PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

-CHAPTER START-

Realm PC-10

In the aftermath, the trio gave what explanations they could to their friends and Liz. Jun, Kei, & Emily were super-excited that their friends were the legendary warriors, while Liz fretted over the dangers her baby sister & her two friends had gotten mixed up in. And the brief explanations about the Dimensional Defense Force threw the quartet for a loop, especially the natures of other magical styles whose methods of casting, channeling energy, and whatnot were so different from what they were used to. Not to mention that the legendary weapons, the Keyblades, were mixed up in things as well.

Also, as a magic teacher, Liz felt the need to slightly lecture Anya a little upon learning that the fire-user had learned a spell she technically couldn't do; although Anya in theory knew the casting method, in practice the amount of magic needed to cast Ourania Phlogosis was larger than her entire mana-reserves level, meaning that even if she went into a battle fully-charged with as much mana as her body and Linker Core could carry, it still wouldn't be quite enough to cast that one high-level spell. She needed to wait until physical aging increased the size of her 'fuel tank' before she could ever use it (when she protested that Negi threw around such spells despite being a year younger than her, Liz retorted that it sounded like Negi was 'a bit of a freak of nature' in terms of magical capacity and strength)…

The next day, Theta Team chose not to get involved in the chasing of the 'pumpkin bird' for the Magic World's annual Pumpkin Festival, mainly due to the fact that the enchanted creature could turn people into giant candy and none of them wanted to experience that. The three Cures and Mofurun & Chikurun ended up chasing the pumpkin-bird into the nearby forest, where Mofurun helped it deal with a bad tooth and it returned the favor by aiding the Cures against Shakince's latest Don-Yokubal.

Then, the magic school students took a trip to the Non-Magic World to participate in the town's equivalent celebrations, with Jun, Kei, & Emily bonding with the locals (Kana & Mayumi, Souta & Yuuki, etc.). Benigyo tried to interrupt the festivities with a Don-Yokubal, but the Cures and Laicixa managed to beat the monster back and destroy it, leading to another Linkle Spirit melding with the Rainbow Carriage.

Soon after, Riko's birthday arrived, and the Asahina household received a few visitors come to celebrate: Riko's older sister Liz, father Rian, and her mother Lilia who'd been working as a TV chef here in the Non-Magic World. Riko's family were a bit over-the-top with the celebration, though Riko was still grateful for the feelings behind it. After the party, though, Shakince trapped the three girls and Mofurun in a pocket dimension with a Don-Yokubal, also trying to scare them by showing them a hint of what Deusmast is capable of via a magic 'screen', a bestial mass of Darkness shattering planets in its wake.

However, Cure Magical's desire to get back and properly thank her family for celebrating her birthday and trying to make her happy, despite how embarrassing it was at parts, caused the Tanzanite Linkle Stone to warp itself into the pocket realm, letting Magical bring the team (and Shakince & his Don-Yokubal) back to the normal world. Without the Darkness of that pocket realm, the monster was weakened slightly, letting the girls overcome it and destroy it, after which another of the Linkle Spirits melded into the Rainbow Carriage.

In the aftermath, considering that her father and sister were in the loop, Riko decided to tell her mother about the whole Pretty Cure situation. Predictably, Lilia was very shocked to learn of the sort of big, dangerous role her baby girl & her friends had gotten mixed up in, but understanding that there wasn't really anything she could do about it she gave Riko her blessing and promised to do whatever she could to support them.

The next few days were pretty peaceful, with the shortened travel time between the two linked sub-Realms letting them make time for classes in the Magic and Non-Magic Worlds. Three days after Riko's birthday, Jun invited the whole gang to a slumber party in her dorm-room (since the room the Cure Trio usually used had been appropriated for storage of Jun's various art projects). Theta Team couldn't come, but they did lend the group a few seal-tags that would project a sound-proofing barrier around the room so the patrolling Vice-Headmaster didn't interrupt their fun.

