Futari wa Pretty Cure: A New Legend

by Ashbel Longhart

Ichi Dai had a somewhat good life. Working at his uncle's orphanage, taking care of the kids, and so on. But on his birthday, he was suddenly transported to PreCure no Sekai. After a year of living in this new world, he later finds out that Grongi are here, causing chaos and death wherever they go. As the new Kamen Rider Kuuga, he must protect this world's smile. "Chou Henshin!"

24. Ride 24: The Ultimate Darkness

Hello Fanfiction readers out there! Ashbel Longhart here to bring you a new chapter for my Kuuga story! So sorry it took a while since my last update was about a month ago. Laziness and work really get in the way of my writing, but I'm here now so let's get started. Cue disclaimer!

(Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Kuuga or Futari wa Pretty Cure. They both belong to their respective owners. I just own this story and my OC's.)

Alright, recap: Last time, the gang rose on a rainbow and arrived at the Garden of Light where they met the Elder and the Queen. They also learned that there were Riders before Dai even came to PreCure no Sekai. As Dai was questioning the Queen about her relationship with the past Riders, a revived Illkubo appeared and dragged the girls to the Dark Zone. Dai, with the unexpected help of Daguva fought Illkubo one last time until they finally got rid of him for good. But now the group faces both the Dark King and Daguva. If you want to see what happens then just keep reading. Let's ride! Chou Henshin!

---

Ride 24: Out of Control Kamen Rider! The Ultimate Darkness Unleashed!

---

(One Year Ago)

"You really are hopeless, you know that?"

"That guy was in trouble. I couldn't just-ow!" Dai winced as Nagisa dabbed the ointment on the cut on Dai's face which was quite close to his lips.

"You're always like this, helping people out even if you don't know them," Nagisa said, applying medicine on all the cuts and bruises decorating Dai's face. "You're too sensitive to people's problems, you know?"

"I can't help it. If I see someone in trouble, I want to help them," Dai said. "Wouldn't you do the same?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't take it as far as you do," Nagisa said, gesturing to all the injuries on Dai's face. "You're going to get in real big trouble if you keep this up."

"Sorry, but it's just my nature to help people," Dai said before flashing the girl a smile. "Besides, I have you to help me if I ever get into trouble, don't I?"

A faint blush appeared on Nagisa's face before pushed the boy back. "Baka(Idiot)! Don't say things like that, you'll give people the wrong impression."

Dai's only response was to smile and laugh. Nagisa huffed in annoyance before she smiled and continued dabbing medicine on Dai.

"But, I can't deny what you said. If you ever get into trouble, I'll be there to help pull you out of it. After all, it's the least I can do for saving my life."

Once again, Dai smiled at the girl and Nagisa returned it with one of her own.

"Arigato(Thank you), Nagisa-chan."

"No problem, Dai-kun."

---

(Now)

At the Garden of Rainbows, or simply Earth, the world was currently undergoing a strange phenomenon. What had once been bright noon was now dark as if it were going to rain any second.

"Okaa-san(Mom), the sky's all weird," Ryota called out from the balcony, informing Rie who was vacuuming the house.

"Is it? Is it going to rain?" The mother of two asked. And she had just hanged the laundry out not too long ago.

"I...don't know," Ryota said in an unsure tone. Yes, the sky did give that impression, but the strange thing was, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky currently. Just what was going on?

Over at the Yukishiro residence, Sanae, who had awoken from quite the long nap, was witnessing the same thing. Looking up, the sky was dark enough that one could be able to look at the sun for more than an hour or two.

"Oh dear..." Sanae mutters as she looks up at the darkened sky with worry. This obviously wasn't natural. She could feel it. Something was amiss. Whatever, or whoever was causing this, they were powerful. Dangerous. And judging from how she had yet to find Honoka around the house, she had a good feeling that her granddaughter was currently involved with this somehow.

How did she know, or come to this conclusion? Well, when one has lived a life like hers, you tend to know things even when you aren't there to see it.

"Kengo, please watch over Honoka..." Sending out that one prayer, Sanae knelt down and just sat there, looking up at the sky, hoping Honoka and her friends would come out of this alive.

Meanwhile, at the Special Investigation HQ, while everyone was looking up at the sky in confusion, the Gouram's eyes shined and its Amadam Stone located on its back pulsed. It could sense it. Something was happening to its current master. Something...dark...was rising.

---

(Insert STRIKE BACK by BACK-ON)

(Instrumental) The song starts as the camera rises up to show the legs of Kuuga before we get a sudden screenshot of Cure Black and Cure White before go back to Kuuga. Just as the camera is at the Arcle, we get a sudden shot of Mepple and Mipple before the camera gets to his chest. We then get another sudden shot of The PreCure cards surrounding Gouram before we go back to Kuuga whose back was facing the camera. He then suddenly turns around and punches the screen, cracking it as the title appears.

(Kidou sura kaerarenai kurai no kakuritsu da to shite mo) We now see Nagisa playing lacrosse with her team, catching a ball as Mepple is seen sleeping from Nagisa's bag.

(IPAASENTO demo areba mochiron teikou desho?) We then see Honoka with the members of the science club, doing an experiment that ended in an explosion as Mipple just giggles at the scene.

(Shosen, "unmei" to nagetsukerareta tte, No I won't!) We go to the city where the police are examining a dead body. Ryō looks at the body before he walks away and gets out his phone, calling Dai.

(Hikkuri kaeshite, Because datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikou janai?) Dai, riding on the TryChaser 2000, gets the call from his radio and speeds up, passing both Nagisa and Honoka as he races to meet up with Ryō.

(Bring it on! 'Cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY! buchinuku donten!) Suddenly, the sky turns dark before the Dark King and his subordinates appears as well as an army of Zakenna appeared. Appearing with him was a shadow figure of N-Daguva-Zeba along with an army of Grongi.

(Still burning my fire ten wo kirsaku raimei I gotta kakikesu Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!) Nagisa and Honoka step in fear before Dai suddenly appeared behind them and gave them his signature smile and a thumbs up.

(Kako, mirai, soshite ikiteru ima, I ain't scared of my past and now for takusareta asu) Seeing his smile seemed to steel the girl's resolve as they took out the Queen PreCure and Dai summoned the Arcle belt.

(Screaming out for my pride!) A light then suddenly appears and appearing from it was Kamen Rider Kuuga along with Cure Black and Cure White, ready for battle.

(Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsudzukeru yo! Zutto...) Cure Black and Cure White engage a battle with some Zakenna before taking on Pisard, Ilkubo, Poisony, Kiriya, and Gekidrago.

(I'm never falling down! oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!) Both sides traded blows for a bit before both girls held hands and fired their signature Marble Screw.

(Kono senaka ni aru, egao mamoritai kara! Zutto...) We see Kuuga kicking way a few Grongi, bashes them with the Dragon Rod while in his Dragon form, shoots a flying Grongi with his Pegasus Bowgun in his Pegasus form, slash a few more Grongi with his Titan Sword in his Titan form.

(I gotta blast off your pain for you and me! kanashimi nante Rest in peace!) Dai and the girls meet regroup as they face both the Dark King and N-Daguva-Zeba. Dai charges up a Mighty Kick before he jumps.

(Nando demo...) The girl then threw another Marble Screw as Dai kicks towards the two beings of darkness with the Marble Screw following close behind him before a light overtakes everything and we see a quick look at the blue sky before the song ends.

---

(Dark Zone)

All was quiet in the realm of darkness which was quite surprising as there would usually be sounds of lightning in the distance, but even those have gone silent as if in response to the high tension levels between Dai and the girls, and Daguva and the Dark King. In contrast to the former group having all taking fighting stances, the latter two were both relaxed with only Daguva smiling.

"What's the game plan here?" Nagisa whispered over to Dai while keeping an eye on the two enemies before them. She knew how strong Daguva was, but she didn't know what the Dark King himself could do so she assumed he was just as dangerous as Daguva.

"Still working on one," Dai replied, also keeping the enemies before them in his sight while gripping his Rising Titan Sword tightly. He was surprised that he was still in Rising form as he previously could only hold the form for about a minute. Either being in the Dark Zone had boosted him enough to extend his time, or that lightning bolt from earlier was what did it. Either way, he wasn't complaining as he would need to keep the form against the two enemies in front of him.

Nagisa sent a look over towards Honoka who shook her head. "I've got nothing either."

"Well, that's just great," Nagisa sarcastically said, trying not to appear nervous only to jump in surprise when the Dark King spoke.

"Impressive. Despite being revived and becoming stronger, even dragging you here to my Dark Zone, you three still managed to defeat Illkubo. Most impressive."

"Um...thanks?" Nagisa said in an unsure tone, having not expected to receive a compliment form the big bad himself.

"But do not think just because you've defeated all my Generals that you now have the upper hand. I gave birth to those four, which means their powers originate from me."

"In short, he's stronger than all four of the Generals combined," Daguva summarized, his playful smile still plastered on his face while he cracked his knuckles and neck. "But enough talking. We're all here to fight, aren't we?"

At that did Dai and the girl tense up, their first meeting with the Grongi leader and what happened flashing through their minds. Daguva saw this and smiled.

"So, when was the last time we fought, Ichi Dai? A few weeks ago? We never did get to finish our fight because of some..." The Grongi leader than spared looks towards the girls who did their best not to shiver under his gaze. "...people."

Knowing full well what Daguva was talking about, Dai stepped forward and brandished his sword at him.

"Leave the girls alone. Your fight is with me."

"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to fight them. As much as I want to see just how strong these 'legendary warriors' are, they're not at their full power due to being in this realm," Daguva said, shrugging. "In short, they're not worth my time."

"What did you say?" Nagisa exclaimed in anger, she and Honoka taking offense at what the disguised Grongi had said. He had just admitted to dissing them!

"Oh! I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings?" Daguva asked, though his tone told everyone that he didn't really mean it before smiling again. "Don't worry, I'm sure the Dark King here can keep you two busy."

At that did the girls and Dai look up to see the Dark King reaching down towards them. Reacting quickly, the three all jumped back and away from the approaching giant hand when Daguva suddenly appeared right behind them and kicked the girls hard enough that they flew right into the Dark King's hand.

"Girls!" Skidding to a stop, Dai was about to go and try to save the girls when his instincts warned him to turn around and he did, just in time to block a punch from Daguva with his forearm.

"Let's continue from where we left off last time, shall we?" Dagva asked with a smile.

Clicking his tongue from under his helmet, Dai pushed Daguva back, jumped away, before holding his sword up in front of him. He didn't know if he was strong enough to face Daguva at his current strength, but he won't find out by just standing around guessing.

"I'm stronger than I was the last time we fought."

"Obviously since you've managed to unlock your Rising form," Daguva said as he smiled excitedly. "Now, show me just how much you've grown!"

And so, the battle began.

---

(Palace of Light)

Looking outside the window of the palace, the Elder grew concerned as the dark clouds hanging over the Garden of Light grew more and more. It was a sign that the darkness was getting ever so stronger.

"This doesn't look good." The Elder said. The darkness that had consumed part of the Garden had remained still and silent and was only now starting to spread.

Turning away from the window, the Elder turned towards the Queen for answers on how to handle the current situation.

"My Queen, what should we do?"

The ruler of the Garden of Light had no clear answer to give to the Elder, remaining silent. As a being of light, she could practically feel the darkness growing without having to move or look for confirmation. Whatever was happening at the Dark Zone, it wasn't good. Something was growing down in the realm of darkness.

