Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
The Super Sentai logo appears with its characteristic twinkle, then suddenly splits into dozens of golden bee drones and swarms away.
"While we humans believe ourselves to be the dominant species on Earth," Nushi says in voiceover as the camera pans over scenes of ladybugs nibbling on leaves, ants stealing food from a picnic, mantises dueling each other, grasshoppers creating music, butterflies feeding from flowers, spiders spinning webs, scorpions fighting each other, and bees buzzing in a hive. "In truth, we are vastly outnumbered by insects, with an estimated 10 quintillion insects alive at any given time. They've been here before us, and with any luck, they'll be here long after us. Personally, I find that kind of neat, and more than a little humbling."
The camera then flashed through shots of each of the Bugrangers and Arachrangers, the heroes admiring their respective insects in their native habitats.
"This is the story of seven heroes who used the power of insects to save the world."
The theme song starts playing as we see Nushi sitting at her desk in her college dorm, hard at work on her laptop. At an unseen signal, she glances up, rushes to the window, and looks down to see her friends waving at her from the ground, and the camera zooms out to reveal she isn't on campus at all, but in Hive City! Several drones swarm together to form the show's logo.
In this world we strive for harmony
Though it is hard work to achieve
As minds can be clouded by rage and envy
We must fight for what we believe
Nushi quickly rushes out to join them, hugging Shin and Goro, getting a kiss from Ariel, and tripping and falling when Mibojin sidesteps her attempts to hug her, a twitch that could be mistaken for a smile on the ninja's face. Aranea pulls Nushi up using a web line before she can hit the ground, causing her to flush in embarrassment as Antares bursts into laughter.
Hearts of human and insect synchronize
All together, united as one
Everyone's with you and you realize
This battle can be won
A screen wipe made up of ladybugs passes over the scene, showing a close-up of Nushi doing sciencey things, followed by a wipe made of ants to Goro pulling off some impressive trick shots, followed by a wipe made of mantises to Mibojin sparring against humanoid mantises, followed by a wipe made of grasshoppers to Shin in a conductor's uniform driving the ShinLiner with some cheering Hive children riding along, followed by a wipe made of butterflies to Ariel performing a spectacular magic show before an audience of awestruck bugs, culminating in a wipe made of spiderwebs to show Aranea weaving something while Antares trains in the background.
Red Ladybug!
Blue Ant!
Yellow Mantis!
Green Hopper!
White Butterfly!
Black Spider!
Violet Scorpion!
BUZZ ON!
The screen cuts back to Hive City, where the sky darkens, and giant centipedes and Funghouls start raining down. The Bugrangers look up in horror, then a look of determination forms on their faces.
Come on, look alive
Fight for the Earth and Hive
A greater fighting force you've never seen
The Divine Insects and Arachnids appear on their wrists, and the seven of them transform in flashes of colored light.
Sound up the alarm
Go and disperse the Swarm
You got the love of our Queen
The Funghouls charge at the heroes, who start fighting them.
Konchu Sentai Bugranger!
The camera suddenly splits in two, the Hive palace on one half, and the Swarm flagship on the other. Both views zoom in, passing through the walls to the throne rooms of the respective monarchs, briefly showing Apista and Philia and Parasitica and Vespi before zooming in again to show both Queens staring at each other in profile, Apista with regret and Parasitica with rage, the crystal containing the damaged Anthoph in between them.
A tale of two sisters once so caring
Until resentment tore them apart
One sister stood in the abyss glaring
And now rot has infected her heart
The camera then passes through shots of Nushi's parents; Goro's wife and children playing with some robots standing in the background while the Victoriders in their new suits, sans helmets, look on fondly; Kagami training alongside a large humanoid cicada wearing a cloth mask; Shiin, Inigo, and Mole Beastman raising their glasses in a bar; the entire Ozu extended family standing together, only for Kai to suddenly rush past, chasing after a pair of baby jackals; the members of Aranea's harem doing Bridge Bunny things in the control room of the Imperiarch; the Egyptrangers and Mark sailing down the Nile; and Apista and Philia in the throne room, the former looking wistfully at a hologram of her old team, while Philia is dancing around with the Divine Insects in the foreground. Golden hexagons serve as the screen wipes.