After Jun, Kei, & Emily had gone to bed, though, as Mirai was looking at the beautiful moon, she caught sight of the Headmaster flying off toward the base of the Great Tree. Curious, and struck by an odd, ambiguous 'bad feeling', she roused her teammates and the '-run pair' and flew off to follow. When they got to the tree, they found the Headmaster & Cassie confronted by Oruba, and quickly leapt in to help him and transformed, Miracle & Magical using their Ruby forms. Oruba called out a Don-Yokubal to keep the girls busy while he went searching for something in the waters nearby. The Don-Yokubal proved to be a bit of a tough one, using swatting strikes with its oar-arms and blasts of wind to keep the girls from landing any serious hits on it. But then…

"CureUp RaPaPa! Water, freeze into spears of ice!"

The sea abruptly surged upward, multiple large spears of ice forming and shooting up at the Don-Yokubal, catching it off-guard and damaging its oars. The Cures, surprised by the sudden assistance, turned to look and were shocked to see none other than the Vice-Headmaster, her wand at the ready. The woman then conjured two large hands of solid rock up from the island, grabbing hold of the Don-Yokubal and pinning it in place. Taking the opportunity, the Cure Trio finished the monster off with a combined Emerald Reincarnation and Ruby Passionale. As everyone regrouped, however, they saw as Oruba reappeared holding a skull-marked tome brimming with Dark power, which the Headmaster recognized as Kushi's old tome. The evil djinn vanished before anyone could stop him.

"U-Um… Thank you for the help against that monster, brave academy teacher" Cure Magical said to the Vice-Headmaster, trying to disguise her voice. "Surely, you-"

"I saw you three girls leaving the dorms, and followed you here" the older woman stated plainly. "And yes, I saw you all transform. To think that the three of you were the Legendary Mages… *sigh*…"

The Cure Trio fidgeted as they de-transformed. "We'd better fill you in on the details, I guess…" Haa-chan said.

The girls and the Headmaster explained everything they could to the Vice-Headmaster during the flight back to the dorms. Before sending the girls off to bed, the older woman tossed out a worrying theory: perhaps Oruba sought Kushii's tome because maybe the dark power Kushii subsumed himself in came from Deusmast…

The next day, Mofurun and Mirai joined/followed Chikurun in a honey-gathering mission (not knowing that the little bee-fairy actually came out to do something else). They then headed back to campus, and Liz led the six girls (& Mofurun) in making honey pudding… and failed to notice as Chikurun, following the orders of his true master and fighting against his conscience, reluctantly made off with the bag full of Linkle Stones and the Linkle Smartbook.

Now, as Mirai (with Mofurun as passenger), Riko, & Kotoha flew out over the forest, they arrived to see Chikurun holding the bag and hovering right in front of Shakince.

"Get away from him!" Mirai shouted. "Chikurun, run!"

"You fools don't get it?" Shakince said as he held out his hand and Chikurun dropped the bag into it, turning away from the girls and trying to cover his face & ears in shame. "This little fairy has been Oruba's pawn this whole time. He was under orders to observe you girls and gather information for us. It was Oruba's order that he steal your Stones and bring them to me. Now… You are helpless, and now I can finally crush you!"

He swung his arms, releasing a blast of wind that battered the girls around and slammed them to the ground far below.

"Hey!" Chikurun fluttered up in front of Shakince. "This wasn't part of the deal! You said you wouldn't hurt them!"

In response, Shakince scowled and swatted Chikurun away, leaving him to fall near the Cures. "So you did grow attached to them…"

He then grew a second pair of wings, and rapidly increased in size, his pale-blond hair flaring up behind him as he turned into a giant. Now at full power, Shakince then swallowed whole the bag containing the girls' Linkle Stones.

Chikurun only hesitated for a moment before he made his choice on where he stood, taking off and flying up at the giant Shakince, dodging the blast of wind the djinn fired. He flew in through the giant's mouth and down his throat, despite the villain's surprised attempts to force him out, and soon escaped with the Linkle Smartbook and the Topaz & Emerald Linkle Stones. Though he made it down to the group, handing the precious objects over to Mofurun, he was hit by a dark-magic blast on his way down, seriously injuring him. Mofurun cradled the injured fairy close as the Cures transformed.

Cure Miracle formed her Topaz Orbs into a huge hammer, swinging it to meet the incoming punch from Shakince's giant fist. Unfortunately, the djinn's attack won out, shattering Miracle's mana construct and forcing her down. Cure Felice formed her wings and attacked next, channeling as much power as she could into her fist, and Shakince again matched the attack with his own punch… and unfortunately, the evil djinn's attack again overpowered his opponent's, sending Cure Felice down to the ground to join her fellows.

