD demanded.

"It's actually going to be released in a few months. I was able to get an advance copy for Satsuki," Hiiro explained.

"I didn't authorize another sequel…" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD growled.

"I'm fairly certain your days of being able to dictate what Genm can and cannot do ended the same time you died," Taiga pointed out.

"Which time?" Kiriya asked.

"… Good question," Taiga admitted.

Taking only a moment to revel in how powerful she felt in her new form, Satsuki rushed forwards to aid Miki, who, to be fair, didn't seem as if she much needed it. With the speed of her animal spirit, she bobbed and weaved all over the place, striking with the ferocity of the beast she represented combined with the fury of a mother fighting for her daughter's life. Already she had left several deep scratches in the Bugster's metal hide from her suit's claws, and if the Collabos had eyes, they would probably have been gouged out by now. The mechanical monster hardly seemed to notice the damage, however, and kept fighting, throwing frenzied punches from its oversized fists.

"Get down!" Satsuki yelled, jumping forwards. Miki immediately ducked, and Satsuki shot over her, hitting the Bugster with a flying kick and knocking it off its feet. As it slammed to the floor, Satsuki landed on top of it, wrapping her legs around its waist and unleashing a flurry of punches against its blank face. The Collabos threw a punch at her face, and while she dodged it, she had failed to account for the size of the fist, the blow clipping the side of her head and snapping her head back, ears ringing. Taking advantage of her momentary stunned condition, the Bugster headbutted her and flung her off.

Before the Bugster could take further advantage of Satsuki, Miki tackled the Collabos from the side, knocking it back to the ground and clawing some more at its face. The Bugster slammed both his fists into the sides of her head, dazing her, and pushed itself back to its feet, grabbing her and charging across the room, slamming her into the wall hard enough to crater it. The Bugster drew back a fist to punch her face in…

Only for Satsuki to grab it by the wrist and flip it over her shoulder, slamming into the ground and driving a heel at its head. The Bugster rolled to the side before the blow could hit it, the impact from Satsuki's foot shattering the ground and sending bits of rubble flying everywhere. Miki pounced at the Bugster as it got back up, but it anticipated her movement this time, ducking sideways and driving an elbow into her back, driving her onto the ground. It started stomping on her repeatedly, and Satsuki charged forwards to assist the Sentai, throwing a right hook at the monster's face.

The Bugster dodged the attack, grabbed her by the wrist, and twisted her into an agonizing arm lock, driving one knee repeatedly into her stomach while continuing to keep a foot pressed on Miki's back to keep her pinned to the ground. The leopard Ranger was less than happy about the situation, and with a howl of rage, summoned her Geki, a golden aura blazing around her as she powered herself up exponentially, muscles tensing as she thrust against the Bugster's foot, sending it off balance. Satsuki promptly took advantage of this by driving the heel of her free hand into the Collabos's chin, knocking its head back, twisting her captive arm out of its lock and driving an elbow into its chest, sending it staggering back. Miki shot to her feet, and the two women launched a blistering assault of punches and kicks at the Bugster, moving in almost perfect synchronicity despite this being the first time they had ever met or fought beside each other, their blows either penetrating or going around the Collabos's frantic attempts to block or defend itself, the machine's metal frame trembling and spewing sparks with every consecutive hit.

With a simultaneous kiai, Satsuki and Miki punched the Bugster in the head hard enough to leave impressions of their fists in its blank face, sending it flying back hard enough to slam into the wall next to the poor Robo Tough, cratering it. The robot twitched and sparked before slumping to the ground, head down.

The two warrior women stared at the Collabos for a moment, but it didn't move. "Did that do it?" Miki wondered.

"No, that seemed a little too easy…" Murmured a concerned Satsuki. "Granted, Collabos Bugsters aren't quite as strong as the regular kind, but…"

Natsume coughed, still flickering. "If it were dead, shouldn't it be disintegrating and I'd be feeling better by now?"

Master Sha-Fu nodded. "She's right. I sense this is not over yet."

He was right. With a metallic shriek, the Bugster's head shot up and it surged to its feet. As steam vented from ports all over his body, it crossed its arms across its chest before thrusting them to the sides, several pieces of its armor shattering and falling off, its oversized fists also dropping in mass to a more respectable level. The pieces of discarded metal hit the ground with such force, they formed deep indentations in the floor.

"Hey, that isn't cheap to repair, you know!" Miki complained.

"Weighted armor… It wasn't at full power before!" Satsuki realized.

"Oh my," Sha-Fu murmured, eyes widening in alarm. "Without that armor holding it back, it will be even stronger and faster than before! Keep on your guard, both of you!"

"Weighted armor? What is this, Dragon Ball?" Nico complained.

"I'm pretty sure that Dragon Ball isn't the only series that uses that," Parad said, though he didn't sound entirely certain.

"I'm pretty sure we haven't yet reached the point in our lives where something like weighted armor no longer has any relevance," Taiga said.

"Emu, don't you turn into a Super Saiyan?" Parad asked his partner.

"No," Emu said. He paused. "At least… I don't think so?"

"If you work at it, maybe you can become a Super Saiyan God, Blue, or… Whatever new arbitrary final form they've come up with, I've kind of lost track over the years," Kiriya joked.

"I'd rather not, I'd be rather uncomfortable walking around knowing I have the power to destroy planets if I sneeze a little too hard," Emu said in disdain.

"Wonder if that's ever a problem for Kuuga…" Taiga muttered.

Miki and Satsuki braced themselves, instantly on guard.

It wasn't enough. They'd expected the Bugster be strong and fast, yes, but they hadn't expected it to abruptly turn towards the fallen Robo Tough, pick it up, and hurl it at them! The two fighters quickly dodged to either side as the training robot blew past them, slamming into the far wall and nearly hitting Sha-Fu and Natsume. "Hey… That nearly hit us…" The Bugster's host moaned.

"Oh dear. Sorry, honey-" Miki began to apologize, only to be cut off when the Collabos crossed the floor in a matter of seconds and threw a punch at her face. The startled Ranger quickly raised her hands to block it, only for the blow to be a feint and the Bugster slammed a knee into her gut, causing her to double over in pain, gasping as she was hurled into the air, slamming into the ceiling and rebounding off onto the ground.

