Half a chapter remains from the entire novel, can you believe it? I can't really XD This is perhaps the first time in my 25 years that I kept an impulse project go to the very end...:") (well, almost end, let's not jinx it :v) Lucky that it's not Umineko-length though. I'm so pathetic
As with chapter 3 before, this is part 1, and once I finish part 2, the PDF comes. You can read the translation after 'Read more'!
Chapter 5 - Father!
part 1
The time has come for the leader of the Desert Apostles, Dune, to make his move at last.
He was still on the Castle Planet when Bossnackey came to report to him about Dark Precure’s defeat by Cure Moonlight. Dune got on the radio to reproach Professor Sabaaku and his three generals:
“Earth will never be ours if I leave it to the likes of you, who can’t even get rid of a few Precures. Well then. Let me give you a present from one of the planets I will conquer soon. You are welcome.”
A few days later, Dune sent out a creature to Kibougahana that was of a completely different nature than Desertrians: a Desert Devil. Desert Devils were monsters born from Desert Seeds, and they were able to destroy all plants in sight, and turn the green lands into a desert with a single laser beam from their eyes.
When the Desert Devil came to attack, the citizens of Kibougahana were all shaking in fear; even the park next to the Botanical Garden fell victim to its destruction.
After hearing the news from the fairies, Tsubomi, Erika, Itsuki and Yuri wasted no time and transformed into Precures to face the Desert Devil. However, their regular attacks had absolutely no effect on it. They couldn’t purify it even with their finisher, Precure Shining Fortissimo. Therefore, they each decided to unleash their individual Forte Waves and Forte Burst at the same time, which finally made the Desert Devil disappear, and a peculiar-looking antenna popped up in its place.
The voice that spoke from the antenna belonged to Dune. He called himself the leader of the Desert Apostles, and informed them that this Desert Devil had merely been his greeting gift.
Furthermore, he declared that he intends to send several more Desert Seeds to Earth, which will hatch into Desert Devils, and he himself will also arrive very soon to assume control over the planet.
Seeing how they could barely handle just a single Desert Devil, and realising that if the entire world was swarmed with those monsters, the four of them alone would be severely outpowered, the girls came to Kaoruko for advice.
As they learnt from her, in order to harness the infinite powers of the Heartcatch Mirage, they needed to go to the Precure Palace again and overcome one last trial.
However, Kaoruko hesitated; it hasn’t been that long since the trial at the Precure Palace for the obtaining of the Heartcatch Mirage, and since Coupe still hasn’t regained his strength, he wouldn’t be there to help them if the need arose.
Even so, the girls insisted that if they wanted to defeat the Desert Devil army, they needed a powerup, and for that, they were willing to overcome any trial thrown at them.
Believing that their dedication was sincere, Kaoruko decided to take the girls and their fairies to the Precure Palace once again.
***
As soon as the group of four arrived at the Precure Palace and transformed, holy light surrounded them.
In the next moment, they were sent to another dimension called the Mirror Realm, all separated from each other. There, each of them were greeted by a figure who looked exactly like themselves.
These figures represented their own respective past insecurities and difficulties.
For Cure Moonlight, her old self who couldn’t stand up again after being defeated by Dark Precure and losing Cologne; for Cure Blossom, her old withdrawn self; for Cure Marine, her old self who looked up to her older sister, Momoka, while also being jealous of her; for Cure Sunshine, her old self who forced herself to lock her true feelings deep inside her heart for the sake of her older brother, Satsuki, and her family. Each of those encounters turned into a fight.
This world was all created by the Mirror Realm inside the Precure Palace, and the four figures standing before the Precures were their shadow-esque versions.
At first, the girls were dismayed by these Shadows who bore the exact same features as themselves. However, in the middle of the fight, apart from Blossom, they all came to understand the significance behind this final trial, and now, after having grown as Precures, they were able to acknowledge their past selves and accept them more willingly. Once they realised that, the Shadows returned inside their bodies with a smile.
Following that, the three of them came back to the Precure Palace, to the place where they started. Then, they noticed that the bronze statues of past Precures inside the Palace garden have gained some new additions in the shape of their own statues.
It was an honour reserved only for those Precures who have managed to overcome the final trial. Likewise, it also meant that the three of them have now become stronger, and earned the right to use the infinite powers of the Heartcatch Mirage.
