PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm PC-9
Haruno Haruka, also known to a select few as 'Cure Flora', was in a pretty good mood today. After some initial 'difficulties', Towa was finally properly settling in at Noble Academy, relearning how to enjoy life, and ready to do whatever it took fighting alongside the girls against the forces of DysDark.
It seemed that the enemy leader, the dark queen Dyspear, was out of commission for now after being hit by Cure Scarlet's Phoenix Blaze; she appeared to have appointed Lock as a temporary replacement until she recovered, giving the hooded boy an older form and greater power.
'Still,' Haruka thought, 'all we gotta do is find the last three Dress-Up Keys, and we'll be able to handle anything they throw at us!'
Suddenly, the ground shook, and Haruka could hear faint screams. Near-certain of what it was, she fingered the main Dress-Up Key in her pocket and took off running. She soon met up with Minami, Kirara, & Towa (and Puff & Aroma), and the four girls' suspicions were quickly confirmed as they rounded a corner to find a karate-themed Zetsuborg stomping around, overseen by Lock, who floated beside a 'Despair Cage' containing a member of the academy's martial-arts club. The monster noticed the four heroines, taking a stance, and they prepared to attack…
A bright-orange bolt of magical energy shot in from above, slamming into the side of the Zetsuborg's head, sending it stumbling and almost falling onto Lock, who hastily floated out of the way. Everyone on both sides looked around, and soon spotted a girl a few years older than the Cure Quartet perched atop a lamppost, clad in a red & purple outfit with gold lining, her long reddish-orange hair and her outfit's waist-cape fluttering slightly in the soft breeze, sky-blue eyes overlooking the impromptu battlefield.
"W… Who is that?" Cure Flora asked.
The girl turned down to look at the girls. "Are you the 'Princess Pretty Cures'?"
Cure Mermaid eyed the newcomer with suspicion. "We are. Who is asking?"
The older girl smiled. "A friend. I represent the Dimensional Defense Force, an alliance of people and civilizations from different Realms banded together to share tech, resources, & culture, and fight against dark forces who threaten innocent lives across the multiverse. We've even got three Realms' Pretty-Cure teams as members, along with other magical-girl teams."
"O… Other universes' PreCures…" Cure Scarlet breathed out, shocked.
"Recently, we detected four other universes with Cure teams in them, each of them embroiled in conflicts against the forces of Darkness; I've been sent here to help you girls. My name is Teana; pleased to meet you, Pretty Cures."
"Hey, who the hell do you think you are?" Lock interjected. "No matter. You're no Cure, so you won't stand a chance against a Zetsuborg!"
Teana smirked. "Girls? As a peace offering, let me take care of this one. Though, I don't have any purifying spells, so you'll have to finish it off." She cleared her throat, and then posed dramatically to mimic the pose she'd seen Cure Flora in the briefing she was given before coming here. "Villain who controls a dark cage, I'll be taking that captured dream back! Prepare for a thorough defeat!"
She leapt down off the lamppost and brought a heel-drop kick down on the Zetsuborg's head, causing the monster to faceplant with pavement-cracking force. Landing a handful of meters away, Teana conjured a mixed Crossfire Shot and Fire-type Sagitta Magica barrage, firing it and charging in its wake. The Zetsuborg staggered as the barrage struck it, then growled and tried to karate-chop down at Teana as she got in close, only for the redhead to nimbly sidestep the blow and then hit the monster in the gut with a punch that hit with enough force to let out an echoing boom. The Zetsuborg doubled over, and Teana grabbed it by the arm and flipped it up & over, slamming it back-first into the ground.
The angry Zetsuborg made a spinning kick to right itself, forcing Teana to leap back. She landed in front of the Cures, and saw as the Zetsuborg made a 'Hadōken'-like gesture, firing a large blast of dark power at her. Quickly, she drew Cross Mirage and shifted him to Longsword Mode; she swung with perfect timing, and the vibrant orange blade of superheated magical energy cleaved the incoming blast in two, deflecting the halves safely away. She then deactivated the energy blade and clipped Mirage to her belt, and wove a quick hand-seal sequence while breathing in:
"Fūton: Shinkūha!"
