I decided to start after Episode 15 instead.

PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

-CHAPTER START-

Realm PC-8

Megumi Aino, presently in the form of Cure Lovely, leapt to dodge a smashing attack from Oresky's newest Saiaku. She glanced over at Cure Princess and Cure Honey, seeing that they were okay, having shrugged off the hits they'd recently taken with minimal damage. Just yesterday, the trio (and their fairy partner Ribbon) had undertaken a perilous journey through one of Blue's mirror portals to Hime's home-world, the 'Blue Sky Kingdom', in order to deliver cupcakes to her trapped mother for Mother's Day. That land was fully under the Phantom Empire's control, such that the dark magic in the air reduced the Cures' powers to a fraction of their full strength. They'd barely gotten out alive.

Now, back in their hometown of Pikarigaoka, the girls were back at full strength. Oresky's Saiaku tended to be a little stronger and tougher than Namekelda's and Hosshiiwa's, but the three of them working together should be able to bring the monster down and purify it. They got ready as the Saiaku roared out and prepared to charge at them…

Then, out of nowhere, a high-velocity arrow streaked in and stuck into the Saiaku's chest. And then, to everyone's surprise, the arrow exploded, blasting the dark monster back. Oresky then rolled to the side, barely avoiding another arrow that had been aimed right between his eyes. They all looked in the direction the arrows had come from, and saw a girl around 9 or 10 years old, with tanned or brown skin, pale-pink hair done up in a tight bun, and gold-colored eyes, wearing a ragged-edged red cloak over a scandalously revealing black top & short-shorts (barely more than panties, really), along with boots and fingerless gloves. She was holding a large black longbow, and they could all sense she was brimming with magical power.

"Who is she?" Cure Lovely wondered. "What's with that bow?"

"What's with that outfit?" Cure Princess chimed in. "Someone that young shouldn't be wearing somethin' like that!"

"Who is this?" Oresky asked. "Another new PreCure? One who looks rather young, with an outfit quite different from the others…"

"I'm not a Pretty Cure" the girl replied. "Though, I do come as their ally. Long story short, there is a group of heroes and civilizations from many different universes who have banded together to form the 'Dimensional Defense Force', an alliance that travels the Realms, helping people and stopping bad guys. We already have three other Pretty Cure teams from three other Realms, and recently we detected four new universes with Cures in them; I was sent to help this Realm's Cure team. My name is Chloe von Einzbern; call me 'Kuro'!"

Kuro flash-stepped down to beside the Cure trio, and then with twin flashes of scintillating red light she summoned a pair of swords, mirror images of each other in black and white. She charged at the Saiaku, easily weaving around its startled attempt to shoot at her, and as it punched at her she dodged and moved up its arm while spinning rapidly with swords out, buzz-sawing her way up toward its head. She threw her blades, and they curved through the air and converged on either side of the Saiaku's head, detonating on contact. As the wounded monster stumbled back, Kuro conjured a 'Fake' of Future Trunks' longsword, slashing down across the Saiaku's chest and then blasting it with a point-blank Buster Cannon. By now, the Saiaku was in bad shaped, unsteady on its feet. Kuro turned to the awed Cures.

"Oi, PreCures!" she called out. "I don't have purification magic! I can't actually finish this thing off!"

Shaking off her daze, Cure Princess stepped forward, firing her 'Blue Happy Shoot' finisher at the Saiaku, cleansing it and freeing the person it had been made from. Letting out an annoyed grunt, Oresky teleported away.

"So," Cure Lovely turned to Kuro, "you're an envoy for some kind of multi-universal alliance?"

The girl nodded. "Do we have a place where we can discuss things? Anybody else who needs to be informed?"

"We'll go back to the Blue-Sky Kingdom embassy" Ribbon replied. "Blue-sama will want to speak with you."

-Break-

Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, and Seiji sat together on the couches in the embassy/house's living room, while Kuro – now in casual clothes – sat in one of the easy chairs, eyeing the blue-eyed, blue-haired man identified as Blue; he may have looked normal, but she could immediately sense his Divine nature the moment she laid eyes on him. Supposedly, he was this Realm's Earth's guardian deity, in addition to being the one who empowered this world's Pretty Cures…, who, as a break from what the DDF had expected, were A) in the dozens or even hundreds, scattered all over the world in their own little teams, and B) public knowledge.

"Kuro-chan, was it?" he asked. "The girls tell me you introduced yourself as a member of a multi-universal coalition of heroes and civilizations?"

