A/N:
Why, hello there! Thank you so much for wanting to be apart of "Precure All Stars: Marble"! Since you're here, it would be wise to go through a few basic legal stuff. This story is rated T, so there will be a good amount of language and violence. Some serious topics will be covered in this story that some viewers might find unnerving.
That being said, please make sure you are at least 15 years of age before proceeding.
I do not own Precure in any way, shape or form. Toei Animation owns all of the rights. I do, however, own my OCs.
I will return at the end of the Prologue. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy Marble!
Prologue: "Allegro moderato"
A doctor read over his notepad before looking up at his colleagues.
"...and, you are absolutely sure?"
"All the signs lead to it. Though, I'm not really sure how this is possible. The girl is 23, and physically speaking with the info she has given us, this is impossible."
"And yet, just look at this monitor..." Another commented. "It's small, but it is clear as day."
"Look at these two!"
A nurse or two looked out the window, fawning over two girls in the waiting room - one fiery red head, and the other with raven hair. The raven girl rested on the redhead's lap, sleeping peacefully while the other lovingly - and worriedly - stroked her hair.
"Find someone who'll look at you like she looks at her. Aren't they just the cutest?"
"Certainly. I just hope they take this well..."
"Well, I'll be." A nurse mused. "It's not everyday this happens...the last time it has is in religion. Should we tell them?"
The doctor paused before he sighed.
"If we are certain." He said, exiting the small examination room and opening the door to the waiting room.
"Yukishiro-san? Misumi-san?"
Nagisa looked up when she heard their names. Honoka, on the other hand, rubbed her eyes tiredly as she began to sit up.
"That's us..."
The nurse gestured the two girls in, Honoka looking down at her dress.
"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked
"I'm feeling...okay..." Honoka said, biting her lip. 'Okay' was a overstatement.
"Any nausea?" The doctor asked while sitting down.
"I threw up this morning." She said while sitting down on the bed, holding Nagisa's hand. "A-And I've been having constant headaches, as I've told you before. But i've also told you about several other instances where I didn't feel myself. One time I...snapped at Nagisa for no reason..." She said this with regret, to which her partner reassuringly squeezed her hand. "And another time, I just...cried for hours on end...again, for no explanation. It's been repetitive this week..."
The nurse looked towards the doctor, and they sighed. "Yukishiro-San, there's no easy way to say this..."
Nagisa and Honoka looked nervously at each other before both looking at the doctor, waiting to hear the news.
"...what is it?" Nagisa asked, getting more and more nervous. "Is Honoka going to be okay? Is this a disease?!"
"...am I dying...?" Honoka asked nervously.
Well, that certainly didn't help Nagisa's nerves.
"No, you're just fine. Fair warning, this will be hard to hear. Rest assured, you are well. But from the information about your personal life you've given us, and from the examinations we've done, this is impossible..."
They swallowed briefly.
"...you're pregnant."
There was silence that filled the room. Both girls were stunned when they heard the statement.
"...I'm...?" Honoka was about to faint.
"Look."
The doctor handed her photos of an ultrasound. "You see that tiny little thing in the center of your womb? It looks just like a pea."
"...oh my god..."
"This...This is...!" Nagisa wasn't sure what to say.
...
...
"...EEEEH?!"
"Let go of me, mepo!"
"I'm not until you explain what the hell's happening!"
The moment they got home was...interesting to say the least. Nagisa held Mepple by the ear and dragged him into the living room while Honoka sat on the couch, looking down at her stomach in shock.
So much was happening that Honoka had been silent the whole way home with the news in her head. She wouldn't even look at Nagisa. She was too afraid to.
"You're pregnant."
It was like a bomb landed dead center on her chest, destroyed most of her reasoning and left nothing but pure and utter confusion.
How? How could she be pregnant? The news surprised her and terrified her - she was a virgin, by medical standards. She had never been with anyone else but Nagisa - all she had wanted was her, and no one else.
That, and she was a lesbian. Which spoke for itself.
So how in the world...?
"Okay, let go, mepo! I'll explain, I swear, mepo!"
Finally, Nagisa let go of her fairy with a groan, sitting down on the couch with a firm plop. It wasn't long until a girl with blonde hair came downstairs - Hikari.
"I heard yelling. Is everything alright?"
Honoka looked at Hikari, her eyes full of concern and confusion. "Hikari..."
"Sit down..." Nagisa said simply, staying close to Honoka. "Long story short - Honoka's pregnant, and we have no idea how or why."
