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

…

As the five chosen ones drifted deeper into slumber, their bodies gradually changing as the miracle honey saturated their cells, a gentle buzzing filled their ears, coaxing their dreams into new and stranger forms.

…

Two little girls sat in a closet, shivering and crying. Outside, screaming and shouting and crashing could be heard.

"Why are you afraid?" Asked the boy and the monster and the fox and the uncounted insects in the closet with them.

"There's a monster outside, and if it hears me I'll be punished," both girls replied fearfully.

"Call for your parents," the boy suggested.

"The monster's my father," the girls said.

"Call the authorities," the monster suggested.

"The authorities don't care," the girls said.

"Cast a spell of protection!" The fox suggested.

"We don't know any magic," the girls lamented.

The insects coalesced into a beautiful queen who hugged both the girls to her chest. "Do not be afraid," she told him gently. "For the monster can hurt you no longer, and is nothing more than a bad memory."

Outside, there was a gurgled scream, a thump, and silence. Footsteps approached, but the girls were not afraid.

The closet door opened, revealing a grotesque green insect creature and a kunoichi. The girls faces lit up in delight. "Papa/mama!" They cried, recognizing their true parents, the ones who loved and supported them and never hurt them.

"Remember," the Queen said, her voice like millions of insects buzzing in unison. "You are loved, and so will never be alone."

…

The soldier stared at the newborn kittens in his arms in wonder, his exhausted feline Zyuman wife giving him a tired but radiant smile, managing to glow despite the long and painful pregnancy.

"I will go out and wage war against all that is wicked in the world, so that you will always be protected," he promised his children, tears of joy and love falling onto their faces and causing them to twitch their tiny adorable noses as they mewled and purred.

The ninja lay in her bed, exhausted from the long pregnancy, but managing enough strength to smile warmly at the newborn infant in her arms.

"I shall teach you to be brave and strong," she promised her daughter. "So that you need never feel the loneliness or powerlessness I did when I was younger, and so you will be able to protect yourself from all that is wicked in the world."

The monster stared solemnly at the corpse on the ground, blood still oozing from the gaping wound he'd cut open in her abdomen, a bawling infant cradled in his arms. With a weary sigh, he walked to a nearby house and put the child on its doorstep.

"I love you, but I cannot have you," he told the baby apologetically. "I am a monster, and bring all that I touch to ruin, and all that is wicked in the world is after me. Abandoning you is the only way I can protect you."

"Why did you do that?" Asked the soldier and the ninja and the fox and the scholar and the uncounted insects swarming all around as he turned from the house and walked away.

"Because there is nothing lying ahead for me but darkness, and I cannot bring a child with me on this journey to an uncertain future," the monster said solemnly.

"Do you think you made the right choice?" Asked the insects as they coalesced to form a golden queen, looking at him with sadness.

"I have to," the monster said quietly. "The next few decades were hard, and I do not know if he would've survived that."

"You would've been together, though," the soldier and the ninja pointed out, still holding their children.

"It would have been selfish of me to take him," the monster argued. "Without me, he had a chance of a happy childhood."

"He also had no one to help him understand what was happening to him as he got older," the Queen pointed out.

The monster glanced over his shoulder at the infant, who was starting to look a bit like a grasshopper, but grimaced and said nothing. "Maybe so. But what's done is done, and it's too late to change it."

"Perhaps you're right," the Queen acknowledged. "And in the end… Things still worked out, didn't they?"

The monster smiled and turned around, seeing that the baby had turned into another monster much like himself. "Yeah," he agreed. "I suppose it did."

The two monsters embraced.

…

The fox sat at the edge of the playground, staring longingly at the children laughing and having fun only a few meters away.

"Why don't you join them?" Asked the boy and the monster and the two girls and the insects crawling all over the place.

"Because I am not like them," the fox said sadly. "They are human, and I am not, not truly. I am a being of magic and stars, while they are flesh and blood. I can look like them, act like them, but I will never be one of them, and I'm not sure I want to be."

"Aren't there others like you?" The boy and the monster and the two girls and the insects asked her.

The fox shook her head. "There are, but none my age," she said. "And while I love my family dearly, what I would really like, more than anything else, is to have a friend."

"But don't you see?" The golden queen asked as she formed from the insects. "You already do."

Startled, the fox took another look at the boy and the monster and the two girls. "I suppose I do," she realized, and they ran off to play together. After a moment, a little bee rushed off to join them.

