Ss!P✰C #2 - I won't stand for this! Cure Pisces awakens!

[kitstellation]

What the...?

Mei's eyes widened as the darkness crawled up her arm, the pigtailed girl letting out a shriek. Trembling, she fought and struggled against it, tears welling in her eyes as she looked helplessly at Marfik. "What--what are--what did you DO?!" she cried out, still trying to get it away from her, but no matter how hard she fought, no matter how much she struggled, it held fast. "Make it STOP!" she pleaded, not even sure what was scaring her more--this alien darkness or the fact that Marfik only smirked even more, watching her plight with annoyance.

With a snap of his fingers, his outfit changed, returning to the caped outfit he wore in The Void. He sighed in aggravation. "Mannn, usually this happens instantly! Did I not channel enough into it?" he grumbled, scratching his head. "Maybe I need to add more to it..." the boy took a step forward, reaching out to touch the pitch-black telescope again--

"Leave Mei-chan ALONE!"

--and Usami rocketed straight for the boy, biting the boy's outstretched hand as hard as he could.

Marfik stumbled back as he yelped in pain, shouting several curses as he struggled to shake Usami off his hand. "You little--l-let GO!" he ordered, other hand latching tight around Usami's neck. With a grunt, he finally yanked Usami away, although the little bear had taken one of his gloves in the process. He held the bear by the scruff of his neck, sneering at Usami as he held the thrashing bear in front of him. "Ha! Not so tough, are you?"

Usami spat the boy's glove right in his face, glaring at him with the utmost ferocity. "Mei-chan, RUN!" he yelled before crying out as the boy flung him away like a ragdoll. The little bear hit the pavement, skidding to a stop before groaning in pain. "N-no...no, leave Mei-chan alone..." he whimpered.

Mei however was finding it harder and harder to move. The darkness had covered both her entire arms, the girl's wrists bound together by the darkness, like she was a prisoner to it. But that wasn't what was stopping her--whatever was in that darkness was draining her very will to run away, like it was withering her from the inside out. The girl's knees buckled and she found herself sinking to her knees, only able to watch as the pitch-black telescope--the telescope she loved, the telescope her dad had given her when she was little, the one she always used for star-gazing, the one she never went without because it gave her so many good memories--writhed and changed shape, becoming a spear of darkness.

That was pointing straight at her.

Her hands were forcibly clamped around it like a sword she had drawn on herself, though she trembled anyways. Even if she didn't have the strength to run away, she was still capable of feeling fear. It was sharp. It looked deadly. She didn't like it, she didn't want it pointed toward her, and she felt tears pouring down her cheeks. This was scary, she didn't like this at all!

But the darkness couldn't see her fear, couldn't hear her thoughts.

So the darkness betrayed her.

And forced her to stab herself.

---

OP: "Purikyua ✰ Wish!" - StarSHINE
EPISODE 2 - "I won't stand for this! Cure Pisces awakens!"

---

She'd expected it to hurt, and in a sense it did, but not in the way she thought it would. The girl had expected--well, the agony you'd expect from spearing yourself with a blade. Instead, the darkness remained in her chest--a completely alien, strange feeling and so unwelcome that she just wanted it GONE--before the darkness seized something from deep inside of her.

A chill of fear shot through her. She whimpered despite herself, but still tried to fight against it, refusing to give up. She wanted it to let that--that whatever it was go because whatever it was, it was hers and she didn't want to give it up. The girl scrunched her eyes shut, brows furrowing in whatever determination she had left, and pulled her wrists apart as hard as she could.

"I-it's mine--" she whispered fiercely, "--it's mine! I won't let you have it!" And with that fierce cry, the darkness binding her wrists shattered.

Marfik gasped in disbelief. "What the--?! No one's ever..." he trailed off, watching as the pigtailed girl tried even harder to force the darkness to let go. He'd never seen anyone fight so hard to keep their star before--but he couldn't let that stop him. Even if it was quite the feat, he had a mission he had to finish. He stepped forward--and this time, there was no Usami to stop him. Red eyes narrowing, he placed a hand to the darkness spear.

