Chapter 11: Interference

Today, we were all gathered at the Pikari shrine for a very special ceremony. Hime wore a long, flowing white dress which Ribbon introduced as the royal clothes of the Blue Sky Kingdom. Megumi was ogling over the princess while Yuuko, Iona, Seiji and I looked on nearby. Blue was at the shrine itself, standing behind a pedestal at the entrance of the haiden, holding on to a small wooden casket with gold trims and a heart-shaped latch. This was Axia, once the prison that held the Phantom Empire until they were unwittingly released, resulting in the calamity that the world now faced. Marie and Miss Sugimoto were both seated underneath a nearby tree.

As Blue carefully set Axia onto the pedestal and motioned for the ceremony to begin, I walked over to the pair. "Got a spot for me?"

"Whatever." Marie lazily gestured to a spot beside her. Miss Sugimoto, on the other hand, paid me no heed, staring aimlessly at her fingers.

I sat on the soft, grassy patch beside Marie and watched the events unfold. The ceremony began with Hime performing a dance. Her movements were slow and graceful, occasionally punctuated by the ringing of the suzu, a bell-like instrument in her hand. The ceremony felt very much like a Shinto ritual. The two girls beside me seemed to look disinterested though. "So, what's the story between you two?"

"Shush." Marie held her index finger up to her lips. "This is a sacred ceremony, after all."

I knew she was just being evasive, so I continued pressing them. "Oh come on, I know that you aren't taking this seriously at all. Humour me a little. The two of you seem close; are you best friends or something?"

"That's none of your business." Marie's gaze turned towards the dance. I caught a glimpse of Miss Sugimoto throwing me a quick look, but when she noticed me stare she hurriedly went back to her finger-staring fetish, or whatever it is she was doing.

"Mari-" I began, only to be interrupted again.

Seiji cleared his throat. When did he come over anyway? In any case, it looked like that was my cue to shut up and quietly watch the ceremony. I also paid no attention to Marie's snicker.

As Hime danced, she was bathed in a column of white light. Everyone watched in awe; even Miss Sugimoto looked up, transfixed to the event. The princess of the Blue Sky Kingdom spread her hands wide open and, in unison with Blue, they focused this manifested power onto the wooden casket. Axia was bathed in the soft, white glow. Any time now, and Axia's power would be unleashed.

"That's not going to happen!"

I could not help but let out an audible sigh when we heard Hosshiwa's voice. It was a beautiful moment while it lasted, and even though I knew that this would canonically happen, it was still a major let-down to have her interrupt the ceremony like that.

The three Phantom Empire generals Hosshiwa, Oresky and Namakelder stood at the torii of the shrine. Megumi, Yuuko and Iona instantly sprang into action, interposing themselves to protect Hime and Blue while drawing their PreChanMirrors and… hold on just a second. That wasn't right at all. Why was Iona still using a PreChanMirror? Canonically, that device belonged to her sister. By this time, she should have gotten her own transformation device already. So, what did we miss? How could I have overlooked such a glaring detail? In any case, I didn't have the luxury of time to dwell on it. What's important was, would the three of them still be strong enough to hold off the generals?

I turned to the slacker beside me. Her partner, Miss Sugimoto, was already on her feet but seemed rather hesitant on acting. "Are you two gonna help out or just hang around and watch?"

"I think they'll have everything under control," Marie replied as she slowly got on her feet. "But I suppose it'll make us look bad if we didn't do anything at all."

Marie and Miss Sugimoto drew their PreChanMirrors as the Cures Lovely, Honey and Iona leapt into battle. Oresky was the first of the generals to charge in and made a beeline towards Cure Fortune with a flurry of punches in tow. Hosshiwa lunged towards Cure Honey with her umbrella drawn, wielding it like a rapier. Namakelder was predictably the last to act, twirling his walking stick in a nonchalant manner as he positioned himself to intercept Cure Lovely.

As the three Cures fought, Blue ushered Hime to continue her dance. Unlocking Axia's power and releasing the Shining Make Dresser was a crucial objective that they had to achieve, if they were to have any chance at all in defeating the three generals as well as face Cure Tender and Despair later in the timeline.

