PREVIOUSLY
"Hey, over here-jubi!" Jubilee cried out. Sable turned towards Jubilee, as well as Ryoko, The small owl fairy glared at Sable and was flapping his wings as he hovered a few feet away. "Pick on somebody your own size-jubi! Ryoko, run-jubi!"
"What?! I - I can't just leave when my friends are in danger!" They yelled. Tears welled up in their eyes and they were genuinely scared. Not for themselves, but for the people hurt by their emotions. They wanted to help, but they couldn't. Sable was right, they didn't have any powers.
"Tch, stupid fairy! It's time for you and those Cures to fall to the Dark Land Kingdom!" Sable swooped after Jubilee, grabbing him in her hand. But before anything could happen, a yell tore through the atmosphere.
"NO!"
NOW
"Who…?" Sable turned to see Hope, just barely sitting up. She was the one who had yelled. It was directed at Sable, who had Jubilee tightly in her hands. Hope struggled to get up, and reached forward her outstretched hand.
"No, I promised Jubilee… I promised him I'd help him, you can't do this…" she gritted her teeth and tried to stand. The other two cures followed suit, both standing and leaning against what they could get their hands on. They had such strong feelings, anybody could tell just by looking at their eyes. "I promised Jubilee I'd save his world… and I promised I'd protect my friends!"
"STOP IT!" another voice interjected. Everyone looked to Ryoko. "You're hurting yourself too much already! Just stop… Nothing is worth you getting hurt, you're my first friends. You're the only ones who treat me like a person… so stop! I'll… I'll protect you, now! I'm strong! I'll use that strength and… I'LL KEEP MY FRIENDS SAFE!"
A miraculous pastel green light enveloped Ryoko. Jubilee's gem shined brightly and he flew into the light. Sable covered her eyes at the light's brightness, temporarily blinded. Ryoko was so confused, but the light was warm and comforting in a way. They didn't even call out their own transformation before their clothes began to change. It went from their casual outfit and work apron to a glittering, flowy swirl of fabric that transformed. It changed into a white vest with green trim on top of a crop top of similar color that exposed the navel. A green Everheart Stone in the center of the vest burst forth on a bow with frills lining the top and bottom. Instead of a skirt like the others had, it was puffy shorts that resembled bloomers with a second layer of wavy fabric on top of it.
There were no sleeves on the vest, but there were bands on their upper arms that appeared next in the glittery mass of a transformation. The bands had frills on the bottom, and gloves were after. They were fingerless and had cuffs that came up off of the arms with a white strap that was on the wrists. Ryoko's boots next, they were green heels with white socks far too large for their legs. A green ribbon tied them to the legs, making them puffy and easy to move around in. They stopped just below the knees. The hair was last. Instead of black hair and a swirled ponytail, it was a light green with the ponytail growing to resemble almost a comic bolt of lightning. Their bangs flipped outwards and two darker, curled pieces of hair rested atop them. Finally, a piece of darker hair stuck out from their hair part.
"Ryoko, now you name yourself-jubi! Be the person you want to be, deep in your heart-jubi!" Jubilee cried out. Ryoko clenched a fist. They knew exactly who they were.
"The light of a protective hand! Cure Strong!" They immediately knew what they had to do. They had seen the other three fight on TV many times before, so it wasn't an entirely foreign concept to them. Strong began to run towards the Shaori who was charging up another punch directed at Hope. They gripped their Everheart tightly in hand, and called out.
"Strong Protection!" a shield shaped like two fists appeared in front of Hope, and Strong skidded to a stop behind it. They braced themselves and blocked the Shaori's punch with all of their might. It ricocheted off of the shield, effectively stopping it. Hope's eyes sparkled and she looked on in awe. She was amazed at Ryoko's - no, Strong's - power. She had found another teammate in Ryoko/Strong, and she was so happy she felt like she could cry.
"How?! There was only three of you! What is this?!" Sable growled. Strong grinned. Sable looked away angrily. "And… And how can you smile at a time like this?!"
"Friendship. Don't knock it 'till you try it, babe." Strong laughed. "Come on, kiddos, let's do this! We've got a whole kingdom to save, you said it yourself!" They helped Hope up, and Brave as well. Kind had managed to stand up on her own, and smiled at Strong with a nod.
