Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Highschool.

Third year.

Graduation was just around the corner for students all over, but particularly for a certain few girls whose past was filled with clashes of light against darkness; the strength of justice and the world itself once bursting through their very veins as they drove back the forces of oblivion and death. 

Even after their final battles had come to a close and the girls entered highschool for the first time, they would occasionally find themselves facing large threats side-by-side with the rest of their ever-growing generation of fellow legendary warriors, each fighting for their own reasons, for their own love and passions, for their own world within the world they all lived in together. 

But as the first year of highschool passed them all by, even those great gatherings seemed to grow less and less frequent. By the time the second year rolled around, they rarely had to transform at all. They grew focused on their education, working part-time jobs, and, most importantly, wondering about their futures. 

How could they possibly move on from being Pretty Cure?

Were they just supposed to leave it behind? Were their Pretty Cure alter-egos meant to be a real identity, or were they only ever a vessel through which life fought back against destruction, now no longer having a use?

Did they want to keep saving lives? If so, how? By being a firefighter? A doctor? A vet? If not… what did they want to do instead?

Thoughts such as these plagued the minds of Nagisa and Honoka as they attended Verone Academy Girls High School, as well as Saki and Mai as they attended Yuunagi High School. As the years have gone on, the four have continued to meet outside of world-shaking events, as friends united by fate, with bonds maintained with care. It wouldn't be long, however, until their paths would cross again…

━༻ 𓆩♡𓆪 ༺━

Nagisa sighed as she flopped into bed. She glanced over to half-finished homework laying on her desk, illuminated by the desk lamp that she always forgot to turn off before laying down, and then feeling too cozy to get up and do it. She groaned, flopping an arm over her face, covering her eyes. 

God, what am I going to do with myself? Nagisa thought to herself. Do I even want to try to get into college…? I mean, I could probably get by being part of a college lacrosse team… but… …do I really want to keep doing lacrosse for that long…? She removed her arm to look over to the lacrosse stick laying against her dresser. She sighed again, murmuring to no one in particular. Her family always thought she talked to herself when she normally was just talking to Mepple, but the habit stuck even while her fairy companion was back home in the Garden of Light, only visiting once every few months alongside Mipple, Pollun, and Lulun. 

“Sometimes I miss being a Pretty Cure…” She turned to one of the plushies on her bed. The number of them had dwindled since middle school, but the few that remained were great listeners. “It gave me an excuse to get out of boring everyday life. An excuse to hang out with Honoka, and to do something that felt good …” She balled her fists, punching the air a few times. “I liked being Cure Black. I liked fighting with Cure White. With everybody!” She glanced over to the plushie she had engaged in thoughtful conversation with, a wide-eyed ram with fluffy wool, before grabbing it and holding it above her. “Don’t look at me like that! Look, I know I didn’t want to be risking my life for the ‘greater good of the world’ or whatever at first, but…” A small smile fell on her face, her voice filling with a rare, delicate warmth. “...I never would’ve met Honoka if Mepple and Mipple didn’t pull us together… We never would’ve been able to feel such powerful, amazing feelings, like the world’s will, and the raw Power of Creation, and… our l-... friendship with each other…” She trailed off, dropping the ram and letting it flop over her face. “...What am I saying?” She spoke again, voice muffling into the wool. “I’m starting to sound like Honoka…” 

Honoka… a shining star in the darkness that surrounded her mind. She always knew she loved Honoka as a friend, but… could she possibly…? …

…Nagisa then plucked the stuffed animal off of her face and gently placed it to the side again. “... Future problems are a problem for future me. …I’m going to sleep.” She tucked herself in as her thoughts scoffed at her one last time. That’s what you’ve been telling yourself for the past year. Time is running out.

Nagisa figured that as long as she kept running, her problems wouldn’t catch up to her. 

It didn’t register to her that that was a problem in and of itself.

And it would soon become her greatest enemy fought in the fiery pits of despair.

Chapter Text

“Ughhh…” 

“Nagisa…!”

“Hmm…? Didjya… say somthin, Ryouta…?”

“ Nagisaaa…!!”

“...Hey, hold on a moment…”

“ NAGISA!!!”

“GYAA-!!” Nagisa jolted awake to the sound of a familiar voice. She sat up to see a familiar yellow fairy in her lap! She lit up with a delight she wasn’t expecting to have for the little guy. “Mepple!” 

“Thank goodness you’re awake, mepo…” He sighed, sitting back into Nagisa’s lap with his tail falling behind him. “I was starting to get worried!”

Nagisa scratched the back of her head, smiling. “Aww, you were worried about me? I was just sleeping in my-!” She patted the ground, expecting to feel the soft give of her bed. “...bed?” She glanced down, smile vanishing, noticing her palms were hitting against cracked, dry soil and sand. “...H-Huh…?! When did I get outside?!”

She looked around her, and the landscape before her was unlike anything she had ever seen. It was lifeless, the ground was dry and warped, what were once trees were now petrified stone, and the sky above them felt thin, and endlessly grey, as if someone had taken the rain from the overcast clouds and left the bone-dry cotton to hang in the air, blocking out the sun.

Nagisa slowly stood up, Mepple climbing onto her shoulder. “Man… where are we…?”

Mepple’s voice lowered, the sight seeming to dishearten even him. “I don’t know, mepo… All I can figure out is that we’re not in either the Garden of Rainbows, nor the Garden of Light. This is somewhere beyond both of our worlds, mepo…”

“Oh…” Nagisa’s heart sank. She was far from home. Farther than she’s ever been before, because this time, she didn’t know how to get back. A thought twisted her heart. Was she going to miss finals…? It created a conflict in her mind, she didn’t know whether to be grateful for the release of stress over school, or to be scared that she would fail and that her parents would be upset with her… Wait, why was that her first thought…?! Her parents are going to be worried sick! Honoka is going to be worried sick!! “W-Well, we gotta get outta here! Everyone’s going to be looking for me!!”

Mepple nodded. “Right! I can sense other presences of light nearby, so Mipple and Honoka surely must be nearby as well, mepo! Let’s go!”

That was all the encouragement Nagisa needed as she began to dash across the broken land, searching for any sign of life at Mepple’s guidance. She noticed that whatever mysterious force that brought her here at least had the decency to change her out of her pajamas, giving her an outfit suited for a lot of outdoor activity. 

She couldn’t pay too much attention to it before Mepple piped up again. “Over there, mepo!”

Nagisa dashed in the direction Mepple pointed, seeing a familiar dark-haired figure laying in the dry dirt, trying to weakly push herself up. “Honoka!!” Nagisa rushed up to her. “It’s okay, Honoka, grab my hand!” 

Honoka groaned, weakly reaching up to take Nagisa’s hand. “Oh, Saki, thank goodness, I-” As their hands linked, a wave of confusion washed over them both. That wasn’t what Honoka’s hand felt like… …Also, did she just call her Saki ?

Nagisa helped the girl up anyways, and as she shook the dirt off of herself, Nagisa noticed that her hair was thinner and more feathery than Honoka’s, and it was a shade of dark purple instead of her silky, inky black. Nagisa’s eyes widened as understanding struck her. “ Ohhh … It’s you, Mai!”

Mai chuckled, scratching the back of her neck. “Nagisa! Sorry, I saw your hair and mistook you for Saki.”

Nagisa shook her head, chuckling as well. “Ah, don’t worry about it. I thought you were Honoka from a ways off.”

The two then glanced around each other. “Well… If you’re here, then I’m sure Honoka can’t be far. Saki must be nearby as well.”

Mepple nodded. “I feel more presences of light in the distance. There’s no doubt about it, mepo!”

“Let’s go find them, chopi!” A fourth voice joined them. Nagisa’s eyes widened as she saw the fairy that fluttered onto Mai’s head. 

“Woah! Did Choppy… grow??”

Mai glanced up at her before nodding. “Yeah, I was surprised, too! But she told me that the spirits of nature all mature and develop this way over time. I suppose Mepple and the other residents of the Garden of Light mature differently…”

Mepple seemed to take slight offence. “Let’s just get to the others, mepo!!”

Nagisa and Mai nodded to one another before continuing their search.

It wasn’t long before they spotted a pair of figures approaching them. They all smiled and grinned, full of relief at the reunion ahead of them.

“Honoka!!”

“Saki!”

“Nagisa~!”

“Mai!!!”

The girls met each other with big hugs and deep sighs as the tension was released. “I was so worried about you!” Saki chimed towards Mai. 

“I was worried about you, too!” Mai chirped back.

Nagisa smiled at Honoka. “I’m glad you’re okay, Honoka…”

“I knew you’d be okay, Nagisa.” Honoka replied.

The fairies all met with one another as well. “Mepple!!”

“Mipple, my love, mepo!!” The pink and yellow fairies danced in one another’s little arms. 

“Choppyyy!” The flower spirit jumped onto the bird spirit, and they nuzzled one another closely. 

“Flappy! You’re here, chopi!”

Nagisa chuckled as everyone was done embracing one another. “Well, at least we all have each other in this weird new world.”

Honoka nodded. “Indeed! We’ll find a way home in no time. Flappy helped explain.”

Eyes turned to the two spirits of nature as they paused their cuddling. Both of them were about the size and shape of a house cat now, with Flappy having developed pink petals across his head and tail, and Choppy having gained turquoise feathers, her ears turned into pseudo wings. 

Flappy cleared his throat before standing up on his hind legs and explaining. “This world gathered us here as its last wish, lapi.”

Nagisa and Mai’s eyes widened. “Last wish…? Does that mean…” Mai muttered. “This world is… dead…? ”

Flappy and Choppy nodded, expressions saddening. “We can’t sense a life within the world’s hearts at all, chopi… Whatever life its core may have had left died when we got here.”

“But, since the will of the world brought us all here as its last wish…” Flappy continued. “If we all combine our powers, we might make the hearts of the world beat again, lapi! Then the world could send us all home!”

Nagisa sighed in relief, happy that there was a way home. However, Mai seemed a bit more worried.

“But… what about all the time we’ll have to spend in order to figure out how to get the hearts beating again…? We’re going to miss our graduation!”

A silence hung over the eight of them before Mipple spoke up. “Actually… As long as the life of the world remains gone… I don’t believe time is passing naturally here, mipo!”

Honoka’s eyebrows raised. “Time isn’t flowing here?”

Mepple nodded, seeming to sense the same. “It’s a bit more complicated than that… But, as long as the world doesn’t have a heartbeat, time won’t flow normally, mepo! Or something like that…”

An even bigger wave of relief washed over Nagisa. “So we can take as much time as we need and come back without any time passing back home?”

“That seems to be the case, mipo!”

Nagisa grinned. “Alright!! Time to get all of my homework done so I’ll have time to goof off when I get back home!”

Saki lit up as well, before a realization crossed her. “Great idea!! …Wait, we don’t have our homework here with us.”

“ NOOO!! ” Nagisa held her head and shouted.

Honoka rolled her eyes. “Honestly, you two…”

Mai walked up to them, chuckling. “We could still use this as a time to prepare ourselves for graduation. Maybe I’ll find some good inspiration for my art final.”

Everyone looked at one another, nodding as the thoughts of graduation crossed them all once more. But Honoka’s voice rose above everyone else’s. “But first, we need to find shelter. As well as sources of food and water. We may have all the time in the world, but we still have basic needs to fulfill if we want to survive here.”

The group nodded in understanding, gathering their courage and beginning to walk together in a big group. Saki voiced the first of their worries. “Will we even be able to find food and water anywhere here…? It’s totally dry here…! Not even cacti can grow in conditions like this!”

Honoka seemed worried at the thought. “That’s true… I haven’t done much environmental research, but from what little I have… it certainly seems like this place is completely devoid of life in its entirety… There could be some microscopic organisms living in caverns beneath us, but those aren’t accessible, nor edible.”

After a few minutes of growing silence and worry, Flappy suddenly perked up. “I sense plant life, lapi!!”

Everyone looked over to him, eyes wide. “Seriously?!” Nagisa spoke. “I thought you said the world was dead!”

“Hmm… The world might be dead, but there may still be a few organisms alive atop it, fighting for survival!” Honoka put a hand to her chin, trying to piece things together in her mind. “Where is it?”

“Straight ahead, lapi!” 

The group rushed ahead, but came to a screeching halt before any of them toppled over the edge of a massive cliff. 

“WOAH-!!” Saki swung her arms to try to regain balance, and was pulled back to stability by Mai. 

Once everyone regained their bearings, they gazed down below where they were met with an unexpected sight. Before them laid a small valley, and within it, an old, run-down city. There weren’t very many buildings, but the ones that remained still stood, despite being beaten and bruised by whatever calamity had befallen them before the arrival of the girls. Twisted metal, shattered windows, exposed wires… And yet, lying fixed towards the edge of the city was a dingy, yet shockingly in-tact greenhouse, and Flappy’s little petaled tail wagged at the sight of it. 

“Down there, lapi!! In that greenhouse!” 

Choppy lit up as well. “I can sense the life in there, too, chopi! It’s faint, but they’re hanging on the best they can!”

“Let’s hurry and get down there, then!” Nagisa called towards the others. Everyone looked around before discovering a thin, winding path leading down the cliff face. They followed it along, quickly and carefully, wandering towards the greenhouse ahead of them. 

When they stepped in, they were all met with a breath of fresh, damp air that warmed them to their very souls, even if it's for just a moment. They looked around in joy and relief, seeing all sorts of vines, trees, and leaves carrying edible plants of many sorts, roots cradled with white plastic pipes, and branches and vines supported by wires and string. 

Honoka’s eyes lit up with recognition. “How fascinating! This is a hydroponic garden!” 

Mai glanced over, tilting her head towards Honoka. “Hydroponic…?”

Honoka stepped ahead of the group, cradling a ripe tomato whose vines were rooted in a pot. “Hydroponics is a very efficient gardening technique that forgoes the use of soil! Instead, the plants are grown by pumping a water solution filled to the brim with nutrients through these pipes.” She gently patted one of the pipes. “I’ve done some research on the subject, it’s interesting stuff! Sometimes, using hydroponics allows food to grow even quicker than normal gardening! However, it requires a more intensive setup.” She turned back to the group, gesturing to the greenhouse in its entirety. 

“The plants here are very happy and healthy, lapi!” Flappy leapt up onto one of the pipes, walking along it, followed by Choppy.

“Hey! Be careful, you two!!” Saki shouted up at them, her words promptly ignored by the two fairies.

Nagisa was about to pluck a cucumber from one of the raised vines before Mepple spoke up. “Hey, wait a minute, mepo… If this garden was here when this world died, why isn’t it dead itself, mepo?”

Mipple spoke from Honoka’s shoulder as well. “I agree… Something is strange here, mipo! Is there someone maintaining this garden…?”

“U-Um…” A deep, masculine voice suddenly spoke up behind him. Everyone jumped up, turning to its source. Standing behind them was a tall man with spiky, blonde hair with a few braids running down the sides of his neck. He wore dark green glasses, thick green gardening gloves, and purple overalls. Saki, Mai, and the two spirits of nature recognized him, immediately standing on guard.

“ Karehaan!? ” They cried in unison.

“W-We thought we defeated you!!” Saki shouted.

Karehaan’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Wh-What…?! How do you girls know my name…?! I-I don’t want a fight! …What do you mean ‘defeated’...?!” He raised up his hands in surrender, sending even more confusion into the air.

Mai squinted. “You… don’t remember us…?”

Flappy and Choppy jumped back onto Saki and Mai’s shoulders. “They’re the legendary Pretty Cure! Surely you remember Cure Bloom, right, lapi?!”

“Or Cure Egret, chopi!”

“I have no idea what you all are talking about…!! I was just about to ask if you were new here!” Karehaan put his hands to his head. “I’m terribly sorry for startling you, I promise I don’t mean any harm!”

Saki and Mai lowered their guards, glancing at each other. “...Well… if you say so…” Saki muttered.

Nagisa stepped forward. “Who’s this guy supposed to be…?”

“Karehaan was one of the members of Dark Fall. The first one we faced, actually.” Mai explained first. 

“He looked a little different. His whole body was covered in wilted leaves!” Saki added.

“That doesn’t sound like it was very comfortable…” Karehaan muttered in response.

“We defeated him before getting to restore the Fountain of Trees.” Mai continued to explain. She turned towards Karehaan with a puzzled expression. “You seriously don’t remember that…?”

Karehaan shook his head. “I’m not even sure what a ‘Dark Fall’ is supposed to be. Sounds like you girls have been through a lot…”

Choppy leapt off of Mai’s shoulder and approached Karehaan slightly, her feathers ruffling a little. “I’m not sensing any dark energy from him, chopi.” 

Honoka hummed, seeming to think about the situation ahead of them. “This world is certainly a strange one. …I wonder what this could mean…”

A silence fell over the group before Karehaan spoke awkwardly. “...So, uh… Are you all… hungry? Need a place to stay…?”

“Oh! Yes, that’s precisely why we’ve come here.” Honoka smiled.

Mai stepped ahead, extending a hand to Karehaan. “I apologize for our previous outburst…!! My name is Mai, and these are all of my friends. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Karehaan!”

Karehaan chuckled, shaking Mai’s hand. “Ah, don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you all like that. You can just call me Karehaan. I’m the town’s gardener.”

As the rest of the group introduced themselves to Karehaan, a thought crossed Saki’s mind. “Wait! If you’re the town’s gardener, then does that mean there’s other people here…?!”

“Indeed.” Karehaan nodded, glancing at the others. “We’re a small community, but we help each other survive after the world was ravaged by four powerful threats who claim to act under someone they call Morrowend.”

“Oh dear…” Mai commented.

Nagisa clenched her fists, grinning with a determined expression. “Well, good thing the world brought us all here as its last wish! Because we’re gonna help restore it!”

Karehaan’s eyes widened. “Is that so…?! How will you accomplish such an ambitious task…?!”

The girls looked at each other before posing together. 

“ The two of us are Pretty Cure! ” Nagisa and Honoka shouted in unison.

“ The two of us are also Pretty Cure!” Saki and Mai joined in.

“...That’s pretty clunky, isn’t it?” Nagisa sighed.

“Yeahh, not really the best we can do…” Saki nodded.

“Pretty Cure…?” Karehaan watched them carefully.

Mepple and Mipple jumped forward, joining Flappy and Choppy on the ground of the greenhouse. “They’re legendary warriors in their home world, mepo!”

“They fight with the forces of light and justice, mipo!”

“They also fight with the forces of the spirits of nature, lapi!”

“Pretty Cure can do anything, chopi!”

Karehaan glanced at everyone, seeming to be awed, but also a little skeptical. “Hm… I’ve never heard of Pretty Cure before… I’m not sure if I’m entirely convinced… …However, we’ve also never really received visitors from another world before…”

“Well, if those four bad guys come back around, we’ll send ‘em packing!” Nagisa punched the air a few times. 

Mai had some concerns. “Well… I don’t know… …It’s been a long time since any of us have been PreCure… Are we still capable of all the things we did back then…?”

Saki’s gaze softened as she put an arm around Mai’s shoulder. “Hey… It’s going to be okay, Mai! Even just between the two of us, we’ve done all sorts of impossible things, right~?”

Honoka joined in. “We’re always stronger than we think we are.”

Nagisa grinned warmly as well. “Even if we're a bit rusty, we'll help each other get back to our top form! ”

“Hey! That's my catchphrase!” Saki gave a playful glare to Nagisa, who chuckled in response.

Everyone's encouragement seemed to soothe Mai’s nerves, leading to her giving a gentle smile to the group. “Everyone~...” 

