(Disclaimer: I do not own Happiness Charge PreCure or Kamen Rider Decade. They both belong to their respective owners. I just own this idea, which might become a story, and my OC's)
Happiness Charge PreCure: Journey Through The Decade (Revised)
A wasteland as far as the eye can see. Flatlands, rocky terrains; that was it. And in this wasteland stood one lone girl.
The girl in question appeared to be 14 years old. Her hair was deep pink and was styled into a ponytail, further complimented by her equally deep pink eyes. She wore what was once a beautiful white dress, but the said dress was now covered with dirt and ripped apart as dirt littered her figure.
The young girl looked around, confused as to why and how she was there, and why she was wearing this beat-up dress covered in dirt. But most importantly, why did she feel…afraid?
*BOOM!*
"Kya!" The girl screamed in alarm and instinctively covered herself as explosions suddenly occurred all around her. And then…
*VROOM!*
The sound of engines roaring filled the now flaming wasteland the girl was in. Lowering her arms, the girl saw what she could only describe as masked warriors, each different from one another, barring a few similarities between a couple of groups. Thousands to millions of warriors charged towards something, some running while others rode on motorcycles.
The girl watched as these masked riders rode and ran past her, completely ignoring her as if she wasn't there. She then heard a roar and looked up to see more masked warriors in the skies, some with wings while others were flying using jetpacks or other forms of transportation. To her disbelief, she saw what looked to be flying trains accompanied by various mechs and even honest to gods dragons with one whose body seemed to be that of a Victorian castle.
Suddenly, new voices reached her ears and she quickly turned to see girls ranging from young teens like her to young adults in their early 20s. But the thing they all had in common was that they were all dressed up in various brightly colored outfits that seemed almost out of place from all this destruction. But she knew that these girls weren't your average everyday girls. These were the warriors known as Pretty Cures, longtime defenders of the world.
Paying her no mind much like the masked warriors earlier, the army of Pretty Cures all ran past her. Most of them ran while joining their masked allies while others took to the skies flying. Combining with the army of masked warriors, the two groups made for an impressive army.
And yet...
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Everywhere the girl looked it was nothing but explosions and death, both to the masked warriors and the Pretty Cures. Despite their numbers, how advanced their tech was, and the varieties of their abilities, whatever they were fighting against was overpowering them as screams soon filled the air. As much as she wanted to close her eyes and cover her ears, the girl's eyes remained open as she watched this army of heroes fall one by one until the entire wasteland was filled with bodies, leaving her as the sole person alive.
*THOOM!*
Scratch that, the girl was, in fact, not alone. Turning around, the girl looked toward the one who had caused all this death and destruction.
It was another masked warrior, but the feeling and aura around him told her that this guy was different. His magenta-colored aura made him feel otherworldly and made it hard to make out any fine details. All she could see were green, bug-like lenses, and a white belt buckle with a glowing red center as different insignias circled it with a green gem right above the circle seemingly acting like another symbol.
The girl continued staring at the unknown masked warrior who slowly descended to the ground. Once his feet touched the dirt and ash below a name suddenly appeared in her head. The name of this devil that stood before her.
With a shaking breath, Aino Megumi muttered a single word.
"Decade."
"...gumi...megumi...Megumi!"
"Mmm..." Groaning, one Aino Megumi slowly opened her eyes, returning from the world of dreams. Letting out quite a long yawn, the pink-haired girl rubbed her tired eyes before looking up at who had woken her up, finding a caramel-eyed girl with short hair of the same color standing over her.
"Ah, Yuko, good morning."
"I think you mean good afternoon," Omori Yuko said as she gestured at the empty classroom they were in. "Class ended a few minutes ago."
"Ah, you're right," Megumi said, looking slightly surprised before stretching to wake herself fully up before turning to Yuko. "Thanks for waking me up."
"No problem."
Now fully awake, Megumi got up from her desk and grabbed her things before looking around.
"Did Hime already leave?" Megumi asked, wondering if the blue-haired princess had left her behind.
"Yeah. She said she got a call from her guardian and rushed out of here as soon as the bell rang. Seemed pretty important," Yuko explained.
'From Blue?' Megumi thought in confusion. If Hime had gotten a call from him, perhaps it was something Pretty Cure related. But if so, why hadn't Hime woken her up?
"By the way, are you all right?" Yuko asked the pinkette, looking worried. "This is the fifth time this week you've fallen asleep in class. That's not like you, Megumi."
"Sorry," Megumi apologized as the pair of childhood friends walked out of class and fell into pace with one another. "I've been having this weird dream lately."
"A weird dream? Weird how?"
"I don't know, it's kind of fuzzy right now," Megumi said, scratching her head as she tried to recall the dream which felt like static in her mind. "There were a lot of explosions...and I think there was some Pretty Cure too."
"How's that weird? Did you forget what kind of world we live in?" Yuko said as she and Megumi turned to the window to look outside.
Pikarigaoka, despite its silly-sounding name, was one of many standard cities one could find in the Greater Tokyo Area. However, what was strange was the state of the city itself. Disgusting bluish mold-covered random parts of the city accompanied by building-sized towers of sweets from cakes to ice cream either neighboring or having completely replaced some buildings. Combined, due to their contrasting appearance, the state of the city gave off a sense of head-aching chaos.
"There's no way I could forget about the state of the world. You know that," Megumi said, slightly annoyed at her friend's accusation.
"Sorry, sorry, I was just teasing you," Yuko apologized before returning to the topic of their conversation. "A dream involving Pretty Cure, huh? You probably dreamt about becoming one, being the big fan that you are."
"Maybe," Megumi awkwardly laughed, mentally thinking to herself, 'Oh, if you only knew...'
Why dream of being a Pretty Cure when she was one? Thanks to a chance encounter with the Princess of the Blue Sky Kingdom, Aino Megumi had become Japan's newest Pretty Cure, Cure Lovely. Together with the aforementioned princess, the duo was tasked with fighting against the wicked Phantom Empire whose evil was so great that it threatened the entire world. Megumi and Hime could not be in 2 to 10 places at once which is why every country had a Pretty Cure team defending it. As one could easily guess, Megumi was charged with defending Japan along with Hime who more or less settled here for the time being.
"I've noticed you've been exhausted lately. Maybe you should go home and rest," Yuko suggested, worried for the pinkette's health.
"Yeah, maybe," Megumi said, unable to argue against the brunette's logic. Perhaps all the fighting she's been doing was starting to take a toll on her? She was still kinda new to this Pretty Cure business. It would certainly explain why she kept falling asleep in class.
'Though that still doesn't explain those weird dreams,' Megumi thought to herself as the intimidating figure she had dreamt of flashed briefly in her mind.
"Decade..."
"What was that?" Yuko asked, surprising Megumi.
"Oh! Uh, nothing," Megumi quickly said, trying to appear normal as the two reached the school gates. "I think I'll take your advice and head home. Sorry to cancel like this."
"It's fine, I needed to do some grocery shopping anyway. We can hang out some other time. Just get plenty of rest, okay?"
"Yeah. See you later," Waving goodbye, the two friends separated. Now alone, Megumi thought to stop by Hime's place to see why she had been called away but decided against it considering what happened the last time she stopped by without prior notice.
"I'll just ask Hime the next time I see her," Megumi said to herself, passing by an antique shop selling the usual: old vases, old-style lamps, old furniture, and a masked armored man in a red bodysuit.
'Wait, what?' Megumi blinked to herself before quickly backtracking and facing the shop window. Rubbing her eyes, all the girl saw was her reflection staring back at her. She tapped the window but nothing happened.
"I must be more tired than I thought," Megumi said, rubbing the back of her head. Surely her duties weren't putting that much stress on her? She made sure she went to bed on time!
"Maybe I'm just thirsty." If she remembered correctly, there was a vending machine near the bridge she frequently crossed. With that in mind, Megumi walked off, missing how the shop window shimmered for a brief moment and the eyes that tracked her movement.
After a bit of walking, the pinkette found what she wanted and after spending a few coins, the secret heroine of justice was sitting on a bench drinking strawberry-flavored water. As she sat there, Megumi couldn't help but look around the area, thinking back to the time she first transformed and how the area used to be covered in mold much like certain parts of the city.
"Who would have thought I'd become an actual Pretty Cure?" Megumi said, smiling to herself. It still hadn't quite sunk in that she was a real-deal Pretty Cure despite the experience she's had these past two weeks. The world had completely changed when real live Magical Girls appeared to fight against an actual evil empire trying to take over the world. Seeing those heroines of justice fighting on the news had reawakened the inner child inside of her and set aflame her sense of justice.
Finishing her bottle, Megumi crushed it as she squealed, feeling excited. "No matter what the task, big or small, I'll make sure to uphold the peace!"
"Excuse me?"
"Hm?" Blinking, Megumi turned and saw someone talking to people. Their back was turned, hiding away the person's face, but from the sound of his voice and his height, he appeared to be a young, 17-year-old teenager. They wore a black trench coat over a magenta turtleneck shirt and black pants accompanied by brown blucher shoes. All in all, it was casual yet stylish though Megumi couldn't help but think he was dressed a bit heavy despite it being March.
"Excuse me, have you seen this?"
"I don't believe so."
"I see. Excuse me, have seen something like this?"
"Nope. What is that, some sort of camera?"
"Thank you for the time. Excuse me, sir, have you seen this item anywhere?"
"Buzz off, I'm in a hurry."
"Well fuck you too."
It was quite obvious to Megumi that this person needed help. Looks like this was a job not for Cure Lovely, but plain old Megumi!
'I did say big or small,' Megumi thought to herself as she approached the person. "Excuse me?"
"Hm?" Turning around, the young man's raven-colored hair flicked in the wind as baby blue eyes met Megumi's pink. He also stood a good couple of inches taller than her which was expected since he appeared older than her.