The girl nodded. "The 'Dimensional Defense Force', we call ourselves" she replied. "We already have three Pretty Cure teams from three other Realms, and we were hoping to request the aid of this Realm's 'main' team and of three more Realms' groups. I got sent here. I wasn't expecting an entire planet of Pretty Cures, but… Something tells me Aino-san and her friends here are gonna get mixed up in some deep, major stuff down the line, so I'd like to stick with you guys and help out. I've got a collection of magically-recorded 'footage' that'll show all the backstory up to where we are now; you'll all get to watch it in a pocket-universe where days' worth of time inside translates to a handful of hours out here, and you won't need to eat or sleep or go to the bathroom while you're viewing it."

"So, what kind of bad guys are you fighting?" Megumi asked.

"Well… Before I tell you, you should know that plenty of our allies and enemies have fictional counterparts in some Realms; plenty of our people from some universes have met people who were previously game or movie characters to them in real life. Right now, our major concern is a group called the Seekers of Darkness, led by a very powerful and skilled dark mage named Xehanort."

Megumi gasped, eyes wide as can be, with Seiji's reaction more subdued but still noticeable. "X-Xehanort? Kingdom Hearts?!"

Kuro nodded. "Yep. And he's got a partner in crime, one he rescued from a pocket-dimension prison; this big nasty called Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf?!" Seiji shouted. "Seriously?! Xehanort and Ganondorf, working together?"

"Yeah. They've been kinda quiet lately. We think Old X is planning to make his next big move soon, and we wanna have as many warriors of the Light on hand as we can when he does. Of course, there are other threats out there, too – a Sangheili anti-human terrorist named 'Mdama, this one guy called Joker who's an old enemy of the Smile PreCure… Joker is real bad news – strong, skilled, and the cruelest, evilest, most sadistic of all villains ever faced by any PreCure team in the multiverse. Recently we went to the Pokémon world, and he caused some major chaos that we barely managed to contain…"

"The… The Pokémon world?!" Megumi's eyes lit up; Yuuko & Seiji were similarly surprised, while Hime just looked confused. "Does… Does that mean…"

Kuro smiled, and reached into her pocket, pulling out a pair of 'compressed' Pokéballs which expanded to their regular size. They opened, and with a flash of light Kuro's Rowlet emerged, letting out a soft coo as he stared up at the girls.

"Whoa~!" Hime had stars in her eyes. "What is this?! It's so cuuute~!"

"This is my starter partner" Kuro grinned. "And my other Pokémon is… trying to sneak up behind Seiji-kun for laughs."

The boy turned, and caught sight of a blur of motion as his would-be ambusher fled. The group turned back, and were surprised to see a Sneasel now sitting beside Kuro, giving her trainer a mildly annoyed look for spoiling her fun. Kuro offered the Dark/Ice-type one of the cookies that was on the table, and all was forgiven.

"Well," Blue spoke up, "I can't say this was expected, but I suppose we should be thankful for whatever help we can get. Looking forward to working with you, little miss Einzbern."

"…I should let you guys know one thing: as you noticed, my transformation doesn't disguise my identity. If I'm going to be fighting beside you, I can't be seen hanging out with your civilian selves in public. At least, not if you want your secret identities known to the world…"

"We can try and think of something" Blue said. "In the meantime, we have a spare bedroom here you could use."

"Thank you, Gaia-sama. I-I mean 'Blue'-sama."

"You are from a world where the Earth's guardian entity is called Gaia? That… actually, doesn't really narrow things down much, to be honest; from what I've seen via scrying, 'Gaia' being the Earth deity's title is somewhat common."

"And one more thing you all should know, so you won't be surprised when you watch the magic footage; I'm… kinda, sort of a… reformed enemy of my world's 'main heroine'. So, the first time you'll see me, I'll be, um… t-trying to kill her…"

The local kids' eyes widened. "Well…" Seiji said. "It's not that uncommon, the main hero turning enemies into friends…"

"I was… in a bad place, mentally, at the time…" the dark-skinned girl admitted with bashful shame. "You'll see what I mean."

-Break-

A few hours later, after the 'footage' viewing was done, the local group sat about dwelling on everything they'd learned, discussing various matters. They learned about the DDF's present enemies, about everything the various Realms had been through before and after meeting… They also learned of Kuro's origins, gaining an understanding of the girl, and feeling thankful they had her help, and sure that despite her quirks, she was trustworthy.

