PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm PC-8
Later that day, a pair of Saiaku at the marketplace was taken care of by Cures Lovely & Princess; Megumi had made it undeniably clear to Hime that she was still accepted and loved, and the elation that brought the blue-haired girl enabled her to fight in perfect sync with her pinkette friend.
The next day, the Cure Trio and Kuro were making their way along the waterfront, just enjoying each other's company. Suddenly, there was a pulse of Dark energy that raced out over nearly half the town, and then a veritable horde of Saiaku sprang up all over the place. In addition, purple crystals began to grow everywhere; Blue had informed them that the crystals meant PreCure Hunter Phantom's handiwork. The girls quickly transformed, Kuro Tracing the 'Blast Sword' Shibuki and making the first strike, a slashing explosion knocking the nearest Saiaku for a loop. Cure Honey conjured a clover-shaped mass of magic from the tip of her baton to wield as a mace, while Lovely & Princess formed their outfits' wings and stuck to unarmed attacks for now.
As two Saiaku tried to box Kuro in, she fired a wave of Fire-type Sagitta Magica at one's face, stunning it while she hit the other with a blast-slash from her weapon. One Saiaku managed to overpowered Cure Lovely and smash her into the side of a crystal, but Cure Princess came to her rescue, blasting the monster back with a pair of big blue fist-shaped masses of magical power.
"You're always helping me when I can't handle things…" Lovely said with a warm smile.
"That's my line" Princess replied. "I was nothing before I met you…"
"We can fight so well now because we have each other! Our friendship and love give us power!"
Grinning, Cure Princess nodded. As Lovely went back into the fray, however, a worried thought crossed her mind. 'Cure Fortune… doesn't have anyone. How's she doing right now…?'
The quartet continued clearing the town of Saiaku, defeating and purifying them one group at a time. Finally, the last ones were cleansed, but the girls barely got a moment's reprieve before Cure Fortune's fairy partner Glassan arrived, panicking as she delivered worrying news: Cure Fortune had engaged Phantom in battle, and the two of them had vanished through a dark mirror portal to some unknown realm…
-Break-
As the ashes that were once her transformation cards were scattered by the wind around her, Iona felt the fear and despair consuming her. Her sister had only fallen and been beaten because she had wandered into the battlefield, and Maria had thrown herself into the path of an attack Phantom had fired at her back then. It was all her fault; first blaming Cure Princess, and now this. And now…
"Sleep in eternal despair…" Phantom proclaimed, holding aloft a huge mass of roiling red & black power. He threw it, and Iona closed her eyes and waited for the end…
"Rho Aias!"
A five-petaled flower shield formed in the attack's path, warping from the hit but holding strong and outlasting the assault. Iona stared up in shock at her four rescuers standing between her and Phantom.
"Sorry we're late" Kuro quipped. "Traffic sucked."
"Happiness Charge PreCures, and the off-worlder who uses Projection magic… How did you people get here?" Phantom demanded.
"Our friendship created a miracle," Cure Honey responded, "with a little help from Blue-sama."
Phantom looked at the shimmering mirror portal, through which Blue's image could be seen, and an expression of near-feral hate came upon his face before he regained some control of himself.
"We're your opponents now" Cure Lovely took a ready stance. "We'll make you pay for unleashing a horde of Saiaku on our town!"
Kuro formed a copy of 'Leon' Leonhart's gunblade, and led Lovely & Honey in the charge. Cure Princess, meanwhile, ran over to the downed Iona.
"Here!" she said. "Take my PreCards! …What I've done, what you've suffered through because of it, is beyond any forgiveness. I can't think of any way to apologize to you that would be enough. This is the most I can do, and it's still probably not good enough! Just… Take my cards, and use them to save your sister. I've got to get back into the fight…"
"Princess!" Iona shouted as the blue-haired girl turned to run. "What about your kingdom? Your family? You were going to use your wish to save them, weren't you?!"
"…This whole mess… is all my fault. My kingdom, my mom and dad, not being saved… is my punishment."
She formed her wings and took off, moving to join her teammates.
