The work was the easiest part, the dull toil that kept her arms busy as she swept the floors of the Palace of Bronze. At both Shadow's keep and Last Light she had helped around plenty, so once she started, it was easy for Dark Mint to keep her head down so that no one might notice her, shrinking away on distant corners where few would tread upon. The difficult part was figuring out what exactly was expected of her. Service, of course, but what sort? When she entered the Palace, paralyzed by her uncertainty, she grabbed the first broom she could find, and began to clean, so that she might look busy. No one questioned her, at least, but Mint always expected someone would. That worry always remained, and would not go away. She spent each moment fearing that someone passing by might dislike the look on her face and question her, and she might not be able to answer.

After what she felt was an eternity had passed, she was told that it had just been one hour since the beginning of her shift. It was not enough for fear to grip her heart, it had to make time pass slowly. But not slowly enough for Cobraja to appear. Dark Mint tried not to stray far from the front doors, so that she might keep an eye on anyone who entered, but after a few minutes a man remarked that it was very cautious of her to focus so much on a single spot. It was meant as praise, probably, but even that could compromise things, so for the sake of staying invisible, she moved away. If Cobraja ever managed to get into the Palace of Bronze, he couldn't find Mint. She was on her own.

She already knew that, of course. Reprieve was just an empty hope, but, as all hope, tempting. Almost two hours had passed when she finally gave up on waiting for Cobraja, and understood that she'd need to find her way on her own. She didn't know when she'd be afforded the opportunity, though. Her duty was demanding of both her time and efforts, and kept her busy. There were far too many people in the halls of the Palace of Bronze for her to go unnoticed: too many guards, almost all of them Nightmare's, too many messengers relaying directives from one side of the Palace to the other, servants whose hands were busy with trays of food for the hungry, and buckets of water, and bags of garbage to be disposed of. She took cursory glances into the rooms, and there she saw soldiers, both Apostles and Nightmare's, but mostly the former. They took their orders from Nightmare, though.

She turned her face away when others passed by, and only looked discreetly, briefly. Given enough time, she figured this could be a good position through which to learn all about the Palace. She didn't have enough time, though, so for the time being she was mostly confused. She heard other servants speak names she didn't know, she heard men bark out orders for people to go to places she had never heard of, unknown parts of the palace. If they barked at her, she'd not know, because she didn't know her own name.

Cobraja should have told her. Though his plan for getting the Precure into the Palace of Bronze was competent enough, he failed to consider what to do in case anything went wrong. Maybe he didn't have the time to do so. Maybe he figured that if something went wrong, all was lost, so what would be the point of preparing?

Now that she found herself unable to even tell when someone was talking to her, all she could do was act like she didn't exist, act like she didn't hear. She was called to help take out the garbage that had accumulated the past week, and only realized it when one of her companions - a girl who appeared to be friends with the woman she pretended to be - tugged at her sleeve. Dark Mint smiled, made a vague excuse about being focused on getting rid of a stubborn stain in the corner. No one appeared to believe her, and instead thought she was just being lazy and incompetent. Those around her sighed as if it was not a rare occurrence. Mint found it rather fortunate, a convenient excuse.

She found her way to the underground depot by following the other maids making their way down there. It turned out that the Kowaina consumed quite a lot of resources to sustain themselves, food most of all, but also iron scraps and an abhorrent black goop that made up much of their bodies. They were not selective about where they disposed of the remains, and just dumped most of it beneath the ground, in the large storerooms of the Palace of Bronze. Mint saw some pipes running along the stone walls. This might be a good place to begin looking for the drains that led to the sewer, if only she had the opportunity.

It didn't appear to be coming soon, though. After she was done with this and had properly incinerated the trash in a neighboring room, it was back to cleaning for her, back to disappearing. All around her she heard the voices of men and women, all gossipping or chatting about their plans for the weekend, but very few words were spoken to her, and she answered only in meandering sentences that meant nothing, avoiding having to say anything. It was safer to make excuses, to be vague. She was a good liar, but that was mostly because she knew when not to speak, and how to avoid subjects she did not want to discuss.

When she first joined the Precure at the shores of Trump, with Starfire burning behind her, crackling, a rainbow ablaze, this was how she spoke. It took her months before she could finally speak naturally, when she could stop worrying about being found out. She had almost forgotten the discomfort that came with holding her tongue like this, swallowing her own words, fearful that they might betray her. Now that she remembered, she realized that she already missed the comfort she felt with the others. She had learned how to be herself, how to be something beyond a pallid reflection of Komachi. She wanted to be with the others again, but first she'd need to open the way for them.

Her first chance came at lunch, when she and the other servants were excused from their work, and ate together. Dark Mint was invited to join them, but she spun a quick excuse about how she needed to be elsewhere. She found that no one cared much for what she did, that no one watched her every move and paid close attention to her slightest actions. She only ever assumed they did, but why would anyone else put her under such scrutiny? She was free to move as she pleased, and even saw that others did the same: most went outside, for some fresh air, some to smoke, and others she saw moving to other parts of the Palace, for idle chatter with friends. She moved among everyone, and went unnoticed when she looked for the drainpipes.

It was mostly guesswork: she did not want to raise any suspicions by asking for directions, not when she already knew from Cobraja that Nightmare was aware of the vulnerability there. First she looked into the rooms that surrounded the furnace area, but she found nothing interesting there, only crates that she'd not dare open, only tools left scattered, improperly organized. She saw pipes running along the wall, and tried to follow them, but they led to a locked door. Behind here, perhaps? She put her hand on the door handle, and heard someone call out from behind her.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" She turned back, and Gamao was already right in front of her. By his side were the two men that had accompanied Hadenya, Isohgin and Yadokhan, but their faces were, as always, enigmatic. "Lazing around? Lunch break is almost over."

"A-Ah," out of breath, she tried to think of an excuse, but Gamao didn't want to listen. He was looking straight into her eyes, and he had seen her among the Precure the other day… But he couldn't recognize her. He didn't care enough to take note of her face, and, dressed like this, in the dark, it was simpler to just disregard her as an idle, bumbling servant.

"Run along, ya lazy bum," he said, giving her a rough shove. "You're lucky I don't tell Hadenya you're slacking off."

It wasn't luck, Dark Mint knew, he just didn't want to have to admit that he, too, had come there just to laze around in the first place. She ran away and didn't look back. She returned to her palace, and in the dining halls she heard comments about how she was probably reading during her break again. She just giggled and agreed, joked about how she had the misfortune of running into Gamao. From the displeasure in their eyes, that seemed like far too frequent an occurrence.

"It was better before they came," said a man in the elegant suit of a butler. His hair was spiky, messy, but quickly he brushed it into something presentable, when the time to go back to work approached. "Sure, Nightmare helped us, but damn, it brought some really unpleasant folks…"

"Don't say that out loud," a cook reprehended him, his voice austere. "There have been some dismissals for insolence. That girl who just arrived, some days ago, with the other weirdos… Little blonde with the pigtails, she's been a pain, and she hasn't even been here long. One of the girls told me that she keeps asking for food to be brought into her bedroom, but she's never satisfied, she always finds something to complain about it, and then she calls the serving maids idiots, yells at them just for doing them their job. She got a soldier assigned to the city gates, because she was sure that he was staring at her."