Namakelder may be a slacker, but he was no pushover when push came to shove. Expertly handling his walking stick like a short sword, he parried blow after blow from Cure Lovely with ease. With a parry and a quick riposte, he turned the tables on pink Precure and now, she was on the defensive. Lunging towards her, he swung and stabbed in quick rapid successions, forcing Lovely to back off while protecting herself from those calculated strikes with her arms. And then Marie, as Cure Sparkle, descended upon the Phantom Empire general and turned the tables on him instead.

Not far away, Cure Honey was being tied up with the sweets and desserts general, Hosshiwa. Their respective weapons clashed multiple times, and though both sides were unable to break through each other's defences, the Phantom Empire general was slowly gaining ground by forcing the yellow Precure back with each renewed attack. Hosshiwa made another calculated thrust, executed with acrobatic flair and lightning speed. Honey barely managed to raise her baton in time to intercept the blow, and then they were locked in a tense standoff as their weapons scraped against one another, neither side willing to back off. It was Miss Sugimoto, as Cure Twilight, who then joined the fray and broke the stalemate.

Cure Fortune, strongest member of the Happiness Charge team, was locked in a deadly duel with the militaristic Oresky. He was very strong, able to parry Fortune's powerful strikes with his bare hands. He fought back with equal amounts of tenacity too, often forcing the purple Precure's hand for some before she managed to counter-attack and regain the upper hand. This back-and-forth went on for a few rounds before a lucky opening had her land a roundhouse kick on the general's exposed back, sending him reeling. She immediately closed in with her fist ready to rise. Purple energy flared from her palm as she call forth Fortune Star Burst, delivering a concentrated dose of purifying energy right into the midsection of the stunned Phantom Empire general.

Cures Lovely and Honey quickly followed Fortune's lead, firing off purifying attacks of their own while Sparkle and Twilight simply looked on. The combined might of the three Cures should have completely purified the three generals, at least in theory. But I was suddenly filled with an inexplicable sense of rage, as if my very emotions were about to explode outward. That sensation lasted but for a fraction of a second, and a quick glance at everyone confirmed that they had felt it too. However brief that moment was, the lasting effects of that presence was immediately apparent. The three Phantom Empire generals stood, unscathed, ready for another round of battle.

Before the battle would commence a second time, however, a brilliant white light surrounded us all. The source of the light was Hime and Blue. Combining their powers, they focused all their energies onto Axia, and it too shone in blinding white light. We were too transfixed on this magnificent scene to bother listening to whatever snide remarks the Phantom Empire generals had to say before they dematerialised, fleeing from Axia's true power before they could be affected by its purifying power. Once the light had gone out, in Axia's place was a pink and white jewellery box embellished with various Pretty Cure motives such as heart-shaped gems. The Shining Make Dresser, the Precure's next level of power and evolution, has been unleashed.

Over at a distant corner of the shrine, the familiar silhouette of Cure Crimson turned to leave, content on watching and knowing that the mission was a success.

"Are you ready for what's to coming?"

I felt a bit of nostalgia, sitting on the bench by the river with Marisu arriving to say those words to me. "I feel like I'm never going to be fully prepared for any of this. All I can do is do my best and hope."

"Ken, the people who die all did their best."

Where did I hear something like that before? Regardless, it was a strange thing to say. "Is that supposed to encourage me?"

Marisu chuckled. "No. But it's the truth of the matter."

Soon, Phantom would come to Pikarigaoka again, this time with the mission to eliminate Blue and Cure Lovely. However, thanks to the power of the Shining Make Dresser, I was confident that the Happiness Charge team would be able to handle him – even with his shadow-manipulating techniques which allowed him to turn into Cure Unlovely. Besides, the team also had Cure Crimson on their side, if anything went wrong. At least that was the gist of the plan. While Crimson and the rest of the Happiness Charge Precures were occupied with Unlovely, I had an even more harrowing task at hand. My objective was to try and find Miss Sugimoto and try to talk some sense into her again. I just hoped that her partner in crime, Marie, wasn't present. If Blue wouldn't give up on those two, then I suppose I should also give them a chance and from all my interactions between the two of them, it seemed that my best angle of approach involved Miss Sugimoto.