But the Heroes never stand alone
Through the Buzzing you hear loving thoughts
A sense of belonging you've never known
But are worth every battle fought
Next, we get to see a series of action shots as Nushi slices Funghouls to ribbons with her sword, Goro pulls off a series of impressive head shots and trick shots to blow his enemies away before transforming into his super form and annihilating several dozen monsters with a single volley, Mibojin turns into a zigzagging flash of yellow light as she passes through a mob and out the other end, her foes exploding behind her, Shin throws his axe away then transforms into his Shin form and unleashes a blast comprised of the dozens of heroes within him, Ariel changes into her supreme form and obliterates everything around her in a fusillade of magic, Aranea shreds Funghouls with her razor webbing, and Antares impales monsters on his stinger tail.
Red Ladybug!
Blue Ant!
Yellow Mantis!
Green Hopper!
White Butterfly!
Black Spider!
Violet Scorpion!
BUZZ ON!
The camera cuts to the Fungigas gestation chamber as huge monsters begin to rise from the fungal sea along with an army of Funghouls, Vespi merrily dancing around with her doll without a care in the world. The camera then cuts again to a mysterious, very dark location, where a massive chained door covered in insect emblems shakes, ominous waves of power emanating from it as a terrified, fungus-encrusted Floragel looks on.
Come on, look alive
Fight for the Earth and Hive
A greater fighting force you've never seen
Aranea and Antares stand back to back on a moonlit peak, their Great Divine Arachnids rising up behind them as Aranea clutches a jewel to her chest, three crystals spinning around her.
Sound up the alarm
Go and disperse the swarm
You got the love of our Queen
The Bugrangers finish off their enemies, only to look up as a Centicollosus appears.
Konchu Sentai Bugranger!
(Musical breakdown)
All the Great Divine Insects and Arachnids that have so far been discovered on the show fly by one by one before combining to form Bug-Ōhi, and starts engaging the Centicollosus in furious battle with Arackaiserin joining in to help. The camera then rapidly passes through shots of every member of the main cast, each of them lip-synching a line of the song.
Seven hearts
seven Cores
One hive
One world
Bugs fight
Bugs Swarm
Make right
Buzz on!
Bug-Ōhi deals her foe a massive blow, and dramatically turns her back to it as the Fungigas explodes behind her, winking at Arackaiserin, who swoons.
Come on, look alive
Fight for the Earth and Hive
A greater fighting force you've never seen
The team reappears at the front of the palace, while Apista smiles and nods in approval from a high balcony, Philia cheering in the background.
Sound up the alarm
Go and disperse the swarm
You got the love of our Queen
The team turns and strikes a pose as the logo appears over their heads.
Konchu Sentai Bugranger!
Buzz 23: Twilight of the Shinobi
"I can't believe this!" Ariel cried, indignant as she stomped back and forth across Apista's throne room. "How dare they do this to you, and just because you're a Sentai! All the other ninja Sentai get a free pass, but just because you happen to be bug themed instead of pure ninja they figure it's okay to revoke your VIP status?! Not cool! We should sue the hell out of them! Or curse them… I know some reeeaaaaally good curses…" She started cackling malevolently.
"Love butter, they aren't revoking her VIP status because she's not the 'right' kind of ninja, it's because her link to the Buzzing makes her a security hazard," Nushi, who'd made the same point to Ariel at least half a dozen times already, said wearily.
"I mean, I know it sucks personally for Mibojin, but I can kind of see where they're coming from," Goro admitted, grimacing as everyone frowned at him. "When she became part of the Hive, all of the big important ninja secrets she knew were shared with the entire Buzzing. Same thing happened to me." He grimaced. "My superiors back in the JSDF were not happy about that… I'm pretty sure the only thing keeping me from being court-martialed is the fact that they kind of need me to save the world. Same reason nobody's assassinated Mibojin."
