II. Märchenland

Pop was not lying when he said going back to Märchenland would be a one way trip. Wolfrun tried teleporting back to Earth, but that ability was granted to the ex Generals by Joker, and with his defeat came the disappearance of that power. Same with flying. Wolfrun knew he was about to do a lot more walking.

Like Earth, access to the Bad End Kingdom was also barred, preventing Wolfrun from getting the few possessions to his name: the blanket his parents had given him (it barely held together, but Wolfrun had done his best to keep it mended all these years), bits of yarn that Joker would leave around, a couple coins (Earth money was his guess), a picture of a wolf he found on Earth that he thought looked like him (he had found it in a magazine and decided nobody would miss it if he ripped it out), his swimsuit and goggles (that he only got to use once), an extremely smooth rock (which he had found near the mountain stream before the Kappas ambushed him), his Robotter figurines (an Earth show that he had really grown to like), his extra pairs of boots (each one with different heel sizes), the scissors he used to trim his hair (if there was one thing he was proud of, it was his hair), and his hair ties (he liked to put his long hair into a ponytail before bed so it wouldn't get in his face while sleeping). At least he was better off than Majorina, who had almost an entire room full of wizarding objects and doodads she had invented. Still, arriving at a new home with nothing but the clothes on your back is not a comfortable situation to be in.

Märchenland had recovered quite a bit since the Bad End Kingdom's attack. Most of the buildings were repaired and roads repaved. Damage to the landscape itself was not so easily repaired, though, but the fairies had done their best to build structures around and over them. Wolfrun felt pangs of guilt, a sensation he had never experienced. And he knew it would likely keep happening now.

This is my new life.

Naturally, when Candy and Pop appeared in Märchenland flanked by the three people who had caused it tremendous pain, the denizens panicked. It took a while for Candy to explain the situation to them, but slowly the fairies calmed down. Among the crowd, Wolfrun spotted the fairy version of himself. He had not even bothered looking at the fairies when he had come to attack it, but they were all part of the same stories. The tiny wolf-like fairy fearfully gazed back at him, and Wolfrun smiled meekly and made a small waving motion. It would take them a while to forget what the three of them had done.

Märchenland, being a land inhabited by tiny fairies, had equally tiny buildings. None of them were able to accommodate their size. Therefore, Queen Candy issued an "official queeny decree", asking everyone to work together to build a new home for the ex Generals. What the fairies lacked in size they made up with in numbers. With everyone's combined efforts, a comfortably sized house was built in about two weeks. The first place Wolfrun would ever call "home".

With the house built, the three of them had to find how they'd fit into Märchenland. Since they were outsiders, they had no stories to follow; their roles were already filled by the fairies there. Majorina immediately asked Candy if she could start a school of magic, which had been a dream of hers for as long as she could remember, and now she finally had a chance to make it a reality. Akaoni had decided to use his strength and stupendous size to start helping with the final repairs of the kingdom.

And Wolfrun didn't feel like doing anything. He was, for the first time in his life, happy. Happy to have a place to live. Happy that he had been given a second chance. Happy that he had friends like Akaoni and Majorina, and that nobody, for the most part, was afraid of him anymore. He was no longer the bad guy. He was just Wolfrun. The Wolfrun he could have been if his fate was not tied to a stupid story.

But was happiness supposed to also feel so empty? As the months passed by, Wolfrun felt that he was missing something inside him. The feeling of wanting to do nothing became the fear that he could not do anything. Majorina's magic school had become quite popular with the fairies and Akaoni continued to help build new structures once repairs were finished, leaving Wolfrun alone most of the time. He would spend days either in his room, or outside watching the fairies.

Wolfrun had started watching the fairies' interactions shortly after the house had been completed. He knew that Märchenland was akin to the world he had come from, but it was also different in many other ways. Instead of living the stories they were written in, the fairies of Märchenland would act out their story every day as if it were a game. After that, they would go about their day, reenacting their story again if they felt like it. There was no pain. No suffering. Nothing Wolfrun had endured.

In particular, he kept an eye on the fairy form of himself. The small wolf-like creature always seemed to notice that Wolfrun was nearby, but at that point had realized that he meant no harm. The fairy would meet up with the three pig fairies, who proceeded to build small dwellings out of the necessary materials. After the whole ordeal was over, they all would roll around on the grass laughing.

