Purin burst through the doors of the now closed café, where she was greeted by Minto and Zakuro's cold stares, Retasu's blank stare, and Berry and Tasuku looking just as confused as Retasu. Purin didn't seem to care that everyone was either confused or irritated. She had big news to tell everyone.
"BIG NEWS NA NO DA!" Purin exclaimed, "There was a rubber dubber ducky of our team and it's called Mew Mew Power!"
Everyone looked confused except Berry and Tasuku, who looked at each other in concern.
"Purin, how did you see that show from outside?" Tasuku asked. Purin looked baffled.
"Bu-Ling didn't see it na no da! Bu-Ling heard of it from one of the guests na no da!" she panted upon having run too fast, "Wait, what show?" she suddenly realised what Tasuku had said.
"Berry saw a show that traumatized her." Tasuku said in a serious voice, to which Berry swallowed nervously.
"Yes…" her voice quivered as she spoke, "Yesterday, I saw a messed up cartoon with another version of Ichigo named Zoey, and she was making puns and yelling obnoxiously!"
Zoey. Where had Purin heard that name before?
"Your lookalike said something about Zoey and a guy named Mark!" Purin pointed to Zakuro.
"What lookalike?" Zakuro asked, confused.
"The purple haired girl who visited our café with her friends earlier na no da!" Purin explained.
"Bu-Ling, we've been in the kitchen all day. Akasaka san said that we had to stay in there," said Zakuro.
"What, he thought we'd be scared of doppelgangers or something?" Minto said sarcastically.
"There was a girl who looked like you too, Minto onee chan, only her eyes were brown and her hair was darker!" exclaimed Purin, "And you too, Retasu onee chan!" she pointed to the green girl, "Your doppleopple had blue eyes and darker hair!"
"What about me?" Berry asked enthusiastically. Purin looked at her intently before shaking her head.
"Sorry Berry onee chan, no doppleopple for you," she said, "Oh, there was also a guy who looked like Akasaka onii chan!" she looked around, "Hey, where's Ichigo onee chan?"
"She went to the zoo with Aoyama san," said Retasu, "The café is closed now. We're just here because none of us have anything to do right now."
Just then, Ryou walked out, eyeing the group of girls and one boy carefully before walking into the kitchen. The others watched him as he disappeared through the door.
Keiichiro Akasaka was pulling a cake out of the oven and putting it out to cool.
"If only I hadn't been too busy, I could've had this done hours ago," he sighed to himself before noticing the blond entering the room, closing the door behind him.
"I've been thinking…" he said, "There's no point in sheltering the girls any longer. They should know the hard truth."
"I'm telling you Ryou, there's nothing to be worried about." Keiichiro said as he took off his oven mitts, "Elliot san may have been overreacting, but that doesn't mean they're evil."
"You agreed with me before." Ryou grumbled, "You've changed."
"Maybe I was just swayed by the rumours of the internet. But now that I've met them, they seem nice and lovely. There's no need to judge, Ryou."
"You're just repeating yourself now." Ryou muttered. Then he sighed, "I'm going to have to tell the Mew Mews."
He walked back out into the main area of the café, where the girls and Tasuku were chatting amongst themselves in hushed voices. They all stopped when Ryou stood and faced them. He cleared his throat and began speaking.
"Girls…and Meguro….I have something very important to—where's Ichigo?" he suddenly realised the pink haired girl was absent, "And that Aoyama guy?"
"They're on a date," said Tasuku, "It doesn't matter, you can fill them in later."
"Fine, whatever. Listen, I have to tell you something very important to tell you."
He swallowed nervously.
"Our world…is nothing but a franchise created by manga artists. We also had an anime adaption, which followed the story of how we saved the Earth from Deep Blue. But…" he said, closing his eyes with fear, "That anime had an English dub by 4kids Entertainment, known as Mew Mew Power."
"Mew Mew Power!?" exclaimed Berry and Purin at once.
"That's the terrible show I watched yesterday!" Berry shouted in fright.
"And that's the thing that Minto's lookalike told me about!" Purin gasped.