"Nobody's successfully assassinated me, you mean," Mibojin corrected him, a flicker of pride briefly sparking to life before being drowned in the ocean of her righteous indignation.
She'd worked hard to earn that VIP status, dammit! She'd killed for it, quite literally, and now it was gone, all because she'd had to go and become part of this hive mind where she had no choice but to share everything she knew and thought and felt with trillions of beings all over the universe, and the worst part of it was she had no one to blame for it but herself, no matter how much she wished otherwise. She thought at the time that she knew what she was getting into. She really had.
This was yet another harsh reminder that she had been wrong.
"I'm sorry, Mibojin," Apista said softly from atop her throne, radiating so much empathy it almost made her sick. "If I'd known at the start just how much this would affect you, affect everyone, I… Well. I still would have asked you anyway," she admitted. "But we might have considered the consequences a bit more."
"Nushi. Have you or Ariel made any progress on a way to sever our connection to the Buzzing?" Mibojin asked, deliberately ignoring the Queen.
It was petty of her, she knew. And not nearly as satisfying as she'd hoped it could be, especially because she could sense how hurt it made her, but she did it anyway. She'd never believed herself to be a good person anyway, and the total honesty the Buzzing forced on her only made that more obvious.
"You know we haven't," Nushi said wearily. "And even if I could, I doubt it would be enough to get them to reinstate your VIP status in time for the convention."
"And even if we could sever it, that would leave us with a Ranger down, since we don't have anyone to take your place," Ariel added. "So you would have to reconnect anyway to keep fighting, rendering it moot."
"In theory, my Shin form could rewind your body to before your metamorphosis to remove your link to the Buzzing," Shin noted. "Except I don't have nearly enough control over it to just do whenever I want, and as Ariel said… We don't have anyone to take your place."
"Have you even looked?" Mibojin snapped.
"I have," Manti said coolly. "You know I have. Your daughter is the next best candidate. Do you really want to force this burden on her?"
Mibojin was startled to realize she was almost considering it for a moment. "… No. No, I don't," she relented.
"Look, I know it sucks that you lost your VIP status, meaning you can't get to do all the really cool awesome secret ninja stuff you usually do at your convention," Ariel said warmly, putting an arm around her shoulder. "But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the rest of the festivities, and still spend some valuable family time with Kagami. It's not like you've been completely banned from the event, you just can't get into the exclusive areas your VIP status awarded you."
"And if you really can't bear to go anyway, you can still attend Tokucon with the rest of us, since it's conveniently on the same day and apparently at the very same convention center," Shin added. "They're giving us our own panel! I'd say that would be fun but I can't lie anymore, but it will certainly be an experience best shared with others, the more the better, so we can all be equally miserable getting bombarded with stupid questions from ungrateful morons!"
"Will it really be that bad?" Nushi asked in concern.
"I've done cons before, it won't be… Well, okay, it might be kind of bad," Ariel admitted. "But hey, at least we'll get some nice swag!"
"While the offer is… Well, I'd like to say appreciated, but that's not really true," Mibojin admitted, causing Ariel to pout. "But I still intend to go to Shurikon… And not simply to spend time with my daughter. There is something very important I was hoping to achieve this year, and while the loss of my VIP status will make it… Rather difficult, I am determined to follow through with it anyway."
Nushi frowned, very apprehensive considering what she was sensing from her teammate. "And… Exactly what are you up to, Mibojin?"
"Long ago, an old ninja master developed the Kiba no Hoko, a martial arts style which used precise strikes against pressure points," Mibojin explained. "His ultimate technique, the Oonemuri Touch, is so powerful, so lethal, that it can instantly kill any opponent it is used on, no matter their species or power. Believing the technique too dangerous, he refused to teach it to anyone, instead recording it on a scroll which has been passed down through his family for generations, sworn to make sure it is never used by anyone ever again."
"Wait, if he never wanted anyone to use it, why did he write it down the first place-" a confused Goro questioned.
"The scroll is one of many infamous ninja treasures which will be on display at the convention," Mibojin continued, ignoring Goro. "It is my intention to read the scroll and learn the secret of the Oonemuri Touch."
