Eyecatcher B: The blue swan swims with a family of ducklings, who sneer and point at it. However, instead of acting the part of the ugly duckling, it checks its reflection in the water and makes a "looking good" face at it. The ducklings are shocked.
999
Cure Deneb appeared in front of the dragon, just as surprised to be there as he was too see her. She couldn't help but stare down at the strange, new clothes she was wearing. A fitted shirt with feathers around the short sleeves and shoulders covered her body and had elaborately detailed wings embroidered on the back. Pinned to the front, on her chest, just over her heart; the swan brooch. The crystals, set in a silver metal, were mostly clear, with a few purple gems among them. On her hands, she wore short gloves with a small feather embroidered on the back of the hand; tight-fitting shin-high boots with small wings on the side protected her feet; and the ensemble was completed by a skirt of almost knee length, having feathery frills along the edges and simple bike shorts underneath. All throughout the outfit, light purple rested atop darker purple and was embellished with blue and white accents.
An unwelcome, familiar voice brought her out of her reverie. "What is this? Cure Deneb? So you're this world's champion? Then I'll just eliminate you right here!" The dragon charged her with burning eyes and bared fangs. He threw a punch with the hand that wasn't holding the blue swan and in response, Cure Deneb, who had never been in a fight in all her life, could only throw her arms in front of her face and scream. The softball-sized fist connected with her forearms and to both of their surprise, Cure Deneb was pushed back, but most of the force of the blow was deflected. The dragon jumped back quickly, but Cure Deneb didn't move to counter attack. She looked hard at her opponent, realizing that the transformation had not only brought her additional strength, but her arm no longer hurt and the terror she had felt earlier was greatly diminished.
With a sharp bark, the dragon launched himself at her a second time, though she was able to brace herself for his assault. Moving much more quickly than she ever imagined being able to, Cure Deneb was able to block or dodge the dragon's punches. He jumped back again, switched the swan over to his other hand and scowled. A bead of sweat began to form on his scaly forehead. A third time he attacked with a roar, throwing a powerful but obvious punch, which Cure Deneb was easily able to dodge. The dragon had been at least expecting to be blocked, so without the opposing force from Deneb, his momentum carried him forward past her and he overbalanced. Cure Deneb saw her opportunity.
"Go away!" She shouted as she ran in and, again, having never fought before, threw a punch which, when it connected with the dragon's unprotected side, sent him flying. Deneb watched in amazement as the dragon ricocheted off a tree and skidded to a stop among the fallen leaves. As he did so, he lost his grip on his captive and the bird tumbled to the side.
"Cure Deneb! Help me!" It coughed, but the dragon was back on his feet and scooped the swan up. However, this time, Deneb was already on the way.
"Precure Deneb Illumination!"
As she approached, she had shouted this almost instinctively and released a blinding burst of light which stunned the dragon, but left her with her vision. She continued in and punched the dragon squarely in the solar plexus which caused his face to contort in pain briefly before rocketing backwards with the rest of his body. Cure Deneb gave chase and when he came to a stop, she wrenched his grip away from the swan, picked it up herself and continued running. Soon after, there came a roar even more furious and terrifying than when the dragon had last attacked. As she crashed through the trees and regained the path, she was vaguely aware that her bag was still by the rock, but that thing was still there and she was not going back.
Cure Deneb ran, crying and gasping for breath, unsure if the sounds she was hearing were from her own two feet or something more sinister behind her. As she stumbled through the bushes into the park, something caused a brief flash of light and Teiko realized she was no longer a Pretty Cure. This hardly even slowed her down, but she was considerably more exhausted than while in Cure form. Her legs and head ached, her chest and eyes burned and the fear of what was still in the forest returned, but was also amplified by the fact that she was now unable to defend herself.
"Teiko, where are you go-" she grabbed a hold of the swan's beak to shut him up as she put her head down and walked as fast as she could. She stuck to back roads and alleys when available, trying to avoid detection as much as possible without arousing suspicion. Her glasses kept sliding down her nose, but even when she let go of the swan to adjust them, he remained silent and fearful. Soon enough she arrived at her apartment building and dashed up the three flights of stairs and along the walkway to her home.
