episode 10 [Video | smartphone]

[wannabered]

You guys know how I said it sucks to suddenly get a lifetime's worth of memories all at once in your head? Ends up, it sucks even when it happens again.

[Looks like Thomas is back and he's walking through his apartment with his smartphone's camera on him.]

Oh wait, no. The worst thing is coming back into the city and having your car suddenly turn into an anime Prius when you reach your apartment building at like six am. Anyway, I'm back. Don't know why I forgot, but it was nice going home to spend the holidays with my mom and brother.

Sorry I didn't get anyone anything, I couldn't remember. Everyone feel free to send some gifts my way though. Or who knows, maybe you did? I'm busy sorting through nearly a month's worth of mail.

[He points the camera to a pile of mail on his coffee table before back on himself as he flops down onto his couch.]

So! I miss anything cool? With the way we pick up new people I bet I missed a lot while I was away.

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[wannabered]

[Thomas' face went blank before a high-pitch noise seemed to come through the connection. It's Thomas. He can't believe it.]

Oh man! It's Jin Masato! The genius engineer! So many Go-Busters are showing up!

Wait, a kid? J?

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[amajin]

[He winces at the noise.]

Wait, my name was Masato?! God, that's... such an old guy name. Jin's my first name.

My kid's name is Yoko, I don't know anybody named Jay.

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[wannabered]

Oh! Yoko. Huh, I ... well I guess that makes sense.

Well, at this rate we're only missing silver, red, and blue. Man, this is so cool!

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[amajin]

Wait, wait, so we're a color based-

[No... Wait... That's too...]

Are you trying to say that Yoko and I were in a sentai?!

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[wannabered]

Yes! Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters!

[Oh god Jin, stop him. Stop him now. He will exposite!]

Ah such a good team. A five man team, not that common anymore.

[amajin]

Oh my God you're a tokusatsu otaku.

[He stares into the camera from way too close, basically becoming just an eye.]

Was that how you were before, or did you- Wait, wait, how do you know about this sentai if we were real and you're not from the same... Wait, you're from a universe where this was on TV? God damn many worlds theory... Give me machines over that bullshit every day.

Seriously, though, how many people have you done this to?

[wannabered]

Oh wow, someone who is thinking this through. Ah, just what I'd expect from the great engineering genius. Ok, it's like this.

[Thomas sets his phone on his desk and pulls a whiteboard from offscreen. It wasn't there before if you asked Thomas, but now it teaching time.]

You are from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. Or, your past self was. MY past self existed in a world where yourself and the other 37 Sentai were fiction.

[Thomas taps a graph, showing multiple circles, labeled from 1-38 and one with the word "mine".]

Now, for some reason, I have found myself also able to become a sentai hero, which is increasingly confusing. As for who I've done this to, it has been you, Escape, Enter, and Alata who was the Red of Goseiger.

[He collapses his pointer and pushes the board offscreen.]

Any questions?

[amajin]

Yeah, I'm a genius now too. You know I'm not really that guy, I'm this other guy who's kinda like him but who has a job and is a normal human being aside from the-

[He stops short, looking surprised at himself, for a moment.]

If we're a sentai, then... That means we all have giant robots, doesn't it...?

[His eyes shine...]

[wannabered]

Yeah yeah I know. Let me just enjoy this. I might hate having these otaku urges, but even I have to admit you were pretty cool.

Huh? Oh yeah. You had a personal mecha that could combine with the others or go on it's own. The other you was the one that designed them all.

[amajin]

[He grins.]

That's awesome. I mean, I do stuff like that now. I make robotic limbs and organs and surgical tools. Not a lot of money in giant robots nowadays, but when I was really little I wanted to do that.

[He blinks, warring expressions of loss and fondness crossing his face.]

Wait... J. J was my buddyroid.

[wannabered]

We all did. I'm an engineer myself actually.