However, it wasn’t the time to smile yet. After all, Cure Blossom had still yet to return.
Even then, she was fighting against her Shadow.
Refusing to accept her past self – her shadow – like the others, Blossom was fighting relying only on the strength of her current self, who has grown since.
“People cannot change so easily. You are better off being withdrawn and isolated. Stop fighting already.”
As her Shadow kept repeating so, Blossom found it harder and harder to retort, and the fight was gradually turning against her favour. She almost gave up, when suddenly, the faces of her Cure friends – Erika, Itsuki and Yuri – and the fairies, as well as their shared memories flashed up in her mind.
My friends…! her voice rang out inside of her, and she looked her Shadow standing before her straight in the eyes, saying:
“It is true that I used to think I was better off by myself, withdrawn as I was. I acknowledge that. But now I have Erika, Itsuki, Yuri-san and the fairies. My Grandma and Coupe-sama as well. People I can count on. They all support me. And with such people on my side, I am determined to protect the Earth, the Great Heart Tree and every Heart Flower!”
“You can embellish things all you want, that won’t make you any different,” her Shadow said, as she kept coming at Blossom with her fists.
Yet, Cure Blossom stood up and bore with it.
“They may be just flowery words to you, but I really do love my friends for supporting me. It is their merit that I have been able to keep pushing forward.”
“But if you cannot change, that was all for nothing!”
Her Shadow threw another punch, but Blossom blocked it by crossing her arms.
“I… really believe that I was able to change, even if slowly… So it’s no wonder that the other me who’s still clinging to her old habits is still around.”
“Me, your shadow self, is your old self?” her Shadow stared at her in surprise.
“Yes. You are my cowardly other self, who always whispered ‘I can’t. It’s pointless to even try’ whenever I wanted to try something new.”
“...!”
“But I have finally realised it. If the one who dissuades me from doing something is myself, then the only one who can motivate me is also myself.” As Cure Blossom said that, the Shadow’s hostile expression started to clear up. “My old self was very guilty of being dependent on others. But the only one who can carve a path for myself is me!”
Her Shadow’s gaze softened up.
“Then I suppose you don’t need your shadow self anymore.”
“On the contrary. In order to be true to myself, I need my slightly cowardly side as well. Which is why… I love my shy, withdrawn self just as much,” Blossom said, while embracing her Shadow. The Shadow smiled, before merging together with Cure Blossom and returning inside her body.
That moment marked Cure Blossom’s triumph over the final trial, and she successfully left the Mirror Realm.
***
Accompanied by a flash of light, Cure Blossom returned to the Precure Palace garden, and noticed a statue of herself standing in front of her teammates.
I really have completed the trial.
A sense of pride has awoken inside her, when she noticed Chypre flying towards her with the Heartcatch Mirage in her paws.
“What are you standing there with your mouth agape~! Go help the others, quickly~!”
“Huh? What happened to them?”
“They are back already, and fighting with a Desert Devil~!”
“What?!”
Shoving the Heartcatch Mirage into the hands of the dumbfounded Cure Blossom, Chypre led her to the front entrance of the Palace.
As they emerged from the doorway, Cure Blossom saw her friends fighting against the Desert Devil, the creature born from Dune’s Desert Seed, by the lake in front of the castle.
Just like how they managed to defeat it the other day, the three used their individual Forte Wave and Forte Burst attacks on it together, but even if they managed to hit its hands and arms, the Desert Devil regained its energy right away and continued the assault.
Cure Blossom rushed over to Kaoruko, who was observing the gruelling fight from nearby.
“Grandma! Girls!”
Everyone turned their heads towards her at the same time.
“Blossom! So you’ve passed!”
“Blossom, I knew you could do it!”
“Come, let’s fight together!”
Blossom gave them a nod.
“Chypre, turn into a cloak!”
“Got it~!”
With a glow, Chypre transformed into a cloak, and wrapped herself around Blossom’s shoulders.
Then, Kaoruko raised her voice:
“Now is the time to show your new, stronger powers! First, use the Heartcatch Mirage to become Super Precures!”
In that moment, the four keys on the Heartcatch Mirage representing the colours of the four Precures – pink, blue, gold and silver – lit up, and the mirror began to shine in all colours of the rainbow.
