Author: EYO IT'S SPIZ HERE. In case anyone here remembered and/or noticed, I had a story of the same title on here! Shine! Pretty Cure was originally published on July 17th, 2012. I even wrote a sequel series on February 10th, 2013. I sincerely hope that no one recalls this, because that story was terrible and I have deleted it.
For the longest time, I've been wanting to rewrite it. And here it is! My new and improved fanseries! The same characters, just better and hey, a decent plot! This first chapter is the pilot, and this is going as a test to see where this story will go. I have this story thoroughly planned out, but depending on how readers like it, I may make some adjustments. So please, any and all criticism is more than welcome here. I think that this chapter is very rough in terms of my writing style and I am getting used to writing and developing these new characters. Again, any and all criticism would be very useful to me. Also, reviews are the best form of encouragement to continue writing the story, so in case you haven't noticed, I am desperate for reviews!
Anyway, enjoy the story!
"Queen!"
Three mascots-a blue colored one, a red colored one, and a purple colored one-ran through the crystal palace as it trembled from an outside force. A tall woman stood unwavering before the fairies, long seashell-colored hair cascading down her back. She wore white and gold robes and a crystal crown atop her head.
"We must evacuate~supaisu!" The blue mascot urged.
"I'm afraid you must leave without me," the Queen spoke calmly, but her orange irises were filled with dire seriousness. The mascots opened their mouths to protest, but she raised a hand.
"Listen to me carefully. You three must escape to the human world. You must find two things: the remaining 93 Dawn Fragments, and your Pretty Cure partners. He's coming for the Dragon Chest and the rest of the pieces to make the Dawn Key. Do not, under any circumstances, allow Oblivion to obtain the Dawn Fragments to rebuild the key to unlock the Dragon Chest."
"What about Cure Jade and Cure Diamond~suga? Where are they~suga?" The red mascot asked.
"Cure Jade...Cure Diamond...they're gone," the Queen replied softly. "But do not worry. Trust your Pretty Cure partners. Guide them. Believe in them. They will be the ones able to stop Oblivion once and for all."
"How would we even find our Pretty Cure partners~furo?" The purple mascot asked.
"You'll know who your Pretty Cure partners are when you meet them. Their hearts are extraordinary and their spirits will reach yours," the Queen reassured. Her pink lips turned into a frown. "You know what to do, so now go! You can escape through the mines! I'll close them off so they can't follow you to Earth."
"We can't leave you~supaisu!" The blue mascot protested.
"You must go on without me. I will never abandon my kingdom when it needs me most."
"But-"
"The kingdom needs you to find the legendary warriors. I will be fine. Someone's gotta hold down the fort anyway." The Queen gave the fairies a wink and a reassuring white smile.
"But Queen Crystal~suga..." The red mascot protested, looking like she was on the verge of tears, eyes filled with fear.
"That is an order! This is your duty. Find the Precure, the legendary warriors, defenders of the future, our last hope! Now go!" Queen Crystal snapped. The three mascots flinched at her cold tone, but reluctantly turned around and ran off out of the chamber.
Evil monsters and generals stormed into the kingdom, creating despair as they pillaged with their powers. The Prism Kingdom was defenseless. The monsters smashed into houses, brought down pillars and statues, and chased after innocent fairies and citizens. Many tripped and collapsed as the ground tore up from beneath them, creating ridges and craters. From above, lightning struck down through the raging winds and ice of a fierce blizzard.
The sky was black and lightless as if the sun was stolen. There was a raging blizzard that froze and trapped the entire kingdom in ice. The people and fairies of the Prism Kingdom tried to flee, but they soon were trapped in tombs of ice.
Within the palace, Queen Crystal had watched her trusted fairies disappear out of her chamber. She clasped her hands together over her chest and closer her eyes in a silent prayer. She paused and tried to block out the shrieks of her people, the crashes of thunder, and the rumble of collapsing architecture, but it only created a greater ache in her heart.
With resolution, Queen Crystal opened her orange eyes and lifted her head high. Unclasping her hands, she opened her right hand and a large, golden staff appeared, intricately decorated with glittering jewels. With her free hand, she raised it above her head.
"Pretty Cure, now is the time! We have never needed your power more! Shine your divine light upon these broken and polluted worlds! Let your legendary power become our hope as you guide us all! Awaken, o' Pretty Cure!"
The entire dream collapsed and the fifteen-year-old quickly woke up gasping. She sat up immediately, her dark tangled hair falling over her face as she breathed heavily to catch her breath. Pushing strands of dark red hair out of her sweaty face, the teenager realized she was in her bedroom, and her gaze shifted over to her nightstand.
"Kyaaa!" she screamed when she looked at the electric clock. "I overslept again!"
In record time, she was dressed in a junior high school uniform, her hair and teeth brushed, and she was dashing into the kitchen for breakfast.
The teenager tossed a couple slices of bread into the toaster and poured herself a glass of milk while her younger brother sat at the table snickering. On the milk carton displayed the picture of a high school girl with long dark hair and teal eyes. Below the picture was: MISSING: KORIKAWA YUKI. There were further details such as the recent date of her last appearance and how to contact her family.
The little brother began to tease his older sister relentlessly for her stressed state from oversleeping. If it weren't for her toast popping up in distraction, she would have strangled the immature kid. Gulping the glass of milk and stuffing one piece of toast into her mouth, the student was out the door.
"My name's Miyazaki Akari. I'm fifteen years old and I attend Hoseki Middle School as a third year. I'm no good at school but I'm really good at playing volleyball. I also love to eat, sleep, and play videogames with my friends."
Akari sprinted to the school at an impossible speed, but she knew she was nowhere near as fast as her close friend, Sora.