That attitude and description certainly reminded Dark Mint of someone. She shuddered. Mean people were all the same, all over the world, and it was more than a bit sad that they were everywhere. Dark Mint hadn't given Dark Lemonade much thought as of late. She didn't miss the girl at all, but found herself hoping that she was alive and well, wherever she might be. She was unpleasant, but no one deserved to die just for being rude. A slap, perhaps, would do.

Dark Mint soon resumed her work, and quickly she had grown used to it. Not much had been asked of her, certainly nothing unreasonable, so her disguise was easy to maintain. She spoke as little as she could, but occasionally a peer would ask her a question, an empty pleasantry, and she'd answer as vacantly as she could. That was enough, fortunately. She didn't want to make things too inconvenient for the girl, when she returned, she didn't want her to find that Mint had made plans on her behalf, nothing of the sort.

I certainly blew that for Komachi, though. It was a strange thought, and cruel, because she understood that she wanted Komachi to stay trapped in her crystal. She had been around Nozomi and the other Precure far too long to be able to find herself untroubled by the idea of condemning someone else to suffering for her own sake, but what other choice did she have? Everything about her struck her as terribly unfair for everyone. Stop thinking, she told herself, and she began to sweep again, always the same spot, until the stone floors were pristine, and she could see her own face on them.

Dusk saw the Palace of Bronze empty as the shifts ended and everyone began to leave. The multitudes making their way out all at once were like a tide, but Dark Mint swam against it, when there were too many people around to even notice her. She found the stairs leading down, she found the door by the pipes. It only took the slightest force to pry it open, and she did so slowly, cautiously, not making a sound.

Behind the door she found only the path extending ahead, pipes converging, and she looked up and found them even running along the ceiling. When she smelled something foul and heard the sound of shifting water she realized she was getting close. The path grew wider, taller, led to an opening on the wall, rusty pipes squeezing through it. She squeezed herself in as well, and found herself in a spacious room that stank of sewage. There were metal crates all around, huge ones, larger than Mint, most of them closed, but one had been left open, and a peek inside showed dozens of white masks, like the ones worn by Salamander, by the Kowaina. She felt repulsed by them, like something dark and foul dwelled within.

In the distance, barely visible underneath the darkness and lit only by a dim light bulb, she could see the pipes spewing their filth on huge barred ducts, pulled outside by running water. She guessed they were dumped onto one of Miwar's many oases, or something of the sort. Just as Cobraja had told her, two Kowaina stood guard by the bars that locked the way. She could face them on their own, she thought… But was not certain. Best to be careful, best to rush past them and break open the bars, then-

A sound. A footstep, coming from the back, from the long path leading here. Dark Mint jammed herself into a narrow space between two crates, their cold metal brushing against her skin. A poor hiding place, but perhaps the darkness would shroud her well enough…

A familiar voice asked who was there, and silence became difficult for Dark Mint. She covered her mouth and nose with a hand, to muffle both her breathing and her gasp. It was Dark Rouge's voice she had heard. She had no doubt about that. Between the two crates it was impossible for her to see her entering, but she was inside, and a weak light came with her. And she was not alone. More footsteps accompanied her, though lighter and more restrained.

Rouge passed her by, unaware of her, only a flimsy fire burning on her fingertips, too little to ward off the darkness. Dark Lemonade came with her, and for an instant Mint feared their eyes had crossed, but it was an empty worry, as Lemonade just walked on, with Rouge.

"Should have had those two come here," Lemonade complained, "if they're so sure they recognized the girl… Like they'd ever recognize anything, like they'd do anything right. Just giving us more work, making us come down here…"

"Are you afraid of the dark, perhaps?" Rouge teased her. The light grew brighter, and Mint tried to step away, but she could go no further, the gap too narrow for her body.

"Shut up," Lemonade said, "I'm not afraid of the dark, I just don't want to have to go to this stinky sewer, I bet there's cockroaches everywhere."

Dark Rouge chuckled. Mint could almost imagine Lemonade's pout, already guessed she would say something nasty, but instead she, somehow, joined Rouge in laughter. The fact that she had somehow learned to laugh at herself surprised Mint even more than finding her here in the first place. She couldn't help but grin, and when she did, Dark Aqua was standing in front of her, and noticed she was there, hidden. Her hand shot up towards Mint and grabbed her by the hair, dragged her out of the darkness, but when she saw who it was, she let go. And she smiled.

"You're not dead," she said. "That's a relief."

"No thanks to you," Dark Mint mumbled. "I did my part just as was expected of me, and I did it well, but you just abandoned me there to die."

"We didn't abandon you," when Dark Rouge approached, her flames lit her face in deep reds that made her eyes an infernal vision, her visage hidden behind the blazes. "We waited. But we couldn't wait forever."

"You took too long," Lemonade said, and shrugged. Dark Mint shouldn't care about it anymore, but Lemonade's dismissive airs angered her anyway. "If we waited any longer, we might have been killed, we might have been found."

"It doesn't matter anyway, does it?" Aqua tried to look as comforting as she could, but gentle smiles fit her face poorly. "You're here, somehow. You must have quite the story to tell us, hm?" Mint kept her silence, stubborn. The three did not stand too close to her, did not pressure her. The Kowaina were still, as well.

"Did you know I'd be here?"

"Know?" Dark Aqua laughed. "Obviously we would have never imagined it was you. Gamao completely disregarded the girl snooping around, but Yadokhan came to us and told us to deal with it. He's too paranoid, really, but we didn't want to be careless, so we decided to come check once the shift was over and people were leaving. Seemed like the most natural time for someone to sneak in here. You thought the same, no?" She still didn't answer. She couldn't say why she was here. "Evidently so, we're made of the same stuff, so we even have the same dishonest thoughts. Now, Mint, what the hell were you doing here? You wouldn't happen to be…?"

"She's totally with the Precure," said Lemonade. "It's not a coincidence. Tch. What a pain. Did you tell them about us, about what you are?"

"Of course she wouldn't," Rouge said, "right?" Mint looked down, drawing out a sigh from her. "Silence isn't gonna help you. It's not helping Cobraja."

"What?" It was hard to hide her surprise, and she had to look at them in the eye again, pleading for an explanation.

"You really must think Nightmare's a bunch of idiots, huh?" Lemonade guffawed. "Look, that's absolutely understandable, since idiots like yourself always lack the imagination to conceive that other people out there might have brain cells, but-"

"That's enough, Lemonade," said Aqua. "It's an obvious connection to make. The Apostles collaborating with the Precure? Something's wrong there. Best to take care, at least. Very bold of Cobraja to come in today, but Bloody wasn't willing to take any chances, and took him for questioning."

"Is he okay?" Dark Mint remembered his poison, and felt a chill.

"He probably is, currently," said Aqua, "but not answering any questions. Rather like you, in fact, but the thing is… You're considerably more disposable than he is. Hadenya won't even bother keeping you alive if you keep your mouth shut. Bloody might, he's honorable like that, but he's sharing control right now, and the final say is not his."

"Please," Dark Rouge said, and she sounded entirely honest about it, her voice breaking. She had always been more obvious with her feelings than Dark Aqua or Dark Lemonade. Rin's fire burned fiercely inside her. "It'd be unfortunate if you were to die just after meeting us again. It's a miracle that we found you. I'm sorry we left you. Now we're all together again. You don't need to help those girls. Whatever it was that made you work with them… It doesn't matter. You can't ever be one of them. None of us are real people, much less Precure. Their fights don't matter to us. We only need to stay alive. It's the best we can get."

