Author's Notes: What happens when one adds the personality of Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII into the body of a young female student who will undoubtedly become the heroine of the story? Somebody far too serious to be a Pretty Cure character, of course! But I'mma do it, just 'cus!
Truth be told, I haven't finished watching all the episodes of "Smile! Pretty Cure!" Just started, really. Hope I'm not missing out on any relevant information.
Friendship is not my forte - turning heroes into nasty villains is! Haha… Anyways, here's the story. It's a prologue, so it'll be short.
Rated T for TASTY TAKOYAKI! Wait… I don't think that works…

{Published Date: 22/09/13}
{Re-Published Date: 07/12/15}

-{All rights belong to Toei Animation, writer Yonemura Shōji and designer Kawamura Toshie.}-

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Pretty Cure: -BLACK✰SMILE-

~the DREAMING=

ᕙRouse: 00 - Dreams End/Nightmares Beginᕗ

-=[I]=-

~BEAUTIFUL HEROES~

The night was young; the furious wind howling as if a roaring beast of myth. The expansive field of lilies in which they stood, a location of peace and quiet to endure, slowly began to wither and die. The tiny petals shrivelling before the mighty breeze dragged them high towards the sky, far away from praying eyes while people both young and old staggered nearby, consumed by a ghastly aura. Their view on the world, their sanctuary from harm, was transformed into absolute negativity, their hopes and dreams for the future seemingly demolished within crippled minds. Unlike those fallen, one smiled in sheer delight like a cheshire cat, her lustre lips stretched across soft cheeks, but it was no ordinary smile. It was twisted, a malicious grin to reflect one's tainted nature. "Again...? Heeheehee~ Looks like you really don't care, after all~! Whether it's getting very, very late or even that traumatising ordeal! Isn't that right~? Right~?" Her eyes of pink gave off an air of unease, a fixed gaze upon familiarity prompted all the giggles and laughter she could muster - neither were deliberate; neither were contagious. "You must be tired by now... Oh, I know! I'll read one of my favourite storybooks! I'm sure it'll put you into a deep, deep, slumber~~"

Clutching a solid weapon in hand, the opposing girl shot back a verbal remark, her concentrated glare almost frightening to behold. "No, thanks. It's not my bedtime." Her rose-coloured hair at arm's length danced like they always would, the world their stage before the accompaniment of a white ribbon, loose and torn as it, too, swayed to the wind.

"Ohhh, ha~pu~puu..." Disappointment was expressed through gathered lips and bloated cheeks, a characteristic tendency reserved only for her, but both combined were quick to warp into a deranged smile, an expression no cheery maiden should possess - especially for one born to forever shine. "Light-chan, you never change~" Fingers were flexing, itching to claim all wholeheartedly as her own, before a sudden wave of power-so-black burst awake from the intimidating self, brushing aside the infinite rain and rippling across the vast field to finally cloud all throughout within surrounding depression. "But you shouldn't talk like that~! Good girls..." With a blink lasting no more than a second, she vanished into a blur of pink and black, obscured by the confusing fog until out she came like a bird after its prey, leaping at a chance with fist magically augmented by intense magenta light to deliver judgement absolute, leaving behind a majestic glittering trail. "…are supposed to OBEY! !" A knuckle swung to immediately collide against something tough, the impact filled the attacker with unimaginable glee, yet the sound which echoed was unlike that of shattering bones, but the ringing of hardened metal struggling against immense power unleashed.

In that crucial moment of inescapable denial, a knight's fury was crowned dominance in the eyes of despair.

Tension gathering in the muscles and feet securely grounded, a scornful look was followed by a noticeable flinch into an arm that became the focal point for a counterattack. Through a circular shield attached did a simplistic flinch propel her assailant effortlessly across the field, erupting a scream in utmost agony whilst tumbling and rolling to an inevitable halt.

"...I've heard enough." The knight wearily remarked. "Watching you manipulate Kise-san like that; watching you smile as if nothing's wrong...it's impossible to warrant sympathy at this point. Because you...you're already Pierrot's perfect little pet and you don't even realise it. You're just-" By a shred of pity that doused the threat of consuming flames, she paused in calm's favour - no good would come from yelling, she knew that. "...To tell the truth, it's getting harder to believe if any part of you is still crying for 'her', crying for someone to save you. I want to believe you're still in there; I want to believe our voices can reach you...Hoshi-" She paused again, unable to finish a name in hopes to draw out one's buried humanity. It was a chance to test her luck, but instead an aggravating sigh escaped after a quick reflection on past occasions, all none too pleasing. "Whatever - I'm wasting my breath." With one resolute step, the distinct sound of metallic armour clattered, followed by another...and another...alongside the ominous hum of a crystal blade. "I promised 'her' I'd save you...but I never promised this to be bruise-free."

