Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
…
In China, a massive earthquake struck Juyong Pass. The tourists who had been walking along the top of the Juyongguan stretch of the Great Wall panicked and desperately ran for safety as a portion of the immense man-made structure started to crack and fall apart…
And stared in disbelief as a giant robot ladybug the size of a house crawled its way out from beneath the rubble, flicking its massive elytra to dislodge the chunks of stone on its back. It paused and glanced about, noticing where it had come up, and chirped with what almost sounded like an apology before spreading its wings and launching into the air.
The tourists took lots of pictures, which led to many of their phones being confiscated and their owners indefinitely detained by the Chinese government, who loudly insisted that a giant mechanical ladybug had not emerged from beneath the Great Wall and destroyed a part of it, because that sort of thing never happened in China. This would lead to several ineffectual UN sanctions, increase tensions between China and the United States, and lead Cockroach Kim Jong-Un to brag that he also had a giant robot ladybug, and it was bigger and stronger and armed with nuclear warheads and was totally in love with him, but that's a story for another day.
…
In the Sahara desert, a Bedouin tribe frantically mounted their camels and ran for safety as the sand churned beneath their feet, collapsing into a massive sinkhole which consumed their camp, a nearby oasis, and a camel that had been too slow to keep up with the others, much to the dismay of its owner, who loved it more than his own wife and children.
That dismay turned to bemusement when the camel suddenly started rising back up from the sinkhole… Carried on the head of a colossal blue mechanical ant with massive mandibles and a sizable cannon sticking out between them. As the Bedouin stared in disbelief, the giant ant fully pulled itself out of the ground, shook itself to dislodge the sand from its joints, then carefully lowered its head so the camel could hop off. With astonishing gentleness, it patted the camel on the head with one of its tarsals before walking off into the distance.
The camel, no worse for wear, walked over to its owner, who burst into tears and hugged it with a tenderness he never showed his family. This would later lead his wife to divorce him, but that's a story for another day.
…
In Japan, a mountain in the Shikoku region started trembling, causing numerous rock slides. The ninjas of the Mantis clan, whose secret stronghold was nestled in one of the mountain's peaks, did not panic, but calmly headed for the emergency shelters, having drilled for this sort of disaster dozens of times.
They did not get very far, however, before a huge section of the mountain face collapsed, a tremendous robotic yellow grasshopper digging its way out, its blades scything through the air as it fully emerged from the stone it had been entombed in.
Its head turned, spotting the ninja fortress nearby. It regarded the structure and all in it for a moment, massive red eyes glowing, before folding its forearms and inclining its head slightly before turning away and carefully picking its way down the slope.
"It would seem that my mother does have a mecha after all," one of the younger ninjas – who was, of course, Mibojin's daughter, Kagami – remarked calmly.
The clan fell into a tizzy after this incident, as the realization that the mantis goddess they'd modeled themselves after had been real all along and was actually a giant alien robot, but that – and Kagami growing increasingly popular with her peers due to her mother's association with said deity – was a story for another day.
…
In the sands of time, the DenLiner was merrily chugging along, traveling along the track to the past or the future, while on board a blindfolded Ryuutaros was trying to shoot an apple off the head of Ryotaro, Kintaros was asleep, and Momotaros was strangling Urataros. Basically, your average day on the time train.
Then, without warning, a nearby rock formation exploded as a giant green robot grasshopper erupted from it. It glanced around, antenna twitching, before leaping impossibly high into the sky, vanishing through a time portal.
"Huh," Momotaros, hands still around Urataros's neck, commented. "Don't see that everyday."
"I totally knew that was here all along, senpai," Urataros lied.
"Zzzzzzzzzz," Kintaros snored.
Oblivious to what had just happened, Ryuutaros pulled the trigger, and most certainly did not hit the apple.
Ryotaro was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he would meet his future wife, but that's a story for another day.
…
On Infant Island, the mighty Kaiju Mothra, having recently hatched from her egg and been reborn in her larval form, bobbed her massive head along happily as her twin priestesses, the Shobijin, serenaded her with her traditional ceremonial song in the halls of her sacred temple.
"Mosura ya Mosura, Dengan kesaktian indukmu, Restuilah doa hamba hamba mu yang rendah bangunlah dan, tunjukkanlah kesaktianmu-"
Without warning, the earth started trembling.
This wasn't anything new, of course. It was considered unusual if the ground didn't shake at least once or twice a day, considering how often other Kaiju came to pay their respects to their great Queen, especially Godzilla. However, through their psychic link to the goddess, the Shobijin could sense that whatever this was, it wasn't being caused by Godzilla or any other known monster, and it certainly wasn't a mundane earthquake.
Alarmed, the priestesses raced outside the temple, followed by the surprisingly quick giant Caterpillar that was their Queen's current form, and stared in astonishment as a giant statue of Mothra in her adult form exploded, a gigantic white mechanical butterfly at least as big as the Kaiju Queen's fully matured form, with huge blue eyes and beautiful iridescent wings whose scales shimmered and dazzled in the sunlight, emerging into the air. It shrieked joyously as it danced in the skies, sunlight refracting off its wings to create rainbows, and flew off into the distance.
The trio on the ground stared after it incredulously. "Was… Was that a relative of yours, O Mothra?" The Shobijin asked finally.
Mothra shrugged. This was news to her as well.
The existence of a second divine Lepidopteran (not counting Battra, whom nobody particularly liked) would lead to a schism in Mothra's followers and nearly triggered a holy war until it was discovered that both sides were being egged on by the Seatopians as a distraction so they could try and kidnap Mothra and forcibly breed her with Megalon, leading to the destruction of their entire civilization when her angry husband came to rescue her, but that's a story for another day.
…
Back in Munich, the Bugrangers were still where they had been at the end of the previous chapter, staring up defiantly at the Centicollosus and the remaining Gigasp as the Fungigases prepared to kill them. The Centicollosus extended one of its long, stretchy arms at the five heroes…
When suddenly a blinding rainbow of light lanced down from the skies, piercing the eyes of the giant beasts. They shrieked and stumbled back, temporarily blinded by the light, and so were startled when the ground beneath their feet suddenly collapsed, sinking up to their knees.
"WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS?!" A furious Parasitica shrieked as the mechanical butterfly swooped down from the skies, wings glowing, and the mechanical ant dug its way out of the ground next to the Fungigases, clicking its mandibles together proudly.
The Bugrangers stared, dumbfounded. "Your Majesty, I thought you said the mecha weren't ready," Nushi said finally.
They aren't! Apista insisted. I… I have no idea where these came from! Their presence on the Buzzing, it… I have never felt anything like this…
"Something… Something about them is… familiar…" A confused Formic murmured.
"Like we've seen them… In our dreams…" Lepidoptera agreed.
The giant monsters tried to pull themselves out of the ground, only for a yellow blur to flash through the air, followed by the sound of steel slicing through… Well, much weaker steel as the buildings surrounding the Fungigases abruptly collapsed on top of them.
The blur resolved itself into a giant mechanical mantis, clanging its blades against each other.
Mibojin started. "That… Looks like the mantis spirit who founded my clan…"
"Is that… me?" Whispered a befuddled Manti.
There was a resounding crash as the Fungigases shoved the broken buildings off of them, pulling themselves out of the ground…
When suddenly a time portal opened above them and a giant mechanical grasshopper fell out, landing on top of the monsters and slamming them back into the ground. It preened proudly as it hopped off, rubbing its legs together to create a surprisingly soothing melody.
Shin blinked. "I thought the Hive didn't mess with time travel."
"We don't," Caelifer confirmed.
"Then why did that thing just come out of a time portal?!"
"I have no idea!"
ALLOW US TO ENLIGHTEN YOU.
A giant mechanical ladybug gently glided down from the sky and landed before the Bugrangers. The butterfly alighted on top of a nearby building, while the ant crawled over, the mantis stood at attention, and the grasshopper hopped around in excitement.
The Bugrangers couldn't help staring at them in wonder. Yes, they were amazing feats of engineering, gargantuan mechanical insects that managed to look like they would make really cool and marketable toys rather than scary creepy-crawlies like the Swarm giants, with huge glowing Hive microprocessors set into their foreheads, translucent colorful crystalline carapaces with insanely complex circuit patterns running just under the surface, and covered in the ubiquitous hexagons that were an integral part of anything designed by the Hive.
But their presence in the Buzzing was… Something else.
They loomed large in that metaphysical space, primordial Titans whose psychic weight came close to blotting out the Queen's. They were immense, unfathomably ancient, and almost completely alien, their intellects as different from the minds of the modern Hive as a human's was from a Neanderthal. Their thoughts were slow, vast, almost indecipherable…
And still, there was something there. A connection, a common link binding them to the rest of the Buzzing, indicating that as strange and unfamiliar as they were, they, too, had a place in the Hive. They, too, had a voice that could be heard/smelled/tasted/felt, if only one listened hard enough.
They were listening very hard right now.
"You… I know you," Coccinella gasped. "You're… Me…"
The giant ladybug bowed her head in acquiescence. I AM YOU, AND YOU ARE ME. IT HAS BEEN A VERY LONG TIME, LITTLE SISTER.
"Can someone PLEASE explain what the heck is going on?!" Ariel demanded.
She held up her phone. "My followers demand answers!"
Apista gasped in disbelief. No… It can't be… You're… You're real?! I always thought you were nothing more than legends!
IN ALL LEGENDS, the ant said, voice/thoughts heavy with the weight of untold eons. THERE CAN BE FOUND A GRAIN OF TRUTH.
"And what legends are you a part of?" Nushi asked, eyes shimmering with wonder.
WE ARE THE ORIGINAL DIVINE INSECTS, WHO AIDED THE FIRST QUEEN IN UNITING THE HIVE AND CREATING THE BUZZING, the mantis sang, clacking her blades together.
ALTHOUGH YOU MAY CALL US GREAT DIVINE INSECTS TO DISTINGUISH US FROM OUR LITTLE SIBLINGS, IF YOU WISH, the giant grasshopper chirped.
"… I'd say that's kind of pretentious, but… Yeah, "great" is a fair moniker," Caelifer admitted grudgingly.
"I'm… yes… It's coming back to me now…" Lepidoptera murmured, wings fluttering. "We were once a part of you… How… how could we forget that?"
"It must have happened a very long time ago," Coccinella theorized. "Remember, even we have difficulty remembering that far back with great clarity, and we started out a bit less sophisticated than we are now and grew more complex and intelligent with age. When you live as long as we do, sometimes you can get bogged down in old memories…"
According to the old stories, after you helped my ancestor, Apista I, form the Hive, you chose to travel to the stars to help terraform and colonize new worlds for us to settle, seeding them with life and leading to the proliferation of insectoid life across the universe, Apista whispered reverently. You left behind a fragment of your power so that we would not be defenseless while you were traveling the cosmos, and those fragments evolved into the Divine Insects, which have been used by generation after generation of Bugrangers to defend the Hive.
And then one day, you just… Disappeared completely from the Buzzing. My ancestors spent millennia searching for you, but to no avail. What happened to you? How did you wind up here, of all places?
"Eh, Earth tends to be a bit of a cosmic dumping ground," Shin said with a shrug. "Can't take a few steps without tripping over some ancient alien artifact that crashed here eons ago."
"My kittens dug up an ancient war machine from an extinct civilization in our backyard the weekend before I underwent metamorphosis, and taught it how to love," Goro admitted. "And it wasn't even their first time…"
WE WERE CAUGHT UP IN A COSMIC STORM WHICH FLUNG US TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNIVERSE, the giant butterfly explained. IN THOSE DAYS, THE BUZZING WAS NOT AS FAR-FLUNG OR STRONG AS IT IS NOW, AND SO WE WERE CUT OFF FROM THE REST OF THE HIVE.
NOT A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE, the ant muttered, everyone shuddering at the thought.
How were you not driven mad? Ask the horrified Apista.
THE BUZZING WAS STILL IN ITS INFANCY IN THOSE DAYS. WE REMEMBERED A TIME BEFORE IT EXISTED, SO IT WAS PAINFUL, BUT NOT SOUL-SHATTERING, the ladybug explained.
