The Control Room was always dark, even with half the room being windows. It was in the shape of a perfect circle, and was half the size of an American football field. Six, equally spaced, identical doors lined the one half of the dark room, serving as entrances and exits to the Control Room. The whole room was built out of a dark, perfectly polished metal. Though the light was minimal in the Control Room, one could see the glint of the metal in the room if they tried hard enough.

The doors lead out to a short balcony a few yards in length that had two sets of stairs, with six steps in each. The stairs lead down the main floor, which had long, curved desks with dozens of computers on top. The main floor took up just over half of the entire room, and stopped there.

A long, slender plank of metal stretched out past the halfway point in the room from the main floor. Nothing was beneath it except the windows that took up the other side of the room. At the end of that plank of metal stood a dark pillar, with the faint impression of a woman on it. The shape jutted out as if a woman was actually mummified behind the metal, arms crossing over her chest just like a mummy. Two orbs fitted to look like eyes were all that adorned the woman's face. The woman stuck out of the pillar in three other places, each impression identical to the next.

The two "eyes" glowed with a harsh, green light.
"Jonah." The metallic voice sounded from inside the pillar, cold, emotionless and monotone. Greens and browns flurried past the pillar, metamorphosing into a tall, lanky, androgynous human.
"My Queen." Jonah said.
"What is it that you have found for me?"

The thing about listening to Queen Platania was that because her essence was encased in the pillar standing before Jonah, her tone of voice never made it through. The being of darkness trapped before Jonah had been sealed in that pillar for a long time, though she only recently woke up. It was obvious she was still getting used to speaking in such a manner.
"There's been a…development with the princess." Jonah said, hesitant. Queen Platania was quiet for a moment before she spoke again.
"And what would that be?"
"The princess," Jonah started. The Green General wasn't sure how to continue, even though the Queen had no way to express her anger at this point. "Found something called a… Pretty Cure Warrior."

Queen Platania was silent for an even longer amount of time. "Stop her before she finds more." She said curtly.
"I'll stop the Princess, Your Highness." Jonah said. In a twister of green and brown, The Mechanic vanished.

Deep inside the pillar, a dark blue figure of a wrinkled, decrepit woman was hunched over, her arms clutching her shoulders tightly. Her legs were bent, her knees pressing against her chest. She managed to move her baldhead up, one dark red eye looking at the black metal in front of her.
"Pretty Cure… They must be stopped… I must have my vengeance on the Golden One." Her voice was old, feeble, but hateful, the words quiet as a whisper. But a whisper that was spoken so convincingly like it could escape the confinement and find a way to make the words a reality.

Compass Pretty Cure – Episode 2: Smiling Bird, Golden Flower! Natsumi and Orianna's New Friendship!

"Natsumi!" Hotaru called. "Wake up! You're going to be late for practice!"

Muffled noises came from upstairs, and soon the patting of hurried footsteps could be heard patting down the stairs. Natsumi jolted across the room, snatching up her practice bag and her sandels. She raced past Hotaru, giving her a fast peck on the chin before speaking.
"I'll be back in time for dinner! Bye Hotaru!" She half shouted. Within seconds, the door was flung open. Hotaru sighed as she walked to the front door.
"That girl never closes the door behind her," Hotaru mumbled.

The house was big enough for the now four members living in the house, though small enough that the two bedrooms the house had were upstairs. The house was on a small, sloping hill. The neighborhood was full of houses, and it was located just shy of being considered beach houses. The bottom floor of the house was one large room, but was considered as two because of what was found in it.

Towards the front of the house, the kitchen was set up, the stairs leading to the second floor found just a foot past the front door. The kitchen was small, with a plain white table set up with four chairs. It had a clichéd checkerboard black and white tiling, and to Hotaru's request, was painted a shade of light green. A few more steps lead to the living room, which was darker in color, but just as warm and inviting. Kazu lounged on the couch, watching the television while Hotaru cleaned the house.

Orianna sat on a padded windowsill, almost like a little reading nook, with the window open in the room she shared with Natsumi. She took in a deep breath of the island breeze. Even here, she could smell the exotic scents of the island. Her golden waves flickered in the soft wind. She liked it here… But she was homesick. She looked over at the white bag full of the PreCompasses. She closed her eyes, her chest expanding, taking in one more deep breath. She got up and softly headed downstairs.

