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!"

30. Ride 30: An Obstacle Filled Road

Hello Fanfiction readers! I, Ashbel Longhart, have returned for more Kuuga! Some of you are probably surprised that this story was updated before my other ones as I usually do, but my motivation was waning between stories until I drifted over to this, and the next thing I knew, I finished this. That isn't to say I completed this in a flash. I had to do a couple of rewrites for this chapter which led to me changing the initial title for this episode, as you can see below. The reason for that is mostly because I watched a review covering 'Futari wa's' entire season and learned that some of the episodes going forward are either just filler or problems involving Pollun that repeat more than once. So, after some planning that will eventually derail the latter half of the show, at least more than it already has been, I've decided to go with this. But before we continue, 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.)

All right, first off, let's recap. Last time, Dai and the girls were all over the place dealing with their respective threats. All three of the Seeds launched a surprise attack on the group, kidnapping Wisdom in the process. But just before he was taken away, the Guardian hid the powers of the Prism Stones within Pollun, allowing the fairy to call forth the Rainbow Bracelets for the girls and drive away the Seeds. Following that, Dai finally unleashed the power of Rising Mighty by basically nuking the Grongi he was fighting. In short, it was very action-packed. Normally, one would give our heroes a breather episode to catch their bearings, but not here. Not when it's time to get to one of my favorite Grongis from Kuuga. Look forward to it people as I've got a special surprise waiting in the end.

Also, by request and after some thinking I've decided that going forward, whenever our heroes transform, they'll be referred to by their alter egos. Nagisa will be Black, Honoka will be White, and Dai will be Kuuga. I know doing this now will probably be confusing considering how far into the story we are now, but when doing fight scenes, the change in names will probably make it easier to picture the group transformed and fighting. So, you know what they say: Better late than never. But I've kept you guys here long enough. It's time for some more action! Let's ride! Chou Henshin!

---

Ride 30: An Obstacle Filled Road! The Lonely Pollun!

---

(One Year Ago)

Over the horizon, the setting sun bathed the sky orange. By now, classes had ended for the students of Verone Academy as regular students had already left the campus. At this hour, club members were wrapping up their respective activities and heading home, such as our pair of future heroes.

"Well, I guess I now know why they call it a catfight."

"Urusai(Shut up)."

"Sorry, sorry, couldn't help it," Dai apologized with a small laugh. "But to be fair, you did kind of ask for it."

"She didn't have to get so mad about it," Nagisa said, looking mad as she fast-walked down the sidewalk. "All I did was tell a little lie about the discount cakes."

"It's not the cakes she was mad about..., scratch that, that's half the reason why she was mad," Dai said, backtracking a little before returning to what he was about to say. "The other half of why she was mad at you was because you betrayed her trust."

"Trust?"

Dai nodded. "You're her friend and she trusted you to tell her the truth about those cakes, which you didn't. Anybody would get mad if a friend of their's abused their trust."

"...Then...how do I make things right?" Nagisa nervously asked, looking ashamed showing that while she was mad herself, she acknowledged that Dai's words were true.

"Well, for one thing, you should apologize the next time you see her," Dai instructed which Nagisa nodded. "After that, the rest is up to you. After all, trust is something you earn. So now you'll have to work to regain that trust."

"Trust is something you earn..." Nagisa repeated the words to herself as she thought about what she should do to earn back her friend's trust.

"Don't worry," Dai said, patting Nagisa's back. "If you're having trouble then feel free to ask for help. I know you didn't mean to hurt her, so I'll help you any way I can, Nagisa-chan."

"Dai-kun..." Nagisa looked at her friend in surprise before she smiled back in appreciation. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now, let's get home. I promised your mom I'd help her make curry for dinner tonight."

"If you're helping out, then I can't wait for dinner!" In her excitement, Nagisa took off running, forcing Dai to quickly follow after her.

---

(Now)

Deep within the dark forests, inside the abandoned mansion that the Seeds of Darkness were using as a base, the aforementioned Seeds were far from happy.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Grabbing the bird cage that housed not only the pet parrot but also acted as a prison for Wisdom, Belzei glared at the Prism Hopish lying against the metal bars where the Prism Stones noticeably lacked the glowing shine they once had.

"The Prism Stones, which once shined so brilliantly...there's not a spark of power in them! Why!?" Belzei shook the cage, hoping to force an answer out of Wisdom, but the guardian merely held onto his perch and looked away, refusing to answer.

"Belzei, calm down," Walking over to him, Juna grabbed the old man's shoulder. "You'll agitate your wound."

Glancing over to his bandaged right shoulder with the rest of the arm held in a sling, Belzei huffed but calmed down as told.

"You're right. I mustn't lose my cool. So long as we have the Guardian here, the power of the Prism Stones will eventually return to us."

"You're irritating, old man," Wisdom said under his breath but was unfortunately caught by Belzei.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Wisdom quickly said, trying to save himself. But to his further misfortune...

"You're irritating, old man!" The parrot next to him had heard and 'parroted' his words.

"Snitch!" Wisdom exclaimed but that didn't stop the glare coming from Belzei.

"You've got quite the smart mouth, don't you? Keep talking like that and..."

*CAW!*

"Gyah!"

"...I'll feed you to the parrot," Belzei finished his threat as his pet bit down on Wisdom's head with the guardian holding the bird's beak back.

"Y-You're correct in assuming that the power of the Stones will eventually return to the Prism Hopish! But, that can only happen so long as I am alive! If you do away with me, you'll never get the power of the seven stones back, much less bring forth their power!

Belzei raised an eyebrow at that. A part of him doubted Wisdom's words, thinking them to be desperate lies to save himself. However, he reminded himself that Wisdom has been the guardian of the Prism Stones for a very long time and thus may know secrets not even he, a fragment of the Dark King, knew about. If his words were true, then he really couldn't get rid of him, no matter how annoying he may be.

"It can't be helped then," Belzei said, using his eyes to dismiss the parrot, much to Wisdom's relief. "We'll have to use the energy we've been storing up from the Garden of Rainbows to restore the Dark King back to life."

"A moment, Belzei," Juna spoke up. "Allow me to confront the Pretty Cure again. The boost in power they obtained in that last battle may have something to do with the loss of the Prism Stones' powers. If nothing else, they should at least provide a clue as warriors of light."

"By yourself?" Belzei asked. He did not doubt his fellow Seed's abilities, but the strength the Pretty Cures displayed once they equipped those Rainbow Bracelets was astonishing. So astonishing that it had caught them off guard and almost led them to their demise had he not called for a retreat.

"You and Regine are still recovering from your wounds. I'm the only one fit enough to move right now."

Belzei let out a wordless grunt as he placed his free hand on his bandaged shoulder. As Seeds of Darkness, they were naturally different from humans and had abilities that let them recover faster than what was considered normal. But the bullets they had been shot with were not normal, having nearly torn off their limbs if it weren't for their supernatural nature. In short, despite having bandaged the wound, both Belzei and Regine were still healing with the latter resting in her room while attended to by some Zakenna they had conjured up.

"...Fine. Regine and I will wait for you in the Dark Zone once you're done. But work stealthy. The humans surrounding Kuuga have proven themselves to be a bigger threat than we anticipated."

"Understood."

---

(Insert RISE by MADKID)

(Instrumental) The song starts as the sun begins to rise over the horizon, casting its light over the city. Over on top of the tallest building in the city, three figures can be seen standing, looking towards the sunrise.

(Oh oh oh oh oh oh~! Oh oh oh oh oh oh~!) As the sun rises higher and higher over the city, we soon see that the three figures are none other than Dai, Nagisa, and Honoka, all transformed as they look over the city protectively.

(Hikari mitsuketa kuuhaku no jikan) We first see scenes of Nagisa playing lacrosse with her friends on the lacrosse team. Sweat drops fly off of her as she catches the ball with her lacrosse stick before throwing it. Off to the side, Mepple is seen sleeping inside Nagisa's bag, dreaming about eating various foods.

(Mayoikonda chuuzuri no sekai) Honoka is seen in the lab with her friends in the science club. The girl mixes a vial of chemicals in her hands while the others watch with anticipation. A puff of smoke erupts from the vile, and the girls sigh in relief when that's all that happened. In the corner, Mipple watched nearby from within her carrier, looking on with interest.

(Shinjirareru kotae sagashimotomete) The scene transitions to Dai playing soccer with the rest of the soccer team. After scoring a goal, Dai switches with someone else and goes over to the bench, grabbing a water bottle. However, just as he's about to take a sip, he gets a phone call from Ryō. Answering the call, Dai's expression turns serious.

(Tada samayotteru) [Yeah] Nodding his head, Dai ends the call and runs off, running toward his TryChaser 2000. Getting on the bike, he revs up the engine and drives off. This doesn't go unnoticed by both Nagisa and Honoka as they stop whatever they are doing and race off to follow after the Rider.

(Yubi no sukima nigeru light, Yosomi shiteru hima mo nai) The scene changes again to show Ryō along with the other men of the Special Investigation Team, all running around as they all armed themselves and got into their respective cars, racing down the road to the scene of the crime.

(Uketa kizuna ato sae kate ni, Seijaku kirisaiteku) Darkness overtakes the scene as the Seeds of Darkness, Juna, Regine, and Belzei Gertrude all appear, glaring menacingly at the screen before all three of them get sucked into a portal and a shadowy form appears to replace them.

(Dare mo kare mo Dead or alive, Mamoru dake ja Can't survive) In an abandoned warehouse with flickering lights, the Grongi, mostly the Go Tribe, appear, flickering between their human and Monster forms in tandem with the lights.

(I don't wanna lie to myself) With Baruba and Dorudo at his sides, Daguva walks up, smiling as always as he raises his hand and sends out a blast of fire that momentarily blocks the screen.

(Keep on the fight, get right, I'll never lose and cry) Skidding the bike to a stop, Dai quickly takes off his helmet and gets off his ride as he faces off against the Go Tribe, accompanied by the Seeds of Darkness and a small army of Zakenna.

(Keep run up day and night, Time to rewrite) Just as Dai was about to summon the Arcle, both Nagisa and Honoka finally caught up with the Rider, appearing by his side with their Lovely Communes in their hands. Behind them was the Special Investigation Team as Ryō and the others all aimed their guns at the Dark Zone and Grongi.

(No matter what anyone says I find my way) Dai looks at both the girls who give him encouraging smiles before the three nod at one another and ready their respective transformations.

(Yeah, never go away) In a bright flash of light, Kuuga followed by Cures Black and White all leap out of the light and towards their enemies.

(Never go away) Both sides charge at one another and at the same time Dai throws the first punch, Ryō fires his gun and the fight begins.

(Now, nobody can't stop me no way) With both his hands and feet covered in flames, Dai throws a barrage of punches and kicks at any Grongi and Zakenna that get too close to him before coming to a deadlock with the leader of the Go Tribe, Go-Gadoru-Ba, whose eyes briefly flash gold.

(Wasurete shimau koto no nai you ni) With their backs to one another, both Nagisa and Honoka punch, kick, block, and throw back any Grongi and Zakenna that attacked them before coming face to face with the Seeds of Darkness.

(Nakushita mono subete torimodosu tame) Over with the Investigation Team, Ryō, and the others fought with their guns and bravery, not backing down against such overwhelming odds until Ryō came face to face with Baruba. The two have a staredown as Ryō aims his gun at Baruba who simply stares back, her expression unreadable.

(Rise suddenly in this world) [I don't look back yeah] In a flash of golden lightning, Dai assumes his Rising Mighty form while the girls equip their Rainbow Bracelets. Now ready, the trio stands up against Daguva in his Imperfect form.

(Kurikaesu tabi no hate) Taking the lead, Dai charges at the Grongi leader, throwing lightning-fast punches which Daguva simply guards against before he punches Dai back.

(Nouri ni nokotta shippai nante) The girls jump in this time to try their luck, they both attack in perfect sync as Nagisa's right eye and Honoka's left eye briefly flash gold.

(Zenbu torikaese ima Turn over) In a show of strength, Daguva pushes the girls away before a tornado envelops his entire form. With a swing of his arm that disperses the tornado, it reveals Daguva now in his Perfect form as the entire area is suddenly enveloped in flames.

(Rise suddenly in this world) [I don't look back yeah] Seeing the sight of Daguva at his full strength, anger seems to ignite from Dai as with a roar, darkness soon envelops the Rider as he transforms into Kuuga's Ultimate form.

(Oh oh oh oh oh oh~! Oh oh oh oh oh oh~!) The scene changes to a bright morning day, the sky bright blue with few clouds in the sky. Dai stands on top of a small hill looking up at the sky as Nagisa down below looks up at the Rider with worry. Turning around, Dai gives Nagisa a smile, but this only seems to worry the girl even more as she quickly runs up to the Rider and grabs him by the arm in desperation. As soon as she does this, the scene returns back to the battle as Nagisa tries to grab Dai's arm, but fails as the Rider charges forth, both he and Daguva meeting in the middle as they both throw a flaming punch at one another and just as both attacks connect, a bright flash of light blinds the screen and the song comes to an end.

---

(Misumi Residence)

On a Sunday afternoon, sitting down at the coffee table in her room, Nagisa was once again writing in her Pretty Cure Planner, sorting her thoughts and penning them down. Honestly, she had written so much these past months that she was starting to wonder if she needed to get a second one should this keep up.

'At last, the new dark warriors, the Seeds of Darkness, have appeared and they wasted no time coming after what they wanted. Their strength was no joke. If it wasn't for the power of the Rainbow Bracelets, Honoka and I may still not be here. It's a scary thought, one that's becoming frequent as days go by. But just what are the Rainbow Bracelets? Are they just power-up items or more? You can never be too sure about these things. And how did Pollun summon them for us? There's still so much I want to know, but there's no time to ask. Despite the miracle, both the Guardian and the Prism Stones were taken. Just what are we to do?'

