Spooky! Precure 1- Witchcraft

A gentle jostling, like the softest tremor in her heart, awoke her from her sleep.  Bleary eyed, she stretched her legs wrought with the kind of stiffness only an immeasurably deep sleep could bring.  How long had it been?  Whatever the answer, she had been out long enough for a healthy trail of drool to have wiggled its way out of her mouth, up her face and into the tuft of fur atop her head.

That was when she realized she was upside down.

Readjusting her orientation so she was right side up, the bat fairy rubbed the dried drool from her face and the sleep from her eyes as she tried to recall what she had been doing before she fell asleep.  Looking around the darkened world that surrounded her, she couldn’t even remember where she was, let alone why she was there or how she had even arrived there in the first place.

Pink eyes finally blinking open to clarity, the bat spied a thin tendril of sunlight oozing in lazily through an opening a little ways away.  She floated curiously through the blackness in its direction, squinting as the light washed over her eyes.  Poking her head out of the cave opening cautiously, the fairy was surprised to recognize where she was in an instant.  The gnarled old tree that stood isolated from the others was a clear landmark, as was the patch of withered ground that surrounded it.  

The strange sensation in her chest that awoken her gained meaning with sudden clarity as she realized what must be happening.  The impending sense of doom was all too familiar.  Frighton was active once again.

Panic swelling inside her, the fairy held her paws out before her, trying with all her might to search for anything she might be able to summon to aid her.  There was no way she could even enter Frighton alone without some help.  A gentle glow emanated from between her paws, and in a dazzling flash three orbs of light formed before her.  They quivered excitedly as though in great anticipation for things to come before they became wrapped in iridescent foil like a candy, the covering casting multicolored light every which way across its surface.  

She smiled a bright, toothy grin.  These would be very helpful indeed.  Three Pretty Cure.  Three girls who would be able to fight for peace on earth, the promise of their courage wrapped in the shimmering foil before the fairy.  All she had to do was find them, and soon.  

The bat fairy clapped her paws together and the little wrapped candies disappeared in a puff of glitter.  The sun was only just rising, so she had a whole day ahead of her to begin her search.  Spreading her heart-dotted wings, the little pink fairy took to the sky.

“Mission: find the three legendary Pretty Cure, and save the world, boo!!”

---

The sun was barely up when she awoke, which meant Sofía was barely up in time to leave.  She had a bit of a personal vendetta against getting up before the sun, something about it just didn’t seem right.  Of course, staying true to that lifestyle meant making sacrifices, namely brushing her teeth and hair before she had to get into the car.  She wouldn’t make a great first impression today, but it would make an even worse impression to be late on her first day of class this year.  She had the rest of the year to get senioritis.  Andres was already waiting for her in the passenger seat, an eyebrow cocked when he caught sight of his sister.

“Your breath reeks,” he complained when she shut the door behind her and started the car.  Sofía punched her brother hard in the shoulder, which only made him whine louder.

“Heyyy, bully!” he fussed, pouting dramatically and rubbing his arm.

“You’re a freshman, you’d better get used to it,” she retorted, sticking out her tongue at him as she backed out of the driveway.  She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of going to the same school as her little brother again, something they hadn’t done since they were young.  

The two got along well enough, though she couldn’t help but feel overshadowed by him, literally and figuratively.  When they got out of the car in the school parking lot he towered over her, despite being three years her junior.  His academics were spotless, and his charisma earned him droves of friends, evidenced by the flock of other bright-eyed and bushy-tailed freshmen running up to meet him as soon as they caught sight of his shaggy mop of hair in the crowd.  Sofía branched off from her brother’s side without so much as a goodbye to find her own flock of admirers.  

Was two big enough to constitute a flock?  Sofía wasn’t one to split hairs over logistics.  Only one from her two person fanclub was waiting for her in their usual spot, a half wall in the inner courtyard they rebelliously claimed as their own to sit on during off periods and lunches.  This year it would be even more exclusive, since everyone knew the death stare of a senior was ten times as effective as one from a junior.  

