Chapter 1 Lost

Lala hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night. There had been more important matters at hand and she did not want to neglect them. Her rocket had been severely damaged the last time she and her friends had gone into space, and as a consequence AI wasn't working properly. Lala, hoping to take responsibility as the adult that she was, had decided to work on repairs. After all, the Precure wouldn't be of much use if they couldn't travel.

Based on the fact that the sun was rising outside the window, Lala speculated that she had been working for about six hours (Earth hours of course, the people on Saman measured time in a different way). Her hands were what were responsible for most of the labor, as they held the tools. Her antenna, on the other hand, were responsible for testing the rocket's computer system, making sure that everything was running smoothly. With her left antenna, Lala pressed a button and spoke to AI.

"AI, are you okay lun?"

There was a period of silence, which made Lala panic slightly. If AI was broken...no, AI couldn't be broken. Lala couldn't accept another failure.

"I am okay, Lala. I feel fantastic."

Lala breathed a sigh of relief. Good, she thought. Now I can go to bed.

Lala stood up, and instantly regretted doing so. She had been kneeling in the same position for the past hour, so all circulation to her legs had been cut off. Her feet tingled as she stood on the rocket floor, and hurt so badly that Lala had no choice but to sit back down. She would've laughed, if not for the fact that her discomfort was...well, uncomfortable.

"Good morning, Lala chan!"

Lala turned and saw a silhouette standing in the rocket's entryway. Since the sun was rising right behind them, the person's front was hidden in shadow. Thankfully, Lala knew who it was. She would recognize that cheery voice anywhere.

"Good morning, Hikaru."

Hoshina Hikaru stepped into the rocket, grinning from ear to ear. In her hands she had a basket of strawberries. Lala had tasted a plethora of Earthly treats, but raspberries were one that she still had yet to try. Lala stared at the magenta-colored fruits as if they weren't berries, but pure gold.

"Have you been up all night, Lala?" Hikaru asked as she knelt down beside her friend. She pulled a raspberry at of the basket and held it in her palm. Lala took it with a sense of excitement.

"I have," Lala responded as she popped the raspberry in her mouth. The juice spread across her tongue, covering her taste buds. Lala decided that raspberries were her new favorite Earth food.

"I hope you don't overwork yourself," Hikaru said as she stood up. "How are you, AI?"

"I am quite well, Hikaru. I am starting to feel like myself again."

"Kirayaba!" Hikaru exclaimed. "Does that mean that we'll be going back up into space soon?"

"No lun," Lala said. The numbness in her legs had receded, so now she was able to stand beside Cure Star. "I think it would be best if we give the rocket some time to rest."

A shadow of disappointment crossed over Hikaru's face. Hikaru loved space travel, more than anyone else Lala knew. Lala supposed that was only natural, given how fascinated Hikaru was by the worlds they visited and the aliens they encountered. Even for someone who was now accustomed to space travel, Lala couldn't blame Hikaru.

"Oh," Hikaru said. Just as quickly as the disappointment on her face had appeared, it quickly vanished and was replaced by another smile. "I guess that is alright. That will give us all some time to hang out with Elena, Madoka, and Yuni!"

Lala nodded, but that was the only response that she was able to give. Her eyelids were starting to droop, and her antenna were hanging low.

"Are you okay, Lala?"

Lala looked up at Hikaru. It was weird for Lala to see her with concern on her normally happy face. She nodded again.

"I need to sleep," she said with a yawn. "If it were any other day, I would gladly hang out with you guys. But I promise that I will make time for you."

Lala expected that the disappointment would return to Hikaru's face, but instead she saw empathy in her friend's eyes. Hikaru placed her hand on Lala's shoulder.

"It's okay," she said. "Take all the time you need."

Lala smiled. Hikaru was so unlike everyone who she had interacted with on her home planet. Everyone on Saman treated her like a klutz, a moron. Her boss had always made sure to go out of his way to keep her away from the heavy duty work, and her parents weren't much better. It was a nice change of pace to have Hikaru treat her the way she did. It made Lala feel respected, important.

"Thank you, lun."

Hikaru returned Lala's smile. There was a touch of warmth to the expression that made Lala content. This was another reason she liked being around Hikaru.

"Well, see you later." Hikaru turned around to exit the rocket, but before she did she abruptly turned back around. "Oh wait, I forgot to do this when I came in!"

Hikaru held her pointer fingers out. Lala maneuvered her antenna so that the bulbous tips would touch Hikaru's fingertips. The standard form of greeting on Lala's homeworld. Satisfied, Hikaru turned back around.

"Okay, now I'm really heading out. Bye, Lala!"

The door to the rocket closed. Lala rubbed her eyes as she headed to her bed.

"AI, can you dim the lights?"

The lights in the rocket slowly faded out, until the only light in the rocket was the one that was being produced by the sun outside.

