Alright, looks like a good few people are enjoying the story. Thanks goes out to those who added this to their Favorites and Alerts. It makes me glad knowing you appreciate my work. Ok, let's get the ball rolling again with the next chapter!

Once again, I don't own Kamen Rider OR Pretty Cure, I own James but that's about it..also, any references I make to other shows or games, I don't own those either.

Kamen Rider Chalice: The Pretty Cure Chronicles

Episode 4: Hikaru In Peril! Revive, Servants Of The Dark Power!

The massive void floated in the vast emptiness of the cosmos. Despite what one may think at first glance, the anomaly was anything but a cosmic force of nature. It
was the embodiment of the combined negative energy of the Dark Zone, Dark Fall, Nightmare, Eternal, Labyrinth, and the Desert Apostles. All the malice directed
at the Legendary Warriors had taken on a physical form, and it went by the name of Black Hole.

The awe-inspiring entity was very much sentient, and capable of intelligent thinking. Its "birth" alone had sent ripples of dark power throughout the void of space.
Right now, this being had enough power to consume multiple worlds in a blanket of darkness without need to rest. So why did it hesitate? Why did it not make a
move against the ones who had reduced them to this state?

There were actually a number of factors contributing, one of which being it wanted to wait and build its power to the highest point possible, so that crushing the
Pretty Cure would be immensely enjoyable and satisfying. However, there was something else, and that something took the form of a unusual entity who had
appeared seemingly from nowhere. This entity fought with ferocity and wielded strange powers, yet what caught Black Hole's attention even more..was the
rather huge amount of dark energy within the creature, and it was so tempered too.

Black Hole knew that if they could get this "Chalice" on their side then their plans would be way ahead of schedule, and they'd have a powerful ally against the
Light. But the question remained: Whose side was he truly on? If he really was aligned with either side, why was he only appearing now? Why did he not appear
during the attack on the Garden Of Light? Or when the Dark King battled the warriors from the Garden Of Rainbows? Surely his help could've turned the tide in
no time at all.

So many mysteries surrounded this figure, and Black Hole wanted to know the truth as soon as possible. It had a plan, but it was a little risky since it involved giving
up a very small portion of its collective essence, though if they wanted to know the truth they had to be willing to make the sacrifice,even if it would take them
longer to build up their strength.

It reached within its body and pulled out a large black and purple orb the size of a person. Despite how weak this certain individual was, he still had use."Arise,"
growled the almighty force of darkness."Arise once more,servant of the Darkness. Return from the abyss and do as your master commands!" The orb pulsated
several times before tendrils shot out and wrapped around it like a cocoon.

As the cocoon peeled away, a shape could be seen within, the figure had white hair and pale white skin with slitted eyes and wearing a suit of leathery armor with
a cloak over it. The being looked up at the gargantuan face before him and immediately dropped to one knee."Black Hole-sama, your loyal servant Pissard is
here and ready to carry out your will."

"Pissard," spoke the face."What is the last thing you can remember?"

The newly revived warrior gnarled his teeth."Those blasted Pretty Cures...I made a foolish mistake giving that girl back her fairy, and I paid for it with my life."
His memory flashed back to the last moments of his previous life, being destroyed those blasted emissaries of light.

If Black Hole could nod, it would've done so."What if I told you there was a chance for redemption? To get your revenge on them?"

Pissard looked up in shock at this statement but quickly jumped to it."O-Of course! I'll do anything! Anything at all! I just want to see them suffer the
way I have suffered!"

The dark entity's eyes glowed."There is a warrior within the Garden Of Rainbows named Chalice. He holds a significant amount of negative energy but
it is unknown who his loyalties lie with. I want you to go there and use any means necessary to discover his true intentions, and if possible, convince him to
join us. Do this and we will overturn your past failures,understood?"

Pissard nodded vigorously."Of course,sir," But a weird thought crossed his mind."But Black Hole-sama..how will I know who I'm looking for?"

Black Hole tilted his gaze down slightly."..You will know," There was an edge behind its tone that left no room for objections."Now go!"

The former servant of the Dark King flinched and bowed his head."Yes sir, your wish is my command." A spiraling black gateway appeared behind him and he
stepped backward into it, the portal vanishing a few moments later, leaving only an empty void once more and the looming face of Black Hole.

"Chalice..your power will be ours, one way or the other!" The entity roared, as if sending a wordless challenge across the stars...

Three days had passed since that mess with the Queen Of Light, the Precure, and the two Undead who had shown up at the park, and for the most part,things had returned to
a normal routine for the people of the Garden Of Rainbows. There were many people injured by the monsters' attack, some more so than others. Nagisa was right though,
without us things could've turned out a lot worse than they did.

Some good did come out of this as well. I'd finally gotten the Precures to trust me, and it only took me saving a random woman and her child, getting dissed by those
obnoxious furballs they call fairies, having the Queen put a death sentence on me, beat the crap out of Black and White, and take a barrage of gunfire from an anthro
armadillo..but I still did it,yes sir! Fine, more like Black and White beat the crap out of me,you happy? Good.

Heck, even the fairies were remorseful about the whole ordeal, and from what I recalled, Mepple could be a bit prideful and even stubborn when the mood took him
but I guessed that Mipple was able to talk him into apologizing, since the little yellow bear will do just about whatever she asks of him. But yeah, we were cool like
ice cream now pretty much.

Today was like any other day, I got up,washed,had breakfast, then went out and got on my bike before riding off to Akane's Takoyaki wagon for some pointers on
making those octopus dumplings. I stopped my bike near the wagon and climbed off before slowly waltzing up to the vehicle. But just as I went to knock, a squeaky
voice cried."James!" I groaned tried not to facepalm as I turned in time to receive a tackle to the face by both Porun and Lulun.

Gotta say, for little guys, they sure were strong. "Oof!" I ended up on my back with them on my chest jumping up and down happily. I grinned cheerfully."Hey
guys,what's up?"

"You came-popo,You came-popo!" cheered Porun,gosh how much sugar did the girls feed him? "Did you come to play with us?"

I chuckled and looked away."Actually, I kinda wanted to see if Akane could give me a few more lessons on making Takoyaki.." Seeing the sad expressions on
the two's faces made my heart ache, I sighed."..But I suppose she won't mind if I skip one lesson to play with you."

At this, the fairies cheered."We'll hide and you count to ten and come find us-lulu." said Lulun. I nodded and put my hands over my eyes. Quietly, I counted to
ten and opened them. As I should've expected, they were gone.

"I'm warning you guys, when I was younger I was the king at hide and seek." I called out but got no response though that was kinda expected. I mean, if they did call out I would
be able to tell where they are and boom, game over. That wouldn't be fun for any of us. So, I set about looking for them, I checked under the tables, in the bushes and beneath
the wagon.

Giggling was coming from somewhere but I couldn't tell where. I climbed up the tree, thinking they were hiding up there, only to see nothing."Huh, wonder where those
cute little fluff balls went to.."

"James?" I looked down and spotted Hikaru standing under the tree,looking up at me curiously."Why are you up in that tree?" She tilted her head in that adorable manner I remember from the show.

Figured she deserved an answer."Eh, me and your fairies are just having a little game of hide and seek," I scratched my head."Have to say, these guys sure picked a great
hiding place." I kept exploring the tree to see if they were up here, only to hear the golden gal giggle sweetly.

"Maybe you're just not looking close enough," Skeptical, I blinked at her, she simply smiled."Just think about it, they might be right under your nose."

"Under my nose?" I leered at my jacket."Don't tell me.." Whipping it off, I inspected the hood to see Porun and Lulun snuggled together, chuckling."There you are!"

"You found us! Hikari, he found us-popo!" Porun jumped down with Lulun into their partner's waiting arms. I know I've said it before but that girl's smile was so warm
and friendly you couldn't help but feel just a little bit better when she flashed it. Her laugh was nice too...ah geez, get it together man! She's a fictional character, not an
actual person...oh wait, that's rude, of course she's real, she's right in front of you, why is it so hard for you to accept after everything that's happened so far?

And to be frank, I did get the impression she had feelings for me. I mean, what other reason would make her fight so hard to defend me? Still, it was way too soon to
pursue any sort of relationship. Best to just stick together as good friends for the foreseeable future. We would need strong bonds to face the coming trials.

After petting and stroking her fairies for a bit, she looked up at me."Porun and Lulun sure like you, ya know that?"

I turned my head,embarassed."Y-Yeah...they took to me quicker than Mepple and Mipple, that's for sure."

Hikari's smile became even sweeter."They're younger, so they're not as cautious meeting new people. Also, they got loads more energy to use."

"A bit too much energy sometimes," said a certain someone with a soft sigh. We turned our heads to see Nagisa standing there without Honoka. It was a Saturday
and she had a lacrosse bag slung over her shoulder. "But hey, what you gonna do?" She wore a small grin while watching us.

I scooted down the side of the tree and slid my coat back on while asking."A lacrosse bag?"

The brunette blinked and offered a glance at her bag before laughing and scratching her neck."Right..forgot to mention, I'm kinda the star athlete on my school's
lacrosse team."

"She's the best," added Hikari."She's always practicing hard and willing to help out new recruits with tips and lessons. She's even won a few tournaments."

I whistled to show I was impressed. Nagisa sweatdropped. "Hikari, you're giving me way too much praise. I just does the best I can."

"And that's why you're so great," encouraged the golden gal."Even if she's not the captain anymore, that doesn't stop her from doing her part for the team. She really is amazing."

Now Nagisa was turning red from embarassment."Aw, shucks..."

I chuckled to my friend."You might wanna ease up, your friend's turning red as a tomato." Seeing my point, Hikari let out a small giggle. Gotta say, it actually
felt kinda good to just relax and talk like normal people, ignoring all the tension that been rearing its head since I arrived. "That reminds me, where's Honoka?
Ain't she usually with you, Nagisa?"

The tomboy looked around in answer to my question."She said she'd be here so we could walk together to my game. I got a practice session today and we
agreed to meet up before heading to it."

Hikari tapped her chin."Strange, she's usually one for being punctual." I could only nod in agreement. Honoka wasn't the brains of the team for
Nagisa had the better physical capabilities, mentally, she left much to be desired, and that's putting it nicely. Heck, even the tomboy didn't feel too bad admitting
it...usually.

"It's not like her to be late," commented Nagisa while crossing her arms and tilting her head."I wonder what's keeping her."

At that exact moment, Honoka's voice rang in our eardrums."Nagisa! Hikari! Maxwell!" We looked to see Honoka running toward us, out of breath. What was
it with everybody running everywhere lately? She stood there, bent over, breathing and rasping."Did you..check the news..this morning?"

Surprised at this, we shared a glance before shaking our heads."Nope, I don't even remember turning on the TV this morning."

Finally catching her breath, the long-haired girl straightened with something akin to a frown on her features."The police discovered some dead bodies in a
warehouse the other night." That made Hikari gasp in shock while Nagisa scowled.

I lowered my head sadly, even if death was a part of life, being taken before you've lived a full existance, and in a manner like murder, was just too cruel. "What
were the condition of the bodies when they found them?"

Honoka blinked at my admittedly slightly morbid question but answered."Well, it appears they had been dead for some time, a couple days at least, but what's really peculiar is the means by which they died."

Seeing skepticism on our facial features, she elaborated."It appears a few were cut down by a razor sharp object, others were lit on fire and a couple were found with strange blue feathers stuck in their necks." She focused her gaze on me."James, does this sound like anyone you know?"

I swear my face went pale at her explanation as I took a seat in a chair, Hikari saw this and ran over beside me."W-What's wrong?"

I massaged my forehead, I didn't wanna believe it, heck, I didn't even think one of THEM was gonna show up so soon, but there was no denying the evidence. Blue feathers, flames, really sharp sword. It was all there. "Guys, I don't wanna freak you out,but.." I looked up."I think one of the Royal Class Undead is making his move."

The effect on them was almost instantaneous, all three went into stupified mode."Ehhh?" So much for not freaking out.

"A-Are you serious?" cried Nagisa. "An actual Royal Class is here?"

I nodded."And I'm pretty sure I know which one it is..sadly, he's one of the worst out of the twelve."

Hikari took my hand, gosh her touch was warm."Please, I don't care how horrible it is, you need to tell us about him."

Seeing the pleading in her eyes, I sighed."Ok..he's known as the Jack Of Diamonds, Peacock Undead. He's very good at manipulating others to do his bidding
through some form of hypnosis, also he's capable of telekinesis and can even control fire. Combine all this with his natural strength as a Royal Class and you
have yourself a very dangerous enemy."

"When you put it that way, he really does sound dangerous." acknowledged Honoka. "And we can't forget that the Royal Class can assume human form."

"The good thing about that is they can only assume one human form, so if we meet them once, we'll know what to look out for next time." I added,trying to
lift everyone's spirits just a little.

"If we survive-mepo." grunted Mepple from his pouch. "Thank you for that,Mepple," said Nagisa with a roll of her eyes."You're an inspiration to us all."

"Well, we can't go around looking over our shoulders for the rest of our days" interjected Hikari."We have to live our own lives too." Ok, that much I
could agree with. The girls needed time to be themselves as well. They couldn't spend all their days doing nothing but non-stop fighting, that wasn't healthy.

"Exactly," Nagisa said as she gave her bag a tug."Which is why you guys should come cheer me on. It'll be a great way to relax. I knows I need it."

Hikari turned to me with a smile."What ya think? Should we join them?"

I shrugged."Why not? It'll be a way to pass the time." I stood up and we proceeded to walk off. I wasn't fully ready to trust the girls yet since they were so
quick to turn on me once, but I knew I needed to cut them a little slack. After all, they did owe a lot to their benefactor, and the Queen HAD pulled a dirty
trick to get them to agree to fight me. If anything, the woman was the bigger problem, but I'd deal with her later.

Besides, I'd always wanted to see one of Nagisa's lacrosse games in person.