Their support was cut short when a rumble was heard outside, shaking the walls of the greenhouse. Everyone stood at attention as the fairies all perked up.

“A dark presence, mipo!!”

“It’s not the Dokutsu Zone, mepo…”

“...And it’s not Dark Fall, either, lapi!!”

“But it’s still on its way here, chopi…!!”

The girls all looked at one another, nodding. Karehaan stepped towards them, speaking up. “Please protect our town, Pretty Cure!! We don’t have much left, but what we have is home… Give it your all!”

“Don’t worry, Karehaan! We’ll do our best!” Saki assured him as the group dashed outside. As they ran out of the greenhouse, they came face-to face with a large, snake-like monster with piercing white eyes. It had two x-shaped markings that resembled bandages, one over its forehead, and the other across its chest, where the marking also became a pair of arms with clawed talons at the end of each of them. It slithered across the broken street, hissing as it noticed the girls approaching.

“KAEJANAAA!! ” It roared in a deep, yet raspy, scratchy voice. 

The girls readied themselves as the four fairies transformed, landing in their respective companion’s palms. Though, some more confusion fell over them when they were met with the sight of some new devices, rather than the previously familiar Heartful Communes and Crystal Communes. 

“Mepple, what the heck’s this?!” Nagisa shouted into the strange new object now sitting in her hand. The lid slid and flipped open, revealing Mepple’s face on the top. 

“There should be new cards in the pouch, mepo!!”

Nagisa and Honoka dug into their Commune pouches, pulling out small disc-like cards with a stylized Queen printed onto them. 

“Insert them into the bottom, mipo!”

All the while, Saki and Mai were trying to get a hang of their own new transformation items. They each pulled out a small chip with Princess Filia printed atop it. 

“Snap those chips into the side, lapi!” 

And once the four Communes were activated, the girls paired up, joining hands, as their transformation finally began!!

“Dual Aurora Wave!!”

“Dual Spiritual Power!!”

Rainbow lights burst from the four as they were lifted into the air by the powers of light. A sensation that felt familiar, but stronger than before, as if they were shaking off the chains after years of rarely touching their Cure forms at all. It felt new, almost like the first time they had transformed all the way back then. Their veins burned with that signature power, feeling their hearts pounding louder and their bodies flooding with raw strength and magical vitality, reinforcing their muscles and igniting their souls. 

Their clothes were unraveled, leaving the lights around them to mold their new uniforms onto their bodies, expressing more detail and more complexity in their costumes to signify that they, as well as their power, had aged and matured.

“ Flowers bloom across the earth!”

“Flap your wings into the sky!”

Fabric stretched and molded snugly across their arms, torsos, and legs… Their hair grew longer and brighter, being lifted, fluffed, curled… Some new words found themselves spilling from Nagisa’s and Honoka's lips, respectively.

“Burning passion ignites courage!”

“Flowing light inspires hope!”

And soon, when all of their transformations were completed, they were sent hurtling back to the ground, the lights bursting as they planted their feet firmly onto the scorched asphalt. One by one, they introduced themselves.

“Emissary of light; Cure Black!”

“Emissary of light; Cure White!”

“The shining golden flower; Cure Bloom!”

“The sparkling silver wing; Cure Egret!”

Their voices all joined together in a single cry -

“The four of us are Pretty Cure!!”

Cure White and Cure Egret then spoke together -

“You, dark forces who dare to plague this world!”

Then followed up and finished off by Cure Black and Cure Bloom -

“Stop your cruel behavior, or return from whence you came!!”

“...Okay, that was a much better introduction.” Cure Black turned to Cure Bloom.

“For sure!” Bloom responded with a smile. “It works a lot better when we're doing it all at once!”

“Goodness, you two…” Cure White rolled her eyes, but their playful banter was cut short as - what could be assumed was - the Kaejana lunged forward to strike!!

“ Kaejanaaa!!!”

The four girls lept out of the way of its claws and fangs, the power in their legs springing them all high and far through the air. Black grinned, pumping her fists. “Al right !! It feels great to be back in action!!”

Black and White maneuvered themselves against the walls of one of the buildings before launching themselves off of it to land a powerful, synchronized punch to the Kaejana's face. It reeled backwards with a pained hiss as Black and White landed on the ground again, and Bloom and Egret rushed forward, golden yellow and silvery blue lights glittering around their bodies as they struck their palms into the Kaejana’s body, blasting it away with a burst of power.

Bloom then spoke up, looking down at herself as the Kaejana tumbled backwards. “Wait a sec!! Is it just me, or do our uniforms look different?! I’ve got flowers and vines on me!!” She patted some of the greenery that had wound up on her body, and she soon pointed to Egret as well. “You too, Egret!! Your bow looks like a little pair of wings now!”

Egret twisted her body to get a look at her bow, blushing slightly as she noticed its changed shape. “Oh! You’re right! I believe I have some feathers in my hair now, as well…”

“Check out this sweet new scarf!!” Black spun around, letting the tattered fabric trail behind her. 

“Your midriff is exposed again, too!” White pointed it out with curious eyes.

Black's face flushed as she shielded her stomach from White’s intent gaze. “Y-You can't just look at it like that-!!”

As the Kaejana began to recover, slithering towards them, Bloom glanced back to Black and White, raising an eyebrow at their banter. “You two don’t seem too surprised about your outfits changing…!”

“It’s happened to us before!” White explained. “Our outfits were different before they changed into the ones you knew. I hypothesize that our power as Pretty Cure grows, changes, and develops alongside us as we age, since we transformed again in our third year of middle school after our first time in second year, and they looked different then.”

“That’s fascinating!” Egret glanced down at her new outfit once more before another loud hiss rattled them to their bones.

“ JANAAAAA!!! ”

Snapping to attention, Bloom and Egret linked hands, the light of the spirits weaving together into a round shield that deflected the Kaejana’s oncoming attack. Though, it was a bit of a struggle, shoving the two girls back as their heels dug into the ground below. “Ngh-!!”

“The power of the spirits is weak in this world, lapi…!” Flappy’s voice came from the pouch on Bloom’s side. 

“But we can still fight with whoever’s left!! HaaaaAAAAHH!!!” Bloom and Egret strained, before thrusting their palms forward to unleash a shockwave of light from the shield, blasting the Kaejana back once more! It fell into some debris, getting tangled in felled wires and concrete boulders.

“K-Kahhh-! J-Jaaa-!!”

Bloom and Egret glanced back to Black and White, nodding. “Finish it off, you two!” Egret called to them as they stepped aside.

Nodding back, Black and White linked hands, lifting their opposite palms into the air.

“Black Thunder!”

“White Thunder!”

From the thin clouds came a rumble, then a crash as streaks of black and white light came branching down from the heavens, striking Black and White’s palms. Power seared deep into every nerve in their bodies, lighting them up with raw lightning; a familiar, sorely missed sensation. The two shuddered a little, their grip on one another’s hands tightening as they could feel the power of their very bond take tangible form.

“Our beautiful Pretty Cure souls…”

“...Shall absolutely crush your evil heart!!”

“ Pretty Cure! Marble Screw… ”

Their palms burned as the electricity sparked atop them, barely contained, anticipating for the final chant of the spell…

“ MAX!!! ”

Throwing their hands forward, the black and white lights burst forth, shattering the very air with a shockwave of raw power. The giant, twisting beam tore across the city’s street, shaking every window and causing all of the already struggling foundations to tremble. The Kaejana was caught right in the center of it, its ghostly body getting razed by the immense power unleashed by Cure Black and Cure White. 

When the energy dissipated, the girls watched as the snake’s body disintegrated into a cloud of smoke, leaving behind a much smaller, weaker snake spirit with its arms now nothing more than limp bandages laying on either side of its body. It flinched as it spotted the girls, quickly retreating as it cried in a much squeakier voice, “Kae-! Kae-! Kaeee-!!”

After a moment of silence, feeling the blazing energy leave their bodies through their palms, Black let out a loud whoop. “ WOOOO~!! That felt GOOD!!! Almost better than I remember it being!!”

White chuckled. “It felt nice to be able to use a Marble Screw again! I feel oddly refreshed!”

Before the girls could transform back, a low murmur filled the air. They looked around, and watched as doors and windows began to open, with some new faces peeking out, curious and awed all at once. A warm static still filled the air, left over from the blast, drawing the attention and raising the hairs of the few that still lived within this ruined city. The Pretty Cure could’ve sworn they were seeing some more familiar faces, but they weren’t close enough to recognize them quite yet…

Karehaan soon approached them, eyes alight with a newfound hope. “You… You really… You actually did it…! You defeated one of those monsters…!”

Bloom scratched the back of her neck bashfully. “D’awww, it was nothing! We always give it our best shot to protect everyone, so we’re glad we got to protect everyone here!”

“I-If you need a place to stay, there’s been a vacant room still in-tact in one of the buildings nearby!! It… It’s a bit of a mess right now, but…”

“Oh! That’s wonderful! We wouldn’t mind cleaning it up.” White smiled at Karehaan. 

Black glanced over her shoulder to look at all of the onlookers, a little weary. “Sooo… Are we gonna introduce ourselves to everyone else, or…?”

Karehaan also looked back over to them, giving the crowd an awkward wave before ushering the four girls towards a nearby building. “I-I’ll talk to them while you all clean up and get settled in… This is… definitely… new for all of us…”

“We don’t mind!” Egret chimed as they let Karehaan guide them inside. 

As they stepped into the building, they allowed themselves to relax as the energies holding their Pretty Cure forms together were released and given the chance to unwind from their bodies. The perfectly fitted uniforms glowed, vanishing into colored sparks, as their ordinary clothes reformed once again. Their hair shortened in the same fashion, dulling to their natural colors, losing the curls or fringes they had before. Their energy lowered, adrenaline levels lowering as any vestiges of their superhuman strength slowly began to leave them as well. Back to normal.

Karehaan watched this occur in fascination as he led them up a single flight of old stairs. “So that’s what the Pretty Cure are…? Why don’t you stay like that all of the time?”

“It gets exhausting after a while. A lot of energy goes into it, y’know!” Black, now Nagisa again, explained. 

“Our home world doesn’t have much magic in it normally, either.” Mai added. “So we usually try to keep our identities a secret, trying to balance normal lives with fighting as Pretty Cure… But, since this world is far from home, we don’t mind if everyone here knows who we are.”

“Interesting…” Karehaan murmured. He then opened a door to reveal a very messy bedroom. There were all sorts of random objects lining the ground, and the blankets and pillows were in disarray. However, what caught the girl’s eyes were the beds in the room; a pair of bunkbeds! One against the left wall, and the other against the right wall. 

Not paying mind to the mess ahead of her, Nagisa grinned, rushing towards the left bed. “I call top bunk!!”

Saki stepped in as well, turning to Mai. “Do you want top bunk, Mai?”

“Sure!” Mai giggled, stepping over some of the objects in the room to walk to the right side’s bed. 

Nagisa, already on the top bunk of the left bed, glanced down at them from on high. “Jeez, Saki, you’re making me look like a selfish kid.”

Saki looked back up to her, grinning. “Well, it’s not too late to give it up!”

Begrudgingly, Nagisa leaned down over the side of the top bunk to look down at Honoka, who had approached the bed beneath her. “You didn’t want top bunk, did you, Honoka?”

Honoka giggled, shaking her head. “You called it, Nagisa~. I’m not going to fight you over it.” She stood on her tip-toes and reached up, booping Nagisa on the nose with her pointer finger, sending the girl above her reeling back onto the bed.

“H-Honokaaa-!!”

“So, is this good for you four…?” Karehaan asked. “There’s another room just like it across the hall from you, but… It’s honestly even messier than this one.”

“Oh, it’s great!” Saki beamed towards Karehaan. “Thank you so much, Karehaan!! … (Never thought I’d be saying that) … ”

Karehaan smiled and nodded at them. “Would you like any help with cleaning, or…?”

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind cleaning on my own.” Mai spoke. “It looks like there could be a lot of interesting items here, and I’d like to look through them.”

Honoka nodded. “I agree!”

“Ughhh…” Nagisa groaned. “I already barely clean my room at home, you really expect me to clean this mess…?!”

“Aww, come on!” Saki smiled up at her. “We’ll all be working together! It’ll be fun~!!”

Honoka, Saki, and Mai all looked up expectantly at Nagisa from the tall throne that was the top bunk, and she groaned again. Although, she could barely fight the smile forming on her face, and she rolled her eyes playfully. “Al-riiight. I feel like if I say no you guys are just going to drag me down from here~.” 

Nagisa climbed back down, joining the others and beginning to dig around the room and tidy it up to create their newfound home base.

━༻ 𓆩♡𓆪 ༺━

“ This is bad this is bad this is bad… ” Panicked steps shuffled back and forth across the cold ground, leaving wisps of grey smoke in their trail.

“What do you mean the Kaejana that was scouting that area was ‘ defeated’ ...?!” A face behind a thorny mask twisted in confusion and frustration.

“It means what you THINK it means, dammit!!!” A clawed hand armored in stone and flickering embers slammed against the wall, shaking the room with its rage.

“That opens up many new possibilities.” A monotone, cold, and calculated voice spoke up, measured in volume, yet rising above the rest as it sank in the air like ice. “There is an approximately 89.92% chance that the Kaejana was defeated by one of the few remaining lives in this world. If it was not one of them, then the remaining chance deems that someone new has arrived in this world, and their power is unlike what we have seen before.” 

“ What are we gonna do…? What are we gonna do…? ” 

“Speak up.”

“ WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!?! ”

The room flinched from the shriek, pausing for just a moment before the strong, thorned figure stood up, palms splaying across the stone ahead. “We’ll send another Kaejana to the area. We’ll monitor what happens to it. If it’s destroyed by one of those maggots, we’ll crush their revolution before it can even start. But if it’s gone by the hand of a new force… Well. … It seems as though we will have some new toys to break. ”

Chapter Text

“Check it out! ” Saki beamed, digging through the junk to pull out a long, metal bat. It was worn and a little dirty, but it still clearly had a coating that was white with some pink markings. “There’s a bat in here! If I can find a ball, I could keep up on softball practice!!” She showed it off to the other girls as they continued to clean and organize the messy room.

“Oh yeah? I got something cooler!” Nagisa piped up as she held up a beaten lacrosse stick. Whatever paint it may have had was long peeled off, leaving the bare metal beneath. “Maybe we could play lacrosse together!”

“Or we could even combine softball and lacrosse!” Saki touched the tip of the bat to the end of the lacrosse stick. 

Nagisa stifled a chuckle. “How’d that even work?”

Saki shrugged, grinning, “I dunno! We could figure it out.” 

Meanwhile, Honoka picked up a worn, but still decently preserved journal. She flipped through a few pages, eyes lighting up. “Oh! It’s a study journal! Some of these experiments are still quite decipherable… I may have to try to recreate some of these. And there’s even some blank pages to conduct my own!”

“I found a sketchbook! And a pencil case!” Mai beamed with a giggle. “I’ll share these pencils with you, Honoka.”

“That will be much appreciated, Mai!” 

The fairies were climbing along the beds, tidying sheets and fluffing pillows, when a thought crossed Honoka’s mind. “You four have been outside of your Commune forms for a while… Don’t you usually get tired, Mepple? Mipple?”

They paused, and the yellow and pink fairies leaned over the side of Nagisa’s top bunk. “Huh, now that you mention it, we haven’t been feeling tired at all, mepo.”

“Perhaps the magical atmosphere in this world is stronger than it is in the Field of Rainbows, mipo?”

“Fascinating…” Honoka put a hand to her chin. “I do have to wonder what the four of us spending extended time in a more magical world will entail…”

“Guess there’s really only one way to find out.” Nagisa shrugged, laying the lacrosse stick across her shoulder. 

Their banter was cut short as a knock on the door sounded. Saki perked up, setting the bat on her bed before opening the door to reveal Karehaan standing beside another face familiar to Saki and Mai.

“Manabu?!” Saki’s jaw dropped.

Manabu flinched, raising an eyebrow. “Wh-... So you do know my name…?!” He was dressed in a dulled red suit with a white undershirt, and there was a golden, heart-shaped symbol on a patch over his heart. He also wore a large orange bandana around his neck.

Karehaan sighed. “I don’t know why… But if they knew mine, I figured there was a chance they’d know yours as well.”

“W-Well, it’s freaking me out!” Manabu pulled out a notepad and started furiously scribbling down notes.

“Sorry!” Saki nodded quickly, backing away as everyone gathered around the door to the room. 

Manabu glanced around at the group, pursing his lips before taking a deep breath and flipping a page on his notepad. “ Ahem … With that out of the way… Could you all introduce yourselves to me? If you’re going to be staying here for an extended period of time, I’m going to need to keep track of you all.”

“Yeah, sure thing! I’m Hyuuga Saki.”

The other girls introduced themselves. “Name’s Misumi Nagisa!”

“I am Yukishiro Honoka.”

“And my name is Mishou Mai.”

“I see, I see…” Manabu wrote all of their names down. “And your… uh, companions are…?” He raised an eyebrow as he glanced over the girls’ shoulders to look at the fairies.

Mai pointed to each of them as she introduced them. “The yellow one is Mepple, the pink one is Mipple, the blue one is Flappy, and the cream one is Choppy.”

Manabu nodded. “Interesting…” He jotted down the names of the fairies as well before putting his notebook aside. “Are you all finished cleaning?” 

“Well…” Honoka glanced back into the somewhat messy room.

Nagisa waved her hand dismissively. “Ehh, we could finish another time. I’m pretty tired out.”

“If you have the time, I’d like to take you all on a tour around our community.” Manabu continued. “Everyone has been interested in meeting you newcomers… We’ve… never really had visitors.”

Saki beamed. “I’d love to meet everyone! I wanna get some fresh air, too… Well, as fresh as the air in this world can be.”

“Honokaaa, can we please stop cleaning so we can go on a walk?” Nagisa turned towards Honoka with pleading puppy eyes. 

Honoka rolled her eyes with a giggle. “Oh, alright. We’ll finish up once the tour is over.”

“Yes!!” Nagisa pumped her fists. “Come on, guys, we’re heading out!” Nagisa called to the fairies, and they all shifted into their Commune forms as they joined the pockets of their respective companions. 

Manabu watched this with a curious gaze, writing down more notes.

“They’re an interesting bunch, aren’t they…?” Karehaan muttered to himself and Manabu. 

“Certainly…” Manabu nodded as he turned around and started leading the group back outside. “But…” A small smile appeared on his face. “...They’re our new hope. If their powers truly are capable of defeating those monsters… things might finally change around here.”

Karehaan smiled back. “Here’s to hoping…”

Before the group walked outside, Manabu whipped around towards the girls, pointing at them with a serious face. “Ah-! One more thing! If you happen to know anyone else’s names, please, please don’t say it to their faces before we introduce them to you…! It seriously spooked Karehaan and I when you did it to us!”

“Sorry!!” Saki and Mai spoke at the same time, bowing in apology.

Manabu sighed, relaxing as he opened the front door to the building. “It’s alright. No matter how weird you all are… We’re all grateful for your help.”

The girls perked up, smiling at one another. And then… They all were led outside.

“To start with our tour, you already know Karehaan.” 

Karehaan nodded, giving an awkward wave. 

“He runs our greenhouse, providing fresh produce for our community.” 

“Did you set up your hydroponic garden yourself?” Honoka inquired.

