Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And on one average day, Saki Hyuuga was about to learn the road she had paved for herself by her decision to trust the prince of darkness.

It had been an average Sunday morning; Saki had met up with Love and Yayoi for donut bites and gossip, when she began to hear a voice ringing in her ears.

“Come and find me…”

Saki stiffened up, and looked around. That voice certainly didn't come from Love or Yayoi. Who was talking to her?

“I know you can hear me…"

“Are you alright?” Yayoi prodded at Saki’s shoulder.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” mused Love.

Saki stood up from the table. “Excuse me for a minute, I…need the bathroom.” She slipped out of the room and out into the front yard, where she believed the voice was coming from.

“Oh, good, good. You’re here.”

Saki looked up, and spotted Joker waiting for her, sitting in a tree branch. “Oh. Hi.” She took a cautious step back.

“So, little Bloom…” Joker swung one leg over the other. “You’ve proven yourself a worthy ally on the quest to defeat the Masked Shadow.”

“Uh, yeah?” Saki shrugged, agreeing even though she was very confused.

“So, I wanted to ask you something.” Joker hopped down from the branch and circled around Saki. “Have you ever felt like something was unfair? Like you were slighted in some way, and no one did a thing to help you?"

"Why do you want to know?" Saki asked in a slightly accusatory tone.

"Oh..." Joker briefly stumbled, but played it off as an intentional skip. "I was just curious."

“Well…” Saki wasn’t sure if she should tell him, but seeing the hypnotic look in his eyes, she couldn’t help but confess a story. “One time at softball practice, this total jerk hit me in the back with his bat, and no one did anything about it! I was sore for days after that!”

“I see.” Joker tried to draw more details out. “And what did you want to do to him?”

“I wanted to sock him in his stupid face!” Saki snapped.

“Good, good.” Joker grinned. “And do you still want to?"

“Of course!” Saki shouted. “He’s been a jerk to everyone since Year 2! He deserves it!”

With the negative energy pouring out of her, Saki had unwittingly created an angry life form, in the shape of a softball bat! “Akanbe!”

“Yipe!” Saki jumped; she hadn’t expected that to happen! Joker had disappeared on her, just before Yayoi and Love could come outside. “Oh no, I am not letting you get away! Let’s go! Triple Spiritual Power!”

Taking hands with Yayoi and Love, the three of them transformed into their Cure forms. “Shining golden flowers, rock paper scissors! Freshly picked, Cure Bloom! Cure Peace! Cure Peach!”

“Peace! Shock him!” Cure Bloom called as she leapt to kick the Akanbe.

“Huh?” Cure Peach was confused, allowing the Akanbe to disorient her with his big, loud stomps.

“Not you! Cure Peace!” Cure Bloom shouted. “Of all the Cures I could have helping me, it had to be the ones with the most similar names in the bunch!” 

“Come on!” Cure Peace spun around and put her hands together. “Peace Thunder!” She electrocuted the Akanbe, causing him to go up in flames and disintegrate into ash.

“Wow!” Cure Peach was amazed. “Where did that guy even come from?”

“I don’t know,” mused Cure Peace. “Everything was so quiet before.”

Cure Bloom said nothing. She didn’t want to admit that she was the one who had created that monster. How could it have even happened? She didn’t have any Bad Energy; did Joker create one for her?

As the three de-transformed and went back inside, Saki caught a glimpse of Joker watching her from behind a tree. He winked, and gave her an approving nod. A little rattled, Saki ducked inside without a reply.

She had many thoughts on her mind, but never once did she consider what this event meant for her future.

Chapter Text

Saki thought about what she had done all day. She hadn't meant to create that Akanbe; it just sort of…happened.

But then again, the problem was swiftly taken care of. No irreversible damage had been done. Nobody knew it was her who did it. And it did feel pretty good to get all that pent up anger out of her system. 

Whatever. She brushed it off. It was probably just a one time thing. No need to worry about it.

The next day, she discovered she was wrong.

She had gone out to the park that morning to see how the wildflowers were growing, when she felt that familiar ghostly presence sneaking up behind her. "Good morning~"

"Eep!" Saki nearly jumped out of her skin. "You scared me!"

"Oh, come, come, child, you don’t need to be afraid of me." Joker grinned. "We're allies, remember?"

He stepped to the side. "I'm certain you remember my daughter Maimiko." Sure enough, Maimiko was standing behind Joker, with the same blank, creepy look in her eyes she always had. "She's been looking for someone to play dolls with this morning."

Maimiko was holding two monochrome dolls; she handed the one with white hair to Saki. "Okay, I guess I can play with her." She got down to her knees and put on a high-pitched voice. "Hello, my name is Rosalind, what’s yours?"

Maimiko, being one of few words, did not give her doll a name. She instead flapped her doll's arms around in an angry fashion, until it began to conjure up Bad Energy. "Oh, good," cooed Joker, looking over the two. "You're getting along already."

The reassuring comment, mixed with the hypnotic trance of the Bad Energy, twisted Saki’s mind to agree. "Yes…we certainly are."

The Bad Energy took over the wildflowers that Saki had forgotten about entirely, and created a towering, pollen coated Akanbe. Before Saki could react, a flick of the cards swept her, Maimiko, and Joker all away.

Saki now found herself in the Bad End Kingdom, surrounded by darkness and red mist. Maimiko, holding both dolls, took Saki’s voice for a moment. "This doll's name is Snakeflower, not Rosalind. And this one is Deathberry."

"Such a creative little thing, isn't she?" Joker praised, before wincing and rubbing his temples.

Saki turned. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, fine. Just a headache." Joker entered the lair. "Admittedly, since our little tussle with the Masked Shadow, I haven't been in the best of health."

"Well, I mean…" Saki shrugged. "You did eat his soul."

"What other punishment could he deserve? He kidnapped my daughter." Joker lazed on a cozy sofa. "I can still hear his voice sometimes…ringing in my ear."

"Doesn't that freak you out?" Saki asked.

"What can he do?" Joker mocked. "He's completely powerless without his body. He can jeer all he wants, it doesn't free him from the belly of the beast."

"Wait." Saki paused. "It's not just your head? His soul is still alive inside your body?!"

"What else did you expect from such a heinous parasite as him? Now please, either begone or at least quiet down." Joker waved Saki off. "You know my head is aching."

Saki fake grinned, then stepped out of the room and whipped out her cell phone to message the group chat.

thatcrazysoftballgirl sent: the masked shadow is still alive! hes trapped in jokers stomach! (10:36 am)

But then, Bad Energy began to cloud around her, planting seeds of doubt in her head. Did the Cures really need to know that? Was the information of any use to them? Maybe it was supposed to be her little secret. 

So she deleted the message.

Chapter Text

"That was exhausting."

Nodoka flumped down on the couch, completely beat. "I thought we'd never beat that Akanbe."

"Tell me about it," griped Erika. "First Yayoi and Love get swamped, now us."

"Do you think the Bad End Kingdom might be up to something?" Honoka suggested. "If it turns into a pattern, we may be facing some sort of attack."

"Don't say it!" Erika freaked out. "You'll jinx it!"

"Erika, jinxing it is when you say something good is going to happen," said Nodoka. 

Spying Saki coming down the sidewalk out the window, Honoka got up from her seat and went to talk to her. “Saki! You had best keep your eyes open; there have been Akanbes popping up everywhere. We think the Bad End Kingdom is planning a big attack!”

However, while she was visiting the Bad End Kingdom, Saki had been exposed to a lot of Bad Energy. And when I, the wonderful narrator, say that, I mean a lot. Far more than any person not native to the kingdom should reasonably have in their system. And as such, it came with some side effects; notably, that she didn’t care much for her Cure friends. “I’m kinda busy right now,” she sneered. She stuck her nose in the air and walked away. Honoka simply stared as Saki disappeared from sight. What was that? Saki had never acted like that before.

Later in the day, after hearing the story from Honoka, Yuri paid a visit to the Hyuuga household, with Hime tagging along behind her. 

Knock knock. Saki answered. "What?"

"Honoka tells us you've not been acting like yourself," said Yuri. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine," insisted Saki, and she closed the door with another word.

"Oh!" Hime huffed. "How rude!"

Yuri shook her head. "This is very unlike Saki..." 

That evening, Wolfrun was wandering aimlessly around the Bad End lair, when he came across Maimiko, drawing something with her set of charcoal pencils. “Hey, kiddo,” he said, kneeling down next to her, “what have you got there?”

Maimiko looked up, and showed him her paper. On it were some stick figure-esque drawings of herself, Joker, and Poisony, standing on top of what looked like a pile of bones. “Aw, is that you and your family?” 