Mei gasped, feeling the darkness tighten its grip around whatever it was inside of her. She pounded her fists against it, sobbing, but then it pulled and Mei cried in pain despite herself. No, no no no, no--

"Sorry about this..."

--he was apologizing? Was he even sorry about it? The moment of distraction was enough to slow her struggling--giving the darkness just enough time to rip the whatever it was right out of her. Mei shrieked and pitched backward, hitting the pavement with a thunk. The color in the world faded, to her eyes, turning everything into a strange grayscale as a dark aura encased her form, making her unable to move, the girl only able to watch as the darkness floated around with its prize--a bright red light, not unlike that of a star.

Her star.

Her entire self, it felt like, because without it, she felt empty. There was no happiness in her life, no joy, nothing that made her feel whole anymore. She struggled to recall the things that made her smile--things like her family, her telescope, her friends, having such a normal life--but there was nothing. She couldn't even bring herself to care about the fact her--her star had been ripped out of her, couldn't even feel upset about the fact that the very thing that made her who she was had been stolen.

But Usami could. "GIVE THAT BACK! IT'S NOT YOURS!"

What did it matter?

"Please! PLEASE!" Usami blubbered, tugging at Marfik's ankle. "It's not yours, give it back! She'll--without that, Mei-chan will--!"

...oh, well that didn't sound good...

"Shut UP!" Marfik yelled, kicking Usami away. He focused on the bright star, frowning briefly. The stupid bear was right--the girl would die if she was without her star for too long. It seemed like a shame, almost--feh, what did it matter? He was in the business of taking stars, not caring about the lives attached to them. With a sigh, he snapped his fingers, the glowing star becoming encased in a jar made of pure darkness--

--and Usami made another leap at Marfik...but instead of biting him, the bear snatched up the jar and ran off with it, leaving the boy to stand there in stunned silence. Then:

"G-get BACK here, you--!"



Ophiuchus shifted slightly in her abnormally large canopy bed as she heard faint footsteps headed toward her bed. She stirred back to consciousness, though her eyes remained closed again--and then the footsteps stopped, making the frail girl frown. Had she just been hearing things? That was a little disappointing. "Hello?" she called out, voice barely a whisper, though it echoed against the empty chambers as loudly as if she'd shouted it.

Silence.

Then: "Ophiu!"

Relief, however faint, etched itself on the girl's features. "Rasal." she answered with the faintest smile, eyes fluttering open to properly greet the second one in her command--Rasalhague. He was the tallest of the group and the oldest--at 19, Ophiuchus definitely considered him like an older brother. Rasalhague was tall and wiry, though not overly muscular, and smiled at the girl as he approached. Brown-skinned and sharing the same color red eyes that Marfik had, the young man was friendly enough, wearing a longsleeved trenchcoat, a pale green in color, though the rest of his outfit was fairly plain--a tunic and some pants tucked into his boots--though the subdued colors of his outfit clashed wildly with the white of his hair, which was tied into a small, low ponytail.

"Sorry I took a while," Rasalhague laughed, ruffling Ophiuchus's hair with one of his gloved hands. With his free hand, he snapped his fingers. Three jars appeared, each shattering to release the captive star within. "but I wanted to bring a few stars for you." he continued, watching as each of the stars raced away from him headed straight for Ophiuchus, spinning around the girl--but only for a moment, before each of the stars zoomed up to join the stars hovering far above them.

Ophiuchus said nothing for a moment. Then: "Oh well."

Rasalhague didn't share the sentiment, though he laughed again anyways to mask it. "So where are the others?"

"Cebalrai came by earlier, but she left again." A small frown. "Marfik said he was leaving earlier, but he should have been back by now..." her brows creased in concern.

Rasalhague sighed. That kid really didn't know what he was doing sometimes, did he? "It's all right, I'll find him. We have a fix on each other, remember?" he patted at his chest as if to signify they were all connected, laughing again at Ophiuchus's slight look of confusion. With another affectionate ruffle of Ophiuchus's hair, the man turned on his heel, coat swaying as he disappeared.

