X-Squad: Scooby Doo

by garshishoe

That's damn right, boys, we going full-on fucking Scooby mode on Anubis' payroll now! Viewer discretion was deleted for this saga, so if you're ready to witness the chaos unfold in Saga 4: We Shouldn't Be Allowed To Be Counselors, let the shitshow begin. Side effects include the urge to check the news for a fish monster haunting the local lake.

5. Summer Time Peacocks

"You kids did the right thing coming to me," an elder man's voice told the group as they came inside the store. "I know just about everything there is to know about this area."

"What can you tell us about a city at the bottom of Big Moose Lake?" Antares asked.

"Ah, you mean Moose Creek," the man replied with a small smile as he was looking for a file from his cabinet. "It used to be an old mining town, but years ago, they moved everybody out there, dammed the creek and created Big Moose Lake. Of course, that's only part of the story..."

"What's the rest of the story?" Mystle asked.

The man found the file and set it open and down on a table to show them pictures and information. "Moose Creek was home to a notorious gangster named Ricky LaRue."

"Gangsters?" Drakus asked.

"Oh, great, just what we need." Namue groaned.

"After pulling the biggest bank heist of his life, the cops were hot on Ricky's trail," the old man continued. "So, the legend goes, he tried to stash his loot somewhere in Moose Creek, but then he found a portal to the Netherworld, and what he saw, broke him, he started yelling that demons were real and turned himself in to try and escape. They locked LaRue up and threw away the key. And not long after, the dam was built, flooding the town of Moose Creek."

"Then that means LaRue drowned with the town." Shin said.

"Let me see..." the old man took a look through the file.

'I wonder who his partner was.' Nushi thought to herself.

"Do you mind if we borrow this?" Snorky asked in honks.

"Be my guest." the old man allowed as he kept searching. "But if you kids happen to find LaRue's loot, don't be afraid to spend a little of that scratch over at Camp City, ya hear? Hmm... Can't get anything on a partner, but that he shared information with a cell-mate of his named Rocky Ugachi, that's all I can find, sorry, young man."

"It's okay." Neo said.

"Let's just go with what we have." Mera suggested.

With that, they all returned to the Drakerari and drove off with the information that they had.

"Hey, I think Roug knows the secret to finding his portal!" Everyone leaned over Pyra's shoulder. "'When dawn breaks on the summer solstice, the steeple will point the way.'"

"The summer solstice?" Mystle echoed. "Wait, that's today! Or it will be, when the sun rises in a few hours.

"Get this," Pyra continued, looking down at the brochure. "Two months ago, Roug escaped from his prison."

"Well, one thing's for sure," Drakus stated, pointing at the grainy black-and-white image of Roug on the brochure, "this guy's way too skinny to pull off the Joker fit."

Candice's jaw tightened. "But why try to steer us away from Camp Little Moose?"

Mera frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Whoever's behind this whole thing has been doing everything in their power to try and get us leave Camp Little Moose," Candice explained, turning a corner. "It's got to be one person."

"Well, there's Camp Big Moose Lake," Bambietta said, flicking her thumb at the picture of the said lake, which looked identical to the current Camp Big Moose Lake, on the brochure.

"That's the dam." Drakus placed his index finger on the area.

"And below it, Camp Little Moose," Shin said with a sigh. "If someone wanted to get to the Portal, all they'd have to do is blow the dam."

"And if past patterns are showing anything," Mystle said, realization dawning on me, "every legend about this town we've heard has come true. And the story that guy told us…" A mood of impending doom fell upon the Drakerari.

Candice's face fell. "Not Little Moose!" she cried out in distress. "All of my beloved childhood memories will be underwater."

---

They came up to the front gate and saw that the camp was nearly in ruins.

"What happened?" Fred frowned at the display.

"Looks like someone had a field day while we were gone." Velma assumed.

"Zick, Elena, are you here?!" Mystle called out.

"Mystle?" Zick's voice asked.

Mystle looked around. "Zick?"

"Over here." Zick said, appearing with Burt, Masaki, Cherubi, Luke, Trudy, Elena, Philia, Nom-Nom, Kirby and Rayco.

"Some peacock boy chopped up my camp faster than a beaver with a buzz saw." Burt frowned. "And Lilim and Barbatos left for Hell, which has gained a sweet trade deal with Heaven of all things, and promised to come back next Summer if things calmed down!"

"I was so scared," Trudy pouted. "I thought he was gonna come find us."

"I'm sorry, guys," Luke walked over to Candice. "If I was a real Little Mooser, I would have stopped him from destroying our camp."

"Luke, you are a real Little Mooser." Candice assured him.

"Yeah, don't be so hard on yourself," Kanade added in. "Little Moose isn't about the cabins and the canoes and the campfires. The true spirit of Little Moose is here." she then pointed to the boy's chest to indicate his heart. "And you've got it."

"I do?" Luke smiled.

"Uh-huh." Candice nodded.

Candice then stood tall. "High in the mountains."

"Deep in the spruce." Luke added in with a confident smile.

"On the shore of the lake-" Rayco and Zick joined in.

"It's Camp Little Moose." Trudy and Elena ran over with smiles as they participated, Trudy finally letting her hood down.

"Little Moose, Little Moose, Little Moose." Everyone else joined in.

"Candice Catnipp: Counselor, mentor, hero." Candice smiled as she felt like this was a true dream come true now.

"Guys, I just thought of something," Mera spoke up. "If this peacock dude didn't find Burt, the other counselors, or the kids, then he thinks the camp is empty."

"So?" Bambietta looked at the Inscribed, not understanding where she was going with this.

"If the camp is empty, then he thinks it's okay to-" Mera started to explain until suddenly, there were explosions heard from the dam. "Blow up the dam."

"Everybody, into the Drakerari!" Drakus instructed before anyone else could panic.

"Buddy up and stick with your partner, in case we get separated!" Roman said.

"Let's go, kids!" Neo led the kids into the van, opening the backdoors and helping them climb inside.

The rest of the adults followed suit, and the Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers climbed in and squeezed in together between Mystle and Weiss.

The Drakerari pulled out of the driveway and back onto the main road.

Panic set in again. "Wait, if anyone who can drive is back here," Jaime said tentatively, her voice quivering, "then who's driving?"

Drakus peered over the front seat. "Roman?!"

"Great," Nushi groaned, covering her eyes. "A madman's driving an amalgamation between minivan, Formula F-1, and Honda Accord."

"Hey, Roman," Shin cried incredulously, leaning over the driver's seat, "I didn't know you could drive."

"I got my experience from racing games!" Roman exclaimed.

"Well, we're running out of dock!" Goro panicked, and the squad peered out the window. Sure enough, we were skidding closer and closer to the edge of the dock that led to the murky green lake, only to crash into a giant Roman-style boat.

"Is everyone okay?"

Everyone started at the unfamiliar voice. Goro instinctively drew his gun to fire at the stranger that had appeared standing on the boat's railing, but Eliza quickly grabbed his hand. "Wait! He's a friend! More or less."

"Indeed," the newcomer, a being wearing silver Centurion armor with blue accents and Eagle motifs, a blue cape hanging down his back and blowing in the wind, and a helmet resembling an eagle's head with feathery wings growing from the side covering his head, declared. "I am the Silver Centurion, and I am no enemy of the Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers or their allies-"

"Hi Markan!" Nefer interrupted.

The Centurion started. "What? I mean… That's not my name. I am the Silver Centurion-"

Anubi rolled her eyes. "Come on, Markan, we know it's you under the armor, you really don't need to keep up these silly games anymore."

"I am not Markan Antorn of the Chimerinon!" The centurion shouted, stamping a foot on the railing. "I don't even know who that is!"

Anubi smirked triumphantly. "I never mentioned the name Antorn."

The Silver Centurion swore.

Nushi blinked. "Wait. A possible alien version of Mark Antony is a Ranger?!"

"And a silver one at that," Ariel muttered in disgust.

"What's wrong with silver?" Philia asked Ariel.

"My uncle is a gold Ranger! I am therefore obligated to prefer gold over silver," Ariel sniffed.

"Well, if Cleopatra's reincarnation can be a Ranger, I see no reason an alien version of Mark Antony can't be one either," Goro pointed out reasonably.

"Actually, I think he might count as an Extra Hero, since there isn't an 'Egypt' in the name and his suit doesn't really resemble the Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers at all," Shin pointed out.

"Who is Markan Antorn?" A confused Apista asked.

"Not me!" The Silver Centurion said quickly.

"He's Jiovan Caesar's nephew and Jaime is friends with him," Nefer gossiped.

Jaime blushed. "Hey, he's an adorable eagle!"

"Wait, you think I'm adorable?" The centurion asked in surprise, a hint of hope in his voice.

"What's it matter to you? After all, you aren't Markan Antorn," Exaton sneered.

"… Oh, right…" The Centurion murmured, shoulders slumping in disappointment.

"Yeah, I ship them," Discord commented.

"We all do," Nefer whispered very loudly.

"Wait, didn't Cleo and Mark have a tragic romance-" Mystle murmured.

"Don't tell them that, you might screw things up!" Okami hissed.

"But this isn't even our timeline, shouldn't we tell them?" The dream demon argued.

"No, because I love tragic romance!" Okami gushed, eyes sparkling.

Mystle blinked, somewhat discomfited. "Wait, what does that mean for you and the rest of your-"

"When they happen to other people!" Okami snapped.

A worried Mystle glanced at everyone.

"Who we aren't personally acquainted with," Okami groaned. "Just leave it, okay?"

"This Centurion is… A friend?" Mibojin asked doubtfully.

Imhotep II nodded. "Yes, he is a member of the Rougian legions-"

"And absolutely not Markan Antorn," the Centurion insisted.

Imhotep II rolled his eyes. "Who is loyal to the Empire and Roug, but disagrees with how they have been handling things lately, and has been giving us intelligence on their operations and helping us in battle."

"Centurion, what news do you have for us today?" Jaime asked seriously.

"And is Masaru Aso all right?" Shin added.

"Your friend's soul was absorbed by Roug," the Centurion replied.

"He's not my friend, but that's oddly good to know, I guess," Shin said.

"Unfortunately, he has told Roug everything he knows about you visitors from your future and your Time Machine," the Centurion continued.

Everyone gasped and Shin swore. "That rat bastard! I can't believe he'd sell us out like this! I know he hates me, but this is too much!"

"Maybe they forced him to talk?" Ariel offered.

"They did, Roug invoked the power of Veritinas to force him to tell him everything he wanted to know," the Centurion confirmed.

"Oh, yeah, that would do it," Ariel realized.

"It would?" A confused Infinite asked.

"Veritas is the Roman goddess of truth," Dabi explained. "That's literally what her name means in Latin, 'truth.'"

"Ohhhhh."

"If Roug gets his hand on the ShinLiner-" a worried Nushi started.

"It'll do him no good, because it doesn't work without either Cart or myself on board, and Cart is programmed to shut down if anyone other than myself or someone I have designated as an alternate pilot tries to seize control the train," Shin interjected, much to everyone's relief. "And even if that weren't the case, do you really think a guy who lived thousands of years before the combustion engine will have the slightest clue on how to operate a time train?"

"Couldn't Masaru tell him how?" Goro suggested. "I mean, the drive system for the train is installed on your bike, and he knows how to ride a motorcycle."

Shin burst into laughter. "Trust me, driving a time train is a lot harder than riding a motorcycle. I had to get a certification and everything."

"Does D-Rail have certification?" Mibojin asked skeptically.

"He does now," Shin assured her. "Kind of astonishing they didn't get in trouble for not having one sooner, really. Then again, I'm not sure the TTA existed when they were starting out… Except it did… But also didn't… Time can be confusing that way."

"Oh. That's good," the Silver Centurion said, a little disappointed some of the urgency of his warning had been. "But that's not all! Roug also has a spy searching Moose Creek!"

The squad realized something. "So that's why Finford said that Roug thought that lake was important, he had a spy searching the lake for the lost town using the stolen sonar equipment. And also why that Legion was at the RV to drive us out of the camp." Drakus realized.

"Be that as it may, the spy has blown up the dam, leaving the Netherworld Portal free to open," the Centurion insisted. "I'm afraid I do not know any more than that. You must hurry to Moose Creek and stop him before it's too late!"

Jaime nodded, a severe expression on her face. "Thank you for the warning, Markan-"

The Centurion cringed.

Jaime rolled her eyes. "Silver Centurion. We'll get to Moose Creek immediately."

The Centurion nodded in relief. "Thank you for believing me, your Majesty. I'll go on ahead and see if I can sniff out anything about the spy."

Jaime smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Silver Centurion. You're always there when I need you most."

The Centurion bowed gracefully. "I live to serve, your Majesty." He dramatically turned away, cape billowing behind him. "Be well, Philopator. I will see you soon."

"Bye, Markan!" Anubi cheerfully waived him farewell.

"I told you, I'm not Markan-" the Centurion snapped, only to scream and fall off the boat in alarm when a very large, very dead hippopotamus was launched out of the water and landed on the deck, startling everyone.

"What the-" Imhotep II shouted.

The surface of the river erupted as Antares leapt out of the Nile and landed on top of the dead hippo, carrying another dead hippo on each of his shoulders. "I am victorious!" He bellowed. "Witness me!"

The squad looked on, bamboozled.

Aranea smirked. "Ah, I see my champion has vanquished another beast."

Jaime's jaw dropped. "Did you just slay three hippopotami barehanded?!"

"I think I saw Sobek," Eliza babbled.

"Antares, you were only supposed to kill one hippopotamus!" Nushi yelled.