Kaoruko smiled and continued:
“Unite your hearts and shout, ‘The flowers shining across the world! Heartcatch Precure! Super Silhouette!’”
Looking at each other, the girls nodded, then called out:
“The flowers shining across the world! Heartcatch Precure! Super Silhouette!”
Four beams of light burst out of the rainbow-coloured heart mirror, enveloping the four Precures. Then, each of them received a tiara, earrings and wings in the shape of a heart, and the four of them transformed into their more powerful versions. That was the birth of their Super Precure forms.
As if to celebrate the moment, flower petals began to fall from the sky.
“Now, you can finally perform ‘Precure! Heartcatch Orchestra!’”
Cure Blossom nodded enthusiastically, then flew up to join the others in the altitude.
Nodding at each other, the girls made their trademark gesture of a blooming flower out of their hands, then recited together:
“Flowers, bloom! Precure! Heartcatch Orchestra!”
In that moment, an even brighter light radiated from the mirror, and a Precure goddess emerged from the inside, dressed in all-white, and so tall that she towered over even the Desert Devil.
As the goddess looked down upon the frightened Desert Devil, the Super Precures also turned into its direction, waving their Tacts and striking their Tambourines.
The goddess raised her fist, then brought it down again, right at the Desert Devil.
The Desert Devil let out a death scream.
“Haaaaaaa!”
As always when they performed a purification, the Super Precures spinned the crystal reel on their Tacts, and moved the Tambourine in a circular motion.
When the purification was over, the Desert Devil dispersed into little fragments of light and vanished.
Along with it, the goddess was summoned back into the mirror as well.
The Super Precures also turned back into their normal forms, then came to gather around Kaoruko, wrapping their arms around her.
“Grandma, we finally did it.”
“You really have worked hard, girls. And once you grow even more and your hearts become even more united, the Heartcatch Mirage will bestow its infinite powers upon you.”
“We can become even stronger than that?” Cure Marine asked, and Kaoruko nodded with a smile.
“You most definitely can.”
“Can we reach even Cure Flower’s level?” Cure Sunshine pressed on.
“When I completed the last trial and fought against Dune, I was only able to use the Heartcatch Orchestra as well.”
“So if we become skilled enough, we might also be able to purify Dune, right?” Cure Moonlight’s eyes lit up.
“That is something even I don’t know. Dune’s cruelty knows no bounds, and the way he’s able to conjure more and more hatred is unfathomable.”
“...”
As everyone fell silent at Kaoruko’s words, the fairies suddenly spoke up:
“Worry not~! You are the legendary warriors chosen by the Great Heart Tree, the Precures~!”
“Up until now, everything you thought was impossible, you have made it real!”
“Don’t give up now, girlsh!”
Their cheering brought back the smiles to their faces.
“You are right. After all, Cure Moonlight was able to overcome an incredibly great tragedy and come back as a Precure too!”
“Yeah!”
“Precures know no such thing as impossible!”
Cure Moonlight nodded in agreement at her friends’ words.
***
After passing the last trial and becoming more powerful, the Precure team was challenged to a final showdown by one of the Desert Apostles generals: Sasorina, who also came equipped with the Dark Bracelets of Cobraja and Kumojacky.
Even though it was a tough battle for the Precures, three Dark Bracelets’ powers were simply too much for Sasorina’s body to take, and she came close to destroying herself in the process. Taking mercy on her, the Precures decided to purify her with Precure Heartcatch Orchestra, after which she disappeared alongside her past Heart Flower of a katakuri.
To make matters worse, the leader of the Desert Apostles, Dune, finally decided to show himself before Kaoruko and the girls.
He came to take Kaoruko’s pendant with his dark powers sealed inside taking the form of a little boy.
The girls wasted no time to transform in order to protect Kaoruko, but even with his powers sealed away, Dune proved to be so powerful and fast that he made them transform back, not even leaving them the time to call for their special attacks. He even took out Coupe without trouble.
While they were unable to even get up, Dune ripped the pendant off of Kaoruko’s neck, and shattered it to pieces in front of the girls. The dark energy that was locked inside now broke free, and returned to its owner. When that happened, Dune’s body, shrouded in a sinister glow, changed from a little boy to a young man.