…

The soldier stared at the body of the child lying on the ground in front of him, hands trembling, his gun still smoking. Another gun lay on the ground next to the child's hand, and a remote detonator to the explosive vest on their chest was in their other hand.

The ninja stared at the body of the man lying on the ground in front of her, his throat slit, an origami mantis on his chest.

The monster stared at the grossly dismembered body barely recognizable as human on the ground before him. Blood coated his spines, chest, and the ground.

"Why did you kill them?" Asked the fox and the scholar and the insects all around.

"I had no choice," the soldier insisted, on the verge of tears. "He was going to blow up himself and my entire squad. I… Bravo, he was just a kid…"

"He pretended to be a genial philanthropist, but was heavily involved in human trafficking and a variety of other sins, not the least of which was rape and child pornography," the ninja said coolly. "He deserved it."

"He murdered the woman I loved, and is partly responsible for what happened to me," the monster said coldly. "He deserved it."

"You do not regret their deaths?" The fox and the scholar and the insects asked.

"I do," the soldier said softly.

"We don't," the ninja and the monster said with conviction. "Do you think less of us for it?"

"Was there no other way?" The fox and the scholar and the insects asked.

The soldier hesitated, but shook his head. "He was going to blow himself up. I only had a split second to decide. I wish I hadn't had to do it… But if I hadn't, we all would've died."

"He was a powerful man," the ninja insisted. "He would never have seen the inside of a cell. The law is often ineffectual at actually protecting people and bringing justice. This was the only way he would ever be made to pay for his crimes."

"Maybe there was another way," the monster conceded. "But I wasn't interested in finding it, and even now, I still don't regret it."

The scholar and the fox looked unhappy, but nodded, and the golden queen appeared. "Sometimes we are forced to do things we would rather not for the sake of others, or for our own state of mind," she told them. "I would never ask you to do such things, but I'm not naïve enough to believe that you will not be forced to do it anyway. Know that no matter what you must do in the times ahead, I shall always love you."

And she enveloped all five of them in her warm arms, her gentle buzz filling their minds.

…

"I love you," the soldier and a cat zyuman told each other, making love.

Glancing up to the scholar and the ninja and the monster and the fox and the insects swarming all around, he said, "I meant that with all my heart. She's the love of my life, the mother of my children, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her."

The soldier and the cat kissed, and their kittens crawled all over their bed.

"I love you," two ninjas told each other, making love.

Glancing up to the soldier and the monster and the fox and the scholar and the insects swarming all around, she said, "We are both lying. He's sleeping with multiple partners, none of whom are aware of each other, and I'm getting close to him so I can kill him for a mission and because I want a child who will inherit the power of his ninja bloodline."

Abruptly, she slit his throat and got out of bed, smiling at the infant in her arms as she absentmindedly left an origami mantis on his cooling corpse.

"I love you," the monster and a young woman told each other, making love.

Glancing up to the soldier and the ninja and the fox and the scholar and the insects swarming all around, he said, "I meant that with all my heart. She is the love of my life and the mother of my child, and she's going to die and it's all because of me."

There was a gunshot, and the woman fell limp in the monster's arms. He looked at her stoically, a single tear running down his cheek.

"I love you," the fox and an elf told each other, making love.

Glancing up to the soldier and the ninja and the monster and the fox and the insects swarming all around, she said, "He's lying. He's only interested me because I'm attractive, I have powerful magic, and come from a prestigious family. This will only end in heartbreak."

The elf climbed out of bed and walked away, and the fox burst into tears.

"I love you," the scholar and a handsome young man told each other, making love.

Glancing up to the soldier and the ninja and the monster and the fox and the insects swarming all around, she said, "We're both lying. I still haven't realized that I'm gay, and he's only doing this as part of a cruel prank. He will betray me in the worst possible way, leading to the worst moment in my life."

The young man shoved her off of him, slapped her, laughed in her face, and walked away. She stared after him, a heartbroken look on her face.

"Some of you have suffered because of love. Do you regret it?" The golden queen asked, coalescing from the insects.

The soldier shook his head, hugging his wife. "It's been difficult at times, but I have no regrets."

"I am aromantic, and have no desire for love," the ninja said with a shrug. "Being a mother is enough for me."

She smiled at her daughter, now a young girl, training with other ninjas her age.

"It hurt," the monster admitted. "A lot. But…"

"I love you," he and a locust woman told each other, making love.

Glancing up to the soldier and the fox and the scholar and the ninja and the insects swarming all around, he said, "I found love again, and this time, I will not allow anything to stop us from spending the rest of our lives with each other."