He reappeared at a rather plain looking school building and could even see students in the distance practicing for sports. Funny, he couldn't see Marfik anywhere--though something else caught his attention. Not too far from where he was standing was a pigtailed girl sprawled helplessly on the ground.

He looked closer, could see the dark aura surrounding her. Ah. So Marfik had stolen her star. Despite himself, he couldn't help feeling slightly annoyed. Goodness, it was rude of Marfik to leave this poor girl out where anyone could find her! Besides, if she was to pass on, the girl deserved to do it with dignity. Making up his mind, he strode toward her, kneeling beside her. "Miss, can you hear me?"

There was only a sniffle in response.

He tapped her shoulder, feeling slightly guilty when she finally turned to look at him, her gray eyes filled with tears. "...miss?" he asked again.

Another sniffle, this one louder. "I-I don't wanna die..."

He wanted to tell her there was nothing he could do about that, but held his tongue. His mind raced--he couldn't just leave her here--that just brought up too many questions--but he had to find Marfik too. He could sense that the boy wasn't that far away. Offering what he hoped was a friendly smile, he picked up the crying girl, cradling her bridal style. "Don't worry, I'm going to help."

It was a lie, of course, but she didn't need to know that.



"Well, that's it for today! Good work everyone!" Ushio Hoshizora announced to the room, grinning--

--at a room that was completely devoid of club members.

For a moment, she was the very picture of optimism--before she sighed, shoulders slumping. She'd gone through her normal club routine anyways, hoping that someone would wander in at the dulcet tones of her enthusiastic voice, but that had been a bust. People had been there at lunch though--maybe having a meeting immediately after school was a bad idea. Yeah! That had to be it! Scribbling this down in her notebook, Ushio chewed the inside of her cheek, brows furrowing. Nnnn, if Kai was the one in charge, the room would be filled to the brim with club members and volunteers!

No, it was bad to compare herself to her twin. Besides, she didn't want Kai sticking her nose in something that wasn't hers.

The black-haired girl's stomach rumbled, making her blush, even though she was the only person in the room. Ugh, the only thing she'd had for lunch was melon bread! It was about now she was starting to regret having not had lunch with Mei too, Mei's lunches were always the best! Maybe she could stop at a convenience store on the way home and pick something up? Ushio nodded in agreement with this choice, grabbing her things. Humming to herself, she had just stepped into the hall--

--when she was greeted with a rather absurd sight.

A blue teddy bear, of all things, complete with star markings in its ears and at its eyes, holding a pitch-black jar and shrieking as a boy with two-toned hair chased the bear, the boy shouting at the bear.

"What the--"

And now the bear was running straight for her. The caped boy realized it too, his eyes glimmering maliciously. Something began to form in the boy's hands, though Ushio didn't get a good look at it, as the next thing the dark-haired girl knew, the bear jumped at her. Instinctively, she caught the little bear, though all she could do was stare wordlessly at it.

"RUN!"

Talking bear or not, she knew danger when she heard it. Hugging the bear tight, she sprinted away from the strange caped boy, dimly wondering what she'd just gotten herself into.



[eyecatch 1 - A close up of Cure Aries, flames dynamically surrounding her. Eyes narrowed in determination, she looks as if she's going to attack an enemy and she sends off a volley of flames--only for the scene to pan out and reveal Usami and Cure Pisces at campfire, and that Aries is simply building the fire up. Pisces and Usami hold skewers with marshmallows on them and roast them over the fire, while Aries grins and makes herself a s'more, winking playfully at the viewer. The Starshine logo appears in the corner.]

[eyecatch 2 - A close up of Cure Pisces, water trails surrounding her. She winks and then spins, sending the water flying out in a fierce attack--and the scene pans out to reveal that she's working as a fountain to a chute-like waterslide (which has a sieve and a bucket at the bottom to catch the water and excess noodles.) Sending water down the chute with one hand and holding a bowl of somen noodles with the other, she adds the noodles to the chute, watching them slide down. Aries and Usami pluck the sliding somen noodles with chopsticks before dipping them in tsuyu sauce. The three of them laugh. The Starshine logo appears in the corner.]