"WHY FIGHT SO HARD FOR A TRAITOR?" Shakince asked. "NO MATTER. WITH MY FULL POWER, I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL – YOU GIRLS, AND THE TWO ANNOYING LITTLE PEBBLES WITH YOU. THEY WILL BE GRINDED INTO A SMEAR UPON MY HEEL!"

He brought his massive foot down at Mofurun & Chikurun. The Cures dashed in, forming a shining golden dome of defensive magic just in time; the dome cracked from the impact and pressure, the girls straining to sustain it.

"Despite everything," Topaz Miracle said, "Chikurun is our friend! We've had so much fun together!"

"I know that the times he & we have spent together have taught him how important friendship is," Topaz Magical added, "and that led him to do the right thing in the end. It's something you could never understand!"

"No matter what," Felice shouted, "we will not forsake our friend!"

The girls' bodies then glowed with gold and green auras, as the Topaz Linkle Stone responded to their excited feelings. Their golden barrier shattered outward, throwing Shakince back a little. Topaz Miracle then leapt high, forming a mallet from her golden magic orbs, and the already-huge hammer quadrupled in size as she swung it, overcoming Shakince's next strike and slamming into his chest, knocking the giant djinn back. Shakince snarled, making ready to charge an energy blast, but was then stunned as a blast of Light magic came sailing in and nailed him in the face, as Erika finally arrived on the scene.

Erika fired a Prism Rain barrage, the multicolored magic blasts aimed at Shakince's head, keeping him busy as the Cures shifted to their Alexandrite Forms and called forth the Rainbow Carriage. Breaking free from the little Keyblader's attacks, Shakince charged at the Cure Trio… just as their Extreme Rainbow attack fired, catching the djinn head-on with the full force of the attack. Shakince's final curse screamed at the Cures echoed and faded away as the Light energy engulfed and obliterated him, freeing the Linkle Stones he'd swallowed.

Back at the Magic Academy, Chikurun explained how Oruba had caught him slacking off in his duties to the Fairy Village and had threatened to expose him to the 'scary Queen' unless he did what Oruba asked him to. This was followed by one ill deed after another, each one adding to the studious djinn's hold on the little bee-fairy. Mirai suggested they all head to the Fairy Village and apologize to the Fairy Queen together, explain the situation to her and whatnot. …And in response to that proclamation, the magical portal-door the girls had once used to find the battle between the Headmaster and Dokuroxy reappeared in front of them. Readying themselves, they all opened the door and passed through.

Upon arriving in the Fairy Village, Haa-chan suddenly shrunk down to the size and form of a fairy, also experiencing another inexplicable memory of a sea of flowers. Then, the Fairy Queen and her entourage appeared, and escorted the gang to the village proper. There, the Queen of two generations ago told everyone an ancient legend that explained the origins of many things:

Millennia ago, humans, magic beasts, animals, and spirits lived together in harmony under the watchful eyes of Mother RaPaPa, a goddess of extraordinary power and pure, love-filled heart, basking in the warmth and light of the enormous Mother Tree, the Heart of the World. However, one day a great calamitous Darkness arose: Deusmast, the spirit of dark chaos and of destruction for destruction's sake. Mother RaPaPa did battle with the fiend and his servants, sealing all of the latter away, and then using her Light to defeat and seal Deusmast as well. However, she expended so much energy and sustained such wounds in the battle that she could no longer maintain her form. As the goddess faded away, the Mother Tree was torn free from the world and drifted off through time and space. Eventually, a new World grew from the Mother Tree's roots, spreading out to become the Magic World, with the Mother Tree now at the heart of the Magic Academy; the world it left behind, meanwhile, became the Non-Magic World.

As the girls processed these revelations, the meeting was rudely interrupted by unexpected uninvited guests: Spalda, the spider-woman servant of Dokuroxy who was thought destroyed, and Oruba who had resurrected her using Kushi's tome. She used an ember and a stone to make a Fire-Rock Yokubal, and the girls transformed; as Miracle & Magical assumed their Sapphire Forms, Spalda was shocked to see the child-fairy she remembered take human form and become the Emerald Pretty Cure, while the Old Fairy Queen gazed in awe at Felice's familiar radiance, and then got yet another shock as Erika summoned her Keyblade, recognizing the Legendary Weapon of Light.