"Still…" Megumi murmured. "The dilemma, the choice they were faced with regarding Miyu-chan… When she made her choice known to save Miyu over that world… Kuro didn't even hesitate to choose that."

"She's the type who fights with valor and determination worthy of a Pretty Cure to protect those she cares about," Ribbon remarked, "but… only for those she cares about."

"Perhaps spending time here, amongst us, will help her gain a better understanding and appreciation for those outside her inner circle" Blue mused. "At the very least, her versatility and raw power will be of great help to us."

"And let's hope none of the DDF's enemies show up to make trouble before we're good enough to handle them" Hime sighed. "Still, I don't know why she was so upset about bein' in those outfits Medea dressed her in; she looked perfect in them!"

"Don't let her hear you say that" Seiji replied. "She looked pretty mortified… Even though she goes around fighting in the kind of outfit that's way too 'mature' for a 10-year-old… At least she doesn't have to 'recharge mana' from other people anymore after what happened to her in the final battle on her world."

"Still…" Megumi smiled. "Kingdom Hearts, Pokémon, other universes' Pretty Cures… I'm so excited!"

"This should throw the Phantom Empire for quite a loop" Yuuko chimed in, grinning at the thought of their enemies trying desperately to figure out what was happening.

-Break-

Over the next few days, Kuro settled in, learning what she could about the enemies the 'local' Cures faced, as well as getting to know them better. Thankfully, she & they were getting along quite well so far. Still, she was concerned about two things: the 'PreCure Hunter' known as Phantom, currently going around the world defeating and capturing Cures, and the mysterious 'Cure Fortune' who seemed to be rather belligerent, especially toward Hime for some reason…

Then, however, the Cure Trio met an unexpected new hurdle: Masuko Miyo, host of 'PreCure Weekly', was dead-set on uncovering the Happiness Charge Cures' identities and getting an exclusive interview, and her investigative skills led her to deduce not only that they were students at the middle school, but to all but confirm that Megumi, Hime, and Yuuko were who she was seeking.

When Miyo went so far as to show up at Megumi's house, Megumi had enough, using her 'Reporter' Change Card to give the nosy woman a taste of her own medicine. After they'd both calmed down, Miyo confessed as to how she sought to get close to the Pretty Cures in hopes of becoming one, a hope she'd held since being saved by Cure Tender during the early days of the conflict with the Phantom Empire. Moved by the woman's earnest desire, Megumi revealed herself as Cure Lovely (to Seiji's exasperation) and brought her to the Blue-Sky Embassy to meet with the others and ask Blue about what to do.

"Hm?" the reporter noticed the tan-skinned little girl laying on the smaller couch, presently absorbed in a book. "Who's this?"

"Apparently," Yuuko replied, "there are other universes out there with heroes in them, and several of those universes have made contact and joined forces to help each other. Recently, that organization detected this Realm and three others with their own Pretty Cure teams, and they sent Kuro-chan here to help us."

"It was a bit of a surprise to learn Pretty Cures are a multiversal thing" Hime said. "They've already got three universes' Cure teams. Though, it seems our world is unique for having lots and lots of Cures all over the world, and having them be so widely known."

"Unfortunately," Kuro spoke up, "the fact my transformation doesn't disguise my identity cuts down on my ability to help and be with these girls as much as I'd like. …I wouldn't mind giving an interview later, though."

Once Blue (having been informed of what was going on) arrived, he produced one of the pearl-like reddish-pink gems that was meant to respond to a dormant Pretty Cure candidate's power and allow them to 'awaken' to their new purpose. Miyo took hold of the crystal, holding it to her heart, focusing her earnest desires and hopes into it…

…And nothing happened. She waited, focused harder, but the gem remained dull and quiet. An expression of disappointment and despair, of someone whose hopes have been crushed, came upon the young woman's face. With a polite bow and a listless apology for bothering them, she made her exit.

"…I'm worried about her now" Megumi said. "She seemed so devastated…"

'I cannot quite understand why the crystal would reject her…' Blue thought. '…Perhaps… she has some other, important role to fill that a Pretty Cure cannot do?'

A few minutes later, while the gang was discussing things, a Saiaku was detected being spawned by Namekelda at the park. Megumi, Hime, and Yuuko headed out to take care of it, and Kuro was about to follow when a second Saiaku, this one made by Hosshiiwa, sprang up near an apartment complex.