AND BESIDES, WE WERE STILL CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER, SO WERE NOT ALONE, the grasshopper assured her.
"Well, thank goodness for that," Ariel remarked.
UNABLE TO CALL FOR HELP OR WARP BACK TO THE EMPIRE, WE DECIDED TO CONTINUE ON OUR MISSION OF READYING WORLDS FOR FUTURE HABITATION BY THE HIVE WHILE GRADUALLY MAKING OUR WAY BACK, FIGURING WE'D FIND A WAY HOME EVENTUALLY, the mantis continued.
WE WEREN'T EXACTLY IN A HURRY. WE KNEW WHEN WE LEFT WE WOULD NOT RETURN HOME FOR QUITE SOME TIME, SO VIEWED THIS AS TAKING THE SCENIC ROUTE BACK, the grasshopper added.
BUT THEN, WHEN WE ARRIVED ON PRIMORDIAL EARTH, WE ENCOUNTERED AN ANCIENT, UNSPEAKABLE EVIL, the ladybug said gravely.
Shin rolled his eyes. "Of course you did. And let me guess, all of you valiantly battled this evil and were able to seal it away at great cost, but used up pretty much all of your energy in doing so and had to enter a deep sleep to recover your strength, and were only woken up recently because of the arrival of the descendent of your former mistress and the Swarm's invasion?"
The five Great Divine Insects stared at Shin in surprise. WELL… YES. MORE OR LESS, the giant ladybug admitted. HOW DID YOU-
Shin shrugged. "That sort of thing happens all the time."
Ariel excitedly raised a hand. "Did this happen to take place roughly 65 million years ago, by any chance?"
The butterfly shook her head. NO, THIS HAPPENED LONG BEFORE THAT. YOUR ANCESTORS' ANCESTORS' ANCESTORS HADN'T EVEN LEFT THE OCEANS WHEN WE SEALED THE GREAT EVIL AWAY. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE EXTINCTION OF THE DINOSAURS.
"Huh, that's different," Ariel remarked, mildly surprised.
"Wait, if the five of you traveled across the universe, spreading insect life… Does that mean that the only reason we have insects on Earth at all is because of you?! And that basically all insect life in the universe is descended from ancient colonization efforts by the Hive?!" Nushi asked eagerly.
MORE OR LESS, the ladybug informed her. WE ARE SOMEWHAT DISAPPOINTED MAMMALS WOUND UP BECOMING THE DOMINANT SPECIES ON THIS WORLD, BUT AT LEAST YOU'RE STILL MORE OR LESS OUTNUMBERED BY INSECTS, SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO TAKE SOLACE IN.
"We almost weren't, actually," Shin spoke up. "There was this whole Battle Fight thing about 10,000 years ago where representatives of over 50 species clashed for supremacy over the Earth, and humanity won, but it was very close, and if things had gone a little differently, you would be talking to an insectoid species instead, and I wouldn't be such a freak." He considered for a moment. "Well, assuming the Foundation of such a hypothetical alternate timeline didn't turn me into an ape-man cyborg instead, which, considering my usual luck, is all too plausible…"
Nushi's manic grin stretched ear to ear and her mind started racing so fast it made her friends dizzy. "I am going to write so many research papers off of this."
"Wait, should we be concerned about this ancient evil?" Asked in alarmed Goro.
"Probably, but I'm sure we won't have to worry about it just yet," Ariel said breezily, not particularly worried. "We've got probably at least six to nine months, if not longer, before we have to deal with it. It might not even be an issue until after Christmas. These sorts of secondary, potentially-worse-than-the-initial-bad-guys-villains never pop up right off the bat, and it wouldn't surprise me very much if it winds up usurping Parasitica for the role of Final Boss. That's how this sort of thing usually goes."
Shin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
The Great Divine Insects stared at them. …RIGHT.
So you have been here, hibernating right beneath our feet, all this time… Apista marveled. It seems as if I was more right in choosing Earth as a refuge than I thought. I wonder, could some part of me have already known you were here? Did the instincts and inherited memories of my progenitors guide me here, to facilitate this blessed reunion?
So cool! Philia gushed. But… Why didn't you wake up sooner? We've been here for years!
WE HAVE BEEN DORMANT FOR A VERY LONG TIME, PRINCESS, the ladybug said an apology. IT TOOK US A WHILE FOR US TO FULLY AWAKEN.
IT DID NOT HELP THAT WE NEEDED TO UPDATE OUR OS TO PROPERLY INTERFACE WITH THE BUZZING, WHICH HAS EVOLVED CONSIDERABLY SINCE WE LEFT, the ant added.
WE WERE VERY BEHIND ON OUR FIRMWARE UPDATES. WE STILL HAVEN'T FINISHED DOWNLOADING SOME OF THE RELEVANT DRIVERS, the mantis lamented.
The Bugrangers nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I can imagine that would be tough," Ariel said sympathetically.
"Considering your systems are probably millions of years out of date, it's a miracle you're even able to interface with current Hive tech at all, which I suppose says a lot about your civilization's technology and backwards-compatibility," Nushi marveled.
"I wish the same could be said for some of our tech. It's ridiculous just how fast a new phone or computer can become obsolete," Shin griped. "I just bought a new laptop a few months ago, only for an even better one to come out like a week later, and now none of my programs will work properly on the old computer anymore since it's apparently incapable of rendering the new format! I tell you, planned obsolescence is a crock!"
THE REST OF OUR SIBLINGS ARE STILL SLEEPING. WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO COME TO YOUR AID NOW BECAUSE OF OUR AFFINITY WITH OUR LITTLE SIBLINGS, WHOM YOU HAVE BONDED WITH. WE COULD SENSE YOUR BRAVERY AND CONVICTION BURNING BRILLIANTLY THROUGH THE BUZZING, FULLY AWAKENING US FROM OUR TORPOR, the grasshopper went on, ignoring Shin's rant.
THEY WILL AWAKEN IN TIME, BUT FOR NOW, THE FIVE OF US SHOULD SUFFICE IN DEALING WITH THIS THREAT, the butterfly said confidently.