"I only intended to kill one," Antares insisted, stomping on the head of the hippopotamus on deck. "But then his friends wanted to pick a fight with me, and, well, what kind of warrior would I be if I didn't slaughter them for their audacity?"

Exaton nodded in approval. "No warrior indeed."

Antares dropped the other two hippopotamus carcasses on the deck, causing the entire boat to grown and sink a little into the water, flexing his muscles to the adulation of the children and the swooning of more than a few of the servants. "We must have a feast to celebrate my triumph and to honor my prey, for, as wicked and irredeemable as they may have been, they were worthy adversaries! We shall sacrifice one of these beasts to the gods of this land, one to the gods of the Ascendancy, and the last we shall eat ourselves!"

Neo immediately brought out Hush. "I'll help prepare the meal. I've always wanted to eat a hippo."

"Why?" The squad asked.

Neo shrugged.

"Splendid!" Antares bellowed jovially. "So, anything interesting happened while I was gone?"

Everyone stared at him.

The Silver Centurion, forgotten by everyone, frantically tried to swim for shore, his irritation at his dramatic exit being ruined mitigated by his frenzied attempts to keep from sinking due to his heavy armor while trying to outpace the hungry crocodiles drawing near.

Also, he wondered, as always, how Anubi seemed to be able to guess his secret identity. How could she tell?! He was always so careful!

---

They then walked over and came to a very bright and blinding glimmer.

"The treasure must be right here!" Roman concluded.

"Allow me." Antares said.

The others stood back as the Scorpioni started to dig like a dog.

"Found it!" Antares called after a little while.

"Great." Drakus smiled before getting into the hole so he could use his strength to get the treasure out.

Burt and Meninas helped Drakus out once he recovered the chest with ease. Once they set it on the ground after getting it out of the hole, they opened it. They saw hundreds of dollars with a few gold bars.

"It's the treasure of Ricky LaRue!" Burt told the others once he saw what was inside.

"Wahoo!" Drakus smiled.

"I wouldn't celebrate for long..." Mera said, as she slowly turned around, seeing a slender bipedal figure leap down from the roof, wearing the armor of a Roman centurion covered in round metal studs with small metal wings growing from the back, the face of a shrieking bird carved into its chest plate over a chain metal shirt, and a buckler with an eagle and a bull wearing laurel wreathes surrounded by lightning mounted on its left arm. It looked like an oversized humanoid peacock, with lean legs ending in talons, a magnificent blue and green plumed tail covered in eye spots sprouting from its rear, and a beaked face growing out of a helmet with a smaller plume made of peacock feathers on top, and its eyes were closed.

A smirk decreased its beak. "I see you."

A dozen eyeballs suddenly flew out of nooks and crannies all over the town and fired laser beams at the squad, as they danced like monkeys.

"How did you do that?!" Aranea exclaimed in disbelief. "My spell was not one of mere invisibility, but of warping space and perception! You should not have even been able to hear our approach, or notice any dust or air we would've displaced in our movement!"

The monster chuckled, eyes still closed. "I see everything, Princess Aranea. No obstacles can impair my sight, be they walls, clothes, or enchantments."

"Wait, you can see through our outfits?!" Ariel cried in horror, more alarmed by this than the revelation that their concealment spells had been ineffectual.

"Unfortunate, yes."

"Then… Then you can see-"

The monster cringed. "And that is why seeing everything is also a curse."

Quite a few members of the group reflexively covered their chests or genitals.

The spy facepalmed, exasperated. "That doesn't do anything, unfortunately."

"Wait, if you can see through what we're wearing, then-" the Silver Centurion realized.

The monster nodded. "That's right, I know of your true identity…Markan Antorn of the Chimerinon."

Markan wailed in despair and fell to his knees. "Nooooooooooooo! Jaime, my friends, I didn't want you to find out like this!"

"We… Kind of already knew," Imhotep II pointed out awkwardly.

"Yeah, it was pretty obvious," Anubi agreed.

"But I was so careful!" Markan protested.

"You really weren't," Exaton said bluntly.

"Oh. And… And you don't care? Even though I am related to your greatest enemy?" Markan asked in disbelief.

"Of course we don't," Jaime assured him. "You've proven yourself to be a true and loyal friend to us time and time again, Markan. We know we can count on you."

"Also, your uncle isn't anywhere near our greatest enemy, that would be Roug," Eliza pointed out.

The peacock monster laughed. "They may not care about your secret identity, Markan, but Caesar certainly will. And you remember what the penalty for treason in the Rougian army is, don't you? Not even being Caesar's favorite nephew will spare you from a truly brutal execution!"

"No…" Markan whispered, trembling in fear.

"Don't worry, Markan," Nushi told the distraught Centurion. "All we have to do is kill him before he can report the truth to his master!"

The monster laughed again. "Oh, I'm afraid it's far too late for that!"

"What do you mean?" Cleopatra demanded.

"You were right, back in the library! My eyes have been canvassing the entire city for quite some time now! I knew when you got back! Which means I knew the Centurion's identity as soon as he entered the town, which is in reality, the legendary Alexan Library!" The monster laughed. "I sent an eyeball containing that information, as well as everything else I've discovered during my time in this city, to the Emperor over an hour ago!"

Everyone gasped in horror, and Markan howled in despair.

"Well… At least he hasn't figured out the location of the Portal-" Nefer started, desperate to find an upside.

"Oh no, I figured that out a few days ago," the monster quickly said, to their disbelief.

"How…" Jaime gasped.

"No way! Then why haven't you left the Alexan Library already?!" Goro demanded.

"I'm a bit of a voyeur, so I wasn't really ready to leave just yet," the spy admitted. "Also there was just so much fascinating material in this town! Do you know how many comics this place has?! We don't have nearly this many back home!"

Everyone sweatdropped.

"Huh, and here I thought a creep like you would've been more interested in the porn," Ariel commented.

"Ariel, there's no way that Egyxos would possibly have oh you have got to be kidding me," an exasperated Nushi groaned as the Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers fidgeted in embarrassment.

"… Can I see some of it later-" Ariel started.

"NOT NOW," Nushi shouted.

"We still have a chance," Shin said, grasping at straws. "If we can defeat him before Roug gets that eyeball, we might be able to prevent him from learning what's on it and finding the Eyes of Alexander and Mark's identity."

"You really think so?" Markan asked hopefully.

"Oh no, absolutely not, despite our best efforts Roug will absolutely get the location of the Eyes and your identity before we kill the monster, setting us up for a dramatic race to the tomb, only for him to get there before us and claim the power of the Netherworld Portal for himself, forcing us to defeat him in a climactic final battle before we can finally return to our own time," Shin said bluntly.

"… That is an awfully specific prediction," a disturbed Cleopatra pointed out as Markan whimpered.

"Yeah, but that's more or less how this kind of thing always goes," Shin insisted.

"He has a point," Ariel admitted.

"Oh, I suppose you might still have a chance if you defeat me," the monster said with a sneer, implying he didn't really believe they had one. "Normally, you'd be right… Unless someone somehow managed to get their eyes on the patrol schedules, a map of the city's wards, and an original copy of the schematics of the underground waterways, including a number of old tunnels the Royal Engineering Corps has long forgotten about!"

"… Oh shit," Nefer swore, as Legionaires surrounded them, as Roug flew in, as Drakus saw that he had also absorbed the souls of Bruteus and Jiovan to get more power.

"Excellent work, my spy, you have done well." Roug said, smirking as the peacock bowed.

"No matter, all of us should be more than enough to fight this beast and Roug," Exaton declared.

The monster laughed as the Netherworld Portal opened, as a horde of skeletal beasts walked out, as the peacock grabbed Roug, who was shocked at this, and absorbed his soul, as well as the souls he already absorbed and the souls of the Rominaxian gods. "You think so, do you? Allow me to introduce myself, and then perhaps you will realize just how out of your depths you are: I am Centurion Argrenious of the Legio XXXI in the service of the now former Emperor Roug, a gift from none other than the now former Queen Junosia herself, as I have now transcended into divinity! I can taste it, true power… TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTAAAAAAAALLLLLLL POWEEEEEEEEEEER!" Argrenious roared, eyes turning red as the Centurion armor turned into a futuristic eye-and-peacock-themed armor, a purple cape with a red interior hanging down to his knees popped out the back, a scythe materializing in one hand as his head was covered in a futuristic blue and green helmet resembling a peacock's head with a purple plume crest. "With this power, I can conquer the Gaulics… No, the entire omniverse!"

"Did he just commit deicide?" Nushi asked, dazed.

"Yes," Ariel said, bamboozled. "He did."

"Oh." Nushi blinked. "Should I… Should I feel bad for them?"

"Uhhh…" Ariel shrugged helplessly. "They sort of had it coming?"

"Oh. Okay," Nushi murmured, resting her head on her girlfriend's chest. It was very soft.

"It is… Is it true? Did she really kill the gods of Olympinus?!" Markan demanded.

Jaime nodded. "She did. The gods of Egyxos confirmed it. If it helps, they're just as shocked as you are."

"But that's… But that's not possible," Markan stammered. "They're… They're gods! Mortals cannot stand against the divine!"

"Actually, that sort of thing happens all the time back home," Shin told him.

Iona nodded. "Yeah, Ariel's dad helped wipe out almost an entire Pantheon of underworld deities!"

Markan and the Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers stared at her, shocked. "… What the hell kind of place are you from?!" Eliza finally demanded.

"It's busy, complicated, and often doesn't make sense," Goro said with a shrug.

"We love it anyway," Shin said cheerfully.

"I… I think I need to sit down for a minute," Markan said, slumping against a wall, a vacant look in his eyes. "The gods are dead. The gods are DEAD. I… Who do I pray to now?! Who will shepherd my soul to the hereafter? What… What will become of Rominax?!"

"Why is he so upset?" A confused Mystle wondered as Markan started shaking and screaming, Jaime awkwardly trying to comfort him. "I thought the Olympian gods were bad."

"To an extent, yes, but they were also the only gods he's ever known," Weiss told her. "As awful as they may or may not have been, they have still been a part of his heritage, his culture, his entire life. He believed they would always be there, for better or worse." She spread her hands. "And now they are gone. What he believed to be an immutable law of the world has been proven false, shaking the foundations he has built his identity on."

"His entire worldview has just been upended," Aranea said faintly, staring at Markan. "Something that I can empathize with at the moment."

Very reluctantly, she staggered over to Nushi and Ariel. "Nushi. What… What Drakus and his group so… They shouldn't have been able to do that."

"Didn't we just go over how guys like us kill gods all the time-" Shin started.

"She was referring to defying fate," Mibojin interrupted.

"We also do that all the time," Shin pointed out.

"Not from her perspective."

"I had a vision. I saw us… Drowning," Aranea addressed Nushi, trembling. "I tried… I tried so hard to stop that from happening without invalidating my vision. I failed. And then his friend stopped it. Drakus' friend stopped a prophecy which I have been taught all my life to believe could not be stopped."

She glanced at her hands, which were shaking. "For the entirety of my people's history, we have been taught that our way of seeing the future is the most accurate and infallible, and we have millions of years of evidence and empirical testing to back it up. My entire life has been shaped by the belief that my fate cannot be avoided, that I will not only embark on a quest to take up the mantle of my great ancestor and mend the universe but that I will succeed. It is literally written that I cannot fail in this. That knowledge has been the only thing that allows me to sleep some nights."

"I-" Nushi started.

"What he just did goes against everything my people know about destiny. It's completely impossible. But it happened anyway, and the fact that it did tossed everything we know, everything I know, into question," Aranea pressed on, grabbing Roman by the shoulders looking frantic and terrified. "I am grateful that you saved everyone. Do not think for a second that I am not. If I were not already in love with others, this would have won you my heart for certain."

Roman blushed this. "That's, um, that's really sweet of you-"

"But if you were able to disprove this prophecy, then that means other prophecies might be wrong as well. Including the one I have spent my entire life preparing to fulfill," Aranea almost screamed. "Please. I have to know. How. How did you do it?! Was it some sort of fluke? Was there a flaw in my precognition? Please! What does this mean?!"

"Spinnerette, fate's a mess of things that I don't wanna touch, so, basically there's more than meets the eye. So, what do you want to do?" Roman quickly explained.

How odd. That question just kept cropping up now, didn't it?

Well. She still didn't know what to do long term, but in this one instance… Her choice was clear.

"… I can't let this stand. Maybe the reason our prophecies always come true is because we believe they will. I know, it's more complicated than that, but…" Aranea shook her head. "It doesn't matter. If this is the future, I reject it. So…"

She nodded, determined. "Let's do this, Antares. Let's see if it really is possible for us to change fate."

He smiled proudly. "As you wish, my lady."

Ariel gasped after realizing something. "Wait… That's basically Argus?! Then that means-"

"That's right!" Argrenious cried, the studs on his new armor and eye spots on his tailfeathers suddenly opening to reveal that every last one of them was an eye! He then opened his eyelids to reveal that he had no actual eyes in his head. "I am, or rather was, Queen Junosia's most loyal servant, the hundred eyed Guardian who slew Echydninax and kept Jupitarius from fornicating with that cow Io until I was slain by Mercurious himself!"

"… Wait, this possible knockoff Jupiter wanted to sleep with a cow?" The confused Goro asked.

"No, she was a nymph turned into a cow," Argrenious elaborated. "Though given Jupitarius' proclivities, he probably would've wanted her even if she were a real cow," he admitted.

"So your claim to fame is killing a knockoff echidna and getting murdered by some cow thief? Not impressed," Shin said skeptically.

"He's not talking about one of those small spiny things from Australia, he's talking about what's possibly the counterpart of the mythical Echidna, the legendary Mother of all Monsters," Ariel explained. "And Mercury is a God, and he was only able to kill Argus through trickery, and if Mercurious is his counterpart, he's claiming a bunch of regular folk can't possibly beat him in a straight up fight."

