So... We've finally been given a release window for Kingdom Hearts 3, but it's next year. Granted, I do have an idea for another Travels Book, but before I do it I need to find sites where I can safely (as in, no risk of pop-ups, spyware/malware, trojans/viruses, etc.) watch DokiDoki PreCure, Happiness Charge PreCure, Go Princess PreCure, and Mahoutsukai PreCure. Until I can find that, Teana's Travels is still adrift.
In the meantime, though, I'm going to try this - a Pretty Cure fic unrelated to Teana's Travels, with an original story rather than adapting any existing PreCure teams. I'll admit, this doesn't look like it's gonna be my best work, but it's at least something to occupy you guys and me while I seek for ways to safely watch those four PreCure seasons. And 'purists', please don't raise a stink over this being a Pretty Cure series that takes place in the U.S., rather than in Japan; I have something planned later in.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Pretty Cure franchise, which is the creation and (I presume) property of Toei Animation; this is a work of fan-fiction, created without any profit or any attempt to violate anything.
-X-
A chilly winter wind blew through the small city, the sun partially shining through the scattered pale-grey clouds. As the people moved about, doing this or that, no-one noticed a lone figure weakly flitting through the air, exhausted and wounded. The little sprite collapsed in the shadows in an alley, gasping for breath.
"Have to… find them…" she whispered out. "The legendary…"
-X-
A girl about 15 or 16 years of age strolled down the hall of the small high-school she went to, humming softly with a spring in her step as she joined the mass of students heading for the exits to start their journey home for the day. Elizabeth Starr, known as 'Betty' by pretty much everyone, was a peppy, cheery girl, full of life and light and loving to brighten up wherever she went; she loved making friends, and was known to call friendship "the greatest of treasures". She was pretty average in height and build, with reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, along with youthful features that fit well with her personality; despite her endless optimism, nobody really bullied her because anyone who tried couldn't help but feel bad about themselves due to how pathetic she looked when sad.
As she walked along, Betty took note of some of her classmates moving in the same group as her toward the exit: Vicky, the extroverted and kind-hearted athlete; Danny, the 'average' boy trying to get through life without causing any fuss; Amelia, the spacy girl who liked to make people laugh; Courtney, the spoiled 'daddy's girl' who nonetheless tried to treat 'poorer' people nicely; Paula, the calm and steady girl who made sure people stayed down-to-earth; Selena, the caring and maternal girl, generous with advice and other little things; Rick & Jamal, the 'bad boys' who never actually did anything bad; 'Dusk', the new transfer student girl who already got amazing grades but was always silent and stoic, never interacting with anyone… The school had some characters in it, that was for sure.
Betty took a deep breath as she stepped out into the cool late-January air, bade goodbye to her friends and started her trek home. As she made her way through the city, pulling her coat close to keep warm, she suddenly heard a ruckus of some sort from a nearby alley. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she snuck into the alley, taking a hiding spot behind a dumpster and peeking out from behind, to see something very strange indeed.
A tiny figure flitted through the air, looking like a person, a girl, shrunk down to half a foot in size, with long pink hair held in two low-hanging tails and a pair of shining butterfly-like translucent wings. Betty stifled a gasp – a fairy? An honest-to-god, straight-outta-Disney fairy?! And she was in trouble, visibly exhausted and injured, being chased by a pair of evil-looking little troll-like things with perpetually grumpy-looking faces, while the whole affair was watched over by a man with an average build & height, short black hair, and an unassuming face… other than the fact that the whites of his eyes were almost-black gray; he wore something that sorta looked like a suit, with a spade symbol (like from cards) on the chest.
Finally, the little fairy made a mistake, and yelped as she was grasped tightly in one of the little troll-things' hands, her weakened struggles failing to break her free. The man strolled over with a bored expression, conjuring a small silver birdcage which the little troll-thing promptly shoved the fairy into.
"About time" the man remarked. "You two, guard the cage while I contact the boss."
