PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm PC-9
After everything that had happened, the group went back to the old man's violin shop to recuperate, and to let the man know that Kanata had regained his memories. Also, the girls got to see Towa in her cute and excitable 'baby sister' mode, considering this was her first proper meeting with her beloved big brother in several years. Meanwhile, Teana asked Miss Shamour if she could help her with creating her next big technique; "I've already come way too close to blowing myself up once, and I'd rather not go through that too many more times."
Then, however, the Royal Key floated up while glowing with a vibrant red light. Towa took hold of it and slotted it into her 'Princess Perfume', and the light flared up and engulfed everyone in the room. When the light faded, they all found themselves in the Forest of Despair, the dark-skied, vine-choked realm that was once Hope Kingdom. Overcome with despair and horror at seeing his home like this, Kuroro ran off; Yui, Minami, Kirara, and the other three fairies went off to find him, while Haruka, Towa, Kanata, and Teana tried to look around for a way out.
Unfortunately, Queen Dyspear sensed the heroes' presence in 'her' realm, and dispatched a high-level Zetsuborg after them, taking the form of a large wolf-like beast made of bright blue flames. The monster proved powerful enough that Cure Scarlet's despair- and rage-driven assault was easily and violently repulsed, and her teammates fared little better against the beast's flame attacks.
Teana was about to cut loose, use a Stage-3 Susanō or even go Super, but then Scarlet recalled the things she'd learned from her & Kanata's parents years ago, and managed to calm herself down and properly focus her convictions. In response, Scarlet managed to awaken a new attack, 'Scarlet Prominence', destroying the Zetsuborg's body and leaving its core vulnerable to a team purifying strike.
Afterwards, they were led to a vine-covered old castle, the same one where Towa, as 'Twilight', had found the fourth Princess Perfume. She and Kanata performed their old violin duet together, and the resonating magic made her Sun Key glow brightly. She slotted it and her other Keys into the Princess Palace, and a pulse of red light washed over the area. The vines clinging to the castle were obliterated, damage was repaired, and the Flame Castle's fires were again lit, activating an expanding dome of Light that pushed the Despair Vines back for a few hundred meters in every direction. Furthermore, a red band of light shot up from the castle and curved through the air – part of the Hope Kingdom's royal rainbow, restored.
The castle's doors opened, briefly showing Yumegahama, but then switching to a far-off section of this Realm, to the group's confusion.
"Heroes & Heroines of the Light," the previous Cure Flora's voice rang out, "there is another task awaiting you before you can return to Earth. In this region, a creature is suffering. It has been forcibly ensnared by Darkness, the dark power assailing its body and mind. The beast came from another World, and fell through a crack between Realms to wind up here. You must free this creature from the shadows that threaten to devour it completely. Be warned; it is a mighty creature, made even stronger by the corruption. If its soul totally succumbs to the Dark, its power could burn everything to ash…"
The whole group passed through the portal, ending up in a barren area of dull bluish-gray rock and a few Despair Vines, under a dark sky. They barely had time to get their bearings before numerous dark creatures with jagged-looking red eyes appeared – Unversed, drawn by the corrupted creature's anguish and fury. A Scrapper leapt at Teana from above, and she drew a Mirage Longsword and sliced it in half down the middle. Cure Flora used Rose Tourbillon to blow away a pair of Bruisers that tried to charge at her, while a Meteor Humming from Cure Twinkle swatted a squadron of Yellow Mustards out of the sky.
Teana sent out her Shroomish & Honedge to help protect Yui and Kuroro, Shroomish's Bullet Seed blasting back an Axe Flapper that tried to divebomb her while a Flood attempting to ambush the girl was in turn ambushed by Honedge's Shadow Sneak. Prince Kanata released a wave of Light Arrows at a flock of Archravens, while a pair of Sonic Blasters were encased in ice and shattered by Mermaid's Frozen Ripple attack, and Cure Scarlet burned a small pack of Blue Sea Salts to ashes.