"Then it is a good thing none of us are, as you put it, 'regular folk,'" Jaime pointed out. "We are all gods, possess the power of Gods, or have the potential to become gods!"

Nushi nodded. "That's right. And at the end of the day, no matter his lineage, a monster is a monster, and what do heroes do?"

"We kill monsters!" Everyone exulted.

"So long as they are evil and a clear threat to society," Shin quickly added.

Argrenious grinned. "You really think you can kill me? Very well then, heroes. My eyes have been watching you ever since you got here, and already know a great deal about your fighting techniques from past combat data collected with the Pyramid Battalion and information provided by that blathering fool Masaru Aso! You don't stand a chance against me!"

"X-Squad, get ready!" Drakus said, as the Hive Guard Rangers, Arachnid Squad Rangers and Pyramid Battalion Rangers morphed.

Markan strapped a buckle with a slot in the middle around his waist, producing a silver coin. "Gloria Romae, sanctificabo super hoc victoria!" He declared, inserting the coin.

ARGENTUM CENTURIO!

"Reformabit!"

Markan was suddenly standing on a battlefield, surrounded by the armor of Roman soldiers. He punched the air a few times, took a half step forward, turned at the waist, and crossed his arms over his chest briefly before thrusting one arm out to the side. The piles of armor rattled, and suddenly pieces of the discarded metal flew to him, slamming onto his body in flashes of silver light, transforming into new and shiny armor which combined to form his Silver Centurion suit. The helmet landed on his head, faceplate locking into place and eyes flashing, his cape materializing and billowing in the wind behind him.

Suddenly standing in the middle of a Roman encampment, surrounded by cheering soldiers, Mark lifted the Roman standard into the air. "Splendens fortissimus, Silver Centurion!"

"ROMA! ROMA! ROMA!" The soldiers cried.

As Markan struck a dramatic pose, the starlight gleaming off his shining armor, cape flowing behind him, everyone gave Ariel an exasperated look. "We don't have time for transformation sequences!" Even yelled.

"What? This is the first time we've seen him transform! We had to squeeze it in somehow!" Ariel insisted.

"Why was that in Latin? Shouldn't we have heard that as Japanese or something?" Goro wondered.

"Don't care!" Drakus yelled.

Just then, three figures leapt down. "Awww, you started all the fun without us!" One of them, big and round, complained in a childish voice.

"Don't worry, old friend, it looks like the real battle has just gotten started, there's still time for us to join in," another, very short, suggested jovially. "Is the potion ready, O Druid?"

The third figure, tall and ancient with a very long beard, examined the contents of a large cauldron he had been stirring, then nodded, dipped a canteen into it, corked it, and handed it to the small man. "Here you are, my boy. And no, you cannot have any, how many times have we been over this!" He snapped at the immense man, who'd been trying to drink some of the cauldron's contents when he thought he wasn't looking.

"I just wanted a sip," he whined, an adorable tiny dog at his heels barking sympathetically.

"Come on, you know you don't need any potion, not since you fell into the cauldron when you were a baby," the short man reminded his massive friend. He narrowed his eyes at the two colossi battling in Alexandria. "Now… I think it's time we taught Roug, once and for all, why he should never threaten the Gauls or their friends, even when turned into a peacock monster, or by Toutatis my name isn't Asterix the Gaul!"

"And it is," his big friend said helpfully.

Argrenious' eyes opened wide in horror. "No…"

"YES!" The Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers and Markan shouted in excitement, as Asterix relished the look of absolute terror in Argrenious' eyes.

"Miss me, Roug, or is it Argrenious now?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Asterix grinned. "Funny, neither did I, and neither will this!"

TCHAC!

With a single blow, Asterix not only almost shattered Argrenious' helmet, but sent the peacock monster flying, crashing down several meters away.

Asterix flipped back through the air, landing in front of the Pyramid Battalion Rangers. "Long time no see, huh?"

Jaime sighed in relief. "Just when things looked their darkest… As always, my brave Gaul, you're here to save the day when I need you most."

Markan frowned, feeling self-conscious. "Don't worry, Markan, she's not into guys with facial hair," Anubi assured him.

"I wasn't worried," Markan blatantly lied, promising himself to shave constantly from now on.

"If you're here, does that mean the others are as well?" Exaton inquired.

Asterix chuckled. "See for yourself!"

Argrenious struggled to pull himself up, only for his eyes to widen in alarm, quickly raising his arms just before a fusillade of glowing menhirs smashed into them, each exploding spectacularly and nearly pushing him back.

"You're lucky I'm not charging you for these!" Obelix yelled, ripping menhir after menhir out of the earth and hurling them at Caesar.

"I'm pretty sure all of Rominax learned their lesson the last time they tried to introduce menhirs to the economy," Getafix said in amusement, tapping each menhir with his sickle and murmuring a few words before Obelix threw them, charging them with mystical power.

"Dammit… Why are you here, now?!" Argrenious shouted, livid. "You were supposed to be busy on a mission on the other side of your world!"

"Oh, that little matter? We cleared it up easily enough," Asterix said dismissively. "You really need to train your men better, Obelix almost fell asleep from boredom during our last battle, and you know he loves bashing Rougian Legionaires almost as much as he loves eating boar!"

"That reminds me, I'm hungry, can we get some boar when we're done here?" Obelix asked conversationally as he continued throwing rocks at the peacock.

"As much as you want!" Jaime promised.

Imhotep II groaned. "The chefs aren't going to be happy about this…"

Ariel sat up at this. "Wait… An alien planet with a village of indomitable Gauls… Do you happen to have a magic potion that grants super strength and invincibility?"

Asterix's eyebrows rose. "Oh, you've heard of us?"

Ariel nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! That magic potion was one of the greatest mysteries in the history of magic! The Druids of Gaulic XIII were incredibly secretive back in the day, refusing to write anything down and passing down their knowledge through word-of-mouth from master to apprentice. It's said that a master druid once came up with a potion that can make one man strong enough to defeat entire armies! Fortunately, the recipe was preserved, and it went on to be known as the Potion of Strength."

"I've heard of this potion as well," Even commented.

Drakus nodded. "Yes, the village where the druid who came up with that potion lived was able to repel the Romans for years, eventually chasing the Romans out through sheer will."

Even laughed. "FINALLY, MY TEACHING OF HISTORY WAS FOR NOT!"

"Actually, I read a comic about it," Drakus admitted sheepishly.

"Me too! It's a good one," Ariel recalled fondly.

"I don't suppose there's any way we could get some of that potion?" Roman asked. "If we learn how to make it, then we can send it to everyone and use it to get an edge against Deadlight-"

"Look the recipe up on your own time, but don't say I didn't warn you when you inevitably get so drunk you think you can fight demon lords," Getafix said flatly.

"Trust me, we asked him, more than once, if he would share some of his batch," Jaime lamented. "But while he has been willing to lend a limited supply to his allies, he will never allow anyone to know the recipe. And… I suppose I can't fault him. Any nation that knew how to make it would have a hard time resisting the urge to use it to fight things they normally shouldn't."

"And the Hive is already a lot bigger than any Empire on Earth," Eliza pointed out.

"But we would never abuse it," Philia protested.

Shin snorted. "Yeah, history is full of people who say that. Guess what most of them did?"

"Indeed. The temptation to use a weapon of that power is hard to resist," Exaton argued.

"He's right," Aranea said. "I know my people would've gleefully abused a power like this in the past. And… Well. The Hive are conquerors already, in a sense, dedicated to expanding across space and incorporating civilizations they encounter into themselves, albeit peacefully. While you may intend to only use the potion to win the war with the Swarm, it doesn't take much to start being tempted to use it to win all wars. Maybe even start a few of your own…"

"That's… Not incorrect…" Anubis murmured unhappily. He sighed. "I suppose I have had to re-examine our ways of doing things already…"

"If it's any consolation, there's no guarantee the potion would work on your biology anyway," Anubi said gently. "It was intended for human consumption, and nonhumans… Well. There are certain unpleasant and unpredictable side effects."

"That was a very uncomfortable couple of hours," Eliza murmured, shuddering in recollection.

"I do not follow. If I recall my geography, Gaulic is very far away from here, across the Crab Nebula. If they were such a thorn in Roug's side, why is he at war with Egyxos instead of over there?" Drakus asked.

"Roug has tried for years to defeat them, but to no avail," Jaime explained. "With each setback, he got ever more obsessed with crushing them and salvaging his reputation, since Rominax cannot claim to be the most powerful force in the world when a tiny village on the coast routinely gives him a black eye. He has called upon the powers of the gods, created an army of the undead and mythical beasts, and scoured the world for weapons and magic that will finally destroy that village once and for all. So far, nothing has worked."

"But then, he learned of the Netherworld Portal, and that his Army of Bones was still there," Imhotep II said solemnly. "He was convinced that with their power under his control again, he will be able to finally defeat the Gaulics once and for all."

"And conquer us," Anubi added.

"Yes, that too."

"Are we done yet?!" Argrenious yelled.

"Yeah, let's dance!" Asterix said, as he took a swig from his canteen and then set it into his belt buckle, gripping the hilt of the sword sheathed on his left side.

Obelix drove his fist into the ground and ripped out a belt which looked like it was made of stone held together by bits of leather and strapped it around his waist, producing a small stone with a rounded bottom and pointed tip.

Getafix flicked his beard over his shoulder, revealing he was wearing a belt of metal and stone with a rocky ring for a buckle covered in ancient runes. He twirled a golden sickle between his fingers before holding it to the buckle.

ASTER DRIVER!

OBELISK DRIVER!

DRUIDRIVER!

Asterix drew his sword, causing his potion canteen to spin around so the cork pointed downwards, Obelix drove his stone key into his buckle, and Getafix inserted his sickle into his buckle and pressed down, "cutting" the stone ring in two and causing it to flip down to reveal more glowing runes.

"HENSHIN!"

The cork popped off Asterix's canteen and liquid poured out, flowing all over his body and solidifying to form armor. He now had a black under suit decorated with stars connected to form constellations with a red chest plate with a glowing asterisk etched into it. Red Pauldrons with similar asterisks covered his shoulders, while his arms were covered in red gauntlets vaguely resembling ancient Gaulish armor with asterisks on the back of his knuckles. Red knee plates with more asterisks covered his knees, while his red boots had small wings on the heels. His head was covered in a helmet with a pair of impressive metal wings growing from the sides, oval blue eyes with asterisks carved into them, and a gold plate vaguely resembling his mustache. Numerous channels ran throughout his armor from his belt, golden liquid flowing through them to supply power throughout his body.

BY TOUTATIS AND BELLISSIMA! THE WARRIOR OF THE STARS IS BORN! THE INVINCIBLE HERO, KAMEN RIDER ASTER!

Rocks, similar in shape to the key Obelix had used, erupted from the ground around him and closed around his body, completely entombing him in stone. After a moment, the menhir shattered, revealing Obelix now had a blue under suit covering his rotund body with armor looking like it was made of white stone on his shoulders, arms, legs, and chest with patterns resembling menhirs on them and faded gold veins like the channels on Asterix's suit. His head was encased in a helmet with a menhir-shaped crest on top, round white eyes, a metal plate resembling his red mustache, and cords resembling his red braided pigtails hanging down either side of his face.

MAKE WAY FOR THE GREATEST MENHIR SALESMAN! WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR? WHO CARES! THE STRONGEST OF THE STRONG, KAMEN RIDER OBELISK!

A massive cauldron rose on a pair of stone pillars behind Getafix and tipped over, spilling its contents on him. Steam billowed off his form, dissipating along with the cauldron to reveal he was now clad in a white bodysuit with a white waist cape with a red interior hanging to the ground. Gold armor covered in mystic runes covered his knees, shins, arms, and chest, while Pauldrons resembling cauldrons were on his shoulders. His helmet was gold with a sickle-shaped crest, sickle-shaped red eyes, and a white metal plate resembling a beard and mustache that wasn't anywhere near as long as his real facial hair.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT OF HIS POWER IS A MYSTERY TO ALL! HEED THE WISDOM OF THE GREAT SAGE, KAMEN RIDER DRUID!

"Now, let's bash an oversized birdbrain!" Asterix declared.

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Obelix cheered, clapping his hands together and hopping up and down like a child, shaking the earth and causing his little dog to bounce in the air.

Soon, the town was filled with the sound of lasers, explosions, and the obnoxious laugh of a supercharged peacock monster.

In most instances, you would assume that a bunch of heroes against one monster and a horde of skeletons would be a curb stomp battle.

This was not one of those instances.

BGM: Panic Room (Theory Of A Dead Man)

"Stand… Still!" Exaton grunted, ferociously swiping through the air with his claws, trying to hit the skeletons pestering him. Predictably, the eyes didn't stand still – after all, how could they, they didn't have feet? – But dispersed, some flying behind him and blasting him in the back. "Dammit!"

[My left, ya bum!]

Pupils dilated under her mask, Anubi scurried across the room on all floors, chasing a low-power laser dot being generated by one of the eyeballs. "Come back here… You accursed red demon… Yield to me! NYAH!"

She pounced, claws stretched wide to catch the insidious dot, only to crash into a band of skeletons on accident, knocking them over. "You exploited your weakness to your advantage, Nefer!" Imhotep II shouted.

"Well, they were in the way! Where did my precious red bounty go? Where is it? Where is it where is it where is it?!" Anubi demanded, looking around frantically.

The red dot reappeared on her forehead…

As did several dozen more all over her body.

Seiko groaned as the dozens of skeletons, which now has an eye motif, surrounded her with laser spears, which were powered up. "Her instincts screwed you over a lot?"