Peyton waved excitedly as she caught sight of her friend, hopping down from the wall to give her a bone-crushing bear hug.  
“Sofííííííía!” she cried, lifting her up off the floor, “It’s been way too long!  Why didn’t you come earlier we need to catch up on summer goings on!”

As she was lifted, Sofía’s face was engulfed by a mass of red curls, and she spat out the hairs that stuck to her face once she was put down.  
“Sorry, I slept in a little late.  Do you happen to have a hair brush in your bag?” she asked, hopping up on the half wall with her friend plopping down beside her.  

“You know I don’t brush my hair!  Audrey probably has one, but I think she’s off trying to win over the jocks before volleyball tryouts this week.”

“Is she?  I didn’t think she was actually going to do it.  I hope she’s not trying too hard to fit in, I think she could really make goth-jock a thing if she just goes for it,” she laughed, swinging her legs out in front of her.  “When are tryouts?  We should go and support her.”

“Tomorrow I think.  But don’t give me that bull, I know you just wanna go to ogle Bing,” Peyton accused with a cheeky grin, side-eying her friend.  Sofía’s face flushed pink at the thought of the school’s volleyball prince, but she smiled good-naturedly.

“Well who’s to say I can’t do both?!”

---

The bell rang and the pair departed, promising to catch up over lunch.  When noon finally rolled around, Sofía’s stomach was audibly rumbling, so much so that the boy next to her looked over in concern and asked if she were going to be okay.  She would be okay as soon as she had some carrots and hummus in her.  

Returning to the half wall, she spied her friend Audrey, who was impossible to miss with her blue-black hair, asymmetrical cut, and shaved eyebrows.  Next to her sat someone else, though it wasn’t anyone Sofía could recognize from behind.  Preparing her best senior glare as she rounded the wall, her breath caught in her throat as she spied Bing Morgan, resident heartthrob and object of her affections.  

Bing pushed her dark hair over her shoulder, looking down at Sofía with a handsome smile.  The smaller girl was suddenly acutely aware that her hair was still a birds nest, and her breath could likely kill a small animal.  

Attempting to casually and daintily cover her mouth with her hand, she smiled, “Oh hey, I don’t usually see you around here,” she crooned, trying her best to sound breezy and effortless.

“Yeah, Audrey and I were talking last period, I’m just waiting for my friend to bring me back a burrito,” Bing replied with a small smile that made the corners of her almond eyes crinkle.

“Oh, you like burritos huh?” Sofía asked, raising a brow and leaning against the half wall with one hand outstretched, the other still covering her mouth.  Super casual.  Bing’s smile grew with mild amusement, and she nodded mercifully.  “Did you know burritos are from Mexico?”

Audrey’s lips were pressed in a thin line, trying to suppress a giggle, though at this she snorted abruptly.  Bing raised her brows and laughed softly, “Is that so?”  By this point Audrey wasn’t even attempting to hide her smile, and Sofía’s face reddened.  

“Oh my god Sof, you still haven’t brushed your hair?” Peyton called out from the doorway, curls bouncing as she hopped over to the three by the wall.  At this point Sofía hung her head in utter defeat, though to her surprise a small brush was offered to her by the curvy prince sitting on the wall.

“You can borrow mine, I’ll be putting my hair up for practice anyway,” Bing offered with a small smile.

“T-thanks!” Sofía sputtered, taking the brush gratefully.  Bing dismissed the thanks with a wave of her hand, hopping smoothly off the wall.

“Don’t worry about it.  I should probably go wait in the parking lot though, see you later.”

With that she was gone, Sofía’s eyes following her out and Audrey’s lips parting in hearty laughter.  

“What the hell was that?” the black haired girl snorted as her smaller counterpart joined her on the half wall and unpacked her lunch.

