"Mlle Lavoie, Mme et M Fortin… Mlle Lavoie, Mme et M Fortin…" sang the girl breezing down the street with ease on a pair of well-worn roller blades. She toted two large bags, one in each arm, maneuvering them both as she maneuvered herself in and around the people on her route. She knew her path well, for it was one she skated down many, many times in her days. She could fly through the streets of Ville-Marie without any incidents on a normal day. That however, was not when those streets had an attractive young man wandering them aimlessly.

As she lifted her head from rereading the address on one of her bags, she caught sight of said attractive young man. Being a citizen of a city filled with many different attractive people, she didn't pay the man much attention until he looked directly at her and halted his movement. She felt a feeling of adrenaline, like if she was about to jump off her roof again for the umpteenth time. The odd sensation took her aback, stopping her from redirecting her path away from the man.

Crash. The delivery bags went flying, now crumpled, upside down and most likely completely disheveled inside. The young man and the girl were now both on the ground, but in a very compromising situation. The girl was quite literally lying on top of him. His breath was delicate so as to not overly disturb the girl. When she realized the situation, the girl scrambled off of her crash victim, trying to get up and away as fast as she could. Her efforts were in vain however, as the wheels on her feet whirred as fast as she moved and returned her to her behind on the ground.

The young man, who she could now see was very attractive with his elongated face, odd pale blue hair, and his crystalline blue eyes, returned to his feet and stared at her for a moment. Then he blinked and extended his hand with concern. The girl took it and stood up with minimal balance underfoot. The man then stepped away before she could say anything, and began to assemble her dropped belongings. He managed to fit everything in his own arms, and then returned it to the girl's arms. The last item in his hand was a bracelet, and once she had resituated her load, he held it out to her.

"Are you alright, um, Emilie?"

Emilie, the girl with her arms full, blinked in confusion, and slowly nodded.

"Comment…? How… did you know my name, M.?" Emilie questioned. Her thick eyebrows scrunched as she pondered how he could've known. As she noticed the bracelet in his hand, she exhaled with a chuckle. "Oh."

It took her a moment before she remembered the situation. She gasped, and her eyes widened as she quickly snatched the bracelet from the young man's hand and returned it to her wrist.

"I am so very sorry, M.! Did I…" She paused to try remember the exact word in English she was looking for. As the language was not something she was proficient in, her attempt to speak to the obvious tourist in it was like a death wish for Emilie. "Did I- I… uh, hurt you?"

He chuckled, raising his hand to his mouth as he did. "No, I'm fine," he smiled, "but, just so you know, I do speak French too."

Emilie sighed in relief at both his well-being and his fluency française. With the relaxed smile upon her face, the relief about the latter was evident. No longer did she have to mentally translated her thoughts. Emilie's nightmare was over.

"Do you know where you are going M.? Do you need help?" Emilie asked him.

"N-no. I'm not looking for any place in particular at the moment, just taking the sights in." He replied, then looked around the street. "Maybe though, you could help me. Do you have any suggestions of sights to see?"

Emilie scratched her nose for a moment, then her face lit up as she thought of the perfect place to take the handsome young man. She grabbed him by the wrist and began to skate in the direction behind him, giving him a tug to follow. "Follow me! I know a good place!"

"A-ah ok then…" He responded as he began to chase after Emilie's beeline down the road towards a small cafe.

Emilie sat across from the young man, who sipped on the coffee then ate a fork-full of the poutine he ordered. The stringy, gooey melted cheese swung and smacked him in the chin, at which Emilie giggled.

"I never asked your name did I, M.? How rude of me." Emilie tried to engage the young man in some conversation, since he appeared a little too fascinated with his gravy and cheese to uphold one. As she waited for him to respond, Emilie took a massive bite of her smoked meat sandwich, even dropping some of it in front of her.

"Ah, my apologies. My name is," The young man paused to wipe the gravy from his mouth. "Blue."

Emilie laughed and nearly choked on her food. She swallowed what she had eaten and continued to chuckle a little. "Blue? What kind of name is Blue?"

"My name? I don't understand your confusion." Blue said curiously, baffled by the laughter.

"Sorry, it's just, that's a colour - a dog's name maybe - but not… well, you know, a guy's name." Emilie said before taking a drink of her milk. She quickly wiped away her milk moustache and smiled apologetically at Blue.

"I understand."

Emilie stared at Blue for a moment and let out one last breath of laughter. With a shake of her head, she said, "Obviously you're not from around here, so what brings you to Montreal?"

Blue brushed his hair back and his eyes wandered away from Emilie. As he raised his hand to his hair, a small stone fell out of it and bounced onto the table. Emilie, who was about to take another bite of her sandwich, laid it down and reached for the stone. Blue froze momentarily as Emilie silently examined the stone. She spun it around between her fingers, and admired the way it shone in the light. She smiled and held it out to give it back to Blue, and as he slowly lowered his hand beneath hers, she felt a similar rush of adrenaline to when she first encountered Blue. Her hand relaxed and the stone fell into Blue's hand. She pulled it back and turned her head away, her eyebrows furrowing as she wrung her hand.