The two troll-things nodded, taking position, while the man walked up to a nearby brick wall and waved his hand. Betty stifled a gasp as a swirling black oval appeared; on the other side, it was pure blackness, but for a pair of glowing eyes gazing out.
"Black Spade?" a deep, imposing voice issued forth. "Do you have something to report?"
"Yes, my king" the man now known as Black Spade replied. "I and the two Grumps I came here with have captured the little sprite."
"Well done. And what of the other task I set out for you – a way to finish tearing down the barrier between worlds so that all of our forces may pass through at once and lay siege to the human world? At the moment we can only send a few at a time, excepting the Grumps – we can't conquer an entire world with that."
The man looked a little chagrinned. "That one is proving to be… a little more difficult."
Betty was deeply shocked – these people(?) were planning to attack and conquer the world?! And their presence felt… wrong to her, somehow, especially this mystery leader guy; his voice sent a cold chill down her spine. As Black Spade and his master talked, Betty's gaze shifted to the little caged fairy, curled up and looking depressed and exhausted. The 'Grumps' standing by her cage were eavesdropping on their masters' conversation, their attention off the cage they were supposed to be guarding. …This was a chance. Betty could help, even if just in a small way. As quietly as she could, she snuck up behind them on her hands & knees, nearing the cage. The little fairy rose her head, and her eyes widened upon seeing Betty, who hurriedly held her finger up to her lips in a shushing gesture. Slowly, carefully, she reached a hand out and gently undid the lock on the little cage's door, which she then swung open. The fairy silently limped out, until Betty gently grabbed her and put her up on her shoulder. Betty then slowly backed away and quietly got up to her feet, preparing to flee.
"-really not sure how to go about it" Black Spade was saying. "I mean, it's not as if the solution will just pop into our la-"
"Spade!"
The dark king's shout was accompanied by the glowing evil eyes' gaze shifting… looking right at Betty and the fairy. Black Spade and the Grumps followed their king's gaze, and Betty let out a frightened little squeak and started running as fast as she could.
"Damn it!" Black Spade growled. "Grumps, after her!"
"No! …Send a Vish after her instead…"
After a second's surprise, Black Spade nodded, and reached out with his magical senses. Fairly close by, he found a good source – a man walking along the street near the alleyway's far entrance, stewing in jealousy and frustration over some trivial thing. Black Spade suddenly appeared in the man's path, and the man barely had time to react in shock before he felt a sudden emotionally-drained feeling… and heard a rumbling growl…
"The girl with the fairy," Black Spade spoke to his new monster, "they went that way. Find them, crush the girl, bring the fairy back alive if possible; if not… well, if not, I'll understand…"
-X-
Betty panted for breath as she took position hiding in the bushes behind a restroom building at the local public park. "Y-You okay?" she asked the fairy.
"I will be" the little sprite replied. "Thank you so much. My name is Pixee."
"Betty. Well, Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Betty. What's going on? Who are those guys? And what are you doing here?"
"For lack of anything else to call them, they're known as the Dark Kingdom, ruled by figures known only as the King and Queen of Darkness; no-one really knows where they came from. I came here seeking the legendary warriors foretold in a prophecy to stop the Dark Kingdom and protect the worlds. They mainly use monsters made from people's negative emotions, called Vishes. …Yeah, I know, bad pun; I don't know if it's intentional."
"Negative emotions?"
"Anger, hate, frustration, jealousy, loneliness, guilt, regret, sadness… If a person has any of those things, the Dark Kingdom can extract a 'shadow' of it to make into a big monster. Plus, they've got a horde of Grumps for basic grunt work – pathetic on their own, but dangerous in big numbers. Leading them are the Black Card Quartet – Black Club, Black Diamond, Black Heart, and the guy you just saw, Black Spade. Above them are the King and Queen of Darkness, who seek to conquer all worlds, enshroud everything in darkness, crush all resistance and rule over the beaten survivors with iron fists…"
"H-How awful… What do we do now?"
"All we can really do right now is run and hide, and pray that any of the legendary warriors from the prophecy show up. Legends say they're called the 'Pretty Cures', or 'PreCures' for short – a small group of legendary heroines who wield elemental powers to keep the forces of evil at bay. I've been looking for any hints of their presence, but for now I've seen no signs of anything."