"Sigh, and there's the stuff surrounding Dai-kun..." Nagisa muttered, her mind wandering to her friend in worry.

"Popo!"

*BAM!*

Said worries were quite literally knocked out of Nagisa's mind as her face met the paper surface of her planner/diary caused by Pollun and Mepple jumping off her head.

"I caught you, Mepple-popo!" Pollun cheered as he tackled an exhausted Mepple to the floor.

"Ugh, I can't do this anymore-mepo," Mepple groaned as in a puff of smoke, Mepple returned to his Card Commune form. But despite this, Pollun did not stop bothering the exhausted fairy.

"Mepple! Play with me some more-popo!"

"Will you give it a rest already?" Nagisa, finally lifting up her head, said to the fairy prince. "You've been playing all morning!"

"But I still want to play-popo!"

"Mepple's tired, Pollun. He can't play with you anymore."

"Then you play with me!" Pollun said as he hopped onto the table before jumping up onto Nagisa's shoulder and tugging on the girl's ear, much to her annoyance. "Hide and seek! I want to play hide and seek-popo!"

"I said give it a rest!" Nagisa exclaimed, grabbing Pollun and prying him away from her poor ear. "Geez, how are you not tired yet?"

"Onee-chan!" Suddenly, from downstairs, Ryota called. "Lunch is ready!"

"Okay, I'll be right down!" Nagisa called back before setting Pollun down and getting up. "Now you behave yourself, okay? Here," Reaching into her pocket, Nagisa pulled out the chef card and placed it in front of Pollun. "Ask Chef Omp to cook you something if you're hungry. Just don't come downstairs."

And with that, Nagisa left her room, leaving the fairy prince alone and expertly ignoring his cries for more playtime. Walking down the stairs, the girl found her family and Dai at the dinner table waiting for her.

"Sorry for the wait," Nagisa apologized as she took a seat next to Dai. "Man, this curry smells good!"

"Dai-niichan helped make it so of course it smells good," Ryota said with confidence. "No doubt it'll taste just as great!"

"Come on, it's just regular curry. No need to praise it that much," Dai said, blushing a little at Ryota's praise. "Anyway, let's eat before it gets cold."

"Itadakimatsu!" Everyone said as one before digging into today's lunch.

"Delicious!" Both Nagisa and her brother reacted after just one bite.

"It really is," Rie complimented after taking another spoonful. "My own recipe can barely compare, even after watching that cooking show. Just what is your secret, Dai-kun?"

"I keep telling you, I don't do anything at all," Dai insisted. "You shouldn't sell yourself short, Misumi-san. Your cooking is just as good."

"Oh, you flatter me."

"Well, it's definitely better than 'curry out' curry...Just kidding!" Takashi punned, laughing at his own joke only to see nobody laughing along.

"So bad..." Nagisa said, resisting the urge to groan in embarrassment.

"W-was it really?"

"Oh, honey, you're so funny!" Whether it was because she felt bad for her husband or that she generally found it humorous, Rie laughed along which instantly cheered up the man.

Nagisa and Ryota both sighed at their parents while Dai smiled in amusement. The family plus one then resumed eating, making basic conversation which somehow almost led to Nagisa giving Ryota her signature Cobra Twist when something on TV caught everyone's attention.

[Good afternoon, everyone. It's time for Fact Soup, the segment where we introduce the latest top news stories. We'll start with stories about the Unidentified Lifeforms.]

That last sentence caught the full attention of both Nagisa and Dai as they turned towards the TV in the living room where on the screen was an anchorman reading off a newspaper clipping that displayed the blurry image of Kuuga in his Rising Mighty form. How they got their hands on such an image was a mystery, but judging from the angle and how blurry it was, Dai guessed that the image must have been recovered from damaged security footage. At the left corner were captions that read: The Truth Behind Unidentified Lifeform No. 4.

[This is from the Asahi News business section. "Massive Damage From Unidentified Lifeform Explosion. The Downside to No. 4's Increased Strength." Late afternoon on the 1st of September, in the area of the Yokohama City Children's Recreation Park, Unidentified Lifeform No. 4 killed No. 39, resulting in an immense explosion that caused a great deal of collateral damage. Current reports have the impact reaching a radius of three kilometers, resulting in the complete loss of the park woods, the nearby Hodogaya Swiming Pool, the Karibacho Incineration Plant, the Ikuseki and Kariba Hospitals, and much more. An estimated 107,000 shattered panes of glass litter the damaged streets along with collapsed highways and several railways in the affected area being severed, with the multiple days for recovery estimated to impact the travel plans of over 150,000 commuters.]

Silence had completely fallen upon the Misumi Family plus one, their lunch all but forgotten. As they continued to watch the news, Nagisa threw Dai a worried glance, only to find his expression to be stoic with only his eyes showing the conflict and guilt within them.

'It's been four days since then,' Nagisa thought to herself, thinking back to that battle once again and what she had witnessed at the end. 'Like Dai-kun had been saying, the result of Kuuga's Rising Mighty Kick was horrifyingly devastating. Thanks to the evacuation efforts of Ichijo-san and the others, there were no casualties at all, but that did not change the fact that Dai-kun had literally bombed the city. Once praised as a hero, the people had grown to fear Dai-kun's powers. I can't blame them as even I'm scared of what Dai-kun could be further capable of. But...I'm more worried about how he's taking all of this.'

[Here we have the Shinsei News, with the headline, "Explosions Linked to No. 4's New Power? Questions Regarding Police Culpability Arise." And from Nissen News, "The Cost of No. 4's Special Status. Police Comment on Devastation." It's been a real disaster as—]

Having had enough, Nagisa got up and walked over to grab the remote on the living room table, turning off the TV as if to shut up the anchorman. Tossing the remote onto the couch, Nagisa went back to her seat and resumed eating as if nothing was wrong. This, of course, got stares from everyone.

"...What?"

"Uh, nothing!" Seeing clearly that Nagisa did not want to talk, everyone followed her lead and resumed eating despite the awkward air. This time it was Dai's turn to look at Nagisa in worry, but a look from the girl told him that they would talk later. And so they would, grabbing Mepple and Pollun before leaving to head over to Honoka's.

---

(Special Investigation HQ)

At the same time the Misumi's were having their lunch, the cafeteria was abuzz with men and women talking with one another as they discussed plans and made conversation over their own lunch. Over by one table sat Ryō reading a newspaper with three finished plates of chicken fried rice and a mug of coffee.

'The Cost of No. 4's Special Status' read the Nissen newspaper in Ryō's hands. A frown formed on the bespectacled man's face as he stared down at the paper in his hands with a displeased and conflicted look.

"Is this seat taken?"

"Hm?" Looking up, Ryō was met with the face of Hiroshi who was carrying in his tray a plate of his own fried rice and coffee. "Oh, no, go ahead."

"Thank you," Hiroshi thanked with a smile as he sat down. As he adjusted his seat a little, he looked at what Ryō was reading and frowned. "The news is kinda making things worse, huh? TV and print both."

Ryō didn't say anything back, merely giving an awkward smile before focusing back on the paper.

"Itadakimatsu!" Saying a quick thanks, Hiroshi began eating while continuing to make conversation. "The top brass isn't helping much either. They're normally so glad to have No. 4's help, but now they're acting like we don't know the guy."

Ryō once again didn't say anything back, but it was clear from the way he shifted a little that he agreed with his friend. Once so supportive, now their superiors were questioning if Dai could continue to be relied on despite the fact how long he's been helping them. Ryō understood very well the mistrust they had for the Rider now considering the damage he had done, but the shift in attitude made the man frown in displeasure.

'They're acting like he's a nuclear bomb waiting to go off,' Ryō thought though a part of him couldn't help but think the comparison wasn't far off.

Seeing that his fellow police inspector wasn't going to respond to him anytime soon, Hiroshi decided to get to the reason why he had sought out Ryō.

"Ichijo-san," Hearing his name, Ryō looked up to see Hiroshi giving him a serious look. "I've done what you asked and gave the kids their privacy. But after that last fight, I don't think I can contain my curiosity any longer."

"What are you asking?"

"I'm asking...Don't you think it's about time you properly introduce us to them? No. 4 and...what do they call themselves? Pretty Cure?"

"..."

---

(Meanwhile, Unknown Location)

In the darkness of the shadows, painting everything pitch black, a single dim lightbulb acted as the only thing illuminating the room. From the shadows, the sound of clicking heels was heard before Baruba stepped into the light followed by Gooma, heavily dressed as always.

Stopping right in the center of the light while Gooma remained in the shadows, Baruba called out, "Are you ready?"

Soon after, the sound of a coin being flipped was heard before emerging from the shadows himself was none other than Bada. Flipping his coin a few more times, the Grongi biker threw the judge a smirk. Seconds later, both Dorudo and Gadoru walked into the light, gathering around Baruba.

"Your time has come, Bada," Baruba announced, but that just made the Grongi in question smile in excitement.

"Time limit and how many?"

"Seven hours," Dorudo was the one to inform as he slid a few beads from his abacus. "You must kill 99 in that time frame."

"Easy enough," Bada said confidently as he stopped flipping his coin, reached into his blazer, and pulled out what looked to be a card. Written in characters only the Grongi understood, Bada threw it to the masked judge who caught and read it. Upon closer examination, the first character looked like a man riding on top of a horse, The second down appeared to be two horsemen clashing. The third and last character was exactly the first one, except it was flipped upside down.

"Pulling them from their iron horses and running them over, eh?"

Flipping his coin high into the air where it disappeared into the darkness above, Bada assumed his Grongi form and caught the falling coin without even looking.

"Interesting. Accepted," Baruba smirked at Bada's chosen condition before using her ring to unlock his belt.

Feeling his internal seal removed, Bada pocketed his coin and walked away to where another light was turned on, shining down upon his bike where someone was putting the finishing touches to it.

Taking the appearance of a middle-aged man garbed in black clothes and wearing round sunglasses, this was Nu-Zajio-Re, the last surviving member of the Nu Group and now acted as a smith for the remaining Grongi.

"How's the fine-tuning, old man?" Bada asked as Zajio stepped away.

"Good. Very good," Zajio answered as he bowed his head before walking away, allowing Bada to take a look at his bike.

With a polished metal surface, a fresh seat cushion, and most importantly, brand-new tires, Bada smiled down at his ride before hopping onto it, returning to his human form as he turned his Group's leader.

"I'll make this round of the Gegeru a success so we can move on to the next phase," Bada said, getting nothing but a look of expectation from Garudo, before putting on his helmet and turning on the engine, riding off soon after to begin his killing spree.

---

(Yukishiro Residence)

"Oh my, if it isn't Misumi-san and Ichi-san." Greeting them at the front gates was Sanae carrying a purse who looked to be just leaving.

"Good afternoon," Nagisa greeted the elder Yukishiro for both herself and Dai as the latter was busy pushing the TryChaser forward. "Are you going somewhere?"

"I'm just stepping out to meet up with an old friend who's in town," Sanae answered. "You two showed up at a good time. This isn't the first time I've left her home alone, but could you perhaps keep Honoka company until I return?"

"Well, that's why we're here in the first place," Dai asked, kicking the stand of his bike and parking it right next to the front door.

"Splendid. Then I'll be off then." And so the elder woman did just that, leaving with a satisfied smile on her face.

Heading inside, they found the family dog, Chuutaro, asleep on the porch. She stirred from her sleep when she sensed the two visitors, but went right back to sleep after some petting and stroking from Dai.

"Hello?" Nagisa called out once she and Dai were inside. Seconds later, Honoka came running over to greet them.

"Nagisa! Ichi-kun! Come on in."

"Pardon the intrusion," Dai said as he and Nagisa took off their shoes and walked with Honoka over to her room.

"What brings you two over?" Honoka asked as they entered her room.

"Oh, I just felt like getting out of the house," Nagisa answered before suddenly, Pollun popped out from her bag and ran off to play. "I also needed to get him out of the house."

Smiling in both amusement and understanding, the trio left the fairy prince to his own devices but still kept a close enough eye on him to make sure he didn't mess with anything.

"Hey, can I say something-mepo?" Popping his head out from Nagisa's carrier, Mepple spoke up.

"What's up?" Nagisa asked, taking her fairy partner out as she and Honoka took a seat on the latter's bed while Dai opted to take a seat at the girl's desk.

"I'm not sure how to best put this, but...hasn't Pollun been acting kind of strange-mepo."

"Strange? Strange how?" Dai asked.

"Well, he's been in his original form for a long time now despite being here in the Garden of Rainbows-mepo."

"Now that you mention it, he has been energetic since this morning," Nagisa said, thinking back to how the fairy prince had tired out Mepple before lunch. Thinking further back, the only times she's seen Pollun in his Commune form was when he was sleeping.

"Is there perhaps something wrong with him?" Honoka asked, worried that this might be dangerous.

"It would probably be fastest if we just asked him-mipo," Mipple, having been resting by Honoka's pillow, suggested. And just as she did the fairy prince himself came strolling into the room, rolling and balancing on a ball that probably belonged to Chuutaro. Dai did the honors of snatching the fairy right up before he ran/rolled off to wherever.

"Hey, Pollun?" Getting his attention, Mipple bounced herself over to the young toddler. "Has something changed with you-mipo?"

"Something changed-popo?" Pollun tilted his head in confusion before looking up to think to himself. After a second, Polluned answered, "The Guardian-popo!"

