PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm PC-8
In the wake of the climactic battle and the defeat/purification of the Phantom Empire, Hime got her long-awaited reunion with her parents the King & Queen of the Blue-Sky Kingdom, who were surprised to learn that their little girl had become a member of the world's most accomplished Pretty Cure team. Afterwards, everyone – including Blue & the purified Mirage (and PhanPhan) – headed back to Pikarigaoka, settling in to rest and recuperate. The Cures knew that the time would come before long for them to follow Kuro and aid the DDF, but until then it seemed they had some down-time. Kuro was still amazed that she'd managed to manifest a Keyblade of her own, and that she'd successfully cast Unlimited Blade Works without another caster's assistance.
However, all was not well. Despite everything that had been accomplished, Megumi found herself unable to truly feel the jubilation and happiness that this victory should have brought her. An impromptu pajama party with the other girls helped a little, but she found herself waking in the middle of the night, dwelling on things and on the pain in her heart.
…She did not notice that hers was not the only fitful sleep. Lately, whenever Iona didn't have anything to distract her, her thoughts went to her older sister, and they were dark thoughts indeed – anger, resentment, bitterness, gradually twisting into something darker…
In any event, just after sunrise before the others were awake, Seiji invited Megumi out for a day on the town, taking in the festive atmosphere. For a few hours they simply enjoyed themselves and each other's company, ending up relaxing together by the river. While there, however, Megumi confessed to Seiji about the crushing pain she'd felt inside ever since the battle's climax: the pain of heartbreak, of knowing that Blue had chosen Mirage instead of her. The built-up pain came spilling out, the waterfront echoing with a heartbroken girl's sobbing cries…
Once Megumi had cried herself out, though, Seiji assured her that no matter what, she still had him, the girls, everyone there to support and be with her. In the awkward moment that followed, he'd hurried off to buy some drinks for the two of them. …And while he'd been gone, something had dropped out of the sky in front of Megumi that filled her with shock and dread: a Saiaku, its bulky body deep red instead of black. Megumi transformed, but her wavering heart lessened her effectiveness, and this Red Saiaku was stronger than any of the black ones had been.
Then, Cure Lovely had found herself in a mysterious dimly-lit red area, alone fighting the Saiaku, and then a mysterious man had appeared, whispering things to her – how everyone in the town was laughing and carefree while she suffered, how the one she loved her abandoned and refused her feelings, how she had earned the right to just make a new world, make the world like how she wanted it to be, take what she wanted and cast out what she didn't…
However, right when Lovely was about to completely surrender to the Darkness trying to force its way into her Heart, Seiji's voice calling out had snapped her out of her spiral of despair, reminding her of those precious to her. With newfound will, she'd ripped the dark crystal away from her Heart and crushed it, shattering the dark and barren illusory world she'd been fighting in and returning her to the normal world. In response, the mysterious man had appeared over the Saiaku's shoulder, lamenting that his plan to make Lovely into "the next Mirage" had failed, and then sicced the Saiaku on them.
Cure Lovely fought the Red Saiaku with ferocious determination and power, exchanging blows that shattered the landscape around them. Finally, she managed to catch its strongest blow and, with herculean effort, launch the monster high into the sky. She'd then collapsed from exhaustion, the Red Saiaku regaining control and diving down at her… only for Innocent Princess to bash it away with a supercharged headbutt, while Fortune & Honey helped Lovely up, the latter using Healing Rhythm on her. Kuro formed a Trace of Hiramekarei, forming a solid-chakra hammer and bashing the monster around to give Cure Lovely time to get back on her feet. The girls had then blasted the Red Saiaku with a Happiness Big Bang, purifying and eliminating it.
"So, it's just like Mirage told us" Kuro said once Megumi told her what had happened. "There's another threat that's been pullin' the strings all along. But just who is this guy?"
-Break-
A couple of days later, the Cure Quartet and Seiji first helped Yuuko's restaurant handle a busy sale day, and then went out to shop for gifts for the others. As night fell, in the town square Megumi & Seiji had a quiet little exchange of gifts, reaffirming how much they'd helped each other… and then the moment was violently ruined by the appearance of another Red Saiaku.
Seiji stayed back as Megumi transformed and attacked, quickly joined by the other three Cures and soon after by Kuro wielding a Trace of the 'Blast Sword' Shibuki, while Blue, Mirage, & the fairy trio arrived to watch from the sidelines. They bashed and slashed and blasted the monster, but it didn't seem to be taking much damage (it shrugged off a hit from Shibuki to the face), and its counter-strikes sent them reeling, leaving the girls splayed out atop the ruins of a foot-bridge it had smashed them down into.
Then, however, the Cure quartet activated their Innocent Forms, and the tables quickly turned. Stronger, faster, and tougher in their advanced forms, they proceeded to run circles around the Red Saiaku, hammering it with an unceasing barrage of blows that had it staggering. In very little time they beat it down enough to finish it off, using Innocent Purification to destroy the dark creature, then shifting to their normal Cure forms and hurrying down to Blue & Mirage.
"Well done, girls" Blue told them. "Even these new, stronger Saiaku can't keep up with how much you've all grown."
