Hey again! I've been thinking things through for a while, and have decided to put everything else on the back-burner to work on this for now. As more ideas for my existing stories come to me, I'll be taking them down on file to preserve them. So, Without further ado, the not-so revised chapter 1!

=KAMEN RIDER DECADE: GEKIJOBAN=

=GAIA AFTERSHOCK=

CHAPTER 1: AWAKEN THE EARTH!

"TSUKASA-KUN!"

Came the screams of three people: Onodera Yuusuke, the up-beat, always smiling bearer of the Arcle, also known as Kamen Rider Kuuga; Daiki Kaito, the phantom thief of the AR Worlds, also known as Kamen Rider DiEnd; Hikari Natsumi, his closest friend and, at one time, his killer after he became a monster, also known as Kamen Rider Kibara. The three had left the Hikari Studio with the one called Tsukasa when a strange-looking monster showed up. The monster, a yellow toad exuding large amounts of electrical charge, had referred to himself as Electron Toad, and engaged in battle with the one called Tsukasa. His full name was Kadoya Tsukasa, a free-lance shooter of strangely exotic photos, and the one to unite the worlds, Kamen Rider Decade. At first, Tsukasa had taken a close-range approach to fighting the strange kaijin, only to find that no amount of punching, kicking, or slashing with his RideBooker Sword would be enough to damage the creature without shocking himself in return. So, he'd switched up his game, turning the Sword in his hand back into a card-holding metal book, and then into a gun. 'Good,' Tsukasa had thought, 'now I can take him out with little trouble. Electric or not, he can't shock me if I don't touch him, right?' He'd been proven wrong as the monster had proceeded to fire off thunder bolts at the Rider. Tsukasa backed up several feet and fired away, hitting the monster with shot after shot. His last few rounds, invoked by the card "Attack Ride: Blast", had caused the beast to misfire, shooting a lightning bolt over Tsukasa's head.

"Heh... You missed!" Tsukasa had said arrogantly. Seconds later, the beast gave a crazed-looking grin, and Tsukasa understood why when he looked up. The misfired lightning bolt had severed an electrical wire above Tsukasa's head, and it was less than a second away from him.

"Kuso-GYAAAAAA~H!" he shouted as the wire struck him, its frayed edges connecting with his DecaDriver and delivering well over 3 billion volts of electricity. Tsukasa's Decade armor dissolved away, and the boy soon collapsed to the ground face-first. All three others screamed his name. The beast jumped back several feet, in case it was a ruse to trick him. But, as Yuusuke walked over and checked for a pulse, the beast laughed.

"Natsumi-san... He's dead," Yuusuke said, lowering his gaze as he stood. Daiki restrained her for about two seconds, then suddenly reeled back to hold his nose. The distraught girl had plowed him in the face with her elbow to free herself. Daiki and Yuusuke watched as Natsumi ran forward, and, with a flourish of Kivara's power, transformed into Kamen Rider Kibara. The two boys could do little to console her now. With a draw of a card and a flourish of the hands, both boys activated their devices and charged into the fray.

"KAMEN RIDE: DIEND!"

"HENSHIN!"

Two more riders donned their armor and ran at the electric monster; DiEnd brandished his DiEnDriver, Kuuga switched to Pegasus Form to use the Pegasus Bowgun, and Kibara resorted to using light, quick smashes with her weapon; it wouldn't shock her as much as fully slashing it, but it was worth the bit of bite to harm this thing. DiEnd pulled out several cards and slotted each into his Driver, one after the other, then pulled the trigger.

"KAMEN RIDE: G-3!"

"KAMEN RIDE: ZOLDA!"

"KAMEN RIDE: DELTA!"

"KAMEN RIDE: GARREN!"

"KAMEN RIDE: IBUKI!"

"KAMEN RIDE: DRAKE!"

"KAMEN RIDE: ZERONOS!"

"FORM RIDE: ZERONOS VEGA!"

"KAMEN RIDE: IXA!"

"KAMEN RIDE: SKULL!"

From nowhere, nine extra Riders appeared and started shooting at the monster for devastating results.

~ELSEWHERE~

Tsukasa floated about in a wide-open expanse filled with light.