Karehaan nodded. “Yes, though I’ve had to abandon several ones before… Every time those masked people find our community, we’ve had to flee whatever ruins we were residing in. This place is the longest we’ve all managed to stay put in… And that worries me… they could find us at any moment… Especially since there’s a high chance they’ll know that the monster that was scouting this area was destroyed by you four…”

“That’s awful…” Mai muttered. “I can’t imagine what it must be like to abandon so much hard work…”

“I’ve had help, however.” Karehaan gave a small smile. 

Manabu nodded. “Karehaan’s neighbor is also his-”

“ Oiiiii! Karecchiii! ” A loud, flamboyant voice fell over the group, one that was immediately distinct to Saki and Mai yet again. A taller man wearing a loose red shirt and flared pants decorated with gold swirls and ceramic jewelry soon approached them. He had on lipstick, his nails were painted, and his wild, pale orange hair was bleached blonde at the edges and held in place with a purple headband. “You never told me that we’d be meeting with our new friends now, Karecchi!” 

Karehaan gave a small chuckle, turning towards the approaching dancer as he grabbed Karehaan’s arm in excitement. “Moerumba, good to see you back out of the studio again. We were just talking about you.”

“ Aiee! Is that so?!” Moerumba let go of Karehaan to closely observe the new arrivals, his ruby eyes glittering at the sight of them. “It’s a pl~ easure to make your acquaintances, senhoritas~ !” He quickly shook hands with each of them before introducing himself. “As meu amor, Karecchi, has mentioned! I am Moerumba, I run my very own pottery studio! I don’t just make lovely ceramics, I help find flammable oil to fill the lamps I make, giving the people the light they need in these dark, dark times.”

“That’s pretty cool!” Saki smiled at him. 

Mai glanced towards Moerumba’s necklace. “Did you make that jewelry yourself, too?”

“ Certainly! ” Moerumba tapped the ceramic panel that made up the necklace. “You gotta lighten up your appearance in times like this, too, you know!” He then perked up, walking back to his studio. “Aie, I should probably head back to work! Can’t leave the kiln running on its own for too long. Tchau! ” 

“I should be heading back to work, too.” Karehaan muttered. “I’ll, um… See you girls around.” He gave a slight wave before turning to walk towards the greenhouse once more. 

Saki lowered her voice towards the others. “Moerumba was another guy from Dark Fall. And Manabu was one of our classmates.”

Nagisa muttered to her back. “Is there anyone here you two don’t know? … Well, I mean… I guess you technically don’t know these guys, but…”

Manabu continued to lead them through the town as Nagisa’s thoughts trailed off. “As I was saying… Karehaan and Moerumba are partners. Moerumba is often the one visiting Karehaan, however, as Karehaan doesn’t usually like to leave his greenhouse.”

“Aww, that’s sweet.” Mai giggled. 

“The center of town is where most of us stay and do our work, but there’s a few notable locations along the way.” Manabu continued to explain. Before he could point out the individual buildings, a voice familiar to Nagisa in particular sounded as a pair of younger girls approached. Nagisa snapped up to attention immediately. 

“It was a dark and stormy night, as was usual for the ruined city-”

“Shiho, it wasn’t really dark or stormy today-”

“Quiet, quiet, quiet! Don’t break my creative flow!! Ahem …” The younger girls approached, one taller, her brown hair in two short pigtails, wearing a pink and white t-shirt and fingerless gloves; and one shorter, with short reddish-brown hair adorned with an orange sweatband, wearing a striped orange and yellow-orange hoodie. The shorter one, Shiho, continued to speak with a dramatic voice. “It was a dark and stormy night, as was usual for the ruined city… When, suddenly, a pillar of rainbow light pierced the sky! And from it, emerged four heroes!! With a blast of mighty light, they destroyed the monster terrorizing our humble home, but this was only the beginning of their troubles… Are they destined to save the world? Or are they destined to fail?! There’s only one way to find out…”

As the girls approached, Nagisa beamed. She whispered happily to the others.  “Shiho and Rina…!” It was nice to see some old friends, and it seemed like their personalities were more than in-tact, even in this weird world. 

“So? So? So? What did you think?” Shiho walked up to the group. “I’ve been aching   for some creative inspiration!! It’s hard to find good ideas with all the doom and gloom happening.”

“It sounds great!” Nagisa grinned at them, giving them a thumbs up. “But don’t you worry. We’re gonna save this world and everyone in it!”

“Ahh, so cool~...” Rina sighed dreamily. 

“This is Shiho and Rina.” Manabu introduced them to the group. “The two have taken up a role to help entertain us when we have the time. Rina collects decks of playing cards, and Shiho, as you can tell, is a storyteller.”

“It’s an honor to meet you all! A huge one!!” Shiho chimed, eagerly shaking hands with each of the girls. “I can’t believe we have visitors… and those visitors are real, live, superheroes!! ” 

Saki chuckled, resting her hands on the back of her head. “D’awww, you’re too nice! But we’re really just normal girls before Pretty Cure.”

“So humble!” Rina giggled. 

“It's true, though.” Honoka interjected. “We all started as ordinary girls before becoming Pretty Cure.” She chuckled a little bit. “Honestly… It's been long enough since we last transformed, that I almost started thinking I was just a normal girl again. And then, we all got roped into this, of course.”

Shiho was almost jumping up and down. “I see, I see, I see! This is all giving me sooo many ideas… I've gotta go start writing!!!” She turned on her heels and dashed into a nearby building.

“Shiho-! Jeez, I can hardly ever keep up with her.” Rina chased shortly after. 

Manabu shook his head. “They're a little hard to keep track of, but they never leave the community.” He took some notes before leading the group to the right. The group passed by a warehouse, and Manabu pointed it out. “This warehouse is where Viblis keeps her scrap metal, but she’s out scrap hunting right now. It’s a valuable resource, especially since right next door is Rie’s workshop.” 

Nagisa’s eyes then widened at the mention of Rie. “Mom’s here…?” She muttered to herself. The group approached the workshop, looking through the thick glass window to see a run-down workshop that was, despite its scrappy nature, very well-organized. There was scrap metal in large bins, walls lined with tools, and an adult, dark-haired woman in a thick orange sweater, huge blue-grey gloves, and navy blue leather overalls. She seemed to be taking a break, sitting down in a chair and drinking from a metal water bottle. 

Rie noticed the group watching, and she lifted a hand towards them in a slight wave before standing and walking out of view. 

Nagisa was stunned. Past enemies and friends were one thing… but… there was family here, too. Family that didn’t recognize her. Didn’t know her. 

Manabu looked around, before humming a bit. “Hmm… Her son, Ryouta, is a wanderer. He’s supposed to tell me if he wants to leave the city, so he’s probably just wandering the outskirts with his robot.”

Nagisa glanced back at the others. “He gets his own robot…?!” She whispered to them, flabbergasted. Honoka chuckled slightly. 

“I think I’m starting to understand this world a little more.” She murmured back to Nagisa. “Perhaps it’s some kind of reflection of our own world. …Or… at least it was… ”

Manabu continued to lead them on, to the left side of the street to a building with a small, simple observatory atop it. Mai was the one to perk up this time, the sight ringing a little familiar for her. “This is our archive, and also the residence of Kanako and Kazuya. Yuriko often spends her time here, too. Kanako is hard at work monitoring weather patterns and analyzing the health of the surrounding area. Kazuya used to be our stargazer, but… the worsening atmosphere has completely blocked out the stars at night for years… And Yuriko is our alchemist, studying the world’s mysteries in order to try to sustain us by synthesizing resources and keeping us safe.”

Mai and Honoka glanced at each other, but Mai’s eyes were widened with a glimmer of curiosity and other, stranger emotions. It truly felt so strange to think of her own mother and brother living in this world alongside them. 

They looked into the windows, seeing a laboratory of sorts that was a lot more cluttered than Rie’s workshop. Bookshelves were lined with notebooks and scientific equipment. There didn’t seem to be anyone there at the moment, however, and Manabu suggested they must’ve been in the top floor before leading the others on with the tour.

They finally made it to the center of the city, where a tantalizing scent filled the air. Saki was drawn towards it immediately, coming across what seemed to be a once-abandoned diner. The windows were broken, leaving the smells of fresh cooking to waft from within. Manabu followed, explaining.

“Ah, here’s Daisuke’s kitchen. He uses ingredients grown by Karehaan to occasionally cook meals for the community.” 

Saki’s eyes widened, recognizing the name of her father. “He’s a cook here, too, huh?”

Manabu sighed, having overheard several of their similar, strange comments from earlier and opting to just continue to ignore them. 

A young girl from within the building seemed to notice them, approaching them quickly, and before Saki could recognize her, she was bonked gently on the head with some sort of magic wand! “Ta-da! Flowers on you!!”

“Huh?!” Saki reeled back, a strange, warm sensation falling over her head as small yellow flowers suddenly bloomed in her hair. 

“Gotcha~!” The little girl giggled, leaning through the windowsill. She had brown hair tied into two braids with a pink ribbon tied in them. She wore a simple pink dress and had pink bows in her hair.

Saki’s eyes glittered slightly as she glanced down at her, resisting calling her name. “Y-You…”

Thankfully, Daisuke called from the kitchen. “Minori, they’re busy, honey. Come back inside.”

Minori waved good-bye to the group. “Okay, daddy!” As she ran back into the building, Saki had a slight smile on her face as she shook the flowers out of her hair.

“Haha~... This whole place is nuts…”

“Nuts or not… It's home.” Manabu gave a wistful look before shaking it off and continuing forward. “Next door is our water vault. Ms. Shitataare is who stores and rations our water, and-”

A young male voice spoke up from behind them. “Well, actually! I thought we agreed to start calling it the bank! ”

Manabu drew in a deep breath, seeming to be gathering his thoughts as he turned around to look at the boy approaching behind them. He had short, black, feathery hair, and was wearing a baggy white t-shirt with long, ripped jeans. The t-shirt had a simple ocean waves pattern printed on it. “ Kenta …”

Kenta was hauling a half-filled plastic jug of water. “Eh, eh? Come onnn, don’t ya get it, Manabu?”

“I get it. ‘Bank’, like river banks.”

“Yeah! Funny, right?”

Saki muttered to the others while Manabu was distracted. “I’m not sure whether to feel relieved or upset that Kenta is basically the same person he is back in Yuunagi…”

Before Manabu could reply to Kenta again, a loud, feminine voice came hollering from the building beside them. “KENTA!!! You’re late!! Get back in here so I can update the stock!!”

Kenta flinched, quickly rushing away into the building, almost dropping the jug on his way there. “Y-Yes, Ms. Shitataare!!”

Manabu sighed as Kenta rushed away. “He’s always trying to tell jokes around me. But… he mainly helps Ms. Shitataare with the water stock. He’s usually running errands to deliver water rations to the rest of the community, or staying back in the vault while Shitataare is out to collect more fresh water. Most of her recent efforts to find water have been unsuccessful, however… We have reserves that will last for a month, if not more, but… …Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. It’s best not to fear… and hold on to hope. …It’s how we’ve gotten this far, after all.”

The girls glanced at one another, feeling the weight of Manabu’s words press over them. This was a dying world that they had been brought in to save. It felt different from defending a world that they knew, loved, and lived in… They were tasked with lifting a barely familiar world from the grave. A world still clinging to life, barely breathing. It was a task that sounded impossible… but they were Pretty Cure. They held the power to do the impossible in their hands. What “impossible” looked like this time around, they didn’t know yet… but they had to have faith that it would show itself, as long as they kept going. 

“We won’t give up.” Honoka assured Manabu. “We were brought here to save this world, and we’re not leaving until we’ve brought it back to life.”

These words seemed to comfort Manabu slightly, a small smile appearing on his face. “...Thanks.” 

Manabu continued to lead them on the tour, noting that a few other residents were out of the town to do some scouting and exploring. However, they soon came across a large figure standing atop a felled building that blocked the road ahead. He had his back turned to the group, but he wore red and yellow robes, a red scarf around his head, and thick black armor over his left shoulder. Manabu glanced up to him. 

“Ah… That’s Uragonos. He’s a professional martial artist, training Yuka to become as skilled of a fighter as he is. They butt heads a lot, but the two are a formidable team. They’ve been one of our only lines of defense against the monsters and their masked commanders before you four showed up.” 

As the group approached, his voice rang out, loud and powerful, commanding the girls closer. “Pretty Cure. …Come to me. I wish to speak with you.”

Manabu glanced at the group, eyes widened slightly before stepping back, allowing the girls to move ahead. The four walked forward, stepping up a staircase welded into the side of the building. 

When they made it on top, they walked along metal panels that formed a bridge across the top, seemingly to prevent anyone from falling into the broken windows that lined either side of the fallen building. Their footsteps made gentle taps against the metal, paired with a slight creaking under their weight, but Uragonos didn’t turn to face them. 

“... So. You four are…?”

The group hesitated slightly before Nagisa stepped forward. “Uh… I’m Nagisa, and this is Honoka, Saki, and Mai.” 

“Hm.” Uragonos huffed slightly. “And… Your Pretty Cure alter-egos… Black, White, Bloom, and Egret, yes?”

“That’s right, sir…” Saki muttered, a little confused and tense. 

Uragonos paused for a moment before continuing to speak. “...Please, just call me Uragonos.”

A silence hung over them for a moment before Nagisa spoke up again. “...What did you… um… want to talk to us about…?”

Uragonos remained quiet for a few moments more… before sighing, beginning to speak. “... You four… … should know what we’ve been through as a community. This world has become a dangerous place. You need to be aware of what you’re about to face.”

The girls went silent, listening closely to Uragonos’ words. He spoke with a firm tone, yet it carried a deep melancholy for a time that has now long since passed. A time that no one even seemed to remember anymore. 

“... Even the elders in this city… were born into this disaster. No one remembers a time before a thin atmosphere… before these desolate lands… before scarce food and water… before the warmth of the world was killed .” His gaze wandered, his head tilting up to see the remaining buildings towering above. Barely standing. “Those… things … The mask of ego, Bracte. The mask of apathy, Sterilla. The mask of dread, Quell. And the mask of madness, Accelus. Long ago… for whatever twisted reason… They hunted down the worlds’ four Hearts… and destroyed them. Bracte crushed the Heart of Earth. Sterilla drained  the Heart of Water. Quell extinguished the Heart of Air. And Accelus tore apart the Heart of Fire. I’ve learned these things from the many times I’ve faced them, and only barely escaped with my life… They’re formidable foes with immense power, a power only amplified by the force that is Morrowend… And they’re responsible for… …the… dwindling size of our community…”

The girls listened closely, hearts sinking. “Oh my god…” Mai muttered, covering her mouth as she continued to listen with everyone.

Uragonos continued, his voice heavy. “...Loving pairs were torn forcibly in two… Families are missing parents… …missing children… I’ve lost count of the cities we had to abandon due to them… And to think the world has only gotten worse since… With the death of its hearts, the world still fights to survive, but… it’s been suffocating slowly… it dies more with each passing day…” 

As Uragonos paused again, the girls stopped to listen to the world around them. There was not a single whisper of a breeze. Not a chirp of a bird. Not a rustle of leaves. Even where there should have been the low hum of a normal city… was just the occasional, faint whisper of the few community members speaking with one another. 

An emptiness that couldn’t be explained with words stung their hearts… Things were so much more serious than they ever thought. The weight of loss hung heavy over the heads of every last remaining life within the community. And now, it had reached the four girls as well.

…However…

“...Though… despite all of that…” The girls perked up slightly, listening to Uragonos continue as he slowly turned towards the girls. His hair was a reddish brown, laced with grey hairs in his short beard and mustache. He had piercing gold eyes that stared down at the four with intensity that was slowly melting into something else… something softer. “... We never gave up. We’ve had our doubts… our trials, our losses… but we never let the dying world take us down with it. We never stopped fighting. We never gave those masked villains a chance for them to keep us under their heels. Because… if we didn’t…” He chuckled slightly, a small smile forming on his face. “...We wouldn’t have lived long enough to see you four arrive… and take the first steps to saving our world.”

The girls glanced at each other before looking up at Uragonos. “Heh… We’re really happy to help.” Nagisa spoke softly. “We’ll do everything we can.”

“Good… thank you…” Uragonos chuckled again. “You four are our miracle… Don’t give up. We didn’t, so you superheroes have no excuse!” He gave a small, but hearty grin down at the group.

The silence that followed once more felt much more uplifting than before. The air was charged with hope. There was a shining willpower that remained unbroken within the community despite all of the damage that it had taken. People could still smile. People could still laugh. People could still fight. And that was the fuel the four girls needed for the journey ahead. 

“Thank you, too...” Mai nodded towards him. “We needed to hear this… All of it.”

Uragonos gave them one last smile before turning back around, looking into the dried clouds once more. “Haha… …You can continue with your tour. Thank you for listening.”

The girls nodded towards one another, heading back down the staircase with clarity in their minds and passion in their hearts. However, they came back to Manabu talking to a very young boy, the youngest of everyone else in the city. He had short, yellow-blonde hair, and was dressed in a white dress shirt, dark grey overalls, and a striking red bow-tie. What was also interesting about him is that he had a single grey-black flower in his hair, with a round, pure white center. 

Nagisa and Honoka recognized him, but they waited for Manabu to introduce him. 

“Ah, you’re back!” Manabu perked up. “This here is Hikaru… He’s our youngest. He tends to wander from place to place, but…  He has a bit of an odd role.” Hikaru glanced up at the girls, staring up at them with his curious, yet oddly deep, blue eyes, before giving a tiny smile up at them. “... He’s attuned with the world’s magic, to the point where he seems to get visions of certain current events. He usually tells us things we can’t quite understand, but he can sense whenever one of those monsters, or, worse, those masked people, come by… He’s telling me that there’s another monster down northeast of the town’s border.”

The girls looked at each other, eyes widening. “Another Kaejana? So soon?!” Nagisa spoke first.

“It might’ve been on the hunt alongside the first.” Honoka theorized. 

“Snakes don’t usually hunt in groups, though! …Well, I mean, I guess there’s that one snake species in Cuba, but…” Saki thought out loud.

Mai sighed gently. “These aren’t real snakes, Saki…”

“Oh, right.”

“Well, anyway! Let’s get going!” Nagisa started running off in a direction, before stopping and turning back. “Uh… Which way is it?”

Manabu spoke up. “If you all are going to be going outside of the city, you’ll need the proper supplies.” He started leading them to a smaller building to the left of the road. The girls complied, though not without a bit of sass from Nagisa.

“Whaddya mean ‘supplies?’ All we need are our Communes!”

Manabu was about to explain, but Honoka beat him to the scolding. “Nagisa, this world is very different from home! The atmosphere is thin and dry, there's barely any vegetation, and there's dangerous debris and shrapnel everywhere! We're going to need to rely on a lot more to survive than just our Cure forms if we want to avoid getting infected wounds or asphyxiating. Especially if we're going to be spending a lot of time here.”

Nagisa groaned, but followed. “Always with the lecture…”

They eventually made it to a smaller, more traditional-looking building. Manabu knocked on the door, asking. “May I enter? I'm here with the four newcomers.”

“Mm? Ohh, yes, yes, do come in!” An elderly woman's voice spoke from within, and it was finally Honoka's turn to perk up from the familiarity.

As the group entered, they were met with pungent smells of medicinal herbs and incense. Organizing jars of herbs, roots, mushrooms, and other odd ingredients was the oldest of the community. Her grey hair was tied into a bun, and she wore a pale navy robe with a pastel pink pouch around her waist. She turned to greet the group with a welcoming smile. “Ahhh, it's a pleasure to finally get to meet the four of you.” She walked up to them and shook Honoka's hand, who had stepped forward to greet the old woman. “My name is Sanae. I work with dear little Poisony to gather medicine to help with the sick and injured. What do you require of me?”