As the lesser Unversed fell, something bigger and stronger leapt in from a vine-encrusted cliff above: a Mad Treant, shaking its leaf-covered arms and roaring at the hero group. It swung its branches wildly, sending fruit-shaped bombs in all directions, forcing the group to scatter to avoid the blasts. The leaves on its left-'arm' branch glowed red, and it swung to release a fireball at Cure Twinkle, who formed a Full-Moon Humming barrier to block it, and then returned fire with a barrage of twinkling star-shaped magic blasts. As the Mad Treant shielded its eyes from the attack, Cure Mermaid's Frozen Ripple froze its leaves into a solid vaguely afro-looking mass of ice, and Teana then shattered them with a Rasengan from above. Cure Flora further damaged the monster with a Floral Tourbillon, and then a Scarlet Prominence finished it off, burning the tree-themed Unversed to ashes.
The group moved on, fighting their way through a couple more Unversed packs. Finally, they entered a dark, rocky area that felt warmer than it should be. They looked around, waiting for the next trouble to show itself.
"There's a powerful dark presence nearby…" Kanata announced. "I think we're close to what we came here for."
"How close?" Puff asked.
Suddenly, a large ball of dark fire raced by low overhead, forcing Cure Flora and Teana to duck to avoid being hit in the head by it. A barrage of small fire-bolts fell in its wake, forcing the team to scatter a little.
(MUSIC: Pokémon Sun/Moon OST – "A Totem Pokémon Appears")
The fireball looped around and slammed straight down to the ground from above, a pair of black clawed talons digging into the rock. Two large, flaming wings unwrapped and extended out, the creature's eyes glowing red with an evil-looking glare. It was a huge, fiery bird, with ghostly pale plumage, and surging purple & black flames in place of a head-crest, tail feathers, or main wing feathers. A dark aura wavered around it, heat and Darkness radiating from it.
"A… A Moltres?" Teana stared. "A Darkness-corrupted Moltres?!"
"W… We're supposed to take on a Legendary Pokémon?" Cure Twinkle asked.
"I can sense it…" Cure Flora said. "It's in pain! That Darkness is driving it mad! We have to help it!"
"I think we'll have to beat it down before we can purify it" Cure Mermaid replied. "It feels quite strong…"
"That's never stopped any of us before" Teana said. "Let's do what we can, girls! Time to bring this bird back to its senses!"
(BATTLE MUSIC: Pokémon Sun/Moon OST – "Battle! Totem Pokémon")
The corrupted Moltres reared back with flaming wings spread, letting out an echoing cry as is Dark aura surged to life around it, boosting its power. It opened its beak wide and exhaled a focused torrent of dark flames, crashing against Kanata & Shamour's combined barrier. Teana flew up and fired a Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku down at the dark firebird, which took to the air to dodge the blast and then came at Teana with an attempted Wing Attack. Teana let herself fall to dodge, and then her Shroomish hit the Corrupted-Moltres in the underside with a Seed Bomb launched from below.
The Dark Legendary dove down at Teana's Grass-type 'mon, but Cure Mermaid intercepted with Bubble Ripple, large water-bubbles slamming into the Dark Moltres like cannonballs, its flaming body sizzling. Crowing, the Corrupted Moltres used Agility to remove itself from the path of the remaining bubbles, and then cast Ancient Power, making several chunks of rock float up and fling themselves at Cure Mermaid. Teana's Honedge intercepted, his blade glowing with Steel-type energy as he sliced the rocks out of the air.
Cure Flora fired a Lys Tourbillon at the Corrupted Moltres, pushing it back and doing some damage. The dark firebird flapped its wings forward to release an Air Slash, and Cure Scarlet formed a Scarlet Illusion barrier to protect Flora, while Teana fired a Crossfire Shot barrage, the orange mana bolts hitting the Dark Legendary from multiple angles. Unfortunately, only about half got through before the bird formed a Fire Spin shield around itself to deflect the rest.
The dark firebird charged along the ground at Kanata and Yui, but Teana's Shroomish got in the way and hit the Corrupted Moltres in the chest with a Headbutt, actually shoving it back a bit. He then released a Spore attack, but the Dark Legendary quickly shrouded itself with Safeguard, and then tried to smack the little nuisance away with one of its huge, flaming wings. Shroomish nimbly dodged the swing, blasted the Corrupted Moltres with a Seed Bomb to the face, but was then sent tumbling back as the next Wing Attack hit. Skidding to stop, the little mushroom tried to shake off the pain and damage, glaring at the beast threatening his Trainer's friends.
