Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Mr. Darling, I’m sure you’re aware of your daughter’s recent outbursts in school.”

“I deeply apologize, sir…she’s never behaved this way before-”

“Grief can often lead to anger. I’ve heard that her mother died recently.”

“...Yes. That’s correct…”

“I apologize for bringing it up. I’m sure it’s been hard on both of you. But with Carolynn’s recent behavior and her poor grades, I find it necessary.” The headmaster slid a pamphlet over to Carolynn’s father. “There’s a program being held in Nanairogaoka, Japan specifically for children like her. I think it would be best for you both if you took part.”

“You telling us we should move? But my whole family has lived here in London! You can’t expect us to just pack up and fly off to who knows where!”

“It’s your choice, Mr. Darling. But I recommend that you keep your daughter’s future in mind.”

“...yes sir…”

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Miyuki smiled as she ran down the road. Yet again, she was late, but she had a good feeling about today. A feeling that made her Ultra Happy. Miyuki stopped when she noticed a girl she had never seen before. Her hair was put up in ponytails, and she had purple eyes.

"She's wearing a Nanairogaoka Middle School uniform…she must be a new student! I knew it! Something amazing is happening!" She ran over the strawberry blonde haired girl. "Hello!" The girl looked up and almost immediately teared up.

"You! Please, you gotta help me! I got lost! I'm going to be late on my first day!"

"Sure! I can show you the way! I'm Hoshizora Miyuki, what's your name?"

"Darling Carolynn! Sorry l… I'm still getting used to Japanese…I'm not perfect at it yet…" Carolynn nervously laughed.

"Where are you from originally?"

"London, England."

"Woah! That's really far away! Your family came all this way!?"

"Yeah…"

"That's amazing! Ah! We should hurry up!" Miyuki took Carolynn's hand and pulled her all the way to the school. "We made it! Oh, hi Reika!"

Reika looked up from the flowers she was watering, and waved at Miyuki. She quickly noticed Carolynn and stood up. "You must be Darling-san, the new transfer student." She smiled. "I'm Aoki Reika, it's a pleasure to meet you. Ah! We should hurry to class, or else we'll be late!" Reika led Carolynn and Miyuki to class. Carolynn stood outside, waiting for the teacher’s cue for her to come in.

“We have a new student, everyone! She’s come all the way from England. Please be patient with her, as her Japanese isn’t perfect yet. Come on in, Darling-san.”

Carolynn made her way inside and stood at the front of the classroom.

“Go on, introduce yourself!”

“...My name is Darling Carolynn. I moved here from London, England. I hope I can fit in with you all, and not be a stranger!"

"Thank you very much Darling-san. You may take your seat now."

Miyuki waved to Carolynn. "Over here! There's a free seat next to me!" She grinned. Carolynn nodded and sat in the seat next to Miyuki. "You did great up there…my introduction didn't go nearly as well."

"You transferred here too?"

"Yup! Though not all the way from a place like London. I was super nervous when I introduced myself…but that girl over there, Akane, she helped me out!" Miyuki giggled. "She's on the volleyball team. Oh! Speaking of which, have you decided on a club yet?"

"Oh…not really…I'm not really a clubs person…"

"Aw, that's too bad. There's going to be a club fair tomorrow…I was hoping you could come with me and help me pick a club myself."

"Well…" Carolynn thought for a moment. She never was much of a clubs person, that was true. But she was a people person, and she did want to make some new friends. "It wouldn't hurt just to go." She smiled. "Even if I don't end up picking any clubs, it sounds like fun!"

"Really?" Miyuki smiled and laughed. "That makes me ultra happy! You're going to have a ton of fun! Promise!"

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"...and the clock keeps ticking. Where the hell is that freak?"

"Believe me, if I knew you would know as well. He promised us he'd meet us here!"

"Ooh, he's a flaker! A flakey flaker! He flaked on us! Nihihi!"

"Shut up, rat!"

The smog disappeared and Joker stepped forward.

"I never 'flake' on those I've made promises to…" He said. "It's a pleasure, Luck, Beleze, Queen."

"Well? What did Pierrot say!?"

"...he has no idea who partially revived him!"

"What!?"