In times like these, she couldn't help but think: What would Hajime do?

...

...

...

After a moment to think to herself, the Queen felt like laughing. She knew exactly what the first Rider would do at a time like this.

Act.

---

(Dark Zone)

*Clang-Boom-Boom!*

"Absolute silence. Absolute Nothingness. Absolute darkness. In this world, everything is darkness. The Garden of Light and the Garden of Rainbows will be destroyed one day, and all that will be left...is Darkness."

*Boom-Pow-Pow!*

Inside the very hand of the Dark King, the girls gritted their teeth as everything was complete darkness. They could hear the faint sounds of battle, no doubt Dai's fight against Daguva, but the sounds themselves were muffled and far away, making them faint to the ears. Beyond that was just complete blackness as it felt like everything was being crushed all around them.

"Darkness will return everything to nothingness. No matter how hard you fight, it's meaningless. Everything will be destroyed...since darkness is the destiny of all things. It is better to spend eternity sleeping in darkness."

Having said everything he wanted to say, the Dark King released his hold on the girls, letting them drop to the ground as if they were finished goods.

*CLANG!*

As the girls groaned in pain on the ground, up ahead of them was Dai and Daguva fighting. The Rider swung his Rising Titan Sword at Daguva who blocked it with his own blade, having conjured one up as the two entered into a deadlock.

"Oh? Looks like the Dark King's finally done with them," Daguva said, glancing over to the girls on the ground.

Turning to where the girls were, Dai gritted his teeth before he turned back to Daguva and ended the deadlock between them by pushing aside his sword. Gripping his own blade with both hands, Dai swung his sword with seemingly reckless abandon as Daguva is actually struggling to block and deflect Dai's attacks. Left, right, up, up again, right, left, Daguva could see the attacks coming, but the power behind them is what made them hard to block as his hands were starting to feel numb and that made the Grongi smile. His smile grew bigger when Dai knocked his sword out of the Grongi's hands before he was struck across the face by a fast and hard-hitting elbow, sending him skidding back as Dai jumped back and over to the girls' side.

"Nagisa-chan! Honoka-chan! Are you two alright?" The Rider asked in worry, helping the girl's up.

"I think so," Nagisa said, unsure. She and Honoka had literally been squeezed by the Dark King's hands, but they were fine nonetheless.

"And you?" Honoka asked, looking at the Rider. He looked fine, but his armor could be simply hiding his wounds from them.

"I'm fine, I've been able to hold my own against Daguva," Dai said, looking over towards the smiling Grongi who seemingly ignored the bruise on his cheek.

The Grongi himself giggled like a kid as he smiled over to the Rider. "You've gotten stronger, Ichi Dai. Good, that's good. It hasn't even been that long since our last fight and you've grown this much. Did you do intensive training? Or perhaps your Rising Powers are what is closing the gap between us?"

Dai didn't answer the Grongi as he raised his sword in front of him with both hands. Seeing this, the Grongi shrugged his shoulders before raising his hands and curling them into fists.

"Enough." But it seems the Dark King had different plans as he held his hands up. "Come, Prism Stones!"

Over to where Wisdom was hiding, the guardian of the Stones let out a surprised cry when the Prism Hopeish he had been standing on began to rise up into the air before he screamed as he was sent flying over towards the Dark King's outstretched hand.

"Tasukete(Help Me)!" The Guardian cried out as he flew through the air.

"Crap!" Cursing, Nagisa grabbed one of Dai's hands, improving a plan in her head. "Dai-kun, throw me!"

Not even questioning the girl, the Rider obliged and threw the girl towards the Guardian, sending her flying like a rocket.

Gritting her teeth against the wind hitting her face, Nagisa reached out towards Wisdom and grabbed the Prism Hopeish before it got any closer to the Dark King. She smiled but it was quickly wiped away as gravity took hold of her and she began to fall.

"Black/Nagisa-chan!" Both Honoka and Dai cried out in worry as they took off running towards the falling girl. They would have to first get past Daguva, but to their surprise, the Grongi leader placed his hands in his pockets and let the two pass by him. Briefly wondering why the Grong had let them pass, they quickly turned their full attention back to the falling Cure as they both leaped forward and stopped right under the girl, catching her and cushioning her landing.

"Daijōbu(Are you alright), Black?" Honoka asked as Dai helped the girl up.

"Yeah, thanks, you two," Nagisa said, smiling in appreciation.

"Why do you fight?" The voice of the Dark King reminded the trio that they were now in front of the ruler of darkness as they turned to him. "For what purpose do you fight so hard for?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Nagisa said. "For our friends!"

"Friends?"

"If you guys destroy the Garden of Light, Mipple and Mepple will be sad!" Honoka exclaimed.

"White..." Inside her carrier, Mipple teared up at Honoka's words, but the Dark King had a different opinion.

"Fools. Are you saying that is the only reason you fight?"

"It's plenty enough reason for us!" Nagisa said as she stood back up on her feet.

"We fight to protect our friends and their smiles!" Dai added, pointing his sword at the Dark King. "Someone like you, who simply watched their comrade get destroyed, could never understand."

"The light will be destroyed. The world will be covered by darkness. That is fate." The Dark King insisted, but the group would have none of that.

"Darkness, fate, we don't care about that!" Nagisa exclaims.

"All we want is to protect the things we hold dear!" Honoka added.

"It may be true, that the world and all life itself, will one day be destroyed," Dai began before he exclaims loudly. "But that day is not today! There's no way...

"We will lose!" All three shouted as one as the girls placed one hand each on Dai's shoulders before raising their other hand into the sky.

"Black Thunder!"

"White Thunder!"

*BOOM!*

From the skies, the pair of black and white lightning bolts shot down into the girls' hands and not only covered them but also Dai in glowing power.

"Purikyua no utsukushiki tamashī ga…"

"…Jaaku na kokoro wo uchikudaku!"

Thrusting their hands forward, the girls aligned their hands with Dai's sword before they shouted out their finisher.

"Pretty Cure!"

"Calamity!"

"Marble!"

"Titan!"

"Screw!"

With that last word, the twin blast of black and white shot out of the girls' hands. In the next second, Dai jumped forward, getting into and riding the Marble Screw from within, his sword pointed forward and becoming a focal point as the twin blast converge around the blade and carried Dai forward.

The Dark King didn't even flinch at the incoming attack as he merely raised one hand and blocked the finisher, stopping Dai at the same time much to the girls' surprise.

"It is futile."

"Says...you!" Dai gritted through his teeth, trying to push forward before he shouted, "RISING!"

*BOOM!*

In an explosion of energy, the twin blasts of black and white Dai was inside of turned bright gold, surprising the Dark King.

"What!?"

"HaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAA!" Shouting out a battle cry, Dai slowly pushed forward, overpowering the Dark King's strength until he finally punched through the ruler of darkness' hand, obliterating it and making said ruler cry out in pain for the first time.

"He did it!" Nagisa cheered, she and Honoka smiling.

"Yosha(Alright)!" Dai cheered...until faster than he could react, the Dark King grabbed him with his other, and now only, hand and proceeded to throw him down to the ground, hard.

*CRASH!*

Large amounts of dirt and debris flew the moment Dai hit the ground. The girls raised their arms in order to shield themselves from the incoming debris, and once it all died down worry quickly filled the girls as they looked towards where Dai was thrown at.

"Dai/Ichi-kun!"

"I'm okay!" Dai's voice cried out through the dust and dirt in the air as from a huge crater formed from his crash, Dai's figure can be seen standing back up, stumbling a little, but was fine nonetheless.

"Dai!" Forgoing honorifics, Nagisa cried out as she runs over to the Rider with Honoka following close behind. Waving the dust and dirt in the air away, the two girls eventually made it over to Dai's side where they saw him no longer in his Rising state and was back to his normal Titan form.

"Ichi-kun, are you alright?" Honoka asked as she and Nagisa helped the Rider up.

"I'm fine," The Rider insisted, standing up on his own as he used his now regular Titan Sword for support. "Rising Titan's defenses helped me withstood the impact."

Both the girls just stare at what the Rider had said before Nagisa spoke for the both of them.

"...I know I don't say this often, but aren't your powers a bit overpowered, Dai-kun?"

"Hehehe..." Dai's response was to simply laugh, rubbing the back of his helmet. It was true that Kuuga's powers were quite OP. It was well known that Kuuga was one of, if not the strongest Rider stats wise.

"Grrr...!" The small talk was brought to an end as the voice of the Dark King made the trio turn to see the condition the ruler of the Dark Zone was in. It turns out, their combined attack had not only obliterated the Dark King's right hand but most of his arm too as the ruler held the stump, groaning in pain as he glared down at the three.

"Wow, they really got you good," Dai and the girls were then reminded that Daguva was still with them, the trio quickly turning to find the disguised Grongi standing not too far away from them as he whistled at what they had done to the Dark King.

Tensing up at the sight of Daguva, the girls got into their own respective stances while Dai gripped his sword, calling upon the golden power within him, but to his misfortune, only a spark occurred and nothing more.

'Shit! I can't use the golden power anymore!' Dai thought. While the golden powers that were Kuuga's Rising forms were powerful, as of right now, Dai had not fully mastered them yet in the sense that he could not hold them for very long. After a certain amount of time, the Rider would not be able to access his golden powers for the rest of the day and would have to wait for the inner power to 'recharge' in a sense.

Of course, Dai knew the solution to this, being the Kuuga fan that he is. He simply needed to convert more electricity into energy, thus supplying his lack of power, but the problem was that he did not know just how much electricity he needed to absorb in order to achieve this as the TV show didn't give a very clear showing of Godai's second electrotherapy. And after his first electrotherapy with the help of Sayuru, the man from another world was hesitant in trying a second test.

"Hey, Dark King, do you need some help?" Daguva asked, putting his hands behind his back as he, like always, smiled.

"Stay out of this, Daguva." The Dark King said, not even turning to where he is as he kept his sights on the trio.

"Are you sure? I don't often offer my help. This is a one time opportunity that not many people get."

"I said: Stay Out Of This!" With a loud voice filled with anger, the Dark King swung his remaining arm down and sent out an incoming shockwave towards Dai and the girls, and subsequently Daguva due to him being in the same path.

The Grongi leader wasn't bothered by the incoming attack as he shrugged his shoulders, "Suit yourself." and proceeded to jump high into the air, escaping the incoming wave. As for Dai and the girls...

"Shit!" With how fast the attack was coming, and with how beat up they were, they would not be able to dodge in time. Thinking fast, Dai threw away his sword, grabbed both the girls, hugged them closely, and turned his back to the incoming attack, planning on taking most of it himself.

"Dai!" Forgoing honorifics again, Nagisa cried out the Rider's name, already seeing what the Rider was planning, but it was already too late to stop him as the wave the Dark King had sent reached them and the screams of the trio were drowned out by the raging winds around them as they were all sent flying.

"Wow," Up in the air, Daguva looked at the destruction the Dark King had caused with merely a swing of his arm before looking over to the ruler of darkness himself who seemed to have calmed down as his obliterated arm had slowly regenerated until it was good as new. The Grongi leader whistled, impressed again. It seems being the ruler of a whole realm had its perks.

"Ugh..." Groaning, both Nagisa and Honoka slowly got up, shaking their head to get rid of the dizziness in their eyes before they looked down and gasped as they found themselves still in the arms of the Rider, now greatly injured. He had reverted back into his Mighty form and one of his lenses was cracked, showing just how powerful the Dark King's attack had been.