Imhotep II sighed in resignation as the eyes opened fire. "It has also been a great distraction."

Eliza, Tetsu, Ridley and Shin charged towards the cackling Argrenious, grimacing in pain as they were bombarded by lasers, but as the toughest members of their respective teams, they were able to withstand a lot more damage than their peers. "Is that all you've got?" Ridley taunted, deflecting an exploding eye with a swing of his claw, which exploded against the wall. "I have faced showers of plasma that stung worse than this!"

"And I lived for decades on the streets, getting gnawed on by rats in my sleep! This is nothing!" Shin bragged, bounding all over the place, doing his best to dodge the worst of the attacks. "… That actually sounds a lot worse now that I'm saying it out loud."

Argrenious sniffed in disgust. "Disgusting insect. Perish!"

He gestured, and several of the eyes clustered together into much larger orbs, combining their power and firing massive energy beams at Eliza, Ridley, Tetsu, and Shin, who cried out in pain as they were pushed back.

"Rock Armor, appear!"

Suddenly, the four warriors were encased in rocky armor, the pain from the concentrated laser fire immediately dwindling. "What the?" Argrenious cried in surprise.

"Ha! Thanks for the defensive boost, Ariel!" Shin yelled to the sorceress, who was flitting about the room, firing spells at eyeballs accosting Nushi.

"No problem! Hey Goro, think you can lend them a hand?" Ariel asked, yelping as a laser shot clipped one of her wings.

"On it!" Goro rolled behind some debris, manifested a second gun, and started shooting at the eyeballs trying to swarm him with one while sticking the other over his cover and firing at the eyes attacking Shin, Ridley, Tetsu, and Eliza with the other, able to hit his targets easily by seeing through everyone else's eyes.

Several of the eyes making up the larger orbs burst, weakening the massive blasts bombarding the four, who immediately charged forwards, their stony armor heating up and chipping off as they pushed through the lasers, but still providing them a measure of protection. They slammed into the eye clusters, scattering them around the room, and lashed out with their weapons at Argrenious…

Who immediately ducked, the massive blades swinging over his head. He then backflipped through the air, landing on top of Shin's ax, and twirled about, flaring his tail feathers and blocking his vision. "Hey, what the-"

"Get off of him!" Eliza snarled, lashing out at the Centurion, but he sprang out of the way just in time, causing her to accidentally punch Shin in the face instead. "Oh shit! Shin, I'm sorry-"

Argrenious landed on her head and kicked off, shoving her forwards and causing her to slam into Shin, knocking both of them over. Before they could get back up, over a dozen eyeballs glommed onto their armor and exploded, shattering it and causing them to cry out in pain.

"No!"

Furious, Goro started firing on Argrenious, but the peacock didn't even look in his direction, several eyeballs flying into the paths of the bullets, taking the shots for their master. A massive Mantishuriken suddenly shot through the air at the peacock's head, but the Centurion caught it between two fingers, then bent backwards as Mibojin dove down on him from the ceiling, her blades barely missing his head, and drove the Mantishuriken into her chest, flinging her away.

He then flipped sideways, dodging an ax strike from Shin which shattered the ground he had just been standing on, lashing out with a split kick which struck Shin in the gut with 1 foot and got Nushi in the groin with the other just before she could attack him, launching her into a winged Jaime, slamming both of them into the ceiling. He grabbed Nushi's Ladyblade and flung it over his shoulder at Ariel, piercing her through one wing and pinning her to a wall.

He then ducked just as Anubi and Exaton lunged at him from both sides, causing them to slam into each other and fall to the ground. Argus rolled forwards and then stuck out his leg just in time to trip Imhotep II, causing him to topple over and land on top of the two before they could get back up, the trio getting badly tangled up in each other.

"THESE are the fabled Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers?" He sneered. "I expected better of you!"

He then took one step to the side just before Goro burst out of the ground, punching him in the gut before he could recover. "How did you-"

"Have you forgotten? I see EVERYTHING!" Argrenious taunted just before every eye on his body, even his eye spots, started glowing before unleashing a MASSIVE storm of laser blasts in every direction, flinging everyone away from him while he laughed madly.

"Dammit… We haven't even managed to scratch him!" Taisho snarled in frustration, punching the ground.

"He's a truly formidable opponent," Ark agreed, Zinner landing beside her. "With all those eyes, he can see everything. We can't take him off guard, and he is able to read our body language to anticipate any attack!"

"I don't suppose you ever had to deal with a guy like this back in your time?" Eliza asked the Bugrangers.

"Not us specifically, but… this is like if the Eyes Splicer and Inkwell had a baby, and that baby could fire lasers!" Shin grunted.

"And if Eye Guy was the uncle," Ariel added.

"Thank you so much for the mental image," Mibojin groaned.

"How were those villains defeated?" Getafix asked. "Could we apply those methods to this creature?"

Shin considered. "Well, Eternal beat the Eyes Splicer by using a cape to conceal his movements so his opponent's eyes couldn't read his body language, but that's not an option here because Argrenious can apparently see through anything. Inkwell, though… Wait. Ariel, do you think-"

"On it!" Ariel said, waving her wand at Goro and chanting a spell. The blue soldier glowed, blurred…

And suddenly there were over two dozen of him, all standing in a ring surrounding the startled Argrenious. "What? What is this?!" The peacock squawked, startled. "You… You aren't illusions, what are you-"

"Goro! The Supernova Power Rangers were able to deal with Inkwell having eyes all over his body by-" Ariel started.

"Duplicating one of their members so there were enough of them to blast his eyes out!" All the Goros finished her sentence in unison as they raised their guns.

"Oh dear" Argrenious said in the realization of his predicament. "Errors have been made..."

The Goros opened fire. Argrenious frantically summoned eyes to shield himself while ordering more eyes to strike the clone soldiers from behind, but everyone else quickly targeted the eyes attacking the Goros to keep them off his back as the blistering fusillade of energy bullets from the blue warriors shredded the wall of eyes Argrenious had surrounded himself with and converged on their target. The peacock-themed new Demon Sorcerer screamed in agony as the bullets impacted his body, his slender form jerking and convulsing wildly as shot after shot slammed into him, the eyes growing all over his frame and armor bursting as his tailfeathers were torn to shreds.

It took a full two minutes of concentrated gunfire, but finally the clone army raised their guns, smoke rising from their barrels as Argus collapsed to the ground, gurgling and gasping for breath. "I never did like peacocks," Goro remarked as his body glowed and all the clones collapsed back into him. "The eye spots give my kids the creeps."

Jaime grimaced at this. "Perhaps I should not let them see my menagerie later, then…"

"Great shooting, Goro!" Eliza congratulated her fellow blue.

Goro smirked. "But of course! I never miss a shot."

"Yeah, except when-" Ariel started.

"WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT."

"My tail!" Argrenious screamed. "My beautiful tail! You bastards! Do you have any idea how long it'll take to grow it out that much again?!"

Nushi frowned. "Your tail? That's all you're concerned about? Goro just blinded you!"

Much to their alarm, Argrenious then started laughing as he stood back up, feather fragments drifting around him, as Argrenious immediately calmed down once Nushi said that.

"I can grow it back in five, maybe ten, seconds."

Sure enough, the tail feathers reassembled, longer than before and reattached to the peacock.

"Thanks to Junosia's magic, an ultimately fruitless effort. But if it's any conciliation...that felt like Pluton, as for my eyes?"

He crossed his arms, all of the empty sockets on his body closed… Then flashed open a moment later, each of them filled with a new eye!

"Those can be replaced whenever I wish!"

"He can regenerate?!" Mibojin exclaimed.

"Shin, did either of those monsters from the future have a similar ability?" A dismayed Imhotep II asked.

"Ah. No. No, they did not," Shin said, paling.

Argrenious laughed insanely, as his glowed and fired lasers that raced across the town towards the squad.

Obelix yawned and stretched his limbs, accidentally backhanding the lasers and sending them flying off into the distance, blasting a huge crater into a mountain. He blinked. "Huh? Did something happen? I wasn't paying attention; I was thinking about how I was going to ask for my boar to be cooked."

"Everyone behind me! Jinga Majuna!" Ariel cried, generating a shimmering magical curtain just before Argrenious unleashed another massive omnidirectional laser blast, the barrier just barely managing to protect everyone from the deadly light show.

"Well great, he can make more eyes! How are we supposed to hit him now?!" Anubi complained.

"Maybe we could repeat the cloning trick? Except this time I don't stop shooting, ever, until he explodes?" Goro suggested.

Imhotep II shook his head. "No, I doubt that attack will work on him again, he'll expect it next time. Still, it would've worked, if not for that regenerative power! If only we had a way to more reliably blind him!"

"What about our bandages?" Exaton suggested, some of the black bandages making up his suit unraveling and waving through the air. "Maybe we could bind him, cover up all his eyes?"

Imhotep II shook his head. "No, we already know he can see through our suits, which means our bandages would not restrict his sight at all. We need something else…"

"Ariel, you seem to know this monster's myth. How did Mercury defeat him in the past?" Mibojin inquired.

"Well, if I recall correctly, Mercury managed to get him to fall asleep, then smashed his head in with a rock," Ariel recollected.

"Neither tactic will work this time!" Argrenious bragged. "Thanks to a blessing from Somnicus, I no longer sleep, and a rock to the head won't do any good because I'm wearing a helmet!"

"Well, he at least covered all his bases," Mystle observed.

"You don't sleep?! Lucky!" An envious Nushi cried. "Do you have any idea how much more work I could get done if I didn't need to sleep? I could have saved the world forever like half a dozen times by now! Cured all diseases, established a utopia!"

"Nushi, the last time you tried to forego sleep, you attempted to blow up the moon after staying up for a week straight," Coccinella reminded her.

"And I would have succeeded if you hadn't stopped me," Nushi complained. "The explosion would've boosted healing and longevity! Plus, I would've cured lycanthropy!"

"You also would've destroyed numerous branches of magic which draw power from the moon and made Aunt Claire very angry," Ariel argued.

"And also caused a lot of damage to the planet's gravitational fields and tides and stuff," Shin added.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not that irresponsible, I would've made a new moon!" Nushi insisted. "I can do that! I'm a brilliant scientist!"

The Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers and Gaulic Riders stared at her in horror and disbelief. "… She tried to blow up the moon?!" Getafix asked incredulously.

"Okay, does anyone else have any bright ideas on how we can win it?" An irritated Jaime asked. "Preferably ones that don't involve blowing up the moon, which would make Khonsu very annoyed at having to fix the moon?"

"He's such a killjoy," Anubi complained.

"Wait… Bright… Oh! Of course! I think one of my dad's spells will help here!" Ariel realized. "Everyone, close your eyes!"

She raised her wand, gathering power.

Argrenious laughed and immediately closed all of his eyes. "Thanks for the warning!"

Nushi chuckled. "Don't thank her yet. After all, you said you can see through anything right? Does that include your own eyelids?"

Argrenious froze. "Wait. Shit! NO-"

"Light, apparate!"

The X-Squad immediately covered their eyes or tinted their visors, while the Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers glanced away. Even then, the blast of light Ariel emitted was so blindingly brilliant everyone couldn't help squeezing their eyes shut reflexively as the light seemed to fill the entire town.

Through the brilliance, they could hear Argrenious screaming, long and loud. "My eyes… My EYES!"

Finally, the light dimmed, and everyone was able to see the room again, though they had to blink a few spots from their eyes first.

Argrenious… Wasn't nearly as lucky.

All of his eyes were open, milky white, looking around wildly but clearly seeing nothing. A number of eyeballs fell from the air and out of hidden crevices all over the room, and from a spattering of thuds they heard outside, all the eyes he had outside the temple waiting to be called upon had been blinded as well. "I can't… I can't SEE!" He shrieked. "Someone be my eyes!"

"Unfortunately," Jaime said, raising her khopesh. "By the time any of them get here, it'll be too late."

Nushi nodded in agreement, brandishing her sword. "Everyone, let's show him what the buzz is all about!"

Argrenious frantically started ripping eyeballs out of the sockets all over his body. "I can still win this… I just need to replace the eyes you've blinded, and-"

"Luuma Gonga!"

"Guh!" Argrenious gasped, his body freezing up.

"That paralysis spell won't last long, get him!" Ariel called to the others.

"Wow, her magic is a real asset to her team, why aren't you nearly as useful?" Anubi asked Imhotep II.

"My spells take time to write down!" He snapped.

"I keep telling you, you should write them in advance!" Elizah told him.

"I've tried that, but I keep pulling out the wrong spell by accident," Imhotep II complained. "Or I trip or something, and the spell goes off in my face, and-"

"All of you, focus!" Jaime snapped.

"Sorry," they apologized, all of them rushing for Argrenious.

"Nngh…n-no," the peacock gasped, grunting with exertion as new eyeballs suddenly grew to replace the few he'd torn out. "Stay… Back…"

Despite his paralysis, the new eyes managed to fire lasers in the direction of the squad, but only managed to get off a few beams before Goro blew them out with several well-placed shots. Exaton, Asterix and Anubi lunged at the paralyzed monster, slashing through his chest with their claws or sword and causing blood to spatter across the floor. Elizah grabbed him in her jaws and tossed him over her shoulder, slapping him with her back hand and flinging him across the town, allowing Goro to pepper him with shots until Mibojin appeared right above him and drove her giant Mantishuriken into his back, spiking him into the ground.

Shin grabbed him by the neck before he could get up, hurled him into a wall, then threw his Hopper Ax into the peacock's chest, and with a cry of "Shin Ranger Kick!" struck the pommel of his weapon with his foot so hard the blade tore through his body and embedded itself in the wall behind him. He stepped to the side as Imhotep II charged up behind him, tossing his khopesh into one of Argrenious' eye sockets, causing him to scream in agony.