"You're wrong," said Dark Mint. "We can have so much more than an empty life where we believe in nothing. We're part of the world too. We matter, and it matters to us."

"The Precure really put some bizarre notions into your brain," Lemonade said. "Listen here, you empty-headed loon: when the Precure learn what you are, they'll kill you. You won't be able to lie to them forever. Someday you'll say something wrong. Someday you won't be able to maintain the deception. Someday you'll have to do something you can't, and the truth will appear."

"She's right," Dark Aqua showed Mint her hand, burn wounds near her joints, "this was Starfire. We're not real Precure. You can't lie forever," she said, and Dark Mint could only think of the rubies on the door, of Hadenya's demand. Someone had to have noticed. She believed no one had, but she had to be wrong. She was an idiot, after all, so what did she even know?

"I'm sorry," Dark Mint said. "But I can't just come back. I can't leave them. I've come so far with them-"

"No," said Rouge. "Komachi did. That's the girl that was with them. They think it's Komachi. You were only ever pretending to be her, Mint. But it was never you. You might think it was, but all you did was pretend. They won't love you anymore when they learn the truth."

"That's-"

"You think it's wrong?" Lemonade asked her. "Are you gonna wager you life on it? You think Dream is gonna appreciate finding out you stole her friend's place and lied to her all along? Come on, now. Think a little. Alice was the only person who's ever done us any sort of kindness. She saved all our lives. Do you want to take that chance with the rest of the Precure, though?" She didn't answer. She had seen enough of the Precure to understand that cruelty was not an uncommon thing among them. Her friends would not-

Are they my friends? Or are they just Komachi's?

"Look," Lemonade came closer to her, "you're kind of stupid, and you don't get how the world works, but I don't want you to die. I felt… Bad," she said the word like she was vomiting, "for leaving you behind. I found myself hoping you'd be okay. I prayed, even. I never told anyone such a pathetic thing, but I did pray. And it happened. You're here. You're okay. I want you to stay with us."

"I…" Dark Mint hesitated. "I don't know what to do."

"You come with us," said Aqua. "We'll keep each other safe. Nightmare has been good to us. The Precure might be kinder, but only while they don't know what you are. The world has no mercy for people like us. The Precure surely won't, they'll think you betrayed them."

"I know," said Dark Mint. "I know what could happen to me if they find out… But… It might not," she said, desperate. "They've been so good to me. They smile at me, like no one did before. They care about me. They're all I ever had. Not just friends, but a family."

"We can be family," said Rouge. "We'll even smile sometimes. If you go with them, Nightmare will know. And Shadow has your mirror. Once he learns that you joined the Precure, what do you think will happen? You can't fight against Shadow. He'll shatter your mirror and you'll die. That's it. That's all your defiance will earn you."

"Might as well get us shattered, too," Lemonade whined. "For once in your life, can you stop being stupid? Please. You are literally going to die if you don't help us. Anyone else would have killed you already for resisting. We're trying to put some sense into your head, so at least listen to us."

"I am listening," Dark Mint said. She couldn't look away from them, as much as she wanted to do so. She wanted to run away. She didn't want to choose. Why did she have to? It tore her apart. But that was the truth of it, was it not? There was no way someone like her could be happy. As much as she deluded herself, she could never be one of them. And yet… "I've made my choice.

"No you haven't," Dark Aqua drew her blade and took it to Dark Mint's throat. "Lemonade."

"Yes?"

"Run and tell Bloody that Dark Mint has returned to us. Tell him that she chose to cooperate. She confirmed what Isohgin and Yadokhan had guessed. Hadenya won't like being proven wrong, she was so certain that they'd come in through the rooftops. Be prepared to get yelled at."

"Love it when that happens."

"Tell Bloody we're ambushing the Precure here," she said that, and Dark Mint could only beg her not to, but of course Aqua would not hear her. "We'll let them come, and then we'll slaughter them, save for Dream, whom we'll take to Shadow," she said, and Dark Lemonade ran to deliver the message. Still Mint felt the blade against her throat, but now there was something she feared even more than death.

"Why do you need to make me part of this?" Mint asked. "I'd rather die."

"When you see what death really means, you won't be saying that," Dark Aqua promised her. Her cold breath blew on her ear, and she whispered full of hatred. "You're such a slow learner, but that's okay. We only have each other, so I can forgive that. You've been fooled by those girls, and fooled by yourself, that's all. But it would be the death of you, and we will not allow that. We've left you for dead, once, but now we'll do it right. We'll be together from now on, and we'll be safe."


Throughout the day, Kawarino had been bringing in executives from their offices to the meeting room, to Despariah, and time and time again Alice watched them return with a dejected look about their faces, hurt by their own failures. She pretended to be busy with her own affairs, but she had already finished her work, most of it a tedious affair of checking the numbers of Yotsuba Enterprises' robots in Nightmare's tower. Each week Alice had more of them built, she had the Yotsuba Security Systems reach deeper into Nightmare's defenses. She had not lost all that she fought for. This was slow, not the grand heroics the Precure were known for, but something sneakier, something without honor.

Honor doesn't matter, Continental said to her once, and Alice agreed. With the stars gone and the skies darkened, with the world thrown into horror and chaos, arbitrary values like the traditional honor of the Red Rose didn't matter anymore, couldn't matter, because all that made them important once was now gone. Rosetta would have liked to speak to Cure Continental again, but she was told to stay on hold, awaiting Kawarino's summons. She wondered what exactly Despariah might need her for. The longer she waited, the greater her dread grew, mounting and turning into something she could scarcely control. It could not be good news, never, not with Despariah, but Kawarino hadn't answered Alice's questions, and kept her in the dark. He left her with little to do but wait.

When at last he called her, the sun was setting. Alice's office was high enough that she could get a fine view of the shadows spreading over the jagged landscape that surrounded Nightmare's dark tower, the chasms that dug deep into the earth and the hills like rows of spires. Grey spread from out of the tower, shrouding all the lands. She could see, far below, dots of black, the Kowaina that patrolled the surroundings, the roads that led out of Nightmare's tower and to its domains, the mines through which they devoured the earth and their facilities that sent smog up to the already darkened sky, covering the few stars.

A new star had appeared the last night, but it was so meek that at first Alice doubted it could be a true star. It had never shone before, she was confident about it. Yet it appeared with no explanation, and Cure Rosetta didn't know how to feel about it. Though usually the stars brought her hope, that was so frail that she wondered if it meant anything at all, if it even mattered. It matters, she tried to tell herself. Small as this star may be, all rage against the darkness is blessed.

It wasn't any help to her, though, not now. Right now she found herself a helpless watcher. She did not yet have enough power to act against Nightmare, and could only wait. She did so until Kawarino finally walked into her office, wearing his wicked smile, his eyes closed. Alice wished he would walk into something, someday. It didn't seem like it'd happen anytime soon, but at least it'd be good for a laugh.

"Despariah wants you," he said. Alice had expected that, but she didn't understand what use Despariah might have of her. Even now, when it came to horror and cruelty, Alice suffered from a failure of imagination.

She followed him. She could never say no to Despariah. As she made her way to the elevator leading up, she noticed that others were looking at her, from their offices, and whispered among themselves. They had all been called, too. What was she to make of it? Kawarino told her to disregard them, and soon they were in the elevator, its doors closing awfully slowly. Perhaps it was just her worry, but she seemed to be stuck in there for a long time, with Kawarino right next to her. Even though she planted herself on a corner, he stood right by her side, uncomfortably close. But when Alice asked him what the business was, he said nothing. He just waited for them to arrive at the building's top floor, and guided her to the large meeting room, where the ornate door to Despariah's office had been left open. Alice could see her there, the only lights in the room shining in on her.