"Dai/Ichi-kun!" Both the girls cried out in worry for the Rider as they helped him up. The Rider himself groaned in pain, but he refused to stay down as he was brought back up to his feet by the girls.

"Why?" Seeing the trio stand up once again, the Dark King couldn't help but ask. "Why do you continue to stand up?"

While supporting the Rider by getting under one of his arms and helping him up, Honoka was the first to speak. "We won't lose..."

Supporting the Rider's other arm, Nagisa helped Dai up as she spoke. "There's no way we would lose to the likes of you!"

With the girls' aid, Dai stood back up on his feet as he shouted over to the Dark King, "As long as people like you exist, those who attempt to wipe away the smiles of people, we'll continue to stand up and protect those smiles!"

*SHINE!*

Suddenly, just as Dai had finished saying his piece, a bright light shined from above, nearly blinding everyone as a ray of light shot down right behind the trio before it began to take shape. Once the light died down, it revealed none other than the Queen of Light herself, having arrived to help the three heroes.

"The Queen of Light." The Dark King narrowed his eyes at the giant woman.

"The King of Darkness." The Queen said, acknowledging the dark ruler.

"Why have you come here?"

"The power of the Pretty Cure, as well as the will of Kuuga, has moved me. To protect the things they hold dear, even something as simple as a smile is such a strong, pure thought. And so I have come to lend them my aid."

"Do you understand just what is it you are doing? If you erase the darkness and me, you and the light will also..."

"Eh?" Dai let out a confused voice as he looked between the Queen of Light and the Dark King.

"You and I are truly two sides of the same coin. That may be reality, but it is something that cannot be helped."

"So you claim, but not even you have the power to erase the darkness."

(BGM: Futari wa PreCure Vocal Album 1 Track 03-Shining Star)

"Perhaps, but what may be impossible for me..." At this did the Queen glance down at Dai and the girls.

"Are you actually saying that those people have the power to erase the darkness?"

"The Pretty Cure are the legendary warriors who shall bring about our salvation. And standing with them is a Kamen Rider, a hero who has made the impossible possible many times before. Surely even you know this."

The Dark King's response was to simply narrow his eyes and growl, confirming that what the Queen had said was right. This also caused Dai to look over towards the Dark King in surprise.

'Not only the Queen, but the Dark King Knows about the Kamen Riders too?' The Rider thought in surprise. Just what had happened before he arrived in this world?

"Have you lost your mind, Queen?"

"These people have the power to save us." The Queen said. "They have heart. For the Garden of Light and myself, they are our last hope!"

Encouraged by the words of the Queen, Dai pulled away from the girls.

"Dai!" Having forgone honorifics at this point, Nagisa looked worriedly at the Rider.

"I'm fine," Dai insisted, standing straight up and looked straight towards the Dark King. "Nagisa-chan, Honoka-chan, let's do this! Not just for the smiles of the Garden of Light, but for those back home! We have to win, especially for Mepple and Mipple!"

The girls, encouraged by the Rider's words, nodded at him, eyes filled with new determination.

"Mepple, we're gonna revive the Garden of Light soon, so just hang in there a little longer!" Nagisa said, placing a hand over her carrier as she looked over towards the Dark King,

"Just wait, Mipple...we definitely will..." Honoka said, clenching her fists as she too stared over at the Dark King with a determined gaze.

"Black...White...Dai..." From under their carriers, the two fairies teared up.

Dai and the girls nodded at one another, a plan already shared between the three without any of them having to speak up. Getting in front of the girls, Dai took a stance, preparing his Mighty Kick while the girls clasped hands again.

"Black Thunder!"

"White Thunder!"

*BOOM!*

From the skies, the pair of black and white lightning bolts shot down into the girls' hands covered them in power which seemed to also spread towards Dai as for the briefest moment, his Mighty form took on a golden outline.

"Purikyua no utsukushiki tamashī ga…"

"…Jaaku na kokoro wo uchikudaku!"

With his foot aflame and sparks covering his entire body, Dai took off running, leaving behind burning footprints behind him as the girls thrust their hands forward.

"Pretty Cure Marble Screw!"

"Toriya!"

The usual twin blasts of black and white energy shot out from the girls' hands. At the same time, Dai jumped up, flipped over, and yelled out a fierce battle cry as the two energy streams wrapped around him, spun around one another, and shot the Rider forward as the Marble Screw easily transitioned into the Marble Mighty Screw Kick.

"The same trick again?" While not impressed, the Dark King knew from earlier not to underestimate these three combination attacks and so held up both his hands this time to block the incoming finisher, stopping it. "Queen, watch as I crush your last remaining hope!"

From the Dark King's hands, what appeared to be red lightning surged out from his hands, riding over the twin energy streams and traveled down towards where the girls were at. As for Dai, due to being the closest, he felt the Dark King's attack through his kicking foot and he had to grit his teeth hard in order not to scream out in pain.

Seeing the red lightning heading their way, the girls were prepared to take some damage when to their surprise, the Queen's entire form shrunk to their size and placed a hand on each of them, causing literal light to cover their entire forms. Filled with new energy the girls both let out a cry and pushed forward, sending forth a bright, golden energy beam that completely enveloped the regular Marble Screw, easily overpowering the red lightning sent by the Dark King and traveling up to where Dai was at as the new golden energy slammed right into the Dark King's hands. Immediately, the ruler of the Dark Zone could feel himself being pushed back.

"What!? No! Something...Something like this...!"

"It's...OVER!" Completely at the center of the attack, sparks of golden electricity shot out from the Rider's foot and merged with the golden energy that came from the girls and the Queen, making for quite the spectacle from the outside as slowly, the combined attack was overpowering the Dark King as his form started to disappear.

"Something like this...Something like this can't...!" Struggled as he might, the Dark King could not push back. But how? This shouldn't be possible! This was his realm! The light shouldn't be able to win here! And yet...!

"You seem to be in a bit of a bind," Suddenly, appearing right next to the Dark King's head was Daguva who was looking at the king's current situation with amusement.

"Daguva! What are you doing? Stop the Queen!"

"Are you asking for my help, Dark King?" Acting as if he were a naive and innocent child, Daguva placed a finger on his chin and tilted his head the king.

"Do not make me say it!" Even if he was about to be killed, the Dark King would not lower himself and amuse the Grongi leader by saying out loud that he needed help.

"Hmm..." Daguva hummed to himself, completely ignoring how the Dark King was slowly getting overwhelmed before he finally smiled at the ruler of darkness and said...

"Nah!" And just like that, the Grongi leader was gone, leaving the Dark King to his fate.

"DAGUVA~!" With a rage-filled voice, the Dark King cursed the Grongi's name as finally, the powered up Marble Mighty Screw Kick got through, blowing his hands and arms away first before piercing straight through the ruler of the Dark Zone. Not even the giant chains that held the Dark King down could help. The results were...explosive.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

(BGM End)

The skies of the Dark Zone lit up from the huge explosion. Just when the flames and destruction were about to spread, suddenly, the explosion was pulled back until what appeared to be four stars shot out and escaped this dimension. Well, three of them did at least.

"Hup!" Jumping up, Daguva suddenly grabbed one of the four dark stars that were attempting to escape, dropping back down to the ground as the remaining three vanished into the skies.

With exhausted breaths, the girls gasped for air as they looked forward, only to find no more Dark King in front of them.

"We...We did it." Honoka said, shoulders rising from exhaustion.

"We defeated the Dark King," Nagisa said, feeling the same as her friend. She then blinked, noticing something falling from the sky. Wait, no, it wasn't something, but someone.

"...Oh crap! Dai!" Identifying the person in the air to be a falling Dai, both Nagisa and Honoka quickly ran forward despite their exhaustion in order to catch the falling Rider. They were thankful that they were still transformed as the two girls were able to make it in time to catch their falling friend through they collapsed into a messy heap due to the force Dai had picked up from his fall.

"Ow..." All three of them groaned out as Dai was the first to get up, getting off the girls as the two got up soon after. Placing his hands on his knees, Dai had to ask.

"Did...Did we get him?"

"Yeah, we did," Nagisa said, flashing the Rider a smile before giving him a thumbs up. Honoka followed her friend's example and also gave the Rider a thumbs up along with a smile.

The Rider couldn't help but laugh. Wasn't that supposed to be his thing? Nevertheless, Dai soon followed and gave the two his own thumbs up.

*clap-clap-clap*

The moment between the three was soon cut short by the sound of clapping hands. Turning, everyone saw Daguva clapping towards them.

"Congratulations, you three managed to beat the Dark King despite the odds. I guess I shouldn't expect less from heroes like you."

"Daguva!" Dai growled as he and the girls faced the Grongi leader.

"You are..." The Queen, having returned to her original giant size, addressed the disguised Grongi.

"I believe this is the first time we've met." Turning over to the Queen, Daguva placed a hand over his chest and bowed towards the giant woman. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. The name's N-Daguva-Zeba, Daguva for short but I'm sure you already knew that."

"You...What are you?" The Queen asks while frowning. She could feel it. A great darkness was hidden under that human disguise. It was like looking at another Dark King, yet she felt that comparison didn't really explain the power this...being wielded. The darkness inside of him, it was the exact opposite of the Dark King. While the Dark King's darkness was like a gentle blackness, silent and deadly, the darkness within Daguva was like a raging tornado, an erupting volcano, a fierce tsunami. In short, while the Dark King was gentle, Daguva was wild despite appearances.

"That's right, this is the first time you've met someone like me," Daguva said, straightening up and playing with the dark 'star' he had grabbed. "I'm what's called a Grongi. And if you want further details you'll just have to ask Dai there."

"That's...!" The Queen raised both her eyebrows in surprise at what was in the Grongi leader's hands. Dai and the girls also saw it.

"What is that thing?" Honoka was the one to ask.

"What, this?" Holding up the item in question, Daguva smiled as he looked at it. "Oh, it's just what's left of the Dark King."

"What!? You mean he isn't dead yet!?" Nagisa exclaims in disbelief. After everything they just did, the evil king was still alive!?

"Afraid so, and after all the effort you three went through to kill him. Too bad," Daguva said with a shrug, telling everyone that he didn't feel sorry for them, the complete opposite really. He was amused and probably laughing on the inside.

"Do you plan on reviving the Dark King?" The Queen asked, looking ready to fight herself in order to destroy the piece of the Dark King in the Grongi's hands.

To everyone's surprise, Daguva started laughing as he said one simple word that surprised everyone even further.

"Nope."

"Huh?"

"I've got plans, you see," Daguva held up the piece of the Dark King. "And I'm going to need this in order to fulfill it."

"...you..." A sudden realization overcame Dai as he looked at the Grongi with disgust behind his mask. "You...you wanted the Dark King dead. You didn't help him in the end because you wanted him to die."

"Guilty as charged," Daguva admitted with a smile as if what he had just done wasn't terrible.

"You...sick bastard!" Nagisa exclaims and glares at the Grongi leader, her eyes filled with disgust.

"I can't believe you would let a comrade just die like that!" Honoka shouted at the Grongi, she too glaring at Daguva with disgust.

"Comrade? I think you're misunderstanding something here," Daguva said, tossing the piece in his hands up and down a few times before putting it in his pocket. "The Dark King and I were never comrades. In all honesty, I was just a freeloader here."

