This was the Bad End War all over again, Kanade thought in horror as she desperately looked for her princess. There were no monsters this time, no dragons, no merfolk or ogres, true, but those were not the things that made the Bad End War so Horrible. It was the fear, the fire, the famine, the screams and the despair. And there was no lack of these in the battlefield.

Kanade knew she could not be afraid, not when she had a great duty, when so much was at risk, but even so, it was difficult. Spears and axes and bows surrounded her whenever she went, and when she looked around, she could see it all again. Those days that she thought were now so long behind seemed so close. When Kanade closed her eyes, she saw no respite from the war around her.

Arrows rained down on them the way it rained when Kanon was nearly lost. Cure Rhythm was too fast, too aware and too strong to be skewered by an arrow from so far away, but Kanade Minamino was not. She was not yet Rhythm when Kanon was attacked. Day and night, it was dangerous to be out on the streets, as death was always falling from the skies. Not just arrows, but spells and curses from Majorina's witches. Kanon was not nearly as great as Operetta or Risoluto, the two grandest cities of Majorland, but it was an important town all the same, surrounded by tall and strong walls. That did not save them from the Bad End Kingdom, though. Generals Wolfrun and Akaoni were known to be hasty, but Majorina was patient, cruel, and she surrounded Kanon with her troops. She was glad to just wait while Kanon starved.

Starving. Rhythm herself didn't hunger, but the common footsoldier was not so lucky. Since Marigold burned their food and their supplies grew scarcer, their rations became meager. The forced march was taking a toll on them. The Cures and commanders were still well-fed, though, and whenever she ate, Kanade could feel eyes of envy blazing at her.

Kanade did not blame them. She had known hunger as well. During the first week of the siege of Kanon, meals were plentiful, as everyone was still convinced that the armies of Majorland would swiftly come to lift the siege. They did not come, and soon the people of Kanon saw their pantries empty. Not Kanade's family, not yet. Their restaurant's larder was still full, though that would not last long.

Kanade looked at the soldiers near her, and saw how little they ate, and she shared her food with them. At Kanon, she and her parents cooked all day long, so that they could feed those in need. The first weeks were easy, but then scarcity came to them as well.

"Mother, Kanade remembered the day she opened the larder's door, only to find it empty, "we're out of food."

Misora did not answer. She only cried. Kanade held her close to give her comfort, but her mother was inconsolable. Kanade was the one who had to give the news to the people. She saw the crow outside the Lucky Spoon, the hungry populace of Kanon, their eyes still full of hope. And Kanade snuffed that hope, those bright eyes, when she told them they would starve and die. She used kinder words, but in the end they meant the same. They would starve and die.

She thought they would curse her, and some did, but mostly they cried, and then they thanked her. When they began to disperse, only one girl stayed behind. Hibiki, dear Hibiki. They had known each other since they were children, but mostly from afar.

"Don't give up, Kanade", she said then just like she said it now. She never gave up on anything that mattered. "I'll help you."

How can you help, you're only one person, Kanade would ask, but she didn't. She smiled, and Hibiki as well, a sweeter smile than any that Kanade had ever seen. Hand in hand they roamed around Kanon, going from house to house, asking for what little each family had left. A leg of lamb here, a pound of rice there, some potatoes, some flour. By the end of the day, they had enough to feed hundreds.

From then on, Hibiki and Kanade worked together. Kanade's brother Souta helped Hibiki gather food around Kanon. Every little bit helped. Seika cooked alongside Kanade and her parents. She was Kanade's friend, and a good cook as well, almost as good as Kanade herself. This inspired the people of Kanon. More and more citizens came to help, and joined their resources to set up a farm. They began growing crops and raising chickens, cows and goats for eggs and milk.

