In the kingdom of Mechanika, progress was a constant and rapid process. The kingdom itself was situated on a floating continent far above the clouds, with each piece spinning slowly like the gears of an old clock. Buildings were made of varying metals, bricks, and rosy coloured woods; each built not just to last, but to provide comfort and safety to the bright minds that called this center of innovation and invention their home. On a platform high above the others, one that did not spin, was Mechanika's Clockwise Castle.
From where she sat in her castle throne room, this kingdom's Clockwise Queen could hear the bustle of time moving forward. She closed her amber eyes and let a soft smile spread over her rosy pink lips. An airship flew overhead, a steam-powered device hummed as it warmed the castle, and the click of an elaborate mechanical lock signaled the arrival of her guest of honor. It was that sound that got the bronze skinned woman to look up and focus forward. The smile fell from her lips, marking the serious nature of this visit.
The guest of honor was a small rabbit. While its body was encased in a brown cloth exterior, the mechanical fairy was just that inside: Mechanical. The ticking of his gears could be heard from a yard away and he stopped before getting even an inch closer. His cute black eyes were filled with confusion and, when he saw the serious look on his Queen's face, fear.
"Y-your Majesty? H-have I d-done something w-wrong, tika?" Whimpered the fairy's high pitched voiced. His little bunny feet twitched and he shuffled around anxiously. His nerves almost inspired his Queen to soften her expression. If only the situation at hand were not so dire that it overrode that temptation…
"You are not in any sort of trouble, my dear Tinker." Her tone, at least, was gentle.
His tone remained confusion, "H-how do you know my name, tika?"
The Clockwise Queen giggled softly at that, "How is it surprising? I wrote it on the invitation, didn't I? I've already proven that I know it."
"Y-you wrote that letter with your own hands?" The fairy, Tinker, blurted, "But I'm not important enough to deserve such an honor, tika! I've yet to even invent one successful device for your kingdom!"
"Your success is measured differently than you can see. It's your future that I look forward to, dear Tinker." The Queen spoke kindly, allowing her smile to return in full for these few moments. Then quickly correcting her expression as she continued, "And the matter of that letter is quite important. Its contents and your mission are top-secret. Between just yourself and my high council."
Tinker gulped. "I don't understand, -tika. I-it mentioned Pretty Cure and Earth… A mechanic of my level can't possibly help with either of those things!"
"You can. And if you accept this mission, you certainly will." The Clockwise Queen said firmly, "You are the only one that I trust to find the Pretty Cure."
"But we already have Pretty Cure, -tika." Tinker mumbled, his confusion not yet solved.
"That's true." Acknowledge the Queen, "Mechanika has been blessed for many years by the inspiration and muse that the Pretty Cure protect and nurture. But this isn't Mechanka's Pretty Cure that I am worried about."
The woman lifted her gloved hand, directing numerous devices above her to focus on the space between Tinker and herself. They projected a flickering but colourful image of Earth in that empty space.
"This is Earth. We of Mechanika exist parallel to this planet. In exchange for being allowed to exist within its blind spot, we are sworn to encouraging and protecting Earth's progress." She explained to the mechanical fairy, "That is why it is your duty, as a resident of Mechanika, to answer Earth's call."
Tinker twitched his long rabbit ears, "I do not hear any calling from Earh, -tika. Wouldn't a planet's voice be loud?"
The princess covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "No. Planets have very soft voices, Tinker. And this Planet is screaming."
Even after her explanation, Tinker tried to strain his ears and hear it. "Why is it screaming?"
"Because something- someone- is trying to stop that Planet's spinning." The Clockwork Princess spoke softly, her voice full of hurt and worry. There was a short pause as she regained her composure and focused her determined gaze on the small fairy, "And they need the means to stop that sort of tragedy: Pretty Cure."
[[ CLOCKWORK PRECURE - EPISODE ONE
wind-up the future! cure tea has arrived! ]]
On that day, however, the Earth was spinning as normally as ever. A calm, consistent pace was reflected in that warm, soothing morning. Light pushed through the intricate windows of an equally as elaborate house. The walls of the victimized room were covered in warm, tea coloured wallpapers. Pictures hung wherever a nail could be placed, each one depicting a point in the life of the room's sole occupant. The dirty blonde lay in a canopy bed with the drapes closed, snoring most 'eloquently' in time with the clicking of a clock.