"A freeloader?" Everyone looked at Daguva, confused.

"The Dark King let me stay in this realm and let me do whatever I wanted. He couldn't exactly stop me from doing anything since our powers were evenly matched at the time. But now that he's gone, I guess I'll just have to find someplace else to live. Shouldn't be that hard, really. There are plenty of hotels on Earth."

"You...Don't you feel anything at all at the Dark King's defeat?" Honoka asked.

"Not really," Daguva's reply was instant. "He lost simply because he was weaker than you all combined. It was natural."

"Natural?" Honoka stared at Daguva with disbelief, unable to comprehend the Grongi's words.

"Enough!" Dai shouted, stepping in. "The Dark King was never your friend and that's all I need to know. You're one sick bastard, Daguva."

"Now that's just rude, Dai," Daguva said, feigning hurt. "I mean it's kinda true, but still..."

"Life, you don't cherish it," Dai stated. "You're a monster. If I let you walk away, only more lives will die by your hands. That's why I'll settle things here and now!"

"Monster?" Daguva raised an eyebrow and for the first time, his smile dropped. "Now that right there is just..."

*SLAM!*

Before anyone could blink, Daguva appeared right behind Dai, grabbed his head, and slammed it down hard into the ground, surprising everyone.

"Hurtful," Daguva said, finishing his sentence.

"Dai-!" Nagisa never got to finish as Daguva crossed his arms before thrusting them out sideways, sending both Nagisa and Honoka flying back.

"Girls!" Slamming a fist down, Dai removed himself from the ground and swung his arms out, attempting to hit Daguva above him only to strike the air. Dai quickly got up to his feet only to be knocked back down again as Daguva kicked his legs from right under him, sending the Rider to land on his back. The Rider let out a grunt of surprise and just that as he went to get back up-

*STAB!*

Only for Daguva to stab a sword right through Dai's gut, pinning the Rider to the ground. Naturally, the man screamed as pain surged through his body. And as for where Daguva got the sword, in twisted irony, the sword was the same one Dai had thrown away earlier.

"You know, I've been watching you for a while now, Ichi Dai," Daguva said, kneeling down to the Rider as he tried to remove the sword from his gut. "You interest me not just because you're this era's Kuuga, but because of how your powers react to your emotions."

"What?" While trying to remove the sword, Dai looked at Daguva in confusion.

"Back during our last fight, your rage exploded and allowed you to assume Kuuga's Amazing Mighty form," Daguva said, smiling again as he looked over towards where Nagisa was, getting back up from his earlier attack. "If I remember correctly, you got angry due to me hurting that friend of yours."

From under his helmet, Dai's eyes widen in horror, realizing just what Daguva was saying and was about to do.

"No..."

Daguva's smile grew bigger as he petted the Rider's head as if he were a pet.

"Sit tight there, Dai. I helped you get here to help your friends. Now it's time to get what I want." Leaving behind the struggling Rider, Daguva walked out as he looked left and right at the girls.

(BGM: Blazblue OST: Endless Despair II)

"The Queen called you two legendary warriors. Mind showing me just what makes you two so 'legendary'?" Hands in his pockets, Daguva looked at the girls questionably.

"Gladly!" Nagisa shouted as she and Honoka charged towards the Grongi leader.

Honoka was the first to reach him, jumping up and attacking with a flying kick. Without even looking, Daguva merely leaned back and dodged the girl's kick. He then took out his left hand from his pockets and grabbed the girl by the back of her outfit, surprising the girl before she found herself pulled back and then thrown over towards Nagisa who yelped in surprise as she quickly caught the incoming Honoka, skidding back. Before Nagisa could even check to see if Honoka was alright, Daguva was already on them, kicking Honoka in Nagisa's arms which sent the both of them flying back and crashing towards a rock.

Both the girls groaned as they pushed themselves up and looked up, only to see Daguva had vanished.

"Where did he-Guh!" Before Nagisa could even finish speaking, she had the wind kicked out of her as Daguva appeared right to her side and kicked her in the gut, sending the girl into the air.

"Black!" Honoka cried out in worry, her eyes looking up to follow her flying friend. This was a mistake as she was soon punched in the face by Daguva, sending the girl flying back and rolling on the ground until she crashed into another rock.

Once done with that, Daguva looked up and spotted the now falling Nagisa who was trying to stop herself from spinning. Bending his knees, Daguva jumped up high into the air, easily reaching Nagisa who looked at him in surprise. The Grongi leader smiled innocently at her, completely masking his intentions as he grabbed her by her bow and proceeded to swing her around and throw her towards Honoka. The girl screamed as she was sent flying at the speed of a rocket, crashing right into her friend before she even had a chance to move out of the way. The result was a huge crash as the two girls were now in a newly formed crater.

"Girls!" From where he was stuck at, Dai cried out in worry before going back to trying to pry off the sword stabbing him into the ground. But even with his strength, the Rider found it quite difficult, showing just how much power Daguva had put into keeping the Rider down.

Back with Daguva, the Grongi dropped back down to the ground, landing on his feet. Looking over where the girls were, he couldn't help but scoff.

"Come on, I know you girls are wounded and are still being weakened by this realm, but I expected you two to put up more of a fight," Daguva said, making his way to them only to step back when a beam of light almost struck him. Turning to his right, the one who had tried to attack him was none other than the Queen herself.

"You shall not harm those girls any further." The Queen declared, holding up one of her hands. The ruler of the Garden of Light knew fully well that the girls were in no condition to fight against someone of Daguva's strength. She cannot allow them to die for they were her people's last hope!

"Hoh? So the Queen herself wants to step in?" Smiling to himself, Daguva took out his right hand and raised it into the air. "Now while that sounds interesting, I'm afraid I can't have you interfering in my business."

*THOOM!*

Suddenly, a dark aura surrounded Daguva's form and the feeling around him changed. If the Queen didn't already know that the Grongo leader was dangerous, she absolutely knew now. She could feel it. This monster was about to do something. Raising the hand that wasn't holding onto the heart-shaped item, the ruler of light was about to send out another beam of energy, when suddenly...

*BOOM!*

A sudden thunderbolt rained down from the sky, striking the Queen who let out a scream of surprise and pain.

"Queen!" FRom their carriers, both Mepple and Mipple let out cries of worry. Never before had they seen their ruler getting hurt, let alone attacked.

*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!*

Suddenly, the skies of the Dark Zone started to swirl ominously as more thunderbolts rain down from the sky and rain down around the Queen. And instead of disappearing as normal lightning should, these bolts stayed and formed a lightning cage, trapping the giant woman.

"W-What is this!?" The Queen looked around, surprised. Gathering energy into her hand, she tried to blast the lightning cage around her, only to have no effect much to her surprise.

"Surprised?" Daguva smiled as he then waved his hand out. Soon after, a fierce wind emerged as multiple tornadoes started to form all around the Dark Zone.

"What's going on?" Honoka, holding her right arm, looked around confused.

"Weather Manipulation!" Nagisa said, remembering a previous talk she had with Dai. "Dai mentioned it to me once, about Daguva's powers. He told me that bastard has the power to manipulate the weather."

"That's crazy!" Honoka exclaims, this being the first time she's heard of this info. If Daguva had such powers at his disposal, that basically meant that he could call down natural disasters if he wanted to! Just how strong was this monster!?

"Gh! Dammit!" Over at Dai, the Rider had managed to remove the sword pinning him down a bit, but that was it. Looking closely, Dai could see a dark aura surrounded the sword. It seems the Grongi had used more than just pure strength to keep him down.

"Whew, that sure took a lot out of me." After demonstrating his powers, Daguva lowered his hand and wiped away some sweat forming on his forehead. Controlling the weather was one of his more powerful abilities, but due to being Incomplete, it was a bit taxing even with his current power level.

"Now then, sit tight there while I get back to those girls."

"Let her go!" In a burst of energy, Nagisa dashed forward, closing the distance between her and Daguva in seconds as she threw a punch.

*CATCH!*

Only for the Grongi leader to catch it easily and without even looking.

"Or they can come to me, whatever works," Daguva said as he pulled Nagisa closer to him before he swung his other hand in a chopping motion and struck Nagisa's ribs.

*crack!*

The sound of something cracking was heard the instant Daguva's attack struck Nagisa. The girl herself widened her eyes in shock as the pain soon followed.

"Oops! I think I may have broken a rib or two there," Daguvsa said, clearly not sorry as he let go of Nagisa's fist, allowing the girl to take a few steps back before she collapsed to her knees and held the spot where her cracked ribs were at, trying her best to not scream as she gasps.

"Daguva!" Over at Dai again, the Rider's body shook, rage building up inside of him. Try as he might to keep it down, the sight of Nagisa in pain fueled his rage further.

"Black!" Clearly seeing her friend in pain, Honoka rushed over to Nagisa's side only to be stopped by Daguva who appeared right in front of her using pure speed.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Daguva waved his finger at Honoka who tried to get past him by throwing a punch towards his face. But due to the Dark ZOne weakening her and her injuries from the earlier battle, the punch was extremely slow to Daguva's eyes as he easily caught it.

"Too slow," Daguva said as he held up his other hand and said, "I think you people call this move a...bitchslap?"

*POW!*

Despite Daguva literally slapping Honoka across the face, the blow sounded more like a punch then a slap as Honoka was sent flying to the side.

"White!" Nagisa cried out in worry for her friend only to soon cry out in pain as Daguva reappeared in front of her and backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling across the ground.

"Slow and weak, but I guess I shouldn't have expected much after your fight with the Dark King," Daguva said, slamming a foot on the girl's back, getting a cry of pain from her.

"Dammit!" Cursing to himself, Dai re-doubled his efforts in trying to pry the sword off of him, not caring about how much blood he lost as he is almost halfway there only to freeze when he saw Daguva smiling over towards him.

(BGM End)

"Hey, Dai, remember how you transformed into Amazing Mighty?" From under his helmet, Dai's eyes widen, his mind telling him what Daguva was about to do.

"If I remember correctly, it was when I hurt this girl here," Daguva said, looking down at Nagisa who was trying to push him off to no avail.

"No! Get away from her!" Dai demanded, clawing at the earth and kicking his feet around as he started to panic.

"Last time it was a stab through the back," Daguva began as he reached down and grabbed one of Nagisa's arms. "I wonder..."

"No!" With Honoka, she moved to stop Daguva only to trip and fall as her injuries were starting to catch up to her.

"...what would happen..."

"No! Stop it!" From inside her cage, the Queen kept trying to blast the cage away.

"...if I..."

"Leave Nagisa alone-mepo!" Suddenly, Mepple flew out of his carrier, transforming into his true form as he moved to stop Daguva only to be backhanded away by the Grongi's free hand, sending the fairy rolling on the ground.

"...crippled her?"

*crack!*

With a twist and a pull, Daguva completely dislocated Nagisa's arm, pulling it right out of its socket before crushing the bones of the forearm with his bare hand. The scream came seconds later.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Daguva released the girl's arm as Nagisa screamed. She then bit down on her lips, trying to keep her screams in as tears started pouring out of her eyes.

"NAGISA!" Honoka screamed in horror, crying out her friend's name instead of her Cure name.

"Gh!" Gritting her teeth, the Queen's face was one of anger and frustration as she gathered more energy into her hands and blasted the cage as it began showing signs of breaking down.

"Hmm..." With Daguva, he had a hand under his chin as he looked over towards Dai who had gone completely silent. He had expected the Rider to explode in rage after what he had done to the girl.