Seeing Akaoni in the hallway, Maimiko snatched his voice to explain. “This is me, Papa, and Mama after we defeat all the Pretty Cures and take over the world.”

“Oh, wow, that’s pretty cool,” praised Wolfrun.

Maimiko hopped down from her little stool. “I want to show Papa.”

“Oh! He’s in his room,” said Wolfrun. “But if you want to see him, you have to be quiet and gentle, okay? He hasn’t been feeling well recently.”

Maimiko, after putting Akaoni’s voice back where she found it, picked up her drawing and went to find her papa. She found him in his quarters, sitting in bed with his hands to his temples. “Shut up, you infernal beast…”

Maimiko climbed up onto the bed next to him. Joker jumped a bit when he saw her. “Oh…it’s you, my darling. Papa’s been dealing with a headache, alright?” 

Maimiko put her drawing down on the bedside table and curled up in her father’s lap. Joker gently held her, while massaging his head. Bouncing around in his mind, he could hear the Masked Shadow’s voice over and over, threatening him. “You’ll regret what you did…regret it…”

Realizing Maimiko was now here, Joker asked a favour of her. “Please…take the voice out of my head. I can’t stand it anymore…”

Maimiko cocked her head, but still agreed. She focused her energy and took the Masked Shadow’s voice. Joker heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you… I never expected his soul to live on and infect my body in this way…”

“I don’t like this voice.” Maimiko took the voice bubble and dissipated it into Bad Energy, which Joker gratefully breathed in. 

“Oh, you’re such a wonderful little one,” Joker cooed, petting Maimiko’s hair.

Majorina pushed the door open to check on the two, with Poisony not far behind her. “What is going on? Are you alright?”

“Fine, fine,” mumbled Joker. “I feel much better now.”

“Good, good,” said Majorina. “I’ll leave you be, then.”

"Come along, my sour one," soothed Poisony, picking Maimiko up. "Let your papa rest."

At night, Saki was just about to go to bed for the night, when she heard little flitting from outside the window. She opened it up, and spotted Chypre and Coffret flying around and dancing in the night sky. "It's so beautiful out, desu!" Chypre squealed.

"I know, desu!" Coffret answered. "Perfect for a flight, desu!"

As Saki watched the two, some of her animosity from the Bad Energy exposure started to die down. She smiled, and curled back up in bed feeling peaceful.

Chapter Text

The next morning, when Saki was stalking up the steps to school, Miki stopped her and pulled her aside. "Hey, what happened with you and Honoka yesterday? She said you weren't acting like yourself, and were super rude to her."

"Huh?" Saki hadn't remembered that; her head was too clouded with Bad Energy. "I don't exactly know, but, I'm sorry." She hung her head. 

"How would you not know?" Miki sighed and flicked her hair. "Whatever; I suppose, as long as you apologized."

That afternoon, Saki was sitting in class, trying to do a math worksheet, but there was simply too much going on around her to concentrate. The boys were being loud and obnoxious…the sun was shining directly into her eyes…her accessories were pulling her hair…

“Listen, class,” said Shinohara-sensei, “remember that we have a test this Friday, so I expect you to have finished all the questions in your textbooks by Thursday.”

Textbook? She had barely finished the actual schoolwork!

“Check this out.” She heard the boys jeering to each other. They were laughing at a crude image drawn in their textbook by a previous student from years past. “It’s a wiener!”

Saki squeezed her eyes shut as she began to tremble. Shut up, shut up, shut up…

“Look at that giant scale.” One of the boys had taken out his science textbook instead, and was showing the others a picture of a huge scale meant to weigh whales. “We could weigh Saki there!”

That’s it. Saki clenched her fists and stood up from her seat. “Miss, may I please go to the bathroom?”

“Of course,” said Shinohara-sensei. “Take the hall pass with you.”

Saki picked up the hall pass from the front of the class and exited the room. Once she was alone in the girls’ restroom, she turned the worksheet that she had smuggled out of the classroom and wrote an angry message on the back of it.

“This class is so dumb, I don’t understand anything, the boys are the worst and so annoying, I wish I could not go to school and just be a professional softball player already, I HATE THIS!”

Letting the paper float into the air and out the window, the paper twisted and molded itself into a huge Akanbe! “Akanbe!”

Back in the classroom, Mai looked out the window and saw the Akanbe. As he stomped around, the class jumped, and started to panic. Among the chaos, Mai slipped out of the classroom, and pulled her Mix Commune out of her pocket.

“Mai!” Manatsu and Sango came pounding down the staircase. “Wait for us!” Once outside, the three of them took hands. “Triple Tropical Change!”

The three of them took on the forms of Cure Egret, Cure Summer, and Cure Coral, and leapt into the air to fight the Akanbe. Cure Summer and Cure Coral launched Cure Egret into the air, and Cure Egret came hurtling down in a major feathery kick attack.

Cure Summer took on the power of the sun to burn the Akanbe up, with Cure Egret and Cure Coral using bright sparkles to dispose of the ashes. Cure Egret thought it was odd that Saki was nowhere to be found. It was until she had de-transformed and returned to the classroom that Saki reappeared and handed the complete math worksheet to Shinohara-sensei.

In the evening, after school, Saki had laid down for a post-homework nap when she found herself waking up in the Bad End Kingdom. Maimiko was dressing up her dolls on the table as Akaoni watched over her, while Joker was asleep on the nearby sofa. “I see Snakeflower and Deathberry have made a reappearance,” she mused as she took a seat at the table.

“Yeah,” said Akaoni. “Real cute, isn’t it?” He glanced over to Joker for a moment. “Play quietly…he’s not feeling well and needs the rest.”

Maimiko passed Deathberry to Akaoni, kept Snakeflower for herself, and handed a third doll with gaunt white skin to Saki. “Who’s this?”

“She calls her Funerella,” explained Akaoni. As the three of them played with the dolls together, Akaoni began to question Saki. “So, you’re the kid Joker’s been training to fight on our side?”

“Well…sort of.” Saki shifted in her seat. “Yeah, I’ve made a couple of Akanbes, but only to let off steam when I get really, really angry.”

“Feels real good, doesn’t it?” Akaoni chuckled. “You’re surprisingly good at it for a newbie.” 

Before Saki could respond, Joker sat up and wheezed, coughing harshly. Akaoni leapt up and went to his side. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He patted his back. “How about I get you some water? Does that sound good?” 

Joker weakly nodded, and curled back up on the sofa. Once Akaoni had left the room, Maimiko looked into Saki’s eyes. “What a sucker.”

She returned Joker’s voice to his throat, and Joker sat up, chuckling. “You see that? That’s manipulation. You think it’s hard, but you pulled it off quite well today.”

“I did?” Saki cocked her head.

“Of course,” Joker praised. “You used the bathroom excuse well to make your little partner do all the work.”

“I didn’t think of it that way.” Saki mused.

Hearing Akaoni’s steps returning, Maimiko took Joker’s voice back, and Joker resumed his weak, pitiful state. Akaoni had Joker nurse on a bottle of water. “There you go… this should help your sore throat.” He turned around, and put a bottle of purple juice and some cups on the table. “These are for us.”

Saki and Maimiko both had a glass. Saki was surprised that they had grape juice here. What she didn’t know is that she was gulping down sweetened Bad Energy, which invaded her mind, and furthered her distrust and spite towards the people she once called her friends. By the time she finished her glass, she didn’t even remember Mai’s birthday any longer.

And that was a problem.

Chapter Text

"There's nothing wrong with this, right?" Saki tried to assure herself as she paced in circles around her room. "I'm just blowing off steam. And they always get defeated in the end."

The Bad Energy in her brain made her feel particularly vindictive. "Besides, they deserve it for being so obnoxious! It's just a taste of their own medicine!"

"Saki?" A little voice came from the doorway; Minori was standing there in her pyjamas, holding a copy of Clementine's Letter. "Mom and Dad are both busy, so will you read me this story before bed?"

Turning around, her expression set on a resting bitch face, Saki silently got up and shut the door right in her sister’s face. Minori simply blinked. "...Okay, bye." She trudged back to her own room, dragging the book behind her.

"Hey, have you fellas noticed anything off about Saki recently, yade?" Tarte asked, flicking his tail. "Cause if you ask me, she’s been acting super weird, yade."

"Oh, I get what you mean, mepo." Mepple put his hands behind his head. "Honoka tried to talk to her the other day, and she just walked away like we were strangers, mepo! How mepo-rude was that?!"

"Kururun?" Kururun cocked her head. 

"I know," griped Candy. "But what can we do about it, kuru?"

