~Part 5:Bad Girl Gone Good~
It was night, and Laila Ishihara was driving recklessly at a super-speedway, too many thoughts clouding her mind. She needed to let off some steam, and clear her head. Her Uncle Hant had once told her about a Natural Fighting School he enrolled in, where people could give up their worldly desires. She'd find that place, and leave everything behind. To hell with the Zangyack, to hell with the whole pirating business, and to hell with Joe-freaking-Gibken.
After a long drive, she finally arrived at the forest where Fujio's Natural Fighting School, the very one Uncle Hant told her about, was located as the sun began to rise on the horizon. Katsuaki Fujio, the headmaster, was a bit shocked to see her. "Who are you, young miss?" he asked.
"My name's Laila Ishihara." she said. "You remember teaching one Hant Jou, right? I'm his goddaughter. Will you please take me as your student?"
"I don't mind! You're accepted!" said Fujio, and her days of training began. First, she began with chopping wood, and to a half-Engine like her, it was barely an inconvenience. Fujio was impressed, and left her with more work, which she obliged to without saying anything. And, of course, she went through the obligatory sitting-under-a-cold-waterfall-for-enlightenment every evening. But whatever she did, she couldn't get the damned Lwian out of her mind. She was hurt, she was heartbroken, she was...so sad. this was like the exact opposite of what she was feeling every day.
When You're Gone-Avril Lavigne
I always needed time on my own,
I never thought I'd,
Need you there when I cry,
And the days feel like years when I'm alone,
And the bed where you lie,
Is made up on your side...
When you walk away,
I count the steps that you take,
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone,
The pieces of my heart are missin' you,
When you're gone,
The face I came to know is missin', too,
When you're gone,
The words I need to hear,
To always get me through the day,
And make it okay,
I miss you...
Meanwhile, Joe found himself having strange feelings as well. The female privateer had left him with a heartbreak that lasted for days and ongoing, and he found himself unable to let go. After all, the half-Engine had done him a lot of good, bringing him back home when he was dead drunk, having that drinking match with Rihaku so that she could get him his underwear back, and introducing him to Saki Royama, leading to the creation of the Pirate Geeks, which, to be honest, he enjoyed playing as a part of. "Joe-san?" Gai had asked him, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." said the Lwian as he brushed the human off, and then, he felt tears forming in his eyes for the nth time that week. Was this how Marvelous felt like when he lost Basco? Laila's last words kept ringing in his mind, never to leave.
My feelings, they were real.
"Laila..." Joe would not admit it out loud, but he really missed everything what he and the she-devil did for the past months, but now, those things had now faded away into thin air.
I've never felt this way before,
Everything that I do,
Reminds me of you,
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor,
And they smell just like you,
I love the things that you do,
When you walk away,
I count the steps that you take,
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone,
The pieces of my heart are missin' you,
When you're gone,
The face I came to know is missin', too,
When you're gone,
The words I need to hear,
To always get me through the day,
And make it okay,
I miss you...
Laila sat under the waterfall, many thoughts warring with each other. Silence! screamed one of them, We've known Joe Gibken for quite some time now, and I wouldn't call that amount of time short! We have been hyper-specialized in preparation, stepped off the correct path to love, and become a perpetual groundwork machine, but why?
You can't even ask him how he truly feels about us because you don't have the guts to! yelled another.
Slander! Strike it from the record! a third one cried out.
Maybe we don't really like him... muttered a fourth.
That would leave our honor intact.
No, we are in love with him!
I mean, what do we really even know about him?
Nothing apart from the image of the back of his head seared into our retinas...
We use Joe Gibken as an excuse!
You're basing that on nothing!
A coward's plot to fill the abyss in our hearts! We should all be ashamed!
We must hurry up and apologize, maybe even grovel before him!
Fine, go all red-faced and pouty like a goddamn daruma.
Don't get swept up by the status quo! The world holds a prejudice that all young people should have sweethearts! This baseless idea has been forced upon youngsters, making 'em pretend to be something they're not! And then, unnaturally, we all have sweethearts! In the end, all we do is encourage that same prejudice!
I object!
All we want is no longer to be alone!
Coward! Grit your teeth!
Are we not just using romance as an escape because we're worried about our future?
We need to find out how he feels!
Are we even capable of something as delicate as dating? Is dating even that fun?