“Fufufufu, Cure Flower has caused me quite a lot of trouble. Now, I will let her enjoy as the Great Heart Tree withers away and the Earth becomes a desert planet, causing humanity to lose all hope and slowly perish, right by my side in the first row.”
With that remark, Dune took Kaoruko and rose up to the sky, where Professor Sabaaku was already waiting for him, then together, they disappeared from sight.
Unable to do anything or even move a finger, the girls were forced to watch them go with their teeth gritted in frustration.
Even Coupe, as he looked up at the sky where Kaoruko had been just now, could only let out a heart-wrenching howl, completely unlike him.
***
Being the monster as he was, the next stop on Dune’s radar was right up at the Great Heart Tree.
Dark Precure had spent so much time searching for its location and still barely finding it, but for Dune, who was now at full power, this too, was nothing more than child’s play.
Easily destroying the barrier set up by Cure Sunshine, Dune smirked as he held out his right towards the Great Heart Tree, gathering dark energy inside his palms, then shooting the projectile right in front of the eyes of his hostage. As the dark energy bullet hit the Great Heart Tree, which has finally been revived by the Precures, it started to grow larger and larger. It took only a second to engulf the Tree completely, then, as the dark energy swirling inside the bullet broke free, a giant explosion could be seen. As the Great Heart Tree dropped all its leaves, the soil around the roots broke up into several chunks, which instead of falling, remained floating in the air around the Tree.
Kaoruko’s expression turned pained as she whispered:
“What have you done…”
Dune burst into laughter, wearing a wicked smile.
“Hahhahhah, now there is nothing to protect the Earth anymore. And once my Desert Seeds grow into many, many Desert Devils, this planet will be finished.”
“Earth still has hope left,” Kaoruko said, glaring at Dune.
“Hope, you say?”
“The four Precures will definitely defeat you.”
“Kukuku… Don’t make me laugh! Why do you think I have taken you hostage? So that the brats will come to your rescue. And that when they come, I could take their Heart Perfumes in exchange for your life.”
“H-How lowly!”
“If that makes you feel better. Once they can’t transform anymore, I’m going to torture them all to death right in front of your eyes, together with their fairies. The mere thought makes me tremble in excitement, Cure Flower.”
“Dune…!”
Kaoruko sent him a glare so full of hatred that her eyes seemed to be ablaze.
“Hahhahhah, I like that expression. Come on, hate me more. Consider this a payback for depriving me of my dark powers fifty years ago.”
“...”
Kaoruko remained silent, thinking this man was beyond saving, when she suddenly noticed sweat running down the chin of Professor Sabaaku under his mask.
Why is he so nervous…?
Catching Kaoruko’s glance, Sabaaku immediately turned to Dune with a suggestion:
“King Dune, we should return to the Castle Planet soon.”
“You’re right. We have to get things ready for the welcome party,” Dune said, and Sabaaku silently nodded.
***
That evening, the Desert Devils hatched from the Desert Seeds which Dune had scattered over the world, and began their rampage.
Just as expected of the elite force that had already conquered and desertified another planet right before Dune came to Earth, these Desert Devils were twice the size as well as the power of the ones the Precures had managed to defeat before.
They had the terrifying ability to destroy mountains and buildings with the rays emitted from their mouths, turn everything into sand with the lasers shot from their eyes, and imprison the despairing people and their Heart Flowers inside crystals.
With millions of such creatures sent to the planet, the entire world turned into a desert during the course of a single night.
By the time the girls came to inside the Botanical Garden’s Plush Toy Hall after being beaten by Dune, it was already the next morning. After hearing about the mass destruction of the Desert Devils from the fairies, they hurried outside.
Aside from the Botanical Garden, which remained unharmed thanks to the barrier set up by Coupe, everywhere they looked, it was a desert, with dark grey clouds hanging heavily from the sky.
“N-No way that in a single night this…!” Yuri became speechless. Likewise, the others stood there in a trance, rooted to the spot.
“Our homes… What happened to our homes?” Erika’s exclamation brought back everyone to their senses.
“We should go and see, just in case!”
To Yuri’s suggestion, everyone went to check up on their own home, and agreed to meet up again an hour later in the Plush Toy Hall.
***
On her way to the Botanical Garden’s employee residence, Yuri encountered many such crystals peeking out from the deserted ground everywhere.
Inside the crystals, she saw people in despair with their wilting Heart Flowers.