"Honoka...is pregnant...?!" Hikari gasped. Nagisa and Honoka nodded their heads.
Mipple came out of the card converse and looked up at her partner in worry, but something about her look...
"Did you already know about this?" Honoka inquired while Mipple nodded.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"We weren't sure if you would believe us, mipo. But now that we have proof that you are, we should tell you why, mipo."
"Please do, Mipple, Mepple. We need to know why this happened." Nagisa said.
Mepple released a sigh before he spoke ashamedly.
"We told you a few weeks ago about what Precure are destined to do, correct, mepo? The war, mepo?"
All 3 nodded their heads. This was a conversation that many of their fellow Precure had already had with their fairies. Over the 10 years they had known their friends, they had overcome challenge after challenge, fought entity after entity, and deity after deity. Yet this was the most surprising news they had gotten.
It didn't just concern one team of Precure from a certain area - it concerned everyone.
They were just getting used to that information alone.
"What about it?"
"There's a...catch to that, mipo." Mipple took over. "Among these ranks, you two will lead as you already know, mipo. What you don't know is that there will be someone else with you leading this war, mipo."
"Someone else?" Honoka questioned.
Mepple and Mipple looked at each other before nodding.
"Cure Marble, mepo."
"Cure Marble?!" Their eyes widened at the new name.
"A legendary hero that is said to be born from Black and White, Mipo." Mipple said. "You 4 are said to create the ultimate power that will end this neverending war against evil for good, mipo."
"Born from..." Nagisa started saying.
"…Black and White." Honoka finished for her.
They looked at each other before looking down at Honoka's stomach.
"...s-so did our powers just...?!"
"...make a baby?!"
"I believe so...astonishing." Hikari mused in wonder.
Honoka couldn't believe it. Nagisa and herself were having a baby. A baby. Their flesh and blood...
...and that same child was going to be in danger.
"...you're going to leave me now..." Honoka mumbled while shaking.
Nagisa looked at Honoka, confused. "What? What are you talking about?" She asked.
"...you have a career Nagisa...this changes...everything." she said while tearing up. "A-And once I have this child, then...you won't have any time to do what you love...a-at least if you leave, you'll be...a-able to..."
Nagisa grabbed Honoka's hands. "No, I'm not leaving you." She said.
"But, Nagisa-"
"I'll call tomorrow and say I'm taking my leave. All of it." She said seriously.
"Nagisa..." Honoka didn't know what to say. She felt tears forming in her eyes.
Hikari felt tears growing in her own eyes at the scene...she had no idea she would do such a thing.
"I love you, Honoka." She said simply. "I'm not just going to leave my girlfriend when she's pregnant with our child. I have enough for all of us, no worries...right now, my focus is on you. And it's not leaving you, ever. Not now. Not. Ever."
Honoka started feeling tears form in her eyes, she smiled as she hugged her girlfriend.
"Oh, Nagisa!"
Nagisa was taken back by the hug, but she sighed and hugged her back. "I've got you, honey..."
Hikari wiped her eyes before speaking up. "I can stay home a lot more if you two need it, too. And I can tell all of our friends, too!"
The group of three girls hugged each other. Enjoying the tender moment they wanted to last forever.
Things would be different from now on. Much, much different.
14 Years Later...
Hong Kong
A teenage girl gazed down at her test paper in disdain. "Ah...a 46%. Oh well, I can do better. Li An, what did you get?"
Her friend, who had brown hair and blue eyes looked over at her sheepishly with a little laugh. "60%...barely made it."
"Arenaaaaai!"
They both looked over to their friend on the ground, who was definitely unique. She had dark hair, dark blue eyes, and dark skin...and she was a complete mess.
"...Ju Lan, what did you get?" Li An asked with a knowing sigh.
"It's horrible..." She muttered as she covered the test paper with her face.
"Let me see it." She gently offered, but her friend shook her head furiously.
"I am a disgrace! I've soiled my family's unknown name! There's nothing I can do. Just wait for the pain to end..."
Her friend snatched the paper from Ju Lan, and looked at the grade.
"...99%."
She said blankly and looked at her with a groan.
"You got a 99.9% and you're upset?"
"It's 0.01% chance off!" Ju Lan argued.
"Riiight, and I'm a 0.01%," Li An pressed her fingers closely together, nearly touching. "chance away from setting you straight. Get up!"
Ju Lan nodded tearfully, standing up with her head bowed.
"Haaaai..."
An hour later, the school bell rang and school was dismissed. The girls left the school and entered the dark, desolate, and ruined city they called home.