"GET BACK HERE!"

Ushio picked up the pace, though the constant cursing, as well as the bear's shrieking in her arms, only put her more on edge. Though what that boy had in weird freaky-deaky powers, Ushio outmatched him in familiarity. Small school or not, Etoile could still confound newcomers and the black-haired girl picked up speed, banking to the right and abruptly swinging into the nearest room, slamming the door behind her and hurrying for the second door, leading to one of the old science labs--it only had one way in and out, the perfect place to hide for the time being. The black-haired girl rushed into the lab, tripping as she entered the room. Both she and the bear shrieked as she toppled to the floor, the little bear flung away from her in the process. Ushio cursed before scrambling back to her feet, slamming the door shut and grabbing a few stools to blockade the door. Once that was done, the girl doubled over, breathing heavily. "You..." she huffed, pointing a trembling finger at the bear, "...you gotta explain..."

The bear kept a tight hold on the jar, eyes welling up with tears. "That boy Marfik came out of nowhere and did something really bad to a telescope and he attacked Mei-chan and took her Inner Star and this isn't supposed to happen because Mei-chan's gotta be a Pretty Cure and she's gotta be the one to fight and I dunno how to fix this because I can't give her Inner Star back and if I don't, then Mei-chan will die and and--"

Ushio's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" she shrieked before she could stop herself, which only served to make the bear panic. She took a deep breath, trying to sort through as much of the blabber as she could. "What happened to Mei?!"

The bear started crying. "I just said that! Mei-chan got attacked and I gotta give this back to her because her star's inside it but I can't break it and he'll take it if he gets it back, I just know he will!" the bear said in a rush, holding up the jar as evidence. The bear proceeded to throw it at the wall, which didn't even dent the jar, and it only made the bear cry even harder.

Ushio gritted her teeth. "Stop crying!" she ordered, oblivious to the fact that she was tearing up too. "Stop blubbering and crying and whining and just tell me how I can help! Mei's my FRIEND, I don't want her to die either!"

But before anything else could be said, the door was wrenched off its hinges by strange, dark tendrils, and there was that red-eyed boy--Marfik, the bear had called him. Ushio and the bear stared, wide-eyed as the boy barely sauntered forward before he formed another darkness tendril, one whipping straight into Ushio and sending her flying into the wall, while a second tendril seized the jar the bear was holding, wrenching it away from the crying critter. "Tch, this was more trouble than it was worth." Marfik grumbled, eyeing the fallen Ushio. Maybe he ought to steal her star too, just for interfering.

Then he focused on the bear, the little bear that had hurried over to Ushio to make sure she was all right. No, the bear needed to be taken care of first. He took another step forward...

...and Ushio stumbled to her feet, eyes blazing. "I won't..." she hissed as she began picking up the pace, swinging her arm back, the black-haired girl suddenly alight with a bright blue aura, "...let you kill my friend!"

And with that, she swung as hard as she could at the boy's face.



Rasalhague couldn't teleport, not while he was carrying this girl--who was named Mei, he had discovered--and though he had to find Marfik, he was in no real hurry, no matter what he had told Ophiuchus. The boy was nearby, he could sense it, and he hardly thought Marfik would appreciate the interruption anyways. Over his head or not, everyone deserved some amount of pride to them. Under the guise of taking this Mei girl to the nurse's office, the young man made his way over to the campus entrance--

--and then a room several stories lit up in a blazing blue light.

Rasalhague stopped, blinked and glanced up.

Huh.

That wasn't normal.

Rasalhague was about to dismiss it--when there was the sharp noise of a window being shattered, glass raining down on the ground below. This did manage to concern him, as did the thing that happened next--Marfik, sailing out of the broken window and hurtling into the ground up ahead, crashing like a meteor. The white-haired man gasped in surprise, looking up again. There was a blue figure that he didn't recognize perched at the windowsill, a blue figure that leapt out, sailing majestically through the air...