"The person who revived him and I is completely unknown! Though he does have a message…'no land is safe from the clutches of despair'."

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Carolynn smiled in awe as she walked through the club fair. Miyuki ran over to her, grinning.

"You made it!"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world! Wow…your school has way more clubs than I thought it would…"

"So where do you want to start?"

"Huh…how about…sewing club?”

"You can sew?"

"Mhm. I practiced a lot back in England…we still have my sewing materials, I just haven't gotten back into it yet…"”

“Sewing club it is, then!” The pair quickly made their way over to the sewing booth.

“Hello! Welcome to the sewing club booth! Hi, Miyuki! And you’re the new student, Darling-san!” The boy running the booth smiled. “Are you two interested in joining?”

“Sorry, Akira, we’re just looking right now.”

“That’s okay! You should take a flier, it has all the information about the club in it! You should really thank Takumi from the art club. He’s the one who made them. Yayoi helped him with the design.” Miyuki nodded and waved as she and Carolynn started walking away.

“You seem to know a lot of people at school…”

“Eh, not that many people.” Miyuki looked up at the sky. “Wow…it’s really pretty today…” She looked down to see Carolynn running for a tree. “Carolynn, where are you going?” She quickly ran after her. Carolynn climbed up the tree and sat on one of its branches, Miyuki following after her. “I-I’m not great at climbing trees!”

“Oh, sorry!” Carolynn helped Miyuki up onto the branch. “Sorry for running off like that…I just saw this beautiful oak and I couldn’t help myself…” She smiled and felt the tree’s bark. “I used to climb trees like this in England all the time. We have this really old family home in the countryside that we go and stay at in the summer. It’s really, really pretty…there’s a big tree in the backyard and last year I managed to climb all the way to the top! My father yelled at me to get down though…”

“That sounds like a lot of fun!”

“It is…I’m scared that we won’t be going back there next summer…” Carolynn flipped over, hanging from the branch by her knees. “...that place was always my true home, even if it was just a vacation home. ‘Cause I could be myself when I was there.”

“I wish I could see it.”

“I have a picture album in my phone! I could show you sometime.” Carolynn paused. “Miyuki…do you believe in fairies?”

“Huh?”

“Do you believe in fairies?”

“Of course I believe in fairies!”

“Really?”

“I’m actually going to let you in on a little secret…” Miyuki smiled. “I’ve met fairies.”

“Wait, you’re not pulling my leg, are you?”

“Nope! 110% serious!”

“That’s so cool…”

“You bet it is!” Miyuki looked up at the sky again. “Oh look, a bird! Wait…is that a bird?” She squinted. Carolynn flipped back up to get a look at what Miyuki was seeing. It wasn’t a bird, but actually a book.

“MIYUKIIIIIII!”

“Candy!” Miyuki grinned, just moments before she was smacked in the face by a strange plush creature. The impact caused her to fall over backwards out of the tree.

“Miyuki! Are you okay!?’ Carolynn jumped out of the tree to check on her.

“Y-yeah…just peachy…” She jolted upwards. “See? I told you I’ve met fairies!” Miyuki held the creature up to Carolynn.

“Hi!” It waved. Carolynn started grinning widely.

“Oh…my…gosh!! You’re so cute! And you’re real! For real life! This isn’t a dream, is it? Oh my gosh-"

“This is Candy, she’s a fairy from Märchenland, the land of fairytales! Candy, this is my new friend, Darling-san!”

“You can call me Carolynn…or Lynn…that’s my nickname.”

“Hi, Lynn-chan!” Candy smiled. “Wait…I came here because I had to tell you something-kuru…what was it again-kuru?” She scratched her head trying to think.

“Candy…”

Suddenly the world went dark. The sky turned black and a deep yellow crescent moon appeared, surrounded by ominous clouds. Carolynn felt all hope drain from her body and she fell to the ground.

“Who am I kidding…? Fairies aren’t real…this is all a dream I’m going to wake up from…”

“Carolynn!”

“Oh yeah…that’s what I was going to warn you about-kuru! Pierrot and the Bad End Kingdom are back-kuru!”

A dark figure in the distance started laughing.

“Is that a little fairy, all on her own?” A cat woman with black fur, and long black hair was floating in the air. She wore a whit button down, black shorts, a black tie, and black high-heeled shoes.

