Chapter Eight – Momoji's Secret Test! Cure Maple Joins!


"Hanabi…" Mei softly poked the girl next to her, "Why did you tell me not to bring Mocchi again?"

Hanabi sighed and whispered into Mei's ear, "If they found out that we let someone find out that we're Pretty Cure we'll never hear the end of it!"

"B-But… it is our fault. To lie about it is…"

"Just trust me on this, Mei."

The two girls were sitting in a booth at a soba shop that Momoji had invited them to. The booth was in the back of the restaurant and isolated from the shop's usual crowd.

Mei cleared her throat and pulled out her cellphone to check the time,

"Where is Momoji? She told us that she'd be right back. It's been a while."

"I don't know." Hanabi grabbed at her stomach, "But I'm hungry." her last word was punctuated by the rumbling of her stomach.

"Sorry to keep you two waiting." Momoji's polite voice made the two look up; the tall girl had a huge tray in her hands that contained almost seven bowls of soba.

"Momoji!" Mei stood up from her seat, "Do you want some help?"

"I'm fine, thank you." she replied, "I bought some for all of us."

Hanabi gasped, "You're my savior!"

Mei however, wasn't so happy. Carefully helping Momoji put the bowls of soba onto the table, she spoke up with a shaky voice,

"Momoji, you didn't have to do this. How much did it cost? I'll pay you back."

"It's okay, Mei." replied Momoji, "You saved my friend's life, this is too little in terms of repayment. Please take it, I insist."

"I… okay." replied Mei.


"This is so good!" exclaimed Hanabi, the girl had already started eating her soba, "Do you come here often, Momoji?"

"Yes." replied the girl, "Akito and I come here a lot but… enough talking, let's eat!"

"Ahh!" Hanabi framed her face with her hands and put on a wide smile, "That was so good, I'm so full!" she shouted.

"H-Hanabi!" Mei looked around the restaurant, "Keep your voice down."

Momoji laughed, "It is good, isn't it?"

"Momoji." Mei eyed the amount of bowls in front of the girl, "Are you alright? Are you sure you're not full?"

"I'm fine." the girl replied, "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"N-no… it's just that..."

"I suppose we should stop eating so we can…" Momoji lowered her voice, "Discuss more important matters."

Mei jumped in her seat, "You mean…"

Momoji nodded, "About what happened on Monday."

"But I'm sleepy." Hanabi stretched her arms, "Whenever I eat, I get really tired."

Momoji closed her eyes and smiled, "If you don't talk, I'll have you pay for your bowl of soba."

Hanabi gasped, "Th-that's too cruel! I don't have any money!"

"Exactly!" Momoji slammed her hand on the table and accidentally hit down her glass of water, "Oh no!" she gasped.

Hanabi laughed, "That's karma for you."

Mei hurriedly wiped up the spill before it spread and make any more of a mess, "Once you promise not to tell anyone, Momoji." she spoke, "I trust you though. Now, what do you want to know?" she asked.

Momoji cleared her throat, "Who are you?"

"I'm Mei and also, Cure Daisy."

"And I'm…" began Hanabi, "The shining sun marks the sea-"

"Hanabi!" interrupted Mei, "Please be serious!" she shouted.

Hanabi sighed, "You should keep your voice down, Mei. Anyway, I'm Hanabi and also, Cure Flare!"

Momoji looked up in thought, "I see. What's your mission?"

Mei looked towards Hanabi, "I… we… this is why we should have bought Mocchi and Neene, Hanabi."

Hanabi shrugged and folded her arms, "We're trying to save the planet from Typhoon and his minions. They plan to throw the world into chaos with the help of Lady Earthlight's power. Lady Earthlight is in charge of maintaining our world's balance and ecosystem…" Hanabi stopped, scratched her head and continued, "Typhoon likes to throw things into chaos or something. And uh… Lady Earthlight went into hiding and hid her sceptre into pieces on Earth and it's our job to protect her and find her sceptre before Typhoon does."

