The first thing Yuriko Misaki felt was pain.
Not sharp, but deep—like every muscle in her body remembered a battle she should not have survived. She lay still, her cheek pressed against something hard and gritty. The air was heavy, thick with smoke and the acrid tang of burning metal. Her chest rose and fell, but each breath was foreign, as though the world itself was not her own.
Didn't I die?
Her mind clung to the memory. The battlefield back home. Kamen Rider Stronger fighting desperately against the kaijin. Her body failing. Her sacrifice. The last flicker of her power spent to protect him. She remembered falling, darkness creeping into her vision, a final thought whispering: This is the end…
But this was not the end.
Her eyes snapped open.
The sky above her was a canvas of fire. Gigantic metal ships hung in the air like carrion birds, their undersides glowing as they rained beams of destructive energy down upon the city. Buildings crumbled. Streets cracked. The distant sound of sirens mixed with the inhuman cries of creatures swarming below.
She pushed herself up onto her elbows, dazed. Her legs trembled as she forced herself to kneel. Where am I? What world is this?
A metallic screech drew her attention. Not far ahead, a mob of silver, humanoid machines marched in perfect formation. Their lifeless red eyes glowed as they advanced, blasters in hand. They were not kaijin. They were not Destron soldiers. They were something else entirely.
And yet… the aura of conquest they carried was the same.
Suddenly, a flash of color cut through the smoke.
"Super Mega Blasters—fire!"
Five figures in brightly colored suits leapt into the fray, each wielding glowing weapons. Red. Blue. Yellow. Green. Pink. Their blasts tore through the machines, sparks and explosions filling the battlefield. They moved with practiced rhythm, covering one another's blind spots, countering each strike with precision.
Yuriko's eyes widened. These weren't Riders. Their armor was sleeker, their helmets smoother, marked by black visors that hid their faces. But their spirit—she felt it instantly. Warriors. Protectors.
Like Stronger.
The fight raged on, but the enemy's numbers seemed endless. For every metal soldier destroyed, more poured from the wreckage of the ships above. The Rangers—if that's what they were—were being pushed back.
Yuriko tried to stand, but her body betrayed her. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground.
That sound again—the metallic screech. A squad of machines had broken off from the main battle. They marched directly toward her, weapons raised. She froze, teeth gritting. Her instincts screamed at her to fight, but her strength felt drained, hollow.
The first machine raised its blaster—
—and a streak of pink intercepted her.
The Pink warrior landed between her and the machines, spinning her weapon in a defensive arc. "Back off, X-Borgs!" she shouted, her voice amplified through her helmet. She fired, her shots precise, cutting the soldiers down in quick succession. Sparks rained as the last one fell.
The warrior turned, visor reflecting the fires around them. "Hey! Are you okay? Can you stand?"
Yuriko stared, her chest rising and falling. "I… I don't know where I am," she admitted, her voice trembling.
"Don't worry. We'll protect you." The Pink Ranger reached out her hand, steady and sure.
For a moment, Yuriko hesitated. She remembered another hand once extended to her—Stronger's, pulling her from despair, giving her a purpose. Her throat tightened, but before she could take the hand, another voice cut across the battlefield.
"Emma! Who's that?"
The Red Ranger, leading the others, had noticed her. His blade glowed with energy as he cut through the horde, then glanced back toward them. His tone was sharp, commanding.
"I don't know!" Emma called back. "She was about to be attacked!"
The Red Ranger's visor focused on Yuriko. His pause was brief—just long enough to measure trust. Then he nodded. "Then she's with us. Protect her until we know more."
Yuriko felt a pang in her chest. Protect her? No—she was no helpless bystander. Even weakened, her power still lingered inside her, buzzing faintly like a caged storm. She clenched her fists, and sparks of blue electricity danced between her fingers.
The Rangers regrouped as another wave of X-Borgs surged forward. Blasters ready, blades drawn—they braced for impact.
And Yuriko stepped forward.
The Rangers shot her a surprised look as she raised her trembling arm. Her heart pounded, adrenaline burning away her hesitation. She thought of Stronger, of every battle fought, of the strength she had carried until her final breath. That strength had not abandoned her.
"Electron Wave!"
Electricity burst from her hand in a crackling storm, arcing from one machine to the next. The X-Borgs convulsed violently, sparks erupting as they collapsed into heaps of smoking metal. The blast lit up the battlefield, momentarily overpowering even the fires of war.
The Rangers froze.
Noah, the Blue Ranger, let out a stunned laugh. "Okay… she's definitely not just some civilian."
Jake, the Green Ranger, nearly dropped his weapon. "Did anyone else see that? She fried like… ten of them at once!"
Emma, still standing beside Yuriko, placed a hand on her shoulder. "You… you saved me. Thank you."
Yuriko breathed hard, her body trembling, but her eyes blazed with determination. "I don't know who you are… or what this world is. But I can fight."
The Red Ranger raised his sword, his stance firm. "Good. Because right now… we need every fighter we can get. Welcome to the team—whoever you are."
Yuriko straightened, the faintest of smiles tugging at her lips. She had died once, but here—here she was alive again. And though she did not yet understand why or how, one truth rang clear:
Her battle was far from over.