“I-I’m not just a fairy-kuru! I’m the queen of Märchenland-kuru!”

“Hmph. So that’s why Pierrot-sama’s revival wasn’t stopped…you’re nothing but a child!”

“Candy…what are we supposed to do…? The Smile Pacts don’t work anymore…

“I-I don’t know-kuru…” Candy started to tear up.

“...Mi…yuki…Can…dy…?” Carolynn looked up, noticing Miyuki squeezing Candy close as the cat woman started to approach. “No…no…I won’t let you hurt them!” She broke free of the despair and stood up, running in front of Miyuki, holding her arms out defensively.

“Carolynn! You’re okay!”

“I won’t let you hurt my friends!”

“What…? Get out of my way, child! You can't do anything!"

"But I can at least try! Isn't that more than nothing!?" A red beam of light tore through the sky where Carolynn was standing. "W-what…? What's happening??" Candy leapt from Miyuki's arms and into the beam.

"Quickly-kuru! Grab the Smile Pact and say 'Pretty Cure Smile Charge'-kuru!"

Carolynn took a deep breath before doing as she was told.

"Pretty Cure! Smile Charge!" Her school uniform changed into a completely different uniform, and her strawberry blonde hair changed to red. Her ponytails became a singular ponytail on the back of her head, a crown and two feathers accenting it. “Faith, trust, and pixie dust! A blossoming rose, Cure Hope!” She paused and started looking over herself. "Whoa…what happened to my clothes? What happened to my hair?"

"N-now's really not the time!"

"I thought those Pretty Cure were done for!" The cat woman snarled and held up a red orb. "Akanbe! Destroy that puny brat!" A shadow passed over the flier, turning it into a monster with a red nose. It reared back, ready to punch Hope.

"A-ah!!" Hope instinctively jumped out of the way, but ended up going way higher than she had intended. "What's going on!? Oh my gosh…" Gravity set in again and she started falling. "Oh no! Oh no!" She looked down at the Akanbe and suddenly got an idea. As the came back down she used her momentum to land a double fisted punch on it, causing the ground to crack. She landed on her feet and slid back.

"Carolynn! Focus all your spirit into the Smile Pact-kuru!"

"O-okay! Come one…spirit!" The Smile Pact started to glow. "W-whoa!"

"Keep going-kuru!"

"... We've got spirit, yes we do, we've got spirit, how 'bout you!?" Hope lept in the air and aimed at the Akanbe. "Pretty Cure! Hope Bouquet!" An explosion of rose petals purified the Akanbe and a charm of sorts dropped onto the ground. The cat woman growled and muttered something before leaving, and the sky returned to blue.

"Carolynn! You did it!" Miyuki ran over to Carolynn and hugged her.

"What…what was that?"

"You became a Pretty Cure!"

Chapter Text

"Well lookie here! It's Lynn-Lynn!"

"Go away, Mariella…I don't want anything to do with you…" Carolynn huffed.

"Are you still mad about that stupid diary? Honestly, Lynn, I was doing you a favor! It's about time you grew up, and keeping a diary is so fucking immature."

"... I loved it…"

"Ew, what are you, 5? 14 year olds don't have diaries, Lynn."

"But I did! And you had to ruin it! Why can't you just let other people have fun!? It's not fair!"

"It's not fair! You know what isn't fair, Lynn!? That you stole the title of honor student from me! A childish idiot like you doesn't deserve shit." Mariella waved and a group of girls came over, lifting up Carolynn by the arms and tossing her into a puddle of mud. They all started laughing. And it rang in her ears.

-----------

"A Pretty-what now?"

"A Pretty Cure! They're magical warriors that fight evil!"

"So like…a super hero?"

"Yes! Come on, come on! I have to show you this!" Miyuki grabbed Carolynn's hand and dragged her to the library. She pulled her over to a bookshelf in the back and quickly moved books in a specific order. The bookcase shone brightly, and they were pulled into the light. Miyuki landed perfectly on her feet, while Carolynn bumped into her and fell over. She shook her head and looked around.

"Whoa…it's like…I'm inside a giant tree!" She grinned. "Are all those books?"