"Maybe I have to do more than this. Let's see what happens if I cut off her-"

*THOOM!*

Suddenly, an intense pressure appeared out of nowhere, surprising everyone as it felt like the gravity around them had increased, pushing down on all of them.

"This is..." Daguva said, looking over towards Dai again to see a pitch black aura surrounded the Rider as he finally removed the sword pinning him down and stood up. Even with the helmet on, everyone could tell the Rider was glaring fiercely at the Grongi leader.

"Daguva...DAGUVA!"

*BOOM!*

In the next instant, an explosion of black aura bursts from Dai, completely covering the entire Dark Zone and blinding everyone as their vision was obscured by the color black. For a second, everyone had been robbed of their vision only to get it back a second later when the blackness that covered their eyes lifted, allowing everyone to see a figure wrapped in black flames in front of Daguva, rearing back a fist.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

*POW!*

With great force, the black figure punched Daguva straight across the face as the punch's power seemed to break the sound barrier. This was soon proven when Daguva was sent flying faster than a speeding jet, crashing towards the mountain where the Dark King used to be.

Down from her position, Nagisa looked up through her tear-filled eyes as, despite being distorted, she recognized the voice of who saved her from further harm.

"Dai...?" The girl asks as slowly, the black flames that hid the figure's appearance slowly vanished, revealing a form that made everyone gasp.

Dai's entire form was entirely black, to put it simply. His chest armor, gauntlets, and greaves were all black as well as outlined in gold. From his greaves to his gauntlets, and then to his shoulder pads were all extended out into spikes. Around his waist was the Arcle, in the form of when Dai would assume his Rising forms except for the Amadam Stone within it was pitch black. Even the helmet had undergone a few changes as the golden horns on him had grown a second pair and his 'eyes' were black, just like the rest of his form. The only things that stayed the same were the wrists and ankle bands, and the knee pads, but even then the gems within them had gone black as well.

"That's-!" Honoka gasped, recognizing the form Dai was in right now, remembering the drawings in the notebook Nagisa had shown her a long time ago.

Nagisa herself recognized the form too, remembering the drawings in Dai's notebook all those days ago and how out of every form Kuuga could take, this one left a lasting impression on her.

"Kuuga's...Ultimate Form," Nagisa muttered the name of Dai's current new form.

"Haaaaaaaaaa..." Dai let out a single breath and that's all it took to send shivers down everyone's spine as a black, fiery aura surrounded the Rider's form.

"Wha-? What is this?" The Queen spoke, now free from her cage as it had fallen when Dai had punched Daguva and was now looking at the Rider fearfully. "Darkness. A great and terrible darkness surrounds that man. Never in my life have I ever seen such blackness before! It even surpasses the darkness of the Dark King himself!"

"D-Dai?" Having gotten back up, Mepple looked at the Rider, his friend, in both worry and fear. He tried to push his fears down, tell himself that the man in front of him was his friend, but the darkness the Rider was projecting was making the fairy unable to approach his friend.

"...hehe...haha..." Suddenly, the sound of giggling made everyone turn as they saw Daguva pick himself up. He wobbled a little showing just how effective Dai's earlier punch had been, but such a fact seemed to please the Grongi leader as his smile grew to the point that calling it a slasher smile wouldn't have done it any justice as the Grongi threw his head back and let out a loud laugh.

"Ehehehe...hahaha hahaha hahaha AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Joy. That was the one thing that filled Daguva's laughter and that alone unnerved everyone due to what his true nature is.

"What's so funny?" Honoka couldn't help, but ask, finding the Grongi's laughter to be the most disturbing thing she's ever witnessed.

The Grongi, instead of answering, continued to laugh as he held his stomach and even began to cry tears of joy, further unnerving the people around him as the only one who didn't show a reaction was Dai who had gone silent after punching the Grongi leader.

Finally, after a good five minutes, laughter did Daguva finally start to calm down, letting out one more laugh as he wiped away a tear in his eyes and answered the white Cure.

"Well little girl, if you must know, I've just accomplished the one thing I sought after."

"The one thing you sought after?" Honoka repeated, confused yet the sinking feeling in her stomach told her that she wouldn't like the answer.

But instead of answering, Daguva asked, "Did Dai ever tell you just what it is I'm after?"

Honoka looked at the Grongi leader, confused but only for a moment as her brain brought her back to the first discussion she and Nagisa had with Dai after finding out his secret.

"Since Daguva doesn't have to worry about getting stronger, he has a different goal than the rest of the clan. His goal is to bring out the Ultimate Darkness..."

"The Ultimate Darkness," Honoka said, looking back at Daguva. "Ichi-kun said that that's what you're after."

"So he did tell you, then that saves me the trouble having to explain then," Daguva said, smiling.

"Wait a minute," Honoka said. "What does Ichi-kun transforming into his Ultimate form have to do with the Ultimate Darkness?"

Daguva raised an eyebrow at that. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet?"

"Huh?" Honoka's confusion gave enough of an answer to Daguva as he let out another laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Oh you ignorant little girl, and here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Daguva said. "Haven't you figured it out already? Ultimate Darkness and Kuuga's Ultimate form?"

It took Honoka a moment to process what Daguva had said and her eyes widen in both horror and disbelief at what the Grongi was implying.

"No...You don't mean...but that can't be...!"

"Finally figured it out?" Daguva smiled as he gestures over to Dai. "By transforming into his Ultimate form, Dai has just become the Ultimate Darkness!"

"What!?" Everyone gasps at that info drop.

"Dai is..." Mepple began, looking at the Rider in disbelief.

"The Ultimate Darkness...?" Having used her good arm to push herself up to her knees, Nagisa holds her broken arm, adrenaline being the only thing helping her from experiencing all of the pain, as she looks up at the Rider standing protectively over her.

"The Ultimate Darkness?" The Queen mutters, this being the first time she's heard of the term, and already she didn't like the implications.

"T-That's impossible!" Honoka exclaims. "Ichi-kun himself said that the Ultimate Darkness was nothing more than a figure of speech, a metaphor!"

"And he's right," Daguva instantly replied, confusing the Cure.

"Huh?"

"The Ultimate Darkness is, speaking honestly, a figure of speech. It's not some great and corrupting power, but rather a term in which humanity becomes just like me and my clan; violent war-hungry."

"Then what do you mean by saying that Ichi-kun's become the Ultimate Darkness?" Honoka couldn't stop herself from asking as she feared the answer the Grongi leader would give to her.

"Didn't you listen to what I said?" Daguva looked at Honoka as if in his eyes, he was looking at a 2-year old rather than a genius prodigy as he explained. "The Ultimate Darkness is when humanity itself becomes just as violent as the Grongi."

Daguva then develops another sinister smile as he gestures over to Dai. "And who better to represent that than with the falling of a hero?"

Honoka's eyes widen and she gasps again, finally understanding just what Daguva was telling her. As of right now, Dai had just become the literal representation of the Ultimate Darkness. Right now, he was no different than from someone like Daguva; a violent monster.

Seeing the Cure's expression, Daguva couldn't help, but smile and laugh.

"Do you get it now? As of this moment, Dai and I aren't so different from each other anymore! He's like me; a monster who seeks to destroy everything around him! And he'll continue to destroy everything he sees until he finally destroys the world itself!"

"That's not true!"

"Huh?" Having not expected to be interrupted, Daguva turns towards Nagisa who had spoken up.

"Dai is...Dai's nothing like you! There's no way someone like Dai would just go around destroying everything he sees! He isn't a monster!"

"Oh really?" Daguva raised an eyebrow, sending a challenging look towards the girl. "Care to test that claim?"

"What?" Nagisa blinked, not understanding what the Grongi was proposing.

Smiling at the girl's confusion, Daguva slowly turns towards Dai who still remained silent until Daguva addressed him directly.

"Hey, Dai, tell me: What would you do if I tried to hurt your friends again?"

*BOOM!*

Faster than anyone could blink, Dai had covered the distance between him and Daguva in less than a second, surprising the Grongi and everyone else as the former was soon sent flying from a punch to the face. Said punch broke the sound barrier as Daguva flew through the air, crashed into a mountain in the distance...and the top portion of the mountain was soon blow off completely.

All around everyone's jaws dropped in disbelief at what the Rider had just done...until he finally spoke.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~!"

*BOOM!*

From the Rider another pitch black aura exploded from him as he roared like a beast, blowing away everything around him, even the girls who screamed as they were flipping through the air as Mepple let out a cry, and was fortunate enough to be caught by Nagisa. Their fortune continued when they were all caught by the hands of the Queen.

"Queen!" Everyone calls out the giant woman's name as they looked thankfully at her, but the ruler of light's attention was on the roaring beast that was Dai.

"What a strong and terrifying darkness!" The Queen exclaims before she looks down at the people in her hands, literally. "Just what is this Ultimate Darkness?"

"To tell you the truth, even we don't fully know," Nagisa said as she and Honoka looked worriedly over at Dai

"Hehehehehehe...Hahahahaha...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

*THOOM!*

Suddenly, another intense pressure descended upon everyone, this one not as powerful as Dai's but still powerful nonetheless, catching everyone by surprise as Daguva's laugh can be heard from the distance.

"Yes! That's it, Ichi Dai! Roar! Scream! Get angrier! Be filled with more rage! Make this more interesting for me!" Daguva's voice echoed throughout the Dark Zone as over at the mountain Daguva had been punched to, something was rising in size.

"What is that-mepo!" Mepple exclaims, speaking for everyone as he points to what, or rather, who had shown up.

Calling the being buff would have been an understatement. Standing over three times bigger than the average human man, the figure that rose from the mountain was a ghastly pale white, almost appearing like a ghost. His upper body was bare and naked, showing off its bulging muscles to the world as the entire lower body was covered by a black cloak that wrapped around like a skirt. His forearms were covered by gauntlets and around his waist, chest, and shoulders were what Nagisa and Honoka recognized as Grongi accessories. Over the back was what appears to be a cape of beads, and on his head is a crown-like horn as his long black hair fell down like a mane, wild and unkempt.

To those that don't know, this is Daguva's Imperfect Form.

"Heh, it's been some time since I've had to take this form."

"That voice, it can't be...!" Honoka gasps, in disbelief at who the giant being is.

"Daguva!" Nagisa exclaims in surprise, this being the first time she's laid eyes on Daguva's Monster form. Looking at Daguva's current form, if there were any doubts about Daguva being the leader of the Grongi clan, they were now completely wiped away.

"Hmph!" Legs bent, Daguva's form disappeared for an instant, causing everyone to blink in surprise as a second later after they blinked, Daguva was standing over Dai, looking down at the Rider due to his new height.

"So fast!" The Queen exclaimed. Despite the Grongi's current size, he had covered the distance between here and the mountain in the time it took a person to blink! He wasn't even that big compared to the Dark King, yet the Queen felt she was standing before someone even bigger than herself.

"That was a nice punch you gave me, I actually felt that one," Daguva said to the Rider below, rubbing his cheek before, despite the lack of a mouth on his face, the way his cheeks rose indicated he was smiling. "But you'll have to do better than that if you want to kill me. You hate me, don't you? You hate me for hurting your friends."

"Rrrrrrrrr..."

"Come on, is that really you have all to offer? Get angry! Show me your rage, Ichi Dai! Or else I'll keep killing all those you hold dear until you finally give me what I want!"