"I'll kill you…I'll kill you all!" He screamed, more eyeballs growing from new spots all over his body, glowing as they powered up a laser blast…

There was a twin flash of red, and suddenly he was smashed through the temple wall and out into the courtyard outside, tumbling across the ground, squawking in anguish.

Nushi and Jaime, standing in the hole where the wall had once been, nodded at each other and tapped blades. "Shall we end this?" Cleopatra asked.

"Together!" Nushi agreed as both of their teams rallied behind them.

"Ammit! Come forth, and pass judgment on this wretched soul!"

"Weapons, combine! Form Buzz Bomber!"

"Drake Jawslammer, combine!"

Argrenious whimpered. "I can't see right now… But I'm certain that I'm absolutely fucked."

"You're absolutely right!" Ariel cheered as the squad pointed the Drake Jawslammer at the heavily wounded peacock, while Cleopatra leveled the transformed Ammit at him.

"Two in one day? Oh my, what a treat! Whose soul shall I be judging today, Your Majesty?" Ammit asked hungrily.

"Argrenious of Rominax, Demon Sorcerer of Spirit!" Jaime replied.

Ammit fired a beam of light which struck Argrenious, freezing him in place as a giant Eye of Horus appeared behind him. "Now, let the scales of justice determine your fate!"

"Everyone, let's show him what the buzz is REALLY all about!" Nushi declared as the scales on the bazooka started swaying back and forth.

"DRAKE! BUZZ STING OVERCHARGE!"

The scales finished their judgment. To nobody's surprise, the heart side was down.

"IMPURE!" Ammit declared.

"Drake Jawslammer! Stinging Buzzing Purifire!" The squad cried.

The squad prepared to fire…

END BGM

When suddenly the skies darkened, the rumble of thunder filled the air.

Everyone looked up. "Wait, it rains here?" Goro asked in surprise.

"Of course it does!" Imhotep II chided him. "Unfortunately, this is no ordinary thunderstorm…"

Argrenious cackled madly, spreading his arms and looking up joyfully at the thunder clouds. "It would seem, heroes, that even in death, Junosia has interceded on my behalf! I ACCEPT THIS FINAL BLESSING, NOW DECEASED GODS OF OLYMPINUS, AND DEDICATE ALL THE SACRIFICES TO COME IN YOUR HONOR!"

Jaime gasped. "NO!"

A lightning bolt shot down from the heavens, shifting to take on the form of a Trident which struck Argus, the resulting explosion blasting everyone back. The new Demon Sorcerer of Spirit cackled madly, his form wrapped in electricity, as wailing dark spirits swirled around his body, which grew and grew until he was 50 m high, towering above nearly every building in Moose Creek!

Also, his body now had skeleton armor enveloping him thanks to Roug's Army of Bones fusing with him and got a lot more buff, for some reason.

"Ohhh, so that's how they made monsters grow where you're from," Ariel realized. "But seriously though, those abs," Ariel gasped, positively drooling.

"Really?" Nushi asked, disgusted.

"Look, I'm pan, that means I can find guys attractive too sometimes!" Ariel insisted.

"I'm pretty sure I'm completely straight, but… Wow," Goro murmured, glancing at the demon sorcerer's chest to his own, feeling rather self-conscious. "Maybe I should hit the gym a bit more."

"Oh yeah, you definitely can stand to lose some weight," Formic agreed, prodding his partner's stomach, much to his dismay. "You've been eating too much of your wife's cooking."

"But it's so good!" Goro whined.

"No… We can't have a monster battle here! There's too many people!" Eliza cried.

"Wait, you guys don't usually fight giant monsters in the middle of crowded places?" Shin asked in surprise.

"Of course we don't!" Exaton exclaimed in disbelief. "We have them out in the desert, where there's less risk of people getting hurt! Why would anyone fight a giant monster in the middle of a crowded city?!"

"Well. You know. Maybe, like, the monster is already there, so you kind of have to fight them where they are?" Ariel said awkwardly.

"You can't just move the fight elsewhere?" Imhotep II asked incredulously.

"That's, um, not always an option," Nushi said awkwardly.

"The cities of our time are much bigger than yours," Mibojin explained.

"No matter. We cannot allow this beast to destroy Big Moose. Let us summon our God Beasts, and drive him out to the forest, where we can fight more easily!" Jaime decided.

Argrenious laughed evilly. "Oh, feel free to do that, Philopator. However, I doubt you can get them all ready before I kill your guests!"

Jaime raised her arm into the air, bracer gleaming. "God Beast, descend!"

"God Beast, descend!" Her comrades cried.

Colored beams of light shot out of their bracers, crisscrossed through the air, and touched the pinnacle of the pyramid just outside the city. Caesar, who had just picked over a large obelisk, paused in his destruction as a great rumbling filled the air and the pyramid began to unfold, revealing it had a hollow interior with one animalistic robot on each triangular panel and the fifth one in the center. The mecha raised their heads and roared, eyes glowing, and launched out of the pyramid, racing across the sands, flying through the air, or swimming in the nearby Nile.

All five Pyramid Battalion Power Rangers leapt into the air in the direction of the robots. Cleopatra landed inside the cockpit of a majestic red and gold falcon with the head and eyes of Horus and a crown looking like a mixture of both his parents, with beautiful wings covered in hieroglyphics including two giant eyes, one on each wing. "God Eagle, take flight!"

Eliza landed in the cockpit of a fearsome blue and gold crocodile swimming in the Nile with a crown resembling two gold tablets supported by a pair of serpents and massive fangs, hieroglyphics running down its sides. "God Crocodile, take a bite!"

Imhotep II landed in a slender green and gold falcon with an extremely sharp beak and hieroglyphics covering its wings flying beside God Falcon. "God Falcon, show them your might!"

Anubi landed in the cockpit of a beautiful yellow hippo draped in gold and a black head covered in hieroglyphics charging across the desert. "God Hippo, show them what's right!"

Gozim landed in a black jackal draped in gold with hieroglyphics covering its sides. "God Jackal, kill all in your sight!"

"So cool!" Ariel gushed.

"Aren't you going to summon your mecha, too?" Nushi asked Markan.

Markan nodded and produced a coin with a snarling wolf head on it and inserted it into his buckle. He raised his sword into the air. "Eat, Lupa Argentum Regina!"

"Really? You want to eat something now of all times?" Asked the bewildered Mibojin.

"Well, I am kind of hungry," Goro confessed.

"No, 'eat' is Latin for 'come,' he's calling the legendary silver wolf queen," Obelix explained.

"The who now?" Coccinella asked.

"The Silver Wolf Queen is one of the great symbols of our republic!" Markan declared patriotically. "According to legend, when our great founders Romul and Rema were abandoned in the wild, a beautiful she-wolf found and nursed them until they were discovered by a human Shepherd, who raised them into the legendary figures who would one day found our empire!"

"Did Romul murder his brother because they couldn't decide which hill to build Rominax on?" Ariel recalled.

"Which says a lot about the Romans, doesn't it," Mibojin remarked.

"What?! No, he never killed his sister!" Markan said, appalled.

"It's still a pretty stupid thing to kill someone over," Nushi complained.

"Throughout human history, people have murdered others for worse," Mibojin pointed out.

This fascinating historical discussion was interrupted when a great howl echoed through the air and a beautiful silver mechanical wolf with a crescent blade for a tail raced into view, the moon shining down on it and causing its metal hide to shine magnificently. Markan leapt into the air and landed in its cockpit, which resembled the interior of a high-tech silver war tent. "Lupa Argentum Regina, shine your light!"

"Argana Zords, Primal Fury Zords, Shugods, Ninjasaurs, appear!" Drakus and Akira said, as the Argana Zords and their allies appeared as they hopped in, Kirby following Drakus into the Dragon Zord.

"Hey, wanna see something cool?" Nushi said, snapping her fingers. "Let's show Argrenious what the buzz is really all about! Come forth, Great Divine Insects!"

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, only for the OVDF to barge in, overthrow the government, and put China under marshal law, bluntly telling everyone that a giant robot ladybug broke part of the Great Wall due to being called to aid. This would lead to several UN sanctions, somehow decrease 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 only to be assassinated by Trifa to free North Korea from his dictatorship, 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 D-Railer 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 Martin Flyers, 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.

Martin 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 that a relative of yours, O Mothra?" The Shobijin asked finally.

Mothra shrugged. This was news to her as well.

The existence of a third divine Lepidopteran (if we're counting Battra) 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.

And then, two new giant robots appeared beside the Divine Insects when they appeared at Moose Creek. One was a black spider with long, multi segmented legs ending in sharp points, a red hourglass marking stamped on its back, and a nightmarish face with far too many eyes, chelicerae, and other nasty sharp implements constantly in motion. The other was a titanic purple scorpion with massive pincers with cannons jutting out of them, a red hourglass marking stamped on its back, a lengthy tail ending in a vicious hooked stinger over another, larger cannon like some sort of bayonet, and a face almost as gruesome as that of the spider.

The giant ladybug bowed her head in acquiescence. "Hello, young ones."

"Can someone PLEASE explain what the heck is going on?!" Mystle demanded.

She held up her bracelet. "The chat demand answers!"

[Whoa!]

[Damn, Formic's big side be owning the baking industry!]

[YOOOOOOOOOOOOO WE GOT MORE BUG ZORDS NOW!]

Even 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 heavy with the weight of untold eons. "There can be found a grain of truth."

"And what legends are you a part of?" Ruby 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.

"Great Coccinella." The ladybug said.

"Great Formic." The ant said.

"Great Manti." The mantis said.

"Great Caelifer." The grasshopper said.

"Great Lepidoptera." The butterfly said.

"The Great Divine Insects!" They chorused.

"So, how the fuck did you get here?" Drakus asked.

"We were caught up in a cosmic storm which flung us to the other side of the universe," Great Lepidoptera 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," Great Formic muttered, everyone shuddering at the thought.

"How were you not driven mad?" Roman asked.

"The Buzzing was still in infancy in those days. we remembered a time before it existed, so it was painful, but not soul-shattering," Great Coccinella explained.

"And besides, we were still connected to each other, so were not alone," Great Caelifer assured her.

"Well, thank goodness for that," Furina 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," Great Manti continued.

"We weren't exactly in a hurry. We knew when we left we would not return home for quite some time, so we viewed this as taking the scenic route back," Great Formic added.

"But then, when we arrived on primordial earth, we encountered an ancient, unspeakable evil dubbed Darth Malvek," Great Coccinella said gravely.

Daruizen rolled his eyes. "Of course you did. And let me guess, all of you valiantly battled this evil and were able to chase him off 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 Malvek's return?"

The five Great Divine Insects stared at Daruizen in surprise. "Well… yes. More or less," Great Lepidoptera admitted. "How did you-"

Hera shrugged. "That sort of thing happens all the time."

Akira excitedly raised a hand. "Did this happen to take place roughly 65 million years ago, by any chance?"

Great Lepidoptera shook her head. "No, this happened long before that. Your great ancestors hadn't even left the oceans when we chased Malvek away. It had nothing to do with the extinction of the dinosaurs."

"Huh, that's different," Akira remarked, mildly surprised.

"Wait, if the five of you traveled across the universe, spreading insect life… Does that mean that the only reason there's 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?!" Hibiki asked eagerly.

"More or less," Great Caelifer informed her. "We are somewhat disappointed mammals wound up becoming the dominant species on Earth, 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," Hajime 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 Shin wouldn't be such a freak." He considered for a moment. "Well, assuming Project Talos of such a hypothetical alternate timeline didn't turn him into an ape-man cyborg instead, which, considering his usual luck, is possible…"

The giant spider, whom Drakus learned from Aranea was called Great Arachne, chuckled, her voice surprisingly friendly and smooth as velvet, like the sort of spider who would wrap you up and cuddle with you to keep you warm and safe instead of devouring you. "The same could be said of you, cousin! I can't remember the last time we met face-to-face!"

"Have we ever?" Great Scorrpio wondered.

"I think we must have, at some point in the distant past," Great Coccinella pointed out. "But it was so very long ago…"

"Well, at least we are together now," Great Caelifer pointed out.

"Indeed. And once the rest of our siblings are awakened, our family will be whole at last," Great Manti agreed.

"Why am I scared and attracted to the spider?!" The Dragon Zord sputtered.

Great Scorrpio chortled. "You should be afraid!" He boasted. "While you have spent the last few eons getting tinkered on, my partner and I have been active the entire time!"

"We have been fighting threats to the Ascendancy and the royal family for millions of years," Great Arachne bragged. "We are battle-hardened and tested, keen of eye and strong in limb, while you are still rusty. You may have the advantage of numbers, but we have experience!"

"Actually we fought a knight robot once, and also many spaceships, some super-sized monsters and one giant space fortress." The Leviathan Zord said, as the two Great Divine Arachnids looked concerned.

And then, much to Great Arachne's surprise, an unexpected weight landed on Argrenious' back. "Ah strongly suggest ya git on outta here, tweedy, less'n y' want me ta take yer purty lil' head off!"

"WHAT?!" Argrenious shrieked in disbelief, eyes rolling back to discover that a massive mechanical stag beetle was now perched on his back, his mandibles poised to rip his head off. The stag beetle was navy blue in coloration, covered in the hexagons and inlaid circuit patterns that were characteristic of Hive technology, with a very thick shell and legs, his head positively dwarfed by the gargantuan spiked mandibles extending from his front, practically as long as his entire body, as well as the giant stetson hat, to the point where his compound eyes were almost impossible to see in comparison. "Wh-What the-"

"We didn't know he was going to show up either until just a second ago, when we sensed him waking up!" Great Coccinella was quick to insist.