"Akari!" Akizora Sora called as Akari neared the school. She stood impatiently next to her younger, identical twin sister, Arashi, who had her nose in a book. Sora was the ace of the softball team, but also had a secret passion for cooking and baking.
Arashi was almost the exact opposite. Even though they were both 5'5", fair skinned, have the same short, chartreuse colored hair and eyes, Arashi is much quieter and more polite. She is a model student and the smartest girl around town but can be rather strict at times.
"You're late again," Sora teased. "Did you oversleep?" Akari laughed sheepishly.
"That answers your question," Arashi muttered. Akari and Sora couldn't suppress their laughter while Arashi sighed.
"It's not my fault! I had a really weird dream last night!" Akari announced.
"A weird dream? What happened?" Sora asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well, I don't exactly remember…" Sora and Arashi nearly fell over.
"Then how do you know it was weird?"
"Because it was weird! I remember it was dark…and cold. But I can't remember what was going on! It might have even been a nightmare, I don't know."
"Well, you're awake now. And you're just in time for class," Arashi said.
"That sounds like a nightmare now," Akari huffed.
"Instead of staying up all night, you should go to bed earlier so you don't oversleep and be late for school again," Arashi scolded. Sora gave Akari a knowing look that collapsed into chuckles between the two sporty girls.
"Man, I sure didn't miss all this nagging when you were gone this summer," Akari whined.
"Hey! I'm not nagging you, Akari. I'm only trying to help." Arashi closed her book in annoyance.
"Sorry, Arashi. I'm only joking. And I'm sorry for oversleeping again," Akari said with a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Did you have a good trip? Did you see lots of places across Japan?"
"Yes. It went well. I visited many places learned a lot. Thank you for asking," Arashi replied, a smile finally starting to form on her lips.
A girl passed the trio, but they didn't recognize her at all. She was their age, with long dark blue hair and lighter colored blue eyes. She had her hair pulled back out of her face neatly. She wore the girls' school uniform, but her bow was blue instead of the traditional black color.
"She's violating the dress code," Arashi noted with slight bitterness to her tone.
"Is she new?" Akari asked.
"I guess so. I haven't seen her before." Sora shrugged.
"She's pretty," Akari murmured.
"She's violating the dress code!" Arashi repeated angrily. Sora snorted.
"We all are violating the dress code, sis," Sora said in an assuring tone, much to Arashi's displeasure. The twin sister glared at Sora's green bow and rolled up sleeves.
"You're violating the dress code! If you roll your sleeves up like that, they're going to get wrinkled! I can't believe you're my twin, let alone my sister." She grabbed Sora's bare forearm and rolled the sleeves down, but Sora swatted her hands away.
"Leave me alone. It's no big deal," Sora protested.
"I switched mine to red. The teachers don't care, Arashi," Akari added.
"Good for you!" Sora laughed and patted Akari's back. Akari laughed with her while Arashi rolled her eyes.
"What am I going to do with you two? We have to get to class. You don't want to be late." There was annoyance in Arashi's tone and the trio set off to class.
"Everyone, this is our new transfer student," their teacher, known as Ikeda-sensei, introduced at the start of class. And lo and behold, it was shockingly Mysterious Blue Beauty from before. She kept her head down, nervously fumbling and scratching on the straps of her leather school bag. "Why don't you give yourself a bit of an introduction? Maybe write your name on the board?"
The girl seemed a little startled when her teacher spoke to her. Her face visibly paled, but the girl nodded. Mysterious Blue Beauty picked up a piece of chalk, and with a shaky hand, she began to write her name on the wall. Her hand eventually steadied enough for her to write Koizumi Ringo in perfectly neat handwriting.
"Um, hello," she began softly, turning around to face the class. She lowered her head once more, unable to keep eye contact with the class. "M-my name is K-Koizumi Ringo. It's nice to meet you." Ringo spoke quietly, bowed, and smiled all very politely.
Akari rested her chin in the palm of her propped up hand. With her free hand, she aimlessly traced circles on her desk with her index finger, the voice of the teacher fading into noise. Her desk had millions of flecks synthesized together into the material like a sky full of stars. Except her desk was off white and the flecks were various other shades of off-white, so not quite the same contrast as the sky and stars.
"You know, when I think about it, my life is pretty ordinary. I mean, I'm just a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl. I'm captain of the volleyball team at my school, but my grades kinda suck. But I go to the only middle school in my small town. It makes me wonder sometimes how many other schools there are in all the small towns of Japan, or even in the whole world! I've never traveled before, but I'd like to, and I like to think about the world sometimes. It's just so big and vast! And here I am, sitting in this classroom with twenty-something other kids like me. And in the next room over there's twenty some kids in that classroom, and in every classroom down the hall and in this entire school. There's twenty some kids in tons of classrooms in the high school and in all the schools of Japan. And they all might have grades that kinda suck like mine. There's so many of us, and we're all pretty ordinary. I mean, I'm totally fine with being ordinary. But sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm going to spend the rest of my life being ordinary, which sounds pretty boring. But I guess that's just how the world works."
"There's an empty desk in front of Miyazaki-san. Miyazaki-san, raise your hand!" Ikeda-sensei commanded. Akari's eyes flew open in surprise, snapping back to reality.
"What?"
"Raise your hand!" Sora whispered from the desk beside Akari's.
"Not after the last time you told me to do something!" Akari snapped in a hushed tone.
"Um…excuse me," a soft voice interrupted. Ringo was stood in front of Akari, tearing her away from her conversation with Sora. "You're Miyazaki-san, correct?"
"Y-Yeah..." Akari replied sheepishly, blinking. Ringo smiled a little. She looked like she wanted to say more, but decided against it. Ringo took the seat in the empty desk in front of Akari.