Teiko opened the door and quickly walked through the living room and down the hall to the room she shared with her sisters and tossed the swan onto the top bunk where she slept.
"Teiko?" her mother came out of her own room and looked at her daughter at the other end of the hall. She ran to Teiko whose entire body shook from fear and adrenalin. She removed the glasses from the girl's ashen face. "You look terrible!"
"Mom…" Teiko said softly. She began to weep.
"Did something happen?"
"I feel sick."
Akiko led her daughter by the shoulder into the girls' room, where Ayumi, who didn't have cram school today, was camped out at her desk, headphones on, rubbing her forehead over a math problem which was giving her trouble.
"Ayumi, would you please move your homework into the living room?" their mother asked.
Ayumi took off her headphones and turned, sighing out of frustration and only got as far as, "Mom," before she saw her sister's miserable state and her attitude changed. "O-ok." Ayumi quickly packed up her homework.
"Change into your pyjamas and I'll bring you something to eat," Akiko instructed Teiko, and helped Ayumi carry some of her books out, shutting the door behind them. Teiko found the task of unbuttoning her uniform challenging for her shaking hands. The swan peered over the railing of the top bunk, saw what was happening and hastily retreated. Her clothes were no longer as dirty as they were before she transformed and neither did she have scrapes on her hands and legs, but Teiko paid little attention even to her uninjured right arm. The flannel pyjamas felt comforting against Teiko's skin and the covers on her bed accepted her into their warming embrace. Akiko knocked on the door, then entered, carrying a thermometer and a rice ball on a plate.
"Here, open up." Teiko obeyed and her mother took her temperature which read slightly higher than normal. "I'm making some daikon, negi and ginger soup if you'd like some later," she said, handing the plate to Teiko who nodded and took the rice ball. She chewed on it, but found herself unable to swallow and indicated so. Akiko quickly fetched a glass of water, which Teiko used to wash the rice ball down. Though just an ordinary rice ball, the food felt wonderful going down, and relieved some of her nausea. "Go to sleep now." Teiko nodded again and lay down. Akiko drew the blinds on the room's one window and turned the lights off as she left. With tears forming in her eyes, Teiko reached for a stuffed, pink bunny and clutched it tightly like a talisman as silent sobs wracked her small frame until she fell asleep. The swan, unable to offer any comfort and feeling sad for Teiko, nestled down among the other stuffed animals that occupied Teiko's bed, tucked its beak under its wing and joined her in slumber.
999
Teiko's eyes opened slowly, focusing as well as they could on the bright room. She was so comfortable and warm in her blankets she didn't want to get up, but- The alarm didn't go off!
"I'm late for school!" She said, and sat up, tossing the blankets off. The clock on her sister's desk displayed 11:21 in large, red numbers. Teiko flopped back down into bed. If she was already that late, would there be a point in going to school? She let her head roll towards the wall and suddenly felt her stomach simultaneously drop and jump into her throat. Sitting on the bed among the stuffed animals next to her was a blue and white swan. The swan scratched the back of its head with a wing.
"How are you feeling, Teiko?" It asked.
Teiko thought for a moment. Then propped herself up on one arm and said "How do you know my name?"
"I overheard your mother helping your sisters get ready for school."
Teiko was silent for a full minute before speaking again. "So everything that happened yesterday was real?" The swan nodded. The balance of earth. The Chaos Dragons. Cure Deneb. Yesterday she had actually fought off a giant dragon-man. Terrifying, yes, but she had done it. Was she the only one who could do this? She didn't answer the question she asked.
The swan continued to sit on the bed and looked around awkwardly, trying not to make eye contact, but turned its face toward Teiko's when she sighed.
"I'm hungry. Please stay here." Teiko climbed down from her bunk and found a pile of clothes folded and placed on her dresser. Her mother had cleaned her uniform and left it there, with the silver swan brooch on top. She slowly picked it up giving herself time to look at it before putting it in her pocket and moving to open the door, which opened before she got there. Her mother stuck her head in.