Once strong to induce misery in those she deemed unfit for merriment's embrace, the weakened regrettably surrendered herself to stinging tears, drowning in a misery of her own making, but she was far from honest defeat. Gradually stumbling on shaky knees, a sharp pain overloading the senses, the chained warrior of Pierrot's chosen evidently lost her smile to a bitter frown, a trickle of red from an injured arm landing on dead flowers. "It hurts...it hurts..." From the blackened heart fuelled by warped positivity, an overpowering sensation inched for release, the corroded feelings finally expressed through words unrestrained, albeit in a tone subdued. "It's almost nostalgic...a bit like 'that time'."

The knight stopped in her tracks, muttering. "'That time'...?"

"I remember the weird taste of rubber going down my neck...and the feeling of my heart burning up. It made me sick...and it hurt a lot. It...it was a nightmare I couldn't wake up - I was scared." Still present was the frown she wore, the hunger that encapsulated the soul was seemingly about to become no more, a split in two between truth and lie, but harsh reality had no room for fleeting promises.

That was made certain by her creeping leer.

"But, after a while...the hurting disappeared...and it turned into something amazing: Happiness - lots and LOTS of happiness~" Eyes shone through the night as if inhuman, laced with a mixture of both sincerity and deception, a contradiction. "Joker-sama made my pain into joy, eheh-hehehe~ Something this good can't be that bad, right? It feels a hundred times better, but I know I'm still me - I'm still everyone's Miyuki~" Her honest tone and energetic motion were almost believable, probably enough to sway those unsuspecting to her kingdom's desperate plight. Like the withered lilies all around, the shining flower that was someone familiar returned once more to the dark abyss.

The knight did not care. "...Stop talking."

"Light-chan understands, don't you? You hurt people because it makes you happy~ I feel the same...because I get excited just thinking about hurting 'her', eheh-heh~! It makes me feel ultra-hap...pu...puu...?" The mere mention of a friend out of reach invoked trailing depression, flooding in memories of brighter days, the two together fond and proud. "Candy...I hope...I hope I get to see her again. I want to apologise and tell her how I really feel. I...I miss her..."

"Stop. Talking."

"But, eheh-heh-hmhm, I guess it won't matter~ Everything will belong to Pierrot-sama soon. And Candy will finally belong. Only. To-"

"SHUT UP! ! !" The knight, teeth clenched and body visibly shaken, demanded at one feigning innocence. "Why..?! Why are you so damn weak...?! WHY THE HELL CAN'T YOU WAKE UP?!" She expected an answer to quench lurking irritation, but all she received in return was indifference: The pink heroine refused to cease her devious grin for a coming 'utopia'. The knight contemplated her efforts, having anticipated tonight's ending long before its unveil...and yet, she tried regardless. A glimmer of hope to shatter the chains that bound their hearts to darkness, but it was apparent no amount of talking would bear fruit - everything ultimately boiled down to simplicity. "Screw it! I'll just beat you to the ground! With or without the Cure Decors!"

Girls once ordinary were destined to fight for their deferring beliefs, the exchange of aggression and the other of exuberance their proof. In-spite of their quarrel, the two conceived a thought that rang true as a thunderous storm loomed large over the horizon, the wind amassing strength with each passing moment: None may leave until a lone heartbeat remained.

"HeeHEEhee-AHAhaha~ I'm already at my strongest because of Pierrot-sama, ehehe~ Just a bit more...and Light-chan will understand~! My o~ver~flow~ing happiness~"

Whatever friendship they had harboured up to this point would be forsaken; their heated resentment forever enshrouding troubled minds.