"Come inside," she urged Alice, "alone."

She stepped warily into the room, Kawarino glaring at her from outside the office. It was terrifying how suddenly his eyes had opened, and how hateful they were, but Alice tried not to think much of it, and closed the door shut. Its shutting seemed awfully loud, like the door had been banged shut, but Alice had been delicate. In the perfectly silent room, even her footsteps were terribly loud. She could hear her own breathing, but not Despariah's.

She sat directly in front of her, too close for comfort. A glass of water had been left there for her, and another by Despariah's side, half-empty. Rosetta hadn't considered before that Despariah might even need water. The mask made her appear inhuman, but of course she was only a person.

"Kawarino said you needed me."

"You were my last choice," she said, her voice hoarse and weak. "My last hope," she spoke softly but bitterly.

She was holding something in her right hand, fingers closed tightly around it. Slowly she opened her hand, long fingers lingering on top of a small object, until they let go, and Alice saw it. The Dream Collet. Alice almost did something stupid right then and there, she seriously considered reaching out for it, but it was just an impulse, and she overcame it. She just gazed at it in wonder. She thought it had been lost, already used after it was stolen from Princess Himelda. Yet here it was, before her. It was a large locket, and ugly, a clunky thing to carry. As far as great treasures went, if not for the reputation of its power, no one might ever think this pink thing was of any value. The tales around it grew with time, so much that it was now said that the Dream Collet could make any wish come true.

Alice recalled Rikka's skepticism when they talked about it, shortly after it was stolen. She had to agree with Diamond. There was no power so great that it could make any concept reality, but many believed it. To the Red Rose's sorrow, that included Cure Princess.

"You could not open it?" Alice asked. Despariah nodded slowly. The mask barely seemed to move, so Alice had trouble noticing its subtler motions.

"Kawarino brought it to me. He disguised himself as a butler of her castle, then pilfered it off her hands the first second she was distracted. He returned at once. My heart beat again when I saw it," she said, and when she put her hand on her chest, fingers sinking into the cloth, Alice could see that she was much frailed than she appeared to be, underneath her armored robes. "I did not sleep for days, trying to open it, hoping I'd be strong enough, expecting my magic to reveal the secrets. But it never did."

"Why not?"

"I did not know until now," she lifted her hand, and stared greedly at the Collet on her palm. "Do you know what Nightmare has been doing for the past year?"

Oppressing everyone it could get its hands on, crushing the wills of those under its power, and generally making the world an even more miserable and hideous place?

"What?"

"All our resources have been dedicated to opening it. I had all of my craftiest employees working on this project. Whatever idea they had, I funded completely. A machine to try and pry it open? Have our mines at the Desert Lands provide all the metals you need for it. Perhaps a spell of unlocking? Do your research, I'll provide the materials, all the hextree resin you'll need to work on scrolls. Some even proposed alchemical solutions, and I had them searching for the herbs and materials they might need. I'm sure many were only trying to steal from me. That's fine. I hardly had anything to lose, and always instructed them to take advantage of every opportunity to further themselves. They've only done as I always told them to."

"Yes, I expect you wouldn't mind being robbed when there's no longer a society where you can actually even spend your money," Alice said. It was a bit bold, but Despariah didn't seem to mind.

"There will be one again, someday," Despariah said, "and I have every intention to rebuild it. But that's beside the point. The point is that all our efforts have been focused on this. All we conquered we did for the sake of this. Today I summoned everyone to show me their results. None of them accomplished anything. Many tried, I'll give them that much, and they tried their best, too. But all for nothing. Nothing could open it. Even the more extreme methods, the ones that risked damage to it, couldn't do anything. There was only one method I did not allow. Until now."

"Getting a Precure to do it," Alice understood. "I understand the objection. Why did you change your mind?"

"I told you that you are my last hope. Kawarino advised me to give up. To try again in some time. But I have no time," she extended her hand to Alice. Her fingers were so thin, corpse-like. "I need you to help me. I will even free you for it. If it works."

"And the rest of the Precure?" Alice asked. "And what about Yotsuba Enterprises, which you took from me?"

"I can't go that far," said Despariah. "I can't give up all my leverage. If you refuse, then I will be forced to make threats. I'd rather not have to make threats," she said, even though just by being there, Alice was already threatened.

She looked at the Dream Collet. Could a Precure open it? That made the most sense, Alice guessed, but it seemed a bit too easy. She had to give it a try, though. For her freedom… She extended her hand, but then held back. If she left, where would she even go? If she left, who would protect Nightmare's prisoners, or ensure that Shadow's Precure would be treated fairly? They hadn't returned yet. What would happen to them?

"I want to ask you some questions," Alice said. "Before I do it. If you answer them, I'll do it. No need for threats. And I won't ask for much."

"What do you want to know, then?"

"You're dying, aren't you?"

"Yes," Despariah said, plainly. "I suspect Kawarino wanted me to wait so that maybe I would die and he could take over. To tell the truth, I've never taken any measures to ensure succession goes smoothly. There's no one to succeed me. I'm not going to die. The entire purpose of Nightmare was to save my life. If I die anyways, I don't care about what happens after. Let them all eat each other up, my loyal followers."

"You will just wish for life, then?" Alice asked. That struck her as a waste of such a powerful object, but it was better than anything else she might do, so, absurdly, Alice felt relieved to see the Collet in her hands, if she said the truth. "Is that all?"

"Is that all…" Despariah laughed. It sounded like it hurt her to do so. "You speak as if it's a small thing. But life is the only thing that matters, and as such, avoiding death is the only important thing. It's the root of all fears and woes, the fact that we will die, that we were brought into this earth and cast into the madness of life simply so that when it all ends the darkness can consume us. When I realized that, I also realized there was no point in anything. Not if death was coming for me. I could hear it. Its baying deafened me when I tried to sleep, and kept me up. I sought to remedy it every way I could. Good health and medicine can only do so much. The mages I sought for help in the Blue Sky Kingdom provided me with brews that extended my days. But that had a limit, too. With Nightmare's funding I went to the ends of the earth and sought despair witches and their cursed magic. That helped me too, and for some time."

"But not forever, right?"

"Some of them get to live for thousands of years," Despariah said, bitter, "but no, not forever. And I was not as skilled at the craft as they were. They had begun when they were young. I was already an old woman. And it ate at my soul and at my body. If not for the mask, you'd be looking at something quite horrifying right now. This won't last long. I know it will not. I can feel it, the hollowness, that permanent sense of unease and of the coming end. A life of toil undone by nature's folly. The merciless law that life is but a small speck of light that is drowned out by death's everlasting darkness. All my work, come to an end. All for nothing."

It's not for nothing, Alice wanted to say, but she held her tongue. Despariah had the Collet. It was best if she wasted it. Alice had to keep herself from smiling that such great power would be wasted like this.

Then again, was it good news to learn that the enemies of the Red Rose had managed to snuff out the Starlight Flames without the Dream Collet? That should not have been possible. It made no sense…

"How did you know Hime would take the Dream Collet?" Alice asked. "How would Kawarino know to follow her, or was it by mere chance?"