Teana swept her head to the side with a quick, wide motion, exhaling a blade of Wind chakra that raced through the air and slammed into the Zetsuborg, leaving a deep gash across its chest. As the monster reeled, Teana dashed in and leapt high over it, weaving more hand-seals and…
"Katon: Gōkakyū!"
The Cures were surprised to see their new ally breathe out a fireball bigger than she was, launching it down at the Zetsuborg from directly above. The Zetsuborg roared out as it was engulfed in chakra-conjured flames, shoved down to the ground. When the fires faded, the monster was on hands & knees, trying to push itself back up… and then Teana slammed a Rasengan down into its back, putting it down for the count. Hopping back from the fallen Zetsuborg, she gave the Cures a grin and a thumbs-up, and Cure Mermaid used Mermaid Ripple to finish off the battered monster, and then used her Dress-Up Key to free the person it had been made from.
"One complication after another…" Lock grumbled as he retreated through a keyhole-shaped portal.
"That was cool!" Cure Flora hurried up to Teana. "So, you're a heroine of justice from another universe?"
Teana chuckled softly at that description, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess, if you wanna call me that…"
"I'm Cure Flora! This is Cure Mermaid, Cure Twinkle, Cure Scarlet, and our fairy partners Puff & Aroma! Nice to meet you!"
"We should head back inside," Cure Twinkle said, "find someplace to explain things in detail to each other."
"Don't de-transform" Teana stopped Flora when she felt the Cure's energy start to change. "My transformation, as you can see, doesn't disguise my identity. If I'm going to be helping you girls, I have to be really careful about when I'm with you when you're not in your transformed states, or else other people will put two & two together and figure out who you are."
"A magical-girl transformation that doesn't disguise the heroine's identity?" Cure Flora said. "That's weird…"
"Let's head back to Haruka & Yui's room" Mermaid suggested. "Yui-san isn't a Cure, but she's in the know regarding everything we're involved in."
-Break-
Teana, the four Cures – now in civilian form -, Yui, Puff & Aroma, and the cat-like fairy known as Miss Shamour were all gathered in the dorm room together, where the locals had given Teana an explanation of events leading up to now. Unfortunately, something had gone wrong when Teana was temporo-spatially transferred here, and her copy of DDF 'footage' hadn't made the transition with her. Still, she did what she could to give them all a rundown about the DDF and many of its various member-states and notable individuals.
"Fighting alongside a team of princess-themed superheroines…" Teana mused. "This'll be one for the books, I'm sure."
Yui nodded shyly. "Knowing you're friends & allies with people who have such power, one of them actually being royalty…"
"Master has royal heritage as well" Cross Mirage spoke up.
"Eh?" they all turned to look at Teana. "Did you… grow up in a castle, related to a noble or something?" Kirara asked.
"Um…" Teana looked a bit sheepish. "Actually… Now, this is something I only found out about my family tree less than a year ago, but… I know that the son or daughter of a King & Queen is called a Prince or Princess, but I'm wondering what the proper term is for the daughter of a Prince – Duchess or Lady or something?"
"Non, my dear" Shamour spoke up. "The daughter of a crown-prince is also called…"
"A… A Princess…" Haruka squeaked out. "Y… You're a Princess?!"
The others were similarly shocked; Puff had stars in her eyes, Aroma was too surprised to fly, Yui's jaw was hanging open, and Kirara, Minami, & Towa had matching looks of surprise on their faces. Teana blushed at the attention.
"I-I'm not really sure whether I can consider myself that; I mean, I've only known about my father's pedigree for a handful of months. And… I can't really be called 'Princess' without a kingdom."
"Was your kingdom conquered?" Towa asked.
"No. It was completely destroyed – every subject killed, the castle leveled, the planet the kingdom was based on blown to bits… Only two full-blooded members of our people survive today; the son of a special-ops team leader, and my father's younger brother. My father and mother were murdered when I was four, by an old enemy of my mother; my dad tried to protect her and was struck down for it, with mom being killed soon after."
Looks of shock and empathy now reigned; Towa placed a hand on Teana's shoulder.
"Master's mother had a similarly impressive bloodline" Cross Mirage chimed in. "She was the heiress of an old and powerful shinobi clan. In fact, that clan and their old rivals were the first clans of their Realm to put aside differences and forge the first Hidden Village, an act that other clans followed suit with that brought an end to that world's Warring States Era. Master is the great-granddaughter of the shinobi of her clan that co-founded that system, so she could be considered royalty of a sort through her maternal lineage as well."