"Sora….Arashi….I'm going to die of starvation…" Akari groaned behind the twin girls as the trip strolled to the rooftop.
"When are you ever going to remember your lunch?" Sora teased as she pushed open the door to the roof. Akari's stomach growled loudly, reinforcing her distressed state.
"I had a feeling you would forget your lunch today," Arashi spoke. "We can split mine."
"Really?" the redhead's eyes lifted in hope. "Arashi, you're the best!"
"Well, if Arashi's sharing, I may as well too," Sora added. A wide grin broke across Akari's face.
"I love you guys! I got a spare set of chopsticks in my bag!"
"You remember to keep a spare set of chopsticks but you forget your lunch?" Arashi questioned with a raised brow. Sora snorted and Akari rubbed the back of her neck.
"Well, I always kept in there just in case I came across food! And I never took them out so I always had them!" she explained. Arashi frowned in disapproval but before she could scold, Akari added, "I'll be right back!"
As Sora and Arashi took their usual seats on concert that makeshifts a bench, Akari raced down the steps back to her classroom. Many students were scattered about in the hallways and within the classroom, socializing and eating their lunch on this hour.
Akari snatched her chopsticks from her schoolbag with a victorious grin and hurried to rejoin her friends. She slid open the door rapidly, rushed forward, and slammed against a figure. Both bodies stumbled onto their bottoms with loud grunts.
"I'm very sorry!" two voices gasped in unison. Akari was startled by speaking in unison with someone and realized that the other she had run into was the new girl, Koizumi.
"Sorry about that, Koizumi-san," Akari said as she pushed herself to her feet. She offered Ringo a hand, which she hesitantly accepted.
There was a strange feeling that overcame both girls. An indescribable, but powerful feeling. It was a great feeling. Warm and fuzzy. Familiar. Nostalgic. Reassuring. Strange, but amazing. The feeling as though they had known each other for a very long time. It was very brief, only lasting until Ringo released Akari's hand after Akari pulled her to her feet.
"N-no! I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going. But t-thank you for helping me up..." Ringo bowed politely. She nervously shifted her feet and kept her gaze cast downward.
"You're fine. I ran into you," Akari reassured with a wave of her hand. Akari noticed that Ringo held a bento in her other hand. It was still in its case, so nothing spilled out.
"Are you going to eat that?" Akari asked. The question shocked Ringo and she looked a little embarrassed.
"What?" Ringo titled her head, confused. Akari's eyes widened and she giggled after realizing how rude she sounded.
"What I mean to say was, have you eaten yet? Are you going somewhere right now?"
"Well...n-not exactly. At my old school, I'd eat my lunch in the library. B-but I couldn't really find it so I came back here..." Ringo's face flushed with embarrassment.
"Wanna have lunch with me and my friends up on the roof?" Akari offered. Ringo's eyes widened surprised and her jaw almost dropped.
"Oh, um...I don't want to impose—"
"You're not! C'mon. I don't want to leave anyone sitting alone, let alone the new girl! Let's go!" Akari gave Ringo a bright smile, took her hand, and pulled her along to the rooftop.
"Um...excuse me...who are you sitting with?" Ringo squeaked.
"My friends. Akizora Sora and Arashi." Akari answered.
"O-oh. Are they sisters?"
"Twins, actually. Sora's the girl who sits next to me in class, and Arashi is in a different class. I'm sure you guys will get along."
"Twins?" Ringo repeated, raising her eyebrows. "I'm afraid I might mix them up…"
"Don't worry. Lots of people do it. But if it helps, Sora's the one with the green bow. And their personalities are so different anyway," Akari explained.
"Akari!" Sora waved when she saw her friend emerge. At the sight of Ringo being towed behind her, her lips curved into a frown. "She brought the new girl?"
"Don't be rude, Sora." Arashi elbowed her sister.
"I'm not being rude!" Sora folded her arms. "I just don't understand why Akari feels like she has to get new friends. She already has us!"
"You're being immature," Arashi grumbled. "And stubborn."
"You want to talk about being stubborn!?" Sora countered and Arashi rolled her eyes.
"Hi, guys!" Akari approached them with her usual cheerful expression. Her gaze drifted to Sora. "You remember Koizumi-san from class today, right?"
"We haven't met," Arashi cut in. She glanced at Sora before smiling at Ringo and offering a hand to shake. "I'm Akizora Arashi. It's nice to officially meet you, Koizumi-san."
"N-nice to meet you too…" Ringo accepted the hand and shook it. A similar feeling from the handshake with Akari struck Ringo again and she blinked, reeling from it, but said nothing. Arashi didn't break eye contact and subtly kicked Sora beside her.
"I'm Sora," Sora greeted Ringo with reluctance. She looked up at Ringo and Akari. Ringo didn't seem like such a bad girl. And it's not like she could stop Akari from making friends—it was a part of her personality.
"Nice to meet you too, Akizora-san."
"Don't bother with formalities," Sora cut in when Ringo bowed. "Not my thing. Just stick with Sora."
"Excellent work, Arte." A shadowed man sat on a throne and spoke to a young girl who bowed on one knee. The girl, Arte, had long, obsidian colored hair, and large, amber eyes. She wore a black uniform with orange details.
Her amber irises sparkled and her pink lips formed a tight line to suppress a grin. Finally...
"Thank you, my lord."
"Most improved award goes to you," he continued sarcastically as a grin twisted his features. "Your next mission will be to travel to Earth. You will be the first to go and your objective is to scope and collect the missing Dawn Fragments to complete the key."
"Yes, sir."
"Do not make me regret my decision with this mission, Arte," he warned. "I would hate for such potential to go to waste."
