Jika and Temptasia sat together in a dimly lit room, with a table between the two of them. Temptasia sat with her legs on the legs while Jika simply looked down at her arms, seeming quite exhausted as she looked towards them. A small clock-face had appeared onto her arm and once a minute a passed on the clock, a cuckoo bird sprang out from the clock. Jika watched the cuckoo bird desolately before turning her attention to the three other faces that had just appeared on her other arm. That stunt Temptasia made her pull had done a number on her body and not on did she feel drained of every inch of her power, she felt as if all her motivation had been sapped out from her as well.
Temptasia glared towards Jika, her cheeks against her fist before she swung her legs off the table and walked over towards Jika. When she stood at Jika's side, she held up her right arm to inspect it, noticing a clock winding down on Jika's arm.
"Four, three, two..." Temptasia counted down slowly before another cuckoo bird burst out from her arm,"...One. Well, wasn't that something?"
Jika glanced over to Temptasia direction, her shoulders slumped greatly while she held back a gigantic sigh. Temptasia could do nothing but offer Jika a cheery, but inevitable wicked smile as if she was trying to impose a hopeful demeanor that she hoped would be instilled into Jika. But, her plan hadn't worked as Jika sighed and turned the other way, her head now hung as she ignored the countless other clocks appearing other parts of her body.
"Oh c'mon. I know you have some fight left in you." Temptasia encouraged as she lightly punched Jika's shoulder, only for a stop-watch to appear on it moments after," Alright, well...when I say I know you have some fight left in you...I mean you're going to fight until there's nothing left of you."
"I don't care. I'll do what you want. You've done your worst already." Jika spat bitterly as she turned her head over slightly to Temptasia,"...I could've lived in pure ignorant bliss if I didn't let you tempt me into viewing those other stupid dimensions. Dimensions where I'm an actual person with an actual life and not just your underling. I still can't believe out of every dimension, every alternate universe I saw, the one where I was living the worst life possible was right here."
"But look at it like this! You can turn your misfortune into something worth celebrating by ending those Pretty Cures once and for all! You can rebuild your life the way you want it to be and all you have to do is, just get rid of those girls. We have everything we need now, all that's left is to finish those Pretty Cures and we're good! In fact, I've got a little something for you..."
"Oh joy, I sure can't wait to see this." Jika remarked sarcastically. Temptasia took a few steps back, feeling the wall for a door-knob. Once she found the door-knob, she slowly opened it and revealed what appeared to be some cyber dimension in the place of an actual room.
"So, I'm just going to fight some random Pretty Cure in here?" Jika questioned as she weakly walked over in front of the room beside Temptasia.
"No. I'm giving you and only you the choice to fight whoever you want." Temptasia declared with a small smile appearing on her face. Jika looked over to her superior curiously and then tried to think of whom she would want to face off in this final match. This was admittingly, a tough choice. She didn't harbor any particular resentment towards any of the girls, but then, someone did end up crossing her mind. Little Miss Popular who had virtually everything yet was still unsatisfied needed to be put in her place after her display in the ideal realities.
"Fine, I've decided who I'll fight. But please, whatever happens, don't let Zephora or Rishi share my fate because of me..." Jika pleaded," That is, if I end up failing."
"Oh no, don't worry. I'm not letting them get hurt on your account. They're going to atone for their own wrong-doings if they want to survive." Temptasia concluded as she crossed her arms.
"What wrong-doings?" Jika questioned.
"Zephora lied to me, saying that the mirror had been destroyed. But, if that had been the case, she would've been awake by now. And Rishi and Vice replaced the beacon Delinquous after it had been purified in hopes of deceiving me. Believe me, you aren't the only one who has taken advantage of my trust. Now, you have this last chance. So, anymore questions?"
"Just one more, what's this supposed to be?" Jika asked in a mildly timid voice as she pointed to the room," Our battlefield?"
"This? No, no, not your battlefield." Temptasia responded softly as she stood on her tip-toes to whisper to Jika," Your new body."
"There has to be some way out of here!" Xan exasperated as he bashed his head against the wall of the room that him and his brothers had been held prisoner here," We can't just sit around here while the girls are fighting as we speak!"
"There probably is some way out of here..." Topher began tonelessly as his eyes darted around the room suspiciously.
"...But it's likely we won't be able to get out of here on our own." Renny finished as he looked around for some kind of door to this woefully cramped room. Xan looked at his brothers in astonishment, not being able to believe that he was the only one in the room who was actually trying to find a way out. He was growing desperate and a tad claustrophobic as he continued to try and look for a way out.
"B-but, all we did was just follow the girls in and then, we got separated...They're probably looking for us right now!" Xan claimed, gaining the attention of both his brothers as they simultaneously cocked their heads towards him. They gave him a skeptic look, knowing that not even Xan himself was able to believe his words.
"Or, they've yet to notice that we've gone missing. But, we need to help them don't we? We need to at least try and find a way out of this room, charmed or not." Xan declared, flinching before his brothers would chastise him for using that word. However, to Xan's surprise, they did no such thing and stared at the center of the room curiously. Xan joined in, unsure of what they were looking at.
Literature stood in front of three doors in a room that as dark as every other place in this castle, with the smallest trace of light shining down on them. Literature took a deep breath and she tried to think and figure out what these doors would be leading her to.
"Could one of these lead to Temptasia?" She asked herself quietly before biting her thumb," If that was the case, then where would the other two lead to? More distractions? I don't wanna waste any time right now so, I guess I'll just go with..."
Just before she inched closer to the door she was going to choose, the one on the right, it vanished on her. Confused, Literature wanted to try and make sense of what just happened right now but chose not to with the need to find Temptasia dwelling within her. Literature took a deep breath and marched over to what used to be the door in the center, which was now the door on the end. Violently, she turned the knob and opened the it. When it opened, she was pulled into the room and shrieked as she found herself falling again.
"Did I pick the wrong door?" Literature asked between clenched teeth as she fell.
"One door left." History remarked as she looked at the entrance before her. The other two entrances in this small room she had been transported into after breaking that mirror had disappeared while she was still trying to decide which door to go through. Well, at least now it was easier for her to decide. Slowly, she brought her hand towards the knob and turned the it. When she opened it, she found herself walking into a pitch-black room. It was a little cold in here and eerily quiet as she ambled through. She tried to feel for a wall, but she couldn't feel anything; not even the door in which she came from.
"Is there anyone in here?" History called out as she tried to look around the room, her heart starting to race as she felt as if someone was watching her.
"But of course! You're in here, aren't you?" A voice that sounded like Zephora bellowed to her.
"Zephora...?" History muttered under her breath," I meant anyone else? And turn the lights on so I can fight whatever Delinquous you throw at me and just proceed to Temptasia."
"No, sorry, I don't think so." Zephora retorted quickly as a single light beamed onto the far wall by what appeared to be a stage, though Zephora wasn't in sight.
"See, you're not going to advance to Temptasia, this is where you meet your demise Cure History. I'm so glad this fated battle is happening at this very moment."
"What's going on?" History questioned as she looked towards the stage.
"This will be one for the books..." Zephora declared," For I have one thing about myself that sets me apart from the rest of my team. Rishi can't for the life of him remember what his past life was like and most of us have a faint idea that Jika was scrap metal from a clock gone hay-wire. But, me? I remember everything and now..."
Zephora appeared from out of nowhere on the stage from a puff of smoke, wearing an outfit very much unlike her usual grey gown. What she wore instead was a somewhat revealing dress that consisted of a checkered top, a skirt that appeared to have been made from a deck of cards with slate high-heeled boots that reached her knees and a top hat with a tattered veil underneath it. However, the one thing that unsettled History the most as she looked at her opponent was the fact that Zephora's eyes were finally open, revealing them to have had a green and yellow spiral design on them.