Suddenly, a man's deep voice chuckling ran out. "Impressive, children," it echoed, "but you haven't seen anything yet…"
"That voice…" Mirage hugged herself. "That's Deep Mirror – the one who was controlling me!"
"It sounds like the voice we heard at the waterfront" Cure Lovely added. "Right, Seiji? …Seiji?"
She turned and looked around, but Seiji was nowhere in sight. Then, she spotted something on the ground, running over to it: the scarf she'd made for him.
'W-What? …Where…?
Then, a man appeared atop the footbridge, glaring down at the group. He was tall, lean-muscled, clad in a red & black outfit with a dull-purple cape, and had blood-red hair. Upon seeing him, Blue scowled.
"So it was you… Red!"
"Who is this?" Cure Honey asked.
"Red is like me: a World's deity."
"Eh?!" Cure Princess was taken aback. "Our enemy is a god?!"
The other Cures tensed up, while Kuro summoned her 'Divewing' Keyblade; seeing the Light weapon, Red sneered.
"It's been a while, Blue" Red said. "To celebrate our reunion, I will bring you the greatest of misfortune. I've come to finally make you realize just how illusory and meaningless 'love' and 'happiness' are."
"You're still going on about that?" the Earth's guardian frowned.
"Rather than tell you… perhaps I'll show you instead."
Red snapped his fingers, and a dark-red portal appeared on the ground in front of the group. A lone figure emerged from it, identity initially obscured by the Darkness energy but then becoming clearer. As the figure clad in red & black light armor stood, eyes glowing red, the whole group recoiled in shock, with Cure Lovely going pale.
"S… Sei…ji…?"
"What… What have you done?!" Cure Princess shouted.
"I gave this boy one of my Hatred Crystals" Red replied. "Your 'love' is no match for the strength of my hatred, and now my new knight will show you that."
"Seiji… Seiji, wake up!" Cure Lovely pleaded.
"It's useless…" Red said, as Corrupted-Seiji glared hatefully at Lovely. "Your voice can't reach him now."
"The crystal!" Blue suddenly called to the girls. "That crystal came from Red's Heart, and it's controlling Seiji's!"
"Then… All we have to do is break it!" Cure Fortune replied. "Let's go!"
Corrupted-Seiji fired a barrage of deep-red Darkness blasts, and as the girls scattered Cure Princess went on the attack first, unleashing a barrage of blows that Corrupted-Seiji nonetheless managed to block all of, not even showing any strain in doing so. He batted her away, and then leapt to the side to dodge a flying kick from Cure Fortune, her heel barely missing the crystal on his chest as he slid out of the way and then grabbed her leg, flinging her into the support pillar of the footbridge. As Cure Honey moved to check on Fortune, Lovely came in with a barrage of strikes aimed at Corrupted-Seiji's chest crystal, only for him to block or dodge every one. He then then grabbed her by the throat with one hand and formed a sharp 'blade' of dark-red magic over his other hand, pulling back for a deadly thrust. Kuro came to the rescue, smacking Corrupted-Seiji's arm aside and giving Cure Lovely the chance to break free and get back. The young Tracer wielded her Keyblade in one hand and conjured a copy of Sasuke's chokutō in the other, clashing against her Darkness-controller friend's dark-mana arm blade. Finally, he caught the Keyblade only to cry out as Kuro channeled Chidori Nagashi through it, stunning him and giving her the opening to hit the 'Hate Crystal' with a mighty kick that shoved Corrupted-Seiji back. Unfortunately, though, the crystal didn't break.
The girls pressed their attack, hammering Corrupted-Seiji with flying tackles capped off by a magic-supercharged punch from Cure Lovely that crashed against a quick-formed barrier protecting his chest-crystal. She pushed hard, the barrier beginning to fail… and then the crystal's red glow brightened, and with a roar he blasted her back. The others caught her, but they had no time to avoid the dark blast he fired that engulfed them in a significantly-powerful explosion. When the dust faded, the girls were barely on their feet, as Red's laughter rang out.
"As I thought," he said, "your 'love' is no match for the power of my hatred!"
"Seiji…" Cure Lovely staggered to her feet. "Snap out of it! It's me! We're your friends! How can you let this guy control you?"
"…It's all thanks to you, Aino Megumi" Red replied with a smirk. "You have always relied upon him, always been guided and protected by him… and yet you never took his true feelings into account, the ones he never spoke aloud because he felt that he 'couldn't'… This whole time, Seiji-kun was in love with you."
Cure Lovely gasped.
"But, you never noticed, you never treated him as anything more than a casual friend, you never gave him the chance to express his true feelings… and you flirted with and threw yourself at Blue, talking about him and such, right in front of Seiji, oblivious to the pain you were causing him – the heartache and frustration and resentment growing in his Heart. It was a simple matter for me to amplify those feelings into Hate." He bowed mockingly to the girl. "Thank you, Cure Lovely, for preparing for me the most promising knight I have ever had!"