Here, though, there was no such luxury. They were close to the Sunflower Aegis now, so close. All that stood between the army and the great castle were a dozen towers, the sole line of defense before the Aegis itself. They were not too tall, nor did they look too strong, but they were too many. The Precure Kingdom and Majorland's armies meant to attack at various spots, set ladders to enter the Aegis from its galleries, but these defenses, along with Marigold's sorties, had put an end to their plans of scattering around. Kanade knew there would be no way inside but through the strong gate, where they would be easy targets for the archers above.

When Kanade finally shoved her way to the van, she looked to her sides, and could not find the princess anywhere, or Mephisto, or Sunny and Peace. She felt a chill as her heart pounded heavy. Ako was supposed to be here, and so was the king. Yet wherever Kanade searched, she found nothing.

"Rhythm," Kanade heard someone call, but the vanguard was too crowded for her to see who it was. The voice kept calling her, guiding her, until it was loud enough for Kanade to recognize it. It was Falsetto.

She found him mounted on a horse, holding the reins in one hand and a spear in the other. Its tip was reddened, Kanade noticed.

"Falsetto," Kanade greeted him hurriedly, "have you seen Muse?"

"I have," he said, and he kept riding, keeping pace with Kanade. Bassdrum and Baritone were nowhere to be seen. Usually the three of them would be together, but now they were not. Kanade found that more than a little strange. Instantly her mind thought of a dozen dreadful possibilities, but now was not the time to dwell on them.

"Where, then?" Kanade asked, growing impatient with Falsetto's lacking answers.

"Our princess rode out with King Mephisto and Lady Sunny at her side, as well as half a hundred soldiers."

"Rode out? To where?"

"There," he pointed at a dark spot in the opposite direction of the army, almost impossible to see from ground level, so distant it was. Kanade had to get on Falsetto's horse to try and see. If Rhythm focused, she could almost understand what she was supposed to see. Almost. It looked quite like a group of people. "Cure Marigold. She is following us, blocking our way, attacking us."

"I already knew that," Rhythm said, though Falsetto did not seem concerned at her annoyance. "But why?"

"To capture Marigold, of course," Falsetto said . "She and her riders have attacked us half a hundred times already, or so I hear. They mean to arrest her so that we can attack the Aegis with no further difficulties."

Even from afar, Kanade could see that the Aegis was a mighty stronghold. There was no way there would be no difficulty involved.

"When did she go?" Kanade asked.

"Yesterday. Perhaps she's already coming back. Why do you care so much?"

"Are you daft, or do you just not care?" Kanade almost screamed. But even whispered, her words were sharp enough, and Falsetto was taken aback.

"Y-You're right. We can't… We can't let this keep going. For a moment, I forgot. For a moment, I thought it was just like the Bad End War again. War does these things to the men fighting them. That war was so much easier. We were fighting monsters, weren't we? That was easy."

Easy for you, perhaps, Kanade thought, but it was not his fault he did not understood what she went through. He was a knight of Majorland, one of the Musketeers. When he fought, he was ready for it. Not Kanade. She was not a Precure then, and if you gave her a bow, she would not even know what to do with it. Worse still would be if she had a sword in hand, she would likely only manage to stab the air.

She was truly not ready when the walls came down. Kanon had almost grown used to the siege, or, at least, as used as they could possibly grow. When the wall crumbled, the few soldiers of Kanon were caught unprepared. They reached for their weapons, but it was too late. All manner of beast entered the city, howling, shrieking, laughing.

Kanade would later learn that the armies of the Precure Kingdom had just disembarked and Majorland was going to fight back. When the generals of the Bad End Kingdom learned of that, they hurried their plans, and prepared to assault the few cities still standing, to end the war and destroy the forces of Majorland and the Precure Kingdom at the same time. Eventually, they would fail, but Kanade had no way of knowing that when she saw a horned ogre break through the walls of the Lucky Spoon.

Sometimes at night, Kanade would dream of what could have happened that day if Hibiki was not at her side. She would die, no doubt, and Kanon would be sacked by the Bad End Kingdom. Yet, even so, Majorland would win. Nothing would change, and at the same time, it all would, because that was the day Kanade and Hibiki became Precure.

