PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm PC-7
With Cure Ace now a genuine part of the team, training continued, with Ryūko & Senketsu doing what they could to help the girls broaden their skill-sets and increase their power levels. After a minor incident where Charyl, Raquel, & Lance gained the ability to transform into human forms like Davie could, it was decided that they were finally ready for the 'final trial'… At Aguri's guidance, the group flew to an isolated island, the Yotsuba family seaplane setting down without serious incident.
"It's been a while, Aguri-chan."
The gang turned around to see an elderly tortoise-like fairy slowly floating up to them.
"Melan!" Aguri smiled. "It's good to see you!"
"What brings you all here?"
Mana, Rikka, Alice, and Makoto stepped forward. "We and Aguri-chan are the current generation of Pretty Cures. We've been working hard, training, fighting, learning things about ourselves… But if we're going to beat the Selfish Kingdom and restore the Trump Kingdom and its people, we need the power of the three legendary treasures. That's why we've come here, to earn the sacred crystal mirror, the Magical Lovely Pad!"
"…Hmm… …Very well. We shall see if you are worthy." She turned to face Ryūko & Regina. "And what about the two of you?"
"I'm… a former member of the Selfish Kingdom," Regina nervously admitted, "but then Mana-chan, onée-chan, and the others showed me the light. I rejected the King's plans of destruction and conquest, and cast aside the corruptive Darkness that had been poisoning my heart. I fight for this world, and for the PreCures who defend it."
"As for me," Ryūko said, "I'm no Pretty Cure; I'm a traveling transforming heroine of a different sort. I've already completed my own epic quest, and now I've decided to help these girls with theirs. I've been doing what I can to train and teach them, guide them, and whatnot."
"She's super-strong" Raquel spoke up. "When Aguri-chan, Cure Ace, lost her way and got so devoted to her duties that she forsook the virtues of compassion and mercy, it was Ryūko-san who stood up to her, and even beat her in a solo fight, even though Ace was the strongest PreCure at the time."
"…My Heart would probably still be 'frozen' if she hadn't knocked some sense into me…" Aguri bashfully admitted.
"In any event," Ryūko continued, "Regina and I will be sitting this one out. I'd like to see if the training and experiences these girls have been through was enough. …If I feel the need to intervene for their safety, I will, but we'll count that as an automatic loss for them. Is that fair?"
"…Fair enough" Melan agreed. "Well then, 'PreCure'… Prepare yourselves!"
Melan's eyes glowed, and then her entire body became a mass of light that grew, and grew, and grew… As Sebastian, Ai, Regina, and Ryūko hurriedly cleared the field, the Cure Quintet found themselves staring up at a massive, vaguely turtle-like dragon!
"IF YOU WISH TO PROVE YOUR WORTH AS PRETTY CURE," the transformed Melan announced, "THEN YOU MUST DEFEAT ME!"
Though daunted by the challenge facing them, the girls transformed and prepared to go on the attack. Melan made the first move, a tail strike that the Cures barely avoided leaving a deep, long gouge in the beach sand. Cure Sword attacked, firing a Sparkle Sword barrage, but Melan basically ignored the tiny hits, and then a flap of her huge wings released a mighty blast of wind that sent the girls tumbling.
Melan charged and fired a 'low'-power flame burst, and Cure Rosetta's shield managed to withstand it and protect her, but was cracked and warped in the process; anything much bigger probably would've broken through. Cure Diamond leapt high, casting Diamond Shower and encasing the dragon's wings in ice… but a flex of Melan's wings broke the ice loose, and she punished Cure Diamond with a falling tail-strike that flattened her into the beach and almost knocked her out of her transformation.
"What are you girls doing?!" Ryūko shouted from the sidelines. "Quit attackin' one-by-one! You're a team, aren't you?!"
Listening, the girls nodded to each other, and moved to attack together; Cures Heart and Rosetta started hammering at Melan from the sides with full-charged physical blows, while Sword, Diamond, and Ace fired focused projectile barrages at her head. The dragon-form fairy growled as she actually started feeling pain from the assault, and then with a thrashing wave of her body she knocked the girls back, but they managed to land on their feet and pulled together. Then, they combined their energies and fired a Lovely Force Arrow, with Cure Ace adding in her Ace Shot.