"Hotaru…?" She said, hesitant. Hotaru's small ponytail bobbed as she turned around. She really did look like an older, more tired version of Natsumi.
"Hey, Orianna. Could you hand me that broom right next to you?" She asked absentmindedly, turning to something else.
"…Don't you have a servant to clean this up?" Orianna asked innocently.
"What? Don't be crazy! I couldn't afford a maid even if Kazu and I both picked up a part time job on top of our full time jobs. We save big time that way anyway." Hotaru said, turning to Orianna and scrunching her face in a playful manner. "The broom?" She said, pointing at it.

"Oh, right, sorry." Orianna said, taking the broom and placing it gently in Hotaru's hands.
"Did you need something, Orianna?" Hotaru asked.
"N-no. I'm fine, actually. I just… wanted to thank you for letting me stay." The princess said.
"Not a problem," Hotaru said, giving a small, but happy smile.

She looked around the house. It seemed to be enough for these three people. Orianna thought that she should set up more homes like this for her people when she got back home… if she ever got back home. Kazu had fallen asleep in the living room, so Orianna felt the need to explore, not that she understood much of what the television was. It had a soft, navy carpet and two large French doors that lead to the backyard. They let in a lot of natural light, and there were only a couple lamps in the room.

The hearth was sandy beige stone held together by similar sandy beige cement. There was a small mantel above the fireplace. There were a little under a dozen photos lining it. All but two of them were of a smiling Natsumi at varying ages. One was a picture of Kazu and Hotaru at their wedding, and the other was Natsumi, Hotaru and two people Orianna hadn't seen before, a man and a woman. The woman had a small, but happy smile on her face, her greying brown hair pulled into a loose bun at the base of her neck. She had a content joy in her eyes. Orianna guessed that even though the woman may not be smiling all the time, her eyes told someone how happy she was. The man, on the other hand, was smiling so widely that his eyes practically closed. He had a grey moustache and peppered hair slicked back. He was a bit on the heftier side, but a joy for life was present in his face and his body.

"Who are these two people? In this picture here?" Orianna asked. Hotaru walked into the room and saw what picture Orianna was pointing at. Hotaru gave a sad smile.
"That is a picture of mine and Natsumi's parents. It was taken when Natsumi was… about four or five years old." There was a somber tone in Hotaru's voice. Orianna figured she shouldn't press.
"I see. You and Natsumi look so much a like, yet each of you look like only one of your parents."
"Yeah, I'm practically the spitting image of our mom. I get that a lot. Natsumi definitely looks like our Dad, but don't make that comparison or she'll fight you on it."
"Fight me?" Orianna said, concern ringing in her voice.

"Haha! Yeah," Hotaru said, pausing as she realized Orianna's concern. "Verbally, not physically. She'll tell you you're crazy and that she doesn't see it is all." Orianna smiled, but didn't say much more.
Hotaru walked back into the kitchen and Orianna looked longingly back at the family picture. Seeing Natsumi's parents made her realize how much she missed her own.

Orianna stepped out of the bathroom. It was a rather severe adjustment for her to bathe without someone helping her. This world, this place she lived in now was different than her home. Here, she was just a regular person. And it was taking some getting used to. Natsumi had explained to her how people in this world bathed to an extent. Orianna insisted she aide her, but Natsumi harshly protested.

Natsumi was lying on her stomach, in simple red pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt reading a book, when Orianna entered the room.
"Are you getting used to how regular people take baths?" Natsumi asked, not looking up from a book she was reading.
"It's…going to have to take some getting used to." Orianna confessed. She recalled the picture on the mantel from earlier. Her rosy lips spread into a smile as she remembered how happy everyone looked in the photo.
"If you don't mind my asking," Orianna started. Natsumi didn't look up, but Orianna could tell the girl was listening. "But where are your parents?"

Pages were held taught as Natsumi's fingers clutched the edges of the book. Orianna, dressed in a pink robe, sat down as she loosened her hair from the towel she wrapped around it.
"Natsumi? Did you hear me?" Orianna asked.
"I heard you." Natsumi said sharply. "It's… not something I like talking about." She said.
Orianna shook her hair with her fingers, loosening the tangles before pressing the towel on her hair.
"You're almost lucky not to ha-"
"Don't say that," Natsumi interrupted. The redhead had shot up in her bed, her brick red eyes fiercely staring at Orianna. "Never say that not having parents is lucky."
"I'm sorry, I didn't…" Orianna's voice trailed off. "Are you… Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Good night, Orianna." Natsumi said, flinging her sheets off and hopping under them. Pulling the sheets up above her head, Natsumi turned to face the wall, her back to Orianna.