"The Guardian?" Everyone said at the same time, wondering what did the captured stone keeper have to do with Pollun.

"Did the Guardian do something-mipo?"

"Hmmm...I forgot!"

*BAM!*

"Should have expected that..." Dai sighed as everyone face-faulted in response to Pollun's answer or lack thereof.

"Play with me-popo!" Pollun outright demanded of everyone, jumping out of Dai's hands and hopping onto the bed, still as energetic as always.

"Sheesh..." Nagisa all but groaned, mentally tired at Pollun's new boundless energy.

"Popo?" Suddenly, without warning, Pollun stopped bouncing on the bed and just stood in place, immediately catching everyone's attention.

"Pollun, is something wrong-mipo?" Mipple asked only to be shocked when...

*POOF!*

...the fairy prince suddenly, in a puff of smoke, assumed his Pretty Commune form.

"So suddenly?" Dai exclaimed in surprise, wondering if the toddler had finally run out of energy. But then...

{Pollun? Can you hear me, Pollun?} An elderly voice suddenly came from Pollun, echoing slightly as if he were in a cave or someplace similar. Pollun instantly recognized who was calling out to him.

"It's the Elder-popo!"

"The Elder?" Everyone else said, taking a moment to realize that the voice coming from the fairy was indeed the voice of the Garden of Light's Elder.

"Elder! It's the Elder-popo!" Pollun cheered, growing noticeably happier than he did a second ago.

{Oh, Pollun! As cheerful as ever I see.}

"How is this possible?" Dai asked since this had never happened before.

{I suddenly felt Pollun's presence and I thought we might be able to communicate. It sounds like my voice is reaching you just fine.}

"It's amazing we can talk with someone from the Garden of Light like this-mepo," Mepple pointed out, both impressed that this was actually happening and happy to hear a voice from home.

{Oh, that voice is...what was his name?}

"It's Mepple-mepo! Don't go forgetting me name-mepo!" Mepple cried out, looking almost on the verge of crying.

{Hahaha, forgive me. My memory isn't what it used to be.}

"Clearly..."

"Mepple, don't be rude," Mipple reprimanded her lover before speaking up to the Elder. "I'm also here-mipo."

"To think we're actually speaking to someone from a whole other world," Honoka commented, generally amazed that such a feat was happening right now in front of her.

"Amazing, Pollun. I didn't know you had it in you," Nagisa said, complimenting the fairy.

"Can you hear us from here?" Dai spoke up, checking to see if their voice were reaching the Elder on the other side.

{I can hear you all clearly. This is truly an amazing power.}

"Is everyone at home doing well-popo?" Pollun asked.

{Oh, yes. They're all doing well over here. And you? How are things on your side?}

And just like that, the positive air that had accumulated decreased as everyone was reminded of their current situation.

"Well, that's..." Nagisa spoke, trying to come up with the right words to explain their situation.

{Did something perhaps happen to the Guardian?}

"T-That's right! How perceptive, Elder-mepo!" Mepple cried out, surprised that the Elder had actually guessed their problem. "Actually, to tell you the truth, the Guardian and the seven stones have been taken by the people of the Dark Zone-mepo."

{As I thought. I was worried since I felt the presence of the Guardian disappear. But...}

"What is it?" Dai asked, wondering why the Elder had paused.

{The power of the stones has been taken and yet I feel Pollun's powers have increased. This power...and the fact that we can talk like this must mean...}

"Must mean...?" Nagisa repeated, wondering where the Elder was going with this and what it had to do with Pollun.

{That must be it. The power of the Prism Stones is residing within Pollun right now.}

"The power of the Prism Stones...!"

"...Are inside of Pollun-mipo!?" Mipple exclaimed, finishing off where her lover began as everyone looked at Pollun in shock.

{There's no doubt. The Guardian must have hidden the powers of the seven stones within Pollun before he was captured.}

"So, you're saying that Pollun is carrying within him the powers of the Prism Stones now?" Nagisa said, looking at Pollun and thinking back to all the things the Prism Stones have done up until now.

"...Oh, we're doomed."

"Nagisa!" Honoka exclaimed in reaction to Nagisa's blunt declaration.

"What? You've seen what those Stones can do. That amazing power, inside this small child. Don't tell me that doesn't worry you at least a little."

"Well, I mean..." Honoka tried her best to come up with a rebuttal, but even she had to admit to herself that Pollun was the last person/fairy whom she would want to leave the Power of Creation to outside of anyone from the Dark Zone.

{Do not worry. As of right now, that power is currently sealed, sleeping. Even if Pollun knew what he was carrying beforehand, there would be no way for him to abuse it.}

"Oh thank god," Dai breathed a sigh of relief as did everyone else. Much as he liked Pollun, and kids in general, the thought of what the fairy prince could do if he had full access to the Stones' powers was a frightening thought.

{However, because of the Stones' powers, I feel something has awakened within Pollun. A new power, to be exact. Tell me, has anything happened recently?}

"Actually...The Rainbow Bracelets!" Nagisa exclaimed, realizing how Pollun had summoned forth those bracelets for both her and Honoka in that fight.

"So that's how Pollun did it," Honoka said, coming to the same conclusion as her friend.

"Elder, talk about everyone more-popo!" Pollun suddenly asked, breaking away from the current discussion.

{Huh? Uh...} Perhaps because the request came so suddenly, the Elder stumbled over his words. {As I said, everyone's doing well. They, of course, miss you and are worried about how you're doing. Ah, yes, and—}

*POOF!*

Suddenly, to the surprise of everyone, Pollun returned to his original form, completely cutting off the Elder and perhaps cutting the line between them. This did not please Pollun in the slightest.

"Elder? Elder, tell me more about everyone-popo!" Pollun cried out, falling on his back and throwing a fit as he tried to return to his Commune form.

"It looks like you can't talk for that long," Honoka pointed out, reasoning out why Pollun had suddenly transformed back despite not meaning to.

"At least we know Pollun has the powers of the seven stones with him," Dai said while trying to calm down the crying fairy with little success.

"But, if he has the Stones with him, doesn't that mean the Seeds will start targeting him-mepo?" Mepple pointed out in worry.

"That's true..." Both the girls developed worried looks as while not everything was lost, they now had a new problem to worry about in protecting Pollun.

"I'm still worried about the Guardian-mipo," Mipple spoke up. "We can't just leave him in their hands-mipo."

"Yeah. We've got to figure out where he is and how to rescue him," Nagisa said, trying to think of where in the world could the Seeds of Darkness be hiding.

"They have to have some sort of base close by in order to keep attacking the city," Dai said, throwing in his two cents when suddenly, Pollun got up and jumped off the bed, hopping out to the yard. "Wha—Hey!"

"Pollun!?"

"Where are you going?"

"To where everyone is-popo!" Pollun said as he looked up into the sky as if expected something, but nothing happened.

"What's he doing?" Nagisa asked, wondering why Pollun was looking up into the sky like that.

"I think...he's waiting for the Rainbow Bridge to come down-mipo," Mipple answered.

"You mean the bridge that took us to the Garden of Light the first time?" Honoka asked, remembering that certain phenomena. "But wasn't that created by..."

"The Prism Stones," Dai finished. "Is he trying to call down the bridge because he has the Stones' powers inside him?"

"That won't work. The Elder said they were sealed so Pollun couldn't abuse them-mepo," Mepple said, remembering what the Elder had told them all earlier.

And it seems Pollun remembered too as he then said, "Then I'll look for another way-popo!" before running off.

"Hey!" The trio quickly got up and ran after the fleeing fairy. Luckily for them...

"WOOF!"

"Wah!" Just as Pollun turned the corner in order to head out the front gate, a now-awake Chuutaro stood in his way and barked, scaring the fairy toddler. This allowed Dai to come around and grab Pollun before he could recover.

"Got you!" Dai declared as Nagisa and Honoka soon arrived.

"Jeez, what's the matter with you?" Nagisa said, scoring the fairy immediately. "Didn't you hear what the Elder told us? You can't go running off on your own like that!"

"I...I just..."

"What's wrong?" Honoka asked, noticing the sad look on Pollun's face.

"I...was lonely-popo," Pollun confused, ears dropping down as he looked to be on the verge of crying.

"...You miss your home," Dai said, looking at the fairy with sympathy. "Hearing the Elder must be the first time you've heard anyone from your home speaking."

Pollun just nodded his head as everyone sat down at the front porch with even Chuutaro joining them.

"Hey, it's fine. I understand how you feel," Dai said, patting Pollun on the back gently.

"You do-popo?"

"I do. I don't think I've told you this yet, but I'm actually not from this world."

Pollun looked up at Dai in surprise. "You're not-popo?"

"Yeah. I was a complete stranger here, just like you. Although you were sent here under orders from your queen while I was dragged away from my home and dropped here against my will."

"Wait, I thought you said you were sent here by that Kadoya guy," Nagisa pointed out.

"Well, I didn't know that at first when I came here," Dai said before focusing back on Pollun. "I know how scary it is, being dropped in a place you don't know away from the people you love. Even after spending a year living here, I can't help but think from time to time about home and how my uncle is doing along with everyone I know at the orphanage."

"Dai/Ichi-kun..." Both the girls looked at their friend in worry, having rarely seen this side of him. They couldn't image being away from home with no way to get in touch with their friends and family. And yet, here Dai still stood, fighting to protect the people of a world he wasn't even a part of. It made their respect for him grow that much more. The same went for the fairies due to their similar circumstances.

"How do you make the loneliness go away-popo?" Pollun asked, seeking advice from the Rider.

"Well, there's no way of completely stopping the longing for home," Dai said before saying, "There is a way to lessen the pain of loneliness, however."

"How?"

"With friends," Dai answered, gesturing to the girls beside him. "Nagisa-chan, Honoka-chan, my friends at school, they've helped me come to terms with my situation and helped make this place feel like another home. And I will forever be grateful for that."

"Dai..." Not noticing that she had dropped honorifics, Nagisa unknowingly blushed at Dai's words.

"You can do the same. You're not completely by yourself here, Pollun. You've got Mepple and Mipple here to keep you company. Us too. Whenever you're feeling lonely, you can rely on us and we'll help."

"That's right," Honoka said, agreeing with Dai. "Until things are set straight, think of this place as a second home."

"We're here for you-mipo," Mipple said, held up by Honoka so she can say her piece.

"Everyone..." Looking at everyone and the supportive looks they were sending him, Pollun couldn't stop himself from crying and dug his face into Dai's chest.

"There, there..." Not minding his shirt getting wet, Dai gently stroked the fairy's back as he let him release his tears all over him.

As the girls watched Dai comfort Pollun, Nagisa brought up Mepple and asked him, "Hey..."

"Hm?"

"Tell me, do you miss your home too?"

"...Yeah."

"...Well, I guess that's another reason why we gotta keep fighting," Nagisa said, not sounding the least bit bothered despite the words.

"Yes," Honoka nodded, agreeing with her friend as she looked down at Mipple. They had grown so close over half the year they spent together, but it was important to remember that the fairies all had a home filled with friends and family to go back to. No matter their personal feelings, that was something they could never forget.

But that brought up another question...

'What about Dai?' Nagisa thought, glancing over to the boy. Once they had finally put a stop to the Dark Zone and the Grongi, what would happen to him? She remembered the Rider saying how there may be more threats like the Grongi hiding somewhere in the world, but it was important to remember that Dai was a foreign guest much Mepple and Mipple. He had a home with people waiting for him.

'Once the fighting is over, will he...?' Nagisa couldn't bring herself to finish the question as an unknown pain sprouted within her chest.

*Ring-Ring!*

Jumping in surprise at the sound, Dai looked apologetic as he took out his ringing phone.

"Sorry about that," Dai apologized before looking to see who was calling. "Ichijo-san."

In seconds everyone straightened up. If the police inspector was calling, that could only mean...

"Hello?"

{Dai, we've got a report of a new ULF. No. 40 has appeared. It's currently on the way to Shirogane from Hiroo.}

"I'm on my way." Ending the call there, Dai got up as did the girls.

"A new Grongi?" Honoka asked to which Dai nodded. "That makes 41 now."

"Really need to get around to reporting about Jiino," Dai noted to himself as it kept slipping his mind.

"We're coming too," Nagisa said, her tone making it clear that she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

"Sorry," Dai apologized for dragging the girls into another one of his fights.

"The Grongi are a problem for everyone. It's only right we fight together in order to stop them, " Honoka said while getting Mipple ready.

"Besides, you just said you'd rely on us, or was that a lie?" Nagisa asked while doing the same as Honoka in getting Mepple prepared.

"Heh, right." Smiling at the two, Dai then looked down at Pollun still hiding his face in his shirt. "We can't exactly leave you all by yourself. It's gonna get scary, but do you think you can be brave and come with us, Pollun?"

Taking a moment to wipe his eyes and sniff a few times, Pollun looked up at Dai and nodded his head. Dai smiled in response before looking at the others who nodded back.

"All right...Let's ride! Henshin!"

"Duel Aurora Wave!"

*VROOM!*

In a blinding flash of light followed by the roaring of an engine, Kuuga and the Pretty Cures rode off into battle, ready to face the monster that threatened the peace they were working to protect.

...Unaware that evil winds were keeping close to them, waiting for the right time to strike.

---

*WEE-WOO-WEE-WOO!*

Sirens blared as police cars raced down the streets, alerting anyone nearby who heard that danger was afoot. In his private car, Ryō broke away from his group in order to meet up with Dai, and not a minute later, as he turned a corner, Kuuga soon appeared, driving up to his side along with Black and White hanging on.

"You sure that's safe?" Ryō asked, pointing out how the bike was carrying three people on it.