"Yup! Every fairy tale and story ever written and told! This is the Magical Library! Look, here's our club house!"

"Our?"

"Mine and my friends, Akane, Yayoi, Nao, and Reika!" Miyuki smiled as she led Carolynn into the small house. "I have such fond memories of this place…oh! Look!" She went over to the table and picked up a book on it. "This is the book I made! The Greatest Smile…it's our story…my story…sorry I don't want to bore you!" Candy hopped up on the table.

"I had no idea there were more than five Precure-kuru!" She said. "I wonder if there's any more-kuru…"

"We should get back to the club fair before school ends. I still want to check out the other clubs!" Miyuki smiled. "Come on!" She ran back out for one of the many giant bookshelves. As Carolynn followed her, she felt something hit her head.

"Huh?" She turned around and picked it up. "... what book is this?" She flipped it open and she saw a dark kingdom. Flipping a few pages she saw…herself. Cure Hope. "Wow…" She turned the page, but it was blank. "Oh…"

"You coming, Carolynn?"

"O-oh! Yup! I'm coming!" She put the book in her bag and followed Miyuki.

“If there are more Precure, then maybe we could try getting the other Precure back together-kuru!”

“That’s not a bad idea, Candy! Oh, I hope Reika’s not too busy!” Miyuki landed on her feet as she landed back in the school library. Carolynn also landed on her feet, but wobbled and fell over anyway. “I’m going to head back to the club fair. You can catch up if you want!”

“Okay! I’ll catch up with you soon!” Miyuki ran off, carrying Candy. Carolynn let out a relaxed sigh.

“This is so much to take in…huh?” She looked up when she started hearing piano music. She followed the music to what she assumed was the music club room, where she saw a tall girl with long purple hair and soft, dark blue eyes. “...Wow…” Carolynn made her way over, and slowly started playing with her. The girl gasped and she looked up. Carolynn smiled at her. “Hi. I’m Carolynn.”

“...M-Mioda Teto…"

"You're really good at piano."

"...you too…"

"Are you in the music club?"

"Oh…no…student council…" Teto started playing with her hands. "...vice president…I should- I should really be going…it was nice meeting you…" She quickly stood up, speed walking out of the room.

"Oh…okay…bye." Carolynn sighed. She turned her attention to the piano and ran her fingere across the keys. She slowly started playing, a smile creeping onto her face. She started quietly singing the song she was playing

Teto stood outside the room, staying out of sight. She held onto her bag tightly, debating if she should go back in. Eventually she decided it was best to leave.

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"Miyuki, are you sure you can transform into Cure Happy again-kuru?"

"I don't know…but it's worth a try! And I hope my friends will also be able to transform again…" Miyuki's expression dropped.

"...are you okay, Miyuki-kuru?"

"Yeah…it's just…" She turned and looked out her window. "We spent so long fighting…and then we finally beat Pierrot…I thought that was our happily ever after…but it wasn't, because happily ever after is forever. I'm worried…what if we're not able to transform ever again? What if Cure Hope has to fight all by herself? What if…what if we lose?"

"Don't say that-kuru! You've tried so hard and you've come this far! You are Cure Happy-kuru, and you always will be!"

"...yeah. I'm sorry, you're right Candy. It's not like me to think so pessimistically." Miyuki smiled. "Tomorrow, we're going to hold a meeting with all the precure. At least…the ones we know."

Carolynn paced around her room, deep in thought. She was only torn away from her mind palace when her phone started buzzing.

"I guess it's time for the meeting…" She went over to her bookshelf and performed the combination. Miyuki was already there with a couple girls. They were girls Carolynn recognized, Reika and Akane.

"She's the new precure? She's pretty cute." Akane smiled. "Hey there! The name's Akane! I bet we're going to make a great team."

"Oh, um…thanks. I sure hope so…"

"Miyuki has already told us about the fight you had with that Akanbe. She certainly has a way with words…"

"D-does she?" Carolynn went red. Two more girls showed up from one of the bookcases and came over.

"Right on time! Carolynn, this is Nao and Yayoi! So that means all the precure are here!" Miyuki smiled. "Well…except for any we haven't met yet, if there are more."

"And except for the fact that none of us can actually transform except for Carolynn." Akane spoke up. "How are we going to deal with that anyway?"

