Episode Two: Heartpiece Capture! Cure Grandmaster's Debut!

"Did you just knock the poor girl out?" Erin demanded.

Asterisk shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything else to do."

The pale woman pushed her tiny counterpart out of the way and bent down to examine the new Precure's body. She was definitely out cold.

With a sigh, Erin pried the young girl's fingers opened, intending to take the piece herself. However, there was nothing clutched in the girl's hands; nothing laying around her, either. It was as if the piece had simply vanished. "Where did it go?" she demanded of Asterisk.

Ast laughed. "I know you can't jump worlds, Erin, but I expected even you to know that pieces can only exist in one place at a time."

"What?"

"Never mind." Asterisk laughed a little more, then sobered. "Just don't worry about it. I suspect that we'll see the piece again as soon as she wakes up."


Light swept over Kaitlin, surrounding her. On all sides, she saw it; dark pink, with swirls of white and black. Stars seemed to surround her, their warmth burning off her pajamas and replacing them with a rose pink tank top that bared her midriff and matching gloves that covered the majority of her arms. With a light swish, a grey skirt settled on her hips, complete with a sash-like belt. Under it, she could feel skin-tight shorts, and pink ballet flats adorned her feet. As she shook her head, she saw that her hair, too, was pink.

As a grey bow swirled dramatically onto the top of her shirt, pulling the strange outfit somewhat together, she raised a hand instinctively, saluting and calling out words she couldn't quite figure out why she was saying. "The hopeful and brilliant challenger- Cure Grandmaster!"

Then the light faded, and she was back in her room. The clock flashed 5:50 am.

"Perfect-myu!" Catlin cried, kneading the blankets happily. "The piece is now bound to someone for the first time in two years! Congratulations on becoming a Precure-myu!"

"Th-thanks, I guess," Grandmaster said, examining herself and her outfit closer. "But... what am I supposed to do now?"

"Go to sleep!"

"Go to... what?"

"Get back in bed, close your eyes, and go to sleep! You do want to save the Board, don't you?"

"The... Board?"

"Exactly!" Catlin said encouragingly. "Sleep tight-myu!"

She was still shaken by her sudden transformation, and the instructions did not seem clear to her. Perhaps it was her confusion that led her not to argue, but simply roll under the covers and close her eyes.

With Catlin watching guard and the strange clothes brushing against her in strange new ways, sleep did not come easy. It did, however, come at last.


"She's waking," said Erin. "I hope you're right about the piece being here when she wakes... however that would work."

"Relax. The worst that could happen is she set it down somewhere, and I knock her out again so she can pick it back up."

Erin snorted. "You say that so casually. I always wonder how you claim that you're the one on the side of good."

"You can be good and still have brilliant and slightly violent ideas. I mean, there's a reason for my old Cure name, huh?"

"There is. 'Cure Jet' doesn't suit you nearly as well, Asterisk."

"That isn't yours to decide, Erin."

The girl stirred, and her clothes shimmered and changed as she woke. Ast grinned. Perfect. It had been a risky move, knocking the girl out... she'd already been quite sure that the girl had a the ability to cross the Gambit Stream, but while in the Outside world, she could be doing anything, and all without proper instructions. She might have put the piece down, or even lost it. But no; she transformed, just as Asterisk had hoped.

As she got up, almost tripping over her own shoes, Erin frowned. "You've bound the piece. Asterisk, you knew this would happen."

"I didn't," she admitted. "I hoped though."

"You do realize that now I have to take the Black King by force?"

The girl groaned, as if she realized exactly what Erin meant, though she probably wasn't quite awake enough to.

Erin reached gracefully for something in her pocket, and for a moment, Ast thought she might pull out her own pendant, initiate a real Cure-versus-Cure battle. But no; she only seemed to save transforming for when her people were watching now. Ever since Xerxat had given her a taste of his own abilities, she had no real need for her second form. It served only to be a ruse. To convince her people that their protector was still one of the good guys.

None of them knew only death or willing sacrifice could separate a person from their piece, after all. Erin could be Xerxat, and she'd still look like a Pretty Cure warrior in the eyes of the masses.

As Erin removed her hands from her pockets, Ast saw that she now held a small, white bell. "You aren't seriously going to do it," she remarked. "You put too much pride in your castle."