And then, also in time with the clock-
"RRRRIIIIIIING"
"AAAAAAAAHHH!"
Mamie Rosepedal reacted with her natural grace and charm. She rolled over and reached for her alarm clock, slammed her hand on it, and then fell out of the bed and to the floor. In other words, she reacted without a shred of grace. Sitting up, she found that her cheeks were sticky from drool and her hair frazzled from a night of rolling around in bed. On top of everything, she had not even managed to turn off her alarm clock. The blasted creation continued to wail obnoxiously.
"Aaah! Be quiet, you widget!" Mamie wailed, smacking the device fruitlessly, "If you're to see the light of another day, I'd advise you to follow my orders!"
Of course, the alarm clock was not swayed by threats. If anything, it seemed to scream louder.
"Lady Rosepedal? Is all well, miss?" It was by some miracle that Mamie could make out the soft voice at all, when she was otherwise being deafened by a cruel invention. Her bedroom door opened just a crack so that a girl with frizzy blonde hair could peek in. It was hardly embarrassing to be seen by a maid in her current state: Mamie could brush the mess out of her hair, but her maid's hair was untamable. The other girl's pale cheeks and tired eyes were beyond repair, where as Mamie had the spirit and talent for shaping herself up.
"Elsiiieee!" Wailed Mamie in a very unlady-like manner, "Elsie, make this wretched thing be quuuiet!"
Elsie sighed and shook her head, "Of course, milady. Just a moment."
"Oh, thank all that is good!" Mamie sighed loudly in relief when her maid's rough fingers silenced the clock, "I've no idea what hope Father saw in such a cruel device. Its accuracy may be one thing, but what an awful noise!"
"Yes, milady." Parroted her maid back to her, "I'm sure he'd appreciate your input. This device is to be signed and licensed soon, if I recall correctly."
Mamie moaned, "Such a thing is hardly afternoonified. There are not enough sadistic, sleep-hating fools in the world to want something such as this."
"Yes, milady." Elsie said again.
The clock had been in Mamie's room for over a month now. It was a trial invention, one of the many that the Rosepedal family may eventually back with money. Mamie's father was a genius, both in the eyes of his daughter and much of society, because he had seen an opportunity in so many inventions.
"In a time of such fast paced progress, it is important that one only pays for and boards the right trains." Mamie recited her father's favorite analogy as she rose off of the floor, "When time moves so fast, every wasted second is wasted profit- Elsie! Do fetch my town dress. And where has my corset hopped off to this morning?"
Throughout the process of dressing in the morning, Mamie began to dress up her character as much as her body. The tight corset reminded her at all times to keep her head high and dignity about her. The red blush on her cheeks reminded her to be a lively, but controlled, young woman. As she styled her hair into two braids coiled atop her head, Mamie reminded herself that she was no longer a little girl: She was a sixteen year old woman. She would be married in a few years, and these strong shoulders and this bright mind would be running an entire household.
The thought made Mamie grin with pride. She turned to face Elsie once the last layer of dress was on and corrected her grin to a dignified and gentle smile, "Thank you again for this morning, Elsie. Do be on your way, then."
"Yes, milady." The fuzzy haired maid bowed her head and left the room. As it did every morning, the young lady's transformation made her maid's expression and heart twist with ill feelings.
It was barely nine o'clock when Mamie finally graced the elegant front staircase. Her hand ran down the exceptionally carved railing, holding her steady as she focused on her proper posture. All of this fell apart on the last step, which Mamie instinctively skipped over with a hop. When she landed, the girl groaned in dismay. "I did it again… I wasn't going to let myself hop it this morning."
At least no one had been there to see it, she reminded herself mentally. At least, that was what she had thought-
"Didn't you say that yesterday too, Miss Rosepedal?"
"Bwah!" Mamie stumbled back and caught herself on the stair railing. Her blue eyes narrowed in on the boy who had spoken so suddenly, "Albert! Dear goodness, whatever are you doing here at this hour?"