As it turned out, the blue figure was a girl. A girl that was tanned, her hair a brilliant blue, and though her hair looked like it was fanned out in a short hairstyle, it was also long, split into two low ponytails that resembled fish fins. A cyan headband with a gold star rested on the girl's head, and her eyes were the same brilliant blue as her hair. A gold choker was on her neck and the girl's top was cut in a square neckline, cyan in color and cut to three points in the front, with two points cut in the back, making it vaguely resemble a star. The neckline was lined in a dark blue ribbon, culminating in a fluffy dark blue bow with short bowtails that were cut in a V shape. The bow was clasped in place with a golden star brooch engraved with the symbol for Pisces, which also kept the simple golden cape the girl was wearing in place as well. A dark blue sash was wrapped around the girl's waist, the left side clasped with a circular gold pendant also engraved with a Pisces symbol, and the girl's skirt was a frilly, two layered skirt that was cut asymmetrically and longer on the right side. Cyan stockings that reached just over the knee were on the girl's legs, along with dark blue boots that came to a point, the point and the toe of the shoe decorated with gold stars, whereas the ankles of the boots were decorated with cyan ribbons. Completing her outfit, the blue girl had dark blue cuffs around her wrists, decorated with jagged cyan cloth.

...of course, the effect was lessened, slightly, when the blue girl landed and stumbled, apparently not able to get a perfect landing, effect ruined even more at the small blue bear the girl was holding. Still, the anger on her face didn't sway, and once her balance had been righted, the bear jumped away and the strange girl cracked her knuckles again, advancing on the fallen Marfik.

"Blahblah whatever it is about the sea life, Cure Pisces, who cares." the girl, obviously Cure Pisces, said. "Give back my friend's star before I make you." she snarled.

Marfik grimaced, struggling to sit up. After a few tries, the boy stumbled back to his feet, legs shaking with the effort to stay upright, and he glared at Pisces. "Yeah, like I'm gonna do that!" he declared, beginning to writhe with a dark aura. "You haven't seen what I can REALLY--"

Pisces punched him in the face again before he could finish.

Rasalhague winced in sympathy, before glancing between the girl and the unconscious Mei in his arms. Whoever this Pisces was, she was strong and someone they weren't prepared for. He watched, concerned, as Marfik attempted to lash out at the girl with his darkness attacks, only for the girl to dodge them effortlessly and leap at him, kneeing Marfik hard in the gut and sending the boy flying again. Rasalhague sighed, clearing his throat. "Excuse me, Miss Pisces!" he called out, only for Pisces to punch Marfik again, making Rasalhague wince even more. "Miss Pisces!" he hollered, finally getting her attention--and then he shuddered, seeing the blue girl bring her angered gaze on him. He swallowed. "If Marfik there gives your friend's star back, will you stop hitting him?"

Marfik, despite his damage, let out a cry of anger. "What?! Rasal, that's not fair--!"

Pisces, however, looked receptive to it. "Only if you both leave." she answered.

Rasalhague nodded curtly and smiled. "Of course. Marfik?"

The boy pouted and grumbled darkly, but the darkness jar floated up and shattered, freeing the red star within. It floated back toward Mei where it belonged, bringing color and health back to the previously deathly pale girl. Gingerly, Rasalhague laid the pigtailed girl on the ground, stepping away as Pisces and the bear raced for Mei. The bear sobbed in happiness, but when Pisces attempted to thank the two of them, it fell short.

Both Rasalhague and Marfik were gone.



The first thing Mei became aware of was whispering.

"Is she awake yet, I bet she's awake, she made noise--"
"Shhhhhh, let her rest, Ushio-chan said she fainted today--"
"But she's moving, look, lookkkk~"

And indeed, Mei was moving. She groaned, eyes fluttering open as she sat up in bed, dimly blinking at the people surrounding her. Man, this was the second time she was waking up in a foreign place today! But this time it was infinitely more familiar--she was in her room this time, not the nurse's office.