The Yokubal scattered flaming rock-bombs all over, battering the girls and setting numerous parts of the fairy forest ablaze. Erika, however, used Suikōdan no Jutsu to not only blast the monster back but also near-totally extinguish its flames, weakening it considerably. Cure Felice, swearing to protect this forest, then used Emerald Reincarnation to destroy the beast; Oruba's smug calmness dropped as he felt Felice's power, looking as if he recognized it from somewhere. Furious, Spalda tried to charge, but then Erika decided to use the spider-lady as a test target for her newest technique, one she'd been working on for weeks. The padded little girl and her Shadow Clone rushed at Spalda, holding a swirling mass of compressed and chaotic Water-type chakra with a marbled blue appearance, and a considerable amount of power packed in tight and ready to unleash as she rammed it into Spalda's chest:

"Suiton: Rasengan!"

Spalda cried out as the Water Release Rasengan bored into her for a moment and then went off, blasting her back with a focused spiraling whirlpool-torrent of destructive energy. When the dust cleared, Spalda was barely holding herself together. The wounded spider-lady and curious djinn retreated, and the forest was magically restored.

In the aftermath, the Old Queen spoke of how Mother RaPaPa's final words proclaimed how one day, a new magic would arise and bridge the two separated worlds together again: the magic known as the Pretty Cures. The girls bade farewell to the fairies, including Chikurun, heading back through the portal-door.

-X-

A couple days later, the Cure Trio & Mofurun were heading home from shopping together. As they neared Mirai's house, however, Oruba's experimental spell came down on their heads. Mofurun groaned softly as she regained her bearings, and then her eyes went wide with shock as she beheld Mirai, Riko, and Haa-chan somehow regressed into four-year-olds!

Thankfully, when she contacted Theta Team's little base and explained what had happened, Kira teleported right over, bringing Mariko with her, the motherly Gardevoir quickly taking charge and calming the little ones, warping everyone into Mirai's room. As Mariko kept the trio occupied (the Cure Trio had regressed mentally as well as physically), Kira & Mofurun contacted the Headmaster, who had no clue what could have caused this. In any event, after the kids tired themselves out and laid down for a nap (Mariko was a little embarrassed that as the de-aged girls cuddled up against her, her diapered backside was used by toddler Haa-chan as a pillow, though it was also really cute so she didn't mind that much), Mirai's mother came home, but Kira used her psychic powers to subtly influence the woman into not coming in to check on the girls and thus discovering the unusual situation.

However, a little while later, Spalda showed up outside, accompanied by a Yokubal and a recently-restored Gametsu, the big buff challenge-seeking turtle-man servant of Dokuroxy. Mofurun and Kira moved outside to confront the interlopers, Kira doing quite a bit of damage to the Yokubal with Psyshocks and Moonblasts, but then Gametsu called out a second Yokubal, making things a little harder for her.

The noise of the conflict woke the de-aged girls up, and they & Mariko came outside to investigate, just as Spalda started kicking Mofurun around. Despite their predicament, they came to their little friend's defense, and when they transformed into their Cure Forms it somehow undid the de-aging curse, returning them to normal. Diamond Miracle & Magical handled Spalda's Yokubal, Gametsu insisted on a one-on-one fight with Cure Felice, and Mariko jumped in to help Kira against Gametsu's Yokubal, all while Spalda simply hung back and watched.

When Oruba interrupted Felice & Gametsu's fight to question the former, his comments awakened her protective instincts and righteous fury, and she used the Pink Tourmaline stone to force them both back and hit the two Yokubals as well. Kira & Mariko took advantage and hit Gametsu's Yokubal with a combination of Magical Leaf and a focused Wind Release ninjutsu, trapping it in a swirling column of slicing multicolored leaves, while Kira then teleported overhead and fired a Moonblast straight down at the monster, the combination doing quite a bit of damage. Finally, the Cures blasted the Yokubals with Extreme Rainbow, destroying both monsters at once. With his theory confirmed by what he sensed in Felice's power, Oruba fell back, taking Spalda & Gametsu with him.