"Good morning, Teiko. You look better today. How do you feel?" Akiko placed a hand on Teiko's forehead.
"Better."
"Did you throw up?"
Teiko thought back to the fight in the woods. Terror had filled her before her transformation and though it abated while she was Cure Deneb, returned even stronger once she reverted, but at no time did she actually vomit, thankfully. "No."
"That's good. Your clothes were soaked. You must have had a fever all day that broke before you got home. I'm sorry I didn't notice before you went to school," Akiko said.
"No, mom, it's not your fault."
Akiko smiled. "Do you want something to eat? Then you can take a bath." Teiko nodded and followed her mother into the kitchen, where she began to heat up a bowl of broth and toast some bread. "You didn't have your bag with you. Did you leave it somewhere?"
"Oh yeah," Teiko remembered. "Um, maybe at the library," she lied. She could see it lying unattended next to the rock outcropping along the path in the woods.
Though simple, the bread and broth warmed Teiko inside and she felt better after eating. Her mother had drawn a bath, so after breakfast, she walked down the hall to the small apartment's tiny bathroom, stripped and got in the tub to soak for a while. The water was streaming, just the way she liked it. This is what she had missed two days ago. The heat of the freshly drawn bath felt good and she could feel herself relaxing, her mind clearing and strength returning. Once the heat had begun to dissipate, Teiko got out and washed up. She returned to get room, dressed and prepared, then went out to see her mother again.
"Oh, you look like you're almost back to your regular self!" Akiko said, pleasantly surprised.
"I'm feeling better mom, thanks for breakfast and the bath," Teiko said, and hugged her mother tightly, thankful she could see her again after the events of yesterday.
"You're welcome dear. I called the library, but no one turned in a bag. Is there somewhere else you might have left it?" Again, the image of the rocks came to her mind as she pretended to think.
"Maybe it's still at school."
"I hope they can find it, then. You'll be two days behind on homework if you don't get it back today." That thought had not occurred to Teiko, but the knowledge that she was Earth's only hope against the Chaos Dragons was quite a bit more pressing than a late assignment. "Well, I have some errands to run today and if you feel up to it, you can come along. We'll stop by the school and see if we can pick up your homework and bag," said Akiko, beginning to clear the dishes from the table.
"Yeah, I'll go with you," Teiko agreed.
"Why don't you get ready while I finish cleaning up in here."
"Ok mom, thanks for breakfast. I'm going to go back to the bedroom," Teiko said, standing up and taking her plate over to the sink.
"You're welcome."
Teiko closed the bedroom door behind her and stood on the bottom bunk so she could peer onto her own bed. The swan was dozing off, right where she had left it.
"I'm going out with my mom. Please don't go anywhere," she said, softly. The swan yawned and stretched its wings. "So cute…" she whispered.
"Take me with you."
"No, stay here."
"What am I supposed to do? Have a tea ceremony with Usa-pyon and Kuma-kun?" The swan gestured at two stuffed animals nearby.
"That's Gregory and Kuma-SAN, to you," Teiko snapped.
"What if the Chaos Dragon shows up?" said the swan, not missing a beat.
That caused Teiko to pause. "So what, am I going to carry you around in a bag?"
"Sure."
"My bag is in the forest."
"Well what's that?" The swan flapped over to the foot of the bed and pointed a wing towards a messenger bag hanging from a peg on the wall. Teiko stepped down off the bottom bunk, walked over and picked the bag up. There was nothing inside. She gave the swan a stern look.
"Ok. But don't complain if it's uncomfortable. Actually, don't make any sounds at all. I don't want anyone to see you." The swan jumped off the bed and flapped gently down to rest on the bag. Teiko was again surprised by how light it was.
"Don't worry," it said, and slipped inside. "Ok, you can close it." Teiko covered the bag's opening with the flap and secured it with a plastic clip before slinging it over her left arm.
Akiko was waiting in the living room, checking the contents of her purse when Teiko walked in.
"What's the bag for?" she asked, puzzled.