Ok, if you watched any episode of the first two seasons of Pretty Cure, you know Nagisa takes her lacrosse VERY seriously. Like almost dangerous
kind of serious. Now, the intensity you saw her play with on the screen? That's N-O-T-H-I-N-G compared to seeing it in person! I swear, my eyes
nearly fell out of their sockets trying to keep up with the ball.

Me, Honoka and Hikari sat in the stands, watching the tomboy sprint back and forth across the field at lightning speed, passing the ball with expert
prowess and skill and shouting commands to her fellow players. All the while, her two fellow Cures were yelling encouragement at the top of their
lungs.

"Come on, Nagisa! You can do it!" "You're the best,Nagisa!" "Don't hold anything back!"

I looked at them questioningly."You know, with all that yelling you do, I'm surprised you haven't strained your vocal cords yet."

Honoka chuckled."Well, we are technically her encouragement squad, and it does make her feel better knowing we've got her back."

"I can tell, she's like a lacrosse-playing machine out there." I commented while gesturing to the field.

"She always has been," remarked Hikari with a nod. "But that just proves how passionate she is about the game."

"Ya make a good point," I acknowledged."But the thing to remember about any game is not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game."

"True enough," said Honoka beaming,"Though I'm not sure how much Nagisa-san would agree with that statement, she enjoys Lacrosse but even
she can take it a bit too seriously at times." No arguing with that statement.

Out of the corner of my eye though, I spotted the lacrosse ball zipping towards Hikari. "Look out!" She looked up in time for me to thrust
my hand in front of her face and catch it. The blonde girl gasped as I turned my gaze down to her."You alright?" She nodded."Good."

"Hikari!" Nagisa ran up to the stands, worried as I frowned at her."I'm really sorry, I must've misjudged my aim."

"You're lucky I was here than," I spat back."That ball could've tooken your friend's eye out! You really need to watch yourself better."

The tomboy frowned."Hey, I said I was sorry. It was an accident, those things happen."

"Whatever," I sighed before tossing the ball to her."Just make sure it doesn't happen again, alright?"

She snatched it out of the air before giving a slight nod."Yeah,sure." She went back to her game as I sat down again.

"James," I turned to Hikari who looked a little worried."Thank you for that...but you didn't have to be so hard on Nagisa-san. She didn't
do it intentionally."

I nodded and tilted my gaze down."I know..it's just,well..I guess I'm still a little on edge after what happened that day. Your friends turned on
me in the blink of an eye. Even though I did nothing to earn their wrath, they went ahead and attacked me anyway, just because their "kind and
benevolent" Queen told them to,"

"I realize she used a pretty dirty tactic to convince them, but that still doesn't fully excuse them from blame. They should be capable of making
their own decisions about things, not letting some "divine, all-knowing entity" decide for them."

"The Queen is not all-knowing," remarked Hikari."The moment she told us to defeat you, I knew I couldn't go through with it. It was just too
cruel, and after she showed us that vision, I kinda felt a little disqusted that she'd sink so far. I just hope she realizes her mistake and is willing
to make amends." Her face took on a wishful look.

I sat back and folded my arms."We'll see...so is there a point to this?"

She snapped out of her state and turned to me."I just..don't want you to hold what happened against Nagisa and Honoka, they are really wonderful
people, and great friends. Yes, they made a mistake, and they know that. I think bringing you here is one of the ways they're trying to make up to you."

Alright, I have to give her credit, what she was saying made a good amount of sense. They were, at the end of the day, only human, even if they had badass
superheroine powers that could beat up monster versions of everyday objects. I sighed."Fine, fine, I'll try and ease up on them, doesn't mean I have to
like it though."

The gal smiled and patted me on the hand."Thank you." Have I already mentioned how warm her touch is?

"Yeah," I pulled out the sealed Undead we had so far and looked them over. Honoka spotted me doing so."Oh, right. How many Undead have we sealed
so far?"

I laid them out in the corresponding suits."Well, with the Joker sealed inside of me, and the Mantis and Human Undead I own, that's three right there. Four if
we add in Chop Head, Slash and Beat make six, and Bullet makes seven."

"That's seven Undead sealed," said the blue-haired gal with a relieved sigh."That's good, the sooner we seal them all the better."

"We can't get too comfortable," I cautioned."We still got the higher Numbered Undead to deal with, and the Royal Class are starting to make their own moves, plus I have absolutely no idea where the Category Aces are." I spread my arms while doing a shrugging motion. "I'm not gonna lie, we got a ton of work ahead of us before we can even think of calling it quits."

"Sometimes I wonder if our job as Pretty Cure will ever be over," grunted Nagisa as she came over while wiping the sweat off with a towel."I swear, it seems
like once every few months we're dealing with some crazy new threat from the stars."

Once more, I would have to play dumb."Um..what are you talking about? I thought you said your fights were over."

Nagisa nodded."We thought so too, but there's something you need to know first, we're not the only Precures around these parts."

"There's way more than just us three," confirmed Honoka, nodding."There's Saki and Mai who protect the Land Of Greenery, they're called Cure Bloom and
Cure Egret, but they have alternate forms Bright and Windy. After them is Precure 5, Nozomi, Rin, Urara, Komachi and Karen. Dream, Rouge, Lemonade, Mint
and Aqua and they got a helper named Milky Rose who is actually Milk, a fairy from Palmier Kingdom." I tried not to look unnerved at the last name.

"Then there's Clover Town which is protected by Fresh Pretty Cure, Love, Miki, Inori, and Setsuna, the last girl use to be an enemy until she reformed. They're
Cures Peach, Berry, Pine, and Passion. Last group we know about is Heartcatch Precure who live in Kibogahana. There's Tsubomi, Erika, Itsuki, and Yuri. In order, Blossom, Marine, Sunshine, and Moonlight."

And let's not forget the Suite Precure. I thought to myself but didn't say out loud. Instead, I chose to open my eyes as wide as possible."Wow, that's almost 20 Cures."

"I was just as amazed as you are," said Hikari, a gleam in her eyes. "But it was also a huge relief, knowing we weren't the only Precures in the world."

I scooped up the cards and put them back in my pocket as an idea came to mind."Say, you wouldn't happen to have any means by which we can contact them,would ya?"

"Hmm," Honoka put a hand to her chin and pondered."Come to think of it, we did swap email addresses and phone numbers last time we met. We'll get on our computers later and send them a message."

I nodded."Good, the more of them who get involved the more lives we can save, cause sooner or later, the Undead are gonna make themselves known in those parts, and it's best your fellow Cures know what they are going up against before they charge in."

"Immortal monsters who are over 10 000 years old and whose only purpose is to fight until only one is left and the survivor gains the power to reshape the entire world," Nagisa rhymed off with a deep groan."Oh, they're just gonna love hearing that."

"Do you think we should also tell them about..you know.." Hikari leered in my direction but kept an eye on Honoka.

The brainy girl shrugged. "It's his decision," She turned to me."What do you think? Should we tell them about you and your connection to Joker?"

Alright, decision time, did I let them go ahead and tell the Cures about my link to Joker, and risk them jumping the gun on me like Nagisa and Honoka had, or keep this to ourselves and maybe stir up a bigger pot of trouble later on down the road? Decisions, Decisions...

"Um, well," I scratched the back of my head out of nervousness."I.." But I didn't have a chance to say anything for screaming and shouting suddenly met our
ears."Huh?" We looked around in time to hear something that I hadn't heard in ages, something that I figured had been done away with ages ago.

"Zakenna!" The mere roar alone was enough to make the girls freeze up.

They looked at each other wearing concerned faces."You don't think.." began Nagisa. "It can't be.." added Honoka negatively. We all turned and there stomping across the field was a giant water fountain Zakenna, its hydraulics made up the arms and legs and it had those classic eyes every Zakenna had,along with a large gaping mouth. From the pumps on top, it let fly streams of water that obliterated chunks of the ground with just sheer force.

"A Zakenna!" cried Hikari over the sound of people running and screaming.

"A what?" I yelled back. She turned to me."Zakenna are dark spirits that come from the Dark Zone and possess items in our world to gain a physical form..but we already beat the Dark King, so why?"

I held my head. Our work load just kept getting heavier and heavier.

Pissard stood on top of a far off perch, watching the chaos with a sense of satisfaction."Splendid, go my Zakenna, spread fear and panic among the humans. This
ought to bring those blasted Cures out of hiding, and Chalice too."

While it was true Pissard was loyal to Black Hole completely, he himself wanted to see what their potential ally was capable of. Besides, Black Hole did say how I went about finding him was up to me. He thought.

The former member of the Dark Zone smirked to himself as he watched his creation go about spreading chaos and pandemonium.

"Honoka, Hikari, James," Nagisa commanded in a stern tone as each of us pulled out our transformation devices, or in my case card, the belt materializing around my waist as we raced down to the field and stood in front of the monster.

It stopped and roared its name at us. I swear, the monsters in Precure reminded me of Pokemon at times, only being able to say their name, or just have a very limited form of speaking in general. "Let's Go!" yelled Nagisa as she took hold of her partner's hand and they flipped open the Communes.

"Dual Aurora Wave!"

"Luminous, Shining Stream!"

"Henshin." "Change."

(Play Pretty Cure: Heart To Heart)

Pillars of light engulfed the girls as waves of black static energy consumed me. From the two differing masses of energy, we appeared as our other selves.
Nagisa as Cure Black, Honoka as Cure White, Hikari as Shiny Luminous, and me as Kamen Rider Chalice. Clenching my hand, the Chalice Arrow summoned
itself to my grasp.

We nodded to each other and jumped away into different directions as a geyser of water shattered the area where we once stood. I pulled back on the Arrow and pointed it, letting fly several energy arrows that exploded against the beast's side, making it growl in pain and stumble before focusing its gaze on me. Pointing the nozzles on its hands, it let loose a batch of high-powered bubble shots.

I rolled to the side and quickly scampered to my feet before taking off like a bat out of hell to outrun them. As I did so I pointed my bow and kept letting loose shots one after the other. Some of them missed altogether, but a few did strike him in the eyes, causing him to stop and roar while trying to get its vision back.

Black and White took this as a chance to really deal some damage. They reared back and somersaulted off the ground together. As they soared toward the Zakenna, they pulled their fists back and smashed into the monster's face with enough force to send it skidding back a nice number of feet. Landing on the ground, the girls struck fighting poses as the enemy raised its arms and fired another round of high-powered water bullets.

The two cartwheeled away from each other to avoid the barrage and ran toward their foe, even as it kept firing those explosive drops. They simply zig-zagged a way through and each Cure ran to the left and right sides of the monster. It looked between them and pointed its nozzles only to receive a face full of laser shots from my weapon.

Seeing an opening, the two leaped up, Black going into a drop kick while White went into a roundhouse kick. The two attacks slammed into each side of the monster, earning a loud cry from the Zakenna. The duo jumped away and landed beside me and Luminous. "Hey Chalice," I turned to the golden gal."What exactly does that Bullet Card of yours do?"

I shrugged."It strengthens my long-range weapons, why do you.." I trailed off as it dawned on me what she was referring to."Oh.." I smacked the side of my helmet. "I am such an idiot." The Zakenna opened its maw wide and let loose a huge stream of water. Luminous jumped out in front and conjured a barrier with her brooch. The stream collided with the shield but the girl held tight.

While she was doing that, I detached the Rouzer from my belt and slotted it into the Arrow before opening my holster."I only have four Rouze Cards, so I'm gonna need to be picky of when and how I use them," I pulled out the Two Of Diamonds and slashed it through the Rouzer."Bullet."

The image of Bullet Armadillo absorbed itself into my weapon as I took aim at the water-spewing behemoth. I'd have time to worry about where the Zakenna came from later, right now I needed to do my part in bringing it down. Energy surged into the center part of my weapon as the stream finally seemed to subside."Luminous, drop the barrier!"

She nodded and lowered her arms, the shield dissipating as I pulled back on the Arrow tightly, a rain of powered-up arrows burst forth and impacted with huge velocity, triggering a number of small explosions that made the Zakenna stumble back in pain. White raced up to the thing's legs and pulled her own leg back before swinging and knocking one of its feet out from under it, causing the giant to drop to one knee.

"Now's our chance to get rid of those pumps on its shoulders!" roared Black before charging forward. Not wanting to be left behind, I ran forward as the Zakenna rose its arms and swung them down like hammers, attempting to smash us into the earth. We both skidded to a stop before doing a small hop back to avoid becoming pancakes then raced up the length of the arms.

The pumps on top popped open and let loose rounds of water pellets in a machine gun fashion. Black crossed her arms over her face and just endured the brunt of the attack while I on my end countered by firing arrows from my bow. The two types of projectiles collided and canceled each other out with small pops and bangs. I swatted aside some of the shots as I reached into my holster and drew out my Chop Head card, in a flash I swiped. "Chop."

The image that appeared fused into my body as I felt the power surging through me. I nodded over to Black as I pulled my arm behind me and we leaped into the air. Black struck first, crashing her fist into the pump, and I followed suit, bringing my arm down in a karate chop that split through the other pump like it was a pile of rotted wood.

We kicked off the giant's shoulders and landed safely on the ground. The Zakenna moaned and refocused itself, now seeing we were a threat. As it went to point its nozzle hands at us however, Luminous got directly in front of the monster and conjured her shield again. This time it expanded and pushed against the monster, hard enough infact to send it flying like a bean bag across the field, landing with a rather loud thump.

"I never get tired of seeing you do that." I quipped to her, it was the truth too. Luminous giggled at my comment."Thanks, you're pretty good yourself."

Black shoved her face in between us, wearing a deadpan expression."Oy,can you two save the compliments for later? We got a giant, water-spamming freakazoid to take down unless you forgot."

"Hmph," I grunted in mock disappointment."Fine," I reached into my holster again and pulled out the Slash Lizard card."Let's take this fella down,already."