On cue, an explosion somewhere further up heralded the arrival of Phantom. Megumi and the rest were probably either en route or already on site. Marisu nimbly slotted her three primary PreCards into her PreChanMirror and transformed into her Pretty Cure form.

"You've got this, haven't you?"

She nodded, then leapt skyward, kicking up a pile of dust in the wake of her trail. I turned around and headed back to The Embassy to confirm if there were any delinquents loitering around. My hunch was proven correct when I arrived to find Miss Sugimoto loitering around in the living room, sipping a cup of tea all by herself.

I waved at the girl. "Yo!" She flinched, but continued staring at her tea, trying her utmost best at pretending to be uninterested.

"So… all alone today?" I scanned the room for signs of her other half. She was indeed apparently alone as far as my senses could tell. "Where's Marie today?"

"She's busy," the timid little girl answered, her attention still on the elaborate Victorian-styled teacup.

I wondered if I should continue trying to approach with small talk, or just delve right in with a full blown interrogation. She seemed like the very delicate kind; beat around the bush too much and I'd likely end up nowhere, but push too hard and she'd just clam up, halting any further attempts at progress. Talk was always more tricky than straight up punching, but since the latter wasn't my forte, I'd have to settle with the former. "Listen, I know you're here to protect Blue-sama and you seem to really care about him a lot. But it doesn't look like Marie thinks the same way. Whatever she's up to, I don't think any good will come of it. Don't you think so?"

"Don't talk about my sister like that. She's not who you think she is." Miss Sugimoto was deathly quiet immediately after saying that, but after a momentary pause her attention went back to her cup of tea, gently blowing onto its surface before taking a sip. "You should just forget about what I have just said. There's nothing that you can do that will matter anyway."

Well, that was an unexpected development of events. I knew they were close, but I hadn't thought of them as siblings. I seemed to have hit a sensitive spot, and knowing this I had to proceed even more carefully. "Sorry, I didn't realise she was your sister."

Miss Sugimoto did not respond.

"Why are you working with Cure Despair? The both of you are Pretty Cures, and Despair doesn't seem like the kind of person that you would willingly side with."

She remained silent, her hands seemingly tense. Ripples formed in her tea as her hands quaked slightly.

"Look, I'm really trying to help. I'm not your enemy. Please tell me what is really going on?"

"It… it's nothing that you can do. And that's all. Please leave me alone."

I wanted to put my hand on her shoulder to reassure her, but all she did was flinch away from my outstretched hand so I quickly gave up on that. "Alright. But whenever you feel like talking to someone, I'm always available, okay?"

A very, very slight movement of her head indicated to me that she had gotten my message, so I got up and went outside. I wondered how the rest of the girls were doing. It didn't take too long for me to find out. Megumi and the rest of the Happiness Charge team began filing in through the front gate, the battle with Unlovely clearly over and done with. I was about to ask how the fight went, when I noticed that Marie was also with them. Did she have any part in the battle at all? As the girls made their way into The Embassy through the front door, I found myself being the last in line while Marie was the second last, right in front of me. She stopped at the door and turned around, jabbing me with her index finger.

"Stay away from Mari." She glared at me with such intensity that it left me stunned, completely at loss for words. Then without warning she returned to her carefree, hyperactive form. "Well, what are you standing out here for like an idiot? Let's go in and have some dinner!"

I had no counter to that. I just stood there, speechless, for a moment before shaking it off and heading inside.

During the next few days, I played a harrowing cat-and-mouse game with Marie and Miss Sugimoto. I knew that I could dig up more information about the pair, if only I had the chance to get close to Miss Sugimoto, but under the watchful eyes of Marie I never got a chance. The both of them seemed inseparable regardless of whatever activity Marie was participating in. I thought perhaps that would take the pressure off the Happiness Charge team but no, Marie was being very thorough. Rather than just spending time with her apparent sister, Marie would bring her along like a third wheel whenever she went out with Megumi. And then Yuuko and Iona would make excuses to tag along as much as they could. It was like one big cock-blocking contest, with no side being able to gain any appreciable advantage over the other.