"I won't let you down, sir!" the girl promised brightly. "Thank you, sir! All these years of training have paid off!"
"It would be quite the disappointment if they did not. You are dismissed."
Arte rose from her position, gave a final bow to the shadowed man, and walked stiffly out of the chamber.
"Oh, and one more thing." The man's voice halted Arte from pushing the doors open. Her palm formed a fist but her disappointment was masked as she turned on her heel to face him expectantly. "I have a funny feeling that a fairy or two escaped. Capture the pests at once and bring them to me."
"Of course, my lord." She gave a curt nod and was quick to exit.
Once she heard the door close behind her, her shoulders sagged, finally free from such a chilling gaze. Yet, her pace quickened with an eagerness, heels clicking and echoing against the marble. Her heart was pounding wildly but a wide smile couldn't falter from her pink lips.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Arte squealed and punched the air.
During class, Akari tapped Ringo's shoulder with her pencil as she was taking notes and insisted on showing Ringo around town after school and Ringo accepted.
When school ended, Akari and Ringo parted from Sora and Arashi; Sora went to the softball fields dressed in a team uniform, and Arashi headed towards the library.
"So! Where to first, Koizumi-san?" Akari asked Ringo as they strolled through the school's iron gates. Ringo uncertainly toyed with a strand of her long blue hair.
"Um...I don't know...where do people normally go?"
Akari tapped her chin in thought.
"Well...there's lots of places, to be honest…" she murmured and then smiled resolutely. "Okay then, I'll show you everything! Let's go!" Akari decided, taking Ringo's hand and marching to the downtown shopping district.
Akari showed her most of the stores there, pointing to which shops she likes to go buy clothes, music, video games, accessories, etc.
After touring the best places to buy clothes and music, Akari showed Ringo all of the different restaurants in the town. She claimed, with great pride, that she's been to each one at least five times, and all of them are her favorite. Ringo was brought to different parks, the local shrine, the library is, the bowling alley, the cinema, the roller rink, the ice rink, the theater, and some museums of science and art, which piqued Ringo's interest the most.
The pair circled back down a quiet street with a park on one side and businesses lining the other. Akari brought Ringo to one called "The Coffee Hound," where the door chimed with a bell as soon as the redhead pushed it open. It was a peaceful, quaint café with a homey atmosphere and smelled like fresh baked cookies and brewed coffee.
"This is the best bakery in the whole town! This is Sora and Arashi's bakery. Let's grab a snack," Akari announced.
"I didn't know they ran a bakery..." Ringo murmured.
"Sure do! Family business!"
"Hello, Akari!" Sora and Arashi's mother, Akizora Satsuki, popped out from behind a door in the back. However, despite being their mother, she looked nothing like her daughters. The older woman was short—almost shorter than both Akari and Ringo—and round. Her dark chocolate hair was pulled into a low ponytail that rested over her shoulder. Her hands were messy with flour and her apron was dirtied with spices and sugars.
"Hi!" Akari returned with a wave. "This is Koizumi-san. She's is new in town so I'm showing her around."
"I-It's a pleasure to meet you," Ringo said quietly and then bowed politely.
"Nice to meet you too, dear. Help yourself to whatever you want." Satsuki smiled at the two girls and disappeared behind the door she appeared from. Akari hopped over the counter with ease, like she's done it hundreds of times before.
"Miyazaki-san!" Ringo squeaked. "Y-you shouldn't do that..."
"It's fine. We do it all the time," Akari reassured. She reached in the glass display, pulled out a cookie, and began to munch on it. "So, what so you want?"
Ringo peered into the display, examining all the different sweet treats. She looked unsure, trying to make a decision as she studied them. Part of her questioned if it truly was okay to help herself, for the last thing Ringo wanted to do was impose.
"Is that an apple cupcake? Apple cinnamon?" Ringo asked softly, her mouth starting to water. She loved apples.
"Sure is! Here, it's new." Akari pulled it out of the display and placed the decorated cupcake on the counter. Ringo fished through her bag and pulled out a petite wallet. She delicately placed the yen on the counter for the cupcake.
"You don't have to pay for it," Akari reminded, pushing the yen towards her.
"Of course I have to. If I didn't, I'd be stealing," Ringo protested, pushing the money back.
"Sora and Arashi's mom is cool. She said we can take whatever we want."
"It's improper. It might be okay for you, but it isn't for me. I don't mind paying," Ringo insisted. Akari shrugged and finished her cookie. The last thing Akari wanted to do was to fight with a girl she was trying to befriend. If paying floated her boat, then she couldn't argue.
Ringo took a bite into the cupcake and then her features lit up, "It's really good!"
"Everything in here is."
Ringo happily ate the cupcake as Akari helped herself to another cookie. After savoring the apple cinnamon, Ringo glanced at the clock hanging above.
"I-It's getting late. I should head home before my mom worries," Ringo announced.
"Where do you live? Is it a long walk for you?" Akari asked.
"I'm not exactly sure…"
"Do you know how to get home from here?"
"Well, not exactly," she admitted.
"That's okay. I'll show you!" Akari offered.
"You don't h-have to…you've been kind enough to me already, Miyazaki-san."
Akari shook her head. "It's nothing! You'd just get lost and that wouldn't be any good. And I'll explain to your mom where you were. C'mon! Let's go!"
The sun began to descend as the two schoolgirls strolled through a park. It was a shortcut to Ringo's house, which was by the beach on the edge of the city. Ringo was feeling more energized after enjoying her sweet treat. She was grateful that Akari was being so helpful to her on her first day today.
"Where did you say you were from again?" Akari asked to break the silence settling between them.