It was the most terrifying day in Kanade's life, and it was the finest as well. Fear's cold took her heart, but so did Hibiki's warmth. As they saw the beast raze the kitchens around it and prepare to strike down Souta, Hibiki and Kanade rose at the same time, and said the same thing. Stop, they said, in perfect synchronicity, their fingers coiled, so close and warm that Kanade could not tell where her hand ended and where Hibiki's started.

They had only become close the weeks before that, but it did not matter. Day and night they spent together, and soon they knew each other perfectly, in ways that nobody else had known them. They were only apart when Hibiki was helping Souta, and Kanade always gave her a hurried kiss before she left. Sometimes, during the more terrible nights, the ones full of fear, Hibiki would play the piano. Kanade had practiced for many years, but not with as much dedication as Hibiki had. When Hibiki played, Kanade's heart was at ease. By the end of the month, they were more than best friends.

And so, when the light of the Precure enveloped them and they transformed, they did not need to say anything. They were one mind, one heart, one soul, and they were so strong. They fought in perfect harmony, wordlessly, and no foe could withstand them. They never fought like that again, they never felt like that again. Their harmony was never again as great as it was during that day, even though Kanade fought for so long to make it so.

Together, they saved Kanon, they kept the enemy at the breached walls, and their hometown was mostly unharmed. When the armies of Majorland and the Precure Kingdom came, Majorina and her soldiers were slain. Melody and Rhythm fought some more battles, but when the Precure Kingdom marched against the Bad End Kingdom, they remained in their homelands.

Kanade closed her eyes, and saw Hibiki amidst the fire, but she saw no more. If their harmony was greater, then perhaps she could, but as of now, it was impossible. Kanade only prayed that Hibiki knew what she was doing.

Falsetto was not the greatest rider, and his horse was not all that obedient. They lagged behind some other soldiers as they approached the watchtowers of the Sunflower Aegis. Kanade looked back again, and hoped she would see Hibiki or Ako, but she only saw a thousand unknown faces.

There was naught to do but to wait for the princess now, Kanade thought, and to wait for Hibiki, Ellen and Hummy. If she sought them out, there was no way to know if she would be able to find the princess in the battlefield, and it would do them no good to be even more split apart than they were already. Kanade kept holding on to Falsetto as he rode. Past the towers, it looked like it was only about a mile before they reached the Sunflower Aegis.

Kanade looked up at the tower looming above her. They did not seem to be manned, she noticed. She had thought that defenders would be hidden there, loosening at those who passed below it, but no bolts came from the arrow slits. Be careful, she heard a commander say. Someone threw a rock against the tower, through a window, to no response. There was nobody there. Charge, someone yelled, and the soldiers obeyed, but Kanade urged Falsetto to not hurry.

The stronghold looked so familiar to Kanade. Empty, old, unmanned. Did the Sunflower Aegis not have enough soldiers to garrison them? If so, that was just like Kanon. Kanon had tall, proud towers, but there were no wars, no soldiers, and they were unoccupied. They stood for hundreds of year, and with each passing year, they fell deeper into disrepair. These towers looked quite like those in Kanon indeed, Kanade reflected. Why, they even collapsed the same way that Kanon's towers did.

They came down so fast that Kanade only truly understood what was happening when the earth shook and Falsetto's horse threw its rider on the ground and began to run away in fear. Kanade fell down as well soon after. She pulled herself up, cutting her palms on the sharp stones on the rocky ground. All around her, men screamed and cried, and their mounts as well. Bricks flew around as pieces of the tower were still crumbling, and Kanade was almost hit by one. In the distance, the other towers fell as well, one by one, and closer, the horses bolted around, desperate, knocking their riders down, trampling whatever and whoever was on their way.