Then, a shimmering barrier formed around Melan's dragon form, and when the attacks faded it was still in place, to the girls' shock. Then, as they stared in disbelief, the dragon began charging up a much stronger fire blast…
"Oi!" Ryūko shouted. "Deer in the headlights!"
That snapped the quintet out of their shock, and they scattered just in time to avoid the massive explosive torrent of flame that tore across the beach, leaving black glass in its wake. They fired their own solo attacks at Melan's face, forcing the dragon to shield again and back off for a moment.
"We have to do something about that barrier" Cure Sword said.
"Maybe I could use my Rosetta Reflection to cancel it out?" Cure Rosetta suggested. "I'm not sure it would be powerful enough, though…"
"Then we'll try transferring our power to you," Cure Heart replied, "pooling it together like we do with the Lovely Force Arrow."
"I will provide you the opportunity you need" Cure Ace told them. "Get it ready! Ace Shot, Fire!"
As the blast of rose-colored energy surged out, Melan's barrier again came up to block it. The other four took the opportunity to gather behind Cure Rosetta, pouring their magical power into her. With a flash, Rosetta conjured a clover-shaped golden barrier – much smaller than normal, but shining bright with concentrated power. She fired it, the recoil knocking the girls behind her off their feet, and slammed into Melan's barrier like a meteor. Already strained by Ace's attack, and now subjected to a super-concentrated blast of opposite-aligned energy, the ancient fairy's barrier failed, shattering and allowing at least some of the attacks' power through to hit her.
With a roar, Melan released a shockwave of force that blasted the Cures back; in addition, Cure Ace's transformation time-limit ran out, Aguri collapsing as her five minutes were up.
"IS THIS TRULY THE LIMIT OF YOUR POWERS?" Dragon-Melan asked. "HOW SAD…"
"We're… not done yet" Cure Heart got to her feet. "We're not beat yet! As Cure Heart… as the student president… as Aida Mana… No matter what you or anyone else throws at me… I will never, ever give up!-!"
With a pink aura flaring around her, Cure Heart charged. Melan began to charge a full-strength fire blast, but had to pause and readjust her aim as Heart leapt high, coming at her with a fist pulled back and glowing with power. The dragon fired… and, finally nailing down a trick she'd picked up from practicing and copying what she'd seen in the DDF footage, Cure Heart formed a solid pink Rune Shield in midair, angled to use as a springboard, and launched herself down & to the side, out of the flames' path. Forming another, she kicked off from it right toward Melan, who didn't have time to react before the full-force blow hammered her in the chest. The old dragon cried out in shocked pain as she was blasted back, flattening a few trees as she fell.
Cure Heart landed on the beach, panting and shaking, and then de-transformed as the exhaustion of what she'd just done took hold. The mighty dragon groaned as she got to her feet, worse for the wear. Then, a glittering light flew out of a cave at the base of the island's mountain, zipping through the air and over to the battlefield. A small purple mirror hovered in the air, and Melan's eyes widened as a face she hadn't seen in millennia appeared, giving her a grin and nod. After a few seconds, the ancient dragon sighed, and then became a mass of light that shrank down until the old fairy was back to her standard form.
"That's enough" she spoke. "You girls have proven your strength and resolve. Not since my old partner, Cure Empress, left this life have I seen someone with your determination and potential, Aida Mana. You all have earned the Magical Lovely Pad."
As the girls de-transformed and caught their breath, Mana was knocked over by a gleeful tackle-hug from Regina, while Ryūko and Sebastian strolled up.
"Well done, girls" Ryūko said with a grin. "Seems you've finally left the nest."
"If you hadn't snapped us out of that daze seeing our attacks fail left us in," Rikka replied, "that would've been it for us."
"Yeah, I guess I might have to try harder to train you girls out of the reaction of freezing up in shock when your big bang fails or the enemy starts chargin' up something big; that kinda response can get you killed."
"You taught them well" Melan said to her.
"Well, they've done a lot on their own; I've mainly just taught them a couple little things, and helped them polish what they already had…"
"…Incidentally, how would you have intervened had you deemed it necessary? It took all five of them to overcome me."