Then, however, Shroomish was enveloped in light, his body becoming a shining mass of light that grew in size and changed in shape. When the light faded, the mushroom-like Pokémon now had a body shape more like a kangaroo, with two-toed feet & hands and a long tail tipped with green seedpod-like objects, a mushroom atop his head like a wide-brimmed hat. The Corrupted Moltres prepared to attack, but Breloom blitzed forward, arm extending in a Mach Punch that stunned the bird and knocked it back. He then followed with a point-blank Sky Uppercut that sent the bird reeling, knocking it into the air, where it took a direct hit from Cure Twinkle's Meteor Humming barrage.
The corrupted Legendary's flaming dark aura surged around it, blazing with Darkness and fury. It started firing Flamethrowers and Air Slashes like mad, the heroes dodging and shielding. Honedge used Shadow Sneak to get in close and then landed a Slash across the dark Moltres' back, and then a wave of Light Arrows from Kanata hammered into the firebird from the sides. Teana formed two Shadow Clones, each one helping her gather and shape energy in one of her hands. Cure Twinkle formed a Full-Moon Humming barrier and used it as a battering ram to bash the Corrupted Moltres over to directly above Cure Mermaid, letting her blast it with a Mermaid Ripple, knocking it into the air and badly damaging it. Then, Teana came in from above with a Fire Release Rasengan in one hand and a Wind Release one in the other. She slammed them both down into the Corrupted Moltres' midsection, a spiraling blast of tearing wind and roaring flame sending the bird rocketing down into the ground with stone-shattering force. The corrupted bird growled as it tried to struggle to its feet… and didn't notice what Flora, Mermaid, & Twinkle were doing until it was too late:
"PreCure: Trinity Explosion!"
The powerful rainbow-hued blast of purifying magic crashed into the corrupted Legendary, enveloping it in light. When the light faded, the Moltres was back to its normal self, yellow plumage with red & white flames for a crest, tail, and wing-edges. Teana set down in front of the firebird, her Breloom and Honedge flanking her, and the Moltres looked at her as if inspecting her. Having a suspicion, Teana pulled out an empty Ultra Ball from her Barrier Jacket's subspace-access pocket, holding it up. After a moment, the Moltres nodded. She threw the ball underhand, and as it bopped against the Moltres, the Pokémon vanished into the ball in a burst of light. Falling to the ground, the ball rocked back & forth a few times, and then chimed as the central button flashed softly.
'I have a Legendary…' Teana thought, as if still not entirely believing it. 'A 'Tier-2' Legendary, but… still…'
A shimmering doorway appeared from thin air nearby, opening to reveal Yumegahama. Cure Flora smiled.
"Let's go home, everyone."
-Break-
About two days later, while Prince Kanata headed back to the remnants of Hope Kingdom to look into something (he wouldn't say what), Yui decided to enter an art contest hosted by the local museum (while Shamour gave the girls cooking lessons, and the gang discovered that Teana was already a passible cook thanks to learning how to take care of herself and the cooking-inept Subaru when they were younger). However, she was unable to find her muse, and her inability to give form to her wishes led her to fall into a slump, losing faith in herself. While wandering around campus, though, she came across Principal Mochizuki holding an art class for some children, and the wise old woman helped Yui remember how important it was to enjoy drawing things.
Then, however, Stop & Freeze showed up, and when Yui tried to stop them from making any Zetsuborgs out of the children, they made one out of her instead, despite the fact that she managed to fight back against the attempt so hard that the evil twins had to use their combined full power to yank her dream out and monster-fy it.
Teana & the Cures showed up soon after, and had to work a little to convince the Principal to leave things to them, having to give her a bare-bones explanation ("We're warriors of the Light, empowered to stand against the forces of Darkness who seek to devour everyone's dreams and turn them into an army of monsters") to convince her they could handle things. Yui's third Zetsuborg proved to be quite powerful due to how much Dark magic Stop & Freeze put into making it, beating the girls around and nearly knocking Teana's Honedge out with one direct hit (though he managed to deal some damage of his own with a Fury Cutter barrage).