"I couldn't help notice you seem troubled. Is something the matter?" Megumi asked naturally. Even before her love of Pretty Cure, Megumi was always one to help others, as her friends could attest to, and thus was unable to ignore this person in trouble.
"Oh, it's nothing major. Just trying to find something an old man, whose face I'd like to punch right now, dropped," The teen said, slightly intimidating Megumi when he muttered about punching an old man. Seeing this, he apologized. "Sorry, just slightly annoyed since I've been running around all morning."
"I-It's fine. What are you looking for?"
"This," The teen held up a piece of paper containing a sketch of what he was searching for. "You wouldn't happen to have seen anything like this, have you?"
Megumi didn't make a sound, barely containing the gasp in her throat as she could practically feel her irises contract at the sight of what was on the paper.
'Th-That's...!' Megumi felt her body freeze up as what was sketched on the paper was the belt buckle she had seen in her dreams; the one belonging to Decade.
"...You know what this is, don't you?" The teen asked, having seen the way Megumi reacted. She hid it well enough, but her eyes gave her away.
"No!" Megumi exclaimed, but the quickness of her response easily told the teen she was lying and she knew this. "I mean, yes, I mean...maybe?"
"What do you mean maybe?" The teen asked, narrowing his eyes at her rather intimidatingly. Somehow, he seemed more threatening than all the Saiarks she and Hime have fought combined.
Taking a step back, Megumi couldn't help but ask the teen, "Who...are you?" Just why was this person searching for the belt buckle from her dreams?
"...My name is Yamamoto Haru," He introduced himself, folding the paper and putting it away in his coat. "And...I guess as of right now, I'm just a passing-through traveler."
"A traveler?" Megumi repeated, confused.
"Yeah," Haru said as he took out his phone and *click!* took a snapshot of Megumi's confused face. "Not by choice, mind you."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Megumi asked, becoming more confused by this strange man.
"It doesn't matter," Haru said, taking a look at the photo he took before wincing at it. Megumi wondered if it had turned out bad, but wouldn't get to ask as Haru put away his phone. "Back to the matter at hand, what did you mean when you said you've maybe seen what I'm looking for?"
"Well..." Megumi debated whether she should tell the truth to this stranger, but as she had given herself away with no chance to recover, there was no doubt Haru would press for more info and probably give chase should she try to run. Gripping her school bag which held her Pretty Change Mirror, or PreChanMirror for short, she brought Haru over to the side so they could somewhat talk in private.
"The thing you're looking for...I saw it in a dream."
"A dream?" Haru repeated, raising an eyebrow at the pinkette.
"I know it sounds weird, but it's true," Megumi said, still feeling awkward since she hasn't even discussed this with her friends. "I don't remember it very well, but there was this person that I saw wearing the thing you're looking for. I don't know who he is, just that he seems very dangerous."
"Well, you're not wrong about that," Haru said, seemingly knowing what Megumi was talking about. "Well, if you saw it in a dream, that just means you don't know where to find it. And here I thought I finally had a lead."
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. I'll just have to keep looking."
"Yamamoto-san—"
"Call me Haru. No need to be so formal with me."
"Haru-san," Megumi corrected. "I know we just met and all, but I don't think you should be looking for that belt. The person wearing it in my dreams—he really did seem dangerous."
"I appreciate your concern, but I need to find that belt if I want to go home," Haru said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Megumi asked. Could he not just take a train or a taxi home? Did he perhaps live far away or something?
"Well..." Haru began, contemplating something for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "Since you were brave enough to tell me this little secret of yours, I'll let you in on a little secret of my own."
"Eh?" Megumi couldn't only blink in confusion. What did Haru mean by that?
"My home isn't exactly somewhere I can just take a train ride to get to," Haru said, leaning in closely to whisper to Megumi. "As a matter of fact, it's not even in this world."
"Eh?" World? Did he just say his home wasn't in this 'world?'
"Putting it bluntly, I'm not from this world," Haru said, pulling away from Megumi. "Well, to be more specific, I'm not from this dimension, if that makes sense."
"Eh?" It didn't as Megumi just looked even more confused. Yes, she knew that Ribbon, Hime's fairy partner, and even Hime herself weren't from this world, having come from a place called the Blue Sky Kingdom, but as of right now, those were just words to her even if she acknowledged the possibility.
"Yeah, probably hard to wrap your head around," Haru said, seeing the confusion in Megumi. "Well, just forget about it then. No need to concern yourself over it."
'As if I could forget what you just said!' Megumi exclaimed in her head.
*grumble~!*
Suddenly, a somewhat loud noise rumbled from Haru's stomach. Megumi couldn't help but stare as a blush appeared on Haru's cheeks.
"Well, I did say I was walking around all morning," Haru said, rubbing his stomach. "Guess I better find something to eat before continuing the search. You wouldn't happen to know any good places nearby, would you?"
"Well, the family of one of my friends owns a bento shop nearby called Omori Gohan," Megumi said, pointing in the general direction of Yuko's family store. "Their Bentos are delicious and healthy and they're decently priced."
"You had me at decently priced," Haru said as there was a certain gleam in his eyes that told Megumi what his financial situation might have been.
"Still, to have a dream about 'him'..." Haru looked at Megumi as if she were some unknown organism that was just recently discovered. It honestly made her feel uncomfortable. "I think it's my turn to ask who are you."
"I'm...just plain ol' Aino Megumi," Megumi said, keeping her status as a Cure to herself.
"Well, Aino-san, a word of advice in exchange for your tip: Stay away from me."
"Eh?" Megumi blinked in confusion. What did he mean by that?
"If you're dreaming about who I think you are, then something tells me this won't be the last time we'll see each other," Haru said, further confusing the pinkette. "Look, just, if you happen to spot me then turn the other way. Trust me, it's for your own good."
'Is he...worried about me?' Megumi thought. Despite Haru's blunt tone, there was an underlining tone of worry in his words, like he was trying to push her away. 'But why?'
"Well, see ya," With a wave, Haru turned and took his leave, heading in the direction Megumi pointed to earlier.
"Wait!" Megumi cried out before she could stop herself. In response to her cry, Haru stopped and turned.
"Yes?"
"Uh..." Megumi caught herself flat-footed. She had not meant to call out to Haru, yet her body and mouth had moved on their own. 'Why?' Megumi asked herself. Why had she stopped Haru from leaving? The answer...
'He looks so...sad,' is what Megumi thought as she looked at the teen. Despite his neutral expression and the way he confidently held himself, there was this aura around him that made Megumi think that he looked unhappy. And Megumi did not like that one bit.
"If you're still planning on searching for that belt despite the danger, then...let me help."
"Huh?" Haru raised an eyebrow at that, looking at Megumi as if she had grown a second head.
"I mean, our meeting has gotta mean something. I had that dream and you're here looking for that belt..." Megumi said, explaining her reason for wanting to help. "Plus, I can't stand by when someone right in front of me is in trouble. The city is huge, plus all the damage done to it will make it harder to look for the belt. You need help and I'm willing to give it."
"There's no need for that," Haru said, trying to refuse Megumi's aid. "I'm fine on my own. I wouldn't want to waste any more of your time."
"Helping someone in need isn't a waste of time!" Megumi shot back, making Haru jump due to how loud she was being. "Not in my book it isn't. If we work together we're sure to find that belt."
"I thought I said not to get involved," Haru said, reminding the pinkette of his warning. "This is bigger than you think it is. Just turn around and go home. I'm telling you that this is for your own good."
"I won't!"
"You are really stubborn, you know that?"
"Only when it comes to helping people!" Megumi puffed out her chest and placed her knuckles on her waist, trying to appear tough, but to Haru it only made her look younger than she already was.
Haru let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. This girl...
"You're the type who can't help getting involved with other people, aren't you?"
"Yep!" Megumi replied, giving Haru a rather happy-go-lucky smile which made him sigh again. He soon realized that nothing he said would persuade the girl.
"...Fine," Haru gave in, walking back over to Megumi and offering a hand to her. "I guess I have no choice but to rely on you, Aino-san."
"Just call me Megumi," The girl said, taking Haru's hand and shaking it. "Please to help you."
"You're a strange one, you know that?"
"Says the supposedly other-worlder."
"Touché."
*Zap!*
"Whoa!" Both sides let out a startled cry as they abruptly ended their handshake, shaking their respective limbs as something seemingly shocked them.
"The heck was that?" Haru asked, confused as to what had shocked them.
"I don't know," Megumi said, equally confused as Haru as she clenched and unclenched her hand to make sure it was fine. Just what was that?
*FWOOSH!*
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, nearly sending the two and the people around them off balance due to how sudden it was.
"What's with this wind?" Megumi shouted over the blowing winds as she tried to keep her skirt down while using her bag to protect her face.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Haru said as a sense of dread welled up inside his chest. "This wind...doesn't feel right."
"KYAH!" Suddenly, someone screamed out loud. Whether it was a woman or a man who screamed didn't matter as people started pointing up to the sky. Following them, Megumi and Haru looked up and gasped at what they saw.
A huge, silver wall hung over the entire city, its surface rippling like water. All over Pikarigaoka, the people all looked up in utter confusion as to what they were looking at. Even those away from the city could see what was happening.
"W-w-w-w-w-what the heck is that!?" A girl wearing the same school uniform as Megumi screamed out as she pointed toward the strange phenomena happening above the city. What made this girl stand out was her appearance as her big, nautical blue eyes complemented her long, marine blue hair which flared out with fluffy bangs and forelocks, vaguely giving it a resemblance to a hime-cut.
Under the fake name Shirayuki Hime, this was Cure Princess, princess of the Blue Sky Kingdom, and Megumi's partner.
"Blue-sama!" A voice cried out from inside what was simply known as the Blue Sky Kingdom's embassy. Hime immediately rushed inside to find Ribbon hovering over Blue, who was down on the ground, sweating profusely as he used the nearby couch to stay up.