Teiko could feel her face turn red and turned her head to the side in an effort to hide it a little, though she knew it was futile. "It's to put my homework in it when we get it from school."
"You don't think your school bag is there?" her mother asked.
Teiko knew she was definitely red now. "Well, just in case. It's not. I mean."
"Ok." The bag wasn't that big of a deal to her mother, since she let it go and turned to the door. Teiko took a deep breath and exhaled quietly.
999
None of the usual folks in the shopping arcade thought anything unusual about Teiko's quietness, especially since she was recovering from an illness, so she was left to her own thoughts while her mom chatted with the store keeps and gossiped with other housewives. Not that there was much to think on; mostly her head was filled with images of the encounter with the Chaos Dragon. The school didn't have Teiko's bag, of course, but she did manage to get her homework. Harumi was already home and watching TV by the time they returned back to the apartment.
"Teiko, are you feeling better?" Harumi asked of her older sister as she followed her back to their room.
"Yes, I am," Teiko replied. She stepped on the first rung of the ladder leading to her bed and softly tossed the messenger bag up, making sure that the flap opened when it landed before stepping back down. "How was school?" Teiko herded her younger sister back into the living room.
"It was good. But I was worried about you. You never get sick." They sat at the kotatsu while a catchy jingle played over images of exploding buildings advertised sandwiches at the local convenience store. Harumi changed the channel.
"I get sick sometimes," Teiko said. "It wasn't a big deal."
"I know! Maybe snuggling a stuffed animal will help you get better. I like to do that when I'm sick." Harumi jumped up and ran back down the hall. Only after she had disappeared around the corner that Teiko remembered…
Harumi returned holding a blue and white swan which was trying hard to remain still, but looked absolutely panicked. Teiko felt the blood drain from her face and sweat form on her forehead.
"Here!" Harumi thrust the swan towards Teiko, who took it gently from her and set it in her lap, below the edge of the kotatsu, as far out of sight as she could manage. "I'll draw a picture of you!" The younger sister sat down opposite of Teiko, pulled her paper and pencil over and began to draw. As Teiko stroked the swan's downy feathers almost absentmindedly, she thought thought, "This is what I have to protect. I have the power of Pretty Cure. I'm the only one who can do it." Her resolve strengthened, Teiko smiled at her sister and mother, and the knot in her stomach loosened now that the decision had been made.
999
After dinner, Teiko sat on her bed with the swan.
"How are you feeling, Teiko?"
"That's the same thing you said this morning. I'm sorry we haven't had time to talk today. But to be honest, I'm glad I had the time to think about it." The swan perked up.
"Will you defend earth?"
Teiko's mouth went dry and she swallowed. "I'm the only one who can."
"I'm home." came another voice from the living room as the front door closed. Ayumi had just gotten home from cram school.
"We can't talk anymore. My sister will need to study," Teiko hurriedly whispered. "Tomorrow we have to go back into the woods and get my bag."
"What if the Chaos Dragon is there?"
"Then we'll stop him." Teiko's head fogged up a little at the thought of facing that thing again. She climbed down from the bunk with the messenger bag, signaling the swan to stay there. Ayumi came into the room and walked to her desk, looking exhausted.
"Tired?" Teiko asked.
Ayumi sighed as she plopped down in the chair and let her bag fall to the floor. "The second mock exams are coming up soon and I have three papers due next week." She straightened up. "But how are you doing? You looked terrible last night. Are you feeling better now?"
Teiko gave a kind of enthusiastic "Un!" and Ayumi smiled.
"Well good! But you better not have given it to me!"
"I don't think it was the kind that's contagious," said Teiko, moving to her own desk and starting to unpack her homework. When Ayumi got up and left the room to have some dinner before attacking her pile of assignments, Teiko stood, winked at the swan, then sat back down and began her own work.
999
The next day, after going through her normal morning routine and assuring her mother she was cured (and blanched a little at her own unintentional pun), Teiko left the apartment for school with her messenger bag containing last night's homework and the blue and white swan. She hurried down the road because there was one stop to make before school.