But then, Yui managed to regain her awareness, seeing through the Zetsuborg's eyes, remembering everything she and the Cures had been through together, and deciding she finally had something she wanted to draw, something only she could draw. She struggled and fought to regain full consciousness, dramatically weakening the Zetsuborg, allowing the Cures to cleanse it and free her, sending the Zetsu-Twins retreating in disbelief. Afterwards, she drew a beautiful picture of the four Cures in their Elegant Royal forms and submitted it to the museum's contest, where it was a big hit.
A major fashion show in New York was coming up, and Kirara got invited to be in it, to her and the others' delight; this would bring her a big step closer to her dream to be a world-renowned top model. For the days leading up to this, Kirara was partnered with a new, young model named Rin to act as Kirara's assistant, and she quickly learned how one of her magazines had inspired the girl when she was lost in self-doubt a few years back.
On the day Kirara was supposed to leave, however, right when they were outside the airport, Stop & Freeze showed up and made a Zetsuborg out of Rin's dream. Despite the fact that it meant missing her flight, Kirara stayed to fight, transforming and battling alongside the others. The Zetsuborg proved rather powerful, but Cure Twinkle's strong desire to protect Rin's dream allowed her to awaken a new attack: Galaxy Chorus, bombarding the monster with a barrage of huge star-shaped magic blasts (basically her Meteor Humming up-sized and with the power cranked up to 11), leaving it open to purification. As Kirara helped Rin out of the Despair Cage and de-transformed…
"So that's why…"
The girls turned in shock at the sudden voice, and Kirara went pale as she saw not only Tachi Kyoko, her agent, but also Bauanne Baurollo!
"When you… didn't show up," Ms. Tachi said, still stunned, "I came looking for you. Mr. Bauanne had just came off his flight, ran into me, and decided to help. To think that the reason you're always so in a hurry, Kirara-chan, is… this?"
"U… U-Um…"
Bauanne held a hand to his chin. "…Surely, fulfilling one's commitments as a model, showing up on time and being willing & able to travel, is very important. But… Your duties as a magical girl, as a warrior of the light protecting people from the darkness, lighting the way for the people's dreams… That is also a very, very important thing!" He smiled. "And whether on the runway or the battlefield, I can see how wonderfully you sparkle and shine, Star Princess!"
Tachi let out a sigh. "We'll… come up with something – tell our people in New York that you twisted your ankle or came down with influenza or something, and couldn't come…"
"…I thought… that if I gave 200%, I could balance the roles of a model… and of a Pretty Cure. …But… My duties kept me from… following my one chance at my dream, my one chance to be as famous as my mother. …You two won't have to worry about my schedule and my duties conflicting anymore. I'm suspending my modeling career."
The whole group gasped; even the usually-reserved Bauanne and Teana looked very shocked.
"K- Kirara-chan?!" Haruka shouted. "But… But your dream… it's everything to you!"
"You'd sacrifice what you've worked towards since childhood for the sake of your duties as a Princess PreCure?" Towa asked.
"But… How can one who fights to protect the dreams of others not have a dream of her own?" Bauanne asked.
"I've tried to do both" Kirara replied. "But it's obviously not going to work out. I'm sorry… but it looks like I have to give up my dream to be able to protect the world."
-Break-
The next day, back at Noble Academy, Kirara seemed to be treating everything more flippantly, and those who knew her could see the fakeness in her smile. Desperate to think of something, anything they could do, Haruka looked up at the stars that night… and inspiration struck. She brought the idea to Yui, to Bauanne, and to the Principal, and they were all delighted by it (Bauanne: "It is as your comrades said; you, my dear, are the center of the team – the blooming flower of hope that guides them toward a shining future! Miss Kirara is truly blessed to have you as a friend!")
The next day after that, Kirara was surprised to be invited to the academy's auditorium, where the rest of the gang had collaborated with other students to set up an impromptu fashion show themed on everyone's dreams. When Haruka, Minami, and Yui spoke with Kirara as the show continued, they finally managed to get through to her, to reignite her passion for her dream to be a top model. Armed with that, she took to the stage, to roaring applause.
"I think you will be pleased to learn of our latest idea," Bauanne greeted Kirara behind the stage after her turn on the runway, "my Star Princess."
