Haven't really had any author's notes in this story but I just wanted to come out and say thanks for your continued support, everyone! I'm having a blast writing and I hope it shows at least a little.
Any kind of feedback or critique is appreciated! I'd love to hear you guys' thoughts.
Also, thanks to Nexus_Schwarz and SugaryDiamond for beta-reading, helping with the transformation sequence and being supportive overal! Be sure to check out their respective fanseries, Mythical Precure! and Weather Control Pretty Cure!
Hanan Karim had not slept well.
She wanted to thank her loud alarm clock for dragging her out of her nightmare, but its screaming into her ears with a familiar tune of her fave show didn't help making her feel better, actually.
She let her hands glide over her body, just to make sure she was still okay. For a second, she felt like there was something missing.
The girl felt sick, irritated, and weak. Her body was damp with sweat and a feverish sensation was sliding through her body.
Despite the symptoms, she wasn't actually sick. This happened often enough to be considered normal.
Time for a one hour long bath. That'll cool her down.
This was going to be a long day.
Episode 4: Overheated Compassion: Ignited
Beryl Forrest had slept exceptionally well that night. Her dreams had been tranquil, although she couldn't really remember what she had dreamt about. It didn't really matter. She had woken up with a nice, fluttery feeling. Although waking up munching on a pillow left a bit of a dry aftertaste.
The nice smell of the morning breeze greeted her.
As usual, her body's natural clock had woken her up just after sunrise and Beryl stretched her arms in the air as she let out a small yawn.
It only took her ten minutes to change into her clothes and prepare herself for the upcoming day.
She was excited!
She actually had a plan for today. A cleverly crafted plan.
This was going to be a great day!
The sea smelled particularly salty, Beryl noticed.
Oh, wait, it was just Morgan.
Morgan must spend a lot of time in the sea to actively smell like sea salt.
Beryl folded her hands behind her back as she stood in the small crowd surrounding Morgan on the pier. Her dancing keeping the audience's attention captive. The way she moved reminded Beryl of the fights from yesterday. It really was like she was swaying in the water.
It was quite comforting to look at, actually. Even though the music and her movements were not exactly what one would call "calm". It was wild, fast, and without restraints. Almost like a storm.
It had taken Morgan quite a while to make eye-contact with Beryl, and when she did her expression turned surprised for a second. Beryl gave her two encouraging thumbs up.
She wasn't sure how long she continued watching Morgan's dancing. Spectators came and left but Morgan kept dancing, in her own bubble, letting the music move her body.
It had come to a point where Beryl was the only person left.
Morgan eventually stopped. She stopped the music and sat down, leaning against the wall while staring at Beryl.
"That was amazing, Morgan!" Beryl staggered forward, not realising how stiff her legs had become from standing still for so long. Something that Beryl normally couldn't stand. But Morgan's dance had, somehow, kept her in place.
"It's Mor- oh, you got it right."
Sitting down next to Morgan, Beryl leaned closer to the other girl with a smirk.
"You're a great dancer."
"Uh... thanks?"
"Don't be all awkward about it now. I saw you smiling!"
Morgan hid her face behind her knees. Beryl was sure Morgan was smiling underneath it all. Her mission, to make her new friends smile as much as possible, was going well.
Then Beryl heard her stomach growling, demanding an offering. She hadn't even realised how hungry she was until just now.
"You hungry?" Morgan asked with a blank expression, then sighed. "I was about to get some food myself. I guess I can't convince you to not follow me?"
Beryl cocked her head. Not really understanding what Morgan was saying. Did she want her to come along or not?
That didn't matter anyway because Beryl was going, whenever Morgan liked it or not.
"Guys!? Guys, seriously, what is happening? Who is beating you guys up and thwarting my nefarious plans!?"
Smoky cringed at the sound of Shade's high-pitched voice, tearing through the simple song he was playing on his guitar. The smaller boy stomped into the room, surprised for a split second that Smoky was the only other person present.
"Where is my darkness!? I need more!"
After a good minute, Smoky finally decided to look up and give Shade the satisfaction of attention. The image he met with was different than expected.
Shade looked like he hadn't slept in days. Well, to be fair, he probably hasn't. He looked even paler than normal, with bags under his eyes. That was a rare sight.
"Dude, we really gotta do something about that darkness addiction of yours. This is getting ridiculous!" Smoky cried out, half joking and half serious.
"Excuse!?" Shade stomped his foot down. "I'm trying to be productive, unlike you guys!"
A bang of frustration lit up in Smoky and his smile faltered, but he bit back lashing out at the other boy. Nobody wants to deal with a screaming Shade.
"Hah, okay, here's the thing." Smoky said instead, as he set his guitar down next to him. "We're up against Pretty Cure, and they're trying to stop your little plan. That means... we're officially cemented as bad guys now."