"...This is where the fun begins."
Science looked around the room she had been sent into as she sat on the floor quietly. It was a strange looking place, it made her feel as if she was in some sort of cyber network as there was actually no solid floor or walls. Just a bunch of digital numbers floating all around her. Her breathing was quiet as she stared at the numbers, feeling her eyes start to hurt a little with them being so bright. It was nerve-wracking to just sit here and wait, feeling like something big was coming but not knowing what it was. So, slowly, Science stood up and just then, Jika's voice rang out with this cyber room.
"Are you ready to initialize this final battle?"
Science's heart dropped, feeling a wave of both relief and distress come to her as she looked around for Jika, not being able to find her anywhere. She squeezed her hands together in front of her chest as she spun her head around searching for Jika.
"Where are you? If we're going to fight, you better face me right now!" Science demanded shakily as she kept an eye out for Jika.
"That request simply can not be fulfilled at this point, my apologies." Jika responded," But this shall be no hindrance to our battle. It will be quite enjoyable to see a Pretty Cure fall so short of victory at my hands. Well, figuratively speaking at my hands. Now, let us begin."
Arithmetic breathed slowly, her eyes wider than ever as she took in her surroundings. She was very curious as to where the door of her choice had taken her and she wondered what the rest of her team was doing as of right now. An empty, noiseless room was where the door took her to and now all she could ponder was what was going to happen now.
She was about to conjure up her sword before she heard what sounded like Rishi saying,
"Oh good, I get the Math Cure."
Literature looked around the room she was transported into, anxiously awaiting for whatever she felt coming for her to just show up already. Whatever it was was beyond her and she protectively held her hands over her chest as she walked around the room. It was actually bright, but it felt like and resembled a cave with it's stony and jagged walls. The cave floor underneath her was a strange, near hypnotic grey-blue that was uneven and somewhat sparkly. As Literature walked across the floor of the cave, she stopped for a moment after seeing a figure from the corner of her eye.
Standing at the side of the room was Vice, appearing to have been awaiting her arrival as he slowly walked up to her and flickered out an indigo flame from his fingertips. Literature furrowed her brows at Vice and within a matter of seconds, Vice darted over to her.
Literature leapt out of the way just in time and stood on a small, broken pillar in the cave-like room as she took a few deep breaths. Vice dashed towards her again and impulsively, Literature sent a kick into his chest, causing him to fly a few feet or so away from her.
"I guess I'll have to go through you if I want to get to Temptasia huh?" Literature declared as she summoned her scepter. As she sprinted over towards Vice at full-speed with her scepter in hand, she heard a voice shriek out,
"Don't do it!"
Literature skidded to a stop and ducked just before Vice swung at her. Literature then spun her head around to find the Headmistress trapped inside a confinement sprouting from the side of the wall made of crystals.
Literature looked at the Headmistress in shock and could do nothing more than sputter out, "What are you doing here?"
Temptasia tricked me and brought me here, knowing it would be even harder to protect Univer Kingdom without the keeper of the book." The Headmistress explained," And now I'm telling you, don't do something you're going to regret."
"Regret? Regret what?" Literature asked in confusion as she swung her scepter around in her hand impatiently before looking over towards Vice," There's something I don't know about here isn't there?"
"Stay out of this Headmistress!" Vice commanded as he darted over towards Literature again. With the flick of her wrist, Literature sent a whirlwind full of hearts towards Vice before she tried to head over to the Headmistress and break her free. Vice evaded the attack ran for her and Literature yelped as he began launching more electrified indigo spheres towards her. As she ran, she reminded herself that she needed to get this over with quickly so she could finally face Temptasia. So, she stood tall and held the scepter up high before she transformed it into it's striker form as she locked her eyes onto Vice.
"Pretty Cure, Typhoon of Passion!" Literature cried out as she flung the arrow towards Vice. Vice simply caught it and the arrow crumbled into ash within his grip. Literature gritted her teeth and reverted the bow and arrow back into it's scepter form as she tried to figure out what to do.
Literature then shrugged as she made the scepter disappeared, deciding she was going to have to try some hand-to-hand combat if she wanted to get anywhere. Literature waited for Vice to make his move and within a few seconds, he bolted straight for her yet again and the two began to spar.
As they fought, the Headmistress watched the discourse with a wary look in her eyes, wishing that she didn't have to watch such a scene. But, Literature had to clear through Vice to Temptasia, that much the Headmistress was aware of, though, she would've never allowed Literature to do such a thing. The Headmistress hung her head in shame, feeling weak and helpless as she wondered how things had gotten out of control so quickly. She could feel her head begin to ache as feelings of regret came flooding into her as the fight dragged on. This was all her fault, she was the one who let the book fall into the hands of Temptation, she was the one who had sent innocent girls off to fight a force that could've very well destroyed them at this point if they willed it and she was the one who drove Vice into all this. How she did that last thing was something she was unsure of, but she knew deep down, she played a hand in Vice's decision to side with Temptation considering how malicious he had just been towards her. The Headmistress gripped the top of her dress tightly as averted her gaze from the fight, knowing that just telling Literature not to fight Vice wouldn't do her any good, despite being the ruler of Univer Kingdom.
So, she raised her head up and shouted at the top of her lungs," Jun, stop this right now!"
Just before Vice sent Literature flying to the other side of the room as he held her by the scruff of her dress, he glared at the Headmistress viciously while Literature just eyed her opponent curiously.
"Honestly, what is going on?" She muttered to herself.
Soon, History found herself fighting against Zephora, who soon proved herself to be quite a strong opponent. She was nimble and fast, not to mention she had quite a few tricks up her sleeves. History was visibly irritated with how long this fight was dragging on, as she had a team to reassemble with and of course she couldn't even hope to pass unless she cleared through Zephora. She conjured up her scepter seconds later and pointed it directly to Zephora shouting,
"Pretty Cure, Archaic Tremor!"
Her attack failed to reach Zephora in time as she leapt up high and landed on the far wall. History stood there and held onto her scepter as she gazed at Zephora curiously. Moments later, Zephora bent backwards and breathed out a gigantic blaze of fire that was able to reach History, well, would've reached History if she hadn't scrambled away to the corner of the room. History had her back against the wall, the fire had yet to die down as she stood there in thought of what she could do. When the fire diminished, Zephora flipped off from the wall and stood a few feet away from History, a wicked and unusually large smile on her face as she watched History try and weigh out her options.
"Surprised?" Zephora questioned with a smirk as History put on a brave face, though of course Zephora could tell she was growing fearful at a gradual but steady rate.
History then called out," Shape shift! Everlasting Staff!"
When the staff appeared in her hands, she held the staff out towards Zephora and shouted," Pretty Cure, Storming Legend!"
The attack failed to hit Zephora as she snapped her fingers, appearing in the little space between the wall and History that had been formed over those last few moments and kicked her in the back to her feet.
"What's this? Still in shock of my power? Astonished by how much stronger I am?" Zephora snickered as she materialized a deck of cards from her hands, glowering down at History. History glared at her furiously and backed up a few feet away as she stood up.
"Without your powers, you're nothing." History declared dauntingly as she arose," It would never be a challenge fighting you fairly."
"I know what you're trying to do~" Zephora stated in a singsong voice," You're trying to make me fight against you fairly because you think you'd stand a chance that way. A foolish thing to think if I do say so myself. Foolish because you think you could beat me without magic involved."
When Zephora snapped her fingers again, the two of them were entrapped in a house of cards large enough for them to fight within. The two of them fought long and hard, with History mainly throwing punches while Zephora threw the kicks. History's punches were all mostly landed, but she had been bruised up quite a bit since most of Zephora's attacks landed as well. It was strange how there attacks were almost in sync, being a few seconds away from each other. It felt unsettling to History, but she kept on going, knowing that if she exhausted Zephora of her energy here, she could just proceed to Temptasia and hopefully be reunited with her team again. Though, oddly enough, it seemed like the longer the fight dragged on, the more powerful Zephora's attacks became. She was growing faster, and her kicks became much more precise with each and every passing second. It was confusing to History and before she could even try to think of how that was possible, Zephora punched her in the face and caused her to get slammed into the sturdy walls of the card house.