That was the last that Kanade saw before a grey dust rose along with a brown one, covering the world, devouring the sun and the skies. Rhythm tried to look around, in vain. Dust got in her eyes, and then she had to close them. Something bumped on her, and then another thing, and another, endlessly. Before she knew it, she was back on the ground, and something hard hit her leg. For a moment Rhythm thought she would not be able to get up, so great was the pain, but she did it anyway.

"Calm down, everyone, stand still!" She yelled, but no one cared. Why should they, she thought bitterly. She tried opening her eyes again, and though it hurt, it was, at the very least, tolerable now, and she could see all the soldiers around her. No sign of Falsetto, though. Kanade prayed he would be safe.

"Cowards!" A lord screamed, as lords often did. "Stand and fight! Keep going!"

He drew his sword and ran towards the fallen tower, and tried to make his way through the rubble. That was a rare thing, Kanade thought, for a commander to lead by example. It was a pity that all it earned him was an arrow to the chest.

A hundred arrows cut the sky to fall on them, and no shelter to be seen. Shields and weapons were scattered on the ground, abandoned. As she looked around, Kanade was almost glad. They should not be fighting, they should not be attacking the Sunflower Aegis. Still, when she saw the chaos, the terror and the suffering, Kanade could not be glad at all. This was not the Bad End War again, no, it was worse.

Yet when the dust began to settle, hours later, it was not over. Bravely, hundreds of men were climbing the rubble, even as arrows rained on them. The soldiers abandoned their horses, but they kept rushing towards the Aegis. Some even found small gaps between the debris, wide enough that even battering rams could get past. It was a neat trick, Kanade thought. Pity it did not do anything, in the end.

Kanade closed her eyes again, but now she could not see Hibiki, but somehow she could feel that Melody was unharmed. That, at least, made her smile, if only a little.

Rhythm was not one of the first across the debris. Instead she stayed behind, helping the wounded get up, taking them to camp, where they would be safer. Precures were not useful only for warring, after all, though that seemed to be lost on certain Cures, regretfully.

Falsetto's leg was broken when he fell down. He cried and whined and wheezed as Kanade picked him up and carried him to a safe place, but that was what Falsetto always did when he was hurt anyway. How he actually managed to become a knight was something that Kanade never understood, and she was sure she never would.

There were now soldiers at the walls, Kanade could see. She sighed deeply. She had truly hoped that it would not come to this, and for a while, she believed it would not happen. But the princess, it seemed, could not face the truth.

Rhythm felt something warm inside her. Melody. She was near, she knew it. Kanade flushed bright red as she remembered that she had failed her task, the entire reason she left Hibiki behind. But even so, just seeing her again, even if she was still far, was worth any pain.

And it was pain that Kanade felt, indeed, when she saw Hibiki by Muse's side, with Ellen and Hummy too. They had been captured, Kanade noticed when she saw a crimson notation binding their bodies. The musical magic of Majorland could not be mistaken. Rhythm stepped back, but Muse approached her quickly, playing her Cure Module with anger. In the air, notes of all sorts appeared, and floated towards Kanade, latching onto her arms, her legs, her body, her mouth. She could not say a thing, she could not ask what happened. Ako avoided her gaze.

"Come," the princess said. Rhythm had no choice. Some strange force had taken control of her body. A sad song rang on her ears, high-pitched and hurtful. Her body was dragged by Muse, as were Melody, Beat and Hummy, and a gold-haired girl Kanade had never seen before. She looked like a Precure, in truth. Was this Marigold? Kanade expected something who looked fiercer.

Muse guided them across the barren land, across the ruination. Even now, the archers of the Aegis loosened their arrows, but when they threatened to reach them, Muse just lifted a hand and stopped them where they were. Shortly afterward they fell into the ground.

They stepped inside a large tent not too far from the Aegis. There were a hundred like this one, Rhythm saw, but none quite so large, or so luxurious. This looked almost like a small palace.