"H-Hanabi…" Mei's voice reeked of shock.

Hanabi shook her head in disapproval, "Do you really think I don't pay attention?"

Momoji giggled, "Okay. Now, who are Mocchi and Neene?"

"They're fairies." began Mei, "They work under Lady Earthlight and they were the ones who turned us into Pretty Cure. There are four Pretty Cure warriors and each have a fairy. We're looking for the others, but, Mocchi told me that we'll be drawn together so we don't have to actively search."

Momoji nodded, "I understand."

Mei smiled, "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Before Momoji could answer, Hanabi let out a loud burp.

Mei looked at the girl next to her in shock, "Hanabi!"

"Hahaha…" Momoji began to laugh, "You two are so adorable."


At the Meteor House, Thunder, Hail and Acid stood going over their recent defeats.

"This is bad." said Thunder.

Hail scoffed, "You don't say."

Acid shook his head, "We have to start taking our mission seriously. Do not forget what we're trying to do." he said.

Hail replied in anger, "How could you say something like that?"

Thunder punched his palm, "It's been about a month since we left Terra and we've hardly done anything!" he shouted.

Hail walked towards the man and spoke in a gentle voice, "It's okay. We still have time."

"I think I have an idea." began Acid, "In order to get rid of Pretty Cure, we might have to take up civilian identities."

Hail gasped, "We'll be stealthy!"

Thunder laughed, "And don't only target them, but target others as well! I know that they wouldn't want innocent people getting hurt."

The other two put on a devious smile, "Of course..."

Unbeknownst to the three humanoids, Nimby stood in the same room as them, invisible to their eyes. The being stood, thinking to himself,

"Mommy, by! Why'd you have to be friends with these idiots, by?"

The cloud-shaped being left the room and went outside the house. Returning to a visible state, Nimby floated and remained lost in his thoughts,

"Mommy will… no."

Nimby's eyes changed to a red colour and he took on a humanoid shape. Tall and slender, the being put his long hands out and focused on sensing the Cures' power,

"That group of imbeciles will never get anything done at this rate. It's time to visit the Cures and let them know that they're far from victory."


Back at the soba shop, the girls have moved on from discussing Pretty Cure to idle, excited chatter about their lives.

"I don't know why." spoke Momoji, "Your school just called me and asked me to perform. I've never done anything like that before but, I do have a performance similar to that next month."

"Really?" asked Mei, "Wow. I wish I was as talented as you!" she said.

"Me too." said Hanabi, "You're in clubs and stuff, I'm not in anything… I wish I could be."

Momoji looked towards Hanabi and smiled, "It's never too late to join one, do you have any hobbies?"

"Well…" Hanabi began, "I do like swimming but there isn't a swimming club."

Mei jumped in excitement, "You can always start a club yourself, Momoji!"

"Really?" asked Hanabi, "I can do that?"

"Yes, I started a gardening club." replied Mei.

Momoji replied as well, "Of course you can." the girl's face then turned red, "You know… I've never gotten along so well with people that I've only recently met. If you two don't mind, would you like to come to my performance next month?" she asked.

The two other girls nodded, "Of course!"

Momoji smiled, "I'm so happy that you two are Cures too! That's it, you pass!" she exclaimed.

Mei gasped, "'C-Cures'…" Hanabi finished, "'Too?'", the two girls then asked in unison, "'Pass'?"

Momoji nodded, "I'm sorry for deceiving you two. I'm a Cure as well." the girl put on her Cure Ring and showed the two. Momoji then stood up and started to strike poses, "Amber leaves mark the season of Autumn! Cure Maple!" with her final pose, Momoji accidentally hit down a glass.

Mei giggled, "At least it was empty this time." the pigtailed-girl then stood up, "But Momoji, that's so great. I'm happy to be your teammate!" she said.

Hanabi then stood up as well, "Me too."

Momoji smiled and put her hand out. The other girls slowly put their hands on hers, "Let's do our best together!"

Mei and Hanabi nodded.