"Well, my apprenticeship does require that I live in the guest room." Said the boy, his expression soft and apologetic. Albert was someone that reminded Mamie very much of Elsie: He could never escape the truth of his upbringing. He tried to keep his brown hair cut clean and an energetic sparkle in his green eyes, but it somehow always showed that he was struggling to look presentable.
"You look as though you just woke up." Mamie huffed in annoyance, "Did you not even run a brush through that hair of yours?"
"Of course I did." Albert scowled lightly, "You insult me, Mamie."
"You insult the Rosepedal name with that appearance." She retorted, though he knew it was hardly his fault. The hairs on his head always seemed to grow at irregular and rapid paces, making for a chopping and unkept appearance. And those green eyes of his were always disgustingly tainted with exhaustion. Those with a poor upbringing would always look the part, she knew, but really now. He hardly seemed to try sometimes.
"Get me a brush this instant. Goodness me, if my father were to see you in such a state… How do you not feel poked up?" Mamie took his hand in hers and began dragging him back towards the guest room he had presumedly come from, much to Albert's embarrassment.
"Wait, Mamie! I mean, Miss Rosepedal!" He squawked in a most unappealing manner, "What if your father were to see us? And you? Or even hear you?"
Albert did not mean to threaten Mamie. He spoke out of pure concern for her. She recognized this fact, but that did not prevent her from practically smacking his hand away when her march came to an abrupt stop. Mamie stood perfectly still for a moment, then quietly lifted her free hands to adjust the coiled braids on her head.
Though she was trying to mask it, Albert knew her well enough to understand that she was hurt.
"I apologize if I seemed to threaten you, Miss Rosepedal." He continued in a soft voice, "But I sincerely hate to see that way your father talks to you when you behave as you should…"
"As I shouldn't." Mamie corrected him. Her raised voiced, her scolding an apprentice, her rude words, and her casual treatment of a man… Mamie knew these things were not good. Her corset, her make-up, her hair… All of those should remind her of that too. She let out a sigh as she turned to face Albert, her expression once again neutral. "My apologies, Mr Evergreen. Thank you for your hard work, as always."
"Mamie-" She had just turned to leave, but stopped when Albert addressed her in such a way again. It wasn't hard to resist the urge to scold him when he sounded so sincere.
"Mamie… Thanks. I'll go see what I can do about my hair…"
"And your shirt collar-" Mamie started, but bit down on her tongue, "I mean… Good. A good day, actually. To you. Good bye."
And with that, she hurried off down the hall.
The city of Timesworth was nothing at all like his homeland in the skies. Tinker wore a pair of tiny mechanical wing on his back, which allowed him to flutter through the air like a clumsy butterfly. They were one of his prouder inventions, since they worked more often than they did not. That, and they were very fashionable.
"But they aren't helping." He sighed, his floppy bunny ears doing just that as he flew, "I can't see the people on the streets very well… I don't even know what a Pretty Cure is going to look like."
Which was rightfully frustrating. The Princess had entrusted him with two Prekeys so that he might unlock two Pretty Cure, but she had not told him how to find these legendary girls. All he knew was that these keys would be enough to wind up their transformations.
"- and that they're girls." He reminded himself, "I just need to find some girls who are creative and forward thinkers."
The problem, Tinker quickly realized, was finding such girls. He fluttered carefully through the city streets in search of leads and was lucky enough to come across just one. It was a printed flyer advertising a group that would sponsor inventors and fund their work. Tinker memorized the address and the group name. If there were any very serious and creative girls then surely they would be there, right? They would put their forward thinking into inventing, like he did.
With a nod to self-assure himself, Tinker flew off to the location in question: "I need to find the Rosepedal Estate!"
The estate in question was located in a far corner of town, laying claim to an unusual amount of land for a family of the times. Green grass grew around a large home made of whitened bricks and trimmed with shiny iron. Tinker found that a large wall surrounded the perimeter of this property and guarded most of its splendor from public eye, separating the pristine mansion from the dirtier streets. His only means of peeking inside came from the gaps in the estate's front gate, which was painted white and resembled rose vines.