"Do you sense anything?" Teiko asked into the open flap of the messenger bag as she stood at the back of the park, near the dirt trail leading into the forest by the lake.
"Nothing chaotic around," responded the swan from inside the bag.
Teiko's free hand went up to the swan brooch pinned to her uniform, just above her heart. She clenched her jaw and stepped forward. Her heart was pounding as she hurried to the place where, just two days prior, a giant lizard man had jumped out of the bushes at her. The swan remained silent as she ran; something she was thankful for. Within minutes, she had made it and sure enough, her school bag lay there, right where she had set it down before talking to the swan. Teiko picked it up, quickly looked through it and turned back to leave. The trip out was also uneventful and she still made it to school just before the bell.
Having the swan in her bag made Teiko nervous; how do you explain something like that? The swan was only a little restless, which was understandable; being stuck in a bag all day is definitely something that would cause one discomfort. Luckily, it didn't give itself away. Homeroom ended and so did several other classes before lunch came. Teiko sat and ate some of her bento with several classmates, but was soon pressed to hurry.
"Teiko! I'm hungry!" Teiko clapped a hand over the bag.
"What was that?" Asked one of the girls.
"Do you have the new Tamagochi?" Asked another, fishing through her own bag. "I've got one, too! Let's have them play!"
"Uh, I don't think they're compatible."
"Why? Is yours a knockoff?" said the second, looking disappointed.
"Yeah, we can't afford the name brand," Teiko laughed nervously. "But I have to go to the library to finish some more of my homework. I didn't get everything done yesterday," she lied.
"Oh, yeah, being sick sucks. Glad you feel better!"
"Thanks!" Teiko closed her unfinished lunch, stuffed it in her bag ("Ow!") And trotted off, leaving the others to look curiously after her.
Once safely out of sight of most people in the library, she sat down at a private desk, removed her lunch and set the messenger bag down in the corner so the swan could come out.
"Shh, you have to be quiet; this is the library. Here," she whispered and pushed the bento towards the swan.
"What do you mean shh? I've been quiet this whole time," it reported, loudly. Teiko quickly grabbed its beak again.
"If we get caught, we'll get in trouble!" She whispered. "You're a talking swan. How can you explain that?"
"I'll think of something," the swan boasted after slipping out of Teiko's grasp.
This time she grabbed it with both hands, one over the beak and the other behind its head, bent over it and hissed, "Quiet!" Her eyes were large behind the frame of her glasses and her teeth were bared dangerously. The swan nodded energetically. Trusting it would obey, Teiko slowly let go and it remained quiet. "Here." She pushed the bento back over and the swan proceeded to scoop up some rice and stuff it in its beak. Lucky for Teiko, the swan was small and it didn't eat much.
"Thank you for the food; you're kind to think about me while packing your lunch."
"I didn't, it was for me. Though I'll add some more tomorrow."
"Teiko!" The swan sobbed, as if the inclusion of a few grains of rice was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for it, but it kept the outburst quiet.
"It's nothing," she said, a little embarrassed. Munching on a vegetable stick with her head in her hand, propped up on the table by her elbow, she looked curiously at the swan and changed the subject. "What are you, anyway?"
"I'm a super cute swan fairy, obviously!" They waited for the other to continue.
"And?"
"And what?"
"Well, where are you from? How come you came here? Do you have a name? You know my name. I think it's fair that I should know yours."
"My name is Zeta, a swan fairy of the Cygnet Kingdom, which is responsible for keeping balance in all the worlds," the swan announced proudly.
"Zeta..." Teiko said wistfully, as if she knew the name, but not its origin. "What do you mean by balance?"
"People and fairies in every world live and work every day, going about their daily lives. Good things happen. Bad things happen. That's balance. But there are some that just want to see everyone else suffer. They're the Chaos Dragons, mainly. So when they attack a world, some of us fairies travel there to protect the balance."
"But what about the good parts? If you keep balance, wouldn't you have to make things worse if they get too good?"
Zeta looked sad. "Technically yes." He paused. "But that's never happened because it's almost impossible to have paradise."