Orianna didn't sleep well that night. The morning broke and she hadn't ever felt herself drift into sleep. What Natsumi had said the night before bothered her a little bit. How could this girl bring her in to her home? Orianna knew next to nothing about the girl. But it also didn't seem like Natsumi wanted to talk much about anything either. What was even stranger to Orianna, was how much Natsumi's comments were bothering her. She wasn't used to people being so upset with her. And if they were, it was most likely a result of misdirected anger. Nothing personal. Orianna was staring at the dark wall when she heard Natsumi's alarm go off. Had she heard it the day before? She couldn't remember. She did know that it was early. Too early, in fact, for Natsumi to be waking up for her morning practice.

She heard Natsumi moving around in her bed, the wood softly creaking as she walked over to the window. The window squeaked open and a rather chilly morning breeze wafted into the room. Orianna peeked a glance at Natsumi. She was sitting on the large, low windowsill; the cushion underneath her had purple tropical flowers on it. Natsumi took in a deep breath. The sky was still dark, though streaks of orange from the morning sun could be seen.

"Do you always get up this early?" Orianna asked quietly. She almost expected Natsumi to jump at her sudden question, but the redhead kept her eyes looking out the window, unfazed.
"I knew you didn't sleep last night," Natsumi said, just as softly. "I heard you tossing and turning a lot... I didn't mean to be so rude before going to bed." The silence between them wasn't awkward. It was a silence of understanding, like the two girls knew they didn't need to say anything more, but they were going to.

"Natsumi," Orianna started after a while. "Not…not that it's any of my business. But where are your parents? Why do you live with Hotaru and not your mom and dad?" Orianna's voice was hesitant, not wanting to anger Natsumi again. Instead, Natsumi sighed deeply.

It was a sad sigh, a sigh that carried a lot of weight because of the story behind it. A sigh with pain, but at this point, had acceptance to the pain.
"When I was about six or seven, my parents and I moved to this island," Natsumi said, turning to face Orianna. "My parents made a big risk. They'd been thinking about living here forever. They were actually going to move here before I was born. But, I wasn't exactly planned. Hotaru was already sixteen when I was born. So we stayed in the city for a while to at least let Hotaru finish high school and university. She met Kazu right before we moved out here."

Natsumi paused, sighing the exact same sigh again.
"So when we moved out here, my parents decided they wanted to buy a boat. Hotaru still lived in the city, so they left me with a baby sitter one night because they wanted to have a date on their boat." Natsumi's words began to tighten as she spoke. Orianna was sitting up fully now, taking in a breath as she realized she hadn't been breathing. "They didn't know it was supposed to storm. Or maybe they did, but they figured they could have gone out on their boat and then returned home before the storm set in, I don't know." Natsumi said.

Orianna said nothing. She wanted to say something, she wanted to say everything, but she knew she shouldn't have. "We'd been living on the island for about a year, so they knew how quickly storms set in on this island." Natsumi seemed to be speaking to someone else, rather than Orianna with that comment. She wasn't looking at the Princes anymore either, rather, just staring at some pocket of space as she remembered details she didn't want to tell Orianna.

"Long story short, the storm hit hard and it hit fast. And…" Natsumi's voice trailed off. But she didn't need to say anything more. Orianna understood.
"Natsumi, I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, people are when they hear that. But if there's one thing that Hotaru and I have learned from out parents is to not let the negatives get us down or hold us back. We learned to celebrate their lives, rather than grieve and miss them. Anyway, that's how Hotaru became my legal guardian. I owe her so much. She uprooted her life to come out here and take care of me. It's been like this for eight years almost."

Orianna wondered how she could have been so insensitive the night before. She'd only been away from her parents for a few days, and she was thinking how lucky she was that she didn't need to hear them tell her all about being royalty or nag at her, or just parent things. Natsumi had been without them for eight years.