"Wait... what the...? What's a 'Pretty Cure'?" Shade asked, crossing his arms with a confused frown. "A cure? For what?"
At this, Smoky exploded into laughter. "Oh, you naive, innocent soul!"
"What's that supposed to mean!? I'm waaaaayy older and wiser than you!"
Smoke came from his hands as Smoky waved the comment off. Shade was getting frustrated again and Smoky wanted to avoid that. His screaming would only disturb Hail and Bronze's resting times. Not to mention Aeris being really sensitive to loud sounds.
Yeah, nobody would be happy when Shade started throwing a fit.
"Take a seat, my dude." Smoky patted the spot next to him, inviting the other boy to sit down. He grabbed his tablet and adjusted his shades with a grin. "Let me tell you about Pretty Cure!"
When hungry and craving for some delicious fast food, one of the optimal places to go and fill your stomach was definitely Primetime Diner. Easily accessible by foot, bus, or even car. A cosy little place. A large part of its customers consisted of students from the nearby school, but even if school was still closed the place wasn't less busy, or merry, than usual.
Beryl started drooling at the almost overwhelming amount of scents when she stepped inside the diner. All sorts of smells tickled her nostrils, but it smelled so good Beryl barely noticed the headache she was getting from them.
While their hamburgers were the real showstopper, Morgan craved their equally delicious nachos (with a lot of hot sauce, of course). Beryl, on the other hand, was getting overwhelmed by all the choices. It all sounded so good! Burgers, fries, omelettes, the list went on.
"Morgan, holy shit!" The girl at the counter said as she slammed her fist on said counter. "I cannot believe what happened the other day! You're a-!"
"Good day to you too, Eclair." Morgan said through her teeth. "Not everyone needs to know."
The girl, Eclair, let out a loud laugh. "Everyone knows already. Hanan totally wants your autograph. She's all over that stuff."
Morgan's face scrunched up as Beryl looked from her to Eclair and back again.
"I heard my name, were you talking about me behind my back?" A new voice spoke up, a flare of irritation was evident in her tone. The notable smell of ashes invaded Beryl's nose and she slowly turned around to face the newcomer.
The girl was half a head taller than Beryl. Her brown hair was neatly tied into a bun as she looked down at Beryl with squinted, brown eyes. Beryl couldn't figure out if she was angry, tired, or both.
Beryl felt a chill ran down her spine just by looking at her.
"Hanan, chill." Eclair said. "I was just telling them about what happened with Wasim yesterday."
"Ah, right!" Hanan's face lit up immediately. "Thank you for saving my brother!" She said with a warm smile. The sudden change was almost jarring. "So, I know you're Cure Splash, Morgan. I take it this is Cure Terra?"
"Yuuuup! Beryl Forrest, codename Cure Terra, at your service!" Feeling her initial rush of fear wash away, Beryl did a mock salute with a wide grin.
Hanan chuckled. "I'm Hanan, pleasure to meet you. I would shake your hand but I kinda have them full at the moment." She said and motioned to the plates she was balancing on her hands.
"Now, can I take your order?" Eclair leaned forward.
"She seems nice, a bit scary but nice! We've got another fan already!" Beryl mused as she and Morgan had taken some seats and were waiting for their food to arrive. Morgan had actually being nice enough to pay for Beryl, since she didn't have enough money to get what she wanted. It was a "one time deal", Morgan had said.
"Scary? Hanan?" Morgan snorted. "She can't even get herself to cross the street when the lights are red."
The wait was long and awkward. Beryl tried to bring up various subjects to talk about, asking Morgan's favorite colors, animals, food, and all that stuff. Beryl took notes, of course. This was important information, after all.
It wasn't going as well as she had expected. Morgan's replies were blunt, short, and left no opening for further talking or discussing. But Beryl was holding on tight. She wasn't going to let her potential new friend go that easily.
Then, the door swung open and Beryl could have sworn the diner lit up a little bit.
"I HAVE FINALLY FOUND YOU, IGNIS!"
A familiar, clear voice boomed through the diner and a finger was pointed at Hanan, who was holding two plates with food.
Hanan looked around, to see if there was anyone else the finger could have pointed at. "Oh, you mean me?"
"Oh god..." Beryl could hear Morgan say as she sank into her seat. "Ray..."
"Um... hello?" Hanan managed to say but her expression revealed that she was confused beyond belief. "Can I help you with something?"
Ray stomped forward. "Do not take me for a fool! I know it is you! Like the others, you probably do not remember but know that you have committed atrocious sins!"
Hanan's face scrunched up. She almost seemed bothered just by looking at Ray's glowing form.
"Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?" She asked softly.
The sudden quietness in the diner only added to the tension. All eyes were directed at the two.
"No, it is not! You treated valuable lives like a joke! Something you could play around with. Something you could just... throw away on a selfish whim!" Ray continued, glaring at Hanan. It was almost like they were surrounded by a soft glow.
