#kozkoz

As she had briefly pulled away to say something, she saw that, much to her horror....Saburo had survived.

 He was still standing there, his armor hissing as it cooled off. “You honestly thought....that you could simply defeat me!?” Saburo’s skin slowly began bubbling  regenerating, and he dusted himself off. “I am all powerful! How are you supposed to beat the very force that created you?!” 

Ikura’s eyes widened. “What?! No!” She clenched her fist. “I don’t care how many times we have to do it! We’ll beat you together!” 

KozKoz nodded. “That’s right! We can always win as long as we have each other!” 

“Grrr….fine then! If you still want to be defiant, so be it! I will make you suffer until you learn your place!” Saburo fired of a blast of energy from his hand, aiming straight for KozKoz.

“Look out!” Ikura pulled out of her embrace with her love and shoved her aside, taking the shot for her. There was a large explosion as it hit, tossing the Hakase backwards and making her skid for several feet before coming to a stop.

“I-Ikura-chan?” Kozue weakly asked, voice wavering.

Smoke rose off of Ikura as the dust settled, the valley going silent. She didn’t move.

“Please….get up….! This isn’t funny!” The other woman cried, looking over to her love.

Despite her pleas, though….Ikura was motionless.

Saburo began to laugh. “How the mighty have fallen!” He threw his head back, cackling. “For too long, she defied my will, refusing to stay in her role! Now….she’s dead! Gahahahahaha!!”

He began to advance towards Kozue, who just scrambled backwards. She was still in shock over what had just happened; in one fell swoop, her girlfriend had been killed and tossed aside like she was nothing.

“D-don’t…you fucking touch her…” A voice from behind Saburo weakly said. 

Ikura rolled over, struggling to push herself up. There was a large hole in the lower part of her top from where she’d been hit, and her labcoat was tattered. Several burns covered the skin on her abdomen.

Saburo halted, spinning on his heel to face the Hakase. “What?! How did you survive that?!” He clenched his fist, shaking in anger. 

Managing to lift herself with one knee, Ikura used an arm to brace herself as she stood up, holding her side. She was panting a bit, staring at the villain with contempt and determination.

Licking her lips, she narrowed her eyes. “Because….I made a promise to myself.”

She had already been covered in bruises from Mirror Knight keeping her captured, but now she was also covered in cuts from being thrown across the rock quarry. In multiple places she was bleeding, and she was covered in soot. Her platinum blonde hair was strewn about in a messy fashion, part of it draping over her left shoulder. 

“I promised myself that I would be the woman that Kozue needed. Someone to hold her when she was scared; to give her a shoulder to cry on when she was sad….and to be someone that she could have faith in!” 

Wiping away the blood from her lip with her forearm, Ikura wavered a bit due to how weak she was. However, this didn’t stop her. If anything, it only encouraged her to keep going. 

“Once before, I lost her due to how foolish I was. I promised myself….never again! I want only the best for her…and half-assing it won’t cut it! That’s why…..that’s why….!”

She stepped forwards, limping with her right leg. “That’s why I survived! Because…when the chips are down, and everything is bleak…I want to be there for her!” Despite the overwhelming pain she was feeling, Ikura pushed onwards.

“Ikura-chan….!” Kozue whispered, tearing up. She clasped her hands together. 

“I want to be someone she can trust, even when the odds are against us!” The Hakase stepped forwards again, getting louder. She was standing more upright now, wincing at the pain that was racking her torso as she pushed onward.

“Impossible! You’re just a nobody! You should be dead!” Saburo furiously interjected.

“Heh….see….” Ikura raised her head slightly, smirk now apparent. “…you just raised the flags for my victory!”

Saburo faltered some, stepping backwards. “W-what?!”

“I realized...I couldn’t beat you on my own. You’re right. I may be powerless against you. But there’s one force that even the most powerful of villains can’t deny- narrative causality!” Ikura holds up her right arm, raising a lone finger. “1: The hero takes a fatal blow meant for a loved one.” She looks to KozKoz, smiling. KozKoz smiles back. 

The Hakase raises a second finger. “2: The hero survives a fatal blow!” She’s becoming more confident as she continues, voice getting louder. “3: The villain declares what just transpired is impossible!” 

She steps forwards again, raising a fourth finger. “4: The hero declares why they’re fighting!” Ikura’s smile breaks out into a grin. 

“You can beat me all you want….you can try to assassinate me, write me out of reality, whatever….but that doesn’t change the reasons why I’m fighting. The reason I’m fighting…..!” She grit her teeth, jabbing a thumb at herself. “IS BECAUSE I LOVE HER! That’s why! Even after all these years, that’s why I’ve persisted- at the end of the day, I wasn’t living for myself like you think I do! I was living for her! Hatte Saburo….I will defeat you, for good! To protect her smile!”

Standing up straight now, Ikura curls her hands into fists, bringing them to her left hip. “Chou!”  

Raising her right fist, she moves it in an arc above her head, before crossing her arms. “Kenzoku!” 

Finally, she thrusts her arms outwards, uncrossing them. “Henka!”

  And, just like that, the Armored Avenger has appeared! In .0384 seconds, the Japanium armor has covered Ikura, transforming her into the cool hero that fights evil in the name of the name of her love for KozKoz! The transformation was so fast, however, we didn’t see what happened. Let’s take a closer look.

Ikura curls her hands into fists, bringing them to her left hip. Raising her right fist, she moves it in an arc above her head, before crossing her arms, then thrusting them outwards. She punctuates each movement with part of her transformation cry. “Chou! Kenzoku! Henka!”