"What? Why?" Nushi asked, startled.
"To end the war once and for all," Mibojin said firmly. "It is as Goro said. Anything I learn will instantly be disseminated across the entire Buzzing. If I were to learn how to use this technique, every member of the Hive will learn it as well. All of our soldiers fighting the Swarm on the other side of the universe will instantly have the ability to kill their enemies with a single touch. The Swarm forces will be eradicated within moments, and it will then be only a matter of time until we can eliminate Parasitica herself, because no matter how strong she is, nobody is immune to the Oonemuri Touch. The conflict will be over. The universe will be safe."
"And, of course, you won't need to be a Bugranger anymore, meaning you can concentrate on finding a way to permanently sever your link to the Buzzing," Shin pointed out with a frown.
"That is one additional benefit, yes," Mibojin admitted.
She could sense the others didn't approve. She didn't care.
(Well, okay, she did care, much to her irritation. Just another reason to accomplish her mission so she didn't have to feel like this ever again.)
"Mibojin," Apista said slowly. "I understand where you're coming from, but… I don't think this is a good idea."
"How could it possibly be a bad idea?" Mibojin argued. "With the power of the Touch, we can win any battle. The Swarm will be defeated, as will any future enemies. Nobody will ever be able to threaten the Hive ever again."
Apista frowned. "That's not necessarily a good thing. That old master was right not to teach anyone his technique. Something that powerful, that lethal and impossible to defend against, is far too dangerous for anyone to possess."
"Seriously, why would he have written it down-" Goro tried to argue again.
"You are correct that the Hive would become unstoppable, Mibojin. I don't think that's a good thing," Apista continued. "We have existed for millions, billions of years as a more or less peaceful civilization, who has expanded largely without bloodshed. But with a weapon that powerful in our arsenal… It wouldn't take much to be tempted to use it. To stop taking no for an answer and incorporate every world we come across into our empire by force. To become the most horrifying conquerors this universe has ever seen."
"Your Majesty, you would never do such things!" Coccinella protested.
"Would I? I hope so. But could I say the same for any of my successors? Or for all of my subjects?" Apista replied. "Once we learn something, it can never be unlearned. The temptation will always be there. It would be so very easy to use it to solve all our problems…"
"And that's a bad thing?" Mibojin argued. "Your Majesty, your people are dying. Trillions are being slaughtered on a daily basis as they struggle to fight back against the Swarm. I can hear their screams across the Buzzing. All of us can, you most of all. How can you sit here and honestly claim that you are a benevolent queen who cares for her people when you are not pursuing every single angle possible to save them, no matter how morally repugnant you might find it? All of this happened because you did not kill your sister when you had the chance. Is maintaining the high ground really worth it, considering how much blood is constantly being shed, how many worlds have been razed, how many friends and loved ones you've lost, that everyone has lost?"
"Mibojin! That's uncalled for-" Nushi yelled.
"Mibojin," Apista interrupted, staring at the ninja.
Mibojin found herself unnerved. She had expected anger from the Queen, denial, guilt.
Instead she just felt resigned.
"This has been building for a while," the Queen noted. It wasn't a question. "Empathy doesn't come naturally to you. Experiencing suffering on this magnitude, even secondhand… It is difficult for you to process."
"… It is," Mibojin admitted.
"If I were to forbid you from trying to obtain the scroll, would you heed my words?" Apista asked.
"No."
Everyone reeled back in shock, except for Apista, who seemed to have expected this. Screams of outrage and disbelief echoed throughout the Buzzing. Manti stared at her partner, stunned.
But nobody was as astonished as Mibojin herself.
Did… Did I just…
The Iron Code of her clan was that a ninja must obey her master, no matter what. Mibojin had lived and breathed this code all her life.
And yet she had just broken it without a second thought.
Horror welled up in her. A few months ago, this would have been unthinkable, unspeakable.
She truly had changed.
And not necessarily for the better.
"I… Your Majesty, I-" Mibojin stammered.
"Mibojin."
Mibojin immediately shut up.