"What are you talking about?" Hanan asked. Her voice trembled as she returned a glare of her own. "You're not really making sense..."
"The other two reacted with the same confusion. It will not make sense now but will eventually, I think." Ray rambled on, clutching their chest. "But it is so satisfying seeing you like this! The served became the servant! How ironic!"
Hanan's face turned red and she displayed a whole array of varying expressions. It was like she had trouble picking one. "I don't have time for this, people are wait-"
"Not so fast, Ig-!"
Just as Hanan had wanted to walk away, Ray had stepped in front of her. A couple of missteps and, in less than ten seconds, Hanan had tripped over Ray's feet and fallen flat on her face. The plates shattered and the food spilled all over the floor.
Morgan buried her face in her hands while Beryl's eyes were glued to the scene. She could almost smell the tension. Eclair quickly rushed to Hanan's aid, roughly pushing Ray out of the way to reach her.
Ray looked shocked for a moment, then, while looking over Hanan's prone form, something made them start cackling, quickly bursting into a full blown laughter fit for a villain.
"Look at you now! You are powerless!" Ray puffed their chest out with pride. "The 'Endless Inferno of Destruction' has burnt out."
Nobody uttered a single world. Dozens of eyes stared at them, some with confusion, some with disbelief, worry, distaste...
With a wince, Ray's laughing fit awkwardly trailed off, leaving the room in complete silence.
Hanan slowly rose her head and looked at Ray.
Her eyes were flaring red. Literally.
"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!?"
Both inside and behind her, something erupted.
In the kitchen, Aaron was really glad he wasn't hanging above the burners when it happened.
Out of nowhere, flames erupted from the burners he had been standing above just seconds ago. This could have ended ugly if he hadn't wanted to take a look at what was happening in the diner and stepped away from them.
The sudden eruption still scared him and he stumbled a bit further away. The flames had faded as soon as they had appeared, like a flash of lightning.
Some gasps rang through the diner and people exchanged worried looks. Ray took a step back, face morphed into one of horror.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at Beryl, who was hiding under the table, and shaking like a leaf as her expression turned into one of terror.
"Don't tell me..." She continued when Beryl didn't reply, or even acknowledged Morgan. She was too busy trying to disappear under the table. "You're scared of fire?"
Beryl looked away, hugging her legs. "I... I am..." She admitted with a squeak.
With a blank expression, Morgan leaned back. The reason for Beryl's fear probably was linked to the scar around her eye. It'll be nosy to ask, and, frankly, Morgan didn't really care.
"That sucks."
Away from the scene, Eclair lightly reached for Hanan's arm.
"Hanan? You okay?"
No reply.
"Hanan!?" Eclair tried again and wrapped her fingers around her friend's arm.
Something made her let go instantly.
Hanan's breathing shortened and heartbeat quickened. She mumbled something while forcibly shutting her eyes and then ran off into the nearby restroom.
Eclair hesitated for a moment, then followed after her, but not before sweeping a fierce glare at Ray.
Morgan sank in her seat and pulled her hoodie over her head, as if wanting to hide away from the world entirely.
"What a disaster." She groaned. "Let's just pretend we don't know them and-"
"Ray! Raaaayy! Over here! We saved you a seat!"
"Idiot!" Morgan hissed through her teeth at the other girl, who had jumped up and was happily patting the seat next to her. She had completely recovered from her rush of fear that she had been in only seconds ago. It was a bit jarring.
After a small pause, Ray hurried to the two of them and sat down next to Beryl. They shoved the seat away to keep some distance.
"What was that all about?" Beryl asked, leaning closer to Ray, causing them to cringe away so far that they almost fell off their seat.
Morgan rested her chin on her hand, her expression bored. "I'm impressed how terrible you can be. You did the impossible. You made Hanan, the goodie-two-shoes of Dawnbridge, mad." A small chuckle. "Gotta admit that it was amusing to see. She's never like this."
"You... think something is bothering her? Then we should help her!" Beryl suggested, slamming her hands on the table. "That's what heroes do!"
"She does not deserve help. That was Ignis. The leader of the Titans."
Morgan furrowed her brows. "Wait... does that mean she's also..." She let out an exasperated sigh. "God, no, anyone but her."
Washing her face always helped. The fresh, cold water cooled her down. She stared into her reflection for a full minute.
Even Hanan herself had to admit that she looked terrible. The bags under her eyes, her disheveled hair still partly tied into a bun, the sweat on her face, and the fact she was almost literally burning with a feverish sensation.
"That wasn't me... that wasn't… me..."
At the sound of the door opening she skidded into the nearest toilet, locking the door behind her.
"Gee, I wonder where she could be." She heard Eclair's voice say in a mock questioning tone. It was followed by a loud knock on the door. "Han, just come out, you nerd."
No reply. Hanan wanted to say something but... what could she say? She just wanted to sit here, stay here, and not let her petty anger get the best of her.