Teiko looked down at the desk as she thought about this. "I guess that makes sense. You're right that both good and bad things happen, but we don't give up. Things may never be perfect, but that's what life is. I have my family and my friends and I love them. We're lucky that nothing really bad has happened to us, so I'm thankful for that." Teiko had surprised herself with that motivational speech, but she still looked fiercely at the bird. "I do want to protect everyone! I'm scared of what will happen; that dragon guy is strong. But if I don't fight for everyone's happiness, who will?"
Zeta excitedly jumped up. "That's the spirit! I know you can do it! And I'll be with you, too."
Teiko gave a small chuckle, touched by Zeta's encouragement and took the swan's wing in her hand. "Thank you," she said, smiling at the swan for a minute before starting to pack up. "We need to get back to class." Without being bid to do so, Zeta climbed back in the bag.
"Don't worry. The Cygnus has never lost!"
Teiko smiled again, feeling more confident, and after Zeta tucked his beak in his wing, she picked up the bag and headed to class.
999
The remaining classes in Teiko's day passed quickly and without incident.
"I'm glad you feel better, Teiko. See you tomorrow!" one of her classmates said, after she had packed up her bag and was headed towards the door. Teiko wasn't leaving just yet, however; she was on cleaning duty today, so she stood aside while the rest of her classmates filed out of the room. Cleaning wasn't Teiko's favorite thing, but not because she herself didn't like to do it, but because she didn't think some of the other students did as good of a job as she could. In fact, there had been a few times when she had actually stayed a little later than the rest of the kids on cleaning duty and cleaned their part more thoroughly.
But before the last student left the classroom and the idea of staying late could even become a thought in her head, the building shook with a rather loud rumbling.
"Earthquake?" Someone said, but both the rumbling and shaking ceased far too quickly for that to be the case. As the remaining students in the classroom were frozen in place, looking at each other for confirmation, a scream came in through a window they had cracked open to allow the dust kicked up by their cleaning to escape into the wild. The first scream was closely followed by another, then a chorus of terrified voices and an explosion which rocked the school building a second time. A group of girls clung to each other while the boys in Teiko's class tried unsuccessfully to look tough. The boy closest to the windows nervously peered out over the athletic fields behind the school building. Sports teams that had been practicing there had all come to a halt, equally concerned about what was going on. For better or worse, their curiosity was soon satisfied by a student sprinting around the side of the building. Without stopping, he shouted one word at the top of his lungs: "Monster!"
At this, panic broke out in the classroom while students from other classes had begun to pour out of their rooms and run through the hallway.
Teiko's gaze shot to her bag in time to see a wing and beak trying to escape as Zeta squawked, "Chaos!"
She ran over and stuffed him back in the bag, but no one saw the swan in all the confusion. Suddenly, a teacher burst into the room and gestured for the students to leave.
"Everyone please hurry! Come with me!"
Teiko hesitated, but knew that the teacher wasn't going to leave until all the kids were out of the classroom, so, clutching her bag, she went with them. By now, the hallway was packed with scared kids screaming and crying, and the teachers had their hands full trying to herd them to safety. Using this to her advantage, Teiko easily slipped into another classroom and ducked down behind a desk as everyone else marched down the hall.
"Teiko! We have to stop the Chaos Dragon!"
"I know!" With sweating palms and eyes stung by the beginnings of tears, she tried to think of a way outside, since the classroom which was her present location was on the second floor and only opened to the hallway. Teiko clenched her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering. The din in the hall was growing fainter, so she risked a glimpse out the door. Only a few kids still ran in the direction the teachers were leading everyone, so, bag in hand, Teiko sprinted in the opposite direction. She easily made it to the other end of the hall, descended the side stairs and used the fire exit to get outside and face the monster.
In the courtyard stood a ten meter tall dragon.
Teiko's legs gave way and she slumped down against the building. Between her fear, the Chaos Dragon's oppressive force and the dash to the stairs, her body had finally had enough.