"…I'll help you. I don't know how much good I'll be, but… you seem like a good person. So, I'll help you however I can, Pixee."
The little fairy looked touched by Betty earnest vow. But then, the touching moment was rudely interrupted as a huge foot came down on the bushes Betty & Pixee were hiding behind, crushing the shrubbery and scaring the daylights out of them both. Betty's eyes went wide in shock and instinctual terror as she looked up at the 'Vish'. It was around 12 feet tall, humanoid in shape, with blocky legs supporting a big, rotund body, a pair of big beefy muscly arms, and an odd-shaped head with the only facial features a pair of big, angry-looking eyes.
"VIIIISH!-!-!" it roared as it brought a huge fist down, aimed to pound the human into mulch.
Betty let out a strangled squeal of terror as she threw herself out of the way, she and Pixee barely avoiding being crushed. The Vish continued making attacks, trying to punch or stomp, with Betty frantically dodging and trying to run. She managed to slip between the Vish's legs and make a run for an exit path, only to be stopped when the monster picked up and threw a boulder the size of a car, making it land right in her path, bringing her to a screeching halt and trapping her as the monster drew near.
As Pixee cowered, a look of fright and despair on her little face, Betty stood her ground. She was terrified, but…
"I… I won't let you get her. I won't abandon my new friend!"
The Vish growled and charged, lashing out with a skeleton-shattering punch. Suddenly, a point of brilliant pink light came into being directly in front of Betty, and a shimmering pink translucent barrier formed, the Vish's fist bouncing off, the monster sent staggering back off-balance. Betty stared in wonder was the shimmering pink light slowly floated in front of her, and in the center a sparkling pink gemstone about an inch & a half across, perfectly smooth and spherical, took form. A second later, another spark of light formed into a small, heart-shaped brooch, pink and gold, with a slot in the middle just the right size to fit the gem. Betty was in awe, feeling warmth and light flowing around her, and somehow she knew: this would let her protect her friend. Feeling like she was doing something instinctive, she took hold of the objects, and brilliant pink light enveloped her.
(TRANSFORMATION THEME: Happiness Charge – Rolling Mirror Change)
With a whirl of pink light and motes of magic, Betty found herself in a space of swirling colors and hues of pink, clad in a shimmering pale-pink dress-like garment of magic. With one hand she brandished the little brooch, and the other she held the shining pink gem between her fingertips. "PreCure!" She slotted the gem into the brooch. "Elements Charge!-!"
She slammed the brooch into the center of her chest, and as the device seemed to vanish in a burst of light, pink magical light formed into the first part of a 'uniform' on her torso – an outfit mostly pink with some white, with dark-pink lining, short sleeves with frilly hems, a white-lined pink bow in the center of the chest with a dark-pink gem in the center, and a mid-thigh-length pink skirt with white hem.
She spun around, catching a pair of balls of pink magic in her hands, and then brought her hands together with a clap over her head, causing the magic to 'pop' and rapidly envelop her hands and forearms; with a sparkly flash, it formed into a pair of matching gloves that went halfway up her forearms, white with pink lining and circular pink gems on the backs of the hands. She then pulled a jumping backflip into the air; at the height of it, with her feet pointing upwards, they kicked into and through two more masses of pink light, which wrapped around them. When she landed, twin sparks of light accompanied her feet and lower legs being clad in a pair of white boots with two little pink hearts on the toes.
Above her head, pink light coalesced into a golden headband with little pink diamond-shaped gems in a row along the top. She grabbed it and put it on her head, and her reddish-brown hair glowed with light as it changed to golden-blonde with pink highlights, and her brown eyes changed to bright-pink. One last chunk of magical light flew into her lower back, forming a largish light-pink bow just above her skirt. She struck a pose, one hand pulled back in a fist by her side and the other out and slightly up at an angle across her chest.
"Shining light, leading toward the future!" She stood straight, one arm held high as if reaching for the sun. "Cure Gleam!-!"