"Father was set to inherit the throne," Teana picked up, "while mother was the heiress of our clan. But both of them got sucked up by dimensional rifts that spat them out on Midchilda, my homeworld; back on their worlds they were presumed lost, and their younger siblings inherited those positions instead…"
"Do you know what the kingdom your father came from was like?" Minami asked.
"Only secondhand; like I said, I only learned about it recently. There are some… unpleasant details, but suffice to say it was a kingdom of proud warriors – 'strength of body, heart, & will' was a major tenet for all people, not just the royal family. Hell, even their formal wear was practical armor, not the kinda things you'd see people in at balls & galas on an Earth."
"A warrior princess…" Kirara mused.
"Hey!" Haruka came forward, a big grin on her face. "Teana-san! Why don't you try becoming a Princess PreCure?"
"Eh? …Eh?! N-No, I couldn't; I'm not… the right kind of person for that."
"Hmm…" Shamour looked Teana over. "Strength, kindness, grace, and beauty… You definitely have all the hallmarks of our kind of Princess…"
"I'm… not exactly 'princess-y', though. My main weapons are guns and energy-longswords, not something like a bow or rapier or naginata; I'm into weapons and cars instead of ballet or flower-arranging or the like, and I have a motorcycle instead of a 'white steed' or whatever; I know how to play a bass guitar, not a violin or clarinet or anything fancy like that… though I have been meaning to lean the cello; I think Akemi Homura-chan knows how, maybe she could help me…"
"Those are all things you can learn" Aroma replied. "And there's no reason you'd have to give up the stuff you already love."
Blushing, Teana took a breath. "Y'know what? I really hope this doesn't come off as offensive, but the main reason I've gotta say no? I am not comfortable in 'girly' clothing, at all. Yeah, I wear skirts, but they're plain and practical. I ain't touchin' stuff like ribbons and bright-pink and frills and lace and high-heels and makeup and sparkly jewelry and frilly, poofy, cutesy, floofy dresses… Just the thought of wearing something like that makes me feel deeply uncomfortable! I've got no problems with other people who wear that kinda stuff, and I know plenty who can kick ass while dolled up in all that finery, but I'm just… not one of them. Being all girlied up like that just feels… The thought of looking like that, of being seen by other people while looking like that, makes me feel anxious and uncomfortable and vulnerable…"
The local group's members were surprised; she was an actual princess, yet she was tomboyish enough that wearing a dress, jewelry, or makeup made her that uncomfortable and insecure…
'Maybe I can introduce her to that kinda fashion little by little' Kirara thought. 'help her see how good she looks. With how pretty she is, it'd be a waste not to really show it off!'
'Perhaps if we took it step by step,' Shamour thought, 'played it slow and careful, we could help her gradually get used to such things, help her see that they wouldn't diminish her or make her 'vulnerable' in any way… Ah, but first, to do the one thing she mentioned she wants to do; I'll have to schedule some cello lessons for this fine young lady!'
"If you don't wear dresses," Pafu asked, "what do you do when you have to go somewhere formal?"
"I either wear my UNSC dress-uniform," Teana replied, "or I also have a tuxedo. And lemme tell ya, it was not easy finding a tailor who could make a tux that fits these things…" she gestured to her rather 'ample' breasts.
"In any case," Minami spoke up, "perhaps we should move on. Teana-san, what sort of enemies are the Dimensional Defense Force dealing with at the moment?"
"Well… I mentioned how some of the Realms we've encountered and taken into the fold have fictional counterparts in others, right? Does the Kingdom Hearts series exist here?"
"Yes it does" Kirara replied.
"I've played them all!" Haruka chimed in. "I've been trying to convince these girls to try it, too…"
Teana looked at Haruka. "Then you'll know who I'm talking about when I say this: the DDF's current big enemy is Master Xehanort. A few months ago he and his 'Seekers of Darkness' came out of the woodwork, almost corrupted Sora. Now, they're planning to make their next big move soon, so far as we can tell. And he's not alone; he's partnered with another big baddie called Ganondorf."