The fox smiled sadly. "It was a painful experience, but it hasn't stopped me from dating again, and I still believe the person for me is out there somewhere."

"It was one of the most horrible things to ever happen to me," the scholar said quietly, eyes red. "It nearly made me lose faith in humanity altogether. I… I want to love again, but I'm scared."

The Queen hugged her. "It's all right to be. But remember, while love can be scary and painful, that doesn't mean it's not worth it to put your heart out there. It's always worth it in the end."

The others joined her embrace, and the scholar shed tears of joy.

…

A scarred, grizzled soldier played catch with a little boy. The soldier vanished, the boy grew into a soldier himself, and wrestled on the ground with several kittens while his wife and their mother looked on happily.

A little ninja successfully performed some high-level ninjutsu, as her mother looked on in approval. The little ninja suddenly grew up, and watched in approval as another little ninja performed some high-level ninjutsu.

A little monster glanced nervously at his (human) father as the latter pushed him on a bicycle. The older man let go of the handlebars, and to the little monster's amazement, he was able to keep his balance, and rode happily down the street. The monster suddenly grew up, his bike turned into a motorcycle, and he was riding alongside another monster, who had a motorcycle of his own.

A fox sat in her bed, eyes rapt with wonder as her parents read her fairytales, using magic to bring the stories to life. She grew up, and was now receiving her diploma from her uncle at graduation from magic school, with her applauding parents and family in the audience. She grew up again, and was performing her first magic show, with her even prouder parents and family applauding in the front row.

A little girl sat beside a green insect monster as they shared a telescope, pointing stars out to each other. She grew up a little, and they were out in the wilderness, and she called out in excitement as she spotted a rare insect, and he rushed over to look at it with her. She grew up again, hugging him before getting on the plane to Japan to attend university overseas, both of them in tears.

"The bond between parent and child is sacred," the golden queen mused, hugging her own daughter to her chest.

"We would not be who we are without the parents who loved and raised us," the soldier and the ninja and the monster and the Fox and the scholar agreed.

"Would the two of you like children one day?" The golden queen asked the fox and the scholar.

The fox smiled brightly. "I love inspiring children to pursue magic with my shows! I bet I'd totally make a great mom!"

"I've never really given it much thought," the scholar admitted.

"That's all right," the golden queen assured her. "While parenthood can be very fulfilling, it's not for everyone. You shouldn't feel pressured into having children just because someone tells you that you should."

She smiled and hugged the soldier and the monster and the ninja and the fox and the scholar, and their children. "But know this: I already think of you as my children, and promise to be as good a mother and leader to you as I am to my own people."

And in that place, where no falsehood could exist, they knew she meant every word.

…

The fox reached up to her face and pulled it off, revealing that it was a mask, and beneath it she was human. She regarded the mask for a moment, frowned, threw it away, then reached up to her face and pulled it off, revealing a fox underneath it. She regarded for the mask for a moment, frowned, threw it away, then reached up to her face again and pulled off yet another mask.

"What are you doing?" Asked the soldier and the ninja and the monster and the scholar and the insects humming all around them.

As she continued removing her faces, the fox explained, "When I was much younger, while I was free to look however I wanted in Magitopia or when visiting my relatives on Earth, I always had to pretend to be human whenever I was out in public." She pulled off another mask, frowned, and threw it away. "I didn't really understand at the time. Why could I wear whatever face I wanted in some places, but not in others? Why did I have to pretend to be someone I wasn't for the sake of others?"

The scholar nodded in sympathy. "My own dad has to pretend to be human almost all the time, sometimes even in our own home. It's kind of sad that, despite how many other species we share our planet with, so many of them are pressured to pretend to be humans."

"Part of the reason I spent decades on the streets," the monster recalled bitterly. "After my change into this body became permanent, most people took one look at me, thought I was a monster, and turned me away. Even some other heroes that didn't know their history thought I was a monster at first glance and tried to kill me." He shrugged. "Things are a bit better now, but… Hell, despite me saving the world in a big, public way, there's still plenty of places that will refuse service because they think I'm a freak."

The soldier nodded in understanding. "My wife has that problem sometimes. King Tokiwa's-"

"May he reign forever," everyone reflexively recited.

"Reforms can't come soon enough."