The tomboy Cure nodded as she grasped her partner's hand and they ran toward the monster as it opened its mouth and fired another massive stream of liquid. Not wasting any time, White flipped into the air while Black rolled under the stream and came up beside the leg. She pulled back her fist as White swung her leg back. The brunette smashed her fist into the leg,causing the giant to wobble about. White did a drop kick on its head, the combined force of both attacks made the Zakenna tumble over and smash into the ground.

"Now!" I scanned the card."Slash." The hologram moved into my weapon as power coursed through it. I turned to the golden gal."Care to give me a boost?"
She nodded and held out her hands. I dashed toward her and hopped onto her hand, Luminous then tossed me high into the air over the fountain monster. I
raised the Arrow over my head as the Zakenna looked up in time to see me descending on it.

"Zakenna!" It rose its arms in an attempt to block me but I swung anyways, cutting right through and down the middle of it. An explosion occurred and the arms fell to its sides as the hulking beast collapsed to one knee. I stopped for a moment to watch. Were the Rouze Cards really this powerful?

Granted, they did have immortal fighting beasts sealed inside them, and I was using the power of the Undead's strongest fighter, but still, the fact that I could bring one of the Dark Zone's monsters to their knees with this..was both awesome and a little scary.

Is this why the Queen was so afraid? I thought to myself then shook my head and walked back to the girls."He's all yours,guys."

Luminous nodded and summoned her Heariel Baton which blasted the girls with golden light. Black struck her pose. "Abundant Courage!" White followed
suit."Overflowing Hope!" Luminous called."Together with the embrace of sparkling light!"

Black and White held hands and cried."Extreme..." Luminous shouted."Luminario!" A giant gold heart appeared before the Cures and they thrusted their hands at it, summoning a massive wave of golden mist that rocketed forth from the heart and surged toward the Zakenna, engulfing it completely. The monster roared before being blown away in a huge gold-colored explosion.

The Zakenna stars broke off and whined while running away as the area returned to normal. The girls smiled at each other and then at me. I nodded and gave them a thumbs up as a sign of a job well done.

(End Song)

But just as we were about to turn back to normal, the sound of clapping reverberated through the air. We all were caught off-guard by that and looked every
which way for the source. "Who's there?" shouted White."Show yourself!"

That's when I saw the figure standing on top of a pole."There!" I pointed and the girls turned, seeing the figure. The guy, probaubly realizing he knew we saw him, jumped down and landed not too far from us. Who it was...well, let's put it this way, it was the LAST person I was expecting. The guy who I personally saw as one of the weakest villains in Precure history, heck, even Karehann was more threatening than this guy. Heck, he didn't even last five full episodes.

Who am I talking about? It was Pissard of the Dark Zone.

….I'll give ya a moment to let that sink in.

Yeah, there were a million questions in my head right now. What was going on? Why was he here? Better yet, HOW was he here? Should mention too that
as he scanned us with his eyes, a dangerous glint seemed to appear in them as he focused on me a bit longer than the others. That was not a good sign.

Black stammered."P-P-Pissard?" Her eyes were wide like dinner plates and she was sweating up a storm. I couldn't really blame her. I would likely be doing
the same thing if I found out that the dude I'd defeated years ago was back from the dead.

"It can't be.." murmured White in disbelief."How are you here? We beat you ages ago!"

Pissard chuckled darkly and wagged a finger at her."That, dear White, is my little secret," He grinned."I must say, I am truly impressed. When last I saw you,
ya were still naïve little school girls who barely even grasped the concept of being the Legendary Warriors. My,my, how much you've grown since than."

"Save us the flattery!" roared Black with a swing of her arm."Did you come back for revenge?"

The former minion of the Dark King calmly chuckled again."Revenge? Oh no, as tempting as that is, today is strictly about business."

White blinked in surprise."Business? What are you talking about?"

Pissard wore a smirk on his face as he raised a finger and pointed...at me! "You!"

Under my helmet, I swore I was starting to sweat. I needed to remain calm and firm though."Yes?"

He took a step toward me."Are you the one they call Chalice?"

I made a shrugging motion."Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. What's it to you?"

The fella smirked."Oh, nothing much...except that my master has shown an...interest in you."

Ok, that caught me off-guard, it certainly wasn't the kind of thing I was expecting. From the looks on the Cures faces, we were all on the same wavelength."An interest in me?"

Pissard nodded."Correct, he thinks you could be very useful to him."

Luminous had heard enough. She snapped angrily."Chalice would never think of working for your master or the forces of Darkness!"

The white-haired man laughed."Are you so sure about that? The Dark Power he has coursing through him says otherwise. Besides," He leered in my direction. "He definitely doesn't look like a warrior the Queen of Light would want to keep around."

Hated to admit it, but he had no idea how right he was in saying that. I wasn't gonna give him the satisfaction though. I shook my head and raised the Arrow."Listen and listen good, you reject of a circus clown. I don't fight for the Light, and I certainly don't fight for the Darkness. I fight for myself, and those around me that I hold dear. I answer to nobody's authority except my own!"

Pissard's smirk seemed to dissolve pretty quickly after that little outburst."...Put away that weapon, unless you want to suffer the consequences."

I didn't back down."I think I'll take my chances." All of a sudden, Black and her partner got in front of me, staring down the weirdo."Huh?"

"You heard him," said White with a scowl."Chalice doesn't want anything to do with you or your boss. He's staying with us!"

"And if you got a problem with it," Black punched her fist into her palm."You can take it up with me and White."

The servant of darkness now wore a menacing glare on his face."You're making a very big mistake siding with them Chalice. Let me warn you, sooner or later, the power of Darkness will reign supreme over all worlds. Your help could've made things so much easier, but now,you-" An arrow whizzed by his face,making him freeze in place as I lowered my weapon.

"Spare me your incredibly long, boring and drawn-out lectures," I sighed."All it is with you guys is "darkness this" and "darkness that". I mean really, do you people even have a life? Find something constructive to do with your time that doesn't involve blowing up worlds, or causes the balance of the universe to be thrown off!"

Oh man, seeing the dumbstruck look on the dude's face when I said that was priceless. It was so satisfying too since I had for ages wanted to say something like that to these dudes, but since I'd only seen them on a screen, I couldn't. Since I was here now, why not take advantage of it?

"Yeah!" roared the tomboy."Our lives are crazy enough without you morons messing it up, so buzz off!"

Judging by the twitching in his eye, he had just about had his fill of hearing us cuss him out."Fine than...if you will not come along willingly.." He reared back.
"Than you leave me no choice but to force you!" He roared and charged toward us. Before the Cures could do anything, I rushed past them, ignoring their
shouts.

"You're gonna wish you had listened.." I hissed as I drew my last card and scanned it."Beat." The hologram moved into my fist and I drew back as I neared him. He went to punch but I struck first, smashing my energized fist into his torso region.

The white-haired man gasped from the pain he must've been feeling, he gagged too. It was likely I had done some damage. He flew back and smacked off the ground like a ball bouncing before lying sprawled out like a sloth. I resumed my stance as the others ran up beside me and struck fighting stances.

"Had enough?" I asked in a challenging tone."Cause if not, there's plenty more where that came from." That was only partly true, while the power of Beat Lion was still rushing through me, it would fade eventually, and that had been my last card too. If he insisted on continuing, I'd have to resort to using just my Chalice Arrow and relying on the girls Cure powers.

"Chalice, are you alright?" asked Luminous. I turned to her and nodded.

"That was pretty reckless of you to just charge in like that," admonished White, but I could barely make out the smirk she was trying to hide."Kinda reminds
me of someone else I know."

Black facefaulted."White, please say you're not referring to me!"

White turned her head."I didn't say I was, and I didn't say I wasn't." Her partner moaned.

But then chuckling could be heard, snapping us back to the situation at hand. We glanced over to see Pissard struggling to his feet, holding his chest and
having difficulty breathing. That didn't stop him from giving me a devious smirk."Impressive...to think you could deal that much damage to me with just a
punch...I can see why my master is so interested in you.."

Black growled and grasped her partner's hand."Leave, or we'll Marble Screw you back to the Dark Zone!" To emphasize the point, I pointed my weapon at
him again.

Pissard was about to retort when it finally seemed to sink in what he was up against. A look of realization came over him and he dropped his arms with
a grunt."Fine, you've made your point. I'll let you do as you please...for now,anyway," He turned away and looked over his shoulder."But mark my words,
one day soon you will join us, fellow warrior of Darkness, after all," He ended with a grin."It is your fate." The guy then jumped into the sky and teleported
away.

The sky cleared up and everything returned to normal. Black folded her arms and watched the sky."Ok, somebody mind explaining to me what that was
all about?"

I sighed. My head was in total Mind Screw mode."I'm still trying to make sense of what the heck just happened," I turned to White."Didn't you guys
say you'd already beaten the Dark Zone?"

White nodded with a frown."We did, so there's no way Pissard could be here.."

"Unless somebody revived him." I chimed in as I banished my weapon to wherever it was I hid it.

"Well, that's just fantastic!" exclaimed Black furiously."As if having to fight those Undead wasn't bad enough, now we got old enemies coming back
from who knows where and looking for revenge!"

I had to have my input."Relax Black, you and the girls beat those guys once before, you can do it again. Besides," I added with a chuckle."You got
a Kamen Rider helping you out this time around." Man, I felt cool saying that.

"That is a good point," admitted Luminous,nodding her head."You seemed to deal a good amount of damage to Pissard with that card," She lowered
her gaze."But...are you sure you want to take our burden on top of the one you already have?"

Seeing her down, I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder."Luminous. It's my job as a Kamen Rider to fight for justice, to protect those who can't
defend themselves. Also, what kind of person would I be if I didn't help out in my friends' time of need?"

The golden gal was silent for a few moments, perhaps thinking over what I said, before she slowly nodded."Alright, if that's what you want, then thank you."

Both the tomboy and her partner smiled happily before the former's stomach started to rumble, interrupting the moment."Whoops," Black laughed
nervously as the rest of us sweatdropped."Sorry, guess all that practice and fighting really worked up my appetite."

"It's official, you think of nothing but your stomach-mepo!" shouted Mepple from within his pouch.

Black grunted."You're lucky I'm more hungry than angry right now.." She motioned to us."Come on,guys. Takoyaki's on me."

"Do you even have any money?" I questioned. The brunette froze in place as a giant sweatdrop appeared on her head."Uhhhhhhhh..." I sighed."Figured
you didn't, I'll pay for it this time. I can use a bite to eat too."

We detransformed and headed off to the Takoyaki Wagon.

Pissard reappeared in an alleyway and assumed his human form, only to collapse to one knee, moaning in pain. He had only returned from the darkness
a short while ago, as such, his powers were not yet back up to par. Still, his mission had been a success to some degree, even if it had costed him a
Zakenna and he'd been dealt a powerful blow.

"That Chalice...such power.." He muttered to himself. His head was buzzing over what the warrior had told him."Doesn't fight for neither Light or Darkness..if
that's the case, then whose side is he on?"

"Pissard..." The white-haired man looked up to see a ripple appear in the air before him, a pair of glowing eyes stared out."Have you completed
your mission?"

"Lord Black Hole.." gasped Pissard before lowering his head."Well...yes and no.." Seeing the eyes narrow, he explained."I did indeed make contact with
the one known as Chalice, and I discovered that he is not on good terms with the Queen Of Light. As you suspected, he is a formidable warrior too. He
brought my Zakenna to its knees with just a slash of his weapon."

The ripple seemed to distort as a faint chuckle could be heard on the other side."This is most excellent news, indeed. And were you able to convince
him to join us?"

Pissard frowned."Unfortunately, that is where the good news ends. He seems to have a strong connection with the protectors of the Garden of Rainbows
as they jumped to his defense when I approached him. Also, when I tried to convince him to join, he refused immediately. When I went to force him, he
struck me with a powerful blow." He motioned to the small bruise on his chest. "Seeing I was outnumbered and weakened, I retreated."

Black Hole was not pleased with this information."One who sides with neither the Light, nor the Darkness...how unusual.." Despite this, he couldn't
decide whether Chalice should be an ally, or an enemy. "It appears we need more knowledge of him before we can decide where he stands." The god
of darkness spoke."Pissard!"

His minion shot to his feet. "I have a new mission for you. I need you to approach Chalice but this time, do NOT attack him. Find out his motivations
and origins, and whatever else you can. Once you do, report to me and we will proceed from there."

Pissard nodded."And what of the Pretty Cure?"

Black Hole narrowed his eyes."..If Chalice really does have a strong connection to them, he will not allow any harm to befall them, so keep from harming
them. Only do so if they insist on standing in your way. Otherwise, do nothing that would incur his anger."

The man scowled at the ground. He wanted to crush those girls so badly, but at the same time Chalice was an interesting figure, one that he wanted to
know more about. He figured that, just this once, he could swallow what little pride he had and follow through with his master's command."As you
wish, Black Hole-sama."

The ripple vanished into thin air. Pissard, now getting some of his strength back, walked off into the city.

Chalice...just what are you?

Nagisa swallowed her last mouthful of octopus dumplings and shoved the empty tray away with a content sigh."Ahhh, that hits the spot."

"About time too," I remarked."That's the third tray I'm after buying you." The girl had downed one whole tray in a matter of minutes and had
practically begged me to buy her a second round...and then a third round. She was costing me some hard-earned cash. Why did I always have to
be such a nice guy?

"Hey, you're the one who offered to pay," Nagisa reminded me."And I can't help it if I couldn't stop eating. They were just sooooo gooood!" She
stared off into space,drooling. Yep, this was the real Nagisa, or I was no Rider.

"There she goes again," sighed Honoka."Off in Takoyaki Space again."

Hikari just smiled and sat beside me."Say, James. I've been meaning to ask you something for a while."

I slid away my tray of food and turned to her."Sure, what's on your mind?"

She put a finger to her chin."I was wondering...what exactly is a Kamen Rider?"