"... you're right…”

“We can’t leave Carolynn to fend for herself. The Bad End Kingdom is dangerous, we’ve seen for ourselves.” Reika spoke up. “It wouldn’t be right to make her fight by herself. Which is exactly why we at least need to try. After all, isn’t trying more than nothing?”

"Yeah…I guess it is."

Chapter Text

"So then you carry the 2."

"Thanks Reika…I'm really bad at math. I appreciate you helping me out with this." Carolynn smiled.

"It's not a problem. I'm always glad to help."

"If there was a creative writing class here, I'd excel…but sadly there isn't." Carolynn fiddled with her pencil. She lowered her voice before speaking again. "... have you done anything about the Pretty Cure?"

"No…we haven't. I've been scouring the magical library for anything helpful, but my efforts have come out fruitless. Miyuki said she'd look in some other libraries, but still no luck." Reika sighed. "I've been ridden with a lot of anxiety over this. Truth be told, I'm a bit scared. I've been trying to clear my mind, but it's quite difficult."

"I see…it's gotta be hard. I'm sorry that I'm not being that helpful. I just don't know what to do…"

"It's alright. You don't need to worry about that. You've only just become a Precure." Reika smiled. "You learn a lot as one. There's a lot of challenges and hardships that you face, but you come out the end a much stronger person." She stood up. "I'd say this is a good place to leave things."

"Oh, um…do you wanna get some frozen yogurt or something? I haven't really taken the time to get to know any if you except for Miyuki…and if we're gonna be working on a team together, I don't wanna be a stranger…"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!"

"G-great!"

The pair made their way inside the frozen yogurt shop and got a seat.

"Carolynn, is something on your mind?"

"Huh? Why do you ask…?"

"It's just…you seem rather upset." Reika's words had an air of worry.

"Oh…I guess I am…but it's nothing you need to worry about…I don't want to be a bother."

"I promise it's no trouble. It helps to talk about what's on your mind."

"...my mom died recently…"

"Oh dear…I'm really sorry…"

"Yeah…it's been hitting me and my dad pretty hard…especially since the funeral…it's been really hard to even get up in the morning. I don't want to be a burden, so I've been trying to put up a front but…"

"It's not working…"

"Yeah…" Carolynn went quiet. "I'm sorry if I'm bumming you out."

"It's alright. I understand that it can be rough to have a family member die…" Reika stirred her yogurt with her spoon. "Sometimes you just need to talk to someone."

"Thanks. I do feel a bit better." Reika's phone suddenly buzzed.

"Oh! It's Miyuki." She quickly read the text Miyuki had sent her. "She says she has an idea on how to reform the Precure!"

"Really!?"

"Yes! We should head over!". Reika stood up and grabbed Carolynn’s hand, and quickly made her way to Miyuki’s house.

When they arrived Miyuki was with Candy standing by her bookshelf.

“We’re here…!”

“Reika…you’re very fast…” Carolynn wheezed.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I just wanted to get here as quickly as possible…” She cleared her throat. “Miyuki, you said you had an idea on how to reform the Precure.” Miyuki nodded.

“Actually, it was Candy’s idea!”

“We’re going to Marchenland-kuru!” Candy smiled. “That way we can ask my brother for help-kuru!”

“Candy’s brother, Pop, might know what to do. I’ve already told the other girls to meet us there. Now come on!” Miyuki unlocked the magical library. She and Reika landed on their feet, while Carolynn stumbled. Yayoi, Akane, and Nao were already there. Miyuki immediately turned around. “Now focus on following me!” She preformed the combination again and hopped through. Carolynn shielded her eyes from th white light and focused all her thoughts onto following Miyuki. When she would open her eyes, however…she would be met with destruction. Rather than the colorful, playful world she had come to expect from Miyuki and Candy’s descriptions, and the illustrations in the books on the Precure, was a dark wasteland of fire and destroyed buildings.

"...it can't be…" The girls covered their mouths. Miyuki started shaking. "...no no no, what happened!? Where is everyone!? How could this…?"

"My home…my kingdom!" Candy teared up. She ran forward and dropped into the dirt.