Ribbon was a panda-like fairy with big brown eyes and small grey ears and markings above her eyes that resemble lashes or hearts. She has a large blonde curl of hair at the center of her forehead and wears a large pink bow adorned by a clover. She wears a matching pink dress with a ruffled skirt and a pearl necklace with a gem in the middle. She wears a hot pink pouch on her back with a pastel variant of a Cures theme color at each corner. In the middle is a white heart.
As for Blue, he was an adult male whose hair and eyes were sky blue as were his pants. Everything else from his shoes to his shirt was white.
"Are you all right?" Hime asked, rushing over to Blue's side.
"The world..." Blue gritted out, looking to be in pain as he gripped his chest. "The world...is crying."
Unconsciously dropping her bags, Yuko, who had just returned to her family's bento store, looked over towards what was happening over the city.
"What in the world?" Yuko muttered as the sight of the strange silver wall filled the brunette with...fear.
"Look! Over there!" One of the customer's cried out and Yuko did indeed look as something appeared to be pouring out from the strange wall.
"Is that...?"
"Fortune! M-m-m-monsters!"
"I see them!" Amongst the fleeing civilians, a figure with glowing wings flew up to intercept the monsters falling from the sky.
The said figure was, in fact, a young girl with long, bright lavender hair worn up in a ponytail with thin forelocks. A pale lilac bow with a violet heart was clipped to her hair and her ears were adorned with gold star earrings. She wears a white top with ruffled sleeves beneath a dark navy vest with gold detail. The lapel is pale lilac and the vest is trim with white ruffles, on the back is a pale lilac ribbon-shaped pair of wings. On the chest was a pastel indigo and white ribbon with a gold heart and ribbon brooch. Around her waist is a ruffled, pale lilac skirt that was longer in the back. White sleeves with a gold strap covered her arms, and white thigh boots with a gold heart on a lavender bow covered her legs.
Some of the fleeing civilians cheered at the sight of Cure Fortune fighting heroically in the air, but they continued running as the Cure was still just one person and thus a lot of monsters ended up slipping past her and began causing untold amounts of damage.
The monsters themselves came in all shapes and sizes. What looked like dragonflies and stingrays flew through the air fighting Fortune. Down on the ground, the monsters became more diverse as there were some that looked like humanoid animals like lizards, wolves, beetles, and moles. The stranger ones were the ones that were completely gray all over while contrasting to that were others that looked like they were constructed from stained glass. Others looked like corrupted fairy tale creatures found in books and movies. The worst of all, Fortune felt like, were the ones that looked like cockroaches which got the most screams from the people, especially the women.
"There's too many of them!" Fortune's fairy partner, Glasan, exclaimed as she stuck close to her partner for safety. She bore a near exact resemblance to Ribbon only she wore purple instead of pink and wore a pair of sunglasses instead of a bow.
"Dammit, what are these things!? These aren't Saiarks!" Fortune exclaimed, kicking away one of the dragonfly monsters before looking around, evaluating what she should do to minimize damage and casualties.
'If these aren't Saiarks then does that mean this isn't the Phantom Empire's doing? Shit, just what is going on!?'
"The city!" Megumi cried out as pillars of smoke were seen in the distance, evidence of multiple fires happening. The people around her watched in awestruck horror at what was happening to the city and it only grew worse when that strange wall of rippling silver started descending down. Megumi went to take off running but was stopped by Haru grabbing her arm.
"Wait! Where do you think you're going?"
"To the city! I gotta go help!"
"Idiot! What do you think you can do to help?"
"Well, I..." Megumi gripped her school bag tightly. Never before had she hated the rule of keeping her Pretty Cure identity a secret until now.
Haru's eyes suddenly widen before he pulled Megumi towards him. "Look out!"
*FWOOSH-CRASH!*
Wrapping his arms around the girl, Haru threw himself back just in time to avoid a pair of flying monsters that had almost hit them. As the two got back up, they saw that the monsters had left behind something, another one of those silver walls that separated them from the rest of the people.
"Oh no!" Megumi gasped as she and Haru saw the people on the other side beset by the unknown monsters who seemed to be jumping out of the new wall. the pinkette took off running but ended up slamming into the wall.
"Ow!" Megumi groaned, holding her face before she looked up at the wall in confusion. Moving up, she banged her hands against it, finding it solid despite its appearance. "What is this?"
"An Aurora Curtain," Haru said, walking up and placing a hand on the now identified wall.
"Eh?" Megumi turned to Haru, confused as to how he knew what this was.
"They're the literal walls that separate worlds from each other," Haru said, knocking on the Aurora Curtain. "When they're like this they can be used as a type of doorway to travel between worlds."
"What?" Megumi said, blinking in confusion at what Haru was saying. "Wait a minute, how do you know this?"
"Because he's my successor."
"Huh—Whoa!" Megumi shouted in surprise as she suddenly found herself in the middle of what seemed to be space as glittering stars surrounded them from a distance. Unlike Megumi, Haru was not fazed by their sudden change of scenery as he looked toward the person who was there beside them.
It was an old man, grasping a cane as he sat in a magenta-colored couch chair. He wore a worn-out, but an impressive-looking black suit with a magenta-colored dress shirt under it, and hanging around his neck was a 'Decade Pink' Blackbird Fly 135 twin-lens Reflex Camera.
"What the!? Where are we!?" Megumi exclaimed, frantically looking around as Haru addressed the old man.
"Tsukasa."
"Wait, you know him?" Megumi asked but didn't get a reply as Haru's attention was on the now identified Tsukasa.
"I warned you," Tsukasa said, shaking his head at Haru. "I said not to come into contact with a Pretty Cure."
"And I didn't," Haru said. "I'm pretty sure the only Cure I've ever seen since coming here was out fighting in the city."
Tsukasa didn't say anything, instead pointing over to Megumi who pointed at herself in confusion. Haru followed his finger and looked at Megumi until he realized what the old man was trying to tell him.
"Wait a minute. Megumi-san, are you...a Pretty Cure?"
"Huh? Uh, I, uh..." Megumi began panicking at having suddenly been put on the spot. But as both Haru and Tsukasa stared at her, with the latter giving her a knowing look, and her city on fire on the other side of the Aurora Curtain, the pinkette sighed before she reached into her bag and took out her PreChanMirror.
"...You have to be fucking kidding me." Megumi winced at Haru's words as a look of disbelief fell on his face. "You were a—fuck! I can't believe this!"
'Huh, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting,' Megumi thought to herself as she watched Haru rage out.
"Of all the people who may have had a possible lead to the DecaDriver, it had to be a Pretty Cure! Oh, fuck my luck!" Haru cursed loudly before turning toward Tsukasa who had been watching his rage out with amusement. "Shit, I really am your successor."
"That's what I've been saying since the beginning. I warned you to stay away from the heroes of this world, but now you've tipped off the one behind all this."
"So I guess this sudden attack is an attempt to stop me from claiming my title?" Haru asked, looking back at the chaos happing in the city. "I thought I told you I wanted nothing to do with you."
"Whether you want it or not, that is not your choice to make, unfortunately. No matter what, you cannot run from this."
"Tch!" Haru clicked his tongue, glaring at the old man before looking back at what was happening on the other side. "Please don't tell me SHOCKER's the one behind all this. I know they're important and all, but they're really overplayed at this point."
"Well..."
"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" Megumi shouted at the top of her lungs, surprising both men as Megumi interjected herself into the conversation. "What is going on here!? Who even are you!? What is happening to the city!? Just what are those monsters!? What is—!?"
"Aino Megumi," Tsukasa spoke up, interrupting the pinkette as he gave her a hardened stare. "I'm sorry to have gotten you wrapped in all this, but time is of the essence and as such, I don't have time to answer your questions."
With a wave of his hand, the Aurora Curtain behind them shined as the image of the city disappeared.
"You must find the DecaDriver quickly or else it'll mean the end of the world."
"The end of the what!?" Megumi cried out in surprise, wondering just what the old man meant by that. But before she could ask, Haru grabbed her arm.
"Come on, let's go!" Haru said before he dragged Megumi through the Curtain.
"Wah!" Megumi let out a cry as she found herself thrown to the ground, landing on her butt. "Ow~! Hey, you could try being a little gentler."
"No time for that. You heard the old man, we gotta find that stupid belt," Haru said, looking around as Megumi picked herself up. "If it means stopping whatever's happening then I guess I really don't have a choice. Now you wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?"
Dusting herself off, Megumi looked around to find themselves on what looked to be the campus grounds of an academy. The said academy was quite large as the entire place was surrounded by greenery and was even neighboring a nearby forest. The academy building itself was nothing to sneeze at either as it took up a good chunk of the area and stood 4 to 6 stories tall. Off to the sides were two dormitories, hinting that this place was co-ed and that they separated boys and girls. All in all, the entire place was very impressive looking, giving off the impression that the place was attended by prestigious students from all over.
'Where is this? This isn't any place in Pikarigaoka,' Megumi thought as she certainly would have remembered an academy this big being anywhere near the city. Looking around some more, the two eventually found a sign that identified the place they were at.
"Noble Academy?"
"You know this place?" Haru asked only for Megumi to shake her head.
"This is the first time I've been here." Again, she would have certainly remembered a place this big. And yet...
'Why do I feel like I've heard of this place before?' Megumi thought, rubbing her head as she felt like she should know what this place was, or at least have a vague idea of it.
"Well, that's just great," Haru sarcastically said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Figures Tsukasa would send us to a random place. I bet the DecaDriver isn't even here."
"Now, now, we don't know that for sure," Megumi said, trying to calm down the young man. While she was still very confused as to her current situation, she got the gist that finding this DecaDriver would help save her city, giving her more than enough reason to help Haru in his search.
"Still..." Megumi trailed off as she looked around the empty grounds. It was very unsettling just how deserted the place was. "Something's not right here."
"Yeah," Haru said, agreeing with Megumi as they both looked around. "If this is an academy...then where are the students and teachers?"