She didn’t see a single soul who was alive and well along the way, only the desert as far as the eye can reach.
Tripping in the sand and falling several times, Yuri managed to reach the employee residence, which was buried under the sand up to just the tip of its roof.
“Mom!” she called out, as she desperately sank her hands into the sand. She did manage to dig up a few crystals, but none of them belonged to her mother; they were all other employees of the Botanical Garden or their family members. “Mom…”
Even so, Yuri continued to dig diligently.
Suddenly, something she heard from Kaoruko before came to her mind: according to her, if a Heart Flower was possessed by a Desertrian once, it will never be possessed again. Although not being able to recall the reason behind it, Yuri decided to hold onto that single ray of hope, stopped digging, and walked back to the Botanical Garden.
The others were already there when she arrived.
“Yuri-san, did you find her?” Itsuki inquired. Yuri shook her head no.
“What about your family, Itsuki?” Yuri asked back, to which Itsuki looked down at the three crystals at her feet as she answered:
“I found the crystals with my grandfather and my parents inside, but I couldn’t find Satsuki-niisan’s…”
“I see…”
As Yuri put her arms around the disheartened Itsuki to comfort her, she noticed that Erika was doing the same to a tearful Tsubomi.
“Tsubomi’s parents are also trapped inside the crystals…” Itsuki uttered. Yuri immediately came closer to look at the crystals by Tsubomi’s feet.
“This is cruelty… My mother was carrying a new life under her heart…”
“Tsubomi, crying is not going to solve anything. It’s times like these that we especially need to stay strong,” Yuri said. Tsubomi nodded weakly, when suddenly, voices hit their ears:
“Yuri-chan!”
“Erika!”
“Itsuki!”
“Hanasaki-senpai!”
As the girls glanced towards the desertified park, they noticed several people, whose Heart Flowers were restored by the Precures before, standing upon the sand dunes – Haruna, Momoka, Satsuki and the captain of the female soccer club, Ueshima Sayaka, among them.
Kaoruko-san was right after all, Yuri thought, yet, she did not let herself smile even upon reuniting with her mother. She didn’t want to rub salt into Tsubomi’s heart, whose family members could not be here.
“I get it! Everyone here are the people who were saved by the Precures!” Erika suddenly yelled in the middle of her conversation with Momoka.
“But I also see some who I do not recognize,” Tsubomi said.
“That’s no wonder. Cure Moonlight also saved people on her own, you know,” Yuri replied, and Itsuki nodded eagerly.
“I see, so that’s how it works!”
Haruna smiled, as she joined in:
“Even if the world has become so desolated, everyone who’s gathered here has no doubt that the Precures will defeat the Desert Apostles and restore it to its former glory.”
Momoka and Satsuki added:
“The Precures have always defeated every enemy, no matter how strong they were. Which is why we have no reason to give up hope.”
“As long as we have faith in the Precures, they will surely respond to our prayers.”
Yuri, Tsubomi, Erika and Itsuki exchanged glances. Their former melancholic expressions were all gone by now.
That was when a Desert Devil appeared on the top of the sand dunes.
The monster broke into a howl, and sent a cloud of sand dust rise, as it began to descend the hill.
“You will be safe inside the Botanical Garden! Everyone, please, hurry!”
Obeying Tsubomi’s orders, the people began to run towards the Botanical Garden.
After making sure that everyone evacuated safely, the girls transformed into Precures.
“Let’s keep on fighting, so that the light of hope will continue shining for them!”
“Yes!”
Blossom, Marine and Sunshine nodded in agreement to Cure Moonlight’s words, then stepped in front of the Desert Devil, as it drew closer.
Letting out a roar, the Desert Devil opened its mouth to fire a beam at them, which the Precures evaded without issue, then turned towards Coupe, who was observing the fight together with the fairies.
Nodding, Coupe put his right paw inside the heart mark on his chest, and pulled out the Heartcatch Mirage.
The Precures gave each other the signal, as they shouted:
“The flowers shining across the world! Heartcatch Precure! Super Silhouette!”
In that moment, four beams of rainbow-coloured light sprang forth, enveloping and transforming the four of them into Super Precures.
Then, after displaying their usual pose of blooming flowers, they called out in unison:
“Flowers, bloom! Precure! Heartcatch Orchestra!”