"Correction, rabi." Rabirin interrupted her. "What is Flappy going to do about it, rabi? He's her mascot, so she's his rabi-sponsibility."

"Hey!" Flappy was indignant. "What makes you think I can fix this all by myself, lapi?!"

"You heard her, desu." Coffret flumped his head down. "You're her mascot, desu. You know her the best out of any of us, desu."

"Yeah, and it was my partner she was rude to, desu wa!" Ribbon huffed.

"Well, yeah, lapi." Flappy put his paws on his hips. "But this is beyond Saki’s normal levels of weirdness, lapi. I can’t even blame her period for this one, lapi."

"Ooh, it must be really bad then, kuru," squeaked Candy. 

Joker breathed heavily in between dry heaves. This was awful. He was out of breath even though he had hardly moved, and if he stopped heaving in and out so deeply, he would just make the tightness in his chest worse. He wanted to go back to bed after this was all over, but he hardly wanted to get up at all. He supposed he would have to call for help.

"Akaoniiiiii…" Joker’s moan of pain stretched out into a whine. "I don't feel well."

"For real this time?" Akaoni asked in a snarky tone. "Cause earlier, you were faking it cause you were too lazy to get up and get your own drink-"

Akaoni cut his own sentence off when he heard loud retching and splattering from the bathroom. He burst in to find Joker slumped down over the toilet, with jet black vomit smeared on his lips. Joker weakly looked up. "Told you."

"Okay." Akaoni gently lifted him up into his arms. "Okay, I believe you. Let's get you to bed." He brought the skinny git back to his quarters.

"That blasted Shadow…" Joker muttered. "Even after his defeat, he continues to torture me."

"Shh-shh-shh, it's gonna be okay." Akaoni held his hand. "You've got that Maki girl exactly where you want her."

"Her name is Saki, you fool," growled Joker, "she's not a sushi roll."

Akaoni ignored this. "Once she's fully on our side, you can perform the Bad End Ritual and be rid of his soul for good."

"I hope you’re right about that." Joker went limp. "He's making my very existence agony."

Akaoni picked Joker right back up and cradled him. "There, there…we're still here. As long as we're a team, you don’t have to suffer alone." He patted his back. "Do you want to talk about your feelings?"

Joker cocked an eyebrow. "When have I ever wanted to do that in my life? Especially to a complete twat such as you?"

Akaoni shrugged. "I just thought it would help you feel better..."

Joker growled. "I value my dignity far too much."

"Oh, listen to that," said Majorina from the doorway, "he wants to be a big man, acting like he's better than the rest of us."

"He probably doesn't want anyone to know how much he cries at night because he knows he'll never be cool enough for his precious Pierrot!" Wolfrun cackled.

Joker glared at Akaoni. Akaoni put his hands up, dropping him back onto his bed. "Hey! I had no control over that!" 

"Go on now, scatter." Joker could hear Poisony's voice now. "You know how ill he is."

Seeing Poisony appear in the doorway, Akaoni leapt up. "Don't worry! I'll make it up to you! I swear!" And he ran off out of the room.

"Now what was that all about?" Poisony asked as she slithered under the covers.

"I don't know," grumbled Joker. "All I wanted was to be put back in bed..."

"There, there, my bitter one..." Poisony gently held her lover boy. "Don't you stress so much about them. Just keep calm; it will soothe your tummy."

Joker heaved a deep sigh, and relaxed as he nuzzled closely to the love of his wretched life. Everything was quiet as the Bad End Kingdom retired for the night.

Until someone ripped an extraordinarily loud fart that echoed throughout the lair.

"Seriously?!"

"Come on, Kabaton, right when we're going to sleep!"

"Oh, sweet Pierrot, it smells like sheep diarrhoea!"

As Chiyu was getting into bed, Pegitan was pacing circles around on her bedstand. "Oh, this is really bad, pe. Saki's acting super weird, and no one knows why, pe!"

"Pegitan?" Chiyu tried to attract her mascot's attention.

"What if she really is turning over to the dark side, pe?" Pegitan asked. "We'll lose a Cure and gain an enemy, pe!"

"Pegitan..." Chiyu said his name once again.

"Then everyone else will turn against us and we'll be the only ones left, pe!" Pegitan hopped from one foot to the other.

"Pegitan!" Chiyu shouted.

Pegitan stopped dead in his tracks. "Yeah?"

"Saki's too innocent, she wouldn't turn against any of us." Chiyu turned the light off. "See, this is why I don't want you staying up late. You get paranoid at night."

"Alright," Hitomu sighed as he crawled into bed, "the baby's asleep." He cuddled up to Rosemary.

Rosemary looked a little worried as he nuzzled with his lover. "The girls have all been in a big tizzy recently...they're worried that little Saki is going to leave our side and become a villain."

"A villain?" Hitomu asked. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know," said Rosemary. "Saki's a sweet girl. She would be the last one to do such a thing."

"Exactly." Hitomu comforted Rosemary. "And she helped you rescue our little girl. That's the important part."

Rosemary yawned. "I suppose you're right..."

Chapter Text

When the sun rose in the morning, Saki was ready to head off to the Magical Library for Tuesday morning story time for the babies. However, when she passed by the park, she heard two loud voices shouting. 

“There she is, the one and only Saki Hyuuga!”

“Step right up for the Bad Energy Boot Camp!”

She veered off the path and looked towards the park entrance, where she saw Akaoni and Kabaton waiting for her to come over. “If you’re going to work on our side, you need to be trained with the best ways to fight!”

“Okay…” Saki was confused and a little suspicious. “I thought Joker was training me.”

“Normally, yes,” explained Akaoni, “but, well, remember how he kinda ate a guy’s soul a while ago?”

“Of course,” said Saki, “I watched him do it.”

“Yeah…” Akaoni looked a little sheepish. “That soul is really not agreeing with him, so Majorina’s put him on bed rest until further notice.”

“That’s why we’re here!” Kabaton exclaimed. “To train you in the meantime while he recovers!”

“Let’s start!” Akaoni summoned a packet of Bad Energy softballs. “Batter up!”

“Alright!” Saki pulled out her trusty softball bat. Akaoni wound up and threw her a screwball, which she knocked right out of the park.

At the Magical Library, Mai was waiting anxiously outside for Saki. She glanced at her watch over and over again. “Come on, where is she…”

“You should come inside with us,” said Kokone, coming up the front steps with Kanade. “It’s getting chilly outside.”

“I think it might rain,” added Kanade.

“I know, I know,” Mai waved them off. “But Saki should have been here by now.”

“Saki knows the way to the library, right?” Kokone took Mai’s hand to bring her inside out of the cold. “She’ll still find you when she gets here.”

“She might even be sick or something.” Kanade followed them. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Mai sighed. “I suppose you’re right… Ai-chan will be so disappointed, though. Saki promised her she was going to start reading her Peter Rabbit.”

“Well, the rest of us are here,” soothed Kanade. “We can read it to her.”

Mai was still hesitant. "Come on," said Kanade, "I brought brownies."

Mai, successfully having her sweet tooth appealed to, relented and agreed to come inside. "Oh, alright, here I come."

In the park, Kabaton threw Saki a fastball, which she hit over his head and into a tree. "Shoot!" She griped, putting her bat down and climbing up the tree to retrieve the ball.

"So," began Akaoni, approaching the tree, "do you have any problems with your fellow Cures?"

"Yeah," jeered Kabaton. "We wanna know exactly who you wanna go after!"

"Well..." Saki thought for a minute, but when she felt Bad Energy washing over her, she knew just what to say. "First, there's Miki, she's such a stuck-up snoot! And she gets boys to leave her alone by telling them her brother is her boyfriend, gross!"

She got down from the tree and continued. "And then there's Ageha! She can't keep her hugs to herself and doesn't know when to give it up!"

She breezed right past Akaoni and Kabaton as she continued rambling. "Oh, and did I mention how annoying Hinata can be? She never shuts up, and her fashion sense is terrible!"

Her face started to flush with anger. "And don't get me started on perfect little Mana! She makes all of us look bad by comparison! Gah, I just wish she'd go away!"

Mai watched out the window as little rain drops began to sprinkle down. "Saki still hasn't shown up, has she?" Ran asked. 

Mai sighed. "No, she hasn't."

"Well, I'm sure she'll turn up eventually." Ran winked. "Ran-Ran knows these things!"

"Ran-Ran also needs to put all these cookbooks back where she found them." Ellen, with an eyebrow cocked and a mischievous smile, dumped a stack of books into Ran's hands. Latte trotted up behind her carrying one last book.

Ran chuckled awkwardly. "Guilty as charged!"