As Red laughed, Cure Lovely fell to her knees, shock and despair washing over her. Seiji was in love with her, and she never knew, and in her ignorance of his feelings she'd hurt him so badly… Glaring down at the girls with hateful fury, Corrupted-Seiji charged up another, even larger Darkness blast. As he fired it, though, Blue and Kuro moved together in front of the Cures, combining his 'Divine Shield' with her Rho Aias. The compound high-power defense managed to partially protect the group, keeping them from being killed or knocked out of their transformations, but it still did a number on them, leaving them splayed out and wounded. Between this utter defeat and the realization of what her actions had led to, Cure Lovely was emotionally devastated, barely moving.
"Now," Red announced, "to bring about the ultimate despair, and destroy all hints of 'love' on this world!"
He held his hand high, dark power gathering around him, and then shot a beam of Darkness upward. The clouds parted, and everyone was horrified to see a massive red planet now drawing near… and from it emerged hundreds of Red Saiaku, being warped down all over Earth.
"Savor your loss and despair while you can" Red proclaimed. "When that red world hits, it will shatter this wretched planet! You, Blue, will learn true despair! …Come, my knight; let us go to a suitable place from which to watch the end of this world."
Red and Corrupted-Seiji vanished, and the cold night's silence was broken by Cure Lovely's sobs. …And then by something considerably louder, as two Red Saiaku dropped down into the courtyard. One of them rushed at Cures Honey & Lovely, pushing them back, out of the courtyard and amongst the surrounding buildings; the other went for Cures Lovely & Princess and Kuro, smashing its huge fist into Cure Princess and knocking her back. Kuro leapt at it, striking at its head with her Keyblade, but the red monster roared and swatted her down to the ground. It then prepared to stomp down on Cure Lovely…
A lavender-hued blast of energy slammed into the top of the Red Saiaku's head, stunning it. A second later, Cure Tender streaked in like a comet, a supercharged kick launching the beast back.
"Why are you giving up?!" she shouted at Lovely. "Does Sagara-kun mean so little to you that you would give up on saving him and stopping Red this easily?! You girls taught me what you can accomplish working together! You saved Phantom and Mirage from the Darkness that had engulfed them! Get up, Megumi! We can still turn this around, stop Red and save your little boyfriend! Get up!-!"
Tender was forced to focus her attention on the Red Saiaku before she could see if her words had any effect. A Razor Leaf from Kuro's Dartrix bounced off the monster's sunglasses, not managing to hurt it but distracting it while a Night Slash from Sneasel aimed at its throat, followed by a Strike Raid to the temple from Kuro's Keyblade. The Red Saiaku roared with fury, trying to swat them all away… and then Cure Lovely's punch, fueled by righteous fury, sent it tumbling end over end across the courtyard. The beast tried to right itself, but a 'Princess Machinegun' barrage hammered it back down, stunning it. Finally, the three Cures combined their powers, and let the energies fly:
"Starburst Miracle Power Shoot!-!"
The triple-combined attack engulfed the Red Saiaku, annihilating it; elsewhere in the block, the other Red Saiaku fell to a 'Sparkling Stardust Attack'. As the dust faded, Cure Tender turned to Lovely, Princess, Kuro, & Blue.
"We have another problem," she said, "a serious one. Red's not our only issue; not long after I arrived in America, I was confronted by Saïx of the Seekers of Darkness; Xehanort's people were here!"
The heroes gasped; even with everything else going on, the DDF's current prime enemy had made his presence known here, too?
"He told me of how the Seekers were setting up a barrier around this region to specifically keep me out, a barrier that only recently finally came down. It was to keep from interfering with… with…"
"What have they done, Maria?" Blue asked.
"They… Xehanort's Heartless sensed… sensed Iona's feelings of upsetness over me leaving, of resentment and loneliness and perceived betrayal, and so he… he planted a 'Seed of Darkness' into my baby sister's Heart! He said it would amplify those dark feelings regarding me, to turn them into hatred! He said that once 'the right trigger' was met, she would-"
There were two sets of footsteps as Cures Honey and Fortune flew in and set down. Everyone froze as Fortune laid eyes on Tender, her eyes widening and pupils shrinking into pinpricks, her irises turning golden in color. Then…
'Maria sister abandoned betrayed Resent Anger Betrayer Left Behind Never Respect Resentment HATE Ungrateful BITCH ABANDONED ME BETRAYED ME RAGE HATE kill her KILL HATE RAGE RIP TEAR SHRED KILL DISEMBOWL INCINERATE SHATTER KILL HATE HATE HATE'
Iona's voice came out in a terrifying, feral scream of unholy raging fury as a pitch-black aura of Darkness exploded around her, blowing Cure Honey away. The white parts of her outfit turned black, the light-purple parts becoming a much darker, duller purple with red streaks, her hair similarly darkening while spiking out. As she looked up, her face was twisted into a terrifying expression of bestial rage, canine teeth slightly elongated and sharpened, her irises golden. A terrible hot wind blew out from her, jet-black aura seething around her like a roaring flame.
"N… No…" Cure Lovely whimpered in mixed despair and fear. "First Seiji… Now Iona-chan, too…?"