As the mirror began to shine even brighter, the Precure goddess clad in all-white appeared from the inside, towering over the Desert Devil.
The goddess looked down at the Desert Devil, while the four Super Precures began to swing and strike their Tacts and Tambourines in its direction.
With a single punch, the goddess took out the Desert Devil, and the girls waved their weapons at the monster, completing the purification.
They heard cheering from the Botanical Garden.
As the goddess disappeared and the Super Precures went back to their normal forms from their Super Silhouettes, Coupe looked up at the sky, and let out a cry.
“Coupe-sama?” Cure Marine spoke up, when Coupe pointed to a spot in the sky.
“Is that where my Grandma is, perhaps?” Cure Blossom asked, and nodding in confirmation, Coupe kneeled down right away, showing his back to Blossom.
“Come on, everyone, on Coupe-sama’s back~!”
“Coupe-sama will take us there!”
Reaching out with those long arms of his, Coupe put the whole group on his back.
“Coupe-sama has quite a wide back, indeed!” Cure Sunshine noted cheerfully, with Cure Blossom agreeing:
“We can count on him for anything!”
“Let’sh go!” Potpourri said, and Coupe slowly began to lift up from the ground.
At that moment, the people in the Plush Toy Hall came out to bid them goodbye.
“Do your best!”
“Come back unhurt!”
“We will be praying for your safety!”
Leaving their voices behind, Coupe began to pick up the speed.
Passing through the clouds, they could see the blue sky expand before their eyes.
“As long as we don’t lose hope, I don’t think the Great Heart Tree can completely wither,” Cure Moonlight said, to which everyone nodded in agreement.
Cure Blossom closed her eyes.
“If I close my eyes like this, I can see the Great Heart Tree with its beautiful flowers,” she said. The others followed her example.
“Great Heart Tree, please don’t die.”
“And please, help everyone stay strong.”
“We are going to save you.”
“Please, wait for us a bit longer.”
Once they all spelled out a wish in a whisper, the girls opened their eyes.
***
After spotting the Precures heading towards the Castle Planet through the surveillance satellite, Professor Sabaaku appeared in Dune’s throne room in the castle to report it.
“Hm. Didn’t take as long as I thought,” Dune’s lips curved into a smug smile.
“King Dune, I will personally make sure that the Precures are eliminated before they can set a foot on the Castle Planet.”
“Sure. Do it.”
Sabaaku bowed to him, then left the room.
Dune stood up from his throne, and went to the next room over.
In the middle of the room, Kaoruko could be seen chained to a chair; as Dune entered, she looked at him with contempt.
A devious smile flashed over his face as he snapped two of his fingers on his right hand. Then, a shot of Sabaaku’s hideout as well as several other places of the Castle Planet came into view on the wall of monitors in front of Kaoruko.
One of them showed the entrance of the hideout, where an entire Snacky army was awaiting the arrival of the Precures to ambush them. On another one, Kumojacky and Cobraja could be seen waiting for the Precures on the passage that connected the hideout with the Castle Planet. Finally, Professor Sabaaku appeared in his chambers, as he was taking out Dark Precure from the incubator he had put her in to heal her injuries and recover her strength after suffering defeat from Cure Moonlight. The camera zoomed in on her face while she said something to Sabaaku. The hatred she was harbouring towards Cure Moonlight was plainly visible in her eyes.
“Fufufufu, I love the look in Dark Precure’s eyes, don’t you, Cure Flower? We are about to witness a very fun show, as the Precures meet their end soon.”
“...”
Kaoruko remained quiet as she kept glaring at Dune.
***
Leaving behind the now ashened Earth, Coupe was flying through space, when the Desert Apostles hideout came into his view. Behind the base, there was a long bridge leading to the Castle Planet.
“So that’s the headquarters of the Desert Apostles and the Castle Planet,” Cure Blossom noted, with Cure Moonlight affirming:
“We are going to rescue Kaoruko-san and defeat Dune without fail.”
“Yes!” The others nodded tensely.
Coupe sped up, then landed in front of the entrance, where a desert lay.
Just as the Precures jumped off Coupe’s back, the gates opened up, and a swarm of Snackeys spilled out of the doorway like an avalanche.
The Precures began to strike them with kicks and punches.