Ruru, hearing this from nearby, accidentally kicked herself into analysis mode. "Probability of guilt; eighty five percent."

Ran continued to laugh as she walked away. Ruru breezed past her to talk to Mai and Ellen. "Has Yui been speaking with you recently? She got back in touch with Seraphina."

"The dimenson hopper?" Ellen straighted her back. "Where is she now?"

"She's been visiting the kingdom of DunBroch." Ruru showed them a SnapChat screenshot Yui had sent her, where Seraphina was climbing up a mountain side with DunBroch's princess, Merida.

"Oh, that Seraphina," giggled Mai. "You just never know where she'll end up next!"

"Hagyu!" Hugtan pulled herself up on the chair Mai was sitting on, and put a board book in her lap.

"Huh?" Mai looked down. "Oh, of course I can read this to you."

Back in the park, the Bad Energy dome over Akaoni, Kabaton, and Saki kept them warm as they moved on to running sprints. By this point, Saki’s body could detect Bad Energy and recognize it as a good thing, making her more aggressive on the field. She charged through, blasting across the grass like a speeding bullet. “Let’s go!” Akaoni and Kabaton cheered her on.

“Who needs sprints?!” Saki was starting to get a little too big for her britches. “Let’s kick things up a notch!” She began to form a giant, swirling vortex to create an Akanbe.

But before the Akanbe could take on a full-fledged form, a blast of black lightning struck it and dissipated it back into Bad Energy. The dome shattered, and while Akaoni and Kabaton scattered for cover, Saki looked around for the source of her failure.

“So you’re the one making all these new Akanbes!” Nagisa gripped Saki’s wrist tightly. “You are coming with me, missy.”

Chapter Text

Nagisa pulled Saki by the arm to the Magical Library, where the other Cures were gathered. "Here we are, girls." She shoved Saki forward. "This is the cause of our Akanbe problems."

"What?" Kanade put her board copy of Feminist Baby down in her lap. "Nagisa, you know that sounds completely ridiculous, right?"

"Eru!" Elle-chan, not wanting her storytime interrupted, pulled the book away from Kanade.

"I saw her!" Nagisa insisted. "She was in the field, with Akaoni and Kabaton, and she started using Bad Energy to create an Akanbe!"

"Mm…" Kokone turned to the other girls. "Nozomi, did you see any Bad Energy coming from the field?"

"Not me." Nozomi shook her head. "I've been here all morning."

"Mmhmm." Kokone looked over at Miyuki. "How about you?" 

"Not a peep from any of our baddies." Miyuki didn't even look up from her book. "And if someone from the Bad End Kingdom was here, believe me, I would be the first to know."

"Four against one, Nagisa." Kokone looked unimpressed. "You better have some sort of proof if you want us to believe you."

"Well- I- No-" Nagisa sputtered, trying to come up with some way to prove her point.

Remembering what Joker had said to her about manipulation, Saki put on her best begging hands. "Please believe me, Koko-chan! I didn't do anything wrong! Honest!"

"Oh, don't fuss about it so much." Kokone took Saki under her arm. "We wouldn't blame you for something if we didn't have a reason to." She took her to read with the other Cures and babies.

Nagisa snarled. She knew exactly what she saw, and she had to prove it to somebody. “Honoka! You believe me, right?!”

“Hmm…” Honoka thought for a moment. “Saki has been acting a little strange recently, but I don’t think she’d be one to turn over to the bad side and create those big monsters we always fight together.” She turned to return to the shelves. “I think you might be getting paranoid. Maybe you need more sleep at night.”

In complete disbelief, Nagisa turned around to see Amane sorting through some books. “What about you? Do you believe me?”

Amane squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t want to.” She pushed past her. “Saki would never take the path I once walked.” And she disappeared from the room.

Nagisa went red in the face as she simply stared in disbelief. Didn't anyone believe her? Mepple poked his head out of her pocket. "So, Operation Library Crash didn't go so well, mepo."

"Sh-shut up!" Nagisa scolded, shoving her Card Commune into her bag and stalking off.

Saki sat down on the carpet. Ai-chan, pulling herself up on the little shelf of kiddie books, reached out a little hand to her. Seeing her, Saki remembered her promise, and looked for the library’s copy of Peter Rabbit to open up. Reading the sweet little book to the sweet little baby countered the Bad Energy, and some of Saki’s previous interest in her friends began to return.

"I'm surprised kids these days still even know Peter Rabbit," quipped Hibiki as she looked over from the window seat, where she was reading The Little Prince to Anna. "He's pretty old school."

Saki rolled her eyes. "Please, your book is probably just as old."

"Is not," insisted Hibiki. "Your book's author was already dead by the time mine came out."

"Can you stop fighting?" Kanade scolded them. "This is a library."

"Whatever." Hibiki stood up. "I gotta get out of this seat, my ass is on fire."

"And stop swearing, too!" Kanade called after her. "There are little kids here!"

Saki chuckled. "Classic Hibiki..." She looked back to her book.

"She's getting so fast...I might not be able to keep up with her soon." Saki turned around to see Rosemary watching Chiho crawl across the carpet, with Hugtan pulling herself along to catch up.

Saki smiled. "You had better take some running lessons from Nao, before she can outrun you!"

"No worries," chuckled Nao, passing by with Yui. "I'm ready whenever she is!"

"Ai!" Ai-chan tugged on the book cover, tired of waiting for the stair to start back up again. 

Saki turned back to her. "Oh, alright, I'll keep going."

However, just when she was about to turn the next page, there came a crash from outside. Through the window, the girls could see a giant Ranborg. “Holy crap, it’s a giant Ranborg!” Sora shouted. “Let’s go fight it!”

As the other Cures flooded out of the room, and the babies entered a crawlspace to watch the fight from safety, Saki heard a whisper through the window. “Hey! Kid! Let’s get outta here!” Akaoni beckoned for her to come with him. 

When she took his big, giant hand, the two were transported to the Bad End Kingdom. “Boy, that was a close one,” said Akaoni, wiping his forehead. “We nearly lost ya there!”

Joker was once again laying down on the sofa, groaning from the pain, with a cold cloth to his forehead and a hot water bottle pressed against his middle. Poisony sat by his side, holding his hand. She tensed up a bit when she saw Saki, but relaxed when she recognized who she was. “Oh…I thought you were that blasted Nagisa for a moment.”

“Aw, do we really look that much alike?” Saki whined. “Everyone says we’re so similar.”

“I mean, not really,” said Akaoni, looking her over. “You have more of a suntan, longer hair, and it’s more brown than red, and your eyes are bigger…”

"And she doesn't bring that blasted Mepple everywhere she goes," grumbled Wolfrun. "Man, I hate that little brat.

"He's not even cute," mocked Kabaton. "I thought that was the top requirement to be a Pretty Puke mascot."

"Why do you care?" Wolfrun snarled. "Seen yourself recently?"

"What, you think I'm too evil to love puppies?" Kabaton argued back. "I'm a badass, not a heartless monster!"

"We get it, you're too afraid of Cure Earth to mess with Latte." Majorina shooed the men away. "Now quit yelling in the house."

Saki knelt down next to Joker. “I remembered exactly what you said about manipulation. The Cures don’t suspect me at all.”

“Good, good,” grinned Joker. “It brings me joy that you can at least stand in my place while I recover.” He shifted himself up a bit. “I understand that I’m in a bit of an ironic state, being too warm to function, but needing heat to take away the incessant cramps…”

Feeling a weight on her shoulder, Saki looked to the side, and saw Maimiko leaning on her. Joker smirked at the two. “There, there, my girls…I’ll be alright.”

Saki, surrounded by Bad Energy once again, felt drawn to Joker, like she really was his daughter too. Poisony invited both girls to sit on the couch with her, and the four of them all bonded together over reading her book about the history of vampires.

When Nagisa got home, missing the Ranborg fight entirely, she was still fuming with anger. Ryouta looked over from the couch. "What's your problem?"

"I...Saki...girls...d'oh!" Nagisa could hardly speak, she was so mad.

Ryouta handed her a throw pillow. "Here. Throw this at the wall."

Nagisa took the pillow and chucked it right into the wall. "For heaven’s sake," scolded Rie from the stairs, "Nagisa, don’t throw things in the house, and Ryouta, don't encourage her."

Late in the evening, while Saki and Maimiko were colouring together, Akaoni came around to give Joker a quick checkup. "You're still very warm...your chest doesn't sound much better either."

Seeing his sour expression, he put a hand under his face. "Aw, chin up, oni. You've got all of us by your side; surely that must make you feel better."

Joker scowled, and pushed Akaoni’s hand away. "Come on," Akaoni coaxed, "I know I can make you laugh."