"So, was that kid someone you pissed off?" Eclair asked as she leaned against the door.
"I don't know... I've never seen them before..."
"Huh."
After another moment of silence, Eclair spoke up again. "Are you having trouble sleeping again?"
Once again, no reply.
"Damn it, Hanan! You're overworking yourself again, aren't you!?"
"My sleep schedule is a mess. I have nightmares, I think?" Hanan rubbed her warm face with her equally warm hands. "I mean, I don't really remember what happens in my dreams but I often just wake up feeling... angry. Really angry."
"Oh, you drama queen. That, my dear Hanan, is called not being a morning person. I wake up angry all the time." Eclair reassured her with a laugh. "I wouldn't worry about it too much."
"But... I get worked up over nothing and lash out at others." Hanan objected, still staring at her hands. "And, this time, at a customer no less!"
"That kid... I just wanted to..." Hanan continued and clenched her fist, as if squashing a bug inside her palm. Her eyes widened in horror. Why was she even thinking that?
"If I were you, I would have punched them."
"What!?"
Eclair clicked her tongue. "They were being rude and obnoxious. They made a mess too. You know, I kinda wanna go back and kick their ass right now."
"No, don't!"
"How about I do it anyway? You're too busy being depressed to stop me, riiight?" Eclair went to the door, her hand touching the doorknob, not yet opening the door. "Ah, I expected you to try and stop me, or some reaction, at least."
After another long silence, Eclair spoke up again, tone softer this time. "Hanan, I think it's best you just go home and get some rest. I'll tell Aaron. He'll understand."
"No... I can't let the two of you do all the work!"
"We're not helpless without you." Eclair teased, a hint of annoyance evident in her voice. "Jeez, put some faith in us, will you?"
Slowly, Hanan opened the door, wiped the sweat off her face and turned to the mirror to start redoing her bun.
"I've calmed down. I can continue."
Eclair narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to poke Hanan's chest.
"I swear if you pass out again you're treating me to ice cream, matcha flavored." She threatened with a grin. "Got it?"
Hanan returned a grin of her own.
"Got it."
While surprised for, like, a minute, Shade was not impressed by the pictures and info Smoky showed him of various Pretty Cure teams from all over the world.
Bearing a large frown, Shade fumbled with his hands a bit. "That's... that's stupid! So, they're like Radiant Lumiere then?" He leaned back a bit, rubbing his face with his bandaged hand. "Wait... that's worrying, actually."
"Uh... Shade? Little dude?"
"That's really worrying..." Shade pressed his hands against his face, mumbling to himself while staring at the floor. "She was so powerful back then... and now... there's so many other people with that kind of power... how is that even possible? Can we even go up against them?" His attention snapped back to Smoky. "What is wrong with this Earth place!?"
"Don't ask me. I gave up on this planet a long time ago." Smoky shrugged awkwardly, not really sure what Shade was rambling about, nor really caring. Admittedly, he just wanted him to leave. He felt a storm coming and didn't want to be near Shade when it happened. It was a miracle he hadn't summoned his shadow-ghost-buddy-thingy, whatever it was, to kick something or someone.
"Okay, while you figure your stuff out, I'll be getting something to eat. I'm starving." A good excuse that worked every time to get out of unpleasant conversations, or any conversation with Shade, to be honest. And, well, Smoky actually was pretty hungry. After his meal, he should probably try to look around and properly meet these Pretty Cures, or make Unbound or something.
Shade didn't reply. He was seemingly so deep in thought that the world was gone to him.
Smoky saw this as a nice chance to slip away. He summoned a portal and jumped right through.
No matter how long Beryl looked at Hanan, she couldn't shake that uneasy feeling away. She had returned and was now standing behind the counter, having calmed down from her little outburst moments ago. Every once in a while Beryl found her staring in their direction, particularly Ray's.
"Also, Ray, isn't Bright with you?" Beryl asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.
Ray's face gained a smirk. "I snuck out. He asked me to stay inside while he is at work, but..." A snicker. "I did it anyway! Because I wanted it!"
"Whoa, looks like we got a rebel over here." Morgan said mockingly. "Next, you're gonna stay outside past your curfew. Slow down, I'm not sure the world is ready for you."
"Ha! The world will never be ready!"
Eclair almost threw the two plates with food on their table, making a loud clattering noise, startling Ray and causing them to shrink back.
"Here's your order. Hope you enjoy it." Eclair said in the most deadpan voice she could muster, her mouth twitching. She was obviously trying to hold back the urge to punch Ray. Morgan just saw the irritation drip off her face. It was a miracle Eclair was actually able to control her violent impulses.
"But... where is my food...?" Ray asked meekly, turning to Beryl as if she had the answers. The other girl didn't reply and was too busy with shoving the food into her face like a hungry dog, earning a disgusted look from Ray. "Where are your manners!? Oh, of course you do not have any, Terre."