At those words, the thread that kept Dai's mind intact finally snapped...and the Ultimate Darkness was finally unleashed.

(BGM: Man With A Mission-When My Devil Rises)

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Dai practically exploded into a rage as the ground beneath him caves in from the force he generated as he jumped up and punched Daguva right into his gut, making the Grongi bend over as both he and Dai were now practically flying, zooming past the Queen and the girls as the two flew through the air and crashed into another mountain.

A dust cloud formed when the two crashed and yet not even a second later was it blown away by both Dai and Daguva as the two threw out a fist. Their fists met and despite Daguva clearly being bigger than Dai, the Grongi was the one blown back as his arm was snapped backward, breaking due to the angle in which it was bent back as broken bones broke through the skin and blood was released from the wound. Despite the broken, bleeding arm, Daguva ignored it as he sent his other arm out, throwing another punch at the black Rider as the punch seemingly connected. Seemingly being the keyword as a second later, Dai bursts through the cloud of dust and dirt, running up Daguva's arm as he jumped and kicked the Grongi right in the face, throwing the Grongi leader back further into the mountain wall behind him.

Not done with the pale Grongi yet, Dai grabs Daguva by his crown, jumps, and proceeds to lift the giant Grongi up and over his shoulders before slamming him down on the ground hard. Landing back on the ground on his feet, Dai then grabs the Grongi by his hair, pulls, and proceeds to swing Daguva around like a rag doll as he spins around and around so fast that he was creating a tornado around him. Slamming his foot down hard enough that it broke through the dirt and stone, Dai throws Daguva high into the air. The Rider then bends down before jumping up, catching up with the thrown Grongi as he swings his leg around and kicks the Grongi right in the chest, sending the giant Grongi crashing down to the ground, sending dust, dirt, and stone flying everywhere as the force in which Daguva crashed was akin to a meteor crashing and exploding.

The girls did their best to hang onto the Queen, but even the giant woman herself was having trouble staying on her feet as she raises her free arm up and summons forth a barrier to protect herself and everyone from the fierce winds and shockwaves threatening to send them flying.

Landing on his feet without even breaking any bones despite the height in which he dropped from, Dai looks around the dust cloud around him, trying to find any signs of Daguva. He didn't have to search for long as the man himself blows away the dust and dirt all around him and throws out his newly fixed arm, attacking from the right of the Rider. Seeing the attack coming from a mile away, Dai swings his right arm out towards the Grongi leader and suddenly, Daguva explodes into flames, stumbling back as fire covers every inch of his body. Despite the obvious pain, he was going through, Daguva was laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes! That's it! That's what I want to see!" Daguva exclaims as he manipulates the weather to call forth a heavy rainstorm which puts out the fire covering his body. "But it's not enough! Come on, Ichi Dai! Surely that keep be the extent of your rage!"

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Provoked by Daguva's words, Dai sends out a punch and Daguva responds in kind, countering with his own punch. The Grongi leader then throws his other fist put, punching towards the Rider only for him to be stopped by Dai's other fist. Soon, both sides were trading a barrage of punches.

*POWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOW!*

Sonic booms were heard each time both sides traded fists, showcasing just how strong both sides were as the girls and the Queen watched from where they were.

"S-Sugoi(Amazing)..." Nagisa couldn't help, but be in awe at the display of strength both sides were showing off.

"I can feel the force of the punched all the way from here," Honoka said as, despite the barrier the Queen had summoned up, the Cure could still feel the shockwaves produced from the exchange of barrages.

"Such power...!" The Queen mutters, having never seen such prowess the likes of which the two displayed in a long time. She had thought she'd seen everything Kamen Riders had to offer, but it seems she had been proven wrong as she watched the fight, having no way to intervene.

*POWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOW!*

*BAM!*

"Gh!" Daguva grunts in pain when both his arms were broken, the joints snapping which made his forearms dangle like wet noodles as he stumbled back, having lost the exchange between Dai. Even with two broken arms, Daguva still laughed.

"Yes! Good, Dai! Good! That's what I like to see! I wanted to see how far I could go in this form, but as I am now, I'm no match for your Ultimate form."

The Black Rider's only response was to growl like an animal as both his hands were covered in flames, reading to turn the Grongi in front of him to ashes.

"I can see you really want to kill me. That's fine, it's only natural after what I did," Daguva said, yet, despite not having a mouth again, he smiled sinisterly. "But..."

Suddenly, what appears to be a wall of silver waves appears behind Daguva as an image of the Garden of Light soon showed up.

"Let's say you and I take a change of scenery?"

The Queen's eyes widen in horror, realizing just what Daguva was planning.

"No!" The Queen cried out, but it was already too late as Dai roared again and tackled Daguva, sending the both of them through the veil and disappeared, leaving only the Queen and the girls left in the Dark Zone.

(BGM End)

"Wha...What just happened?" Is what Nagisa asks, looking around and seeing the devastation caused by the battle between Dai and Daguva.

"Oh no, this is terrible!" The Queen exclaims, dismissing her barrier as a look worry developed on her face.

"What? What is?" Honoka asks, not liking how the giant woman was slightly panicking.

"Those two, they've gone to the Garden of Light!" At that did the eyes of the girls widen in shock.

"WHAT!?"

---

(Garden of Light)

Before the eyes of the inhabitants of the Garden of Light, what appeared to a be a wall of silver waves appeared before suddenly, what could only be described as a meteor appeared from within it, crashing onto the flower-filled lands, sending dirt flying all around along with many different fairies.

All the fairies around screamed as they covered their faces from the incoming dirt only to be then blown away as the smoke cloud formed from the 'meteor' was blown away, showing the forms of both Dai and Daguva, still going at it.

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!"

From a roar alone, a shockwave occurred which blew away even more fairies as Dai threw a right hook, striking Daguva right across the face and sending the giant Grongi flying back. Not done yet, flames coated Dai's right arm before he swung it back and then threw a punch towards Daguva, sending forth a wave of flames, destroying all the plant life in front of him as the waved slammed right where Daguva was and an explosion occurred, causing more fire to appear as it began to spread, burning all the flowers around.

Naturally scared for their lives, all the fairies began to run and scream like headless chickens as laughter could be heard from the flames as Daguva rose from the fire.

The giant Grongi had seen better days. He was covered in dirt, burns, bruises, and wounds, blood spilled from cuts, tears, burn marks, and even from the bruises themselves. In fact, blood was spilling all over his chest, making for quite the ghastly sight. Most of the accessories that Daguva wore were either cracked or broken all together as the cape of beads hanging over his back was missing a good chunk of said beads. Even the gauntlets Daguva wore were shattered long ago, showing off the Grongi's bare hands. Yet, despite the condition he was in, Daguva appeared happy.

"Impressive, Ichi Dai. Despite now being in a realm of light, you're not the least bit weakened. I expect nothing less from the 'Ultimate Darkness.'"

Dai simply growls at Daguva, his anger growing at the fact that despite how hard he was hitting, the Grongi leader would just not go down. Flames started to coat the Rider's arms as he prepared to attack again, not caring about his surroundings in the least.

Seeing this, Daguva smiled to himself as he glances down at his right hand where he held the piece of the Dark King, only the piece had taken on more of black color as it seemed to be sucking in the very negativity caused by the Rider's destructive attacks, sending all the inhabitants here into a frenzy, fueling the piece even more from all the negativity spewing from the panic.

'Just a bit more...' Daguva thought to himself, smiling as he looked back at Dai only to see the Rider right up in his face as before he could blink, the Grongi was flying once again.

Despite going into his Monster form, Daguva fully knew that he was no match for Kuuga's Ultimate form. He knew from the very beginning. And despite the beating he was currently receiving, Daguva still continued to smile through all of it. All was going according to plan.

---

(Back with the girls)

Light bathed both Nagisa and Honoka as sparkles of light and color came from both the hands of the Queen and the Prism Stones from the Prism Hopeish. Soon, the light faded and the girls' wounds were all healed. Even Nagisa's right arm, which had sustained quite the damage, was as good as new.

"It's all better now," Nagisa said, looking at her fixed and healed right arm, amazed after all it had gone through. She moved her arm around and wiggled her fingers, but it was like her arm hadn't been broken in the first place. Even her broken ribs were fixed and healed!

"Are you okay?" Honoka asks, concerned for her friend. After all, between the two of them, it was Nagisa who had sustained the most damage. Just remembering the sounds of her friend's bones breaking made the girl shiver.

"I think so," Nagisa said, still a bit unsure as she twists her wrist around and flexes her right hand.

"Are you sure you're fine-mepo?" Mepple, having gone back into his carrier, asks, his thoughts mirroring Honoka's.

"There's no need to worry." The Queen said, making everyone look up at her. "Thanks to the powers of the Prism Stones, I was able to heal all your wounds as if you never received them."

"You're welcome, by the way," Wisdom said.

"Guy who was screaming for help earlier say what-mepo?"

"Q-Quiet you!"

"Enough." At the Queen's command did the two stop bickering. "Time is of the essence. We must return to the Garden of Light immediately. Already I can hear it, the cries of fear as devastation overtakes the lands of the Garden. We must hurry!"

Nodding in agreement, the girls were placed on the Queen's shoulders before the giant woman became light itself and flew off, shooting through the sky like a shooting star as the Queen traveled upward.

'Dai, hang in there!' Nagisa thought as a blinding light forced her and Honoka to cover their eyes as it felt like they passed through something. Whatever happened, the force that had been weakening the Cures was lifted, telling them that they had just left the Dark Zone.

Moments later, what seemed like a matter of seconds, the Queen landed right back into the throne room of the Palace of Light, her home. Reassuming her form, the Queen held out a hand for the girls to jump on as she let them down to the ground where the Elder and Pollun were waiting for them. Immediately, they could see the distress from them.

"My Queen! It's terrible!" The Elder exclaims, running up to the Cures and the Queen.

"What is it, Elder?" The Queen asks, yet she already knew what he was about to say.

"The lands, the flower fields, it's all being destroyed!"

With a concerned look, the Queen waved her hands and the floor turned into a viewing screen, allowing all to see just what the Elder was talking about.

A roar of rage and a joy-filled laugh was heard as the viewing showed Dai throwing fire at Daguva who kept on either blocking or dodging, causing the fields around them to burn and be devastated. All around them, the homes of the fairies were being destroyed as the little creatures themselves running for their lives with some helping others. It was complete chaos.

"I'm scared-popo!" Pollun cries out as he tries to hide in the Elder's beard.

"How horrible..." Honoka mutters as she watches the destruction before her.

"Dai..." Nagisa looks only at the Rider who continues to attack Daguva, roaring like an animal as the fire around him were like a representation of his rage.

CLenching her teeth and gripping her fists so tight that they almost bled, Nagisa took off running only for the Queen to stop her.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing?"

Turning around to the Queen, Nagisa tells the giant woman, "Stopping Dai!"

"Do not be foolish. With the way he is now, you are no match for him. You and Honoka are my lands and people's last remaining hope. I cannot allow you to just go out there without a plan. It'll be suicide!"

"You can't just expect me to just stand by and let this happen!" Nagisa shouts, pointing down to the image of Dai causing even more destruction.

"Dai is...Dai is the most honest and kindest person anyone can ever meet. He's one of the greatest people I've had the pleasure to be friends with. And right now, Dai's in trouble." The girl clenches her fist as she looks down at the Rider in the viewing, guilt filling her eyes. She was the cause of this. She was the reason why Dai was going berserk right now.