"Hawaii," Ringo replied. Akari stopped in her tracks and her eyes went wide.
"Hawaii, as in America?!" she gasped. "That's so cool! I've always wanted to travel the world! Do you do the hula? Do you know how to surf? Do you speak Hawaiian?"
"I know how to do the hula but I don't really dance much. And yes, I know how to surf, but I don't own a board or anything, so rarely do I do surf. And I know some Hawaiian, but I'm not fluent in it as much as I am in English and Japanese. And Mandarin, too, actually…"
"Wow! That's so cool! You must be a real genius if you can do all that. Meanwhile, I can barely pass math," Akari complimented. Man, Akari was so jealous of Ringo. She was so smart and she's traveled around the world! She bet Ringo and Arashi would be great friends when they started spending more time together.
"Why'd you move here?" Akari continued.
"My mom had a job opportunity. She's actually originally from this town, so for her, she's moving back home," the blue haired girl answered.
"That's cool. So your mom has family here then?"
Ringo started to toy with a lock of hair again. "Actually, she doesn't really have much for relatives."
Akari inwardly winced. She did not mean to bring up any bad family history. Quick, try something else, Akari!
"Oh. What about your dad? Does he have any relatives?" she asked.
"I…I don't really know. I don't really have a dad. He and my mom separated before I was born," Ringo admitted sheepishly. Akari cringed and smacked herself upside the head when Ringo wasn't looking. Now she's only making things worse!
"Sorry to hear about that," Akari muttered. Was she supposed to comfort Ringo? How could she even do that? "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I don't have a mom. I mean, I had a mom because everyone has a mom. But my mom died when I was born."
"Oh…I'm sorry for your loss," Ringo murmured. Akari shrugged.
"I was just a baby. I never knew her. Which is fine, I guess. I'm pretty happy with my dad and my little brother." Either the conversation can end now, or Akari can change the subject to lift their spirits. She hoped that she wouldn't do any more damage if she changed the subject. "Do you like it here now?"
"Yes. It's a lively city. Thanks for showing me around, by the way," Ringo thanked.
"No problem. If you need anything, just lemme know, 'kay?"
Suddenly, something streaked across the orange sky, catching Akari and Ringo's attention.
"Shooting star!"
"Are you sure? It looks kind of strange..." Ringo murmured. And she was right. The shooting star grew in size, looking like it was coming right towards the girls. Then, it split into two separate comets. Ringo yelped as crashed into the ground a meter away from her feet. Akari was so preoccupied with Ringo's reaction that the other slammed right into Akari's chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her on her back. A white smoke formed after impact and it consumed Akari entirely, while the rest swirled in a pool around Ringo's feet.
"Miyazaki-san!" Ringo gasped. Suddenly, a thumbs up stuck out of the smoke. Ringo's shoulders sagged in relief and looked over to where the second comet landed, where the smoke cleared around a small, red creature.
Akari groaned loudly and rubbed her eyes before they refocused on a small creature collapsed on her chest. The creature lifted scarlet eyes and their gazes locked. And the feeling returned to Akari. A strange, tingling feeling filled Akari and the creature.
The creature resembled a fox, but with blue and grey fur instead of orange and white. Its eyes were crimson, matching the single ruby gemstone situated on its chest.
"A stuffed animal?" Akari wondered aloud. The schoolgirl blinked again, and so did the creature. Akari gasped and sat upward. "It just blinked!"
"What's wrong with you~supaisu?" it asked in a male voice. Speechless and in shock, Akari gaped at him. "Cat got your tongue~supaisu?"
"You're talking," Akari rasped in disbelief. "A talking stuffed animal. I really must have hit my head this time!"
"I'm not a stuffed animal~supaisu! I'm a fairy~supaisu! The guardian of the Prism Kingdom~supaisu!"
"Yeah, and I'm Batman," Akari muttered. She started poking at his dark colored nose and pulling on his fluffy cheeks.
"Lemme go~supaisu!" he snapped as he struggled in her grasp.
"Do you have a name?"
"You don't need to know~supaisu."
"You don't have to be rude!" she huffed. "Is your name Spice?" The guardian looked away from her, and Akari smirked victoriously. "Gotcha! I'm Miyazaki Akari."
Akari lifted Spice as she rose to her feet. Spice narrowed his eyes at Akari and furrowed his brow, thinking deeply. Akari gave him an uncertain look, which didn't faze him.
"You look familiar~supaisu..." Spice mumbled. Just as Akari was about to ask what he meant, a bright light suddenly appeared between them.
Ringo was preoccupied with the other small creature to notice Akari and Spice. The small creature began to move weakly, which earned a gasp from the blue hair girl. It was smaller than Spice. It resembled a fawn, yet with red colored coat instead of brown.
"What are you?" she whispered, kneeling before it and outstretching a hand towards it. The creature opened large cerulean eyes. A sapphire as deep as the ocean gleamed on its chest.
It opened its mouth and asked in a feminine tone, "Who are you~suga?"
"M-me?" Ringo squeaked. "K-Koizumi Ringo..."
"My name is Sugar, and I am from the Prism Kingdom~suga. It's a pleasure, Ringo~suga," the fairy greeted. Ringo's mouth fell open at Sugar, unable to find any words to respond. Sugar pushed herself to her feet, but her front leg collapsed beneath her.
"You're hurt," Ringo observed. "We should get you some help before it worsens."
"Thank you for your concern~suga. But I just fell on it~suga. It's nothing serious~suga," the fairy reassured. Ringo's lips curved into a frown, unbelieving of Sugar's assurances, and gathered her into her arms. Ringo had straightened herself just as Akari rose with Spice.