"G… Ganondorf?!" Kirara exclaimed. "Seriously?!"
"Afraid so. There are also a couple other threats out there: Jul Mdama, the Sangheili anti-human terrorist; the dark faerie sorceress Maleficent; Salem, the Grimm Queen, though she's mostly kept to her own Realm so far; Joker, an old enemy of the Smile Pretty Cures who's been skulking around causing chaos and destruction ever since his resurrection… Plus, local dark forces that we help contain before they can graduate into multi-Realm threats.
"Of course, we've got plenty of big-name allies on our side – the Z-Team, the Sailor Senshi, Commander Shepard and his crew, the Autobots, Sora and his friends, and the last Realm we went to was the Pokémon world; some DDF people already have Poké-partners, and more are likely to come soon."
"Do… Do you have Pokémon, Teana-san?" Haruka asked, a spark of anticipation in her eyes.
Smiling, Teana pulled out two Pokéballs. She clicked them, and twin flashes of light sprang forth as she let out her Shroomish and her Honedge; the little waddling-head mushroom looked up at the girls with curiosity, while the ghostly sword floated beside his Trainer. The four Earthborn girls 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed, with Haruka positively starry-eyed.
"We'll do whatever we can to help you girls win this fight" she told the locals. "We'll stop DysDark, restore the Hope Kingdom, and if Prince Kanata is alive, we'll find him. At least the enemy isn't at full strength right now; you girls have killed one of their high-ranking members, freed a second from the Darkness, and injured their Queen badly enough that she'll be out of commission for a while."
"Let's just hope that the feeling of being pushed into a corner doesn't lead them to take more drastic and aggressive measures…" Minami said.
"Anyway," Kirara stretched, "summer break is really soon. Man, I'm really lookin' forward to some days off. …Well, some days off from school; I don't think DysDark will be willing to take their vacation at the same time…"
-Break-
Teana settled in okay, though she mostly kept to the shadows, not yet announcing herself to the Academy. She got along with the team quite well, the quartet asking their 'veteran magical-girl' partner for a few bits of advice. Kirara and Shamour hadn't started their plans to gradually help Teana get over her aversion to 'girly' things just yet, though they were working together to come up with ideas… And of course, being the group's main 'nicknamer', Kirara had quickly latched on to calling her 'Tia', with the redhead sighing and letting her, figuring she couldn't stop her.
A couple of days in, summer vacation started, and Haruka invited the gang to stay at her house with her family for a while – Minami, Kirara, Yui, Puff & Aroma, and Towa & Teana to their surprise. They made their way to Haruka's rather scenic hometown, the two 'newcomers' getting to meet her rather excitable family. After helping out at the family's sweets-shop, they went around doing all sorts of fun summer things, capped off with fireworks by the riverbank. During all this, Teana and Minami were trying to help Towa come to terms with what she did as Dyspear's "Princess Twilight", to help her realize that the things she did while under the witch's control weren't her fault.
Then, though, the festive mood had been spoiled by Shut appearing, creating a fireman-themed Zetsuborg and trying to torment Towa. Minami quickly came to her defense, pulling Towa out of the sorrow and guilt starting to eat at her and helping her get back up and fight. The four Cures and one mage beat the Zetsuborg around for a little while, letting Cure Scarlet finish it off, while a deeply frustrated Shut retreated.
Not long after, Towa came down with an illness while at the mostly-empty Noble Academy (since she basically lived there now), with only Puff & Aroma there to take care of her. The two animal-form fairies did their best despite their physical limitations, giving their all to care for their sick princess. To make matters worse, Shut made a small Zetsuborg out of a cicada, and Puff & Aroma were the only ones on station to fight it; the other three Cures were still on their way, and Teana was patrolling the academy's neighboring forest.
Fortunately, although Teana wasn't at the Academy when things started happening, her Pokémon were; her Honedge knocked the cicada-Zetsuborg (which had grown to about a meter in length) away with an Iron Head right when it was about to tackle Aroma out of the air, and her Shroomish coordinated with Puff to distract and disorient the little beast. The quartet got beat around a little, but the two royal fairies' dedication to protecting their princess somehow awakened a new transformation for the two of them, the healing light given off by it rejuvenating Towa as she came out to see what was going on, as well as reinvigorating Haruka, Minami, & Kirara who'd run the whole way there.