"This isn't what I was expecting, though." He admitted out loud. It was nothing like an inventor's hub back in Mechanika, which is what he had been looking for. There were not lines of people waiting to have their inventions seen and hopefully sponsored. He did not even hear the rhythm of machines churning within this house. How it was a place for inventions and progress, he really did not know. How he was going to find a Pretty Cure, Tinker knew less. "Maybe if I wait long enough, a clever girl will come along…"
Deciding this to be his best bet, Tinker settled down by the side of the gate and did just that: Waited. The streets were silent. Though trees grew in certain spaces along the cobblestone walkways, no birds called them home. This part of town was beautiful and better kept than the other places he had seen that day, yet it was eerie and lifeless.
"Miss Rosepedal! Stop behaving in bad form!" A voice cut through the silence of his waiting, jarring Tinker out of a daze. He heard footsteps coming in his direction, their owner distorted by the gate. Most importantly to Tinker was how these footsteps were of a heeled foot. The owner had been called 'Miss Rosepedal,' so was not just a girl but someone from this supposed home of progress.
"Miss Rosepedal, stop at once!" Scolded a woman's voice, "This is hardly your job!"
"I will in a moment, ma'am." Mamie hummed in response. Her slender hand dialed a combination on an intricate lock and then pried the front gate open. Tinker tried to hide by pressing himself against the wall, since he had nowhere else to go easily. "Hm~m. Any mail for Albert in here~?"
The girl pressed against the wall as well, struggling to reach all of the way back into a mailbox that was fastened right above Tinker. He felt the girl's leg brush against him, then heard her voice her surprise with a soft gasp.
"Oh? What's this?" She stepped back, hands filled with letters and packages, and looked down. Tinker stayed still. "You must have been too big to put in the mailbox… You've hardly any artistic merit about you, though..."
Mamie tucked some of the packages under her arm as she knelt down and carefully picked Tinker up. His clothed form was heavier than she had imagined a stuffed animal to be, yet she got him up all the same. In the process, however, one of the PreKeys that Tinker had been entrusted with fell. The clattering sound got Mamie's attention as well. She put Tinker under her other arm and struggled to pick up the key.
"How odd… Hm." With some effort, she pocketed the key in her apron and then returned to holding the letters normally, "I'd best take you to father. I wonder what sort of device you're intended to be?"
And with that, Tinker was kidnapped into the Rosepedal Estate.
[ EYECATCH:
Mamie, Tinker, and Elsie are seated at a table in the middle of the estate's garden. Mamie lifts a tea pot to pour tea for her two friends, but clumsily misses and begins spilling it all off the table. Elsie rises to her feet to help her lift the pot and Tinker scurries away from the water source.
EYECATCH:
Mamie and Elsie transform into Cure Tea and Cure Jewel, then turn their napkins and forks into a little robot that skates around the table, cleaning up their mess. Seeing their success, the two girls grin and high five one another. ]
Mamie was disappointed. After checking the mail, the governess had scolded Mamie and locked her in her bedroom to study. It was, in many ways, very unfair. Mamie now sat at her study desk with a pile of books and papers. "I was just helping. I even delivered the mail to Father and Albert."
But her Father had been a little bit cross with her. She could have broken one of the inventions with her careless fingers, after all. As Mamie had sulked out of the business room, she had seen her Father struggling to make sense of the stuffed rabbit that she had brought inside.
"It's very heavy. Something is clearly inside of it. But what is it intended to do…?"
She knew that they would put the strange device aside and read the letters first. One of the letters probably referred to and introduced the sender's bizarre invention. It was a shame that they hadn't discovered its purpose right away.
"I really wanted to know what that thing did." Mamie sighed, "I've never seen an invention that also looked like a children's toy. I wonder if it's meant to play with the child? Is that safe?"
Silence answered her. Perhaps not really, but in a way that it sounded like the voice of her reality: She wasn't to know. She wasn't to get a real answer. The duty of her, a young woman in these times, but was not in inventions. Technically, she should only have gone into her Father's business room to clean and answer his summons.
"... I still really want to know." She pouted, "But! That's not my place. Mamie Rosepedal!"
Mamie picked a pen from her desk and drew in a deep breathe. Erasing the disappointment from her face and heart, instead turning to her paper.
"It is time to learn some geography! I'll be nothing of a conversation partner if I've not even a clue where the African continent lies." Determined, Mamie settled down into her studies. For five minutes, ten minutes, fiffteen minutes…
Then collapsed on the desk, arms stretched out and cheek pressed against wet black ink.