'No…' Iona though, clutching the PreCards to her chest, tears coming to her eyes. 'That's enough… You've repented and suffered enough already… You don't deserve to…'
"Iona!" Glasan pulled out their PreCard album. "With Princess' cards, we have a full set! We can make a wish with this! …What are you gonna do with it? Save Maria? Or… maybe wish for the PreCure Hunter to disappear, for the Phantom Empire to fall?"
"…Would making that wish… save the Blue-Sky Kingdom, and all the people who've been trapped around the world?"
"I don't know… I don't think so…"
'Everything has been for my sister… but…' She looked as the Cures were being beaten around by Phantom, while Kuro was apparently giving her all just to keep up with him. 'Saving one person… but condemning others… That's…'
At the battle, Cure Lovely cried out as an energy blast from Phantom blasted her into a crystal spire. He went for a follow-up sword strike, only for Kuro to block his blow and blast him with a fireball from her Traced gunblade, followed by Cures Princess & Honey knocking him away. Phantom moved in close, locking blades with Kuro and slowly pushing her back, forming a Shield spell to block the Fire-type Sagitta Magica bolt she fired at his face.
Suddenly, there was a brilliant, shining light from elsewhere on the field. Golden light changed to lavender, as Cure Fortune was reborn, new power flowing through her. Then, she leapt in with a punch that the PreCure Hunter leapt back to avoid, the blow shattering the ground he'd been standing on.
"All this time…" she said. "I've been running on vengeance, and hate… But that's not where a Pretty Cure's power is meant to come from. The love from my sister… The warmth and happiness from… from my comrades… I want to spread those feelings to everyone… and stop those who stand against them!"
She charged, and when Phantom blocked her punch he was startled by how much more power was in it than before. He tried to regain the initiative, but Fortune was managing to match him blow for blow, even pushing him back slightly. She finally got past his guard and hammered him with a blow that sent him hurtling back, and then pulled out her new Cure weapon – some sort of fancy tambourine – and charged power into it:
"Light of the stars, change into holy power! PreCure: Starlight Ascension!"
The wave of magical power rushed out, crashing into Phantom's guard. He gritted his teeth, straining to hold it back… and then the bulk of the power released, the blast nearly doubling in size and engulfing him in Light magic. The other Cures and Kuro ran over to Fortune, who stopped their congratulations before they could start, holding a hand out and staring at the dust cloud. Sure enough, it cleared to reveal Phantom, kneeling and obviously injured, but with a burning fire still in his eyes.
"I'm not done yet…" he growled. "I can still-"
"What are you doing, Phantom?"
Everyone was startled as a massive red-bordered mirror appeared a distance behind Phantom, projecting the image of a woman with curled blonde hair and a pale-blue teardrop mark below her left eye, clad in a somewhat 'poofy' black dress with white skirt, a pair of gray things from the back that looked like either storm clouds or butterfly-like wings, holding a silver & purple staff.
"That's… the enemy leader" Glasan told Kuro and the HC Cures. "Queen Mirage!"
"Phantom, I do not recall giving you permission to go off to Pikarigaoka on your own…"
"So you're the evil Queen, huh?" Kuro formed a Trace of the giant blade Kubikiri Bōchō. "Shall we proceed with your appointment with the executioner?"
"…Happiness Charge PreCure, and the little Projection user from another world… You are the ones who've been interfering with my plans…"
She pointed her staff at them, charging up a Dark blast to fire through the mirror at the girls…
"Halt!"
A mirror portal shimmered into existence, and out stepped Blue, glaring up at the startled image of the enemy.
"Mirage, stop this!" he called out. "If you keep spreading despair and darkness around the world, it will end up consuming you as well! It's not too late; you can still undo all of this!"
"Blue… You were the one who taught me, aren't you? That happiness, friendship, hope, love… are all just fleeting illusions!"
"You're wrong!" Megumi stepped forward, to both parties' surprise. "Happiness, love, and friendship aren't 'illusions'! Some people have trouble finding them, true, but everyone has those things in their hearts! They are eternal!"
For a moment, there was silence. Then, cracks appeared across the big mirror's surface as a terrible dark power surged forth.
"I see. You are the one who has given Blue new strength. …Disgusting."
