Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.

…

"I hear congratulations are in order?"

Goro, still in his dress uniform from the graduation ceremony, immediately stood at attention. "Lieutenant – I mean, Captain Kazuta! Sir!"

Kazuta, the captain stripes on his own dress uniform gleaming brightly, couldn't help smiling. All these years, and Goro's salute was still absolutely perfect. "At ease, Private. Congratulations, Goro. You've completed training and are now a full-fledged member of the JSDF. You did it. Your father would be so proud, and so am I."

Goro looked abashed. "Sir, I wouldn't have gotten here if it weren't for you. All those years of training and guidance-"

"I won't hear another word," Kazuta interrupted firmly. "I didn't give you anything, Goro. All I did was help show you what was already inside." He put a finger over Goro's heart. "You got yourself here, Private, through hard work and your own merit. Nobody handed it to you. You've earned your place here."

Goro smiled. "Yes, sir."

"And speaking of places… I didn't come see you just to offer my congratulations," Kazuta admitted. "Now, I believe the name 'Katsutoshi Squad' may ring a bell?"

It most certainly did. Katsutoshi Squad had been one of the best units in the entire JSDF, a squad made of the best soldiers in the country, taking on missions nobody else could, with a 100% success rate, hence the name – Katsutoshi meaning 'Victory.'

It had also been his father's team.

The legendary soldier Godai Aori had not only been the squad leader but it's founder, and had led them to victory in dozens of missions over the years. After his death, however, the squad had been disbanded by the top brass, much to the outrage of then-Lieutenant Kazuta, who felt it was disrespectful to his mentor's memory to take apart one of his greatest accomplishments.

Goro's eyes lit up, seeing where Kazuta was going. "You mean…"

Kazuta nodded proudly. "That's right. It took years, but I finally got approval. Katsutoshi Squad is back in action!"

"Sir, that… That's wonderful!" Goro gushed. He felt so happy on his mentor's behalf. He'd known how much Katsutoshi Squad had meant to him, and how its loss had pained him almost as much as Godai's death. The restoration of this piece of his father's legacy was something neither of them had believed possible. The only thing that could possibly make this better was-

"And I want you on it."

Goro went very still. Surely he'd misheard that. "… Sir?"

"I want you on Katsutoshi Squad, Goro," Kazuta said firmly. "Your father established it, and it's only fitting that his son be part of its revival."

Goro's jaw dropped, eyes sparkling with wonder…

And his face hardened into an impassive mask, glaring at Kazuta. "With all due respect, sir," he said warily, trying to keep his temper down. "I thought we agreed there was to be no cronyism involved during my tenure here. You may be my mentor, but I refuse to take any handouts-"

"This isn't a handout," Kazuta assured his protégé. "Goro, you graduated top of your class. You've broken numerous academy records, even ones established by your father. I'm not asking you to join the squad because you're Godai's son. I'm asking you to join because I need the best of the best, and that's you."

Goro stared at him, shocked. "You… You really think I'm worthy?"

Kazuta put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle smile. "You have no idea."

…

"Who… Who the hell are you?!" Parasitica demanded.

"Captain Yoshino Kazuta of the Japanese Self Defense Force!" Kazuta declared, still keeping his weapon focused on Tick-Tock. "Codename: Kamen Rider FX-1!"

With a whizzing sound, for more armored figures landed on the rooftop via zipline, training their weapons on Tick-Tock.

Goro's heart started racing. If Kazuta was here, then surely that meant these newcomers were-

"Lieutenant First Class Shizuka Fukiyami!" Announced a feminine figure in an armored suit resembling Kamen Rider G3, but in black and gold, and much more lightweight and formfitting, with the JSDF insignia embedded in her left breast and the shoulder armor from G3-X. FX-2 was painted on her left shoulder, and glowing red hexagonal power cells were set in her knees, shoulders, knuckles, and forehead. Her helmet, which looked like it was from G3-X, had four horns and a belt with a large X serving as the buckle. Her weapon was some sort of gunblade with red power cells set in it, and what appeared to be a more traditional odachi sword was strapped to her back. "Codename: Kamen Rider FX-2!"

"Sergeant Tojo Kamiya!" Announced a hulking figure in very bulky armor resembling Kamen Rider Drake in his Masked Form, but in black and gold and even burlier, with the JSDF insignia embedded in his left breast and the shoulder armor from G3-X. His helmet, also resembling G3-X's, had red compound eyes and three horns. FX-3 was painted on his left shoulder, glowing red hexagonal power cells were set in every joint, a cluster was embedded in his torso, and three were in his forehead. His belt was the same as Fukiyami's. He was hefting a sizable minigun with red power cells set in it. "Codename: Kamen Rider FX-3!"