"Well," Orianna said. "I hope you don't mind adding a member to your family." The Princess got out of her bed and sat gently next to Natsumi, pulling her into her arms. "Looks like I need you more than I originally thought." The Princess said. "I'll be your best friend."
"I'd like that," Natsumi said, retuning Orianna's hug.
"Great! Now that that's settled, maybe I can get some sleep!"
"Wait, just one thing, Orianna." Natsumi said, the two girls letting go of one another.
"What's that?"
"This…Cure Cinder business? What's that all about?"

Orianna went quiet again, her face now scrunched in thought.
"I've only ever heard about Pretty Cure in stories. I've never really seen what they're capable of," Orianna said, her words slow, thoughtful, drawing on memories of her childhood. "My parents would occasionally tell me about them. They're usually only called upon during times of great distress. Their power stems from the Four Guardians of my kingdom. They protect not only the royal family, but also the world from forces of darkness. Other than that, I don't know that there's anything else to know about them."

Natsumi had been staring at the compass on her desk just next to the windowsill. The polished wood and shimmering marble could be seen easily in the growing morning light. Next to it, the red needle that glowed with warm light in the semi-dark room.
"Well I guess I have no choice but to take this head on. I don't have to do this by myself, do I?" Natsumi asked.

"No, which brings me to my next point," Orianna answered. "We've got a team to build!"

Jonah stood on the beach, letting the waves wash over their feet. The morning sun was almost fully up, dowsing everything in an orange light. Jonah scowled.

"Who needs all of this? Light can be created to sustain life. No one really needs a big ball of it in the sky." Jonah said. The Green General pulled another Industrialite bullet from one of the many pockets on their jacket, the cold black gun in their left hand. Jonah placed the bullet in the gun and turned around to face a tall street lamp that lined the wall separating the road from the beach.
"Industrialite! Enemy of Nature! Take your form!" Jonah shouted, pulling the trigger.

The bullet slowly came to the front of the front of the gun, and before it was ejected from the gun, it grew in size, purple electricity crackling around it. Two glowing purple eyes opened at the front of the bullet before it went flying into the street lamp. The lamp became a grotesque shade of green before bending and writhing as it transformed into an Industrialite.

Two arms protruded from the pole about three quarters of the way up, and instead of hands it had two light bulbs that looked more like spear heads. Two hulking legs also stuck out from the pole, its huge feet cracking the ground as it took steps. Its head was the light that hung over the streets, though the stem was shorter and thicker, and the light was looking straight ahead with those purple eyes.

"Go, Industrialite! Destroy everything natural in this world!" Jonah ordered.

The warm light that the Spirit Needle was giving off suddenly dyed the room in vermillion light.

"What's going on with the needle?" Natsumi asked. As soon as she asked her question, a faint roar could be heard from their window. Natsumi and Orianna locked eyes with one another.
"You don't think…" Natsumi didn't finish her sentence.
"This early in the morning?" Orianna complained. "I was finally going to get some sleep!"
"I guess you'll have to get some sleep later, we've got to go!" Natsumi said, snatching up the compass and needle and racing out of her room.

The beach luckily wasn't too far from Natsumi's house, though running there did take some time. The two girls were out of breath by the time they saw the lamp post monster stomping around, spewing beams of dirty green light from the bulbs it had for hands everywhere. It was destroying just about everything it could.

"Stay back, Orianna!" Natsumi said.
"Ah, I should have known you would arrive." Jonah said. Natsumi looked over to the water on her right. The Green General was standing just out of reach of the water.
"You again!"
"Me again."
"Natsumi, just transform!"

"Pretty Cure! Direction Change! South!" Natsumi placed the needle in the center of the compass and flicked it, the needle spinning a few times before landing on the "S" of the compass. In a flash of red light, Natsumi stood, transformed.
"The Fiery Southern Bird! Cure Cinder!" Cinder shouted, striking a pose.

The Industrialite wasted no time. As soon as Cinder appeared, it charged towards her, realizing what a threat Cure Cinder was to its mission. Cinder met the monster's blows, crossing her arms in front of her face to defend. The red warrior was tiny compared to the Industrialite, but she was able to hold her own. Fists met glass and metal as Cinder fought. The monster advanced on Cinder, causing her to back up as it landed punch after punch. Cinder gritted her teeth, her heels digging into the loose sand beneath her. She wobbled with each punch, trying hard to keep her balance.