"No chance," snarled Joker.

"Can so! Watch." He turned around to Saki. "Hey Saki, guess what."

"What?" Saki asked. 

"Ass."

Saki snorted, and burst out laughing. Joker rolled his eyes. "You'll need a lot more than grade school naughtiness to get a chortle out of me."

Akaoni thought for a bit, then turned to Maimiko. "Hey, kid, you know how I can turn that lettuce in the fridge into a Caesar salad without any other ingredients?"

Maimiko cocked her head; a wordless question. 

"Stab it in the head twenty-three times!" Akaoni did jazz hands, as if to add "ta da!". Successfully appealing to her morbid sense of humor, Maimiko grinned.

Seeing Joker was still looking cranky, Akaoni huffed. "Come on! I put a lot of thought into those ones!"

Joker stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You, thinking! That's a riot!" He shrieked with laughter until he devolved into a fit of coughing. 

"Wow." Akaoni stared. "Impressive. I got him to bark." He knelt over and patted Joker's back as he hacked and wheezed. "It's okay, oni, get it out of your system."

Joker drew in a deep, shaky breath after he finished coughing, then flumped back over, exhausted. Akaoni picked him up off the couch. "Here, let's get you back to bed."

Chapter Text

"How many times do I have to tell you to refill the water in the coffee machine when you're done with it?!"

"Shut up, shart blaster!"

Saki opened her eyes and found herself still in the Bad End Kingdom. Wolfrun and Akaoni could be heard arguing in the other room, while Majorina sat next to her on the couch with a cup of tea. "Good morning, child. If you're concerned about the noise from the kitchen, get used to it."

Saki sat up. "I thought for sure I went home last night…"

"Don't worry about it," mused Majorina. "I sent out a Bad End Saki to take your place for the night, so your family wouldn't be suspicious."

"Since when did you have that outfit?" Daisuke asked as Bad End Saki packed up her bag to leave for the day. She was wearing a navy blue romper with a black bat on the front, a black undershirt and leggings, and black ankle boots. In her hair was a black scrunchy and a black barrette with a little blue skull attached to it.

"Since now," said Bad End Saki in a deadpan tone, not even turning around.

"I hope you know I expect you to watch that pony movie with your sister after school," said Saori strictly. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you've been rude to her all week."

"Whatever." Bad End Saki left the house, not caring about what the adults were saying.

Wolfrun and Akaoni’s argument moved into the living room. "Living with you is like living with a giant stinky warthog!"

"At least warthogs are quieter and don't yell at me all the time!"

"Enough!" Majorina snapped. "It was already hard enough to put Joker to sleep last night, we don’t need you two buffoons waking him up!"

Too late: Joker stumbled out of his quarters, trembling and wrapped up in a bathrobe. "What is with all the racket out here?"

Saki cringed at his sickly appearance. "You look like a zombie." 

"Like I've said," said Majorina. "The Masked Shadow’s soul is taking its toll on him. Now come on, back to bed with you."

As Majorina took Joker back to bed, Akaoni decided it wasn't worth it to fight over coffee, and started his agenda for the day. "Okay, so we're gonna try summoning an Akanbe in the park again, and hopefully we won't get interrupted this time. But we need Kabaton." He shouted very loudly. "Kabaton! Hurry up!"

"Am I not allowed to take a crap in peace around here?!"

"Never mind," Saki grumbled. "I'll do it myself."

Out in the field, after making absolutely certain that no Cures, especially Nagisa, were around, Saki channeled her energy to create a magnificent Akanbe.

"I am not like Nagisa Misumi. I am my own unique person with my own goals and interests. I do not like lacrosse. I do not cobra twist my sister. And I absolutely do not bully my mascot! I am not Nagisa Misumi!"

"Saki!" Flappy came bustling into the field! "You're making a terrible mistake, lapi! Creating Akanbes won't help you deal with your emotions in a healthy manner!"

"Oh, who asked you?!" Despite her previous quip about treating her mascot well, Saki’s angry Energy sent Flappy blasting off into the sky. From the ground came a great Akanbe who looked like a softball. 

Saki began to laugh and laugh. Now, it was not just Bad Energy corrupting her mind, but power as well. Now that she could create Akanbes with such ease and strength, she was practically unbeatable!

"Let's Charge! Triple Mix!" Akira, Iona, and Minami all took hands to transform as they were sent in to battle the new Akanbe. "The princesses of strength, love, and hope, Cure Chocolat! Cure Fortune! Cure Mermaid!"

"Hop to it!" Cure Chocolat leapt into the air and began a fisticuffs fight with the Akanbe, battling at full speed and high energy.

"Pretty Cure!" Minami charged up for an attack, her Cure uniform transforming into a beautiful ballgown. "Mermaid Ripple!"

Getting a giant torrent of rain to the face, the Akanbe became waterlogged, allowing Cure Fortune to take over with her finisher. Shaking her bracelet, she cried "Pretty Cure, Stardust Shoot!" A giant star appeared, which she punched towards her target.

"Akanbe!" The Akanbe rasped as it was purified and exploded.

Cure Chocolat, Cure Fortune, and Cure Mermaid all landed one by one. "Another fight in the records," mused Cure Fortune.

"I did it!" Saki came charging into the Bad End lair. "I made an Akanbe all by myself! And no one caught me!"

"Hey, good for you!" Wolfrun high-fived her. 

"Such wonderful craftsmanship!" Poisony praised. "And stealthy too!"

Akaoni and Kabaton lifted her up on their shoulders. "She's really going places!"

"Will you all quit your yapping?!" Majorina snapped. "Joker is trying to rest!"

"Oh." The four all settled down. "Sorry." 

"Saki…" Majorina began. "Your Akanbe creation skills have developed quite nicely. I'd say you're roughly at a passing level. Good for distractions, but you'll need more training to create a truly formidable foe." She handed her a glass bottle of Bad Energy. "In the meantime, you may see Joker and give him his medicine."

Saki took the bottle and cautiously approached the door to Joker’s quarters. She knocked and winced, expecting something to jump out at her. Instead, the door slowly creaked open. "Come in."

Saki entered, and found Joker lying in bed, looking frail and thin. "I hear you've progressed well with your creation of Akanbes." He rasped as Saki handed him the bottle. "Good…but your training isn't over yet. If you truly desire our dark power for yourself, you'll need to impress me."

"Impress you?" Saki cocked her head. "How do I do that?"

"Does it matter?" Joker grinned as he stuck a sharp fingernail into the bottle's cork and pulled it out. "Do what you must; as long as you meet my standards of satisfaction, I'll consider your training complete. Then we may proceed with the Bad End Ritual." He sipped the Bad Energy medicine.

The door creaked once again. Saki turned to see Maimiko peeking in. "Oh, you wish to snuggle with your papa, hm?" Maimiko crawled onto the bed and cozied up to Joker. "Indeed, you do."

Because of the corruption eating away at her psyche, Saki found herself drawn close as well. Seeing this, Joker extended an arm. "There's room for one more in this nasty little family."

So Saki agreed, and curled up next to her newly found papa and sister. In this moment, she felt warm. Invited. Like she belonged.

Not like anything was wrong.

Chapter Text

When the morning came again, Saki’s eyes fluttered open. No one else in the lair was awake yet. She hauled herself out of bed to begin her day. “Okay,” she muttered to herself, “how do you impress the prince of darkness?”

She stepped around in circles, thinking to herself. This is the person who’s taken so many hostage in their own misery, nearly caused the destruction of all that’s good in the world, eaten the soul of one nearly as evil as he. How in the world could she be expected to impress him?

Hearing a moan, she turned around, where she saw Joker shifting in his sleep, writhing in his own agony. That soul must really be getting to him. Well, she couldn’t leave him like this. She went to find a few things before she left for her mission. She picked up a thermometer from the bathroom, a cold cloth from the linen closet, and a glass of apple juice from the kitchen.

“Okay, let’s see how well I can do this without waking him up…” Seeing that the thermometer was marked “for under arms”, she slid it in right under his sleeve, and after it was set, she found his body temperature to be 54 degrees Celsius. “Okay…that’s probably just because he’s not fully human.”

As she set the cold cloth on his forehead, he jumped and sputtered. “Huh? Wha? What’s going on?!”

“Oh!” Saki nearly fell over. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was just trying to cool you down; you’re warmer than even the hottest summer days.”

Joker, disoriented, looked around, and saw the thermometer and apple juice on the bedside table. “What’s this?” 

“Well, apple juice makes me feel better when I feel sick,” explained Saki. "Go on, drink some." She picked up the glass and handed it to him, insisting he take a sip.