"I'm too hungryyyy. I want biscuits. I want tea… I want afters..."
Silence.
Then she sat up again, smiling brightly again.
"No matter! I'll go to the kitchen. Elsie will surely prepare something for me."
Mamie rose from her chair and walked to the door. The quick and sudden movement caused something heavy in her apron's pocket to slip and fall to the floor, clinking softly against the expensive Indian carpet. As Mamie knelt down to retrieve it, two facts were brought back to her attention: A) She had never given her Father that strange key which had fallen from the rabbit. Surely that was an important factor in discovering how it worked. And Secondly,B) Her governess had locked her in.
"... Tch." Mamie turned to look at her locked bedroom door, a hand drifting to her hair. She took out a hair pin and got on her knees, trying to pick the lock open in a rather cliched fashion. The sound got the attention of someone outside her bedroom door.
"M-Miss Rosepedal, I really don't think you should do that…" Said the soft voice.
Mamie blinked in surprise, only to then smile brightly and lean in towards the door. "Elsie! Elsie, is that you out there?!"
"Eep!" That was a 'yes.' The maid guarding her door squeaked in alarm and Mamie could hear her shuffling away, "I-I'm… Well!"
"You can't lie to me, Elsie! Father pays you!" Mamie threatened with some pride in her voice.
Elsie let out a soft whine-squeak sound, "I caaaan't. The Governess asked me to make sure you do not escaaaape."
On the other side of the door, Elsie was now covering her ears and sinking to the floor.
"I'm not to speak to you!"
Mamie could imagine all of this melodrama occurring outside her bedroom door. She had known Elsie since they were both quite small. In truth, Elsie had been raised in a way that almost made her like a sister in Mamie's eyes: They had taken meals together in those early days and Elsie's first job had been to keep a young Mamie occupied. She had even been so blessed as to be allowed to attend Mamie's early schooling with her, making her an avid and active reader even to this day.
"Elsie, this is important! I really need to get out!" Mamie pouted, letting her manners drop for this conversation, "Please. I'll pretend it wasn't you."
"You're a horrible liar, Milady." Elsie replied dryly, removing her hands from her head.
"Are you implying a lack of trust between us?" Countered the young lady.
Elsie couldn't bring herself to answer.
"W-well then." Mamie rose to her feet again and marched to her study desk, retrieving a book from the top and returning with it in hand. She opened it and set it on her lap while settling down against the door, "I will recite my mathematics to you whilst I study."
"H-huh?!" Elsie squeaked.
"Let us begin with problem one. We have fifty to complete today."
"M-Miss Rosepedal, wa-wait! Nooo!"
"Then will you let me out?" Mamie asked hopefully, "Because if not, you'll have to endure your very favorite subject."
"Nngh…" Elsie crumpled to the floor, preparing herself to endure long hours of mathematics. It's not my fault you're locked in there, you know…!
Down in the study, a different breed of antics were being played out. Mamie's Father and Albert were trying to figure out what to do with Tinker. For what it was worth, the rabbit-like fairy had been doing a very good job of staying still. He knew from the Clockwise Princess that technology of his level didn't exist here just yet and he wasn't supposed to interfere with their natural progression. Still… Any more of this poking and prodding, and he might burst out with ticklish laughter! What a disaster it would be if a stuffed rabbit burst out laughing for real!
"None of the letters addressed it?" Father clarified to Albert.
The young man shook his head, sorting through their mail one last time, "Nothing of the sort. Why send an invention without explanation?"
"It must have been done hastily." Father concluded, "We don't need that type of person here regardless of what this does."
"Even so…" Albert was just as curious as Mamie. He looked down at the rabbit more closely, but could not see any obvious switches that might activate it, "I wonder what it is?"
"A waste of time, no doubt."
A cold voice interrupted the men's conversation. It was if the voice itself were made of ice, the way that it sucked warm creativity right from the curious men. Looking ahead, towards the entrance to the business room, both men could see the form of a tall, slender man wearing an intricately decorated bronze coat. The gold threads etching its fantastic designs followed the brownish fabric all the way to his ankles and all of the way down the long, cuffed sleeves. The man's brown hair gradually turned green like a rusting copper coin and green eyes flashed from under the mess. He was not a normal man in any sense.