"Damn…" Kuro gritted her teeth. "Guess I'm handling this one. I'll have to keep it busy until the girls finish with theirs so they can 'cleanse' it."

"I will accompany you" Blue said to her, to her surprise. "I possess purification magic. If you can weaken the Saiaku, I can finish it off. Come, we will use the mirror-room's portals to get there quicker."

Nodding, Kuro followed Blue into the 'mirror room', then let him lead her by the hand through a portal that deposited them beside the apartment complex. The Saiaku was rampaging nearby, with a squad of Choiaku as support. As the minions noticed Kuro & Blue and charged, Kuro didn't even bother Tracing a weapon, charging her body with magical power and using blitz-fast crushing blows to knock them senseless; her 'pseudo-Sharingan' didn't have regular red Sharingan power-copying abilities, but did grant her those famous eyes' enhanced superhuman perception and the ability to see the flow of certain types of otherwise-invisible energies, helping her make short work of the Choiaku. To speed the process up, she released her Sneasel, who was all too happy to start bringing Choiaku to their knees with Icy Winds and Night Slashes. Some of them rushed at Blue, but the incarnated deity's eyes flashed, and a mighty shockwave of pure force sent them flying, putting them down for the count. The Saiaku took notice, and in response Kuro summoned a huge, bandage-wrapped weapon that looked as much 'club' as 'sword':

"Trace, On: Samehada!"

The Saiaku fired an energy blast, and in response Kuro timed her swing to catch the blast; instead of deflecting it, the copy of the infamous living sword ate the energy, wriggling beneath its bandages as it feasted on the power. Then, she made a lunging leap forward, bashing/slashing the Saiaku in the chest with her weapon, the bandages being torn away to reveal the jagged gray scales that shredded across the monster's upper body, wounding and stunning it.

The Saiaku swung at her, and she used its arm as a springboard to jump high & back, releasing a trio if Suiton: Suikōdan projectiles down at it. The dark monster stumbled back as the water-sharks slammed into it, and tried to rally and counterattack only to be caught off-guard by an Ice Shard attack to the face. Then, Kuro 'Broke' her Traced weapon and threw it down at the Saiaku. The resulting explosion, coming from the Breaking of such a high-level weapon (Samehada was essentially on par with a Noble Phantasm in power), was considerably powerful, leaving the Saiaku stunned and wounded.

Blue held his hand high, and a pillar of glittering light shone down from above and engulfed the Saiaku. The dark monster floated up, and then vanished in a burst of light; the 'sweet-aforming' it had done was reversed and erased, and the human trapped in a dark mirror by its creation was freed.

"I'd say that went pretty well" Blue said with a smile. "And I can sense that the Happiness Charge Cures have dealt with their opponent also."

"Let's head back before anything else happens while we're out. …And maybe we can swing by the candy store? Seeing all those sweets that thing conjured made me hungry…"

-Break-

After an incident involving a rather durable karate-themed Saiaku, the Cure Trio and Seiji were invited to help prepare a wedding that would be held at Yuuko's family's restaurant. Kuro had to hang around in the background and watch from afar, lest her presence give the girls' identities away (especially since she'd recently given Masuko Miyo an exclusive interview explaining the bare basics of her presence). For the bride, some of Megumi's friends handled getting 'something old' and 'something new', while Hime prepared a bouquet of blue roses for 'something blue'. The 'something borrowed' came from Iona Hikawa, on behalf of her MIA older sister Maria who was a close friend of the bride's.

The wedding seemed to be going off without a hitch, the happy couple saying their vows. The bride tossed the bouquet… and Hosshiiwa appeared from out of nowhere, catching it and passing it to one of her many Choiaku as they appeared as well. Hosshiiwa then made a Saiaku out of the bride & groom, a bride-themed Saiaku that began reformatting the immediate area as the civilians fled.

Megumi, Hime, & Yuuko transformed, while Kuro leapt into the fray beside them. The four heroines charged into the horde of Choiaku, Kuro conjuring a naginata. The quartet quickly bulldozed through the minions, laying some out and cleansing others. In response, the Saiaku went on the attack, swinging its bouquet-club in an attempt to smash Cure Lovely. She rolled to the side and conjured a giant fist made of pink magical energy, firing it at the Saiaku's face; the monster recoiled and stumbled back, but quickly recovered.