Are we not just being ruled by the crude desire to cop a feel or two?!
True, such desires hold no small influence over us, but that's not everything!
If you insist that you should step up now, then make a logical case for it!
Coward!
Traitor!
Fool!
Pervert!
Thoughtless!
Reckless!
Everyone quiet! Ladies, what we should do now is thoroughly think this through. How do men and women get together and start dating? This pure, poetic love you demand right from the start just isn't realistic! The more we analyze our own will and consider each part, don't we become unable to move forward? Whether it's sex drive, vanity, popularity, an illusion or idiocy, even if you take in every part and what you have left is heartbreak hell, you should spring for that darkness!
If I could do that, I wouldn't be worried!
If we don't jump now, we will continue to circle this dark corner of youth! Rather than confessing our feelings to him, I ask, is there anyone who can die tomorrow without regrets? If there is, step forward now!
"Laila-san, you can't give up now!" said a sweet voice, cutting through the cacophony of thoughts like a swift knife.
"Ahim?" asked Laila as she stood up, to see the familiar face.
~cue Yume No Tsubasa by Yumi Sugimoto~
"Sure, you're not exactly the model person and you didn't necessarily live up to your family's expectation, but without your help, I would have never gotten with Luka-san. For that alone, you are good enough." said the princess pirate.
A pair of dark grey hakamas appeared right behind her. "She's right. Laila-sama, I know that you did some despicable things in the past, but that doesn't define who you are. For example, I've heard about your heroic exploits when the demons attacked Earth, and in the war with the Neo Baranoia Empire. You even volunteered to help Sosuke-sama out with the Gunman World problem!"
"Sakae-san..." said Laila. "Why? Just why? I screwed up badly, I shouldn't have become a privateer in the first place! If I kept racing down the road of justice like my dads, then none of this would have happened! I'm a failure..." With that, she began sobbing uncontrollably.
"Don't cry, Laila-san." said Ahim. "We all have feet of clay."
"But I'm supposed to be the good girl gone bad! Everybody knows that! I make poor decisions! I'm a scoundrel! I can't be going around being all heroic and stuff...I've got a bad reputation to uphold! If you only knew the horrible things I've done...the awful, unforgivable things!" Laila cried.
"But you can change." Ahim told her. "All you need to do is switch expectations. You have that Soul Of Justice left in you, right?"
At this statement, Sakae nodded in agreement. "It's never too late. If you take things seriously and do good, then someday, you'll be accepted into the hero community once again."
"Sakae-san...Ahim..." Laila sniffled, stepping out of the waterfall, dripping wet with tears and ice-cold water alike. "Alright, I'll try to change."
The two other women smiled, and led her out of the water to a PlayCo-issued super jet waiting just outside the forest.
The Next Day
"Aw, what's the problem?" Basco asked, wearing his true form, toying with the Gokaigers like usual, Oonten and Sally watching the sight from a distance. "What are ye, a buncha weenies? After I'm done with ye lot, I plan to get all o' that moolah, and fer Marvey-chan...I 'ave some special plans laid out."
"Gah...shut up..." Marvelous spat, struggling to get up.
Basco seemed to smile. "So long, suckas!" he said and prepared to deliver the finishing blow, but then a series of laser bullets hit the kaijin's back, causing his attention to shift. "Huh?"
~cue Seigi No Road Wo Tsukisumusu!~
"CAPTAIN PERVERT!" said Laila Ishihara, walking into the scene. "I've contemplated our relationship for a bit, and then decided, it's not good for me, so I'mma tell you this right here, and right now—we're done for."
"Laila-san! You're back!" Ahim cried in delight.
"Not so fast." said Joe. "It's definitely some kind of elaborate plot."
"So ye 'ave chosen violence after all..." Basco drawled, as he fully turned towards Laila. "F-ine. I bet yer gonna keep me entertained fer a lot longer than those weenies."
Sion-Masami Okui
Haruka tooi kioku,
Sotto kizamikonda,
Mune no oku, kasuka ni yomigaeru...
Ikusen no tamashii ga,
Sigh, sora no naka de,
Umareochiru toki wo matte iru...
Aa, ima koko ni watashi iru koto wo,
Tsuyoku atsuku kitto negatta...
Kanashiku hikaru ano hoshi no you ni,
Erabenu sadame ga matsu ashita ga datte,
Kedakaku ikiru,
Aisuru mono mamoru tame ni,
Tatoe omoi todoka nakute mo...