Honoka was stunned to speechlessness, but thankfully, Manabu was able to speak up. “These four are going to be heading out of the town. They’ll need supplies.”

“I see, I see.” Sanae nodded her head knowingly. She shuffled over to a sliding door, where, upon opening it up, revealed several worn backpacks. Manabu helped Sanae pick out four backpacks, and they began filling them each with makeshift first-aid kits, flashlights, food rations, simple oxygen masks, and large bottles of water. 

While Manabu continued to pack, Sanae approached them. “This world is a dangerous place… We take as many measures as possible to ensure our community can be safe, both in and outside of the shelter of our homes…” She gave them a gentle expression. It was full of worry, but it had a small glimmer of confidence all at once. “You four… have a task ahead of you many here would consider impossible. Even I don’t remember a time when the world was full of life and magic… But… Deep in my heart is a comforting calm that tells me you’ll get through it. You four hold the key to saving our world… I just know it.”

“We’re going to give it our best shot.” Saki nodded towards her. 

“Thank you…” Sanae smiled towards them one last time as Manabu brought them their bags. “Best of luck.”

Once everyone was fitted with their backpacks, Manabu wrote some things down on his clipboard before leading them all outside once again. He pointed in a direction beyond the fallen building where Uragonos was. “Hikaru said that the monster was that way. It should be further down the valley.”

“We’re grateful for your help.” Mai spoke gently. “Truly.”

“It’s the least we can do.” Manabu nodded towards her. “Now, go for it!”

The four of them then rushed ahead, climbing over the fallen building once more, and continuing on beyond the buildings as the world slowly began to grow darker. The world’s sun, unseen from beyond the cloak of clouds, was beginning to set, taking the few beams of sunlight that reached beyond the clouds along with it. 

“Hm… We might want to hurry.” Honoka murmured. “If the light of the moon and stars aren’t capable of piercing through those clouds, it’s going to get very dark very soon.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice! This place gives me the creeps anyways.” Nagisa trotted ahead, and the others weren’t far behind. 

“Don’t be mean to the world!” Saki kept up with Nagisa’s slight jog. “It’s hurt…! It’s not it’s fault it looks like this. You should be nicer to it.”

Nagisa had to stifle a chuckle. “You too, Saki?! Why’s everyone scolding me today?!”

“You keep being mean!” Saki rebuked. 

Honoka giggled. “You know… I think I’m going to enjoy spending time with everyone here. We certainly keep each other company~♪”

“Everyone’s so lively!” Mai added, giggling with Honoka. “We’re going to have a lot of fun.”

“You guys are unbelievable!! ” Nagisa stuck her tongue out at everyone, only leading to more laughter.

Eventually, they had made it into a clearing in the valley, which had grown more into a canyon due to the sheer cliffs towering on either side of them, narrowing the path ahead. Soon enough, their fairies reacted from the pouches they were held in, alerting them of the powerful darkness nearby. A low hiss filled the air, cluing the girls in on their target.

They rushed ahead, and sure enough… Another Kaejana was spotted slithering through the rocks. It heard their approach, whipping around to glare down at the girls with another piercing hiss. “Kaejanaaa!!”

Nagisa narrowed her eyes, rearing herself up for the fight ahead. “Alright, let’s do this!” Just as the girls were about to transform, however…

“ Have no fear, dear maidens! Your heroes are here! ” A loud, masculine voice fell over them. The girls froze, a deep confusion falling over them all. 

Before they could voice their confusions, a pair of figures came leaping down from a ledge along the cliffs, landing in front of them. They wore gaudy outfits inspired by birds of prey. The feather-shaped fabric fluttered behind them as they stood up and introduced themselves, striking dramatic poses each.

“I am Falcon!” 

“And I am Kestrel!”

They then spoke at once, posing together. “ And together… We’re the Raptor Rangers! We shall protect you!! ” 

“...Fuji-P…? And… Kimata…?” Honoka murmured.

Nagisa flinched at the names, recognizing the two boys ahead of her immediately afterwards. “...You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Even the Kaejana seemed to become confused, tilting its head down at the two costumed figures that had just landed in front of it. However, it didn’t take long for it to narrow its eyes and lunge, snapping its maw at them in a strike. Fujimura and Kimata yelped, jumping out of the way and beginning to run further into the canyon.

“W-We’ll distract it!! You girls get back to the city!!” Kimata called towards the girls as the Kaejana clawed down at the two boys again. 

Honoka and Nagisa glanced at each other, noses crinkled in confusion and slight annoyance. 

“...Let’s just transform now.” Mai quietly interjected, to which everyone quickly agreed.

“Dual Aurora Wave!!”

“Dual Spiritual Power!!”

The familiar lights returned, and with it, came the same song and dance of transformation. Flooding power and burning strength made their way back into their systems, altering their forms.

 “ Flowers bloom across the earth!”

“Flap your wings into the sky!”

“Burning passion ignites courage!”

“Flowing light inspires hope!”

As they slammed back onto solid ground once more, their introductions came again.

“Emissary of light; Cure Black!”

“Emissary of light; Cure White!”

“The shining golden flower; Cure Bloom!”

“The sparkling silver wing; Cure Egret!”

“The four of us are Pretty Cure!!”

“You, dark forces who dare to plague this world!”

“Stop your cruel behavior, or return from whence you came!!”

Sensing the burn of the powers of light, the Kaejana quickly halted its chase of the two inexperienced “heroes”. It turned its attention to the girls with a growl, narrowing its eyes against the power that the four of them radiated. 

Fujimura and Kimata soon stopped running, watching this unfold from the sidelines. “What the…?”

The Kaejana lunged again to attack, and the girls scattered, splitting up. The canyon shook from its movements, causing some loose rocks to come crumbling down the sides. White developed an idea from seeing this. “Bloom! Egret! You two stay back and use your shields to keep it from escaping! Black and I are going to try to trap it under falling rocks!”

“Gotcha!” Bloom nodded. Bloom and Egret built up their magic, connecting with the Spirits of Nature once more to improve their agility as they began to leap around the area, positioning themselves behind the Kaejana as Black and White got into position in front. They jumped up, landing a punch and a kick right into the underside of the Kaejana’s head. 

It reeled backwards with a roar, attempting to back up to reposition, but it was quickly pushed forwards by Bloom and Egret channeling the light of the spirits, blasting waves of light from their palms once more to keep the snake-like monster cornered. 

“Wh- What is happening?! ” Fujimura yelped from the sidelines.

“Were they the ones who created that huuuge lightning blast we saw in town earlier?!” Kimata responded, holding his head.

“Dude… we missed so much since last stopping in town. I can't believe we decided to stay out until dark…”

“No kidding…”

Black and White expertly dodged a pair of clawed swipes from the Kaejana, leaping into the air to avoid it, clinging onto the cliff faces on either side to readjust themselves. The Kaejana then attempted to slither away, crashing into Bloom and Egret on its way past.

“WOAH-!!” Bloom cried out as the Kaejana’s snout rammed into her and Egret, breaking their concentration as they were shoved back. Bloom and Egret dug their feet into the ground, attempting to push the monster back as they themselves were being pushed across the dirt as well. “Nnrrghhh…!!” 

The Kaejana was eventually stopped, and it shook its snout free from the girls’ grip. It reared up, ready to strike back down on them with its fangs. “ KAEEEJANAAA!!!”

Thankfully, at just the right moment, Black and White came streaking back down from the canyon walls, leaping off the stone to rain a powerful attack down onto the monster, pinning it down. The impact shook the canyon once more, causing more rocks to fall. Black and White leapt up once more, just barely moving out of the way as the rocks came tumbling down, crashing onto the Kaejana and stunning it as it lay buried beneath a pile of rubble. 

“Go for it, Bloom, Egret!” Black cheered towards them as she and White jumped aside.

Bloom and Egret understood right away, joining their hands and preparing to unleash their own finisher attack. They joined hands, and lifted their opposite palms. Bloom reached hers forwards, while Egret reached into the air. They closed their eyes, calling forth the spirits of nature…

“O, Spirits of the Earth…”

“O, Spirits of the Sky…”

Golden yellow and silver blue sparks began to gather, being pulled from the earth and the sky, respectively, and flowing into Bloom and Egret’s palms with a steady pace. It was true that there didn’t seem to be very many spirits active in the world, but the few that remained were more than willing to lend the girls their strength, filling their bodies with warmth like a summer rain soaking into the soil.

“Now, together with us, as Pretty Cure…”

“...Let's release the power of nature’s miracle!”

The gems on the backs of Bloom and Egret’s palms glowed as the lights began to escape them and collect in front of them, building the flowing power, a storm just waiting to hit…

“ Pretty Cure! Twin Stream… ”

And by thrusting their palms forward, they allowed the energy to rush forward in a rejuvenating flood of water infused with the light of the spirits, bringing some much-needed moisture to the dry air in bursts of surrounding mists.

“ SPLASH!!! ”

The flood rushed through the canyon, roaring with righteous fury as it washed over the Kaejana. The stones that were surrounding it became eroded by the power of the blast, as the monster itself was also eroded by the twisting forces of nature. It writhed and roared as it was destroyed, leaving behind the same sort of weak, cowardly spirit that they had seen before as the floods ebbed, sinking into the ground. “Kae, kaeee-!”

Bloom and Egret sighed happily once the spell had ended, feeling at peace from the comforting energy that had now returned to the world once again. “Ahhh… That felt nice, using a Twin Stream Splash again.” Bloom chuckled.

Egret nodded in agreement. “Certainly…! I’m glad we got to feel its power once more… I almost forgot how soothing it is.”

“Pretty different from an ol’ Marble Screw, huh?” Bloom chuckled, glancing playfully at Black and White, who soon approached once more. 

“Oh, for sure. I don’t think I’ve really gotten a good look at it until now.” Black scratched the back of her head. “It’s definitely a lot… calmer than a Marble Screw.”

“Though, it still exudes a certain intensity.” Honoka thought out loud. “It’s less raw power and more like… a natural disaster, I suppose. It demands respect.”

“I guess …” Bloom shrugged. “It’s just nature! It’s hard to really get in the way when nature’s making its path forward.”

Black raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? I don’t really get it, but… sure.”

As the girls continued talking, they were soon approached by the two bird-costume-clad men, both looking wide-eyed and utterly flabbergasted. They muttered amongst themselves for a little bit before Fujimura stepped forward. “H-H…Hey, uh… Who… Who are you four…? You said you were… Uh… Pretty… Pretty Cure?”

Black stiffened up just a bit, seeing Fujimura walk towards them. It’s been a long time since she’s even thought about him, having driven her focus into school and Honoka… Were her feelings still the same…? … There wasn’t any time to think about that, however, as White spoke up in her stead. “Yes, that’s correct. We’ve arrived here from a world that mirrors this one… And we’ve come here to save it.”

“Th-That’s amazing!” Kimata spoke up, leaning over Fujimura’s shoulder, almost knocking the latter off-balance. “With power like that, there’s no way you’re gonna lose at all!”

Fujimura pushed Kimata away. “Hey-!” He cleared his throat before turning towards the girls. “W-Well-! U-Uh… We’re sorry for, uh… getting in your way… We had no idea you could… well…” He gestured quickly to the girls’ transformed selves. 

Bloom chuckled. “It’s no big deal, really! We’re just glad you’re safe.”

“Speaking of being safe…” Mai spoke up, glancing up into the sky, painted with the muted orange of a sunset just out of reach. “...We probably should head back before it gets really dark.”

“Yeah!! W-We’ll lead the way!” Kimata charged forward. 

“ K-Kestr- I mean- Kimata!! You idiot, get back here!!” Fujimura charged after him, leaving the girls to glance at one another with a chorus of sighs and shaking heads. 

They were eventually able to make their way back to the city, where they checked in with Manabu before anything else. By the time they were reverting back to their civilian forms, it was dark outside, so the girls relied on the dim candles lit along the sides of the street to guide them back to their temporary home. 

They walked in to see their still messy room, and Nagisa groaned at the sight of it. “Jeez, I was just about to be happy about forgetting this mess.”

Honoka gave a small yawn. “It’s okay, Nagisa… we can finish cleaning tomorrow.”

Saki dropped her backpack as she flopped onto her bed, half asleep already. “It’s been a long day… …Well, no, it actually went by kinda quick, now that I think about it.”

Mai stifled a giggle as she took off her own backpack and climbed to the bunk above Saki. 

The girls didn’t have any options for pajamas at that moment, so they each clambered into their beds with the clothes they’ve been wearing since their arrival. They were dirtied, but they really couldn’t have been much dirtier than the beds already were, despite their previous best efforts to clean them.

Nagisa found herself as the last to fall asleep, staring at the ceiling as thoughts fluttered through her head one by one. Why exactly were the four of them chosen for this task, and not any other Pretty Cure? Bloom and Egret, she could understand, with their connection to nature and all, but… what did it have to do with Black and White? Maybe it had to do with the fact that there were strange, altered versions of friends, family, and past foes familiar to them four only? And, if those friends, family, and past foes were here… Was there also a Nagisa, Honoka, Saki, and Mai of this world …? If so… … what happened to them …?

…They couldn’t be… …No, of course not. If they were anything like us , none of them would ever do something so terrible. Something so dangerous. No one seemed to have any memory of the four of them at all, anyways. So, if they existed, those four definitely, absolutely couldn’t have been… them.

A chill ran down Nagisa’s spine at even the thought. They hadn’t even encountered those masked villains once yet… And yet… their potential presence alone was beginning to burn itself into Nagisa’s mind. Four villains powerful enough to stop a world’s hearts from beating… and only becoming stronger after the fact. 

Feeling a bit restless, Nagisa leaned over the side of her bed, looking down at Honoka, who was sleeping peacefully, palms gently gripping her bedsheet like she was holding onto a dream. 

Seeing her be so peaceful… it filled Nagisa with something. A gentle flutter in her heart that settled into a soothing weight in her chest. Honoka’s gift to her… hope. If Honoka can believe in it… Then Nagisa felt as though she could, too. 

Snuggling into her bedsheets, then holding her hands close to her chest… Nagisa soon fell asleep as well.

Chapter Text

It began as a slow morning. 

Many of them slept much longer than usual, exhausted from the day prior, and all of the adjusting it had taken to stomach the fact that they were stuck in this new world for the foreseeable, yet currently unmoving, future.

Honoka was the first to wake up.

Honoka’s morning routine was thrown off the moment she stepped foot onto the floor of the bedroom. She was still dressed in the clothes from yesterday… She didn’t know where to wash or brush her teeth… The scents of her grandmother cooking breakfast were absent… She blinked a few times, staring at the door. 

“...It’s so strange, isn’t it…? One moment, we’re at home, and life is like it usually is… But in another… we’re in a completely different world… One that’s familiar, sure, but… That familiarity… while comforting… is also teetering into the Uncanny Valley… I mean… no one knows who we are… but we know at least some semblance of them… … what do you think, Mipple…?”

She glanced over to her bed, where the new device that held Mipple laid. The device stirred slightly before flipping open, and Mipple’s little face peeked out of it groggily, clearly just awakened. She yawned before turning towards Honoka. “Hwaaah… It’s certainly strange, mipo… Especially with the heightened magic in the world… It makes it feel kind of like the Field of Light in that way, mipo…”

“Fascinating…” Honoka muttered.

“It’s all so weird, isn’t it…?” A third voice joined their conversation and as Honoka glanced up, she saw Mai sitting up in her bed. “I’m used to getting stuff done all on my own, since my family isn’t always awake in the morning… Kazuya has school, mom and dad have work… But…” Mai slowly climbed down, facing Honoka. “... It still feels weird to wake up in clothes instead of pajamas, in the same world I was in yesterday… Waking up, I almost saw my own room… I almost thought it was all just a very vivid dream.”

Honoka giggled lightly. “I felt the same. It’s like if I close my eyes and open them just one last time, I’ll be sitting at home with breakfast, grandma, and Chuutaro…”

Mai tilted her head slightly with a smile. “Indeed…”

“I already miss the Land of Fountains, chopi…” Choppy’s voice murmured from beneath Mai’s bedsheets, before the new device wiggled its way from them and opened up. “Even the Land of Greenery had more spirits of nature residing in it than this place, chopi…” She glanced solemnly down at Mipple. “I wish this place could feel as familiar to Flappy and I as it probably does to you and Mepple, chopi…”

Mipple popped into her regular form as she leapt onto Honoka’s shoulder to get a better view of Choppy. “Choppy… The world still feels harsh and unfamiliar to us, too… In the Field of Light, there’s beautiful skies filled to the brim with light and rainbows, mipo…! But, the sky here… it’s grown so dull and dry, mipo…”

Choppy paused before jumping down into her true form as well, hovering slightly before landing on Mai’s head. “The poor sky, chopi…” She then slowly perked up, looking back to Mipple. “... Well… we’ll be home eventually, chopi! Right, Mipple?”

“Of course, mipo!” Mipple smiled at her. “As long as we hold onto hope and combine our powers, we’ll be unstoppable, mipo.”

Honoka and Mai smiled at each other as well, their fairies’ words touching their hearts. Seeing the fairies brought a question to Honoka’s mind shortly afterwards. “Oh, I just remembered to ask… Mipple, is there a name for your new form? First it was the Card Commune, then the Heartful Commune, and now…?”

“Ah!” Mipple perked up, transforming back into the device and landing in Honoka’s hand. “This is a Blitz Commune, mipo! The cards are now little discs, so I suppose we might have a chance to play music like this, mipo.”

Honoka smiled. “Music, huh? Nagisa loves music… I’m sure once we figure the Blitz Communes out, it’ll bring so much life to her heart.”

“You should try it too, Honoka!” Mipple smiled up at her. 

“Eh? Me? Well… I don’t usually listen to music intentionally…” 

“Oh… That’s okay mipo!”

“Choppy, does your form have a new name, too? We had the Mix Communes, then the Crystal Communes..” Mai glanced up at Choppy before she jumped down and transformed into Mai’s palm as well.

“This is a Snap Commune, chopi! The new chips snap into the side!”

Mai giggled. “It’s really pretty! The big screen where I get to see all of you instead of just your face is nice.”

Choppy blushed bashfully. “Mai…!”

Mai was suddenly hit with a weight from the back of her head. Flappy had leapt out of Saki’s bed and clung his little paws into Mai’s head.

“Hey!! Don’t get all lovey-dovey with Choppy without me, lapi!!” 

“Sorry, Flappy!” Mai couldn’t help but giggle at the scenario. 

Saki’s voice soon fell upon the group with a groan as she flopped over to her side in bed, yawning loudly. “Mmmmnn… whasallat noise…?”

Mai smiled down at her. “Good morning, Saki.”

Saki’s heavy eyes opened just a bit, widening in slight surprise at Mai’s voice and presence, but she quickly closed them again with a warm smile. “Mornin’ Mai… Almost forgot we were sharing a room like this… I thought one of you all was Minori for a sec…!”

“Honoka and I were actually just discussing that.” Mai leaned over Saki’s bed to look at her better, setting Choppy aside and letting her and Flappy play together as the latter jumped down from Mai’s head. “It just feels weird, doesn’t it?”

Saki opened her eyes again, beaming at the sight of Mai leaning over her. “Weird, maybe, but… with you here, Mai, I wouldn’t mind waking up like this for months.”