However, no matter how many Snackeys they managed to take out, their number seemed unending. Suddenly, a huge shadow crept over the Snackeys’ heads: Coupe. Stomping his feet to the ground, he reached forward with his two long arms, then let out a roar as he wheeled around.
A moment later, the Snackeys were blown away.
“Coupe-sama is saying he will take care of them~!”
“We should go save Cure Flower in the meanwhile!”
The Precures nodded at the fairies, then made a high jump to enter the hideout.
They also met Snackeys inside the base, but they could easily manage them. Taking them out through and through, the Precures crossed the building, finally reaching the long bridge connecting the hideout with the Castle Planet.
“This is the moment of truth. The Precures’ pride is at the stake. We must fight to the bitter end!”
Moved by Cure Moonlight’s powerful words of determination, Cure Blossom nodded firmly, then hurried after her on the bridge.
Midway, they were stopped by Kumojacky and Cobraja, who were already waiting for them.
Similarly to the fallen Sasorina, the two of them were beginning to remember their human hearts due to the exposure to the Precures’ holy light during the purification of the Desertrians, and were starting to question the Desert Apostles’ world domination objectives.
Not that they concerned themselves too much with the outcome. As warriors themselves, all they cared about was to have a good fight against the Precures.
The parties kept glaring at each other, until Kumojacky and Cobraja spoke:
“To fight with all we have until one of us falls… this is what I’ve been waiting for.”
“I want a beautiful fight with you. I don’t care about the Desert Apostles anymore. Come on, let us settle it elegantly.”
With that, the pair fiercely charged at them. Cure Moonlight and Cure Blossom were not even ready, when Cure Marine and Cure Sunshine leapt forward.
“Marine, Sunshine?!” they shouted in surprise.
“We will take care of them!”
“You two should find Kaoruko-san, quickly!”
Marine and Sunshine replied, as they both entered a heated hand-to-hand combat with Kumojacky and Cobraja.
“But…” Cure Blossom hesitated, but Marine put her down:
“Don’t worry! We’ll be right after you, I promise! Or are you saying you’re doubting us?”
“...Never!” Cure Blossom answered, putting a smile to Marine and Sunshine’s faces.
“A Precure’s strength lies in the bond of mutual trust. Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
Moonlight and Blossom made for the end of the bridge.
***
After breaking into the Castle Planet, Cure Moonlight and Cure Blossom continued their way further inside, taking out any roaming Snackeys along the way.
Dune was watching their every step through the monitors in the throne room from his seat.
“Let me see how you struggle, Precures,” he smiled confidently.
Kaoruko, too, kept a keen eye on them, as well as on the other monitors showing the fights between Marine and Kumojacky and Sunshine and Cobraja at separate locations.
Suddenly, Professor Sabaaku entered the room.
“Sabaaku…!”
“...”
They were finally face to face with each other.
***
Elsewhere, Cure Moonlight and Cure Blossom found themselves in a Colosseum inside the castle’s courtyard. This was a place Dune had built for the Snackeys, where war prisoners kidnapped from the planets he conquered would be made to fight against each other until one of them lost their lives.
Traces of blood from those occasions were still visible on the stone paving here and there.
“Where are we…?” Cure Blossom and Chypre muttered, when suddenly, an eerie feeling struck Cure Moonlight, which made her lift her gaze up at the tallest of the stone pillars encircling the Colosseum.
It was Dark Precure standing on the top of the pillar, the giant-looking moon illuminating her from behind.
“Dark Precure!” Blossom cried out, ready to strike back, but Dark Precure just continued to glare at Moonlight, as if Blossom wasn’t even there.
“...Blossom, go.” Startled, Cure Blossom looked at Cure Moonlight. “I have something that needs to be settled. With Dark Precure… and my former self.”
“Your former… self?” Blossom asked back, and Moonlight gave a small nod in response.
“The one who didn’t believe in friendship, lost Cologne, and was beaten by Dark Precure… Defeating Dark Precure would mean I have risen over that part of myself,” she said, still staring at Dark Precure.
Seeing her determined expression from the side, Cure Blossom said nothing more.
Moonlight smiled.
“Now go find Kaoruko-san.”
“Yes!”
Bolting across the Colosseum, Blossom and Chypre headed towards the inside of the castle.
Not even sparing them a glance, Dark Precure descended from the pillar, landing in front of Moonlight.