History grunted as she was hit and glowered at Zephora enraged, taking deep breaths as she stared down her smug opponent.
"Why is it me? Why am I the one you have to resent so much?!" History as she swung at Zephora, hitting her in the face without a single trace of remorse. Zephora fell onto the ground, rubbing her face tenderly before she stood back up. She was still sporting that twisted, gallant smile on her face as she looked at History.
"I like to think we knew each other in a past life...A past life where you were the death of me." Zephora answered as she slammed History into the wall of the card house.
"What are you even talking about?" History questioned, sounding rather annoyed as she narrowed her eyes at Zephora.
"How about I tell you a little story about a woman who was chained to a life she didn't want? A life she was able to escape briefly before someone ended it for her out of spite?" Zephora inquired as she snapped her fingers again, resulting in the house of cards to fall apart.
Zephora chuckled, as she sent her charmed set of cards towards History, having them constrict her in to place and rendering her unable to move.
"There once was a noble teenaged girl named Splendora, who was always locked up in her room, where she couldn't go out and explore the disdainful, cruel world..."
Science was currently trying to break free from an imprisonment of numbers encircled around her. The numbers were weak and easy to destroy one by one but, they were quick to replenish as soon as one was broken down. Science sighed, feeling immensely frustrated as her eye twitched slightly. She decided that enough was enough and shouted out as she conjured out her scepter,
"Pretty Cure, Nebula Flash!"
Her attack was enough to have destroyed the encasement of numbers surroundings, but, once the encasement had broken apart leaving Science out in the open, she felt strange as if time had slowed down incredibly. Her breathing was slower than usual and she couldn't pace it to it's regular speed and she noticed that simply curling and uncurling her fingers into a fist became what felt like a hundred times longer than usual. It was abnormal and Science couldn't help but suspect that this cyber network had something to do with this.
"I think I may've overestimated your strengths." Jika noted as beams of light were getting shot towards Science.
Science tried dodging, but the dimension made her too slow to even try dodge and resulted in her getting hit a numerous amount of times by the beams directed right at her. The beams were immensely powerful as if charged with whatever malice Jika must've hold towards Science to commit this kind of brutality against her. Science tried standing back up, wincing away all the pain she was feeling as she tried doing so.
"This place...I can't even hope to get out of here at the rate I'm going." Science panted as she gripped her chest. An enormous digital clock that resembled the mask that Jika wore then appeared in front of Science, scaring her a bit as she backed away nervously.
"It brings me great joy knowing that I'll be able to terminate and delete you from existence shortly." Jika remarked as Science stared at her fearfully," I can make you age in the skeleton of your deceased self here in a matter of seconds, or I can replay everything that has just happened over and over again, with the damage of body being unable to reset back of course, which can lead to your defeat. In this place, it's absolutely impossible for you to win here. You're more likely to get out of here alive if you simply quit now."
Science hung her head for a moment before rising it back up as she shouted," There's no way I'm quitting after coming all this way!"
"Suit yourself." Jika retorted as she just started replaying the moment from earlier when she was shooting beams towards Science.
"I can't speed up, and even if I do, it won't be enough for me to dodge them..." Science griped as she took a deep breath before gritting her teeth," But I need to at least try something! If I don't win here, I won't be able to defeat Temptasia with my team and I won't be able save Minato and everyone and..."
Science exhaled a very deep breath, blinking for a few moments before standing up again.
"If there's hope for Rishi, there's hope for her too..." Science declared as she arose as quickly as she could, which would've been at a normal pace for her in the real world.
"I'm going to show her that I'm willing to help, that there's hope for her too no matter what!" Science thought to herself as she took on her fighting stance," Even if it means I'll have to get hurt in the process..."
Rishi sat on a platform floating up high in the room and with a snap of his fingers,three multi-coloured silhouettes with star-buns and twin-tails sprouting from their heads appeared in front of Arithmetic, looking very ready to fight.
"What's this, you aren't going to fight me yourself?" Arithmetic questioned brashly as she summoned her scepter out while the trio starting approaching her.
"Never been much of a fighter." Rishi answered as he scratched the back of his head.
Arithmetic shook her head and began fighting against the three silhouettes. They were agile and skilled fighters for the most part, not to mention they were all very in sync with each other, timing each attack just right so that Arithmetic couldn't even get a moment to stop and decide what to do next. It was just thoughtless attack after thoughtless attack driven by impulse as Arithmetic battled against the three of them. The silhouettes treated Arithmetic like some kind of play-thing as they threw her around like a rag-doll to each other. They were mute for the most part, not uttering a single word and would only laugh as Arithmetic was tossed around over and over again.
Arithmetic was getting tired of these towering figures throwing her around quickly, so she held her scepter up high and started spinning in the center of the cruel trio.
"Pretty Cure, Convulsion Blizzard!" She shouted, conjuring up a snowstorm that was strong enough to knock the silhouettes onto their feet. They seemed greatly annoyed with Arithmetic, who had just proved she was more than just a rag doll that could be thrown amongst them without a fight. They forced themselves to get serious about this and began attacking Arithmetic head on.
As Arithmetic continued to fight against the trio relentlessly, she couldn't help but ask Rishi," Any particular reason as to why I have to fight this silhouette?"
"To mess with your mind." Rishi said absently as his thoughts trailed away to a more honest response," Because if I can't see her right now, then I'll at least allow myself to have this much. Even if it's not the real thing."
Arithmetic put on a determined expression and continued to fight against these three silhouettes that didn't seem to have been drained of any of their energy since the beginning of the battle. It was a little disheartening to see that this trio didn't even seemed the slightest bit exhausted after all of her efforts but, she knew she had to power through, she needed to get out of here anyways.
Arithmetic was thrown into the far wall by one of the silhouettes and gnashed her teeth together as she winced. This whole hand-to-hand combat thing wasn't working out for her, so she needed to try a better tactic for this. So, she ended up deciding to use her scepter to put an end to this unforgiving trio.
"Pretty Cure, Imperial Dendri-!" One of the silhouettes had grabbed her by the arm and threw her towards the other side of the room. Arithmetic sighed ad shook her head impatiently, dashing up towards the three and changing her scepter into it's sword form. The trio noticed the sword in Arithmetic's hand and changed their right forearms into swords to fight with Arithmetic. When Arithmetic came close enough to the three girls, the three of them began to fight against her again. Arithmetic seemed a whole lot more determined to finish these girls despite seeming unable to exhaust them at all. Arithmetic made sure each attack of her was precise and didn't waste a second to attack at every moment she was given.
But soon enough, she noticed that these silhouettes began to unintentionally spar with each other. So, she decided to take advantage of this and timed her attacks just right so that they would lead to the trio to increase the amounts of times they attacked each other. After a few more swings, Arithmetic was able to escape the fight and they began attacking each other, which ended up leading to them growing tired and depleted them of most of their energy. Just when they were almost completely exhausted of all of their strength, Arithmetic ran towards them, holding her scepter up high as she leapt up, yelling,
"Pretty Cure, Calculating Meltdown!"
The four of them were transported into a blue and silver void where the three silhouettes were trapped inside a humongous plus sign.
"I sure hope this lesson will be sure to stick..." Arithmetic chanted as she swayed her scepter around, before pointing it directly before the three silhouettes,"...That lesson being, don't ever mess with me, Cure Arithmetic!"
The trio disappeared into thin air and Rishi rolled his eyes as he conjured up another trio for Arithmetic to fight against.