"Oh, you think so, do you?!" Parasitica shouted as the Centicollosus and Gigasp finally pulled themselves out of the ground.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Nushi admitted.
"You forgot about me?!" Parasitica shrieked incredulously.
"Well, no offense, but I kind of found the arrival of the Great Divine Insects and the potential ramifications of their presence on this planet far more interesting," Nushi explained, gesturing to the mechanical insects, who preened at this.
"And I honestly forgot about you, what with the mention of some ancient evil sealed away somewhere," Ariel confessed. The others nodded in agreement.
Parasitica made a strangled sound of incoherent rage at this.
"We can focus on this other threat later," Mibojin spoke up. "For now, we must deal with the enemy before us now."
The giant mantis nodded in approval. WELL SAID, LITTLE ONE.
ARE YOU READY TO BECOME ONE ONCE AGAIN, LITTLE BROTHER? The giant grasshopper asked Caelifer.
"… Yeah. Yeah, I think I am!" The much smaller grasshopper explained.
"We ALL are!" Coccinella seconded.
"Okay then. Everyone, suit up!" Nushi commanded.
"Coccinella!"
"Formic!"
"Manti!"
"Caelifer!"
"Lepidoptera!"
"BUZZ ON!"
"HENSHIN!"
In a blinding flash of light, the five of them became Bugrangers once more.
Ariel leapt into the air, twirling as the background changed to a starry night sky, beautiful humanoid butterflies dancing about as fireworks went off in the background. "The starlight sorceress! White Butterfly-"
"Ariel, we did that earlier, we don't need to go through the whole roll call again," Goro interrupted, pushing her backdrop out of the way.
"But I want to do the roll call again," Ariel complained.
"We can do that next time!" Nushi promised her, tapping the microprocessor on Coccinella's head. "Let's show Parasitica what the REAL buzz is all about!"
The Great Divine Insects threw back their heads and roared, eyes flashing. The Bugrangers leapt into the air, each of them landing atop the giant microprocessors (would they just be called processors, then? Macroprocessors?) And sinking through the golden surface, landing in surprisingly roomy color-coded chambers covered in honeycomb motifs mixed with patterns unique to each individual insect. Tiny mechanical insects swarmed together to form incredibly comfortable chairs, and podiums rose from the floor, each of them blank save for a strangely-shaped indentation on the face.
Guided by the commands of the Great Divine Insects through the Buzzing, each of them removed their wrist-mounted Divine Insects and place them into the indentations. "Great Divine Insects, engage!"
The eyes and microprocessors of the smaller Divine Insects lit up, color-coded energy washing out from them and causing the control rooms to light up and start shaking.
"GREAT COCCINELLA!"
"GREAT FORMIC!"
"GREAT MANTI!"
"GREAT CAELIFER!"
"GREAT LEPIDOPTERA!"
"BUZZ ON!"
"GREAT DIVINE INSECTS! FULLY CHARGED!"
The Great Divine insects shrieked, twitching their antenna, swiping their claws through the air, and fluttering their wings, each of them glowing brilliantly as, for the first time in untold eons, they were truly whole once again.
"I don't care if you have some new toys! They shall fall to my Fungigases just as easily as the playthings your predecessors used!"Parasitica snarled.
The Centicollosus thrust its centipede heads into the ground, while the Gigasp shrieked and took to the sky.
"HA! YOU THINK TO ACHIEVE AIR SUPREMACY? THINK AGAIN!" Cried Great Lepidoptera, spreading her wings and taking to the air… Except she sounded like Ariel as well, and the smaller Lepidoptera, the three voices seamlessly blended together into a new whole. Ariel wasn't simply controlling the mecha, she was the mecha, just as she was her Titan form; the main difference being that it wasn't just her in there, but the minds of her partners as well.
It was a little frightening, really. Great Lepidoptera's mind was so ancient and incomprehensible, she could easily have swallowed her whole if she wanted to, crushed her beneath her psychic weight and leaving nothing behind but an empty vessel that she could use as a puppet to interact with lesser beings. But she didn't, the giant butterfly as careful and gentle with her consciousness as Ariel herself would've been to a normal-sized butterfly.
It reminded her of her mother's embrace when she had been much younger. She felt warm and safe and loved, and despite the Hive's claims that they didn't use magic, as far as she was concerned, this was some of the strongest she'd ever experienced.
As Great Lepidoptera took off, Great Formic started digging through the fungus, bragging, "AND YOU FORGET, FEW INSECTS CAN DIG AS WELL AS AN ANT!"
Goro felt strong.
He'd always been strong, and strove to be stronger, to protect his family, his friends, his country. Everyone and everything that mattered to him, because deep down, a part of him feared that he wasn't strong enough, and needed to be better lest he lose everything.
He – and Formic and Great Formic – could not see their target, but they didn't need to. Their seismic sensors were so fine-tuned they could detect a footstep on the other side of the world; the wriggling of a giant centipede was child's play in comparison.
He – they – dug their mandibles into the centipede, causing the ground to shake from the Centicollosus's shriek of pain. Abruptly, the Fungigas pulled its head back, ripping it out of the ground and taking Great Formic with it, jaws still chewing fervently away at the necrotic mass, ignoring the foul taste in his – their – mouth parts.
The Centicollosus flailed its head about angrily in an attempt to dislodge the giant robot ant, and managed to succeed…
Losing its head in the process, as Great Formic cleaved its neck in two as he was flung away, earning another shriek from the beast. He flew through the air, landing neatly on top of a nearby building, which somehow didn't collapse beneath his weight, his reinforced armor carapace keeping him from taking any damage.
Now, the part of Great Formic that was Goro, reflected as the great insect opened his jaws wide and fired a powerful blue laser blast from the cannon in his mouth parts that ripped off the Centicollosus's left arm and caused the monster to scream yet again, he knew he was finally strong enough.
Enraged, the Centicollosus wildly extended its arms, trying to punch at Great Formic, Great Manti, or Great Caelifer, but the ant burrowed back underground, while the other two moved with astonishing grace and speed for machines so huge, evading the blows.
"OR DANCE LIKE A MANTIS!" Great Manti cried, dodging a punch and lashing out with a blade as it shot past, severing it and causing the Centicollosus to shriek in agony as it retracted its limb, slime and fungus spurting from the stump.