“The time has come for the darkness to swallow the light. And this time, I shall make you disappear without a trace!”
Declaring so, Dark Precure violently charged at Cure Moonlight.
***
Briefly looking over at Cure Moonlight and Dark Precure on the screen, Kaoruko sent an icy glare at Professor Sabaaku.
“If it wasn’t for you and Dark Precure…”
“...”
Sabaaku still kept his mouth shut.
“The girls told me that Dark Precure said she was an artificial Precure. It’s you, am I right? Her creator, I mean.” Even when Kaoruko asked directly, he remained quiet. “Why did you create her in Cure Moonlight’s image?”
Sabaaku finally broke the silence:
“In her image?”
“Even with different hairstyles, she is Cure Moonlight’s spitting image,” Kaoruko pointed out, and Sabaaku’s shoulders trembled ever so slightly. The discreet movement didn’t escape Kaoruko’s attention. “Something has been bothering me ever since. Why did Cure Moonlight… Yuri-chan come back unscathed from that battle…?”
The moment Yuri’s name hit his ears, Sabaaku put his right hand to his mask. His perturbation was obvious, and Kaoruko could tell so.
“If you hadn’t stopped Dark Precure, you could have declared total victory over her. Yet, you didn’t do that… or rather, you could not do that, right? Something was keeping you from it…”
“Stop that nonsense…”
Sabaaku averted his gaze from Kaoruko, and turned back to the monitor showing Cure Moonlight and Dark Precure’s fight.
“Why won’t you look into my eyes? You can’t be…”
But before Kaoruko could finish the sentence, Sabaaku turned on his heels.
“Bossnackey, you deal with the rest! I am going to go see with my own eyes how Dark Precure crushes Cure Moonlight,” he said, leaving the room.
As she watched him go, Kaoruko’s suspicions were confirmed. Professor Sabaaku was Tsukikage Hideaki; Yuri’s father.
***
Professor Sabaaku took a seat in the upper row of the Colosseum’s spectator area, where he could overlook the heated battle that was unfolding between Cure Moonlight and Dark Precure.
All he did was watching the two fight.
The competitors in the middle of the Colosseum were unaware of his presence.
The fight was going completely evenly, then suddenly, both of them jumped to the opposite side. As their gazes met amidst taking ragged breaths, Dark Precure asked:
“Who are you fighting for?”
“It’s not for a specific person. It’s for all living things and to protect every Heart Flower."
“Yeah, the mission of the Precures… How stupid!” In the blink of an eye, the pair collided and separated again. “I am fighting for someone I love.”
“Love? But I thought you didn't have a heart.”
“You were wrong! I’ve been fighting for Professor Sabaaku all this time! And somebody who has no one to love will not defeat me!”
Cure Moonlight’s face turned surprised, and the next moment, Dark Precure attacked her with incredible force. Her inner feelings took over her fist, and the attacks kept showering at Cure Moonlight, who had no choice but to take defence. Dark Precure was slowly cornering her.
***
Around the same time, Cure Blossom and Chypre had almost reached the room where Kaoruko was being held captive.
“Grandma!” Cure Blossom called out, when she heard Kaoruko’s voice from the room at the end of the corridor:
“Blossom!”
“That way~!”
The instant they bursted into the room, they were confronted by two Bossnackeys at once, who – worthy of their title as “boss” –, proved to be pretty tough.
While Blossom was busy fighting with one of them, the other one took advantage of the situation to ambush her.
“Blossom, look out!”
Cure Blossom managed to evade the attack, when suddenly, rose petals began to fall from the sky.
The next minute, Coupe appeared in his form of a young man, taking down both Bossnackeys in the matter of a second.
“Coupe-sama!” Cure Blossom and Chypre cried out in joy.
“Thank you, Coupe,” Kaoruko said, and Coupe immediately turned back to his usual form.
“Haah…”
Chypre wasn’t pleased seeing Blossom sigh.
“This is no time for disappointed looks~!”
“You’re right! Coupe-sama, please take care of Grandma! I’m going back to help Moonlight!”
As Cure Blossom was about to leave the room, Kaoruko shouted after her:
“Please, Blossom! Don’t let Sabaaku and Moonlight fight each other!”
Blossom’s eyes went wide in surprise at the unexpected request.
***
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