"Hmhm-eheheheh-aha-AHAHAHAHA~~! ! IT'S HERE, I CAN FEEL IT! I can feel Pierrot-sama's love FILLING ME UP~! ! IT'S AMAZING-AMAZING-AMAZING-AMAZIIIIINNNGGGGG~~! !" Miyuki buckled to the surge of rapture gripping the heart, charging the reactor that was her spirit whilst salivating without notice. As if complying to the glow of a violet gem pulsing incessantly on her chest, a title of legend was finally invoked. "+~PRETTY CURE! !~+" An ethereal symbol of twisted malice quickly formed, the outline of a heart radiated with terrifying power as it gradually diminished to the size of her tiny palm, ready and compressed. "+~Happy...!~+" The pouch tied at the waist reacting to infinite hunger, a fearsome aura of speckling dark light chipped away at the thousands and enveloped one whole, burning as bright as determination in her hands before finishing with a declaration, a passion she nurtured for all to see: A raging stream of magenta energy, off its leash and aiming to destructively rid an obstacle that barred an enchantment none may match. "+~...SHOWERRRRRRR! ! !~+"

It was no allure worth basking. "~Pretty Cure!~" To this tenacious knight invoking sacred magic, intoxication by power would only lead to irreplaceable loss: Of youth, ties and most importantly, family. "~Prism...~" In a steady tone uncompromised and holy weapon raised high, radiance shone as rainbow clarity piercing dark heavens, a spectrum that melted fast into mesmerising crystal as its cold handle was grasped with gauntlets unhinged, heaving the massive weight of collective promise down with all her might. "~...BICKERRRRRRR! ! !~" In that critical moment, a golden blast divided the empty air, a majestic torrent of purification to utterly consume the very flash of selfish domination.

Miyuki simply laughed in fits of hysteria, her dream vanishing in a blink of kaleidoscopic approach. The final thought to linger amidst her numbing defeat was temporary bliss, and in its light, she felt the closing of her book - a dismal end.

Another book, however, had rarely left its first chapter. "Huff...ghaa...huff..." The knight collapsed to her knees out of exhaustion. All that power yielded supremacy, but may as well be likened to life-support - had she expended it all, there would not be an ounce left to drag the girl back to sanctuary's cleansing warmth. All that magic against one person, chosen or otherwise, was practically overkill. "...I don't need your happiness...not where I'm going." Cure Prisma muttered after heaving a sigh, making her way towards one finally down for the count.

In-spite of victory's claim, trouble was not far behind. "+~Sunny FIIIREEEE! ! !~+"

From the onset of raging storms crackling and the dissipation of blackened haze, a fireball suddenly raced for an impossible escape, prompting a Cure's desperate resort as a spectacular explosion lit the night. Its impact incinerated the ground into a barren patch, however, a momentary sweep revealed it had inflicted naught a burn on the girl, but a mere graze on her metallic shield. Beyond the flickers of recent ember, behind the ferocity of a member whose scheme was that of dark and vermilion red, were a mixture of emotions on the eve of collapse - she was already on her knees, coddling the injured in silent tears. Although Prisma was out of earshot and had to rely on visuals alone, the genuine cries for a friend were enough to paint the white knight a villain.

Cure Prisma...a villain...

"Ya FREAK! !" The opposition accused. "If ya hadn't shown up, none of this woulda happened! If it ain't for you, our dreams woulda came true by now!" She was glaring daggers at the one responsible, aversion supplemented by the need for revenge, but drowned in sorrow immediately after, her tone becoming sombre and voice hoarse when looking away, talking as if the fallen would agree. "If we hadn't been on different sides...Miyuki would've still been awake..."

Remorse would befit the moment. And from it sprout regret, the trigger to indecision. Had Prisma known loss, the determination she bore may slip as may the crystal blade. Instead, she marched on with weapons in hand...

...much to one's horror. "You-! Eat this!" Firing off a concentrated beam of vermilion red energy from her palm, the very beam that could incinerate was swiftly cut down. "Yer ain't joking... Da-Dammit...back off!" Magic was unleashed, one focused beam at a time. Each was despatched, a humming tune in the air, as if to belittle one's underwhelming might as the latter refused to stop, firing again and again until the next attack dwindled in power. "Dammit...dammit...!" Eventually, her aim deteriorated into an inaccurate volley, where even sidesteps were all one needed to evade.

She with a fiery heart had been eager to render the enemy's soul to ash. But as an emotional wreck, that goal inched away, her murderous glare retreating from the prominence of resent.

A liberating strike finally came forth, but it was never received. "Beauty...?!" Shards of death came raining down between herself and the assailant, influenced by a mighty gust long enough to hinder the knight before they were equally destroyed. "...March...?" The sudden appearance of two from the shadows, each with their own dreams to fulfil, snapped her back into reality's woes.

"Sunny, take Happy back to Bad End Kingdom and find Peace!" A strict order was given by one prepared, her colour scheme that of hunter green. "We'll take over."