(END)
As the flash of pink light faded, Pixee stared in disbelieving awe at the brand new Pretty Cure standing before her. After a few seconds, the transformed Betty's serious expression changed to one of shock and confusion.
"Eh? Ehh?! W-W-What is this?! This outfit! This hair! I… I transformed?! Like in an anime?! And… And I feel so much power inside me!"
"Y-You…" Pixee spoke up. "You're one of the warriors of prophecy… You're a Pretty Cure!"
"I'm… a-a magical girl… PreCure…"
Tired of waiting, the Vish took this moment to charge. Cure Gleam squeaked in surprise and leapt back to dodge… and screamed as she found herself way up in the air. As she began to fall, she thought fast and grabbed hold of a streetlight pole, swinging around it a couple of times and then launching off to land on top of a tree, balancing on a high branch. Catching her breath, she leapt down onto a smaller tree, and from there down to the ground, panting lightly from the rush.
The Vish charged again, making a heavy but slow punch. Cure Gleam slid around the blow, grabbed hold of the monster's wrist with both arms, and with a short cry she judo-flipped the huge monster over, slamming its back into the ground hard enough to rattle the windows of a nearby public restroom. The Vish rolled back onto its feet, but couldn't get out of the way of Gleam's incoming punch, her fist glowing with pink power as she drove it into the monster's gut (or what passed for it, anyway), sending the beast hurtling back several meters. Groaning, the Vish got back to its feet and fired a large orb of Darkness energy at Cure Gleam, who instinctively thrust her hands forward to block… and formed a large, shimmering translucent barrier of pink Light magic that not only blocked the blast, but ricocheted it right back at the Vish, slamming into it and detonating, sending it tumbling again and doing even more damage.
"It's weakened!" Pixee shouted. "Finish it off with your special attack!"
Cure Gleam steadied her stances as words, actions, and energies came to her. She held her hands in front of her chest, fingers spread and linked to form a rough circle in front of the little central pink gem in the middle of her chest bow. Pink light rapidly coalesced in her hands. "PreCure! Sparkling Shot!-!"
She thrusted her hands forward, releasing a second-long burst of pink Light-type magic as big across as she was tall. Engulfed by the power, the Vish let out one last fading roar as it was obliterated, fading away into motes of deep-purple light that quickly winked out.
"We did it!" Pixee cheered, as Cure Gleam let out a "phew…"
"So, now what?" the new PreCure asked.
"Well, I suppose I should give you a little more detail. But not here. Should we head to your house?"
The human nodded, as she de-transformed with a flash of pink light. "My parents are both at work right now. Come on."
-X-
Betty sat on her bed in her room, as Pixee – still slowly mending her own wounds with healing magic – was going over the explanation she'd given earlier, with a bit more detail.
"The prophecy mentioned a team of PreCures, not just one" she said. "We should be on the lookout for anyone who might be another Cure. Until then, however, I think we'll be on our own. Sorry that you've been caught up in all this, Elizabeth…"
The girl shook her head. "It's okay. I admit, I'm kinda overwhelmed and a bit scared, but… This is something super-important, and it's something only I can do. So, I'll do my best to make it work, to help you find the others, and to help protect my world! …Plus, I'm a magical girl! This is so cool~!-!"
-X-
In another 'space', Black Spade knelt before the two figures seated on what looked to be thrones made of black crystal.
"Your Majesties," he reported, "we have encountered an obstacle. A Pretty Cure has been 'born'."
"So the 'warriors of prophecy' are indeed coming…" the Queen of Darkness mused. "Inform the other members of the quartet to make ready, and ramp up production of Grumps."
"Surely," the Dark King mused, "these 'Cures' of prophecy will prove to be the most powerful enemy our little empire has ever faced." He gave a wicked grin. "But in time, even they will fall before our might. This should be interesting…"
-X-
Well, there's the start of things. We'll be meeting the other Cures soon; each Cure will get a different transformation theme, if you're wondering. And we just might see an unexpected crossing later on...