A couple of days later, the Cure Trio (& Mofurun) and Laicixa headed to a deserted part of the local park to meet with the Headmaster and discuss recent events. When the Cure girls came back from a quick snack-run, however, they were shocked to find the Headmaster and Laicixa casually sitting with Batty, another of Dokuroxy's old servants, who showed no intention of picking a fight with the Cures, unlike his former comrades. Indeed, he seemed listless and morose, feeling that he had no purpose, no reason to exist, that his revival was a wasteful act.

The next interloper was considerably less peaceful. Oruba appeared, Kushi's dark-magic tome in hand and Spalda & Gamettsu at his side, and warped everyone onto a massive 'stage' platform high in the sky at the center of a giant whirlwind of clouds. As Spalda turned into a giant spider-monster and attacked Topaz Miracle & Magical while Gamettsu did battle with Cure Felice, Oruba sicced a Don-Yokubal on Laicixa to keep her busy. The djinn then revealed that eons ago, when Mother RaPaPa defeated and sealed all of Deusmast's servants, he scattered the pieces of dark magic knowledge across the world, counting on it eventually being found. Kushi found and gathered those pieces, delving into dark magic, and the energies he wielded as Dokuroxy played a key role in freeing Oruba and his fellows from imprisonment, just as Oruba had planned. He also revealed that Cure Felice, Haa-chan, carried Mother RaPaPa's power, inheritor of the goddess' magic and Light.

Sparda made her long-planned move, ensnaring Oruba in webbing and snatching Kusi's tome from him, declaring that she would bring about her own world of darkness, Deusmast be damned. Oruba responded by transforming into his true form, angelic and demonic features melded together in equal measure, and when Sparda & Gamettsu tried to double-team him he effortlessly withstood their attacks and then stripped them of their power, reverting them to a harmless spider and turtle.

Then, however, as Oruba was about to go for the heroes, Batty appeared. Using the base animal forms of Sparda, Gamettsu, & Yamoh, along with a Dokuroxy scarecrow, he created a Yokubal and engaged Oruba's Don-Yokubal in battle. To everyone's shock, Batty's monster soon gained the upper hand against Oruba's, his conviction and heart giving him & his Yokubal the strength to overcome the Don-Yokubal and then destroy it, leaving Oruba near-speechless.

"The courage and strength of a person's Heart can produce magic that can overcome any obstacle," Cure Felice declared, "including the dark power you people wield."

"Shut up…" Oruba snarled. "Shut up!-!"

He dove down at the group, but then Laicixa fired a flash of Light magic from her Keyblade that temporarily blinded the djinn, giving the Cure Trio the time they needed to ready and fire their Extreme Rainbow attack. Unfortunately, even as he as being destroyed by the Light, Oruba used the last of his power and the Darkness stored in Kushi's tome to free several other sealed servants of Deusmast around the world…

Afterwards, Batty bade the heroes farewell, taking the animal forms of his old comrades with him. When the Headmaster reclaimed his old friend's book, he found a handwritten message inside, from Kushi to him, explaining how the other man had gone out of his way to make sure his friend didn't get involved in the danger he was facing, for his sake. As he reminisced about how much he & his old friend went through together, the girls wondered just what kind of trouble Oruba's final act would cause them down the line…

-X—

Under the starry sky, Mirai, Mofurun, Riko, & Kotoha set down on the ground out of sight by Mirai's house and then headed around to the front Mirai's parents and grandmother were just coming back from shopping together, and by chance Kana & Mayumi were passing by on their way somewhere. They all smiled and greeted the three girls as they came over.

"So, this is your 'happy little family', hm?"

Everyone startled at the sudden voice from above, and looked up. Mirai's family & friends stared in stunned shock, and the Cure Trio & Mofurun in horror, as Benigyo hovered overhead.

"S-She's… flying…" Kyoko (Mirai's mother) murmured.

"A… Are you a mage?!" Kana asked excitedly.

Looking at the various people's reactions, Benigyo smirked. "Oh, could it be that you never told them anything? That might make this a bit more interesting. Come forth, Don-Yokubal!"