"What he's doing right now...Dai would never, ever try to something like this! He's not himself! He needs help!"

"I understand your feelings, but if you go out there without a plan, then you won't be of any help to him!" The Queen said, her tone suggesting that she spoke from experience.

"...The day I became a Pretty Cure was also the day Dai became a Kamen Rider," Nagisa began, her bangs covering her eyes. "Ever since then, Dai's always been there to help me whenever I needed it, even when he had his own problems to deal with. I tried to get stronger so that I didn't need to burden him with helping me, but he still did anyway. To be honest, that made me really happy. With Dai around, I was always sure that everything would turn out alright." Nagisa then looks back up, her eyes filled with determination. "But right now, Dai needs help. As his friend, I'm going to help him. I'm going to repay him for all the times he's helped me, plan or no plan!"

"I'm coming too!" Honoka suddenly spoke up, walking over to Nagisa's side.

"White?"

"You're not the only one who wants to help Ichi-kun," Honoka said. "I don't have many friends, so I feel really lucky and proud to call someone like Ichi-kun my friend. There have been times where he's helped me too, even when I didn't need it. So now it's my turn to help him!"

"We're going too-mipo!" Mipple joined in as well as Mepple.

"Dai's our friend too! If he's in trouble, then it's only natural to help-mepo!"

"You guys..." Nagisa smiled at her friends who smiled back before turning to the Queen.

"Forgive us, Queen, but we can't afford to wait when our friend is in trouble!" Honoka said before turning to Nagisa. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" Nodding, both Nagisa and Honoka took off running, the two of them determined to help their Rider friend.

The Queen made no attempt to stop the two as she watched the Cures run out of the throne room. Once gone, the Elder addressed her while comforting Pollun in his arms.

"My Queen, what should we do?"

"...' The Queen doesn't answer back as she instead looked at the heart-shaped item she held in her left hand.

'I suppose there's no other way.' The Queen thought as a small light began to shine from the heart-shaped item.

---

(With the Girls)

Running as fast as their powers allowed them, the girls followed the sounds of destruction in the distance and soon came to their destination. They didn't like what they saw.

Fire and smoke; it was everywhere. The fields of flowers that made up the lands of the Garden of Light were now burning as the fire burned all plant life in its rage and smoke rose into the air, making it hard to breathe as shown from the coughing fairies running for their lives.

"Hidoi(How horrible)..." Honoka mutters, appalled at the devastation before her.

"Dai...did all this..." Nagisa said, looking around in disbelief. She knew that the Rider was not in his right mind right now, but that didn't change the fact that the destruction around them was all done by him.

*BOOM!*

An explosion not too far from where they are made the girls turn to see, in the distance, Daguva crashing into the ground as Dai soon followed, punching the downed Grongi, destroying even more land in the process.

"There they are!" Honoka exclaims, pointing over to them before Nagisa rushed off towards them. Honoka quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind.

"Dai!' Nagisa called out to the Rider who was about to throw another punch at Daguva only to stop at the sound of her voice. Using this chance, Daguva grabbed the Rider and threw him as hard as he can, sending the Rider spinning through the air and crashing into a distant hill. "Dai!"

"So the Pretty Cures have finally arrived. Took you long enough," Daguva said, getting up and standing at his full height. Despite the injuries covering his body, he still made for quite the intimidating figure, but the girls refused to back down as they stopped running and faced the Grongi leader.

"You...!" Nagisa grits her teeth in anger as she points over at Daguva. "Do you realize what you've done!?"

"No, enlighten me."

"Look around you!" Nagisa waves her arms around, gesturing to all of the destruction around them. "All of this! All of this is your fault!"

"You might want to get those eyes checked because I wasn't the one who did all this. It was your friend."

"That's only because you brought him here when he isn't himself!" Nagisa exclaims, out of breath at this point as Honoka takes over speaking.

"Just what possible reason could you have to bring Ichi-kun here in his condition? Are you trying to destroy the Garden of Light?"

"Destroy it? Such a thought never crossed my mind," Daguva said. "I simply brought Dai here because I wanted to see if he'd be weaker in a realm of light than in a realm of darkness like the Dark Zone. While this place isn't giving him any boosts o his abilities, he's still certainly strong, which is what I'd expect from the Ultimate form."

"That's it? That's your reason for bringing Dai here? Just to see if this place would weaken him?" Honoka asks, looking at the Grongi leader in disbelief.

"Yep." Daguva answered so quick and nonchalant that it caught the girls off guard.

"You...How can you say that so easily?" Honoka asks. "Don't you feel anything about what you've done? About all the lives you've endangered here?"

"Nope." Again, Daguva's nonchalant reply caught the girls off guard. "These fairies? All these weaklings, they're simply minor inconveniences. At least their smart enough to not get in my way."

"Minor inconveniences?" Gripping her fists so tightly that her nails drew blood, Nagisa glared over at Daguva. "Is that how you see the fairies? Is that how you view life? As just a minor inconvenience!?"

"Now hold it right there. You're putting words in my mouth," Daguva said, holding up a hand to stop the girl. "Now while there are a lot of things that I view in a...lesser respect, weaklings being on the top of my list, life itself is quite different. For you see, the way I view life is that it is...short."

"And what do you mean by that?" Honoka asks.

"I mean what I say. All life itself, from plants to people and even to this very universe itself, is all finite. You two, for example, have powers most people dream about having, yet your life is still short. In the blink of an eye, your life can fade out like the flame from a candle. It's the same for me. Despite all of my power, I'm not immortal nor do I seek it, unlike the Dark King. My clan has lived for thousands of years, yet we can still be killed as evident in how many of my kind your friend has killed."

"Dai fought against your kind because of your stupid killing game!" Nagisa shouted, arguing against the Grongi leader while also defending the Rider.

"And it has brought me great joy in how stronger he's become thanks to my Gegeru," Despite having no mouth, the girls could tell the Grongi was smiling. "All life is finite. If we're all destined to meet an eventual end, then why not live life to the fullest? That's why the Gegeru was made. After all, nothing get's people more active than the sight of blood."

"...I didn't want to believe it. A part of me really didn't want to believe it," Honoka suddenly said, looking up at Daguva with glaring eyes. "But Ichi-kun was right. You and your entire kind have completely thrown away your humanity! No human in their right mind would think the way you do! You nothing, but a monster!"

Daguva shrugged at that. "Eh, I've been called worse."

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Suddenly, the sound of a rage-filled roar was heard before a shockwave occurred, blowing away a few fairies and almost even the girls who held up their arms to shield themselves.

"Speaking of monsters, here comes one right now," Daguva said as something from the distance was flying through the air before landing right in between the girls and Daguva. It was Dai.

"Dai!" At the sight of the Rider Nagisa called out to him, but he didn't respond back as he growled and set his sights on Daguva.

"Time for Round 3, huh?" Rolling around his arms, Daguva made a 'Come here' gesture. In response, faster than anyone could blink, Dai crashed right into the Grongi leader, both arms up in front as if he were Superman.

Crashing into the ground, dirt and flowers were sent flying all around before being blown away by Dai's roar as he leaped into the air and thrusts his palm down towards Daguva.

*BOOM!*

As if triggering a bomb, an explosion of fire occurred right where Daguva was at, destroying more of the land and setting fire to even more flowers. To the horror of the girls, the fire was spreading until the entire field before them was burned away into a wildfire.

"All the flowers..." Mepple began, watching in horror as the lands of his home was burning. He thought the invasion of the Dark Zone had been the worse thing to happen to the Garden of Light, but as the fairy looked at the destruction before him, it didn't even hold a candle to what the Rider was doing.

"Our home..." Mipple mutters, her thoughts being similar to Mepple's.

"This is...too cruel," Honoka comments, having a hard time watching what was occurring right before her eyes. It was made worse when she thought about the cause of all this.

Nagisa herself didn't say a word as she looked at the fire around them, the fire Dai had conjured up in his rage.

'This...This is all my fault,' Nagisa thought to herself as she looked through the flames and spotted Dai standing over a downed Daguva. As the Rider's arms were encased in fire again, Nagisa could only think of how her friend was like this because of her. All this rage he was letting out was because she got hurt.

"Hehe, I haven't felt this tired since my fight with Riku," Daguva said, laughing despite the pain he was in as he looked up at the Rider standing above him, looking ready to finally finish him off. "Are you going to kill me? That's fine, go ahead and do it. I've accomplished my goal of unleashing the Ultimate Darkness. Even when I'm gone, I know that chaos will spread. And the best part, you'll be the one to do it. So go ahead, spread your darkness to those of your world. Plunge it into a state of chaos! Make it so you can't even tell men from monster! I'll be watching it all from hell, with a smile on my face!"

"RRRRRAAAAGGGGHHH!" Whether he ignored the words coming from the Grongi leader or if he hadn't heard that at all, it didn't matter as Dai raised a flaming fist and brought it down towards Daguva to finally finish him off.

"NO!"

*GRAB!*

But just then, right when Dai's fist was inches away from Daguva's face, Nagisa suddenly appeared, having run up to the Rider before tackling him and grabbing his arm, stopping him.

"Dai! Please stop!" Nagisa begged as she pulled the Rider's arm back, albeit with some difficulty.

"I know you want to kill him! After everything he's done, he deserves it! But...not like this. Not when you're filled with nothing but rage. Not when you're destroying Mepple's home! So please, just stop-!"

"Hmph!"

*POW!*

In the blink of an eye, Dai freed his arm from the Cure before proceeding to punch her square in the face, sending her flying back.

"Black!" Quickly, Honoka rushed forward and caught her flying friend, thought doing so almost knocked the air out of her. Checking the black Cure's condition, her nose wasn't broken, but she was bleeding from it as she was now looking at Dai in surprise.

"Dai?" While holding her bleeding nose, Nagisa calls over to the Rider who's only response was an animal-like growl.

"I'd be careful now, if I were you," Daguva said, speaking up from where he was at. "Whatever sense of reason he had when he transformed into Ultimate is now gone. The only thing left in that head of his is just pure rage. With the way he is now, he can't even tell friend from foe. So yeah, have fun." It really was amazing how easily one could tell when the Grongi leader was smiling despite having no mouth.

Looking in disbelief at what Daguva had said, the girls turn back to Dai who was slowly advancing towards them.

"Dai! Wait!" Getting up to her feet, Nagisa tried to talk reason into the Rider. "It's us! Your friends! Please, you have to stop before any more people get-!" She never got to finish talking as with a thrust of his hand, fire exploded right in front of the girl, throwing her back from the sudden eruption.

"Black!" Honoka went over to help her friend only to get grabbed and pulled back by Dai, having closed the distance between them in an instant as he lifted her up into the air before slamming her down hard into the ground, knocking the wind the air out of the Cure as a crater formed right under her. Before Honoka even had a chance to gasp for air, she was pulled up again and slammed into the ground again. This process repeated again and again until Nagisa literally jumped in and tackled the Rider.

"Dai, stop!" Nagisa shouted, covered in a bit of soot as she tackled the Rider to the ground and pinned him down. "Dai, it's me! Nagisa! Please, you have to come to your senses!"

Dai's response was a headbutt to the face strong enough to throw Nagisa off of him. Curling up to bring his knees up to his chest, Dai pushed off his hands and dropped kick Nagisa in the chest, sending the girl flying back where she crashed right next to Honoka who cried out in surprise.