A light had appeared between Ringo and Sugar simultaneous to Akari and Spice's. Both girls shielded their eyes but it only lasted a moment, and the light faded. A slim, compact mirror-like device appeared before each girl. They were identical, except Akari's was pink, and Ringo's was blue.
"What the heck?" Akari muttered as she clasped a free hand around the device.
"What is this?" Ringo asked as she and Sugar examined hers in her palm.
"That's—"
"Found you!" a cheery voice called. The four whipped their heads to the source. A girl sat on a large tree branch. She looked just like the schoolgirls, only her hair was long and obsidian, her eyes were large amber orbs, and her olive skin donned a black body suit. The suit had orange details, reminding Akari of a Jack-o-Lantern, and an intricate white symbol crest on her left breast.
"An Oblivion~supaisu!"
"An Oblivion~suga!" Spice and Sugar cried in unison, fear evident in their eyes. Spice's face twisted into an angry and hateful look.
"What's 'an Oblivion?'" Ringo asked.
"That's me!" she answered. "Well, that's what we call ourselves. It is a name of power. I am called Arte."
"Oblivion attacked our kingdom~supaisu," Spice informed bitterly.
"And because of them—it's gone~suga," Sugar added quietly.
"What!?" Akari and Ringo cried. They looked at Spice and Sugar, and then at Arte, who was staring at the girls expectantly.
"Well?" Arte demanded. Akari and Ringo stared at her. "What are your guys' names?"
"Don't tell her~supaisu!" Spice commanded. "Oblivion can never know your name~supaisu. It is your best protection against them~supaisu."
"Bummer," Arte huffed but then smirked and hopped to her feet on the branch with ease. "Okay, no names, those fairies in your hands have to come with me, please."
Akari and Ringo exchanged looks before throwing glares at Arte.
"Nope, sorry. Not gonna happen." Akari shook her head.
"We won't ever hand them over to you," Ringo said.
"You're going to be like that? Fine. You've just made a very big mistake. If you won't hand them over, then I'll take them by force," Arte threatened. She reached under her suit and produced a black beaded necklace from around her neck. She plucked a bead off the necklace and flicked it across the park.
"Oh, dear. She's throwing rocks. Everyone duck and cover," Akari muttered sarcastically.
Instead of bouncing off a tree like a normal bead, the tree absorbed the bead. Akari and Ringo both squinted to where the bead had disappeared into the tree, unsure if it really was absorbed or they were seeing things.
Akari immediately regretted those words. The tree began to shake, leaves rustling, and the earth splitting between its roots, as it transformed into a menacing monster. The bark cracked, twisted, and turned a murky brown, but also started to resemble scales. The branches braided together to form freely moving limbs. Glowing red eyes appeared on the trunk to form a face of evil.
"Mujona!" it roared from a mouth full of jagged teeth.
"What is that!?" Akari and Ringo cried in unison and taking a step back.
"You wanted to do it the hard way," Arte reminded as she picked at the dirt under her fingernails. She lifted her golden gaze to the beast that dripped of dark energy. "Mujona, capture the fairies! Dead or alive!"
Akari and Ringo locked gazes once more and nodded in understanding with a look of firm determination on their features.
"Run away!" The two girls sprinted as fast as they could to get away from the Mujona as they clutched their fairies and compact mirrors close to their chests.
"After them!" Arte barked. The Mujona bellowed another howl and charged at the schoolgirls. The ground shook beneath their feet from the force of the heavy monster's feet. Akari and Ringo dared to look over their shoulders but at the sight of the nearing Mujona only made them scream in terror.
Arte dropped from the tree she once stood in and landed with catlike reflexes. She followed the Mujona and the girls, but in a stroll.
"I can't believe this!" Akari cried. "C'mon, Koizumi-san! Let's go!"
Ringo was breathless and unable to choke out words, but she nodded. Sugar's blue orbs trailed from Akari's features to Ringo's, before settling on Spice in Akari's arms.
"Spice!" Sugar called over the girls' frightened yells. "They're the ones~suga!"
"Them?! Of all people, them~supaisu?" Spice cried in disbelief.
"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Akari snapped.
"You're the Pretty Cure~suga! I just know it~suga!" Sugar answered.
"Eh?!"
"What's a Pretty Cure?!"
"You two, apparently~supaisu," Spice replied bluntly. Akari glared.
"That's not helpful!" Akari groaned.
"Please elaborate!" Ringo pleaded.
"Use those to transform~suga." Sugar pointed to the compact mirrors in their hands.
"Transform? Transform into what?!" Akari demanded.
"Pretty Cure!"
"How do we transform?" Ringo questioned.
"You two have to hold hands and say an incantation~suga. We'll help you two transform, but you two must work together~suga." Sugar and Spice jumped out of Akari and Ringo's arms and ran alongside them at their feet.
"Well, what are we waiting for, Koizumi-san?"
"Are sure about this, Miyazaki-san?"
"Nope! But it's worth a shot! Let's go!" Akari declared and clasped Ringo's hand. The girls skidded to a halt and twirled around to face the outstretched claws of the Mujona.
The girls suddenly blurted, "Dual Prism Power!"
Light exploded around the two girls. Energy surged around them, whipping their hair above their heads, and they felt so light as if they were floating. Their eyes squeezed shut, but they anchored themselves to each other as their uniforms flapped fiercely against their skins. Their clothes suddenly vanished and were replaced by sparkling dust of light coating their bodies from the curves of the shoulders and the tips of the toes.
Arte and the Mujona came to a halt and she raised her arms to shield her face.
Spice removed the ruby from his chest and tossed it to Akari, who expertly caught it between her fingers. She flipped open her compact mirror and placed the gemstone in the bottom half of it. Spice ran toward Akari and the pair high-fived each other before he ran off.
