Berii shouted to a brainwashed Tasuku, "What happened to you?! What did Duke do to you?"
Tasuku coldly replied to her, "I serve him now. He opened my eyes to the blight of this world, which are you monsters." Duke patted him on the shoulder as he laughed.
"You've done well, my mind slave," he said to the young Tasuku before he turned to Ichigo. "I implore you girls, and one guy, to just give up and face your fate. We can easily beat all of you."
"I'm gonna have to disagree with that," Ichigo defiantly shouted back to him as she got up from holding Masaya. "We've beaten enemies far more dangerous than you." She then cracked her knuckles. "Hell, I'm sure we could do it with our bare hands." She then charged at Sweet Juliet, who readied himself. As they met, she managed to land a hit to his stomach before she yelled out, "Everyone, attack now!" She then received a blow to her chest, knocking her back.
Minto readied her weapon as she called out, "Ribbon Mint Echo!" She then fired an arrow charged with energy at Happy Child, who barely ducked out of the way. He then teleported himself behind Minto as she called out, "What?! I missed?!" As she turned around and her eyes met Happy Child's, she heard a voice inside her head.
"Aizawa Minto," the voice said to her. "This is your end." Then, Happy Child used his sonic wave ability to deafen Minto and make her fall to her knees in pain as she covered her ears. As the sound continued to ring in her head, Zakuro ran to her. Then, a small amount of blood began trickling from her right ear just as the sound stopped.
"Minto! Minto! Tell me what's wrong!" Zakuro was horrified as the blood dripped to the ground. She then turned to Happy Child as she spawned her whip, shouting, "What the hell did you do to her?!"
"I simply used my sonic wave powers to distract her with loud sounds in her head," he calmly said to her as he stood confidently over them. "I guess I used it so much that one of her ears began to bleed."
Retasu shouted at him, "You're sick in the head!" She then readied herself to attack as she spawned her castanets. She then shouted, "Ribbon Lettuce Rush!" As she did, a wave of energy knocked Happy Child back and off of his feet.
Meanwhile, Ichigo continued to struggle against Sweet Juliet as they locked heads and arms and pushed against each other. He said to the cat girl, "You're pretty strong, Mew Ichigo."
"Yeah," she replied back. "I am." She then let out a scream before she charged against him with all of her might, forcing Sweet Juliet back. She then spawned her Strawberry Bell and launched an attack against him, shouting, "Ribbon Strawberry Check!" This weaker attack than her main one knocked Sweet Juliet back quite a way and off of his feet.
Duke then commanded Tasuku, "Attack Mew Ichigo, mind slave!" Tasuku quietly complied as he charged at Ichigo, who was distracted.
Berii shouted, "No!" She then charged out in between Ichigo and Tasuku, just barely making it in time as Tasuku rammed into her at full speed, knocking both to the ground. The sound of the impact made everyone, even the other Saint Rose Crusaders, stop what they were doing and look over. As Berii got up, she noticed that Tasuku had been knocked out. "Tasuku… Tasuku, wake up!" She then began to shake his body. "This isn't funny… Wake up! Tasuku, please… You need to fight Duke's power."
Duke then said to her, "It's too late. He's mine."
"Shut up!" Berii then stood up and readied her staff. "You did this to him… To the boy I loved…" She then charged at him at full speed, surprising Duke, before jumping in the air and calling out, "Ribbon Loveberry Check!" She then hit Duke at full force with the staff as it was charged with energy, knocking him out and smashing all of the windows on the second floor of the building. As the dust flew back, everyone averted their eyes.
When they looked at the scene, Duke laid on the ground, unconscious but still alive, with an enraged Berii standing over her as she breathed heavily and repeadetly. His hat was torn to shreds, revealing his face. As Royal Highness and Blue Bayou both woke up and saw the chaos, Happy Child shouted, "Duke!"