"MOM!" Natsume cried in horror.

The Bugster whirled on Satsuki, but she'd already anticipated Its blow, ducking as its punch went over her head and swept a leg at its feet. The Bugster jumped over her kick, somersaulting over her head and landing behind her, grabbing her queue and yanking it hard, causing her to cry out in pain as her neck was jerked back nearly hard enough to snap it.

"Told you it was impractical," Taiga commented as Mizuki gasped in alarm.

Satsuki gasped… And then started chuckling, much to the Bugster's confusion. "You really shouldn't have done that."

Abruptly, spikes erupted from the segment of "hair" the robot was holding, causing it to emit an electronic squeal as the sharp points pierced its hand. It tried to let go, but with the spikes bursting through its hand, it was unable to remove it. Before it could try pulling its hand off with its free appendage, Satsuki twitched her head, causing the rest of the braid to flick into the air and wrap itself around the Bugster's wrist, further pinning it in place. Getting back to her feet, she grabbed her hair by the end closest to her and pulled, yanking the Bugster towards her and right into her fist, the blow sending it flying back, only to be jerked short of the wall by the braid, now pulled taut.

"I stand corrected," Taiga conceded.

Before it could regain its balance, a recovered Miki appeared, crying out as she brought her hand down in a powerful chop on the Bugster's extended arm, smashing through its shoulder joint and causing the entire limb to be ripped out of its socket. The Bugster staggered back, sparks flying from the hole where its arm had used to be. It lunged forwards in retribution, but by now the Ranger knew just how fast it could move, ducking under the blow, wrapping her arms around the machine's chest, and flinging it over her shoulders toward Satsuki.

The martial artist Rider launched herself towards her opponent with a flying kick, but the robot twisted through the air to fly past her instead. This strategy didn't work as well as it might've hoped, however, because with a flick of her head, the thick end of her braid slammed into the robot's body, sending it tumbling out of control and landing on its head.

The Collabos quickly did a one-handed handspring to flip off the ground just before Miki could drive a fist through its faceplate, kicking her in the chin as it did so, and jabbing her repeatedly in the chest before she could recover. Satsuki put her hands on Miki's shoulders from behind and pressed down, pushing her to the ground and allowing her to headbutt the Bugster in the face, further deforming its head. Before it could recover, she sprang over the leopard-themed fighter and launched into a whirlwind kick. The Bugster was able to block her repeated kicks with its single hand, but had not accounted for her queue also being whipped about as she span, the surprisingly heavy length of fake (?) hair slamming into its head again and again, sparks flying from its poor, abused neck joint with each successive blow.

While the robot was busy trying and failing to deflect Satsuki's blows, Miki took advantage of its distraction to hit its ankle with a sliding kick, knocking it off kilter and forcing it to instinctively fling its arm to the side to try and regain its balance. This turned out to be a mistake, as Satsuki brought her heel down in a powerful chop which severed the arm at the shoulder, sparks flying from the joint.

Now armless, the Bugster stumbled backwards as Satsuki and Miki advanced towards it, ready to end the fight. Suddenly, the robot started trembling, turning red as electricity arced around his body. "What the-" Satsuki started.

"Get back! I think it's going to blow!" Miki cried, beating a hasty retreat. Alarmed, Satsuki quickly followed her.

The Collabos shook more and more violently, and did indeed explode… Though perhaps not in the way they expected. In a tremendous blast, a purple aura flared into life around its body. It sides bulged outwards, and suddenly eight arms burst out of its torso, flexing and twitching with disturbing clicking noises. The metal making up its body warped and distorted, reshaping itself into plates of hardened insectoid carapace. The dents in its faceplate popped out, and a spider emblem etched itself into its face as metallic mandibles burst out of its lower chin and spider legs burst out of the sides of its head. Natsume cried out in pain, and the shocked Sha-Fu hurriedly poured more energy into her.

The robot extended its hands, appendages glowing, and a nunchaku, a tonfa, a meteor hammer, a fan, a Dao broadsword, and a katana flew from the wall and into its grasp, while oversized fists formed on its bottom two hands. The robot swiped each weapon through the air, dark aura trailing behind it as it uttered an ominous mechanical growl.

Were this a martial arts TV show or movie, the subtitle "Spider-Fist Collabos" would no doubt have appeared as it finished its transformation.

"What the hell? No Collabos Bugster's ever done anything like that before!" Said the startled Taiga.

"And what's with the extra arms? There aren't any Goro knock-offs in the Knock Out Fighter franchise!" Parad protested.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD cackled malevolently. "Oh, I think you'll find this is no ordinary Collabos Bugster…"

"What the… That's not normal!" Cried the startled Satsuki.

Miki gasped. "No… It can't be… It's using Rinki!"

Shocked, Satsuki whipped her head around to gaze at the other fighter. "Rinki?! Are you sure?"

Miki nodded frantically. "Yes, I'd recognize it anywhere! But how can this be? It's a soulless machine, it shouldn't be able to use any form of ki! Well, except for maybe Mechung Fu, but this clearly isn't that!"

"You gonna let her get away with that?" Kiriya asked Parad, raising an eyebrow.

Parad shrugged. "Eh, I'm not sure she's wrong. Collabos Bugster's aren't the same as the rest of us. I'm pretty sure they don't have souls."

"How do you know you have one?" Nico asked.

Parad frowned. "Pretty sure I do."

"I heard once that if you're intelligent enough to ask if you have a soul, you probably have one," Emu said.

"But aren't there lots of monsters intelligent enough to wonder if they have souls that don't have any?" Kiriya countered.

Emu shrugged. "I'm not a philosopher, I just play lots of video games that pretend to know what they're talking about."

"Same. So… What's Rinki?" Nico asked.

"The polar opposite of Geki, the energy used by those who study Juken. While those who use Geki utilize their powers for justice, practitioners of RinJuken use Rinki to oppress and dominate others using the power of fear and the darkness within one's heart," Mizuki explained.

"So… Satsui no Hadou?" Nico guessed.

"Something like that," the ninja confirmed.

Natsume moaned again, her flickering increasing. Sha-Fu's eyes widened in alarm, a shocking realization coming to him. "It's Natsume! The Bugster's life force is connected to hers, so it must be draining her Geki, and converting it into Rinki!"