Ah, was wondering when she'd ask a question like that. At least she wasn't as ignorant or thick-headed as the Queen."That's actually a very good question. One that I can't easily answer. But they're, for the most part, warriors of justice. Real justice. Defending the weak and those who can't defend themselves. Bringing down those who are corrupt and power-mad. The Riders don't believe in some "greater good" nonsense, or "peace and order". They're here for the people, and many of them don't let the ends justify the means."

Hikari kept her eyes focused on me, entranced by my story."Wow...so there are other Kamen Riders beside yourself?"

Before I could answer, Honoka cut in."If that's the case, then how come we haven't met them yet?" From her tone, I knew she wasn't trying to be rude. She was simply curious. I couldn't really fault her. Kamen Riders were a new concept to her.

I scratched the top of my head as I wracked my brain for what to say."Well...Kamen Riders aren't exactly publicity hogs. They don't care about being famous
or getting big rewards for the jobs they do. Alot of the time, they do their work from the shadows. It's kinda safer that way, since it means less chance of innocents getting hurt. Also, I'm still kinda new to this whole business, so I have no way to contact them for help."

Honoka seemed satisfied with that answer, but Hikari didn't appear to be. "You sure you don't mind having to seal all the Undead by yourself?"

I shrugged at her."I'm not really by myself, I got you three, and the other Cures to back us up," I glanced to the side."That is, if we can convince them to
help us."

"They will," insisted the blue-haired girl."I may not know them too well. But from what I've seen, they're all good people, even if some of them are a little
strange." She added that last part with a giggle.

"If you feel like we can count on them, I'll take your word for it." I said with a nod.

Hikari looked over to where her brother was drawing a picture at a table. She let out a long sigh."Hikaru..."

Noticing this, I spoke up."You're worried about him,aren't you?"

She gave a slight nod."I'm concerned he...might become the Dark King again."

Nagisa snapped out of her trance at those words and rubbed the gold gal's hair,smiling."Don't fret about it. As long as he's got you, that won't happen."

Hikari looked up at her, mouth hanging open a little."Nagisa?"

The tomboy grinned."Hey, I may not always get along with my own little brother, but we both know we'll never let anything bad to each other. It's the same for you and him too."

Hikari shut her mouth before the words sunk in and she smiled."Thanks,Nagisa."

I watched the scene with a proud smile. Nagisa may not be the smartest girl around...but she had one of the biggest hearts.

Maybe this partnership could work out after all.

The Queen had called her two loyal advisors to her chambers, they appeared before her and bowed."My Queen, why have we been summoned?" asked
Elder in a polite tone.

She spoke."I believe I have found a way to curb the anger of the one known as Chalice."

Wisdom breathed in relief."Thank goodness, we were worried about you for a while. You seemed pretty uneasy."

"Thank you for your concern," said the Queen."My plan is to meet with this Chalice. If I explain the situation to him, and my reasons for doing what I
did, I am certain he will understand and forgive me, perhaps even join us."

Elder sputtered."Y-Y-You can't be serious!" All eyes were on him."F-Forgive me, but meeting with that..monster..is out of the question! Suicide even!
And the idea of letting him become an emissary of light is ludicrous at best!"

Queen sighed."I understand your worries, and they are justifiable, but you must trust me. Despite what has occurred, I still believe Chalice is worthy
of redemption. If we speak on equal terms, I can certainly make him see the truth. Please, have faith, just as you would for the Legendary Warriors."

Elder frowned, but knew what she said was true. "I still don't like it...but you are the Queen, and if that is your wish, we will respect it." He bowed along
with Wisdom.

The Queen's aura seemed to radiate a little brighter in joy."Thank you...now go and contact them. I wish to meet with him as soon as possible."

Her servants turned and left the room to prepare for the arrival of their guardians..and the mysterious warrior who called himself Chalice.

Just as I was about to suggest we hunt down some Undead, Porun popped out and changed into mascot form. He waved his paws excitedly."Everyone-popo! I got an incoming message from the Garden Of Light!"

"Ehhh?" The three girls stared in shock at him as he jumped around.

I got up and picked up my coat."You guys can take it if you want..or ignore it, makes no difference to me. Those people maybe your benefactors, but they're
not mine. I want nothing to do with them."

As I went to leave, Porun shouted."It's addressed to you too-popo!"

That made me stop and turn to him, perplexed."To me?" Porun nodded. I turned my head,thinking. Why would she want to contact me now of all times? She
hadn't bothered to before sending her warriors after me. So why the sudden change of heart? For all I knew, this could be just another dirty trick..even so, at least I could spit in her face of how much she screwed up.

I walked back over and sat down."Fine,fine. Let's see what she's got to say."

Porun transformed and flipped open as Wisdom's voice came through."Hello again, Pretty Cure. It's been a while."

"It sure has, Wisdom-san." said Mipple with sparkles in her eyes. Mepple coughed and this snapped her out of it. "Oh, sorry Mepple."

Nagisa spoke first."Hey Wisdom, what's up?"

Wisdom seemed to chuckle."Actually, is Chalice there with you right now?"

Deciding to have some fun, I leaned in to the device."Yeah, I'm right here. What do ya want?"

The Prism Stones' guardian cried out in shock, making me chuckle and the girls to throw weird looks at me."Sorry, couldn't resist."

"Was..was that him?" asked Wisdom, barely containing his surprise.

Hikari leaned in to the device."Yes, that was him. Don't worry, despite what you think, he isn't a bad person."

"Yes, I see," From his tone, he didn't sound too convinced."Well than, as for why I'm contacting you, the Queen would like to speak with your new friend.
She wishes to explain why she did what she did to him and remove any negative impressions he has of her."

"That woman has a lot of nerve trying to contact me after what she pulled." I spat back. Hikari put a hand on my shoulder gently squeezing it.

"Perhaps she does," acknowledged Wisdom."But she is trying to make amends, can you at least come and speak with her?"

I laid back in my chair and folded my arms,thinking for a bit. Wouldn't hurt to hear her out."Alright, I'll speak with her. On three conditions,"

Wisdom sighed."Very well, what are they?"

I nodded to the girls."Cures Black, White, and Shiny Luminous are allowed to come with me. Second, I come in my armor, not as a human. And
third, I am allowed to walk out of the meeting at any point. Is that doable?"

There was whispering in the background for a few moments before Wisdom came back."That is acceptable, we'll open the rainbow bridge right now."

"Here we go again.." said Nagisa with a groan as a bright rainbow light shined from Porun and stretched to the sky, forming a giant rainbow. Watching
it with a glare, I stepped in after the girls and lifted up into the sky. This time wasn't as freaky as the first time I floated into the air so I took it better
than Nagisa who screamed loudly as we got pulled up above the world and across the stars.

"Henshin." I slashed my Change Mantis Card."Change." The static energy encased me and morphed my body into the Mantis Undead. The girls transformed
as well, guess even they felt a little on edge as well.

After flying for some time, we arrived at the Garden Of Light..and it was still as sickingly cutesy and colorful as the show had depicted it."Oh, it's so good
to see home again-mipo." said Mipple with a content smile.

I grunted while looking away."Don't get too comfortable,you guys. We aren't gonna be staying very long." Hearing her moan made my eyes snap open at
how harsh I must've sounded. I quickly got down on one knee and pat her."I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I guess I'm just under a huge amount of stress right now."

White picked up her partner and pat her gently."We understand, but try and keep calm, ok?"

I pondered what to say before nodding and walking off."I won't make a promise I can't keep, but I'll try for your sakes." Accepting my answer, the gang walked with me, carrying their partners. As we approached the large castle in the distance, a couple of helmet-wearing,spear-carrying fairies ran out and pointed at me.

"Halt! What business do you have with the Queen?"

Black and White stepped into view with the latter speaking first."It's alright, this is Chalice. We're here to meet with the Queen."

At the mention of my name, the fairies went weak in the knees and all their discipline as soldiers simply drained away. "C-C-Chalice?"

I playfully waved at them."Yo, the Queen was kinda expecting me?"

The soldiers looked at each other with scared stiff expressions before bowing."Of course," they opened the doors."Please, follow us to the meeting room."
They led us down the elegantly designed hallways and corridors to a large gold door with pearl decorations."The Queen is right in here, mind your manners."

My Undead instincts went into high alert. This didn't look like the door to the throne room."I thought she wanted to meet me in the throne room."

The soldier explained."She insisted on a private room. Also, she said for the Pretty Cure to stay out of the meeting." Yep, knew this was too good to be true.

"Chalice doesn't go anywhere without us!" snapped Luminous furiously. The others looked just as upset as she was.

I sighed and walked up to the door."Ok, if that's how she wants to play it, I'm game." Luminous grabbed my arm but I gently removed it."Relax, I'll be fine. I'm a Kamen Rider, remember?" The girl relunctantly let go and I unlocked the door and stepped inside before closing it.

"Good luck!" called my friends before I shut it completely.

The room was fairly large and elegantly decorated with white, gold and shades of light blue crystal. The bed was massive and there were crystal chairs
present in the room. There was even a door open to the balcony where a woman with incredibly long shimmering gold hair stood, her skin milky white
and wearling a flowing white dress with gold trim. Perched on her head was a jeweled crown.

This was her, the ruler of this land, the Queen Of Light herself. She seemed to give me a radiant smile as she spoke."Greetings,Chalice. I am the Queen
of Light, the ruler of this realm. I am glad to finally have the chance to speak to you in person."

I leaned against the door with my arms folded."Wish I could say the same."

The woman's smile faltered a little."You do not trust me." She walked over and sat in a chair."I suppose that's to be expected. We did have a misunderstanding not too long ago."

I scoffed."That's putting it lightly," I glared up at her."Without any knowledge of who I was, what I was, or even what my intentions were, you sent your own
soldiers, human girls, who are not even out of high school, to kill me. I didn't appreciate that."

Queen sighed."Kill is too harsh a term. This was merely the option I felt was best for all parties. In a way, we were saving you from a fate worse than death.
While it is true you were once human, you are now bonded with the creature known as Joker, are you not?"

Being reminded of such an obvious thing got my blood boiling, but I knew I had to keep a cool head. I walked over and sat in the opposite chair."You are correct. I was present when the seal on the 53 Undead was released, not by my own doing, I was simply an innocent bystander. Somehow, The sealed Joker, the most feared of all Undead, fused into my body, giving me some of its powers. Luckily, I came into possession of two other sealed Undead, the Mantis Undead, and the Human Undead. Using them, I not only was able to maintain my human form, but I also gained the power to fight and seal the other freed Undead."

"And I am to assume the form you currently use is the Mantis Undead?" asked the Queen while raising her eyebrow in suspicion.

I gave a small nod."Correct, the Mantis Undead is also referred to as Chalice, and is known in the ranks as the Category Ace Of Hearts. He is hailed as the
strongest of all Undead, being matched only by the other Aces and the Joker himself," I raised an arm and flexed my gauntlet-clad hand."His power is my
power now, and I'm gonna use it to seal every last one of them beasts before too many lives are lost."

The woman nodded as she listened intently."Your resolve is admirable, you are obviously dedicated to your mission..however.." Oh great, here it comes.
"If you truly wield the power of the "strongest Undead" then why bother keeping the other sealed monsters for yourself? Is the power you have now not good enough...or do you simply enjoy wielding more of it?"

I growled in anger, this woman was starting to push my buttons."For your information, I NEED those sealed Undead! Chalice maybe strong but even he is not unbeatable, and I am just a ordinary human borrowing his strength. I become stronger with each beast I seal, and that power will be needed if I'm gonna end this threat before things spiral into chaos."

"How do you know they already haven't?" Queen all but snapped."You've convinced my other self to side with you, and you've even hauled my emissaries
into your mad quest for power." She leaned forward, a slight scowl on her face."Tell me, how long can you contain that monster inside you? Not forever,
even with those cards. You're a danger, and you know it."

I unfolded my arms and sat forward."I'm a danger alright, but only to the other Undead, and people who piss me off...you're quickly becoming one of the latter. So I suggest you zip it before you push me too far."

By some miracle, the scowl on her face softened and she leaned back in her chair."You'll have to exscuse me if I seem a bit abrupt. I am under a great deal of
anxiety. But you still have not answered my question."

I grunted but complied."As long as I have the cards, I'm safe from the Joker instincts. I know I'm not completely human anymore, but that doesn't mean I've given up on life. I still have my own mind, and my own heart. If I'm stuck as that creature, then I wanna make the best of things." I sat back."Ok, can we get to the point of this meeting already? I got other things I'd like to be doing."

"Yes, I suppose you do," said the woman as she took a sip from a mug of tea that had appeared in her hand."As you wish, I called you here because I wish to offer you a place among the Legendary Warriors, become an emissary of light if you will. I think with a few tweaks you would make a mighty ally to the forces of Light.'

Ok, once upon a time, I might've jumped at a chance like this. Of course, a mix of events in real life, soul-searching, the fact I was already a Kamen Rider, a pretty badass one too, and the Queen's actions against me, made me know this wasn't a good idea. I shook my head."I'm afraid I must decline your offer."

That statement was almost enough to make her drop her mug."I beg your pardon?"

I tilted my head."You heard me. I said no. I have no intentions of working with someone who thinks their way is the only "right" way. Not only did you get school girls to fight me, you even went as far as giving them Nightmare Fuel just to convince them to go through with your plan. I maybe a bit brutal when it comes to a fight but even I know that what you did was crossing the line."

The elegant woman narrowed her eyebrows and set her tea aside."I will not lie, perhaps what I did was a tad harsh, but they were refusing to be reasonable and see the bigger picture. I did what I thought was necessary for the greater good."

I started to laugh, from the way it came out, it must've unnerved her."Oh, that is rich!" I focused on her."Be reasonable? See the bigger picture? Don't take me for a fool, woman! You were just upset that those kids didn't act like obedient servants and follow through with your crazy and stupid orders!"