"Y-You heard them! So let Jubilee go, or we'll make you!" Brave pointed at Sable. Sable recoiled at this, and she threw Jubilee towards Kind.
"You want this stupid fairy, then have him! I don't understand this anymore! I don't get this 'friendship' crap! I don't understand how I used to be human! What am I?!" Sable began to tear up. She pointed at the Cures. "You know what, it doesn't matter any more! Shaori, destroy them!"
"Oh no ya don't!" As the Shaori threw a punch, Strong blocked it with their own fist. They punched each other's hands, and there was a huge impact. A boom and a shake and when the ring of smoke cleared, it was shown that the Shaori had flown back into a tree. It bubbled and morphed as Ryoko's feelings of doubt and anger subsided. Instead, it took on something very different, and somewhat unexpected. It grew to have red eyes, pointed wings, and blobs that resembled ponytails behind its head. It looked like Sable.
"Jealous-rii! Jealous-rii! I wish I could be happy like those Cures-rii! I'm scared of what I am-rii!" It cried, holding its head in its hand. It seemed like it couldn't comprehend taking the form of its creator, and Strong looked morosely at Sable.
"I'm sorry you have to feel this way. Maybe one day… You can understand friendship, Sable. Just think about it." they murmured. Strong furrowed their eyebrows and pointed at the Shaori. "But for now, you've gotta go!"
"Strong, just call for your weapon from the bottom of your heart-jubi! You can do it, I know it-jubi!" Jubilee cheered. Strong nodded and gripped the Everheart tightly. They took a breath and steadied themselves. Then, they held out their hands in front of them, Everheart in the middle. They called out what they felt in their heart.
"Everheart! Become my weapon!" the Everheart glowed a soft pastel green. It formed a light encasing Strong's hands, and it solidified around them. It formed green, oversized gauntlets with hearts on the knuckles. Strong grinned and bumped them together. "Sweet! Alright, uh, Shaori, you're going down!" Green energy roared around their fists and they charged up an attack. Sable flinched while Jubilee and the Cures watched in awe and excitement.
"Fists of iron and a heart of gold! PRETTY CURE STRONG STRIKE!" the gauntlets practically exploded with energy as Strong launched forward and slammed a fist into the Shaori. An eruption of green smoke as the punch landed, and a crack resounded. Then, as suddenly as it had come out, everything retracted into the vial it had come from, resting neatly on the ground. The liquid inside was the same pastel green Strong was covered in.
"Cure Strong… Cure Hope…! You…! You don't know what you've done!" Sable turned away after she had grabbed her vial, which promptly turned back to black ooze. Hope only had time to see one tear roll down her cheek before she vanished into a black portal.
"Sable… Was that her true feelings?" Kind asked as her transformation wore off, going back to Yuki. She looked at the spot where the portal was. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody, even a Dark Land general. Nobody deserves to feel that way…" Yuki murmured. Strong nodded.
"Yeah… I can empathise a bit. I'm still scared of what other people think of me, sometimes." their transformation also wore off in a puff of green sparkles. "I'm never open like this, either, but I just can't help it. I feel like I can trust you guys."
"Well of course-jubi! Those Everhearts were born from Queen Mirai's heart-jubi. Her heart and love for her fairies gave way to make their protection-jubi. And that protection is the Precure-jubi!" Jubilee interjected excitedly. "So it's only natural that you feel like this because you all have the same desire to protect and help other people-jubi."
"Wow, that's kinda crazy. But it makes sense! Say, Jubilee… Why don't we all go back to my house, and we hear the full story of the Everlast Kingdom. We should know, right? So we can protect even better?" Hope turned back to Jun as she asked. Jubilee looked at her for a second before nodding.
"That sounds okay-jubi. Besides, Strong - ahem, Ryoko, is probably a little confused-jubi. We owe them that much, right-jubi?" he smiled. Ryoko laughed a little bit.
"A little? Try a whole lot. But like I said, I trust you guys. So go ahead and lead the way, Jun, I'll let my mom know what's up when we go by her again."
