SEE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS FOR DISCLAIMERS
-CHAPTER START-
A couple days later, the girls were alert for any trouble; there hadn't been any Vishes since the element-using six on the day the Sirens joined the team (so to speak), and by now the quiet had them a bit anxious as they wondered what their enemy might be plotting next.
When the dark-magic flare of a Vish's creation was finally detected again, the whole team moved to intercept. Reaching a small park on the edge of town, they found the Vish – black and magenta, around 14 feet tall… and not alone.
"Hello, girls…" Black Heart waved, a wicked smirk on her face. "Wanna play?"
She snapped her fingers, and the Vish charged. The monster moved with surprisingly swiftness, slamming its fist down in a narrowly-dodged attempt to smash Cures Gleam and Volt while also releasing a damaging shockwave across the ground. Before Gleam could reorient herself, Black Heart joined the fray with a kick to Gleam's side that sent her crashing down into and tumbling across the ground. The dark commander struck swiftly before the other Cures could fully process her sudden joining the fray, nailing Cures Solar and Gale with a dual dark-power blast that stunned and knocked them away.
Cure Terra formed and launched a cluster of stone spears at Black Heart and the Vish, and though the big monster took a hit the lithe enemy field-commander avoided the projectiles aimed at her. Black Heart then returned fire with a blast of dark magic that near-shattered the wall of stone Cure Terra conjured as a shield, sending her staggering back a little. A water bomb from Cure Hydro was deflected by a shimmering purple barrier Black Heart made just by holding her palm out at the incoming attack, but the dispersed water formed into spearing tendrils and tried to stab at her, forcing her to jump back a bit, frowning at being caught by surprise like that.
Cure Gleam came back in, joining with Cure Solar to fire a blast of Light and Fire at the Vish from above. The blast struck home, and the Vish let out a pained roar as it staggered from the hit, but it didn't go down. Its red eyes glowed and fired a pair of thin laser-like beams of dark power, sweeping them in an attempt to land a hit, but the girls got through with nothing more than a brief grazing hit to Cure Solar's skirt. Cures Terra and Gale, meanwhile, threw blasts of Earth and Wind magic at Black Heart, who leapt and rolled to dodge their attacks and returned fire with blasts of dark magic, forcing them to defend themselves rather than press their attack. Cure Volt came in from behind with Spark Saber in hand, while Cure Hydro sent out spears of ice at the Vish, and Volt managed to land a shallow, partially-dodged slash across Black Heart's back while the Vish lost an eye to one of Hydro's spears.
Cures Terra and Gale switched places, the latter moving to assist Hydro & Volt against Black Heart while the former joined Gleam & Solar against the Vish. Cure Gleam stunned the Vish with light-arrow to the face, giving Cures Terra & Solar time to charge up their elemental energies and then combine their powers, Earth and Fire together. They fired their combined attack, and the resulting 'Lava Bomb' slammed into the Vish, exploding with concussive force and engulfing the monster in molten rock. The beast roared and flailed, but soon its movements weakened and stopped, and it collapsed.
However, as the dead Vish disintegrated, instead of winking out of existence the motes of darkness suddenly swirled around the three Cures who'd taken it down. The energy suddenly expanded, solidified, and now Gleam, Terra, & Solar found themselves trapped in a dark-magic cage. Startled, they tried to break free, but the 'bars' withstood blasts of Light and Fire, while the Earth beneath the cage refused to follow Cure Terra's will.
"What have you done to them?!" Cure Volt snarled at Black Heart.
"Divide and conquer" the dark commander replied. "I'll have an easier time killing you girls three at a time rather than trying to handle you all at once. Once I've dealt with you three, I'll take care of them."
"You assume it will be that easy to take us down…" Cure Hydro formed a water whip.
She, Volt, and Gale pressed the attack, coming at Black Heart from different directions. The evil lady spun to avoid a lash from Cure Hydro's water whip, then ducked to dodge a wind blade from Cure Gale. She raised an arm wreathed in dark magic to block a strike from Cure Volt's Spark Saber, and winced as a numbing effect spread through that limb. She kicked Volt away, and then got a little distance and went on the defensive while she waited for the feeling to return to her arm.