A satellite dish on top of the Secret Base Cafe fires out a beam that’s reflected up into the atmosphere, which is then reflected off another satellite. The beam of energy pierces through the overcast, oppressive atmosphere Saburo had conjured, sunlight bursting through the hole it had blast in the cloud cover before the beam hits Ikura, sending out a shockwave as she is enveloped in energy. The battle armor begins appearing on her, the tech across it lighting up as different parts whir and settle into place, letting out firm ‘kachunks’ when they lock in.

“Koz-chan…no! Kozue! I won’t let this monster, nor anyone else come between us ever again! I want to be with you, always!” Kyusha clenched her right hand, raising it before swinging it outwards, raising her right arm above her head. 

“Master Change!”

A crimson tower of light erupted from her, rocketing off into infinity. Two massive columns of energy formed in response, one azure and the other emerald. 

   “Final Code! Converge!” The Armored Avenger cried, the three structures merging together in a dazzling display of shifting lights. The monolithic chromatic inferno rapidly descended upon the defiant heroine, her form lit up by the dancing spectrums shimmering across her body. A heavily armored, yet clumsily designed form began to become defined. 

“Ikura!” KozKoz cried out, scrambling to her feet and cupping her hands around her mouth. “I love you too! I want to be together with you forever!! I feel happy and at peace when I’m with you…you complete me!! Please…finish this fight! Come home safe!” 

As this occurred, a pink burst fired outwards from KozKoz, hitting Kyusha. The outline in the light began to slim and streamline, the features becoming more focused and defined. Wings folded out from her back, verniers appearing above them. 

There had been a chance the merging process would have backfired and created a devastating explosion. In her current state, likely it would have killed her. But maybe…something else had made this happen. Something more than just good design or everything going right. 

It could only be described as a miracle- a miracle brought on by love. 

“What is this?!” Saburo cried, frustration apparent in his voice. Even in the end, she still denied his directions! Why!? Why wouldn’t she bend to his will?!  Attempting to stop this form change while it was still underway, he thrust a hand outwards, firing a single shot outwards at Kyusha. It hit the column of light, but it rebounded off and hit the ground around him instead, making him flinch and duck.

“Nice attempt at subverting tropes- but you trying to stop me means you know what’s happening! You’re a writer yourself! This is the 5th victory flag….the debut of my final form!” Kyusha declared, pointing at Saburo. “This…is Kyusha, Mode Omega!”

A shockwave fired outwards as the column of light exploded, raining down millions of glorious silver glitterlike light particles.

The camera quickly cut between multiple angles of the new suit of armor. Its polished silver plating shined in the daylight, the gleaming orange eyes on the helmet showing no fear. 

Holding up a hand, Kyusha looked at it, clenching her fist and nodding. “I’ll show you…! I’ll show you the power of our love! Kozue….wait for me! I’m going to come home alive!”

Saburo held up a fist, sparking with power. “We’ll see about that!” 

Lightning shot down from the sky, impacting multiple spots in the ground between the heroine and her nemesis. Monsters began to pull themselves out of the ground- ones that Kyusha had defeated before. 

Gingakeinosaikōkyūkyokunobesutonanbākorekutāningenbunkanoshōsan-shawaintochīzutesutāgokinonakama (aka Gokiburi-seijin, Christmas Demon Krampus, Vesper,  Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage (Bootleg Lizard from the summer movie), and N’s aggregate form. Hundreds of Wotajaegers (the strange grunts that seem to appear periodically) surged forth from behind the writer.

“Just you watch....! I’m going to end your reign of terror once and for all!” With a running start, Kyusha jumped into the air, the six wings unfolding from their stored state and igniting, leaving behind a stream of white energy in her wake. 

She did a complete twirl in midair, because shut up final form debut means being extra. Flicking her wrists, beam broadswords erupted from the projectors on her forearms. Gokiburi-seijin and Vesper’s monstrous selves took flight to meet her, Vesper firing her stingers repeatedly at Kyusha. Gokiburi-seijin attempted to entrap the Metal Heroine within his untold amount of limbs, but she was too swift for them to even touch. Every stinger was sliced through, every limb slipped past.

Kyusha made one of the beam broadswords disappear, and she flew straight upwards, raising her right arm. A beam drill that was twice her size appeared, and she took a moment to stare at it shock. “Huh? I was just thinking it’d be cool if I had a drill, and here it is! I wonder....” She made the drill begin to whir, and underneath the helmet, Ikura couldn’t help but grin. 

Several of Vesper’s stingers get fired at her, and Kyusha only looks up in time. She braces for impact, but then looks up when she doesn’t feel it. The wings had folded over to block the shots. “Alright- I think I get it now!” Unfurling the wings, Kyusha dove towards Gokiburi-seijin and Vesper. 

She weaved in and out of the rather sharp limbs attempting to cut her into ribbons, slashing a few with the beam broadsword still active on her left forearm. Extending the drill outwards, she began chasing after Vesper. In response, the gigantic bee monster began unleashing hundreds of stingers to throw the heroine off her tail- Macross Missile Massacre levels of stingers, at that!  

What followed was an Itano Circus of epic proportions as Kyusha dove, zipped, and twirled her way past the relentless stingers, which continued to home in on her. It took some quick maneuvering and split-second reactions to force the stingers to crash into each other to clear the air a bit. “Alright, enough maneuvering....I’ve got better things to do than stylistic homages!” The drill revved up, loudly whirring as Kyusha accelerated, leaving a trail of what looked like stardust behind her as she rocketed off towards Vesper. Arcing upwards, she pierced through the bee’s midsection, tearing it in half with a resounding explosion. 

Kyusha emerged from the inferno, dismissing the drill and creating a beam broadsword to go back to the twin sword style she’d been using initially. She tore towards Gokiburi-seijin, blades clashing with his deadly slicers as he repeatedly attempted to impale her. What attacks she couldn’t block with the swords, her wings took. While she was furiously slashing at him, he was blocking just as much, and vice versa. They continued to trade blows, until Kyusha spun in a circle, releasing tons of light from her afterburners and knocking away the razorlike limbs. She quickly zoomed in, swooping downwards to avoid the vicious alien monster’s quick attempt to bite her, and ramming her weapons through what she was pretty sure was his throat. Pulling them upwards, she made the blades dissipate and quickly boosted away as the insectoid erupted into multiple explosions.