"Private First Class Shion Takeshi!" Announced a woman in an armored suit resembling Kamen Rider Valkyrie's Lightning Hornet form, only in black and gold and vaguely feminine with G3-X's shoulder armor and helmet. FX-4 was painted on her left shoulder, the JSDF insignia was embedded in her left breast, glowing red hexagonal power cells were set at numerous points around her body, and her helmet had red compound eyes and two horns with a power cell set between them. She was carrying a heavily modified rifle with a grenade launcher attachment and red power cells set in it, and a belt similar to her colleagues. "Codename: Kamen Rider FX-4!"

"Private Daichi Hebishima!" Announced a man in an armored suit resembling Kamen Rider Abaddon, only in black and gold and with the shoulder armor and helmet of G3-X, with the JSDF insignia embedded in his left breast. FX-5 was painted on his left shoulder and glowing red hexagonal power cells were set at numerous points around his body, including one in his forehead at the base of a single horn set over two red compound eyes. His belt matched the rest of his companions, and he was wielding a gun resembling a ShotAbbadoriser with red power cells set into it. "Codename: Kamen Rider FX-5!"

"And together, we are Japan's elite anti-Swarm unit: Fungus Extermination Squad!" Kazuta announced.

Goro blinked, taken aback. "Fungus… Captain, what happened to Katsutoshi Squad?"

"The name's been retired, we're the Fungus Extermination Squad now," Fukiyami told him.

"Retired-" Goro spluttered. "Sir, you allowed that?!"

"It was a decision from the higher ups. Nothing I could do," Kazuta replied. "It was just a name, anyway."

Goro gave his Captain a shocked look. Resurrecting Katsutoshi squad had been his life's work! It had never been 'just a name' to him. "Sir, I don't understand-"

"We can catch up later, Aori," Kamiya growled, pointing his minigun at Tick-Tock. "We've got a monster to kill first."

Tick-tock glanced at the five Riders surrounding it, and even though it had no face, Goro could practically hear the gears turning in Parasitica's head as she tried to evaluate the situation.

Well, actually, he could hear the gears, seeing as how they made up most of the interior of Tick-Tock's head, but still.

"… Dammit. I can't win like this,"Parasitica snarled in irritation.

She was right. Tick-Tock was too badly damaged to keep fighting, it had lost its ability to control time with the destruction of its clock, and there was no way for it to reach the contained mass of fungus on the street below and add its biomass to it to trigger an expansion large enough to let a Fungigas through without getting blasted apart by the Fungus Extermination Squad.

(Which, in Goro's opinion, was a terrible name.)

"Fine. You win this time, Bugrangers-"Parasitica started.

"Fungus Extermination Squad!" Hebishima corrected her.

"Whatever! This isn't over!"Parasitica snapped.

As the monster started grinding its gears together, Goro shouted, "Everyone, get down!"

His former squadmates reacted instantly, years of hearing those exact words still engraved in their psyches despite Goro leaving them. The Riders hunkered down moments before Tick-Tock abruptly exploded, leaving nothing behind.

"What the- I thought that monsters didn't explode until they got defeated!" The startled Hebishima protested.

"It looked pretty defeated to me," Kamiya pointed out.

"Not defeated enough to explode!"

"Parasitica can remotely detonate any of her monsters at will," Goro explained as they cautiously got back up. "Since Nushi and the scientists back at the Hive are constantly working on an effective cure for the fungus, she's been trying her hardest to keep us from getting any fresh samples from her underlings to hinder our research."

"The leftovers from an outbreak aren't enough?" Takeshi inquired.

Goro shook his head. "We need samples of fungus that's bonded with living – or unliving, in this case – matter to better understand how it interacts with sentient life forms. We're doing our best with what we've got, but it's a slow process."

"Maybe Dr. X can help?" Kamiya suggested. "The doc's pretty smart. Maybe the smartest human alive!"

"And so handsome!" Takeshi gushed.

Goro blinked. Takeshi was gay, and married. Since when had she found any man attractive? "Doctor who?" He asked warily.

"The man who designed our suits and gear," Kazuta explained, patting his armor on the chest. "The backbone of the Fungus Extermination Squad."

Goro frowned. "Right… Fungus Extermination Squad… Since when was that a thing?"