"It's not going to end that easily..." Rishi said under his breath with little interest as he watched Arithmetic fight against the silhouettes again," In fact, I don't think this will ever end at the rate she's going at."
Arithmetic growled as she stomped towards the trio her sword reverted back into it's scepter form as she pointed towards them," Pretty Cure, Imperial Dendrite!"
The trio was frozen in a thick glacier and just then, Arithmetic sliced the glacier into pieces, causing the silhouettes to disappear. Arithmetic then marched over towards Rishi with an unimpressed, aggravated look on her face.
"You're going to let me pass and you're going to point me in the direction of Tsubaki and then Temptasia." Arithmetic decreed in an imperative voice as she gripped her sword tightly.
"And what if I don't?" Rishi questioned flatly with his eyes narrowed.
"I don't think you wanna know what's going to happen in a scenario like that." Arithmetic answered as she inched closer towards him.
"Oh, she's threatening you." A figure on a screen that had appeared out of nowhere said to Rishi," What ever shall you do?"
"Make more silhouettes I guess." Rishi answered with a shrug.
"I don't think so." The voice responded indifferently," You're about to pay the price for not only neglecting the obligation of stabilizing your powers, but for...well, you know what you did."
Just then, Rishi found himself trapped in a cylinder that arose from the ground and he looked at the figure in the screen, finally realizing he wasn't talking to who he thought he was.
"I'm not dealing with Temptasia am I?" Rishi said between gritted teeth, feeling as if his body was getting morphed against his will.
"What's happening with him?" Arithmetic asked in a low voice as she watched the transformation occur.
Vice dropped Literature onto the ground, and glared over to the Headmistress. The Headmistress stared back at him, appearing almost infuriated with him within her confinement.
"Jun, how could you do such a thing like turn your back on not only us, but all of Univer City?" The Headmistress questioned as she heaved in each breath she took.
"You know the city doesn't care about me and my mom. They just think we're nuisances who had infiltrated your castle to overthrow you!" Vice shouted back.
"Nobody thinks that!" The Headmistress exasperated.
"That's what you think." Vice retorted bitterly before he continued his fight with Literature.
"Seriously, can I know what's going on between you too? Please?" Literature questioned with very little patience as she crossed her arms.
"Cure Literature, meet my step-brother, Jun." The Headmistress introduced," Who apparently goes by Vice these days. Jun, how could you side with this woman? Who wants nothing but to destroy Univer Kingdom, our home we've worked so hard to protect and rule?"
"You mean the home you ruled." Vice corrected sourly as he tried to continue his fight with Literature, though she placed a hand in front of him, signaling him to wait as she wanted to hear this.
"What makes you think everyone believes that you and your mom are just nuisances who planned to overthrow the Headmistress?" Literature interrogated.
"You don't deserve an explanation." Vice responded impatiently.
"Well then, Headmistress, do you know why everyone thought the two of them were nuisance who wanted to overthrow you?" Literature called out to the Headmistress.
"They seemed suspicious to everyone, because his mother was a fortune teller who lived off of the mainland. She could only read bad fortunes from people so they gave her the nickname Miss Fortune. Everyone in the village there disliked her for how accurate her fortunes were, despite not having a say in what happened to them, only being able to foretell what would happen."
"Then her father came one day." Vice continued after he drew out a long sigh," And he wanted his fortune told. Mother said nothing more than he'd burn his tongue on hot tea and he thought that she was amazing. He asked her if he could visit again and after awhile, the two of them got close and he invited us to Univer City frequently. When our parents got married, there were many people who were against their marriage since we were just some no-names who weren't worthy of their trust especially because of my mom's reputation in our village."
"But then, people started to like the two of you." The Headmistress interrupted with a small smile on her face.
"They never liked us, it was all a ploy!" Vice snapped.
"No it wasn't! Jun, you won so many people over." The Headmistress responded, seeming a little upset in the fact that Vice wasn't believing her.
"I did no such thing." Vice stated as he rolled his eyes.
Years ago, Vice stood behind his mother shyly as she was the only thing standing between him and the man that she had been hanging out with for many weeks now. He had of course seen him before but, actually speaking to him was something he had yet to do. God, he was really tall. And beside him stood a girl who seemed to be about his age, her hair very dark brown, almost black and quite curly with tan skin.
"Anyways, I'd like you meet my son Jun." His mother introduced as she stepped aside and left Jun out in the open to be seen fully by the girl and her father. Her father, the Old King, grinned a large grin and stepped towards Jun, offering him a handshake.
"Pleasure to meet you lad!" The Old King beamed as he shook Jun's hand. His grip was pretty strong, strong enough for Jun's whole body to shake a little during the handshake," And I'd like you to meet..."
"The name's Atarah and the pleasure's all mine." Atarah interrupted boldly as she did a quick bow and offered her hand. Jun looked at her hand nervously before offering his own hand. Jun realizing he had been staring too long and silently cursed himself for allowing himself to gaze at her hand for such a prolonged amount of time.
"Shoot, now she's going to think I'm a weirdo..." Jun thought to himself scornfully as he shook her hand. But when he looked up to her, all she did was smile to him. The smile was a little off-putting to Jun, but overall it felt genuine and kind and made Jun feel a little less tense.
Years later, after the two of them got married and when the Old King was ready to retire and step down as ruler of Univer Kingdom, he was forced to choose between Atarah and Jun to figure who would rule. Jun liked the idea of ruling a Kingdom that he had to grown to fall in love with after so many years of being here, he liked feeling like he was a part of something bigger. But, it was up to the Old King to decide who would be his successor.
So, to show his step-father that he was fit to rule Univer, he worked on accomplishing and completing all the prerequisites that came with succeeding the Headmaster of Univer.
The first thing needed in order to succeed the Headmaster: Be diligent, dexterous and resolute.
Of course, if you wanted to rule a land where knowledge and the cultivation of it was one of the most valuable things ever, you had to do your work and study as hard as you can. You have to knowledgeable on every subject taught, though being a little more more knowledgeable on a particular subject wasn't much of an issue. Lucky for Jun, his strong suit was Math so everything else would prove itself easy enough. But researching and studying had been time-consuming and the thought of having to teach a class of elementary children, fifth graders to be exact, and to teach a class of third-years in high-school the next day was something that worried Jun greatly. But, he continued to work hard no matter what. If he wanted to be the next Headmaster, he had to at least try and go past the boundaries he had preset for himself, just this once.
After those days went by, Jun believing he was successful during both days, he had to focus on working on the next prerequisite: Be responsible and just. Be the ruler who knows better than to see things as just black and white.
That was easy for Jun and there wasn't much to it since the Old King would've known that both of his potential successors were fully capable of this, having raised the two of them himself.
The final prerequisite was to know that as a ruler, you were not only a leader to your people, but a companion as well. After all, a good leader would only breed more leaders rather than followers. This was another prerequisite that went without trial as the Old King knew his kids well enough to know how good of leaders they really were.
Soon enough, the day to decide who the Old King's successor would be came, and Jun had never felt so nervous about anything in his life.
On the large balcony of the palace him and Atarah stood, both dressed in their finest attire as they stood before the crowd. Atarah seemed relaxed and joyous as she waved to the crowd below them, Jun following suit after awkwardly.
The Old King and his mother stood on the far end in the corner of the balcony. For once, his mother was actually wearing something formal for a formal event so clearly, today must've meant a lot to her as one of her own was about to become the next Headmaster or Headmistress of Univer Kingdom. This was it, all he had been working towards, all of that hard work, it was going to pay off today. He did everything in his power to make himself fit the mold of the next Headmaster and now, his moment to shine...it was finally here. Well, he believed his time had come. Jun zoned out for a few moments as he thought about what would transpire in the next few moments. Atarah noticed this soon and tugged on his shirt's sleeve to snap him back to earth.