It was not until Cure Tender's imminent arrival when I realised that we had all made one big mistake, but it was already too late to try and rectify it. We were all preoccupied with getting in Marie's way, while at the same time trying to get through to Miss Sugimoto, we were all left with very little time for personal development. None of the girls had managed to find the time and opportunity to unlock their Innocent Forms.

"You know that it's going to be dangerous, but you're still going to go there anyway, aren't you?"

It was the day that Cure Tender was expected to arrive. Marisu and I were at the riverside park again. "Because this is the end, isn't it? We've never made it past this point, so what's the difference whether I hide in a hole like a coward, or face our destiny together?"

"You're always like that, trying to be a hero." Marisu swept a loose strand of hair aside, staring across the river. "It's not good for your health."

"And you're like the reluctant heroine," I countered. "That can't be good for your health either."

She chuckled. "I guess we're both cut from the same cloth. But at the very least, I don't have to fly you over there. When the fight starts, you can get there the old fashioned way, and if luck were on our side, we'd be done before you have the opportunity to do something stupid again."

"I'll take what I can get." I let the gentle breeze from the wind waft over my face and enjoyed the smell of the fresh air, as if it were our last days alive. "Do you think we can win this time?"

"I don't know. We're a little bit better off this time since the other Precures have mastered the Happiness Big Bang. However, none of them have obtained their Innocent Forms."

I winced at that last part. "Yeah… about that… I was kind of responsible for that." Marisu flashed me a curious look. "I was too focused on Marie and might have inadvertently roped the girls in to join my crusade as well. Because of all the distractions that ensued, none of them had the opportunity to develop themselves enough to unlock their Innocent Forms. Oh well… if we fail this time, I suppose we could just do it all over again."

"I see. Don't push yourself too hard then." Her face seemed to darken a little.

"I don't know how you fully occupy your free time during each reset, but it must have been hard for you."

She nodded, but seemed awfully silent after that.

"Then let's do this properly. I know I won't really be of much use in a fight, but perhaps I can be your moral support."

She choked, nearly bursting out into laughter. "You? My moral support? Oh, come on!" She playfully shoved me in the shoulder.

"Well, at least that cheered you up," I said triumphantly. "You've got to at least give me some credit for that!"

Not too long after, a crowd of panicking people signalled the arrival of Oresky and his Saiark. Cure Tender is sure to follow after that, and then Cure Despair. Marisu transformed and took off.

"Go kick some ass!" I yelled. She gave me the thumbs up as she flew towards her destination.

I arrived at the scene of the battle just in time to see Oresky sprawled on the ground, his Saiark nowhere to be found. The four Cures Lovely, Princess, Honey and Iona were standing over him. Crimson was perched at the top of a nearby building, watching over them like a gargoyle. It looked like I missed the Happiness Big Bang, and all that was left was a huge cloud of dust, no doubt the aftermath of its incredible power. I would have loved to see the Cures unleash it in person. Perhaps another time then.

But even more pressing matters were at hand. Once the dust had settled, it was obvious that a new challenger had arrived. Cure Tender, on cue, marched towards the Happiness Charge team, completely ignoring the defeated general. In the background, there was the large visage of Queen Mirage again, watching over the scene from the comforts of her throne in the Blue Sky Kingdom like we were gladiators in some sort of entertaining blood sport. The real battle was about to begin.

Cure Fortune was the first to move. Dashing forward faster than the eye could follow, she drove her fists into Tender's raised arms in rapid succession, slowly pushing her older sister back. The other three Cures quickly took their positions around the duelling pair, but made no further move while they were still locked in close combat with each other. It seemed that Fortune was the aggressor and Tender remained content on being on the defence, but at the last minute Tender spun around, simultaneously ducking under one of Fortune's punches and delivering a kick into Fortune's midriff. Fortune was thrown a good distance back, and if not for a patch of shrubs to slow her down she would have ended up far away from the battlefield.

