The clouds were like zebras with pink stripes as the sun rose over the eastern horizon. Silver, waving streaks danced with every jump of a fish in the calm waters near Pazurika Town.

It had been declared that Halloween would lead the onslaught, followed by Peta and a babble of pawns. Both of the leaders felt disgusted with this – why should they have to tell stupid pawns where to go? Wasn't that job better suited for a rook? At any rate, they had to obey Pyromania's orders, as disagreeable as they were.

Peta turned to Halloween with an expression of utter disgust on his face. "This isn't what I was hoping for," he muttered. "I wish Phantom would at least have been able to tag along…but o, Pyromania has to leave him in charge of base security…"

Halloween snorted. "Security? That place doesn't need security – no one can find the damn hideout, not even me. And I was with Pyro for a good time before he showed it to me."

The two of them sighed. Even if it was slaughtering the innocent, it wouldn't be as fun without Phantom. Peta put on a bracelet Arm, while Halloween readied Wakan Tanka. For once, he wasn't thrilled with burning things. He just wanted to go back to the hideout and hang out with the Chess' former leader. He was sure Peta felt the same way. "Let's get this over with…"

Jack's house

Edward panted, pushing his glasses back up his sweaty black nose. His eyes opened back up slightly, and he stared at the door. Gulping, he reached out and gently knocked on the door. 'Oh, what do I do? Snow ordered me to do this, but I don't want to upset Lady Dorothy, either…Oh, well…Gotta go wit the hotter one.'

The dog made sure his knock was extremely light. After a second, he shrugged. "Oh, well. Guess there's nobody home." He turned around, grinning.

"Who are you?" Edward stopped and slowly craned his neck. Coming out from the side of the house was a boy in a loose green muscle shirt and tan khaki pants. Edward cursed his luck.

"Aw…dammit…"

Jack moved closer. "…Edward…?" He inched even closer. "Why are you here?"

Edward cleared his throat. "Well, it's a long story…"

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion in the distance. A plume of smoke rose from Pazurika Town, followed by the appearance of crazed flames.

"The end," Edward said blankly. He stared expressionlessly at the scene unfolding only a few miles from the small hut.

"What's going on out there?!" Jack's mother ran outside, holding up her skirt so that it didn't drag against the grass. She looked thunderstruck as she registered what was happening. "What the hell is going on?"

"I think I know," Edward said. "I overheard Queen Snow and Dorothy talking about a Chess revival."

Jack's mom shook her head in denial. "No…They came back once already! They can't do this to us again!" Tears came down her face. "When will they stop and let my husband rest in peace?!" She immediately turned to Jack, who had a defiant look in his gleaming eyes. "Oh, please tell me you're not going again!"

Turning to his mother, Jack shook his head. "I have to…I helped defeat the Chess once – if they're coming back, I need to help stop them once again." He hugged the woman. "I'll come back. I promise."

"I know you will," his mother replied between sobs. "Go get them."

Edward wiped away a tear of his own. 'I wish my ties with Snow were that strong…'

Jack let go of his mother, and turned to Edward. "Let's go. We have people to save right here, right now."

Pazurika Town

As Jack and Edward raced into the market square of the town, they noticed two figures. Both of them were instantly recognized by the boy. He growled. One was Halloween, the pumpkin-headed rival of Alan. The other was the one Nanashi had fought…but hadn't Nanashi killed that opponent?

Mr. Nanashi Opponent turned to the two, and grinned evilly. His small eyes lit up, and his canine teeth shone brilliantly. Waving to them, he disappeared into the flames along with Halloween.

Pyromania's Underground Fortress

Nearly all the Chess were gone. Veru knew this, but his hopes were down. He hadn't seen Reno since the night before, and he had seemed pretty unstable. The boy was worried about his "savior." What if he was insane or so emotionally distraught he really screwed up?

"Ugh...why am I thinking about that?" Veru clutched his head and whipped it from side to side.

There was a small crash that barely resounded through the stone corridors. Veru immediately got to his feet. To his delight, Reno appeared from behind a torch and he was okay. But his face was very serious, and no trace of fun was in the bags under his eyes.

"What's going on?" Veru asked.

"Almost all of them are out," Reno replied. "I'm getting you out of here." Turning, he let out a huge gust of air and blew out the torch nearest to the cell. In the darkness, he began trying to work the cage's lock.

"Why are trying to do that in the dark?" Veru whispered, watching the other boy.

"Because," Reno told him in a low voice, "that way no wandering Chess member can see what I'm doing."

That continued for five minutes before Reno silently began cursing the lock out. "Open, dammit…!"

"Hmm…what do we have here?"

Reno and Veru froze as light flooded the corridor. There, standing and looking at them with a smile, was Phantom himself. He approached the two. "What's going on?"

Neither boy dared to make a move. "Run…" Veru hissed onto Reno's ear.

"Wait…" Phantom surveyed the scene for a moment, then his smile became warm and inviting. Moving forward, he softly nudged Reno out of the way. From out of his pocket he extracted a key, and pushed it into the lock. With a turn, the cage door was unlocked. Phantom stepped back as Veru pushed it open. "Wow…"

Both boys looked at Phantom, who now stood against the wall. He was pointing to the right. "That's where the exit is. There're no guards on duty right now."

Reno shook his head side to side rapidly, eyes closed. "Why the hell should we believe you?"

"I foresaw that." With a sigh, the man explained. "Y'see, Pyromania thinks he's all that and more. He resurrects me, but places me as a second Knight. There's no bigger disgrace for me. I remember that child was of particular interest to the bastard, so I'm letting him go." His eyes were determined yet playful. "I'm feeling rather pissed off at him."

"But you're a Chess!"

"Hey! I'm giving you a free ride outta here!" Phantom looked down at Veru, and bent down to just above eye level. He gently grabbed the boy's chin and bent it slightly upwards. "Be a good boy, now. Don't talk to strangers."

He let Veru go, and bid Reno farewell. The two ran out, taking Phantom's gift.

Phantom laughed. "Well, you wanted him so much, Pyro. I couldn't resist. This is what you get for double-crossing me."

His cackle echoed throughout the base as Veru and Reno escaped.