"Everything alright?" She asked him in a slightly concerned voice. Jun nodded attentively and Atarah smiled turning her gaze back onto the crowd.
"Today is a special day as you all know." The Old King declared as he stood between Atarah and Jun," Today is the day I will announce my successor as my role of Headmaster in Univer Kingdom!"
"Here it comes..." Jun thought to himself, his throat feeling as if it was about to close on him.
"...And so, after hours upon hours of trying to decide which of my children would take over my role of Headmaster, I had finally come to a decision." The Old King began," So, without without further ado, I hereby declare..."
The Old King then held up Atarah's hand up high," Atarah to succeed me as the next Headmaster, or rather, Headmistress!"
Jun blanked out as he heard that, everything almost went blank for him as he got in too deep within his own thoughts. He couldn't hear the crowd cheering for Atarah, he couldn't hear Atarah's little speech to her citizens of how she would uphold tradition and become a wonderful ruler like her father. He just stood there helplessly during the whole thing, worlds away in his own mind.
When the announcing event was over, Jun's mother walked over to him, a look of concern on her face as she said," Do you want to talk about it?"
"Later." Jun responded tonelessly as he walked out of the palace.
He ambled out, unaware of all the stares he was attracting, but if there was one thing he wouldn't fail to notice on his way out of the palace, it was the whispers of others who weren't mindful of how loud they were as they said Jun's name.
Jun pretended to ignore them, he pretended these stares and whispers didn't bother him in the slightest, pretended that he was perfectly fine with being stared at as if he were a threat of some sorts.
Without any concern in what direction he was going, Jun found himself on a small hill with an even smaller forest underneath it. It was quiet here, free of whispers and glares from civilians whom he believed to have won over. It was calming just to be here all by himself where he didn't have to deal with anyone from the kingdom.
"It's not possible..." Jun said as he looked down towards the forest below him," Atarah's terrible at Science, she can barely draw a Bohr model without misplacing the electrons. Was she studying as hard as I was? Or, did Dad let it slide because she had a blood relation to him? But, he did say it was fair game so maybe it wasn't his idea to let Atarah rule but rather..."
Jun's mind went back to the civilians and all of those whispers and glares, as if he couldn't be trusted. That couldn't have been all in his head, could it? Had nothing changed after all these years had past since his mother married the Old King?
As Jun stood there in solitude, he felt someone appear from behind him though he hadn't heard footsteps coming towards him.
"Who's there?" Jun asked as he spun around, finding a woman with snow white hair and maroon eyes sitting at the top of a tree. Her hair had been cut to her chin and she wore a simple pair of grey knee-length tights and a dark red shirt.
"Isn't it dangerous for you to be out here all by yourself?" The woman asked in a playfully devious tone as she leapt off from the tree and walked towards Jun.
Jun took a step back protectively as the woman inched further towards him as she remarked," Hm, you look rather familiar, but I can't put a name to you... Wait, I know who you are! You're the Headmaster's step-son! And that means you're one of his potential successors! So, how'd it go today? Did you become Headmaster?"
Jun turned his back on her and the woman simply said," Judging by the fact that you're all the way out here when you should've been celebrating, I take it as a no. I guess when compared to your sister, you just don't matter in the eyes of your step-dad. You're like a, like a...Vice-principal to your sister, second place."
Jun rolled his eyes, walking past the woman as he said," I have better things to do than to be talked down by someone I don't even know."
"But, I don't think you deserved that." The woman stated, causing Jun to stop in his tracks," I think you deserve much better."
The woman smiled as she walked towards Jun, leaning close to his ear as she asked," How would you like to join me on an adventure? A life-changing adventure."
"What are you talking about?" Jun questioned as turned to face the woman as he took yet another step away from her.
"These people here...they don't respect you, they don't care about you. Haven't they made it obvious? You have no need to stay here just to be their object of scorn." The woman claimed," What you need, is to prove them wrong and exceed their expectations of you. You can do this if you come with me, I can make you something better than a measly Headmaster."
"What's better than being Headmaster?" Jun asked suspiciously with an arched eyebrow.
"A King of course." The woman said as she leaned in closer," Besides, what a Headmaster to a King? So, what do you say?"
The tempting words were driving Jun mad and impulsive and without any further questions asked he said," I'll do it."
"How could you've been so...so foolish to follow Temptasia?" The Headmistress chided angrily at Vice.
"Because, there was no point in lingering in Univer when everyone was waiting for my downfall." Vice declared. Just then, the Headmistress was broken free from the crystal imprisonment when an arrow had been shot into it.
Literature had shot the arrow from behind Vice and now the Headmistress was storming up to him angrily having been broken free from the imprisonment.
"Why I oughta..." The Headmistress began furiously as she stomped over to Vice, who tried to form those indigo spheres from before, but was having major difficulties as he looked at his sister.
When the Headmistress came close enough to him, she hugged him tightly, surprising both him and Literature.
"I can't change the way you feel about people, and I can't change the opinions of the hard-headed members of our Kingdom but Jun, please know...I'm still on your side, no matter what." The Headmistress declared.
Vice's lip quivered and he pushed her away, shouting," You're willing to overlook all of this? Everything I've done? Why, don't you care of what everyone from Univer would think of you? What kind of leader would you be if you forgave someone like me?!"
"The leader that I want to be; the leader that is forgiving, humble and kind and will understand that just because she can't see someone's grieving, doesn't mean it's not there." The Headmistress answered," I knew this meant a lot to you, I still regret not going to see if you were ok after that day when you clearly were not. And-"
"It doesn't matter, things can't reversed now. I can't ever go back to Univer like this. I just proved all those people who didn't believe in me that they were right. That I'm nothing but a nuisance."
"Um, excuse me~?" Literature squeaked from behind Vice," I think you're being too hard on yourself. And I think when we get insecure about things, we get more distrustful of others, so maybe you don't think you're a good leader but I think there's still hope for you. After all, a good leader is someone who is willing to admit they've made a mistake and are willing to learn from them."
"Jun, nobody hates you at Univer, and if they were people did, do they really matter in the grand scheme of things? You know, I didn't even think that I was going to become Headmistress, you were that great. In fact, I was ready to count myself out before I even tried. But then, I kept seeing you trying to study and better yourself because you wanted this badly and I thought, if he's trying this hard, shouldn't I be doing the same? When I got announce to be Headmistress I was of course, overjoyed to know all my efforts had paid off, but then, I wondered if I really wanted to rule like this, as one person. I wanted to co-rule with you, because I knew how much this meant to you and how you were more deserving of the title."
"You can't honestly believe that I...that, people are still thinking well of me..." Vice responded.
"Everyone's actually greatly worried about you, myself included." The Headmistress declared, as she gave Vice a look of sympathy.
Vice replied shakily,"I...I'm just not good enough. I've violated the most important rules of Univer and I, I went so far as to helping an enemy steal the book and I-"
"Jun, none of us can't change or continue to brood over what you've done. But that doesn't mean we should give up on you when you've displayed this much regret in your actions so, please...let's stop Temptasia together, once and for all." The Headmistress begged.
Vice then looked over to Literature, who nodded vigorously in response and he said,
"I hope this will work..."
Literature and Headmistress seemed ecstatic and just then, Vice pulled a necklace out from under his shirt and gave it to Literature.
"Um, what's this?" Literature asked as she looked at the necklace that sported two pendants.
"One of them is the Scholastic power-up key for your fellow Cures, Cure Arithmetic and Science. The other is the key to get to and rescue your friend. You know, the one that I..." Vice trailed off uncertainly.
Literature's eyes widened immediately and noticed two doors at the far corner of the room. Vice pointed to the one on the right and Literature dashed towards it.