Ryūko grinned, and flared with red chakra, causing the old fairy's eyes to widen.
"That energy… You're a Jinchūriki?"
"Yeah. Senketsu and I are partners; when we work together, there's not much that we can't do."
"Of course," the Tailed Beast spoke up through his clothing avatar/mouthpiece, "I have but six tails. Among our allies elsewhere, there are a few others more powerful than I."
"Hmm…"
"In any event," Mana said, "we did it!"
"So, what now?" Rikka asked. "I'm beat…"
"Hmm… Why don't we stay the night to recover? I brought stuff to make dinner~!"
-Break-
Under the stars, as everyone was gathered around a campfire helping themselves to the curry Mana had prepared, Ryūko and Melan sat a little ways off to the side, watching the others.
"Heh… So this is what it feels like to be proud of someone…" Ryūko said with a smile. "Never thought I'd be the type to teach anyone anything, much less taking a squad of magical girls under my wing…"
"…I've learned what you've done for them" Melan admitted. "As well as some of what you've been through before coming to this world. With your qualities… You'd have made a splendid Cure."
"Eh?" Ryūko blushed a little, a nervous grin as she rubbed at her head. "Nah, I'm not the type; I'm rough and crude, I've got a temper, and… well, I would not look good in that kinda bright, frilly outfit, I think."
Melan chuckled softly. "You are brave, and determined, cunning and skillful, you have a strong sense of justice, and you have a strong Heart filled with Light and compassion, and you have touched so many lives…" The old fairy smiled. "Matoi Ryūko, as far as I and the spirits of those who came before are concerned, you have more than earned the right to be considered an honorary Pretty Cure."
Though embarrassed, Ryūko managed a smile, feeling touched. "Thank you, Elder. I'll do my best to keep living up to that."
-Break-
The next day, the whole gang was gathered at the Aida family house/restaurant for lunch, with Rikka's mother and Aguri's grandmother attending as well. Suddenly, the news on TV switched to an urgent report: people all over town were suddenly and inexplicably collapsing asleep, unable to be roused by anything. As the girls gathered around the TV, wondering what it could mean, they were surprised by a series of soft thuds behind them. They turned, and saw that Mana's family, Rikka's mother, and Aguri's grandmother had collapsed, out cold. Desperate attempts to rouse them were futile.
Then, the Jikochuu Seeds, having snuck into the house, struck at their next targets. Mana, Rikka, Alice, Makoto, and Aguri were fine, protected by their Cure Loveads, the golden light disintegrating the dark seeds on contact… but the other two weren't so lucky. Ryūko and Regina collapsed to the floor, out like a light.
"Regina! Ryūko-san! Senketsu-kun!"
"It's no use" Rikka frowned. "They're all out cold."
Suddenly, the TV static fuzzed into a familiar face.
"Oh, Preee-Cuuure~!" Leva shouted gleefully. "Come out, come out, wherever you are~! The people of your precious little town are only sleeping for now… but once the Jikochuu Seeds rooted to their Hearts sprout, they will become a splendid, massive army of Jikochuu! Tens of thousands of them, ready to help conquer this miserable little world! And the dark energy released by that shall complete King Jikochuu's revival! The only way to stop it is to defeat us… Come to the television studio! Come and meet your demise!-!"
-Break-
With Sebastian down, Davi in human form drove the five Cures (and Ai-chan) to the TV studio, which now had a huge and hideous tree seething with dark energy perched atop it. In addition, Leva & Gula were there, cocky smirks on their faces.
"This is our final plan," Leva announced, "and boy, has it paid off! Soon, we'll have an army of Jikochuu at our disposal, one that will put the force that conquered the Trump Kingdom to shame! All that's left…"
"…is to get rid of you brats" Gula grinned.
"The time has come," the two of them spoke together, "to combine our powers like never before!" They both glowed with dark power, and then melded together, a jet-black shape growing and taking form. Soon, they emerged as a single huge monster, hideous and dull-green, a small bone-white mask near the top over an enormous mouth on its belly.
"This is the end for you, PreCure!" it/they announced.