“Oh…!” Mai’s eyes widened and light blush dusted her face. She backed up slightly, muttering to herself in surprise. “...That’s a… bit… romantic…” Honoka giggled at her reaction.

Honoka then turned towards the remaining top bunk. She knocked on the ladder. “Nagisa, come on down, sleepyhead.”

Nagisa tossed in bed. “Mmm… fi’ more minutesss… I’ll ge’breakfast ina bit, mom…”

Mepple jumped out of his Blitz Commune form, looking over the side of the bed down at everyone else before standing on Nagisa’s chest. “Nagisa! Everyone else is awake, mepo! You shouldn’t be dilly-dallying to save the world, mepo!”

This technique backfired as Nagisa tossed again, snatching Mepple into her arms and snuggling him like a stuffed animal. She snored softly, cuddling him. “Mmm… smells like takoyakiii…”

The other girls chuckled to themselves as the scene unfolded. Embarrassed, Mepple shouted back down at them. “D-DON’T DELIGHT IN MY SUFFERING, MEPO!!”

Thankfully, Mepple’s shouts and squirms finally reached Nagisa, and she yawned, sitting up and stretching as Mepple tumbled onto her lap. “Meppleee, don’t shout in my ears next time… Anyway, I- …Oh.” She turned to slide out of bed, only to see everyone else standing beneath her, greeting her with smiles and waves. “...I can’t believe I almost forgot about… Well, all of this. Almost thought I was back home… Haha, glad I didn’t slide all the way out of bed, then.” She laughed with a slight nervousness in her voice, scratching the back of her head as she dangled her legs off the side of the top bunk.

“We’re all feeling the same sort of dissonance, aren’t we?” Honoka spoke. “I have a feeling we’ll get used to it eventually, however.”

“I hope we do… I don’t want to fall out of bed one morning just because I thought I was just in my normal room again.”

“I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Honoka smiled up at Nagisa, which seemed to ease her nerves.

As Nagisa finally climbed down her ladder, a knock sounded at their door. Mai, being the closest to the door, opened it up to reveal Manabu, Sanae, and Kenta, each carrying a crate full of supplies. “Good morning! Good to see everyone is awake. I was worried we’d be interrupting your sleep.” Manabu smiled at them as the three set the crates down. “We brought you some things you’ll need for an extended stay. Inside this crate are some brushes, batteries, and some containers you can use to organize your things.”

Kenta grunted as he set down his crate, which had multiple large water jugs in it. “Here, this is water you can use to wash! If you need drinking water, Daisuke hands out water bottles.”

“And I have some spare nightwear for the next time you go to sleep.” Sanae gestured to her crate full of handmade pajama clothes. “I’ve also made some soap for you all.” 

Honoka smiled at the three of them. “Thank you all so much! We look forward to spending time with everyone here. There’s so much to explore… so much to experience!”

“So many hours to sleep without worrying about homework!!” Nagisa chimed in with a smug grin. 

Honoka shot her a playful glare while the other two laughed. 

“Well, we’ll leave you to it.” Manabu nodded towards the four, leading Kenta and Sanae back out. Before they went, Manabu pointed to a door at the end of the hallway. “In there is the washroom. The faucets aren’t functional, but the drains are clear. There’s some towels for you to use to dry as well. Use your water wisely!”

From there, the four girls built their new routine from the ground up, taking turns to take a jug of water into the washroom, cleaning themselves with the handmade soaps before rinsing with a splash of water, taking care to brush their teeth as well. Honoka washed first, then Mai, then Nagisa, and soon, Saki was the last one to walk out of the washroom, whipping her head back and forth to shake off the remainder of water in her hair, winding up with some wet bangs covering her eyes. 

Saki snorted as she stumbled her way back to the room, where Nagisa was struggling to brush her hair, and Honoka was helping Mai do her ponytail. Mai burst into light laughter seeing Saki open the door with her wet hair covering her face, but not doing enough to hide her wide smile. “I think I need some help. Anyone got a hair dryer?”

“No dryer, unfortunately. At least they seem to dry quickly with the lack of a humid atmosphere.” Honoka spoke, turning to Saki with a smile. “…Well, my hair’s quite thick, it may take a while to dry, anyways.”

“That’s fine!” Saki waved her hand. “How ‘bout a brush, then?”

Nagisa rolled her eyes, still struggling. “I’m still- ngh…! Busy with these dang knots! I thought having short hair would make brushing it… grrr… easier!!”

Honoka soon finished doing Mai’s hair, and Mai stood up, grabbing another brush from the crate and guiding Saki down to her bed, sitting her down while she brushed Saki’s hair aside while it was still wet. “Here you go, Saki… I’ll help you get your hair back to how you like it.”

“Thanks, Mai! You always know how to get me back to top form!!”

Mai giggled, smiling widely as she continued to assist Saki with her hair, tying her bangs back with the rest of her hair for a small, high ponytail on the back of her head, and clipping her hairclips back into place.

While Saki was getting her hair done, Honoka soon started helping a grumpy Nagisa brush the remaining knots out of her hair, leading to the occasional cries of “ow!” from her. 

It didn’t take much longer before all four of them were refreshed and ready to go, but before they could step outside of their room, they were met with an all-too familiar cry,

“We’re hungry…!!”

The girls glanced down at their fairies, who were all looking back up with round, pleading eyes. And they all looked at each other with eye rolls and chuckles before using their new Communes to give their companions food. 

It didn’t take long for Saki’s own stomach to start growling. “Wahh… I’m hungry, too!”

Nagisa sighed. “You said it… What I’d give for a donut or something…”

“We’re all pretty hungry… Maybe we should stop by Daisuke’s kitchen and see what he’s cooking for everyone?” Mai spoke gently.

“Please!!” Saki perked up immediately. “If this Daisuke is anything like the Dad I know back home, whatever he’s making is going to be delicious!!”

“Let’s hurry there before Nagisa starts chewing on one of us.” Honoka teased.

“It was ONE TIME I almost bit Saki’s arm!!!” Nagisa protested. “And I was half-asleep!! It's not my fault she smells like bread 24/7!!”

Honoka stuck her tongue out at Nagisa. “Keep telling yourself that~♪”

“WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!” 

Laughter bounced between the girls as they exited the building, seeing the streets of the ruined city a bit more active than they were yesterday. People were talking, sharing freshly made food, sitting on the outdoor benches, and generally appearing to be relaxing before proceeding to their duties. They recognized faces from the day prior, exchanging waves and friendly smiles, and also noticed some faces they hadn’t seen until now. 

Vibilis, dressed in a purple vest and colorful pink-maroon gloves, leaning against the wall of her warehouse, getting a drink from Rie’s water bottle as they talked to one another. Ryouta was nearby as well, wearing a large pair of pilot goggles and a green dinosaur hoodie, chowing down on a few donuts. Shiho was gossiping with a straight-faced Yuka, who was wearing red and yellow robes not unlike Uragonos’, while they ate some sort of sandwiches. They even spotted Kanako and Kazuya, each dressed in purple, but while Kanako was in a sloppy lavender nightgown, Kazuya was dressed in a deep indigo suit with faint glitters of gold, looking like a night sky made fabric. The two shared some warm drinks as they sat on a bench together, glancing up at the grey blanket of clouds above them, before Yuriko, dressed in a white labcoat, came by with some pastries to share, joining them on the bench. Lastly, they saw Sanae and Poisony, who was wearing black and red gloves with a white uniform, silently sharing some herbal tea as they watched the four girls pass them by.

Soon, the girls followed the welcoming scents to Daisuke’s kitchen, catching sight of the man himself as he served a plate of roasted vegetables to Manabu, who nodded in thanks and turned away, before noticing the girls as they stepped in. “Ah! There you four are! There’s still plenty of food.”

Daisuke smiled at them, waving them down. “Lots to eat! Come on down and tell me what you all like.”

Saki approached first, eyes lit up as she looked up at Daisuke. “Um! Do you have any choco cornets? I looove choco cornets…!”

Daisuke pursed his lips, thinking for a second. “Hm.. I don’t have cornets, but will chocolate croissants do?”

“Oh yeah! That’s fine!” 

Picking up some metal tongs and a plate, Daisuke took out a pair of chocolate croissants from a cabinet nearby, before handing the plate to Saki. “There you go! Please, enjoy yourself.”

Saki beamed as she received the baked goods. “Thank youuu!” 

“I want chocolate croissants too!!” Nagisa butt in, mouth watering. 

“Haha! Alright, alright.” Daisuke chuckled as he picked out two more chocolate croissants, handing them to Nagisa.

“Have you made any omurice?” Honoka asked. 

“Indeed I have.” Daisuke responded heartily, offering a plate of the freshly made scrambled egg on rice, as well as some wooden chopsticks to eat it with, to Honoka, taking it graciously. 

“Thank you very much!”

Daisuke then turned towards Mai. “And as for you?”

Mai hesitated, looking over the options, before deciding on something simple. “One of those sandwiches looks good. May I have one of those?”

Daisuke nodded and handed a plate with the simple sandwich to Mai, who took it with a nod. “You four enjoy your food, now! …Oh, one more thing.” He distributed metal bottles filled with water to the group. “There, those are yours to keep. If you need refills, stop on by again!” 

Saki turned the bottle over in her hands before glancing slowly back up at Daisuke. “...Thank you so much, Mr. Daisuke…! This really means a lot…”

“Ha, of course. It’s the least we can do around here.” Daisuke smiled down at them. “It can be easy to lose hope in times like these… But even if it seems like there’s no hope, no life to be found in even the furthest reaches of this land… I just keep my motto close to my heart; All things have a soul. Every object, every location… They’re all alive. …I’m counting on you girls to reawaken those hibernating souls. Help this world breathe again.”

Nagisa, Honoka, and Mai all nodded with a smile, but Saki stared for a few moments, eyes twinkling in awe. Her father’s words, even echoed in this mirror world… She knew them well, but hearing them spoken again in this one… It ignited her soul. “...Th-Thank you, Mr. Daisuke…!!”

Daisuke chuckled. “Please, just Daisuke is fine. You four have my hope.”

Saki gave one last smile to Daisuke before heading out of the diner with everyone else. “He’s amazing, isn’t he…?”

“I can definitely see where you get that positive attitude from.” Nagisa chuckled, before tearing into one of the chocolate croissants. “Thdough…” She paused to swallow after talking with her mouth full. “I think it’s kind of freaky how similar everyone is to how they are back home…”

“I’unno, I think it’s nice.” Saki responded as she ate her own croissants. “It’s like a home away from home! It gives me this sort of fire inside, y’know? Like! ‘I gotta save this world and everyone in it!’ kind of fire!”

Nagisa chuckled, rolling her eyes slightly. “Good for you, I guess. Still creeps me out more than anything.”

“I find it quite fascinating.” Honoka spoke between bites of her omurice. “...Mmm… Though, on another note… Does anyone else’s breakfasts taste a bit strange…?”

“That’s what I was about to mention!” Mai piped up after a few bites of her sandwich. “The vegetables in here are fine, if just a bit different, but the bread tastes really odd. It’s still quite good despite that, however…”

Saki tilted her head at her and Nagisa’s croissants. “I wonder if Daisuke had to substitute the dairy and eggs… Y’know, since there’s not really any animals around to make milk or lay eggs.”

Honoka nodded. “It’s possibly a combination of that, as well as the fact that we’re in a world mirroring our own. Perhaps plants, fungi, animals, and other organisms here are quite unique compared to the ones we’re used to?”

“Come to think of it, there were a few strange-looking plants in Karehaan’s garden… But I had just assumed they could’ve just been more exotic, non-Japanese plants.” Mai added before biting into her sandwich again. 

“I’ll have to speak with Karehaan again sometime.” Honoka muttered to herself, making a mental note before continuing to eat.

“You guys…” Nagisa sighed, nearly completely lost. “...are so weird.”

The girls continued to eat their breakfasts, and as they finished, Honoka returned everyone's plates and chopsticks to Daisuke for disinfecting them for reuse. 

“Alright. With that out of the way… …What do we do now?” Honoka inquired as she walked back out of Daisuke’s kitchen. 

Mai tilted her head for a moment. “Hmm… Well, I suppose we could ask Manabu if he has anything else for us to do at the moment.”

“He’s just right over there! I’ll grab him!” Saki chimed, walking a bit away from the group to wave Manabu over. 

“Ah! Hello. How was your first morning with us? Was everything to your liking?” Manabu asked, clipboard in hand, as he approached.

Nagisa grinned. “It’s been fine, but… Is there any way you can heat up the water before giving it to us?”

Honoka punched Nagisa’s arm. “Nagisa! Be reasonable!”

“Sorry, sorry! I was just kidding, really!” Nagisa laughed, rubbing her arm. “In all seriousness, it felt really nice. The food was pretty good, too!”

Manabu smiled warmly at them. “That’s a relief. So… is there anything I can help you four with?”

“We’re just wondering if there’s anything we should do, now that we’ve gotten all settled in.” Saki rested her hands on the back of her head as she asked.

“Hmm…” Manabu touched his pencil to his lip, looking down at his clipboard and flipping through a few pages before looking back towards the group. “I don’t believe there’s any imminent danger, so… You’re free to tend to your selves, or walk around and help with everyone else once we all begin our own duties.”

Honoka lit up. “Ah! So we can finally go finish cleaning our room!”

“Ughhhh…” Nagisa groaned, shoulders sagging. “No more cleaninggg…”

“Don’t be such a crybaby.” Honoka teased. “We’re almost done anyways.”

“Alriiight…” Nagisa folded her arms with a huff.

Just as the girls were about to return to their room… A small, panicked voice came running up to them from behind.

“They’re coming…! They’re coming…!!” 

The group turned around to see horror descend onto Manabu’s face as a terrified little Hikaru came stumbling through the broken street, too wracked with fear to stop and cry. 

“They’re coming!!” His poor voice cried to the best of its ability. 

“N-No… No, they can’t be, not now, I-...” Manabu shook, but paused for just a moment to catch a shallow breath, exchanging a glance with the concerned girls. 

“What’s going on…? Who’s coming…?” Mai muttered.

“...Them.” Manabu responded, voice trembling. “...The Masks.” He then ushered Hikaru to the side as he raised his voice into a firm, practiced call. “EVERYONE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! RETREAT TO YOUR HOMES AND BUNKERS NOW!!”

Terror consumed the once peaceful civilians, but they didn’t panic. Their fear was controlled. They all rushed on planned paths into the worn buildings, climbing into basements and shutting doors. As they passed the girls, they offered glances filled with all sorts of emotions, but above all else, there was a spark of hope within them. They had seen firsthand the power of PreCure, and now… they were placing a fleeting hope in them. A hope that they’d be protected from the looming threat. It was a hope that the four girls wanted to believe in as well.

“If things go wrong…” Manabu murmured to the four as he started leading Hikaru away to one of the buildings. “...I… I don’t know… J-Just… Just try your best, okay…?” And with that, they had escaped into a building as well, leaving the girls alone in the middle of a silent street, as barren as it appeared when they first arrived. 

Their stomachs twisted into knots. Their hearts began to pound. All it took was a shared glance of determination and worry both to rear them up for transformation. They drew out their Communes, joining hands once more…

“I have a very bad feeling about this, mepo…”

“Dual Aurora Wave!!”

“Dual Spiritual Power!!”

Transforming with a heavy tension in the air was a sensation all too familiar to the four. Facing the end of the world was nothing new, and neither was facing villains capable of destroying their world and beyond… But what about villains that had already destroyed the world? Leaving nothing but miniscule sparks of life struggling to shine, slowly flickering out one by one… It was different. Equal parts invigorating and terrifying. Just who could be capable of such terrible things…?

They eventually landed once more, introducing themselves one by one before joining their voices once more.

“The four of us are Pretty Cure!!”

“You, dark forces who dare to plague this world!”

“Stop your cruel behavior, or return from whence you came!!”

Their voices echoed out into silence once more. Where there was once the low murmur of the townsfolk was now dead, complete silence. 

The girls stiffened as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, backs touching, looking over all angles to try to parse where the dark forces would be arriving from. 

“Where…?” Saki began to mutter, but she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps from high above. Metal on concrete. The four froze, breaths catching, as they listened.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

They were heavy. And with each footfall came a light metallic rattle, like spurs on the back of a cowboy’s boots. 

As those footsteps came closer, growing louder, they were followed by three other types of footsteps.

The second was rhythmic and measured, but soft enough that it almost sounded like a weightless drift.

The third was frantic, erratically tapping in unpredictable patterns and shuffles.

And the fourth was quick, sounding as if in a jog, before suddenly stopping. Then starting, then stopping, again and again. 

The girls turned their gazes upward, looking up to the top of the beaten and broken office building ahead of them. 

And after several tense moments of listening to their footsteps draw closer… and closer…

… They appeared.

Stepping to the edge of the towering building came four masked figures.

The first to appear was of a hulking stature, clad in rugged iron spikes that framed sickly green and yellow armor, a twisted crown atop their head, and a gnarled ruff of pale yellow, stiff, fur-like spines circling the back of their neck.

The second was unreasonably tall, towering high above the others. They were draped in a long, grey cloak that concealed their body, all the way to their feet, and their black, straight hair flowed to the ground, where it faded into muted blue curls. 

The third was hunched over, neurotically fidgeting and trembling beneath a grey and desaturated purple poncho, the edges of which were trimmed with a twisting grey mist, including the flowing cloud around their neck.

And the fourth, the smallest, paced back and forth impatiently, flexing enormous claws made of a cracked stone armor, where an angry orange light flared from within. Their stone boots were also fitted with metal spikes on the bottom, resembling cleats. 

There they were. The ones who murdered this world’s hearts in cold blood. 

A tense silence reigned above them all before the green, armored figure gave a loud, indignant huff as they folded their arms. “So, you four are the ones who have been destroying our Kaejana, hm?” Their voice was distorted, sounding vaguely feminine, but layered with a rumbling depth that plunged their voice into something that could rattle in one’s ears if it got too close. 

The girls glanced at one another for a few moments, before looking back up. Before they could respond, the armored figure interrupted them.

“Tch. Don’t answer that. I know.” They growled. “Now, listen up, insignificant gnats! I am Bracte. I am the strongest warrior in this world. I only share my name with you so it can be carved into your gravestones. …If you’re lucky enough to be left in a state in which you can be properly buried, that is.”

Everyone froze. More nervous glances were shared. But when eyes fell onto Bloom’s, something shifted.

“...So… You…” Bloom muttered, clenching her fists as a shadow fell over her eyes. “...You were the one… who… killed this world’s Heart of Earth… Right…?”

The other three girls looked back at her in shock, uncertain of what to do. Bracte tilted their head to the side, looking down at her. “... And of what use is that information to you?”

“The Spirits of the Earth… All of the Spirits of Nature… they’re my friends…!” Saki trembled as a golden aura sparkled around her. “E-Even if I don’t know the spirits in this world personally… I can feel their pain in losing their own friends…!! I…! I’ll never forgive you!!” 

“Saki, wait-!!” Egret cried, but it was too late. With a powerful stomp, Saki launched herself into the air with the assistance of the light of the spirits. 

“RAAAAAAHHH!!” Bloom cried out as she reeled back her fist to strike at Bracte, but she was met with a sudden pain as Bracte effortlessly swatted away her fist, and retaliated by thrusting their palm onto her neck, squeezing their thick, powerful fingers around Bloom’s throat. Bloom choked, barely able to breathe thanks to the spirits clinging to her body just barely shielding her from the full force of the grip. “Ghk-!”