The four Cures had transformed to handle the cicada Zetsuborg, which 'molted' again to become an enormous bug monster. Although the girls managed to beat it around at first, it then revealed a massively powerful sonic attack that left them helpless. However, Puff managed to figure a way around it and boost Aroma for a flying tackle wreathed in Light magic, stunning the Zetsuborg and giving Teana an opening to drop in from above and hack one of its wings off, bringing it to the ground for Cure Scarlet to finish off.
Towa was fully recovered just in time for the local summer festival, where the girls got to enjoy the atmosphere for a while (Teana, however, chose not to enter the festival, instead patrolling along the outskirts, ostensibly "keeping an eye out for trouble" but the girls suspected it was really because she didn't want to wear a yukata). There was a little drama related to Haruka's "frenemy" Yuuki, who was very bitter and mean due to being cut from an upcoming tennis tournament because of his elbow injury, and unfortunately his three fangirls/cheerleaders were targeted by Shut to make a trio of cheerleader-themed Zetsuborgs.
During the ensuing fight, Yuuki came too close and had to be escorted to safety by Cure Flora. While doing so, she ended up scolding him for disregarding everyone worrying about him and giving up on his dream so easily. When she then rejoined the fight, finding the three other Cures and Teana having trouble breaking through the Zetsuborgs' tornado attack, Yuuki had followed and intervened, using a well-timed rock to disrupt the monsters' formation and leave them open for a Trinity Explosion and Phoenix Blaze. Afterwards, while the Cures made a flashy exit, Teana stuck around and gave Yuuki a basic explanation: the evil forces of 'DysDark' used dark magic and people's "dreams" to create monsters, the Princess Pretty Cures were chosen to fight them, and she was a non-Cure magical girl from another universe who came to help the Cures against their enemy in exchange for them helping her against her own foes after DysDark was dealt with.
Afterwards, the whole gang took a trip to a private beach resort owned by Minami's family, where Towa had a great deal of trouble admitting to the other girls that she didn't know how to swim. A heart-to-heart with Yui, however, helped her realize how silly she was being, how much her friends meant to her. And then Lock came calling, making a Zetsuborg out of Yui (despite the girl almost managing to repel the process) and setting it against Cure Scarlet to keep her busy.
Meanwhile, Lock appeared on the beach to keep Teana and Cures Flora, Mermaid, & Twinkle, forming three color-shaded clones to make it into a series of one-on-one battles – Prime Lock vs. Flora, Blue Lock vs. Mermaid, Green Lock vs. Twinkle, and Yellow Lock vs. Teana. The four pairs clashed across the beach area, fists and magic blasts flying.
Teana gritted her teeth as she flash-stepped backward to avoid a heel-drop from Yellow Lock, her eyes blazing crimson; right away, she'd been able to tell she needed her Sharingan for this one due to his speed and power. She returned fire with a hail of ki blasts, and Yellow Lock had to move frantically to dodge, aware that he couldn't afford to make any mistakes against an opponent of this level. The two of them took off and clashed over and over in midair, shockwaves ringing out through the trees.
The fight went on for several minutes, until both combatants sensed the Cure trio's energies flaring with high-level attacks back by the beach. Deciding to finish this up, Teana moved in close and smacked Yellow Lock with a Stage-0 Susanō arm, sending him careening down to the beach where the other girls were. The duplicate warrior got to his feet, but couldn't get out of the way as Teana appeared right in front of him, thrusting forward a chaotically-rotating sphere of Fire chakra:
"Katon: Rasengan!"
The resulting blast obliterated Lock's Yellow clone and made a rather unique-looking formation of glassed sand. Lock and his two remaining clones retreated, having gotten what they came for…
Later, as the sun set, everyone looked at the sparkling new Dress-Up Key that Cure Scarlet had gained after saving Yui. Haruka went to take her Keys out, so that they could all look at their Keys together… and it was then that they realized a shocking and frightening fact: during the end of the battle at the beach, Lock had stolen the 'original trio's' Dress-Up Keys!