Mibojin had always been fast. It was a required skill for a ninja, along with stealth. She'd never particularly understood why certain ninjas had trouble understanding that concept, and dressed in bright, flashy colors and made themselves the center of attention.
Now, however, she thought as their shared body immediately sprang back to avoid the Centicollosus's other buried centipede head erupting from the ground beneath her, she believed she understood. Her clan had always fought for justice from the shadows. There was no reason she could not continue to do so in the light, be it while wearing a brightly colored outfit, or while merged with a giant mechanical grasshopper goddess.
No matter what form she took, she reflected as she and Manti and Great Manti dashed past the head, lashing out with the blade as they went and decapitating it in a single blow, in her heart, she was still Shinobi, one who vanquished evil for the sake of the world, and that was all that mattered.
"OR JUMP LIKE A GRASSHOPPER!" Great Caelifer roared, compressing his legs before leaping into the sky like a rocket, passing by the Gigasp as he went and nearly tearing off its wing in the process.
Most of Shin's life had been peaks and valleys. Or rather, one very, VERY deep valley, followed by a slow, steady ascent up a rather steep peak. Having hit rock bottom, then broken through several levels below that, he understood all too well how easy it was to lose everything, which was why, self-deprecating humor aside, he made sure to value every second of his new lease on life… Because, on some level, he was afraid that it would all be taken from him a second time, and he wasn't sure if he could survive losing it all again.
Great Caelifer kept rising and rising and rising, higher than any grasshopper or Kamen Rider had ever jumped before, until he/they reached the very edge of space, the curvature of the planet stretching out before them, the shimmering gold of the honeycomb barrier sparkling overhead. If one were to ignore the Swarm vessels floating just outside the shield, it would be a breathtaking sight, a reminder of just how fragile, how beautiful the Earth and all its people were.
As the grasshopper began to descend, flames igniting around his massive mechanical frame as they reentered the atmosphere, Shin, immersed in the ancient wisdom and intellect of the godly insect, realized that it didn't matter if he fell again, so long as he landed on his feet. He was a grasshopper, after all, and could always rise again.
On the planet below, Great Lepidoptera flew in the Gigasp's path, spreading her wings and causing them to shine with a blinding light that caused the patches of fungus covering the Gigasp's body to burst into flames, incinerating some of the centipedes crawling through its flesh. Shrieking in agony, the beast lunged towards her, thrusting its stinger forward to pierce her abdomen, only for Great Coccinella to suddenly latch onto its face and dig her claws in deeply, biting at its eyes and causing it to veer away, shrieking and furiously trying to dislodge her.
"Get off!" Parasitica shouted.
Through the Buzzing, Nushi could experience the awe and wonder of her friends as they became more and more attuned to the Great Divine Insects. She reveled in their rapture, and applauded their epiphanies, knowing it would help them grow even stronger in the trials to come.
And what did she learn from her melding with Great Coccinella? What deep secret or truth about herself and her place in the universe did she glean?
Absolutely nothing.
The very first time she transformed, she had realized she was already who she needed to be. A leader. A hero. A friend. Maybe even a lover. While she did learn a great many things from merging with the massive godly ladybug's mind, obtaining so much information about the cosmos and other worlds and the history of the Hive she'd get more Nobel prizes than any human in history once she actually sat down to do something with it, she didn't learn anything about herself she didn't already know.
And that, perhaps, was the most important lesson she could ever learn.
"NO, YOU GET OFF!" Great Coccinella and Coccinella and Nushi retorted, channeling the full ire of the entire Hive towards the invading usurper. "OFF THIS PLANET! OUT OF THIS SYSTEM! YOU'RE NOT WANTED HERE, OR ANYWHERE ELSE! SO BUZZ OFF!"
She didn't need to see through the eyes of her comrades to sense the stretching punch being thrown her way by the Centicollosus, the monster having partially regrown a claw from the centipedes making up its biomass. She immediately spread her wings and jumped off the Gigasp's face, and the monster didn't have time to recover before the Centicollosus's fist collided with its face, caving part of it in.
Parasitica swore vehemently, and swore even more when Great Manti severed the Centicollosus's limb, and the ground beneath it gave way, Great Formic digging his mandibles into one of its legs and chewing viciously.
The spots on Great Coccinella's elytra launched themselves off of her body, the discs spinning through the air and latching themselves onto the flailing Gigasp's body. They flashed three times, beeping loudly, before exploding spectacularly, blasting off some of the monster's limbs and destroying one of its wings. As it fell, shrieking, Great Lepidoptera flew in front of the sun, channeling its light through her wings to fire another massive energy beam which completely enveloped the Gigasp, destroying it utterly.
"AND THAT'S ANOTHER ONE DOWN!" Great Lepidoptera sang.
"MARVELOUS AS ALWAYS, LOVEBUG!" Great Coccinella chirped back, causing the part of the giant butterfly that was Ariel to have paroxysms of joy.
Down on the ground, Great Manti and Great Formic paused in their ravaging of the weakened Centicollosus's body, briefly glanced upwards, then immediately retreated. "What… where do you think you're going?!" Parasitica demanded. "Get back-"
"DIVINE GRASSHOPPER KICK!"
Great Caelifer, wreathed in flames, rocketed down from the stratosphere and slammed into the Centicollosuses hind legs first, the impact leveling every building for several blocks and liquefying a significant portion of the Fungigas's body.
"ALWAYS HAVE TO MAKE AN ENTRANCE, DON'T YOU?" Great Formic chittered in amusement.
"GREAT LEPIDOPTERA ISN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!" Great Caelifer equipped, flipping off of the mangled Centicollosus and landing next to his brother.
"NO, BUT I LOOK BETTER DOING IT," Great Lepidoptera joked, fluttering down to land on top a pile of rubble, Great Coccinella touching down next to her.
"I HAVE MISSED THIS," Great Manti remarked. "AND I IMAGINE IT WILL GET EVEN LIVELIER ONCE THE OTHERS HAVE WOKEN UP."