'Well...' Tsukasa thought to himself, 'I don't need to be an idiot to know what this means. That jolt to my Driver killed me. Great... Dead before I could really get serious with Natsumikan.'

"It doesn't exactly HAVE to end this way, O Warrior of Darkness Turned to the Light!" a voice said from nowhere. Tsukasa looked around to find where it came from, and soon found it: A large hole opened in the light around him, revealing the figure of a large man. The only feature Tsukasa could see of the man was his head, but taking a good look told Tsukasa that what he was dealing with wasn't any normal man: This must be GOD.

"Settle your thoughts, young one. I am not your human idea of 'THE ONE AND ONLY GOD', the being said. Tsukasa stared at the being for several seconds before idly inquiring as to its identity.

"I am known by many names throughout the Gaian Multiverse. But here, in the 'Realm Between', where my formal name is HatoShirou, I am known to the others of my kind simply as Shiro. I come before you this day to beseech you for help. The Gaian Multiverse is falling apart. The monster that killed you was spawned by an organization known as "GAIASHOCKER", an elitist group who use the powers of the earth and cosmos to create their evil Kaijin offspring. They are siphoning out all of the earth's power to resurrect the lord of all evil, Gaizol. We need you to stop them before it's too late!"

"Um... Not to be rude or anything..." Tsukasa said, "But unless you've got a way to fix ... THIS," he gestured to himself, "I"M DEAD, and I can't help you."

"There you go again, recklessly jumping to conclusions. We know about you and your abilities, Kadoya Tsukasa. You Carry within you the powers of Decade, the traveller of the Gaian Multiverse," Shiro began. He told Tsukasa of how all of the Rider Worlds, even those of the Negatives and the Shinkengers, were connected to one central Hub World where all of the Original Riders had come to reside, while simultaneously watching over their alternate reality counterpart Riders from afar to ensure they became as good at what they did, if not better, as they were.

"So, wait a second, you're telling me that somewhere in this crazy maze of worlds... is someone who walks, talks, and acts like me, and has THE EXACT SAME name as me?" Tsukasa asked, completely aghast. All this time he thought he was unique... now it turned out there may be another of him!

"It's not like that, Kadoya-san. The man you see may have a name SIMILAR to your own, he may walk and talk like you do... But he is most certainly not the same man you are. This man doesn't possess the same capacity for harnessing the earth's energies that you do. In fact, it is ONLY because you possess this capacity that I am asking YOU for this. No other Rider has the powers you possess. They have the ability to tame and control ONE facet of our powers... but not all, like you do," Shiro said. Tsukasa took this information and tried to process it. However, it was as hard for him to understand as the first time he'd used the power of Decade and travelled to another world.

"How do you know all of this?" Tsukasa asked. Shiro simply laughed at him.

"I am one of several beings, each attuned to one specific aspect of the Gaian Multiverse's energy. If my memory serves true, there are twelve of us in total. There are Eleven Riders at this time, and it appears as though one will be born soon. He, however, is not able to handle the powers we possess. You must go to each of the other Riders' worlds and help them, for as surely as the Mulitverse crumbles, so too their worlds are falling apart. You may be dead, but with my powers as HaShiro, the White Dove of Life and Light, I can grant you a second life, with a price," Shiro said.

"Of course you have a price. The price is I have to beat GAIASHOCKER before they resurrect Gaizol or my soul rots in hell for all eternity, right?" Tsukasa said, placing heavy sarcasm on every word. Shiro, needless to say, was not impressed.

"You are perceptive, but also wrong. Your price, Kadoya Tsukasa," Shiro said, "will be given as a punishment. There are, as I have said, twelve being like myself here. Of the twelve of us, my brother KouKuro, the Black Bat of Darkness and Death, or Kuro as we call him, and myself are the gatekeepers of the realms of "Afterlife" and "Afterdeath". I guard the gate to the lighter of the two, as you might have guessed. Your price is this: six months spent in the Realm of Afterlife for each time you use MY powers of light to fight and defend, while, on the other hand, you shall be forced to spend one full year in the Realm of Afterdeath for each time you draw upon Kuro's powers to fight and destroy. THAT is your price, young one. What say you?" Shiro watched as Tsukasa shook his head "no".