"Well." Morgan gave Eclair a little wave as she walked away. "You didn't order anything, or paid for anything, so you are not getting anything. Sad to say, but that's how the world works."
Ray didn't reply. They just looked at the floor, fumbling with their hands.
"It's okay, Ray! You can have some of mine! Friends should share, after all." Beryl offered them a handful of french fries. "Want some?"
"As if I would ever eat anything you touched, Terre. I know what you have eaten."
Beryl looked at Morgan, who gave her an uninterested shrug while emptying a bottle of sauce on her burger. Beryl gave a shrug of her own before digging back into a her food. "More for me then!"
His mouth twitched as he saw that girl behind the counter. He didn't know her name from memory but he knew her face, at least, since she was one of the few workers here. He never liked her. She always seemed so... pissed off. It made him feel irritated just by being around her.
Smoky strolled over to her anyway, setting his elbow on the counter with a smile and making his order. He had done this so many times before. He knew everyone's fave food from the top of his head. The girl gave him an odd look and wrote it down.
She always gave him that look. Was it because of his appearance? Well, Smoky did try to cover up his more inhuman features the best he could. It was quite easy, some gloves for his hands and a bandage to cover his left eye, along with his own pair of trustworthy shades. All set, all done! Nobody will suspect you're part darkness, hopefully.
After he got his order all packed up, Smoky let out a sigh. He touched the bottle of Dark Ink in his pocket. He probably should do the thing. What a drag.
He looked at the girl behind the counter again. Probably a bad idea to try it on her, definitely not Aaron, so... that left the other girl.
Ah, and there she was, passing him while holding some empty plates.
In a swift motion, Smoky let a drop of Dark Ink fall into the blonde girl's shadow and then dragged it out with relative ease. He averted his eyes at the part where it swallowed her. Gross.
Oh! He almost forgot to say the phrase!
Smoky proceeded to remove the gloves and the bandage (still keeping his shades on though), letting the smoke release from his eye and hands. Flashing a grin, he summoned his guitar and started playing a loud song on it, singing away. Better make the best of it, right?
"Unbound! Overshadow your light and dim your hooooooooooope~!"
Strumming his guitar some more as the Unbound manifested behind him, Smoky did a quick hand wave to summon a horde of Poofs, his own minions. Their cheers started filling the diner as smoke and dust clouded the area.
"It's showtime!"
"Another one!?" Morgan already had her Seaborn Charm ready. "God, so annoying. Time to make them shut up!"
"But... our food?"
"Damn it, Beryl! Just when I'm ready to fight alongside you, you're giving me more reasons to-"
"Okay, let's go!" Beryl interrupted and held out her Earthbound Charm.
As Ray stepped back in fear, Morgan and Beryl turned their eggs. "Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" In less than a second, Cure Splash and Cure Terra jumped out of the barriers of water and rock.
"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!"
"The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"
The boy stopped playing abruptly, letting out a gasp. "The Pretty Cures were right here!? I didn't even notice! Talk about lucky... or unlucky!"
Splash instantly charged at the Unbound, which was holding two large spatulas. Her speed made her easily avoid the creature's swipes at her, as she released a few more tendrils of water, trying to bring the Unbound down.
Meanwhile, Terra made sure everyone was away from the danger. She turned her attention to the small minions. These ones looked like they had bombs for heads, but they did still have a face and a (loud) mouth.
Only managing to make one rock gauntlet this time, Terra used it to smash one of the minions in the face. It started making a beeping noise and jumped back to her, exploding. The impact send her flying against the counter.
"Are you okay?" Terra felt a rush of panic as she saw Hanan towering over her. The girl offered her a hand and helped her back up with a warm smile. "Go help Morgan defeat that monster. You two are the only ones who can."
"R-Right!" The green Cure obeyed and snapped her attention back to the Unbound and her fellow Cure.
In the midsts of the panic and smoke, Hanan kept firm. Her intense glare looking from Eclair's subconscious form floating inside the giant monster to the redhead, still playing his guitar, who had been responsible for that.
She clenched her fist.
As she reached him, she roughly grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him close.
"Turn her back. Now." Hanan spat into his face.
Smoky let out a shaky chuckle. "Hey there, now. No need to be so violent, I'm just doing my job, you know?"
"Let her go."
"Can't do that, I'm afraid." Smoky held up his hands with a smooth smile. "To tell you a secret, I don't even know how. I mean, I'm sure this, uh... Unbound rampaging around is collecting darkness, somehow. But don't ask me the details. I'm all but a simple, low-ranking, underpaid worker." A fake cough and a chuckle. "Very underpaid, actually."
Hanan's reply was punching him in the guts so hard he let out a stained cough of smoke into her face. Before Hanan could do anything else, she was tackled by dozen of bomb-headed minions, as Smoky retreated back into the smoke.