The Queen sighed and rubbed her forehead, wincing and briefly touching her chest, her wound acting up again. A drone flitted over and gave her some miracle honey, which she immediately drank. "I don't believe this is the right thing to do. A weapon this powerful and dangerous does not belong in any hands, no matter how well-intentioned. If we were to obtain it, yes, we would indeed be able to defeat the Swarm with ease and retake our empire, but in doing so we might very well make ourselves the enemy of the entire universe. Those who already hate us will use this as further ammunition to rally others to their cause, while others will either surrender to us out of fear or try to kill us for the same reason. To protect ourselves, we may be forced to use the Oonemuri Touch again, and again, until either everyone in the universe is against us, unwillingly subjugated, or dead. None of these options are what I want.
"However, it is a poor leader who gives an order they know will not be obeyed. And you are correct, Mibojin. The suffering, the deaths of my subjects across the stars, weighs even more heavily on me than anyone else, and you are not the only one who believes I am not doing enough, though few are willing to actually go against my wishes. And so, while I don't think learning this technique is the right thing… I am far from infallible, and it is very well possible I'm letting my fears and biases color my judgment. I have found myself wrong quite a lot since coming to Earth. Perhaps I am wrong about this as well."
"Your Majesty…" Nushi said softly.
Apista sighed again. "Mibojin. I do not give you permission to seek out this scroll… But I will not forbid it, either. If you really, truly believe this is the right thing to do… Then go. Trust your instincts. They have not served you wrong yet."
"… Thank you, your Majesty," Mibojin whispered, bowing.
This was what she wanted, more or less, wasn't it?
And yet she was far from satisfied with it.
"There is another thing to consider," Manti said grudgingly. "While I too am uncertain this is the correct course of action… I find myself skeptical that Mibojin would be the only one who seeks to make a move for the scroll."
"Hey yeah, that's a good point," Ariel agreed. "A weapon this powerful? Tons of other people are probably going to try and steal it too!"
"All the more reason for us to steal it first, I guess?" Nushi said uncertainly. "You know, to make sure nobody else uses it for evil?"
"You do realize at least some of the other people trying to steal it will probably have the same justification, right?" Shin pointed out. "But yeah, I guess we can't take the risk that someone not evil will get to it first."
"I still don't understand why the scroll even exists in the first place, let alone is being put on display at a convention," Goro complained.
"Goro, disregarding all the weapons put on display in museums or sold at conventions… Remind me how many times your kids have accidentally awakened and befriended an ancient weapon of mass destruction at exhibitions open to the public?" Shin asked.
"… Touché," Goro admitted grudgingly.
"Do you suppose my sister might try and make a move for the scroll?" Apista wondered in concern.
"How would she even find out about it? Isn't this supposed to be an event for ninjas only?" Formic asked.
"She has ninjas, thousands of them, made from members of the mantis clan she has infected," Manti pointed out.
"Yeah, but there's no way the event organizers would send an invite to someone as evil as her, right?" Lepidoptera spoke up.
"Actually, all ninjas are allowed to attend the conference, no matter what their moral alignment," Mibojin admitted. "They don't want to show favoritism. Anyone's free to participate, so long as they behave, or rather, aren't caught misbehaving."
"I suppose that's fair," Caelifer muttered.
"Is it, though?" Nushi wondered.
"Well, yes, but there's evil ninjas, and then there's Parasitica, who is trying to destroy the world and take over the universe," Coccinella insisted. "There's no way they would be stupid enough to give her an invite, even for the sake of fairness!"
"Hey mom, we got an invite for the mantis ninjas we've infected to attend a big ninja conference on Earth!" Vespi announced.
"And I should care because?" Parasitica asked, annoyed. "I mean, sure, it's a good excuse to cause chaos, infect and kill lots of people, maybe even get a shot at wiping out the Bugrangers, but I already had a plan in the works for this week, so I'd need a really good reason to change it."
"There's tons of really cool ninja treasures on display," Vespi told her. "Including some really old scroll that supposed to have a secret technique that can kill anyone or anything with a single blow!"
Parasitica's eyes widened at this. "… Tell me more."