It was only now that Bloom could understand the true scale of the threat in front of her. Bracte was massive, significantly taller than any human ought to be, if they even were one, and much bulkier. Bracte reeled her in closer, staring her down behind their angular, aggressive mask. “... Weak.” They bellowed in her face. “I would’ve expected better from the ones capable of destroying our Kaejana.” They gripped tighter, squeezing a choked sob from Bloom’s throat as the spirits struggled to protect their golden flower, threatening to fade at any moment. 

“Hk-... gah-...” Was all Bloom could muster, losing her breath. 

“...” Bracte paused for one more moment, studying Bloom intensely, before finally speaking once more. “... You disappoint me.” They then lifted Bloom further, before grunting as they threw her downwards, sending her gasping for air just before she hurtled down to the broken street, the spirits just barely able to prevent the air getting knocked out from her as she crashed into the ground, limp and struggling to breathe. 

“SAKI!!” Egret cried urgently, rushing to her side. 

“Oh, now you’ve done it!!” Black roared back up to the four figures. Before she could get another word in, Bracte scoffed. 

“You four aren’t even worth our time.” They paused to look around the surrounding area, scanning the buildings for any sign of life… …But not seeing any. “...Hmph. Well, let’s just get this over with.” Bracte spread their arms out as a dark magic began to gather, the sky darkening as red energy twisted down like veins reaching towards their heart… They then raised their voice in a sickening chant. 

“Arise, our pawn of glorious destruction and endless stagnance!”

“Writhe from the depths and swallow the light whole!!”

And with a pound of their fist against the concrete below, the energy twisted into a red X-shape, before a familiar snake-like monster sprouted from it. With a swing of their arm, the Kaejana slithered down, sinking into a fallen telephone pole. A dark aura then consumed the object, causing it to warp and shift into a monstrous shape, the X-shaped markings proudly marking its chest and head. Soon, its transformation was complete, and it roared with a crackle from the now live wires sparking at its sides. “KAEJANAAA!!!”

“Come. We have more important matters to tend to.” Bracte turned away, leading the other three figures to follow.

“Agreed.” The tallest figure spoke with a droning monotone. 

The anxious figure muttered something nearly inaudible.

And the clawed figure snarled with a voice almost rattling with fury. “Ugh, FINALLY. This was all just a waste of time!!”

The oppressive tension that had previously occupied the air lifted as the four masked figures disappeared behind the roof of the building, the tendrils of dark magic pulling them from their current positions and causing them to vanish elsewhere.

Even though they were gone, the battle wasn’t over. 

Black shook her head, snapping out of her frozen, anxious state as she turned to the monster ahead, then to Egret, helping Bloom up. “Egret! Bloom! Are you two okay…?!”

“I-I’m fine…” Bloom wheezed in a weak voice as she stood up. 

“Take it easy from this fight, okay, Bloom?” White muttered towards her in concern before leaping forward with Black by her side. 

With a joined cry, the two girls punched and kicked right into the chest of the beast. It writhed in pain, slithering back, and as Black and White landed, they realized it wasn’t taking as much damage as the past two Kaejana have.

“Damn! It must be stronger since it’s attached to an object!” Black cursed. The Kaejana then reared backwards, roaring as the wires on its back flared to life, raining blasts of crackling electricity down onto the two. “Ack-!!”

Black and White attempted to dodge, leaping back and weaving between electric beams, before Black jumped off one of the lamp posts and struck the Kaejana in the head with a punch!!

“JANAAA-!!” The monster screeched, reeling back.

“Yeah! Take that!!” Black grinned smugly as she started falling back to the ground. 

The Kaejana glared, opening its maw as it charged a particularly large blast of electricity within it, aiming directly at Black and White. 

“Uh oh.”

Black landed and rushed to White’s side, but before the two could feel the shock, the pain never came. They turned around to see a struggling Bloom clutching Egret’s palm as they raised a shield to protect them!

“Bloom!! Are you crazy?!” Black shouted at her.

“I told you! I-I’m… ngh… alright!!” Bloom yelled back, squeezing Egret’s hand to draw every ounce of strength from their bond. 

“Bloom…” Egret muttered in concern.

The shield faltered, but with a strained scream and forward thrust of a palm from Bloom, the shield blasted the electrical beam away. 

Bloom wavered, almost falling over, but she didn’t let go of Egret’s hand for even a moment. “E-Egret…! Let’s… finish this…!”

Egret hesitated, before nodding. They began their incantation for their finishing move…

“O, Spirits of the Earth…”

“O, Spirits of the Sky…”

“Now, together with us, as Pretty Cure…”

“...Let's release the power of nature’s miracle!”

The lights on their bodies flickered, but still shone to the best of their abilities, giving it every ounce of heart and soul to finish this fight!

“Pretty Cure! Twin Stream…”

“SPLASH!!!”

The floods of spirit-rich water came bursting forth from their palms, roaring through the ruined streets as it washed over the Kaejana. 

“K-Ka-! …Eh…!!”

…However…

“...Ja-NA!!”

With a swipe of its claws, it redirected the flow of the waters, and soon caused them to dissipate entirely.

All four girls were taken aback by this. 

Bloom almost collapsed, eyes filling with despair and fear. “Wh…What…?! But… B-But…! It… It worked before…!!” As her legs gave out, Egret caught her, holding her close.

“It’s stronger than its base form…” Egret muttered to Bloom.

“It’s not just that, lapi…” Flappy’s voice came from Bloom’s pouch. “The spirits in this world are still quite weak… They may have even grown weaker since last time, lapi…!”

Bloom quivered. “N…No way…” 

“Hang tight! Let’s give it our best shot, White!” Black called, rearing up with White at her side.

“Yes.” White responded. The two dashed forward once more, dodging incoming electric blasts, and as the Kaejana started charging its next blast from its maw, the two girls jumped up and struck its jaw, forcing it to snap shut and explode with the pent-up electric energy, causing it to fall backwards with a pained cry, its snout scorched by its own attack.

“Black!” White called to her partner.

“On it!”

The two joined hands, and began their own incantation. 

“Black Thunder!”

“White Thunder!”

The bolts of lightning streaked down, all as Bloom, cradled by Egret, watched from behind. As the scene unfolded, Bloom couldn’t help but feel like her heart was bleeding. It was true… she was…

…Weak.

“Our beautiful Pretty Cure souls…”

“...Shall absolutely crush your evil heart!!”

“Pretty Cure! Marble Screw…”

“MAX!!!”

The lights burst with blazing energy, ripping through the roads as the Kaejana was faced with the full brunt force of their attack. Thankfully, it succeeded in destroying the monster this time.

The Kaejana slid free of the telephone pole, screeching one last time before dissolving into the smaller snake spirit once more as it fled. “Kae-! Kae-! Kaee-!!” The remaining energy of light sunk into the telephone pole, restoring it to its previous state before it was possessed, and also healing the scars in the road caused by errant energy blasts.

As soon as the Kaejana fled out of sight, Black and White hurried back towards Bloom and Egret while the four of them returned to their civilian selves. 

“Saki! Are you okay…?!” Nagisa grabbed Saki’s shoulders with a worried expression. 

Saki paused, not looking at Nagisa in the eyes as she ran her fingers over her throat. It still ached somewhat, which was unusual for the aftermath of a fight as PreCure… Exhaustion was a given, but it was rare for such pain to be carried over, as the spirits normally protected her from any serious harm. …The spirits…

“...Saki…?” Nagisa’s voice softened.

“...I told you already…” Saki croaked, voice sore and unusually heavy. “...I’m fine.”

She slowly shrugged off Nagisa’s grip, then turned to walk towards their house, limping and stumbling a little. 

Mai followed after her. “Saki…!!” Saki perked up a little seeing Mai by her side… After a moment of reluctance, she dipped her head, and allowed Mai to guide her home. 

Nagisa and Honoka watched them walk off before glancing at each other with worry.

“That’s nothing like the Saki I know…” Nagisa muttered to herself. 

Honoka paused before lowering her voice. “...What do you think she saw?”

“...Huh…?”

“...When she went up there… What do you think she saw when she got close to… those four…?” Honoka clarified, her voice taking on a serious, somewhat anxious tone.

Nagisa stopped, thinking back to the four masked figures. Facing dark forces in the past… They’d often twist her gut or make her heart beat faster with adrenaline whenever she saw them… But this was the first time even the sight of an enemy made her entire body fill with uncontrollable, immense dread. The clawed figure especially made her feel all kinds of antsy… Just who were these freaks?!

“...I… I couldn’t guess…” Nagisa murmured back to Honoka. “...Probably something really awful…”

“Hm…” Was all Honoka responded with. 

After a few seconds of silence passed, people were beginning to emerge from their homes again. Hikaru came running up to them, clinging to Nagisa’s leg and trembling. “Th-They’re gone… They’re gone…” He blubbered through little tears. 

Nagisa’s expression softened as she reached down a gloved hand and carefully laid her palm on his head, being careful to mind the flower interwoven in his hair. “...Yeah… They’re gone, Hikaru… It’s okay now.”

Manabu was close behind, looking around for a few moments before asking. “Where’s Saki and Mai…?”

“Heading back to the room.” Honoka responded. “...Saki needs rest…”

“I see…” Manabu wrote some things down. “...Well… I’m off to do a head count of everyone…” He offered a sympathetic look to the two girls as he passed them. “...Thank you… for doing your best.” He walked off, calling names and writing things down.

Nagisa sighed. “...Well… what now…? …And don’t you dare tell me we’re cleaning the room.”

Honoka gave a small snicker, shaking her head slightly. “It’s alright… We don’t have to clean today. …Maybe we can go talk to someone? I’ve been meaning to ask Karehaan about the flora in this world.”

Nagisa shrugged slightly. “Sure. …Do you think we could stop by Daisuke’s on the way back? … I want to grab some bread for Saki.”

“That’s a great idea, Nagisa.” Honoka smiled softly back at her as the two then continued on to Karehaan’s garden.

Tensions have eased, but a knot now twisted in their hearts, flooding their beings with one sole question:

Who are they?

Chapter Text

Saki laid in her bed, staring up at the bedframe of Mai’s above her. She breathed slowly, still feeling the occasional tight aching in and around her throat. Her neck was almost still feeling the heavy pressure of Bracte’s grip pressing in. Their words just wouldn’t leave her head…

Sighing, Saki glanced back at the door. Mai had left the room for a moment to search for some food and colored pencils or crayons, so she could sit beside Saki in her rest and draw. She was alone for that moment. … Well, not entirely.

Flappy wiggled his way out of Saki’s pouch before popping into his true form, standing next to her in bed. “...Saki… are you doing okay, lapi…?”

“...Mmm…” Saki made a small grumble. “... I mean… … I guess I’m lucky that I’m not as hurt as I could’ve been…”

“Saki…” Flappy laid down next to Saki, tucking his arms and legs beneath him while his tail swayed slowly behind him. “...The spirits of this world really tried their best… I could feel them pouring all of their effort into fighting alongside you, lapi…”

“...I know…” Saki sighed again. “...I… I could feel it, too… …I think it’s part of the reason I felt so exhausted afterwards… It was like I was pushing myself to the limit alongside them… just to do something, anything… in order to… …” She trailed off, turning away from Flappy as she laid down on her side, back facing him.

Flappy tilted his head. “...In… order to what, lapi…?”

“... …In… order to prove that…” She muttered in response, before whispering quietly. “...To… To prove that… … I… can actually… …save this world…”

“Oh…” Flappy stood up, jumping over Saki’s body and curling up by her chest, making eye contact with her. “... You were able to save the Land of Greenery from destruction, lapi…! It was in a worse state even compared to this world, lapi…! Why are you suddenly so full of doubt now…?”

“... I’m not really sure myself, honestly…” Saki responded, reluctantly running her fingers through the petals and fur on Flappy’s body as she spoke softly to him. “...Maybe it’s the fact that it’s been dead longer than the Land of Greenery was…? Maybe it’s because there’s still people here… People trying their hardest to live, but… still… facing loss… slowly…”

“...What happened to that ‘fire’ you said you got from Daisuke, lapi…?”

Saki paused, remembering her interaction with Daisuke. Remembering his words, his motto. “... I… I don’t know…! I… guess…” She took a deep breath before continuing. “... It was easy to believe in his words before I really got to see who we’re up against… But… …that… that… Bracte…” Saki shuddered even uttering their name. 

“...Saki…?”

“Th…There’s something awful about them…” Saki continued, trembling as she clutched Flappy close. “Their voice makes me want to curl up and cry for some reason… It just keeps clawing its way into my brain… N-Not only that… I… I almost saw their eyes behind their mask, too… …I… can’t explain exactly how I felt when I saw them, but… I’m just… terrified of them…!!”

“Those four are really scary, lapi…” He gently pressed his little head against Saki’s chest. “But… you shouldn’t give up, lapi! Cure Bloom is just as powerful as Black and White!”

“I know that, too…” Saki relaxed a little as she continued to stroke Flappy’s fur. “... Everyone’s really trying their hardest… …I’m scared, but… I’ve got to try too, don’t I…?”

“That’s the spirit, lapi!” Flappy perked up, smiling at Saki.

Saki gave a small, hesitant smile in response. “...Heh… Thanks, Flappy…” She continued to cuddle Flappy for a small while before the door opened up once more, and Mai came walking in with a small fabric bag full of supplies. 

“Hello, Saki…” Mai muttered quietly as she sat down on the floor next to Saki’s bed. “How are you feeling…? Sorry I took so long, I ran into Nagisa and Honoka and they said they’re going to bring you some food from Karehaan’s garden once they finished talking to him.”

“Hey, Mai…” Saki flipped back over to face Mai as she sat down with her sketchbook. She loosened her arms to let Flappy out, but Flappy remained close, curled against her. Saki smiled a little down at him before turning back to Mai. “I’m… doing a bit better, I guess… My neck still kinda hurts…”

Mai sighed in slight relief. “That’s great to hear.” She settled onto the floor next to Saki’s bed, flipping through a few pages before taking out some colored pencils and working her way on a piece on the paper. 

There was a slight pause, the air between the two girls being filled with the gentle, familiar sound of Mai working a pencil on paper. The light scratching further eased Saki’s heart as she continued to cuddle with Flappy, fingers still methodically running through the nature spirit’s soft fur and delicate petals. It reminded her of home. Of days spent over at Mai’s house, home alone, after homework was finished, and they were just left with some quiet time to relax. Saki would lay in bed, napping or reading, while listening to Mai getting lost in her art. 

It eased her enough to loosen her grip on Flappy, turning back over in her bed and sitting up, letting Flappy curl into her lap while she looked over Mai’s shoulder, trying to see what she was drawing. She knew by instinct that at this point, Mai probably wouldn’t answer if she asked what she was drawing, and Saki didn’t want to disturb her, so she carefully leaned closer to get a better look.

The drawing was of Princess Filia, seemingly from memory as the two girls hadn’t been able to return to the Land of Fountains themselves in a long, long while. Choppy peeked her little feathered face from Mai’s bag, peeking over into the sketchbook as Mai colored the sketch in. 

“It’s Princess Filia, chopi!” 

“That’s a pretty accurate sketch if she’s doing that from memory, lapi…!”

Saki smiled slowly, feeling her heart fully settle at the sight. “...Mai’s an amazing artist, isn’t she?”

Several minutes ticked by with Saki simply just watching Mai work, idly petting Flappi in her lap, and even petting Choppy as well as she joined Flappy on her lap. It felt peaceful in a way that Saki was not expecting. Bracte’s sickening words had left her mind for the time being, leaving her with a deep comfort, and a flutter in her heart at the sight of Mai working. In a world where everything else was so uncertain… It was nice to know that Mai would always be there.

Their quiet moment was then suddenly interrupted as Nagisa came bursting through the door, carrying a small woven basket filled with foodstuffs. “Oh my god!! Saki you need to try this stuff!!” She rushed to the bed while Honoka sighed, walking in in a much more controlled fashion. Nagisa dug into the basket and pulled out a handful of small, slick, purple-colored berries. “This is some of the stuff that Karehaan grew in his garden! Try ‘em, try ‘em!!”

Saki was a little caught off-guard, but she eyed the berries in Nagisa’s palm, raising an eyebrow as she picked one up. “...Uh… This…?”

Nagisa opened her mouth to explain, but Honoka beat her to it, bringing the energy back down with her measured voice. “Pardon Nagisa’s enthusiasm… We stopped by his garden because I wanted to ask him about the potentially unique flora here in this world, and he gave me this.” She showed off a handmade field guide, flipping it open and showing a page to Saki, which had sketches of some sort of spiked maroon plant that, when broken open, revealed the same purple berry-like pods within. “These are called jelly berries. They’re quite good, as Nagisa has so calmly explained.”

“You’re so mean to me.” Nagisa pouted. 

“Well…” Saki hesitated for a moment, turning the aptly named jelly berry over in her palm for a moment before shrugging. “...Alright, if you insist.” She placed it into her mouth, where its thin skin popped and gave way to a slippery, refreshing core, paired with a sweet fruitiness that Saki couldn’t quite describe. Her eyebrows raised. “Mm!” She swallowed. “That is good!”

“I told you!! Now, come on, let’s get some food in before we get this room cleaned. I guess.” Nagisa sighed begrudgingly as she sat next to Saki, sharing the gathered food with the whole group. 

Among some more fruits and vegetables, unfamiliar and familiar, the group also  shared a loaf of bread. Eating together only lifted Saki’s spirits more. The flavors on her tongue were unlike anything she’d ever tried before, and it piqued her curiosity. She thought about Daisuke, and the words he had said to her both in this mirror world and any time he’d speak to her at home. Maybe… Maybe she should try to spend some time with him. Watching him cook… and helping him, too… It could help her keep her mind off of everything. Though, she didn’t want to bother him right this second. He must’ve been busy. Soon, the four of them would be busy, too, anyway. 

As time marched on, the girls eventually joined together and continued to tidy the room, organizing stray objects and putting things they didn’t need in the room across from them. They had completed their task just as the sun began to set, painting the room with a dusty, muted orange. 

Nagisa clambered up and into her bed, flopping down onto it with a huge, overdramatic sigh. “Hahhhh… Finally! No more room-cleaning for me!”

Honoka chuckled and shook her head slightly. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad. Must’ve been better that we were able to all work on it together, hm?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Nagisa waved her hand from above. “Can you just do me a favor and throw me some pajamas when it’s time to go to bed?”

“Alright, lazybones.” Honoka rolled her eyes with a smile. She then settled into her own bed as she picked up the field guide she received from Karehaan and started to flip through it. Saki was quick to join her, sitting next to Honoka with a curious spark in her eyes. 

“Wowww, there’s so many cool plants!” Saki cooed as Honoka moved the book closer to her to give her a clearer view. 

“I know, right?” Honoka smiled at Saki. “So many varieties… Some so familiar, yet some so exotic. Oh! Look at these ones!” Honoka pointed to a drawing of twisting, angular vines that held bunches of vibrant turquoise berries. The label at the top called them “icy shorefruit”. 

Saki beamed. “Those look so pretty!” She glanced over the description, taking in their unique properties. “We should try to find some tomorrow!” 

Honoka looked back to Saki with an empathetic half-smile. “If we can… Karehaan didn’t have any in his garden. Look, it says here that they grow right on lake shores and river banks… If there’s a water shortage like Manabu said, then… They might not be growing at all out there.”

“...You… You’re right…” Saki deflated. She looked back to the booklet, flipping through pages upon pages of plants that may have once been easily found in the wilderness. A sinking sensation in her heart reminded her that there was a strong chance that they were all endangered, if not extinct, due to the death of the world’s Hearts. “...So many… Gone… A-And this doesn’t even show fungi… or animals…!”