The fox – or was she human? – Pulled off another mask, frowned, and threw it away. "Thankfully, when I got to go to magic school that wasn't a problem anymore. I could be a human or a Heavenly Saint whenever I wanted. After all, a good chunk of the other scholars weren't human or only part human, so it's not like I stood out."

She sighed. "Except, after graduating, I was told that I still had to pretend to be something I wasn't when I went around normies, and it frustrated me that I still couldn't really be me. Sure, there's plenty of magical enclaves around the world where that's not an issue, but I don't want to be limited to just a few places all my life, I want the freedom to be whoever I want to be anywhere."

She shrugged, throwing away another mask. "I suppose that's part of why I became a performer, so that I could do shows in my true form without anyone blinking an eye."

"Have you ever felt like you had trouble remembering which face was really yours?" The scholar asked as the fox removed and threw away another mask.

"I had a few nightmares about forgetting which form was really mine when I was a kid, but no, mostly I'm just irritated I have to wear a mask at all," the fox grumbled, pulling off her face again. "I mean, yeah, I like my human disguise, I spent a lot of time on it and feel comfortable wearing it, I just wish I didn't have to wear it all the time, you know?"

"No matter which face you wear, we will always know who you really are underneath," the golden queen said, manifesting from the insects. "None of us care what you look like. To us, you will always be you, and nobody else."

The others nodded.

The fox smiled, pulling off one last mask and revealing her true face to her friends.

…

The monster sat huddled in a cardboard box in a back alley, a tattered cloth wrapped around him, shivering as his breath came out in clouds and freezing rain poured down around him.

"Why are you here?" Asked the soldier and the ninja and the fox and the scholar and the insects filling the alley.

"There's nowhere else for me to go," he chattered. "Nobody will give housing to a guy who looks like me, and the only people who would hire me are the sorts of people who make monsters like me, and while I'm hungry and freezing I refuse to work for someone like that."

"How did you survive all this time?" The fox asked sadly.

"Begged for food. Rummaged dumpsters. Occasionally got to take part in crossover battles," the monster told her. "Despite all that, I probably should've died several dozen times over." He patted his chest with a fist. "I think I did, once or twice. But… This body just wouldn't let me die, even when I wanted it to."

The scholar flinched at this.

"What kept you going, despite everything in your life going wrong?" The soldier asked.

The monster shrugged. "Because I felt like if I died, the bastard's who did this to me won. And… I guess, on some level, I hoped that one day, I might get a chance to turn things around."

There was the sound of a train horn, and suddenly a maglev train with a face resembling the monster's flew down out of the sky and came to a stop in the alley. A door in the side slid open, and a robot, the locust woman, the monster's son, and a monster resembling a mole beckoned to him.

The monster smiled and rose to his feet, shedding his poor excuse for a blanket. "And ultimately, it did."

"I am glad you were able to change your fate," the golden queen told him, forming from the insects. "And I promise you this: neither you, or any of the others, shall ever go without a home again. All are welcome here."

…

Trembling, face raw and red, the scholar stood on the edge of the roof, looking at the ground far below. Beneath her, several other students and teachers looked up at her in horror. Some called for help. Some told her not to jump.

Others told her she should.

"What are you doing?" Asked the soldier and the ninja and the monster and the fox and the insects in horror.

"He used me," she whispered through cracked, broken lips. "I thought he loved me, but it was all a lie. He seduced me as part of a prank, and bragged about it to his friends behind my back. He stole my research and passed it off as his own. He's ruined my reputation, and now everyone thinks I'm a slut who slept my way into getting good grades."

"That's no reason to-" the soldier and the monster and the ninja and the Fox and the insects started.

"And he found out about my father, and told me that if I didn't kill myself, he would tell everyone that he's a Worm," the scholar blurted out. "China isn't like Japan. If the authorities found out that he wasn't human, they would put him to death."

A shocked silence descended upon the rooftop.

"Is there nobody you can ask for help?" The soldier asked finally.

The scholar shook her head. "It's his word over mine. He comes from a powerful family which has a lot of sway here at the University. And if word got out, that would just paint a bigger target on my father. I can't do that to him."

"Can you not kill him?" The ninja asked.

"I'm not a killer," the scholar protested, alarmed. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Can't you cast a spell – wait, we've done this bit already," the fox realized.

The monster thought for a moment. He scratched his head. Everyone looked at him expectantly. Finally, he shrugged. "I got nothing."

"This is the past," the golden queen reminded them, forming from the insects. "You did not jump, or else you would not be here. What happened?"