Black Heart conjured a large orb of darkness power, held it high, and then it exploded into a storm of dark-magic projectiles in all directions. The three Cures scrambled to avoid the blasts, Volt using her Lightning blade to deflect some of them, though they all took a few hits. Before the barrage had completely abated, Cure Hydro rushed in at Black Heart, conjuring a mass of water. She hit Black Heart with it, dealing little damage but leaving her dripping-wet… and then Cure Volt came in with the follow-up, releasing a blast of Lightning magic against her soaked enemy. Black Heart cried out as the powerful shock hit her, twitching and seizing as the boosted electrical magic ran across & through her.
An inhuman snarl came from Black Heart's throat, her eyes glowing red. She dashed in and hit Cure Volt with a blow that would've mulched a normal human's head, sending the green-clad Cure flying to smack into a tree hard enough to almost knock the tree over. Before she could follow up with her attack, Hydro & Gale moved in with blades of Wind and Ice, pressing in and landing a few blows before Black Heart forced them back. Cure Volt was soon back on her feet, and Gale & Hydro regrouped with her.
"It doesn't look like a two-person combo attack is enough" Cure Gale remarked.
"…Then why not try the next level up?" Cure Volt suggested. "I got an idea…"
After a moment's discussion, the three Cures charged in, Cure Gale leading with Hydro & Volt close behind. And as Black Heart prepared for a Wind-based attack, the girls' feint proved successful as Cure Volt moved in while Gale & Hydro magically shielded their eyes. Black Heart cried out in shocked pain as a blinding flash went off right in her face, staggering back and clutching at her face; her magic would repair her eyes, but it would take a moment… more time than she had.
Cures Volt, Gale, & Hydro took a rough triangle formation about 10 meters out from the disabled Black Heart, gathering large amounts of their respective Element magics. Just as Black Heart's vision had repaired itself enough for her to make out basic details, the three Cures released their attacks, which combined into a massive and powerful merged mass of triple-type elemental energy. Wind, Water, and Lightning formed a tearing vortex that completely engulfed Black Heart, spinning faster as it tightened and compressed, crackles of lightning building up…
"PreCure: Tri-Force Hurricane!-!"
The storm of triple-type magic turned into a rage, trapping their target inside a core of raging lightning and slicing wind and intensely powerful offensive magic. Black Heart's scream was soon cut off as she was torn apart by the three magic warriors' combined powers, the barely-contained magic continuing to whirl and rage for a moment longer before dissipating in a burst of wind, mist, and static electricity. The dark-magic cage imprisoning Cures Gleam, Terra, & Solar disintegrated, proof that Black Heart was no more.
"Two down…" Cure Terra remarked.
"I don't think the rest will be too happy about that" Cure Volt said. "They might up their game now."
"Eh," Cure Gale replied, "we can take 'em. …Probably."
"Don't tempt fate, Amelia…" Cure Solar murmured.
-BREAK-
A few hours later, the girls were relaxing at the park together. Suddenly, their peaceful relaxed mood was smashed by sensing an abrupt flare in dark magic energy and killing intent that sent a chill down their spines. They promptly transformed, looking around and trying to pinpoint where the threat was. They barely detected an incoming 'cannonball' of dark power coming in from above, leaping away from the blast zone just as the resulting explosion left a crater where they'd been standing.
Their assailant soon showed himself, and the girls were surprised; normally, Black Spade seemed lazy and listless and not willing to put more than the bare minimum off effort into anything, seeming like 'bored disinterest' was the only emotion he ever showed. But now, he looked furious, a black aura surging around him, markedly stronger than either of the other deceased Black Card Quartet members had displayed.
"You wretched brats…" he snarled. "You killed my sister! I'm going to tear you limb from limb!-!"
Black Spade fired highly concentrated blasts of Darkness energy at Cures Gleam and Gale, and while they reacted he went for Cure Hydro while summoning a sizable dark-purple blade lined with blood-red serrations. Hydro quickly formed an ice blade and blocked Black Spade's opening swing, her weapon being cut through almost halfway through. She leapt back to dodge a follow-up strike, and he made a feint toward her only to suddenly shift to his real next target; Cure Volt barely reacted in time to avoid being chopped in half.