"Maybe they're all on break?" Megumi nervously guessed.
"It's the middle of March. No one should be on break, especially the teachers," Haru countered, eyeing everything with suspicion.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of a can being kicked, alerting them as they turned around to see a woman, possibly a teacher from the way she was dressed, stumbling around the corner until she saw them and gasped.
"Y-You two! Are you humans!?"
"Huh?" Both Haru and Megumi raised an eyebrow at the strange question, yet their instincts were telling them that something was wrong.
"Please, you have to help me! Please!"
*STAB!*
"Gah!" The woman let out a pained cry and the two gasped as what looked to be a pair of glass fangs were stabbed into the woman's neck.
"N-No! I don't want to die! I don't wanna...!" The woman literally cried, tears streaming down her face as she fell to her knees. Megumi's legs moved on their own as she tried to rush over to save her, but was stopped by Haru who grabbed her arm before she could run off.
"This is..." Haru muttered, recognizing the fangs stabbed into the woman.
"Haru-san, let me go! We need to save her!" Megumi said but Haru shook his head.
"It's too late. Look." Gesturing with his head, the two looked back at the woman to see that she was losing color. No, it was more than that as right before their eyes, the woman's body started to become transparent like glass. The fangs then removed themselves, causing the woman's body to fall down and shatter like glass, leaving behind the shoes and clothes she wore.
"Wha...What? Haru-san, w-w-what j-just..." Megumi stuttered, fumbling with her words as she tried to process what she had just seen.
"Get a hold of yourself, Megumi-san. This isn't the time to be shocked," Haru said, shaking the girl out of her stupor as another figure emerged from around the corner.
'Not human,' was the first thought in both Haru and Megumi's minds when they saw what had arrived. While it had a body resembling a human and stood like a human, its entire body was something else entirely. Pieces of black armor were molded to look like plants and vines and the head resembled that of a rat. But what made this being stand out was its stained glass-like body, giving off a gothic feel that was both mesmerizing and intimidating.
"What is that!?" Megumi gasped as the strained glass monster slowly walked toward them.
"A Fangire," Haru said, backing away while pulling Megumi with him who looked at him in confusion.
"A Fangire?"
"Monsters very similar to vampires, though instead of blood they suck their victims' life energy, as you just witnessed," Haru explained as two more Fanires much like the first appeared from around the corner it just came from. In fact, it wasn't only that as more and more Rat Fangires began appearing from inside the building and from the other corners.
"There's...so many," Megumi said, staring in disbelief at how many there were.
"I'm starting to see what happened to the students and teachers here," Haru said as the numbers here told them what must have happened before their arrival.
"What do we do?" Megumi asked, looking around in worry.
"Run."
"Eh?"
"Run, dammit! Run!" Haru shouted, running towards the academy gates. Megumi followed soon after and the mob of Fangires all gave chase, their cries filling the air. It wasn't hard to imagine just what they were crying for.
"This is crazy!" Megumi cried out as they ran for their lives. Sure, she wasn't a stranger to facing overwhelming numbers as it was common for Pretty Cures like her to fight against hordes of Choiarks who were the definition of common mooks, and the Saiarks were bigger and taller than these Fangires. But after seeing what had happened to the woman, plus their appearance making them seem far more intimidating hands down, the pinkette found herself in quite the panic.
"Tell me about it!" Haru said, his brain still trying to process that he was currently running away from real-life Fangires.
"Wait a minute, you're a Pretty Cure! Transform and fight!" Haru said, remembering who Megumi was.
"Oh yeah!" Megumi said, having actually forgotten what was in her bag in her panic. Just goes to show she was still new to this hero business.
Skidding to a stop, Megumi took out her transformation device from her bag as well as her cards. Throwing her bag to Haru who caught it, Megumi held up both items and faced the mob of Fangires.
"All right, here I go! Pretty Cure Kururin Mirror Change!"
Inserting a set of cards into a slot, the PreChanMirror opened up, revealing a small, heart-shaped mirror that showed Megumi's reflection. The disco ball-like button underneath the mirror then shined, giving off an intense light that bathed Megumi's entire form, hiding her from sight, while temporarily blinding all of the Fangires, stunning them for a few brief seconds. Haru was only barely able to shield himself from the light by raising his arms to cover his eyes. From what he could make out, there was a huge amount of pink light and a lot of sound going on before seconds later, it died down, allowing Haru to lower his arms and see what had become of Megumi.
"So this is a Pretty Cure," Haru said, taking a good look at Megumi's new form.
Megumi's hair and eyes had turned hot pink and her hair extended down to her knees. Worn on the left side of her head was a magenta gem heart clip that has pieces of white fabric. Her bangs are slightly brushed to the side, and she now had pink heart earrings. Her entire uniform had been changed entirely as she now wore a white blouse with a dark navy vest, both with gold detail. The lapel is pink and the vest is trim with white ruffles, on the back is a small pair of pearl pink wings. On the chest is a hot pink and white ribbon with a gold heart and ribbon brooch. Her pink pleat skirt has a frilly white petticoat. She also gained white and gold sleeves with matching thigh-high boots that have a hot pink bow on the ankle. Finally, as if putting the finishing touches, Megumi placed her PreChanMirror on her right hip where a carrying case encases it and she slaps her left wrist where a bracelet called the LovePreBrace appears.
"Sekai ni hirogaru biggu na ai (The big love spreading throughout the world)! Cure Lovely!" Megumi, or rather, Lovely introduced herself, drawing a heart that exploded into smaller hearts before striking a pose.
...
...
...
Silence. Nothing but absolute silence as the mob of Fangires just stood staring at the still posing Pretty Cure who awkwardly stood there.
'Huh, this is awkward. I don't usually get this kind of reaction when I transform,' Lovely thought to herself as her enemies would usually start attacking by this point—
*BANG!*
"WAH!" Lovely let out a loud scream as she quickly moved her head, barely dodging a bullet that zoomed right past her, taking off a few strands of her hair in the process. Holding her chest to calm down her rapidly beating heart, Lovely turned to see one of the Fangires holding a gun modeled after a flintlock pistol.
"A gun!?" Lovely exclaimed in disbelief before turning to Haru. "They have guns!?" Not even the past Saiarks she and Hime have faced had guns! Sure, the Choiarks were able to shoot beams from their hands, but humankind was naturally more afraid of guns due to all of the histories they learned from school.
"Oh yeah, forgot they could do that," Haru said, sheepishly scratching his cheek. "Watch out, by the way."
Resisting the urge to hit Haru, Megumi turned back to the mob of Fangires to see more were pulling out guns of their own while others materialized short swords into their hands. Gulping down some saliva, Lovely steeled herself before charging into the fray. Immediately she was beset by a hail of bullets but the Cure already had a plan to deal with it.
"Lovely...Shield!" Spinning the dial of her LovePreBrace, Lovely held out her hand and materialized a heart-shaped energy shield in front of her, blocking the bullets trying to make her swiss cheese.
"Shield into...Bash!" Lovely shouted as she used her shield to ram into a Fangire, sending it flying along with a couple of other Fangires behind it. Dismissing her shield, Lovely dropped down and swept the feet of more Fangires, knocking them down before she spun on her hands and kicked a random Fangire which sent it flying back where it knocked into other Fangires, knocking them down like bowling pins.
Crouching low in order to avoid the other Fangires aiming at her, Lovely took off like a sprinter, running through any gaps she could make out before she slid down, sliding under a Fangire between their legs before she spun the dial of her bracelet again.
"Lovely...Explosion Bomber!"
*BOOM!*
A large explosion of fire occurred which sent a good chunk of the Fangires flying. Getting back up to her feet, Lovely turned to see what was left and counted about five Rat Fangires left. Deciding to conserve power, Lovely clenched her fists before charging forward.
She turned her head to dodge a bullet before punching the Fangire that tried it. Turning around she ducked under a sword swing before kicking the wielder away. Running forward, she shoulder tackled the sword-wielding Fangire, using it as a makeshift shield as she rammed the Fangire into another one and slammed them into the wall of a random store. Picking up the sword, Lovely turned and threw it at one of the Fangires, scoring a hit as the sword stabbed into its chest, knocking it off its feet.
*BANG!*
Lovely cried as she was struck across the shoulder. Her hands flew up to hold it and much to her relief, she wasn't bleeding. Another *bang* rang out and this time Lovely ducked this time, nearly avoiding what would have been a headshot before she jumped to the side, rolling behind a hotdog stand to take cover. Peeking out, she spotted two Fangires trying to gun her down while a third was advancing toward her position. Thinking fast, especially since the dog stand wasn't going to last, she kicked it, sending it flying towards the approaching Fangire where it was struck across the face and knocked off its feet. Quickly running, Lovely went over and grabbed the downed Fangire by its 'ear' and dragged it up, using it as a second makeshift shield as it protected the Cure, allowing her to get close and bash one of the gunmen down by using the Fangire she had as a makeshift boxing glove. Spinning around, she nailed the other gunman the same way she did the first one. Seeing both Fangire down, and checking to make sure the others wouldn't get back up suddenly, Lovely breathed a sigh of relief, releasing the Fangire she had in her hands.
"Phew! Got them all," Lovely breathed out, wiping some sweat from her brow as she walked back to Haru who looked at her in surprise.
"Wow," Haru said, looking at the destruction the Cure had left behind. "You are surprisingly vicious for a Magical Girl."
"Eheh," Lovely's response was to simply laugh while rubbing the back of her head.
"So, what now?"
"Well, we still got to look for the DecaDriver," Haru said as he looked around the deserted town they were in. "Though something tells me these weren't the only Fangires here. This place is like the academy, which probably means there are more Fangires in hiding."
"What do we do?" Lovely asked. She wanted to find this belt as soon as possible so she could return home and help the city.
"I don't know. I don't even know where to start," Haru said, running a hand through his hair before looking up to the sky. "Oi! Tsukasa! Mind giving us a hint or something?"