"Yes," said Ryou, "And this dub was one of the worst things to ever exist. It had flanderization, characters with obnoxious attitudes and worst of all…cat puns."
"NOOOO!" screamed out Berry, Mint and Retasu all at once. Ryou nodded in anguished agreement.
"The guests that visited our café are our dub versions from America. I don't know why my lookalike and Keiichiro's lookalike brought them here, but surely there must be some sort of reason. And whatever that reason may be, they're up to something bad." Ryou continued on.
"Ok, that's enough!" Keiichiro called out, marching towards the group, "Girls, that was just an April Fools prank!" he smiled cheesily. Ryou gave him a look.
"But I saw some of the lookalikes na no da!" Purin exclaimed.
"I saw a couple of them too," said Retasu, "I saw my doppelganger and two Akasaka sans!"
"And I saw Ichigo or Zoey or whatever on Shirogane's computer!" Berry shrieked, "Akasaka san, you gotta believe what he's saying!"
"Ryou, clearly our conversation is not yet done," Keiichiro said, "Girls and Meguro san, would you be so kind as to leave the premises now?"
"I'm sorry," said Retasu, "I only stayed here because the others were still here."
Everyone left except Ryou and Keiichiro. Once the group were outside, the started talking again.
"I don't know who to believe!" exclaimed a confused Retasu.
"Believe me na no da!" exclaimed Purin. Minto facepalmed.
"I'm pretty sure she meant out of Shirogane and Akasaka," said Minto.
"Guys, I believe that if what Shirogane said is true, then Akasaka shouldn't be sheltering us from it. We're not little kids anymore, and yet he's still acting like our father or something." Zakuro said with a serious expression, "If there is some kind of evil afoot, who's going to stop it if we have no clue what's going on?"
"He had a good reason to hide it from us, Zakuro." Berry shivered with fright, "If you'd seen that show, then you would wanna forget about it!"
"Well then, why don't you just show us this alleged show already?" Minto said, exasperated, "If the guys aren't going to tell us, we can at least find out more information some other way!"
"But none of us have Netflix…" said Tasuku, "Wait, do any of us have it?"
"I haven't been back home in years." Zakuro said coldly.
"I have Netflix, but it's reserved for my parents," said Minto resentfully.
"You know I don't have a TV na no da…" Purin said sadly.
Retasu and Berry shook their heads in dismay. Then, Tasuku got an idea. He pulled an iPhone out of his pocket.
"We can see if it's on youtube!" Tasuku cheered. Berry hugged him and said, "Tasuku, you're a genius!" Tasuku smiled as he typed into the search bar.
"Can we please not watch episode 1 though?" Berry shuddered again, "It was too terrible!"
"They're probably all terrible, Berry," said Zakuro.
"I guess…" said the blonde, "But I'll be brave and watch anyway."
The girls all braced themselves as Tasuku touched the screen where it said 'Mew Mew Power Episode 2 English Dubbed'.
They saw a black haired boy and a redhead girl talking.
"Who are they?" asked Retasu, confused. Berry's eyes narrowed.
"That's the guy who called Ichigo a freak!" she recognised the black haired guy. The others looked bewildered by this.
The scene continued on to the redhead girl cheering with her two friends, a blonde girl and a brunette girl.
"They look kind of like Ichigo san's friends from school…" Retasu said, tilting her head.
"That redhead IS ICHIGO ONEE CHAN NA NO DA!" Purin exclaimed extremely loudly.
"Why is Ichigo's hair red?" asked Minto, "Did they think pink was 'too weird' or something? Well, she is kinda weird," she smirked.
"I don't know," said Tasuku as they continued watching, cringing at Zoey's voice as she complained about zit cream and doing her hair. Then, they all burst out laughing when they heard the voice of Zoey's mother.
"She sounds kinda southern or something!" Tasuku laughed along with Berry.
Soon, the intro began playing and they all stared, baffled by the choice in song.
"Let's skip ahead na no da!" Purin skipped to about halfway through the video.
"Too far, Purin!" exclaimed Minto, "I'm pretty sure the intro isn't THAT long!"