"I've mentioned how the alliance I'm part of has lots of high tech and magic, right?" Teana asked. "We can easily set up jump-gates that can connect across intercontinental distances, letting someone be teleported from one side of the world to the other in less than half a minute." She grinned. "That should definitely come in handy next Spring, if you choose to accompany Mr. Bauanne to Paris and be the star model for the new line of clothing he's designing."
Kirara's eyes widened. "M… Me?"
"Who else, my dear?" the fashion designer smiled. "I can think of no-one better to introduce my newest works to the world, once they are complete. And as this sunset-haired young lady says, her allies' technology will enable you to cross between my home there and yours here with ease – you won't even have to leave your Noble education and your friends behind, and Cure Twinkle will still be able to protect the citizens of Yumegahama alongside her dear comrades! Aah~, even though I must keep it secret from the masses, knowing that magic exists makes the whole world seem even more beautiful!"
Suddenly, Puff ran in. "Something big's coming!" she shouted to the girls. "A high-level Zetsuborg has appeared, near the Academy's beach!"
Mr. Bauanne's expression became serious. "Leave things here to us, girls" he said. "Go save the day again."
The four Cures and Teana took off, heading to the beach, to find another of Dyspear's Zetsuborgs there, in the form of a huge golden-scaled Eastern-style dragon. They transformed, and Teana – sensing the power this monster had – sent out all three of her Pokémon. The girls leapt at the dragon-Zetsuborg, which exhaled a cluster of lightning bolts at them; Mermaid & Scarlet formed a shield to protect Flora, Twinkle, & Teana, while Moltres dodged the bolts and flew forward while carrying Honedge in her talons, exhaling a Flamethrower at the Zetsuborg's mask-like face and then throwing the ghostly sword Pokémon forward. Honedge's blade glowed black with a Night Slash, the strike severing the tip of one of the monster's horns.
The dragon-Zetsuborg exhaled a stream of multicolored flames, but Teana used Fūton: Daitoppa to blow the fires away, leaving the monster open to Lys Tourbillon and Scarlet Flame attacks. The Zetsuborg reeled… or rather, it pretended to be hurt worse than it was, so that when Cure Mermaid went for a follow-up attack, its sudden tail strike caught her off-guard, knocking her back to slam into a tree. It then fired an explosive flame-blast at her, but Teana's Breloom fired an Energy Ball that hit the enemy attack in midair, setting it off prematurely.
The whole gang flung attacks and charged in their wake, and the Zetsuborg blasted at them with lightning again… only for Cure Twinkle to launch herself up using a Full-Moon Humming barrier as a platform, while the illusions of the others Teana had conjured dissolved. Cure Twinkle then kicked her barrier at the dragon-Zetsuborg, slamming into its chest and stunning it, and then used Galaxy Chorus to bombard and destroy its body, leaving just the evil-looking mask-head floating there. The girls then hit it with a purifying finisher, ending the battle.
Then, the Royal Key began to glow with golden light. Cure Twinkle slotted it into her Princess Perfume, and the girls were all teleported into the Hope Kingdom's realm, being deposited at the foot of the vine-entangled Star Castle. Twinkle slotted her four Keys into the Princess Palace, and a pulse of light enveloped the castle, obliterating the surrounding Despair Vines and restoring Hope Kingdom's starry night sky.
-Break-
As the weather started getting cool, Minami's doubts and worries about what path to take in her future built to a head, leaving her distracted and morose. Unfortunately, this meant that when Shut used the teacher Ms. Zama to make a Zetsuborg, Cure Mermaid was slower and weaker than she should be, enabling the Zetsuborg to beat her around. However, Cure Twinkle and the others were able to convince her that it was alright for someone's dream to change, that she shouldn't fight against what her heart wanted, and that no matter what path she chose they would support her every step of the way. Her restored confidence let her awaken a new attack, Coral Maelstrom, easily battering the Zetsuborg around so the team could finish it off.
Then, of course, came the hard part for Minami: figuring out how to tell her parents that she had a new dream, one that didn't involve working in the family company. After some deliberation, and some encouragement from her friends, she decided to get it over with, calling her older brother to come pick her up.