"We were warned by someone who knew it would happen," said Despariah. "How they knew, we cannot tell, but the opportunity was too great to risk ignoring. If Dark Fall knew, or Labyrinth, and if they got their hands on the Collet, we would likely not be here right now. Dark Fall would be using it to kill everyone in the world, I bet, and Moebius would make us all his slaves. Well, if they ever got to open it. I suppose our informant must have laughed at us, no?"

"Who was it?"

"Clearly it was someone who had much to gain from it. That's all I know. Any other questions?"

"One more. Please," Despariah allowed it. "How did you do it, then, if you didn't have the Dream Collet? How did you make the stars go out? You should not have been able to do it. The Starfire would kill you all before you could even touch it."

"We had help," said Despariah. "The Dusk Zone had the magic to snuff out the stars. I didn't believe it at first. I was satisfied enough with bringing down the Red Rose. That the stars went out was… Not entirely desirable. I'm sure it was the Dark King's doing. He was a beast that cared only for destruction. I'm glad he's dead, and regret that we had to work with him, but without the Dusk Zone's support, victory was not certain, so we just accepted it. If that was the price I had to pay for eternal life and to shape the world as I wanted, without the Precure and their laws, so be it. That he got himself killed only made it all the sweeter. He even had the kindness of taking Akudaikan with him. Only Moebius remains as a credible threat to us. Someday Dark Fall may reorganize, and cross the Crystal Ocean, but we'll push them back to the waters."

"I see," Alice said. She figured Despariah wouldn't give a damn about her judgment, so she spared her. "I'll help you, if all you want is life. In return I'll want you to have those girls' mirrors brought from Shadow's keep and given to them. So that they can live without the uncertainty of their mirrors being shattered."

"You ask a lot," said Despariah, "because Shadow is proud, and he's not even under me, but he belongs to the Director. I cannot promise you that."

"You can, if this matters so much to you. What is it to you, some conflict with the Director, when compared with saving your life? Such a small thing. If you'll live forever, then what will it matter to you, a century from now?"

"You speak truth," Despariah said. "Yes, you're right. I won't need to feel any fear and worry anymore. It is death that brings fear, my limited time. I won't need to worry anymore. Do it. Try to open it. I will speak to Shadow when I can."

Despariah handed the Collet to Alice. It felt cold on her palm, and heavy, unbearably heavy for something so small. There was something inside, she could feel it, though she couldn't know what it was. The locked opened effortlessly, and a bright light was thrown on her face. Blinded, she let go of the Dream Collet, and it made a resounding thud when it fell on the table. She opened here eyes again, and saw the light inside change colors. Whatever was inside burned too brightly for Alice to make sense of it, and she could see only its gleam.

"It's just as beautiful as I had hoped," said Despariah. "The heart of a star brought down to the earth, the union of the magic of fairies and Precure, an art known only when the world was young and more easily molded, when even of the will of the stars could bend. The power to make any wish come true… Yes, those are accurate words. It's only power. To someone who cannot control its magic, it's worthless. But I know how."

"Can it truly make any wish come true?"

"Of course not," Despariah scoffed. "That is but a fairy tale. But I don't need anything from it. All I want I already have, save for eternal life and youth. Now," she reached for the Collet. Alice just watched, but prepared herself to do something drastic in case Despariah betrayed her. She knew what it would cost. She knew what the retaliation would be, so she hoped that it would not come to that.

Despariah struggled to keep her eyes open as she stared at the light. Her fingers quivered as they encircled it, those gaunt claws of hers, coiling like worms. Rosetta watched, focused on transforming the instant something went awry. She could do it, if she wanted. If only she disregarded the consequences, it would be the easiest thing in the world to kill her here and now. Despariah winced when she touched the everchanging light, and it grew even brighter. With both hands Despariah weaved a spell, the colors coming under her command, like they were being given form. They rose in spirals towards her open palm, a rainbow-colored confluence. Only a tiny white hard remained inside the locket, all colors drained from it. Despariah closed her hands, snuffing out the colors, and the shard broke into brilliant dust. After that it was dark again.

She looked at her own hands. Alice saw how life and color returned to them. Those pale, skeletal fingers became rosy and warm, and the flesh around them was no longer only a frail layer of muscle and skin that barely clung to the bone, but healthy, alive, young. Even her posture shifted, as she sat up straight, when before it was as if a great weight kept her back hunched. Alice stared at the empty locket, and delicately touched it. It felt weightless now.

"I feel… Alive," Despariah said, slowly reaching for her mask. When her fingers touched it, she hesitated. "I have not removed it in so long. I am… I am afraid, Cure Rosetta. What madness is this?"

"What do you fear?"

"I cannot remember who I was. When I look in the mirror, will I believe it's myself? I realize now that I have forgotten life before the fear took hold of me. I have lived longer with the mask than without it. All I've ever done was for the sake of this. And until now it has always felt distant. It's… An odd feeling."

"It's because now you have no goals anymore," said Alice, "nor any desires. But I suppose you have all the time in the world to figure out what you want to do."

"Yes," she said, fingers feeling her own mask. "That is true. I already had everything. It was not the great change I had hoped for, and I've grown used to this life… But this is all I've wanted. This is my one desire."

Despariah removed the mask from her face. It was a harder procedure than Alice had thought: it did not merely conceal her visage but it covered her entire head, and when she took it off, she groaned in pain. She laid it on the table, before her, and looked serenely at Alice. It was not a particularly impressive sight. She was just a woman like any other. She was beautiful, but not remarkably so. Her long brown hair was full of knots, and though she was no longer a withering husk, her face still looked thin and unhealthy. She took a mirror from a drawer, and gazed at her own reflection. She didn't smile. Whatever she felt, Alice couldn't tell.

"My face," she said. "It feels impossible to move it. To smile, or to frown. Perhaps I've grown too used to that mask. All the same, thank you, Cure Rosetta. You've done me a favor I cannot describe. You freed me. I shall speak with the Director, and get in contact with Shadow. We will see what comes of that," she got up, swiftly. "It is so much easier to move than I remember. I had forgotten how it felt. I forgot so much, all for the pursuit of this."

"What will you do now?" Alice asked. "If this was the entire purpose you've created Nightmare…"

"Then it would seem we lack a direction now," she said. Her lip curled ever so slightly. A smile, perhaps, a frail attempt at one? "I will figure out one. I expect you'll continue to play a part in it, too."

"Yes," Alice said. Until the end, still to come for you.


Even at night Miwar was busy and crowded, but with Cobraja's instructions it was easy enough for the Precure to sneak about where they were most likely to be safely hidden, unseen by curious eyes. Reika knew very well that any of those eyes might belong to Nightmare, so she urged caution from all the Precure, as well as herself, of course. Nightmare knew they would come, but it was best if they didn't know when. That was the best the Precure could hope for.

The sewers were simple enough to reach. Large ducts dumped all the sewage from the Palace of Bronze into an oasis in the middle of the city, before the water was properly treated. It didn't seem like Nightmare cared very much for that. The facility enclosed the lake, but no guards patrolled, and no lights were shining inside, leaving only a short chain link fence blocking their access to the waters. They reeked, and were now almost entirely darkened by filth, thick to tread upon even on the shallow waters by the banks. When Reika looked on ahead, she could see the lights of the Palace in the distance. They were not very far now.