When I was young and alive, I was always kept in my room and my parents made all my decisions, from what I wore, to what I wanted for breakfast to who I could be friends with. It was always like and I never did enjoy living my life in such a predetermined way. It was so boring, tragic even, to live my days in such a plain, boring way. I hated it so much, I abhorred pretty much everything about my life. Especially when my father brought boys over in hopes that I'd be willing to make friends with and potentially marry. I didn't even like men to begin with.
One day, we were walking through the marketplace and during our visit there, I found a table with amulets and card decks run by a peculiar man. He appeared to be in his late thirties, with somewhat dark skin and eyes. The man at the table smiled at me and I pretended to have been unimpressed with his table so I wouldn't get my father suspicious. When we walked past the table and were finished browsing in the marketplace, we were just about to leave to go home but just then, the wind pulled my hat off of my head and I had to run for it, leaving my dad standing by himself.
I found my hat laying at the table where the man selling the amulets and cards was and he simply smiled at me. I've always considered that one of my more fateful encounters and after that, he offered to show me a card trick and he held out an amulet to me. I hesitantly took the amulet and I told him I couldn't though, as I didn't want my father coming back to see talking to him. We exchanged and I found out his name was Cecil and he then asked if I'd be willing to come another time and all I said was "Maybe".
When we got home, Elliot came for a visit shortly after. Elliot is a boy who's a few years older than me who my father wants me to befriend, but have no interest whatsoever in making friends with him. He's sexist, rude and barely makes an effort to hold a conversation without saying something intolerable.
"So, how's it going?" Elliot asked uninterested as he picked at his collar.
"Fine." I answered flatly, not even looking him in the eye.
That was entire conversation, he didn't even want to put in the effort anymore, knowing he'd somehow get on my nerves.
When the hour was over, Elliot left and then, I was taken up to her room. My father requested that I work on studying but for now, I was too invested in the amulet to listen to him. Maybe I should go to see Cecil again I thought to myself. But, i would've rather gone by myself since my time with Cecil would've been very limited if I was just strolling through the market with my father. I had to think of something else to tell my father so that I could go by myself.
Lucky for me, I figured just what I could tell him so that he would allow me permission to leave home by myself. I have no shame in admitting it felt good to lie, considering my life had been so lack-luster up until now.
"Pleasure to see you again Miss Splendora!" Cecil greeted when I arrived at his table days later," Ready for a card trick?"
I nodded hesitantly and Cecil then plucked three cards from a deck in his hand. He showed me the three cards and told me to remember what the card in the middle was. I nodded and did as told. Cecil slowly placed the cards onto table and when he flipped the card in the center, he asked me,
"Was this the card?"
My eyes were wide with pure shock and I'm pretty sure I left my mouth agape as I looked at the card in the center. Did that just happen? I was at a loss of words and Cecil just smiled at me. He asked me if I'd like to see another and I nodded quickly, just to see that again. When he finished performing the second trick, leaving me just as amazed as before, I asked him how he did that and impulsively if he could teach me. Strangely enough, he agreed.
This was all quite suspicious, since any normal man would've told me no, since no one would likely want to teach some spectator, much less a girl, their tricks. But, no user of magic was ever really normal were they?
Soon, I started visiting frequently, as often as I could without raising father's suspicions. I just couldn't explain what it was about magic that just drew me in. It was enticing and mesmerizing to me, it finally gave me a reason to enjoy life. It was complex, it was strange and it was something father would never in a million years approve of. Sometimes, I wasn't sure where the thrill of seeing and learning magic came from as it was either the magic itself or doing something that would get me in trouble. The need to finally do something that I wanted to do had been fulfilled and all it took for me to lie to father saying I felt the undying need to go to church to repent and ask for forgiveness for being such a disappointing, ungrateful daughter.
This charade went on for months and I'm still wondering how I was able to keep up with these games I was running with my father. The thought of being caught crossed my mind many times, but the idea of keeping myself away from magic at this point on account of the risk of getting caught and having to return a dull life was what kept me going. Living what was almost double-lives was tricky, but I managed just fine.
How was it that I could only feel happy in the presence of something my father would never accept? Maybe it was foolish of me to continue with these lessons, but, I reached a point where I wondered, what else did I have to live for? Maybe my infatuation with magic was strange but...I didn't care. I liked that exhilarated feeling I got when I did a card trick right or watched Cecil preform his own trick. Magic gave my life colour, maybe even meaning as well.
I reached a point in time where these lessons were invading my thoughts away from Cecil and it was like magic was consuming my life. Not as if I had a problem with it of course.
"You know, you're quite talented, what if you became a magician?" Cecil asked as I preformed a card trick.
"Me? A magician?" I repeated with a little scoff," I don't know, it sounds wonderful but...my father would have my head."
"You could go by a stage name," Cecil suggested as I put on a hat in the tent behind his table," How does Zephyr the Excellent sound?"
I wondered why he decided on the name Zephyr before the reason came to me,"It's quite nice."
Fate's cruel, because after that walk from home, I have absolutely no memories of what else had happened during my past life. I do remember quite well that I was becoming a little careless in hiding my secret, so of course, somebody must've figured out, perhaps. But who could it have been to have ended it all for me?
I have my suspicions. And most things point back to Elliot, who seemed unusually pleasant during our final few visits.
"Now do you see why things are better off like this?" Zephora questioned," When there are no Inner Scholars, nothing of the sort and we can live like this. Where no one's going to get hurt hiding things or living in secret."
"I'll admit, your story is a sad one indeed, but, it doesn't give you the right to decide the fate of everyone else!" History shouted back," Think about it! If we let the world stay like under Temptasia's reign, no one gets to experience what you felt when you practiced magic ever again! Do you really want that to happen?"
Zephora threw a mass of cards towards History, cards that were so sharp they started to rip at her clothes upon contact.
"It doesn't concern me, as long as I have no part in it, it doesn't bother me in the slightest." Zephora responded as History chased after her.
History held her scepter out before Zephora, declaring," You helped the woman who caused all this, you brought this despair upon innocent people and you're going to regret that you ever did when I'm through with you!"
"Why did I waste my breath on you?" Zephora said under her breath," You obviously have no idea what it's like to have something taken away from you. To have to live separate to please others, you don't know what's like to live to please everyone in sight because no one will accept you for who you really are!"
History stood there silently, her whole body trembling as she hung her head.
"You're wrong..." History began as she lifted her head up," You have no idea how wrong you are... who do you think you're talking to? I had to keep all of this a secret for months now! And not only that, I've had to push my own interests to the side because of the fact that everyone belittled me for it. I've been met with the temptation to just give things knowing very well what could happened if I fail, but...I've had the support of others and, I'm sorry you didn't have enough of that during your past life."
"What?" Zephora questioned as she stood on the side of the wall again.
"You lived in a time where you wanting to be free and live your life the way you wanted wasn't accepted and you couldn't do anything about it. I admire that you did sneak out for those lessons for the sake of your happiness but...what you're doing right now, won't ever bring you justice."
Zephora leapt off of the wall, and starting walking towards History, conjuring up a pair of fireballs in each hand as she said," I don't need your pity, I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for me. I'm trying to show you that this world will still prevail in being a cruel place that'll screw you over no matter how good of a person you are. This world doesn't know balance, it only knows misfortune and how to toy with people to the point where they can no longer tell wrong from right. Why are you fighting so hard when you're the most level-headed of all your team? You didn't even want to be a Pretty Cure to begin with."
"That may be true but, that all changed when I saw Literature and Arithmetic risking their lives for the sake of everyone else and I knew, much worse could've happened than a destroyed museum if I didn't join their team. Everyone from Univer is counting on us, and we can't let them down!" History shouted as she pointed her scepter towards Zephora," Pretty Cure, Archaic Tremor!"
"Well, it'll be a shame when you do!" Zephora yelled back as she leapt up, throwing the pair of fireballs towards History.