When she stepped outside to wait, however, Shut appeared with a turtle-themed Zetsuborg, extra-strength with Dyspear's power. Fueled by desperation from knowing this was his last chance, Shut was going all-out; he even dragged Cure Mermaid through a rift into the Hope Kingdom's realm to give his monster a home-turf advantage, ending up outside the ruined and vine-choked Sea Palace, surrounded by a tainted sea.
However, the other Cures managed to cross over using the Royal Key, they and Kanata coming to Mermaid's aid. The turtle-Zetsuborg proved strong enough to smack the girls around for a while, but the desire to follow her dream, no matter what stood in her way, gave Mermaid the strength to overpower the monster's attack and then destroy its body with Coral Maelstrom, letting the team finish the head off while Shut fled in panic. Then, her Coral Key glowed, and she used her Keys to cleanse & reawaken the Sea Palace, purifying Hope Kingdom's ocean.
The morning after a snowfall deposited a coat of white all over Noble Academy, the girls began an ambitious project to create Hope Kingdom Castle out of snow. As they went on, some students caught wind of it, joined in to help, and started spreading the word. As time went on, more and more people came to help, and in the end the castle was complete in all its sparkly, frozen glory.
When everyone was heading back to the dorms, though, Towa realized she'd left her gloves by the snow-castle, and hurried back to get them. She got there just as Shut showed up, broken inside and wandering aimlessly. Blaming her for setting him on the path to despair and ruin, he attacked her in a rage, his opening shot slicing the top off the snow-castle. It wasn't long before Flora, Mermaid, Twinkle, and Teana came to Scarlet's aid, overcoming Shut's attempt to blast them all and blowing him away into the nearby forest, moving in pursuit. But they got an unwelcome surprise when they caught up to him.
"I've lost everything… Lock looked down on me; Close mocks and abuses me, even Queen Dyspear has given up on me, wants my head for my failures…" Shut was transforming – his hat fallen away, his ears lengthening and becoming furrier, his teeth turning into an enlarged maw full of fangs as his eyeliner became jagged stripes across his cheeks, a tail of matted yellow fur sprouting from his lower back, his long fingernails lengthening further and turning into black claws, his pupils becoming slits as the whites of his eyes turned green, glaring at Cure Scarlet. "If you hadn't shown up… none of this would've happened!"
He fired a massive dark energy blast at her, but Teana stepped into its path and formed a Stage-0 Susanō arm with a sword, swinging the weapon at the incoming attack. The dark blast was deflected, but the blade snapped in two from the strain, dispelling. Shut then charged on all fours, claws glowing with red & black Darkness power. The girls quickly learned not to try blocking his attacks; they had so much power that even blocking hurt them and knocked them back. They danced around his strikes, avoiding the blasts & slicing waves he threw at them and trying to land counter-strikes.
"You call yourselves 'strong, kind, and beautiful'," he snarled, "but I'm the only beautiful one around here! Beauty is all I have left!"
"What the hell are you saying, calling yourself beautiful?!" Teana shouted. "Look at yourself, man! Look at what you've devolved into!"
Cure Mermaid used Frozen Ripple to form a reflective block of ice in front of Shut. Seeing his current state, he gasped in horror, staggering back and clutching at his face.
"You've done this to yourself, Shut" Cure Scarlet declared. "The people of DysDark drove you this far, but you were the one who took that final step. Now, stand down."
The man's head hung low, and his body shook with soft laughter. It was the laughter of someone who was finally broken. Then, the dark aura around him began to grow and seethe.
"The people of DysDark are... ugly inside and out. This world and everything in it is ugly. And…" he looked up, a broken smile on his fanged face, tears streaming from his eyes. "And I am the most hideous of all! So be it! I will destroy all that is ugly… starting with myself!-!"
An explosion of Dark power engulfed him, the silhouette of his body visible growing and changing within.
"Is he powering up?" Puff asked, worried. "Absorbing despair energy from somewhere?"
"No…" Shamour answered, looking at the roiling shell of Darkness with pity. "That's all coming from him. Shut has… succumbed completely to his despair."
As Teana & the Cures took that in, they saw as the shell of Darkness burst, to reveal a terrifying monster. Shut had transformed into a massive, mountain lion-like beast, beige fur fading to grey, blue-lined eyes glowing red, a mouth full of huge, red-tipped fangs letting out a bestial growl. The matted fur of his back and tail were formed into large, deadly backward-sloping spikes, and the snow beneath his paws began to melt and evaporate from the flame-like black aura around him. The monster threw its head back and let out a deep, deafening roar.