Suddenly, as if in response, an Aurora Curtain suddenly appeared and passed through them before they could react. Blinking, the two found themselves in an alleyway as sirens were heard in the distance.
"Or you could just jump us into a new location. That's fine too," Haru said, sarcastically saying that last part as he threw his hands up in exasperation.
"Where are we now?" Lovely asked, looking around in confusion.
*BOOM!*
"Judging from that explosion we just heard, nowhere safe," Haru said as he and Lovely ran out of the alleyway and gasped.
Standing under a sign that read 'Kanon Street,' the two found themselves in what appeared to be a fairly large town that neighbored the sea. Some parts of the town appeared to be a little rustic and in a shopping district, some of the brick tiles were interested shaped and painted to look like piano keys. Of course, the two barely registered any of this as creatures, big and small, ranging from humanoid to just straight monstrous, were wreaking havoc all around town. Those the size of normal humans were wrecking the streets and nearby shops while the bigger ones terrorized the bigger structures of the town.
"More monsters!?" Lovely exclaimed as she looked at all the destruction around them. "Is that Bakeneko over there? Is that a Kappa in the water? Is that an actual Tsuchigumo and a...a giant crab? What are these things, youkai!?"
"They're actually called Makamou, but they're pretty much the same thing," Haru said, identifying the monsters terrorizing the town.
"They're all over the town," Lovely stated, looking around for any survivors. "Where are all the people?"
"Hopefully, they evacuated and are far away from this entire mess," Haru said before running off in a random direction. "Come on! If Tsukasa sent us here then the belt must be here somewhere."
"Wait, don't go off on your own! It's too dangerous!" Lovely said as she went to chase after the teen only to run into an invisible wall. "Ow!"
"What?" Hearing the girl's cry, Haru stopped and turned to see that Lovely had actually run into another Aurora Curtain. Cursing, Haru ran over but found he could not pass through. "Dammit! I can't get through!"
"Haru-san!" Lovely worriedly said the teen's name as she banged her hands against the Curtain but found she couldn't pass through either. "What is this? I thought you said these were doorways."
"They're not usually like this," Haru said, guessing that the walls separating this world were still holding up strong.
"What do we do? I can't break through," Lovely asked after giving the silver wall a few punches that had no effect.
Haru took a moment to think until his eyes widen. "Behind you!"
Reacting to his words, Lovely turned around to see a giant crab, a Bakegani, had snuck up behind her and was raising up one of its claws with the intention to smash her. Quickly, the Cure jumped to the side, avoiding the attack before she rolled to her feet and spun the dial of her bracelet.
"Lovely...Punching Punch!" Holding up her hand, a ball of pink light flew out from her bracelet before it grew and formed a giant pink fist. Leaping up into the air, Lovely reared her fist back before punching down on the Bakegani, slamming it into the ground and creating a crater underneath it. Dismissing the fist, Lovely landed back down and looked to see the giant crab getting back up, no worse for wear.
'Damn! Its shell is hard!' Lovely thought, surprised that the youkai—excuse her—Makamou was able to tank her attack. She goes to touch her bracelet again when she felt something latch onto her. Looking down, the Cure found a rope of thick webbing wrapped around her arm.
"What the—Wah!" The pink-haired Cure cried out as she was pulled off her feet and dragged towards a Tsuchigumo waiting with jaws wide open. Lovely naturally screamed at this sight and quickly acted.
"Lovely Rising Sword!" Using her bracelet, the Cure summoned forth a sword made entirely out of pink light and slashed the webbing on her, freeing her in time before she jumped back from one of the giant spider's spear-like legs trying to skewer her. Landing back down, Lovely held her sword in front of her before sweating nervously as even more giant Makamou started to surround her, taking the form of giant bug-winged lobsters, a giant ant, a rhino with the shell of a tortoise, and something resembling a minotaur with the quills of a porcupine. All in all, these giants were far more threatening-looking than any of the Saiarks she's faced in the past.
'Okay, it's official, I want to go home,' Lovely thought to herself, internally crying for her mother.
"Hey, get out of there! You can't take on all of them!" Haru shouted from the other side of the Aurora Curtain while still banging it in hopes of making a crack or something.
"No need to tell me twice!" Lovely said as she was already spinning the dial of her bracelet. While she wasn't normally one to run from a battle and hasn't done so since her first fight, even she could see that staying here was suicide.
"Lovely...Flashbang!" Throwing her hand into the air, a ball of light flew out before it promptly exploded, blinding all who foolishly looked at it. Her figure no more than a shadow, Lovely took off running, dashing under the legs of the Ooari. However, just as she sneakily passed the giant ant, she ran through a Curtain that had suddenly appeared right in front of her, giving her no time to stop. By the time Lovely's attack had died down, the Cure was gone, much to Haru's confusion who had to cover his eyes.
"Lovely? Oi, Megumi, where are you?" Haru called out to the Cure, even using her real name, but having been forced to cover his eyes, he was unaware of what happened to the pinkette.
"Did she escape?"
*ZOOM!*
Suddenly, another Aurora Curtain spawned before passing through Haru, transporting him to a new area before he could react. Naturally, he was very miffed.
"Oh come on!" Haru exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "Great, now where am I?"
Looking around, he seemed to be on the roof of a building, giving him an adequate view of his surroundings. It appeared he was transported to another city and naturally, he had no clue what it was called as he could not spot any signs that could tell him where he was. Of course, it wasn't like he was looking in the first place as something else had caught his attention.
"Are those book pages?" Haru wondered out loud as parts of the city looked to be standing on what appeared to be pages of a giant book, cutting off a section of the city which was further cut off by the wall of light rising from the edge of the book, acting like a barrier. Past the said barrier was a completely different world altogether.
A vast plain of magical nature stretched over the horizon accompanied by towering mountains in the distance as well as what appeared to be a giant tree about the same height as the mountains themselves. But from there was when things got stranger as floating up into the air were rocks and boulders as if gravity had no hold on them. Not only that, but rainbow-colored bubbles floated around everywhere as an honest-to-god blimp floated through the air along with—
"Is that a goddam dragon?" Haru wondered out loud again as he blankly watched the winged lizard fly over his head. Blinking a few more times, Haru looked back at his surroundings, slowly realizing where he possibly was.
"Is this...Wonder World?"
*BOOM!*
"Whoa!" Haru cried out in surprise as the roof entrance next to him was suddenly blasted. Turning around, Haru was met with strange anamorphic monsters. It wasn't anything Haru hadn't seen all day, but he did take notice of the books that were sticking to either their chests or stomachs.
"Those books...the Megido?" Haru said, identifying the monsters before him. "Huh, can't say I expected to see you guys here in PreCure no Sekai."
*ROOOOOOOOOAR!*
"And that's my cue to leave." Kicking down the busted door, Haru ran down as the Megido's gave chase. Luckily for him, they all tried to fit through the door and as a result got stuck, giving the teen the head start he needed as he practically jumped down the steps.
"Damn, this is crazy!" Haru commented to himself as he reached the bottom floor and practically crashed through the doors as he stumbled outside. "All these random drops, this can't be Tsukasa's doing. Which means..."
*ROOOOOOOOOAR!*
"Whoever's behind all this really wants me dead," Haru said as he took off running again. "I swear if this ends up being Narutaki's doing, I am so gonna kick his nuts in once I get that belt!"
(With Cure Lovely)
"Wah!" Lovely cried out as she stumbled out of the Aurora Curtain, hitting the ground as the silver wall vanished as soon as it appeared. "Moh~! I am getting sick and tired of those things! Where am I now!?"
Getting up and dusting herself off, Lovely looked around to find herself in what seemed to be a shopping district. A nearby street sign read 'Clover Town Street' and much like the previous places she's been to, the place was unnaturally deserted.
"At least this place isn't being terrorized like the last one," Lovely said as she looked around for anything out of order.
*grumble!*
"Ugh, all this running around has made me hungry," Lovely muttered to herself, rubbing her stomach as she wondered just what the time was. In fact, how much has passed since she was first transported?
"Tell me your desire."
"Eh?" Lovely blinked in confusion, wondering who had spoken before crying out in surprise when piles of sand suddenly rose up in front of her, rising from the ground...and coming from the air?
"You said you were hungry," The voice spoke as the sand started to take shape, becoming some sort of creature with the characteristics of a bat. Its upper body was cut off at the waist but its lower body formed above its head.
"Tell us your wish and we will grant it," A second voice spoke up before another pile of sand formed, taking the shape of a humanoid spider.
"Tell us. Tell us. Tell us your desires," Like the last two, a third and fourth pile formed, taking the shape of a humanoid mole and squid respectively.
"W-What are you?" Lovely thought out loud as she went and kicked one of the strange sand creatures. It was like she had kicked a sand castle as the creature she kicked scattered everywhere. Yet, in seconds the creature reformed itself and once again asked for her desires, acting as if it hadn't just gotten kicked.
The sand creatures soon started to swarm her, getting too close for comfort as they kept asking what her desires were. The Cure tried to fight them off, kicking them multiple times due to how low their bodies were, but no matter what she did, they just kept reforming and invading her privacy. Panic soon rose within Lovely as she kept kicking and kicking to no avail. Combined with the stress of today's events and the pink Cure found her mental strength dwindling.
"G-Get away from me!" Lovely cried out, kicking another sand creature before she turned and ran, easily outrunning the pestering creatures who vainly gave chase. The Cure bit down on her lip, ashamed that not only was she running away twice today, but that she had been forced to run from these things that hardly posed a physical threat.
'Suddenly, I wish I was back dealing with the Phantom Empire,' Lovely couldn't help but think as all the monsters she had seen so far made the Saiarks look like clowns in comparison, in more ways than one.
*ZOOM!*
"Whoa!" Holding up her arms instinctively, another Aurora Curtain soon appeared and passed through her, transporting her to a new location. Lowering her arms, the Cure found herself amongst the ruins of what used to be a town. A nearby broken sign read 'Kibougahana' and had Lovely had a bird's eye view, she would have seen that only half the town was in ruin.