"Ahh!"

A woman's scream ended the girls' happy moment in an instant. Running to the entrance of the shop they all gasped,

"What?"

Outside of the shop stood a tall, white, humanoid being with red glowing eyes slowly walked towards the soba shop. Everything around the being appeared to be frozen in time and was a dark red colour.

"Does that thing work with Typhoon?" the girls gasped.

The being nodded and pointed his hand towards the girls. In an instant, everything around the girls froze and gained a dark red hue.

The girls all looked towards each other and nodded,

"Pretty Cure! Altermode, switch on!" they yelled.

In flashes of light, the girls all took on their Cure forms.

Flare looked towards Maple, admiring her ally's new appearance, "Niiiiice!" she exclaimed.

Maple smiled, "It's a shame that we don't have time to admire each other and strike fancy poses. Maybe next time, girls?"

Daisy smiled and nodded, "Next time."

Maple pointed towards the strange being, "How dare you interrupt our fun time together!

The being stopped in his tracks, "I have no time for games. You girls have been nothing but meddlesome and so, I've come to deal with you myself."

Daisy opened her mouth in disbelief, "It can't be…"

Flare gasped, "I thought he didn't have enough power to…"

"Typhoon!" finished Maple.

Typhoon stretched out his arm and stung Daisy, hitting her a few feet away.

"Daisy!" yelled the other Cures.

Flare grinded her teeth, "Why you!"

The girl ran up towards Typhoon, "Summer's Fireworks!" she yelled and put her hand in front of Typhoon's eyes.

"That won't work on me." he said, in a deep voice that sent a shiver down Flare's spine. Typhoon hit away Flare with his hand, knocking her against Maple who was assisting Daisy in getting to her feet.

Daisy was shaking in fear as she tried to stand up, "This is bad. Stop rushing in, Flare." she said.

Maple nodded, "Yes. We have to strategize."

Daisy spotted some nearby plants and rose her hand up, "Help me, please!" she yelled. The plants quickly grew and wrapped around Typhoon's body.

Flare jumped high up in the air, using her unique Cure power. Hovering above Typhoon she put her hand up in the air, "Precure! Summertime…"

Maple understood what the girls were trying to do and put her hands out in front of her, waiting on the others.

Daisy then started to charge up her own attack, "Precure! Springtime…"

Maple then spoke, "Precure! Authmn…"

The girls unleashed their attacks one by one, "Carnivàle!", "Surprise!", "Festival!"

The attacks flew towards Typhoon and hit him, generating an enormous shockwave that managed to push even the girls back. When the smoke had cleared though, Typhoon stood in the same spot, looking unscathed.

"No!" cried Daisy.

Typhoon ran towards the pink-haired Cure and hit her, causing her to fly and crash into a nearby building.

Flare and Maple who ran up to him in anger at what he had just done to their friend. Typhoon chuckled and quickly wrapped his limbs around the Cures, raising them high up into the air and brutally slamming them back down onto the ground.

Daisy steadily tried to stand up, the girl was in tears, "This is awful…" she cried.

Flare looked towards Daisy, barely able to see the girl after being hurt so badly "Daisy…" she moaned.

Maple could barely find the energy to speak, let alone get up, "D-don't falter…" she managed to gasp out.

Typhoon stood before the girls, chuckling, "And you call yourselves heroes?"

"Girls!"came a group of voices.

The Cures looked towards the source and saw their fairies running towards them, Mocchi, Neene and Purin.

Mocchi sobbed as she approached Daisy, "Daisy! Are you okay, chi!"

"Flare, ne!" cried Neene Why'd you leave without saying anything, ne?"

Flare lightly chuckled, coughing as she did so, "Before asking me if I'm okay… that's what you'll ask?"

"Maple, rin!" spoke Purin, "Please speak to me! Please be okay!"

"I am…" softly replied Maple.