Queen's scowl was back in full force."I am the ruler of this land, and the embodiment of Light itself. The needs of the many must come before the needs
of the few. Those girls are my warriors, they should be willing to do what is required of them to make sure the forces of Darkness do not consume everything. You are tainted with dark power, and a danger to all those around you.."

She leaned in and spoke gently."But all is not lost for you. There is still time to redeem yourself. I'm offering you the chance to do so. Accept my light into
you and I can purge the beast inside you. If I don't, I fear the path you walk will only lead to ruin and despair," She held out her hand."Please Make the right choice."

From beneath my visor, I gave her my worst glare. My image of her being a kind, benevolent goddess figure had been dampened before, but now it had melted like an ice cube in a river of molten lava. I gave a chuckle."Guess I should've expected this from the Light. You're only good and pure as long as the people beneath you do what you say and don't question things. The moment they do, you turn around and treat them like Public Enemy Number 1."

The Queen was quickly losing her patience."Chalice, I am only doing this for the sake of our survival. You are too unpredicatable to just let walk around, doing as you please! Do you want those girls to pay the price for your actions? Are you going to doom us all?"

I shot up out of my chair, knocking it over and towered over her."I will be the one who decides the road I walk. I ain't gonna side with the Darkness..and I certainly ain't siding with the Light. I'm not gonna let you or anyone else stand in the way of my goal." I turned and headed for the door."Don't ever contact me again. Next time, you won't get off so easy."

"Stop!" shouted the woman but I kept walking."I said stop!" My instincts kicked in and I swerved to avoid a beam of light she shot from her hand as it blew the door off its hinges. I couldn't believe she had just tried to shoot me when my back was turned! Rage filling me, I whipped out the Chalice Arrow and fired a shot that whizzed right by her face and blew a hole in the wall.

Shock evident on her face, I lowered my weapon."That was your one warning. Pull anymore tricks on me or my friends and I'll be back." I rushed out the doorway as she shouted."Wait, Chalice!"

I ignored her as the girls came running up to me."What happened?" Black all but shouted.

I took them by the hands."We gotta get out of here, now!" Not bothering to ask, the Cures followed me as we dashed down the hallway and out the giant
doors. We ran as fast as we could to stay ahead of the guards chasing us. In the distance, I saw the rainbow bridge that had brought us here. "Come on,guys! Just a little furthur!"

We raced toward the bridge and boarded it just in time. The bridge carried us up into the sky and away from the Garden Of Light.

Once far enough away, I let out a sigh of relief. "That was a close one."

Black tapped me on the shoulder, wearing an inquisitve face."Ok, mind telling us what all that was about? We heard the explosion and the shouting so I'm
gonna guess things didn't go too well."

I shook my head sadly."No, they didn't. The Queen didn't call a meeting to apologize for her actions, she just wanted to get me on her side, become one of
her loyal soldiers. She wanted to control me, and...take away the Joker power. When I refused to become loyal to her, she tried to shoot me in the back."

"No!" exclaimed Mipple, covering her mouth in disbelief at what I was saying."The Queen isn't like that! She would never do something that cruel-mipo. It
must've been a mistake," She turned to her partner."White, please tell me it was a mistake!"

White looked away, likely pondering what she should tell her fairy. From the look in her eyes, coming up with the right words wasn't easy."I don't know,
Mipple." She held her fairy up."Perhaps it was a mistake, but there's no denying she did attack our friend and she almost hurt him too. I know you're not
use to seeing her angry."

Mipple startled to sniffle."I'm not..she's never once said a hurtful thing to anyone, or do anything like this-mipo."

Mepple pat her on the head."Perhaps..we didn't know her as well as we thought-mepo."

I watched the mascots and felt surges of remorse course through me. This must've been quite a blow to them, finding out their benevolent ruler..wasn't as
benevolent as she showed herself off to be. There wasn't much I could say to comfort them, and that irked me. Even if they had been awful to me at first, this was still a heavy kick in the pants. I was still having trouble digesting it all myself.

After flying for a while, we arrived back on Earth and changed into our civilian identities. "I'm gonna go check on Akane-san and Hikaru." said Hikari before
she went off toward the wagon.

As she was doing that, Nagisa turned to me."So, you decided yet if we sh-" But she was cut off by a shrill scream that nearly shattered our eardrums.

We spun around in time to see Hikari standing in the doorway, her face pale as a ghost."Guys, come quick!" We jumped into action and raced inside the
wagon, only to see Hikari kneeling over the unconscious form of Akane who lied spread out with her cousin nudging her. "Akane-san? Akane-san!"

The woman's eyelids shuddered and she opened her eyes. "H-Hikari?" She sat up and looked around."What happened? Why am I sitting on the floor?"

Hikari blinked in surprise."You don't remember?"

I frowned and went over beside her, my Undead instincts were going on high alert."Akane..what's the last thing you can recall?"

She looked up at me with a perplexed face before she scratched her chin."Um...I recall just working at the counter.."

Akane had been humming away while working at the counter. Hikaru was in the back, reading his story book. The sun was setting and it looked like the day would end without anything going wrong. That is, until a masculine voice spoke."Excuse me? Can I have a moment of your time?"

The woman smiled."But of course, what can I.." She looked up, only to lose that smile."Get...you.."

Standing before her was a tall man in his late 30's to early 40's. He wore all black. Black pants, shoes, black shirt, black gloves and a black overcoat. His skin was fair and he had short black hair with a pair of black sunglasses sitting over his eyes. The man smirked, and it put her on edge. He walked around
and opened the door and stepped aboard.

Akane was almost instantly in his face."H-Hey! If you want to buy something, go to the window!" She was trying to put up a brave front, but at the same time she was sweating up a storm. There was just something totally off about this guy. When the man didn't move, she got mad."Oy, can't you hear me? I'm talking to you!"

The man looked up at her, still wearing that smirk."Yes, I can hear you just fine." He put a hand on her chest."Now please step aside." Giving one gentle push, he sent the woman toppling backwards onto her rear and climbed aboard.

"Akane?" Hikaru came running out and saw her on the floor. He gasped."Akane!"

The brown-haired girl looked over and yelled."Hikaru! Stay back! This man is dangerous!"

"Be quiet." hissed the older man as he rose his hand and she felt herself becoming short of breath, after a few moments, he lowered his hand and the girl fell onto her side, holding her throat and trying hard to regain proper breathing.

Hikaru couldn't stand to see this. He roared."Leave her alone, you big bully!"

The overcoat-wearing man merely smiled in a devious manner."Don't worry little boy, I have no intentions of killing her..not today at least." He walked over as the blond-haired child backed up against the wall. The man kneeled down and waved his hand over him."Sleep." The boy's eyes got drowsy and he fell onto the man's arm out like a light.

Akane watched in disbelief, finally, she snapped."You monster! Get your hands off that boy!"

The stranger simply grinned evilly at her and she felt goosebumps go up her spine."Can't do that, I need this little one for my plan to work," Slinging the child over his shoulder, he trekked over and kneeled next to the woman. "But maybe you can be of use to me too," He reached into his pocket and withdrew a folded piece of paper before placing it on the ground next to her. "Give this to a man named Chalice, and don't try to follow me, don't contact the police either or this boy will pay the price. I'll know if you do."

He stood up and headed for the door. Akane called out."Wait! Why are you doing this?"

The man turned and for a moment, it looked like his smirk had softened, just a little."Because...it is my nature." With that, he took off out the door.

Akane, both from lack of breath, and the shock of these events, lost consciousness,muttering only one word."Hikaru..."

We all stood around Akane as she sat in a chair while wrapping up her story. "After that, everything went black and..well, you guys know the rest." She buried her face in her hands as she started to sob.

"That heartless monster..." Nagisa snarled before smashing her fist against the wall. "If only we had been here..."

White took her hand gently and rubbed it."Don't blame yourself,Nagisa...we couldn't have known something like this would happen."

Hikari sat next to her cousin, gently stroking her back, trying to be strong but one could tell this was a hard thing to accept. Her brother was her counterpart, the Yin to her Yang. Not only that, she loved him dearly. I knew I had to get him back no matter the cost. I walked over to the note lying on the floor and scooped it up. "Maybe this will give us a clue."

I unfolded the paper and proceeded to read. Here's what it said:

Hello Chalice,

Long time no see. How long has it been exactly? In case your long slumber has made you dull in the head, it's been over 10 000 years. But than again, being Undead
makes the flow of time almost irrelevant. I am certain you are aware of what being unsealed means. Yes, it means it is time for another Battle Royale. And this time
I intend to be the victor. To make sure of this, I have taken some...precautions, if you will. I know you are the strongest of us all, so removing you first will make the
rest of this tournament that much easier.

Now, I offer you a choice. In an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town, I have hidden a little boy with a bomb. The bomb is armed and set to go off in less than
an hour. If you reach him before the timer ends, you can save him. However, I knows you can't get enough of playing the hero, so I will be waiting on the top of the
museum building if you wish to come and face me. Be warned, if you choose not to show, I will slaughter every human locked inside the structure.

That is your decision. Sacrifice the boy to stop me, or let dozens of humans suffer just to save one measly child. The choice is yours, and the clock is ticking. I'll
be waiting.

Signed, The Jack Of Diamonds

After I finished reading, I gnarled my teeth in rage. This was just like him. The Peacock Undead's "nature" involved being a manipulative bastard, and he was certainly showing it. In the show, he had kidnapped Kenzaki and his friends to use them as part of his plot to construct the Leangle system, then he had brainwashed Garren into helping him, even forcing him to fight Blade at one point, as if that weren't enough, he went ahead and killed Tachibana's girlfriend for interfering.

However, this was the last straw for the man, and he broke free of the brainwashing and curbstomped the jerk then sealed him.

His victory had come at a high price though, and he even stopped being a Rider for several episodes. I don't think he ever totally forgave himself for letting fear rule his actions, and letting it take someone important from him.

But I was not Tachibana, and I was not gonna let fear control me. I turned and showed the girls the note. Seeing their faces go from worried to just plain infuriated was more than a little disturbing. "How dare he use my own brother as part of his twisted scheme.." said Hikari with a rather grim look in her eyes. "James, you go and stop him, we'll go and rescue my brother."

"Once he's safe, we'll come to the museum and help you fight." said Honoka in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

I nodded."That's a good plan, you guys go save Hikaru, I'll hold off the Peacock Undead so he doesn't kill any innocent people." I walked over to the sobbing woman and went down to her level. "Akane-san, it's gonna be alright. We're gonna get help, and find Hikaru for you."

The woman hearing this, stopped her sobbing and looked up at me with puffy red eyes."You? But..he said.."

I put up my hand to stop her."I know what he said, but he didn't say anything about other people not calling the police,right?" Akane frowned at that but nodded."Wait right here, we'll be back as soon as we can." If we don't die. I thought to myself. I quickly got rid of that thought, I had to stop him. Me and the girls nodded to each other before running outside.

I climbed on my bike and slipped on the helmet. Before I kick-started the engine, Hikari called out."James!" She ran over and took hold of my hand."Be careful,ok?" Looking her in the eye, I saw the sadness and the desperation she must've been experiencing right now. "If this man really is one of the Royal Class Undead, then he'll be much more dangerous than the others we fought. Promise me you'll come back?"

Seeing the look in her eyes was more than enough for me to agree."Of course," I placed my hand on top of hers."You be careful too."

The golden girl nodded before she reached behind her head and undid her hairband, letting her braid come undone. I watched as she placed it in my hand and closed it tightly."Here, take it for good luck."

Staring in surprise at this, it dawned on me just how much she trusted me. Hikari had NEVER let her hair down even once in the show, not to my knowledge at least. So seeing her actually do this was a real eye-opener. I looked to her and nodded."Thank you, once this is over, I'll make sure to give it back." She nodded and went over to her friends.

I kick-started the engine for real."Best of luck, you guys." They nodded and pulled out their devices as I raced off down the street.

Yet still, I managed to hear the signature cries.

"Dual Aurora Wave!"

"Luminous, Shining Stream!"

Trusting them to do their side of the mission, I roared off down the road toward my rendezvous with the Jack Of Diamonds.

Here's hoping I came out of it alive.

Pissard gnarled his teeth as he walked about the city streets. "Where are you,Chalice? Why don't you show yourself already?" He had spent the last couple hours combing
this city from top to bottom and yet he still couldn't find any traces of him. He didn't want to use another Zakenna either. That would only serve to drive him farther away
from Black Hole-sama.

"He says he is not working with the Queen, yet he fights alongside those girls..it just doesn't make any sense!" He stopped and leaned against a brick wall,sighing.
"What do I do? I've scowered this blasted town for hours and I couldn't find him.." He looked up to the sky."If I don't find him soon, Black Hole is gonna have my
head." Just as he was about to give up, he saw a strange sight on the rooftops."What the?" He squinted his eyes and spotted a rather jolting sight.

Vaulting across the rooftops was Cure Black and Cure White along with that Shiny Luminous girl. Judging by the way they were moving, they were on a mission.

The warrior of the Dark Zone slanted his eyebrows and rubbed his chin in thought."Hmm, maybe." He shedded his human skin and assumed his true form before
leaping up on the rooftop behind them. "And just where do you think you three are going?"

Black and the others skidded to a stop, and resisted the urge to do a simultaneous groan. The tomboy turned and scowled at the old enemy."Of all the times you
could've picked to show up, you chose right now?"

Pissard's eyes widened at the anger she was giving off."My, my, somebody's in a bad mood this evening."

White walked past her partner and up to the white-haired man."Pissard, if you want to fight, you're gonna have to wait. We're in the middle of doing something very
important for Luminous."

The villain folded his arms with a huff."And what might that be?"

"We don't need to explain ourselves to you," said Black with a heavy snarl."You and the rest of the Dark Zone have done nothing but get in the way of us living our
lives, and you've endangered the lives of the ones we love too many times to count! Why should we tell you anything?"