"We're managing," Kuuga shouted over the rushing winds as the group raced down the road, now assembled.

"How're you doing, Pollun?" Black called out to the new carrier strap designed to hold Pollun's Commune form.

"I'm okay-popo!"

"Just don't stick your head out while we're like this," White said before both Kuuga and Ryō's radios beep.

*BEEP!*

{HQ to all units. ULF #40 has been confirmed taking a human form with a black helmet and red scarf after attacking and is currently heading from Shirogane in Minato toward Takanawa on a motorcycle. All cars in the area are to respond immediately.}

"A red scarf...Bada!" Kuuga exclaimed, recognizing the description and realizing who was attacking.

"You mean that guy who attacked you back during No. 38's case?" White asked to which Dai nodded.

"Ichijo-san! We're going on ahead!" Kuuga informed the man who gave the go-ahead with a nod. Increasing speed, the trio raced off ahead of Ryō who made sure to keep the group in view.

"So what are we dealing with this time?" Black asked the Rider, wanting to know what kind of opponent they'd soon be facing.

"Go-Bada-Ba. He's the twin brother of Zu-Badzu-Ba and the obvious stronger of the two considering what Group he's in. He's a dangerous Grongi rider who's gotten especially good at riding motorbikes. Heck, his mastery of the ride is what makes him so dangerous in the first place."

"How dangerous are we talking about?"

"In terms of riding skill...he's my better." Both the girls and the fairies paled at that confession. They had all seen firsthand just how good their Rider friend was at handling his bike. To admit that Bada was still better than him despite that made them consider seeking out a Zakenna to fight instead.

"AAAAAAAH!" Suddenly, from a nearby building close to the docks, the group heard a scream from up above. Skidding to a stop, the three scanned the buildings to see where exactly the scream had originated from.

"Up there!" White cried out, pointing up to the next building where leaning over the railing was Bada.

"So that's Bada," Black said as the trio got off the bike.

From above, Bada smirked to himself when he saw Kuuga and the girls arrive. Focusing mostly on the former below, he taunted the Rider by mimicking his signature coin flip, briefly giving him a thumbs up. It didn't take a genius to see what the Grongi was saying.

"You two stay down here. We'll pincer him," Kuuga said, getting a nod from the Cures as the Rider quickly transformed into his blue Dragon form before jumping, reaching the roof of the building with one effortless leap. Once up, Kuuga looked to find...nothing. No sign of Bada anywhere.

Walking around, Kuuga made sure to keep an eye on his surroundings to see where the black Grasshopper Grongi could be hiding. To the left...nothing. To the right...nothing, no wait. Lying against a metal pillar was a body. Running over to it, Kuuga found a man in his mid-20s with the left side of his face bruised and...

"I'm sorry," The Rider apologized, cursing himself for not being fast enough. Next to the man was a discarded helmet which, judging from the cracked visor, must have been knocked off the man's head. Not too far from them was a knocked-over motorbike, obviously belonging to the now-late biker.

"Must have chased him up here," Kuuga concluded, laying the man back down gently before the sound of skidding tires echoed loudly. Running back over to the ledge, Kuuga looked down to see Ryō's car having finally caught up to them.

"Ichijo-san! I found a body up here!"

"Dammit!" Black cursed, ashamed that they had been too late to save a life again. All White could do was pat her partner's back in sympathy.

"I'll be right up!" Ryō called back. While he felt the same way as the girls, there would be time for guilt later. He still had a job to do.

"Please be careful. He could still be around," White said while still keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Ryō nodded back before running off to meet the Rider up top. Finding a freight elevator, the bespectacled man pressed a button and waited for the transport to come down. The wait wasn't too long as seconds later, the elevator door opened up and he stepped in.

*VROOM!*

At least he would have if he wasn't caught off guard by the appearance of Bada on his bike and in human form waiting right inside. Like a literal deer in headlights, Ryō's eyes widened in shock as Bada revved his bike's engine before taking off. At the last second, Ryō threw his body to the side, narrowly avoiding being run over as Bada sped off only to be met with the waiting Cures outside.

"Hold it!" Black exclaimed as she and White moved in to stop the Grongi rider.

"Hmph!" Faster than the girls could react, Bada went and jumped his bike, leaping right over the Cures before landing and speeding off.

"He's fast!" White stated the obvious as Kuuga jumped down to them at the same time Ryō came running out.

"Ichijo-san, are you all right?" Black asked, checking to see if there were any injuries on the man.

"I'm fine, just caught off guard."

"I'm going on ahead to stop him!" Kuuga informed before rushing over to his bike and taking off.

"You two, with me!" Ryō said to the girls as the three of them jumped into his car and quickly followed after the Rider. Turning back on his siren, Ryō contacted HQ as he drove.

"This is MPD 01 to HQ. I'm currently in pursuit of ULF #40, but there's been a fatality at a warehouse in Takanawa in Minato. Please send an ambulance."

"Can't you go any faster?" Black said once Ryō ended the call.

"If you want faster than buckle your seatbelts."

"Oh dear." Quickly doing just that, White made sure to tighten her own seatbelt as Ryō stepped on the gas, racing down the road in order to catch up to the Rider.

With said Rider, he was in hot pursuit of Bada who was wildly dancing around, ignoring the blaring horns from cars he almost hit with his movement. Hearing the engine of the Trychaser getting closer, Bada looked back to see Kuuga closing the distance between them and smiled under his helmet. It was time for the real fun to begin.

Turning right, Bada drove onto the next lane and immediately got cars honking their horns at him while moving out of the way, sending some to even crash into each other. Acting fast, Kuuga drove after him, increasing the Trychaser's speed in order to catch up to the Grongi rider. Just as he was right on his tail, Bada suddenly turned left, driving back onto the left lane and leaving Kuuga to face an incoming van, horns blasting. Kuuga quickly drove left, narrowly dodging the van and recovering fast enough to continue the pursuit. Looking back, Bada smirked, glad that the Rider had dodged his feint. Done with that, Bada drove up behind a car before jumping his bike high enough to land right on top of the car!

"That crazy bastard!" Kuuga exclaimed as he could hear the surprised cries of the people inside the car.

Savoring the cries coming from the car below him, Bada soon drove off of it as if it were a ramp, cracking the front window as he did so and sending the car screeching once he got off. Gritting his teeth under his helmet, Kuuga acted fast and drove over to the careening car and kicked it, sending it skidding off the road and hitting the ledge of the sidewalk, effectively stopping the car in its place. With that done, and with a mental apology to the people in the car, Kuuga refocused his efforts on catching up to Bada and was soon rewarded when the both of them drifted around a corner. With a shaper turn, Kuuga and Bada found themselves right next to each other.

Wasting no time in stopping the Grongi, Kuuga swung his arm out to knock Bada across the head, only to hit the air when the Grongi suddenly braked, creating distance as Kuuga passed him as a result. The Rider quickly braked himself and turned, only to find that the brake was another feint as Bada was now speeding up towards him, performing a wheelie so as to hit Kuuga with the front of his wheel. Reacting fast, Kuuga pulled, bringing the front of his wheel up, and swung around in order to counter Bada's attack. But due to the speed he had behind him and the lag of Kuuga's response, Bada's attack blew through the Rider's counter, nearly knocking him over as the Grongi disappeared around a corner. Recovering quickly, Kuuga chased after Bada, performing a wheelie momentarily due to how fast he took off. Turning the corner, Kuuga found Bada waiting for him a few yards away, both himself and his bike now transformed. It was a silent challenge to clash...and Kuuga took it.

*VROOM!*

*VROOM!*

*VROOM! VROOM!*

*VROOM! VROOM!*

*VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!*

*VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!*

*VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Taking off, both riders raced towards each other, performing wheelies with the full intent to clash. Or at least, that was Kuuga's intent. Just as they were about to clash, in the split second their front wheels passed each other, Bada swung his Bagibuson and struck the side of the Trychaser, catching Kuuga by surprise and successfully knocking him off. As the world spun around in Kuuga's eyes, he could hear Bada's laugh as he roughly rolled on the ground before de-transforming.

*SCREECH!*

With its tires skidding across the pavement, Ryō's car stopped right in front of Dai as the car's owner and the girls quickly got out.

"Dai/Ichi-kun!" Both the girls cried out in worry as they immediately ran over to the downed Rider. As for Ryō, he quickly grabbed his rifle, aimed at the speeding Bada driving away, and fired.

*BANG!*

Bada skidded to a stop when he felt something hit the back of his seat. Looking behind him, the Grongi found smoke spewing from his bike's behind and quickly pulled away, grunting in displeasure at the scent the smoke gave off. Ryō's perceptive eyes took notice of this and aimed for another shot only for Bada to make a quick getaway, disappearing behind a corner just as the inspector was about to take another shot. Grunting in dissatisfaction, he lowered his gun and ran over to Dai.

"Dai! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dai assured as the girls helped him before he went over to his Trychaser and picked it back up.

"I can't believe he knocked the Trychaser over," Honoka said in disbelief as she and Nagisa dropped their transformations.

"You weren't kidding when you said he was a better rider," Nagisa said in just as much disbelief as Honoka. Of course, it wasn't like the Trychaser hadn't been knocked over before, but past incidents were mostly due to energy attacks or shockwaves. This was the first time another bike had skillfully knocked down Dai's prized machine.

"It's not just that," Dai said as he looked at the Trychaser worryingly. "The Trychaser. It feels off."

"It must be the metal fatigue," Ryō said, identifying the problem.

"Metal fatigue?" The girls looked at the man in confusion only for Dai to provide an answer.

"It's all the times the Trychaser combined with Gouram," Dai explained. "The assimilation caused by the two fusing is corroding the Trychaser's inner workings. That and all the battles I've fought have been putting a ton of stress on it. It's why the bike hasn't been switching back to its original colors whenever I de-transform."

"So that's why..." Nagisa muttered, having thought Dai had just painted the bike completely.

"Poor Trychaser-popo," Pollun said, popping out of his carrier to pet and stroke the bike as if it were alive. While he didn't understand most of what everyone was saying, he understood that the bike was, in a sense, exhausted.

"Can it be fixed?" Honoka asked. She knew very well just how important the Trychaser was to Dai. And as of right now, its powers were truly needed.

"Enokida and the others have been trying, but the bike's built up too much stress," Ryō said before looking at Dai. "Dai, I know how much you love this bike and what it means to you, but as of right now, the Trychaser can't keep up with No. 40, or you for that matter. You need a new ride."

"Don't say that-mepo!" Mepple exclaimed, popping his head out from his carrier. "The Trychaser can still keep fighting-mepo!"

"Not in its current state," Ryō argued. "If we keep pushing it, it'll break down sooner or later. And right now with No. 40, we can't take that risk."

"But...you can't just replace it-mipo," Mipple said, defending the bike.

"Don't think of it like that," Ryō said, choosing his next words carefully. "Think of it like...giving the Trychaser an overdue break. It needs to rest. And in the meantime, Dai needs a new ride to fill in for it."

"And what can do that? Isn't the Trychaser supposed to be this super prototype or something?" Nagisa asked, vaguely remembering what Dai had told her about the bike when he first obtained it.

"Well, as it just so happens, Enokida has just the thing Dai needs," Ryō said, instantly getting Dai's attention.

"Wait, you mean it's finished?"

"Just last night. I was going to tell you about it when No. 40 showed up."

"What are you guys talking about?" Nagisa asked, confused as to what they were discussing.

"The Beatchaser 2000," Dai answered as his eyes shined with excitement.

"The Beatchaser 2000?" Honoka repeated, raising an eyebrow at the name. "Is it related to the Trychaser?"

"It's a direct upgrade to the Trychaser and designed specifically for Dai's use," Ryō explained. "Not only is it faster and more durable, it's designed to be more resistant to the metal corrosion caused by Gouram. I can think of no better time than now to roll it out."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Contact Enokida-san right now!" Dai said, motioning for the man to grab his phone.

"Okay, okay, just give me a moment," Ryō said as he took out his phone and dialed his college senpai.

"Dai-kun, are you sure about this?" Nagisa asked while they all waited on Ryō.

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't the Trychaser important to you?"

Dai blinked a few times before looking down at the bike in question. Gripping both its handles, all the memories he's had with the Rider Machine came flooding back to him.

"The Trychaser is important to me...but the lives of others take top priority," Dai answered, looking at the girls and fairies with determined eyes. "If the Trychaser was truly alive right now... he'd say the same thing."

"...We understand," Honoka said as she and the others relented. "You're right. The lives of others are more important right now. We can't forget that."

"Plus, it's like Ichijo-san said. We're just giving the Try some rest," Nagisa said, patting the seat of the bike. "No doubt it deserves it what with everything we've put it through."

"You mean how many times it's saved you from being late to class-mepo?"

"Oh shut up!" Nagisa cried out, getting a laugh out of everyone. It was then did Ryō finally connected to Enokida.

"Enokida, it's me. I'm actually with Dai at the moment. Would it be possible to get the new model BTCS deployed in short order?"

{I'm...not sure that sure that's a good idea.}

That caught Ryō off guard and raised a flag in his head. "What do you mean?"

{Hm? Kouhai, did no one tell you?}

"Eh? Tell me what?"

{Chief Hiwagawa called me a few minutes ago. He's been told that No. 4 hasn't been authorized to use the BTCS.}

"What?"

{It's related to No. 39 and the big explosion the kid caused. The media coverage of that has been particularly problematic. So the upper brass are feeling the heat and are trying to figure out how to respond. Someone from the Kanto regional police is supposed to come by to pick up the BTCS today.}

"You're joking."

{Afraid not.}

"For fuck sake..." Ryō cursed, getting the attention of everyone who all sent him worried looks. The inspector glanced back before asking, "Has there been any progress with the improved ammo?"