Cure Solar fired a concussive flame blast at Black Spade, but he used his sword as a bat to smack the blast away, and Sunset barely managed to duck and avoid being nailed in the face by her own attack. Cures Gleam & Terra tried to attack Spade from both sides at once, but he caught their Element-charged fists, shifted his grip to their wrists, and then slammed the two girls into each other like cymbals before they could react, stunning them; Cure Hydro barely pulled them away in time from a follow-up strike aimed at their necks.
The girls tried to get some distance, and Cures Gale & Volt fired blasts of Wind and Lightning energy at Black Spade. They hit, but he didn't seem to take much damage, growling as he shrugged off the pain. He then brought his arms up to block a combined Light/Fire blast from Gleam & Solar, being shoved back but coming through almost-totally unharmed. Before they could follow up, Black Spade went on the offensive, stabbing and slashing at Cure Volt, who gave ground as she frantically dodged and blocked his strikes.
A Wind/Fire attack from Solar & Gale engulfed Black Spade in flames fed & enhanced by wind that was made of slicing blades of air. He didn't even wait for the attack to finish before releasing a wave of Darkness power that blew the attack away, emerging from the tearing flames with only a little damage. Then, Black Spade held his arms out and released an all-directions shockwave of dark power that sent the girls reeling, the malevolent energies stunning them. He then pointed his hands high and released a massive number of Darkness energy bolts, leaving them hanging in the air. Then, he swept his arms down, and the barrage of dark-magic projectiles rained down on the Cures like a hellish hailstorm, overwhelming the girls' defenses and hammering them into the dirt, continuing to bombard them from above even after they were already downed.
When the barrage finally cut off, the six Cures were battered & beaten on the ground, their costumes tattered and torn, their bodies bruised and bloodied. After a few seconds, Cure Gleam groaned as she slowly, unsteadily got up into a kneeling position, trying to stand up on shaky legs. She glared at Black Spade, who softly laughed as a smug smirk sprang up on his face.
"You're still trying to fight me? I just took all six of you down at once; what do you hope to accomplish against me all by yourself? Alone, you are all weak."
Glaring at her foe, Cure Gleam tried to charge up her magic, but Black Spade came up and smacked her aside, sending her staggering back.
"Enough" he said. "You're too weak to do anything against me alone. Just give in and die already."
"It doesn't matter if she's ever not strong enough to beat an enemy on her own…" Cure Volt growled as she struggled to her feet. "She's got us to help her."
The other four Cures got back up, ready to fight and to help Cure Gleam despite the damage they'd taken.
"…I may seem weak to you…" Cure Gleam said, "but that's because you don't understand where I get my strength from. It doesn't matter if I'm not strong enough on my own; I get all the power I need from my friends!"
Black Spade started laughing. "Your friends? You think 'friendship' gives you power?!"
"You laugh because you just don't understand. They're everything to me… We never lie to or deceive each other; we show kindness and caring, understanding each other; we stand by each other, no matter what; we give to each other whenever any of us needs anything; we make each other smile and laugh… We give each other strength and courage! And that gives us the magic we need to fight and win! Because our friendship is magic!-!"
Suddenly, warmth and light burst forth, as a massive wellspring of Light power enveloped the six Cures. Motes of light in different colors swirled around each girl, and then coalesced into beautiful differently-shaped gems encased in shining gold, overflowing with raw magical power. Orange light darkened in shade, an apple-shamed gem shifting into the shape of a spire of stone, as Cure Terra became the new bearer of Honesty. Hot-pink light turned sky-blue, a balloon-shaped gemstone taking on a swirled shape like a simplified tornado, as Laughter bonded itself to Cure Gale. White light shifted into deep blue, a diamond-shaped gemstone changing to a teardrop shape, as Cure Hydro acquired the power of Generosity. Bright blue light shifted into vibrant red, a lightning-bolt shape transforming into a sun, as the shocked Cure Solar was chosen as the new Loyalty. Pale-pink light became light green, a butterfly turning into a lightning bolt, as Cure Volt obtained the essence of Kindness. And a six-pointed star & its light changed from purple to pink, as Magic/Friendship bequeathed itself to Cure Gleam.