Meanwhile, Sugar tossed her sapphire at Ringo, who caught it gracefully. Like Akari, Ringo placed the jewel in the bottom half of her compact mirror. Sugar raced into Ringo's arms, and she pulled her close to her chest before releasing the fairy and she ran off with Spice.
After a minute of colorful twirls and acrobatics, Akari and Ringo dropped to the ground on their feet.
"The shining jewel of love, Cure Ruby!" Akari, now Cure Ruby, announced.
"The sparkling jewel of hope, Cure Sapphire!" Ringo, now Cure Sapphire, introduced.
"Our brilliant twin jewels will fight all evils and illuminate the future! Let's go! Shine Pretty Cure!"
There was a pause and the two girls blinked, both of their minds reeling and trying to grasp the reality of the magic that flowed around them. The realization hit them both simultaneously when they took a long look at the other.
"Eh!? What's with this costume!?" Cure Ruby cried, pulling at the hem of her shirt.
"What just happened to us?" Cure Sapphire asked as she picked at her arm warmer.
Cure Ruby donned a sleeveless top the color of lava with pink details and white highlights. Thin frills decorated the holes her arms went through and had three, transparent, wing-like sleeves. The shirt was V-neck that reached high at the back of her neck. Her pleaded skirt matched the colorings of her shirt with pink shorts beneath it. She wore matching crimson boots that reached her knees. Frilly dark red and white arm warmers reached up to her elbows. A red choker was wrapped around her throat and wore pink, heart-shaped earrings. And her hair—Cure Ruby's hair was now an electric scarlet that was pulled into a ponytail sitting atop her head and the curled ends barely brushed against her shoulders—a stark contrast from her deep red bob. Holding the ponytail into place was a pink accessory bow. And finally, a small pink bow rested on the small of her back, with a larger matching bow on her chest with a shining ruby positioned in the middle of it. The compact mirror was nestled in a white pouch strapped to her hip.
Cure Sapphire's outfit was near-identical to Cure Ruby's. The shirt was a round neck and the bottom of it was curved, instead of pointed like Ruby's. It was an aqua color with navy and white highlights. Her skirt was of same colorings with white shorts underneath. Her boots were also identical to Ruby's, except cerulean and white. Her arm warmers were navy colored with white frills and extended to her elbows. A simple blue band was around Sapphire's throat and baby blue heart-shaped earrings were in her ears. Sapphire's hair was now turquoise, tied into twintails that had grown to reach her calves, held in place with white accessory bows. There was a small white bow on the small of Sapphire's back, while a larger white one sat centered on her chest with a sparking sapphire situated in the center of it. Like Ruby, her compact mirror was in a white pouch wrapped around her waist.
"I feel strange..." Cure Sapphire muttered.
"They did it~suga! I knew it~suga! They're the legendary warriors~suga!" Sugar exclaimed at their feet.
"Don't get your hopes up~supaisu," Spice warned. "They only transformed and we still have an Oblivion trying to kill us~supaisu."
"I didn't think there were more Pretty Cure..." Arte whispered as she scrutinized the legendary warriors. "But they weren't a real threat to us anyway. Mujona!"
"Mujona!" it responded and it swung a large fist at the girls. Ruby and Sapphire let out a cry before leaping out of the way. It stomped forward to crush them, but the Cures' reflexes have suddenly improved from their ordinary selves.
The monster seemed to growl in frustration and stopped advancing upon them with fists and feet. Instead, leaves flew from its branches and they were shot in rapid succession at them.
Cure Ruby dodged and rolled, landing with a leg down on one knee. She paused and stared at her hands. They looked perfectly fine, gloved in red fingerless gloves, but she felt something. She felt something strong and powerful and burning inside. It coursed through her veins, throughout her body like it was humming inside her, and all gathering in her palms and feet. She balled her hands into fists and looked at Spice and Sugar.
"Now what do we do?!" Cure Ruby called.
"Fight it~suga!"
"How do we do that? Is there some kind of instructions manual for this?" Cure Sapphire asked.
"Not that I'm aware of~supaisu," Spice answered. Suddenly, Cure Sapphire tripped upon evading the knife-like leaves. Immediately, the Mujona curled its branches around her form and lifted her. She screamed and squirmed, but the hand tightened into a fist and she cried out in pain.
"Hey!" The Mujona shifted its glare at the source. Cure Ruby dashed forward, up to the monster, and kicked herself off the ground with immense strength. Her body leaped into the face of the Mujona, and pouring all of her power into a fist, she swung it into the beast. The impact was immense and the Mujona was sent tumbling onto its side with a loud howl.
"Timber!" Cure Ruby triumphantly laughed, landing on the trunk that also served as its body. His fist uncurled and Sapphire was released. "Get it, Sapphire? It's a tree."
"Yes, I understand, Ruby," Sapphire said as she tried to mask exasperation but a hopeless smile overcame her features.
"I don't get it," Arte admitted to herself, her brow furrowed as she looked between the Mujona and Cure Ruby.
"Hey, wait! I got another one!" she announced, dropping onto the grass and approached her partner. "If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?"
Spice slapped his forehead and Sugar shook her head.
"How'd you do that?" Cure Sapphire questioned.
"I just thought of it right now!"
"I meant the attack, Ruby."
"Oh," Cure Ruby rubbed the back of her neck as she chuckled nervously. "Beats me. It just sorta happened! I felt the power and I just—went for it."
"Ruby!" Cure Sapphire suddenly screamed, looking above and behind the red Cure, who froze in her tracks. Sapphire rushed forward and threw her arms above her head, stopping the fist of the recovered Mujona from hammering onto Ruby.