"Ugh!" Lovely groaned loudly as she fell to her knees, exhausted. "Moh~! That's it! I am sick and tired of these goddamn Curtains!"
"You're telling me."
"Kyah!" Letting out a cute scream, Lovely jumped to her feet and turned to see another Aurora Curtain where on the other side was none other than Haru.
"Haru-san!"
"Good to see you're still alive," Haru said as Lovely walked over to the wall separating them. "How're you holding up?"
"I'm exhausted and hungry," Lovely bluntly said, slumping a little.
"Yeah. Yeah, me too," Haru said, smiling at the Cure's blunt tone and slumped figure. "Still, it's good to see you after we got separated. Any luck finding the DecaDriver?"
"Sorry. I've been running around and fighting so much that I haven't gotten the chance to look," Lovely said, looking apologetic.
"It's fine. I haven't had much luck either," Haru said, trying to cheer the Cure up. "This is not how I thought my Monday would go when I woke up this morning."
"You're telling me," Lovely said, smiling a little at Haru's comment.
"Whoever's behind all this obviously doesn't us finding the belt."
"But why?" Lovely asked, confused as to who was going through so much trouble to keep them away from some belt.
'Then again...' Brief images of her dream, the parts that she could remember anyway, flashed through her mind as if providing her the answer to why this unknown enemy was trying so hard.
"Uh, Lovely...?" Haru spoke up, eyes wide as he pointed behind the Cure.
Following his finger, the pink-haired Cure turned around and gasped. Why? Because standing right there was another Cure Lovely.
"Wha!? Another me!?" Lovely said, confused as to what she was seeing. Was it some sort of doppelganger? Because if so they had replicated her form perfectly, even down to the dirt she still had clinging to her outfit.
"It's a Worm!" Haru said, identifying who this fake Lovely was.
"A worm?" Lovely looked at Haru in confusion before turning back to her doppelganger who smiled before her entire form changed, transforming into some sort of chrysalis-shaped lifeform. Its body was humanoid in shape and its entire body was a sickly green color. It had normal feet and a left hand, but the right hand was replaced with a three-fingered pincer-like hand. The most disturbing thing Lovely found was what looked to be skeletal hands covering the creature's eyes.
"Ugh! What is that thing?"
"Like I said, it's a Worm, an alien monster than can mimic the form of other species," Haru explained. "Hurry and defeat it before it molts!"
"I can molt!?"
"Just go!"
Heeding Haru's words, Lovely gathered what energy she still had in her before dashing off to face the supposed alien creature. Seeing her coming, it threw its right hand to swipe her, but the Cure simply jumped over the attack and the Worm, landing right behind it where she kicked it, sending it stumbling forward. It turned around and tried to attack again, but Lovely simply blocked it and gave it a punch in return, sending it back again. Pressing her advantage, Lovely delivered two more punches to the Worm before spinning around and giving it a hard kick that sent it flying. As it skidded across the ground, the wings on Lovely's back glowed before they enlarged, giving the Cure a pair of actual wings with which she used to leap into the air.
"This will end it. Pretty Cure Kick!" Using her wings, Lovely flew down towards the Worm and aimed a kick downward. With no time to move, the alien let out a gurgled cry before Lovely's heeled foot planted itself into its face. A pink shockwave occurred before there was a big explosion. Jumping out of the smoke cloud, the pink Cure landed back on her feet, dismissing her wings as she turned her back to the smoke cloud.
"Ai yo, ten ni kaere (Love, return to the heavens)!" Lovely shouted, punching into the air as her LovePreBrace briefly shined.
"Oh I don't think he's going to the heavens after that," Haru commented while wondering how the Cure had unknowingly performed a Rider Kick.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," Lovely said, turning back to Haru while commenting on how one-sided the fight had been.
"Trust me, if that thing had molted, you would have been in a lot more trouble," Haru said, knowing full well what could have happened had the Cure not finished the fight quickly.
"So, what now?" Lovely asked as the Aurora Curtain was still separating them.
"Now we continue our search for the belt," Haru said, reminding the Cure of why they were here. "You said you dreamed about it, right? Then you should know what it looks like. Try and see what you can find over there while I'll search over here. The sooner we find this stupid thing, the sooner we can get you home."
"Right," Lovely nodded as she turned—
*WHAM!*
And was suddenly knocked off her feet as something struck her across the face, catching her by surprise. Lovely's brain was slow to process what had just happened and by the time it did, her body was sent crashing into a pile of rubble.
"Megumi-san!" Haru exclaimed, calling the Cure's real name as the girl in question picked herself up.
"Wh-What happened?" Lovely said, confused as to what had just happened. Holding her face, Lovely looked up to see some sort of mosquito man, glaring at her while pointing its stinger-like hand at her. It wasn't alone either as it was accompanied by a yellow spider man and a mantis man.
"What are these things? More Worms?" Is this what happened to Worms when they molted? Lovely wouldn't be receiving any answers soon as the three evolved Worms suddenly disappeared. "Eh? Where did—?"
"Put your guard up!" Haru cried out but that only confused Lovely, resulting in the following.
*WHAM!* WHAM!* WHAM!* *POW!* *POW!* *WHAM!*
It all happened too fast for Lovely. In the blink of an eye, her body was thrown all over the place. Something had struck her across the face, then her side, then her rubs, then her back, her sides again, and finally her chest. Crashing into the ruins of what used to be a house, Lovely was battered, cut, and bruised all over.
"Ugh..." The pinkette groaned in pain, coughing up some blood that had risen into her mouth as she tried to make sense of what just happened.
"It's hyper-speed!" Haru cried out as the three Worms reappeared, making noise that sounded like they were laughing. "When a Worm molts they gain the ability to move at high speeds!"
'So that's why he said to take them out before they molted,' Lovely thought as she tried to push herself back up. Normally, she could have dealt with these guys with no problem, but against that kind of speed, she was outmatched, not helped by the fact she was still exhausted from her earlier encounters.
*crumble*
Off to the side, Lovely heard some rubble falling down. Despite her better judgment to not take the Worms outside out of her sight, she looked to see what had fallen and found a hole in the corner. However, what was inside the hole caught her eye and as she looked closer, her eyes widened.
"Eh? That's..." Crawling over to the hole in the wall, the Cure reached in and took out two items that were very familiar to her. After all, she had been dreaming about them for the past week.
"Megumi-san! They're coming!" Haru called out to the Cure, snapping her out of her stupor as she turned to see the Worms crouching, letting out a weird noise that sounded like something akin to a charging engine. Realizing what was about to happen, Lovely hugged the items close and crouched down.
*BOOM!*
The walls of the ruined house did little to protect the Cure as she found herself knocked into the air. Hugging the items closely to her chest, Lovely gritted her teeth as she was thrown around like a rag doll. The Worms were a complete blur to her eyes as her entire world spun around her, making her dizzy. When it was finally over, Lovely was knocked back to the Aurora Curtain, crashing against it as her entire form glowed. It then burst, revealing the Cure had lost her transformation and was left in a pink, glowing sleeveless dress.
"Megumi! Megumi!" Haru called out to the girl, completely dropping the honorifics as he banged his fists against the wall separating them. In anger, he delivered a punch to it, but as expected, it did nothing much to his frustration. "Dammit! Is there nothing I can do!?"
"Haru-san..."
"Megumi!" Kneeling down so he was closer to the girl, Haru was about to ask Megumi to hang in there when she held up the items she had found. "That's-!"
"I found them," Megumi groaned out as she held up the item from her dreams and the thing they had been looking for: The DecaDriver along with the Ride Booker. They were covered in dust and slightly corroded but they were undoubtedly the items the two had been looking for.
Megumi raised the two items and pushed them through the Aurora Curtain where they slid through easily as if it wasn't even there. With shaking hands, Haru grabbed them and pulled them over to his side where the Curtain seemed to have restored them to peak condition, getting rid of all the dust sticking to them and everything.
"The DecaDriver...and the Ride Booker," Haru held up both items to his face, staring at them in disbelief.
"Kyah!" Megumi suddenly screamed, snapping Haru out of his daze as Megumi was dragged back by the Worms who threw her to the ground.
"Megumi! Shit, this isn't the time to be daydreaming," Haru said as he stood back up and slapped the DecaDriver on, causing a silver belt to materialize around his waist.
"Get back!" Megumi shouted, still having some fight left in her, got back up and grabbed a nearby pipe, swinging it around which drove the Worms back. This brought a smile to Haru's face as the girl, despite her injuries, had not given up yet.
"I expect nothing less from the heroes of PreCure no Sekai. Time to do my part too," Haru said as he opened the Ride Booker and took out a card. The card was mostly black but had dashes of white, grey, and magenta. On the card was a white symbol of a mask designed to look like a barcode but it was hard to see due to the image of an armored figure displayed right in front of it. The card only depicted the armored figure from the shoulder up and Haru couldn't help but stare back at the figure's green bug-like eyes. Below the image of the masked figure were the words 'MASKED RIDER DECADE' and under that was 'KAMEN RIDE.' Right next to it in the bottom right corner was a white circle depicting the symbol in full detail.
"Here goes nothing," Haru said as he placed the Ride Booker on his left hip before pulling the DecaDriver by its sides, causing the white centerpiece to turn 90 degrees. After that, Haru took a deep breath before holding up the card in front of him. Letting out the breath he took, he looked towards the still fighting Megumi. His objective was clear.
"Henshin!"
=KAMEN RIDE=
The belt spoke as he flipped the card over, revealing that there was another symbol situated on the back, and inserted it into the slot. He then pushed both sides back in, returning the belt to its original position as the clear centerpiece displayed the symbol for those able to see before flashing red.