Suddenly, they heard, "Forget about me, how are you FELINE!?"
"OH MY GOD!" screamed out Berry, tossing the iPhone across the park.
"My phone!" Tasuku quickly jumped up like a ninja and grabbed it.
"Sorry Tasuku!" Berry cried out, "I just…HATE THAT SHOW!"
"Um, guys, we might want to get inside. It looks like it's about to rain soon." Retasu pointed up at the darkening sky. The others all looked up to see navy swirls mixed in with the clouds.
"Let's run!" exclaimed Berry as they all ran into the main area of the park. Tasuku took his jacket off to shelter Berry and himself as the rain came bucketing down. She smiled sweetly at him.
"Oh yeah, THANKS!" exclaimed a soaking Minto as they all ran. Retasu tripped over and fell to the muddy ground.
"Help me please!" she called out. Zakuro and Purin helped her up.
"Thank you…" she said before her, Zakuro, Purin, and Minto all took refuge under a tree.
"Are you guys going to be alright?" Berry asked in concern.
"We'll be fine!" Minto snapped, "Just take your boyfriend and go!"
Berry nodded lightly and took Tasuku's hand as they dashed along the muddy ground, until Tasuku slipped on the wet grass and fell.
"Tasuku! Are you ok!?" Berry asked, helping him up. They gazed up at the sky above, as the rain became lighter. The clouds, however, stayed put and soon a large spiral opened up and they could see red, glowing eyes glaring down at them. The pair held onto each other in fright as lightning flashed, briefly lighting up the dark sky.
/
Wesley and Kikki were watching sitcoms on the small TV in their hotel room when suddenly, Elliot came bursting into the room.
"THANKS for booking that hotel WITHOUT ME!" he shouted in rage at the long haired man, who looked over at him, before turning back to the TV.
"Well, where were you when we booked it a few hours ago!?" Kikki yelled out to him.
"First I was locked in a death battle with that Ryou guy, and then I was snooping around looking for-" he stopped dead, "Um, I mean, I got lost…"
"You were fighting your Japanese counterpart?" Corina entered the room, struck with curiosity. Renee walked in after her followed by Bridget.
"Did you bring us here on purpose?" Renee asked sternly. Corina and Kikki glared at the blond. Elliot sighed and became agitated.
"Yes I did! I admit it!" he growled at the girls, "I brought us here to test that Ryou's strength to see if he was better than me!"
"There's gotta be more to it than that!" Kikki shouted out, "Tell us Ellie!"
"Very funny. The name's Elliot." Elliot said sarcastically, "I'll tell you what, I'm jealous of this series. You know why? Because THEY got to finish the saga! All we got was a cheesy cliffhanger! Mew Mew Power sucks!"
"Don't say that, Elliot!" Kikki exclaimed angrily, "Working for Mew Mew Power was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had in my entire life!" she did a handstand cheerfully (totally makes sense XD).
"Easy for you to say. You're just a kid." Elliot grumbled, turning to walk away. Kikki's face turned red with anger.
"I'm not a kid! I'm 14 years old and you know it!" she blared at him, but he ignored her and walked out into the hallway. Bridget, Corina, Renee and Wesley all stared after him while Kikki huffed.
"Don't listen to him, Kikki. He just doesn't know how to interact with others," said Bridget, sweatdropping nervously. Wesley turned back to the TV, only to see that the sitcom had been interrupted with a live news report in its place.
"This just in, a vortex has opened up in the sky!" said a woman holding a microphone. "There appears to be some sort of electricity in the air, and recent reports inform us that this strange phenomenon has been occurring for days in other countries such as America and Australia."
"Oh cool!" said Kikki, suddenly becoming cheerful again.
"Kikki, that could be something serious!" Bridget exclaimed worriedly as she turned the volume up to hear the program better. The screen now showed a cream coloured Mew Mew with rabbit ears and a cat tail jumping through the air while holding an unconscious boy with black hair and a thick jacket.
"Who is THAT phony Mew Mew?" Corina asked, "I've never seen a BUNNY mew mew before!"