"How many people did you say you lived with?" Ryoko asked with a curious expression. Jun counted it out on her fingers, muttering to herself. The others watched in amusement as she had a strange, hard-thinking expression on her face as she did so.
"Me… Mama… Azami, Ume… Seven people including the parents! We all share a house and split the bills. It's cheaper that way, and since our parents were friends since before we were even born it all worked out for us. We all support each other, financially and emotionally." Jun explained. Yuki smiled.
"It must be nice having many people to be around every day. I'm an only child, and I live with my grandmother." Yuki murmured as they stepped inside Jun's house. Ryoko nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, I'm an only kid too. I know the feeling. Say, why don't I tell you a bit about myself? You three probably know each other better than you know me, so I figured I should, I dunno, just talk about myself? I'm not used to this kinda thing." they scratched their head nervously.
"Oh, sure, we'd love to know about you, Ryoko! I've just gotta tell my mom we're back, and with another guest. Hehehe." Jun giggled and stepped out of the living room for a few minutes before coming back with an emotional mom in tow.
"Oh my goodness, my baby made another friend! I'm so happy for you, Jun!" her mom hugged Ryoko, who chuckled and awkwardly hugged back. Jun's mom laughed and let go, and went back over to Jun. "Well, you three just make yourselves at home. I'll bring snacks into Jun's room for you in a little bit when they're ready, and I'm sure you'd love to meet Ume and Azami as well…" she scurried off, still mumbling about what she would do to make Jun's friends happy.
"She's consistently worrying about others. A lot like Jun in that respect, believe it or not." came another voice. The four turned to see Ume smiling in the doorway to the kitchen. "So, who's this? A new friend? She seems… nice enough."
"Umm… Well, Ume-san… Ryoko prefers they…" Emika murmured. Ume rose an eyebrow, not understanding. "Maybe Ryoko had better explain, I'm no good at this stuff, haha…" Emika gave a sheepish look. Ryoko patted her shoulder.
"Aw, that's fine kiddo. I appreciate it. I don't like to use 'she' for myself. I'd prefer 'they' instead, if ya don't mind. And uh, I hope I'm 'nice enough' for your tastes?" Ryoko rose an eyebrow back, not taking the 'nice enough' comment very well. They knew people found them intimidating, but they didn't want to seem like that around their friends.
"Uh huh… Well, Jun, they seem nice. But I do know who you are, you know. Ryoko Hajime, former captain of the Judo team, but you got kicked out for starting a fight with another student. I believe you broke his arm. I would prefer if you didn't behave like that around Jun." Ume stated very bluntly. Ryoko clenched a fist.
"So what if I did? That guy deserved it. It's none of your business, and I'm not stupid enough to do that kind of stuff around Jun. She, Emika, and Yuki are my friends. I'd never hurt them, not in a million years. I can appreciate your protectiveness, but it's not necessary. I can protect them too. I'm not some… monster." they grunted. Jun looked nervously between the two, hoping to smooth things over. She wanted everyone to get along, of course.
"I'm not going to ask about the circumstances regarding that incident. I believe you as far as when you say you'll keep Jun safe, I can see it in your eyes. I'm sorry for the way I acted, Hajime-san." she apologized, and extended a hand to shake. "I really only have Jun's best interest at heart, I swear. She's like my sister."
"... Alright. That's fine. Thank you for apologizing… I accept. I think I can kind of understand the need to protect my friends too, so I guess I can say I respect you a bit. Ume, was it? You can just call me Ryoko." Ryoko shook Ume's hand and gave a weary smile.
"Ume Yoshiko, yes. You can call me whatever you feel comfortable with." she smiled back. Jun let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She was glad everything got resolved peacefully after all. But she was curious… was it true Ryoko broke another student's arm? She would ask about it in due time. Now wasn't it.
They all piled into Jun's room after saying hi to Azami and Ume and sat around. It was a simple room, with a bed in one corner. A desk was placed against the wall next to it, with a small chair and various books and school notes atop of it. The closet was small, and there wasn't much inside it. Above the bed there was posters of famous american TV chefs and pictures of Jun at various ages, holding different foods. Above the headboard was a single picture of a young Jun grinning widely, hugging a man in a chef's uniform. The bedsheets were a simple tan with a few flowers dotted on it, and a small, stuffed bear sat on the pillows. Across from the bed there was a plush red beanbag. Finally, there was a rug shaped like a cake on the floor. Jun was really into food, but every person who had ever met her could tell that.