Descending back towards the ground, Kyusha entered the hoard of Wotajaegers, creating twin blasters that were mounted on her forearms. She touched down, intentionally letting her feet skid on the ground and half-gliding along as she shot up all the grunts, firing indiscriminately. Taking some inspiration from VOTOMs, she rotated around, still moving in the same direction she had been. Swaying back and forth, she spread her shots across the crowd, each energy bullet hitting their mark. Sparks flew everywhere as the Wotajaegers took this relentless assault, succumbing in waves to the heroic side of the Worf Effect. 

Doing a backflip, she spread her arms, firing at grunts off to the side of her. Landing, she spun around before lifting off and kicking the thrusters into overdrive as the waves of grunts began to fall in chain explosions, creating a cacophony of fire and thunder. It was if judgement day had arrived in the form of a single woman.

Seeing this, Krampus and Bootleg Lizard began firing at her repeatedly with what they had, though Kyusha was able to nimbly evade their shots, still advancing ever forwards. Spotting N behind them trying to collect more material for their armoring, Kyusha raised both her arms. She created two large rifles that were the length of her arms, then slammed them together. 

Her wings splayed open as she forcibly caused herself to slow down, charging up the twin rifles. Aiming at N, a large sphere of energy began to collect at the tip of the combined weapon, smaller bolts crackling in the electricity field it was generating. It fired, knocking Kyusha back in the air and releasing in one continuous stream. Krampus and Bootleg Lizard threw themselves aside, but N took the brunt of the attack, getting caught directly in its path. 

For a moment, it was as if the sun had flown close to the Earth, as there was a bright white flash right when the attack was released. When all seemed to clear, though, there was only a smoking hole where N had been standing. 

Dismissing the rifles, Kyusha looked to Krampus and Bootleg Lizard, creating two pilebunkers on her forearms. She sped in, landing and getting a sure footing. Krampus got one punch in the waist, where his belt was- which, as she remembered, stored his power. As the punch connected, the stakes in the pilebunker deployed with a loud, satisfying ‘KA-CHUNK’, slamming into him with definite force. It tossed the Christmas demon back, but Kyusha wasn’t done yet. She flew around, catching him from behind with an uppercut, slamming him in the back. Once more, the pilebunkers did their work, an audible snap being heard as it smashed into his back. Krampus’ momentum completely changed, now flying upwards.

Kyusha boosted past him, before finally landing a good, solid heel drop on him, slamming him into the ground. He created a crater where he landed, exploding immediately afterwards just like the rest. 

Bootleg Lizard, not wanting to meet a similar fate, unleashing his eye beams in hopes of degrading her all-powerful new form into something akin to that of a low-quality knockoff. Kyusha looked up from finishing off Krampus, only for the beams to connect....and for nothing to happen. The Neo Japanium plating had made the attack completely ineffective- or maybe it was just that there actually had to be a distinct object for it to work. Regardless, it set in to Bootleg Lizard rather quickly that things weren’t going to end well. 

Kyusha projected a spear from one forearm, creating a beam shield with her other, and flew forwards. Bootleg Lizard began spitting fireballs, but they were all deftly deflected with the beam shield. The kaijin’s offense had a massive hole in it, and the spear went right through his wide open mouth and out the back of his head. He exploded, Kyusha finally landing and dismissing her weapons. All that left now was Hatte Saburo.

Saburo wasn’t having any of this, as he began unleashing waves of energy that were headed straight for Kyusha. Unrelenting, she began running forwards, explosions going off around her as she made a mad dash for the source of all her torment. “I can’t lose...! Not now....! Not ever!” She yelled in determination, charging forth even as the shots began to get dangerously close to her. With a hop, skip, and a jump, she took flight again, a large wall of explosions going off behind her just as she made it into the air. You know this is the money shot because it gets replayed several times from different angles, and once in slow motion. 

“SABUROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” She yelled out in anger, beam broadswords erupting from her forearms again. Wordlessly, he created the twin blades from his own forearms, and ran to meet her, leaping up at the last moment to clash blades.

Despite their completely different construction, the writer’s weapons were holding their own against the seemingly all-powerful beam projections. “I don’t care what you think up with that imagination of yours,” he snarled. “At the end of the day, I! am! GOD!” 

A pulse of energy shot forth from him, meant to knock Kyusha off balance. She responded by kicking her wings into overdrive, a shockwave going outwards as the two force met. 

Finally, the sheer power between the two became too much for either to handle, and they were both thrown backwards. Kyusha recovered first, using the verniers and thrusters on her wings to right herself in midair. Saburo wasn’t as lucky- he had hit the ground multiple times before skidding to a stop. “Khhh...tch! See? Even with your new form, I am still too powerful for you to handle!” 

Kyusha landed, using this moment of villainous boasting to her advantage and beginning to formulate a plan. “Too powerful my ass! You could barely handle me!” 

Saburo laughed. “Barely handle you? Oh, you stupid woman....who do you think it was that sent Mirror Knight to go torment Keiko? Who do you think it was that sent that Horror to go use Yuna’s ex as its’ vessel? It was me....all me! I figured, if I couldn’t get at you directly, I’d bring your friends down around you just to make you despair!” 

Kyusha’s fists began to shake, and the beam broadswords began to glow. 

“Shut up,” she lowly growled. “You don’t know a damn thing about any of them. What, are you going to claim that the golem alien that tore Hikaru’s wings out was your idea, too?” Kyusha asked.

