Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: This takes place right after the Timerangers' final battle with Gien.

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Ryuuta had learned over the course of his career at the Time Bureau that one of the hard truths about time travel was that some things had to happen to keep the timeline from falling apart-- no matter how abhorrent they seemed to you on a personal level. His former subordinates were a perfect example. The family had to die or else Yuuri would have wasted her life instead of becoming a detective. Even if Ayase hadn't gotten sick, he still would have crashed and died in his next race. If Domon hadn't gotten himself banned from pro fighting, he never would have fallen in love with that woman from the year 2000. And Sion…

Sion was an exception. His fate had no affect on Earth's timeline-- or his. Maybe they weren't a perfect example after all, but they still proved his point.

When he had set his first plan into motion, there had been more than a few nights that the guilt kept Ryuuta up… especially when he finally found his 'replacement' in a twentieth century man named Takizawa Naoto. Even after a career filled with manipulating history and destinies just so, the idea of using these people in this way wasn't what he wanted.

However, it still had to be done. Because what Ryuuta had seen-- his own death, violent and painful and well before his time-- was not supposed to happen. He refused to believe otherwise.

But then those people… those people he had tried to saved, that he had wasted his pity on ruined it all. He had offered them everything they could ever want, all they had to do was forget… and they had thrown it back in his face, destroying everything he had been working for the past year so they could save their precious friend, who was doomed no matter what they did. Their only real choice was if they died with him or not.

He tried one last time to make things right, appealing to the member of the team who had the most to lose if this future-- the right future-- was changed. But even Ayase seemed fine with twisting the timeline if it meant he got to have his delusion of independence. There had been a struggle, a sound of a shot being fired, and then…

The last thing Ryuuta remembered clearly was Sion demanding to know how he could have done such a thing.

And then… he had waken up here. It looked like his lab, it had all the abilities of his lab… but he could tell that it wasn't (the two major hints being that he was the only one in a building that employed thousands, and none of the exits would work no matter what he tried). But how could he have survived such a wound…

They had survived the battle. They had survived and succeeded in changing the future. Of course, Ryuuta doubted that if they were willing to throw away families, careers, and lives for Asami Tatsuya, then they hadn't concerned themselves with the various wrinkles in the timeline that came with any sort of travel…

Such as his resurrection.

Ryuuta knew that he couldn't survive long outside of this pocket dimension-- but he could arrange things so that he could. He spent an immeasurable period of time at the 'Bureau's' main computer, analyzing, typing in equations. Finally, he reached a conclusion.

It would take virtually all the energy this mirror of the Time Bureau had to offer him, but he could do it. He would snatch them from the timeline before they reach the thirtieth century again. And once they were his again, he would have more than enough raw power to place his new plan into action.

His mistake the first time had been trying to be reasonable with them. It was clear to him now that all four of them were highly dangerous. If Ryuuta wanted to survive, they couldn't. Unfortunately, Time cadets were proving to be difficult to control.

But what if they weren't Time cadets anymore?

If he had the Chrono Changers (and he soon would), it would be possible. He would have to change the timeline in certain minute, harmless ways, but then they would fit in as if they had lived there all their lives.

Ryuuta began to type in the necessary plans. He had learned from his mistakes. This time there would be no guilt, no mercy when they died so he could live his life again. And why should he? This was how it was supposed to be, and since they were willing to kill themselves over their Asami before, why not for his descendent as well?

From now on, there was only the plan.