“I got nervous, alright?  But it worked didn’t it?  I got her hairbrush!” Sofía cried triumphantly, holding the brush up like a prized idol.

“Now you can make a voodoo doll using the hairs, just like you’ve always wanted!” Payton teased, hopping up beside her.

“Shut uuup!  Obviously I’m going to have to give this back to her, so it’s an excuse to meet up again.  On my own terms this time, I’ll be on my A-game.”

“You didn’t do so well this time around, and this was your home turf and you were surrounded by your own friends,” Audrey pointed out, taking a big bite of her sandwich.

“I wasn’t expecting her to be here!  She caught me unawares; next time I’ll slay.”

---

With Andres at soccer tryouts, that meant a quiet ride home, which Sofía was grateful for.  She got in the zone when she drove alone; the only thing louder than her singing was the radio, and nothing could top her driver seat dance moves.  It was because of her emphatic performing that she almost didn’t notice the little girl crying on the side of the road.  Almost.  When the girl caught her eye, she slowed down and turned down the music, looking with concern at the child in the green dress.  Her skin was dark, tear-stained and mottled with pale patches that belied the redness of her sobbing face.  

Sofía was seconds from rolling down the window and calling out to her, until she took a moment to consider what that would look like to an onlooker.  Preferring to stay off a watchlist, she pulled over into the parking lot a ways down the street and trotted back up the street towards the girl.

“Hey, my name’s Sofía,” she introduced, crouching down beside the girl.  “Did you get separated from your family?”

The girl pulled her patchwork hands from her eyes and looked over at her, barely able to control her trembling lip as she squeaked a soft “Yes.”

Sofía furrowed her brow, looking around to see if she could spot anyone.  “Can you tell me what they look like?  I’ll help you find them.”

The girl wiped her eyes and nose on the back of her arm, taking a moment to regain her composure and speak more clearly.  “M-my nanny.  A big monster got her.”  Sofía frowned.  She wasn’t sure she was in a position to be dealing with ‘big monsters’.  If there was some guy running around attacking people in the park, there wouldn’t be much she could do about it, standing under five feet tall and only remotely menacing when she wielded a chancla.  

“...what kind of monster?” she asked tentatively, reaching for her cell phone in case this warranted police action.

“L-like a dog,” she stuttered, “It had lots of teeth and I ran.”  

“Can you take me to where the dog was?  I promise I’ll keep you safe.  You can hold my hand,” Sofía offered, holding out her hand.  The girl hesitated, but nodded slowly and grasped her fingertips.  

“You’re very brave, I bet your parents are real proud of you.  What’s your name?”

“Evelyn.”

“Nice to meet you, Evelyn.”

As they walked Sofía felt chills scurrying through her bones, though it was mid-August and there was so little wind that the stillness was almost suffocating.  Evelyn stopped walking suddenly when a shrill, almost inorganic noise cut through the thick air.  That sure as hell didn’t sound like any dog or person that Sofía had ever heard.

“Stay here,” she cautioned, stepping tentatively forward off the manicured park grass and further into the shrubbery that lie beyond.  Evelyn waited nervously by the playset beyond the woods while Sofía trudged through the bushes, listening intently for any more noises.  She could hear a scuffle going on, and another shrill noise that carved its way into her ears, close enough to startle her.  

Finally she saw something, though what it was she couldn’t really understand.  Just beyond a layer of trees was a tall, vaguely humanoid figure without any distinguishable limbs a pure white face, marked only by two slit shapes that almost looked like eyes.  The rest of it was impossibly black, so much so that it gave her a headache to look at it for too long.  

On the ground beside the monstrosity was what must’ve been the dog that Evelyn had seen.  It too was impossibly black, but without any features at all.  Its face was angular and pointed in a way that resembled a fox, and didn’t appear to have any eyes, or even a mouth from what she could see.  As if the scene was not absurd enough, what appeared to be a mauve bat adorned with pink hearts was tugging on the white face of the humanoid creature as it writhed, and the fox monster batted at the heart-tipped tail.