“Of cou-” Saburo began. 

“BULLSHIT!” She yelled so angrily that the font grew several sizes. 

“I’ve finally figured out why you work the way you do,” she seethed, stepping forwards. She deactivated the beam broadswords, if ever so briefly, and grabbed him by his collar. “The reason you tried to write me out of existence....!” Kyusha hit him with a mean right hook, before letting go of him and letting the writer-turned-monster stumble backwards. “The reason you tried to assassinate me...!” She slammed another fist into his gut, before whirling on her heel and hitting him in the face with a standing roundhouse. “The reason you kidnapped me and beat me...!” 

She activated the beam broadswords again, and slashed across his chest. “The reason you tried to kill Kozue!” She slashed again, this time diagonally. “The reason you summoned past foes in an attempt to overwhelm me!” She slashed horizontally, throwing him backwards. All the wounds she’d been inflicting were hurting him faster than he could regenerate, and it was evident he was struggling to keep up.

“The reason why...IS BECAUSE YOU’RE SCARED! You knew you couldn’t win, and you’ve always known that! That’s why you could never face me directly, until only now! You didn’t want to see me face-to-face unless you already had the advantage!” Kyusha’s beam broadswords begin to glow, white energy beginning to radiate from them. “You can mess with me all you want,” she growled, “but when you mess with my friends....when you messed with my family....when you mess with my soulmate,” she continued, raising both her arms in the air. “Then I’ll never forgive you!” 

Kyusha clasped her hands together, and the twin beam broadswords fused together, sending out a shockwave as energy flowed forth from her heart- all the emotions she was feeling- love, anger, all of it- was driving forth her attack. The fused weapon extended far above her, to dizzying heights.

“HATTE SABURO! THIS! ENDS! NOW! GALAAAAAXY SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORD!” 

Kyusha brought down her mighty weapon upon her nemesis, a resounding boom resonating outwards as it made contact with him. The Earth began to shake, cracks developing in the ground around them.

“No! I can’t die here!” He cried, fear evident as a chain reaction began to form at the point of contact. “If you kill me, you’ll bring down the whole world with you! Do you really want that?!” 

The blade drew closer and closer to him, until finally it cleaved him completely in two. For a moment, it seemed as if nothing had happened....but the explosion was merely delayed, like a sonic boom. Instantaneously, a gigantic explosion occurred, streaks of white and cosmic energy weaved into it. It was like the world was being born anew. 

The old era had ended. 

All went white, the only sound evident was ringing.

Until, finally, something came into sight. It was a lone man, sitting in an armchair. Resting on his thighs was a laptop, the back of which was plastered in stickers related to various things.

He was wearing a t-shirt with a branded pattern on it, a large logo prominent on a background of solid color. His jeans were tattered and worn, and he was completely barefoot. His hair was an unkempt mess, and his bangs drooped down over his eyes.

Saburo looked around.

That was it. Otherwise, he was in a void.

“Who....who are you?” He asked. Every time he tried to focus on the stranger’s face, it went out of focus...almost as if he wasn’t supposed to see it.

“I’m the one in charge,” the stranger answered. “You really thought you were in control?” He asked. “Everything you’ve done in your plans....you were playing by my rules.”

“What!? How?” Saburo asked. “Who are you?! State your name!” He demanded.

“I don’t have to. You already know.” As this exchange went on, the stranger was busy furiously typing, but he never broke eye contact with his visitor. “The moment this world was created- the one you thought you were god of- I became the new ‘god’. This isn’t Akibaranger. These characters are mine now. You cast her aside, and I picked her up and fleshed her out.”

Saburo fell to his knees. It was finally sinking in. “P...please! I beg of you! I’m sorry! Spare me!” 

“Nah,” the stranger answered, blue eyes glowing like sapphires. “You’re too played out.” Raising a hand just to be dramatic, he brought a lone finger down on the ‘delete’ key.

Saburo was gone.

The white light became overpowering, and the stranger in the armchair was enveloped in it, before disappearing. The light faded, and as it died down, the world presented itself once more.

Kyusha stood up, looking at the ground. There was no trace of Saburo- not even an imprint where he had been laying.

Dismissing the armor in a flash, Ikura looked behind herself. KozKoz was waiting, hands folded in front of her heart. She smiled. 

Ikura turned around, smiling back. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said. The two stepped close together, and KozKoz embraced her love. “I knew you would come back- there wasn’t a doubt in my mind.” 

 Ikura hugged KozKoz to herself, and smiled. “Kozue....I love you. I hope you know that.” 

---------

10 AM 

KozKoz rolled over in bed, blink several times as her eyes focused. She had just woken up. Rubbing her eyes with her right forearm, she yawned. “Another day, another adventure!” She said to herself, hopping out of bed. 

One quick shower later, and she was ready to go. She was wearing one of Ikura’s outfits today...just because she could. It was a white t-shirt, jeans that were cut at the knees, a plaid coat, and a black bangle on her right arm. Come to think of it, her lover really had a thing for black and coats.

“What?” She asked. “You’ve got a point of reference for this one. You’ve seen the blog’s avatar, haven’t you?” 

Stepping outside, KozKoz took her time to get to the Secret Base Cafe. She had volunteered to assist today, since Keiko was out sick. It was nice to be back in Akihabara; she hadn’t realized how much she missed the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, or the colorful advertisements that seemed to be everywhere. Her time in America had been eye-opening, for sure, but here....here was where she felt happiest. 

At a quarter ‘til 11, she entered the Secret Base Cafe. “Ohayo!” She called to the few patrons that were there in the early hours. 

“Ohayo!!” Hikaru cheerfully responded. “Yuna-san is in the back! Do you need anything?” 

KozKoz nodded, then looked around. She furrowed her brow. “Um...Hikaru, has Ikura stepped out at all?” She asked.