The drains were wide and tall, and the sludge flowed nonstop. It was almost as bad as what Reika had seen in Trump, but at least here there didn't appear to be any dead things in the gutter. Their footsteps were too loud, when they stepped upon the water, but that could not be helped. They could only avoid being noticed for so long.

"Nostalgic, isn't it?" Iona asked.

"So you were thinking of that as well," Reika said. "Nostalgic isn't exactly the word I'd use. It was terrible then, and is still terrible now. We can only ensure that all ends well, now."

"It will," she promised. "We won't be caught off-guard this time."

Iona was awfully confident for Reika's liking. It was like she had forgotten that things tended to catch them off-guard. Fighting might be a simple matter for the Precure, and they would certainly have to fight now, but they could not know what exactly they'd face. Nightmare would not be unprepared, so neither could the Precure. Reika kept both hands occupied with long blades. They did not melt as they usually did: since she claimed Joker's power, since the black blood began to run through her veins, her ice lasted for longer, her swords were sturdier where they used to shatter so easily, and her winter was colder. She was stronger now. She could not fail.

She felt a chill. Somehow she felt like she should not be here, that something was wrong. The more she thought about her own blood, the more it burned. It angered her, but she restrained her temper. Still, she couldn't help but think that this was not where she was meant to be. She only made the pact so that she could save Akane. Yet here she was, on the other side of the world. I should be saving Sunny, else the sacrifice I've made was in vain.

All the others seemed well-prepared for a battle. Even Hime, whom she expected to find grimacing at the stench, was instead fiercely determined, focused. Reika could see the fear in her eyes, but it did nothing to slow her down. It was not easy for her, but she didn't falter for a moment. She could very well be the strongest among them all, the bravest.

The most confident, though, was surely Cure Matador. She carried herself with the utmost certainty, one that bordered on arrogance. She held a thin and long blade, her hand guarded by an elegant hilt in the shape of a rose, raven black cloth hanging from it. It was a beautiful weapon, which Elena had claimed from the armory of the Desert Rose. She sung its praises, said that it was once wielded by Cure Krähe, whoever that was. It was a fine blade, but too indulgent in its craft, clearly a sword of ceremonial make. But that was just the way Matador liked it, it seemed. A remarkable tournament fighter, she made great shows out of her battles. Even now she played with the blade, spun its hilt around her fingers, and came too close to chopping off someone's hand for Reika's liking. She had the decency to stop when asked, but her demeanor still worried Beauty. She could only hope that she'd not be a liability, that despite everything she was not only talk.

All the confidence that abounded from Elena had to make up for Himari's terror. The woman said she had come to support Olivier, but he was the one holding her hand and comforting her. He was the one giving her strength, while Cure Custard shivered at every shifting shadow. She carried no weapon, only a wand, but the time she spent in the desert wasn't kind to it, so there were cracks all over it, and Himari had to hold it delicately. It was rather pathetic. She was the oldest of them all, an adult, but she made for a poor example. The fear she felt must have broken her. It was quite pitiable, but Reika found herself with little sympathy. She just wanted her to refrain from getting in the way.

"Nozomi," Reika approached her, when she noticed that she lingered behind the others, shrouded in darkness. "You know Nightmare better than any of us. We'll be counting on you."

"I don't have much to offer," she said in a whisper. "The men who were with Hadenya, though… They're not from Nightmare, but work for Eternal. Nightmare's agents were quite crafty, but they're not great fighters. Eternal, though, employed hunters to acquire the treasures it wanted. Those two, Isohgin and Yadokhan… Quite the dangerous duo. They know how to fight together, which is something that those with dark hearts usually never bother learning. It makes them fierce opponents."

"Ah, so they learned from our ways?"

"You could say that. They'll fight together, try to isolate one of us and overpower them by fighting two-on-one."

"We'll be careful, then," Reika promised. It didn't seem to reassure Nozomi at all. "You're thinking of Komachi, right?" It was an obvious question, and Dream just nodded.

"We sent her into danger. It's not worth it. To put her life at risk just to make our entrance undetected… But we'll still have to fight, no matter what."

"It's the best way," said Reika. "Dangerous as it may be."

Nozomi didn't look like she believed it. Reika wished she had more to say, but she didn't know what. She couldn't tell Nozomi not to worry, she couldn't tell her to stop being sad, she could not dismiss her feelings… But she didn't know how to face them, and Nozomi didn't seem to be very successful at dealing with them herself. She always looked so alone, as of late.

A distant light shone through the bars, signaling that at last they were near. All that was left then was waiting. Some time passed, mere minutes, but the stench around them and the anticipation that ate at them made them stretch uncomfortably long. Himari was quick to lose hope, to say that Komachi and Cobraja must have been caught, that they were surely dead by now. Reika swore she could hear Nozomi sob, in the darkness behind her, and she was just about to slap Himari into silence when there were noises from behind the door. The sounds of struggle, the sounds of shattering, of metal twisting and of stone breaking. Reika held her blade firmly. The light turned brighter, casting lines of shadows on the Precure. Beauty couldn't quite see Komachi from so far, but she easily bent the metal bars, waved at them to come. Reika gave the Precure the order to get moving, and they all ran past the bars, into the Palace of Bronze, the lights dying down as they drew nearer.

They did not find Cure Mint there. She was not there to greet them, only darkness. Nozomi called out her name, but there was no answer, and Reika realized something was wrong. Dark as it was, she could just barely tell that huge things loomed over them, all around. She lifted her sword, and screamed for light. Cure Honey listened to her command, and a bright glow surged on the tip of her baton, illuminating everything around, revealing a dozen Kowainas surrounding them, each holding a huge crossbow, with javelins as their bolts, each one larger than a person. They fired immediately.

Cure Sunshine shielded the Precure with barriers of gleaming orange, in the shape of great glass sunflowers. They held the spears in place, and when the barriers shattered, they fell harmlessly, by the Precure's feet. Reika looked on ahead, and saw Komachi held captive by a woman clad in blue. There were even more Kowaina around the room than she thought at first, and more of Nightmare's commanders to lead them. Reika didn't see Hadenya anywhere, though, nor Gamao, but Yadokhan and Isohgin were there, as Dream feared.

"Komachi," Nozomi screamed, walking up towards her. Mint told her to step back, to run away, but by then there were Kowaina behind them too. "Give her back now."

"Miss Dream," spoke the man next to the woman who held Komachi hostage, "You know we cannot do that. Though it pains me to use such underhanded tactics," he didn't sound pained at all, "and though I would have enjoyed testing your mettle once again, I'll ask you all to lower your weapons and surrender."

She pointed her Fleuret at him.

"Let her go now, Bloody, or my sword's coming in through your mouth and out of your ass."

"Always so crass…" He said, disappointed. "Aqua, Lemonade, Rouge. Kill them."

The one called Aqua drew her blade at once, rushing against Reika far more quickly than she had expected. She parried the blow poorly, the impact nearly knocking her down. And the rest of the Kowaina began to move, pressing on against the Precure. As she held Aqua's sword away from her neck, Reika caught a glimpse of a distant door, open, far past all the Kowaina, by the side of a pile of crates.

"There!" She screamed, the edge of the sword an inch from her throat. "Olivier, run!"