Berii then ran back to Tasuku as she cradled him in her arms. "Tasuku, please, don't go. I… I should have told you sooner, but… I love you… Meguro Tasuku, I love you!" She then hugged him. "You were there for me every step of the way after my mom died. If not for you, I wouldn't be here today…" Tears then streamed from her face as she placed a kiss on his lips. After she split, she said, "Please, stay strong for me. Wake up."
As Masaya woke up, he adjusted his eyes and asked Purin and Retasu, "Hey… What happened?"
Purin then told him, "I think it's over… The Saint Rose Whatevers are just sort of standing around in shock, na no da." Masaya then stood up and brushed himself off.
As Berii cried into Tasuku's chest, he began to wake up. As he did, Berii stopped crying and looked him straight in the eyes. "You're… You're awake…"
"Berii," he said to her in confusion. "What happened?"
"I'll tell you later," Berii replied as she wiped away her tears. "Listen, Tasuku, I know how you feel about me."
"So, you do," he replied as he blushed. "Look, I'm… I'm sorry about that… If you don't feel the same way, it's fine."
"No, I do," Berii replied before she kissed him. After they split, she told a dumbstruck Tasuku, "I love you too."
As Duke shifted himself and awoke, everyone's attention turned to him. Ichigo readied herself as she told the team, "Everyone, get ready for Round Two." She then turned to Duke. "You better give up now before it's too late."
"I…," Duke replied as he looked over the scene. "I had an epiphany while I was asleep."
Sweet Juliet then told him, "Duke, I'm sorry, but I don't think we are in the right here. Mew Berry's actions with her friend, well, now boyfriend, have made me think. Maybe we don't need violence."
"I was going to say the same thing," Happy Child and Blue Bayou both said at the same time, causing both to look at each other in confusion.
"I'm inclined to agree," Royal Highness added. "Duke, it's over. Let's make amends."
Duke thought to himself for a few seconds as he got up before he said in agreement, "Let's." He then turned to the Mew Mews, Tasuku, and Masaya. "We were wrong. Dead wrong."
Berii, confused, asked him, "So, that means you don't want to kill us anymore?"
"Yes," Duke replied. "We were wrong to use violence in our quest to form a perfect society. I see now." He then turned to the other Saint Rose Crusaders. "Gentlemen, let's go. We have a society we need to advocate for, without having to use the tools of fighting." He then approached Ichigo. "I am deeply sorry for anything we did to you and your friends."
Ichigo then shook his hand and sighed. "It's fine… As long as you don't revert back to violence, we'll leave you guys alone."
Duke then turned to Berii and Tasuku. "Thank you, both of you."
May 17, 2003
After Café Mew Mew closed for the day, Ichigo and Zakuro decided to duel. Zakuro had become mildly interested in Duel Monsters, and was using a random assortment of old cards Ichigo had as a deck. "I'll summon Gradius, with 1200 attack. It's your turn."
"Got it," Ichigo replied as she drew a card. "I see… I'll use Gil Garth, with 1800 attack. It will destroy your Gradius, costing you 600 life points and dropping you down to zero." She then smiled. "It isn't as easy as you first thought, huh?"
"It sure isn't," Zakuro replied as she gathered up her cards and gave them back to Ichigo. "You know, I like this game, actually." She then got up and stretched. "Well, I'm off to clean the last of the dishes, change, and go home. Maybe one day, I'll be able to beat you." They both then laughed.
Minto then said after she drank some tea, "I still don't see the appeal of it."
"Maybe you will if you play a duel with me," Ichigo replied as she showed her the same cookie-cutter deck Zakuro had just used. "C'mon, it'll take 10 minutes at the very most."
Sure enough, 8 minutes later, Minto scratched her head as she said to herself, "How did I lose?"
"To be fair," Ichigo told her. "That deck is barely worth being called a deck. It's literally just a bunch of old cards I gathered as a way to get people introduced into the game. So, do you see the appeal of it now?"
"I can't say I don't," Minto replied as she looked over her cards. "I caaan't say I don't."