"H… How did you get in here?" Albert was the first to speak up, "We aren't accepting applications in person today. You'll have to come back another time."
"Applications?" The strange rusty man repeated, "For your invention sponsorship program, you mean?"
Tinker shuddered, still trying to stay still. He knew this man from the images his Princess had shown him. This man was bad news, but what could he do? Move and his secret would be revealed, compromising the purity of the two humans' creative minds… And even if he moved, it was not as if he had found any Pretty Cure. There were only men in this room, after all!
"I'm not here to be sponsored." Continued the 'bad news,' "I'm here for the opposite- To send your business and its creative progress to a standstill!"
The bizzare man threw two objects at the men; little black gears that spun counter-clockwise. Those gears buried themselves in the human bodies. Albert stumbled backwards and fell against a wall while Mr Rosepedal dropped to his knees. Tinker wasn't sure what to do! He saw the light draining from their eyes and the harsh expressions they were forced to wear, like they had become statues that could no longer move forward, and yet he feared revealing himself. He wasn't supposed to!
"Now let's see… Which of these should I use?" The cruel man glanced between the two fallen men, then flicked his wrist. A black gear rolled down his arm and flew at the inventions on the table, leaving his choice to chance. It embedded into what looked like some bizarre wind-up salad tosser; a bowl with two forks mechanically attached. As the gear sunk into its metal form, the bowl swelled up to many times its size until it was as tall as a carriage. Tiny feet formed on the base of the bowl and it held up the attached forks like stiff arms.
"Gear Monster! Reverse this land's progress and bring these creative thoughts to a standstill!"
"GIIIIYAAA!"
There was a great tremble felt in Mamie's bedroom. She was on the fifteenth problem in her book, but stopped when the strange shaking repeated itself.
"What in the name of Heaven…?"
Even Elsie seemed to be stunned to silence. A third, a forth… Every time, the trembling became more fierce and frightening. At the fifth, Mamie heard Elsie standing up.
"I'm going to investigate." Elsie explained, "Please don't act in bad form, Miss Rosepedal."
"Yes." Mamie replied, her tone carrying some level of maturity. She had a gross feeling in her gut and couldn't bring herself to whine. It felt as if the shaking originated from downstairs and she worried it was worse for her Father.
She waited in silence for only a few minutes. Then the vibrations suddenly stopped… and she heard the most horrific of screams coming from downstairs.
"Elsie?!" Mamie shrieked the maid's name as she got to her feet, "Elsie! Elsie, are you alright?!"
There was no verbal response. Instead, the shaking got more and more fierce, as if it were coming closer.
"ELSIE! Elsie, Elsie?!"
The maid wasn't responding! Mamie felt her panic worsen. Something was happening! Where was her father in all of this?! Was he okay?! Mamie ripped her hairpin out of her braids again, causing them to fall to her shoulders as long, childish ropes. Without thinking of her position, Mamie began picking the lock.
"Elsie! Where are you?!" Flinging open the door, Mamie called out to her maid. Even now, the shaking was getting worse. Fear spread through the young woman, making it hard for her to tell which was trembling worse; her body or the floor. And then, suddenly, when she was without a doubt certain the floor was the greater scaredy cat-
"Tikaaaaaaaaah!"
A tiny voice screamed as the stuffed rabbit flew up the staircase.
The stuffed rabbit
flew
up the staircase.
Mamie was unable to process it. She didn't really have time to process it. Because just as fast, a giant salad bowl equip with tossers for arms came forcing its way up the grand staircase as well.
Was she half-rats or was this real?!
"Heeeeeeek!" The appropriate reaction, she decided, was a shriek.
Her voice got Tinker's attention. "A girl!"
"Heeeek heek heek heek!"
Tinker flew at Mamie and she instinctively caught him in her arms. Her mind raced. Schooling did nothing to prepare her for such things! Her feet acted without a mind to guide them, rushing her back into her room and slamming the door shut. Only seconds after, she heard the giant salad bowl slamming against the door as well.