"Welcome back, brother!" Great Caelifer cried happily.

"Glad ta be back, brother mine!" The stag beetle introduced himself jovially. "Th' name's Great Kuwaga, Ms. Chameleon! Ah can't rightly recall if'n we've ever met before, but in case we haven't, it sure is a pleasure to make th' acquaintance of a lovely lady like yerself!"

"Likewise, I'm sure," the Chameleon Zord told the beetle. "You really woke up just now?"

"Eyep! Ah've been gettin' pretty close ta waking up for the last coupl'a weeks, and this here show of yers was just the ticket to push me outta bed!" Great Kuwaga explained. "And don't y'all worry about catching me up, ah already know what's what thanks to th' Buzzin'. Sis, ya don't mind a last-second addition to th' cast, do you?"

"Not at all! We are happy to have you!" Great Lepidoptera assured him.

"Just what did you get up too?!" Great Scorrpio yelled.

"Many things." The Dove Zord said. "We'll talk later."

Just then, an immense crimson biomechanical rhinoceros beetle flew in, covered in the hexagons and inlaid circuitry characteristic of Hive technology with a very thick shell and legs, his elytra currently open to allow his immense wings to keep him suspended in the air, a great thrumming resonating from his stalwart form. He wore what looked like a cross between a high tech Kabuto helmet (pun intended) and a Kaiser helmet on his head, a giant Hive microprocessor set just above his eyes, one of which looked more like a giant monocle, and his mouth parts resembled a big, bushy metal mustache. His great horn was asymmetrical, twisted to the right with a large hexagonal lens held in the notch at the tip centered over the monocle.

"Gutentag, Argrenious!" The Great Divine Insect bellowed in a jovial tone with a thick Germanic accent. "I am Great Kabuto, a stalwart servant of the Hive and Kaiserin Apista, and I am most displeased that you tried to kill mein comrades!"

"Bro! You're up too!" Great Kuwaga cheered.

"Ja, and you should have woken me sooner! Certainly before you picked up that atrocious accent and fashion sense," Great Kabuto scoffed.

"Hey now, there ain't nothing wrong with mah Stetson! It's perfectly respectable!" Great Kuwaga protested defensively, tugging at the giant metal Stetson he had on.

"Yes, in America," Great Kabuto sneered, dripping with contempt.

"Y'all do realize that th' country you picked up your accent from is responsible for some of th' biggest atrocities of th' twentieth century?" Great Kuwaga shot back.

"Remind me, how are racial equality and politics doing in America these days-" Great Kabuto retorted.

"Both of you, enough!" Roman snapped. "Have they always been like this?"

"Unfortunately," Great Scorrpio replied wearily. "They love each other dearly, but… Well, they are brothers."

"Aren't you all siblings?" Mystle asked.

"Yes, well, some of us are more siblings than others, if that makes any sense," Great Manti explained.

"Did someone order calvary?" A deep, booming voice with a thick Russian accent rang out… From a comparatively small – in giant robot terms, anyway – mechanical cicada that flew in. He was bright red with gold inlays, sickle-shaped feet, translucent golden wings, and had what looked an awful lot like a metal ushanka with a Hive processor set into it on his head. "Behold, comrades! Great Cicadoid has arrived, and I shall be leading us in glorious revolution against our oppressors! Under our protection, the proletariat shall rise at last to seize the methods of production for themselves!"

The Great Divine Insects stared at him blankly. Great Scorrpio smacked his face. The Hound Zord started drinking from more than one bottle at once.

"… I don't suppose someone else could serve as the head?" Great Manti pleaded desperately. "Anyone else?"

"All right, everyone," Jaime declared from her cockpit, which resembled a lavish red and gold throne surrounded by streaming hieroglyphics. "This is going to be our biggest battle yet! No holding back! Pyramid Combine!"

"Pyramid Combine!" Her companions echoed.

Suddenly, the five God Beasts were racing, flying, and swimming through the sands of the Duat, rows of obelisks rising up on either side of them. Rings of gold hieroglyphics shot towards them and the mecha passed through them, leaping into the air and transforming.

God Crocodile swiveled to hang horizontally in the air, its body splitting in half down the middle. God Eagle swooped down to occupy the space between the two halves, wings detaching from its back and claws folding upwards as its body rotated 180 while the head stayed in the same place, what had once been its back splitting open to reveal a hollow space. God Crocodile's two halves attached to either side of God Eagle's body. God Falcon detached its wings and folded its head down into its chest as its legs folded up on themselves and slipped into the space in God Eagle's body, creating a humanoid torso with a pronounced bust with the Ibis head going down the middle. God Hippo and God Ostrich both folded their legs into their bodies and pivoted their heads 90 straight up, their bodies stiffening and folding their tails onto their backs as the ends of God Falcon's knees slid into sockets on their rears to form feet and legs. The eagle and falcon wings reattached themselves to the back of the combined mecha, taking on a golden hue covered with hieroglyphics. God Eagle's beak flipped down to reveal a beautiful feminine face with wadjet eyes and its crown reconfigured to form a pharaonic headdress.

The completed robot landed on the prowl of the solar bark, posing dramatically as the gods rose up in the background, illuminated by golden light. "Pharaoh Megazord, ready!"

"Don't forget about me!" Mark shouted. "Form Silver Wolf Blade!"

As the full moon shone down on his silver Wolf mecha, she leapt into the air, her form creating a silhouette against the moon. The sides of her body split apart, revealing a lengthy shining silver blade ran through her interior with the curved blade forming her tail making up its end, her jaws opening wide as her shed parts reformed into a thick, lengthy hilt which inserted itself in her open jaws.

As the new sword spun through the air, a pair of giant blue crocodile jaws shot up and caught the blade by its hilt, lines of silver energy coursing down the crocodile head, up its body, and into the rest of the Pharaoh Megazord, causing the lower set of wings to turn silver and adding silver highlights to the rest of her body. "Lunar Pharaoh Megazord, ready!"

"Zords combine!" Drakus said, as the Zord's combined into the Argana Megazord: Primal-Ninjasaur-Shugod combination, as he used the Pan'ku Box to summon the Demon Sorcerers, as spirits that flew into Sabrina's body.

The Great Divine Insects and Great Divine Arachnids… Were confused.

Antares scoffed. "Are we supposed to be impressed?"

(He was, actually. Although, the Megazord looked less human and more like a draconic eldritch god.)

"Hello brother." Shendu said, smirking, as Xiao Fung gave a polite bow.

"Greetings Shendu, it's truly a pleasure to see you once again brother, even more that you have returned to your full glory." Xiao Fung said civilly, being one of the more diplomatic, cooperative, and reasonable among their family, rather than resorting to violence.

Though, it was also out of need for his own self-preservation, as well. Given how his own sadistic nature probably didn't earn him any points with Shendu, with how eager he was to torture him as a helpless spirit. So he was willing to swallow his distaste for his brother at leaving them trapped.

"I'm sure, and I'll be keeping this short; we will be remaining in Sabrina's body due to her nature as a vessel. I hope that isn't a problem." Shendu said, while narrowing his eyes at the Wind Demon.

"Of course not, brother. I am in no rush to reclaim my kingdom; in fact, it will be even better for all of our family to reclaim our kingdoms, together." Xiao Fung replied.

"Aah! Freedom at last!" Bai Tza hissed in enjoyment, before taking notice of the Enforcers, more specifically the little girl, his brother's Familiar, who was surprisingly still alive

"What's this? Shendu's little pet? How surprising, I had expected my brother to have killed you by now." Bai Tza said, surprised the girl still lived passed the time-frame she and Hsi Wu believed she'd last.

"Dear sister, welcome back to the mortal world. Now if you'd be so kind, remove this curse you and Hsi Wu put on me." Shendu said, while Bai Tza floated up until she was at eye level with her brother and smirked.

"Oh fine, seeing as you did free us." Bai Tza grumbled, as Bai Tza and Hsi Wu snapped their fingers, as Sabrina summoned a dragon to her side.

Growling, Bai Tza gave her brother a look, before making a "Tsk" sound.

"Too many flowers, Dai Gui does not like pretty." Dai Gui growled before trying to smash the flowers, the symbol of the immortal that sealed him, not realizing he's a spirit.

"Greetings burliest of brothers, it's good see another of our family freed." Bai Tza said, with Dai Gui merely grunting, still annoyed that Shendu's power was back.

"My kingdom is submerged beneath the earth." Dai Gui said, before looking at the X-Squad.

"Don't just stand there, start digging!" Growled Dai Gui, believing they were brought here to help raise his kingdom.

"All in due time brother. For now, if you would take on a human form, we will help you get refamiliarized with the world. And with three of our family's strongest being free once more, we will also be dealing with the peacock over there." Bai Tza said, getting Dai Gui's attention and interest, especially hearing of this peacock that Shendu believed could threaten them.

"Very well, Dai Gui is interested to find out about this...bird that could threaten us." Dai Gui said.

"Welcome back, sister-" Shendu said, only to be cutoff by Po Kong.

"Enough fanfare! What's for supper?" Demanded Po Kong, not even phased at seeing Shendu's aura around Sabrina, only caring about getting something to eat.

Shendu's eye twitched in annoyance, but knew he shouldn't be surprised, knowing his sister's main focus was finding something, or someone, to eat.

"I'm sure there are plenty of things you can eat, at our current location." Shendu said, sure she could eat some of the creatures and animals in the Forbidden Forest, if Dai Gui hasn't killed them all already, along with the merpeople that Bai Tza has strung up.

"Hmm, well I see a tasty morsel, right there!" Said Po Kong, while looking right at Sabrina, who's eyes widened when the Demon Sorcerer went to grab her, only for her hand to phase through her.

"You'd be wise not to touch my vessel, Po Kong! Less you suffer the consequences!" Shendu growled, with Po Kong being a little surprised to hear Shendu had a Familiar, only to then laugh and smirk at her brother.

"How sweet, the tiny little Dragon found himself a pet." Po Kong said mockingly, before leaning down in her brother's face.

"You may have a new body Shendu, but don't forget what we can do to you. You'd be wise to not get in our way, or else you'll get to watch me eat your pet." Po Kong said, still seeing Shendu as the helpless spirit he was, when he was sent to the Netherworld, rather than when he was the strongest among their family.

Then, Sabrina lifted Po Kong up and slammed her back down on the ground over him, much to the shock of Akane, while Liquidelle could see her uncle was no longer playing around. With Shendu soon jumping on top of Po Kong's stomach, who's confidence had quickly vanished at seeing a physical form wasn't all that Shendu had regained.

"That was me using my strength alone, without the aid of the Ox. If you or any of our other siblings dare think to cross me, or touch what belongs to me, you will remember why I am the one you should fear!" Shendu roared with flames escaping his mouth, as Po Kong rapidly nodded her head as fear began replacing her earlier confidence, as she began remembering the time when Shendu was the one they feared, and not the other way around.

"This is your one and only warning dearest sister, anger me again and there will be one less Demon Sorcerer." Shendu growled.

"Ye-yes, o-of c-co-course br-brother! Please, forgive me!" Po Kong said as she got onto her hands and knees, while bowing her head to Shendu, who scoffed as he knew that she's been reminded of her place.

"Is that supposed to scare ze Vogelhirn over there?" Great Kabuto asked.

"Honestly, I think the Megazord looks more high than the rest before." Great Caelifer quipped.

"Still, Argrenious is nothing compared to the Sith Phantom. 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! BUG COMBINE!"

"BUG COMBINE!" 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, it fused with the Argana Megazord, adding more legs, more arms and extra wings, while Great Coccinella became a helmet, as the Pan'ku Box made it so the Megazord had armor resembling the Demon Sorcerers. Great Kuwaga's head and abdomen partially separated, revealing a joint between the two of them, as another joint popped out of his underside that linked to the Argana Megazord as another left arm, and Great Kabuto, his head and abdomen partially separating to reveal a joint with another one popping out of his underside, inserted itself into the open slot to form another right arm.

Great Cicadoid's wings detached and connected the Argana Megazord's back, becoming extra wings, while his legs reconfigured themselves to wrap around his abdomen when he became an addition to the tail, pointed straight up to look like an especially ornate cossack hat, or a spear.

The complete mecha swiped its scythe arm, scissor arm and prong arm through the air before posing dramatically as a vortex swirled around it swarmed behind it. "ARGANA MEGAZORD: PRIMAL-NINJASAUR-SHUGOD-HIVE FORMATION, COMPLETE!"

"SPIDER COMBINE!" The Great Divine Arachnids cried, eyes and microprocessors flashing.

Suddenly, the two mecha were flying through a tunnel comprised of purple and black spiderwebs. Great Scorrpio's tail detached from his body, the upper part of his body swiveled 180, and the lower half split in two, swiveling and bending to form a pair of very shapely legs ending in pointed feet. His pincers split further apart, causing the gun barrels to protrude outward before flipping over to reveal a pair of hands ending in sharp, dainty claws.

His "torso" unfolded into four pieces, revealing a hollow space with a slot in the back which Great Arachne gracefully slid into, her legs passing through the slot and coming out the back of the mecha, swiveling on their joints so they hung downward. Her abdomen split apart to reveal a voluptuous purple and black torso with an ample chest covered in spiderweb motifs and the red hourglass crest of the Ascendancy on her stomach.

Her head flipped back to reveal a beautiful face somewhat resembling Aranea's, sizable fangs growing from her mouth, framed by chelicerae. Great Scorpio's head, which had also been split apart, attached both halves to the sides of her head, giving her the appearance of a monstrous helm covered in glowing red eyes. Great Scorrpio's tail attached to the back of her head, hanging down to the ground like a lengthy braid terminating in the stinger blade. "ARACHNO MEGAZORD! READY!"