{We've been playing around with variations on it.}

"Can you send over any gas rounds, the ones developed from No. 6's data? No. 40 seems to be similar so I think they should be effective against him."

{Okay. We've got a few of the modified rifles ready too. I'll try and get them sent over.}

"Please do," Ryō asked before ending the call with a sigh.

"It's about the explosion I caused, isn't it?" Dai asked, guessing what went down judging from Ryō's expression.

Ryō sadly nodded and explained. "Police command is reluctant to hand the BTCS over to you. I've been told that men from the Kanto police are coming over to pick it up."

"What!? They can't do that!" Nagisa exclaimed. "They made it for Dai-kun so it's his, ain't it?"

"Technically, as the ones who built it, it's still police property," Honoka couldn't help but point out.

"Does that really matter right now!?"

*BEEP!*

Before Nagisa could go on a rant, a beep came from Ryō's radio. He ran over and opened the car door just in time to catch the transmission.

{Calling all units. ULF #40 was seen in the vicinity of the Ikegami Honmoji Temple where he murdered an adult male before heading in the direction of the Tamagawa Bridge. All cars patrolling the vicinity are advised to head to the scene ASAP.}

"I'll head over there now," Dai said before getting on the Trychaser.

"Wait, but what the Beatchaser?" Nagisa asked. "Didn't you just say it was bad to keep pushing the Trychaser like this?"

"We don't have time for that. Lives are being taken while we're standing here talking," Dai said as he put on his helmet. "We'll just have to manage somehow."

"In that case, I'll head to HQ to try and see if I can get the BTCS assigned to you," Ryō said.

"I'll leave it to you," Dai said, giving the man his signature thumbs before before turning to the girls. "You coming or not?"

"Ah, mou!" Grabbing her helmet in frustration, Nagisa got on the Trychaser followed by Honoka who was securing her helmet.

Turning the engine back on, Dai looked down at the Trychaser and petted its head.

"Sorry about this. Just try and hold on for a little longer, buddy." With one more pat on the head, Dai and the girls drove to chase down Bada while Ryō went off to accomplish his own mission.

---

(Meanwhile...)

*CRASH!*

The sound of metal skidding across the ground before crashing rang out as a biker fell off his ride, surviving the worst of it thanks to the helmet he wore. With adrenaline pumping through his veins that helped him ignore the stinging pain coming from the scrapes on his elbows, the biker got up and ran for his life, discarding his helmet in the process.

Weaving through parked cars and trucks, the man turned into a corner and ran through an alleyway crowded with piles and stacks of crates, cardboard boxes, and barrels. Falling to the ground, the man rolled and hid behind a barrel. Taking a moment to catch his breath, the man peeked out behind him and saw no one chasing him. Looking ahead, the other side of the alleyway was hidden behind some fences, further hiding him from view to anyone lest they closely look. Feeling safe, the man allowed himself to relax.

*Vroom!*

It was a sound he was all too familiar with; the rumble of a bike engine. As a biker himself, it shouldn't bother him to hear that familiar sound. And yet his heart froze all the same as on the other side of the fence rolled up Bada on his bike, stopping and turning to where the man was. He had been found. The man tried to get up, but the revving of Bada's bike froze his body in place. Thus, he could only watch as Bada drove into the alley, blowing through all the trash in his way before finally reaching the paralyzed man. The sound of his screams echoed in the air before deafening silence followed. All that was left was the humming of Bada's bike as he pulled away from his latest kill.

From around the corner, Dorudo stepped out, looking over Bada's kill before marking it on his abacus.

"That brings the total to 21."

"Twenty-one kills in just an hour. That's impressive."

Both Dorudo and Bada turned towards the unexpected voice that spoke up and was shocked to find who was standing there.

"Lord Daguva!" Dorudo exclaimed in surprise before quickly bowing his head to the head of the clan.

"Speak the language of the Lintos, Dorudo. Makes it easier to avoid unwanted eyes," Daguva said, pushing off the wall he was leaning against.

"As you wish...Daguva-sama."

"So, to what do we owe the pleasure of seeing the clan head here?" Bada asked, turning off his bike for the moment.

"Oh, I thought I just stopped by to see how the Gegeru was doing," Daguva said, walking over the debris caused by Bada's rampage. "And I can definitely see how you earned your position in the Go."

"Hmph," Bada simply grunted to that. His days as a weak Zu were long behind him, unlike his weak brother forever lost in his shadow.

"Tell me something, if you'll humor me," Daguva asked, walking over to Bada before asking his question. "What do you think about this era? Do you like it?"

Bada didn't answer at first. He took a moment to take off his helmet before looking up into the sky. He then took out his signature coin and began flipping it. After a few more flips, Bada finally answered.

"I like it. There's good food here. And plenty of Linto to kill. Not only that..." Catching his coin, Bada went and patted the head of his bike. "I like the tools the Linto have developed. They're much better than what we had in the past. Not to mention way more fun to use."

"Hehe, good, good. That's good to hear," Daguva said, smiling at Bada's answer.

"Is that all you came here for?"

"Actually..." Reaching behind him, Daguva pulled out a knife-like object cloaked in a visible dark-purple aura and handed it to the Grongi rider. "I have something here that I thought you might like."

"Hm?" Raising an eyebrow, Bada took the offered item from Daguva and inspected it. It looked similar to the daggers he carried on his elbows, the ones used to turn his bike into the Bagibusion.

*ba-dump!*

Bada gasped, eyes widening as he felt a heartbeat from the dagger. He stared down at the item in disbelief, not out of shock, but because he recognized it. And soon enough he felt himself resonating with it.

"This...This is...!"

"I took a small visit to my tomb and found that buried in the ground. Imagine my surprise when I found a soul tethered to it," Daguva explained, grinning at Bada's reaction. "The soul was weak, however, and would have passed if left alone. So I had to use a little...magic to keep it alive."

"Zakenna..."

"I hope you don't mind," Daguva asked as an all too familiar tick mark appeared on the dagger. But Bada couldn't care in the slightest.

With a smile that could have split his face, Bada assumed his Grongi form and attached the dagger to his right elbow. Changing back, Bada put back on his helmet and turned his bike back on, driving off seconds later to continue his game.

"Well, he sure seemed happy," Daguva commented, waving away the smoke left behind by the bike.

"Daguva-sama, why did you do that?" Dorudo asked, walking over to the clan head. "Does that not go against the rules of the Gegeru?"

"That's only if I intervened directly, which I didn't," Daguva said. "All I did was just give Bada a way to...spice up the game more. It's up to him whether he'll use it or not."

'Oh, but he will,' Daguva thought to himself, his usual smile widening just a smidge. 'I wonder how you and your friends will react to this, Dai.'

---

(Special Investigation HQ, Hiwagawa's Office)

Inside the relatively small, but simple office, Ryō stood before his chief who was seated at his desk, looking up at the bespectacled man.

"What are you doing here?" Hiwagawa asked, questioning why wasn't the man outside doing his job.

"I'm pretty sure you know, sir," Ryō said, not in the least bit fooled by the chief's act. "Do you really think that the collateral damage to the surrounding area was No. 4's fault?"

"The truth isn't the issue here," Hiwagawa said. "The fact of the matter is that the scale of the damage was unprecedented compared to what's come before. Whether he meant to do it or not, ULF #4's involvement means the police want to avoid any association with him."

"I want to know where you personally stand on this, sir. We talked to command about this vehicle being specifically for No. 4's use."

Hiwagawa didn't respond back right away. He gave Ryō a hard stare that would have usually sent the man squirming. And while he did appear to be on the verge of sweating, Ryō never dropped his gaze, waiting for the chief's response.

"...You understand, don't you?" Hiwagawa asked, turning his chair around to look out the office window. "The timing just isn't right."

'That's bullshit!' Ryō thought but wisely kept it to himself.

"I'd imagine you have more pressing matters to attend to," Hiwagawa said, getting up from his chair and glancing back at Ryō over his shoulder. "Knowing you, you realize what the real priority is here. You should get going."

"...If you'll excuse me." Seeing that he wasn't going to get any more from the chief, Ryō bowed his head and took his leave, reluctant as he internally was. Once out of the room, he walked away a little before cursing. "Dammit. What now?"

"Ichijo-san!" Hearing his name, Ryō turned to see Nodoka running over to him.

"What is it?"

"ULF #40's been all over the map thanks to that motorcycle. The death count just keeps climbing," Nodoka informed as the two walked together, their destination being the meeting room. "It's been estimated he's riding at 400 kmph."

'That's a hundred more than the Trychaser's top speed,' Ryō noted to himself. So even if the Rider machine was in top condition, it would still be difficult to keep up with the Grongi.

"How are we going to catch him?" Nodoka asked, looking honestly worried.

"If we keep chasing him that's all we'll ever accomplish. There's only one way to match that kind of speed." Now, truly, was the BTCS needed. But that would have to wait. "In the meantime, let's try and minimize casualties by having regional police put out a temporary ban on motorcycle usage."

Nodoka nodded in understanding before the two finally reached their destination and went inside. Their fellow comrades were already waiting inside and both Rai and Hiroshi got up once Ryō walked in.

"Ichijo! How'd the Beatchaser thing go?" Rai asked, having been told the situation.

"It seems command has no intention of changing their mind.

"You gotta be joking," Hiroshi said, groaning in frustration. "Why don't the top brass get it? No. 4's been on our side this entire time."

"That's right," Nodoka said, agreeing with Hiroshi. "I haven't met him like you guys, but I've heard about all the good he's done. It makes no sense to keep him at arm's length after all this time."

"He'd be happy to know you all think like that," Ryō said, allowing himself a small smile before getting back to business. It was time to strategize and with no BTCS, they had to get creative.

"There's something I'd like to ask you all."

---

(With Dai and the girls)

Skidding to a stop at a construction site, the first to get off was Honoka who rushed into the area. Nagisa and Dai followed soon after where they found the girl kneeling down next to a body, a woman in a biker suit. A motorcycle lying a few feet away told them all they needed to know about what happened.

"How is she?" Nagisa asked even though she already knew the answer. And as she guessed, Honoka shook her head after checking the woman's pulse. "Dammit! Late again!"

"An ambulance is on its way," Dai said, having just called the hospital. "This is the sixth one we've found. He's killing faster than the police can track."

"How?" Honoka asked, sadness marring her face. "How could anyone willingly do this? Why?"

"There's no point in asking why," Dai said. "I've learned that it's useless to try and understand true monsters. All we can do is act fast enough to save as many lives as possible. It's the only thing we can do."

Both the girls looked at Dai but said nothing. They understood that there was nothing they could say to Dai. Nothing that would make the situation better. Nothing that would change this grim reality.

"Come on, we need to get going," Dai said, turning around to leave only to find that the entrance of the construction area had been closed. "Uh, who closed the door behind us?"

"It wasn't us," Nagisa said, confused as to why the entrance was closed.

"I finally have you, Pretty Cure."

Alerted by the voice that belonged to none of them, everyone turned and looked to find Juna staring down at them from a floor above them.

"You!" Honoka cried out, easily recognizing who Juna was.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Juna the Dark Storm Seed. Now that I have you away from prying eyes, you will tell me what I want to know."

"And what's that?" Dai asked while summoning the Arcle on him.

"The power of the Prism Stones. Where have you hidden them?"

'He's after Pollun!' Everyone thought, realizing what the Seed was after.

"We don't know!" Honoka shouted, expertly lying to the Seed while pulling out her Card Commune.

"And even if we did, we wouldn't tell the likes of you!" Nagisa added in, taking out her own Commune.

"I wonder how long you can keep up that brave act?" Juna mused to himself as he started growling to himself. Soon after, the very wind started to pick up around him.

"What's he doing?" Honoka thought out loud, wondering just what Juna was planning.

"He's manipulating the wind," Dai said only to backtrack a little. "No, wait...he's storing it inside of him!"

"He's trying to power up! Quickly, transform-mepo!" Mepple cried out to which the three quickly followed.

"Duel Aurora Wave!"

"Henshin!"

For the second time today, in a blinding flash of light, Kuuga and Pretty Cure stepped forth to take on the evil in front of them.

"Now girls..."

"We know, we know," Black said, waving off the Rider as they forgoed their usual introduction which she noticed they had been doing less and less of.

Seeing that his enemies were ready to fight, Juna stopped charging up before raising up both his hands. Then, with a mighty yell, the wind he had been storing up inside of him came bursting out, catching the trio below by surprise as they were blown back a few feet before regaining their footing. Even then they were still under the threat of being blown away.

"Such powerful winds! Just what is he doing?" Black wondered out loud while trying to hold her ground.

"Look!" White cried out, having noticed something.

Following the Cure's eyesight, everyone saw the winds spewing out from Juna begin to surround the entire construction area. Before they knew it, the place was trapped within a dome of dark wind.

"What is this?" Kuuga exclaimed in surprise.

Seemingly finished with what he was doing, Juna finally ceased his roaring and jumped down to meet the trio.

"Welcome to my personal ring, the Storm Dome," Juna said, raising a hand to the dome around them. "Until I get what I want, none of us may leave here."

"You're kidding!" Black exclaimed, looking around frantically.

"Kh! We don't have time for this!" Kuuga said, getting into a stance. Being trapped in here meant more time for Bada to continue killing. They had to escape!