Long tendrils materialised out of Cure Honey's baton. They twirled around Cure Tender, but before they could tighten themselves around her, Tender reached out and caught hold of the magical ribbons. She tugged at them with both hands, pulling Cure Honey closer toward her. With a spinning motion, she swung the yellow Precure around and released the hapless girl as she went right smack into Cure Princess. The two of them tumbled, out of control, until the thick and hard stem of a tree stopped them cold.

Cure Tender then turned her attention to Cure Lovely, staring her down with a cold and hard gaze that would make ordinary men tremble. But Lovely stood her ground, raising both fists defiantly at her opponent. The bout that followed was incredibly fast and brutal; both moved so quickly it was nearly impossible to catch every single punch, block and counter that was thrown. However, one thing was certain. Cure Tender had the advantage as she slowly drove Lovely back one step at a time. But Lovely would not relent, and she kept at it – blocking, dodging, and throwing the occasional punch when opportunity presented itself.

A brief flash of purple light forced Cure Tender to quickly break off from Lovely. The magically charged beam of energy that was Cure Fortune's Stardust Shoot singed the air where Tender had stood mere moments ago. A barrage of blue energy bolts from Cure Princess' outstretched hands followed, forcing Cure Tender further up into the air as she twisted and turned to avoid the magical shots of Princess Bullet Machine Gun.

Cure Lovely followed up with a great fist of pure energy, christened Lovely Punching Punch. Instead of dodging, the dark purple Cure raised one hand to meet the oncoming blow. Sparks flew as the bright pink fist met with a dark purple shield. As Lovely grunted under the strain of maintaining her attack, a large green four-leafed clover descended from the heavens. Tender raised her other hand to meet Honey's orbital blast, and for a brief moment we were struck in awe at the great spectacle before us.

Then it happened. It was a blink-and-you'd-miss-it moment, when Cure Crimson finally decided to enter the fray. Like an angry bird, she flung herself straight at Tender's undefended form. We only heard the sonic boom from Crimson's launch long after she had struck Tender. The blow from Crimson sent Cure Tender straight down onto the ground, impacting on the soft grassy fields with a dull thud that kicked up a cloud of grass, leaves and twigs and leaving a large, round crater.

Cure Fortune was the first to reach Tender's limp form. Caressing her older sister in her arms, she smiled and wept. It seemed that they had exchanged a few words, but I was too far away to hear the exchange. I can only assume from their expressions that Cure Tender was herself again, free of Queen Mirage's influence. It was a touching scene, but I quickly reminded myself that it was not over yet. I looked around for Cure Despair; it seemed that the other Cures also began to descend and watch their surroundings carefully. They formed a ring around Fortune and Tender, eyes scanning their surroundings for the dark Cure's presence.

"The parameters are less than optimal, but regardless, it is time."

I literally jumped at the voice that spoke out behind me. Without even bothering to look behind me, I scrambled to my feet and made a mad dash towards the Cures.

Lovely was the first to spot me running towards them. She raised her hands and the familiar heart-shaped manifestation of her willpower flared above her head. I quickly ducked as her Pinky Love Shoot blazed past me and went on to strike whatever was behind me. I did not care to look; at least not until I had reached the middle of the circle. Cure Princess followed Lovely's cue, laying down a barrage of suppressive fire with Princess Bullet Machine Gun as I finally made it to the defensive ring of Precures.

I could finally turn around and look. There she was, the dark and mysterious Cure Despair. Flanking her were the other two interlopers Sparkle and Twilight. Cure Sparkle had put on her serious face, indicating that she was ready to get down to business while Cure Twilight glanced to her left and right, her hands wrapped around herself in a nervous cradle. Whatever attacks Lovely and Princess had thrown previously did not seem to have any effect at all, as the trio marched their way towards us.

"Ken, stay here with Fortune and Tender," Lovely commanded.

Lovely, Princess, Honey and Crimson took their positions, forming a Precure wall separating us from the enemy. All I could do was watch and hope.