BGM: Back From The Dead (Halestorm)

The Argana Megazord's jaw dropped. The Hive Megazord part of the combination whistled. "Do you see why I love her?!"

The Arachno Megazord took a step forward, crushing a car hard beneath a foot as she struck a seductive pose, one hand on her hip as she leaned the other against the building, pushing her chest forward and licking her lips sensuously. "Well then? Like what you see?" She purred, gesturing to her body. "I can tell you're fairly new at the giant robot game, so why not let someone a bit more… Mature take the lead?"

"Step on me," The Argana Megazord said huskily.

The Arachno Megazord blinked. "What?"

"You're more beautiful than I ever imagined," the Argana Megazord said dreamily.

The Arachno Megazord stared in disbelief, blushing deeply. "… What?!"

"I-I mean, your exterior may be unimaginably captivating, harlot," the Argana Megazord stammered, disparately trying to play it cool. "But it does nothing to hide the darkness festering within your breast! Your… Very captivating and alluring breast, which I'd love to rest my head on as we watch the sun go down from atop Sinner's Lane after a romantic day spent in each other's company!"

Great Kuwaga, Great Kabuto, Great Cicadoid, the Ninjasaurs, the Primal Fury Zords, the Shugods and the Pharaoh Megazord facepalmed.

The Arachno Megazord turned even redder, struggling not to giggle like a schoolgirl learning her crush was reciprocated.

The Argana Megazord did their best to keep a straight face while every part of the Gestalt consciousness – save the parts that were Ariel, Taeko, Vaati, Vaizen and Drakus, which were enjoying every bit of this – screamed at the parts of her that were Nushi and Lute for being such a useless lesbian or a hopeless romantic of an angel.

Philia, watching from her hiding place, clapped giddily along with her friends at least half the Hive as she watched her new favorite ship unfold before her eyes, while Apista, Anubis, Blackheart, Trifa, Yuma, Chill, Taurus, Tock and Pascal were beginning to wonder if this entire venture was doomed and feeling like they were in desperate need of some hard nectar or beer, as Argrenious wondered what the hell he was watching.

As the two giant mecha exchanged blushes, it suddenly occurred to the Arachno Megazord that if something wasn't done to salvage the situation immediately, this whole thing was going to fall apart.

Also, she'd probably lose control of herself and take the Argana Megazord right then and there, a prospect which was looking increasingly more attractive by the second.

"So, it would seem that you have fallen into my tangled web!" the Arachno Megazord chortled, chest heaving. "My pheromones have made me absolutely irresistible to your weak-willed Gestalt intelligence! Further proof of your inferiority, but what can you expect when you're made from insane mammals?"

The Argana Megazord stared at her blankly. "What pheromones?"

Several of the Arachno Megazord eyes twitched. "You know. The pheromones I'm producing right now."

"You aren't producing any-"

"The ones that have caused you to fall madly in love with me."

The Argana Megazord continued to stare at her for a moment in unthinking incomprehension. Not for the first time, the Arachno Megazord lamented the fact that the Buzzing and the Web were incompatible, because she'd really like to psychically smack the gorgeous but apparently incredibly stupid mecha over the head.

Thankfully, after several incredibly awkward seconds realization dawned in the Argana Megazord's eyes, mainly because half the Hive had been screaming in her head to play along while the other half urged her to kiss her already. "Oh! Yes! Those pheromones!" She yelled rather unconvincingly, unwittingly channeling some of Goro's terrible acting skills. "You fiend! Are you so insecure that you feel that you need to use artificial means to entice a mate?"

"I'm not insecure – wait, you don't think I need to use anything to get a mate?" the Arachno Megazord asked, blushing again.

"But of course! Just look at you! You'd have to be blind not to want to be instantly smitten by your beauty!" The Argana Megazord raved. "You're at least as hot as the Queen!"

Great Kuwaga and Great Cicadoid started banging their heads against a building as Great Kabuto started wondering why the hell is the Argana Megazord a lesbian disaster.

A giddy Philia immediately started planning a number of increasingly lurid fanfics about her new favorite pairing while across the Hive, inspired insects started making fanart while a very confused Argrenious started wondering if maybe he had made a mistake.

"Those are just the pheromones talking," the Arachno Megazord insisted quickly.

"No they aren't-"

"Yes they are."

"What – oh! Yes! Yes they are!" the Argana Megazord yelled loudly, trying her best to play along. "B- but they will not stop me from delivering justice! And once Argrenious is defeated maybe we can go on a date while he has a date with… A prison cell! Yes! Nailed it."

Argrenious banged his head against a building. "I served Junosia for countless years, absorbed her and the Pantheon to gain the power needed to make sure the sun doesn't set on the Rougian Empire and served countless tours...for this?" He muttered.

Everyone watching wasn't sure whether they should facepalm or yell at them to kiss already. Many did both.

Desperately struggling to keep things on track, the Arachno Megazord practically shouted, "If you think you can harm me despite being under my spell, go right ahead!"

The Argana Megazord was briefly confused. "What? I don't want to hurt – oh, um, curses, your enchantment is truly far more devious and subtle than I imagined! But it is no match for my own mystical might!" She started waving her hand vaguely over her head. "Hocus Kazam! You no longer have any power over me!"

The Pharaoh Megazord frowned and was about to start fighting Argrenious, when the Argana Megazord cried, "Enough, we can deal with this later! Come, let us vanquish this beast so that me and Arachno can fuck later!"

"I swear to myself, Great Cicadoid better not be using a hammer and sickle as a weapon!" Anubis yelled.

"Of course not!" the cicada zord assured him. "…Mainly because this eldritch Megazord abomination doesn't have hands that don't already have weapons or are weapons. But the cane, sword and guns will serve just fine."

"Now then, Argrenious, for far too long the Rougian Empire have threatened Egyxos and beyond," Jaime declared from her throne-like command chair in the new cockpit of the combined mecha, which resembled a high-tech Egyptian temple with great burning braziers on either side of her, columns covered in glowing hieroglyphics supporting the ceiling, and four smaller thrones in a line in front of her for the rest of the Pyramid Battalion Rangers, with a fifth chair for Markan. "And while I always knew it would eventually come to this, I had hoped Roug would at least be in his right mind. Normally I would be filled with contempt… But now, I cannot help but pity him. Mark my words, Argrenious, we will stop you not just to save this world and Egyxos, but also to save Roug."

Markan shot her a grateful look. "Thank you, Jaime."

For a minute, a flicker of regret passed across Argrenious' own face. "Y'know, Roug had not wanted it to be like this either," he admitted. "He always loved tales of the Alexan Library, and he believed once that perhaps, the two of you could be friends and…"

He shook his head. "But no. I have come too far. I have done too much. Now, there is only one way this can end."

Jaime narrowed her eyes. "You're right. There is."

The two of them raised their swords, getting into stances, waiting for the signal to begin.

In the background, a towering obelisk crumbled and collapsed to the ground.

Before the first piece of rubble could hit the ground, the two giants rushed at each other, howling battle cries as their blades clashed with an impact that shook the city and promptly extinguished all the fires.

Argrenious drove his blade into the ground, and monstrous centipedes started burrowing through the defiled soil before multiplying and erupting around the Argana Megazord and Arachno Megazord, hissing and preparing to strike, as the Argana started flailing around, slashing the centipede's like mad with the Drak-Cudgel, as Nushi started asking how the Argana Megazord has so many weapons, but the Drak-Cudgel in particular has a gun function.

Blushing at how endearingly dumb her ally was acting, the Arachno Megazord managed, with effort, to remind herself they were in the middle of a fight and coughed, trying to get back into character. "Your weapons aren't half bad, Argana…" She crooned. "But you aren't the only one with an extra arsenal up their sleeve!"

Suddenly, the Arachno Megazord was back in the web-filled void where her transformation sequence had taken place. She put her hands together and slowly pulled them apart, revealing a pink cocoon. The cocoon grew and grew, and abruptly burst, revealing a large pink squirt gun that looked like the sort of thing you'd expect from the Super Soaker line, except the tank was filled with green slime, the body looked practically semi liquid, and the nozzle resembled the head of Gooop. The Arachno Megazord grabbed the squirt gun, causing pink accents to form all over her body. "Arachnid Armament: Gooop Sprayer!"

"That weapon… It looks like… Gooop?" The Argana Megazord murmured in surprise as the Arachno Megazord leapt off the building, landing beside them.

"It is Gooop," The Arachno Megazord cackled. "Thanks to my bond with the girls in my web, in this form I have the ability to transform them into weapons to make my battles more interesting!"

"That's so cool! How could, better yet, how did ya use them like that?! Cause I wanna try that out!" The Argana Megazord gushed, amazed.

The Arachno Megazord scoffed, braid swishing behind her. "Their lives are mine to do with as I please. Let me show you what we are capable of together!"

She lifted her squirt gun… And then pointed it at the ground, pulling the trigger and spraying green slime all over the street.

The Argana Megazord stared blankly as the slime gradually lapped against their feet. "So… Was that supposed to do something, or-"

The Argana Megazord was cut off when the Arachno Megazord fired a web line at Argrenious' chest and pulled, tugging the peacock forwards onto the slime, where he promptly lost his footing, fell on his rear, and slid forward. "Oh no, it's the Feast of Gods all over again!" He wailed as the peacock slipped wildly out of control.

The Arachno Megazord stepped out of the way before Argrenious could crash into her, lashing out with her claws and spider legs as he slid past, further damaging him and causing him to slam rather ignominiously into a building.

"Let's see you pull that trick on me twice!" Argrenious cried, firing his new cannon at the Megazords.

Without even looking, the Argana Megazord grabbed the squirt gun, pointed it at him and fired, splattering him with goo and gluing him to a nearby building.

"What do you know, you did," he remarked grudgingly.

As Argrenious pried himself out, he looked in surprise as the Gooop Sprayer unraveled into pink thread, shrinking back into a cocoon and sinking into the Arachno Megazord's body as her accents vanished. "Ya aren't gonna keep using that?" The Argana Megazord asked.

The Arachno Megazord shook her head. "My girls are still relatively new to my web, and haven't built up enough affinity with me for me to use them in their weapon forms for extended periods of time. If I push them too far at this point, it could cause serious damage."

The Argana Megazord clasped her limbs together, eyes sparkling. "That's so cute! Ya really love them a lot, don't you?"

"Wh-what?! No I don't!" The Arachno Megazord denied frantically, blushing. "I-I simply see no need in breaking a tool before its usefulness has come to an end!"

"Ye're so tsun-tsun," the Argana Megazord giggled.

"I don't even know what that means!" Argrenious sputtered.

Returning to the webbed-up void, the Arachno Megazord conjured up another cocoon, this one purple. It burst, revealing a pair of elegant knives with circuit patterns engraved in the blades and purple and silver hilts with bells for pommels. She grabbed the knives and juggled them as purple accents formed on her body. "Arachnid Armament: Harlequin Trick!"

The Argana Megazord looked perplex. "Harlequin? Given the name, design, and color, I'm guessing this power up is from HQ-12. But what's the trick?"

"Allow me to demonstrate," The Arachno Megazord crooned, now with a ridiculously sexy French accent that made the Argana Megazord weak in the knees. The arachnid expertly threw one of the knives at Argrenious, who swiped his arm at it…

And was surprised when the knife puffed into nothingness. "What?!"

"And here's number two!" the Arachno Megazord sank, flinging the other knife. Argrenious tensed up, then reminded himself it was probably an illusion…

And was startled when the knife struck him in the chest and exploded, sending him stumbling back. "What?!"

The Arachno Megazord cackled madly. It sounded really nice. "And there's the trick!"

With a flick of her wrist, more throwing knives appeared in her hands, and she started flinging them at Argrenious, generating new ones practically the instant the weapons left her hand, as the Argana Megazord pulled out a crimson ray gun and started shooting. Argrenious decided not to take any chances and treated every knife or blast as if they were the real deal, swiping at them. Some knives or blasts puffed into nothingness. Some exploded. Some split to form even more knives or blasts, or splattered them with putty, or turned into bubbles, or turned into laughing gas, or any one of at least a dozen other possible random effects-

And then Argrenious cried out as a pair of knives were thrust into his back, all the remaining knives vanishing in a shower of confetti while the Arachno Megazord took a bow and dissolved into thread, the real one grinning from behind Argrenious as she dug the blades in deeper, leaping back to the Argana Megazord. "And that's the real trick," she whispered into the Argana Megazord's ear, causing her moan.

Argrenious growled and fired half a dozen shots at the two, but while the Argana Megazord ducked and weaved, the Arachno Megazord evaded the energy bullets with the grace of an acrobat, her knives dissolving into thread as she once again returned to the void, conjuring up a red cocoon which burst to reveal a magnificent red and green whip covered in thorns with a rose-patterned handle. She grabbed the whip and cracked it through the air as red accents formed on her body. "Arachnid Armament: Rose Whip!"

"So," the Arachno Megazord purred, strutting even more confidently and radiating massive domme energy. "How would you like a little thorny kiss, pet?"

"I would like it very much," the Argana Megazord said immediately.

An awkward pause filled the air as the Arachno Megazord stared at the Argana Megazord. "… I'm sorry?" the Arachno Megazord stammered, faltering, losing some of her confidence.

"Punish me," the Argana Megazord pleaded. "I've been a very bad girl."

The Arachno Megazord stared at her, turning very red as she struggled not to acquiesce to this very tempting request. "Oh no!" Argrenious yelled loudly. "Can someone please use make her stop-"

"Screw it!" The Argana Megazord shrieked, stealing the whip and started lashing like Danny Devito started blasting, causing Argrenious serious pain.