Negativity did not subside within the master of flames, even with friends by her side. "I ain't gonna forget this! Ya hear me!? I'LL MAKE YA PAY! !" The grief-stricken warrior would exact her revenge, no matter what it took as she carried Happy away in a vanishing blink.

A confrontation against magic, from madness to intimacy, now replaced by two circumspect.

Howling past their ears, the moisture absorbed into their uniforms, the battlefield awaited for one to deliver. Narrowing her gaze, the wielder of the crystal blade directed its tip towards an icy combatant. "Reika..." Grabbing the attention of one whose long smooth hair was that of a light-blue hue, their common interests were brought forth, a personal grudge set alight. "You know why I'm here...and you know what I want."

Provoked, March lashed out to challenge the knight. However, the moment she stood forward, that action alone instigated a hand to be extended, blocking her path. "Uh, Beauty...? You don't have to worry. I can beat her, trust me!"

Dressed in a scheme of midnight blue, the maiden's silence was reflected by the mind's intent for erasure. "You are an eyesore…" March was ignored, the unyielding expression of determination's face irritated Beauty to no end as the surrounding air began to alter in temperature, the rain drops transforming into pure-white snowflakes. Reaching out to grasp the unseen, the cold element suddenly began to twist and turn at her command, reeling them in like fish attracted to bait until each flake scattered to the wind, revealing in her hand a frozen blade forged from the very element itself.

Their duel was to commence - one would live and one would die. In the midst of this confrontation, a voice could be heard, soft and panicking. "Pretty Cuuureeee! ! Don't fight - kuuruu! !" It was a strange little creature, no bigger than a stuffed toy. It ran as fast as it could, its yellow hair a mess from the rain as it screamed at the top of its lungs. "DON'T FIGHT - KURUUUU! ! !" No matter how much it called, its voice fell on deaf ears - nobody would hear its heartfelt cry; nobody cared to take notice.

Beauty lunged with icy sword, eager to sate a desire the only method she knew how: The spill of blood. "DIE! !"

"You FIRST!" And throwing herself into the fray, Cure Prisma swung with all her might, her objective clear: Vanquish Bad End Beauty.

A blinding clash ensued, one where the outcome would be determined by their burning resolve; the battle witnessed by those present.
But alas, this would be a story for another time.

Especially for a curious butterfly watching from afar.

Ω - Shades of Illusion: 01 - Ω

Who can define 'right' and 'wrong' when dreams become a blur...?

Who is to reject salvation's invite when doom is all but certain?

Humanity is blind - they see only what they are led to see.

An approaching End is no different.

The future is set; will always be set.

It cannot change.

This is a story about would-be heroines, the story of pretenders to the idol:

A fleeting youth to a fleeting inspiration.

A waning star trapped in isolation.

The punished seed behind borders.

And the story of a puppet who destroyed a legend.

Ω

ᕙRouse: 00 - Endᕗ

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Author's Notes: Ugh, 2,000 words is, from my point of view, NOT short! But it's short enough, I suppose.
I hope there's nothing wrong with this Prologue that I've submitted, things such as information or the use of items, etc...
Feel free to leave a review when you are ready. It's best to express your mind, whether it's good or bad criticism. I don't mind either.
MY GOODNESS, WHY DOES WRITING FEEL SO LONELY?!
Could be the cold...?
Either way, it hurts my soul, coco~

V.2 Notes: Looking back, I jumped on the bandwagon and wrote like an obsessive fan. And because I didn't think or plan things through, CH:00 became a vague idea. Nothing was concrete, only a lofty ambition to impress. It was to be a simple story of an expy saving the world, like a self-insert designed to reflect the writer's inner desires that would never come true. I wanted to show off so much because of my arrogance, as if I was the best person on the planet. I wanted to impress everyone.
Well...I'm done impressing. All I want is a story that makes sense. And I'll make it happen. I've grown enough to understand the hows and whys.
The original inspiration for this chapter was "Puella Magi Madoka Magica". Its premise practically influenced my decision to write this fanfic...until that influence dried up. It's a weird feeling, having one's cherished topic fade over time. It's like it was never there.

The inspiration for this revision is, much to my dismay, 'narcotics' mainly for Miyuki. The dōjinshi "Chemical Happy! 1 & 2" by artist Maeshima Ryou are truly something to behold. Although, to those who have never heard of this dōjinshi until now, I would NOT ADVISE READING IT unless you enjoy seeing your delightful characters go down 'that path'. It WILL leave a hole in your heart. (The art is beautiful, though, including the expressions and the dilation of eyes)