"I see. So you'd still be against gaining new life if I were to show you what was happening with your friends?" Shiro said, and Tsukasa's eyes shot open.

"My... Friends?" he said. Shiro smiled widely; it seemed he'd struck a nerve in Tsuskasa's mind. He waved a massive arm and a portal opened, allowed Tsukasa to see what was happening outside. Through the portal, Tsukasa watched, screaming as one by one his friends fell before the electric menace: Kaito was hit with a large whallop of thunder from point-blank range, losing his armour and flying back into a distortion portal to his world; Yuusuke getting hit by a three-way lightning bolt sandwich that reversed his transformation to Kuuga and sent him flying back to his world through another distortion portal; Natsumi... now without backup of any kind, forced to deal with this monster and failing miserably. Which wasn't strange, considering how he'd LET her kill him back in the world of the Rider War...

"NATSUMIKAN!" Tsukasa shouted over and over again, struggling to break the portal open, go back to his body, and save Natsumi. Playing the part of the big hero was always his thing... but now, watching the girl he loved get pummeled seven different ways from last Tuesday by a creature half her size, half as powerful as she was, and half as smart as she was, made him depressed. Depressed, furious... and extremely desperate...

"Shiro-san... I accept your deal. Please, send me back. I HAVE TO HELP HER!" Tsukasa shouted.

Shiro nodded, and, raising his arms and hands with fingers spread wide, bellowed, "THEN BY THE POWER VESTED IN ME BY THE GREAT DAIRYU, I BESTOW UPON THEE, KADOYA TSUKASA, NEW LIFE UNDER CONTRACT TO MYSELF, HASHIRO AND MY BROTHER KOUKURO, THE POWERS OF LIFE AND DEATH, AND GRANT THEE OUR POWERS! GO FORTH IN OUR NAMES AND THOSE OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE POWERS OF THE GAIAN MULTIVERSE! THIS DAY, A NEW RIDER IS BORN! YOU ARE NOW KNOWN AS KAMEN RIDER GAIA!" Shiro shouted, and soon, engulfed in a blinding white light, Tsukasa's soul found itself shattering the portal to the Realm of the Living. As it slowly closed, Shiro looked on, his last words cryptic and ... almost frightening...

"FARETHEE WELL, KADOYA TSUKASA. Dairyu only knows you'll need all the luck you can possibly get..."

~MUCH LATER~

Tsukasa awoke in the Hikari Studio, lying on the couch in the drawing room. He looked up and around the room, spotting Natsumi's elderly grandfather Eijiro pacing back and forth with sweat on his brows.

"Excuse me, Eijiro-san?" Tsukasa said, sitting up slowly. Eijiro jumped at Tsukasa's voice, but ran over when he saw the boy was awake.

"OH! Tsukasa-kun! Thank goodness you're awake! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!" Eijiro said, getting on his knees in front of Tsukasa. Tsukasa looked at Eijiro with dumb-founded eyes. 'Why is everyone asking me to help them today?' Tsukasa thought as he stood the elderly man up and asked what was wrong. Eijiro explained that after He'd beaten the monster ('Really? I ACTUALLY did that?') the monster had run off and taken Natsumi with him, but left a note. Tsukasa saw a piece of paper on a stand nearby and walked over to it. He opened it and grated his teeth as he read:

"To Kadoya Tsukasa:

Greetings! My name is Koji Kikuchiro. I am the current leader of a little organization called "GAIASHOCKER", and I understand through my underling, Electron Toad, that you came back from the dead, exhibiting signs of true Gaia Alignment. We of GAIASHOCKER require your assistance, as the ex-leader of Dai-Shocker, to help us with a human sacrifice to resurrect our true leader, the great Gaizol. I await your reply in the World of Kuuga. My associates Legend and DeFiDe will be awaiting you there with one of your old ... Travelling friends. I believe his name was... Yuusuke...? Or was it ... Yuuseless? Given how effective he wasn't against my Electron Toad, he mustn't be that strong after all! Hope to hear your answer soon!

SINCERELY, KIKUCHIRO KOJI

AKA Kamen Rider DiLord"

Tsukasa's eyes filled with anger. He ripped the note to pieces. He wasn't stupid enough to have to ask what they'd done with Natsumi... SHE was to be their sacrifice.