"Pretty recently," Fukiyami reported. "A couple of weeks after the Bugrangers debuted, it was decided that the JSDF should have some way to combat the Swarm seeing as how, what with pockets of fungus being scattered around the world, it would be a good idea to have a way to protect the homeland whenever you and your team needed to leave the country. After all, it's not like you could handle two outbreaks at once!"

"We can, actually, we have a time machine-" Goro started.

"Since we were already the best of the best, the brass figured we would be the best candidates for the job," Hebishima bragged.

Goro frowned. "And why wasn't I told about this?"

"The whole thing was on a need to know basis, and, since you are no longer on the squad… Well. You didn't really need to know," Kamiya told him apologetically. "We couldn't even tell our families!"

"That would explain why haven't heard from you guys for a while…" Goro murmured, stroking his chin, not entirely sure how he felt about this.

"This was supposed to be our first mission," Kazuta explained. "But… It took us a little longer to get here than we thought, and your team managed to handle yourselves pretty well without us."

"Well, it's still a good thing you showed up when you did," Goro told his former CO. "After all, if you hadn't shown up just now, that would've been it for me." He grinned. "That's another one I owe you, Captain."

Kazuta chuckled. "Goro, we've saved each other's lives so often I'm pretty sure we're dead even by now."

Goro grinned at this… Then winced as suddenly four very confused voices started crying out through the Buzzing, almost immediately drowned out by the cacophony of everyone in the Hive quickly catching them up on what they had missed. "I think my friends have just broken free from the time freeze. Would you like to meet them?"

Kazuta nodded. "Lead the way."

…

A couple minutes later, they were back on street level. The rest of the Bugrangers rushed over to greet Goro and his former squad as Hive drones moved around, repairing damaged structures and cleaning up the remaining fungus, with exterminator drones training their chemical spray on the large mass still contained in Ariel's shield to break it down completely down to the root level to make sure it couldn't regenerate later.

"Goro!" Ariel cried, glomping the soldier. "We're so glad you're okay!"

"That was a close one," Shin agreed, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thank goodness your friends saved you when they did! I'm so sorry we couldn't help you," Nushi apologized.

"It's okay," Goro assured her. "It couldn't be helped."

Mibojin bowed her head to the armored soldiers. "Thank you for saving Goro. His death would have been a loss we might never have recovered from."

"It's all part of the job, ma'am," Kamiya bragged.

Goro smiled at his old squadmates. "Guys, I'd like to introduce you to my friends: Nushi Cheng, Shin Kazamatsuri, Mibojin, Ariel Ozu, and of course, our partners, Coccinella, Formic, Manti, Caelifer, and Lepidoptera."

"Hello!" All five Divine Insects chimed.

Kazuta nodded. "It's an honor to meet you, Bugrangers. I am-"

"Captain Yoshino Kazuta, Goro's former commanding officer and mentor," Nushi interjected, much to his surprise. "Master swordswoman Lieutenant First Class Shizuka Fukiyami – who's taken Goro's place as your second in command now that he's with us – heavy weapons specialist Sergeant Tojo Kamiya, demolitions expert Private First Class Shion Takeshi, and Private Daichi Hebishima, who is relatively new to your unit."

The Fungus Extermination Squad were taken aback. "… Yes. Yes, that's exactly who we are," Kazuta murmured, impressed.

"How… Oh, of course, Goro must've told you all about us," Fukiyami realized.

"Well, yes, but actually we just reviewed Goro's memories of you," Ariel explained.

Shin nodded. "You guys have had quite a lot of adventures together, haven't you? Impressive stuff. You've done some good work together."

"Reviewed… How…" The confused Hebishima started.

"Oh, of course," Takeshi realized. "You're all connected to the Buzzing hive mind. Of course you would know all about us."

"Them, and trillions of insects all over the universe," Goro sheepishly admitted.

"Huh. Guess that means we've got fans," Kamiya murmured, pleasantly pleased.

"If they are friends of Goro, then they are friends of the entire Hive," Apista commented, sounding only a tiny bit drunk.

Goro relayed that to his former squadmates, who were suitably impressed. "You honor us, your Majesty," Kazuta replied.

"So you really got your brain connected to the brains of trillions of other people all over the universe?" Asked an awestruck Hebishima. "What's it like?"

"It's… A little hard to describe," Goro confessed, having difficulty putting it into words. "It sounds like a lot, and it kind of is, but… Well, it might be the brain surgery talking, but once you get used to it, it's not that bad, really. A lot of it is just background noise, but when you really start listening… You get to know people, inside and out, in a way I never could back when I was just a baseline human. It's kind of addicting. Even if there were a way I could go back, I don't think I would. I can't comprehend my voice being the only one in my head anymore."