Hikaru tapped her chin. “Hmm....no, I don’t think so? Yuna gets here before I do, so....maybe you can ask her?” 

Yuna emerged from the back room, pausing. “Oh! KozKoz-san! Have you seen the Hakase today? She wasn’t here when I arrived this morning, so.....” She trailed off. 

A flash of worry hit KozKoz. This wasn’t like Ikura- she never just left without saying anything! Even if she was hitting upon some random idea she had, she usually gave some indication of where she was running off to! Maybe....she’s been working in the Actual Secret Base? That sounded like her! Ikura was definitely a workaholic, KozKoz mused. She’d lost count of how many times she had to drag her away from things to remind her to eat. 

“Hikaru, I need you to make a distraction for me, if that’s alright? I need to go to...” KozKoz gestured towards the wall the elevator to the Actual Secret Base was behind. 

Hikaru saluted. “Hai! I’ve got this!” Running over to Yuna, she pulled her over to a corner of the cafe that had a small, white stage tucked into it. There was a monitor set into the wall, and a tall machine was set underneath it. It was mostly red, with blue and yellow accents over it to help it fit the cafe’s theme. She began playing with the switches and knobs, then picked up a mic for herself and flicked it on. 

“Minnaaaaaa! It’s time for Hikaru and Yuna’s Sentai Spectacular! Who’s ready?!” She declared. The cafe’s attendees all cheered enthusiastically and began moving towards the stage. As Hikaru and Yuna began performing music from Sentai, KozKoz slipped over to the back wall. She found the old photograph of the Akibaranger team, and took a brief moment to reflect on it.

She could see herself, Ikura, and Hakase Hiroyo. In front of them were Nobuo, Mitsuki, and Yumeria; all three of them were in their Akibaranger suits, holding their helmets under their arms. This was a celebratory picture taken to commemorate the defeat of the Delusion Empire...or was it the Blatantly Evil Marketing Firm? She couldn’t remember. Had it really been 6 years since then? It felt like it was only yesterday.

Lifting up the frame, she hit the button that was hidden in a small inlet behind it. The wall slid open to reveal an elevator, which she stepped into. Hopefully, her answers were waiting below. 

When the elevator doors opened up, KozKoz gasped at what she saw. There was a trail of....of.....what was that? Kneeling down, she rubbed her finger against the floor. Raising her hand, she sniffed her finger. It was soot! 

A quick glance to her left and right revealed that the trail came from the door to the test area. It lead away to the other side of the Actual Secret Base, before heading out the exit meant for Hyperleaper. 

Standing up, KozKoz ran over to the large, wall sized window that looked into the test room. There were scorch marks everywhere. Something had exploded, and....judging by the smear on the glass, someone had hit it. From there, they were dragged out. 

“Hmmmm....” Resting her hands on her hips, KozKoz mulled over things. It seemed she had a mystery on her hands! 

“Okay! I think I know what to do!” Spinning around in circles, she quick changed into....well, nothing, really. She just had put a deerstalker cap on and had a magnifying glass. First things first- time to check the computer databanks to see what Ikura had been up to!

While she didn’t know too much about how the Actual Secret Base’s custom operating system worked, she knew enough about using computers in general to navigate her way through it After a bit of messing around at the main computer, KozKoz found a recording of Ikura’s test from earlier that morning. 

There was a bit of a blush on her cheeks as she watched the transformation into Kyusha. Ikura had so much heroic flair! It really suited her. Then, she saw the explosion. Ikura (as Kyusha) hit the glass wall, then....the feed cut out.

Well, that was part of the mystery solved. She had been here. But where did she go?

Holding up her magnifying glass, KozKoz nodded. She was on the case! 

She began following the trail of soot, heading outside through the vehicle exit. The soot trail got weaker out on the street- it wasn’t as visible on the asphalt. However, there was still a trail. 

It quickly lead KozKoz out onto a crowded main street. It was the lunch rush! Curses! Taking off the deerstalker cap, she looked around. “Ikura-chan?” She called out. “Ikura-chan?” 

However, no one responded.

----

There was a faint rumbling as Ikura woke up. “Uuuugh....” She shook her head. She couldn’t see anything, save for a small amount of light coming from underneath what she could only assume was a door.

She moved to get up, but fell over on her face. Someone had tied her wrists together behind her back! “Oh, what the hell,” she muttered in exasperation. Suddenly, the whole room(?) lurched and she got tossed onto her side. “Ow!” She yelled out. The rumbling stopped, and she looked over towards the end of the room. She could hear footsteps! 

The door was raised up, and someone in armor was silhouetted by all the light streaming in. Ikura squinted. The figure approached, and yanked her up to her feet. “Alright, ‘Hakase’,” they mockingly hissed, “come on. You’ve got a meeting you’re late for.” 

She was lead out, the figure moving behind her. They were in....The Rock Quarry(TM)!? Glancing over her shoulder, Ikura realized she had been in a semi of some kind. 

Whoever had orchestrated this, they were prepared. Now, that lead to the question- was this person(?) who was taking her somewhere- who was definitely male- the mastermind, or were they just a henchman.

The man(?) behind her pushed her forwards, and Ikura did her best to brace herself. She ended up cutting her face some on the various small rocks on the ground. Damn Rock Quarry(TM)! The only times non-transformed people came out here was if they were hostage, or they happened to be a combatant themselves! 

She maneuvered a bit so she could see what the other was doing. They were wearing jagged, reflective armor. They...looked human from behind. Maybe they were a monster. She couldn’t tell. 

The armored man(?) knelt down, grabbing a rather distinctive rock and pulled it up, revealing a staircase down. It was a secret base! He turned around, and- yep, he was definitely monster. 