Agreeing with the Rider, the Cures were the first to act, dashing forward to face the buff Seed. Seeing them coming, Juna puffed his chest before thrusting both his hands out, unleashing a blast of wind that struck the girls and sent them flying back. Leaping over them, Kuuga performed a flip before kicking out, performing his signature Mighty Kick. Juna, knowing full well how dangerous that kick was, jumped back to avoid the finisher, causing the kick to hit the ground where it exploded upon contact. Getting up from the newly formed crater surrounded by smoke, Kuuga jumped out only to be caught by surprise as Juna appeared from his right and struck the Rider with a punch across the face. The Seed was not done yet as he chased after the flying Rider and delivered another punch to the gut, followed by a roundhouse kick into a side kick, and finally, Juna finished it off by jumping forward and drop-kicking Kuuga, sending the Rider flying back where he crashed into a pile of steel beams. Not done just yet, Juna leaped over to the downed Rider and swung his arm down for a chop.

*BAM!*

This time it was Juna's turn to be caught by surprise. Just as the Seed was about to reach him, Kuuga flipped back, standing on his hands before pushing off, thrusting both of his feet into Juna's chest who let out a gasp of pain and surprise before being knocked into the air. Before he could recover, a shadow washed over Juna who looked and found White hovering right above him, having been thrown up thanks to Black. Following up on Kuuga's counter, White brought up a leg before swinging it down on Juna's face, performing an axe kick. Before the blow struck, Juna held up his arms to his face and blocked the attack that sent the Seed crashing down into the ground. Quickly getting up from the crater made by his fall, Juna looked up to face the descending White, only to be reminded of her partner when Black came in and struck his face with a punch. Gritting through the pain, Juna quickly grabbed the black Cure's outstretched arm just before she could pull back and swung her around, throwing her toward White who wasn't able to react in time which caused both Cures to crash into each other before falling.

"Ow...Sorry about that," Black apologized before getting off her partner.

"It's fine," White insisted, getting up herself before the two looked back toward Juna who was dusting himself off. "He's as powerful as ever. It'll take too long to escape if this continues."

"Then let's end this now!" Black said before she grabbed her partner's hand. Immediately, White understood what Black was trying to do and followed.

"Black Thunder!"

"White Thunder!"

*BOOM!*

From outside the dome of wind, the Cure's signature bolts of duel-colored thunderbolts rained down toward the two. However...

*BZZZZZZZT!*

When both thunderbolts struck Juna's dome, they were unable to pierce through and dispersed as a result, leaving the Cures staring in shock.

"What!?"

"Hahahaha!" Juna laughed in response to the girls' surprise as he crossed his arms and smirked. "Don't think this dome was made just to keep you in. I had it specifically designed to block your Black and White Thunders thus preventing you from using your technique."

"Arienai (I can't believe this)..."

"Oh, you better believe it. Now, I will ask again, where are you hiding the—"

*BAM!*

Before Juna could finish his question, he was suddenly knocked aside into a nearby truck by a steel beam wielded by Kuuga.

"Don't go forgetting about me," Kuuga said, discarding the steel beam as the girls ran over to his side.

"Are you okay?" White asked, having seen the beating the Rider took earlier.

"I'm fine, just focus on figuring out how to escape this place."

"But how? We can't use our technique," Black pointed out. The obvious plan was to defeat Juna, but without the Marble Screw, who knows how long it'll take.

"We can still use mine," Kuuga said. While he didn't know how effective his finishers would be against the forces of the Dark Zone as he's always done with the girls' help, it was still better than nothing. Plus...

"There's something I want to check," Kuuga said as Juna finally removed himself from the truck. "You girls remember your training?"

"Of course. You practically beat it into us."

"Then follow my lead, okay?"

Both the Cures nodded before the three quickly separated in order to jump out of the way of a truck thrown by Juna, the same one he crashed into. Leaping over the smashed vehicle, Kuuga came down on the Seed with a regular flying kick only for Juna to reach out and grab the Rider right out of the sky just before the kick could connect. Flowing with the momentum, Juna swung Kuuga around and slammed him hard into the ground, earning a pained gasp from the Rider. Just as Juna was about to pick up Kuuga and repeat the process, White came around and saved her friend by coming in with a flying kick of her own, forcing the Seed to release the Rider in order to quickly put up his guard and block the attack. Using a little of his wind powers, Juna literally blew the Cure away from him as well as the Rider due to how close he was. Juna gave chase to continue his attack only to catch from the corner of his eyes Black who was up on top of the unfinished building.

Jumping off the building, Black came down with a yell as she threw in her own flying kick. Having seen that move enough to get sick of it now, Juna raised his hand and blasted an orb of dark wind at the black Cure, striking her and sending her back. But that was what Black wanted as, while gritting through the pain, she flipped herself over so that her feet landed on the side of one of the planted steel beams and pushed off, moving like a rocket as she trusted both her fists in front of her like Superman, not that she knew who that was. Juna was about to fire another blast of wind in response but was taken by surprise when White came in and kicked his legs, knocking him off his feet and causing him to misfire. This allowed Black to come down unabated as she crashed into Juna and slammed him into the ground, kicking up a huge dust cloud.

Jumping out from the dust, Juna's feet skidded against the dirt as he slid back, holding his chest which showed Black's attack had dealt real damage. Seconds after, both the girls came out so fast they almost looked like they were flying as they chased after Juna. The Seed raised both arms to fire off more wind, only to be reminded that Kuuga was still here as the Rider appeared from behind and kicked Juna towards the girls. What followed after could only be described as a beatdown. Or as they would say in America, they 'jumped' him.

Black was the first to reach Juna and threw a punch towards his face. The Seed, unable to move out of the way, raised his arms to block only to find out too late that it was a feint as Black pulled back her fist and threw out the other one, scoring a hit to Juna's gut. Letting out a pained gasp from the blow, Juna bent down over the punch, allowing White to jump over her partner and kick the Seed in the face, sending him stumbling back to meet Kuuga. A right hook to the face followed by an uppercut dazed the Seed momentarily before the Rider sent him back to the Cures with a side kick to the chest. Realizing he was effectively caged in, Juna brought up his arms to guard his head and endured the coming blows. Punches and kicks rained down on the Seed of Darkness as the Rider and Cure kept up their pressure to not allow Juna to retaliate. A kick from White to the back of Juna's leg forcibly made him bend down, allowing Black to jump up and land a knee strike to Juna's jaw, knocking him back. Juna's vision swam as his body tipped backward, heading towards the ground. But refusing to allow even that, Kuuga rushed in with a shoulder rush that sent Juna right back on his feet. Having had enough of this, Juna blocked a punch and kick from Black and White respectively before letting out a bestial roar. Wind exploded out of him like a bomb, blowing back the trio surrounding him and finally allowing the Seed some space to breathe.

"Huff...huff...huff..." Covered head to toe in bruises, Juna made for a sorry sight as he took a moment to catch his breath. The girls could hardly believe they were the ones who put him in this state. Juna himself was in disbelief that he was pushed back this far against the Cures when they had been about equal back during their first meeting. The only difference between then and now was...

"You look tired, Juna," Kuuga said, crossing his arms as he looked at the Seed. "That's not surprising, really, given how much energy you're spending."

"What?" Juna raised an eyebrow at the Rider, wondering what he was talking about.

"Haven't you figured it out?" Kuuga asked before pointing up to the Storm Dorm trapping them. "This dome of yours is impressive, I will admit. Especially since you designed it to prevent the girls from using their Marble Screw. However, every technique has a weakness and yours is starting to show. Look."

Pointing a finger at Juna, the Seed stood there confused as to what he was pointing at...until he felt it. Something running down his head. Bringing his arm up to wipe whatever was on him, he looked at the back of his hand and found...

"Sweat?" Bringing up another hand to his head, Juna found that he was indeed sweating and quite heavily too.

"It must take a lot of energy to maintain this dome, especially given its size. And as powerful as you are, you don't have limitless energy," Kuuga said, explaining the flaw in Juna's Storm Dome.

"So that's it," White said, realizing what Kuuga had planned. "His goal was to wear him down."

"That's right," Kuuga said before looking back at Juna. "You were a fool to come after us by yourself. Give it up."

Juna gritted his teeth at those words. Give up? Never! Out of the question! But as prideful as he was, he was not arrogant enough to believe he could still come out on top in these conditions. He had underestimated how strong the girls would be with just the addition of Kuuga. And they had not even used those bracelets from the last fight! As bitter as it was, Juna admitted to himself that it was best to fall back.

Snapping his fingers, the dome of wind surrounding the construction site was dispersed, allowing the afternoon sky to be seen. Soon after getting rid of his Storm Dome Juna flew up into the air before stopping to look down at the trio below.

"As painful as it is to say this, I have lost this match. But do not think I have given up on the Stones' powers. Sooner or later, we will find out where you have hidden them. So long as we have the Guardian, it is inevitable." With those parting words, Juna's form vanished with the very winds he commanded.

"He's gone," White stated as everyone finally relaxed.

"That was scary-popo," Pollun said, popping his head out finally. Knowing the power of the Prism Stones laid within him, Pollun had been told to hide himself and he did just that.

"You're telling me," Black said, breathing a sigh of relief. She had honestly wondered what they would do without their signature finisher. Thankfully they had Kuuga here to help them with a plan and everything.

"There's no time to rest. Who knows how much time we wasted fighting him," Kuuga said, worried about how much damage Bada could have done while they were busy.

Reminded that they were still chasing after a Grongi, the Cures put their game faces back on and followed Kuuga as they ran back to the Trychaser parked outside. Just as they were getting on, a car pulled up to them. From the siren resting on top of the hood, they knew it belonged to the police as the window was lowered to reveal Kuzaragi Rai as the driver.

"Everyone okay?"

"We're fine," Kuuga answered for the group. "How did you find us?"

"That big storm wasn't exactly hard to miss. Plus, I figured it was you guys when I saw those lightning bolts from earlier," Rai answered before looking over to the girls. "We meet again, Pretty Cure."

"Hey, aren't you that detective from before?" White asked, thinking back to their final battle with Poisony and No. 31's case.

"Inspector, actually," Rai corrected. "The name's Kuzaragi Rai. Thought it was about time I properly introduced myself."

"It's nice to meet you," Kuuga greeted back. "You have a niece studying over in America, right? I think her name was Sumiko-chan?"

"Ichijo told you that, did he? That little bastard," Rai shook his head, making a mental note to have his friend pay for his dinner tonight. "I wouldn't go calling her with '-chan' if I were you. She'd kick your ass if she heard that."

"Noted," Kuuga said before gesturing to the girls. "These are—"

"Misumi Nagisa-san and Yukishiro Honoka-san, right?" The girls in question froze at the police inspector correctly identifying them by their real names before looking at Kuuga. "And you're Ichi Dai-kun. I have to thank you for looking after Ichijo this entire time. The guy can get pretty reckless when it comes to his job."

"Um, don't mention it. Personally, I feel like he's the one looking after me," Kuuga said, rubbing the back of his helmet awkwardly. "And, how do you...?"

"Know your real names? I got Ichijo's permission to look into you guys. Wasn't hard considering you girls aren't covering your faces like your friend here is."

Letting out embarrassed cries, the girls could only hide their faces away in their hands while Kuuga could only awkwardly laugh at their expense.

"Anyway, I got news for you. Unfortunately, the situation regarding the BTCS hasn't changed."

"Oh come on!" Black exclaimed in frustration.

"I ain't happy about it either. But we've still got a plan to catch that bastard, BTCS or not."

"What is it?" Kuuga asked.

"You see..."

---

(A while ago)

In the meeting room of Special Investigation, Ryō stood before everyone, ready to convey his plan.

"Let's go over the plan," Ryō said as everyone moved over to the whiteboard with a map displayed for everyone to see. A certain part of the map was laid with red marks, representing No. 40's kills so far. Ryō directed everyone's attention to this particular area.

"We'll have the 2000A riding along a route where ULF #40 seems likely to appear, and then use several cars to form a roadblock as safely as possible. We're going to need to cooperate with the Kanagawa prefectural PD for this. The goal is that, if No. 4 defeats No. 40 and another explosion occurs, it'll be in a location that minimizes damage. Understand?"

Everyone around Ryō nodded their heads, understanding the plan so far.

"However, we're still facing a dangerous target. There's no guarantee that we'll be able to maneuver him into the right location. Sakurai, you'll need to herd him in the right direction with the improved gas rounds."

"Leave it to me," Hiroshi assured, understanding his role.

Nodding his satisfaction, Ryō then turned to Nodoka. "Sasayama, if No. 40 heads in a direction we don't expect, you'll need to pick the next best route and guide everyone toward it."

"Does that include No. 4 himself?" Nodoka asked, excited at the thought that she might be able to talk with the mysterious hero.

Ryō seemed hesitant at first but reminded himself that he needed everyone's help in order to provide aid for the Rider. And so, swallowing down his personal feelings, he nodded.

"Then I'll do my best!"

Nodding in satisfaction, Ryō looked over at everyone and asked, "Does everyone understand their roles?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's move!"

---

(Present)

"And that's where things stand," Rai finished explaining. "Because of that, I'll be filling in for Ichijo today."

"Looking forward to working with you," Dai, who had de-transformed to save energy, said to which Rai nodded back.

"With that out of the way, why don't you girls hop in," Rai offered, pointing his thumb to the backseat of his car. "It can't exactly be comfortable with all of you on that single bike."

"Ehehe, I guess not," Nagisa said, laughing awkwardly as she and Honoka, who had also de-transformed, got off the Trychaser and jumped into Rai's car.

"Thank you for this," Honoka said, giving the inspector her thanks.

"Don't mention it. We allies of justice have to stick together," Rai said before his radio suddenly beeped.

{MPD 02, have you randevu'd with No. 4?}

"He's here with me," Rai informed. "Why don't you say hello?"