Erin frowned. "You aren't the only one who gets to be a bit unpredictable, Ast." She raised the bell regally and shook it, once, twice, three times. "Bind, Crush! Come forth, Desperado!"

White lightning shot from the quavering white bell, shattering it, and Asterisk knew from experience that the closest servant to Erin, probably only several rooms away, just fainted. Whatever was left of the bell grew in size... the thing acted like an egg, fertilized with pure desire. As the rate of growth slowed, Ast stared up at a large, sentient hammer. "Desperado!" it sounded, shaking the ground itself.

Ast raised an eyebrow. She hadn't pegged Erin for doing as she threatened- even if it was so coldly calculated, enough that Erin had threatened it rather immediately, it also seemed fairly reckless, like something Ast herself would do.

Never mind that, she thought. Only one thing to do.

She pulled out her piece and positioned it over her heart. "Precure! Advance me!"

As the stars of the transformation changed Asterisk from her tiny dark-headed civilian appearance into a more fantastical form, she smiled. Erin didn't think she'd let the new girl go without a fight, did she? Her red and black dress popped on, followed by slouchy boots and mismatched arm warmers. As she posed, hands reaching high as if she were trying in vain to get to that blasted top shelf that she could never reach, her grin widened. "The sable, miraculous player!" she called out. "Cure Jet!"

Transformed, Jet pulled the other Cure up. The girl rubbed her eye with a gloved arm and groaned. "What's going on?"

"Well, you're a legendary warrior and there's a rampaging giant hammer on the loose," Jet answered cheerfully.

The girl groaned. "Never mind. I really am dreaming, aren't I?"

"Nope. Now, help me fight this thing."

"F-fight?"

Jet glared, appraising the taller girl. "Yeah? What else would we do? Run away? You're a Precure now, act like it!"

"I don't know how," she sniffled.

Jet closed her eyes in frustration and held out her hand, summoning her sword. "Just follow my lead," she said slowly, condescendingly, and she jumped up, bringing her sword down on the giant hammer beast.

It roared in protest and aimed towards the other Cure, who was standing still in shock. From a good distance away, Jet saw Erin watching with cold eyes. She would not get involved in this fight, no. Not unless it came to her.

"Come on, kid!" Jet yelled towards the girl standing frozen. "It'll kill you if you don't fight!"

"B-but..."

"No buts! Punch it!"

With what sounded like a whimper, the Cure threw a very pathetic punch at the hammer. Jet rolled her eyes as the hammer thing staggered back, only about three steps worth... three of her steps, barely covering any distance of all. She supposed the only reason it moved at all was that the girl had not yet realized her own enhanced strength. Sure enough, the girl was now staring at her hands as if she had never seen them before. Despite the gravity of the situation, Jet let out a low chuckle.

Then, she let her weapon vanish and punched the monster herself from the other side, putting all her weight into it. The giant hammer went flying... right into the new girl.

"Owwww," she groaned.

"Don't be such a wimp," Jet yelled. "Hit it again!"

This time, the girl managed to hit harder, batting the Desperado back towards Jet as though it was a ball. Still, it barely seemed enough. Jet sighed. "Come here, kid," she ordered.

The girl scampered to Jet's side. "Now," the veteran Cure ordered, "hold my hand."

"Hold your hand?"

Jet didn't respond, merely choosing to grab the girl's hand herself. The pink-clad warrior let out a yelp of surprise. "Repeat after me. Precure Heartpiece Capture."

"Precure Heartpiece Capture."

"Great. Now, say it with me on the count of three. Loudly. One, two, three..."

"PRECURE HEARTPIECE CAPTURE!" the two young women yelled in unison.

A beacon of shining pink light burst from their entwined hands. It hit the hammer, and he let out a halfhearted roar as it faded and disappeared. A single round glass-looking bead fell to the ground in its place.

Jet picked it up and handed it to the other girl. "Put it in your belt."

"What?"

"Touch the heartpiece to your belt."

The girl did, yelping as it disappeared in a flash of light. "What was that?"

"I'll explain later." Turning to Erin, Jet smirked. "So, do you want to fight now? Or can we go?"

Erin frowned. "I'm bored with trying to force you to behave. I don't care what you do."

"Fine. We'll be in the Black Kingdom if you need us."

"Great."

Jet took her new comrade by the hand. "Come on. I know a secret way out of the castle. Let's bounce before we're found."