Honoka nodded sadly. “Indeed…” After a moment, a thought crossed her mind, and she glanced back to Saki with a tiny smile. “Although… Nature is quite resilient, is it not?” 

“Hm?” Saki perked up. 

“Now that I think about it… surely there could be something living out there. Our own planet Earth has gone through dozens of disasters that nearly wiped out all life! There was the Permian-Triassic extinction event, the famous Cretaceous-Paleogene event that wiped out the dinosaurs…” Honoka rambled on a little.

Saki tilted her head. “Wow… I haven’t even thought of that! I haven’t really done a lot of research on those kinds of things, I had no idea there was more than one disaster like those…!”

Honoka nodded with a smile. “Oh yes, there were lots! Scientists still widely debate on the causes of many of these events. Some say it was the meteor impact that killed the dinosaurs, others believe that it was a gigantic supervolcano on the other side of the world that was erupting for thousands of years nonstop!”

“And life pulled through despite all of those, right?” 

“Right!”

“You guys are nerdddds.” Nagisa teased from above.

“Shut up, Nagisa!” Saki and Honoka shouted up at her at the same time, leading to some giggles from Mai, who was sitting across from them on Saki’s bed.

“You know what…?” Saki stood up. “Tomorrow, I wanna talk with Daisuke and cook with him a little. Then we should all go out and see if we can track down some new ingredients for him!” 

Honoka beamed. “Brilliant!”

“Hm… That doesn’t sound too bad.” Nagisa relented. “Just as long as I can be the taste tester!”

Mai stood up as well, taking Saki’s hands in hers. “It’s a lovely idea, Saki! Let’s do it.”

Saki nodded as she gave her signature big grin, a welcome sight after everything that had happened to her that day. It wasn’t much longer before the sun dipped past the horizon, and the streets became illuminated by Moerumba’s lamps. 

The girls sorted out the pajamas, trying different ones on to see which ones they found the most comfort in, and soon began their new night routines. They took turns to brush their teeth once more, and they soon got settled into their respective beds. Saki gently tapped her Snap Commune before closing her eyes. 

“Hey, Flappy…? How good are you at keeping time…?” She whispered gently.

“Lapiiii…” Flappy muttered back, the latch on the Commune opening just enough for Flappy to speak to Saki. “About as well as most flowers can, lapi.”

“Well, can you wake me up before sunrise…? I want to make sure I can catch Daisuke as he’s doing preparations…!”

Flappy smiled gently at her. “I’ll try my best, lapi. …We both know how much of a challenge it can be to get you out of bed, though, lapi.”

Saki chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get some good sleep, ‘kay…?”

“Okay, lapi.”

The group then slowly drifted away as they cuddled into their bedsheets. The warmth of the room was paired with the sounds of soft shuffling of sheets and slow breathing… There was the occasional deep breath, and, for those paying enough attention… there were even some moments in which Nagisa could be heard quietly humming to herself. They were soothing songs, joining with the soft noises in the rest of the room to create a lullaby, one that guided the four girls to their sleep. 

━༻ 𓆩♡𓆪 ༺━

“Sakiii… Sakiii…”

“Mmnn…” Saki muttered, slowly coming out of her sleep as she felt little paws kneading just below her collarbone. 

“Wake up, lapi…” 

Saki gave a long yawn, tossing onto her side. She almost fell back asleep, queuing Flappy to start gently butting his head into Saki’s. 

“Come on, lapi…! You asked for this…!”

Saki’s heavy eyelids slowly fluttered open to see Flappy nudging her awake. She smiled, making a few light chuckles before yawning again, stretching out her arms in an attempt to wake herself up, and making a quiet groan as she did. “Nghhhh… Ahhh… …I’m up, I’m up… Thanks, Flappy.”

Flappy nodded before yawning himself. “I’m going back to sleep, lapi… You have fun with Daisuke or whatever, lapiii…” Flappy jumped into Saki’s backpack, transforming back into his Snap Commune form. 

Saki sat up in bed, watching him go, before standing up and doing some more stretching to wake herself up, taking care to not make too much noise as to not wake up the others. Before proceeding with her morning routine, she quietly scaled the ladder of the bunk bed to check in on Mai. Her back was facing Saki, but the sounds of her quiet, steady breathing made Saki feel warm. She then climbed back down, and proceeded to clean herself and get dressed before slipping out of the building.

It was very dark outside, with only a few whispers of light in the sky coming from the soon-to-be sunrise. Saki’s path was lit up by the hanging lamps, guiding her way through the tattered streets and towards Daisuke’s diner. It was a bit chilly out, so Saki made sure to zip up her hoodie. 

As she walked, a voice spoke from behind her. “Saki…? U-Um… if you don’t mind my asking… …Why are you up so early…?”

Saki flinched, a little surprised, but as she turned around, she was met with the curious gaze of Karehaan, who was pulling a small, rusty wheelbarrow filled with plants from his garden. “Oh! Karehaan! I was actually on my way to Daisuke’s. I’ve been a bit stressed out, and… Well, back at home, my family owns a bakery. I wanted to help him prepare food for the morning, since it would… y’know, make it feel like home.”

Karehaan smiled gently. “Oh. That’s… That’s pretty nice… …Actually, I was also on my way to see him… I’m bringing him most of the ingredients he uses.”

“Then let’s walk together!” Saki suggested with a grin. 

Karehaan smiled in return, and the two continued to walk through the dark town before Karehaan led Saki through an alleyway, knocking on a metal door that Saki could assume was a back entrance.

It didn’t take long before Daisuke opened up the door. “There you are, Karehaan. Punctual as usual, and-... ah!” He noticed Saki. “Saki! What brings you here at this hour?”

“I wanted to help!” Saki responded. “My family runs a bakery back home, and… I feel like spending some time cooking with you would help my mind off of things.”

“That’s awfully sweet of you.” Daisuke stepped back, letting Saki into the kitchen. “If that’s the case, then you can start by helping me unload the produce.”

“Of course!” Saki beamed as she began reaching for the produce in Karehaan’s wheelbarrow. Daisuke and Saki worked together to eventually get everything into the kitchen before bidding him farewell as he returned to his garden. 

Once everything was laid out, Daisuke handed Saki a pair of thick gloves. “These might be a bit big, but try them on.”

Saki slid them on, and while they were indeed on the larger side, they fit her surprisingly well! “Wow! A pretty comfy fit, if you ask me!” 

Daisuke smiled down at her. “That’s great to hear!” He put his own gloves on, then guided Saki over to a sink, where he hoisted up a plastic jug of water before pouring a portion of it in. After setting the jug back down, he started bringing over the produce, washing it with the water and a brush. “Come on, now. Let’s start by getting everything nice and washed.” 

“You got it.” Saki nodded as she grabbed a brush of her own and began to wash the produce alongside Daisuke, eyeing the more unfamiliar ingredients and asking Daisuke about them.

As they washed each plant, Saki received answers and descriptions for each, and even being invited to try a bit of some. New flavors crossed Saki’s tongue as she tried small bits of the produce. Some were crunchy, some were melty… Some were sweet, some were bitter… Saki enjoyed most of them, but there were a few she didn’t like. Daisuke chuckled at every sour face Saki made while trying something that tasted weird. It created a palate of tastes unlike what Saki’s ever really experienced before, and that spark of fire was stoked back to life with interest and a budding desire to create. 

Once they were all washed and set aside, Daisuke and Saki looked over them. “So… now what?” Saki asked.

“We cook.” Daisuke responded. He then pointed to the storage behind the kitchen. “In there are several plastic containers filled with some ingredients we’ll need. There’s a plastic container labeled ‘dehydrated’, could you grab that for me? I’ll be getting the flour and rice.” 

Saki nodded, following Daisuke into the room behind the kitchen. Saki looked around, seeing all sorts of containers filled with less sensitive non-perishables. She’s been in pantries such as this one before, but she noticed a distinct lack of any sort of animal products. No dairy, no eggs, not even any honey… It made Saki’s heart sink slightly, but she was more than willing to trust in Daisuke’s methods. She did notice a lot of mushrooms being grown in a row on a shelf nearby, which surprised her, seeing something being cultivated outside of Karehaan’s garden. She eventually managed to locate the large plastic box containing several smaller containers of more strange ingredients, and with a grunt, she pulled it off the shelf and carried it back to the kitchen, just as Daisuke was arriving with two large plastic buckets.

“Daisuke! What are those mushrooms?” Saki gestured back to the pantry as she set down the box with another grunt. “I thought only Karehaan grew stuff!”

Daisuke smiled down at her again. “Those mushrooms wouldn’t thrive well in the humid warmth of Karehaan’s garden.” He explained as he popped open the lids on both of the buckets. “So, he taught me how to cultivate them in my pantry, where it’s much colder and dryer. Sanae and Poisony grow some medicinal fungi right in the infirmary, too.”

Saki beamed. “That’s so cool! Everyone really works together out here, don’t you?”

“That’s right! We’re almost like a whole organism ourselves.” Daisuke responded. “Working in tandem to survive as one…” 

Saki smiled at the metaphor as she helped Daisuke gather ingredients, watching him lay out a few laminated pages of recipes. Though, her smile faltered slightly. “...That… That organism, though… It’s kind of hurt right now, isn’t it…?”

Daisuke turned back towards Saki with a raised eyebrow. “Hm…?”

Saki’s voice lowered as Daisuke started chopping vegetables while Saki combined flour, salt, water, and sugar to make a very simple dough. “...Uragonos told us about… … How much you guys went through…” As she kneaded the dough, she gave a gentle glance back up to Daisuke. “... If your community is like an organism… then it’s… hurt… …It’s bleeding…”

“... I suppose you’re right…” Daisuke responded, the sounds of the knife slicing through the produce filling any empty silence between them. “... But we’re healing now. Thanks to you four.”

“...Yeah… you all are.” Saki perked up again. “We’re… We’re really giving it our best shot…!” She pumped her fists. “We’ll do anything we can to patch this community up! We can’t give up, not now!”

“That’s the spirit!” Daisuke cheered her on. 

The two continued to talk to one another as they prepared the meals. The once lamp-lit kitchen slowly came alive with the pale kiss of dawn, weak in its approach through the heavy atmosphere, but persisting. Saki felt a strange feeling welling up in her heart as she stood by Daisuke’s side, preparing the food. She parted dough, split open nuts, separated seeds from fruits and vegetables, all with gloved hands. It felt different than working with her family in the bakery. She was helping to provide. She was healing the wounds.

“So, Saki…” Daisuke started to talk to her as he lit some charcoal underneath a long stove, as well as some in a simple oven. “...I’ve been a bit curious ever since you four first arrived here…”

“What’s up…?” Saki responded as she helped grease a few pots and metal trays.

“...What is your home like…?”

Saki’s gaze softened, looking back at Daisuke as he started to chop up some vegetables. “Home, huh…? Well… I live in a countryside town called Yuunagi. It’s by the ocean, and it neighbors this huge forest! It’s definitely a lot more full of life compared to this world…” Her gaze saddened a bit, and she watched as Daisuke’s face shifted with a mix of curiosity and longing. 

Daisuke gave a slight chuckle. “Is that so…? So… it’s a lot more colorful, hm…?”

Saki nodded. “Yeah… And, back at home, I work at a bakery with my family. My whole life, I’ve grown up knowing the smells of freshly baked bread and homemade cooking… I’ve always thought food is something special, you know? Being able to make something for someone… It’s like an expression of love, you know?”

“Haha, you and I think quite alike, Saki!” Daisuke seemed to be lifted up by these words. But he was still just a bit melancholic as he started to cook the vegetables in a heated pan while he set some dough into the oven. “Though… I just can’t help but wonder… What was life like for you, then…? It must’ve been nice to not have to… Well, you know…”

“It…” Saki paused for a moment, thinking over her next words. “Well… I… I guess it was mostly easy… At least compared to what you all have to go through…” She smiled slightly. “But… one day, everything changed. Mai and I… we were chosen by the Spirits of Nature to become PreCure. We were still young… but we suddenly had a huuuge responsibility given to us…! We were told to recover the Seven Fountains, which were drained and withered by Dark Fall… We had to save the Land of Fountains, and our own world by extension. It was hard… We didn’t always win… We got hurt, in more ways than one… We even… lost some friends along the way…”

Daisuke watched over Saki, both of their hands moving with an instinct that came natural while handling and preparing food. “Is… that so…?”

Saki nodded. “We even had to watch the life of our world get stripped away… We had to watch our home become destroyed…”

“I see…” Daisuke muttered. “...I suppose that might be a bit harder… Watching a world you know and love die… rather than being born into lifelessness…”

“Maybe… I really can’t compare, though.” Saki responded. “But… if there’s one thing I know for certain… There’s nothing that makes my heart flutter more than seeing life blooming again. With the powers that Mai and I were given, we could help restore the Fountains! We also got to see our world heal from any damage it had taken, thanks to the power of the Spirits. That’s part of the reason why I want to help out so much, Daisuke…! I want to see the beauty of this world again! I was brought here to bring it back to life, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do!!”

Daisuke grinned widely. “Wow, you’re really getting fired up! You were right about cooking helping keep your mind off of things.” His smile then turned more soft as he removed one of his gloves to pat Saki on the head. “...I really believe in you all, you know… Some of the townsfolk are still a bit doubtful, but… Not me. I know you can heal the world.”

Saki mirrored Daisuke’s wide grin as she was patted. “I can and I will! Just you watch me!”

Time passed them by, laughter and lighthearted conversation filling the diner. Minori was soon awake as well, joining the two in beginning to plate the completed meals. Once they were done, Saki sauntered over to one of the chairs and plopped down into it with a big sigh. “Phew… That was a lot of work… It felt great, though! I’m just surprised you have the stamina to do this twice every single day…!”

“You get used to it.” Daisuke chuckled heartily. He then walked over to the table Saki was sitting at and set down some of the food they had made together in front of her. “Here… Thanks for your help. You can have the first meal of the day.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Saki lit up, immediately digging into a breakfast of chocolate croissants and candied fruits. Minori sat herself next to Saki, eating some vegetables and some chocolate croissants of her own. 

As the residents of the town started to walk in, waving to Saki and getting food from Daisuke, Minori turned to Saki. “You’re really good at helping daddy cook! Where did you learn how to cook?”

Saki chuckled. “Back at home, with my own family. Though, I’m really impressed with how much your dad can make from so little!”

“He’s the bestest!!” Minori chimed with a grin. “Though, I wish he could bake some normal bread again sometime…”

“Normal bread…?” Saki responded.

“He ran out of yeast a loooong time ago.” Minori pouted. “I miss when he’d make the really fluffy and big bread! He’d let me play with the sticky dough…”

An idea then lit up in Saki’s mind. “Hey… Maybe I could get you guys some more yeast!”

Minori shot up with a delighted gasp. “You’d do that?!”

“Yeah!! I’ve used wild yeast for bread-baking before, it’s lots of fun! I’m sure there’s gotta be some out there for you guys to use!”

“Yayyy!! Saki’s getting yeast! Saki’s getting yeast!!” Minori jumped up and down, catching the attention of Daisuke.

He chuckled as he glanced over. “What’s with all of this excitement? You’re going to go hunting for wild yeast?”

Saki nodded, standing up. “You bet!”

“I’ve been too busy to go out looking myself… and nobody else around the community capable of traveling far really knows how to look for wild yeast… So, I suppose that makes you the perfect woman for the job!” Daisuke grinned widely at Saki.

“Definitely!! …But first!” Saki hurriedly sat back down. “I gotta finish breakfast.” She continued to eat while Daisuke laughed heartily. 

It didn’t take much longer for Saki to finish, and as she did, Nagisa, Honoka, and Mai walked in. Mai lit up as she saw Saki, walking right up to her. “There you are! Did you have a good time with Daisuke?”

“Absolutely!” Saki beamed. “We made lots of great food for everyone, so eat up! And once everyone’s had their fill, we’re going out to look for wild yeast!”

Mai gasped. “You think we could still find some out there? What if we can’t…?”

“Microorganisms such as yeast can thrive on surprisingly little, you know.” Honoka chimed in. “Dried yeast can live for quite some time. It’s just a matter of finding cultures of them out in the wild. It can be found just about anywhere where plants may be growing; flowers, fruit, vegetables…”

Saki nodded energetically. “Exactly!!”

Mai smiled softly back. “Alright. Let’s do it.”

“After we eat, she said!!” Nagisa huffed as she carried a plate with three whole chocolate croissants. The group giggled to one another as Honoka and Mai grabbed their own breakfasts as well. 

Once everyone was satisfied, they returned to their room to begin preparing for the journey ahead.

“So… what are we even looking for? I didn’t know yeast was like… a living creature.” Nagisa asked the others as she slipped Mepple into her backpack. “I didn’t even know you could just, like… find it chilling outside!”

“Yeast cultures can be found in all sorts of places, Nagisa!” Honoka responded, slipping her backpack onto her back. “Did you know that some can even be found on human skin?”

“What?! Eww!!” Nagisa was thoroughly grossed out by this fact, scrunching up her nose and attempting to wipe herself off. Honoka giggled at this. 

“I heard that some people have even made bread and beer with those kinds of yeasts!” Saki chimed in.

“Why would anyone want to do that?!” Nagisa hurriedly got her backpack on and marched out of the room. “You guys are disgusting! I’m outta here!!”

The rest of the girls laughed with each other before following suit. They began walking outside of the town, being stopped by Manabu once to be officially noted as adventuring outside, before they continued up the same winding path they first entered the city by following, until they were up on the same cliff face they had stood just two days prior. 

The four were a bit winded from the ascent, but after taking a moment to catch their breath, they laid their collective gaze on the wastes ahead of them. The sickly sight seemed to stretch on forever, broken only by the occasional crumbled rock formation. 

“...Alright… Sooo… …How are we gonna look for teeny-tiny yeast things in… all of this…?” Nagisa gestured to the wasteland ahead.

Saki nudged her bag. “Flappy, you and Choppy can sense life, right? Does it work for microorganisms?”

Flappy peeked his face out from within Saki’s backpack. “We can sense any and all life, but sensing spirits so tiny might take a while, lapi…” 

“Makes sense… Guess we’ll just have to start walking and make do, then, huh?”

“Actually…” Mai stepped forward, speaking softly as she drew out her thoughts. “I had an idea. Since this world still has magic in the air… I wonder if that means we could stay in our PreCure forms for longer. I thought it could be helpful if we used our powers to keep ourselves safe out in the harsh wastes… We don’t know what could be out there, waiting for us…! So… should we try to transform now and see how far it can take us?”

Honoka’s eyes lit up. “Quite the hypothesis, Mai! Your logic is quite sound. …I suppose there’s only one way to test it out, right?”

The four girls nodded towards one another, pulling out their Communes and setting down their backpacks as they prepared themselves for transformation. 

“Dual Aurora Wave!!”

“Dual Spiritual Power!!”

The rainbow lights burst as they carried the four into the air once more, filling their bodies with the power and energy needed to traverse the broken world.

“Flowers bloom across the earth!”

“Flap your wings into the sky!”

“Burning passion ignites courage!”

“Flowing light inspires hope!”

And when they returned to solid ground…

“Emissary of light; Cure Black!”

“Emissary of light; Cure White!”

“The shining golden flower; Cure Bloom!”

“The sparkling silver wing; Cure Egret!”

“The four of us are Pretty Cure!!”

“You, dark forces who dare to plague this world!”