Zeta popped out of the bag. "Teiko, get up!" The dragon was stomping around, preventing the children from escaping the building or grounds while another figure stood on the school gates, laughing as they screamed.
She felt so weak as she lay there, staring at what would be her foe. Sweat mixed with the tears from her wide, unblinking eyes.
"Teiko! Teiiikooo! They're gathering Chaos Energy! We have to stop them! Come on!" Zeta shouted, frantically, gesturing wildly towards the dragon.
Slowly, as if with all the strength she could summon, Teiko pushed off from the wall onto her hands and knees, then rocked back to sit on her legs. As she clasped her shaking hands together in front of her, a sob shook her body and her head rolled forward. Her swan companion looked on, supremely concerned and empathic.
"Mom, dad. Ayumi, Harumi. I've only lived 13 years on this earth, but I've loved every day. I love you. I love you all." Her voice cracked and she barely choked out the last few words. When she raised her head to look at Zeta, he saw that the tears she was crying were no longer tears of fear, but of sorrow and of loss. "If I don't make it, will you fly me to heaven?"
The bird hiccupped, wiped away his own tears with his wing, and nodded.
"Thank you," she mouthed and smiled the best she could, as her throat was closed off.
Teiko put her left hand to her heart and pulled off the swan brooch she had used to transform two days prior. Slowly, she stood up and took several deep breaths to try to steady herself.
"Teiko…" said the swan.
"I'm the only one who can do this."
She punched up to the sky and the silver swan sparkled in the sunlight.
"Precure take flight!"
Upon a shifting, sparkly, purple background, Teiko was born again from the egg, the light receded into the brooch above her heart, and Cure Deneb appeared.
"Outshining the sun, the tail that maintains balance! Cure Deneb!"
Her fear diminished and strength regained, Cure Deneb clenched her fists and jaw and inhaled, held it, then exhaled.
"Cure Deneb…"
"Come on. We have to stop them, right?" Cure Deneb started walking towards the dragon and its master. She broke out into a jog and the swan flapped to keep up.
999
The figure standing atop the gates was indeed the same one who had attacked her in the forest. He noticed and watched as Deneb approached as boldly as she could manage.
"I wondered when we'd meet again," he said.
"Stop what you're doing! Stop this! You're frightening everybody!" she cried, her own fear still evident in her voice.
"Stop it? That's the point! I'm gathering Chaos Energy." The dragon-man focused his attention on her and let his minion stomp around at will.
"Why do you have to do this? Why don't you just go away?" Deneb shouted angrily.
"Why? Why do you think? We're going to get rid of the Cygnus once and for all!"
"The Cygnus has defeated the Chaos Dragons every time! This time will be no different!" shouted the small blue swan, standing at Deneb's feet.
The dragon scoffed. "You don't even know who you're up against. I've been wiping out your champions since before your mother was hatched!" he said, and gave an overly dramatic flourish with his scaly arm.
"I'm Arbo the Red Dragon; the third strongest warrior of the Chaos Dragons."
Zeta flinched at the name. "Arbo?" he said, and turning to Cure Deneb, "I've heard of him. Be careful; he's strong!"
Cure Deneb stared down her adversary.
"But I'm Pretty Cure."
She dashed towards him, much faster than she expected and remembering her superhuman power, jumped directly at him. Arbo stood fast, arms crossed.
"Konton!" he shouted.
Before Deneb reached him, something knocked her out of the air. She hit the ground and skidded through the dirt and gravel for a few meters before coming to a stop. Expecting the impact to hurt much more than it had, she slowly got to her hands and knees, then to her feet. Arbo had called the monster dragon, and it was now focusing its attention on her. "Better me than them. Maybe the other kids can escape now," she thought, grimly.
"If you give up now, I'll spare you," said Arbo, still atop the gate.
Cure Deneb growled. "You jerk! Leave us alone!"
Arbo barked out a laugh. "Konton, finish her!" he ordered, turning his back towards Cure Deneb. "I'll finish collecting this Chaos Energy myself." He jumped down from the gate and began walking towards the huddling mass of students and teachers trapped in the courtyard.