The rest of the Bugrangers put their hands on his shoulders and smiled at him, sharing his feelings through the Buzzing.

"Is it weird that I… I kind of wish you guys could know what it's like as well?" Goro awkwardly asked his old friends.

"… What if I told you that we already do?" Kazuta asked after a moment.

Goro blinked. "I'm sorry?"

In unison, all five FX Riders reached up and took off their helmets, revealing their familiar faces…

As well as metal headbands with glowing red Xs wrapped around their craniums.

Nushi stiffened, surprise and apprehension emanating from her. "Those… Those look like my neural interfaces!"

"While I will admit their functions are not dissimilar, I assure you, these devices are wholly my own invention."

A man in a lab coat approached them. His head, hands, and every other square inch of exposed flesh was covered in bandages, making him look like a mummy or the Invisible Man. X-shaped sunglasses covered his face, and he carried himself with an air of aloof superiority. He was also wearing a metal headband around his skull.

"Dr. X," Kazuta said as he and the rest of the squad stood at attention. "Allow me to introduce you to the Bugrangers."

"Charmed," the bandaged scientist said dismissively before turning his attention back to the squad. "Well, this was a disappointing test run, I'd hoped to get more combat data out of this. Still, at least we know your weapons are effective against Fungal Beasts-"

"I'm sorry, did you say that you invented those neural interfaces?" Nushi interrupted. "Because they look an awful lot like my own work."

Dr. X shot her an annoyed look. "While I admit that they operate on similar principles, I assure you, any similarities between your invention and mine is purely coincidental. My devices don't rely on insanely complex alien technology your benefactors in the Hive are hesitant to share with the rest of the world, but operate on purely human science to connect minds together. They are… Admittedly, a bit cruder than what you have produced, but they are still more than effective for their purpose."

"Which is?" Nushi pressed, mistrust radiating off her. Around her, Goro and the others felt themselves tensing up, sharing her unease.

"Essentially, to create an artificial hive mind linkage between the soldiers of the Fungus Extermination Squad," Dr. X scoffed, as if it were obvious, which, Goro supposed, it was. "I would think the tactical advantages are obvious. By being able to communicate with one another telepathically, share thoughts, feelings, experiences, even see through each other's eyes… It will allow greater coordination between soldiers on the battlefield, lead to increased trust and understanding, make it impossible for enemies to overhear strategies and battle plans… The applications are almost endless. Given how often you utilize your Buzzing connection for similar purposes, I would think the benefits of a similar psychic network should be obvious."

"We don't use the Buzzing just for combat purposes," Ariel argued.

"No, but it does help," Mibojin pointed out. "We wouldn't have managed to properly battle Tick-Tock without it."

Nushi frowned. "I'm not sure how I feel about this-"

"Then you would deny others the benefits you have received thanks to the Buzzing?" Dr. X demanded sharply. "One shouldn't have to get brain surgery or gene therapy just to access a psychic network!"

"Of course not, that's not what I'm saying," Nushi protested. "That's why I invented the neural interfaces in the first place!"

"And while they are a very impressive piece of machinery, they still rely too heavily on Hive technology," Dr. X retorted. "Queen Apista has completely banned the use of all Hive technology gifted to humanity for military purposes, so we have no choice but to devise our own solutions for threats like the Swarm."

"That's because in the past, far too many people have abused that technology to hurt others," Goro argued. "Who's to say that after the Swarm is gone, that same tech won't be used for war?"

"Without that tech, humanity is hampered in our battle against the Swarm and other invaders!" The doctor shot back. "We cannot simply rely on five or more individuals to save the world all by themselves!"

"… But… You can, though?" Ariel pointed out. "I mean, humanity has been doing that for decades."

"Sometimes you only rely on a single person," Shin added. "Though not as much these days."

"And for how long can we keep doing that?" Dr. X demanded. "If humanity continues waiting for a hero or group of heroes to save them, they'll never be able to become strong enough to stand on their own. Earth has been almost destroyed countless times over the last several decades, and only barely managed to survive thanks to the intervention of Super Sentai, Kamen Riders, or similar heroes. Are we just supposed to do nothing but let such individuals continue fighting for us forever? What happens if the day comes when a threat arrives that's too great for them to stop? When such an eventuality happens, humanity will have to have a way to stand on their own, or else will go the way of all the other thousands of worlds that have been conquered and destroyed by intergalactic supervillains for thousands of years!"