"Oh no, my whip," the Arachno Megazord squeaked rather shrilly, quickly dismissing her weapon, causing the Argana Megazord to whimper in disappointment. "It looks like my connection with Rose isn't strong enough to maintain her weapon form effectively, what a shame, looks like I'll have to try it again some other time!"

"Ya promise?" the Argana Megazord begged her.

The Arachno nodded, then caught herself. "What? No, of course not, because w-we're supposed to kill him! Right now!"

Argrenious banged his head against the building he crashed into.

Philia blinked. "I don't know whether I should be very disappointed or relieved, but she's just spawned like a million more fanfic ideas."

Markan stared blankly at the wall. "… Yeah, I'll need a drink after this."

Desperate to get everyone's mind off the intensely awkward situation she'd fumbled her way out of, the Arachno Megazord returned to the void, conjuring a green cocoon which burst to reveal a vaguely serpentine gun covered in green and rainbow scales with a muzzle resembling the mouth of a cobra with a targeting scope resembling a snake eye. Arackaiserin grabbed it, causing green accents to form on her body. "Arachnid Armament: Pythia Shot!"

The Arachno Megazord hissed in amusement as she raised her gun into the air. "Well, there's certainly no way you can derive any sexual pleasure from this weapon!" She hesitated, then awkwardly asked, "It, um, doesn't do anything for you, does it?"

The Argana Megazord shook her head. "Probably."

"Right. Yikes," the Arachno Megazord exhaled in resignation. "Anyway. Meet your doom!"

Without further preamble, she raised her weapon, peering through the scope, and started opening fire. Instead of bullets, actual mechanical cobras were fired from the serpent's jaws, hissing and baring their fangs as they flew through the air.

Channeling power into his legs, Argrenious zipped back and forth, evading the rather unusual projectiles. "Nice try, but I'm too fast-" She staggered, feeling woozy. "What… What's happenin'…"

The Argana Megazord laughed. "You've been hit!"

"What?" Startled, Argrenious glanced down and discovered, to his shock, that half a dozen mechanical cobras had latched onto her body, fangs pumping venom into his body, causing his limbs to start turning purple. "But… But how…" She stammered weakly, falling to one knee as she stared at the serpents in disbelief. "I… I saw them!"

"On the contrary," the Arachno Megazord hissed seductively, cradling her gun. "Just as Pythia has the gift of foresight, so to does her weapon!" She tapped the scope, the serpent eye glowing briefly. "With her eye guiding me, I was able to predict your every move, so fired exactly where I knew you would be!"

Argrenious clumsily tried to dislodge the serpents, no easy feat. "I can… O can cure myself of this," he stammered, head swimming. "I just… have to…"

The Arachno Megazord returned to the void, forming a blue cocoon which burst to reveal a beautiful crystalline buckler covered in elegant traceries and elaborate but incredibly sharp spines with a massive diamond-shaped spike jutting from the front. She mounted the weapon onto her left arm, causing blue accents to appear on her body. "Arachnid Armament: Krystal Breaker!"

"That's… Pretty…" A dazed Argana Megazord muttered.

"No! I won't let you end me now!" Argrenious snarled as the Arachno Megazord swaggered towards the helpless peacock, who was firing his lasers at her.

The arachnid casually raised her buckler, which shined brightly as the energy blasts struck it, absorbing them and causing it to start glowing brightly. "Thanks for the power boost!" The Arachno Megazord commented

Argrenious grimaced. "Crap."

The Arachno Megazord raised the buckler into the sun, causing it to glow even brighter as it drank in sunlight, the spike beginning to shimmer in all the colors of the rainbow. With a vicious – and attractive – smile on her face, Arackaiserin drew back her left arm and drove the spike into the weakened peacock's chest, triggering a tremendous prismatic explosion which sent Argrenious flying as the Argana Megazord kicked him even further, howling in pain.

"You look like you've had enough," the Arachno Megazord taunted her. "I suggest you submit already. I doubt you can keep this up much longer."

"Can't…submit," Argrenious slurred as he staggered his feet. There was a rather nasty hole in her chest, most of his body had turned purple from the poison, and he looked as if the slightest gust of wind would be enough to knock him down at this point.

"Made… A promishe to the Rougian Empire…" Argrenious declared, forcing himself to stand tall. "I… Will never give up…"

The Arachno Megazord's power core revved, amazed by this determination. 'He meant that with every fiber of her being,'she thought in wonder.

"I'm afraid that is a promise you will have to break," the Arachno Megazord said, dismissing her buckler and reentering the void one last time. This time, she formed a cream cocoon, which burst to reveal a magnificent double-bladed sword resembling a tuning fork made from rabbit ears. Gently grabbing it by the hilt, she swept it through the air, cream accents forming on her body. "Arachnid Armament: Aria Calibur!"

The Arachno Megazord flicked a claw against the blade, causing it to begin resonating. Clear, crystalline sound waves reverberated throughout the city, and Argrenious found himself feeling lightheaded, but in a different way from the poison. All the pains from her numerous wounds, the torment from the poison working its way through her body… All of it just seemed to… Melt away.

"Argrenious," Arackaiserin said in a soft, gentle, melodious voice filled with so much compassion that it nearly rivaled the Queen. Somehow, the Argana Megazord knew she would make a great singer. "You have fought long and hard. You have battled with courage and conviction. Truly you have honored yourself and your gods this day. You have my respect."

"Th-thanks," Argrenious murmured drowsily.

"But… Your battle is over. You've reached your limit. It's time to stop," the Arachno Megazord said kindly, slowly approaching the other mecha.

"N-no," Argrenious slurred, trying to shake his head. It was hard. He felt incredibly sluggish, and wasn't sure it was all from the poison. His body felt so… Far away, somehow.

"It's okay," the Arachno Megazord said, carefully putting a hand on her adversary's shoulder. "It's over now. You can rest. Everything will be all right."

The Argana Megazord's eyes flickered. "I am… Really tired…" She swayed, barely able to remain on her feet. "Will you be there… When I wake up?"

The Arachno Megazord stiffened, again shocked by just how much the Argana Megazord seemed to mean it… And then nodded. "I… Yes. Yes, I'll be there."

"Okay. Thanks, Arachno."

And then, to the Arachno Megazord's disbelief, the Argana Megazord leaned forward, hugged her, and passed out on her shoulder.

Arackaiserin trembled, her conviction faltering for a moment. She could end it right here. Claim victory and move on to the next stage of the plan…

"Hellfire Stream..."the Argana Megazord murmured, shooting Argrenious.

The Pharaoh Megazord shot towards Argrenious, crocodile drill arm spinning and wolf blade glowing. "Full Moon Break!"

"Rest now," the Arachno Megazord whispered quietly into Argrenious' ear.

And then she drove her sword into the peacock's chest as the Hellfire Stream and Full Moon Break hit his body as well.

Argrenious cried in agony, sparks flying from his body and explosions rocking the frame, before he was consumed by a tremendous blast, Roug, Caesar and Bruteus flying from the peacock and smashing into the surrounding buildings, as Argrenious' body imploded, sending shockwaves across the whole forest.

"Roug! Are you okay?" Bruteus asked his Emperor in concern.

"I've… Been better," Roug groaned.

"Is it just you in there now? No rogue peacock?" Jiovan asked.

Roug shook his head. "No. Argrenious is gone."

Roug pulled himself up, and dusted himself, looking at Jaime.

"I give up," Roug said, an exhausted look on his face. "I'm done. You win. Completely. No more war. No more anything. As of this moment, I am hereby tendering my resignation as leader of the Rougian Empire."

Everyone gasped. "But, why?!" A shocked Jiovan demanded.

"Why? Why?! You're seriously asking me that?!" Roug snapped, flailing his hands at the devastation surrounding them. "We came here seeking power, power to finally end the war, secure the future of the Empire, and establish my legacy! And what did we get?! We've lost hundreds of men and countless resources on a fool's errand! Our entire pantheon was eaten and I got spiritjacked by a peacock! And, despite said peacock becoming the new Demon Sorcerer of Spirit and absorbing my Army of Bones, he still lost, not only to the Pyramid Battalion Rangers and their allies, but to those accursed Gaulics! Don't you get it, you two? No matter what scheme I try, no matter what power or weapon I try to obtain, it'll never be enough! No matter what we do, we can't win!"

"But… But they're right there!" Bruteus pleaded. "We could totally take them!"

"Can we, Bruteus?" Jiovan asked sarcastically. "Can we really?"

"Well. Um." Brutus slumped. "No, I guess not."

"So yeah, that's why," Roug said to Jaime and the others. "I am sick and tired of losing all the time. I'm done. Congratulations. You have defeated me completely and absolutely."

"But… But what will you do now?" A stunned Jaime asked.

"Probably move to the countryside. Honestly, it will be a relief to get away from there for a while," Roug said, causing Brutus to flinch slightly. "Say, Anastasius, does that milkmaid you're always going on about have a sister?"

"No, a brother, and Valentinian has already expressed an interest in her," the flabbergasted Anastasius replied.

"Shame. Well, I'll figure something out," Roug said with a shrug.

"But… But uncle, if you step down, then who will take your place?" Markan protested.

"Good question. Congratulations, Jaime Philopator, you're in charge of the Rougian Empire now," Roug decided.

Jaime stared at him blankly. "What?!"

"Yeah, you beat me completely and absolutely, the Empire is yours," Roug said, taking off his cape and tossing it at her feet. "Here, my symbol of office. It's yours now, which means you're in charge."

"I'm… Not sure that's how it works?" A bewildered Tchang Zu protested.

"I honestly don't give a shit. If that's how I say it works, then that's how it works," Roug said flatly. "I don't really care anymore. Show that to the people, and maybe mention that you're probably going to marry Mark."

"But… But I don't even want to rule the Rougian Empire!" Cleopatra protested.

"Really? You'd probably do a much better job of it than I did, seeing as how marvelously you turned Egypt around," Jiovan said, genuinely surprised. "But hey, if you want to let the Empire tear itself apart as petty warlords and politicians fight each other to replace me and destroy thousands of lives through civil war, go right ahead. It's out of my hands now."

Jaime flinched at this. "He… Has a point," Markan admitted. "A power vacuum never bodes well for anyone."

"You also have to consider the fact that with the Pantheon wiped out, new gods will be needed to replace them," Imhotep II added. "Ours are as good as any, unless you want someone worse to take their place."

"I… Will need to think about this," Jaime relented, picking up the cape. "You're kind of putting a lot on me out of the blue."

Roug shrugged. "I'm fairly sure you're capable. More capable than Markan, anyway."

"Hey!" Markan protested.

"He's not wrong," Exaton pointed out.

Markan sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"At the very least, you can restore freedom to Gaulic XIII and all the other territories Roug has conquered," Asterix suggested.

"That's easier said than done, but… I guess I'll see what I can do," Jaims said uncomfortably.

"Great! I'm sure you'll do a great job. Or not. I don't actually care anymore," Roug said, clapping his hands together. "I do wish you luck, though. You'll need it."

And with that, he turned and flew into the Netherworld Portal.

Everyone stared after him for a moment, still processing this.

And then a grin slowly crept across Bruteus' face. "Wait… If he quit, that means he's not the boss of me anymore… Which means maybe it's time I threw my helmet into the ring…" He started laughing evilly. "Yeah… That's the ticket! The age of Bruteus has finally begun-"

"Bruteus! Stop wasting time and get a move on, I want to leave this blasted place already!" Jiovan shouted at him as he went with Roug.

"Yeah, okay," Bruteus immediately agreed. "Come on, everyone, let's go."

Very confused and uncertain, the legionnaires followed Bruteus as he caught up to Jiovan and Roug. "Oh, hey, Jiovan, um… There's something I've been meaning to tell you…"

"I know the Senate has been trying to convince you to kill me," Jiovan said wearily.

"Oh," Bruteus said quietly.

"Thank you for not agreeing to it," Roug told him.

"Oh! You're welcome," Bruteus said in relief. "Does that mean we're good?"

"Do you have any intention of killing me down the line?"

"Do you have any intention of causing any more trouble for the Senate?"

"No."

"Then no."

"Then yes, we're good."

"… And just like that, it's over," Asterix murmured, scratching his head and glancing at the discarded sword. "Just as the great Chief Vercingetorix threw down his weapon in surrender, so too has Roug. I… Honestly never thought I'd see the day."

Obelix burst into tears.

"Yes, Obelix, this is indeed a beautiful moment," Getafix agreed.

"It's not that," Obelix sobbed. "I just realized that if the war is over, that means I can't beat up Rougians anymore!"

Everyone groaned, and even Dogmatix rolled his eyes. Antares was the only one who seemed even remotely sympathetic, and he patted the heavyset man's shoulder in commiseration.

"I have to say, I did not see that coming," Ariel remarked.

"It went a lot better than I expected it to," Goro confessed. "A pity we won't be able to resolve things with Deadlight the same way, huh?"

"We probably will, the universe works in strange ways." Krell said.

"What are we gonna do?" Burt sighed. "I got a lake with no camp and you got a camp with no lake." he then said to Jessica.

"Why not combine both camps together and have the camp here?" Rayco suggested.

"Well, that's perfect!" Mystle agreed.

The two camps then became one and it was now known as 'Camp Little Big Moose'.

"Now this is a camp." Kanade smiled.

"Yeah, this is amazing." Alessandra agreed as it was nightfall and the campers were zip-lining all around, having the greatest summer of their lives.

"Let's get inside." Mera smiled.

With that, they went inside as they enjoyed their conjoined campsite.