The Industrialite paused for a moment, leaving Cinder confused. Dark green light swelled within the bulb-hands of the monster. A split second later, a wild beam of the green light burst from the bulbs, heading straight for Cinder. The beam engulfed Cinder, knocking the girl off of her feet and forcing her backwards.

"Cinder!" Orianna cried, her own feet slipping in the sand as she ran towards the fallen Cure. "Cinder, get up!"

Jonah looked on a slack face. Jonah turned back towards the Industrialte after verifying that the Cure was out for a few moments.
"Don't just stand there. Continue what you were told to do." Jonah's voice wasn't that convincing, but the monster obeyed anyway.

Meanwhile, Cure Cinder's eyes fluttered open. The beam hit her hard. Her breaths were shallow, but she was alive.
"Man, this is going to take some getting used to." Cinder said with a raspy voice.

"I know," Orianna said, grabbing Cinder's arm and helping the warrior up. "But use right now as more practice. This will all get a little easier when we find the rest of the team." Orianna was surprisingly calm, though she was speaking a little hurriedly. Cinder finally got back up on her feet. The Industrialite was stomping around; sending beams every which way it could fire them. It was preoccupied, and Cinder had an advantage.

Red flames began to flicker around Cinder's body, starting from her fists before swallowing her figure.

"Cinder Rocket!" Cure Cinder shouted, thrusting her feet into the ground and literally taking off like a human rocket. Like before, Cinder crossed her arms in front of her face as she slammed into the back of the monster. The Industrialite toppled over, a beam of green light escaping in an askew direction.
"Cinder Impact!" Cure Cinder's fists were now basketball-sized balls of flames. She threw the balls down, both of them exploding on impact.

Cinder jumped off the monster, giving herself some distance. She was out of breath, but the smirk on her face showed that she was determined to finish this quickly.

"Looks like we got you ag-" Cinder didn't get to finish her sentence as the Industrialite whacked her away, the girl splashing into the water.
"Note to self, don't talk, just do." Cinder said, getting to her feet once again. Grabbing the compass from the pouch on her hip, Cinder placed it in front of her, both arms extended. Her fingertips were white as she gripped the compass, letting energy flow into it. The marble face began to glow with red light. The Industrialite was also charging up its own attack. Cinder had to make this quick.

"Pretty Cure! Cinder Flame!"

Brilliant, white-hot flames erupted from the face of the compass. The Industrialite didn't have time to set its own attack on Cinder. Flames licked the monster, swallowing it whole. Before long, the monster exploded into red smoke.

"Tch." Jonah disappeared in a gust of green wind.

Any and all damage done by the monster had been restored and the sun was fully in the sky now. The dark hues of blue had been replaced with soft, bright blues. The ocean glittered in the sunlight, the occasional cloud casting a shadow as it floated in the sky. Shizenshima South was awake and bustling with people as they prepared to get their day into full swing.

Meanwhile, Orianna and Natsumi were resting in their beds after their jam-packed morning. Both of them had taken short naps, apparently only needing a couple hours of sleep before returning to their usual energetic selves.

"It's unlike you to miss morning practice, Natsumi." Hotaru said, talking over the sizzle of the eggs cooking on the stove.
"Orianna and I had a late night talking." Natsumi lied.
"What, no we did-" Orianna didn't get to finish her statement as Natsumi clapped her hand over the girl's mouth. With her free hand, she put her index finger in front of her lips. Orianna nodded.
"I mean, yeah, we talked a lot. We were getting to know each other a little better." Orianna said, a small smile creeping on her face.

"If she is going to stay with us for a year, might as well be her best friend, right Hotaru?"
"I like the sound of that." Hotaru said, sliding eggs on to Natsumi and Orianna's plates.
"I think we'll be best friends for life." Orianna said.

Preview:

Natsumi: Woo hoo! It's the first day of school Orianna! Are you ready!
Orianna: I-I guess so! But won't we be separated all day?
Natsumi: What do you mean?
Orianna: Well I've only ever had private tutors teach me.
Natsumi: Oh boy. You're in for something different, that's for sure.
Orianna: Well now what do you mean?
?: She means, you're going to public school!
Orianna: Wait, who are you?!

Next time on Compass Pretty Cure!: "The First Day of School! Cure Chrome's Steely Arrival!"