"I'm pretty sure rabbits don't have cat tails," said Bridget, "It must be the result of some science experiment gone wrong!"
"Either way, she's a Mew Mew," said Renee, "And there appears to be some sort of trouble."
"Then let's go kick some butt!" Kikki cheered excitedly, marching out of the room. Corina, Bridget and Renee dashed after her, while Wesley continued watching the news report.
"I hope the girls will be alright."
/
Mew Berry was on a building top with Tasuku, who was unconscious in her arms. She cried out for him to wake up, but he stayed sound asleep. Berry placed him safely behind a large chimney before turning and facing the vortex in the sky. There was now a yellow light emitting from it, a square shaped form that became solid right in front of her very eyes. Then, she gasped. The creature, which resembled a sponge, laughed like a dolphin mixed with a seagull. It was so annoying that Berry had to grab her rabbit ears to block out the noise. Then, the sponge disappeared into the mist and in its place, was a redhead teenage girl's head.
"I'M ZOEY HANSON! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" her voice boomed throughout the city.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!?" Ichigo exclaimed, almost dropping the duckling she was holding. Masaya caught it and placed it on the ground gently.
"I don't know, but whatever it was, it was very annoying!" Masaya covered his ears and the voice continued on.
"Y'know what, Tokyo? I'm JEALOUS OF YOU! Your series has GOOD characters! All my friends are JERKS to me!" she pouted, "And I'm SICK of it!"
Mew Mint, Mew Lettuce, Mew Pudding and Mew Zakuro were bravely rushing towards the source of the sound.
"Zoey Hanson, you're even worse than Ichigo!" Mew Mint shouted out angrily. Zoey became enraged at this comment and bellowed, "SHUT UP MINT, IF THAT IS YOUR REAL NAME!"
"You leave her alone!" Mew Zakuro yelled up at the abomination, who frowned.
"You all CARE about each other, too! Who do I have, huh? Nobody! Not even MARK likes me anymore!" she being wailing and sobbing, "GO AWAY!"
She disappeared from the sky. The Mew Mews watched the shadows as the clouds in the sky began to darken.
Elliot was running down the path when suddenly, Mini Mew appeared in front of him and put him into a trance.
"Mini Mew, what are you….doing….?" his eyes became swirls and soon he was walking like a zombie towards the large building the Mew Mews were by.
"Shirogane san?" asked Mew Lettuce as the man walked past her. Mew Zakuro put a protective arm in front of the green girl as a blue beam of light shone down on top of Elliot and abducted him into the sky.
"That wasn't Shirogane," she said in a serious tone.
/
Amy was rushing through the many corridors of the 4kids castle, looking for someone. Someone specific. She eventually found who she was looking for.
"Bella! Mollie! There you are!" she exclaimed as she saw the two women watching cartoons in the back room. They both turned to look at her.
"What do you need?" asked Mollie. Amy gasped and panted, running out of breath. Then, she finally spoke, "Your friends…and allies…they…"
"Yes?" Bella asked impatiently. Amy coughed and wheezed before finally answering.
"Amanda, Kether and Andi! They've gone over to the dark side."
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Mollie, "How!? Why!?"
"Zoey Hanson and Mini Mew hypnotised them!" Amy panted, "Listen, I'm too tired to carry on. It's up to you girls. I know you can go it."
Mollie grabbed a confused Bella by the arm and dragged her downstairs until they ran into Barbara.
"Going somewhere, young whippersnappers!?" she hissed sharply.
"Um, no." said Bella nervously, trying to be as casual as possible, "We were just going to, uh, get sodas!"
"Ok, ONE! That IS going somewhere!" Barbara grabbed Bella's arms behind her back, "And TWO! Soda is UNHEALTHY! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" she twisted Bella's arms around until she screamed.
"Leave her alone!" Mollie shouted, pulling Barbara's arms away.
"Violence isn't good for children either!" Bella screamed before Mollie freed her of Barbara's grip.