They were humanoid, and their overall shape invoked that of a Greek myrmidon. He grabbed Ikura by her collar, and stood her up again. Pausing, he reached out and ran a finger along her cheek, where there was a cut. “So you do bleed. Heh. By the way my master talks about you, you came off to me as more of a god....but, unfortunately, you are a mere mortal. Such a shame.” 

The monster lead her down the steps, before closing the hatch.

-----

KozKoz had gone back to the Secret Base Cafe...and had to go back through it to get to the Actual Secret Base. It was hopeless trying to track Ikura with just a magnifying glass. 

She could remember that Ikura kept a gadget down in the Actual Secret Base that could get her somewhere....it was a small, handheld device that could open up. Something about....a Uninet, or something like that. 

After a bit of searching, KozKoz found it stashed in a compartment by the worktable. It was a small, crimson device. In white, ‘BIRUTE’ was written along one side on the top, with a line over it. Above it was a bunch of numbers and letters that KozKoz could only assume were the unit number. Perhaps her lover had intended to make more of these?

Flicking it open caused the device to whir to life! There was a small screen on it that had several options: READINGS, SCAN, TRACK. 

Using the keypad, KozKoz scrolled down to SCAN and selected it. The device began whirring, several lights on the front end of it whirring to life. She moved over to the soot, and the Birute began humming. Finally, it chimed to announce that it had detected something.

She couldn’t understand half of what was in the contents of the soot, but she did recognize that it was offering to track it.

After a bit of messing around to understand how to read the tracker, KozKoz began following the trail again. Just like before, it lead her out to the crowded main street. This time, however, she had a lock on the material! 

Through twists and turns, back alleys and side streets, KozKoz arrived at a small loading dock at an even smaller warehouse. Unfortunately, the trail ended here. 

KozKoz’s shoulders drooped as she let out a sigh. She’d lost her! What would Ikura do in this situation? 

She giggled. “Probably quote Kai and Soutarou from Gaoranger- ‘NEVER GIVE UP!’” She loudly declared, pumping a fist in the air. “I can’t give up! Ikura never gave up on me...well, sort of! Still!” 

KozKoz began scanning again for the Birute, and found something strange. FOREIGN SUBSTANCE - NOT EARTH NATIVE the device noted. “What? Really? Weird.” 

However, after two hours of following the trail, she still hadn’t arrived at the end of it. To make matters worse, it lead to a highway! 

“Hm....” Tapping her chin, KozKoz thought for a second. “Ah! I know! I’ll use Sen’s thinking pose! Just like in Dekaranger!” Pocketing the Birute and setting her deerstalker cap down, she did a handstand against a wall. 

This is Sen’s thinking pose. However, KozKoz is not Sen. Regardless, if she brainstorms in it, she will see things in a new light. Surely, an answer will be exposed!

KozKoz came off the wall, standing up and fixing her outfit a bit. “I’ve got it! I can do a screen transition!” She took several steps backwards, before taking a deep breath. “Okay....you can do this, Kozue! NEVER GIVE UP!” She yelled, taking a running start before jumping and doing a somersault. “Toooooooh!” She cried out.

Upon landing, KozKoz realized she had appeared in The Rock Quarry(TM)! “Aha! I should have known! This is where all conflicts end up eventually!” 

She didn’t need the Birute to observe the random semi parked in the middle of The Rock Quarry(TM). “Wow, that’s really suspicious. Did they even try?” KozKoz remarked to no one.

Making her way down the hill she was standing up on, she began poking around where the semi was parked. Holding up the Birute, she was lead to a weird, prominent rock. 

“Hmmm....” Tucking the Birute in her coat pocket, KozKoz grabbed the rock and tried to pick it up. She yelped when she was nearly knocked over by a hatch that opened up when she did so! 

“A secret base, huh? Seems like Ikura isn’t the only one who had that idea around here!” Going down the steps, she stealthily closed it.

-------

Ikura was tossed into a wooden chair rather roughly. While she was falling, she did her best to catch herself. She braced against the chair to keep herself from falling over, then tried to stand up and fight back. However, her captor quickly unsheathed a sword and held it to her throat.

Ikura quickly decided maybe she would be more comfortable in the chair. 

 She’d been lead through a long, twisting hallway to get here. There was one, single light hanging down in the room. 

A door behind her opened. “Ah....Ikura! Finally, we meet face to face, for the first time, for the last time!”  The source of the voice stepped around to reveal themselves, aaaaand......it was a large, hulking monster!?

“Who the hell are you?! What do you want?!” Ikura spat. 

“Oh, Ikura....so rude, to talk to an old friend like that.” The monster grinned. “After all, we’ve known each other for so long.” 

Ikura rolled her eyes. “I think I’d remember an ugly mug like yours,” she snorted. 

Almost instantly, the monster backhanded her. He hit her with so much force that she was knocked out of the chair, and onto the floor. “Ungh!” Ikura grunted as she was thrown downwards. She looked up, briefly flicking her head to get her bangs out of the way.

“Think about it. Who’s the only enemy you’ve ever gone up against and never fought? Who have you constantly been fighting against ever since you first had screentime?” The monster asked. 

Ikura’s eyes widened as she thought about it. “Wait...you’re...!” She said, horror dawning on her.

”That’s right,” he opined. “The threat that’s always been looming just out of sight. Watching, waiting.....” 

“You son of a---” Ikura began, but the monster quickly kicked her in the gut. 

“You should consider yourself lucky I let you speak at all!” They growled. “I’d had enough. You--” 

Ikura cleared her throat, doing her best to not sound like this was getting to her. “Uh, yeah, I have a question before you start your big villainous rant. Actually, two.” She shifts a bit, sitting up silently cursing to herself whilst trying to undo her bindings. “Firstly, will there be a dinner with this show? I mean, you’re serving up a lot of ham, so...” 