The Choiaku tried to rally and get in the Cures' way again, but Cure Honey used her Coconuts Samba form to force the minions to dance to the point of exhaustion, putting many them out of the fight. Meanwhile, the Saiaku pushed Cures Lovely & Princess back, hammering the latter with a blow that sent her tumbling across the grass. Kuro was about to get serious, when suddenly a lavender star-shaped magic blast came flying in, hitting the Saiaku and blasting it back.

"Pull yourselves together!" Cure Fortune shouted at the HC Cures. "You want to protect this wedding, don't you?!"

She formed her outfit's lower-back bow into wings and rushed at the Saiaku, flying low & fast, flitting around the monster's attempt to crush her and hammered its head with a barrage of kicks. Not willing to let Fortune have all the fun, Kuro and Cure Lovely fired a Lovely Beam and a Fire-type Sagitta Magica barrage (Fire was Kuro's affinity, and she already had some attacks/spells that she didn't need to Trace anything to use), blasting the Saiaku back.

"PreCure: Tsūtenkyaku!"

Cure Fortune looked up in surprise as Cure Princess came down from a high leap above with her newest-made move, a full-power heel-drop kick that hammered down onto the Saiaku's head, forcing it to faceplant into the dirt hard enough to leave a crater. The Choiaku rallied, trying to protect their 'leader', but in response Princess changed to her 'Macadamia Hula Dance' form, using its magic dance to force the Choiaku to dance a lazy hula…

"What… the heck…?" Kuro murmured as she and Cure Fortune stared in bemusement at all the enemies, Hosshiiwa, and Cures Lovely & Honey all caught in the technique's effect as well, swaying and waving their arms in the hula. "Why aren't we affected?"

"I… don't know…" Cure Fortune admitted. "Whatever reason, though, I'm glad for it…"

"Cure Honey~," Cure Princess said, still dancing and making the Choiaku dance as well, "this one's all yours!"

Shaking off the magic dance's effects, Cure Honey brought her baton out, using her Sparkling Baton Attack to conjure a huge clover-shaped mass of magical power from low orbit and drop it down on the Saiaku ("Jeez, talk about overkill…" Kuro murmured), purifying it. Afterward, Cure Fortune faced the group.

"You need to keep it together more in these fights" she told the other Cures.

"We get it, we get it" Cure Princess sighed. "We rallied at the end, didn't we?"

Fortune glared. "I don't expect anything from you, Princess."

"Hey," Kuro frowned at the girl, "what's with the attitude? You tryin' to start somethin'?"

Cure Fortune looked at the young girl, recognizing her from the recent exclusive interview with Masuko Miyo – a dimensional traveler, come to help the Happiness Charge Cures, possessing the power to materialize bladed weapons and use techniques associated with them… Letting out an annoyed sigh, Fortune turned and then flew away, leaving the girls behind.

"Bitch…" Kuro murmured. "What's her problem?"

"She probably has her reasons," Yuuko replied as she de-transformed. "Now, if only she could just tell them to us…"

Hime fidgeted, trying not to draw attention to herself…

-Break-

A couple days and a few 'minor' Saiaku later, the trio got called in by Seiji to help with a volunteer soccer team, and were mildly surprised to find Hikawa Iona involved as well. Despite some difficulties between Hime and Iona, the team seemed to be doing well enough. Then, however, Oresky showed up and made a Saiaku out of the soccer team captain, and then before the fight could even progress past the opening shots Cure Fortune jumped in as well. Cure Lovely managed to convince Fortune to work with the four heroines, and together the quintet brought the monster down, saving the team captain.

Now, as Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, and Seiji headed for home with Kuro stealthily following (she wondered if Blue could use those mystical powers of his to get her a pair of Mundus Magicus identity-disguising glasses…), Iona came running, catching up with them.

"Aino-san, Oomori-san… We worked well together today. We couldn't have won without that."

Megumi nodded with a smile. "We managed to pull off a win in the match by combining our strengths. Soccer is a team sport, after all…"

"That's not quite what I meant." She gave the girls a serious look. "I know who you girls are…"

Then, she pulled a familiar object, and the group stared in shock as a whirling lavender light engulfed her, dispelling to reveal Cure Fortune. A moment later, her fairy partner Glasan appeared beside her. Hime's eyes widened, and she took a step back.

"Cure Lovely, Cure Honey… I wish to join forces with you."

After a moment of shock, Megumi smiled brightly. "S-Sure! We could use all the help we can-"

"Hold on a moment!"