"W-what's going on?"

"I'll explain on the way."


Kaitlin never was good on horses. Not even when she wasn't Kaitlin, but was instead Cure Grandmaster. It was lucky that the mysterious and rather bossy Cure Jet seemed to be a fairly decent equestrian, and that Grandmaster's own horse was perfectly content to follow Jet's.

She clutched her horse with all her strength, feeling sick to her stomach from the movement and the smell. In an attempt to distract herself, she looked at Jet, just ahead of her. "Who are you?" she asked. "Who am I? What's going on?"

Jet stopped, and Grandmaster's horse did as well. Then, the small girl flipped around effortlessly so she was sitting backwards on her horse, facing Grandmaster. "I'm Cure Jet, queen and defender of the Black Kingdom, nice to meet you."

"Qu- what? I, um, ah- your majesty, I..."

"Call me Jet. Or Ast, when I'm in my normal form."

"Oh... okay. What's going on?"

"You've achieved the conditions necessary to become Pretty Cure, and obviously, you've bound the piece to yourself, which means you're a warrior now. Congratulations." She kicked the side of her horse, and both began to walk again, though she did not turn around.

Grandmaster frowned, confused. "But what does that even mean?"

"When we get to the Black Castle, I'll have Nathan explain." Jet paused and turned back around so she was facing forward. "We'll reach the Black Kingdom by dawn if we ride without breaks."

"Uh- I'm not used to riding, so..."

"I know. So we'll take breaks. We'll reach the border around midday. Then we'll walk until we can get a carriage."

"Isn't there a faster way?"

"Not really. No."

"Can you afford to be away so long?" Grandmaster questioned hesitantly. "I mean... you're the queen, right?"

Jet threw her head back, laughing loudly. "They can manage without me! It's not like I do anything worthwhile anyway!"

"Oh."

There was silence for a moment, then Grandmaster looked down at her clothes. "Um, I hate to ask this, but this is kind of uncomfortable to ride in. Is there any chance I could go back to normal?"


Hours later, Ast awoke with a start. Her eyes searched the landscape of the White Kingdom, pale and cold, for brown hair... the girl, the new Cure. Kaitlin.

There was a strange, unnerving sense of familiarity to Kaitlin, to Grandmaster, and Asterisk could easily place it. Kaitlin reminded her of Skye. They had the same reaction to new things... panic, confusion, forlornness. They had the same brown eyes. They had the same sort of heart.

Could she be...

No. That was crazy. Ast laughed at her own foolish thoughts. Out of the millions of people in the Black and White Kingdoms, not to mention the people from elsewhere, the chances that Skye and Kaitlin had any relation was insane. Of course, she was a generally insane person, but she wasn't that insane.

Ast stood and went to the horses to tend them, connecting thoughts together in her brain as she did so. Even unrelated to Ast's former partner, Kaitlin was important. She was a key piece in Ast's plan, the plan she had been thinking of for so long.

She crossed over to the sleeping girl and shook her. As Kaitlin woke, rubbing her eyes groggily and looking quite confused, Ast smirked with pride at her own genius. "Come on," she said to the taller girl. "We're going."

"Oh, okay. Are you... are you alright?"

Another similarity to Skye; she was perceptive. "I'm okay," she said, not ready to reveal herself just yet.

Kaitlin shrugged and let it go. She got up and started walking over to her horse. However, halfway there, she paused. "How come the woman in the White Kingdom didn't just attack us herself? She's one of us too, right? A Precure? Couldn't we just fight? Why'd she summon that big thing?"

Ast blinked. Maybe Kaitlin was too perceptive. "Let's just say we used to be rather friendly, the two of us."

Kaitlin raised an eyebrow in question, but Asterisk pretended she didn't see it. Some things weren't worth getting into, and others just weren't worth getting into when you were tired, it was still dark and chilly out, and you were in enemy territory.

"Come on," Asterisk said, "Let's get going."


Nathan was doing his best not to worry. Asterisk rarely went anywhere without him, and she hadn't intended to go to rescue the new Precure without him either. It was, really, his own fault that he had stayed behind. He had no intention of going to the White Kingdom ever again, if he could help it. Not after last time, no.

Ast needed him, though. It felt like he was letting her down. Even when she nodded when he said he intended to stay, even when she told him she understood his reasonings.