The familiar monster came into being, looming over the puny humans. Daikichi (Mirai's father) hurriedly put himself in a protect position in front of his wife and her mother Kanoko, while Mayumi & Kana screamed and held each other.

"What now, girls?" Benigyo taunted. "You can either reveal yourselves, or take your secret to the grave!"

Benigyo snapped her fingers, and a dark barrier formed around the whole area, preventing any escape. The Don-Yokubal spat out a dark-magic blast that blew a crater in the street in front of the civilians, the concussion wave knocking them all off their feet. Realizing now that they had no other choice, the Cure Trio stepped forward, to the confusion of their friends and Mirai's family.

"Sorry we've been keeping something big a secret from you, everyone…" Mirai said to them.

The girls were then enveloped in swirling, sparkling lights, emerging as Cures Miracle, Magical, and Felice. Mirai's family and friends stared in shocked awe, especially Kana; Mirai and Riko and Haa-chan weren't just mages, they were magical girls. The Don-Yokubal charged, and Miracle & Magical leapt up and hit it with a matching double-kick that knocked it back quite a distance. They and Felice then went on the attack, hammering the monster with punishing blows.

There was a flash of red light as Miracle & Magical debuted their newest trick developed with Theta Team's help: switching Forms on the fly, without having to de-transform first. Now in their Ruby Forms, they caught the Don-Yokubal's next strike and countered with fiery punches that blasted the monster back, its back slamming against the edge of the barrier around the area. It spat out a sizable energy blast, but Cure Felice used the Pink Tourmaline Linkle Stone to form a flower-shaped shield that bounced the blast right back to hit the Don-Yokubal in the face, doing more damage.

Enraged, the Don-Yokubal charged again, but then the Ruby duo hit it with Ruby Passionale, stopping its attack cold and seriously damaging it. With their foe weakened, the three Cures then unleashed Extreme Rainbow, destroying the monster and also shattering the surrounding barrier. Growling, Benigyo teleported out. The girls then turned to their friends and Mirai's family, de-transforming.

"I guess we've got some explaining to do…" Riko said sheepishly.

-X-

"…And that's where we are now" Kotoha wrapped up the rather lengthy explanations, everyone seated in the Asahina household's (now somewhat cramped) living room. Everyone was still stunned silent… though Kana was practically vibrating from excitement; magic was real, mages were real, three of her best friends had been mages all this time and Haa-chan was the 'Happiness Fairy' that appeared at school one day, there was an entire magical world parallel to this one, these three were legendary magical-girl warriors…

"Gracious…" Kanako murmured. "To think you girls have been caught up in something so big for months now…"

Kyoko Asahina was still having a bit of trouble wrapping her head around the fact that Mirai's old teddy Mofurun was now alive and magical, though she was very pleasant to be around, and her loyalty to Mirai was ironclad…

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Mirai's father asked.

Riko sighed. "Other than emotional support and maybe coming up with cover stories if we have to run off suddenly, not really."

"Better than nothing, I guess" Mayumi said. "My God, it's still hard to believe this is all real… but, it does explain a lot of things, when you think about it. …Who else knows?"

"If you mean, who here knows we're mages, nobody really" Mirai responded. "If you're talking about the fact we're the MahouTsukai Pretty Cure… There's Jun, Kei, & Emily from the Magic Academy, as well as the Academy's Headmaster and Vice-Headmaster, and Riko's family."

"And this 'Theta Team' group" Kanako added. "It's nice to know you girls have some help from beyond the stars; from what you'd told about this 'Deusmast' entity, I fear you'll need it."

Haa-chan then yawned, and her friends followed suit.

"It's getting pretty late" Daikichi Asahina said. "It's been an eventful day, to say the least. You girls should go to bed soon, I think."

As Mirai nodded and got up, her mother hugged her close, the rest of her family joining in. Their little girl had become something greater than they'd imagined, so strong and brave, but also kind and pure of heart, her light and joy forming bonds of friendship that transcended Worlds.

As Riko looked out the window, up at the moon, she couldn't help but feel like they were approaching a climax point…

-CHAPTER END-

Next Time; the final battle, which will go… somewhat differently than canon (since we can't end it with the Magic and Non-Magic Worlds being cut off from each other here).