"THIS BATTLE IS OVER, PARASITICA," Coccinella told the Centicollosus, which seemed to be trying to repair itself by digging what remained of its limbs into the fungus and absorbing as much of it as it could to replace its damaged biomass. It wasn't doing a particularly good job. "AND THIS IS THE SAME THING THAT WILL HAPPEN TO ANY OTHER MONSTER YOU TRY AND SEND DOWN HERE. THIS PLANET IS PROTECTED, SO WE'LL GIVE YOU ONLY ONE WARNING: BUZZ OFF, OR WE'LL DO THE SAME TO YOU WHEN YOU FINALLY WORK UP THE COURAGE TO SHOW YOUR FACE INSTEAD OF WORKING THROUGH PROXIES!"
"I'm not through just yet," Parasitica snarled. "Or have you forgotten? Bugoliaths can take on the attributes of things that they eat!"
Great Formic twitched his antenna, puzzled. "BUT THERE'S NOTHING FOR YOU TO EAT-"
Great Manti stiffened. "WAIT. THE OTHER GIGASP!"
They spun around, but it was too late. The headless corpse of the other Gigasp that had been killed by Shin's motorcycle was already being torn apart by giant centipedes, who had dug their way over to the immense carcass while they were distracted.
Parasitica laughed as the Centicollosus drew the centipedes back into itself, flesh roiling as centipedes started multiplying by the thousands to fill in its wounds and restore the monster to its original form. "If you thought my monster was powerful from eating a Fungal Beast… how much stronger do you think it will be from devouring another Fungigas?"
The Centicollosus's body changed colors, now covered in yellow and black stripes. A pair of large stingers made from fused-together centipede legs formed on the backs of its primary arms, while its tails coiled around each other to form a metasoma, with a larger stinger also made from legs. Its primary head now looked like a Gigasp's rather than a centipede, and four tattered wings sprouted from its back. The transformed Centicollosus shrieked triumphantly while Parasitica cackled madly through it.
The Great Divine Insects… Were unimpressed.
"IS THAT SUPPOSED TO SCARE US?" Great Formic drawled.
"HONESTLY, I THINK IT'S SOMEHOW LESS HIDEOUS THAN IT WAS BEFORE!" Great Caelifer quipped.
"IT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE GREAT EVIL. WE SHALL TAKE THIS BEAST DOWN JUST AS EASILY AS WE DID THE OTHERS," Great Manti declared calmly.
"BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN MAKE THEMSELVES BIGGER AND STRONGER!" Great Lepidoptera cried, glancing at Great Coccinella. "I THINK IT'S TIME TO SHOW HER OUR REAL POWER, LOVEBUG!"
Great Coccinella nodded in agreement. "EVERYONE! LET'S DO THIS TOGETHER! KONCHU GATTAI!"
"KONCHU GATTAI!" They all echoed, eyes and microprocessors flashing.
Suddenly, the five mecha were flying through a tunnel made of honeycomb. Great Caelifer folded his legs to his sides and flipped his head 90° upwards, his body splitting right down the middle and coming apart to form a pair of legs.
Great Manti folded her legs and most of her body into an hourglass-shaped mass of metal with sockets at the bottom which the legs affixed themselves to, creating a surprisingly feminine torso. The head swiveled around and lowered to form the right shoulder, while the bladed forearms combined to form a single limb ending in a sizable scythe. Her eyes came off and attached themselves to the front of the chest, forming a sizable bosom.
Great Formic folded his legs around himself and attached himself to the torso by his metasoma, with a large fist flipping out from the underside of his head, forming a left arm.
Great Lepidoptera attached herself to the back of the almost-complete mecha, wings spreading out behind it.
Finally, Great Coccinella landed on top of the robot, face-down, her head flipping up to reveal a surprisingly attractive face somewhat resembling Apista's, while the elytra split apart to form a spotted crest. Great Lepidoptera's head came off and attached to the back of Great Coccinella, making it look like she had hair buns made from compound eyes, with the proboscis uncurling and attaching itself to the microprocessor in the new robot's forehead while the antenna unfolded to either side.
The complete mecha swiped its scythe arm through the air before posing dramatically as colorful insects swarmed behind it. "BUG-ŌHI, COMPLETE!"
The giant robot then turned to Ariel's phone, which was still streaming everything, and winked. "AND IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING WHY IT'S NOT BUG-OH, REMEMBER, THE HIVE DOESN'T HAVE ANY KINGS."
Sooooooooo cooooooooooool, Philia squealed excitedly.
Incredible… The mecha used by your predecessors could also combine, but they never felt this strong… This alive, an amazed Apista cried.
"THAT IS BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT ALIVE," Bug-Ōhi pointed out gently, her voice a harmonious mixture of all five Bugrangers, Divine Insects, and Great Divine Insects. "THEY LACKED A TOUCH OF THE DIVINE. THEY LACKED SOULS. WHICH IS SOMETHING WHICH I HAVE IN SPADES."
They were five, 10, 15, but also one. The personalities of the Bugrangers, Divine Insects, and Great Divine Insects still existed, but at the same time had also merged together into a seamless, immaculate whole, the Buzzing in microcosm. They were many, but at the same time, they were a unique, solitary, divine existence…
But they were not alone. They were never alone.
For how could you ever be alone, when everything you were, everything you could be, was born from the friendship and camaraderie of so many disparate souls, bound so tightly together the boundaries between them ceased to have all meaning? How could you be alone, when you were literally made of love?
Her presence radiated throughout the Buzzing like a newborn star, bringing light and hope and love and joy to every corner of the Hive. Even the furthest, most distant members of the Hive could sense her presence, and were reinvigorated by the love she felt for each and every one of them, like a second queen, allowing them to fight back even harder against the forces of the Swarm.
Even those watching all around the globe with no connection to the Buzzing whatsoever, the friends and loved ones of the Bugrangers, the strangers tuning in to witness the fight for whatever reason, couldn't help but be inspired by this new being. On more than one occasion, the mecha used by prior Super Sentai had been considered gods in their own right, and it was clear to just about everyone that Bug-Ōhi had a right to that title as well.