In response, the quintet transformed, and the Leva/Gula fusion monster (hereafter referred to as 'Legula') charged. Cures Diamond and Ace engaged the monster in a rapid exchange of blows, but were quickly overwhelmed and thrown away. Heart & Sword fared little better, their strikes failing to do any appreciable damage and being responded to by swift and crushing counterblows that sent them reeling. Sword and Diamond tried a combo next, blasting Legula with Sparkling Sword and freezing it/them with Diamond Shower, but the beast broke free with almost zero effort, swinging its arm to release a blast of wind that bowled the girls over.
The fight continued like this for another few minutes, with Legula shrugging off everything the girls threw at him/them and beating them around. Finally, the girls charged up and fired a Lovely Force Arrow with an Ace Shot coiling around it… and Legula opened its main mouth wide and sucked the mass of Light energy in, gobbling it up without any signs of strain. Then, converting all that energy into Darkness, he/they fired it back at the girls, who had no chance of getting out of the way in time; the blast engulfed them, a massive explosion shattering glass for over 100 meters around.
As the dust cleared, the girls groaned as they tried to pick themselves up, wounds and tears marring their bodies and outfits. To make matters worse, Cure Ace ran out of time, reverting to Aguri.
"W… Where'd the Lovely Pad go?!" Cure Heart said, slightly panicking.
"Looking for this?"
Legula slowly stomped through the settling smoke, holding the mirror-form artifact between its/their fingertips.
"So what is this thing, anyway?" Legula asked in Gula's voice.
"It's one of the three 'sacred treasures'," Legula replied in Leva's voice, "used by the ancient PreCure millennia ago. But in our hands… It's a worthless, helpless piece of trash!"
Then, Legula squeezed. Before the girls could do anything to stop it, the Magical Lovely Pad, the ancient artifact that had helped save the day so long ago, was shattered into five pieces. The Cures stared helplessly, horror and despair overcoming them, as their last hope was destroyed…
"And now," Legula said with a wicked grin, "it's over. Lie there in defeat. Watch helplessly as your world falls to Darkness and ruin!"
With an evil laugh, the fused monster leapt up to the top of the building, watching with glee as the Jikochuu Tree continued to spread its seeds. Below, Cure Heart collapsed forward, trembling and sobbing.
"It… It's over…" she whimpered. "We… We f… failed… We're not… s-strong enough… to… …No… No! It can't end like this! I… I won't let it! We can't fail here! Everyone, everything is depending on us! We have to do this! No matter what it takes!"
"But… The Lovely Pad is… destroyed…" Aguri murmured.
"Then we'll win without it!-! We can't give up! We won't! Never! This is do-or-die time, girls… So one more time, let's do this!-!"
After a moment, Cure Diamond smiled. "You've always been saying you'll do what sounds impossible, but this really is a whole new level. Still… It's not like we have a choice. If we lose here, this world is doomed."
"We beat Melan," Cure Sword said, "we can win this! Somehow!"
"They said this was their final plan" Cure Rosetta observed. "That must mean that this is the only idea they have left to use against us. They might not be given another chance, so if we can beat them here…"
Gathering up the pieces of the ancient mirror, Cure Heart stood. "This is it, girls. One more try!"
The girls moved forward despite their exhaustion and injuries, gathering as much of their power as they could. Legula soon took notice, and laughed.
"Come on, seriously?!" he/they said. "Give it up! You've lost!"
"Not yet!" Cure Heart shouted. "We're not finished yet!"
"As long as we have our courage…" Cure Sword said.
"As long as our hearts beat…" Aguri chimed in.
All: "We will never give up!-!"
Suddenly, a brilliant light shone from the five shards of the Magical Lovely Pad, which floated up from Mana's arms and then hung in the air in front of the three girls. There was a sound like a heartbeat, and then all five pieces glowed and shifted in shape, forming into five modern-looking pads, each with their respective Cures' colors. In the light, Aguri's transformation was refueled, returning Cure Ace to the field.
"The Lovely Pads… They reacted to our feelings…" Cure Ace murmured, in shock.
"…Everyone!" Cure Heart shouted with a confident grin. "Let's end this!"