"A-are you alright Emilie?" Blue asked hesitantly.

"Yes… Yes!" Emilie shook her head and returned her gaze to Blue. She gazed up at the clock that was above the door of the cafe. Her eyes widened and she jumped up suddenly from the table when she saw the time. She had allowed herself to get ridiculously off track, as customers were expecting their orders and her parents expected her to make them. She gave her curly chocolate hair a twist and threw it over her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, M. Blue, but I've forgotten all about my deliveries! I really must go!" Emilie explained. Blue smiled and nodded. Emilie was lifting her delivery bags off the ground beneath the table when a scream resounded from the street.

Emilie and Blue both turned their attention to the source of the high-pitched wail. The first thing they both saw was a mass of people running in fear, and second was the entity from which they ran. It was a large monster that resembled a Transformer, as it was a rampaging, walking car. It donned red shades and a red scarf besides its automobile appearance. Nearby, Emilie noticed that, cowering behind a Canada Post box, there was a small child, crying for its daddy.

"Non! We've got to do something M. Blue! That poor child!" Emilie looked at the man with a frantic expression. His face wrinkled as he looked down at his hand which still contained the small stone. He looked back up at Emilie and held out the stone. Emilie squinted at the stone in confusion. Hesitantly she took it, and it began to shine.

The stone was enveloped in light, and slowly grew into a cellphone-shaped device, topped with a couple of strange cards. Emilie stared at the bundle in a mix of confusion and horror, then she looked back at Blue.

"What are these?!"

"They're what you'll need to fix this," Blue nodded once. "I believe in you Emilie, you can do this." Another scream rang out from yet another fearful person, and Emily gulped.

"I-I don't know what you mean, but… ok…?" Emilie said as she hesitantly began to run towards the monster. Her breath became more rapid and her heart beat heavily in her chest as she approached. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Her fingers tightened around the device in her hand as she rolled to a stop a few metres away from the monstrous car.

I'm not sure what to do with these… but it's worth a try. Emilie took another deep breath and opened her mouth. She didn't know what to expect, but she sure didn't expect what she was about to say.

"Pretty Cure…" She trembled. The device opened up, and the cards lifted and placed themselves perfectly on top of the interior, so that an outfit was outlined by them.

"Pretty Cure… changement miroir roulement!" She cried. The words rose up from inside with flow of energy that surprised Emilie. She felt like she knew what she had to do. Emilie's finger struck the button on the device, and the screen of it began to glow.

A light enveloped Emilie, causing her to gasp in surprise. The whole process felt surreal, like she was in the midst of a dream. Her hair magically grew very rapidly, then like an elastic, shortened and shortened just as quickly. As her hair changed in length, it also changed from its chocolate colour to that of rich, thick maple syrup. A light red cloak fluttered around Emilie, and slowly clothing began to return to her body, however, it was not the turtleneck and jeans she was once wearing. Instead, it was the outfit that was detailed on the cards. As it appeared, Emilie gained a white blouse with puffy sleeves, and similar puffy white shorts. Next, a navy vest, and a bow and ornament adorning it, then a warm red scarf wrapped itself around her neck. Emilie raised her hand towards her hair, and a heart shaped ornament with a red maple leaf attached to it appeared under her touch. Finally, a pair of red and white boots were formed around her feet and red gloves around her hands.

Emilie's feet returned to the ground and she stood still for a moment of awe. She looked down at herself - what had become of her? She looked like a completely different person after that bizarre light show. She felt another surge of energy flow through her, compelling her to speak once more.

"Le goût sucré de la vie dynamique, je m'appelle Cure Maple!" The words rang out across the street. The running people paused for a moment before continuing their escape. The attention of the monster in front of her was gained as well.

"Pire…" It bellowed. Emily, now Cure Maple, started breathing quicker and quicker. Her body was frozen solid in place. She didn't know what she was going to do or how she was going to stop even herself from becoming road meat.

"Papa!" The young child from behind the Canada Post box cried once more. The child's voice rang in Maple's ears. The reason why she ran to help was refreshed in her brain. She wanted to save the people - she wanted to help that child. She closed her eyes and focused on trying to summon the courage to do something.

Suddenly, glowing blades popped out underneath her feet. The rapid addition to her height caused her to wobble, and she almost fell over. At her feet were a pair of ice skating blades, and it gave her an idea. Maple scraped her right foot on the ground, like a bull preparing to charge. With the same boost she gave herself while roller skating, Maple set herself speeding off towards the monster.