Princess, Honey, Kuro, and the fairies were shocked and horrified, and Blue even more-so; Xehanort had appeared and corrupted one of the girls he was supposed to guide and protect, right under his nose…
But nobody was hit as hard by this development as Cure Tender. She trembled, tears in her eyes, as her worst fears were realized; she'd failed to save her little sister, and now… now, Iona was engulfed in Darkness, looking at her with a truly horrible look of hatred and fury, radiating Killing Intent and Hate that stabbed at Maria's heart…
"I… Iona, please!" Marie pleaded. "I'm sorry! I never meant t-"
The corrupted Fortune 'flickered', and Tender barely reacted in time to catch the punch aimed at her skull; the transferred force cratered the ground beneath her feet, the shockwave blowing everyone else away from her. Now, her vision was filled with Fortune's terrible expression of hate and rage. Kuro and Cure Princess made to come in from the sides, but then the corrupted PreCure roared out, and a pulse of Dark power blew everyone but Cure Tender away. Ice rapidly formed all over the courtyard and surroundings, tainted purplish by the Dark magic woven into it; it also formed a barrier along the outside, keeping the other heroes from interfering, only able to helplessly watch. With effort, Cure Tender threw Corrupted Fortune back, the younger girl forming her outfit's wings – now bat-like, black with glowing purple membranes – and setting down atop an ice spire, glaring down at her sister.
(BATTLE MUSIC: Metroid Prime 3 – Rundas Battle)
Slowly floating up, Corrupted Fortune glared down at Cure Tender with utter contempt and fury, as a cold and bitter wind blew out from her, multiple large & thick spears of Ice-wreathed Darkness formed around her. She swept her hands forward, and they all shot down at Tender, who formed her outfit's wings and shot upward to dodge. Dark Fortune flew at her, hammering Tender's guard with a ferocious barrage of blows, pushing her back. She managed to get around Cure Tender's defense and strike a Darkness-charged blow to the older girl's gut that doubled her over and sent her flying, following with a cluster of dark energy blasts. Cure Tender managed to regain control of her flight and swat the blasts away, then dashed in to go on the attack.
They met in the middle with a clash like thunder, blows being exchanged at a blistering pace. Cure Tender wrapped her arms tight around Corrupted Fortune, hoping to try and restrain her and calm her down, only to cry out as the younger girl's teeth sank into her shoulder, forcing her to let go and leaving her vulnerable to a stunning headbutt and a point-blank energy blast that blew her back. Corrupted Fortune then fired a large star-shaped blast of dark-purple energy, and Cure Tender countered with a lavender-hued star-blast of her own; the two blasts' collision and explosion forced the onlookers to brace themselves and shield their eyes.
"Iona!" Cure Tender cried out. "Please, listen to me! I wasn't trying to abandon you! I just wanted t-"
Two huge chunks of Darkness-enriched ice floated up, and as Corrupted Fortune threw her arms forward they shattered into a massive barrage of razor-sharp icicle spears. Cure Tender quickly formed a star-shaped shield, but it crumpled and shattered before the barrage was done, and she cried out as the remaining icicles crashed into her, tearing and slashing at her outfit and getting through her magical defenses enough to draw blood here & there.
As Cure Tender looked up the moment it was safe to, she saw that Fortune's corruption had advanced; the whites of the girl's eyes had turned black, and shadowy claws had formed over her hands. With jet-black fiery aura surging around her, Corrupted Fortune flashed forward, crashing into Cure Tender before she could react and slamming her into the ice wall that formed the battleground's barrier/edge. Snarling, she grabbed the back of Cure Tender's head with her shadowy claw, and then her evil wings glowed with power as she took off, flying at high speed along the inner edge of the ice-wall… while continuously shoving and grinding Tender's face into it, a trench being carved in the dark ice. After going nearly halfway around the area, she then flung Cure Tender into the air, grabbed hold of her leg, and flew down and slammed Tender into the ground with terrific force.
Cure Tender groaned weakly as she got to her hands & knees, hurting all over, her ears ringing a little. She then had to abruptly roll to the side to dodge a spearing kick aimed at where her head had just been, and quick-fired a blast of magic that Corrupted Tender caught and casually crushed in her shadow-clawed fist. Looking at the hate and fury on the younger girl's face, feeling the Killing Intent from her baby sister, Cure Tender fought back a sob; the whole time this fight had been going, it felt like her heart was continuously breaking. This was her fault…
'If I had just explained to her… how I needed to go and help the world's other Cures, and how I felt she and her friends were strong enough that they didn't need my help like the other Cure teams across the world did… I trusted that she'd understand, but… I was wrong… Losing me to Phantom hurt her much more than I thought; those wounds hadn't healed, and I ended up making them worse… And now… n-now I'm going to lose her…'
Corrupted Fortune charged, and Cure Tender gave ground in a desperate defense, teeth gritted as she tried to weather the hurricane of strikes thrown her way.
'Iona… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you… I want to see you smile again… I want my baby sister back! I… I can't let it end like this! I can't lose you! I don't know what to do, but I have to do something! Even if it costs me my life, I have to save you!-!'
Then, the Shining Make Dresser lit up. Brilliant white light began to shine from the heart-shaped brooch in the center of Cure Tender's chest. A set of PreCards emerged from it, and guided by instinct she took hold of them and slotted them into her PreChange Mirror. Tender was enveloped in sparkling light, as makeup appeared on her face, her outfit changed to gleaming white with pastel-rainbow shading, and the wings from her lower back became a big, shining bow.