"I could have gotten that one right!" Ju Lan huffed. "If I had just put in that negative value...I was in such a rush..."
Li An stopped her friend before she continuing ranting.
"Ju Lan, you still got a good grade, unlike me." She said with an exasperated sigh. "Unlike most of our class. Be grateful for it. No one is perfect. You were bound to break your streak of 100s sooner or later. It happens."
"Still.." she pouted.
"How about this?" Li An sighed. "How about you teach me how to do better next time? It'll even freshen up your skills. Consider it tutoring."
Ju Lan looked at her with a sigh. "If you say so, but don't you hate tutoring?"
Li An sheepishly chuckled at that, and tried to think of an excuse.
"Yes~ But I want you to be happy."
"Li An..." she trailed off before smiling. "Okay."
"Yes!" She exclaimed happily. "We'll have a study session together! It's decided~!"
Ju Lan couldn't help but smile at their best friend's excitement.
They headed towards the darkened forest, Ju Lan humming a song and moving her fingers in specific motions.
Her feet lifted off the ground like a little child playing in the snow as she did so. The little song she hummed made her feel romantic, cold, hard and passionate all at once.
She liked it.
Li An smiled. "What's that you're humming?"
Ju Lan broke from the humming and looked at Li An. "Oh! I...I don't know. It's been stuck in my head for a while now, honestly. It's like the...song is a story that I haven't quite been able to figure out...and there's so much to it too! It's like a poem of sorts. There's so many different...segments to it. That's the best way I can put it. Segments that are so different from each other, but I can't help but feel like it's all the same in the end. Like everything comes together to make...that song."
Li An thought for a moment before smirking.
"You ever thought about taking up an instrument~?"
Ju Lan thought for a moment.
"I never really thought about it much." She admitted.
"But you're so smart! Look at how you described music in your head! You could be the best...trombone player!" Li An offered.
"You think I would be suited for a noisy trombone?"
"...I'm just judging it based off of your inspiration!" Li An answered.
Rolling her eyes, Ju Lan walked ahead until she saw a small little light near a tree.
"...what's that?"
Li An hurried up to Ju Lan and saw the same thing she was seeing.
"I'm not sure. Maybe someone's flashlight or phone..." She guessed.
Her assumption should be wrong though. The light grew brighter until a dark aura spread across the tree, opening a portal.
Ju Lan covered her mouth in horror as she pulled Li An back.
"Okay...okay. That's...not someone's phone..."
"You can say that again..." Li An said, just as shocked at Ju Lan.
"That's not someone's phone!"
Li An hesitated, hearing a soft voice in her ear.
"Come home..."
She didn't know why, but she started to step forward.
Ju Lan looked at her friend, concerned.
"Li An! What are you doing?" She asked.
Li An didn't seem to hear her, so Ju Lan shouted more firmly.
"Li An!"
Cursing softly under her breath, she started to follow her, taking her hand.
"Where the hell do you think you're..."
Where they ended up next made the words fall out of her mouth.
"...going...?"
Li An and Ju Lan ended up somewhere almost terrifying. The trees around them were all black and looked like they were dying, and the sky was purple that faded into black on the horizon. There were no stars or clouds in the sky, no moon or sun either. On the ground, plants looked like they were trying to grow but couldn't and looked as dead as the trees around the two girls.
"...woah..."
They both said in sync, horrified. Ju Lan looked behind herself and tried to go back - but the portal was gone.
"Uhm...have you been on this side of Hong Kong before?" Li An asked, half jokingly, half seriously.
"Never." Ju Lan replied.
"Then I seriously want to know what city this is."
Ju Lan took Li An's hand as she led her through the dark forest, turning on her phone flashlight.
"Come on. Maybe we can find some civilization here..."
The two friends headed through the forest. But as Ju Lan heard an excited voice.
"...careful where you tread your feet...~"
She jumped up, looking at Li An. "Did you say something?"
"N-No, I didn't-"
The sound of rustling bushes caught them both off guard.
The girls became startled at the sudden rustling and held each other tight.
"W-Who's there...?"
"Shadow Shooting Star!"
Li An's breath hitched as she saw a dark pink, almost deadly moth-like platform come rushing towards them. But before they could react, that was the last thing both girls heard before everything went black.
It's me again!
Even I, as the author, am worried about that cliffhanger. What will happen next? Do you believe that they will be okay? More importantly, who was that?
More is soon to come! Make sure to review on your way out!
~Sweet