"What a cute room. It really suits you." Yuki smiled, taking a seat on the chair next to the desk. Ryoko sat on the beanbag, and Jun and Emika sat on the bed. The door was closed and Jubilee hopped out of Yuki's bag and into her lap. Everyone loved the little owl.
"Hey Jubilee, before we start, I have a few questions, okay?" Jun asked. Jubilee nodded. "Okay, well, how come Ryoko didn't call out a transformation? They just kind of, I dunno, did it? And secondly, how come the Shaori looked like Sable? I didn't know that was possible."
"Hmm, good questions indeed-jubi. Well, about Ryoko's transformation-jubi… Their feelings were so intense that time that the transformation initiated itself-jubi. In the future, it probably won't be like that, and they'll have to do it normally-jubi." Jubilee paused to think, the second question a bit harder to explain. "As for Sable-jubi… The generals were human once-jubi. They had become converted by Prince Shadow's power-jubi. But now, it seems like Sable's feelings are becoming closer to that of a human's than a Dark Land denizen-jubi. That's how the Shaori was able to take her form-jubi."
"S-So what if her feelings become completely human again? Will she go back to normal?" Emika asked curiously. Jubilee sighed, and shook his head no.
"No-jubi. She won't be able to transform, but she won't be human unless she's purified by a Precure-jubi." he explained sadly. The four of them looked serious, but understood. The Dark Land kingdom wasn't going to be that easy to deal with. If it was, they wouldn't need Precure to deal with them in the first place.
"That does answer my questions, so... I guess it's story time. What exactly… you know, are we doing? I know we're 'warriors' and we're saving your kingdom and all that, but… why? What happened? What are these powers?" Jun asked. Jubilee took a deep breath.
"Alright, it's going to be a long story, so get set-jubi. I should expl-" he was cut off by the door opening.
"Hey, you guys! I brought some snacks like I said I would! Some cookies and juice, and some fruit, too. I hope you like it," Jun's mom popped through the door and offered up a plate to each guest as well as Jun. Jubilee had frozen up and learned to pretend to be a stuffed animal around the family. They each took their plates and smiled. "Well, you have fun now, okay? If I can get you anything else while you're here, you just let me know."
"Thank you mama, you're really nice for bringing us this. We'll enjoy it, ok?" Jun smiled and her mom nodded quickly before exiting. The four let out breaths simultaneously, and Jubilee relaxed, giving a sheepish grin.
"Well, that was close. Go ahead and continue, Jubilee, she won't come in again unless I ask her to." Jun chuckled sheepishly. Jubilee nodded and took a breath.
"There's a world called the Everlast Kingdom-jubi. It's sort of like a parallel world to this one-jubi. It's inhabited by fairies like myself, and we're ruled by a kind queen named Queen Mirai-jubi. Queen Mirai had a rival who wanted to inherit the throne one day-jubi… But it didn't turn out like that in the end-jubi. He wanted power, the kind he couldn't have, so he got very angry at the Queen-jubi. Emotions considered negative… Anger, sadness, fear, hatred, jealousy, pride-jubi… It seemed as if he was made up of those things all on his own-jubi. I was still small when this happened, but he became corrupted by the overwhelming natural negative energy that he exuded-jubi. He left, and others who came near him became tainted by his negativity as well-jubi. That rival, after he became corrupted, called himself Prince Shadow-jubi."
"Whoa… Prince Shadow used to be a fairy? What happened to the people he corrupted? Did they become Shaori?" Ryoko asked, looking at Jubilee seriously. The owl fairy shook his head, and it looked like he almost didn't want to talk about it. It was reasonable, given he was talking about his destroyed planet.