"But that will kill her even faster!" the horrified Miki cried.

"And I fear that I'm not helping matters… By continuing to feed her with my own Geki, I am only providing that robot with more energy to draw from, like continuing to pour water into a bowl with a hole in the bottom which a thirsty creature is drinking from," Sha-Fu lamented. "And yet, if I stop, she will almost certainly die even faster."

"Then we will just have to kill it before it grows too powerful," Satsuki reasoned. "Miki, let's go!"

Miki shot her daughter a worried look, then nodded in agreement. "R-right! Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" She crossed her arms over her chest, muscles tensing as she powered up, her Geki blazing to life around her. "I will not allow that monster to harm my daughter any further!"

The women charged towards the monster. With a flick of a wrist, the Collabos sent the fan whizzing towards Satsuki, while hurling the meteor hammer at Miki. Satsuki snatched the fan out of the air and flung it at the chain of the meteor hammer, slicing through it and allowing Miki to grab the ball and what was left of the chain. She whirled the hammer over her head before flinging it at the Bugster like a shot put. The Collabos caught it in its free hands before it could slam into its gut, then swung the weapons in its four other hands at the duo as they reached it. In unison, they caught the blades in one hand, each before they could cut into their sides, deflected the nunchaku and tonfa with their other hands, then launched kicks at its stomach. The Bugster caught their feet in its lower fists and twisted, flinging them painfully away while freeing its swords from their hands and slashing at their sides.

However, Satsuki's braid flashed through the air as she tumbled away, wrapping around the Bugster's neck. The fighting Rider twisted as she hit the ground, yanking on her artificial hair and pulling the robot down with her, aiming a kick at its sternum at the same time as Miki lashed out at its back with her claws.

Miki struck true. Satsuki, on the other hand…

MISS!

"Wh-what?!" Satsuki cried, startled. She tried kicking the Collabos again.

MISS!

MISS!

MISS!

Despite her heel clearly impacting the Bugster's chest, the words MISS! Kept flashing in the air instead of the usual HIT! "I don't understand. Why isn't it working?!"

"The machine is veiled in a cloak of Rinki. Attacks that aren't powered by ki cannot penetrate it," Sha-Fu theorized. "That should not be a problem for you, however. I know that the Ogimachi school teaches its students how to utilize ki. Simply call upon yours, and you should be able to inflict damage."

"Um. Small problem with that," Satsuki said, somewhat embarrassed. "I…ah, I haven't finished that part of my training yet."

There was a long silence. Even the Collabos seemed dumbfounded by this revelation. "What do you mean you haven't finished that part of your training yet?!" Miki demanded.

"I'm a nurse, okay?! I'm kind of busy!" Satsuki protested.

"That shouldn't be an excuse to shirk your training!" Sha-Fu snapped.

"Wait, you're a nurse? Aren't you violating the Hippocratic oath by being a fighter, then?" Asked the confused Natsume.

"No more than all my friends and coworkers," Satsuki replied.

"… Yeah, she's got us there," Kiriya admitted.

"We aren't very good at doing no harm, are we?" Taiga reflected.

"At least we're not as bad as Mizuki, considering she's a ninja assassin and all," Parad pointed out. Mizuki scowled at him.

Sha-Fu sighed wearily. "Unbelievable. Normally I wouldn't do this – – there aren't supposed to be any shortcuts in training – – but desperate times require desperate measures, I suppose. Get over here and I'll see what I can do to help you unlock your ki."

"Right away," Satsuki said, untangling her braid from the Bugster's neck and rushing over, enthusiastic to receive a private lesson from the legendary kensei.

"Wait, what about me? I can't possibly hold this thing off by myself!" Miki protested in alarm as the Collabos focused all its attention on her.

"Then you won't… Be by yourself…" Natsume grunted, groping for her mother's tablet, discarded on the ground nearby. Once she got a hold of it, she dragged it over and inputted a few commands.

A few of the wall panels slid open, and half a dozen new Robo Toughs entered the room, surrounding the Bugster, who regarded them warily. "… Okay, yeah, this should help a little," Miki conceded. "Hopefully long enough for you to do whatever you need to do, Master."

"I hope so, as well," the caracal said gravely. He patted the ground next to him. "Satsuki, kneel."

The fighter knelt on the ground, bowing her head respectfully. "What must I do, Master?"

"You shall see soon enough. Close your eyes," Sha-Fu commanded.

A moment passed. "All right. What now?" Satsuki asked.

"Your eyes don't look closed," said the perplexed feline.

"That's just the way my mask looks. They're closed," Satsuki assured him.

"I shall take your word for it." Sha-Fu extended a hand, burning with Geki, and tapped Satsuki on the forehead. "Now, open them."

Satsuki opened her eyes.

She was no longer kneeling on the floor of the SCRTC dojo. She was standing in a dark void, no longer in her armor. For whatever reason, nothing about this seemed strange to her.

"What do you see?"

Facing Satsuki was a door. It looked identical to the door to the apartment she and Mizuki shared. "I see a door."

"Try to open it."

Satsuki gripped the doorknob and tried to turn it. It wouldn't open. She thought she could hear faint snarls from behind the door, as if a great many beasts were waiting on the other side. "It's locked."

"I suspected as much. Look around. Do you see anything else?"

Satsuki looked around. Off in the distance, she saw a peach tree, its pink blossoms rustling gently, even though there was no wind in this place. "I see a tree."

"A tree? Interesting. Go to it."

Satsuki approached the tree. As she got closer, it became clear that the tree was far, far larger then was first apparent, towering over her and reaching into the heavens, the trunk somehow reminding her of a beautiful woman. And waiting for her beneath the tree… "There's someone here."

"Who?"

Mizuki smiled at her. Satsuki smiled back. "The most important person in my life."

"Go to them."

Satsuki approached Mizuki. Her beloved hugged her and kissed her full on the lips. Satsuki closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, a low moan rising in her chest as she melted into her lover's embrace. Finally, when she was nearly out of breath, Mizuki pulled away…

Only she was no longer Mizuki, but a fiercely beautiful woman in pink armor. The goddess Malika smiled at her faithful worshiper and dissolved into peach blossoms, as did the tree.