Tsukasa roared with rage and went for the first thing he could find: the pull cord for what he and his friends had affectionately dubbed "The Mural of Worlds", due to its strange ability to teleport the ENTIRE studio across time and space to an entirely different world.

As he yanked hard on the cord, intending to tear it right off and ruin the mural, the cord rolled up on its own, dropping down a mural Tsukasa recognized easily: It was the painting of the World of Kuuga, only now something seemed off: Instead of a picture of Kuuga's city with police cars on the streets and the city's own Mount Hiroki in the background, Kuuga was now standing on that mountain in the center of an army of Grongi Kaijin, hands on his head, entire body seemingly wracked with pain as tinges of blue and green began to creep up his form and repaint him. The strangest thing about this tapestry, however, was not that the scene had changed drastically... the strange thing was that the whole scene seemed to be underwater, as if his world were drowning. As quickly as the mural had dropped, it flashed with a ringing sound following, and then returned to normal.

Tsukasa stared at the Mural for several seconds, and then shook his head. "No," he said, "It can't be. I can't be back in Yuusuke's world... Not now!"

However, mere moments later, Tsukasa reeled and hit the ground on his knees as images flooded his mind: Kuuga in his Ultimate Form, the stylized black armour turned a light aqua blue, while the gold trim had been turned a light sea-green, a ring of water tuning into an aquatic vortex behind him; Agito in his Shining Form, the bright, glittering white of his armour replaced by a burning orange-red as a storm of intense flame surged behind him; Ryuuki in his Survive Form, the scarlet red of his armour first replaced with an earthen brown while a brown dragon smashed its tail into the ground behind him to scatter large boulders, then to a deep, dark shade of crimson with a cape and a larger, darker version of the same dragon now painted the same dark red as its master, breathing utter darkness; Faiz in his Blaster Form, the red tinge in his armour now turned a stark monochrome gray with gold accents and Sol Streams while imaged of malfunctioning circuit boards exploded around him.

The images didn't stop there: Soon Blade appeared, the golden tones and silver accents of his armour replaced by electric yellow and black, surrounded by a field of electrical discharge; Hibiki in Armed Form, the rich crimson and purple tones replaced with earthen browns and greens, while some of the original gold and silver accents were replaced by the same earthen browns and greens of the rest of his armour amidst a forest of trees that seemed to grow at his will; Kabuto in Hyper Form, the metallic silver tones of his armour replaced with lighter shades of blue and gray while his trademark rich Wine Red remained with a raging cyclone blowing behind him; Den-O in Liner Form, the reds and whites of his armour now replaced with ice-cold shades of blue with a mighty glacier standing proud behind him; Kiva, the tones of vampire's red and gold of his Emperor Form armour now replaced with blacks, demonic crimson and wicked orange with encroaching shadows surrounding him; Double, his Fang-Joker Form now repainted from bone white and darkest black to a rich, royal purple and evil-looking shade of orange, flying high on a dragon wing into a sky filled with strange energy.

From there, images of Other Riders he'd known and met flooded his mind, followed by images of several he had never known existed: One was yellow with speakers on his head; another resembled a ninja, and held an ornate dagger in HER hands; another bore stars all over his body with two weapons in hand strangely reminiscent of bladed tonfas... only star-shaped. As the images left his head, Tsukasa staggered back onto the couch and sat, his mind spinning from the sudden barrage of pictures he'd just seen. Each of the Riders he'd had close encounters with before now had forms he'd never seen before, and others he hadn't seen had forms he never would have imagined in his life. He now understood the magnitude of the task ahead of him.

What scared him were the names of the two people he was expected to relay his answer to: Legend and DiFiDe. DiFiDe sounded like something his friend Kaito would STEAL, but never use. Legend, however... that name sent signals of warning throughout his body Anyone with that name was likely to be hard to beat. HE wasn't going to like having to go up against either of these two. For now, his job involved venturing out into this... strange version of Yuusuke's world... And trying his best to find out what was going on.

_TO BE CONTINUED!_

Now, not all chapters will look like this one. All from this point on will be in deeper detail. R&R, CONSTRUCTIVE FLAMES WELCOME!