The next day, the girls all came back to Noble Academy; semester hadn't quite started yet, but plenty of other students had returned in preparation. Haruka, Minami, & Kirara were listless and hopeless; without their Keys, they couldn't transform, couldn't fight… Towa and Teana swore to do whatever it took to fight against DysDark and reclaim the girls' Keys; Teana was already making plans to work on creating a new high-level technique, though she admitted it would probably take her a while to nail down.
The next morning, however, Puff led the group into the academy's forest, following the 'scent' of Dress-Up Keys. On their way through, the trio vanished mysteriously; Towa, Yui, Teana, & the fairies spent most of the day looking for them… and when they finally turned up, they had the final three missing Dress-Up Keys with them – Sakura, Coral, and Galaxy. They had met the spirits of the previous Princess Cures from centuries past in a dream-world, and their strength & conviction had been rekindled.
And then, the gang got a nasty surprise as a fissure in reality opened up, and out came an enormous structure and the earth it was rooted in, with a gleaming greenish-yellow eye – Hope Kingdom's castle, transformed into an enormous Zetsuborg! From its eye, it fired a massive greenish-yellow beam down at the girls…
"Susanō!"
A roaring reddish-orange 'flame' of chakra materialized around Teana as she took position between the girls and the attack, quickly transitioning into a large spectral warrior. Her Stage-3 Susanō raised its shield, and beams of sickly light spread out in multiple directions as the Zetsuborg's attack shoved against and was deflected by the defense. As the attack cut off, she let her Susanō dispel, and a flash of red light accompanied Towa transforming.
"So you just happened to be right where we crossed over, Princess Pretty Cures…" Green Lock floated into view, hands in his pockets. "That's good; it gives me a chance to wipe you all out right off the bat."
"I can sense the Dress-Up Keys…" Puff said. "They're in the castle!"
Aroma closed his eyes. "They're locked in a cage…"
"They must be acting as power sources for the castle-Zetsuborg" Cure Scarlet surmised.
"Then we have to get in there and get them out!" Haruka replied.
"We'll give you an opening," Teana said, "and we'll keep the monster and Lock's clone busy."
"Haruka…" Yui took her friend's hand. "Please, come back safe."
Haruka nodded, and Cure Scarlet formed a Scarlet Illusion barrier to block the giant Zetsuborg's next attack, while Teana fired a Crossfire Shot barrage that forced Green Lock to bob & weave, flitting around. Taking the chance, Puff used her new form's magic to warp her, Aroma, and the three girls up and away, into the possessed castle.
"Now we've gotta buy time," Teana said, "give the girls the time they need and keep that thing from reaching the Noble Academy."
Cure Scarlet nodded. "I will take care of Lock's clone."
"Then leave the castle to me!" Teana took to the air, firing a barrage of ki blasts at the Castle Zetsuborg. The monster fired a sweeping beam at her, and she ducked under it and exhaled two Gōkakyū aimed at its eye, forcing it to close and stop its attack. Meanwhile, Cure Scarlet and Green Lock began their duel, blasts of flame and Darkness flying through the air.
The battle went on for several minutes; Teana and Scarlet were keeping their foes from advancing, but were unable to push them back. The Castle-Zetsuborg was so massive that it was hard to know if it was taking any serious damage from Teana's attacks.
'This thing's damn tough' the warrior princess thought. 'Hmm… Maybe a Rasenshuriken or low-yield Big Bang Attack will-'
Suddenly, there was a brilliant flare of pink light from within the floating castle's tallest spire. The dark aura around the giant Zetsuborg fizzled and vanished, and its glowing eye closed. In response, Green Lock flew into the castle, and Teana & Scarlet pursued. Their path was barred, however, by a pair of large knight-themed Zetsuborgs. The enormous Darkness-possessed suits of armor swung their sword and axe at the fire-using duo, who scattered in either direction and launched blasts of flame at their attackers, pushing them back a little. As they readied to fight, they could both sense a sudden, frightening flare of Dark power deeper in the castle – Lock's power level spiking to a significant degree.
'Hold out until we get there, girls…' Teana thought.