"Now, let me continue my debut concert!"
The sound of his guitar echoed through the area, almost completely engulfed into smoke. Then, a glow expended from the center. Smoky grinned at the two Cures with a confident grin.
"Cure Splash, Cure Terra! Welcome to the show!" He cried out, watching the two fight their way through the minions, while evading the Unbound's swats at them. "I am Smoky, the star for tonight!" He adjusted his shades with his free hand. "These buddies are called Poofs! They'll be my backup! Alongside this Unbound! Let's just try to enjoy ourselves, 'kay?"
"Shut up!"
Smoky just managed to avoid a stream of water being shot his way. Smoke flowed out of his hands as he clutched his guitar.
"Tough crowd, it seems." He commented with a chuckle. "Ahem. This first song goes out to both Hail and Bronze! You know, my friends who you beat up." His cheery voice turned stone cold. "You will pay for that."
"They were hurting people, and we won't stand for that!" The green Cure summoned pillars of rock with a stomp of her foot, sending some of the minions in the air.
"Wait, he's gonna sing?" Splash asked, eyebrow raised. "Gotta finish this quick!"
"Pretty Cure Earth Smash!"
"Pretty Cure Hydro Flood!"
At the same time Terra slammed her hammer down on the Unbound, Splash unleashed a huge wave, accidentally dragging Terra along with it. The Unbound stumbled over, but got back up in less than a minute.
"S-Splaaaaassshhh!" Terra cried as she was washed out of the diner, her arms flailing in the air as she called for her comrade's aid.
Splash clicked her tongue and snapped her attention back to the Unbound.
"Damn it, Terra. Stop being so useless! I said I was gonna do it!" She hissed to herself, slamming herself into the Unbound's leg, followed by a powerful kick. This time, the Unbound managed to hit her. It used its two spatulas, slamming them together with Splash in the middle.
She felt the air being pressed out of her lungs. The smoke nor the loud, obnoxious song the boy was playing, were helping to make the situation better.
"Splash, you're like a sandwich!" Terra breathed as she stumbled back in, waving the smoke away with her hands. "A splashwich!" She fumbled with the flowers in her hair. "I'm sorry, that was bad."
Terra took a deep breath, before charging at the Unbound.
"I'll save you before you go 'splash'!"
Hanan used a chair to keep the bomb-headed minions away from her. To her surprise it worked surprisingly well, as they started becoming afraid of getting close to her and instead retreated back into the clouds of smoke.
Through the thick clouds she could see a somewhat glowing form, which she quickly approached.
Oh, there they were, cowering under the table. Like a small, terrified mouse.
For a split second, Hanan felt oddly satisfied at the sight. A pang of guilt snapped her out of it.
The blond finally noticed her, looking up. "Ignis...?" Their eyes widened and they clenched their right hand tightly.
Hanan knelt down and offered a hand, wearing a soft smile. "I know this is a bad time, but I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet. I'm Ha-"
"I know who you are! And I know what you have done, Ignis!"
Hanan's eye twitched. Quite a stubborn kid, they were.
"My name is Hanan." Her features softened as she inched closer, causing the blond to crawl back until their back was against the wall. "What is yours?"
"Stay there!" They spat. "My name is Radiant Lumiere, the light-" They stopped mid-sentence. "Ray! It is Ray! My name is Ray!"
A smile found its way on Hanan's face. "A ray of light, aren't you?"
Ray's face lit up, literally. "Yes!"
A choir of painful screams made the two look up, while Ray only saw two glowing white eyes, Hanan saw three figures. The monster was using its big spatulas like tennis rackets and slamming the two Cures against the wall next to Hanan and Ray like they were mere tennis balls.
"Get off of me!" Morga- No, Cure Splash breathed as she pushed the green Cure off her. "If you hadn't used your attack earlier, then we could have defeated it already."
The two of them seemed hurt and tired. Out of breath, light bruises adorning their skin, their hair messy.
Hanan couldn't stand seeing it. She just... couldn't stand this. She wanted to help, to take away their pain. Somehow.
Behind her, Ray made an odd little noise. "Since Unda and Terre are too weak..." They pointed at the Unbound, expression fierce. "Ignis, I command you to transform and banish this tainted being!"
"Um... what?" Hanan cocked her head. "I can't transform..."
"If Unda and Terre can transform... I am pretty sure you can too..." Ray replied reluctantly. "Right?"
Hanan's eyes flickered to the Unbound advancing towards them, or rather, Eclair's sleeping form still floating inside of it.
Hanan balled her fists, and then proceeded to do the stupidest thing she had ever done.
"Allow me to show you what happens when you mess with my friends!" She shouted at the Unbound, spreading her arms, in a fleeting moment of confidence, and maybe arrogance, she grinned at the monster. Her mind screaming at her impulsiveness and plain stupidity. She had no idea what she could even do against the towering monster.