"Someone called my dad," the scholar said as beneath them, a familiar green insect monster shoved his way through the crowd, frantically calling out to her. "I couldn't jump. Not with him there. I couldn't… I couldn't force him to watch as his only daughter died, as I destroyed the future we envisioned for ourselves…"

The monster frowned. "Wait, if China doesn't allow Worms, why is he out without a disguise-"

"The same reason you looked like a monster even as a child, this isn't an accurate recollection of events but a metaphysical allegory constructed from our feelings and emotions and how we view ourselves," the ninja told him.

The fox nodded. "That's why I'm a fox, and not a witch."

"Oh, right," the monster realized. He frowned. "Which… Means I think of myself as a monster, even in my own mind. Wow. Lots to unpack there."

"What happened to the boy who blackmailed you?" The soldier asked.

"He died rather suddenly, before he could tell anyone about my father," the scholar said, a blank look on her face. "I don't know if my dad was involved. I never asked. Shortly after that, my transfer to Japan was approved, and I came here. I haven't been back to that university since, and I never will again."

The fox let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "So everything worked out, in the end."

"It almost didn't, though!" The scholar snapped. "If my father hadn't showed up in time… Or if whoever or whatever killed that, that monster hadn't managed to do so before he could tell anyone, then… Then me or my dad, or both of us, would be dead!"

"But neither of you are dead," the golden queen said gently, hugging her and allowing the scholar to cry into her shoulder. "Both of you are alive and well, and your beautiful potential was not snuffed out due to that uncaring beast. You still have much to offer to this world, dearest."

"I could barely look at him for a while after," she sobbed. "He must've been so disappointed in me…"

"If he is truly as good a father as you've made him out to be, the only disappointment he felt must've been in himself, for not being able to protect you better," the soldier told her seriously.

"All that mattered to him was that you were alive and well, and could continue to grow and flourish into the amazing young woman he knew you could be," the monster agreed.

"A true parent loves their children, no matter what," the ninja said firmly. "Never forget that."

"What happened to you was horrible," the fox told the scholar, joining in on the hug. "But never think it was your fault. You deserve to live and be happy, and I promise none of us think less of you for what you nearly did, because it came from a place of love."

The other four joined in the embrace, and the scholar's tears of sorrow turned to ones of joy.

…

"Who are you?" The insects asked.

"A father. A son. A husband. A soldier."

"A mother. A daughter. A servant of shadow. An assassin."

"A father. A monster. A Kamen Rider. Maybe even a hero."

"A daughter. A sorceress. A creature of magic and wonder. A performer."

"A daughter. A gymnast. An inventor. A scholar."

…

The soldier marched, fought, and was yelled at by the drill sergeant as he pushed himself through basic and officer training. He fought alongside his comrades, gunning down humans, monsters, and other threats to public safety. He laughed and drank beer with his squadmates, saluted his captain as he was given a medal at his promotion ceremony, kissed his wife as they were married, and relaxed at home with her and their children.

"What do you want?" The ninja and the monster and the Fox and the scholar and the insects all around asked him.

Kissing his wife on the cheek and ruffling the ears of his youngest kitten, he said, "To make the world safe for the people I love."

The ninja, from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, fought and trained alongside the rest of her clan. She killed and killed and killed, removing one monster after another from the world, leaving only origami mantises in her wake for police to puzzle over. She raised and trained alongside her daughter, had tea with her mistress, and painted a beautiful landscape in watercolor.

"What do you want?" The soldier and the monster and the Fox and the scholar and the insects all around asked her.

"I don't really want for much," the ninja admitted. "I merely wish to bring honor to my clan, and deliver justice to those who cannot be reached in other ways. And for my daughter not to die before me, I suppose, which is all any parent can hope for."

The monster sipped some wine as he looked out the window of his speeding train. He rode a motorcycle down some back roads, battled the minions of some evil organization, and put flowers on some graves. He laughed and drank beer with some monsters and goons, hugged his son, had a fancy date with the locust woman in his train, and sat beside her in one of the cars, gazing out the scenery as his son and their friends all lounged about, relaxing and having a good time.

"What do you want?" The soldier and the ninja and the Fox and the scholar and the insects all around asked him.

"To live in peace, with the people I care about," he said as the locust woman leaned her head on his shoulder and his son raised a glass to him.

The Fox frolicked in the clouds of Magitopia as her parents and the other Heavenly Saints watched on indulgently. Growing up, she attended magic school, a look of joy and wonder on her face as she cast spell after spell, before finally graduating with full honors. She traveled the world, putting on spectacular show after show, thrilling in the similar looks of joy and wonder on the faces of her audience, especially proud whenever she saw the spark of magic kindling in their eyes as a new potential mage was born.