"I'm sorry," Ako finally said when she placed her prisoners on a corner, and removed the magical bounds that sealed their mouths. "You will have to stay here."

"Do you think this is the right way to treat me?" Marigold shouted. "Do you even know who I am? I am not some lowly noble who can be captured and bargained by enemies, I am a Precure!" As she insisted on complaining and ignoring Muse's attempts to approach her, the princess made her shut up again.

"Ako, you said-" Ellen started, but Ako turned her back to her.

"I know what I said. But it is easy to say things, isn't it? When I had to tell my father that he was fighting for a lie, that this is all for naught, I could not. I already told you how terrible the consequences could be. I will not risk that."

"Risk?" Hibiki was not disappointed, just furious. "Well, there are people risking their lives here, have you thought about them?"

"Of course!" Ako screamed, almost like a hurt child. "Of course…" She repeated, and sat down as well. "Do you understand what an uncomfortable situation this is? If Majorland does not honor its alliance with the Precure Kingdom, who will trust us in the future? They helped us during the Bad End War, when we could not win the war by ourselves. They asked no questions, they made no demands. They just came and fought by our side."

"But this is an unjust war!" Kanade said.

"As are all wars," the princess replied. "I did not want this. My father did not want this. But kings, queens, princes and princesses often do things they do not want."

"And they make hard decisions as well," Kanade reminded her. "Decisions that may hurt their country, for a while, but decisions that must be done, because they are the right thing."

"You do not understand, do you? Between doing the right thing and harming Majorland and doing something wrong but making my country stronger, I must choose the wrong thing. Such is my duty as the future queen of Majorland."

"What of your duty as a Precure?" Ellen asked. Ako had no answer for that.

"This is madness," Kanade said. "Queen Beauty is not herself. What she's doing is not only wrong, but senseless. She is sick, unstable, I am unsure, but something is changing her. This war is folly."

"I know. I never said it wasn't. My father looked to me for counsel, you know. I told him we had to answer Beauty's call. Cure Muse would have told him the truth when she learned of it, but Princess Ako would urge him to fight, because it is our duty. Do you see what troubles me, now? What makes me lose my sleep?"

"But it is so simple. Which are you, then? Cure Muse, or Princess Ako?" Hibiki asked.

"Right now? Princess Ako, heiress to the throne of Majorland," she said, and stormed off.

They did not hear of her again until night had fallen, when she returned with her father by her side. Kanade wanted to shout something, but Muse silenced her. To her side, Hibiki tried to do the same, also in vain.

"What have they done?" Mephisto asked his daughter. It was such a strange thing, to see such a great warrior asking his young daughter for advice. If it did not hurt so much, Kanade would laugh.

"After we captured Marigold, I searched the battlefield for Melody, Rhythm and Beat. I found Melody and Beat destroying our weapons," she said, but those furnaces were not their weapons. They were Sunny's.

"And Rhythm?"

"She's a deserter. She meant to flee, even though her duty as a Precure requires her to stay and fight," it requires me to do what is right, you mean.

Mephisto scratched his beard and tugged at his mustache, thinking. He was not a fast thinker. His actions were hasty, of course, but when he needed to make a thoughtful decision, it seemed as if the king froze.

"Let us keep them here for the time being," Ako said, as if she realized that her father was just waiting for her decision. "At our tent they will be safe, and when this is done, we shall judge them."

King Mephisto nodded, disappointed. He seemed actually hurt at seeing his followers betraying him, even if it was a lie. Well, half a lie. If he knew the truth, he would not call it betrayal, though. Ako gave them a sad look as she left again, disappearing into the night. Their only comfort was being able to speak again.

Hibiki cursed the princess, while Ellen sighed sadly. Hummy kept asking questions, confused, and even silenced, Marigold kept trying to shout something. Kanade looked around for something, hoping against all hope that she would find a way out. There were so many things in the tent, though. A map of the region, a suit of armor, books scattered around, a piano.