Her ran, holding Himari's hand, while the rest of the Precure cleared the way for them. Sunshine's shields kept all the creatures away, but Isohgin's spear found its way through a gap between them, cutting Custard on the shoulder. She let go of Olivier, and screamed for him to keep going. A burst of magic from her wand send Isohgin away, and Kanade helped her get on her feet, but then they were surrounded, and Reika couldn't see Olivier anymore. She shoved Aqua away, and briefly scanned her surroundings. Olivier was gone, Itsuki and Hime as well. They had left. When the Kowaina gave them chase, tried to make it past the door, Reika called forth a wall of ice to block their way. It was all up to those three, now, to reach Salamander. The rest of the Precure were trapped.

Komachi tried to join them, jumping down from the crates where she stood, but Aqua grabbed her by the arm and kept her blade on her throat. Reika could not approach, but she heard Nozomi scream.

"Shooting Star!"

Dream was gone from where she stood; her light enveloped Aqua, shoved her away, sent her towards the wall, crashing violently against it. Nozomi held Komachi close, but she had no time to savor it. All around, there was nothing but chaos now.

Passion and Berry fought together against the Kowaina coming from their right, while Nile, Honey and Custard guarded their left. But there were too many of those, and they overwhelmed the Precure. Every few seconds Reika heard the shriek of the crossbows firing another spear, and with Sunshine gone, only Mint could protect them, yet she could not stop them all. As Iona faced Lemonade, a javelin destroyed Mint's defenses and nearly struck Fortune in the face. Elena and Makoto both tried to take down those Kowaina who barraged them from afar, but soon Makoto found herself between Isohgin and Yadokhan. Kanade fared poorly against Rouge, and while she avoided her blows, her flames began to spread across the room.

And Reika had an opponent of her own. Each lunge she took against Aqua was avoided, yet Reika had to worry about both her enemy's blade and the Kowaina coming closer. She heard their footsteps shake the ground, she could tell they were near her, but Aqua did not give her any openings, nor the opportunity to retreat and find better footing.

With no other option, Reika shaped a shield out of her blade, large and sturdy, to catch Aqua's swing. Shards of ice trailed her movements as the shield was battered into pieces. Beauty stayed behind it, enduring the onslaught of blows, until at last Cure Dream came up from behind and divided her attention. Aqua moved swiftly, to keep both Beauty and Dream at a distance, but Nozomi nearly pierced through her leg with a swift thrust that grazed the skin. She turned to Nozomi, the least skilled of her two foes, and swung madly at her, and Dream could not keep up. When Reika dashed to her assistance, swinging at Aqua's back, she just jumped away, and Beauty's attack nearly cut Nozomi in half instead.

"Help the others," Reika told her, pointed at all the Kowaina. "I'll deal with her."

"She hurt Komachi," Nozomi said, "I'm not going to-"

Just as she spoke, Aqua surged from above, collapsing on her; Dream failed to parry, so Reika had to lift her own blade to save her. Still the impact brought her to her knees, and Nozomi was left alone to withstand Aqua's rage. Before Reika could rise, Nozomi was disarmed, her Fleuret flying far from her hands. But Aqua did not kill her: instead she grabbed her by the neck and hurled against one of the metal crates, her body crashing violently against it. Nozomi did not get up.

All around, the Precure were struggling against their many foes: though they could take down the first Kowaina they faced, as the monsters collapsed, their huge bodies blocked their way, gave little space for the Precure to move. And all the while, the fire was raging, as if alive, tongues of flame jumping out from the floor towards the Precure.

Aqua struck at her again, her swings coming nowa from above, then from below, but always quickly, always keeping Reika on the defensive, affording her no chance to turn the tables. It was a calculated aggression, Reika could tell. She was Aqua, of course, though not Nozomi's friend. She must be what Makoto described to her, what she saw in the palace of Trump. Just an imitation, but when the real thing was Cure Aqua, even a copy made for a fierce enemy.

Reika clenched her fist, felt the frost in her heart. How it hurt, now, that cold. She moved her fingers to shape the ice, made it into spires rising from the floor and reaching for Aqua. She avoided each and every one, stepping to the side or shattering them upon her blade, but as she dodged one, Reika saw an opportunity, and lunged. Aqua expected that: holding her blade in both hands, she smashed her sword against Beauty's, breaking it into insignificant shards that melted by the heat of the fire. A spear cut at Aqua's leg, but she ignored the wound and nearly ran through Reika with her sword. Beauty made her hands into thick ice, and grabbed the blade. The sheer force of the attack nearly broke her hands into pieces, and Reika felt a horrid agony as the ice cracked and fragments cut into her skin. She felt small edges stabbing into her own muscles, and screamed. She could not win like this. Ice rose in front of her, a wall between her and Aqua. It did not last, but gave her a moment to step away, to join the rest of the Precure.

Most continued to fight fiercely, but even so things were not going well: Iona found her arm wrapped in chains that gleamed like gold, her body tossed by Lemonade against the remains of a Kowaina. Elena disappeared amidst the Kowaina that surrounded her, and the fire nearly enveloped Kanade. Makoto held her own, though, even against two opponents at once. Reika had never seen her fight like this, to her fullest: at Morgenluft she had been exhausted when she stood against Freezen and Frozen, but now she was well-rested, and the way she wielded her sword terrified Reika, and elegant and disturbing work of art. She whirled constantly to meet both her foes, her swords never still, even for a second. Despite being outnumbered, she was always one swing away from tearing Isohgin and Yadokhan to shreds.

Reika could not admire her long: Aqua was in front of her again, and now she swing the sword with more strength, enough to overwhelm Reika. Each parry forced her to take a step back from the impact, but with the Kowaina behind, collapsed and piled on each other, there was nowhere to go. High above, Bloody's body had changed, and beneath his arms were now large bat-like wings, and he swooped down on Nile and Custard as they fought off Kowaina. Everywhere, they were losing. Even Cure Sword would not hold for long.

There was only one thing left to do. She put her free hand into her mouth, then sank her teeth into her fingers, as hard she could, until it started hurting, until she could taste her blood. Ink dripped from her mouth. The taste was foul, like death, like disease, but she drank of it, felt her cursed blood warm on her tongue, felt it make its way down her throat. And then all warmth was gone. She wasn't afraid anymore. Everything seemed perfectly clear now.

This was pointless. This was all a waste of time. She didn't care about the Apostles, she didn't care about Olivier. It was only Akane she cared about, it was for Akane that she tasted this vile blood. She stared at Dark Aqua, and felt disgusted. She's in my way. She's keeping me from finishing this and leaving this place. She's keeping my away from Akane.

Die.

She struck wildly, with no concern for anything around her, nor for herself. Aqua's blade pierced through her belly, but she didn't even feel any pain, only anger. She put both hands on Aqua's face, and frost spread from her fingertips, shutting her eyes, covering her mouth, her nose, until she couldn't breath, until she let go of her sword and clawed at her own face, trying to free herself. Beauty took her blade, let her ice spread over it, then shattered it. She left Aqua to die, as the cold slowly took the life from her.

Iona was the closest to her. Reika came to her side in one swift move, so quickly that Lemonade only realized she was there when Reika was already hitting her in the head, her hand wrapped in ice, her nails like long claws. Lemonade could only briefly shriek when her face was raked and four red lines cut at her cheek, spilling her blood on the floor. Even the ground grew cold under Reika's feet, freezing beneath her boots. Still she walked easily upon it. Lemonade tried to get up, but she was stuck, the lower half of her body encased in ice. Reika would deal with her later.

"Are you alright?" She asked Iona, but Fortune looked at her in horror.