Ai-chan produced five new gold-&-diamond Loveads, and each Cure slotted theirs into their new Magical Lovely Pad. Light gathered onto the devices' centers, forming into what looked like decks of cards, which the girls then spread into circles, forming glowing runes of power. Sword, Rosetta, Diamond, and Ace transferred their power over to Cure Heart, four glowing cards flying over to Heart's Pad and surrounding her card in the center. She traced a heart shape around them, and they all melded together into a card with a winged heart arrow on it, glowing bright with power.
"PreCure! Lovely Straight Flush!-!"
Cure Heart set the card flying… and it transformed into an arrow-like mass of shining light that streaked through the air like a shimmering comet straight at Legula. The fused monster barely had time to gape in shock before impact, a heart-shaped explosion of pink and golden light engulfing him/them. The shockwave from the blast obliterated the Jikochuu Tree, and near-instantly the dark miasma enshrouding the city vanished into nothingness, all the people being roused from their magic-induced slumbers.
As the smoke faded, Leva and Gula were splayed out on the ground, badly battered and groaning in pain. Then, the five Cures' transformations reverted, and the girls collapsed to their knees as their injuries and exhaustion caught up with them.
"We… We did it…" Rikka panted out. "We saved the town…"
"N-Not… yet…"
The girls looked up in shock as, with difficulty, Gula struggled to his feet.
"I can… still fight…!" he roared, an unsteady dark aura wavering around him.
The Cure Quintet felt shock and fear as the wounded giant began to stalk towards them, while they were too battered and tired to fight back. Suddenly, a streak of movement from the sky came in and landed in Gula's path: Regina, freshly awakened from the Jikochuu Seed's effects and ready to defend her friends.
"Ohh~?" Gula grinned. "So you're here, little 'princess'? I may not be in top shape right now, but I'm still plenty strong enough to take you down!"
"You're not getting past me, you greedy blob" Regina growled.
The big man laughed. "That's what you think! I'm gonna eat you, and then your little friends!"
Despite their injuries and tiredness, the Cures began to try and stand, ready to do whatever they could to help their friend. However, a dark barrier suddenly sprang up around Gula and Regina. The girls looked over at Gula, who had a wicked grin and one hand placed to the ground.
"We may have failed to convert the city into an army," he said, "but at least we can kill a traitor…"
Getting his second wind, Gula charged. Regina danced around his opening blows, but he steadily got faster, making it harder for her to dodge. Finally, he landed a glancing blow that knocked her back, but she managed to land on her feet. Forming a hand-seal, she made her shadow turn jet-black and race out to grab Gula's, but the gluttonous giant grinned wickedly and flexed, and Regina gasped as her Shadow Bind was overpowered and broken free of. He came in again, and she formed a Shadow Wall to block his blow, the black barrier bending and warping from the punch as she gritted her teeth from strain.
A few more blows broke through the barrier, and Regina rolled to avoid a sledgehammer fist-blow that cratered the pavement where she'd just been. She charged magic into her fist and slammed it into Gula's gut, but the Selfish General chuckled and then made a grab for her. She leapt to dodge, but her caught her leg and slammed her into the ground, picking her up and doing it again, and then a third time. Regina groaned, aching all over, as she was picked up and then let go, and a huge meaty fist hammered into her midsection while she was in midair, blasting her back to slam into the edge of the barrier and slide down.
Hearing her friends' panicked cries to her, Regina struggled to her feet, glaring up at Gula as he slowly stomped forward, his steps shaking the ground.
'I… I can't fall here…' she thought' 'Onée-chan won't get here in time… I'm the only one who can protect them… My friends… Mana-chan… I have to protect them! No matter what, I have to protect them! For their sake, I cannot lose!-!'
Gula charged again, but as he got close a shimmering golden light suddenly stopped him cold and launched him back. Mana, Rikka, Alice, Makoto, and Aguri stared in surprise and shock as motes of golden light swirled around Regina. The redeemed girl stared in confused awe as the warm, beautiful light began to coalesce in front of her, forming into two familiar objects:
"A… A Commune…" Aguri whispered.
"And a Lovead?" Rikka murmured. "Is this… real…?"
"No…" Leva stared in horror. "This can't be… Not another one!"
Guided by her Heart and by the ancient magic of Light, Regina took hold of the objects, and called out:
"PreCure: Love Link!"