"Thank you," said Bella before the two ran off again, with Barbara in hot pursuit. She then tripped and fell over. She growled angrily and then got out a megaphone.
"4kids ninjas! Seize them!"
Nothing happened. Then, a teenage man walked up to her.
"Uhhhh, Barbara miss…" he said in a squeaky voice, "I'm sorry but we sold the 4kids ninjas to another company." Barbara glared at him in rage before jumping on her motorcycle which had conveniently appeared out of nowhere. She sped off out of the castle and down the road.
/
Ichigo and Masaya had met up with everyone else as they watches the clouds swirl into a deep shade of blue. Berry handed Tasuku to Masaya, who said, "I'll take him to the Café."
He jumped off into the sky and out of sight. Everyone stared for a moment before Ichigo turned back to the other girls.
"So, what happened?" she asked, confused. Berry sighed.
"Ichigo, that girl in the sky…was your English dub version," she said solemnly, "Her name is-"
"Zoey Hanson. Yeah, I heard." Ichigo shivered, "Terrible name if you ask me," she stuck her tongue out, "I can't believe that was supposed to be me! I'm not that annoying!"
"Well, compared to her you're not," said Minto, "Anyway, this is something big. Surely there must be some reason for this, right?"
"This is scary!" Retasu hugged Purin in fright. Purin stood up straight with confidence.
"Not all the dub versions are bad na no da!" Purin exclaimed, "Kikki was heaps of fun to play with na no da!" she beamed at the group, "Zoey's just one of a kind, that's all!"
"She's right," said Zakuro, "There's no knowing who's good or bad in this battle."
"Hey, that's not what I said!" Purin exclaimed, jumping up.
"No, it's what I said," said Zakuro, eyeing the yellow girl, who folded her arms and said, "I'm sure the other rub a dub dubs aren't evil!"
"But it's not just dubs, Purin," said Berry with wide eyes, "I saw Spongebob Squarepants, only it was the new stupid one and not the likeable old Spongebob we all know and love!"
"See? There's more than just dub versions," said Zakuro in a serious voice, "For all we know, there could be hundreds, if not thousands of enemies waiting to destroy us."
"But what's their goal?" asked Retasu nervously, "To flanderize everyone or something?"
"Flanderwha?" Purin asked in confusion. Minto pulled out an iPad and typed something.
"Flanderization. The act of taking a trait of a character and exaggerating them until that becomes the characters' whole personality." Minto said calmly, "That means I'll become meaner!"
"Then why was MY flanderized version dumb and annoying!? She should be PRETTIER and CUTER than me!" Ichigo huffed. Minto facepalmed.
"Ichigo, you're so naïve," she muttered under her breath, "Which means Zoey should be even MORE naïve!"
'Wha?" Ichigo said, not hearing the first part.
"If Zoey's naïve, how is she managing to do all this?" Berry asked the others, "I'm serious girls; she can't be conducting all this! She's stupid!"
"So? Ichigo's stupid and she leads us," said Minto, putting her iPad away. Ichigo glared at her sharply.
"But how could Zoey make a cool looking vortex in the sky?" asked Purin.
"Exactly, Bu-Ling," said Zakuro, "It must be the work of something bigger and more destructive. If my calculations are correct, this is our biggest threat yet."
/
"Ok, I believe you partly," said Keiichiro, who had just watched the replay of the news of youtube, which Ryou had shown him.
"Zoey may be evil, but that doesn't mean the rest of the dubs are," said Keiichiro.
"Zoey is not our main threat," said Ryou, "Ichigo's a little on the ditzy side, am I right? So Zoey must be 1000x more stupid. There's no way she could cause something that cool looking!" he cleared his throat.
"So you're saying our biggest threat is currently that vortex?" asked Keiichiro, turning to look at Ryou, who nodded.
"The Mew Mews have found out by now," said Ryou, walking towards a cabinet and fetching a key out of his pocket, "If I'm correct, which I know I am, then this scenario is more serious than the fight with Deep Blue. They'll need some assistance with this battle."
He unlocked the top drawer and opened it, peering inside it.
"Looks like the robots are in need of an upgrade."