Sensing the building power of the next attack, Kuro moved to step forward and conjure a shield, only for Blue to hurriedly grab her by the wrist and pull her back, using his power to pull everyone with him through the mirror-portal he'd used to get here, getting everyone out right before the blast hit. The gang found themselves back in the 'Cross Mirror Room', still shaken by the overwhelming Killing Intent they'd felt from their true foe…
"So that was Queen Mirage…" Yuuko said. "Her presence was so cold and suffocating…"
"Blue-sama…" Ribbon spoke up. "The words that were said back there… Did you and Queen Mirage know each other before all this?"
"…We did" the divine man admitted. "But now, we are enemies." He sighed, turning to face the group. "I will tell you girls one thing about her, something important. Queen Mirage is the result of a worst-case scenario: a Pretty Cure who fell to Darkness."
The girls gasped.
"Q… Queen Mirage used to be…" Hime started.
"A… A Pretty Cure?!" Iona was dumbfounded.
"So even the Pretty Cures, champions of the Light, are able to succumb to the Darkness…" Kuro mused. "and it looks like when they go bad, they go really bad."
The group passed through another portal, back to the Blue-Sky Embassy, and all but collapsed onto the couches as the adrenaline wore off. Blue took hold of the transformation device Iona had been carrying.
"So Cure Tender's powers were passed on to her sister…"
"Y-Yes, sir" Iona sat with hands folded. "It… It was all I could do…"
"In any case," Megumi spoke up, "Iona-chan, why don't you join our team? The Happiness Charge PreCure could become even stronger with you as a part of us!"
"I think… I'll have to pass. You girls have this great teamwork dynamic all set up; I don't want to ruin that by trying to slot myself in."
As Megumi tried to think of a counter-argument, her stomach rumbled, shortly followed by everyone else's.
"For now," Yuuko said, "let's make something to eat first."
"I've got it!" Megumi suddenly shouted. "Since we're finally all together, let's celebrate with a little house party! I'll make a fruit-cake!"
"But we don't have any fruit" Ribbon replied. "Or vegetables for the salad. Or meat, or cheese, or snacks… Basically, we're out of pretty much everything right now."
"So one of us needs to go on a shopping trip" Kuro surmised.
"Why don't we go, Iona?" Glasan suggested. "Besides, it wouldn't be fair for us to eat any of it if we don't do anything to help."
The purple-haired girl nodded. "Alright. …Princess Himelda, you come too."
"Eh?!" Hime was still nervous around Iona. "W-Why me?"
"I'll need help carrying everything."
"Auu…"
-Break-
About an hour after Hime & Iona (and their respective fairies) left, Blue's mirrors detected a pair of Saiaku forming near the marketplace. Lovely, Honey, and Kuro hurried over… to find Princess & Fortune there, arriving just in time to see Hosshiiwa retreating.
"You were late, girls" Ribbon told them. "Cure Princess and Cure Fortune already handled it."
"They worked together so well!" Glasan praised.
"That didn't seem possible at first" Cure Fortune admitted. "I… I ran away, after the shame and guilt over… over how awful I've treated her for things that weren't her fault got to me. And yet… when the Saiaku were working together and backing me into a corner, she still came and saved me, again. I… don't really think I deserve to be forgiven so easily…"
"Forgiveness isn't something you 'deserve'" Kuro replied. "It's something the other person gives to you; they decide whether or not you've earned forgiveness, and she, we, think you have. Granted, I still think you were a major bitch before, but you've finally gotten a few wake-up calls and now you're making up for it."
As Cure Princess put a hand on Fortune's shoulder, the lavender-haired magical girl turned to Cure Lovely. "And… I've decided. I'll take your offer, Cure Lovely. I'll join the team… if you'll have me."
A big smile formed on Cure Lovely's face, as she took hold of Cure Fortune's hands. "Great! Now come on, we've got a house party to set up!"
-Break-
A couple days later, Iona took the whole gang – including Blue – to a beach resort owned by her family dojo, for 'special training'. Once there she put her three fellow Cures through training to use some of their attacks without transforming, which came off looking like a bunch of girls pretending to be Pretty Cures; Kuro felt a little embarrassed for them, thankful for their sakes nobody else was around to see them like this…
During their training across the beach, they inadvertently stumbled across Oresky doing the same thing, leading a Saiaku and a pack of Choiaku in training. Kuro sat back and watched to give the Cures a chance to show if their 'training' did anything, and the girls didn't disappoint; Cure Lovely's optic blasts were more accurate, Honey's ribbon hit harder and moved more agilely, Princess' 'Princess Ball' finally actually hurt her opponent rather than bouncing off or missing, and Fortune debuted a new Form Change that took care of the Choiaku, and then purified the Saiaku, forcing Oresky to retreat.