Parasitica, watching through the eyes of the mutated Centicollosus, didn't see any of that. As far as she was concerned, Bug-Ōhi was just another big robot, much like the others she had destroyed in the past. And for that, she should be pitied.
"So you've all combined into a single robot," she sneered. "Brilliant strategy. Now you're one big target, instead of five smaller ones!"
"I THINK YOU WILL FIND," Bug-Ōhi replied calmly. "THAT I AM RATHER MORE DIFFICULT TO HIT THAN YOU MIGHT THINK. YOU, ON THE OTHER HAND… I ONLY NEED FIVE BLOWS TO DEFEAT YOU."
Parasitica laughed at that. "Five? The cheek of you! I won't even need that many to finish you!"
She drove her centipedes into the ground, the monstrous arthropods burrowing through the defiled soil before multiplying and erupting around Bug-Ōhi, hissing and preparing to strike.
Bug-Ōhi tensed a fraction, raising her right arm. "MANTIS CUTTER!"
There was a flash of yellow light, and suddenly she was gone…
And the centipedes fell to pieces.
"What?! Where did-"
Abruptly, a massive gash opened up on the Centicollosus's chest, while numerous other cuts opened all over its body, spewing slime and fungus.
"WHAT?!"
"THAT'S ONE."
The Centicollosus whirled about to see that somehow, Bug-Ōhi had gotten behind her, and was standing with her back to her.
Shrieking with rage, Parasitica had the Centicollosus raise its arms and start rapid-firing stingers at the mecha's back.
And Bug-Ōhi…
Moved.
That was possibly the only way to describe what she did. She wasn't walking, she wasn't running, and yet somehow she was moving so fast that she was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, using buildings as cover, standing out in the open, or even appearing briefly beside the monster, as if to taunt it. Screaming with even greater fury, Parasitica wildly fired stinger after stinger in every direction, shooting at even the smallest movement she caught out of the corner of her beast's many eyes, but somehow, even when Bug-Ōhi was standing right in front of the Centicolossus, not a single stinger hit.
And suddenly, Bug-Ōhi was right in its face, the cannon on her left arm rammed into its gut. "ANT BUSTER!"
The cannon fired, flinging the Centicollosus back into some ruined buildings, as well as blasting a hole clear through its chest, conveniently where Shin had crashed into it with the ShinLiner earlier.
"THAT'S TWO," Bug-Ōhi observed.
Shrieking with fury, Parasitica forced the Centicollosus to rise to its feet. Its wings started buzzing, and it rose into the air. Affixing Bug-Ōhi with a look of utmost hatred, the Centicollosus pointed its stinger at her and shot downwards, seeking to impale her on its point.
Bug-Ōhi crouched down, legs glowing as numerous coils compressed within, the earth trembling.
"GIGAHOPPER KICK!"
Bug-Ōhi launched skywards with so much force she shattered the ground and obliterated all the fungus nearby, shooting towards the Centicollosus in a flying kick, feet glowing brilliantly. The two giants collided with each other, foot slamming into stinger…
And the latter shattered, the coiled tails that had formed the fake metasoma popping like an overripe pimple, the Centicollosus flung through the air from the sheer force of the impact.
Parasitica managed to regain control of her monster's wings and arrest its descent, rising back up before it hit the ground. Through the eyes of the Fungigas, she looked back, seeing that Bug-Ōhi was steadily flying towards the Centicollosus, giant butterfly wings glowing with magical energy.
"THAT'S THREE."
And in that moment, Parasitica felt something she'd not experienced in a very, very long time. Something she had thought herself long past feeling.
She was afraid.
She wasn't anywhere near the battle, was safely ensconced in her flagship far, far away from the surface of the planet, and she was afraid of this living deity the Bugrangers had become.
She couldn't win. At least, not this battle. She commanded the Centicollosus to fly far, far away from the battle, reasoning that if it could escape, it would have a chance to start spreading fungus somewhere else – preferably on the other side of the planet – and give her time to build up a fighting force strong enough to overpower Bug-Ōhi and erase the sting of this humiliation-
Bug-Ōhi narrowed her eyes as the Centicollosus turned and flew away. "NO. THERE IS NO ESCAPE. BUTTERFLY BOMBER!"
She pulled the wings off her back, which rearranged themselves to form a giant Shuriken, and hurled it at the Centicollosus even as she started falling. The Fungigas saw the massive multicolored throwing star coming its way and dove out of its path…
Which was exactly what Bug-Ōhi had planned on, as the throwing star sliced through its wings before flying back towards the mecha, who quickly reattached it to her back to allow her the power of flight once more.
The Centicollosus, however, had no such safety net, and started plummeting towards the destroyed city far below, flailing and shrieking wildly.
"THAT'S FOUR."
Bug-Ōhi extended her hand to her side. "COME, SHIN SABER!"
Down below, the ShinLiner rumbled and stirred to life, the eye-shaped windows lighting up. Pulling itself free from the debris it had crashed into, it rose into the air, horn sounding triumphantly as it soared above Munich.
Inside, Cart, who had been affecting repairs, grabbed a table to keep from falling over. "What the – I haven't finished fixing everything! Master Shin, just how strong have you become?!"
As the train arced towards Bug-Ōhi, she opened her hand, Hive drones seeming to materialize from thin air and come together to form a golden hilt with a cluster of hexagons forming the guard. The ShinLiner flew past the mecha, angled completely vertically, before abruptly dropping back down and landing in the hilt, rear car first, locking into place. Golden light flowed up the length of the train, honeycomb -shaped crystals solidifying around it to form a huge glowing sword.
She raised the sword, reaching out across the Buzzing, asking – not demanding, asking – Every insect to lend her their support.
Every insect in the Hive complied. Everyone, from Queen Apista and Philia and everyone else in Hive City, to the soldiers and civilians fighting on the front lines against the Swarm back home, to the lowliest menial laborers working tirelessly – but not thanklessly, for all in the Hive were loved and appreciated in their own right – in the bowels of Hive worlds, responded at once, sending the newborn goddess all the love, all the hope, all the strength and courage and compassion they could muster, returning a thousandfold the positive emotions her birth had instilled in their hearts.