One day, about a month after his arrival in Märchenland, Wolfrun spotted his fairy doppelganger alongside a fairy wearing a red hood. He perked up. This was the first time he had seen Little Red Riding Hood here. They were walking arm in arm. He wasn't sure if they were in the middle of their story or not, but he didn't really care. He decided that he was finally going to talk to some of the residents of his new home. Why not start with Red and...himself?

"Yo!" he sauntered over to the pair and waved a hand nonchalantly, prompting Red to hide behind the fairy wolf, who stood resolute. He was used to Wolfrun's presence at this point.

"Hello, sir." he spoke in a deeper voice than one might imagine. Wolfrun saw that Red still seemed to be frightened, so he lowered himself to the ground and sat cross-legged in front of them.

"Are you two in the middle of your story?" Wolfrun had spotted the basket of food in Red's free hand. It was still unsettling to him that his life was being played out by these little puffballs, but he managed to keep a level head. "On your way to grandma's house, eh?" he added after receiving no response.

Red finally piped up. "No, the hunter just chased him out. I decided to go with him today. We're gonna have a picnic."

The wolf fairy turned to Wolfrun excitedly. "Would you like to join us, sir? Red always packs a lotta food!" His eyes glowed in anticipation while Red grew, well, red.

Wolfrun chuckled. "Sure thing! I'm always ready for a good meal." He patted his stomach. "Where are we gonna eat then?"

"Right here is fine." Red pulled the cloth from the basket and set it on the ground, revealing some bread, cookies, jam, peanuts, and some small containers of milk. Wolfrun salivated. He was much better fed now, but he still had quite the appetite. He began by spreading some of the jam on a few slices of bread and grabbing some milk. His fairy double and Red followed suit.

"So do you have a name then?" Wolfrun addressed the small wolf fairy.

"Well, I'm the Big Bad Wolf of course!" He puffed out his tiny chest. Red giggled and gave him a small shove.

A chill ran through Wolfrun. He could never hear those words without feeling that. He shrugged off the sensation. "No no no. That's what I was called back in my world, but I have a real name too! You must have a name besides that." He took a bite out of his jam sandwich.

The fairy shifted a bit. "Heh, well nobody usually calls me by it, but my real name is Wolfun."

"That's a nice name. My name is Wolfrun, so I would know." Red laughed again. She seemed to be less scared now. Wolfrun had his conversation skills to thank for that. Despite being an outcast most of his life, he was surprisingly charismatic.

Must be because I was written that way.

About an hour passed, and all the food in Red's basket had been eaten, thanks mostly to Wolfrun who leaned back and let out a long, satisfied sigh. Red gathered up the blanket and stuffed it in the basket while Wolfun stood up and brushed the grass from his fur. He looked at the larger wolf with a more relaxed expression now. "Well, see you later mister Wolfrun!" He took Red's hand and started to walk away. Wolfrun sat up.

"Wait a second!" he blurted out a bit too loudly. They turned around and Wolfrun recalled the words that Cure Happy...no, Miyuki, had said to him. "If you don't mind, would you like to be my friends?" Those words had stuck with him ever since she spoke them. He could finally use them himself.

She would be so proud of me. I'm getting a hang of this sort of thing!

The fairies beamed at him. "Of course!" they said in unison. "You can help pick out what I put in my basket tomorrow!" Red exclaimed. After that they rushed off. "See you soon, Wolfrun!"

"Same to you two!" Wolfrun yelled back. He began to realize what the Precure had meant when they talked highly of friendship now.

...the Precure.

Wolfrun spent more time with Wolfun and Red, but this did not satiate the strange void within him. His thoughts constantly drifted to Earth. After over a year of being exposed to it, it had left an impact on him. The Precure befriending him before leaving was just icing on the cake.

I wonder what they were like.

Wolfrun had met with Candy a few times to discuss the Precure, but each time he tried, she would burst into tears, prompting Pop to ask him to leave. That was until Candy herself showed up at Wolfrun's door a few months after their departure from Earth.

"Ehhhh? What're you doing here, Candy?" Despite technically being his queen, he could never bring himself to address her by that title. She didn't seem to mind anyway. Her face was more serious than usual, and she exhaled softly before gesturing for Wolfrun to crouch down to her level. He complied.

"Candy is ready to talk about the Precure." she said flatly. She hopped in and jumped up onto the table in the kitchen area. She took in her surroundings, as this was her first time inside of the house since it was furnished. She noticed a tea kettle on the stove. "Candy will talk about the Precure if we can also have a tea party!" her trademark smile returned. Wolfrun rolled his eyes.