Cure Solar was in astonished awe. "E… Earth's Elements of… Harmony…"
Shocked and wary, Black Spade growled and fired a strong blast of Darkness at the girls. However, the six Harmony Elements glowed together, and a multi-hued Shield spell formed and effortlessly withstood the attack. The gems then floated up to their new wielders, and Cure Gleam gained a determined expression.
"Okay, girls," she said as brilliant multicolored light engulfed the Cures, "let's do this!"
(TRANSFORMATION & FINISHER MUSIC: DokiDoki PreCure: "Royal Lovely Straight Flush")
As the one crown and five necklaces took their places on their respective bearers, beautiful light flowed out of the gems and wrapped around the Cures. The lining of their outfits became glittering golden, and portions of shining silver and pristine white appeared amongst their outfit's normal colors. Each girl had two long ribbons extend down & back from their lower backs, twirled together in a way that looked sort of like a tail. The gems in the center of their chest-bows became larger and shone brighter, and tiaras formed on the girls' foreheads, each bearing a same-colored ovoid gem in the middle.
Black Spade stared in frightened shock as the six Element PreCures awakened their new Harmony Forms. As one, they turned their gazes to him, their eyes glowing bright white as Light power gathered within and around them. Spade took a step back, but then snarled as he gathered his wits, and began charging a very large amount of Darkness power. In response, the girls came together, floating off the ground as a rainbow of Light energy began to coalesce into a large, blinding white long, thin mass of destructive Light magic. Two masses of power grew larger and stronger, the air swirling around the battlefield, energy crackling through the air.
"Disappear!" Black Spade roared. "Shadow Calamity!-!"
He threw his hands forward, releasing a beam of purple & black energy nearly five feet thick, surging through the air towards the PreCures. In response, the girls each pointed a hand at Spade and his attack, and the mass of Light magic between them solidified into a defined shape and grew even brighter, as they called out:
"PreCure: Shining Harmony Arrow!-!"
The massive arrow of Light magic, the energies of the Harmony Elements condensed into a single all-piercing bolt, shot forward with great force. Hitting Black Spade's beam, it penetrated right down the middle of the dark power, piercing through it and following it right down to its source before he could react. Black Spade's expression barely had time to change from rage to shock before the attack hit.
A huge rainbow-hued explosion went off with Black Spade at the center. The dark commander's final cry was quickly cut off as the massively powerful Light magic of the Elements of Harmony boosted by Pretty Cure power annihilated his pure-Darkness body, tearing him asunder on a microscopic scale within seconds.
(MUSIC END)
The girls floated back down to the ground, the glow around them fading as the power settled down.
"I… I can't believe it…" Cure Solar murmured. "This world's Elements of Harmony chose us… I'm an Element-Bearer…"
"We should probably tell Princess Twilight about this" Cure Volt said. "Boy, is she in for a surprise…"
"And now there's only one 'dark commander' left," Cure Hydro observed, "plus the Dark King & Queen."
"Which means they'll probably get more desperate" Cure Terra chimed in. "We're starting to back them into a corner."
"Whatever they throw at us," Cure Gleam said, "I think our chances of winning just got better."
-CHAPTER END-
...My will to actually finish this fic is pretty much all dried up. Within the next few days, probably, I'm just going to post what remains of my typed-up outline for the rest of the story. Though, if enough of you say otherwise, I might "just" put it on indefinite hiatus, maybe pick it up again months or years in the future.
I really should put more effort into trying to find a safe (i.e., no viruses or tracking cookies or other malware) way to watch the 'DokiDoki', 'Happiness Charge', 'Go Princess', and 'Mahou Tsukai' Pretty Cure seasons, so I can make a Teana's Travels book out of them. If I can't, though, Travels is going to remain on hiatus until Kingdom Hearts III comes out...