With a roar, it swatted one spatula down at her and Hanan held her hands in a X in front of her, hoping to shield herself from a swat that should have ended her. Instead she found herself in an almost overwhelmingly heated barrier of fire. Her vision started to blur, so she forced her eyes shut.
Every nerve of her body was screaming, burning. She felt like she was going to burst.
Carefully opening one eye, she saw a small egg float in front of her. Majestic red and orange flames patterns on it. She reached out to grab it.
She was ready to fight.
"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!"
Hanan took a deep inhale and closed her eyes as fire circle formed around her and the egg combusted, engulfing her hands in flames. The flame circle then flared up and created a wall. Hanan gave a sly grin as she slid her hands down her face, then blew a kiss and winked. The flames burst and became charcoal colored gloves. She then slid her hands up her upper body causing her top half to combust. As the flames cleared, she gained a long red shirt with transparent sleeves that split at the bottom, an orange sailor collar on it as well. Hanan then raised her hands and snapped as flames engulfed them. She then bent down and trailed her hands up her legs and the fire began to engulf them. She then wiggled her hips with her hands on them and bit her lip. As she did, the flames disappeared to unveil orange and red ombre leggings under an orange skirt with a charcoal trim, it blended practically seamlessly with her shirt. She spun around and fire engulfed her feet, and as she stopped charcoal boots appeared in place of the flames. Hanan put her hands under her hair and flipped it, it became a light orange and lengthed. As a red bow appeared to take some of it into a mini ponytail, flames came appeared around the area. On her chest, an orange bow appeared, then the egg appeared on it and became a white heart with a black outline. To finish off her transformation, she slid her hand across her waist and a charcoal belt appeared around her waist.
With a smirk she placed one hand on her hip and spread the other out, releasing a trail of crimson fire, which spiraled around her. "The heart that burns with the warm flames, Cure Ember!"
"F-Fire!?" Terra clutched Splash's arm tightly, trying to hide behind the shorter Cure. She could hear Ray murmur something too.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Splash groaned, struggling to get back up. Using her attack so early, the smoke, and being swatted around like a tennis ball had really tired her out.
Cure Ember looked up to the Unbound, locking her flaring red eyes into the Unbound's white ones.
"Bring it on." She said as she spread out her arms with a sneer. "Provide me a challenge."
She didn't even give the Unbound time to react, and instead leaped up, into the cloud of smoke with her fist at the ready.
Ember was still getting used to her heightened strength, but... this felt oddly satisfying. A good way to release that inner anger. Unexplainable anger and frustration that had been buried deep inside of her, for so long. That she had tried so hard to hide and suppress for almost her entire life, with varying degrees of success.
She jumped from spatula to spatula, landing more kicks or punches whenever she had the chance to get close to the Unbound's chest. No matter how hard she tried, the bars keeping Eclair inside wouldn't budge.
Each unsucessful hit caused Ember to become more and more frustrated.
"I'm... getting you out of there, Eclair. Just... hold on!"
Without realising it, Ember's fingertips began to glow and soon her entire fist was wrapped in flames.
As she punched the Unbound just above the bar, and it started to fall over... she noticed it, in the corner of her vision.
The monster's eye color had changed. From a haunting white to a more maroon-esque color. It was quick, subtle, and probably went unnoticed by most.
After landing gracefully, Ember closed her eyes and slowly moved her hands around, as if trying to emulate the movement of flames, the flames coming from her hair grew. "Pretty Cure!" She opened her eyes, revealing them to be literally aflame. "Scorch Wrap!"
With a twirl of her hand, Ember wrapped the Unbound in a rope of flames. She turned her back to the monster as it was consumed in blazing fire.
Placing a hand on her chest, Ember exhaled a tiny puff of smoke, then quickly dashed forward to catch Eclair's sleeping form in her arms, bending on one knee to do so. After a quick look, Ember concluded she was unhurt.
Thank goodness. There would have been hell to pay if she wasn't.
At that moment, the music stopped, and the smoke started to dissolve.
Smoky stepped into view, the remaining smoke circling around him.
"I guess that's all for today, guys. No encore I'm afraid."
The Poofs all made whiny noises. Smoky silenced them with a short wave, dismissing his guitar and holding up his bag of food that one of the Poofs had handed to him.
"We got some food and some darkness to make the brat happy, for at least a short while." He laughed to his minions as he summoned a portal, quickly waving to Ember before jumping in. "Till next time, Cure Ember. It looked like you had a blast!"
As the portal disappeared, the smoke dissolved along with it.
"Have to admit... that was not bad, actually." Splash nudged Ember, who was still holding Eclair's sleeping form, in the side with a smile. A rare display. "You're more capable than this idiot over here."
Terra, on the other hand, looked absolutely horrified. Her hands folded together near her chest, her eyes wide and her form shaking like a leaf in the wind.