Pissard let out a big sigh. "This is difficult for me to admit...but I am not here to fight you, not right now. Like you, I have more important things to take care of first."

Luminous along with the others were totally not expecting this. The way their jaws dropped and eyes shot open was evidence of that."You're not going to fight us?"

He shook his head."Not today, no. My master simply seeks information on the one known as Chalice. Also, he told me specifically not to harm you since he
hopes that will earn his good graces."

The Cures all looked at each other with suspicion etched on the face. "What do you guys think?" asked Black.

White was the one to answer."Well, he did give me back Mipple before our last battle with him, so we could fight him fairly."

Pissard scratched his head in embarassment."Yeaahh...I still have no idea what possessed me to do that." He stopped scratching."Tell you what, I help you find
whatever it is you're looking for. In return, you give me some info about your new friend. Sound fair?"

Black frowned and turned to Luminous."What do you think, Luminous? This is your show."

The golden girl bowed her head and closed her eyes."Forgive me,Chalice.." She opened her eyes."Alright, it's a deal." For a moment, a twinge of guilt and betrayel
shot through her.

Pissard sighed and unfolded his arms."That's a weight off my shoulders, ok, what you girls looking for?"

"It's not what, it's who," corrected Luminous."We're looking for my brother, Hikaru. He's a bit short with fair skin, blonde hair and he's wearing a white shirt with
overalls. He also has blue eyes." She then added."You might also know him as the Dark King."

That made him falter in surprise, eyes ready to pop."T-The D-D-Dark King? In the body of a child?" He shook his head at the absurdity."I...will try to reach out to him."
He closed his eyes for a moment then felt a pull. They shot open and he turned around."Follow me, quickly!" Pissard led the way with the girls in hot pursuit.

As they ran, Shiny Luminous thought to herself. Hikaru...please be safe...

I arrived at the museum and climbed off the bike. It was an impressive structure. Tall, sturdy, carved in grey and white marble with shiny oak doors with the golden knobs melted partially by some powerful source of heat. I could hear screaming, yelling and even some crying coming from inside. I raced toward the doors, ready to burst in and get those people out when a sharp voice stopped me in my tracks.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Looking up, I spotted the man responsible for this mess standing up there on the roof, Isaka, otherwise known as the Jack Of Diamonds. "The moment you break down those doors, you forfeit their lives."

Despite the drops of sweat rolling down my cheek, I snapped."I came just as you wanted! Now let those poor people go!"

"So you did,"said Isaka with a nod as he jumped off the roof and hovered down until he landed on the steps in front of me. It took a lot of willpower not to just freak out. The Peacock Undead wasn't a member of the Royal Class for nothing.

Not only was he a master manipulator, he was very strong and possessed some deadly abilities that made him a force to be reckoned with. The first couple times the Riders fought him, he basically kicked their asses. I knew I couldn't afford to screw around, not with so much on the line.

The man, after staring at me for a bit, spoke."So, you chose to sacrifice the child's life to stop me from killing these humans," He nodded to the building behind him. A small smirk appeared on his lips."How very much like a hero, sacrificing the few to save the many."

I growled at him."Nobody's life is being sacrificed today, you wanna know why?" I grinned and pointed a finger at him."Because the joke's on you! As we speak, my friends are already on the way to rescue that child. All I have to do is keep you from doing anything until they finish and your whole plan is a total flop!" I crossed my arms and wore a smug smile, knowing I'd managed to pull one over on him.

Or so I thought. Isaka seemed a little taken back by what I said at first, only to turn around and give me a really evil grin."I had my suspicions you were in with those girls, and now you've confirmed them," I lowered my arms as a creepy feeling went over my skin. The man pulled out a bundle wrapped in a black blanket."I figured you might try a tactic like this, so I left your friends a little present. Oh, and here,"

He tossed the bundle toward me and I caught it with ease."I no longer have any use for the brat."

For a second, I didn't get it, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks."No..." I pulled the blanket off and there was Hikaru, unconscious, but still breathing."Hikaru.." I looked up as the goosebumps got even worse."The girls are walking right into a trap."

I felt really dumb at that moment, I thought we had managed to get the better of him, but instead, it looked like things were happening the opposite way.

Isaka's smirk only grew."Correct, and there's nothing you can do for them. You try to leave here, and I will burn this building to the ground."

The sad part was that I knew he was correct. The girls would never forgive me if I abandoned the plan to go help them, and I would never be able to live with myself if I allowed all those innocent folk to perish at this monster's hands, or talons.

I was utterly, and completely, helpless, and that angered me to no end.

The girls arrived at what appeared to be a run-down warehouse. It looked like it hadn't been used in ages. The structure looked dilapidated, the paint was starting to peel, most of the windows appeared to be covered in dust and grime or just smashed in altogether. Pissard landed beside them and stared at the building."This is the place."

Black still was suspicious of his intentions and she made them known."How do we know we can trust you? For all we know, you could be leading us into a trap."

He scoffed at the girl."You don't, but you wish to save the Dark King,do you not?" Nods all around."Then we have the same goal." He threw a quick glance at
Luminous."Remember your part of the deal?"

She nodded."Yes, now let's not waste anymore time." She wanted to save Hikaru as quickly as possible and get to Chalice's side to help him fight.

They stepped inside through a door hanging off its hinges and into the dimness of the building. A soft moaning noise could be heard and Luminous immediately perked up at the sound."Hikaru!" She ran on. "Hang on, we're coming!" The girls and Pissard ran beside her, they galloped farther into the depths of the construct, the moaning getting louder and louder as they proceeded.

At last, they saw something huddled in the corner, wrapped in a sheet of cloth. The group approached with caution, Luminous leading them. As she neared, she spoke in a gentle tone."It's alright, Hikaru. Your sister's here now. We're going home now, back to Akane-san."

Black had to cut in though."Um...didn't the letter say there was suppose to be a bomb?" Everybody stopped and froze at that announcement. They all started looking every which way for the device, but didn't find anything.

White sighed in relief."I guess he was bluffing about there being a bomb."

Everyone let out the breath they'd been holding in and the golden girl walked over to the figure."Come on, Hikaru. Let's go." But just as she went to remove the blanket, the figure shuddered and stood up, revealing itself to be much taller than her little brother. All those present took a step back."H-Hikaru?"

White was first to get it."Luminous! That's not Hikaru!" Before the queen's life could respond, the figure lashed out and hit her in the chest with a punch,sending her flying back into White's arms.

Shock turned to disbelief when the figure reached up and removed the sheet, exposing its true self. Pissard took a step back at the sight before him, he stammered. "W-What in the name of the Dark King is that creature?"

The creature before them had a humanoid shape and was covered in a mix of purple and orange skin with a gold chest. Rows of white feathers lied alongs its arms and shoulders. Its head was shaped like a woodpeckers with a black mask covering it. A purple plumage stuck out of the top of its head. Its entire left arm looked like a mix between a natural arm and a bird's wing. It wore a pair of black leather pants with gold kneecaps and studded boots with the talons sticking out. Gold bands were spread along the right arm. It wore a strange belt too. Although none of them knew it, this was the Category 4 Of Diamonds, Rapid Pecker Undead.

The beast reared back and screeched at them. "It's an Undead!" exclaimed Black as she got in a fighting pose. "We've been set up!"

Pissard turned to the Cure with a bewildered face."Undead? Explain yourself!"

"No time, just fight!" White ordered as the monster went on the attack. It pulled back its wing and swung it forward, unleashing a hail of feathers on them. The group tumble-rolled to the side just barely avoiding being skewered by them as they slammed into the wall with enough force to send numerous cracks through it.

Even the Dark King's former servant was surprised by this."How did.." He never had a chance to finish as the creature punched him in the side of the head, sending the man flying and smashing through the cracked wall.

"Hey!" the Undead turned in time to see Black leaping into the air and coming down with a drop kick. However, the beast tilted its head, making her boot miss its intended target. Black gasped in surprise and her foe grabbed her ankle and lifted her up over its shoulder and slamming the girl down into the floor hard.

"Black!" cried White as she jumped in and booted it in the side of the head,forcing it to let go and stumble back from her. She quickly ran to her partner's side. "Are you alright?"

The tomboy nodded and rubbed her shoulder."I'm fine, but that bird-brain is going down!" She jumped to her feet and ran toward the Undead, screaming. It rose its wing to cover its body as Black let fly a round of rapid-fast jabs. Despite the force behind her blows, the monster refused to drop its guard or show any signs of getting tired.

Finally, it grunted and swatted the girl away with a swing of its wing. Black did an aerial recovery and landed on two feet before charging back in with White by her side. The Pecker Undead thrusted both arms forward and a barrage of sharp feathers shot forth at the ground in front of them, causing an explosion that knocked bothgirls into the air, crying out in pain.

It followed this by jumping into the air and smacking them both with one arm each. The force sending them crashing into opposite sides of the room.

The beast floated down to the ground and turned its eyes on Luminous, only to receive a ball of dark energy to the chest, the blast made it take a few steps back as Pissard stepped out of the hole in the wall, wearing an upset face."Sorry, but me and those girls have a deal, and I can't let you kill them until I get what I need."

The bird growled and ran toward him while thrusting a punch. Pissard ducked and rolled out of the way just as its fist took out another chunk of the wall. Once more, he was amazed and a little frightened by the power this creature wielded. However, it took advantage of his state to whirl around with a roundhouse kick to his midsection that made him groan in pain before being lifted into the air and chucked to a corner of the room.

"Hey!" It turned in time to raise its wing arm to block the double punch from Black and White. The strength behind the attack was enough to make it skid back across the floor several feet but it held its ground. The two jumped back as the bird screeched and lunged forward. The two twirled out of the way and grabbed hold of its wrists before jumping into the air and doing a forward somersault before slamming the Undead into the ground.

Luminous stood on the sidelines, waiting for her chance to jump in and do her part. For now, she was simply analyzing the situation. She knew that if there was an Undead here then Hikaru had to be with the Jack Of Diamonds, which meant Chalice would be in even more trouble now.

It dawned on her that this had been the enemy's plan from the start. To split them up, to keep one from helping the other. The Jack must've suspected how close they were and set this trap to keep them apart.

What's worse, even if they managed to defeat this Undead, they didn't have Chalice and his Blanks to seal it in. The only thing they could hope for was to knock out the beast and escape before it recovered.

"Chalice...please hang in there.." She prayed.

Placing Hikaru on the ground, I whispered."Hikaru, it's me, James," His eyes opened and he shot up and began looking around. "James? W-Where's my sister?"

I put my hands on his shoulders to calm him down."Relax, you'll see her soon, but right now, I need you to go hide," I spared a glance at Isaka as he slowly walked toward us."From him."

The blond-haired boy's eyes shot open and he clenched his fist. "Make him pay for hurting Akane-san." I nodded and he ran off to find a place to hide.

I stood up and turned to the man as a red light appeared on my waist and morphed into the Chalice Rouzer. I swear my anger was just boiling and ready to explode out. This guy was going down hard."You took an innocent child as a hostage, attacked his caretaker, made his sister worried sick, and sent my friends into a trap, you are not walking away from this, Isaka!"

The monster's grin only grew."If you really think you have the power to seal me," A rainbow-colored aura appeared around him."Than come and try."

I withdrew the Change Mantis Card as his aura intensified and his features started to blur."Henshin." I slashed."Change." The black static spread over me as a new shape started to appear from where the man stood. My own form altered itself into my other self. Both of us finished transforming at the same time. I stood in my Rider form, but that man in front of me...was a walking nightmare now.

His form was that of a human but with blue avian features and the characteristics of a peacock. His entire body was covered in blue feathers and over it he wore a suit of black spiky body armor. On his shoulders were a pair of massive ridged shoulderpads with blue feather edges. His hands were actually the talons of a bird. The remnants of his long coat hung down his rear and to the ground. The creature wore studded leather pants with large black leather boots. Blue spikes on his kneecaps and talons sticking out the toe part of his boots. His body was powerfully built and his face was shaped like a peacock's with blue feathers around it.

Over his face he wore a black mask and his piercing blue eyes stared out at me. Around his waist, he wore the built that signified him as an Undead.

This...was Isaka's true form, and it scared the living daylights out of me. But then I remembered what I was here to do and I recomposed myself. Clenching my fist, the Chalice Arrow appeared to me. Isaka lifted his hand and a new distortion appeared around it, forming into a grey broadsword that had a hollow circle right above the handle, for some reason.

The moon came out from behind the clouds and shined its light down on us. It was time to square off.

(Play Kamen Rider Black: Long Long Ago 20th Century)

We spent several moments just staring each other down as one sized up the other. I kept a steady hand on my blade and after what seemed like forever I roared and raced toward him, the guy didn't bother to move. Must've felt confident in his ability. As I neared, I pulled back my weapon and swung. The Jack simply lifted his sword with one hand and our two weapons met with a clang.

Seeing that he wasn't faltering, I put more force into my shove yet he still refused to budge. Bringing my boot up, I kicked off his chest and took a few steps back while he continued to just stand there. I rose my bow and let loose several shots toward Isaka. He didn't even pause, just swung his blade and knocked each arrow off course, causing them to explode to the sides of him, sending chunks of rock flying although he didn't seem to notice.

The Jack of Diamonds twirled his weapon and placed it on his shoulder."What's wrong,Chalice? I thought you said you were going to seal me." I swear, underneath that mask he was wearing a smug little smirk, and it only served to furthur piss me off.

"Shut up!" I snapped before charging him again while pulling back the bow. He simply rose his blade and as I ran past, I slashed him, as he slashed me at the same time. I skidded to a stop a few feet from him and turned to see what damage I'd done...Not a scratch on him, me on the other hand..

"Gahh..." I grunted as a wound opened up on the side of my ribcage, drizzles of green blood oozed out. Even with the Mantis Undead's regenerative abilities, it still didn't stop the cut from hurting.