Cure Deneb started running towards him, but the Konton blocked her path.
"Konton!" the dragon bellowed.
She slid to a stop and with her stomach sinking, barely managed to dodge another punch from the Konton's massive fist. The Konton continued its attack, putting Cure Deneb on the defensive. She was able to dodge several of its blows, but she couldn't avoid all of them. Deneb threw up her arms, shut her eyes tight, clenched her teeth and braced for impact, but was again amazed that she had blocked the blow, and that encouraged her.
"Cure Deneb! Get in closer! You'll be harder to hit if you're right next to it!" shouted Zeta, from the sidelines. The Konton looked at him and made a noise that appeared to be a chuckle. On the next punch, Deneb deflected it to the side and ran in towards the monster. She went for its legs and, shouting, punched it as hard as she could. She was rewarded by the leg being knocked out from under the Konton.
But the Konton flicked its tail upwards to regain balance, pivoted on the other leg, planted it and spun around, hitting Cure Deneb in the back with its tail so forcefully that she was knocked into the concrete wall that surrounded the school. That one hurt, though didn't kill her as it probably would have if she hasn't been in Cure form. She picked herself up and noticed she was now between the Konton and Arbo. In that instant, Deneb decided to attack Arbo.
Arbo had some sort of device that was absorbing a red mist was emanating from the group of students huddling in terror by the school building. "No," she thought, as she ran towards him. Arbo turned and looked amused as she approached him, but was swatted aside again by the Konton. He laughed as she struggled to get up off the ground, then he looked over his shoulder.
"Konton, take over gathering the Chaos Energy."
"Konton." The dragon approached the device, while Arbo walked away. Cure Deneb followed his trajectory to her swan friend, completely defenseless.
"Zeta!" Deneb screamed, raising her hand to her mouth. The situation was getting worse. Now, not only was the Konton between her and Arbo again, but the swan was in serious danger. And that was in addition to whatever the Konton was doing to the students. She frantically looked back and forth between the students and the swan, unsure of what to do. Her friends were among the students, but what if the swan was taken? Would that be the end? Would she no longer be able to transform? Not sure she was making the right choice, Deneb started sprinting towards Arbo again. The Konton half heartedly swung its tail, but Deneb saw it coming this time, hurdled it and continued on. She swung with full force at the back of Arbo's head.
But he turned and stopped her punch dead in the air with one hand. Deneb could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up as terror returned to her in spades. Arbo's face was hard, with blazing red eyes, no longer joking about his sure victory, and closed his hand, crushing her fist in it. She screamed in pain and dropped to her knees, jerking her arm back frantically, trying in vain to pull away.
"You should have given up."
Arbo swung Cure Deneb up over his head by her hand and slammed her into the ground. The wind was completely knocked out of her and she barely heard Zeta shout her name. Arbo said something else she couldn't make out, and kicked her across the courtyard. Deneb was completely disoriented until she hit something that must have been a wall, because then she dropped to the ground. It was hard to move and harder to breathe, but she managed to push herself up to her elbows and turn her head towards the action. What she saw was enough to inject her with a life-saving shot of adrenaline: Arbo and the Konton were advancing on her. Heart racing, Cure Deneb jumped to her feet and shouted:
"Precure Deneb Illumination!"
The light blinded her adversaries, leaving her with the advantage of sight, which she used to dash over, scoop Zeta up, and run to the opposite side of the school building. She slumped down in a corner, utterly exhausted and broken, sobbing and cradling the equally frightened swan, knowing their lives were over. A roar of rage shattered the air and Cure Deneb waited.
999
Next episode:
"Hi, I'm Teiko Hakucho and I just became Cure Deneb, but I'm in a big pinch! These Chaos Dragons are scary. Is this the end for Zeta and I?"
"Please don't let it be. I'm counting on you, Deneb!"
"What's this? Another Cure? Who is she? Next time on Northern Cross Pretty Cure! Please read it!"
"You can't see it, but we're bowing."
"Shh!"
"Ow!"
999
Ending song: ganBALANCE de Dance, N.C.P.C. ver.