In a swirling, sparkling mass of lights and power, Regina's torso was clad in a pure-black dress with gleaming white feathery fringe on the shoulders, at the waist, and at the hem of the skirt portion. White-trimmed black boots and gloves formed next, and then her golden hair changed to a pale white color, glistening in the light, a feathery tiara forming atop her head. A black bow formed at her waist, while crescent-shaped golden earrings hung from her ears. As power and knowledge flowed through her, she called out.
"The sheltering shade…" {mamoru/rareru/raseru/reru/? kagé}… "Cure Shade!-!"
The five girls outside the barrier stared in disbelief.
"Regina…" Mana murmured, before a huge smile began to form on her face. "She… She's become a…"
"Another… PreCure?!" Gula shouted.
"It seems you've lost your love, sad Mr. Selfish General" the new Cure said, forming her hands into a rough curved arch/crescent held in front of the heart-shaped gem on her outfit's chest. "I, Cure Shade, will eclipse your rage!"
In disbelieving rage, Gula roared and charged at the newly-born Cure Shade. When he lashed out with a punch, however, she flipped up & over his fist and hit him with a kick so hard that it snapped his head to the side and sent him staggering. Wreathed in a wavering deep-blue aura, she charged in and began hammering him with blows so powerful they made audible shockwaves, pushing Gula back and quickly dealing significant damage. Snarling, he tried to crush her with his fist, but her shadow reached out and grabbed his, and this time it was much stronger, making him freeze with his huge fist a few inches from her head, as she looked at him with a calm, confident smile, not moving an inch.
"Kagé Nui!"
Now, Cure Shade's shadow solidified and lanced up as spearing tendrils, which wrapped around Gula's arm and then returned the favor for what he'd done to her earlier, smashing him back & forth into the ground. As he groaned and got to his feet, a blast of shimmering magic, Darkness-type but pure and free of any corruptive evil, hit him in the face, sending him stumbling back and weakening him further.
"This… This can't be happening!" he shouted. "You little insect! How dare you make a fool of me?! I'll tear the flesh from your tiny body and make a necklace from your bones!-!"
In response, Cure Shade stayed calm and cool, as she called up a sizable amount of magical power. She held her hands forward, cupped in front of her chest, and as a ball of pitch-black magical power gathered there, the onlookers got a 'sixth-sense' feeling of being under a black curtain of starlight space.
"Goodbye, Gula" Cure Shade glared. "PreCure: Moonless Night!"
She launched the orb forward, and when it hit Gula it expanded to completely engulf him. A Jikochuu would have its corrupted Heart purified, the tender pure Darkness gently tearing the corruptive darkness away. But for Gula, a being of such virulent evil darkness without a single spark of Light or goodness, it was fatal. The gluttonous giant let out one last cry of pained fury that trailed off and echoed away into nothing, as he was erased, the magic bursting into glittering particles like stars in a night sky.
"This… This can't be real…" Leva murmured as he teleported out, back to the Selfish Kingdom base… unaware that he was fleeing straight to his own execution at Bel's hands…
As the barrier faded, Cure Shade turned around just in time to get tackle-hugged by Mana, the others following close behind.
"I can't believe it!" Mana squeed. "You're a PreCure!"
"Eheheh… I'm as surprised as you are" Regina said sheepishly, looking her new form over. "Still, I can't say I'm not happy about it…"
"Holy sh… Regina?! Is that you?!" The girls turned to see Ryūko arriving, ready for a fight that was already over. "The hell did I miss?!"
"Quite a lot" Alice replied cheerfully. "Besides Regina-san becoming Cure Shade, the Magical Lovely Pad turned into five Lovely Pads. Oh, and Gula is dead."
"…This is gonna take a bit to explain to me properly, isn't it?"
"Kinda, yeah" Rikka replied, as Regina de-transformed.
The older girl smiled. "Well, at least everyone's alive. Come on back to the house, girls. I'd say this calls for a celebration… a small one, though; don't wanna go overboard, especially with how wiped out and rickety you girls look right now."
The girls laughed at that, able to ignore their pains and tiredness for now.
-CHAPTER END-
Or is "mamoru" not even the right verb to use for "sheltering" as in "that which shelters/protects (things/people/others)"?