{...Is this Ichi Dai?}

'So Ichijo-san also told her,' Dai thought to himself but chose not to question it. If the man had told this woman his name, she must be trustworthy. So with that line of thought, the Rider spoke up.

"Yes? Hello? Who am I speaking to?"

{Oh my gosh, he actually answered! Uh, I mean, m-my name is Sasayama Nodoka! I'm in charge of comms over here. I just wanted to say that I think you're a good guy and that I'll be helping out too!}

"If you couldn't tell from the stuttering, she's a bit of a fan of yours," Rai said with an amused smirk.

Dai laughed a little under his helmet before answering back to Nodoka. "It's nice to meet you, Sasayama-san. I'll be counting on your support!"

{Right!}

"I've also got his lady friends with me. Why not say hello to them too?" Rai suggested, much to the girl's surprise.

"Hey!" Nagisa cried out, but it was already too late.

{You mean the ones called Pretty Cure? The magical girls helping No. 4-er, I mean, Ichi-san?}

"Magical girls?" Honoka repeated in confusion.

"I mean, we technically are magical girls?" Nagisa said but in an unsure tone. Despite having the ability to shoot monochrome-colored lightning and having fairies for partners, it was easy to forget they were bonafide magical girls due to all the physical fighting they got involved in.

"Um, hello?" Honoka spoke up, awkwardly greeting the woman on the other line. "It's nice to meet you, Sasayama-san."

{Oh my gosh, real magical girls! Oh, wait until I tell Yue about this! Uh, I mean...ahem! Sasayama here, I look forward to working with you!}

"S-Same," Nagisa said, still a bit awkward since Nodoka was still someone they were just now getting to know.

"Well, let's stop sitting around here. There's work to be done," Rai said, getting back to work mode.

"Right," Agreeing with the inspector, Dai flipped the visor of his helmet back down and the two vehicles were off to continue the chase of Bada.

---

(Unknown Location)

*CRASH!*

The crushing sound of metal breaking and bending echoed loudly, drowning out the screams of another victim. Anyone that happened to be nearby screamed in terror before fleeing the sight, their survival instincts placing their own lives as the top priority. Baruba, watching nearby, stood passively as people ran past her. Even after 2000 years, that side of the Lintos hasn't changed, unlike so many other things she's witnessed in this era. Despite knowing not everybody could be warriors, a small part of the judge still couldn't help but feel...disappointed.

"Impressive." Walking up from behind Baruba was Garudo, stating his opinion on Bada's latest kill. "How much does that make now?"

"He has now killed 47," Soon joining the two Grongis was Dorudo, stopping before the two to show them the score on his abacus.

"Will Bada succeed in the semifinal round and move on to the final round?" Baruba thought out loud as she watched the Grongi in question race off to find his next victim. The speed at which he was killing was indeed impressive, but that was to be expected of a Go Grongi. One did not earn such a high rank without knowing how to rack up a high number quickly.

"I wonder..." A new voice spoke up as two figures made their presence known. One was a black-haired man dressed in all black and adorned with fancy jewelry and accessories. The other was a woman with messy long hair dressed in dark leather clothing. Besides the silver earrings hanging from her lobes, she also wore a dark red snake jacket.

"Kuuga could still beat him," The man pointed out, fanning himself with a folding fan. The fact that he was speaking casually and that neither of the Grongi's were alarmed by their presence made it obvious that the two were also disguised Grongi.

"Who cares?" The woman said, snatching away the man's fan to use it on herself. She didn't particularly care whether Bada won or lost. The Gegeru would still continue as it has been so far.

"We shall wait...and see," Baruba said, switching to the human language as everyone dispersed knowing the police would be here any minute. If there was one thing that Baruba was curious about, it was the aura coming off from the dagger on Bada's right arm.

'Just what are you planning...Daguva-sama?'

---

(With with our heroes)

"Vroom-Vroom! Vroom-Vroom!"

"Yes, yes, we're in a car," Nagisa said, patting Pollun's carrier who had been making that same sound for a while now. Was he that excited to be riding a car? Why hadn't he reacted the same way when on the Trychaser?

*BEEP!*

Before Nagisa could go further with her thoughts, Rai's radio went off as a transmission from Nodoka came through.

{HQ to Kuzaragi-san and Ichi-san.}

"We're here," Rai answered for the both of them as the Rider was driving right next to him.

{I'll now explain Ichijo-san's plan. Based on projections of No. 40's route, we've stopped traffic and placed a cordon on all major roads in Kunigasa, Sahara, and Kannonzaki. We're going to try and maneuver No. 40 to the beach near the Minamishimoura district of Miura, where collateral damage can be minimized.}

"There's barely any residential places in that area, so it's perfect!" Honoka said, having studied up on some maps so as to help Dai during cases where he'll have to use Rising Mighty again.

"All right, you should be able to hit that guy with everything you got over there," Rai assured the Rider until another transmission came through.

{This is Kanagawa TR 02. I was on my way to rendevous with other patrol vehicles as per the plan, when I spotted what I believe to be No. 40's human form near the Sahara interchange on Yokohama-Yokosuka Road. Currently in pursuit.}

"He's what!? That's too dangerous!" Nagisa cried out, knowing just how dangerous the Grongi rider was.

"Reckless fool's gonna get himself killed!" Rai said as he and Dai turned in the direction specified in the transmission.

"Tell him to pull back!" Dai shouted over to Rai when another transmission came through.

{Kanagawa TR 02, the joint operation with the Metro PD hasn't begun yet! Pull off! Put some distance between yourself and No. 40!}

"Over there!" Honoka cried out, pointing over in the direction of where they could see the policeman driving on a mass-produced version of the Trychaser, known simply as the 2000A. A police car, obviously allies, was driving not far behind the policeman, and as in the report, he was currently pursuing Bada.

Glancing back behind him, Bada scoffed at how slow the policeman was compared to him before deliberately slowing down. The policeman, surprised by this, drove right up to Bada's right side, about to say something only to be knocked off his bike by a well-timed elbow strike to the chest. As the policeman rolled to the ground, Bada turned his bike around and transformed. With the increased speed of the Bagibuson, Bada reached the policeman just as he got up to his feet and...

*BAM!*

"Kyah!" Honoka cried out in terror, closing her eyes and looking away at the last second. Nagisa had the same reaction while the fairies, due to their position, could only guess what their partners saw.

"Shit!" Hitting his steering wheel and cursing, Rai and Dai turned a corner and drove over to where the struck-down policeman was, stopping just as Bada escaped by jumping over the police car which braked in response to the approaching killer biker. Another policeman jumped out of the car and rushed over to his fallen comrade and friend.

"Oi! OI! Get a hold of yourself! Oi!"

Rai ran over and checked the man's pulse...nothing.

"How horrible..." Getting out of the car, Nagisa and Honoka looked on in horror at all the blood coming from the policeman who remained unresponsive to his friend's cries.

Dai gritted his teeth under his helmet, ashamed that he had been too late again. Looking up to see Bada escaping around a corner, fire filled Dai's eyes as he quickly raced off to chase him.

"Dai-kun!" Nagisa shouted but the Rider was already long gone. Refusing to just stand around, Nagisa looked around before spotting the 2000A that had been knocked over and ran up to it, picking it back up.

"Nagisa?" Honoka raised an eyebrow at her friend, wondering what she was doing.

"Come on! We have to go after him!" Nagisa said before turning to the adults. "Sorry, but we're borrowing this."

"Excuse me!?" Rai exclaimed, looking at the girl in shock and disbelief.

"Wait, do you even know how to ride one of these?" Honoka asked as she ran up to her friend.

"Dai-kun gave me a few pointers, but that's not important right now," Nagisa said. "You saw what happened last time. We can't let him do this on his own!"

"...Get on. I'll steady it," Honoka said, doing just that by holding the end of the 2000A.

Nodding her head, Nagisa climbed up onto the bike and, after promising Rai that she would return the bike later, revved the bike forward. Quickly grabbing Honoka's arm and pulling her up onto the bike, Nagisa shifted gears and raced off after Dai while Honoka hung on by wrapping her arms around her friend.

---

(Meanwhile...)

Driving down the road towards the Research Institute, a transmission came through to Ryō who picked it up.

{Ichijo-san! The Kanagawa PD motorcycle officer who was assigned to lure No. 40 toward the target location was...attacked.}

'Shit!' Ryō internally cursed. The plan had barely begun and they were already down a man.

"Let everyone on the ground know not to overextend. Get another officer to fill in. I'll be there as soon as I can."

{There's more. Um, it seems the girls known as Prety Cure have...stolen a bike.}

"...Excuse me?"

---

(Special Investigation HQ, Science Division)

"Enokida-san?"

The man in question, having been working on something with a few of his fellow scientists, looked up to see two suited men walk into the room.

"That's me," Sayuru said, walking up to the two men. "How can I help you, gentlemen?"

"We're here to retrieve the BTCS. It's now under the authority of the Kanto Regional Police."

'So they're finally here,' Sayuru thought as he turned away from the men to think. 'What to do now...'

"These are official orders!" Taking Sayuru's silence as an act of silence, the man raised his voice, threatening the scientist to comply with orders.

Turning back to the men, Sayuru looked into the eyes of both men...and came to a decision.

"...All right."

---

(Back with Dai)

"Henshin!"

Transforming for the third time today, Kuuga replaced Dai's form as the Rider was hot on Bada's tail. Glancing behind him, Bada smirked under his helmet and was about to transform, when...

"Duel Aurora Wave!"

A blinding light drew both riders' attention as they looked behind and saw the Emissaries of Light riding on a transformed 2000A. The bike kept its main white body, but the blue paint had turned pink in color. The most eye-catching of the change came from the bike's 'horns' as they had turned sky-blue.

"The bike changed!" White pointed out, looking amazed at the bike's transformation.

"Girls!?" Kuuga exclaimed in surprise.

"We'll fight too!" Black cried out over to the Rider although most of her attention went into keeping the bike steady as she drove. Knowing that the Rider constantly drove at speeds faster than what she was currently going at made the girl's respect for him grow even further.

"Heh! So even Pretty Cure is getting in on the fun," Bada said, smiling under his helmet as he looked back forward and transformed. "All right then, let's play!"

Transforming his bike into the Bagibusion, Bada raced down the road. In response to this, Kuuga chased after him with the Cures following not too far behind. The Rider managed to drive up to Bada's side, but upon closer look, Kuuga seemed to be struggling to maintain his position while the Grongi in comparison was driving more smoothly. It was this difference between them that prevented Kuuga from throwing out an attack lest he loses speed. From behind the two, the Cures were slowly catching up to them, but the distance was still great due to the 2000A's inferior speed. It soon got worse when Bada decided to break away from his two pursuers as he turned onto the sidewalk and onto a rocky beach. Refusing to lose him, both Kuuga and the girls followed after him, driving onto the bumpy surface of the rocks. The difference in skill between the Rider and Cures was made apparent as the latter struggled to maintain balance over the sudden shift in terrain while the former suffered no loss in speed as he even drove up a small hill and sped up to overtake Bada.

In an attempt to scare Bada into slowing down, Kuuga moved down the hill and drove right in front of the Grongi. This fake-out proved fruitless however when Bada turned slightly to avoid crashing and continued onward once Kuuga drove past him. Now it was Bada's turn to test Kuuga's skill and bravery as he drove up higher onto the hill next to them before coming down in front of him. Reacting just as skillfully as the Grongi, Kuuga turned his bike just as he was about to hit the back wheel of the Bagibuson, allowing him to continue chasing after Bada just as he passed him down further into the beach.

"I think we may be out of our depth here," White commented as she watched the two bikers drive down through the bumpy rocks without losing their balance.

"I'm not giving up!" Black said as she drove on, choosing not to follow after the two since she knew she would trip over herself should she try. She instead kept an eye on the battle below, waiting for just the right time and angle to jump in. It was all she could do with her lack of skill.

Back with the two bikers in question, both riders drove up onto higher ground, reaching a much wider area to which to fight. Stopping just right at the edge, Bada turned around and drove onto slightly higher ground. Kuuga turned his bike around and followed after the Grongi only to quickly stop when Bada jumped off the ledge he was on, forcing the Rider to quickly turn lest he be a sitting duck. Picking up his bike and sharply turning it around, Bada chased after the Rider to continue his attack only for Kuuga to turn his bike around and struck the side of the Bagibuson's front wheel. While caught off by the blow, Bada's bike only tipped slightly over before the Grongi caught himself and recovered, the speed at which he did showed how weak Kuuga's blow was.

Seeing how quickly Bada recovered, Kuuga turned his bike around, and the two riders charged at one another, performing wheelies as sparks flew when their front wheels clashed. As the two passed by one another, they put some distance between each other before turning around for another clash. While Bada merely pulled his bike up to turn around, Kuuga picked up his bike with him, literally jumping the Trychaser as he spun exactly 180 degrees in the air to turn. While impressive, there was no reason to go through the extra effort just to turn...unless...

'I can feel it. The Trychaser...it's heavy,' Kuuga thought as he and Bada drove neck and neck. 'Please, just hang on a little longer! We can't lose here!'

As if responding to Kuuga's inner thoughts, the Trychaser for the first time overtook the Bagibuson, allowing the Rider to finally get ahead. Jumping off a ledge, Kuuga pulled up his bike and turned around, pushing down just in time to land the front wheel right on top of the Bagibuson's head. However, such an attack seemed to offend Bada more than worry him as he easily knocked aside the wheel, making Kuuga almost fall over before the Grongi picked up his bike and swung the front wheel at the Rider. Leaning back just far enough to narrowly dodge the attack, both riders broke away from each other, getting some distance before turning around. Again, Bada easily turned his bike around while Kuuga had to jump and spin around to face the Grongi. The second clash was about to begin.