"Neesan!"
"Neenee~!"

Mei squeaked as she was greeted by two fierce hugs--one from Kouta and the other from Miyo. Kouta was speaking fast, saying that he'd heard about an attack on the news and that if he was strong like a Kamen Rider, he totally would have beat up whoever had hurt her! Meanwhile, Miyo was sobbing, worried that her big sister would never wake up again. Mei blinked, surprised, before her eyes welled up with grateful tears. "You guys..." she mumbled, voice breaking, before she reached out to pat each of their heads. "It's all right, I'm fine now, see?" she said, attempting a grin.

"Your mom should be here soon, Mei." came Ushio's voice from the door. She grinned as she poked her head in, a still Usami resting on her head. "Dropped whatever she was doing to rush home." she added by way of explanation. "You okay?"

Mei didn't quite know how to answer, eyeing Usami suspiciously. Finally, she swallowed, offering a nervous nod. "Y-yeah, I think I'm okay." Was she? Usami had told her she was a legendary warrior and then she'd been attacked and that guy had helped her but then how had Ushio gotten involved in that? No one had told her anything, but Ushio looked like she knew more than she was telling.

"Kouta, Miyo, can I talk to Ushio-chan alone for a second?"

Her siblings looked reluctant, but they nodded, excusing themselves. Ushio making sure the kids were gone hadn't escaped her, but the second the coast was clear--

"Mei-chaaaannnn~!" Usami sobbed, hugging the girl tight. "I'm so sorrryyyy! I didn't know that was going to happen but Ushio-chan saved the day, you should have seen her!" he gushed. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"Ushio-chan saved...?"

Ushio laughed, scratching her cheek. "Erm, guess I'm that...'Pretty Cure' thing too. Usami explained it while we brought you home. Look, I have a transformation thingy and everything!" Clearly proud of herself, Ushio brought out a necklace that was tucked away. It was a clear glass bottle covered with a cyan cloth, complete with a cork, and reminded the girl of a pill bottle, though it was bigger. Ushio tugged the cloth off, revealing the real prize--the bottle held a cluster of blue lights and tied around the neck of the bottle was a fluffy blue ribbon clasped with a golden star. "Cool, right?"

Perhaps seeing the crestfallen look on Mei's face, Usami piped up. "And you have one too, Mei-chan!" the bear clapped, the star around his neck glowing and producing another bottle. Instead of being covered in a cyan cloth, however, this one was covered with a pale orange cloth. Likewise, the ribbon tied at the neck of it was red, clasped with a silver star, as opposed to a gold one. Inside the bottle were several red lights, not unlike the star that had been stolen from her earlier. Seeing the panic on her face, Usami flailed to get her attention. "It's not your real Inner Star!" he assured quickly. "That wouldn't be safe at all!"

Mei hesitantly grabbed it, then smiled. The moment it touched her fingertips, she knew it was hers. She placed it around her neck, hugging it to her. "Thanks, both of you." she said with a smile. Truthfully, she didn't know what to think about the whole Pretty Cure business, but--

--things always had a way of working themselves out.

Everything would be okay! She was sure of it.

---

ED: "Twinkle Twinkle" - Yui Horie

---

ON THE NEXT EPISODE:

Mei: ...wasn't there supposed to be a monster attack in this episode...?
Usami: T-the script lied, okay?!
Ushio: Bah, no big deal! Mei, I don't even know why you were worried! I didn't get a henshin scene either!
Mei: You still got to fight first...
Ushio: You're seriously going to let that bother you?!
Mei: Well, I'm the leader. There's a protocol to these things!
Usami: Girls, this isn't really how you work together! You can do it, I know it!
Ushio: Yeah! It'll be all right, Mei, you'll see!
Mei: But even the next episode is against us!
Ushio & Usami: Ehhh?!
Mei: Next time on Starshine! Pretty ✰ Cure: Cure Aries on the scene! But the duo is divided?! Don't forget to make a wish next time too!