"No, the ones who he corrupted became Dark Land denizens-jubi. He even corrupted three humans and turned them into the Generals you fight today-jubi. He took over an uninhabited part of the kingdom and called it the Dark Land-jubi. There's so much negative energy that even the plant life can't grow… and if it does, it's pitch black-jubi. A few years after he left, he perfected his power and learned how to make monsters out of Negative Energy-jubi. He gave the Generals the liquid versions of their own negative feelings and made them use it as a weapon-jubi. That's what a Shaori is… Raw negative emotion that takes the form of whoever is feeling the worst closest to them-jubi. He used this power to attack the Everlast Kingdom as revenge for the power the Queen wouldn't give him-jubi."
"And that's when the destruction happened, when the citizens fell asleep. You mentioned something called Everlast Seeds, and a prophecy mentioning eight Cures. Where does all of this fit in?" Yuki wondered aloud. Jubilee tensed at the mentions of the sleeping citizens.
"Yes, the citizens went to sleep when he attacked-jubi. He sucked their Negative Energy straight from them and turned them into what's known as a Negative Shaori-jubi. Instead of the energy of corrupted Generals being used to personify, he used his strength to rip the negative energy straight out of the heart of fairies… Even my baby sister-jubi. You saw Ink do that the other day to a Human, but he's not strong enough to turn it into a Shaori like Prince Shadow is-jubi. As for the Everlast Seeds, well, Queen Mirai didn't go down without a fight-jubi. She bared her soul in order to turn Prince Shadow to stone… in return, it shattered into multiple pieces-jubi. Those pieces are called the Everlast Seeds, and there are 10 of them-jubi. She scattered them to Earth so that I could have time to summon the warriors called Precure-jubi. It's an ancient prophecy: When evil rises, so shall the good; the darkness' might will always clash with the Precure's light-jubi. There's supposed to be eight of the legendary warriors, according to the whole legend-jubi. I remember Queen Mirai telling it to me when I was just a baby fairy-jubi."
"Wow… So, how would we go about finding these Everlast Seeds? And even then, what do we do with them? How would we go about saving your kingdom with ten seeds?" Yuki asked curiously. Jubilee seemed to be recalling something, and it didn't seem to be a happy thought.
"Jubilee, please, you've got to leave now!" A tall, dark-skinned woman with long, curly white hair was crying and pleading with Jubilee to leave. They were in a castle, and the large doors to the entrance were being rammed by creatures large and growling. A boy, with fluffy brown hair and tan skin, covered in freckles sobbed in fear.
"B-But my sis…! I won't leave her here!" he was cradling a small baby, encased in what looked to be black-tinted glass. The curly-haired woman walked over to him and picked up the baby from his hands.
"Your sister will be okay if you can save her, Jubilee. You've got to go. I swear, the legend is real. Your jewel contains the Everhearts, gems with the power to summon the Precure… Get to earth and get to them before Shadow! GO, now! I beg you!" she cried as the monsters broke through the door. Ten Shaori bubbled up and stomped forward, at the heels of Prince Shadow.
"This, Queen Mirai, is what you get. You could have given me the throne long ago and avoided this tragedy. Instead, look at what you made me resort to… Just look at your citizens. It's all your fault, you know." Prince Shadow growled. Dusk, Ink, and Sable stepped forward from the mass of Shaori. They slowly surrounded the Queen, and Jubilee scrambled to his feet. He stepped to the queen, who was holding his baby sister. He kissed what would have been her forehead, had the glass not been in the way. Immediately, he began to run. Dusk chased after him, but Jubilee was too small and fast for him. He dived into a glowing doorway with the words 'Earth' carved into the arch.
"Thank you, Jubilee. I will stop him for as long as I can. When my soul shatters…" Queen Mirai began to glow with an unnatural, ethereal light. "It will turn into seeds… Let the light of a new tomorrow plant them in my royal garden and the kingdom shall be rebuilt…"
The last thing Jubilee heard, after those words, was an explosion unlike any other.
"The light of a new tomorrow… I've heard that before…" Emika murmured. Yuki nodded, but she couldn't remember either. Jun gasped.
"My transformation! I say that, don't I?! Oh my gosh, I'm supposed to plant the Everlast Seeds! Jubilee, isn't that great! We know what to do now!" Jun shouted excitedly. Jubilee smiled, albeit he looked slightly weary.
"Yeah-jubi. Thank you, everyone… your support means so much to me-jubi. Because of you, I'll be able to see my sister again-jubi…"