The girls and Seiji were startled as Kuro appeared, eyeing Cure Fortune suspiciously.

"You mentioned Lovely and Honey," she said, "but what about Cure Princess? What about Hime? …Do you actually want to be part of the team, to be our ally? Or are you just trying to use these girls as a way to help you get stronger? …Well?"

Cure Fortune's expression turned to an uncomfortable scowl, averting her eyes, and Megumi & Yuuko's smiles dropped.

"You… were only planning on using us?" Yuuko asked.

"Continuing on the first part of my question," Kuro continued, "I notice you left one member of the team out of your 'offer'. …You can't hide it from me, the looks you give Hime whenever you see her. I recognize contempt and hatred when I see it."

'H… Hatred?' Megumi thought, shocked.

"…I have a damn good reason to dislike her" Fortune growled lowly.

"Is that so? But you don't just 'dislike' her, you despise her. I don't know why… and to be honest, I don't much care. A team can't work if any of its members can't stand each other" Kuro stalked forward, shifting into her combat outfit. "I will ask you this one question, and you will answer truthfully: Are you an ally of Cure Princess, or an enemy? One or the other, no third option. If you haven't even made up your mind on that, do so now."

Cure Fortune was silent for a long moment, and then fixed the group with a hardened glare. "After what she did, what she is responsible for… I can't call her anything but my enemy."

As Megumi, Seiji, Yuuko, & Ribbon gasped, Kuro sighed.

"I see…"

The attack came so fast that Cure Fortune barely reacted in time, raising her arms to block Kuro's punch, the transferred force releasing a shockwave of wind and buckling the concrete she stood on. Kuro's eyes had changed, the amber-colored irises overlaid by a trio of comma-like markings surrounding the pupil.

"What are you doing?!" Cure Fortune said, trying not to let just how shocked she was show.

"You said it, didn't you? Cure Princess is your enemy. She's one of my partners now. And that means, I'm your enemy too! And I don't 'purify' my enemies like the Pretty Cures do; I crush them!"

She lashed out with a kick that knocked Fortune back, and then stomped to conjure a shimmering red barrier about 100 feet across, holding herself & Fortune in and everyone else out. Then, she Traced her Kanshou & Bakuya, gripping the mated blades as she charged. Cure Fortune went on the defensive, trying to give ground as she ducked and weaved to avoid Kuro's swings and thrusts. Soon, however, her back hit the barrier wall, and she had to grab at Kuro's wrists right before the twin blades could slash down on her, straining to hold them back; she was surprised by how much power Kuro's slender young body had, the Tracer's magic-augmented strength at least a match for Fortune's own. Then, Kuro shifted her grip on her blades, spinning them around in her hands into a reverse grip and pushing downward, and Cure Fortune barely escaped being slashed, ducking & rolling as they tore through part of her Cure outfit.

Leaping back, Kuro cast Katon: Hōsenka, spitting out a barrage of small fireballs. Cure Fortune formed a star-shaped lavender magic shield, and the fireballs and their concealed shuriken battered at the defense, chipping away at it; one got through, the shuriken grazing across her shoulder. Growling, Fortune conjured a scimitar of glowing lavender-colored magic, brandishing it and rushing at Kuro. In response, the little Tracer formed a jian and channeled her magical power through it, clashing the straight-sword against Cure Fortune's curved blade. They dueled briefly, until Kuro charged mana into her sword and hit as hard as she could, causing Fortune's blade construct to shatter. Stunned, Cure Fortune leapt back to avoid the follow-up strike, forming several small slicing stars and flinging them like shuriken. Kuro dodged most of them and used her blade to swat the last one away, then dispelled the jian.

"Enough warm-up" she said. "Time to get serious…"

A raging aura of power surged around Kuro, leaving Cure Fortune and the onlookers stunned by the sudden leap in her power level they sensed. With a flash of red and orange, Kuro 'Traced' a Mirage Longsword, and then she released a very large wave of Crossfire Shot bolts. Shocked, Cure Fortune moved frantically to dodge what she could and shield against what she couldn't. However, there were so many orange magic bolts, and each one had a considerable punch to it, that Fortune's shields soon failed and evading became impossible, and she cried out as some of the shots hit home, hitting much harder than she expected, leaving her wracked with pain. Gritting her teeth, she charged her finisher and fired, a large star-shaped blast of energy:

"PreCure: Stardust Shoot!"