Oh! You got an echo. I need to stop doing that. Yes! J, the buddyroid ranger. No offense, but he was my favorite Go-Buster.

[amajin]

[He raises an eyebrow, rubbing his head.]

I feel like I got a hundred. Enter and Escape... That's who those two are. You've been here... Do they seem like they're up to no good?

And J... Well. He was pretty good at what he did.

[He snickers.]

Not like he ever needed any encouragement from me.

[wannabered]

I don't trust Enter. He says he's still mostly Cain, but I know it's only a matter of time with him. He wants to remember more. Escape doesn't want to. She wants to stay her, so just be careful about what you say around her.

[As Jin talks about J, Thomas finds himself stuck on the last couple episodes, the feels come.]

He ... he was a good buddy.

[amajin]

Yeah... I can kinda see that. They were avatars, so... They were built using real humans' personality traits, back then. And now they grew up human. I mean, I never had a problem with AI to begin with, most of my surgical tools have a very rudimentary learning process in place.

[He puts his chin on his hand.]

I'm not sure I'm willing to trust either of them, but I think I can give them the benefit of the doubt.

[He sighs.]

You know, I built J once. Maybe I can build him again.

[wannabered]

Just keep a close eye on them. He's already found an alternative to Enetron. Which, would probably help with that J idea. The question is, would it be the same J?

[Thomas pauses for a moment, tapping his chin.]

Oh hey, I haven't properly introduced myself yet, have I?

[amajin]

Yeah. Well I'm sure it wouldn't be the same J, unless you can echo back whole robots with their own individual personalities...

[He trails off, a bit hopefully... but then goes on.]

But I mean, maybe if I raise the AI similarly to how I raised J up, I could recreate that feeling, at the very least. I mean, I'm not the same anymore either.

[He tilts his head]

I guess not, what's your name?

[wannabered]

Well, I echoed back my car, so maybe? Well, I echoed my old car into the other me's car? It's complicated.

The name's Thomas Akagi. I'm and engineer from the west coast. My memories though are from a sentai otaku who lived in Akihabara and ...

[Thomas reaches off-screen before pulling out the moe moe z-cune in gun form.]

I'm AkibaRed of Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger!

[amajin]

Weird. I mean that would be nice, though. I guess I'll work on a new AI until something else comes up. Do you still like power rangers and stuff or...?

[He looks at the gun, kind of doubtfully.]

Wait... What's the spelling for hikonin... Ah, shoot. I should totally know this, it sounds familiar... I feel like I looked it up once for a letter from my grandma.

[He scowls...]

Wait, is it... licensure... Unlicensed? Pffh, it sounds like a parody.

Well, its nice to meet you, Tom. You don't mind if I call you Tom, I hope. I'm not a real formal guy.

[wannabered]

Oh man, that's the weird thing. I have two different memories about Power Rangers from the other me. One where they're Power Rangers and one where they're ... Powerful Rangers and even more patriotic? It's weird.

Uhh yeah. But no, I swear we're pretty serious. We had a mecha and everything. Heh, I can even change already.

[He puffs out his chest, all proud about it.]

Not a problem. You'd be surprised how few actually call me anything other than Thomas.

[amajin]

All right, you got that on me at least. I really want a giant robot. Like, that's been my dream since I was a kid.

[He shifts his eyes around.]

I got like forty chogokin in the house, not gonna lie.

[wannabered]

Give it time. You know how I said my car changed? It turned into the vehicle mode of my robot. So, you getting yours shouldn't be a problem. It miiight just be really slow.

Pff wow. See, I'm lucky. My other self's biggest series don't exist here so I don't have to worry about buying anything. Oh, he apparently owned quite a few Sentai chogokins.

SURPRISE, video;

[sucrosity]

Wait, I'm in a sentai with you?!

[EURGHHHH crimefighting with her old man.]

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[amajin]

Aren't you supposed to be in bed?

[sucrosity]

It's not even 11! [So, no.]