Once the tea was all set Wolfrun took a seat in front of Candy, who was still sitting on the table. She sipped her tea and was probably trying to look sophisticated. Then she spoke.

"Candy isn't crying anymore when she thinks about the Precure." Her smile was growing weaker, yet it persisted. "You want to know about them, right?" Her yellow ears wobbled back and forth. She truly seemed interested in talking now, and Wolfrun was definitely interested in hearing. Candy told him all about her time on Earth with them, and what they were like.

Cure Beauty. Her name was Reika. Always kind and gentle to others. She was very intelligent, but sometimes became confused when confronted with certain social cues. Wolfrun remembered playing with her when they were all transformed into children by one of Majorina's inventions. She was very nice to him after her initial fear wore off.

Cure March. Her name was Nao. She was strong, determined, and extremely devoted to her family. Very no nonsense. Despite her tough exterior, she was afraid of a lot of things (like bugs). Wolfrun knew the least about her, it seemed.

Cure Peace. Her name was Yayoi. Quiet and shy at first, but very enthusiastic and kind of loud once you got to know her. She loved art and had grand artistic aspirations. Quite the dreamer. Cried easily. She also really liked the Earth show "Iron Warrior Robotter DX", which Wolfrun had also become a fan of.

Cure Sunny. Her name was Akane. Fiery and passionate, she would do anything to protect her friends. Wolfrun had gathered that much through his rivalry with her, though. She also loved to cook, and made really delicious okonomiyaki (which Wolfrun could vouch for personally, since he had eaten an exorbinant amount of it during one of their battles).

And of course Cure Happy, whom Wolfrun already knew was called Miyuki. Everything Candy revealed about her seemed to fit Wolfrun's preconceived notions he had when he was still a Bad End General. Of course, what had caused anger and confusion before now evoked more positive feelings. Miyuki always had a smile on her face, no matter what. She messed up a lot, but she wouldn't get hung up about it. She would try to be friends with everyone.

Even me.

Knowing all of this, Wolfrun began to miss Earth even moreso. He started to think about what he would do if he could meet the five of them again. He would run scenarios through his head. Think about what to say. How would they respond? What would they all do together? He would lie in his room and think for days on end.

I had given up on the world. I hated it. I hated them too. I made sure they knew I hated them.

But they had not given up on me. They had wanted to help me all along. They would always try to talk to me while fighting. Try to get me to see the world as they saw it. But I ignored them.

Dammit! Why was I taken away from them as soon as I began to see without all that Dark Energy crap? It's not fair! It's not fair...

...

I wonder if they think about me...

...because I sure as hell think about them.

More time passed, and Wolfrun found it harder and harder to leave the house. Majorina would leave to teach at her School of Magic (she was never the best at naming things), and Akaoni had made friends with many of the fairies while he was helping them build and repair. Wolfrun couldn't seem to befriend any other fairies besides Wolfun and Red. He had no role to fill in Märchenland. He still felt like an outcast.

It was almost a year since he had left Earth, and Pegasus day was approaching. It was a Märchenland holiday, apparently. Shooting stars filled the night sky and the residents would make wishes. Wolfrun thought the whole thing was asinine, despite Candy, Wolfun, and Red telling him otherwise. A little flying speck in the sky couldn't do such a thing. If it could, why were there so many problems in the world? It didn't make sense.

He had gone with Majorina and Akaoni to attend the festivities anyhow. He'd take any time he could spend with them when they weren't busy. Majorina had decided to make a wish for the sake of her research, and Akaoni thought making a wish sounded fun, even if it might not work. Wolfrun still thought the whole thing was pointless, but when he saw the first trail of light streak across the night sky, he couldn't help but think.

I wish I was happy.

Once they all got home, Wolfrun plopped into his hammock (he had always preferred hammocks) and let his thoughts run rampant, as they usually did at night. Sleep came slowly.

...

"Wolfrun?"

He had awoken to the sound of a soft yet loud voice. Definitely not Majorina or Akaoni. Perhaps one of the fairies? He looked at the clock. It was later than he thought it was.

Wolfrun sat up a bit and rubbed the sleep grit out of his eyes. "Yeah? Who's there?" he half mumbled. He heard footsteps. More than one person. Bigger than a fairy. A familiar scent...

"Wolfrun!"

He removed his hands from his eyes, turned to face the doorway, and released a loud noise from the back of his throat.

It was the Precure.