"Rho Aias!"

Kuro's five-petaled flower shield took Fortune's attack head-on, and showed barely any damage, leaving the belligerent Pretty Cure stunned beyond words; she realized now that Kuro was too strong for her to defeat. Then, Kuro flash-stepped forward, and struck Cure Fortune with a full-force blow to the gut. Fortune doubled over and fell to her knees, eyes wide and jaw dropped as she tried desperately to resume breathing. A second later, Kuro struck with several more blows, pounding Cure Fortune through her Cure outfit and magical protection, finishing with a kick to the mid-back that would've shattered a normal human's spine. Sent tumbling by the blow, Fortune barely managed to land on her feet, and then cried out as Kuro's Mirage Longsword slashed across her lower back, some of the damage actually breaking through her magical defenses to leave a burn/cut across her flesh. She swung wildly in an attempt to make Kuro get back, the smaller girl backflipping away.

Then, Kuro 'Traced' Sasuke Uchiha's chokutō, and the blade crackled with Lightning chakra which then spread to envelop Kuro's little body, adding to the young warrior's fearsome appearance. Seeing and feeling this power, feeling the pain across her body, remembering what she'd learned about this girl, feeling Kuro's Killing Intent… Now, Cure Fortune didn't just fear defeat; she was beginning to fear for her life.

"Cure Fortune's stronger than any of us…," Yuuko murmured, "and Kuro-chan's just… picking her apart…"

Kuro teleported in, and Cure Fortune cried out as a brief smack from the broad side of the blade was accompanied by a surge of hot pain as the electrical energy hit her. She ducked backward, narrowly avoiding a swing that had been aimed at her neck, and the moment she straightened up the pommel of the sword jabbed her in the throat, followed by a full-strength palm thrust that felt like it broke at least one rib. Desperate to try and escape, Fortune formed her lower-back bow into wings and tried to take off, but as she got a few meters in the air Kuro leapt up, forming a solid Rune Shield and kicking off it, lunging at Cure Fortune with a Chidori thrusting out.

Cure Fortune had no time to evade. Kuro's spearing hand wreathed in concentrated Lightning chakra was only partially stopped by Fortune's magical auto-defenses; though it did not tear an instantly-fatal hole through the girl's body, it did result in a burst of blood as it created a sizable wound on her front, below her breasts. At the same time, the released Lightning energy discharged, surging across and partially through Cure Fortune's body. After a few seconds, she plummeted to the ground, trailing smoke, landing with a thud on her back. Groaning and whimpering weakly, she held a twitching hand to her front, feeling the blood. Kuro landed a couple meters in front of her, arms crossed and an ice-cold frown on her face.

"We can't afford any more enemies right now" she said. "Your hatred of Cure Princess makes you too much of a threat…"

A blue Stage-0 Susanō ribcage and arm formed around Kuro, the skeletal arm forming a massive undulating blade and raising it high.

"SHE'S GONNA KILL HER!-!" Ribbon screamed, panicking.

"Iona!-!" Glasan futilely pounded at the barrier.

"Kuro-chan, stop!-!" Megumi shouted desperately.

Cure Fortune weakly trembled, whimpering feebly, face pale and eyes wide as tears of terror filled them. The huge blue blade swung down… and was caught in the hand that suddenly appeared, instantly stopping the blade, the transferred force sending a blast of wind. Everyone was thoroughly surprised at Blue's sudden appearance, the human-form divine being holding an expression of stern anger that none of them had ever seen on his handsome face. Cure Fortune was virtually frozen, still silently crying and trembling, not sure what to feel now.

"Stand down, Kuro" Blue said firmly.

"What are you doing?" Kuro asked crossly. "She's an enemy; she said it herself! With her power level and her spiteful hate of Hime, she's too dangerous to let just roam around! Ribbon-chan told me how she didn't get her powers from you, so for all we know she may even be an agent of one of the DDF's big enemies!"

"Actually, from what I have been able to discern, Cure Fortune inherited her powers from her older sister Cure Tender, one of the strongest of the current Pretty Cure generation… and one of the first Cures defeated and captured by Phantom."

'The bride's missing friend, Maria… That's why she's missing?' Megumi thought.

"…Regardless, we can't abide by someone who poses such a threat, who despises a member of our team and won't even give a reason why!"