Joker had a small sip to make Saki happy. "There we go, that's better." She draped a black cloak over her shoulders and put the hood up. “You can go back to sleep now. If you need your juice refilled, ask Akaoni.” And she disappeared from the lair.

Out in the cold, cloudy city, Saki watched over the people below from the rooftops, looking for something that would tip her off, and give her energy to create an Akanbe. Spotting Rin walking down the sidewalk with Ako by her side, taking her to her piano lessons, she noticed an annoyed look on Rin’s face. She listened closely to what she was saying. 

“I swear, living with twin five year olds is like living in a zoo,” grumbled Rin. “They’re never quiet unless they’re asleep.”

“They can’t be that bad,” said Ako. “They’re only little.”

“I know, I know.” Rin put her hands behind her head. “I love them a lot. They can just be a bit much sometimes.” 

“She’s having sibling issues,” mused Saki. “I can relate.” She focused her attention on her, trying to pick out a sense of Bad Energy from her.

“I’m just glad they’ll be spending the weekend away at Grandma’s,” sighed Rin. “That way, I can have some of the girls over on Saturday without any disruptions.”

"What are you going to do together?" Ako asked. 

"Setsuna's going to show us how to do Dutch braids," gushed Rin. "She says they'll make us look more badass. Then I'll show it to Ai when she comes home! She'll look so cute!"

“What?” Saki snarled, and tried to force some Bad Energy out of Rin. She got a spark, and drew it out, to create a proper Akanbe. 

“Akanbe!” The Akanbe, skinny with Rin’s red hair on top, stomped around, stumbling and trying not to fall over. Saki growled; she was disappointed in the Akanbe’s weak state and clumsiness. So she took off, in search of some stronger energy.

“Yipe!” Ako jumped when she saw the Akanbe. “We’ve got a boss fight on our hands!” She and Rin took hands to transform into their Cure forms. “Playing a passionate tune, Cure Rouge! Cure Muse!”

Cure Muse leapt into the air, kicking the Akanbe in the face. Cure Rouge stayed on the ground, and surrounded the Akanbe with a ring of fire. “Akanbe!” The Akanbe swung its fists, but toppled over to the ground. The two Cures came together to finish it off. “Shining Fire!” They created a huge wildfire, blazing down into the ground, and blowing the Akanbe away.

“That was easy,” said Cure Muse. “This Akanbe was pretty weak.”

“The Bad End Kingdom must have not had a ton of energy to pour into this one,” mused Cure Rouge. “But hey, fighting him did help me blow off some steam. I feel a lot better now.”

After the two de-powered back into their normal forms, Ako pulled her glasses down to look at Rin with her bare eyes. "Really? Only fighting makes you feel better?" She turned away, taking on a teasing tone. "I wouldn't want to be your sister."

"Hey!" Rin huffed. "I'm not that violent!" She chased after Ako, who ran faster.

Chapter Text

Searching for a new place to find Bad Energy, Saki eventually found herself perching on top of a tree, listening in as Hime ranted to Karen and Komachi about her day’s shortcomings. “First the toaster burns my breakfast, then all my hairbrushes go missing, and this cold weather is making my sky dry and itchy!”

“Sounds like a very unfortunate morning,” mused Komachi.

“More like a case of first world problems,” muttered Karen.

“Are you mocking me?!” Hime pouted. “I’ll have you know that Megumi gave me much praise for making my own breakfast without any help!”

Finding a great deal of Bad Energy emanating from Hime, Saki channeled it to create a new Akanbe; better and stronger than before. Twirling her fingers, she molded this creature to have skinny limbs, long blue pigtails, and a tiny crown on its head. “Akanbe!” 

As Saki disappeared into the alleyways, Hime, Komachi, and Karen were all knocked into a heap on the ground by the Akanbe’s giant stomping. “Not again!” Karen pulled her girlfriend and spoiled acquaintance back up to their feet. “Let’s go, girls! We’ll take this big brute down, no problem!”

Transforming together into Cure Mint, Cure Aqua, and Cure Princess, all at once, the three made the Akanbe yelp with their bright lights. Taking advantage of its disorientated state, Cure Aqua leapt into the air and charged into his face with a big, powerful punch.

“Akanbe!” The Akanbe swung its giant fist around, and knocked Cure Princess away, onto the roof of a building several meters away. It attempted to do the same to Cure Mint, but she leapt out of the way and countered with a flurry of scratchy leaves, which made tiny red marks all over the Akanbe.

“Come on!” Cure Aqua and Cure Mint combined their powers to create a poison ivy blast that went hurtling into the Akanbe. The Akanbe yelped, and scratched all over its body. “Ak-itch-be!”

Cure Princess came flying back into the battlefield. She took hands with Cure Mint and Cure Aqua to create a powerful triple attack. “Minty Wind Splash!” Two huge gusts of wind burst forward, one full of leaves and the other full of water. The Akanbe got completely drenched and choked on the leaves. It eventually fell over and burst into nothing but a flutter of mint leaves.

“Did either of you see where that Akanbe came from?” Cure Mint asked as the three of them turned back into their civilian forms. 

“Was it Saki?!” Hime’s head darted in all directions. “I hear Nagisa caught her experimenting with dark magic!”

“Now, now, Hime,” said Karen, trying to calm her down. “We don’t have any solid proof that that’s true.”

"I'll text Miki about it," said Komachi, taking out her phone. "She's relatively level-headed; I'm sure she can help us find a logical answer."

Hearing their voices from her hiding place, Saki looked at herself and realized that underneath her cloak, her clothes, which were formerly a pastel orange, had turned to a deep purple, and were stained with Bad Energy. She knew now more than ever that she had to stay out of sight and fight with much more stealth, lest she expose herself to the entire Pretty Cure at large.

"You girls think Nagisa was onto something when she was going off about Saki turning over to the dark side?" Iroha circled around the library table. "I thought for sure I saw her covered in Bad Energy earlier."

"Couldn't be," mused Sora, leafing through an issue of One Piece. "Becoming a Pretty Cure is making a promise to always be a hero. She wouldn't give that up; she cares about all of us way too much."

"She could have been escaping from an attack!" Ciel insisted. "We should never assume she's guilty until she proves something to us!"

"Okay, okay, Miss Judgypants!" Iroha raised her hands. "We don't need to start reciting the Miranda Rights! We just need to show a little more caution!"

Back in the Bad End Kingdom, Poisony had been sent to check up on Joker. When she slipped into his quarters, she found him sitting up, gingerly sipping on his glass of apple juice. She slid onto the bed with him. “How are you feeling now, my bitter one?” 

“At least a little better…” Joker lowered his glass. “I’ve been thinking about Saki’s future as part of the Bad End Kingdom.”

“And?” Poisony was curious. “Have you made your decision?”

“Her first instinct was to ensure I would remain stable while she was gone…” Joker mused. “And right away, she went out to find Bad Energy and continue making Akanbes. No hesitation at all.” He sipped the drink again. “She’s right, this apple juice does help with the nausea.”

“You told her that if she wanted to be a part of our group, she had to impress you in some way.” Poisony held her lover’s hand. “Has she?”

Joker smirked. “Two Akanbes in one day, from a newcomer, and taking time out of her day to look after me, when I am so weak? I never expected her to try to do so much right away. Of course I’m impressed. I must bring her to the lair.” He laid back down. “At least, once I have rested.”

Poisony kissed his forehead. “There, there…if you wait a bit and rest first, she’ll have more time to raise her own stakes.”

"Indeed..." Joker curled back up and yawned. "I'll send Wolfrun out to collect her...I don't have the energy to do it myself."

Speak of the devil and he doth appear; Wolfrun poked his head into Joker’s quarters. "Hey, boss...how are you feeling? Are you up for having a late breakfast?"

"Please, not now," muttered Joker in a hushed tone, flicking his hand at the door as if to say 'go away'. "I'm still far too nauseated to eat anything."

Chapter Text

“Come on…get upset with each other.”

Saki watched over the Princess Cures, who were all playing a racing game together. Despite how competitive such a game could be, all four girls were smiling wide, and laughing together. “Get the star! Get the star!” Haruka squealed to Minami.

“I got it!” Minami picked up the star and zoomed across the track. The four of them all laughed. Saki thought to herself, how could she get Bad Energy from them? They were all so happy together.

“Need this?” Saki nearly jumped out of her skin when Wolfrun snuck up behind her and held out a blank book to her. “We use these to invoke negative emotions in people and then feed off of their Bad Energy.”

Saki opened the book and flipped through the pages. “It’s all empty.”

“That’s because you need one of these.” Wolfrun handed her a packet of black ink. “Just squish it and smear it all over the pages.”