"…Girls" Cure Flora spoke. "Let's save him."
The other Cures nodded, followed by Teana.
"He's lost in a pit of darkness and despair" the redhead agreed. "…Let's pull him out."
"Easier said than done…" Aroma murmured, trembling from how much power he was sensing.
The feline monster opened its fanged maw wide and spat out a fiery blast of Darkness, and then charged right behind it. A Scarlet Illusion managed to just barely withstand the flaming ball of dark power, but the beast swung its head sideways as a hammer, its fangs slashing at the girls as it sent them flying. Teana recovered first, firing a wave of 23 Fire-type Sagitta Magica at Shut's beast form, but as they crashed into its hide they barely did anything. The monster fired a continuous, tightened 'beam' of flame that swept across, felling a few trees as Teana leapt high to dodge.
Cures Flora & Twinkle attacked from the sides, firing Rose Tourbillon and Meteor Humming and then charging in their attacks' wake. The cat-beast snarled as the magic blasts hit it, followed by the girls unleashing a storm of physical strikes, and it shrugged off the pain and knocked them both away with a spinning strike from its tail, the fur-spikes dealing shredding damage that the girls' magical outfits barely managed to convert into magic damage instead of ripping them open. A barrage of icicles from Cure Mermaid and a cutting wave of flame from Cure Scarlet were joined by a Shinkū Renpa barrage from Teana, but the monster roared out to release a shockwave and barrier that deflected the attacks.
The spikes of fur along Beast-Shut's back stuck up and glowed red, and then released a wave of multiple large 'spears' of red & black Darkness, curving up and through the air to lock onto the five heroines. Teana used ki blasts to destroy the ones coming at her, Cure Twinkle formed a Full-Moon Humming barrier to protect herself, and Cure Mermaid froze the ones aimed at her, but Cures Flora & Scarlet took a few hits, being knocked down and caught by their comrades before they could hit the ground. Teana charged and fired a Phantom Blaze at Beast-Shut, who braced himself and took the attack head-on, being shoved back a few meters but weathering the storm, returning fire with a dark-flame ball that blasted Tia back and into a tree.
A Scarlet Prominence engulfed the feline monster, but the beast roared as it powered through the flames and charged at Cure Scarlet, forcing her to hastily get out of the way. A 'Twinkle Humming' smacked it upside the head, and it snarled and swung its deadly claws at Cure Twinkle, who barely avoided getting her throat slashed open as she let herself fall backwards to dodge and then quickly scampered out of the beast's range. Cure Flora came down with a heel-drop wreathed in pink magical power aimed at the monster's back, but the monster shrugged off the hit and sent her flying with a tail-strike before she could recover. Cure Mermaid formed a compressed mass of Water that Teana used a rune to accelerate, firing it at Beast-Shut. The catlike monster growled as it was shoved back, but showed little damage as it shook itself off and then fired another explosive dark-fire blast at the girls.
The fight went on like this for a little while longer, the feline monster showing little effect from the girls' attacks and sending them reeling with its own. As Teana set down along the battlefield's edge, she tried to think.
'We need to hit him with something big to weaken him enough for a purifying finisher. My new technique is still too unstable, though; I can't get it to work right yet. Guess I'll have to go with an old favorite…'
"Girls," she told the Cures as they came in near her, "I think I have an attack that can put him down for the count. But it's going to take me a while to charge it up, and I'll be vulnerable until it's ready. Can you keep him off me until I'm done?"
"Of course" Cure Flora replied. "Do what you've gotta do, Teana-san."
The redhead nodded, sent out her three Pokémon to help the Cures fight, and then held Cross Mirage out in front. "Gather, light of the stars!"
As a Midchildan rune-circle appeared beneath her, motes of twinkling orange light began to rapidly form and merge together in front of her, forming a sphere of glowing magical power that started steadily growing. As Cures went off to fight, Teana focused all her attention on charging her attack. She frowned, trying to will the ambient magical energy to come together faster. At this rate, she might not be able to… Suddenly, it sped up, and motes of golden light joined the orange. Teana turned her head, and was surprised to see Cure Twinkle standing beside her, hands held out beside hers; the Star-themed magical girl gave her a grin & a wink, and Teana nodded.