"Innocent Form!"
Corrupted Fortune was shoved back, shielding her face from the Light. The other Happiness Charge Cures, trapped behind the ice wall, looked on in amazement as Innocent Tender hung in the air, shining with beautiful light, a determined look on her face.
"Iona… I know it's not too late. I'm going to break through that Darkness and rage, and convey my feelings to you, my sister!"
Snarling, Corrupted Fortune rushed in at Tender with a Darkness-charged punch, but the Innocent Form PreCure raised her hand and caught the attack, stopping it cold. Innocent Tender then flipped up over Corrupted Fortune and struck her with a falling kick that slammed her down into the ground below, cratering the frozen pavement. Corrupted Fortune groaned as she got back up, and then swung her arms to release a slicing wave of Darkness up at Innocent Tender. The older girl dove down, nimbly dodging around the incoming attack, and their fists met with a clash that shattered the ice for several meters around.
Corrupted Fortune roared in fury, her black aura surging like an inferno, the dark ice around her beginning to shatter and melt from the heat of her rage. She fired a massive roiling wave/beam of Darkness at Innocent Tender, who dove right into and through the blast, approaching the stunned corrupted girl and appearing right in front of her, eyes shining with power that then released:
"PreCure: Tender Sparkling Starlight!"
Motes of magic like twinkling stars formed all around the two combatants, and then rushed in at Corrupted Fortune, forming into a star-&-crescent-shaped binding mass of Light magic that began to erode at her Darkness. Then, she was caught between two brightly-glowing masses of star-shaped Light above and below, which were then connected by a pillar of glowing light – a 'Tender Rising Starburst', supercharged with Innocent Form's purifying power. The light became blindingly beautiful as it completely engulfed Fortune, burning the Darkness away; it shone outward as well, and the Darkness-enriched ice melted and evaporated, vanishing and returning the courtyard to normal.
As the light faded, the purified Cure Fortune fell forward into her waiting sister's arms, the two of them going down to their knees. Tender held Fortune close, tears in her eyes.
"…Why did you leave me?" Fortune whimpered softly.
"In the Cross-Mirror Room," Tender replied, "I saw how other Pretty Cures around the world were struggling, being overpowered and outmaneuvered by the Phantom Empire's forces. They needed my help; you girls were strong enough to handle things around here without my assistance, but those other Cures weren't. I thought you would understand that. But… I didn't know how badly what had happened to me had hurt you, how those wounds in your Heart were still too raw to handle me leaving so soon… I'm so sorry, Iona."
"…Onée-chan…" the younger girl sniffled and held her sister tighter.
Suddenly, the earth gave a low tremor; not enough to damage anything, but enough to remind everyone that the world was still in grave peril. As everyone else came down amongst the sisters, they all looked up at the slowly-approaching red world high in the sky.
"We probably don't have much time" Cure Lovely said. "…Iona-chan's been saved from the Darkness; now we've just gotta save Seiji…"
"And stop Red" Kuro added. "Which I have a feeling won't be easy, even by our standards; he's a divine entity, after all."
"He doesn't understand the power that love can bring" Cure Princess replied. "That's his weakness, and it's one that's gonna do him in!"
Lovely nodded. "Let's go!"
The Happiness Charge Quartet assumed their Innocent Forms, and Cure Tender joined them as they flew up and away; Innocent Princess carried Ribbon, Innocent Fortune held Glasan, and Innocent Tender gave Kuro a lift. Left behind, Blue, Mirage, & PhanPhan made ready to coordinate the world's Cures in fighting off the Red Saiaku incursion.
The girls' magic protected them as they flew up through space, crossing the area between Earth and the incoming red planet. As they passed the halfway mark, however, Corrupted-Seiji appeared in their path, unleashing a tight cluster of red & black Darkness blasts that forced the girls to scatter. Princess flew 'underneath' him and released a 'Machinegun Bomber' barrage, explosions going off all around him and engulfing him in a field of bluish smoke. Looking around, trying to detect his 'enemies', Corrupted-Seiji was nearly blindsided by Innocent Fortune, who engaged him in a close-in brawl.
"I remember the first time you came to my family's dojo" she said to him. "You said you wanted to become stronger, with such a serious look on your face… It was so you could better protect Megumi, wasn't it?"
Seiji startled for a moment, but then the Hate Crystal on his chest flashed red along with his eyes, and he blasted her away with a shockwave of dark power. He readied a blast of energy, only for a Honey Ribbon Spiral to snake in and grab his wrist. He gave a tug, and the Honey Baton came in without a Cure at the other end. Then, another shining gold ribbon flew in, aimed at the crystal on his chest, and he flash-stepped to dodge it. It kept coming after him, chasing him around… and then the net of golden ribbons abruptly contracted, binding him from all directions. Furthermore, a 'Windy Wink' barrage of green petal-like magic particles joined in, catching him in a double-bind as Innocent Princess & Honey appeared. Fortune & Tender joined in soon after, adding an Emerald Illusion and Sparkling Starlight to the mix.