"…the… Box…" Cure Fortune wheezed out, still trembling from residual fear and not-so-residual pain. "Princess… opened… Axia…"

Megumi, Yuuko, and Seiji gasped. Hime, trembling, made ready to run… and then little red Binds grabbed her ankles.

"Hime-chan…" Kuro said. "From what I've gathered from getting to know you so far, you're not the kind of person to willingly unseal an ancient evil by opening a forbidden box. You barely have a mean bone in your body. So why did you do it? Curiosity? Was it an accident?"

Quivering, Hime struggled to speak. "Th… There was a… a sad voice… c-coming from the box… Sounded so… weak, a-and scared, and sad… p-pleading for help…"

Cure Fortune's eyes widened. 'S-She… She was… tricked…?'

"In other words…," Kuro said, "your kindness, your innocence, your desire to help others… The sealed evil turned your virtues against you." She let out an exasperated sigh. "You're too trusting, Hime – too naïve! You can't just go doing things for people just because they look or sound all sad about it; that's how you end up getting used like this! There are way too many people out there who'll take advantage of a person's innocence, trust, and want to help in order to put them through the wringer and deceive them into helping with awful things! I'm not blaming or mad at you for following your Heart and trying to be a good person, but you can't afford to be too willing to trust and give the benefit of the doubt to everyone! If you're too friendly to every single person, creature, or mysterious voice you meet, it'll come back to bite you."

"That's not true!" Megumi spoke up. "True, there are a few bad people out there who might take advantage of others' kindness, but that's no reason to not trust anyone! Most people aren't like that! And… And, if I had been there instead of Hime… if I had heard a sad voice begging for help, I wouldn't have been able to resist trying to help either."

Yuuko nodded in agreement, and placed a hand on Hime's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault…"

As her two friends accepted her dark, terrible secret and still comforted and supported her, Hime felt like crying.

"You girls must remember that Kuro is from a different world," Blue said, noticing how the pressure of the Susanō Blade had near-completely lessened, "one where centuries of magical activity connected to the 'Magus Association' have created a climate of secrets, mistrust, and betrayals. And Kuro, you must try to realize that the magical world of this Realm isn't like that. For lack of a better way to put it, magic-knowledgeable people here are nicer than in your world. Himelda didn't even consider any suspicion regarding the voice from the Axia Box begging to help because an enemy using fake innocence and pleas for help had never been done before.

The little Tracer sighed. "And as for you," she turned to Cure Fortune, "why didn't you ever ask Hime why she did it? Did it ever occur to you to find out the reason? …No, it didn't, because you were too caught up in your toxic grudge, too desperate to blame someone for what happened to your sister, when the only one you should be blaming is the asshole who beat and captured her! Ugh, why the hell don't people just talk to each other?!"

'W-Why… Why didn't I… I never even thought to…' Cure Fortune could feel guilt starting to swell up within her.

Kuro lifted her Susanō Sword, which then joined the arm & ribcage in evaporating into wisps of blue chakra flame and disappearing. The red barrier faded away and came down, and immediately Glasan hurried over to her wounded partner's side. As Kuro stood down, Blue came over and used his healing magic on Cure Fortune. The gaping, bleeding wound in her front was sealed shut, though a ragged scar was left in its place; in addition, the electrical damage to her body was undone. Fortune staggered to her unstable feet, and then fled as fast as she could, troubled by thoughts of these new revelations… and still dead-terrified of Kuro.

"Hime-chan…" Megumi placed a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I…" the blue-haired girl squeaked. "I w-was afraid… that you girls would hate me for… s-starting this whole mess by o-opening…"

Megumi stopped her with a hug, Yuuko following while Seiji placed a hand on her head.

"Don't be stupid" the boy said. "You made a mistake, but it was because bad people took advantage of your innocence and kindness. That's not your fault at all."

"We'd never hate you" Yuuko spoke to Hime in a soothing tone. "We're comrades, and best friends. Now, come on; let's get you back home and I'll make something yummy for you."

"…You think Cure Fortune might change her tune now that she knows Hime-chan was tricked into unsealing the Phantom Empire?" Kuro wondered aloud.

"We can only hope" Ribbon replied. "She's got a lot to think about…"

-CHAPTER END-

Next Time: Phantom makes his move, and other stuff happens too. And to those who're seeing a 'pattern', don't worry; none of the Go Princess or Mahou-Tsukai Pretty Cures will pick fights with the DDF people sent to help them. Cures Ace and Fortune needed 'attitude adjustments', but the other two teams' members don't.