The fairies' concern for their partners only made Typhoon laugh more,

"I understand that you girls didn't know what you were getting yourselves into, can you really like these fairies after they got you into this? This is the last chance that I'm giving you, do not interrupt our plans any further. This is your last warning."

"And this is yours!" an unknown voice echoed throughout the lifeless town.

The Cures looked towards the source and spotted a girl atop a building, arms folded and looking down towards Typhoon with rage in her eyes,

"What you've done is unforgivable! How dare you turn these girls' fun afternoon out into this!"

Daisy looked at the girl, barely making her out with her blurry vision, "Who is that?" she asked.

The unknown girl continued, "Girls, I cannot tell you to ignore Typhoon's warning but please, find the strength in yourselves to make your own decision." she said. The girl then threw Typhoon one last glare and spun around, disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

Typhoon looked at where the girl once stood and looked back towards the Cures as if she had never appeared,

"I can sense that a piece of The Gaia Scepter will activate on the day of your spring festival, should you turn up and fight, I will take it that you have chosen to ignore my warning. It is truly a pity that if you ignore my warning that I will not have enough power to take over this being's body once more and slaughter you myself. Goodbye, Pretty Cure."

Typhoon himself then disappeared before the girls' eyes.


Daisy took in a deep breath,"We didn't ch-… huh?" the girl looked around, she and her friends were back in the soba shop and in their regular forms as if nothing had ever happened,

"Wh-what just happened?" she asked.

Hanabi and Momoji looked around them, confused as well, "I don't know…"

"It was Typhoon's power, rin!" came a voice.

"Purin!" exclaimed Momoji.

"He probably threw us all into a chaotic state, ne!"

Hanabi gasped, "Neene!"

"What you all experienced was very real, chi!"

Mei hugged Mocchi, "Mocchi! I was so scared."

Momoji looked down in sorrow, "We all were…"

Hanabi shook her fist in anger, "Dammit!"

Mei looked at her friends and then spoke, "I'm not going to say that I wasn't scared but I didn't choose to become a Cure without knowing that it might be scary. We have to save our planet, everyone in it, Satsuki… Akito… and your family and friends too, Hanabi!"

Hanabi nodded, "You're right." the girl looked toward Neene, "I thought about this on the day you made me a Cure and I've decided that I want to do this."

Momoji smiled, "I did the same. Don't go thinking that you forced me into anything, Purin!"

The fairies all jumped in joy and hugged their partners.

"Wait." spoke Neene, "I have one question, how did you all find each other?"

"Uhh…" Mei and Hanabi looked at each other and nervously laughed.

After telling the story of the transformation mishap, the fairies gave Mei and Hanabi a lengthy lecture, after that was over, the group moved on to another issue.

"Who was that girl?" asked Mei.

"I have no doubt about it." replied Momoji, "She's the Cure of Winter."

Hanabi groaned, "Why didn't she just stay with us and then we'd be all together and this searching thing would be over with?"

Purin shook her head, "If she's with Uji, he must have sensed that you girls weren't exactly in reality, rin."

Neene then spoke, "Since we were close by we managed to stay with you after his power was over but Uji and that girl must have been drawn into Typhoon's chaos world from far away, ne."

"From far away, chi? I hope she's not too far, chi!"

Mei then cautiously began to speak, "I… I don't like to take charge like this b-but… we're all going to the spring festival to stop Typhoon and his minions, r-right?"

Hanabi and Momoji nodded, "Of course!" they said.

Mei smiled at the other two's enthusiasm.

"Great , ne!" said Neene, "Now that all that's settled, can I get what they sell at this shop, ne? It smells delicious, ne!"

Hanabi groaned, "Neene! You guys shouldn't even be out!"

Not bothering with laughing along with the rest of the group, Mei thought to herself,

"Even though fighting is kind of scary… I'm having fun with Hanabi, Mocchi, Neene and now Momoji and Purin! I wonder what kind of girl the Cure of Winter and Uji is? I hope she shows up at the spring festival too."


Next Chapter – Showdown at the Spring Festival!? Our Mysterious Hero Returns!