Despite their attempts to break through to him, though, Corrupted-Seiji released an expanding wave of Dark power that strained against the compound 'prison', soon shattering it and freeing him. …And then the blue smoke was blown away, to reveal Innocent Lovely overhead with an enormous pink fist made of magical power. She aimed and fired, the world's largest rocket punch shooting down and slamming into Corrupted-Seiji's barrier. The unstoppable force pushed against the immovable object, until finally they both shattered, and Lovely came right in her attack's wake, a high-speed flying punch crashing into Corrupted-Seiji's chestpiece and shoving him back. Their path carried them over to the red planet, breaking through the atmosphere and crashing down right at the foot of an ancient ruin. And seated atop a makeshift throne on that ruin…
"Welcome to my home, Cure Lovely" Red said, slouching in his seat with his cheek rested on his fist. "Pardon the mess; it's been a few centuries since I last had a chance to clean up around here. Still… All you've been through to get here, all your struggles… they were for nothing. My hate will reign supreme and devour your saccharine little planet. Blue will know my despair and hate, and you? You will know oblivion."
Corrupted-Seiji stood back up, glaring at Cure Lovely, who had reverted from her Innocent Form. The diamond-shaped red crystal on his chest glowed along with his eyes.
"That crystal, forged by a god such as me, cannot be destroyed; the only way out of this is for you to kill the boy, or be killed by him. Either way, you will drown in despair."
"…Back at the plaza…" Lovely said. "What you told me… you may have been right. That's twice I've touched that crystal, and both times I saw… I… I haven't been paying attention to Seiji's feelings. I've hurt him by not recognizing what was in his Heart. But now…" She took a stance, a pink aura springing up around her. "We're finally alone, so he & I can finally have a proper talk! Seiji! If we can't speak with words, let's speak through our fists! I accept your feelings, and I'm going to make sure you get to feel mine!"
Corrupted-Seiji roared and charged, a black aura shimmering around him, and the pink-auraed Cure Lovely moved to meet him, fists clashing to release a massive shockwave. The two of them took to the air, wreathed in energy as they zipped about like red and pink comets, clashing again and again.
'You were always there for me… Always helping me, protecting me, being by my side… Knowing Blue didn't choose me was painful, but losing you like this made it feel like my heart was tearing in half! Everything we've been through together… All the moments we've shared… Just thinking of them fills me with so much happiness and warmth… and the thought of not being able to have any more of them is more painful than I ever imagined! I want to be with you again…'
The Darkness-corrupted youth fired a beam/wave of dark power at Cure Lovely, who shrouded herself in Light and dove straight through it, shooting towards him.
'Please… Come back to me! Seiji!'
He braced for an attack… but instead she hugged him, holding him as they both hovered high in the air. As he froze, she took his head in her hands, looking at him with tears in her eyes, and then kissed him. A corona of shining pink light enveloped them both, as down below Red stared in disbelieving shock and anger, sensing his Hate Crystal's hold weakening dramatically. Cures Princess, Honey, & Fortune flew down from the reddish clouds, still in Innocent Forms, their bodies glowing with their respective colors.
'PreCure…' Cure Lovely's voice rang out in a gentle whisper, as she transformed as well, holding Seiji tighter. 'Innocent Purification…'
There was a blinding blast of multicolored light, brightening the dreary dead landscape below for several seconds. When it faded, four lights floated down to the ground, bursting to reveal the Happiness Charge Cures… and Seiji, his eyes back to their normal brown and the 'Hate Crystal' gone, his hand held in Cure Lovely's. Innocent-Form Tender and Kuro floated down soon after, joining the group.
"This… This is impossible!" Red stepped back. "How can mere love overcome my boundless hatred?!"
"Love is the one thing that can overcome and defeat hate" Blue's voice rang out as his projected image appeared. "Megumi's love has created a miracle."
"This can't be… Love only brings suffering!"
"It can, if things go wrong. But it can also bring that suffering to an end. Love saves souls, brightens the darkness, and gives strength and warmth…"
"Love… is invincible" Cure Lovely proclaimed. "Everyone who has a heart and soul gains strength from love – the love of close friends, family, or…" She glanced sideways at Seiji, her cheeks going pink. "And I can tell: even you, Red, still have love in your Heart, locked away deep inside…"
In response, a seething red aura sprang up around Red, as the planet began to quake. "Love… is a transient illusion that brings only pain…" he snarled. "I will eliminate your courage, your kindness, your fortune, your 'love', when I tear your beating hearts from your chests, and shatter your precious little blue planet into a thousand pieces!"
Red flash-stepped down amongst the heroines, firing energy blasts at Cures Honey & Tender and coming at Cure Princess with a flying kick. Princess ducked under his kick and went to grab his leg, only for Red to abruptly spin and bring the other foot down on her head, hammering her into the dirt. Kuro moved in before he could follow through, dual-wielding her Divewing Keyblade and a 'Trace' of Orochimaru's Kusanagi no Tsurugi, forcing Red to dodge and backstep to avoid her swings and thrusts; even he couldn't ignore a Keyblade of Light coming at him. After dancing around her attacks for a bit, he got around her guard and hit her with a palm-thrust to the chest that knocked her away, only for Cures Fortune & Lovely to press the attack next.