"Heek heek heek heeeeek!" Mamie repeated. Surely if she shrieked enough times then someone would hear her and come save her. "Fatherrr! Father, Fatherrr! A-Alberrrrt!"
"They can't come!" Tinker whined from the false safety of her arms, "It already knocked them both out!"
"Ha-" Mamie's eyes went wide. Her breathe caught in her throat, muting her screams. Imagination ran to corners of her mind it wasn't welcome to, creating images of her father's body laying unconscious in the study and Albert, with his hair a mess even in her dreams, surely in a similar state.
The two men of her life, defeated.
And then the woman of the household, holed up helplessly in her room.
"N-no… no noo… S-Someone! Someone, heeelp!" She called, praying her voice might reach the streets… But it wouldn't. Their estate was too large for her voice to carry that far.
"No one's coming…" Mamie sobbed helplessly, "Mother… Mother, help me…!"
But that, too, she knew was hopeless. Because if their estate was too large for her voice to carry, then surely that pathetic squeak of a wish wouldn't reach heaven either. What would her mother do for her anyway? Her mother, the literal Angel of this Household-
The salad bowl pounded against the door once more. Its strength knocked the door down, and a miraculous force send Mamie flying back before she could be crushed. She sat on her butt, looking up at the most horrifying kitchenware of her lifetime. Kitchenware, of all things! What kind of Angel of the Household died by the kitchenware she was supposed to maintain?!
"I'm sorry, Princess, I failed youuu- huh?"
Mamie set Tinker down. Her nimble fingers collected the ropes of hair from her shoulder and assembled them into a messy bun, then sealed them in place with her held hairpin. She was shaking so hard… She was so scared! The men were downstairs, defeated, and couldn't protect her or the household. But the more she wished for her mother, the more Mamie remembered.
"Th-This is my responsibility… This house is mine to maintain." She whispered in a shaky voice, "The kitchenware is my responsibility… This is my duty."
Tinker was stunned. This girl was weak and useless, and now she was rambling like a brainwashed housewife. In Mechanika, she'd be on the bottom of the hierarchy because of this stereotypical way of thinking. But it certainly gave her an illusion of calm.
He still wouldn't have pegged her as a Pretty Cure. She didn't fit the bill he was expecting... and yet, from the pocket of her apron came a golden glow. He recognized the shape of it immediately.
"The PreKey is reacting to someone like her…?" The fairy gasped… Then drew in a deep breathe like Mamie had, "You! Take that thing and do as I say!"
"I-I don't take orders from children's toys-"
"I'm trying to help you-"
"WAAAAH!"
The pair screamed in unison as the salad bowl- untouched by their weird moment of sentiment- rushed them again. Mamie dove in one direction, grabbing the key from her apron, as Tinker dove in another.
"Hold up that key and yell 'PreCure! Wind up my heart!'" Tinker called.
"I just said I don't-" The salad bowl slammed into her canopy bed, smashing it into a pile of pieces… She gritted her teeth- "Fine!"
"PreCure~! Wind up my heeeart!"
The key held it her hand flew up, then began twirling like a helicopter seed as it slowly fell downward again. Mamie caught it in both hands again and pulled it to her heart, where the glowing intensified and spread over her whole body. A clock popped from the glow first, with a golden bow blooming with it as the center. Her dress shrunk and then 'popped' into a pair of scandalous golden yellow bloomer shorts, with a brown top failing to cover them completely. Mamie stepped forward, with ribbons climbing up her legs like vines and then popping like popcorn to form actual boots. Her steps led her to spin and spread her arms out, with a pair of gloves running up to her wrists and then ending with lace like the opening of flower petals. A thin, translucent fabric bloomed from under the brown top, but failed to properly cover her bloomer shorts. In a final movement, Mamie ripped the hairpin from her glowing braids and they soared back, growing like vines and then blooming into golden, glowing flowers- then darkening as if stained by tea and turning a rich, warm shade of brown. Her now long hair flowed with elegant waves that no amount of human effort could maintain.
The transformed girl opened her eyes and drew in a deep breathe, then brought her hands in front of her and threaded her gloved fingers with a delicate movement.
"Brewing happiness will take time!"
She announced rather randomly, tearing her hands apart and performing a careful curtsy in her scandalous oufit.
"Cure Tea!"
End of Episode One