The rest of the day was peaceful, though Megumi ended up overworking herself and coming down with a slight fever, and Blue put her to bed early. She was still out of commission the next day, and Seiji seemed to be acting odd about Blue taking care of her… Thankfully, she seemed to be all better by the afternoon, just in time to help fight against Namekeruda's newest Saiaku. The next day, on the train ride home, Seiji & Hime had an adventure of their own when they accidentally got left behind at an unmanned station while everyone else was asleep, minus her 'Change Mirror' and his 'Cure Liner' comm. device, and what's worse, Hime ended up with a sprained ankle. Thankfully, the rest of the group found them just in time to save them from a Saiaku and horde of Choiaku, and once Cure Honey healed her, Cure Princess fought with newfound ferocity and strength due to being angered like never before by seeing Seiji be hurt protecting her, vanquishing the Saiaku all by herself.
Of course, this gave way to a bit of trouble when Hime came to the conclusion she was falling in love with Seiji. Though, in the end, after Lovely & Princess reached new levels of power saving Seiji after he was made into a Saiaku, Hime realized her feelings for the boy weren't quite romantic after all.
-Break-
The group gathered in the Cross Mirror Room – Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, Iona, Kuro, their two fairies, and a third fairy named 'Aloalo'. Apparently, she was partnered to Cure Sunset and Cure Wave, the Cures charged with defending Hawaii from the Phantom Empire's forces, and things weren't going well. They stepped through the mirror-portal…
…and discovered that 'things aren't going well' was an understatement. It looked like half of all Hawaii was frozen!
"What the hell happened here?" Kuro looked around.
"The Phantom Empire forces here are led by Madam Momere," Aloalo explained, "and they've been defeating the Aloha Pretty Cure over and over recently. Cure Sunset and Cure Wave are sisters, but… lately, they've been constantly arguing and fighting with each other; I came to get you girls because in their last fight, Sunset almost deliberately attacked Wave during their fight against a Saiaku…"
Megumi gasped, shocked that a sibling bond could come apart that badly. Before anybody could say any more, an explosion sounded out. The girls hurried over in its direction, and after a few minutes they arrived to see the two Cures knocked out of their transformations, defeated by a fire-dancer Saiaku and…
"Is… that a guy or a lady?" Hime asked.
After taunting the two fallen girls a little, 'Madam' Momere teleported out. The Japan group hurried over, Aloalo taking the lead.
"Ohana! Olina! Lord Blue sent us some help! These girls are the Happiness Charge Pretty Cures from Japan; they're probably the strongest Cures in the whole world!"
"I wouldn't really go that far" Iona replied, embarrassed.
"You girls have given the Phantom Empire more defeats and setbacks than any other Cure team. You're the big guns in the war against them!"
"We've beat them so many times because they keep throwing so many attacks against our town" Hime replied. "We only have more victories than anyone else because they've attacked us more than they've attacked the world's other teams. …Seriously, in most places it's one Phantom Empire agent focusing on a whole region, but we've got three of them picking on just one town!"
"In any case," Yuuko spoke up, "let's all find someplace safe to discuss things, shall we?"
-Break-
At the twins' house, it quickly became clear that the girls' differing philosophies, rather than working to cover each other, were instead leading them to clash; Olina was too cautious, not taking the initiative when boldness was needed and thus letting opportunities pass by, while Ohana was too reckless, not thinking things through and always recklessly charging into fights where going head-on was nigh-guaranteed to fail.
"You two gotta find a balance," Kuro told them, "or you're gonna keep getting your asses kicked."
"Be nice, Kuro-chan" Megumi gently reprimanded the girl. "This isn't a problem that can't be solved."
"And I've got just the thing to start!" Yuuko pulled out the sizable bag she'd brought along, opening it to reveal an impressive amount of food she'd brought from her family's shop. "The Oomori family's food is a tool of peace; people can forget their fights while indulging in deliciousness!"