*VROOM!*

*VROOM!*

*VROOM! VROOM!*

*VROOM! VROOM!*

*VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!*

*VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!*

*VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

As if repeating their last clash from earlier, both riders raced off to clash. But instead of dueling with their front wheels, both riders jumped their bikes high into the air, reaching heights no normal biker could achieve without assistance. It was going to be a full-on body clash between bikes. Anybody watching would be stunned in awe...except for two particular girls.

"NOW!"

*BOOM!*

Shouting at the top of their lungs, with a blast of literal black and white lightning, Cures Black and White screamed as they rocketed over to the clashing bikers, their target being Bada.

"What the—!?" Bada cried out in surprise, completely caught off guard by the appearance of the girls whom he had forgotten about. This moment of distraction gave Kuuga the chance to angle the Trychaser better just before it and the girls collided with the Bagibuson and...

*CRASH!*

The sound of all three bikes crashing into one another echoed loudly in the air as all four riders were knocked off their respective rides and fell. Each landing was rough due to the hard and uneven surface of the rocky beach they were at as all three bikes fell just as roughly, the sound of their metal frames crashing making anyone wince on instinct.

"Ugh..." The first to get up was Kuuga as he sat up and shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. "You girls all right?"

"We're fine," White responded back as she pushed herself up while holding her head. It was bruised but not bleeding which was somewhat good. Perhaps she should have grabbed some helmets for her and Black before taking off with the 2000A.

"I think I landed on a sharp rock," Black groaned out as she sat up, holding her back. Luckily, there was no bleeding thanks to her enhanced durability, otherwise, she'd be sporting a new scar which was the last thing she wanted.

"Good," Kuuga sighed in relief before standing up. "And Bada?"

*VROOM!*

The roaring of an engine made everyone turn and gasp in horror. A few yards away from them was Bada...riding on top of the Trychaser.

"The Trychaser!" White cried out as she and Black quickly got up to their feet.

"Hey! That's not yours! Get off of it!" Black shouted, demanding the Grongi get off the Rider machine.

Bada ignored the Cure's demand as he revved the engine one more time before taking off toward the trio. They all moved out of the way as the Grongi drove past them. Black jumped to attack the monster grasshopper in hopes of knocking him off the bike, but the Grongi proved why the bike was his weapon of choice as he pushed forward, causing the back wheel to lift up and hit the incoming Cure out of the way. With that done, Bada frightened himself and turned around to see White jumping at him with a flying kick. Leaning to the side to avoid the kick, Bada then punched out and struck the white Cure in the chest, knocking her back and rolling on the ground. Revving the Trychaser, Bada drove forward to run the Cure over only for Kuuga to come in and grab the Cure, rolling out of the way in time. Jumping the bike in order to turn around, Bada quickly took off, performing a wheelie as he closed the distance between him and Kuuga alarmingly fast.

Reacting faster than his thoughts, Kuuga pushed White out of the way and stood up. With no time to dodge, the Rider brought up his arms to guard against the incoming attack.

"Dai/Ichi-kun!" Helping up her friend, Black and White both cried out as they watched Bada about to hit Kuuga with his own bike—

*SPARK!*

When the Trychaser's engine suddenly sparked before blowing up, causing smoke to come spewing out from the ripped-open sides. With the sudden shutdown of the engine, the whole bike ceased moving entirely, causing Bada to drop down and cancel his attack just as he was a few feet away from the Rider. Everyone watched in stunned silence as Bada looked down at the damaged bike, getting no response from it.

"Hmph." Seeing that his stolen bike was useless now, Bada got off the bike and threw it away, discarding it like trash.

"Hey!" Outraged by Bada's treatment of the Trychaser, Black charged at the grasshopper Grongi and threw a punch at him only to miss when he jumped up high into the air, performing a flip before he landed on his trusted Bagibuson that had seemingly stood back up on its own.

"Looks like your iron horse is dead, Kuuga," Bada said, gesturing to the still-smoking Trychaser.

"And who's fault is that?" Black said as White and Kuuga joined her side.

"Not mine," Bada said. "The thing was overtaxed long before I rode it. You're quite the slave driver, aren't you?"

"Kh!" Knowing that the question was directed at him, Kuuga could only grit his teeth as he had nothing to say back.

"You won't get away with this," White said, talking about both the damaged Trychaser and all of the Grongi's victims. "We'll stop you, here and now!"

"Oh please, a rider without his horse and two amateurs? Highly unlikely," Bada said, scoffing at the white Cure's claim before he held up his right arm. "Especially when I have this."

"Hm? This feeling-mipo? It can't be!" Mipple gasped as she and Mepple recognized the energy coming from the dagger on Bada's right arm.

"It's a Zakenna-mepo!"

"What!?" The trio cried out in surprise. What was a Grongi doing with a Zakenna?

"Wrong!" Bada shouted, removing the dagger and holding it up. "What I have here is the soul of my long-lost partner. Now, after 2000 years of sleeping, he shall be reawakened!"

Stabbing the dagger into the already transformed bike, the dark item seemed to sink into the bike. And then, right before everyone's eyes, it transformed.

The change started out simple as the green skin of the bike turned into a darker shade. But after that, the bike drastically transformed as all its metal parts seemed to turn organic as they pulsed with life. Sharp, bug-like arms sprouted from the gas tank section of the bike before wrapping around like a ribcage, covering its metal-organic insides. The two 'tails' that decorated the backside grew noticeably bigger before spikes and blades grew from the axles and wheels respectively. Finally, the 'eyes' that had been more like decorations on the Bagibuson's face lit up red with life as an all too familiar tick mark appeared at the center of the head.

"Behold! My partner, the true Bagibuson, has been revived!" Bada shouted out for all to hear as his bike literally roared to life.

"ZAKENNA!"

"Arienai (I can't believe this)! He turned his bike into a Zakenna!" Black exclaimed, having a hard time believing what she was seeing in front of her.

"This definitely wasn't in the TV show," Kuuga commented, completely caught off-guard by this new development.

"That's not all-mepo!" Mepple cried out. "There's...There's something off about that Zakenna-mepo!"

"What do you mean?" White asked until she and everyone saw it. The dark aura surrounding the Zakenna-turned Bagibuson was spreading to Bada himself. It didn't seem to be hurting him or anything, quite the opposite. He was laughing gleefully in reaction.

"I don't believe it-mipo!" Mipple cried out, realizing what was happening. "He's resonating with the Zakenna-mipo!"

"Say what!?" Kuuga exclaimed in disbelief.

'Wait a minute,' Black thought to herself, remembering something a while back. 'The "Vroom-Vroom" Pollun was talking about...was that another premonition? Could he have been talking about this?'

"This feeling...Are these Bagibuson's emotions?" Bada thought out loud as he looked at the aura cloaking before looking down and placing a hand on his revied partner. "I can feel it, Bagibuson's happiness, his joy, his excitement. You too are glad at our reunion. Hehehe, well then, to celebrate your long-awaited awakening..."

Gripping the handles of the Bagibuson, both man and horse set their sights on Kuuga and the Cures.

"...let's ride!"

*VROOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

It all happened so fast. One second, Bada and his bike were right in front of the trio. The next second, they were right behind them as the echos of Bagibuson's engine rang in the air. And then...

*WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

"G-GYAH!" Kuuga and the girls cried out as blood spewed out from newly made slash wounds. Just then, the wind around them picked up before turning into a small tornado that blew the trio up into the air, causing their blood to splatter everywhere.

'Wha...What happened?' Black wondered, too much in shock and pain to speak out her confused thoughts.

'It all happened...so fast!' White thought, her mind reeling from trying to figure out how they had been injured and thrown up. No, she knew. They all knew. It's why her mind was reeling in the first place.

'They've...gotten faster!' Kuuga mentally exclaimed as he looked down toward Bada who now wielded in his hand a double-sided saber whose edges were stained with blood; their blood.

"Hehehehehe! HahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Bada laughed out loud, his volume increasing as the heroes all fell roughly to the ground behind him. "Wonderful! Fantastic! Now this is real speed!"

"Kh...Ghh...!" Kuuga gritted his teeth as he struggled to push himself back up. The girls were doing the same, but their arms shook too much and their visions swam from blood loss.

"Oh, don't worry," Separating his weapon into two and storing them away in the Bagibuson's tails, Bada looked back at the downed heroes, turning back into his human form with a new, minor change. Crack-like lines ran down from his eyes that faintly glowed with power.

"You three will be the last ones I kill," Bada declared before putting back on his helmet and leaving with his still-transformed Bagibuson whose bladed wheels tore through the ground, allowing him to drive up a steep hill which he soon disappeared over.

"Wait...!" Kuuga groaned out, but the Grongi and Zakenna pair were long gone, out of reach for him to stop them. Unable to do anything now, the Rider's hand dropped before his while transformation came undone. He soon after fell unconscious, defeated.

"Dai..." Black groaned out, trying to reach for the unconscious teen, but her strength gave out and she too fell unconscious, followed by her transformation coming undone. White soon followed herself, the sight of her friends bleeding out on the ground being the last thing she saw before her vision went black and her transformation came undone.

"Honoka! Honoka!" Dropping out from her carrier, Mipple called out to her partner but got no response. Mepple didn't have much luck either himself.

"Nagisa! Dai! Get a hold of yourselves-mepo! Oi!"

Poofing out into his original form, Pollun stood frozen as he watched the older fairies unable to do anything else but call out to their unresponsive friends. Seeing all the blood spilling out from his friends, plus all the smoke coming off from the broken Trychaser, the fairy prince lost a bit of his innocence that day and he cried.

"What...are we going to do now-popo?"

---

And...done! Wow, that was more action-packed than I thought it'd be, but I guess that's to be expected when writing about one of my favorite Grongis. That's right people, this is a two-parter! We're not done just yet! And surprise, content from the Kuuga manga! Bet you guys didn't expect to see that considering I'm drawing mostly from the TV show. Now at first, I was going to be doing this since, again, I'm drawing mostly from the TV show, but after watching that review and working out what I'm going to be doing in regard to the future of this story, I thought to myself, "eh, why not?" Plus, a friend suggested the idea and so I went with it. Turned out better than I thought.

Now some of you are probably thinking why is Dai surprised by this since he's a Kuuga fan? Well, here's a reminder for all of you in case you've forgotten. Dai came from the year 2013-2014. It was mentioned before how he had just finished Gaim and that Drive was just about to air. The Kuuga manga was published in 2015, meaning Dai would have no knowledge of the stuff that came from the manga. Now, am I going to include more stuff from the manga? Mmm...maybe. Since I can't read Japanese, I can read past what's translated, but there is one thing I might include later. To those who may know, keep it yourselves.

I also hope you all liked the changes I made regarding the Pretty Cure stuff. I'll admit, this chapter was more Rider-centric as a lot of Pretty Cure stuff was cut out but again, most of the episodes going forward are pretty much just filler that repeat the same problem. So I might as well do everyone a favor and just get to any plot-centric episodes. But that's all I have today folks. This has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing out. And now, it's time for our daily schedule of...

---

Pretty Cure: Rider Fun Facts

"Hello everyone! Welcome back to some more—"

"Did we just die!?" Nagisa screamed out, interrupting Mepple's usual introduction.

"N-No, you're just unconscious-mepo," Mepple said, rubbing his ears a little. "I know you guys suffering a loss is a big deal and everything, but try to calm down-mepo."

"Sorry, sorry," Nagisa apologized. "It's just that...that's a lot of blood."

"It really is," Honoka said, watching the last scene of the chapter. "Are...you sure we're not dead?"

"Well, the author's got plans for the next chapter, so yes, I'm sure-mepo," Mepple said before turning back to the audience. "Anyway, back to our—"

"I thought today's chapter was going to be all about me-popo!" Pollun cried out, appearing right in front of Mepple and interrupting him.

"Oh for fu—!"

[We are experiencing some technical difficulties. Please wait a moment as we sort things out. In the meantime, try to imagine everyone as chibis. Thank you.]

"And we're back-mepo!"

"What happened to Pollun?" Nagisa asked, seeing no sign of the fairy in question.

"He's taped to the corner-mipo," Mipple answered nonchalantly, ignoring the fairy's muffled cries in the back as she focused on today's subject. "Today, we'll be bringing up the ride girls had borrowed from the police, the Trychaser 2000A-mipo! Otherwise simply known as the 2000A-mipo."

"This is the mass-produced version of the original Trychaser 2000, right?" Honoka asked, looking at the pictures of both bikes in question.

"That's right-mepo! Designed to be used by everyday policemen, mostly those a part of the Special Investigation/Grongi Task Force, it retains the Trychaser's initial blue and black colors while sporting a few additional items such as a siren, a standard built-in radio, and two tool boxes located at the rears, one of which holds a first aid kit-mepo."

"Okay. So besides those things, they're basically the same bike, right?" Nagisa asked.

"Not quite," Mipple said before explaining. "See, since most riders weren't going to be superpowered vigilantes, the top speed of the 2000A tops at around 190-200 kmph-mipo."

"So it's slower," Nagisa summarized. "Damn, no wonder I was lagging behind Dai-kun so much in that fight."

"You still did your best with what you had, and that's good enough-mipo," Mipple said before turning to the audience. "And that's all the time we have for today folks-mipo."

"Tune in next time for Dai and the girls' final clash against Bada-mepo! You seriously do not want to miss it-mepo!"

"Until next time, everyone!" Nagisa and Honoka finished things off, waving goodbye as the title for the next chapter was soon shown.

Next Time: The Zakenna Rider, Bada! Take Off, Beatchaser 2000!