A piano. Kanade looked down at the magical bonds keeping her in place. This was musical notation, there was no doubt about it. It was difficult to read it from this angle, but Kanade could make out some of the notes.

"Hibiki! Get your Cure Module!"

"W-What for?" Hibiki asked. If their harmony was truly perfect, Kanade lamented, she wouldn't even need to ask.

"You don't need your hands to summon it, you just have to think. So think, and blow into it."

"W-What?" Melody still did not understand, but Ellen's eyes brightened.

"That's brilliant, Kanade! It's the only way to get out of these binds. And Hibiki is the best musician here."

Now she understood, it seemed. There was a small flash of light, and the Cure Module appeared on Hibiki's mouth. She looked embarrassed, but played a short tune anyway, following the notation.

Kanade could feel the bonds loosen, and she could move her hands again. She pointed at the piano now, and this time Hibiki readily nodded and smiled. They would need a better song in order to be free, after all. They could scarcely move their legs, so they leapt awkwardly towards the piano, and took their places when they finally reached it.

And then they did what they had already done a thousand times before. They played together, as if they were one. There was no thinking involved now, it was almost second nature. Kanade knew where Hibiki would move her finger next, which note she would play, what she would have to do. And, again, she felt almost the way she did when they first transformed. She could almost see what Hibiki was seeing, think what she was thinking, but not quite. There was still something in the way of their perfect harmony.

But that did not matter now. They were all free. Well, all of them but Marigold. Rhythm knew it was wiser to leave her behind, else she might do something foolish, and there had already been too much foolishness this day.

They left the tent, and walked into the heart of night. There were torches all around, but even so it was dark, grim. And high above, far away, the remaining furnaces still burned horribly.

Now they needed to find King Mephisto, and tell him the truth. There were so many places he could be, though, and in the dark, searching for him was a hopeless task. But they were Precure. They must always have hope.

Something sparkled in the sky, and then it was gone. Rhythm pointed at it, but her companions saw nothing. Ellen said they should look at the gates, Hibiki thought Mephisto might be climbing a ladder to the galleries, and Hummy didn't really think anything.

Kanade saw it again, and once again Ellen and Hibiki said it was nothing, but Kanade swore she saw something. She saw lightning. They kept wandering with little aim; these fields were too large, and there were too many people gathered around. In the distance, Kanade heard the sound of a ram hitting the iron gate. It was an awful sound, one that hurt her ears, and it seemed to follow them all night long. She still heard thunder, too.

The next time she saw lightning, there was no denying it. It cut the sky in a flash and hit the ground with a loud sound. It came from high above, from the Sunflower Aegis, but it landed far from them. Even so, they had to see what it was. Ellen thought it was normal, just lightning, and pointed at the cloudy sky, but no, Kanade was certain that she had seen it come out of the Aegis. Hibiki agreed, and she followed. They could smell ashes as they approached, and heard a soft grunting. Very far, at the walls, a curtain of steam rose from one of the furnaces, but they were too distant to see what had just happened, and they kept going. The sky was lazily turning orange by the time they were close.

And where the bolt had fallen, they found a girl. Rhythm almost could not recognize her at first. She looked almost like Peace, yet she was not clad in bright yellows, and even her crying sounded different. Her outfit was black, her voice distressing, and there was something wrong about her. When Kanade knelt to try and help her get up, Peace's fingers were cold, and she breathed hard, with anger. Rhythm needed Melody's help to carry her; the girl was unusually heavy. And bleeding, too. When Kanade first noticed the blood running down on her hands, she thought nothing of it, but it felt thick, and as it got stuck on her skin, it began to hurt.

She looked at it. Gods be good, Peace's blood was black. As it fell on the ground, the soil itself began to smoke, as if it burned. Kanade almost let her fall down, but did not. This was the proof she needed. The proof that there was something wrong with the Precure Kingdom. Peace slowly raised her hand and tried to free herself from Kanade's grasp, but she was too weak, too wounded.