“There’s no way we could have stopped this…”

“My brother..! Where’s my brother!?” Candy shrieked.

“He’s right here!” A sinister figure floated down, holding four fairies. “Can you imagine? These fou really tried to stop me!”

“Joker!”

“He has my brother and my friends! You let them go you rotten, evil jester!”

“Now why would I do that? You can’t even transform! There’s only one of you puny Precure!” Joker grinned. “You can’t even fight back.”

“No! You’re wrong! It doesn’t matter if they can’t transform! Because they’re still the Precure! They always have been and they always will be!” Carolynn stepped forward. “If I have to beat you myself I will!”

“Carolynn, there’s no way you could-”

“Not thinking like that, I couldn’t.” Carolynn smiled. “I’m not backing down! So either fight me or run away!”

“I’m standing with her!” Reika stepped forward. “Carolynn is right. We can’t just stand by and watch. No matter what we are Precure.”

“Then I stand with you both!” Miyuki smiled and ran forward.

“Yeah, me too!” Akane followed, and soon both Nao and Yayoi. Bright lights appeared in the sky, and five smile pacts appeared in front of the girls. They each grabbed one and finally transformed. Carolynn couldn’t help but smile as Candy cheered, and transformed herself.

“How annoying…” Joker scoffed and left the four fairies floating, wrapped in playing cards.

“Everyone, split up! He can’t take us all!” Cure March shouted and jumped into the sky. Beauty made a bow out of ice and started firing it at Joker as she ran, meanwhile Sunny ran the opposite direction. Happy took Hope’s hand and ran and hid behind a chunk of rubble.

“Why are we hiding?”

“I have a plan, but you need to work with me! I won’t work if we don’t work together. March is right, he can’t take all of use at once, but we can only use our spirit attacks once each, and there’s only six of us.’ She took a deep breath. “As Beauty would say it, ‘it’s guaranteed he could take six attacks, and after that we’re decommissioned’...my idea is that we overwhelm him and then we use our spirit attacks all at once!”

“Right, got it! I’ll let everyone know the plan! You know, you sound real cool when you talk like that. You’re not so ditzy when you get serious.” Hope smiled before jumping away. Miyuki paused and giggled to herself.

“Cure Hope called me cool…!” She grinned.

Cure Sunny ran in for a punch, but was quickly blocked.

“You know, you’re a coward and jerk!” She shouted. “But I’ll give you one thing! You sure are persistent!”

“Coward? Ha! That’s the most foolish thing I’ve heard all day!” Joker laughed.

“It’s true. You’d rather send your subordinates to do your dirty work, you run away at even the first sign that you’re in danger…the recipe for a coward.” Beauty ran in for a kick, yet Joker dodged it.

“The only reason you’re still here is because you think you can beat us!” March tossed a boulder at Joker. He cut it in half with an energy beam from one of his playing cards.

“Do you really think you can stop me with rocks?”

“It’s called a distraction, clownface!” March grinned and crossed her arms as Happy landed a hit on Joker from behind, sending him flying into the rubble of a building.

“Wh-”

“NOW GIRLS!” Happy shouted. “Pretty Cure! Happy Shower!”

“Hope Bouquet!”

“Sunny Fire!”

“Peace Thunder!”

“March Shoot!”

“Beauty Blizzard!”

Joker didn’t even have time to react, as he was hit with all six attacks at once. When the dust and smoke cleared, he shakily stood up, and growled, “Pretty Cure…”, before teleporting away.

“We…we did it!!” The girls reverted back to their civilian forms. Reika immediately pulled Miyuki into a hug, swinging her around.

“Miyuki, that idea was genius! And it worked!” She smiled. Miyuki went slightly pink.

“W-well it was on a whim…! We were sort of in an emergency!” She spat out her words rather quickly.

“I was really really scared we couldn’t win…” Yayoi smiled. “But we did…!”

“Pop! Pop! You’re okay-kuru!” Candy ran over and hugged her brother, who was now free along with the other three fairies.

“Thanks to the Precure! That was an excellent battle…” He turned his attention to Carolynn. “And…who might you be?”

“I’m Carolynn…Cure Hope in cure form. You’re Candy’s brother?”