"Pretty Cure, Archaic Blaze!" History shouted, sending a flash fire towards the fireballs, hurting both Zephora and herself in the process," No, we aren't going to fail and you know what? I'm through with this pure resentment, it isn't getting me anywhere."
"What are you talking about?" Zephora sneered as History put away her scepter.
"Nobody deserves to have had their life cut short just when it was getting good and you're no exception. But I can't change things and I can't let Temptasia reign any longer." History declared as she turned her scepter into it's staff form.
Zephora created a ring of fire around History as she shouted," If I've learned anything from being reborn, it's that getting your hopes up and having them crushed is far worse than having no hope at all!"
"I won't stand for it, knowing that it's hope that gets me through each and every day. I may get beaten over and over again by Temptasia who may see me as weak in her eyes but I'll keep trying to end her reign no matter what. And no matter what happens I'll continue to rise." History declared as she leapt out from the ring as struck Zephora with a thunderstorm from her staff.
She literally shocked Zephora and she looked at her fried opponent, trying to decide on what she could do next. She looked at her staff and a thought crossed her mind, but she wasn't sure if she should've gone through with it or not.
History took a deep breath and held her scepter up high as she yelled," Pretty Cure, Immortal Chronicle!"
The two of them were now inside a void of yellow and gold and History then chanted, "Once time has past this shall just a memory and by then, my friend...you will be history!"
"Why would you do such a thing?" Zephora questioned as she laid on the ground," Things were better like this, where no one had to get hurt or had to get their hopes get dashed. You're just being selfish by trying to restore things to the way they once were!"
"You're the one being selfish." History responded as she watched Zephora slowly begin to disappear," Everyone should be allowed to live their lives the way they want to shouldn't they? And while some might get hurt and others would get hopes dashed, would it really be any better to live in a world where Temptasia is the leader?"
Zephora stayed silent until she said," What if their lives get cut short like mine? What if the world falls to shambles after you defeat Temptasia? Is that a risk you want to take? Right now, nothing unexpected can happen and it will stay that way as long as Temptasia reigns! What if you have to arise as Pretty Cure against an even stronger rival?"
"That's a risk I'm willing to take." History answered solemnly.
"With those stern, indifferent hazel eyes of yours, you've always reminded me of Elliot. No wonder I disliked you as much as I did." Zephora remarked," But, don't think defeating Temptasia will be any easier once you reunite with your team. I'm trying to tell you it can't be done."
"We'll see about that." History stated before Zephora fully disappeared, leaving a pair of keys before the Cure clad in yellow.
"These must lead to the exit out of here..."
Science was more than determined at this point to try and help Jika, but Jika just wouldn't listen! She was too busy trying to replay the scene of Science getting shot with those beams of light to pay any attention to what she had to say. But Science absolutely refused to give up, having come this far, she couldn't let Jika win.
"You're making things much more harder than they need to be. All that's required of you at this point is to just give in, there's nothing you can do to leave this place without admitting defeat." Jika said flatly.
"I keep telling you, I'm going to get out of here and I'm going to defeat Temptasia and save Minato, along with everyone else!" Science insisted as she tried dodging the beams with little avail.
"What's the point in doing all that? It's not like your life's going to all of a sudden become any better after all this. Things will go back to the way they once were, and you'll be stuck living with the same old hardships and making the same old mistakes as time passes you by. You're going to wish you never won against us if do because you'd be stuck living the life of a bitter adult! And aren't you the same girl who'd rather have things stay the same and have your problems just work themselves out? Think about it, if you win here, you're stuck graduation and you'll have to grow up and watch life pass you by because I don't like admitting this, but, once you get out of high-school, play-time's over." Jika declared.
A clock then appeared in front of Science and the hands around it began spinning at an insanely rapid rate, causing Science to age just as quickly.
"You can never ever make up for time wasted and soon, the mistakes and errors begin to pile up. Trust me, there's going to come a time when you realized you aren't ever going to relish in those moments you had as a teenager, and regret's going to eat you alive. But of course, there's always a fate worse than death and that's drowning in regret."
As Science's body to began to age into it's forties, Science kicked the clock in front of her so hard she cracked it in half, causing her body to revert to it's current age.
"Regrets are just nothing more than lessons to learn from." Science declared as she mustered as much strength as she could to run towards the larger clock in the room that had resembled Jika's mask.
"And if we were to just regret and look back on times we want to go back to, wouldn't just be wasting time that could've been spent making even better memories?" Science questioned, feeling rather light-headed after running at such a speed, summoning her scepter.
"Yeah, I'll admit, I've been looking back on those memories of those days where it was me, Minato and the stars. I've been wanting to go back to a simpler time ever since this last year of high-school started. But, when I think about it realistically, I don't think I would want to go back now. If I went back to those days, I wouldn't ever get to spend time with the friends I made now. I won't be able to see how far I've come, and how much farther I have yet to come." Science declared as she held her scepter tightly.
"Pretty Cure, Nebula Flash!" Science yelled as she sent an array of little planets and stars towards the beams of light charging towards her again.
"Fine, so you can discharge a few beams with your scepter, but that's the most you'll be able to do here." Jika smirked.
Science pursed her lips, knowing that Jika was right, so she tried focusing on something else, anything, that she could do to escape.
Science's eyes widened when she figured something out and she took a deep breath as she concentrated.
"No doubt about it, for some reason...the room had been emitting the same aura the Delinquouses had always been carrying. So, with that logic, maybe, just maybe, purifying it would've been her only way out. But, where was she supposed to direct her attack?
One final deep breath and Science pointed her scepter in front of the gigantic clock before her and shouted," Pretty Cure, Brilliant Supernova!"
The clock and her were sent away in a void of violet and silver and while she still seemed a little hesitant she went through with her attack.
"What? You think your stupid purifying attack is going to work on me?" Jika snickered as Science looked at unsurely.
"In a few a few moments you'll no longer be a being of defiance and when that rejoice-worthy time comes..." Science then tossed her scepter her scepter up into the air and pointed it at the Delinquous," You can thank me, Cure Science!"
When she had completed her attack, the room was changed back to normal, well, almost normal considering it was all dark in here. It appeared to be a classroom.
"What happened to-?" Science asked before she saw Jika lying on the other side of the room. She dashed to her side and Jika didn't even move an inch as Science appeared next to her.
"Jika..." Science said quietly, before she noticed Jika beginning to stir. During this time, Science noticed there was cuckoo clock birds sprung out from her arms and a stop-watch on her right shoulder.
"That's it, it's over for me." Jika said somberly as she sat up," My time's run out."
"N-no, there's still...We could fix this! Jika, I want to try and do something to help because, I don't think you're a bad person and-"
"It's a little too late for any fixing I'm afraid." Jika interrupted," Though, I might've like to stay a little longer, just to find out if those dreams I had in my head really were the memories from a past life. Because I'm still wondering if I was ever a real person."
"What?" Was all Science could say.
"A little while ago, I fell asleep and I lived through the memories of some popular girl who's life was cut short." Jika explained," I'd like to think that it was my previous life I was viewing but then, I did the other one thing Temptasia told me not to do and..."
Jika removed the mask off of her face, revealing a sundial without the blade," Maybe Zephora was right, maybe I was really just scrap metal from a crazy clock. Maybe I never existed, or rather, Asami Yuzuki, never existed."
"But...but, you had to have, considering you- Wait, that name!" Science's eyes widened in surprise," No, you were a real person, you really were! I mean, I don't know much about your life, but I've met your mom and she's a really nice lady. Seems a little sad, granted you've been missing for awhile now and-"
"You mean to say, those memories were real? That I actually once walked the face of the earth as a regular human girl? That those visions I had weren't some sort of ploy from Temptasia?" Jika inquired, with Science nodding rapidly in response.