“Go back to Frighton, you creep!  Leave the people on earth alone, boo!”

Sofía became more confused as the bat cursed at the monsters, still tugging on the face of the taller creature.  She drew in a sharp gasp as the fox monster opened the mouth that she could not see before.  Its mouth stretched across almost the entire length of its pointed face, and was filled with needle like teeth that were as pitch black as the rest of it.  The sound seemed to draw the attention of the fox and the bat, both of whom turned their heads to face her.

“Get out of here human!  It is very dangerous here, boo!” the bat cried, the fox taking a few tentative steps towards her.
“I-I’m looking for the little girl’s nanny!  Where is she?” she called out to the bat, the ridiculousness of the situation lost on her in her fear.  She crouched down to pick up a stick from the forest floor, wielding it like a club in case the fox monster should creep any closer.
“This is the girl’s nanny, boo!  I’m trying to save her, so please get out of here before I have to save you too, boo!” the bat cried out in exasperation.  So that limbless shadow of a thing was the nanny?!  What on earth had happened to her?!

The thing that had once been a human let out another long shrill “Exxxx” noise, arms slowly beginning to grow out from the black void of its body and grip the little bat.  At the same time, the shadow fox leapt towards her, and Sofía shrieked, swinging with all her might at the thing.  It caught the stick effortlessly in its gaping mouth, and snapped it just as easily.  

Sofía swallowed hard.  She was a good person, she loved animals, she was even vegetarian!  Why was this thing hunting her down?  
“Get out of here, boo!” the bat demanded again, attempting to bite at the shadowy hands that gripped her.  
“N-no!  I’m here to help Evelyn!” Sofía insisted, attempting to reassure herself as much as the bat.  “I’m not afraid!”

Suddenly, with a flash of light a shimmering foil wrapped candy appeared before the girl.  The bat looked up in amazement, and Sofía stared at it, bewildered.
“Listen to me, boo!” the bat instructed, her breath shallow as she was squeezed by the monster.  “Take that and say ‘Nightmares nevermore, trick-or-treat transformation’ and throw it on the ground!  You can stop these monsters, boo!”
“Trick-or-treat?  It’s August!” Sofía wailed, as though that were the most pressing inconsistency in this situation.
“Do it now, boo!”

The fox monster’s back arched as it prepared to leap at her again, so the distraught girl reached before her and grasped the simmering candy in her hand.
“Nightmares nevermore, trick-or-treat transformation!”
A dazzling light shot from between her fingers, and just as the monster leapt off the ground towards her she threw the glowing candy down hard.

There was an explosion of purple smoke that billowed out from where the candy had made contact with the ground.  Despite its density, somehow Sofía didn’t find it hard to breathe as it enveloped her and lifted her up off the ground.  Inside the column of smoke, purple shimmers fluttered about her, and even her own skin began to glow.  She realized as she looked down at her glimmering skin that her school uniform had disappeared, and a fluorescent spiderweb pattern traced itself down her torso, a dark leotard popping up beneath the web pattern.  Flinging her hands out to either side, little sleevelets burst into being on her forearms and Sofía grinned, thoroughly enjoying her weightless fun.  

With a playful twirl a purple skirt swirled into place, and giving herself a tight hug brought a grey corset snugly around her.  Two quick clicks of her heels and grey boots with purple toes formed up her calves.  Clapping twice over her head, an oversized black witch’s hat appeared from the smoke between her hands.  Once she pulled it down onto her head, a light washed over her hair, growing it impossibly long and dying it a vibrant purple.  Her violet locks parted down the middle, twisting back behind her until they formed two long pigtails.  Finally, the shimmering candy wrapper of the smoke bomb latched onto her chest, transforming into a full purple bow above her bust.

It seemed her weightless adventure was over as she fell back down to the ground, the smoke bursting away from her as soon as her feet touched the earth.  The force of the explosion blasted the lunging fox monster out of the air, much to Sofía’s relief.  She held out a finger and twirled it as though casting a spell before pointing triumphantly to the sky.