Satsuki felt a weight in her hand, something that had not been there before. She opened it and saw that she was now holding a key with a peach emblem on the end. "I have a key."

"You know what to do with it."

Satsuki turned around to find the door was right behind her. She inserted the key into the lock and turned it, unlocking the door with a sonorous click.

The snarling of beasts grew louder. This did not bother her. She had faced worse.

She turned the knob and opened the door, silver light shining through to illuminate the void.

Satsuki passed through the door…

And opened her eyes to find she was staring into Sha-Fu's. "I understand ki."

"Show me."

Silver aura blazed to life around her, rising to the ceiling and spilling out before crashing back down on her, rippling and shining with vibrant energy.

"Wow! That must've been some spirit quest!" Commented an impressed Emu.

Parad nodded. "Yeah, too bad we couldn't see any of it and spent the last few minutes staring at Satsuki sitting there with an old cat touching her forehead."

The Collabos Bugster, the broken bodies of the half-dozen Robo Toughs lying about its feet, hesitated just before it could crush Miki's throat, detecting a new threat. It callously threw her to the side, deeming her to no longer be a threat. The Leopard Ranger hit the wall and slumped to the floor, moaning in pain.

"MOM!" Natsume cried, gasping and clutching her chest, now almost completely transparent.

"Natsume… Satsuki… Master… I'm sorry," Miki wheezed, struggling to keep from detransforming. "I kept it occupied for as long as I could… This is my limit."

"Don't worry, Miki," Satsuki said calmly as she stood up, her silver aura crackling around her. "You've done enough. I'll take it from here."

She extended a hand, silver energy collecting in it and solidifying into the form of a Gashat.

"Did she just create her own Gashat?!" Asked an astounded Parad.

"OH COME ON!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD screamed in outrage.

"Seriously? You had to have known this was coming, right?" Kiriya pointed out.

"Yes, but I assumed the furry would be the one to give her the Gashat, not that she'd generate it out of thin air!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD yelled in exasperation. "This stretches suspension of disbelief to the breaking point!"

"Emu and I turning into Mario and Luigi and being transported to the mushroom kingdom to fight giant Mario and Luigi ripoffs thanks to the help of Shigeru Miyamoto, who is also a Rider, didn't already?" Parad asked.

"… Fair point," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD conceded.

"I knew she could do it…" Mizuki said softly, smiling as tears of joy run down her cheeks.

"Well done, Satsuki," Hiiro said proudly.

Satsuki examined her new power-up, the image on the Gashat showing beastmen fighting under the label "Beast Fist GekiRanger." "It is time for the next round."

| BEAST FIST GEKIRANGER! |

"Henshin."

| CLICK AND OPEN! LEVEL UP! BODY! HEART! TECHNIQUE! GEKIWAZA! BEAST FIST GEKIRANGER! |

Her silver aura roared around her, coalescing across her body to create a new suit. Her bodysuit was now silver with black stripes, spots, and rings dotting the sides. Her forearms were covered in thick red and black gauntlets with large cyan blades resembling shark fins jutting from the sides. Small black wings resembling those of a bat's grew from her back. A bladed purple tail resembling that of a Wolf's grew from her rear. Her feet were clad in green boots with motifs resembling those of an elephant and a chameleon, one large horn growing from the tip of her chameleon foot, and a pair of tusks jutting from the sides of her elephant foot. Her right shoulder was covered in armor resembling a white rhino head, complete with horn, while blue armor resembling the head of a gazelle, also with horns, covered her left shoulder. Gold armor with a penguin motif covered her chest. Her face, which now had a fanged faceplate, was framed in the jaws of a helmet resembling the jaws of a snarling great cat, with sculpted hair framing it in such a way as to resemble the mane of a lion. She had become Kamen Rider Knockout, Fist Gamer!

"So… That's gotta be like, what, the third animal-themed power up today?" Parad asked.

"Fourth, Mizuki got the dinosaur one," Taiga pointed out.

"What? I was counting that one, what other ones were you thinking of?" Asked the confused Bugster.

"Nico's Zyuohger form and Kiriya's Shinkenger one?" Taiga pointed out.

"No, that's a samurai-themed power up," Kiriya argued.

"One with lots of animal motifs," Taiga retorted.

"To be fair, animal motifs are extremely common in Super Sentai, so given we've been getting so many power ups from them today, it stands to reason we'd have a good chance of getting lots of new forms resembling animals," Hiiro pointed out.

"At least it's not yet another redesign of the Hunter Gamer form," Emu said in relief.

"You sure about that? I mean, she's got the wings, the claws, the animal head helmet…" Parad pointed out.

"No, this armor isn't quite as bulky and clearly designed for easy maneuverability and freedom of movement, so that doesn't count," Emu corrected him. "… I think?"

"Whatever it is, it's magnificent," Mizuki said reverently.

The Collabos Bugster regarded its new opponent for a moment before crossing its arms, body trembling as its Rinki aura expanded, powering it up further. "Hmmph. Is that supposed to scare me?" Satsuki asked, unimpressed as the dark flames rushed towards her. Without even making a motion, her own silver aura burst outwards, matching and exceeding the robot's in seconds, practically engulfing the Collabos as it effortlessly pushed its Rinki back. "I'm afraid that your time is up."

Emitting an electronic wail, the robot hurled its meteor hammer and fan (having picked up replacements at some point) at her. Satsuki's left-hand shot out faster than the eye could see, grabbing the hammer's ball just before it could smash into her face, while her right-hand flashed through the air, claws extended. The fan was instantly torn to shreds, and Satsuki squeezed the ball lightly, effortlessly crushing it into powder. "Is that all?"

"… So cool," Natsume whispered.

"I thought I was cool," Miki protested.

"You're my mom," Natsume said dismissively, as if that explained everything.

The Collabos let out a metallic roar and charged forwards, weapons swinging. Satsuki took a step forwards…

And suddenly, her claws were buried in the robot's chest. The machine only had a moment to react to this before closing all of its arms around her in a deadly embrace. Her feet came up, digging the horns on her boots into the robot's shins, and pushed off, breaking free from the multi-limbed grip, twirling about as she did so that her shoulder horns, arm blades, and tail blade sliced through the air around her, cutting into the Bugster's chest and arms as she went and sending sparks flying.