=DECADE=
Eleven grey transparent silhouettes with different symbols hovering above them suddenly appeared around Haru. They circled him before they converged onto him, merging together until Haru's form was replaced by an armored figure. The armor was all grey except for the green eyes until seven glowing magenta-colored cards shot out from the belt, hitting the Aurora Curtain in front of him and actually damaging it, leaving behind cracks from their impact. They then flew back and implanted themselves into the helmet, causing their color to spread to the suit. Once finished, a huge shockwave erupted from the suit, destroying the silver wall as it broke into pieces which flew over and struck the Worms, knocking them down to the ground. Megumi was the only one safe from harm and dropping the pipe in her hands, she stopped and stared at Haru's new form.
The teen now wore a black bodysuit over his body as both sides of it were colored magenta. Armored leggings protected his legs as the outside edges were magenta, matching the suit, while the inside was white as a black line going down the middle separating the two colors. Black and white gauntlets covered his forearms black bars separated the gauntlets from the suit, stopping just below the elbows. His upper body and shoulders were protected by armor too, colored magenta except for the pectorals which were black in order to match the suit. A large black X with a white border was engraved over his left shoulder and chest. Finally, over the head was a magenta masked helmet with green bug-like lenses as the cards, now black, gave the helmet an almost barcode-like look as the center most block had a shining yellow gem embedded over the forehead, perfectly matching the look on the card.
(BGM: Kamen Rider Decade Henshin Theme)
"Haru-san...?" Megumi nervously called out to the newly transformed teen. This form in front of her...it perfectly matched the one from her dreams.
"Decade."
"Eh?"
"It's Kamen Rider Decade when I'm like this," Haru said, walking over the remains of the Aurora Curtain he had just destroyed. "But something tells me you already knew that, didn't you?"
Megumi could only dumbly nod as she couldn't help but be intimidated by the Rider before her. Bit by bit, she was remembering more of her dream as she continued staring at Haru's new form. As the memories of destruction played out within her head, a thought occurred to Megumi.
'My dreams...could they have been about Haru-san?'
Megumi was snapped out of her thoughts when the Worms Haru had knocked over finally got back up. Turning to the magenta-colored Rider, they growled at him before they used their hyper-speed to run away.
"Buzzing pests!" Haru said, about to give chase but stopped and turned to Megumi. "Wait here. I'll take care of this."
Megumi nodded before Haru ran off to deal with the Worms. However, just as he left, she quickly followed after him as something told her she needed to watch what was about to happen.
Kicking away a Salis Worm, Haru faced the others who were still running around at high speeds, a blur to the normal human eye. In their rampage, they broke up ruined structures and sent them flying toward him. The Rider wasn't the least bit intimidated as he took out a card from his Ride Booker, this one depicting a masked man styled after a red rhino beetle. The words 'MASKED RIDER KABUTO' identified who the figure was and at the corner was probably the man's symbol, depicting a beetle with the words 'ZECT' going through it. Flipping it over, Haru inserted the card into his Driver.
=KAMEN RIDE: KABUTO=
Blue hexagons suddenly appeared from the Driver, spreading over the Rider until his entire completely changed. His bodysuit had turned completely black as silver kneed pads and bits of armor replaced his leggings. Metal guards replaced his gauntlets and his upper body armor had turned red and was fashioned to give the allusion to a beetle's shell. Finally, his helmet had changed, becoming red while the eyes became one big blue eye, only becoming two due to the beetle horn cutting through the middle and down to the silver mouthpiece, perfectly replicating the image of the card.
CHANGE: BEETLE
As his eyes briefly flashed, Haru quickly took out and inserted a new card, this one depicting the form he was taking leaving behind afterimages. Under the image read the words "KABUTO CLOCK UP' and under that read 'ATTACK RIDE.'
=ATTACK RIDE: CLOCK UP=
Immediately, the whole world around Haru slowed to a near crawl as the rubble thrown at him slowed down, practically stopping in place as the culprits were now no longer blurs to the eye. With the field now even, Haru batted away the rubble as he charged at the three Worms. The spider one tried to deliver a haymaker, but the beetle-themed Rider simply ducked under the attack before delivering a strong punch to the Worm's gut, making it stumble back. The mantis one came in, swinging its scythe-like arms but Haru batted the arm aside before punching its face and driving it back with a kick. The mosquito one rushed in to stab its stinger-like hand through the Rider, but Haru was faster, moving to the side to avoid the attack before he grabbed the offending appendage with his left hand. Then, with his right, he gave the Worm a quick backhand to the face, stunning it and allowing Haru to reach for his Ride Booker, grabbing the black part of the cardholder and turning it until it became a handle. This caused a hidden compartment to pop out before a double-edged blade swung out, turning the Ride Booker into a sword. With the transformation done in under a second, Haru swung his new sword, slicing off the Culex Worm's arm.
The Worm roared in pain, holding the stump that used to be his arm as green blood spewed out. Throwing the sliced arm at the Sectio Worm, hitting it in the face, Haru delivered two more slashes to the mosquito monster, carving an X into his chest before he turned around and blocked another haymaker from the Falvus Aracena Worm. Pushing away the arm, Haru gave the spider monster a couple of slashes to the chest before kicking it away. Turning again, Haru raised his sword and blocked the Sectio Worm's sickle arm before punching it in the face, throwing it back before he gave three slashes across its chest. With all three Worms reeling from the pain, Haru decided to finish things off.
Holding up his sword, the blade glowed pink as energy gathered around it. Gripping the handle tightly, Haru spun around in a circle, striking all three Worms around him. Completing his spin, Haru stopped as all three Worms fell on their backs and promptly exploded, leaving behind green-colored flames just as the world around them returned to normal. With three charred spots around him, Haru finally relaxed, running his hand up the blade of the Ride Booker.
"That takes care of that," Haru said until his Driver suddenly opened up and ejected the Kabuto card out on its own where Haru quickly caught it. His form then became pixelated before he was returned to his Decade form. The image on the card then began to lose color until the entire image was grayed out.
(BGM End)
"Tch! So they're one-offs. Great..."
"Haru-san!" Hearing his name, the Rider looked up to see Megumi, now back in her school uniform, running up to him.
"I thought I told you to wait for me," Haru said, putting the card away and returning the Ride Booker to its Book mode.
"I'm sorry," Megumi apologized. "But...I thought you might have needed help so..."
"Thanks for the concern, but as you can see behind me..." He gestured over to what remained of the Worms he had just destroyed.
"You already took care of them?" Megumi said, surprised at how fast the Rider dispatched the alien monsters. "That's amazing."
"Oh please, if it wasn't for their speed, you could have taken care of them yourself," Haru said, confident that the Cure would have emerged victorious if it wasn't for the Worms' superior speed.
"You really think so?" Megumi asked, a bit surprised by how much confidence the Rider had in her.
"Based on what I've seen so far, yeah," Haru said, nodding his head.
"Haru-san..." Hearing Haru's assured tone, Megumi couldn't help but blush a little at how highly he thought of her.
"Now then, what to do now—Shit!"
*BOOM!*
Skidding across the ground, Haru cushioned Megumi with his body as he held her close in his arms. Once they came to a stop, the two got back up and saw the Megido that had been chasing Haru earlier.
"Okay, so what are those?" Megumi asked since the Rider had identified every monster they had run into so far.
"Megido. Corrupted manifestations of storybook monsters, animals, and concepts," Haru said, identifying the Megido's before him as Golem, Goblin, Piranha, and Ari.
"Do you need some help?" Megumi asked, holding up her PreChanMirror.
"No, I got this," Haru said, pushing the girl behind him before reaching into his Ride Booker and taking out a card depicting another masked figure, this one having flaming yellow eyes and an X across its face. It also had what seemed to be a blade embedded in the middle, acting as a horn. The words 'KAMEN RIDER SABER' were displayed under it followed by the usual 'KAMEN RIDE.' In the corner, its symbol looked to be two flaming swords crossing to form an X over a third blade in the middle.
"Against the Megido, this guy's the best choice," Haru said, throwing the card perfectly into his belt with a flick of his wrist before closing the Driver.
=KAMEN RIDE: SABER=
"Whoa!" Megumi cried out in surprise for a giant red book suddenly fell from the sky and landed right behind Haru. The title read 'Brave Dragon' and on the front was the image of a fire-breathing red dragon. The book then opened up as the dragon from the front cover emerged from within, roaring loudly as it flew around before going down and coiling around Haru, hiding his form from sight. Through the gaps, one could make out Haru's entire body bursting into flames.
BRAVE DRAGON~! REKKA: VOLUME 1! ~WHEN THE BRAVE DRAGON AND REKKA, THE SWORD OF FLAMES UNITE, A CRIMSON BLADE SHALL PIERCE THROUGH ALL THAT IS EVIL!~
As if waiting for the belt to finish speaking, the dragon uncoiled itself, flying away along with the book as the flames surrounding Haru's form burst, revealing his new form.
The bodysuit was now white down the middle and black on the left and right sides with a red line separating the two colors of the suit. Armored boots and protective plates covered the legs while a black gaunt and shoulder pad protected the left arm. The right side of the arm, however, was completely different as the entirety of it was flaming red straight down to the fingertips. Over the right leg hung what looked to be half of a waist cloak as over the shoulder was a guard in the shape of a dragon's head. Covering the head was a black helmet with its face divided by three colors due to the cross-like visor. To match each side's respective colors, the left of the helmet was black while the right side was red. The upper middle part was white like the middle of the suit as a sword-like horn was situated right in the middle of the helmet, matching the figure on the card.
"He changed forms!" Megumi exclaimed as she was now witnessing just what Haru's powers could do.
"I'm gonna give you guys one warning, not that you'll probably listen," Haru said, addressing the Megido monsters as he drew his Ride Booker, transforming it into its sword form again. "You come at me...and I'll destroy all of you."