Sure enough, Yuuko's food proved to be a major mood-soother, leaving the two Hawaiian girls more open to discussion. Yuuko, having been traveling the world at Blue's behest recently to help other Cures in need in addition to her activities as part of the Happiness Charge team, led the efforts to get the sisters to reconcile, reminding them of how important they were to each other.
Thankfully, her people skills paid off, and just in time too, as 'Madam' Momere arrived outside with a horde of Choiaku and two Saiaku. The group hurried outside, all six Cures transforming to meet the enemy, while Kuro shifted to her combat outfit and sent out her Rowlet & Sneasel to help out. Kuro conjured and threw a fusillade of kunai, which her Rowlet surrounded with Razor Leaves to the Choiaku targets had nowhere to run, especially with Sneasel using lightning-fast slashes and ice attacks to 'herd' them into her partners' attacks' path. Cure Lovely, meanwhile, shifted to her Cherry Flamenco form, blowing a multitude of Choiaku away, while Fortune & Princess went at one of the Saiaku, hammering it with blows and forcing it back.
Cures Sunset & Wave, meanwhile, were working together better than they had in weeks, covering each other as they double-teamed the fire dancer Saiaku. However, it was a tough opponent, managing to keep up with them even with their newly-rediscovered teamwork. It blasted them back with its flaming tree-sized stick, and when it tried a finishing blow against Cure Sunset, Cure Wave leapt into its path, taking so much damage she almost de-transformed.
"Wave, what are you doing?!" Sunset shouted, a hint of tears in her eyes as she cradled her partner. "That was way too reckless!"
"I had to…" the blue Cure replied weakly. "You're my big sister…"
"You still haven't dropped that dead-weight baby sister of yours?" Momere taunted Cure Sunset.
"Aw, shuddup!"
Kuro's flying kick slammed into Momere's face, sending her (him? Hir?) tumbling. Meanwhile, a flash of violet accompanied Cure Fortune purifying the other Saiaku. Cure Honey hurried over, using Honey Healing Rhythm to get Sunset & Wave back on their feet, while the Saiaku was pushed back by a Night Slash to the chest by Sneasel and being repeatedly Plucked in the face by Rowlet.
Gathering themselves, Sunset & Wave came together, focusing and combining their powers. For the first time in far too long, their combination attack flew forth, crashing into the Saiaku and purifying it. Indignant, Momere started shouting at them… and barely reacted in time to avoid being decapitated by a Sangheili plasma sword wielded by Kuro. Realizing this was the non-Cure, lethal-force-using heroine the Queen had mentioned, and that she had six Cures and two Pokémon backing her up, Momere quickly fled. The magic ice encasing the area quickly evaporated and disappeared, returning Hawaii to its warm and sunny tropical state.
That evening, Ohana & Olina treated the HC Cures' group to a proper Hawaiian dinner. Afterwards, the Japan group headed back home, assured that Hawaii was once again in good hands.
-Break-
The next day, Blue revealed that, in addition to acting as a sealing vessel, the Axia Box possessed the ability to grant new power to the Cures. With that, they could finally defeat Queen Mirage and the Phantom Empire… but Megumi spoke up and said they couldn't just destroy their enemies, for she had read the clues in the incarnated deity's words and actions: Blue didn't want to destroy Queen Mirage.
Later, as he led everyone to the Pikari Shrine to perform the ritual, Blue confessed the full truth: Mirage was once a Shrine Maiden and a first-generation Pretty Cure, who bonded with and fell in love with him, and he for her. However, he felt that his duty as Earth's god meant he could not allow himself to be with her, and so rejected her plea to stay with him. In response, the maiden's pain and despair of lost love mutated into bitterness and hate, the warrior of the Light became subsumed in that Darkness, and Queen Mirage was 'born'.
"So, that's why the 'no falling in love' rule for these girls" Kuro surmised. "You didn't want to risk the creation of another Queen Mirage."
"Yes…" Blue nodded. He turned to the conjured mirror, which showed an image of the shrine-maiden on one half, and the dark queen she became on the other. "The girl I knew back then would never want to do the horrible things Queen Mirage has done. I… Just once, I want to see her smile again…"
"Alright, then!" Megumi spoke up. "We just need to use Axia's power to give you the chance to properly talk with her!"