He heard something shift next to him and turned to the sound. "Hello?"

"Oops, did I scare you?" questioned the voice of a young female fairy who had recently started working at the castle. Miris, her name was. "I didn't mean to."

"You're fine."

"Are you okay? Do you need any help?"

"No... I'm thinking." He wasn't quite sure what question he was answering.

"About the queen?"

"About the queen."

He heard a shuffle; he suspected Miris was sitting down. "Do you think she'll return soon?" she asked.

"She will." He turned to where he suspected Miris was, his voice ringing with confidence. There were a lot of things he suspected his Cure partner would do... abandoning her friends, her throne, her duties... that was not one of them. "Probably quite soon, in fact."

"Weren't you to go with her?"

"I was."

"If you don't mind me asking..."

"I chickened out." He said it with no regret, no shame in his voice. At least, he hoped that was how it came out. There was no shame in his fear. After all, it was far from irrational.

"...I would have too. I... I hate the White Kingdom!" she exclaimed, and he could hear tears, her voice coming out in small sobs. "What they did to you... what they did to all of us! It's horrible! Don't you hate them for it?"

"I don't hate them," Nathan said slowly. "If I did, I wouldn't be a very useful advisor for any Pretty Cure, and especially not the queen. That said... I don't necessarily like them. Hate is a very strong word, Miris. This is war, but it is still very strong."

"But I feel it!" the young fairy said angrily, still obviously crying. "I hate them for blinding you? What purpose did it serve?"

He didn't answer, instead putting a hand next to one of his eyes. It had been two years since the magic blast that left him sightless, and some days he did nearly hate them for it, but he had seen too much of what hatred did. It was, after all, what was behind his loss of sight, in some form.

"I hate the White Kingdom," Miris reiterated.

"I know."

"They did this to you."

"They did."

"How can you be so calm about it? Doesn't it upset you? Don't you think it's unfair?"

"I do. It is unfair. But I've grown accustomed to it."

Miris sniffled and stood up. "Do you want me to take you somewhere? Maybe the food hall? I'm hungry."

"I am too," he replied. "Thank you."

"It's the least I can do."


They arrived in town as evening started to fall. Kaitlin looked around the Black City curiously. It was quite different than its White counterpart, with the white buildings and pale people. Here in the Black Kingdom, the majority of the people, buildings, and even the roads beneath them were darker, eerier. The colors lent a gloomy tone to the city, but light still shone through the windows, and the young girl could hear the laughs of children and adults alike.

A small group of wolves ran by, talking excitedly. Kaitlin gaped. "Did those animals just..."

"Not animals. Fairies," Ast explained sharply. She raked a hand through her short black hair. "Jeez, I guess I forgot you hadn't met any fairies. Just... treat them the same as the other people you meet and you'll be fine. And don't call them animals for Christ's sake. They really don't like that." Asterisk winced, as if remembering something unpleasant.

They stopped at a small, warm tavern. Word had obviously gotten around that the queen was in town; a large group had gathered around them. As Ast slid off her horse, Kaitlin half expected her to shoo the crowd away. After all, the Cure had seemed nothing if not impatient and intolerant of things she disliked, so far at least.

So when Ast began to talk and laugh with the villagers, it was a tad of a surprise.

Kaitlin blinked and dismounted. Ast, surrounded by her subjects and now holding a mug of something, did not seem to notice. Not even when Kaitlin found herself suddenly surrounded by a crowd of her own, mostly very, very inquisitive children asking all manner of questions. She glanced over at her new friend, but Asterisk seemed quite busy herself.

She was about to answer some of the questions when a scream echoed through the square.

Ast glanced over at Kaitlin, then waded through the crowd so that she was close enough to be touched and talked to. "That's our cue. Ready to go?"

"Ready to go?" Kaitlin repeated dumbly.

"Normally when someone screams, something's happening. And normally, it isn't good, and normally, they need someone to stop it. That's us. Ready?"

"I... uh... sure."

"Alrighty! Let's do this!" Ast flashed a grin and grabbed her piece, Kaitlin following the veteran Cure's lead. The two smiled at each other, Ast conspiratorially and Kaitlin a tad uneasily. Then, they yelled the phrase that let them transform in perfect, unrehearsed unison.

"PRECURE! ADVANCE ME!"