“A mischievous smile on a moonlit night, Cure Witch!”

The girl took a minute to catch her breath; it felt as though she might faint with all the power and energy she could feel coursing through her.  Another loud “Exxxx” like hiss emitted from the mouthless humanoid creature that continued to squeeze the little bat.  Anger swelling up in her, Cure Witch charged towards the thing in a rage propelled fervor.  Unfortunately for her, she had misjudged the amount of power granted to her as a Pretty Cure.  She hardly had time to make another move before she crashed head first into its black body.  It seemed luck was on her side however, as the attack still proved effective enough to knock the monster backwards, releasing the little bat who floated weakly to the ground and tried to catch her breath.

“Are you okay?” the purple cure asked worriedly, kneeling down and scooping up the little bat.  The furry creature nodded, though suddenly her eyes went wide and she rolled out of the cure’s hands just as Witch felt a cold, clammy hand close around her ankle.  She took a moment to be thankful for the spiderweb print leotard under her outfit as she was flung into the air by the humanoid monster, and made note of the lovely view as she began to plummet back down to earth.  This time, she had longer to think about her next move, and Witch twisted in the air so she could land a swift kick to the back of the monster’s head.  It screeched as it fell forward, and the Pretty Cure ran over to the fairy once more.

“Help me out here!  What am I supposed to do?” she pleaded, the bat fairy still slightly disoriented.
“Tire it out and then you will be able to purify...”
Witch nodded, not staying to listen to the rest as she dashed off again, delivering a hard uppercut to the monster that had begun to lift off on the ground and leaping after it so she could score another.
“Wait!  You need to be smart about this, boo!” the fairy cried out in exasperation, flying after her.  “Let me help you, boo!”
“No!  I can do this by myself,” Witch insisted, swinging a hard right hook that knocked the shadowy monster back out of the sky.  When she touched down again, she noticed the fox monster slinking away into the woods.
“And just where do you think you’re going?!” she demanded, dashing off towards it until the bat landed right on her face, stopping her in her tracks.
“Waah what do you think you’re doing?!  I’m trying to catch the little shit that attacked me!” she cried, tugging the bat off her face.
“You need to worry about the other one first, boo!  There’s a girl trapped in there, boo!”

Witch changed direction suddenly to lunge for the humanoid monster now, fist clenched and ready for a gut punch.  She was inches from the beast when she swung her fist, but her hand never made contact.  Instead she seemed to fly right through it and crashed into the ground a ways away.  

“What a dirty trick!”

Looking behind her, the monster was nowhere to be seen.  She panicked for a moment as she remembered the little girl, and dashed out of the woods towards the playground where she still waited, her brown eyes widening in shock as the purple haired girl charged towards her.
“Did the monster come out here?!” she demanded in a panic, but the little girl only shook her head slowly.  The girl’s eyes lit up as soon as she noticed the bat flying towards them however, and she plucked her out of the air and pulled the fuzzy fairy into a tight embrace.

“Cuuute!  What’s her name?”

“L-let me go, boo!” the bat squeaked, squirming in her childish vicegrip.

“Boo?  Aww,” she cooed gently, looking up at Witch, “Did you beat the monster?”

The cure faltered uncertainly, looking around, “Uhh, I don’t know.  I mean...I can’t find it.  And I can’t find your nanny...but I promise to keep looking.  Right now, I should take you home though.  You’ll be safer if we get you away from here.”

Evelyn looked down, but nodded solemnly, letting Boo free.  The girl seemed to be on the verge of tears again, which only made Witch feel worse about the whole situation, untransforming and grabbing a tight hold of the girl’s hand to comfort her.

“I promise you I’ll get her back.  I’ll rescue her,” she vowed, taking the small hand in her own.  “I’ll save her, and anyone else who gets attacked by those things!”