The Collabos reeled for only a moment before regaining its balance, swinging both its swords at her neck. Satsuki immediately raised her arms, catching the swords on her shark-fin blades, sparks flying as the edged weapons ground against each other. The Bugster started punching her repeatedly in the gut with its big-fisted lower hands while punching her in the face with its weaponless hands and bashing its nunchaku and tonfas into her cranium repeatedly.

She didn't even flinch. The next time one of the robot's fists flew towards her face, her fanged faceplate suddenly opened up, revealing it to be a set of animalistic jaws, and bit into the hand, sparks and scraps of metal flying. With a twist of her head, she tore the hand from its wrist, shrapnel flying as she crushed the severed extremity in her fangs before spitting what was left into the Collabos' face, knocking its head back. With a snarl, she pushed outwards with her arms, her arm blades slicing through and shattering the swords, then twisted to catch the nunchaku on her gazelle horns, tearing them free from the robot's grasp with a single motion. She then headbutted the Collabos in the face and grabbed the oversized fists punching her in the stomach, crushing them in her overpowered grip and turning them into lumps of useless scrap.

The Bugster ripped its lower arms out of her grip, losing its hands in the process, and staggered back. It opened its remaining hands, glowing as it pointed them towards the weapons rack. The rack rattled, and more weapons began flying towards it…

Only for Satsuki to whirl around, claws, horns, feet and tail flashing through the air as she positioned herself in the path of the weapons, knocking them aside or tearing them apart before they could reach their summoner. "No more weapons! We will settle this with our bare hands!"

Accepting the challenge, the Bugster discarded its remaining tonfa and crossed his arms over its chest, the room trembling as it powered up further. Natsume didn't even have enough breath left at this point to gasp or cry out in pain, the girl almost completely faded away by now. Noticing this, Satsuki realized there was no more time to play around, and she needed to end this decisively. She flipped the lever on her Driver to trigger her finishing move.

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| FINISHING MOVE! |

}!{ BEAST FIST CRITICAL FURY! }!{

Her fists ignited, burning so brilliantly they resembled silver stars. The Bugster's fists (or stumps where hands used to be) ignited as well, resembling dark stars. Howling at the top of their lungs (or lack thereof) the two combatants charged towards each other, fists colliding with an impact that shook the room. Punch after punch was thrown, each strike so quick only a blur could be seen, small craters forming in the floor, walls, and ceiling surrounding them from the sheer force of their blows repeatedly canceling each other out. The Bugster's eight limbs churned chaotically, matching Satsuki blow for blow… Which is probably the only reason it hadn't been overwhelmed yet, because her two fists moved so quickly, even with eight arms it was only just barely able to keep up.

But everyone had their limits, be they human or machine. Even the seemingly inexhaustible ki both fighters were drawing upon would run out eventually.

It was just the Collabos' bad luck that its body gave out first.

Cracks started to form on its fists as the repeatedly clashed with Satsuki's, cracks which widened and spread with each successive punch until they zigzagged all the way down its limbs. Steam started venting from the Bugster's body as it systems began overheating from the sheer strain of keeping up this pummel duel for so long. Rivets started popping out of the sides of its arms. Its joints begin to rattle and crackle. And then, with a tremendous crash, all eight limbs shattered simultaneously, explosions ripping them apart piece by piece and mangling the Bugster's body beyond repair.

As the robot staggered backwards, shrieking in anguish, Satsuki's fist shot forth to deliver the final blow…

And froze an inch away from the Bugster's chest. "Miki! You began this fight before I got here, for the sake of your daughter. And for the sake of your daughter, so too should you end this!"

Miki stared at the Rider in disbelief… But only for a moment, before she pulled herself to her feet. "You are correct. It should be me who ends this." She clenched her fist, Geki blazing up around her, and charged towards the Collabos, who was shaking and twitching and seemed like at any moment it would tear itself apart from all the damage it had taken. "For my daughter! Leopard-Fist Gekiwaza: Pierce-Pierce Palm!"

Satsuki stepped aside as Miki thrust her glowing palm out, striking the Bugster in the chest. There was a pulse of energy, and then an aura construct resembling a mechanical Leopard ripped out of the robot's back, howling in triumph. As the Collabos roared in defeat, Miki and Satsuki dramatically turned their backs to the Bugster as it fell to its knees and exploded spectacularly.

The proto-Gashat was flung away, only to be snatched out of the air by Satsuki. Better not leave this behind, she thought to herself. We might need it later.

PERFECT!

In a burst of Geki, Natsume suddenly returned to solidity. She gasped, taking a deep breath, then started coughing raucously, spitting up a little blood. "That… That was not fun…"

Master Sha-Fu sagged upon himself, sighing in relief. "Thank goodness… That was a little close there…"

"NATSUME!" In a flash of gold, Miki canceled her transformation and rushed over to her daughter, hugging her close to her chest. "Oh, Natsume! You're alive!"

"Y-yeah… Thanks to you, mom…" Natsume wheezed. "Nice finishing move there … Think you could let me go before you accomplish what that Bugster started?"

"No!" Miki replied, sobbing in joy.

Natsume groaned. "Moooooooom…"

Satsuki walked over. "That was quite the battle. I'm glad you are both all right. It was… It was an honor…" She staggered, her aura flickering. "What-"

| CLICK TO SAVE! |

Her transformation suddenly canceled and she nearly fell to the ground. Fortunately, Sha-Fu caught her in time. "As I told you, there should be no shortcuts to training," the caracal chided her. "The technique I used allowed you to tap into your ki… But your body was not yet ready for that level of power. You must train yourself even harder to master this new strength, lest it destroy you."

"I see," Satsuki said in understanding, nodding weakly and nearly blacking out from how much her head spun. "Then I suppose this new new form should be used sparingly, until I have properly finished my ki training."

"Indeed. I suggest you rededicate yourself to your training, to prevent anything like this from ever happening again," Sha-Fu instructed her. "No excuses."

"Understood." Some of her strength coming back to her, Satsuki gently shrugged the feline off of her and bowed respectfully. "Master, thank you for helping me. I do not think I could have done this without your help."