Even so, I couldn't let that stop me. There were lives at stake here. Doing my best to ignore the pain in my side, I launched myself at him again, and once more our blades clanged and grinded against one another. I shoved harder than before but he simply huffed and sent me flying back with one push on his blade. Arms flailing, I was wide open to an diagonal slash that sent sparks flying and jolts of anguish through me.

The manipulator followed this with an upward slash, powerful enough to send me spiraling into the air and landing with a thump on the pavement. Did it hurt? You be the judge.

I looked up to see the Peacock Undead raising his hand as a bright flame burst from it. I rolled out of the way as it destroyed the spot where I'd landed. The blast produced an after-effect in the form of a mini-shockwave that lifted me off the ground and hurled me several feet like a bean bag. My body impacted the ground with enough force to crack it. My armor protected me from the worst of it although I still felt the surge of pain.

Getting up on my knees first, I wobbled until I righted myself. Seeing that I wasn't done, Isaka's body glowed and a bunch of blue razor-sharp feathers rose up from his shoulders. They pointed toward me and flew at high speeds. In a flash, I raised up my bow and took a hop backward while firing off laser bolts. Most of the feathers exploded in mid-air but one or two manage to stick into my shoulder.

Without flinching, I reached up and tore them out before tossing them aside. The Jack advanced on me and rose his sword before swinging it down, I rose the bow and stopped his weapon from splitting me in two. However, the strength in his sword arm was enough to make my knees go weak and I felt one of them give out beneath me. At the sight of this, the monster chuckled before bringing his knee up and making it collide with my face.

Ever hear the expression, "seeing stars"? Cause that's certainly what I was seeing as I felt myself fall onto my back. Despite my brief dizziness, I saw my foe with his sword ready to thrust. I twisted my head out of the way, the sword sending cracks where it once had been. Lifting my weapon, I fired into his exposed chest, causing showers of sparks to fly every which way.

With him briefly stunned, I rolled away and got to my feet once more. More shots flew from the Arrow, impacting against his torso and shoulders. I leaped into the air and came down with a drop kick that connected with his chest even though it did nothing. He merely swung at my chest with his clawed hand and I found myself rolling away from him before I came to a stop and could get up.

As the peacock walked toward me, he sighed."Pathetic, should've known something was off about you. Your aura's all wrong, besides, the real Chalice wouldn't be so concerned about what happens to humans."

I shrugged and let out a deep breath before getting in a fighting stance."Things changed."

However, Isaka seemed amused by that statement."Oh really? The belt you have on isn't the same one he wore..infact, it looks like the Joker's belt. Your aura seems to be mixed with a human's though," He continued to walk toward me as he spoke."A weak human like you does not deserve to wield the power of the Legendary Undead."

I shook my head at him."Well, if that's the case, then I'll just have to prove I deserve it.." Detaching my Rouzer, I slotted it into its space in the Arrow.".By beating you!"

Opening my holster, I reached in and pulled out the Bullet Armadillo card then scanned it."Bullet." The hologram moved into my weapon and I drew it back. A larger version of my energy arrow erupted forth and headed for its intended target.

The power of the Category 2 Of Diamonds involved enhancing the efficiency of long-range weapons, which basically meant my shots would pack more of a punch now. I just hoped there was enough juice in it now to deal some damage to the Jack of Diamonds.

Isaka narrowed his eyes and held his blade up in front of him, as if he were using it as a shield. The arrow impacted against his weapon and the force behind it was enough to make him take a step back...although that was all the results I got because next thing I knew, he growled and shoved roughly on his sword, splitting right down through the arrow and sending bursts of energy in all directions.

Explosions erupted all around him and I had to shield my visor to keep out the smoke from my vision. "He cut..right through it.." I was in shock, the Jack of Diamonds was powerful in the show, but seeing his strength in person was a whole other story. Hard to believe not even a couple weeks ago he was nothing more than a piece of merchandise.

When I finally lowered my arm, I stared up in disbelief as Isaka stood in my face, even though his mask didn't show it, I knew he was grinning."Nice to see my cohort's power is being put to good use."

I took a step back."Cohort? So..." I pointed a finger at him."YOU sent the Category 2 of Diamonds after my friends?"

Isaka let out a dark chuckle."Indeed I did, and the Category 2 of Spades, they were both my doing," He stepped forward as he talked."I knew I could never get close to you as long as you were in contact with those girls. It didn't matter to me which of my fellow Undead did them in, as long as they were removed from the picture."

He slashed me and I felt myself fall to one knee again. I snarled."You monster...you endangered the lives of my friends..just to get to me..."

The Jack placed his sword on his shoulder and sighed."Boy, I am simply following the law of my existance, the law put in place by our creator. The Undead must fight until only one remains, that is our reason for existing," He glared down at me."I don't know what you think you're accomplishing by sealing us, but it will not work. A mere human like you cannot defy the Master's will."

I clenched my fist tightly, seething in anger."Your creator is wrong...this whole blasted tournament is a sick game, and I refuse to let you, the Undead, or even your damn God have your own way!" I grabbed hold of his chest and pulled myself up so fast, my cranium smashed against his face at full force.

The douche stumbled back, holding his face and growling in pain at my unexpected move. I fumbled for a moment but righted myself."Now it's payback time.." I pulled out the Slash Lizard card and scanned it."Slash." With power pulsing through the Chalice Arrow, I leaped into the air, the weapon raised over my head, aiming to split this guy right down the middle and put an end to this fight.

Too bad Lady Luck wasn't on my side today.

Despite his disorientation, Isaka managed to lift his sword up in time to block it. The collision sent ripples of power that broke up the ground around us but he refused to fall. From behind his mask, he gave me a glare that sent shivers up my spine."You are going to regret that,boy." He pulled his hand back as a ball of flame appeared in it.

I felt myself go a little pale."Oh cr-" The fire exploded against my chest and for a few moments, I lost sight of everything...

When I came to, I found myself face down on the ground, parts of my body felt numb. I turned over,groaning, and looked up to see the Royal Class Undead standing over me with his sword poised to strike."I must admit boy, even if you're not Chalice, for a human, you put up a better fight than I expected. However, this is the end of the line for you." He got ready to attack."Farewell."

(End Song)

I tried to move my arm so I could grab hold of one of my cards. However, my entire right arm had lost all feeling and was as stiff as concrete. I could only look up as my foe rose his blade to deal what I felt would be the finishing blow. I can't let it end like this! I just can't! I thought to myself. I got too much to do, there's still so much I wanna do with my life!

There's no way...I can fail..I can't...

The Peacock Undead went to swing his sword and I shut my eyes, preparing for the end...but it never came.

When I didn't feel the blade cleave into me, I risked opening an eye and immediately went into shock. Isaka's weapon had been stopped by someone grabbing hold of his wrist. The hand holding him back was feathery and the figure it was attached to looked like a humanoid eagle covered in a suit of black studded body armor with brown along the sides and talons sticking out of his boots. His shoulder pads were shaped like feathers with the bony membrane of wings sticking out of his back. Over his forearms he wore a large pair of bladed arm guards. His face was shaped like an eagle's with a dark mask covering much of it. Around his waist, he wore the buckle that identified him as an Undead.

Yes people, I had just been saved by the most unlikely person, the Category Jack Of Spades, Eagle Undead.

Isaka too appeared to be shocked by this turn of events. He angrily spoke out."What do you think you're doing?"

The Eagle Undead shot back."Touch Chalice not!" He shoved him away and slashed him across the chest, sending bursts of sparks flying before kicking the other Undead back and pulled out a couple of feathery shurikens which he threw at Isaka, making them explode off his shoulders and midsection.

The Peacock reared back and shot some of his feathers out at him, but Eagle took to the skies and evaded them before flying down and crashing against his fellow avian sibling. The two rolled around on the ground for a bit before Isaka kicked him off and scrambled away.

The Eagle Undead took up a defensive position in front of me while Isaka looked between us, perhaps wondering what he should do. At last, he sighed."It appears my plan has failed," He pointed his blade at me."Be grateful, Chalice. You get to live for another day, but make no mistake, we will meet again one day, and when we do, I will cut you to pieces!" He jumped into the air and flew off.

After watching him fly out of sight, the Eagle let out a breath he'd been holding in and walked over to me."Are you alright, Chalice?"

I struggled up so I could sit against the wall, breathing heavily."Yeah...thanks for coming when you did."

Eagle Undead simply chuckled and leaned against the wall."No need to thank me, I am simply fulfilling the promise we made 10 000 years ago. Until it is, I cannot allow you to fall," He turned to me with a curious expression."You are just after being unsealed though, so why did you think you could challenge the Jack Of Diamonds without your powers at their peak?"

Now it was my turn to chuckle, despite how painful it was. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

My savior tilted his head awkwardly."Try me."

I averted my gaze and called out."Ok, Hikaru! The coast is clear!" Wondering what I was talking about, the Eagle Undead looked over to where Hikaru crawled out from behind a large bush and ran over to us.

"Are you ok,Chalice?" he asked, worry written all over his face as he looked at my wounds.

I sighed."Don't worry about me, I'll live, you're not hurt are you?" Our fight had gotten pretty violent, with scorch marks and holes in the pavement scattered all over the place.

He shook his head."No...I'm fine."

The Jack of Spades let out a big laugh."You went through all this trouble for him, Chalice? You never struck me as the type to be concerned about the humans."

I used the wall as leverage to get to my feet, albeit wobbly,"I guess you can say I've...grown fond of them." Remembering the people trapped inside, I waltzed over and sliced off the hinges holding the door up and walked back to him. "Now than, I think we-"

Never got to finish that line cause a bright set of headlights flashed in our faces and a female voice cried out."Hikaru!"

I watched as Akane leaped out of the driver's seat and ran up to her cousin while lifting him up and giving him a bunch of hugs and kisses. Jack watched the scene with a bit of perplexion before turning to me. "I must go now, we will speak more another time," He flapped his wings and took off into the air."Remember the promise,Chalice!" He called before flying away.

Ok, now with the weirdness of that over with, I hobbled over to where the duo were, Akane putting a protective arm around the child. Hikaru though, patted her on the hand."It's ok, Akane-san, he saved me." Surprise and disbelief swirled around on her face as she looked up to me. I simply nodded to her as she mouthed a quiet "thank you".

I smiled behind my mask as Hikaru nodded to me. However, someone's shoe hit me in the side of the head followed by bits of garbage."Monster! Freak! We don't want you here!" People were standing around, pelting me with trash even though I had just saved all their lives. Hearing the words was enough to remind me I wasn't wanted here.

With a sad sigh, I walked away. I needed to find the girls and quick, I felt like I was about to fall down and go to sleep.

Just needed to hang on...needed to make sure the girls were ok..

The Cures and Pissard stood before the Pecker Undead, breathing in and out heavily with several scratches on their bodies. It had been a pretty tough fight, fists and feet had been flying all over the place and much of the room was a wreck. They were all getting pooped out gradually but they had slowly managed to wear down the bird. Black and White were just about to summon the Sparkle Bracelets when their foe simply froze in place.

"Huh?" Pissard wondered."Why did it suddenly stop?"

Unknown to them, the Jack Of Diamonds was communicating telepathically with its minion."Our plan is a failure, we must retreat for now."

Nodding to the voice without a body, the Pecker Undead turned and leaped out a shattered window before flying off into the night."Hey!" roared Black as she went to the window and looked out but by then, the bird was long gone. "Darn it!" The tomboy smashed her fist on the window sill and fumed.

Pissard blinked at this and scratched his head."I think I speak on behalf of the whole Dark Zone when I ask...What the HECK was that all about?"

Luminous turned to him with a stern face."First, we find Chalice, then we'll tell you what you want to know." She leaped out the window with the others and landed on the pavement safely before heading off with the gang close behind, praying that both her friend and brother were ok.

Not long after leaving the building, they spotted a figure stumbling toward them from out of the darkness. His armor was scorched on the chest, slash marks and claw scratches covered his torso and shoulders and he had a wound open on the side, green life fluids oozing out. He walked with a small limp in his leg. The scene was enough to make the group gasp in surprise and horror.

"Chalice!" Shiny Luminous rushed over beside her friend and helped steady him."Are you ok..no wait, that's a stupid question, of course you're not..can you hear me?"

The armored figure turned his head and gave a small nod."Yeah...and your brother's safe..but the Jack Of Diamonds got away.."

A huge wave of relief surged over her along with the girls and even Pissard. "That's wonderful..that's so good to hear...I was worried about you for a while."

"I'm a Kamen Rider.." he remarked."It's...my job.." His strength having run out completely, he fell to his knees and then onto his side as the tiredness and wounds from the battle finally caught up with him and he felt himself drift off.

Luminous nearly burst into tears."Chalice? Chalice!" For a moment, fear that he had left them clenched her heart."No..don't leave us..don't leave me.." She felt for a pulse and, surprisingly, it was still there."He..his heart is still beating!"

"WHAT?" roared Pissard. How could that be possible? Wounds like those on the warrior's body would kill any average human, if not instantly then very soon. How his heart could still be beating was beyond his understanding, for the time being anyway.

"We need to get him to my place,now!" ordered Luminous as she took charge, Pissard ran over to help carry him as the girls led the way to Hikari's apartment, ignoring the fact they were basically showing the way to the home of one of their friends. They were too concerned with helping Chalice to care.

And Pissard would likely forget anyway.

After what seemed like forever, my eyes finally opened and I found myself staring at the ceiling of Hikari's house. I still could feel the aches in my body even though it wasn't as bad now, but somehow I knew I was gonna be stiff and sore for a while. I looked down as was surprised to see myself back in my human form. "What the?" I glanced to the side and saw my Human Spirit card lying on the coffee table, nearby I saw Hikari sitting on a chair with her eyes closed.

"She must've used the Spirit card on me," I wondered aloud to myself as I propped myself up on one elbow and asked."Hikari?"