Ariel chewed her lip in thought. "I hate to admit it, love bug, but… He's not exactly wrong."

"I guess not," Nushi admitted grudgingly. "Still, there's something about him I don't quite trust. He seems… Familiar somehow, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Oh, definitely, he's totally up to something," Shin agreed. "Guy practically screams mad scientist."

"Obviously evil," Ariel added.

"I could kill him now, I'm sure it would save us all a lot of trouble down the road," Mibojin offered.

"We don't know enough, if we're going to kill him, we should have a good reason," Goro replied.

He glanced at Kazuta. "Captain? How do you feel about this?"

Kazuta inhaled through his teeth, then said, "While the doctor is being a bit abrasive about it, I do agree with some of his points. You know as well as I do, Goro, that while the JSDF has always done good work protecting the people of this country… To some extent, we've always been held back by the fact that heroes like you and your friends have powers, abilities, and technology the rest of us don't. The FX system and neural interfaces the doctor has devised may help us to close that gap. Save more lives." A dark look briefly flickered across his face. "And make it so that good soldiers like your father will never again be derided for getting themselves killed instead of waiting for the 'real' heroes to save the day."

Goro flinched slightly, memories of countless schoolyard fights – most of which he had won, of course – flashing through his mind. His friends bombarded him with sympathy. "I… That would be nice…" He admitted.

"Also… Well, while I can't admit it wasn't a bit strange at first, having so many people in my head," Takeshi confessed. "Now that we have this link, I… I like it. I like it a lot."

Hebishima nodded fervently. "The squad has always been like a family to me, but now… Now, we are so much more."

They exchanged fond smiles, and Goro felt joy at seeing how they were now able to experience the same sort of belonging he had with his friends and the rest of the Buzzing…

As well as envy, because a part of him couldn't help wishing he could share his innermost self with Kazuta and the rest of his former squadmates, to know them as well as he knew his current team.

And there was a little bit of worry in there as well, because he didn't know if he would ever be able to have that experience with his wife, either.

As his friends reached out to him in sympathy, Fukiyami spoke up. "Also, if we manage to sufficiently demonstrate the effectiveness of the FX system, our squad won't be the only ones in the military to be outfitted with suits like this. "

Kamiya nodded in agreement. "If we impress the brass enough, we should get funding to outfit even more soldiers! The Swarm, or anyone else that messes with Japan, won't know what hit them!"

"I dunno, mass-produced Kamen Riders for military purposes never end well," Shin pointed out warily. "And as I recall, there have been lots of problems with G3 suits in the past, and just looking at you I can tell you've taken a lot of inspiration from them."

"That's another benefit of my neural interfaces," Dr. X bragged. "They not only allow better coordination between the squad, but help to run the suits. In the past, the more advanced models of the G3 suits have required a sophisticated AI to help the operator utilize it, but there've always been significant flaws in the implementation which put a tremendous strain on the user. While AI technology has advanced a great deal over the last few decades, there are very few computers that can outdo the human brain when it comes to sheer processing power, so by networking the suits into the psychic link created by my interfaces, their combined brainpower is more than enough to help their suits run smoothly and more effectively than their predecessors."

"That's actually pretty brilliant," Nushi admitted, impressed. "However… Part of the reason the Buzzing is so stable and effective is because of the central administrator, namely, the Queen. Someone with a mind powerful enough to sustain a massive hive mind while keeping all of its constituent personalities separate yet whole, and compassionate enough to not to turn them into mindless drones, like that nightmare that was the MassBrain system. Who is the core of the FX system? Captain Kazuta? Yourself, doctor?"

Kazuta reluctantly shook his head. "I tried, but… The strain of sustaining the network on top of maintaining my suit overtaxed my brain and nearly put me into a coma."

"Nor I," Dr. X grumbled, sounding frustrated. "I tried, but I lack the, ah, force of will necessary for the job. I can join the network, yes, but I can't run it."

"Who, then?" Mibojin asked, taking immediate note of how every member of the squad fidgeted and looked uncomfortable.

Which meant Goro did as well. "Captain?" He asked warily.

Kazuta grimaced, a look of shame and guilt crossing his face. "Goro, I… I know it seems pretty bad, and I wasn't exactly on board with it either, but we weren't really given a choice in the matter-"

"Sir?" Goro asked sharply. "Who is it?"

"Me."

Goro whirled around.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

A tremendous outpouring of shock and rage flooded the Buzzing.

"YOU?!"

Minister Hino grinned sinisterly. "Hello, Lieutenant Aori. It's been a while. How are the wife and kids?"