Cure Despair took the initiative, dashing forward with unnerving speed. Cure Sparkle followed in her wake and when her gaze fell upon me, her face lit up with a sadistic smile. Her counterpart, Cure Twilight, seemed hesitant to charge in.

Crimson stepped forward and took the full brunt of Despair's charge, barely holding up as the dark Cure focused a wedge-shaped vortex of dark energies into the shimmering red wall conjured by Crimson. Beside her, Cure Princess tried to land a kick on Despair while she was preoccupied, but Cure Sparkle moved to intercept. Before Sparkle's blow could connect, however, Cure Lovely shoved Princess aside and prepared to take the blow intended for her, but none came. Sparkle quickly halted herself before her blow would connect to Lovely. She then spun around to look straight at me. Her right fist began to glow. I jumped and rolled out of the way just as the ground blew up behind me.

As I got to my feet, Lovely landed in front, her right arm stretched outward to be my shield. Sparkle dropped her sadistic smile at the sight of Lovely and went after Princess instead.

The magical tug-o-war between Crimson and Despair continued, but Crimson was now on her knees as Despair kept pushing harder and harder, her wedge-shaped attack flaring even brighter as it began to penetrate Crimson's shield. Cure Honey was in full concentration, her baton bathed in yellow light as she did her best to support Crimson with her power. But despite their combined strength, Despair's wedge kept pushing more and more.

"Lovely!" I cried out.

As if understanding my intention, she nodded and launched herself at Despair. A long, pink shaft of energy came into being in her hand. She made an overhead slash with her materialised sword, but it came into contact with a barrier of dark energy that was hastily conjured into existence. Despite holding up on two fronts, Despair still did not falter. Instead, it seemed that even more power welled up as the dark Cure's body began to be bathed in black flames. The tendrils flickered menacingly around her, growing in size at a very alarming rate, then there was a flash and a loud thunderclap. I shielded my eyes but my ears rang from the suddenness of the blast. Hot air blew past me and the choking stink of smoke filled nostrils. When I had finally recovered my senses, Despair was the only one left standing.

Elsewhere, Sparkle was locked in an epic aerial battle with Princess. The two encircled each other, moving at a blur but occasionally colliding into one another as they traded blows. The spectacle carried on for a while, until Cure Despair's explosive attack had caught the princess off guard. Sparkle took this opportunity to drop onto the blue Precure with an elbow to the back of her head, sending the princess hurtling into the ground beside the fallen forms of Lovely, Honey and Crimson.

Crimson attempted to move, channelling all her strength into her arms and elbows to prop herself up, but Despair laid a foot on top of her back and made sure she could not get up again.

Beside me, Fortune got up to her feet. "Ken, please take care of Tender."

"You can't be serious about taking on Despair by yourself!"

"I have to!" She clenched her fists and brought them up to bear. "I cannot let it end like this!"

Despair pointed a finger at Fortune. Dark energies swirled around her outstretched digit. Fortune immediately lunged. She was fast – faster than my eyes could follow – but the jet-black wave from Despair's finger was even faster, crashing onto Fortune like a water cannon. All Cures were down. I was the only one standing.

As I faced Cure Despair alone, unsure of how to react, Cure Sparkle landed beside Lovely and then brought her up into an embrace. "It's all your fault, Ken."

"What? How is all this my fault?"

"If only you didn't get in our way. We'd be with the ones we loved, as promised. But you had to interfere. I hate you so much." A single tear dropped from her eye.

I was at loss for words. I had completely no idea what she was talking about. Maybe it was time to pull out the apology tactic and see where that would go. "I… I'm…"

I did not get another opportunity to finish my sentence. All of a sudden I saw the spark of anger in her eyes. They glowed red, full of rage and madness as she tore into me with superhuman speed and strength. And then those familiar words, from a familiar voice, rang inside my head once again: "Are you all right?"

Author's Notes: Haha, I actually wrote angry bird! Anyways, besides that blatant reference, not much else referenced this time around:

In the movie The Rock, John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) told Stanley Goodspeed (Nicholas Cage) that losers always whine about their best.

"…a new challenger had arrived" is a reference to arcade fighting games such as Street Fighter.