Jika then noticed her body beginning to crumble away as she said," Well, that's reward enough for me at this point. At least now I know, I did live a life without regrets, despite the fact it may've ended shorter than hoped for."
Jika then handed her a key and said," This will lead you to the exit and to your friend. Now do the world a favour and put an end to Temptasia's reign."
Science nodded, feeling herself tear up a bit as Jika disappeared for good.
Arithmetic looked at her, 'reborn' opponent who looked nothing like his former self. Now, he had taken on a more monstrous form, his skin green, slimy even and had a toxic sign on the center of his stomach. His eyes hadn't any irises and he wore a twisted smile as he punched the wall beside him, melting it down completely in the process. Arithmetic seemed nervous as he dashed up to her, melting away the rest of the wall while he dragged his hand against it. Arithmetic took a few more steps back and once he got closer, she shrieked and ran for life.
"Damn it Arithmetic, you aren't supposed to be running away like this!" She scolded to herself," But, if his touch can now do that to a whole wall, imagine what's it going to do you..."
This 'fight' ensued for much longer than Arithmetic intended, so she did do everything in her power to put up a good enough fight without coming in contact with him.
"P-pretty Cure, Convulsion Blizzard!" Arithmetic shouted as she sent a swirling blizzard towards Rishi. All he had to do was ooze into a puddle to dodge the attack and reform his shape once the blizzard ended. Of course, he had been left unscathed after all of his attacks and Arithmetic was beginning to not only worry about herself, but him too.
"It's weird..." Arithmetic said as she took a large gulp," He didn't even seem interested in fighting at the beginning of this. Like he was too busy worrying over something else."
She continued to run and she watched as Rishi was gaining on her. This all looked like a game of tag gone wrong as he extended his hand close to her, which was the last thing she wanted knowing what that would result in. But, he reached close enough to touch the elastic that held Arithmetic's bun together, causing her bun to fall apart as she ran from him. When she got cornered into a wall, she transformed her scepter into it's sword form and looked at Rishi nervously.
"There's no doubt about it, he's being controlled..." Arithmetic panted," But, controlled or not, heaven knows what'll happen if I try using this thing on him. I have a bad feeling that he just going to melt it away with that toxic touch of his. But, there's nothing I can do!"
Arithmetic continued breathing heavily as she tried to think, leaning against the wall with her heart racing," Just because I can't do anything about him, doesn't mean someone else can't right? I don't need to defeat him, I need to bring the old Rishi back, as it seemed he wasn't to keen on fighting in the first place. But, I can't even think of anyone who could reach out to him!"
Rishi was cornering her and out of pure fear, Arithmetic screamed," Sword of Algorithm, put yourself to good use and show him the person he wants to see most!"
And just then, Science appeared in the room, between Arithmetic and Rishi.
"I...what happened?" Science asked as she looked down to the ground," I really can't be here, I haven't even got the lock open to get to Temptasia and-! Arithmetic and..."
Science's heart dropped as she looked at Rishi, not even needing an explanation or indication as to who it was before her, she just knew. Science took a large gulp and bit her lip, looking towards Arithmetic, who still wasn't comprehending why the sword had brought her.
"What happened to you?" Science asked uneasily as she looked at Rishi, who cautiously took a step back.
Science hung her head for a moment, before she turned to Arithmetic and said in a grave voice," It's no longer about defeating them, it's saving them from becoming what they're not."
For a moment, Arithmetic wasn't viewing Science as the girl she had known for so long; she seemed oddly foreign all of a sudden.
The Cure clad in blue nodded attentively and sputtered out," Be careful, he's got quite the touch."
"I know." Science responded as she bit her lip.
Rishi took a few more steps back protectively as Science slowly walked towards him. Of course, he did recognize her, but he also recognized how deadly his touch was now and how he wasn't able to control his powers anymore. Science continued to approach him and that distressed him greatly, as he knew what he could do if he let himself get in contact with her. But then, what ever it was that had been controlling him had taken over again and he oozed into a puddle as Science ran for him, not being sure of where he went.
"Where did he-?"
"Science, watch out!" Arithmetic yelled as he reshaped himself behind her. Science spun around and leapt upwards as she tried to think of something she could do. When she landed, she held out her scepter as a means of getting him to stay clear of her for a few moments as she tried to think.
"Even when he's all slimey I don't have it in me to hurt him..." Science sighed to herself," But, I don't have to hurt him...and I'm not going to."
Science wore a look of patience and determination as she walked up towards Rishi, who seemed ready to fight, though Science could see that he wavering as he turned his head away from her.
"Strange, your body language is saying, don't mess with me but your eyes are saying save me." Science remarked softly as she shook her head. Rishi shook his head apprehensively and his fingers itched to grip something, anything, as Science drew closer. All he wanted was for her to keep away from him, but it seemed his efforts were fruitless as she walked fearlessly towards him. He hung his head and the uncontrollable side returned as she came closer. He then emitted neon green, sludge-like, spheres from his palms and they all bounced off the walls of the room.
Arithmetic wanted to tell Science to watch out, but she couldn't find her voice as Science walked towards him. Though frantic, Rishi continued to emit those spheres from his palms, trying to get Science to just retreat. But Science refused to turn back, summoning her scepter and holding it high as one of the spheres came flying towards her.
"Pretty Cure, Nebula Flash!" She shouted, subduing all the spheres that had been bouncing off of the walls. Science surprised both Arithmetic and Rishi as she did that, continuing to walk up towards him, a determined, adamant look appearing on her face as she walked closer.
Rishi was scared he was going to lose control again, but as Science was only a few feet away from him, she held her hand out to him, holding her scepter out and forming a lilac, starry, sphere around herself. Rishi seemed suspicious.
"You know I wouldn't ever want to hurt you." Science reminded him. Rishi still seemed very hesitant as he looked at her hand. He drew it close to her for a moment, but retracted it just as quickly.
So then, Science reached out to him instead, with Rishi pulling back even farther and Arithmetic forcing herself to shout at Science," What do you think you're doing?!"
When Science grabbed his hand, she astonished everyone in the room as her hand didn't melt or anything when in contact with him.
"Just as I thought." Science said with a smile," It's only when he touches something will something dissolve. There's still hope for him."
"Cure Arithmetic." Science called out, her back still turned to Arithmetic with her eyes closed," You know what to do right?"
Arithmetic offered her a look of question, before looking towards her sword and finally figuring out what she meant. Arithmetic darted up towards the two of them, and reverted her sword back into it's scepter form.
"Stand back." Arithmetic instructed to Science, who complied without question.
"Pretty Cure, Calculating Meltdown!" Arithmetic yelled, transporting the two of them into a void of blue and silver.
"I sure hope this lesson will be sure to stick..." Arithmetic chanted as she swayed her scepter around, before pointing it directly before Rishi who was kneeling on the ground,"...That lesson being, don't ever mess with me, Cure Arithmetic!"
When the area around them turned to normal, Science had disappeared, her work here being done and Arithmetic was left looking at Rishi, now turned to normal except he was crumbling away, glitching out, and fading away all at the same time before him.
Arithmetic was at a loss of words and all she could say was,"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I had it coming." Rishi said with a shrug as he looked at his hand that was glitching out violently on him.
"Um, what was going on between you and Science?" Arithmetic asked cautiously as she neared towards Rishi.
"That I'll let her explain." Rishi replied with a small smirk," Speaking of Science, do you think you give this to her for me? Also, this is to get you out of here."
Rishi then reached into what was left of the pocket of his pants and gave her a star-shaped locket, along with a key.
"You really weren't as bad as I thought you were..." Arithmetic remarked as she looked at the locket in her hands," But, are you sure you can't tell me anything about what was going between you two? Anything at all?"
"Let's just say she meant the world to me." Rishi answered before he fully disappeared.