‘That’s right. And I’m afraid we have bad news for you all…everyone has been put into a deep sleep. They’ve been taken away by the Bad End Kingdom. Everyone except these three…”

“Wolrun! Oninin! Majorin!”

“Joker hoped to turn us into Pierrot’s minions again…we never wanna go back to that!”

“And further bad news…it’s nearly impossible for you six to return home…”

“What!?”

‘All the bookshelves her in Marchenland were destroyed…except for the one you came in through. The painted mural.”

“Without a physical bookshelf…”

“We can’t go home…” Yayoi teared up.

“However, there is still hope! Other lands lie off the coast of Marchenland. It’s possible that they could have bookshelves.”

“Then we better be on our way right now!”

“You three…” Pop turned his attention to the other three fairies. “Take care of what’s left for us.”

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Joker huffed. He hadn't expected to be beaten by the Precure at all, let alone that quickly.

“How annoying…”

“Ooooh…someones maaaad!”

“...Azazel. What do you want?”

“Well, that’s not the way to talk to a friend.” A short, child-like figure appeared. He had blond hair and wore a white shirt with a black hood and shorts, along with long white boots. Hanging from his ears were four cornered star shaped earrings. He grinned. “Wow, those are some nasty bruises! They got you good!” He laughed.

“Why are you helping us?”

“Because it’s fun, silly!” He stuck out his tongue and made a farting sound. “You know…I don’t like losing. So, you better get on your best game!”

“I don’t need to do anything for you. I only follow Pierrot.”

“Hey.” The child suddenly got serious. “Remember who revived both him and you.”

“...”

“You haven’t told anyone, have you?”

“I haven’t…”

“Good! Bye-bye!”

Chapter Text

“Pop, where exactly are we headed…?”

“I can’t say. There are many lands beyond the oceans of Marchenland. However many of them stay hidden, only appearing to those worthy of entry. Many who try to sail it lose their way or get trapped with no way home.”

“How can we be sure that won’t happen to us?” Yayoi asked, fear in her voice.

“I can’t promise anything, but i can try my best.” Pop turned into a sail boat and hopped into the water. “Climb aboard, girls. We have a long journey ahead.” The girls nodded and got on board. Miyuki held onto Candy tightly.

“...Everyone back home is…they’ll panic if we’re gone too long…” She said. Nao spoke up.

“We need to try to be fast. We can’t let our families worry.” The silence that followed her words stung.

"...Miyuki…will you be alright?" Reika put a hand on Miyuki's shoulder.

"Y-yeah…just…a little shocked." Miyuki shivered. "Those poor fairies…how could the Bad End Kingdom be so cruel?"

"Though the Precure have been reunited…" Reika gave Miyuki a reassuring smile, though it quickly faded when she remembered the situation they were in. Even though the Precure was back, they couldn't celebrate. They were stranded in a magical world, with no way of knowing when they'd get back home…which created a prime opportunity for the Bad End Kingdom to invade Earth. If they attacked when the Precure wasn’t there…Earth could meet the same fate as Marchenland.

"We need to get home as fast as we can…" Miyuki straightened up, now full of determination. "We can't lose! We won't lose!" Suddenly there was a loud boom and she stumbled over, caught by Reika just in time.

"G-guys…this doesn't look good…" Yayoi pointed across the water at a large boat. Cannons, red and black sails…no doubts about it.

"That's a pirate ship!!" Akane shouted. Another explosion sounded and it became clear that they were definitely getting shot at. "Pop! Turn us around! Before we get blown to smithereens!!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible! The wind has died down, my sails won't carry us anywhere! And transforming with all of you on board would toss you into the ocean!" Reika helped Miyuki stand on her own two feet.

"Couldn't you- wait a minute…" She started glancing around, taking in her surroundings. "I…I know where we are!" She grinned.

"Huh? Really?"

"We're in Neverland!"

Silence fell over the group.

"Pardon?"

"Huh? You know! Neverland!"

"...Th-that's the magical land that Peter Pan lives in." Yayoi spoke up.

"Ohhhh! Okay, I got it! Whoops…" Akane laughed. "I don't really read too many fairytales."

"Akane, you don't read, period."

"Hold on…isn't Neverland also where Captain Hook lives…?" Nao questioned. "... Because if so…I think I know who's shooting cannonballs at us…"

"Rats! What are we gonna do!?"