Growling, Red took to the air, firing a cluster of Darkness blasts down at the girls, but Cure Honey intercepted with a barrier to protect Lovely & Fortune, and then all the girls – including Kuro using a pair of wings Ribbon & Glasan conjured for her – took off after him. They all zipped through the sky, trading blows & blasts, Red managing to keep pace with all six of his foes at once, though they in turn were holding strong and keeping the fight even. Every time he'd be about to deal a decisive blow against one of them, two more would come to the rescue, but he managed to defend against or avoid every attempt they made to land any especially powerful hits on him.
Soon, though, the girls rallied, and their attacks started getting through, knocking Red around. A Keyblade slash knocked him into a crescent-shaped magic blast, which in turn left him open to a barrage of exploding blue blasts from above that pushed him down to the ground. Then, the four HC Cures dove down at him while wreathed in light, a full-force Innocent Purification engulfing Red in a massive dome of multicolored lights. The sextet set down near the outer edge, waiting for the cleansing magic to finish its work.
"Is that… all you girls have got…?"
The girls got a nasty shock as Red's silhouette appeared striding through the light toward them, straining a little but resisting the powerful purifying magic.
"Courage cannot overcome weakness," he proclaimed, "hope can be destroyed, kindness is ignored, and love dies! But hatred… is eternal!"
His dark aura flared, blowing away the remnants of Light magic around him, and then he flash-stepped forward, reappearing right in front of Innocent Honey, a dark blast already charged. She was blasted back into a boulder amongst the rubble nearly 20 meters away, her Innocent Form coming undone. Everyone else moved to attack, but he released a pulse of power that knocked them all back, stunning them, and then he grabbed Innocent Tender by the leg and threw her at Innocent Fortune, followed by flying in above them and slamming them down into the earth with a sledgehammer-blow of force, canceling their Innocent Forms as well. Innocent Princess and Kuro came at him together, but he simply blasted them both, blowing the former out of her advanced form. Finally, he slammed his palms to the ground, and a blast of Dark power burst up from beneath Cure Lovely's feet, engulfing her and knocking her out of Innocent Form as well.
"Fall into despair… Eternal Gauge!"
Red released torrents of red & black 'lightning' at the girls, and Princess, Honey, Fortune, & Tender were engulfed and trapped in Mirror Coffins. Seiji and the fairy pair dove into the path of the one aimed at Lovely, giving themselves up to save her. Kuro cast Rho Aias through her Keyblade, creating a six-petaled defense, and it proved just enough to protect her until the attack stopped, but then she fell to her knees, panting and trembling, exhausted after putting most of the mana she had left into that. Cure Lovely looked around, frantic horror on her face.
"How pointless," Red said as he looked at the Mirror Coffin holding Ribbon, Glasan, and Seiji, "sacrificing themselves like that. They've only delayed the inevitable."
"…An act of love… is never pointless" Cure Lovely stood strong.
Red spat. "Love? Love is powerless. It couldn't protect your friends… and it couldn't save this planet! This world, my world, was once full of life, people and creatures, love and prosperity… but then, it became this!" He swept his arm out over the barren, silent wasteland. "I loved this planet and its life, but I couldn't do a thing to protect it! The people of this world suffered and died, all living things were lost to a brutal, untimely extinction, and the world I was supposed to guard became a land of the dead, an endless desert of ash and bones! And when this world died, so too did my love, my Heart. Then, I saw how Blue's little world, Earth, is still so clean and blue and full of life! How dare my softhearted little brother get to enjoy a world of love & life, while I lose everything and reign over a world of despair and death?! But soon, that will end. This dead planet of mine will crash into your Earth; I will die with it, and my last act will erase all hope and life from Blue's world, plunging him into the same despair and rage that I have felt for far too long!
"Now, Cure Lovely… Hate me! Loathe me! Despise me! And go to your grave knowing that the wrath of a vengeful god brought death and annihilation to your precious little planet, and there wasn't a single thing you could do to stop it!"
"…You're wrong. You've been suffering, in agony, all by yourself for so, so long… But now I know, without a doubt, that there is still love locked deep in your heart! The memories of this world's life and love are engraved into your heart, but they're clouded by the pain you've let consume you… I want… to return to you your smile, to free the love you've shut away deep inside, and remind you of who you truly are!"
Suddenly, a torrent of countless sparkling motes of light, in all different colors, flowed 'down' from Earth and enveloped the area. In a matter of seconds, the ground came to life and was covered with grass and flowers.
"What… is this?" Red looked around in shock. "What's with this light?"
"They're the hopes and prayers of all our allies down on Earth. Each person's love may not be much by itself… but when they join together, reinforce each other, those loves can become something incredible, something unstoppable! I'm going to use this power they've given me to save our world, everyone's love, and your smile!"
The Light formed into three PreCards, which Cure Lovely slotted into her PreChange Mirror. She was enveloped in sparkling light, as she underwent a new transformation: Her hair, longer and lighter, hung free, while her accessory in it became a white bow; her vest turned white and became more of a longcoat with ruffled sleeves, and her skirt became paler in color; her arm-warmers lengthened, with larger ends, and her boots gained small golden wings on the back; lastly, a sort of billowing white waist-cape was worn over her skirt and legs.