"The power always lay within you. I merely helped you find it," Sha-Fu said dismissively.

"Miki, it was an honor to fight beside a warrior such as yourself," Satsuki said, bowing to Miki next. "I hope that we may fight again someday."

"Satsuki, you helped me save my daughter. This is a debt which I can never repay," Miki said seriously. "If you should ever need me, no matter what, I will be there for you."

"Same here," Natsume piped up. "Once I get a little stronger, that is. I owe you big time." She grinned. "Also, you were REALLY cool out there. If I weren't already set on becoming a GekiRanger, I might look into being a Kamen Rider someday."

"Whatever you choose to be, I'm certain you will excel at it," Satsuki assured the girl. "That Bugster was only so strong because of the power it was stealing from you. With strength like that, you are certain to go places."

"Just so long as they're the right places," Miki said, glaring at her daughter.

Natsume rolled her eyes. "Mom."

A warp point appeared on the floor nearby. "And that is my way out of here. Again, it was a pleasure meeting all of you," Satsuki said, bowing in farewell.

The other three bowed as well, or as best they could, since two of them were on the floor. "The feeling is mutual," Sha-Fu assured her.

"Oh, and Satsuki?" Miki said, her grin resembling a Leopard's in ferocity. "When you happen to run into the person behind all this… Do save a couple of pieces for my daughter and myself, would you? I think we'd like to have a word with him about what he put us through. And not simply how much he owes us for the damage to the training room."

Satsuki shot her an equally ferocious grin. "I think you'll find that there is a rather long line ahead of you of people waiting to do just that."

And with that, she entered the warp point, and disappeared from SCRTC.

Meanwhile, in space…

The thing that came out of the hole was… It was…

Gentaro couldn't describe it. Not simply because he'd never been the best at vocabulary, but because it was literally indescribable. The creature, the thing, it was constantly changing and shifting as he looked at it, each form more horrendous and sanity-breaking than the last.

A colossal armored Titan with massive claws, shoulder-mounted cannons, tentacles, wings of blades and spines, green eyes and a diamond-shaped head, its color shifting from blood red to bone white to pitch black and back again. A cobra big enough to consume planets made completely of black panels covered in black and gold bottles. A mass of boiling blood churning around a gargantuan many-colored cube made up of smaller cubes made up of smaller cubes and so on and so forth. A swarm of man-sized figures clustered together to form a larger whole. A middle-aged human with a hat, colored spectacles, and an easy-going grin that didn't match the look of boundless hatred and malevolence in his eyes. A mouth made of mouths, an eye made of eyes, impossible shapes, alien geometries, colors and light and sound that didn't exist on any spectrum, all this and more besides.

"Nadeshiko," he whispered. "What… What is this…?"

"Evolt," she whispered back.

"… And what is Evolt?"

"I have no idea."

And then the creature spoke, and Gentaro could hear it, not just with his ears, or with his mind, but with every cell in his body, the voice made up of trillions of other voices, all screaming in agony, and still somehow maintaining the tone of a friendly barista about to offer you some coffee that both of you knew was terrible, but you were still going to drink it anyway. "Well, well, if this isn't quite the welcome wagon!" The entity said jovially. "Haven't had this kind of a turnout in quite a while! And let me see here… You're a Space Squad, aren't you? Or Battalion, or Platoon, or Corps… Doesn't matter, you're a Space Something, and I don't think I've eaten one of those in… Let me see… A few hundred universes? Has it been that long?" The abomination chuckled to itself, the sound of shattering worlds in each laugh as the stars around them flickered and a few were snuffed out. "Well, no matter. Thank you so much for letting me into your universe! As thanks, you get to die first, so you don't get to see what I'm going to do to everything you know and love."

And the thing reached out towards them with a hand that was a mouth that was a pseudopod that was a tentacle that was a snake-

There was the sound of something unzipping.

"LOCK OPEN! KIWAMI ARMS! DAI, DAI, DAI, DAI, DAI SHOGUN!"

There was a flash, and suddenly the creature recoiled its appendage, howling in pain and fury, a small piece of itself drifting through space before disintegrating. The white horse that had just charged out of the hole that had unzipped in space wheeled around, galloping on nothingness. As it turned to face the horror, the white and silver-armored figure on its back masterfully wielding a sword, his white cape billowing in the cosmic winds, said, "This is my stage. You should not be on it."

Gentaro's eyes widened in amazement. "Kota?!"

Nadeshiko squealed joyfully. "Praise Fruit Jesus… Literally! We're saved!"

Evolt snarled. "Ugh, you Gaims and your stages… Do you have any idea what you're dealing with, little God? Did the old snake tell you about me?"

"Sagara told me enough. That you devoured your entire universe, but it wasn't enough for you, so you just moved onto the next in line, and the next, and the next, in a never ending feast of worlds and lives," Kota said angrily.

Evolt laughed, and everyone present experienced brief, excruciatingly painful seizures, and a few stars nearby exploded, killing trillions. "And did he tell you how many of his worlds I've eaten, whenever I felt in the mood for something vegetarian? How many of your counterparts I've killed?"

"He told me that you are the most powerful and dangerous opponent I would ever face, and I would be foolish to fight you alone," Kota said gravely.

"And yet here you are, all alone," Evolt jeered.

"I am never alone," Kota declared. "Yuya! The Trifrost!"

There was the bellow of a war horn, and with a tremendous unzipping sound, a gargantuan hole opened in space, though it wasn't even half as large as the one Evolt was emerging from. Through it, the unimaginable splendor of Planet Helheim could be seen, and the Gaimists among Space Squad cried out in joy and clutched their fruit icons, praying fervently.

St. Yuya, the First Martyr, blew another note on his mighty instrument, the Gyallerhorn, and a rainbow road shot out from the otherworldly paradise, an army of horse-shaped Inves galloping out on it, bearing the honored warrior dead of the Kurokage Energar on their backs, led by the Master of Arms Ryoji Hase as legions of Elementary, Berserk, Evolved, and Overlord Inves loped or flew or marched around and behind and above them. The other gods of the Gaimist pantheon appeared as well through smaller dimensional cracks, riding dragons or flying motorcycles or other monstrous steeds, each resplendent in their fruit-themed armor and glowing with divine radiance, the mighty Lord Baron in the lead with his consort Malika at his side, the mighty sword Guronbaryamu raised in the air as he rallied the troops onward. Even Sigurd was there, in the rear, and nobody ever called for him!