Her eyes fluttered open."James?" She shot up at seeing me awake and ran over before hugging me tightly."You had us worried sick, you know that?"

I stared, my mouth gaping at the realization I was being hugged by a fictional character, but then the reality of the situation set in and I winced."Not so tight, bones are still a bit sore."

"Oh," Hikari backed off, cheeks slightly red."Sorry, I'm just so relieved you're ok."

I cracked a smile."Same here," I had to ask."Hey,um, you know how long I was out?"

She seemed to ponder that before answering."Hmm, you been out for at least a couple hours. Akane got back with Hikaru not too long. When she saw you on the couch, I told her you were helping the police look for him and got tired. She just took him to bed not too long ago. Nagisa and Honoka went on home to make sure nobody got worried."

I nodded."I see," I sighed sadly."Hikari...I'm sorry..I couldn't seal the Jack Of Diamonds...he was too strong."

The girl smiled and gently touched my hand."Don't be sorry. You knew how dangerous he was, and you faced him anyways just to save my brother. You risked your life to bring him back home," She looked on the brink of crying."I..don't know how I can ever repay you.."

I placed my own hand on top of hers and shook my head."You don't need to repay me. I was simply doing my job, and I knows how sad you would be if anything happened to your brother."

Hikari's cheeks turned a little redder and she turned her face away."Y-Yes..still, thank you." Seeing her smile made the whole night worth it.

A loud scoff made me snap to attention."If you're done with all the hand-holding and sugar sweetness, maybe we can get down to business?" We turned to a corner of the room where Pissard stood in his human form, back against the wall with his arms folded, a neutral expression on his face."I'd like to have my questions answered before I vomit from all this cuteness."

Wondering just what the heck was going on, I turned to Hikari who looked rather embarassed."Uh...mind telling me why one of your enemies is in your house?"

Hikari seemed rather hesitant at first to tell me."Well..we kinda cut a deal with him. In exchange for helping us find Hikaru, we'd tell him about you and the Undead."

Ok, I had heard some pretty surprising things today, but this one took the cake."You're kidding me..he actually HELPED you?" I turned to Pissard. Who simply shook his head.

"No joke, I wanted information. We cut a deal. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even consider the idea of aiding them.." At this, his eyes narrowed."You however, are..unique, you wield all that dark power and yet you will not side with your fellow warriors of darkness. It's...strange,really."

I sighed."Even with my powers, I'm a human being. I maybe friends with the emissaries of light but that does not mean I am loyal to the Light. If anything, they either want me dead or brainwash me to serve their cause due to them believing I'm a threat."

"It's sad, but true." admitted Hikari, likely remembering the incident with the Queen.

Pissard simply snickered."Heh, guess your kind and compassionate queen isn't everything she cracked herself up to be,eh?"

"." I snarled, making him jolt and turn to me. "Look, even if the deal is null and void due to not finding Hikaru, I'll still tell you what I know, but in return, you have to forget you ever saw this house. Wipe it from your memory, or just don't tell a soul. So, what will it be?"

The former servant of darkness fumed to himself, obviously caught between a rock and a hard place. I'd had my reasons for making the offer though. The Undead were a danger to everyone. Not just humans or the Pretty Cure, but even the forces of Darkness weren't safe from them. To myself, I held a slim hope that we could work together, at least long enough to seal them all. After that, I didn't much care what they did.

After brooding over my offer for a bit, he nodded begrudgingly."Fair enough, now explain yourself."

With that, I set about telling him the story behind the Undead. Where they came from, why they were created, the ranking system they had, the reason, however twisted it was, for doing what they did. I omitted a few details, like the one about them originally being part of a set of merchandise from my world that had obtained sentience through some trippy gateway trip.

I put special emphasis on the danger they posed. They would fight whoever they wanted, whenever they wanted. I also told him the partially true story of how I acquired the power to become Kamen Rider Chalice, sacrificing part of my humanity in the process by becoming one with the sealed Joker. The white-haired man stood there, fully engrossed in my story.

Once my tale was done, Pissard took a few moments to ponder what he was going to say. From the look on his face, I'd given him a great deal to digest."Very interesting indeed, young man. You had your humanity taken from you and in return was given great power, but instead of joining these "Undead" you chose to fight against them."

I nodded."That's right, I'm not interested in reshaping the world. I only want to stop them before too many lives are lost. I'm not too interested in using my powers for anything else besides that."

Pissard actually snickered and it made me raise an eyebrow."While I'm not too concerned about what becomes of these humans, you are certainly becoming more and more intriguing," He fixed me with a dangerous gaze."Tell you what, you join us, and my master will almost certainly be able to bestow you with even greater power than what you have right now. Sound like a good deal?"

Hikari and I shared a look. No words were needed. I looked to Pissard and shook my head."No deal, I'll fight this battle on my own terms."

The guy's smile automatically vanished as his eyes narrowed into a scowl."Boy, you're making a big mistake. If you don't swear loyalty to my master, we can make your life very difficult, very quickly."

I wasn't backing down."If I do end up having to fight you guys too, so be it, but I will NOT obey whatever dark deity you're working for, and I will NOT betray the friends I have already made and will continue to make!" Hikari's eyes had a small glimmer in them at my words as I stood up, ignoring the pain, and trudged over to the door before swinging it open. "Now please leave, and if I ever find out you've been around here, you'll be hearing from me."

Pissard looked like he wanted to floor me then and there, but somehow, I knew he'd keep to his word. He walked to the door while not bothering to look at me. He stopped for a moment."If you ever come to your senses, the offer still stands." He walked off and vanished into the night.

I shut the door and sat back down beside Hikari."Before I forget," I reached into my pocket and pulled out her hair band."I think this may've saved my life." I placed it in her hand."Thanks again."

She smiled warmly."I'm just glad you came back," The girl looked off to the side."I'm..really happy to know you think of us as your friends."

I shrugged."Well, I think you've earned the right to be called friends," I winced as a sharp jolt went through my shoulder."Darn.."

Hikari shot up and helped me lay down."No more getting up,ok? You need your rest."

Knowing she was right, I sighed tiredly."As if things weren't complicated enough, what with the Undead, now your old enemies are coming back from wherever it is you sent them when they were defeated."

"Yeah," murmured the gal in honesty."When we beat them before, we never thought we'd ever see them again. Guess we were wrong," Suddenly, she shook her head fiercely. "We'll beat them again though, we just have to! We'll never let them consume our world!"

I grinned at her. "That's the girl. You can't lose hope, no matter what."

"But I am curious about something," I looked up at her."Why did you tell Pissard about the Undead?"

I hesitated for a moment before speaking."I..guess I thought I could get him and his group to work with us. I mean, these Undead are a danger to everybody, not just humans. Besides, we'd only have to do it until they were all sealed."

Hikari sighed and shook her head."It's a nice idea, but they'll never go for it. The forces of Darkness have clashed with the Light for eons, and I doubt that's gonna change anytime soon, if ever."

I groaned to myself."Well, it was worth a shot. So, what are we gonna do about that email thing to the other Cures?"

At this, she smiled and pat my shoulder."Don't worry about that right now. We decided we're gonna put it on hold for the time being, at least till you feel better," She pulled a blanket over me."Now get some rest, you've earned it."

For a moment, I was reminded of when I was younger and I got tucked in by my mother."Thanks Hikari, I'll see ya in the morning."

Her smile was as warm as ever."Good night, my warrior of justice." She turned and headed upstairs.

As I lied alone, I began to think. Just when I thought things couldn't get any harder, they did. Not only were I on worse terms than ever with the Queen, but now someone was reviving Pretty Cure's fallen enemies. As if that weren't enough, some of them wanted to recruit me. And as if THAT weren't enough, I get myself curbstomped by one of the Royal Class Undead and have to get saved by another one. I was definitely gonna need to get a lot stronger if I wanted to stand even a chance at beating Isaka the next time we met.

Or find some new ways to use my cards, whichever came first.

The only good things out of this were that the girls were ok, so was Hikaru. Also, I now had some idea of where I was in the timeline. Apparently, this had to be sometime after the second All Stars DX movie, and if Itsuki and Yuri had appeared, this likely meant we were at the end of the Heartcatch season, and well into Suite. "Which means the events of All-Stars DX 3 haven't happened yet."

At least now I'd found a clue. The question was, how would having the Undead and I here change things? I didn't know how long I had before the events of that movie started, so I had to make good use of whatever time I had.

First things first, I needed a nap. I would sort this mess out in the morning.

The Queen sat alone in her room, back to her giantess self, and sighing."I so hoped I could get that boy to join us. But it seems my efforts have done nothing but push him furthur from us."

Elder nodded sagely."I would not be surprised if he decided to join the legions of darkness and try to get revenge."

His ladyship was wary."What's worse, I believe my actions have even casted the shadow of distrust and betrayel on our own warriors. My other self seems to be quite taken with him too," That fact gave her a bit of queasiness. The boy was filled with negative energy and being so close to the girl it would seep over into her at one point, if it hadn't already.

"It's like no matter what you do, he won't be swayed." inquired Wisdom. He had watched the girls and Chalice leave and had heard much of the conversation. To be truthful,he felt the Queen had been a bit too harsh on the young man, too forceful even, but he knew his place.

Although that didn't stop his opinion from being heard."Maybe, for now at least, we can just leave him alone," Everyone looked to him."I mean, even if he's not on our side, he's not really against us either. I think he just wants to be by himself, so perhaps leaving him be will help all of us."

Elder scoffed."Leave him be? Have you forgotten that for every one of those beasts he seals, he becomes more and more of a danger,Wisdom?"

Wisdom had a small scowl on his face."I haven't forgotten,Elder, but I think you're forgetting that he was right here, with the queen, he could've struck her down if he wanted to, but he didn't. He simply warned her to leave him be and went on his way." From his few moments of speaking with Chalice, he got the impression he was a pretty decent guy.

The old man frowned at the little one."Even if he wanted to, his power is not enough to pose a threat to the Queen, at least for the moment," He looked up to his ruler. "Which is why I suggest we do something about him as soon as possible, before he becomes the end of us all."

Wisdom followed suit."No, leave him alone. We've already given him enough reason to hate us. And the only people he's hurt are those monsters, the Undead. I don't think he's as bad as we're making him out to be."

"You can't be serious,Wisdom!" exclaimed the Elder."We can't just let him run about, doing what he wants, it's too much of a risk!"

"And it's too much of a risk to just lash out against him!" fired back the guardian of the Prism Stones.

Before the two's argument could get any fiercer, the queen's voice cut in."Enough, both of you." They stopped and looked up to her."While I value your opinions, I will come to a decision on this matter myself. Now, please go."

The two watched her for a bit longer then relunctantly turned to go. Before he left, Wisdom turned back."Please Queen..for all our sakes..make the right choice." He walked out, shutting the doors behind him.

The Queen sat alone, her mind wandered yet she could not tell what to do...was there anything she could do really?

Pissard stepped out of the portal of swirling shadows and kneeled before his master."I have returned, Lord Black Hole-sama."

The distorted face appeared before him."Were you successful in your mission?" It demanded with no hint of patience.

At this, the man bowed his head."In a way, yes. But at the same time,no." Seeing suspicion on his lord's face, he went into detail with his mission. He elaborated on what he found out about Chalice and the strange monsters that had appeared in the human world.

"Hmm," began Black Hole."This is unexpected indeed, not only are there more like Chalice, but he was once a human being too...but the fact he is not willing to join us is disappointing."

"My lord," all eyes turned as another figure materialized from the darkness. This one with a bald head, pale skin and narrowed eyes wearing a white tattered robe. This was Ilkuubo. The Dark King's former right hand man."I suggest a display of power. Once Chalice sees that the power to consume all things is greater than that of the emissaries of Light, he will certainly not hesitate to join us."

Pissard frowned as he stood up."He brought my Zakenna to its knees with a single slash, he didn't seem impressed."

"Only cause you're weak," cut in another voice as a new figure, a woman, appeared. She had long red hair, pale white skin and dressed in a black body suit. This was Poisonee. "Heck, even Gekidrago lasted longer than you did."

"Someone call my name?" growled the big brute as he materialized. "Oh, looks like the whole group is here." Black Hole had managed to use a small portion of his massive power to recall some of the Dark Zone's warriors. It wouldn't be long before their strength returned.

"A show of power might do the trick," agreed Poisonee, nodding her head."Getting those Precure in the process is only icing on the cake."

Black Hole spoke."It is settled than, Gekidrago, gather your strength, for I will soon have need of you."

The brute nodded."Sure thing, boss." He turned and vanished into the shadows, the others dispersed as well.

Black Hole floated in the empty darkness. It materialized an image of Chalice and studied it."Chalice..you will acknowledge the power to consume all things as your master.
And you will bring darkness to the worlds."

"It is only a matter...of time."

Phew, finally got this chapter done after over a month of mishaps. Yeah, I know, it's pretty long but that's due to a lot of stuff happening. The Queen pulling another stupid move on the gang, the Jack Of Diamonds makes his move, we learn a bit more of where we are in the timeline of the series, and my character gets his butt kicked...badly. If you watched Blade, you know the promise the Jack Of Spades made.

Oh, and we learn that Black Hole and the forces of darkness have plans for Chalice...not good at all. As if my guy didn't have enough on his plate to deal with. Though now they know of the Undead's existance, which should mess things up a little. Also, my character's not always gonna win every battle he gets in, he's not quite ready yet to face the higher level Undead, and by extension, neither are the Cures.

I wanted to give Black Hole more of a personality than just "I am evil! Therefore I will destroy everything! Mwahahahaha!" Hopefully you liked it.

And it seems not everyone in the Garden Of Light totally agress with the Queen's way of viewing things..hmm..

Anyways, not much else to say here but I hope the wait was worth it, and I'll try to have the next chapter out as soon as possible.

Right, so comment and tell me what you think. See ya.