Those emotions flowed into the sword, causing it to glow brilliantly. Bug-Ōhi raised the blade, the sunlight gleaming magnificently off its golden crystals. "FINSECTING MOVE: SHIN-ING NAIL!"
Her wings flared, growing larger and even more magnificent, and she shot downwards so fast she left a trail of multicolored light in her wake, driving the sword through the Centicollosus's heart just as it hit the ground and pinning it there as if it were a part of an entomologist's collection, the impact great enough to level what few buildings remained standing and obliterate almost every last trace of fungus in the city.
Bug-Ōhi stared the dying monster in the eyes, and in her flagship, Parasitica shuddered, somehow knowing the mecha was looking right at her. "AND THAT'S FIVE. AND IF YOU DARE TO SET FOOT ON THIS PLANET, I PROMISE YOU I WON'T EVEN NEED THAT MANY MOVES TO FINISH YOU."
She then wrenched the sword out of the Centicollosus and dramatically turned her back on the beast as it spectacularly exploded behind her. "IN THE NAME OF THE QUEEN, I DECLARE THIS INFESTATION EXTERMINATED."
…
The streaming service Ariel had been using to broadcast the fight around the world promptly crashed as the chat exploded with excitement and a number of marriage proposals of varying degrees of seriousness for the "giant robot insect goddess waifu."
In Hive city, insects celebrated in the streets, and back in Hive space, the forces of the Swarm found themselves pushed back with startling ferocity as the insects back home fought with renewed fervor, the proof that their foes could not only be defeated, but utterly destroyed, giving them new hope and courage in their struggle. Parasitica, already suffering a headache from the feedback of the Centicollosus's brutal death, found herself in even greater pain as planets she'd believed securely in her grip were suddenly torn away from her, and entire fleets were wiped out in seconds by the reinvigorated Hive forces. Her screams of fury echoed throughout the halls of her great flagship, and many more Funghouls were slaughtered by the backlash of her wrath.
In China, a woman and a Worm sighed in relief and exchanged proud glances, knowing they'd raised their daughter well. They also agreed, without needing to say anything, that they absolutely had to meet her friends, especially her "lovebug."
In a JSDF base, Goro's former squadmates cheered enthusiastically, while his former commanding officer smiled and nodded with pride. Kari smiled, hugged her children, and burst into tears of joy, telling her kittens their father was the strongest man in the world. The mixed family's ever-growing collection of reformed ancient weapons of mass destruction weren't certain that was factually correct, but knew better than to bring logic into this.
In the Mantis clan headquarters, Kagami turned away from the television and left to resume her training. Her mother's victory had never been in doubt in her mind, so she saw no reason to celebrate an inevitability, especially since it was merely the first fight of many. There were better uses of her time, and she knew her mother would understand.
She did allow herself a rare smile, though. It seemed appropriate.
In a bar in Monster Town, Shiin and Mole Beastman led the usual crowd of retired monsters and minions in a (slightly drunken) cheer for his father, while Inago reflected, not for the first time, that she was going to marry that man someday. If he wasn't going to hurry up and give her that ring she knew he was hiding, she would just have to do it herself.
And two little girls who had met for the first time at a magic show a few weeks ago and instinctively knew that they were going to be a part of each other's lives forever found their love and faith in their favorite magician vindicated, and both agreed, not for the first time, that they were going to be just as amazing as she was someday.
(Their parents, incidentally, were already making marriage plans.)
…
You are the coolest thing I've ever seen and I want to be just like you when I grow up, Philia gushed, 100% serious.
You've done it… Congratulations, Bugrangers! Apista cried joyfully, radiating pride, relief, and hope. You have won your first victory in this war, and exceeded our wildest expectations in the process!
"WE WERE ONLY DOING OUR DUTY, TO THE HIVE, TO YOU, AND TO THIS PLANET," Bug-Ōhi replied humbly, scanning the ruined city for something. Spotting what she was looking for, she marched over to what little remained of Englischer Garten where, by some miracle, the Funghoul Ariel had frozen earlier was still intact, having somehow survived the titanic battle which tore Munich apart.
You have gone above and beyond in your duty, Apista assured her. Your victory here has caused ripples which can be felt on the other side of the universe. Change is coming, and it will be for the better, I think. Return to Hive City so that I may tell you – and your component minds – in person. There is much we need to discuss.
Bug-Ōhi paused as she picked up the frozen Funghoul, holding it with surprising gentleness as she glanced at the absolutely devastated capital of Bavaria. "THE CITY IS IN RUINS."
It could not be helped, and at least no more lives were lost. Don't worry, drones and construction teams are already on the way-
"THAT WILL NOT BE NECESSARY. MAGIINE MAGIINE!"
Bug-Ōhi swished her scythe blade through the air as if it were a wand, and a wave of multicolored mechanical insects flew out from her, trailing sparkles. The bugs flew outwards, rapidly crossing the entire city, and as they did so, Munich was reborn.
Collapsed buildings stood back upright, their windows fully intact. Shattered streets were now perfectly paved, the wrecked cars crowding them now completely repaired and parked neatly on the sides of the road. Englischer Garten was fully restored, even greener and more vibrant than ever before.
And – most importantly – every last remaining trace of the fungus was completely eradicated.
"UNLIKE SOME SENTAI," Bug-Ōhi said with more than a hint of smugness. "WE HAVE NO PROBLEM CLEANING UP AFTER OURSELVES."
Mom. Mom. I have to learn magic, Philia said, less a question and more statement of fact.
I am beginning to think that might be a good idea, Apista confessed. We could certainly use more magicians of Ariel's caliber.
As if on cue, there was a flash of light, and suddenly MagiLegend, Travelion, Wolkaiser, a gigantic MagiMother, a really gigantic Smoky the Magical Cat, and a heavily pregnant Hades Wise Goddess Sphinx with Phantom Spy Vancuria riding on her shoulder appeared.
"All right, sweetie, mommy's here, and she brought the whole family to help-" Urara Ozu started, only to pause when she suddenly realized the city was fully intact, there was an unfamiliar mecha standing in front of them, and there were no giant monsters to be seen anywhere.
The extended Ozu family looked around, dumbfounded, wondering if they were in the right place.
"… Did we miss something?"