"How are they breathing in space?" Wondered a confused Shu.

"Seriously? That's what you're wondering?!" Demanded the incredulous Tammy.

"It's a legitimate question!" The Space Sheriff insisted.

"So… You guys have spent most of your life traveling space, right?" Gai Ikari said slowly on the Gokai Galleon.

"Yeah," a dazed Joe replied.

"Then… This, this isn't anything new for you, right?" Gai asked with a hint of desperation.

"No… No, this is definitely something we've never seen before," said a stunned Luka.

Marvelous sighed. "I'm going to need such a drink after this…"

"EVOLT!" Squawked Navi the robot parrot as she tried to peck the wailing Don to death. Nobody paid attention to him.

"Do you see that? Do you see that, baby?" Umeko cooed to her offspring, pointing at the impossible sight outside. "Mommy's faith isn't stupid after all! And daddy kept making fun of her for believing in fruit-based space gods, but you don't see any of his deities showing up to help out, now do you?"

"Umeko, I never made fun of you for being Gaimist," said the exasperated Sen-Chan.

"Well, you certainly won't now!" she snapped. Her husband sighed.

"Swan, will you marry me?" Doggie asked abruptly.

Everyone stared at him in astonishment. "I'm sorry, what?!" Swan stammered.

"I've been putting this off for far too long. I've wasted so many years not being forthright with my feelings for you, and I don't want to waste any more time. Please, will you marry me?" Doggie begged the scientist.

"Are you… Are you serious?!" Swan shrieked incredulously. "You're asking me now? Like this? When it looks as if the entire universe might be about to endin a battle amongst gods?!"

"If not now, when else?" Doggie insisted firmly. "At the end of everything, you must hold on to anything you can, love most important of all! I ask again. Swan, will you marry me?"

"… For the love of… You're unbelievable, you know that, Doggie?!" She sighed. "But I suppose I wouldn't have you any other way. Assuming we get out of this alive, then yes, I will marry you."

"FINALLY!" The rest of the Dekarangers yelled in exasperation as Doggie howled in joy.

"… Welp. Fuck it. I'm converting," Retsu announced.

"Might not be the worst idea," Geki agreed faintly.

"This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen," said a stunned Kotaro.

"Truly worthy of a legend," Tsurugi agreed gravely.

"Alright, lucky!" Lucky cheered. "Guys, you're seeing this, too, right? Isn't it amazing?"

"We kind of have our hands full!" Balance shouted as he and the rest of the Kyurangers struggled to restrain the berserk Raptor.

"We could use a little help here!" Hammy agreed, grimacing as one of the gynoid's flailing arms smacked her in the face.

"EVOLT! EVOLT!" Raptor howled, trying to bite off Stinger's tail, which he'd been trying to use to gag her.

There was an unzipping sound. "Hang on, hang on, I'll fix this," an unfamiliar voice said.

An armored figure in yellow and blue stepped out of a hole in space that had not been there a moment ago and approached Raptor. Much to everyone's confusion and disbelief, he tapped her on the head…

And just like that, she sagged in her friends' grip, reverting to normal. "What… What happened?" She asked dazedly.

"Just a little eldritch corruption. Nothing I couldn't fix," the armored figure bragged. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably do the same for the rest of your ship…"

"Who are you?" Garu demanded, instantly suspicious as the armored man turned from them and started entering inputs into the main control panel. "What are you doing here?"

"And should we really be just standing here and letting him mess around our bridge without doing anything?" Asked a confused Champ.

"I'll shoot him if nobody else will," Madako offered.

"That won't be necessary," the armored figure said calmly. "I'm not up to anything bad… Anymore. You're not from this universe, so I suppose it's unsurprising you've never heard of me. I'm Ryoma Sengoku, also known as Kamen Rider Duke, god of science and innovation in the Gaimist pantheon. I'm currently fixing the damage Evolt's arrival has done to your ship, as well as all the others in your fleet, so you can get out of here quickly. The battle which is about to happen is one that will be rather inimical to your health and sanity, so it would be best you're far away from here when things really get hot."

"Wait… You want us to run away? We can't do that!" Miki protested.

Garu nodded. "Yeah, now that you fixed our ship, we can fight back!"

Sengoku laughed. "A noble sentiment, but ultimately futile. There's honestly nothing that you or the rest of your squad can do to help us. If anything, you'll just get in the way."

"But-"

"And besides, I'm not giving any of you a choice, your autopilot has been set to take all of you far, far away from here," Sengoku added.

"What about everyone else?" Hammy pressed. "We can't just leave them behind!"

"I see no problem with that," Madako spoke up. They ignored her.

"Oh, I just finished programming all their autopilots to take them away from here as well," Sengoku said cheerfully.

"You were able to do all that from our ship?" Naga asked with a look of discomfort on his face.

"… Partner, what emotion is that supposed to be?" A disturbed Balance asked.

"Surprise?"

"No, you look like you have constipation."

"Oh. Sorry."

Sengoku chuckled. "Oh no, I'm simultaneously on all of the other ships and mecha in your fleet, having more or less the same conversation with all of your comrades. I'm a god, after all. Omnipresence is practically a parlor trick for someone of my talents." He pressed one final button. "And you're locked in. With any luck, you'll never see me again. Pray that you don't, because if you do, then that means things have gone terribly, terribly wrong."

"Is that likely to happen?" Asked a concerned Xiao as the deity headed back for the crack.

Sengoku hesitated. "… You really don't want me to answer that question."

He stepped through the crack, which zipped shut behind him, leaving the Kyurangers (and the rest of Space Squad) more than a little unsettled.

Beneath Gentaro and Nadeshiko's feet, XVII rumbled, the living station's engines igniting. "Hey, what's going on?" Gentaro asked in alarm as they slowly began to move away from Evolt. "Why are we flying away? The bad guy's in the other direction!"

"Some guy in blue and yellow armor just popped in and reprogrammed our autopilot to get us away from here," Groundain reported. "He's locked the controls, we can't change our course!"