"Thank you lun."

"No problem, Lala. Sweet dreams."

…

Lala's eyes fluttered open and she sat up in bed. She yawned and stretched. It suddenly hit her that she might have been sleeping for longer than she thought.

"AI, how long was I asleep?"

"You have been asleep for about twelve Earth hours, or one Saman day."

Lala got up and looked out the window. The sun, which last time she checked was just peaking over the Eastern horizon, was now dipping below the Western sky. Yep, she had definitely been sleeping for longer than she thought.

Oh well, Lala thought. She got out her supply of space gummies and popped one into her mouth. While raspberries were good, it was space gummies that Lala hailed as the Holy Grail of food. They were the perfect source of energy for aliens like her, and they tasted delectable.

"It would appear that Amamiya Elena, Kaguya Madoka, and Yuni are right outside the door," AI informed Lala. Lala went to the door and opened it, allowing her to get a glimpse of Cure Soleil, Cure Selene, and Cure Cosmo.

"Hello lun," Lala said. She extended her antenna, and each of the three girls tapped the tips in the same way Hikaru had done.

"Lala," Madoka said. "I'm afraid we have a problem."

It was then that Lala noticed the concern on her teammates' face. Lala was instantly snared by worry.

"What problem?" she allowed her eyes to scan the group. "And where's Hikaru."

"That's the problem," Yuni said seriously. "We don't know."

"She went missing around noon," Elena chimed in. "She said that she was going to the store and hasn't been back since."

Lala's worry increased. Hikaru was gone? No, she couldn't. If Hikaru was missing...no, Lala couldn't allow herself to think about that.

"Well, she couldn't be far," Lala said. "After all, this town is only so big."

"Unless she's not in this town," Yuni said darkly. The others glanced at her.

"What are you implying?" Madoka asked.

"I think that there is a slight possibility that she could have been kidnapped Notraiders," Yuni said. "After all, she has the Taurus and the Ares Star Color Pens. People like Aiwarn would definitely want to get their hands on that."

Lala's heart rate escalated. Based on her teammates expressions, they felt the same way.

"We have to split up," Elena said. "Yuni, you go south. Madoka, you go east. Lala will go north and I'll go west."

"Should we transform?" Madoka asked.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Elena said after careful consideration. She held up her pendant and the others did the same.

"Star Color Pendant!" the four shouted. The girls were engulfed by bright lights, which blinked away after a minute. Now fully transformed, the four cures made their way in the directions that Elena had specified.

As Lala tread down the north path, her worries became increasingly overwhelming. She hoped, for Hikaru's sake, that she was still on Earth. If she was captured by the notraiders, it would be difficult for her to fight back. And that was if she was still able to transform; if she couldn't then fighting back would be an impossibility. With this thought, Lala quickened her pace.

"Hikaru! Hoshina Hikaru!"

No answer. Cure Milky decided that she had better leave the path. She raced on foot through the grass. She noticed that the sun was almost completely gone now, and twilight was starting to set in. If she was going to find Hikaru, she would prefer that she did it before dark.

After about twenty minutes of running, Lala stopped underneath a tree to catch her breath. Even as a Pretty Cure, Lala couldn't run forever. As she panted, she began to think. Searching around willy nilly probably wasn't the best idea. She needed to narrow the search to the places where Hikaru was mostly likely to be.

"The Donut Shop," Lala said, and started running in that direction. She sprinted past the lake, not being able to fully take in its glittering beauty. There were one or two people she passed, and each one was delighted to see Cure Milky. She asked them if that had seen Cure Star, but none of them had any clue of her whereabouts. All they could say was that they would tell her if they saw her.

Lala stopped when the Donut Shop came into view. She stopped and breathed in a sigh of relief. Before she could start running though, she felt someone lay a hand on her shoulder.

"I need your help."

Lala turned and saw a young girl, about thirteen Earth years in age. She was notably short, and had wavy pink hair. Lala noticed that her bangs were cut in a strange way.

"Are you a Precure?"

"Yes," Lala said, albeit with some caution. "I am Cure Milky. Why do you need my help."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness," she said. "My name is Nono Hana."

Hana took out a heart shaped device and placed what looked like a pink crystal in it. She was engulfed in light, and when the light faded Lala stared at her. Her hair had grown longer and was now a lighter shade of pink. She also wore a pink outfit that resembled that of a cheerleader.

"How did you..?" Lala asked in shock.

"I'm a Precure too," Hana said. "My name is Cure Yell. Are you friends with someone named Cure Star?"

"Yes!" Lala exclaimed. "Do you know where she is?"

"I do," Hana replied. She looked worried. "She is in my world."

"Your world?" Lala asked in confusion.

"I'll explain everything," Hana said. "But before I do that, we need to find your teammates."