The monster whirled and smashed their foot into her face with a mean roundhouse, knocking her over again. 

“I will have none of your ‘quirky’ snark, girl!” They snarled. “I am your creator! You should respect me!” 

Rolling over to face away from her oh-so-pleasant host, Ikura gave a noncommittal grunt. “Nah, not worth the face time. Right, so, anyways, are you going to introduce yourself for the class? You know, since you’re about to give a long, exposition-filled tirade about why I’m so terrible.” She looked over her shoulder. “Pretty please?” She asked in a sickeningly sweet manner.

Internally, Ikura felt like screaming. Getting tossed around like this fucking hurt. She also wanted to retch, just because of...well, this entire situation, really, but also because....oooow......

The monster huffed, crossing their arms. “Very well then. I am the god of everything in this world...the Sentai you celebrate, the Metal Heroes that you ape....my name is Hatte Saburo, and you are but a plaything in my fingertips!” 

Ikura smiled. “See? That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” 

Saburo moved to stomp on her, but Ikura rolled out of the way. She had to fight to sit up, but by using the wall as leverage she managed to get upright. Bracing against it, she stood up. 

“See, here’s the thing,” she began. “I need you to take a really, really close look at the floor here.” 

Saburo looked down,. “...it’s barren.” 

Ikura smiled. “Exactly! This is where I used to keep all the fucks I had to give, but unfortunately it seems I’m all out of them! So spare me the evil rant. I’m about to kick your ass!” 

She moved to free herself, pulling her arms as hard as she could...and the binds didn’t break. Ikura’s eyes widened in shock. “Eh?? Why aren’t they breaking?!”

Saburo laughed. “How adorable! You thought I would really give you the narrative agency to have an escape plan? Why do you think I tied you up offscreen?”

“You motherf--” Before Ikura could finish her curse, though, Saburo grabbed her by the throat.

“I grow tired of this game we play. Every time I tried to get rid of you, you squirmed out of every situation I put you in! I let you play hero for a little while...but it’s time to close a plothole. Never before have I seen a plothole as loud or as obnoxious as you!” Tossing Ikura aside, Saburo flicked their right arm outwards, causing a long, sharp blade to emerge from their body.

“Agh!” Ikura cried in pain as she hit the wall, falling to the floor and writhing in pain. The brave facade she’d been wearing so far was melting rather fast. 

She could see herself reflected in that blade. Battered, broken, and a lone.

Just like how she’d spent so long as. Closing her eyes, Ikura tried her best to hold back the tears. This was the first time, ever, that she had felt afraid for her life.

Getting erased from reality, living with a broken heart, all of it...all of it was something she would take in a heartbeat over this moment. 

“There will be no one to save you this time, Ikura,” Saburo crooned. He raised his arm to inflict the killing blow, but.....

“DYNAMIC ENTRY!” KozKoz yelled out as she came in with a flying kick. Her foot hit Saburo square in the jaw, and he stumbled backwards. Landing, KozKoz ran over to her love. “Ikura-chan...what did he do to you...?” She asked, bringing a hand up to her face and lightly rubbing her cheek. 

“Heh...nothing I haven’t taken before,” Ikura replied with a smirk. “How did you....?” She trailed off. KozKoz raised a finger to her lips, and smiled. “Don’t worry about it.” Leaning over, she reached behind Ikura and undid her bindings.

KozKoz helped Ikura stand up, and immediately Ikura moved to stand in front of her. “Get behind me...he’s dangerous!” 

During that exchange, the armored monster had unsheathed his sword and run to put some distance in between the two women and his boss. KozKoz stared back defiantly, lightly making Ikura step aside and moving to be in front of her. “I’m not running anymore,” she began, looking over her shoulder back at her girlfriend. “It’s my turn to protect you,” she said with a soft smile. 

“Koz-chan,” Ikura said in response. She...she wasn’t sure what to make of this. What did her girlfriend have up her sleeve?

As KozKoz took a deep breath to begin her passionate, heroic speech, Saburo swooped in and grabbed Ikura. “Never let your guard down, fool!” He shouted, laughing. 

Saburo leapt through the ceiling, emerging in The Rock Quarry(TM) and dashing to a conveniently placed cross and tying Ikura to it. What? Like you expected the villain to display their hostage on anything else? This is tokusatsu! 

KozKoz waved away the dust kicked up by the falling debris, and realized she was face to face with another opponent. “Oh, I get it! It’s like in Castlevania, when you have to fight Death first before you get to Dracula!” She bowed. “Sorry! Let me start over. Can I do that?”

The armored monster nodded. “Sure, of course.” He cleared his throat. “Who are you!?”

KozKoz laughed.  “ Sometimes I'm volunteer staff! Sometimes I'm a detective! And sometimes, I'm a dashing heroine! But the truth is...KOZU-PLAY!” She declared, spinning around in place.

Suddenly, everything cuts to just her in front of a brilliant, constantly shifting rainbow background. KozKoz becomes covered in energy, her facial features being the only distinguishable thing; she seems to be naked, but the energy is covering that up. She twirls around, holding her arms out to her side as a stylish coat appears. It’s low cut, and the top of it is a giant heart emblem. 

She twirls around again, raising her arms and crossing them at her wrists. Ribbons spiral around them, before glowing with energy and turning into gloves. As this happens, glitter is thrown everywhere. The process repeats, this time around her legs, creating boots with heels. 

Suddenly, a flowing skirt just exists, and it’s dynamically being blown by very dramatic wind! 

The camera pulls back, and the energy that had been enshrouding KozKoz previously is gone. She throws her head back as a light begins to shine right above her collarbone, creating a magnificent silver choker that has a heart-shaped gem set in it. With her transformation complete, she throws up her hands, creating Vs with her fingers.