"Not like we want to, anyway," Skydain spoke up. "The more distance between us and that thing, the better!"

"No… Kota! Kota, don't do this!" Gentaro cried, trying to catch his friend's attention, realizing he must be behind this.

Kota didn't even look over his shoulder at him. "I'm sorry, Gentaro, but you all have to get out of here. It's not safe."

"Of course it's not safe! That's why we have to stay and fight! We can help you!" Gentaro insisted.

Kota shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry, Gentaro, but this fight is beyond you… It may even be beyond me." He glanced at him then. "If we fall here, then the entire universe may fall soon after. Someone will need to protect Earth and everywhere else from Evolt should the worst happen."

"Can we even do that?" Nadeshiko asked in alarm. "Can we really stop something… Something like that?"

"… I don't know," Kota admitted. "And I hope you never have to find out."

"Kota-" Gentaro protested.

"I'm sorry, Gentaro," Kota said sadly. "But this is how it has to be. Yuya! The Trifrost!"

Once again, St. Yuya blew on his horn. Another gargantuan dimensional crack opened up before the Space Squad fleet, a distant nebula visible on the other side. All the ships and mecha's engines powered up as they headed for the breach.

"Kota! Kota, don't do this!" Gentaro cried as XVII began to accelerate. "Kota! KOTA-"

The fleet passed through the crack, which zipped shut behind them. Kota sighed, and with a small gesture, dimensionally locked down the entire system to make sure Gentaro didn't warp back in or anyone else got in the middle of this by accident, as well as to prevent Evolt from emerging outside this point. "I pray that you will forgive me for this, my friend…" He said softly. "And that we both live long enough to speak of this again."

He raised his sword, pointing at Evolt. "FORWARD!" He bellowed. "FOR THE UNIVERSE!"

The legions of Helheim shouted their battle cries as they charged towards the otherworldly interloper, who began mustering up hordes of his own, smaller projections of himself assimilated from across the countless realities, to meet them. The battle joined, and the war to decide the fate of the universe began.

When Satsuki reappeared on the stage, she was immediately tackled by an enthusiastic Mizuki, who kissed her hard on the lips. "That was amazing!" She gushed when she came up for air. "You were so great out there! I'm so proud of you!"

"Indeed. You did a satisfactory job," Hiiro agreed.

"Satisfactory? Really?" Nico asked in disgust.

"Pretty sure that's high praise coming from him," Taiga told her.

"Plus, she didn't nearly die like Mizuki did when it was her turn," Parad added.

"Dude," said an offended Emu. "Not cool."

"To be fair, she got divine blessing from almost dying, and also fought a more visually impressive boss, so I think Mizuki got the most out of her battle," Kiriya postulated.

"Plus, dinosaurs. Automatically makes her cooler," Nico agreed.

"Guys, can we not denigrate Satsuki's accomplishments when she's right in front of us?" Emu hissed.

"I actually had a divine encounter myself," Satsuki spoke up.

"You did?" Mizuki asked, eyes wide. "Was it Lady Minato?"

Satsuki nodded. "Yes. I saw her during my vision quest to unlock my ki."

"Did she say anything to you?" Mizuki demanded.

"No." Satsuki hesitated. "Well. She kissed me."

There was a pause. "Ooooh," Nico, Kiriya, and Parad murmured, eyes wide.

Mizuki stared at Satsuki, a blank look on her face. Finally, she asked, "Was she good?"

Satsuki blushed. "Um. Very. Yes."

"Ooooooh," the peanut gallery murmured again.

Mizuki scowled. "I am insanely jealous."

"Why? She made you her champion!" Satsuki protested.

"Yeah, but she never kissed me!" Mizuki complained.

"Give it time," Kiriya suggested with a lewd grin. "You know how the gods are, after all."

"Isn't their goddess married? Is the Gaimist pantheon into that sort of thing?" Parad asked.

"… Not sure, actually," Kiriya confessed. "I'm actually relatively new to the religion."

"Hiiro? You're sort of the expert on this," Emu asked the surgeon.

Hiiro considered for a moment. "Gaim and the Holy Mother Mai and Lord Baron and Malika are the two primary couples of the pantheon. While there are some rumors that Baron holds a possibly mutual affection for Mai and his eternal rival and brother in arms, it's… Largely apocryphal whether or not their relationship is more than professional."

"So, maybe yes, maybe no," Emu confirmed.

"Basically," Hiiro agreed.

"Not like it stops the fanfic writers," Nico joked. She paused. "Wait, considering they're writing about actual gods, are they in any risk of being smited…smitten…smote? Er, punished for portraying their deities in that way? I mean, historical gods haven't always been that happy about people making up stories about them."

"Well, it hasn't happened to us yet," Satsuki said.

There was a pause. "Wait, what-" Parad started.

"Enough about gods that aren't me already!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD snapped. "Satsuki, you won. Great job. Now you and your girlfriend get out of the middle the stage already, all your displays of public affection only serve to remind me how nobody loves me, an alarmingly large and ever-increasing number of people want to kill me in horribly painful ways, and I'm all alone."

There was an awkward pause. "… Should… Should we feel sorry for you?" Asked an uncertain Taiga.

"Do you?" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD asked hopefully.

Everyone considered this for a moment. "Not really, no," Kiriya said finally.

"Yeah, you're kind of a complete douche," Nico agreed.

"All the suffering that has been inflicted on you is more or less your own doing," Hiiro agreed.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD sighed. "I hate every single one of you." Just a little longer, he thought to himself, glancing at the display on his podium. I almost have enough data. One more fight should settle it. And then… Then I'll make them all pay…

"I think we've had more than enough Super Sentai questions," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD said out loud, gesturing to the monitor. "So, with this one, it's back to a more familiar subject matter."

Which of the following Riders has the most potential form combinations?

A. W

B. OOO

C. Build

Whew! That was a long one! I hope the battle portion of the chapter satisfied. Like I said, I don't really know jack about martial arts, so I hope my clumsy attempts to write a battle were entertaining enough for all of you. Also, I didn't expect some of the subplots to take up as much of the chapter as they did, but hopefully those were entertaining as well.

We're getting close (in a manner of speaking) to the end of the story. Thank you for sticking with me for as long as you have so far.