Saki scratched the ink packet open with her fingernail and squeezed the contents out onto the book’s pages. A vortex of dark purple energy swirled over the sky, turning it to a burnt orange with lightning strikes all through it. All four of the Princess Cures stopped playing their game, their faces looking dour and depressed. “This game isn’t as fun as I thought it was…”

“You collect as much Bad Energy as you can,” said Wolfrun to Saki. “I’ll take those brats on if they get curious and come looking for us.”

“What about the Akanbes?” Saki asked as she perched on the roof, out of sight from the Princess Cures.

“No, no, save the energy,” insisted Wolfrun. “We’ll need it for the ritual.”

“The ritual? Like, the Bad End Ritual?” Saki was surprised. “We’re doing that already?”

“We sure are.” Wolfrun snuck a peek at the Princess Cures before continuing. “Joker sent me out to find you so we could start it. You impressed him big time.”

“I did?” Saki felt very vindicated. “I thought I had so much more to do!”

“The way he put it to me, he’s happy with your promptness, loyalty, and perseverance. I don’t get how you managed to do all of that in one day, but it sounded impressive to me.” Wolfrun shrugged. 

Inside, Kirara slumped over on the couch and stared out the window, where she caught a glimpse of Wolfrun’s tail. She stumbled to her feet and outside. “Wolfrun! Oh, I’m gonna kick your ass!” She and the other girls fumbled outside to try and fight him off.

"Oh boy, drunk Cures! They're the most fun to fight!" Wolfrun easily pushed Haruka over, making her fall face first to the ground, knocking Towa down with her, like a pair of bowling pins in A-line skirts.

Kirara managed to get behind Wolfrun, then wound her foot up and kicked him square in the ass. Wolfrun turned around, picked her up by the back of her shirt, and tossed her at her friends. "Well, go on, Mermaidy," he said in a mocking tone to Minami, "hop on in. I hear sidewalk swimming is popular this season."

Minami couldn't even step forward before the cloud of Bad Energy surrounding her became darker and thicker. She dropped to her knees. "It's no use…I'll lose either way…just bring me to your leader and sacrifice me to your rituals already…"

Wolfrun looked up on the roof, and saw Saki extracting Minami's Bad Energy with a dark, almost malicious smile on her face; as if she enjoyed every second of her misery. Spying Momoka watching from the window in complete horror, he called for Saki's attention. "There's one more! She's inside!"

Saki scooted down to peer down under the roof, and seeing Momoka, she drew Bad Energy out of her soul as well. Momoka's knees weakened, and she faltered to the floor, unable to watch any longer.

When the book could no longer hold any more Bad Energy, Saki and Wolfrun were both whisked away into the Bad End Kingdom. "Very good work, Saki," praised Majorina. "I think you’re ready for the Bad End Ritual."

"We're just waiting for Akaoni to wake Joker and bring him out," said Poisony. 

"Speaking of which, what is taking so long?" Majorina marched into the hallway with her stubby little legs, and found Akaoni standing in Joker's doorway, silently. "Well? What's taking so long, is he dead?"

Akaoni turned to face Majorina. "He just looks so sweet and peaceful…I can't bear to wake him."

“Well, too bad for him, because I’m not that nice!” Majorina hopped onto the bed and smacked Joker in the face with a pillow. “Wake up, you lazy bones!”

“Urrgg…” Joker sat up. “Who do you think you are to wake the prince of darkness when he is so deeply ill?”

“Oh, save me the drama,” said Majorina, tugging on his arm. “Saki’s returned. It’s time for the Bad End Ritual.”

She led him out to the living room, where everyone else was waiting. Joker cupped Saki’s face in his hands. “Welcome home, child. You’ve done very well.”

“Did I really impress you?” Saki asked. “Wolfrun told me I did.”

“Indeed you did,” cooed Joker. “You gathered so much Bad Energy, sent out two Akanbes in one day…but what truly tipped the scales is that your first instinct was to ensure I would be taken care of while you were gone. I was surprised that your apple juice trick actually worked.”

He patted her head. “Congratulations. You’re ready.”

Chapter Text

Everyone in the Bad End Kingdom gathered in the barren lands to begin the Bad End Ritual. Saki stood in the middle, holding onto Joker’s hands. “I call upon the darkest forces,” said Majorina, holding up the Book of Dark Magic. “Take the soul of the Masked Shadow, and in turn, bless our Saki with dark energy of her own.”

“Teach her the ways of the cruel and sinister,” called Poisony. “Show her the truth about the world she once knew.”

“Cast the bright, cutesy side away!” Wolfrun shouted. “Reveal the monster underneath!”

Using the Bad Energy that Saki had gathered from the Princess Cures, a great gust of purple wind began to circle around the wasteland. Saki saw her fingertips begin to glow, as Majorina, Poisony, Wolfrun, Akaoni, and Kabaton all brought their energies to the forefront; be they Bad, Dotsuko, or Undergu. All together, their vortex swirled around and around, getting stronger and stronger.

Joker felt a burning sensation in his chest and throat, and soon, the soul he had stolen from the Masked Shadow emerged from his body. Feeling free at least, Joker stared deeply into Saki’s soul. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want to back out and run away?"

In Joker's eyes, Saki saw her future. A future of abandoning the Pretty Cure elite to chase a new ambition. A future where she made her own rules, her own decisions, and no one stood in her way.

And she wanted it.

"Give me that power."

The surrounding vortex dissipated the Masked Shadow’s soul into Bad Energy, and swirled around Saki, changing her appearance. Her burnt orange hair darkened to a deep eggplant purple. Her short fingernails littered with bite marks grew long, sharp, and black as night. Feeling more and more powerful with every passing second, she laughed; why didn’t she think to do this sooner?!

“We’re almost there!” Wolfrun shouted. “We just need a little more power!”

Suddenly, there was a burst of black lightning into the vortex. Maimiko has hopped onto Kabaton’s shoulders and was blasting her own energy in to help the grownups. Together, they all made Saki begin to glow bright purple, and float into the air.

When Saki emerged from the bubble, she had a brand new outfit; a black dress with a ruffly, silver-accented skirt, puffy sleeves with tassels resembling spider legs, tall black boots with pointy toes and obsidian sequins, and a white skull bow on her head. Joker, on the other hand, looked healthier than ever; he was no longer pale and gaunt, and his eyes were wide and alive. He cackled with great gusto. “Magnificent! Well done, my child!” He put his claws on her shoulders. “Now that you’re one of us, you’ll need a new name.”

“I know that. I’m not Saki anymore.” She looked deeply into his eyes. “I’m Yamiko.”

“Yamiko…” Joker mused. “How wonderful. Elegant. And it matches perfectly with our Maimiko.” He looked up. “Speaking of which, where is Maimiko?”

“Right here.” Poisony stepped forward, holding a sleeping baby in her arms. “She gave her energy to help with the ritual, and, well, I suppose this is what happens to her when she exerts herself too much.”

“Very well.” Joker took his little daughter in his arms. “Truth be told, I’ve been missing the days when she was small.” He held her close and nuzzled her nose. “My little raven’s wing.” 

“Well, we aren’t just going to stand around now, are we?” Kabaton riled everyone up. “We just used all our energy! Let’s go stir up some trouble and replenish our stocks!”

Up in the above world, Alice couldn’t help but stare mindlessly out the window. The other Cures had no idea what she was looking at, but she was creeping them all out. Eventually, Hikaru couldn’t stand it anymore and went over to talk to her. “Alice?”

“Huh?” Alice looked up.

“What are you looking at?” Hikaru snuck a peek out the window to see if she could figure it out. 

“I don’t know,” mumbled Alice. “Something just feels wrong today.”

“What’s wrong?” Hikaru was confused. “It’s been perfectly quiet all day.”

Hikaru was immediately proved wrong when the clouds darkened and turned purple. The two of them looked up to see multiple blasts of Bad Energy leading members of the Bad End Kingdom to the ground. “It’s an ambush!” Hikaru yelped. “Let’s get them!”

The Cures in the library all transformed and rushed outside to stop the Bad End Kingdom in their tracks. “Ha! You little wimps think you’re all tough and mighty,” mocked Wolfrun, “but we’ve got way more tricks up our sleeves now!”

“Oh yeah?” Cure Flamingo retorted. “We’ve got fire, light, and the damn solar system on our side! All you have is…”

She then noticed just who was hovering above them, holding up a book. “...Saki?”

Chapter Text

“That’s not my name anymore!” Yamiko charged up some Bad Energy. “I’m Yamiko.”

Blasting lightning towards the ground, an Akanbe with sparked up hair formed. “Akanbe!”