As she wrapped around the monster's legs, it turned its gaze to follow Maple. She tried her hardest to think of her next step, and it quickly came to her - she had to stop it from moving. With what was she going to do it though? Her eyes narrowed and she scratched her nose, then the flap of one end of her scarf came up and whipped an idea right in her face.

Maple quickly grabbed the scarfs end and pulled it both from her face and then completely off of her neck. As the other end flew away from her, she managed to catch it with her other hand. She continued to skate around the monster's feet, all the while it kept turning and turning to figure out where she was headed. She skid to a quick halt, then changed directions after quickly spinning the end of her scarf around one of the monster's legs. She whirled around and around the monster, and with every lap tied the legs tighter and tighter together until the monster began to wobble. Then, she stopped, and gave the scarf one final pull.

The monster came crashing down. Seemingly from nowhere, a woman donning all pink flew in from the sky and floated over the tumbled monster.

"Ma belle monstre! What have you done?! Stop with your cute tricks!"

"Cure Maple! Use the bracelet on your wrist!" Blue called from the cafe where he waited. She looked over at him, then back at her wrist. With a gulp, she gripped the brace on her wrist.

Cure Maple raised her arm in the air and then lifted the other to spin the dial on the brace. The heart in the centre glowed brightly, and Maple's hand started to warm.

"Maple… Fleur…" Maple stretched her fingers. "du sucre!" Her arm flew towards the ground in a rush, and the concrete between her and the monster began to crack. The growing crevice raged towards the monster, and when it reached the monster, it stopped. A whole burrowed into the ground, and a few seconds later, the roots of a tree sprouted out of the ground. The roots were crystalline, like rock candy, as they wrapped around the monster.

"... et fini!" The candy roots contracted, getting tighter and tighter, until they exploded. The monster faded away, and the pink lady screeched as she disappeared into thin air. In place of the monster was now a man, lying next to a car. The little child came out from behind the Canada Post box, and ran towards the unconscious man. As Cure Maple's scarf floated through the air and wrapped itself back around her neck, she smiled at the child. The child shook their father, and the man woke up, only to sit up and wrap his arms around his child. The happy reunion gave Maple such a feeling of happiness, and her face wrinkled with a large grin. Without her even noticing until it was over, she transformed back into regular old Emilie. The destruction that the monster had caused slowly reformed into what it was beforehand. The people stopped their running and their screaming, and after a moment of doubt, hastily returned to their business. Emily turned around, as she could hear Blue's footsteps approach her.

"Good job Emilie! I knew you were the one." Blue raised his hand to pat Emilie on the shoulder, but Emilie flinched away at his touch.

"What was that?! Who are you?!" she hollered at him.

"I told you, my name is-"

"I meant, what kind of creep are you? What did you do to me?" Emilie frantically looked back and forth between her hands and Blue's nonchalant face.

Blue chuckled. "I only gave you the tool to use what was inside of you. You had the desire to help people, and inside was the power to do it."

Emilie frowned, furrowed her eyebrows and scratched her nose. She sighed, "I don't really think that answers my questions, but fine. I'll believe you for now," she paused and began to turn away from Blue, only to sharply turn her head back to look at him, "but I will want more information later."

She moved to turn away, but Blue raised his arm to grab hers. She stopped, but didn't turn around immediately. Blue turned her hand over, and placed another device in her hand. She pulled it back towards her and began to skate away.

What even was that whole thing? Who is that Blue guy…? I-... I'm so confused.. what did I just become? Emily rolled away and back towards the cafe to regather her deliveries.

"I'll see you later Emilie! Call me on that phone if you wish to talk." Blue called out after her with a smile on his face. Emilie who tried very hard to focus on her delivery bags, also tried very hard to pretend she didn't hear him. After her little magic act she didn't know how to feel. Should she be glad she became a superhero and saved people? Or should she be upset and concerned that some random (albeit attractive) guy turned her into some sort of freak?

"You had it inside of you," he said. How exactly did I "have it inside of me"? I'm just a random kid! Emilie handed the payment for her and Blue's meal to the server and made a mad dash away from the cafe and back onto her heavily offset route. As Blue and the sight of her first battle faded away, and she could see Mlle Lavoie's apartment building in the near distance, Emilie sighed. She thoughtlessly buzzed the apartment and waited for her customer. Her mind was consumed with her battle, and Blue, and the entire afternoon. When Mlle Lavoie answered her call, she barely noticed. She quickly scrambled to give the lady her order and apologize for being so late. She received her payment and thanked the woman before skating away down the street. Emilie quickly delivered her other order, and tried to make her way home with a clear mind.

As Emilie made it back to her family's store and exhaustedly stomped her way up into their apartment, she barely paid any attention to her sister calling to her. She wandered into her and her sister's shared room, and fell weightlessly onto her bed. With too many thoughts circling her brain, Emily took a deep breath and stared at the transformation device and cards which she held up over her head.

So… I'm a Pretty Cure...