Cure Ruby's jaw dropped at the sight of Cure Sapphire's amazing strength. The Mujona was trying to shove its fist down upon them, but she was holding it and stopping it! How could someone so small be so strong?
Sapphire's knees buckled under the weight and force of the fist. She couldn't hold it back much longer. Noticing this, Cure Ruby immediately raised her arms above her head and pushed against the bark with her. Both Pretty Cure planted their feet on the ground and slowly straightened their bent knees as they pushed the Mujona back, sending it stumbling backward over its own roots.
As Cure Sapphire watched the Mujona stumble, Cure Ruby's gaze wandered over to where Arte stood with a tense posture. Arte raised a hand above her head—a feeling of déjà vu overcame Ruby—and black electricity danced between her fingers. In an instant, black lightning was fired at the girls. That same instant, Ruby lunged and tackled Sapphire into the dirt.
Sapphire's mind was spinning but the weight of Ruby's body was already lifted from her, for she had sprung to her feet with raised fists. Her jaw was clenched and she lunged at Arte, who wasn't expecting that. Ruby threw rapid punches, but her form was sloppy and Arte was able to land swift punches against her. Arte was obviously the more experienced fighter and suddenly swiped a leg under Ruby's feet, sweeping her off her feet and sending her into the grass. Ruby immediately bounced back to her feet and threw another punch to Arte's jaw.
Arte's hand flew to her jaw and paused in shock. Her gaze hardened and her free hand curled into a tight fist. Before Ruby could react to Arte, the latter shot her hand forward and black lightning shot forward. It collided against Ruby's chest and her body was sent flying backward into another tree.
"Ruby!" Cure Sapphire called, pushing herself to her feet. She sprinted to the other Cure, but her path was blocked by the Mujona. The Mujona shot more deadly leaves at Sapphire, but she was swifter and able to evade them. The Mujona then threw another punch, but she met it with a kick.
"Ruby!" Spice and Sugar slipped out from behind another tree and dashed to her side. Their voices tore Arte's attention from Ruby, and she was suddenly reminded of her original mission.
"You two!" she sneered. Spice and Sugar skidded to a stop and immediately ran in the other direction, narrowly dodging an obsidian bolt. Cure Ruby regained the breath that was knocked out of her and stumbled forward but was able to stop herself from falling on her face.
"Destroy it~suga! Use your powers to destroy the Mujona~suga!"
"How do we do that?!" Cure Ruby demanded.
"Beats me~supaisu. You're the Pretty Cure~supaisu," Spice replied.
"You're not helping…." Cure Sapphire muttered, sidestepping around the monster. Cure Ruby and Sapphire sighed. But then it hit them.
"Hey, Sapphire!" Ruby started racing towards the blue Cure. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"It worked when we transformed..."
"Let's give it a shot!"
Cure Ruby approached Sapphire and the latter outstretched a hand when she drew near. Ruby accepted it and they clasped each other's palm tightly. Another strange feeling thrust itself and demanded to be felt. A new kind of power surged through their veins and overcame the two entirely.
"The jewel of love!" Cure Ruby outstretched her free hand. A heart made of flames magically combusted in her open palm.
"The jewel of hope!" Cure Sapphire extended her free hand, where a heart made of water magically formed.
Ruby and Sapphire put their two hearts together, and it created one glittering, white heart in their palms.
"Pretty Cure Prism Cascade!" They shouted. The grip on each other tightened and the white heart between them expanded into a large one before them. Both of their free palms were outstretched to the heart and magic coursed outward from them. The white heart shot an immense white beam of light. It crashed into the Mujona and there was a powerful explosion upon impact.
"Mujona!" it bellowed, before turning to dust. Warm steam filled the park, and it felt surprisingly refreshing. The steam shimmered and all damage done from the battle was repaired magically, much to Ruby and Sapphire's amazement.
"What?!" Arte gasped. "No! You ruined everything!"
The legendary warriors marched towards the other girl and she took a step back, glowering at them.
"You're going to regret this," she promised darkly. There was a flash of black light and before the Cures knew it, Arte had vanished. Shoulders sagging and heavy sighs, the defensive demeanor of the Cures dropped.
Without warning and with a pop of light, Cure Ruby and Sapphire's appearance transformed back to their original civilian forms.
"How did that happen?" Ringo twirled and Akari ran her hands through her loose, short hair.
"After you're done fighting, you return to normal~supaisu," Spice explained. "Wasn't that obvious~supaisu?"
"You have some explaining to do!" Akari growled at the fairy. He rolled his eyes. "I'm exhausted. Transforming into a magical and fighting against your will is tiring."
"Who was she?"
"An Oblivion~suga."
"And Oblivion is...?"
"A bad group of people that attacked destroyed our kingdom~supaisu."
"Well, not entirely~suga," Sugar cut in. "It's frozen over, you could say~suga. And he took the most powerful weapon to destroy all of the worlds—"
"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I'm going to cut you off right there. I'm so lost right now," Akari groaned.
"It was very draining for both of us," Ringo confessed. Spice rolled his eyes, which wasn't unnoticed by Akari, only to send a glare his way.
"We'll explain it tomorrow then~suga. After we've all had a long day and it's best if we all got some rest~suga."
"Miyazaki-san and I need to get home. Our parents will be worried," Ringo added.
"Ditto. Let's go." Akari turned and began to walk away, Ringo quick to trail behind her.
"Akari?"
"Ringo?"
The two girls turned to look with quirked eyebrows at the fairies below.
"Thanks for helping us~supaisu."
"Thanks for helping us~suga."
Akari and Ringo looked at each other, and a smile broke across their faces before they returned soft gazes to the fairies.
"No problem."
ACT I: BEGINNING