Cure Flamingo and Cure Rosetta leapt out of the way of the Akanbe’s foot, then Cure Flamingo launched Cure Rosetta into the air to begin the battle. Cure Rosetta, taking a helpful blast of snow from Cure Beauty, created a bright flurry of crystal clovers. “Rosetta Flurry!”

“You keep your little flowers to yourself!” Yamiko melted the crystals away with her Bad Energy. 

While Cure Rosetta and Cure Beauty took on Yamiko, Cure Flamingo, Cure Honey, and Shiny Luminous fought down the Akanbe. Cure Flamingo gave the smaller girls a boost into the air, and Shiny Luminous lit up Cure Honey’s baton for an Ultimate Sparkle Attack. The bright lights caused the Akanbe to fizzle away and melt back into Bad Energy.

Of course, Yamiko wasn’t done with the Cures yet. She charged up and created a new Akanbe, this time spiky like an urchin. The Cures were too smart to punch or kick something like that, so they sent in their ranged fighters to take it down. Cure Rouge sent out fireballs to burn up its legs, while Cure Sparkle blinded it with her lights and Cure Mint and Cure Finale battered its top down with flashing lights and scratchy leaves. 

"Come on, girls! We need more fire!" Cure Scarlet took hands with Cure Macaron. "Pretty Cure, Macaron Blaze!" Cure Macaron's macaron claws blasted out as fireballs, giving the Akanbe searing burns. When the Akanbe tried to blast the fire back, Cure Butterfly defended them with her pink butterfly shield.

While the Cures were distracted by the Akanbe, Cure Black leapt up to Yamiko’s platform and tried to wrap her hands around her throat in a fit of rage. “I knew it! I knew it!! You lied to everyone right in front of me, you bitch!!”

“Get off me!” Yamiko slammed a huge blast of Bad Energy into Cure Black’s stomach. She shrieked from the pain and toppled over off of the ledge. Cure Earth and Cure March rushed in with their winds to assure she landed safely.

As Yamiko watched over Cure Black with a sinister smirk, she conjured up the energy she stole from her into a new Akanbe, which she chucked out into the battlefield. Cure Melody and Cure Ange leapt in to defeat it, but with Cure Black's strength infused in its body, it was tough to land a hit that would actually hurt.

"It's not working! We need mascot help!" Cure August whistled for her mascot friends to help. Hummy leapt onto the Akanbe's back, piercing her claws into its flesh, while Mofurun barreled into its front as she morphed into her Cure form, headbutting a hole through it.

When the Akanbe hit the ground, it split into three, and Cure August commanded the mascots to march forward. Pafu and Aroma leapt towards one Akanbe, burning it with scalding hot dish water, while Kome-Kome called upon the power of a hundred rice balls to blast away the second, and Chiffon levitated the third to burst into tiny particles. "Come on, Pafu! Let's get this monster good!" Channeling the heat of the water, Cure Scarlet created a fire to burn the first Akanbe into nothing but ash.

Cure Egret was next to climb the ledge and confront Yamiko directly. “How could you have done this?! You and I swore that we would always protect the home we lived in and the people we loved!”

“Who needs them?” Yamiko snapped. “Everything I have to care about is here in this kingdom!” She stomped a foot, and created a new Akanbe made of rotten rose petals. Cure Ace and Cure Sky both rushed in to take it down before it could hurt anyone.

“You see?!” Cure Marine shrieked from the ground. “I knew it was a bad idea to trust Joker! Look what he’s done to you!”

“And what about it?” Yamiko asked. “I don’t even need Akanbes to fight you! Just existing is enough to set you all off!”

“Indeed it is.” Joker hovered next to his precious little girl. “Perhaps if you were truly her friends, she wouldn’t have taken such comfort in our kingdom.”

"Our Yamiko has made herself a home among our ranks." Poisony stepped down next to her lover. "The kind she could never make with the likes of you."

“But we were her friends!” Cure Rhythm pleaded. “We cared about her just as much as any Cure!”

“Like hell you did!” Yamiko yelled. “I was just your backup Nagisa! You didn’t care about me unless you knew I was there! I don’t think any of you would have bothered if not for the Pretty Cure!” She clenched Cure Egret’s arms. “Especially you!” And she threw her off the ledge.

As she began to fall, Cure Egret saw this blank, soulless look in Yamiko’s eyes. She didn’t care if she survived this cliff jump. She could crash at the bottom and die, and Yamiko wouldn’t care. Luckily, Cure Flamingo and Cure Star caught her without any damage, but Cure Egret couldn’t stop staring dead ahead.

Yamiko continued her attack, alongside her parents. As Yamiko blasted another Akanbe into the battlefield, Joker and Poisony got rid of Cure Butterfly and Cure Ace, who were trying to climb the cliff. Poisony dug her heel into Cure Ace's hand, while Joker simply knocked down the rock that Cure Butterfly was gripping.

“She’s still standing!” Cure Flamingo shouted, watching Yamiko continue her path of destruction. “We can still win this!”

“No.” Cure Egret didn’t stop staring. “We can’t.” 

"Come on, Egret!" Cure Cosmo shouted as she and Cure Diamond pounced onto an Akanbe's head. "Help us take this guy down!"

“What are you talking about?” Cure Star asked. 

“We can’t change anything now.” Cure Egret said softly. “She’s a lost cause.”

With her decision to give up firmly set, all of the Cures began to sparkle, and found themselves transported to the park, with the sun beginning to set, and their powers gone. "Huh?" Ichika looked around, confused. "Why did we stop?"

"Leave it," said Hikaru grimly. "Mai's given up."

Nao, down on her knees, gently held Nagisa as Asumi took her pulse. “She is alive,” she said, “but very weak. That hit of Bad Energy took a critical toll on her health.”

Reika sat with her knees to her chest, tears brimming in her eyes. “We failed her.” She whimpered over and over again. “We lost Saki.”

“I just don’t get it,” breathed Yuko. “Why would she do this?”

“I don’t know.” Asuka held Alice and Hikari tight. “But if it was that easy for the Bad End Kingdom to take her from us, then we need to stay as tight as ever.”

Asumi princess-lifted Nagisa. "I will take her home...her mother will be so upset."

Mai simply stood there shaking, and hugging herself. She could hardly think of more than one word at a time. Was this real life? Was this all just some cruel nightmare?

Even after the night had come, Mai had not gone home. She simply sat on the roof of her school, staring at the moon and wondering to herself over and over again, “how did it all go wrong?”

“Miss Mishou…”

Mai looked over her shoulder, and saw Cure Glitter hovering above her. "C...Cure Glitter..." she mumbled softly.

Cure Glitter took a seat right next to her. “I’ve heard many a story of what happened tonight.”

Mai pursed her lips together, trying her best not to cry. “I…just don’t understand. Saki’s gone, and Nagisa's really hurt. …Why?”

Cure Glitter folded her hands in her lap and sighed. “I wish I had answers for you. In fact, I wish I had known something before it was too late. I’m certain I could have done something to help her.”

She cupped her hands together. “But…all is not lost yet.” She formed a little glowing ball of pink light in her hands, and offered it to Mai. “Make a wish."

“A wish?” Is that what Cure Glitter’s power was? Mai didn’t know what to think. “What kind of wish?”

“Anything you desire.” Cure Glitter’s eyes looked sorrowful, but compassionate. “I understand this is a major devastation for you, Mai. You’ve lost one of the most important people in your lives, and instead of the closure of death, you have to sit and watch as she turns over to the dark side. The least I can do is offer you some sort of pleasure as compensation.”

Mai looked over the little light, and tried to fully process everything that had happened. After all this, what was it she desired now?

“Go on. Make a wish.”

So, she did. She wished for everyone’s memories of Saki to be erased. No one shall remember her; not Nagisa, not Flappy, not even Minori. As far as anyone would remember, she was Cure Starling, and always aligned with the Soaring Sky Cures, and Cure Bloom never existed at all. Only she would carry the last remnants of the good soul that once lived in that body.

“Good, good,” cooed Cure Glitter as the wish sparkled to life and took shape. When the wish poofed away, Cure Glitter's power faded, and she de-transformed back into Kiko. Kiko cupped Mai’s face in her hands. “Remember that this is not the end of the world. You’ll live on, and do great things. And it will be difficult. But it’s not impossible.” She stood up. “Good night, my child.” And she turned to disappear down the stairwell.

Mai continued to look out at all the houses before her. Inside held the remaining Cures, who no longer remembered anything that had happened before. They would all go to sleep tonight, blissfully ignorant that someone they had previously considered a teammate was now gone. 

And she would not.