It was quite a long way to the princess' tent, and the sun was hotter than usual. Strange, Kanade thought when she looked up. There were no clouds anymore. Her back was sweaty, and she was panting. When they at last reached the tent, Kanade wanted only to fall down and sleep right there.

But the princess was there, and so were Mephisto and Sunny, and they would not allow it. Ako looked furious, but Akane smiled gently, until she noticed who was in Kanade's arms. Her face, then, was pure shock.

"What are you doing?" The Princess asked. "You run away… and then you come back?"

"Listen, princess, and look," urged Ellen, approaching Ako. Mephisto stepped closer, and looked horrified when she saw the black blood oozing from the girl in their arms.

"F-Father," Ako stuttered. "There is something I should have told-"

"Give her to me," Sunny said from the center of the tent. Her voice was stern, worried. "Now. Give her to me and we'll pretend this never happened."

"No," Ako put herself between Sunny and the others. "I've been on the wrong side for far too long. But this… What were you hiding from us?"

"It does not matter. Give her to me or I'll take her from you."

"Come take her, then" Muse said.

"Fine," Sunny's entire body ignited, and when the flames died out, the red in her outfit had turned dark as night, and her eyes burned with hatred. She lunged against the princess, her fists blazing, and she knocked Muse away. When she landed next to Kanade, everything grew hot as flames rose around Akane. A scorching wave came from her, a burning gust of wind that knocked everyone away.

Sunny helped Peace up, and the two of them smiled. Peace looked almost playful, but Sunny's grin was cruel. Her left hand was covered in the black ooze that bled from Yayoi's body. She placed her hand on Yayoi's wounds, and she seemed unharmed again. As Kanade and the others rose, Sunny lifted her hand, and all the fabric of the tent turned to ash, revealing the skies above, the sun shining bright and cruel.

"Rush, now," she told Peace, "tell Beauty that I'll have to do things faster than planned. Then go to the Fairy Palace."

Peace nodded. Her body was covered in light, and she bolted upwards, the sound of thunder following her. When she was gone, Sunny stood there, smiling amidst the blazes.

"You had to ruin it all, didn't you?" She said, and laughed. "Pity. I hoped to kill Sunshine myself, show her that I am the true sun, the one that burns the world to cinders. Well, I guess we were on a different note," she chortled, as if her quip was the funniest thing ever said. Her laughter was wicked, terrifying, but the scariest thing was when she stopped laughing.

She extended her hand, inky sludge dropping from it, freezing in the air, until it took the shape of a book. Kanade recognized it. It was the Precure Book. Hibiki tried to make a run towards Sunny, but the flames between them burned too strongly. Akane opened the book, and placed her hand on an empty page.

"Like all these blank pages," she said in tones of poison, "let their future be painted black."

The world grew silent and dark. When Kanade looked up, she could not believe what she saw. The sun shone a dead, black light, and the skies were tinted a dark purple. Kanade looked all around, and saw the soldiers fallen on the ground, crying, grunting, not fighting anymore. Something fell on her cheek. Kanade slowly poked it with the tip of her finger, and brought it closer to her eyes. Ink. Ink raining from cloudless skies. The same ink that rained from lands the Bad End Kingdom had conquered.

Droplets of ink fell all over the battlefield, moving on their own, joining with other drops, one by one, growing bigger and bigger, and they began to take shapes. Enormous insects and horribly deformed beasts at first, but soon Kanade could recognize them. Ogres so tall that Kanade could not see past their knees, witches young and old, monstrous wolves with their fangs still bloodied. Even the last remaining furnace was completely covered in this dark ink, and from its false sun a huge serpentine dragon was born, taking wing, flames following in its wake. The Bad End War all over again.

"Do you see now?" Sunny said, smirking, her body surrounded by flames that did her no harm. "For you, there will be no happy ending."