“Stop your cruel behavior, or return from whence you came!!”

After a short pause, they picked up their backpacks and put them on once more, the acts now much easier with their improved strength.

“Do you guys ever wonder where exactly all those words we say come from…?” Bloom turned towards the others as they began on their long trek through the wastelands. “I mean, nobody’s even here, and yet we still introduce ourselves and say all the ‘bad guys go away!’ stuff, too.”

“I always thought it helped the rhythm of the transformation.” Black shrugged. “Like, it can’t always transform us all at once, so it makes us say those things like a cue to transform the next part of ourselves, and the stuff at the end helps it all settle.”

The three others blinked, starting back at Black.

“...What? Just because I struggle in class doesn’t mean I’m a complete idiot! I’m just a little stupid!”

White giggled. “It’s a pretty reasonable theory. I supposed that it was just our magic speaking through us, like an outside force using our voices to bring itself forth.”

“... An outside force, huh…?” Black muttered in response.

“Hm? Something wrong?” White responded.

“N-Nothing! It’s nothing!”

Using the power they now possessed, the girls held a spring in their step as they picked up the pace of their search, dashing through the dead world as the sights of the valley disappeared behind them.

“So, uh… Any ideas on how to avoid getting lost…?” Egret spoke with a mote of worry.

White pulled out a compass on the side of her backpack. “I found this earlier when we were packing up. It functions perfectly. I'm just relieved that this world still has a functioning magnetic field. …Though, it’s hard to envision even a once-thriving planet that doesn’t have an in-tact magnetic field… It’s very important for driving away solar radiation, you know! In fact, our planet Earth has one of the largest magnetic fields in our solar system barring the sun, and…”

Black opened her mouth to tell her to shut up, but the more she listened to White’s voice, the more she couldn’t help herself from growing more enamored. Even as Bloom was curious, if a bit confused, and Egret was enthusiastically listening to her words, Black didn’t pick up on a single fun fact, instead letting the sounds of her voice wash over her mind. A sound like music to her ears.

After quite some time of charging into the dreary unknown, the girls spotted something unique in the distance. “Over there!” Bloom pointed it out. 

As the girls approached the new area, they recognized the sight ahead of them; a grove of trees! At least… they were trees. They were twisted like desperate talons reaching towards heaven, bereft of any sign of leaves, fruits, or flowers. It was as if the grove itself was contorting in a failed attempt to escape the disaster that once fell upon them.

Their expressions softened into a saddened gaze, Bloom and Egret especially feeling the weight of loss. Egret approached a tree, placing a solemn palm on what was once its proud trunk. “...It’s stone…”

The two spirits of nature peeked out of their pouches. “It’s true… I can’t sense a single tree spirit anywhere, lapi…”

“It’s terrible, chopi… There’s some earth and sky spirits, but… even then, they’re so far and few between around here, chopi…”

“Man…” Bloom’s shoulders sank. The four girls proceeded deeper into the twisted woods, leaping over sinkholes, fissures, and other deep gashes through the ground, littered with the graves of a once thriving ecosystem… However, a particular sight ahead caught Bloom’s attention. “Hey, what’s that?” She rushed ahead, and soon found herself standing in an odd formation. The rocks strewn about the sunken path were smooth, and the ground beneath was caked with parched mud. 

The other three joined her, and Black tilted her head down at it. “Kinda looks like… a river! Just, y’know… without all the water.”

“Huh…” Bloom observed it closely before Flappy and Choppy both suddenly began to wiggle wildly in their pouches. 

“I sense something, I sense something, lapi!!”

“We found it, we found it, chopi!!”

All of the girls lit up! “Where?” Egret responded.

“Upstream, chopi!”

“...But, there’s no water…” Bloom muttered.

The fairies popped out of their pouches and just began running on foot towards their destination. “Just follow us, lapi!!”

The four girls rushed along the dried river, before Flappy and Choppy stopped in front of a particular petrified tree. They pressed their little ears against the stone bark before smiling in delight! “There’s a plant still alive inside here, lapi! It must’ve been feeding off the nutrients of the dying tree, lapi!”

“That’s great!” Egret beamed. “...But… how do we get it from here…?”

“Should we try to break it?” White suggested.

Choppy shook her head. “Too risky… we could lose the plant with the tree, chopi…”

“Then what to do…” Bloom muttered as she approached the tree, laying her hand on its surface. 

Then… a cold chill suddenly filled the air as a sickeningly familiar voice rumbled into earshot. “If you want something, you must be willing to break anything in your path to get it.”

Flappy, Choppy, and Bloom were able to leap back just in time as two giant gloved hands suddenly dug into either side of the petrified tree, and with a distorted grunt, it was split apart. The stone crumbled to either side as the two halves were carelessly tossed aside by the now visible Bracte. 

Bloom’s breath caught in her throat as she craned her neck to view the mask of the villain ahead of her. Flappy and Choppy rushed back to their pouches, and even the other three PreCure stepped back in shock and fear. “Y…You…!!” Bloom sputtered, her body quivering uncontrollably.

Bracte’s unflinching gaze then turned downwards, where there lay the tattered remains of a group of tightly tangled sky blue flowers with pairs of long, white stamen. Several of their roots and stems were torn apart from Bracte’s mindless destruction of the tree they once called home. “... Is this all you were after?” They spat with clear disgust and disappointment in their voice.

Before anyone could respond, Bracte reached down and grabbed the flowers by their roots, violently ripping them from the remains of the tree before gathering them in their palms and crushing them. 

Bloom’s heart wrenched at the sight. She felt sick to her stomach. The sickness was made even worse as Bracte tossed the remains aside in the same manner of the tree itself. She could almost feel the poor flower spirits as they fizzled out in Bracte’s hands.

“What’s the use of seeking such useless items? When you should be seeking something of greater use to your pathetic attempts to stand up to me and the others. Weapons of great power, armor, reinforcements. Something that could give you even a chance to match my power. But you make no such efforts. You disgust me.”

Bracte’s words sank into Bloom’s mind like venom. She was weak. She was stupid. Why was she going out of her way to find yeast when people like Bracte were still lurking around…?! Bloom’s fighting spirit flickered in and out, matching the wavering of the spirits of nature that surrounded the cemetery of a grove. She slowly lowered her head, unable to stop her body from trembling… 

And then, a roar came searing from her side. “HrraaaaAAAHH!!” Black suddenly leapt forward, attempting to land a powerful punch onto Bracte, sending a loud CLANG! echoing through the air as her fist made contact with Bracte’s chestplate. Black winced in pain from the impact as Bracte was barely pushed back even an inch. But she didn’t relent. “NOBODY TALKS TO MY FRIENDS THAT WAY!!” She screamed, eyes tearing up, attempting to lay more rapid punches into Bracte, but all were either swatted aside or glanced off thanks to Bracte’s armor. 

Bloom watched with wide eyes, her heart pounding in her ears, every instinct yelling at her to do something, anything… But she just froze. She was weak.

“Enough of you!” Bracte snarled. They whipped their arm to the side, and in a surge of twisted green magic, gnarled, thorny vines sprouted and twisted from their shoulder, writhing like malnourished, devilish arms as Bracte swung their arm forwards, ensnaring Black in their wicked grasp.

“No-!” Was all Bloom could cry before, with a powerful swing, Black was sent flying, knocking straight into White and causing them both to crash into a nearby petrified tree, shattering it as they crumpled to the ground, heaving for lost breath.

Bracte then approached closer to Bloom and Egret. Bloom backed up, but was met with more shock as Egret came rushing to her aid, getting between the two as she attempted to shield Bloom from Bracte. It was no use, however, as with one single swing, the shield shattered into silvery blue glitters as the attack made direct contact with Egret’s stomach, knocking her cleanly aside as well.

“MAI!!” Bloom cried out, but her attention was quickly drawn back to Bracte as they closed even closer in on her.

“Go on.” Bracte urged, practically standing on top of Bloom. “Show me that rage you had when you first saw me. Show me how much stronger you’ve grown since yesterday.”

Bloom paused, taking rapid breaths as Bracte’s words continued to bounce around in her head, almost insultingly clear compared to the blur of everything else around her. She could feel her fighting spirit bubbling up, as she balled her fists. She trembled, but the golden aura flickered to life around her. She thought back to Bracte’s sheer disregard for those poor flowers. The way they snuffed out their spirits so carelessly. Her heart flared up in a rage. She grit her teeth, before screaming with all of her might as she brought up both of her arms, then slammed her fists against Bracte’s chestplate with a downward swing. A shockwave was sent through the area, married with another CLANG!, whipping the hair of Bloom with its force as the spirits of the earth drove Bloom’s strength straight into the metal.

…However…

“...Even weaker than before.” Bracte spat. “You haven’t been getting stronger at all.” They then turned to walk away, leaving Bloom to collapse onto the ground, her legs giving out from the exertion. 

“N…No…” Bloom muttered, voice straining as her throat tightened with emotion. 

“No more slacking off. If you ever dream of facing me, you’ll need to be stronger.” Bracte then raised their arms as red veins reached down from the sky once more.

“Arise, our pawn of glorious destruction and endless stagnance!”

“Writhe from the depths and swallow the light whole!!”

From the dark magic, another Kaejana spawned in, collecting the fragments of flowers and the petrified wood scattered by Bracte to transform into a stone serpent held together with withered vines. “KAEJANAAA!”

And with another flash of dark magic… Bracte was gone as suddenly as they came.

Bloom stared into the Kaejana, freezing at the sight of the wilted flowers that held its stone body together. “...Th… The flowers… the fl-... the flowers…!” Was all her weak voice could sputter before Black and White jumped ahead of her, striking the Kaejana with a flurry of blows, causing it to recoil backwards. Bloom flinched, eyes going wide as she looked frantically at the scene. Her heart pounded in her ears. Her mind screamed at her to do something, anything… But she couldn’t move an inch. 

Egret snapped her out of it by laying a hand on her arm. “Are you okay…? You can sit this out if you need to…”

Bloom looked back and forth between Egret and the fight occurring ahead of her. The Kaejana thrashed, knocking down several other petrified trees in its rampage while Black and White attempted to keep it under control. And then, like picking at an infected wound, Bracte’s words came clawing into her mind once more. She was weak. She couldn’t protect those poor flowers. This is all her fault.

The golden yellow aura flickered back to life around Bloom’s body as tears fell from her eyes. She let out another loud scream, mustering up as much of her power as possible as she launched herself towards the monster ahead. She could only barely make out Egret calling her name before she started to lay into the Kaejana, kicking its neck and then dragging it down with her to the ground as she started to wail on its monstrous maw, landing punch after punch, stone shards and dried vines scattering off with each furious blow. The light of the spirits burst from her fists with each hit, starting strong, but gradually fizzling out… 

“No… NO!!” Bloom yelled, half choking on tears as she desperately tried to prove Bracte wrong. To prove that she was strong. But… Her punches soon barely did any damage, the lights flickering in errant sparks before one hit caused Bloom to feel the full pain of hitting her knuckles against solid stone. She yelped, withdrawing her hand to see where her glove had torn, and where her knuckles had become bloodied from the strike.

“Kaejanaaa…” The monster hissed, glaring at her, before opening its jaws in an attempt to bite down on her. Bloom barely got a glimpse of the inside of its shadowed throat before she felt someone tackle her out of the way. Egret.

“Saki, please…!!”

“Y-You don’t under- you don’t understand, Mai-!!” Bloom writhed, but Egret held her in place. “I have to-! I… I-I have to prove that I’m- I’m not weak! I-!!” She choked on her words the second she turned to face Egret. Her heart dropped into her stomach at the sight.

Egret was horrified. Her face was wet with tears… her eyes were wide in shock… and her eyebrows were furrowed in concern and sorrow. “...Please…” She muttered.

Bloom sank. She never acted this way before. She’d get frustrated losing games of softball, wanting to practice extra hard to win the next time around, sure, but… Bracte was in her head. And she couldn’t get them out. She blinked a few tears of her own out of her eyes, wincing in pain as the adrenaline left her, and the sting of the injury of her hand hit her. She sucked in a sharp breath at the pain, her breathing shaking as she was lost on words to say. 

“...Saki…” Egret murmured, her horror fading into worry and understanding as she slowly sat up, helping Bloom up with her. She trailed her delicate hands across Bloom’s arm, gathering around her injured hand the way one would cradle a hatchling fallen from its nest. 

Bloom could feel her heart flutter as she felt Egret’s soft touch. It grounded her. She let her eyes flutter closed, taking deep breaths as she let herself be immersed in Egret’s delicate care. She could feel the subtle, rhythmic motions of Egret’s thumbs rubbing feather-light across Bloom’s fingers, avoiding touching the bleeding wounds higher on her knuckles. The sounds of the ongoing battle were traded for Egret’s airy breath, slowing to match the pace of Bloom’s.

And then… Bloom felt one of Egret’s hands leave her hand… and rest on the side of her face. Bloom’s eyes opened in surprise, catching a glimpse of Egret’s subtle blush before her eyes slowly shut once more, sinking into Egret’s palm on her cheek, and feeling her partner wipe away her tears. Bloom’s whole body felt like it was being filled with warmth. Her cheeks felt a bit warm especially. 

Their tender moment was soon interrupted by the sounds of thunder. The two perked up, looking over a few feet off to see Black and White joined together once more.

“Pretty Cure! Marble Screw…”

“MAX!!!”

With the same roar as before, the burst of righteous light tore through the once quiet and dead grove, lighting every corner with sheer, crackling radiance. The Kaejana was destroyed by the light, screeching as it was blown from its host, disintegrating into its smaller form before retreating with its cries of “Kae, kae, kae-!!”

Black then walked over to Bloom and Egret sitting together. She seemed angry, taking a breath to start yelling at her. “What in the world were you-!”

But White rushed to her side, clamping her palm over Black’s mouth and giving her a stern shout-whisper of “That’s the last thing she needs, you idiot…!” Before dragging Black away by the ear.

“O-Ow, ow-!”

Bloom snickered slightly at their antics before sinking down once more. “...Well… Guess this whole trip was kind of a waste, huh…? … …I’m really sorry…”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Saki.” Egret shook her head as she helped Bloom stand up. “You had a really good idea. It was just a bad coincidence that… well, you know…”

There was a short silence between them before a smaller voice chimed in at their side. “It’s back, it’s back, lapi!!” Flappy jumped out of his pouch again, soon joined by Choppy as they ran back to the tree that Bracte had destroyed earlier. 

The flowers that were inside the tree were restored by the remaining power of light left behind from the Marble Screw blast. Bloom and Egret lit up as they approached the flowers as well. “Is there any yeast on the petals…?” Egret asked with hope in her voice.

After taking a moment to touch the flowers with his little paws, observing them carefully. After a few moments, he beamed, turning back towards the girls with a relieved smile. “There is, lapi! And the flower spirits are in-tact, too, lapi!!”

“Thank goodness, chopi!”

Bloom smiled softly. “...So… we can all bake some nice bread together after all, huh…?” 

“The question is…” Egret tilted her head. “How can we bring it back to the town without hurting it…?”

“Leave it to me, lapi!” Flappy put a paw to his chest. He leapt up to Bloom’s pouch, digging around until he found a particular chip, handing it to her as he transformed back into his Commune form. “Snap that chip in, lapi!”

Bloom exchanged the Princess Filia chip for the new chip, and Flappy reappeared with a large flower pot in his paws! With some help from Choppy, the two were able to safely transfer the flowers into the pot, keeping the spirits within safe and alive. 

“You guys are the best.” Bloom muttered softly to them. 

Making use of White’s compass, the group was able to navigate their way home. The walk back was quiet, but it felt satisfying. Not entirely comforting, as there was still some tension and worry in their hearts, but satisfying nonetheless.

The moment they stepped foot back into town, they reverted back to their civilian forms, feeling exhausted from the exertion, but still carrying the flowers safely with them. 

Manabu quickly met back up with them. “Welcome back!” His eyes widened as he looked down at the flower. “...Wow… I… I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this kind of flower before… …Though, that could… uh… probably be said about a lot of the plants that used to live around here…” He wrote down some notes.

Saki chuckled. “To be fair, we’ve never really seen anything like it, either. Not at home.”

“Fascinating…” Manabu nodded as he finished writing his notes. “...Alright, you’re free to go about your business.” He spent a few extra moments looking at the flowers before going his own way, retreating to his office. 

“Nagisa, Honoka, you two can head back to the room first.” Mai nodded towards the two. “I’ll go with Saki to go talk with Daisuke.”

“See you later.” Honoka nodded towards them as she led Nagisa away, still seeming to be slightly upset with her. 

“Look, Honoka, I wasn’t thinking, but-”

“Yeah, clearly.”

Nagisa sighed in defeat as the two walked through the door.

Saki and Mai returned to Daisuke’s kitchen, watching him light up as they entered. “You’re back! And… you have… flowers…” His eyes glittered as he laid his eyes on the flowers in the pot, as Saki gently set it on the countertop. “...Aha… I… almost can’t believe my eyes…”

Minori came running from the kitchen, gasping and jumping up and down as she saw the girls approach. “Saki’s back!!! Saki’s back!!! And she brought pretty flowers!! …But where’s the yeast?”

Saki and Mai laughed lightly. “They’re on the flowers.” Mai explained softly. 

“So coooool…” Minori swooned.

Daisuke carefully took the flower pot. “...Thank you. It’s… been so long since I’ve been able to do this. …I’ll have to dust off the old dehydrator so I can get these jarred with some water, and… …we’ll have yeast again. … I’ll never be able to thank you enough…”

“It’s the least we can do.” Saki responded. “...Now, uh… if you don’t mind… …I wanna go lay down for a while…”

Daisuke nodded. “You deserve some rest. You two look exhausted.”

“Thanks.” Saki smiled at Daisuke as she and Mai returned to the room once again. 

They walked in to see Honoka writing in her new notebook, and Nagisa sitting grumpily in the corner.

“Uh… What happened here?” Saki asked, bemused.

“Honoka’s making me sit here.” Nagisa huffed, but it was clear she wasn’t completely angry or upset, just a little grumpy.

“She needs to control her temper better.” Honoka explained. “Especially when Saki’s going through so much.”

“Thanks…? I guess…?” Saki was a little confused, but she chuckled with a lopsided grin before dropping her backpack and flopping into bed with a sigh. 

Nagisa looked over to Saki, making eye contact with her. “I’m sorry, Saki… Get some rest, okay…?”

Saki nodded, but she couldn’t get too comfortable before she moved her hand wrong and flinched, wincing from the pain of her fresh wound. “Agh…” 

“Oh dear…” Mai looked around the room before spotting the first aid kit they had left against the wall of the room. She popped it open, pulling out some ointment, water, and a few bandages, and began to clean and tend to Saki’s wound.

Saki was grateful to have Mai so close to her again. She sank into her partner’s care, only wincing slightly when her knuckles were getting cleaned and disinfected, but then watching as her injury was gently bandaged by Mai.

“...Can we relax for the rest of the day, Mai…?” Saki asked quietly. 

“Of course, Saki.” Mai responded, just as quiet. “...Maybe I could draw for you some more?”

Saki smiled warmly, cheeks feeling warm once again. “I’d love that, Mai… more than anything.”

Honoka watched them from her bed, smiling warmly at their tender interaction before continuing to write notes about the amount of time they were able to spend in their PreCure forms. Her gaze returned to Nagisa, who was also watching them, but with a slight pout.

“...Do you want to snuggle, too, Nagisa?” Honoka sighed.

“... Yeah.” Nagisa responded simply.