"What do you want?" The soldier and the ninja and the monster and the scholar and the insects all around asked her.

"To inspire!" She called proudly, shooting fireworks from her fingertips. "To bring the wonder and joy of magic to people all around the world, and help them in turn learn to do magic themselves! To make the world a more magical place, one where people no longer have to hide who they really are!"

The scholar sat beside her father in a study as they pored over texts and examined a plethora of insects in terrariums seeming to fill the room. She studied and trained in gymnastics and built marvelous little devices in her free time which only occasionally blew up in her face. She stood proudly as she won a medal at the regional gymnastics competition, was awarded honors at school, and smiled joyfully as she at last finished her greatest invention, the device which allowed her to communicate with insects.

"What do you want?" The soldier and the ninja and the monster and the Fox and the insects all around asked her.

"To make the world a better place," she said confidently. "To build bridges between people of different nations and races, and unite everyone in peace and prosperity. To make my father proud and earn the respect and love of the person and people I admire most. To make it so that nobody ever has to be alone again."

"All good answers," the golden Queen said, appearing from the insects. "Let us see if we cannot make these dreams a reality."

…

"Who are you?" The insects asked.

"Goro Aori."

"Mibojin Kamakiri."

"Shin Kazamatsuri."

"Ariel Ozu."

"Nushi Cheng."

…

Lifetimes passed. Each of them lived each other's lives, experienced each other's hopes and dreams, sorrows and fears, knew each other inside and out as intimately as they knew themselves.

And, when they had nothing left to learn from each other, the golden Queen and five mechanical insects said, "You are ready for the next step."

The insects engulfed them, and the universe seemed to open up before their eyes. Worlds upon worlds upon worlds shot by, each filled with uncounted billions of creatures, many insects, others not, all living happy, prosperous lives, all of them looking up and out and through the five as they shot past, regarding them without bias or judgment.

The thoughts and feelings of sextillions of minds flowed through them. They felt joy, sadness, anger, fear, hope, love beyond measure, and not a sliver of hate. In the blink of an eye, millions of life stories flashed by, stories of drama, triumph, suffering, loss, and glory, lives which were simultaneously beyond human comprehension and yet, at the same time, all too similar.

They were inundated by the memories of insect after insect after insect, going back billions of years, back to before their planet, their solar system, had formed, and, for a moment, they were lost.

The soldier fought, and built, and dug alongside uncounted numbers of ants, whispers of glorious battles, magnificent cities, and deep colonies told to him by an unbroken chain of blue warriors, minors, and builders.

The ninja crept, and trained, and killed alongside uncounted numbers of mantises, whispers of blades in the dark, wars ended before they began, and flawless executions told to her by an unbroken chain of yellow assassins, killers, and denizens of shadow that served the light.

The monster jumped, and competed, and traveled alongside uncounted numbers of grasshoppers, whispers of competitions won and lost, new worlds and species scouted, and discoveries told to him by an unbroken chain of green athletes, champions, and explorers.

The fox flew, and sang, and created alongside uncounted numbers of butterflies, whispers of beautiful plays and shows, priceless works of art, and glorious dances told to her by an unbroken chain of white artists, singers, and performers.

The scholar studied, and strategized, and commanded alongside uncounted numbers of ladybugs, whispers of scientific breakthroughs, wisdom found, and wars won whispered to her by an unbroken chain of red scientists, sages, and leaders.

As they came back to themselves, for a moment, they were overwhelmed by all the seemingly endless voices speaking, shouting, singing, crying, and screaming at them… Until they realized that, in a way, all of them were one voice born from many, blending together to form an all-encompassing humming, a buzz which somehow embodied the entire history and culture of a proud and ancient race.

And that buzz had a face to it. The golden Queen emerged, or rather, came into being from the buzz, and with her came all the golden Queens before her in an unbroken chain back to the dawn of time, surrounded and attended to by the Divine Insects. It was impossible to tell where she ended and the Buzzing began, for in truth, they were one and the same.

The Queen smiled and spread her arms, and she, and every member of the Hive, proclaimed, "WELCOME."

And the five of them knew that they were home.

…

"WHO ARE YOU?" The Queen and the Divine Insects asked.

"WE ARE… SUPER SENTAI!"

…

And the five hatched from their chrysalises, reborn.