"Oh, believe me, that I will. After all, I'm here to prove to those "weenies" you speak of that I'm being 100% serious." said Laila, activating her energy blades.
"Just...just don't kill him, right?" Marvelous asked.
"Don't worry, I know that's your job to do." Laila said.
And the fight was on. Unlike the Gokaigers who dropped like flies, Laila held her own against Basco, and both parties were at each other's throats. Dodging, swiping, parrying, and sometimes, the half-Engine would pull back and attack the privateer using other arsenal, but all of them were deflected with barely any effort.
Toki ni dare ni datte,
Sou tachisukunde,
Mae, susumenai erabenai hi mo aru,
Onaji ima wo ikiru,
Gave, nakama ni deai,
Namida nagasu yurushi wo moratta...
Aa, hito wa hitori de wa ikirarenai,
Dakara watashi, dareka no tame...
Usumurasaki no yozora ni mau hana,
Kaze ni yurare hakanaku mieru keredo,
Kedakaku ikita,
Sono akashi wo nokosu inochi,
Hakobi tsuzuketeru...
Laila flung another wheel-disc at the kaijin's neck, only for him to dodge it like it was nothing, and retaliate with a red energy bolt/whip. Heavily damaged, the half-Engine collapsed, but she got back up and attacked again, and again, and again. Red, human blood flowed from her busted-up mechanical joints, as the Gokaigers looked on in horror. Gai rushed in to help her, but then Oonten got in the way, saying "You pirates are mine to defeat!"
"I'm not done yet!" said Laila, and used the Blackstar Railgun, but Basco deflected it like it was the easiest thing ever and sent the energy straight back to Laila.
"Laila-san!" Ahim cried.
"Laila, that's enough..." Doc muttered.
Minna sorezore no basho de tatakai ni mukatte iru,
Nani wo mamoru beki na no ka? Toi tsuzuke?
Kanashiku hikaru ano hoshi no you ni,
Erabenu sadame ga matsu ashita ga datte,
Kedakaku ikiru,
Aisuru mono mamoru tame ni,
Tatoe kono mi sora ni chitte mo...
"I've been a complete and utter fool." said Laila as she coughed up more blood, unlocking all of her arsenal. "But I've been given another chance, and I'm not gonna waste it. Blackstar Grand Prix!"
But even her ultimate finisher attack did little in damaging her opponent. "All that fer a drop o' blood...?" Basco said, wiping green blood from a small cut on his left arm.
Sally let out a sad "Uki..." as she watched Laila fall down onto the cold, hard floor.
"Ishihara..." Insarn muttered as she watched from the Gigant Horse.
"Basco!" said Oonten as he jumped in. "Leave the rest to me, don't bother yourself over those weaklings."
"Aye." said the privateer, and disappeared with Sally in tow before blowing Marvelous a kiss.
Immediately, Marvelous began snapping out orders. "Gai, you get Laila to a mechanic, or a doctor, anyone who can fix her, and the rest, you're with me!"
"Alright!" said the other five, and Gai picked up the heavily damaged Laila bridal-style before running off.
"Hang on, Laila-san, it's gonna be alright." said Gai as he carried her to safety.
"Play...Co..." the half-Engine wheezed out.
"What?" Gai asked. "PlayCo? Alright!" He then pulled out his GokaiCellular and began dialing in numbers.
Meanwhile, the others brought out their Gokai Galleon Buster, and they all jammed in their Ranger Keys.
"Reeeed Chaaaaaaaaaarge!"
"Riiiiiiising Striiiiiiiiiiiiike!"
The Red Charge struck Oonten, and he collapsed. Insarn, watching this, hmph'ed and enlarged him, causing the pirates to form Go-On GokaiOh.
From the window of a high-rise, Sakae Suzuki watched the battle happen between an enlarged Oonten and Go-On GokaiOh, while several PlayCo technicians were busy fixing Laila. "Is she gonna be alright?" Gai asked.
"As we do not have the same technological advancements as the Zangyack, it'll take three days at best. But do not worry, we'll get her back in tip-top shape." Sakae said.
"Oh, thank the heavens!" said Gai.
"By the way, those pirates look quite promising..." Sakae hummed as Go-On GokaiOh defeated Oonten with the Gokai Go-On Grand Prix.