Seeing the girl's intense fear gave Ember an odd feeling. She felt... guilty?
"Um... Beryl, right?" Terra flinched at Ember turning her attention to her. "Are you okay? Can I do anything to-"
"N-No! It's fine, Hanna! It's not your fault! It's just... ehm..."
Splash crossed her arms. "She's afraid of fire." She said with a blunt tone.
Ember made eye-contact with the green Cure for a moment. The right side of her face stood out, because of the scar around her right eye and her right eye being a different color than her left one. It was a bit jarring, for some reason.
"You're..." Ember started, breaking eye-contact at last. "Did I scare you?"
The green Cure was looking at her like she was a freak, a brute, a monster.
A familiar feeling, which caused Ember to grit her teeth. "I did, didn't I...?"
"A little..." That was a lie. Both of them knew that.
Now that she thought about it, it only seemed fitting that she got fire powers... but the heat was starting to catch up to her.
Ember gently kneeled down as Eclair started to regain consciousness, in less than ten seconds she was back to the world.
"Holy shit! Who are you!?" She cried out and started kicking and squirming like a trapped animal. "What are you doing? Put me down, you creep!"
"W-Wait, Eclair! It's me, Hanan!" Ember protested but got kicked in the face causing her to drop Eclair. "Sorry!"
Eclair pushed herself back up. "Hanan? Hm." She squinted her eyes, then turned to Splash. "Well, if you're Morgan, then..." And back to Ember, again. "You being Hanan isn't that strange, I guess."
Ember placed her hands on her hips with a grin. "Who else would want to save you?"
"Obviously you do, nerd."
"Such a charming princess, you are!" Ember laughed as Eclair lightly smacked her shoulder.
"You became a magical girl, of all things?" Eclair snorted. "I expected you to be like a different kind of a hero, actually."
Ember pouted. "I am quite disappointed in the lack of a cool suit and helmet, motorcycles, and big robot fights..."
"Hey, guuuuyyyss! Look what I've got!"
As Smoky stepped back into the base, he was severely disappointed at seeing that everyone was in the room, including Shade. He was pacing in the room, his arms folded behind his back.
Smoky decided it'll be for the best to leave the little detail about another Cure appearing to himself. At least until Shade was gone.
"You brought food!?" Shade gasped as he slithered to Smoky, grabbing the kid's meal. "Ah yes, just what I wanted! You know me well~!"
"That's for Aeris." Smoky said bluntly, taking the kid's meal back. "You don't even need to eat, right?"
Shade gasped loudly, clearly offended. "I do! How can you be so insensitive and forget that!?" He whined, stomping his foot down as his shadow started manifesting behind him.
Nobody said anything, not wanting to get in the way of his whining and be subjected to the boy's wrath. Or, more specifically, his shadow.
"You should start appreciating what I did and am still doing for you guys!"
Reluctantly, Hail opened his mouth to say something but his words got drowned out by Shade's yelling. On the other side of the room, Aeris covered her ears.
"I thought you were my friends! Guess I was wrong." And with that Shade left the room, grumbling to himself as his shadow followed behind him.
Bronze let out a quick laugh when Shade was out of earshot. "He still thinks we're his friends."
"He needs to chill." Hail grumbled, raising the volume of the TV with the remote in his hand. "I can't even watch anything when he's here."
Smoky set the food down on a table in front of the TV and everyone started grabbing their share. "You're eating those chicken nuggets naked!?" He asked Aeris, who was munching on some chicken nuggets without dipping it into sauce. "Now that is a true crime."
She gave him a defeated look. "But... I like it like this... "
"So, what do you guys want to watch while we eat?" Hail asked, fumbling with his own food in one hand and holding the remote with the other.
"The news! A new Cure appeared!" Smoky exclaimed. "Maybe you can see my debut concert!"
"WHAT!?" Bronze cried out, almost dropping her burger. Next to her, Aeris pressed her hands on her ears again. "Another Cure?" She said, softer his time.
Smoky landed on the couch, kicking his feet up as he started eating his hamburger. "Yup, she's pretty strong too."
"You didn't try to... eliminate her?" Bronze asked.
"Oh no, she would have kicked my ass! She didn't even need the other two's help to defeat the Unbound. Pretty impressive, right?"
Elegy crossed her arms, giving Smoky a questioning look.
"Look, I don't care about them being there, to be honest. I just don't want any of you guys getting hurt. So let's just not try to directly fight them, I guess?" Smoky replied with a shrug. "If Shade wants them gone so badly, he should do it himself. Since he's so 'strong and powerful'."
"These Pretty Cures..." Aeris spoke softly, clutching her own burger. "They seem scary..."
Smoky gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Oh, you are the last person to be worried about them." He reassured her and his expression softened. "Anyway, Aaron was doing well."
Aeris blinked then a timid, little smile appeared on her face. The sadness was still evident in her eyes, though.
"I'm glad."