Teana exhaled a barrage of Wind bullets, creating a cluster of dents in her enemy's chest-piece. The Knight-Zetsuborg roared and swung its huge axe, and Teana flashed to the side and released a Hōsenka cluster aimed at its faceplate. Meanwhile, Cure Scarlet released a thin wave of flame that hit the sword-wielding Knight Zetsuborg in the neck, blasting partially through the armor there and leaving a glowing line. The monster swung its massive sword, and the midair Scarlet fired a brief burst of flame to push herself out of the way and back to the ground.
There was a loud, deep clang as Teana's kick rocked the axe-wielding Knight Zetsuborg's head to the side, sending it stumbling into the wall. She then released her Honedge to help Cure Scarlet, the ghostly blade flying in and using Iron Defense as it blocked a swing of the sword-wielding Zetsuborg's weapon. Cure Scarlet blasted the monster in the faceplate with Scarlet Flame, and then Honedge glowed black with Ghost-type power, moved in and swung. The full-power Shadow Claw hit where the neck armor had been weakened by heat, separating the Zetsuborg's head from its shoulder. The body toppled over, and the head lay on the ground, growling and feebly trying to wiggle around, making a doomed attempt to get back over to its body. The axe-wielding Zetsuborg, meanwhile, was deprived of its weapon by a ki blast to its wrist, and then a Crossfire Convergence centered on its head knocked it out cold.
Teana and Cure Scarlet hurried on, soon reaching the throne room, and were surprised to see that Lock had transformed himself into a massive toad-dragon. The beast exhaled a stream of greenish flames at Cures Flora, Mermaid, & Twinkle, and Cure Scarlet rushed in and used Scarlet Illusion to protect them. Teana rushed forward to engage Lock's dragon form, which proved faster than his bulk would suggest, keeping pace with her. A Shinkū Taigyoku barely drew more than a flinch, and the beast growled as he swung his massive tail at her, smacking against the Round Shield she conjured and knocking her away; Tia barely managed to halt her uncontrolled flight before she could smack into the far wall.
Then, there was a brilliant light from where the Cures and fairies were, and then the entire massive floating castle suddenly vanished. Teana began to move to catch the girls, only to see the shimmering multicolored light holding them safely in the air. Then, the light coalesced in front of the four Cures, forming into a sparkling crystalline model palace with Dress-Up Key slots on a wheel-like thing on the front. Lock began a divebomb run at the Cures, only to be blindsided by a Divine Buster from Teana, the wave of orange energy stunning the toad-dragon.
Gathering around the castle-like object, the Cure Quartet slotted their Sakura, Coral, Galaxy, and Sun Keys into the device, and Flora set it spinning. The surroundings changed, coming to resemble the interior of a massive crystalline palace, and the girls were enveloped in pillars of light; their outfits turned into sparkling, full white layered dresses tinted their respective colors, lace-lined ribbons with the Princess Cure insignia appearing from their waists, their hair lengthening, jewelry and adornments appearing and changing on them, their power levels jumping up significantly.
Two glowing, rotating runes appeared above & below Lock, while the image of a massive crystal palace appeared behind him. The four Cures in their 'Dress Up Premium' forms dashed in and surrounded their foe, pointing their hands out in a Final Flash-like position and firing out four scintillating beams of magical power:
"PreCure: Éclat Espoir!-!"
The four beams coiled around Lock, pushing the draconic monster upward. The transformed beast roared and strained as he tried to push back against the massive Light power assailing him, but Cure Flora gave it an extra push, and Lock was completely engulfed, his beast form torn apart. The resulting explosion took the form of beautiful fireworks lighting the night sky, as the Cures took a bow.
'So much power…' Teana thought. 'Even a Super Saiyan couldn't shrug off being hit by that!'
The girls and the fairy duo all floated back down to Yui, the Cures de-transforming upon landing. Cure Flora held out the 'Crystal Palace', admiring its beauty.
"I can't believe the Hope Kingdom's castle turned into this…" she remarked.
"It's brimming with Light magic," Teana observed, "more than I ever thought I'd see condensed into such a small space… I think it's safe to say it'll come in handy, huh?"
"And we've dealt with Lock" Minami said. "So much for his plan to usurp Dyspear…"
"Let's head back" Kirara suggested. "I'm beat after all that…"
Nobody noticed the red-eyed crow quietly absorbing the cast-off 'despair energy' in the area, nor the raven perched atop a tree overlooking the scene…
-CHAPTER END-