"Combining the user's magical energy, the world's natural raw mana, and the cast-off residual magic from earlier attacks, all into a single mass of destructive Light-magic power…" Shamour murmured as she observed. "Amazing…"
Flora & Scarlet combined their magics to fire a wave of slicing, burning petals at Beast-Shut, forcing the monster to shield its face. Cure Mermaid and Honedge used the chance to combine their powers for a barrage of razor-sharp ice slivers, while Breloom hit the beast in the side with a Force Palm, and Moltres tossed a Flamethrower into the mix. The beast flinched under the attacks, and then roared and fired a sweeping 'beam' of flame that forced everyone back, Moltres and Flora being grazed by it but quickly recovering.
Beast-Shut charged at Cure Scarlet with startling speed, and she only managed to jump back quick enough to mitigate the damage from the tackle, not avoid it completely. The monster then fired another dark-fire blast at Cure Flora and Breloom, but Moltres swooped in using Agility and pulled them out of the way; the two then fired a Lys Tourbillon and Bullet Seed barrage at the beast, which snarled as it powered through the hits and came at them with fangs bared, only to smack into an ice wall conjured by Cure Mermaid.
There was a continuous, low ringing sound, like a massive bell's toll stretched out, from the now-huge mass of orange & yellow energy held in front of Teana and Cure Twinkle. At first frozen in shock at how much power they'd gathered, Cure Flora quickly recovered and signaled to the others, and they nodded and moved to finish up. A Coral Maelstrom from Cure Mermaid washed Beast-Shut back, dolphin-shaped masses of Water magic slamming into its side while coral stabbed at its flanks. Honedge's Night Slash across the monster's face made it stagger back, and then it was hammered in the side by a mixture of Cure Flora's Floral Tourbillon and Moltres' Fire Spin. Finally, Teana's right hand and Cure Twinkle's left clasped together, pulling back to set their attack free as they called out:
"PreCure: Starlight Breaker!-!"
They 'punched' the mass of Light, which then released as an enormous beam of raw magical power. The attack roared out as it slammed into Beast-Shut, engulfing the monster in a tremendous explosion-wave of energy. The magic kept going, obliterating a sizable line of trees and carving a trench in the earth. Finally, it curved upward and shot up into space. When the light faded, Beast-Shut was growling weakly, the red glow of his eyes dimmed, barely on his feet.
Now, the four Cures made their move, coming together and entering their Mode Elegant Royal forms. A massive crystalline castle appeared behind the monster, a glimmering light from within it becoming a pillar of light that enveloped and restrained the beast. The girls soared high, forming and flying through an enormous crown symbol and then a series of four red, yellow, blue, and pink runes, diving down towards their target while wreathed in Light power:
"PreCure: Grand Printemps!-!"
They crashed down into Beast-Shut, and their contrail split into four beautiful ribbons of light spread out like a flower opening, while the shockwave made flowers bloom all around. As the beautiful light faded, Shut lay in the resulting crater in the snow, returned to his normal form. He stirred as Cure Scarlet came up and knelt down in front of him.
"Twilight…" he muttered.
"'Twilight' was a cold and lonely girl" Cure Scarlet replied. "When I was under Dyspear's control, I thought being 'noble, sublime, and beautiful' was all the mattered. I had no-one, and my heart was frozen. But since I was saved from that Darkness, I've learned so many things, experienced so many warm feelings, learned that true beauty comes from grace, kindness, and strength of heart. I was able to change, and grow, and become so much more than what I used to be. …We can help you grow too, Shut. Let me help you find true inner beauty…"
Shut stared at Scarlet's offered hand for a moment, then cast his gaze away and got to his feet, turning and walking away through the snow, stopping only to retrieve his hat. The girls watched sadly as he disappeared into the forest. They headed back to the Academy, passing by their snow-castle… and saw that it had been repaired, the air around it still carrying a trace of Shut's restorative magic.
"Let's head back inside, girls" Haruka said. "It's pretty chilly out here." 'And yet, my heart feels warm…'
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: the finale of the Go Princess arc, as Dyspear and Close set their endgame in motion.