"Swim for it?"

"The water here is way too deep…a single current would have us swept away." Reika shook her head.

"Couldn't we transform into the precure again?"

"That would use up a lot of energy…we have to save it in case the Bad End Kingdom attacks us again…" There was another explosion.

"We better figure this out fast, because that pirate ship is definitely getting closer!" Akane shouted. Everyone started to panic, completely out of ideas on how to escape the situation. In the middle of all the noise, a different sound was heard: a ship bell. A much smaller and friendlier ship had come close, and a small child who seemed to be captaining it waved at the girls.

"You girls need a hand?" The girls made their way on board the small ship, Pop reverting to normal and joining them. "You're new faces! The name's Jake! And this is my ship Bucky!"

"Uh huh, right, it's great to meet you, but could we please get going!? We're about to be blasted to pieces!" Akane was still panicked.

"Sure thing!" Jake whistled and the ship started moving on its own. "So! Where are you all from?"

"...Earth."

"Wait, Earth? But you came by…boat fairy! You can't sail to Neverland from Earth!"

"About that…"

"Marchenland is our home…Mine and my sister, Candy." Pop spoke up. "But it's been destroyed by the Bad End Kingdom…”

"There's a special key to get anywhere in the world! But it requires a bookshelf to work…"

"With Marchenland in the state it's in…"

"There weren't any bookshelves for us to get back home to Earth."

"Oh wow…a key? Well, I have a bookshelf at my base! Would that work?"

"Yes! Can we use it!?"

"Sure thing! I don't mind helping some new friends!" Jake paused as he glanced between the girls. “Hey, um, if you don’t mind me asking…if you girls aren’t from Marchenland, how come you got stranded there?” He asked. Miyuki played with her fingers, looking at Reika as if asking for permission to say something. But Candy ended up speaking first.

“They’re the Pretty Cure! Magical warrior ps that fight for a happy ending!” She smiled.

“Yeah, that’s about right.” Akane confirmed Candy’s description.

“A year ago, we fought against the Bad End Kingdom. In the end we succeeded, but…it wasn’t forever.” Reika said. “We lost the magic that let us turn into the Precure… When the Bad End Kingdom returned, we couldn’t fight back. Except for Carolynn.”

“Candy got the idea that we could see her brother Pop, back at her home, Marchenland. We could get there from the magical library, which can be reached through any bookshelf if you know the key.” Nao said.

“We were hoping that Pop would know how to get our powers back…but when we got to Marchenland it was destroyed. The bookshelf we came through was a painting, so we couldn’t go back through…”

“That’s why we need a bookshelf. So we can go back home.”

“Oh…wow, that’s a lot to take in.” Soon the ship was pulled into a cave behind a waterfall, and the girls were led to a bookshelf. “Here it is!”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Miyuki grinned. She leaned in and rearranged the books, unlocking the gate to the library. Out of curiosity, Jake tried to stick his hand through, but was greeted with a barrier.

“You’re sure this will get you home?”

“Right…I nearly forgot about that.” Pop said.

“The magical library only allows the entry of fairies and the Precure. That way the magic and the stories inside are protected.”

“I see…well, feel free to visit any time. I’ve only known you guys for a short time and I already want to know more.”

“We’ll come by! Thank you so much for your help!” Miyuki waved as she and the others hopped through the gate to the library. “We’re back! We’re back! Oh man I can’t wait to leap into my bed!”

“…I really hope the Bad End Kingdom didn’t attack while we were gone…”

“Yeah…”

“…Miyuki…” Yayoi spoke up. “We…we’re home now…but…what about Pop and Candy’s home?” Miyuki went silent and her smile fell.

“Marchenland…” Pop’s lips quivered. “...Until Marchenland is restored, I will stay with Candy.”

“Big brother…”

“What matters right now is that we keep Earth safe. We cannot let the Bad End Kingdom win.”

The girls returned to their homes. Pop, now staying with Candy, at Miyuki’s place. Carolynn lay awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling. The Precure had returned, meaning she wasn’t alone anymore. But was it even going to matter? After seeing what had happened to M

archenland, could the six of them really prevent a bad ending?