"Eternal love illuminating the world! Forever Lovely!-!"
Light shone from her brooch, freeing the trapped Cures, Seiji, & the fairies, and healing & rejuvenating Kuro.
"Forever… Lovely?" Red murmured, sounding as if the words tasted disgusting. "There's nothing 'forever' about love!"
"You're lying" she replied. "I can see the love you still hold for what your world once was, the people who lived on it."
"Shut up!" he roared as a dark-red aura surged around him. "I'll extinguish that loathsome 'love' of yours, once and for all!"
He charged at her, and she rushed to meet him. The two of them engaged in a hectic, fast-paced duel, blows being exchanged, dodged and blocked, each one releasing a shockwave of cast-off power. Before long they took to the air, clashing together over and over while zipping through the sky, steadily going higher and higher. Soon, they were in space between the two planets, Forever Lovely deliberately sticking mostly to defense, easily dodging or deflecting everything Red through at her while calmly trying to talk him down.
"It doesn't matter what you say or how hard you fight!" he shouted. "Soon my empty planet will be destroyed, and I with it! Earth will die from my final act!"
"Are you really okay with that?!"
"It doesn't matter if I am or not! That is our fate! No matter how precious something is, everything eventually dies! Happiness lasts only an instant, to be replaced by loss and death! You, me, your friends, humanity, planets, stars, it doesn't matter; everything dies after far too little time! I'm just speeding things along!"
"That's why you're supposed to treasure all those precious things while they're still there! Protect them, guide them, and when they eventually go they'll give rise to another generation of those beautiful things!"
"Then why didn't that happen for my planet?! There was no continuation, no shining future! Everything died cold, alone, and afraid! My world died in despair!"
"No, it didn't! I can sense it! Your world still has life! It's small, scattered, few in number, hidden deep away, but there are things that still call your planet home! It's not too late; your world can still be saved, can start anew! And if you're convinced that it's impossible, that you can't find your lost happiness and love, then I'll prove you wrong! PreCure!"
An enormous mass of pink and golden light gathered around her, the blinding light leaving Red frozen in shock and awe.
"Forever! Happiness! Shower!-!"
As cascading wave of sparkling golden lights erupted out from her in all directions, washing over both planets and completely engulfing Red. On Earth, people trapped in Mirror-Coffins were all freed, while Choiaku & Saiaku were purified en masse. The red glow left Red's eyes, which were widened in shock and clarity, as the Darkness and pain-driven rage which had engulfed and strangled his Heart for so long were burned away, purified. The cleansed deity fell back down to his world, his powers protecting him from the fall and landing.
Forever Lovely flew back down, and was immediately tackled-hugged by Cure Princess, the others coming up in her wake. Kuro pointed her Keyblade at Red, but then lowered it as she sensed how thoroughly he'd been purified.
"Everything dies and fades away…" he said with sorrow. "What's the use of watching over a world when random chance can reduce it to this?"
He looked out in the distance, at the dead rocks and ruins.
"Because your world can still come back to looking like this" Kuro swept her arms over the magically-terraformed immediate area – greenery and flowers and life nearly a kilometer in every direction. "Not much compared to an entire planet, but I'd call this a good start. And I know some people who can help it along." She walked up to Red with a grin. "News flash, buddy; the Dimensional Defense Force, the people I came here to represent and recruit these girls for, is space-faring. They've got terraforming tech. It'll probably take about 35, maybe 50 years, but this place… Its atmosphere's still breathable, soil chemistry's good considering the factors involved, even some hints of the last civilization's infrastructure to work off of still here & there… Yeah, they can bring this world back to life. It won't be super-quick, but it's totally doable."
"I can understand your pain, older brother," Blue said as he stepped through a mirror-portal, "but because you let that pain consume you, you lost sight of the future, and couldn't see that you still had a chance to bring life back to this world."
"I was lost in my own sadness and rage…" Red lamented. "I couldn't see the Light anymore… I never thought this world could ever be green and full of life again…"
"You had no-one with you here to support you," Forever Lovely said, "no-one to be with you during the dark and lonely times, to keep you from going mad in your loneliness and grief…"
"We'll see this world rebuilt together, brother" Blue told him. "Let us head back and discuss things properly."
"By now this world's time should be 'caught up' with when I left," Kuro said, "so lemme call the UNSC and the PLF, see if they're willing and able to help with terraforming. Then, it'll be time for you girls to come with me and meet the rest of us."
"Let's go home, everyone," Cure Honey said, "and I'll fix us all up something – a victory feast!"
Her comrades cheered, wholeheartedly in support of rest and food after such an eventful day.
-CHAPTER END-
And that's it for part two of this fic. Part 3, covering Go Princess PreCure, will be a while; the DDF representative will show up right after the events of Episode 23, when (according to Wikipedia) Cure Scarlet joins the team, so I have 23 episodes to watch through before I can even start work on the next chapter.
Also, minor "what could've been" tidbit; I almost decided to have Red whip out (this universe's) Ea during the final battle, maybe have it so he was the god who forged this 'forged by the gods' weapon (at least in this timeline), but in the end decided not to.