"If you've hurt someone's feelings," Hime added, "you need to apologize properly. And we'll do what we can to help you."
"She might not wanna hear it," Kuro said with a grin, "but if it comes down to it, we'll just fight her until she's too worn out to shut you out, and then you can get through to her and pull her outta that dark pit her Heart is trapped in!"
A genuine, warm smile came to Blue's face. "You girls… Thank you. Now, let us commence the ritual to awaken Axia's power!"
Hime changed into her kingdom's royal ceremonial garb, as Blue handed her the necessary tools for the ritual. She began to perform the ritual's dance, and soon a shining light came down from the heavens above, down on her, Blue, and the Axia Box.
"Can't let you do that, PreCures!"
Everyone suddenly turned to look at the shrine's gates, to see all three of the familiar Phantom Empire generals there.
"You plan to use the Axia Box to get enough power to vanquish our queen?" Oresky asked, "Sorry, but that ain't happening! We'll crush you here and now!"
"This is a pain," Namekeruda said, "but I can't disobey a direct order from the Queen."
"I'd rather take that pretty little box all for myself" Hosshiiwa grinned. "It'll look nice on my shelf!"
In response, the four combat-ready girls stepped forward, each of them shining with light as they transformed. Cure Lovely engaged Namekeruda, while Cure Fortune took Oresky; Hosshiiwa went for Cure Honey, and Kuro moved to support her friend, forming a Trace of Orochimaru's Kusanagi no Tsurugi, clashing against the evil woman's magic-imbued umbrella. All the while, Blue and Hime worked to continue the ritual.
Kuro sent her partners out to play; Namekeruda's attempt to bash Cure Lovely's head in with his cane was blocked by Sneasel, her claws glowing with Metal Claw, while Oresky had to shield his face from a Razor Leaf barrage as Rowlet moved to support Cure Fortune. Hosshiiwa yelped as a near-miss from Kuro's sword tore at the edge of her dress, then snarled and fired a Darkness blast at the girl which Kuro sliced out of the air, giving Cure Honey the opening to hit Hosshiiwa in the face with her baton. Cure Lovely formed a big glowing pink fist of magic power, and Sneasel formed spiked knuckles of ice atop it, the combined attack slamming into Namekeruda and blasting him back. Oresky broke out in involuntary shivers as Rowlet's Ominous Wind battered him, and a straight kick from Cure Fortune sent him tumbling.
Unfortunately, the evil trio were quickly back on their feet, and didn't seem to have taken much damage. Then, however, the Axia Box glowed with power, floating up before Blue and shifting in form, taking the shape of what looked like a makeup dresser or something. The light it shined out rejuvenated the heroes, and bound the evil trio in place. Cure Lovely used her Lollipop Hiphop form's attack to pin them down further, and then Cure Fortune blasted them with Starlight Ascension.
In the blinding light, nobody noticed a mirror with a pair of glowing red eyes on it forming to face the mid-purification trio, breaking the cleansing effect and reestablishing Darkness' hold on them. When the light faded, they were still their old, evil selves.
"Happiness and love are too troublesome and painful to deal with" Namekeruda proclaimed.
"I'd rather spread despair to others than wallow in my own 'happiness'" Hosshiiwa sneered.
"Being happy isn't as important as being number-one!" Oresky shouted.
The trio warped out, as the light from the Shining Make Dresser died down. Then, before anyone could say anything else, a new light shone forth. They stared as Kuro's Rowlet became a mass of light that shifted and grew, and when the light faded, Dartrix stood and struck a pose.
"Ohhh~! Kuro-chan, he evolved!" Cure Lovely said excitedly.
With a big grin, Kuro hurried over and hugged her Dartrix, who looked a bit miffed at first at his feathers being messed up, but then smiled and patted his Trainer with his wing.
"We've awakened the Axia Box's true form" Blue announced. "With the Shining Make Dresser, I feel we are one step closer to bringing an end to this conflict full of suffering."
-Break-
"Phantom!"
"Yes, my lady?"
"…Go to Pikarigaoka. Find Blue and his Cures, and crush them! Carry out my will!"
"With pleasure, my Queen…"
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: Things start gettin' real, as creeping Darkness draws near…