"Black!" Ignoring her own injuries, Honoka rushed over to Nagisa's side and helped her up. "Are you alright?"

"I think he broke a rib with that kick," Nagisa groaned, holding her side in pain. And she had just gotten that fixed too!

*Boom!*

The girls cried out in surprise when a literal ring of fire appeared around them, preventing them from escaping. Unable to move, the girls were unprepared for when Dai suddenly appeared, running through the flames as if they meant nothing to him as he struck with a double lariat across their chest, knocking the wind out of them(twice for Honoka) and practically carried them through the fire as he kept running. Once out of the fire, the Rider then threw both the girls off of him, sending them skidding rather painfully across the ground due to the force in which they were thrown. It was like they were being dragged across the ground only there was no one holding them down except force. By the time they stopped, there was a pile of dirt behind them as they were now covered in soot and dirt. They then started coughing due to the air being knocked out of them earlier with Nagisa even spitting out a few bits of blood.

"Ow..." Nagisa groaned, speaking for both herself and Honoka as the two struggled to push themselves back up.

"Abunai(Watch out)-mepo!" Mepple cried out, informing the girls of incoming danger. It was thanks to his warning that the girls were able to move out of the way in time to avoid another attack from Dai who had seemingly dropped from the air and attempted to stomp down on them. The whole area seemed to shake from Dai's attack, showing just how powerful it was and it made the girl's nervous at the possibility of them not dodging in time.

"He's so strong, we won't last long like this-mipo!" Mipple said.

"We can't give up, not until we turn Ichi-kun back to normal!" Honoka said, standing strong only to blink in surprise when Dai was now right in front of her.

"Look out-mipo!" By the time Mipple cried out her warning it was already too late as Dai's fist dug right into Honoka's gut, making the girl cough up both spit and blood as she was thrown up and suspended in the air for a brief second. In that same second, Dai grabbed the white Cure by her leg and slammed her right back down to the ground, forming another crater.

"White!" Nagisa cried out for her friend as the Rider lifted the white Cure up by her leg. Refusing to stand by and watch, the black Cure gritted her teeth and leaped towards the Black Rider and threw a fist, attempting to stop her berserk friend and turn his attention towards her.

*GRAB!*

Without even looking, Dai went and caught Nagisa's fist, surprising the girl. Before the girl had a chance to throw another punch using her free hand...

*CRACK!*

By merely gripping his hands, Dai proceeded to crush Nagisa's hand and Honoka's leg. There was a brief second a silence before the girls cried out in pain.

"Black/White!" Both Mepple and Mipple cried out in worry as Dai released their partners. While Honoka fell to the ground holding her leg, Nagisa drops to her knees gripping her arm as tears formed from the corner of her eyes.

"God...dammit...!" Nagisa cursed through her teeth as she experienced for the second time today the feeling of broken bones. She didn't dare look at the condition of her hand, already knowing from the feeling that her fingers were bent in the wrong way. As for Honoka, a single glance was all she needed to see.

Nagisa then noticed someone standing over her. Looking up, it was Dai who was raising a fist up.

"Dai..." Nagisa looked up at the Rider, her friend, with pleading eyes. She watched as Dai then brought his fist down and Nagisa closed her eyes before crying out, "DAI!"

*WHOOSH!*

Nagisa felt the air around her blow as her hair was blown back. But she didn't feel the feeling of a fist hitting her. Slowly opening her eyes, Nagisa saw Dai had stopped his fist from connecting by a mere inch as his arm shook. Looking up at the Rider, she saw that it wasn't just his arm, but his whole body was shaking.

"Grr...grrk...hrk...!" Strained noised came from the Rider as he seemed to be struggling.

"D...Dai?" Nagisa slowly raised her none broken hand towards Dai. Could it be? Has she finally gotten through to him?

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

*SHINE!*

Suddenly, there was a booming powerful voice heard all around the Garden of Light before a pillar of light erupted from the Palace of Light, causing everyone to turn and look.

"What is that?" Honoka asked, pushing herself up and looking over towards the pillar of light coming from the palace.

With Daguva who had been watching the 'fight' between Dai and the girls, he narrowed his eyes at the pillar of light. Something was happening.

'That Queen, what did she do?'

---

(Palace of Light)

Over at the palace of light, specifically, the hall which showcased the statue of Ichigo, the Queen along with the Elder and Pollun were standing before the mentioned statue as it glowed brightly, being the source of the pillar of light everyone outside was seeing.

"My Queen, what is this!?" The Elder asked, but the giant woman didn't answer. Her full attention was on the statue as the heart-shaped item in her hands was glowing brightly and with the same intensity as the statue.

'Forgive me, my dear friend. I wouldn't have resorted to this if I didn't have any other options. But this situation should be best handled by someone like you. Hajime, one more time, won't you please lend me your aid?'

...

...

...

"You don't even have to ask."

*VROOM!*

At the sound of what was obviously the roaring of an engine, a smile appeared on the Queen's face as the pillar of light bent over, becoming a road of light that travels over to where the Cures were at.

'Good luck, my dear friend.'

---

(Back with the girls)

Before everyone's eyes, the pillar of light which seemingly rose into the heavens bent over, becoming a road of light which ended right where they were, making Dai jump back in alarm, growling like an animal again.

*VROOM!*

Then, the roar of an engine was heard before off in the distance, the sound of a traveling vehicle was heard.

"What?" Honoka, working through the pain of her crushed leg, narrowed her eyes as she spotted something, or rather, someone riding down the road of light on a...motorcycle?

As the person got closer and closer, whoever was coming was indeed riding on a motorcycle, one no one's ever seen before. The bike was obviously customized as the base model appears to be a Suzuki Hustler TS250III with the colors being mainly red and white. Despite the old model, the speed at which it was going at could have outpaced the TryChaser. Had Dai been in his right mind, he would have recognized the bike instantly.

"Toh!"

A battle cry was heard, one filled with power as the rider jumped his bike, seemingly souring through the air as the bike flew over the entire group before gliding back down and skidding across the ground until coming to a stop, allowing everyone to see just who the rider was.

Who they saw surprised everyone.

"Wha-!?"

"Eh!?"

"No way!"

"Is that...!"

*whoosh*

A gentle wind blew, blowing the rider's red scarf as he straightens up and turned his head over to the group, staring specifically at Dai. The man wore a black bodysuit with double white lines on both sides. He wore white gloves and boots, and over the bodysuit are green armor pads. The most notable thing about the Rider, though, was the helmet he wore, themed after a grasshopper with the lenses being red.

"I...I don't believe it-mepo..." Mepple said, finding it hard to believe what he was seeing. "It's...it's...!"

"It's the Great Savior-mipo!" Mipple finished for her lover while also identifying the Rider to be none other than...

"Kamen Rider..." Honoka began, eyes widening in surprise and disbelief. Nagisa was the same as she finished for Honoka, speaking the Rider's name.

"Ichigo..."

Indeed, it was the one and only Kamen Rider Ichigo, the very first Kamen Rider, in the flesh.

"Kuuga..." Ichigo, his voice deep and powerful, spoke as he lifted up his left hand and dramatically points to Dai. "For the Garden of Light, I shall put you down!"

---

And...done! Boom! Cliffhanger! So sorry that after so long I'm ending the chapter like this, I originally planned for this chapter to be what marks the halfway point for this story and leave it there so I can get back to my other stories as a lot of people have been asking me for more chapters. But the thing is, after rewriting a few things here and there, with the way the chapter was turning out, I had to end it here for if I tried to cram anymore it would just be a mess with no natural flow. With no other choice, I had to stop the chapter here. Next chapter will pick off where I left off and this time, it'll be the halfway mark. But seeing as it's just one chapter and people are asking me for my other stories, I'm gonna do those before coming back to this since I need to, in my own words, recharge the batteries as I've found it difficult to make a Kuuga chapter as of late due to how often I'm doing this. I seem to work best when I leave a story for a few days and come back with a fresh mind. So while the next chapter won't be coming out soon, I will eventually get to it.

On another note, bet you guys didn't expect to see the one and only Rider Ichigo to appear. Did you like my surprise? With how Dai is right now, I figured that the only one who could really have a chance at stopping him would be a legend like Ichigo. So tune in next time for the battle of Ichigo vs. Kuuga! Until then, this has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing out. And like always, here's...

---

Pretty Cure: Rider Fun Facts

"Hello minna-san! And welcome back for another segment of Pretty Cure: Rider Fun facts-mepo!" Mepple greeted the audience along with Mipple, their respective partners, and Pollun who was jumping around excitedly.

"Welcome, welcome-popo!" Pollun said, smiling cutely.

"I know I complain a lot about this, but our author has really gotten slow when making chapters," Nagisa commented.

"It can't be helped. Author-san has found it difficult to write as of late with a lack of motivation. As he said, he just needs time to cool off," Honoka said before turning to the fairies. "So, what shall we be talking about today?"

"Today, we're going to be talking about the leader of the Grongi clan, N-Daguva-Zeba-mipo," Mipple said as Daguva in his human disguise was shown on the screen with his bigger monster form standing right next to him.

"Great, this guy..." Nagisa said, obviously displeased to see the Grongi leader.

"Now we know how you feel, but please bear with us-mipo," Mipple said.

"Sigh, fine," Nagisa relented. "So, what can you tell us about this guy?"

"Well, for starters, as the leader of the Grongi clan, Daguva stands at the top as the strongest-mepo," Mepple said. "Even when he's not using his Monster form, Daguva is incredibly fast and powerful, overpowering all of Dai's base forms. He even seems to be a match for Dai's Rising forms, though since Dai has used only the Rising Titan form so far, we have no way of knowing if this is true-mepo."

"Now onto his Monster form," Mipple gestures to the screen which now just shows off Daguva's Imperfect Monster form. "This is Daguva's Monster form. Unlike others from his clan, Daguva's is a giant, standing three times bigger than a grown adult. But don't let his size fool you, he's still incredibly fast, moving at a speed in which people have trouble spotting him, superpowers or no. And as shown in today's chapter, he can control the weather-mipo."

"Fast, strong, huge size, weather control..." Honoka listed off. "It's no wonder he's the strongest Grongi in the entire clan."

"How is any of that fair!?" Nagisa exclaims. He was extremely fast and powerful, big or small, and he could control the weather! How was anyone supposed to beat this guy?

"Now while Daguva is crazy strong, he does have his faults-mepo," Mepple said before Pollun jumped in.

"That's right! Believe it or not, this is that scary man's Imperfect form-popo."

"That's right," Mipple joined in. "While Daguva can control the weather, he has a bit of difficulty doing so as it takes quite a lot of energy from him to do so. Not only that, despite his incredible strength, he is still no match for Kuuga's Ultimate form as seen in today's chapter where Daguva was constantly on the defensive against Dai-mipo."

"If this is his Imperfect form, I'm not looking forward to his Perfect form," Nagisa said, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek to represent how nervous she was at the thought.

"Yes, Daguva is a very strong enemy, and he'll only get stronger from here on out-mepo," Mepple said. "But right now, this is all the time we have. Tune in next time, readers, for the fight between the Great Savior and Dai! Until next time-mepo!"

"It's going to be super crazy-popo!" Pollun said, getting right in front of the camera.

"Oi! Pollun! Get off the camera-mepo!" As Mepple chased Pollun off, the others waved goodbye as the title for the next chapter appears.

Next Time: Climatic Battle! Showa Rider #1 Vs. Heisei Rider #1!