“Ta-da! I’m the Crusader of Love, Kozuplayer-san!” She grinned. “Evildoer!” Kozuplayer shouted, dramatically pointing at her foe. “Not only kidnapping my girlfriend for your shallow, egotistical boss, but for attacking her when she was defenseless.....I can’t forgive your cruelty!!”

“I, Myrrormidon, cannot allow you to interfere with my glorious creator’s ambitions!” He pauses, looking aside. “Hi. It’s been a while.” 

The mirror warrior charged at Kozuplayer, slashing downwards at her. She quickly caught the sword in-between her two hands, staring into Myrrormidon’s eyes. 

“Wh-what?! You caught it?!” He shouted in fear.

“I can do anything with the power of love!” Kozuplayer retorted, snapping the blade in two. 

Myrrormidon stumbled backwards, casting aside his broken weapon. “Fine then!”  Reaching behind his shield, he revealed that there were hundreds of fragments of glass tucked in between his fingers! Tossing them forwards, they landed on the ground and wretched beasts invoking shattered glass grew. These were Fragladiators, Myrrormidon’s personal army. Each was armed with a sword and a shield, albeit much smaller than their commander’s because something something fragile masculinity.

Seeing herself surrounded by enemies, Kozuplayer smirked. She leapt up into the air, holding her right arm outwards and bracing it at the wrist with her left hand. “Secret Cosplay Art: Glitter Gale!” At her command, a massive stream of red, blue, and silver glitter began generating from her palm, blasting the Fragladiators with high-pressure craft supplies. Many of the grunts dropped their weapons, too overwhelmed by the sparkly storm that raged around them, whipping up into a tornado and sucking them all in. 

Myrrormidon grabbed onto the wall, doing his damndest to avoid meeting a similar fate. “No....dammit! I won’t be defeated like this! I haven’t even gotten to use my main ability to sow self-doubt in my opponent!” He cried.

Kozuplayer landed above the hidden base, back turned to the massive crater. “You know what I hate about glitter?” She began musing aloud. “Once you spill it on you, you’re never getting it off....ever.” 

She snapped, smirking, and the tornado of glitter EXPLODED. Myrrormidon was tossed out onto the ground, and she turned around. “Hope you’re as good with your fists as you are at being a coward!” Kozuplayer teased. She tapped her chin. “You know, all of a sudden...I’m suddenly overcome with the urge to shout out ‘YATTE YARUZE!’” She popped her knuckles. 

Myrrormidon pushed himself off the ground, armor fractured and broken from the force of the attack. Casting aside his shield, he rolled his neck. “Very well, then. Fisticuffs it shall be!” 

The pair charged, and the mirror warrior threw the first punch. Kozuplayer elegantly dodged it in slow motion, hair brilliantly flowing behind her as she weaved and went in for a counterpunch. One good right hook, headed straight for his jaws! 

Her fist met Myrrormidon’s face, and it smashed the already splintering mirroring on his face. “AAAAARGH! MY FACE!” He yelled.

“I guess you’ve got quite the glass jaw, huh?” Kozuplayer cheerily asked. Taking advantage of the opening, she performed a high kick, just because, hey man, sometimes you gotta strut your stuff but mainly so he can take a heel to the face and go down like a true warrior. 

As the heel of her boot made contact, Myrrormidon’s head smashed to pieces, body falling backwards and becoming limp. Of course, it was in glorious slow motion (again), the sunlight of day brilliantly reflecting off the bits of mirror as fell.

Kozuplayer covered her mouth. “Woah! That was really violent! I thought he was going to explode! That’s what supposed to happen, right?” She asked. Looking over to the hilltop Saburo was standing on, where Ikura was hanging from the cross.

“I’m coming, Ikura-chan! Just hang in there!” Kozuplayer called, beginning to run towards her.

It was then that Myrrormidon exploded, creating a colossal fireball behind the Crusader of Love. Unflinchingly, she ran forwards as she dodged all the falling debris. 

With a single leap (and the power of the mighty jumpcut), she had made it up top, landing directly across from Hatte Saburo. “Saburo! Your treachery ends here!” 

Saburo laughed. “Oh really now?” 

Taking a ready stance, Kozuplayer nodded. “You’ve bullied us for far too long! Ikura-chan especially! If I can end it here, then I will!” Reaching into the ribbon tied around her back, she withdrew the hilt for what lloked like a beam saber. 

“Another laser sword? You two are too predictable.” Saburo began charging up an attack, the gems in his chest and his eyes flashing as the energy began to store. 

“Who said anything about swords?” Kozuplayer asked, hitting the button and flicking her wrist. Quite suddenly, a beam ribbon shot forwards from the hilt, and she maneuvered it to snake around Saburo’s ankle. Pulling it, she knocked him off his feet. 

Taking a running start, Kozuplayer jumped over Saburo and landed behind him, in front of the cross her girlfriend was being hung on. Deftly, Kozuplayer cut Ikura down from the cross, catching her and stowing away the beam weapon. 

“I’ve got you, Ikura-chan,” she said. 

Ikura groaned, eyes slowly opening. Last she could remember, KozKoz had shown up and intervened......she blinked, looking up. “Koz-chan?” She asked.

Kozuplayer nodded, smiling. “I meant what I said.” 

Ikura smiled back. “I never doubted you for a second.” 

Saburo stood up, ankle smoking. His skin was bubbling and hissing. Where it had just been superheated and cut open by the beam ribbon was slowly being filled in with new skin. 

“Ikura-chan...let’s finish this together!” Kozuplayer said to her girlfriend. Ikura nodded back. 

The two began to tango, Ikura dropping Kozuplayer into a tango spin before dipping her. “Love Love Sequin Victory Blaster!” A massive heart shaped laser was fired at him, before slamming into Saburo and creating a massive explosion. 

kozkoz from akibaranger dances to ponpon.