For reasons Megumi could not explain, a shiver went down her spine once she heard the words Haru spoke. The events of her dream resurfaced once again as the form of Decade standing above all his defeated enemies stood out to her, making her look at Haru with slight fear and worry. As for the Megido monsters, as Haru expected, his warning flew over their heads as they all charged at the Rider who shrugged his shoulders before meeting them halfway.
Moving like the wind, Haru ran past the charging Megido, slashing at them as he passed. Probably due to his new form, flames erupted from the blade, burning the Megido as they were struck. The Piranha Megido was the first to recover, turning around to strike the Rider with his own blade, but Haru was faster, turning around and deflecting the Megido's attack before giving it another slash across its chest. The hands attached to the Golem's head let go before they flew over to Haru in order to punch him. They never made it as Haru simply struck them down with his flaming sword. The other Megido tried to attack together, but blocked both their attacks, pushed them back, and sent them reeling with one sword swing.
With all the Megido dealt with, Haru opened the Ride Booker and took out a new card. Unlike the previous ones before, this card was golden instead of magenta and on it was Saber's symbol displayed in gold. The words 'KAMEN RIDER SABER' was seen under it followed by 'FINAL ATTACK RIDE' under that. With all the Megido practically lined up in front of him, Haru saw no better chance than this one.
=FINAL ATTACK RIDE: SA-SA-SABER=
Inserting the card and closing the Driver, Haru held up his sword as flames erupted from it. Raising his sword up above his head, he then swung it down, launching a slash of fire that traveled along the ground, striking all four Megido at once. They all screamed, flailing about as their bodies burned before they all exploded one by one, leaving nothing behind.
"And that's how this story ends," Haru commented, standing back up before his Driver opened and ejected the Saber card which he quickly caught. Like before, his form returned to normal as the card soon became grayed out. Knowing this would happen, Haru didn't complain this time as he simply returned the card back into the Ride Booker before walking over to Megumi.
"Haru-san, that was amazing!" Megumi said, complimenting the Rider. "You dealt with them like they were nothing! And the way you changed forms, it's just like how I change forms when I use the PreCards."
"Considering I've only seen you transform once, I'll have to see it to believe it," Haru said, returning the Ride Booker back into its Book form again. "I'm pretty sure that was the last of them, for now. If we stick around here then more are bound to show up."
"What do we do then?" Megumi asked as she had no idea where they could go considering how they got here.
Before Haru could answer, another Aurora Curtain suddenly appeared before them. The two quickly assumed battle stances, thinking they were about to be transported again when...
*VROOM!*
There was a light from within the silver wall until whatever it was broke through the Curtain, literally as the dimensional wall shattered into pieces, revealing what had come through.
"This is..." Haru began, instantly recognizing what came through.
"A bike?" Megumi said, looking confused.
Indeed, what had come through the Aurora Curtain was in fact a motorbike, specifically a Honda DN-01 motorcycle. What made Megumi confused, however, was that the bike was slightly modified, bearing a Decade-like motif to it. The bike was mostly black and white with bars that resembled the ones on Decade's helmet, outlined and colored with magenta to complete the look.
"The Machine Decader," Haru said, identifying the machine.
"You know what this is?" Megumi asked as the Rider walked over to the bike.
"It's Kamen Rider Decade's personal bike," Haru said, running his hands over the vehicle. "And considering I just inherited the title, that makes this thing my personal bike."
"You get your own bike?" Megumi said, blinking in disbelief.
"Yeah, pretty cool right?" Haru said, smiling under his helmet as he got on the machine.
"I guess..."
"What's wrong? Jealous?"
"Wha-!? N-No, I'm not jealous," Megumi said, but it was easy to tell that the pinkette was clearly lying as she wondered what if she and Hime had their own personal machines.
Easily seeing through Megumi's lie, Haru laughed under his helmet until he noticed something, a note hanging off one of the handles. Knowing who it was probably from, the Rider grabbed and opened it, reading its contents.
Dear Haru,
If you're reading this then the Machine Decader made it safely to you. I wish there was more I could do, but unfortunately, I have my hands tied keeping Aino Megumi's world from collapsing. You'll have to make it back on your own from here on out so try not to use all your cards until then. In the meantime, use this chance to get used to your powers. You're not Kamen Rider Decade yet until I'm satisfied with what I see. Only then will I hand over the "real" belt. So try not to die and hurry back.
From, You Know Who
P.S.: Enjoy being feared and hated by every world you'll eventually visit.
"What does he mean by that?"
"Whoa!" Haru jumped, looking over his shoulder to see Megumi looking over his shoulder to read the note in his hand. "Megumi-san! Uh, it's nothing."
"It doesn't sound like nothing," Megumi said, looking worriedly at the Rider. "What does he mean by feared and hated?"
Seeing the girl's look, Haru sighed before he tossed away the note, sending it into the fires of his last attack.
"It's nothing you need to know right now. If we make it out of this alive, though, then I'll tell you, okay?" Seeing that he wasn't going to give her a straight answer, Megumi just nodded. "Good. Now hop on, we're leaving."
"Eh? Where are we going?" Megumi asked, confused.
"Your world, obviously." Reaching into a hidden compartment, Haru took out a helmet and handed it over to the pinkette. "I'm taking you home. Now come on, we ain't got all day."
Hearing the mention of home reminded Megumi of what had happened before she got caught up in all of this. Her worry grew but with came a desire, a desire so great that it burned within her.
'Okaa-san. Blue. Ribbon. Yuko. Hime. I want to see them again. I want to go home!'
With those thoughts inside of her, Megumi took the helmet and put it on before getting on the bike. "Let's ride!"
"That's my line," Haru said before facing forward, staring at the space in front of him before looking down at his hand. "He said to use this chance to get used to my powers. Something tells me he wasn't talking about my Rider-related ones, which means..."
Closing his eyes, Haru focused as he searched for something within him. At first, there was nothing but the sound of the motorbike engine running until he felt something. A pulse or something similar to that. Whatever it was, Haru quickly grabbed onto it and opened his eyes.
"Hmph!" Throwing his hand out, an Aurora Curtain soon materialized in front of our two heroes.
"Whoa! How did you do that?" Megumi asked, having seen what the Rider just did.
"Comes with the package deal of being Decade," Haru said before revving up his bike. "Better hang on tight. Something tells me we're in this for the long haul."
"Right!" Megumi nodded before wrapping her arms around the Rider.
Making sure his passenger was holding onto him, Haru kicked the stand and drove off, passing through the Aurora Curtain. In the blink of an eye, the ruins they both were at were replaced by a town that was, surprise-surprise, deserted. This didn't bother the two as they had gotten used to it after jumping around a few times, but they soon noticed something off. The letters on every sign that drove by were all reversed as if someone had used a mirror to flip around everything.
"What's with all the signs?" Megumi wondered out loud, looking around in confusion.
"This is..." Feeling like he had seen something like this before, Haru soon realized what may be happening. "Megumi-san, whatever you do, do not let go of me."
"Eh?" Megumi looked at the Rider in confusion when he suddenly sped up, driving down the road until he turned and raced toward the side of a building that read if viewed through a mirror, Natts House. "Uh, Haru-san? Why are we going off-road? Why are you heading towards that accessory shop? Haru-san? Haru-san!"
Not receiving an answer from the Rider, Megumi could only look on in fear as Haru sped up to the building. Closing her eyes and hugging herself closely to Haru's back, the pinkette waited for the sound of breaking glass to occur.
*SHOOM!*
Instead, what Megumi heard was a weird sound that wasn't glass-breaking. Megumi didn't know how to describe it, only that it gave the impression of space warping. When she heard the sound again, she felt the bike skidded to a stop.
"Holy..."
"Haru-san?"
"Megumi-san...whatever you do, don't open your eyes."
The girl raised an eyebrow at that, confused by the sudden command. Noticing how shocked Haru sounded, Megumi went against his command and opened her eyes...she soon wished she had listened.
Bodies. All bruised and dirty as dirt clung to their clothes and skin...as well as the blood that flowed from their wounds. Feeling her heart stop for a second, Megumi found the streets littered with unmoving bodies as the entire town looked like it had just gone through a war.
"I told you to keep them shut," Haru said, though his tone wasn't scolding as he instead looked worriedly at the girl who looked to be on the verge of tears.
"This...This is horrible..." Megumi said, just barely getting the words out as she sounded like she was about to break down crying. She dared not look towards the far left as at the edge of her vision was a woman whose arms were over the unmoving body of a boy no older than 5. It wasn't hard to understand just why the woman's arms were over the boy.
"Yeah..." Was all Haru could say as he silently looked at the destruction before them. "...we need to keep moving."
"Haru-san—"
"Don't," Haru interrupted, stopping the girl from finishing what she was going to ask of him. "My top priority right now is to get you home. We do not have time to go looking for survivors. Don't even think about jumping off or else I will tie you to the end of my bike, got it?"
"..." Megumi didn't respond back, instead tightening her hold on Haru. Taking that as an answer, the Rider started driving again, being careful not to drive over the bodies that littered the street which wasn't much of a problem as the Rider noticed a few of the bodies disintegrating into ashes.
'Orphnochs...' Realizing who may have done all this, Haru kept his eye peeled as he drove down the road. With only Megumi and the wind to keep him company, a thought occurred to Haru.
'Something tells me this journey's gonna be a long one.'
And...done! Well...this ended up being longer than I originally intended. This was supposed to be a revised preview of my Decade idea, but somehow, it ended up turning into a full-length chapter, kind of. If any of you are wondering why I decided to do this, the simple reason is that I just felt like it. No other reason than that, though I did just come back from watching a Happiness Charge review so that may have been an influence. It's been a long time since I wrote the original preview and Haru and I have changed a lot since then so that may have been another reason. Basically, I just got nostalgic which caused my fingers to move on their own. Nevertheless, I hoped you all enjoyed this extended preview, I know I did. I might just jump straight to this when I finally finish my Kuuga story considering how long it's taking me to do just that. We'll see what happens. Until then, this has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing out.