"Reika, your eyes-"

"I asked you a question," she repeated, and Iona nodded. It was enough to satisfy Reika. "Go help the others."

Iona stumbled as she ran, slipping on the ice. She looked back, disturbed, but Reika had more important things to worry about currently. She extended her hand, thought of the shape of a bow, and the ice formed effortlessly. Was it always this easy? No, usually she had to focus on her magic, on drowning out everything around her, but now she felt perfect concentration. Now she felt every feeling so strongly, the anger, the desire to make an end of this mess, but none of them robbed her of focus. Nothing had ever been so clear. She took her bow and let her arrows ripple through the air, so cold that where they passed, the fires were extinguished. She took her time to aim, letting loose her arrows only when she was sure. Each one pierced right through a Kowaina's head, bringing it down at once. They were the easiest targets, unlike Bloody, who flew around, unlike Rouge, unseen in the flames, and she knew that trying to help Makoto might very well endanger her, should her arrow miss her mark.

With the Kowaina's numbers thinned out, the Precure could turn the tide of battle. The flames died down, and Reika felt colder than ever before. Her own heart beat slowly, painfully, but she disregarded it. She needed to end this. They had wasted enough time here. The more she thought that, the greater her fury grew. She could not restrain her anger. She should be fighting for Akane's sake, not for a boy she didn't even know until two days ago. She had to reach Akane.

Reika had never shrieked in anger before, so her scream hurt her throat. She let out her hatred on the first enemy she could find: she saw the silhouette of Rouge behind the dying flames, and that was good enough. Reika walked up to her, giving her barely any time to react.

Her fire was no match for Reika's tempest. She had no weapon of her own, no choice but to move away, but she was not as fast as Reika or her sword arm. The edge caught her at the chest, slashing at the skin. A superficial wound, but enough to make her scream, enough for her eyes to widen, enough for her to know fear.

Bloody swooped down and came to her rescue before Reika could strike her down, blocking her frozen blade with his cane. Awfully honorable of his part, putting his life on the line for the sake of his employees, far more than she had ever expected to see from someone of Nightmare. Behind him, Dark Rouge had fallen to the floor, trying to hold back her blood with her own hands, staining her palms with red. Now that she was helpless, something about her face made Reika's head feel like it would split open. She swung her sword without looking, hitting only air. Rouge's wide-eyed terror gave Reika pause, and she felt warmth again. She felt the black blood that ran down her skin, and she shivered. She didn't want to go this far. She didn't want to be cruel. Her regret was so great that at once she felt her magic falter: the two girls behind her were freed from the ice that encased their bodies, the floor was rough stone once again, and the frost that blocked the door leading out shattered and collapsed.

"Retreat," Bloody commanded, taking flight again. "There is no victory to be won here tonight."

He motioned for everyone to leave, the Kowaina standing between them and the Precure, but Rouge hesitated to get up, staring at the fallen Aqua and Lemonade. She faltered for long enough to allow the rest of the Precure to enclose her, and surrendered immediately.

Now, Reika noticed, the Kowaina weren't even trying to bring down the Precure, only to give Bloody time to escape with Isohgin and Yadokhan, throwing themselves against them. They no longer fought in tandem, no longer seemed to fight with any sort of plan. Again, Bloody shouted, ordering his hunters to leave, and in the split second that Isohgin was distracted, thinking of a way to leave, Makoto's Holy Sword was a swift flash of light, a movement so quick that Reika almost didn't notice it. She sliced off his head in one single move, striking decisively the very instant her foe's concentration lapsed. Even Reika hadn't seen that opportunity, but Cure Sword did. She seemed unbeatable, in the moment.

Not for long, though. Yadokhan didn't even try running away after his partner was gone, and instead howled commands to the Kowaina, ordered them all to kill Makoto. Only three Kowaina remained in the room, but they rushed past the other Cures, pummeling down on Makoto. Reika tried to help, but she could not weave her magic, she was too shaken for that, and all else were too distant, so they could only watch, they could only try and run to her side. Yadokhan's spear was coming down against Makoto's chest when Elena appeared right next to her, from amidst the dying flames. She chopped off the hunter's hand as he was dealing the killing blow, and thrust her rapier into his belly about a dozen times in a couple of seconds, drops of blood streaking the movements of her blade.

Just like that, Beauty realized she was wrong to have doubted. She was thankful to be mistaken, for once.

The Kowaina that remained, now lacking orders, just stood there and let the Precure purge the magic that gave life to them. Their masks became, once again, white and expressionless. The remains of the Kowaina crowded the room, gave the Precure little room to move, but they gathered before Aqua and Lemonade, who crawled and tried to rise, with little success. Lemonade struggled to breathe, and Komachi went to her side before joining any of her other friends. What to make of that…?

"I'll find Olivier," Himari said. "He'll still be needing some help, I wager."

"I'm going with you," said Yuko, and Custard had no cause to protest that. The two of them, relatively unharmed compared to the other Precure, left the room together, fading in the distant darkness.

The others were, for the most part, too wounded to keep going, and would just be a liability if they tried to keep fighting. Makoto, though mostly only winded out, had questions of her own to ask the girls before them, these fake Aqua, Rouge and Lemonade. She had faced them before, but only in retrospect understood what they were.

And Nozomi looked at them with sad, lost eyes. Slow steps took her close to them, and she knelt before the three. Lemonade looked away, displeased, but Aqua was defiant. Rouge, though, seemed regretful, somehow. And Komachi, while she struggled to keep standing, whispered something to Nozomi

"I saw you," Nozomi told Rouge, "in Trump. You were there, right?" She nodded. "I thought you might have been Rin, at first. I didn't understand why she would be there, but I really wanted it to be the truth. I hoped that you- That Rin was fine, even if I didn't understand anything."

"I'm not Rin," she said. "Just a fake, an imitation created from her crystallized heart. Like Aqua. Like Lemonade," the other two nodded as well. "It was not your friend you saw, I'm afraid. But she is alive, as far as we know."

"Rouge…" Nozomi put her hand on her chest, held it tight, her hands dirty with blood. "What happened to her?"

"She escaped," said this false Rouge. "We could never learn where she was headed to, if she ran on her own, if she was freed by someone."

"You lost Komachi and Rin, then…" Nozomi sounded hopeful, but Mint looked uncomfortable, and she only looked down, never meeting anyone's eyes.

"We reinforced our security after that," Aqua said, "after both Komachi and-"

"Stop," said Mint. She looked up, and Reika saw that she was crying. "Stop lying for my sake," she stood before Nozomi, between the Precure and those imitations. "What do you mean to do to them?"

"Why do you want to know?" Reika asked. "This is not the first time they have stood against the Precure. Twice they've fought with our enemies. Now, what is this about lying?"

"It's nothing," said Aqua. "Just a stupid girl's empty words. Komachi-"

"I'm not Komachi," she whispered. Then she said it again, louder, made herself heard by all: "I'm not Komachi. I lied. I lied to you all along. I'm the same as them. I'm just an imitation of the real Komachi. She's still held there, inside her crystal. I lied," she said, getting on her knees. "I'm just like them. If you would not hurt me, then please don't harm them, either."


Itsuki heard sounds coming from behind her, the booming footsteps of Kowaina, the shouts of guards, but she did not look back even once. She held on to Olivier, and kept moving forward, towards the throne room, their hope for where they'd find Salamander. The Palace was all in darkness, and eerie in how Itsuki could see no sign of life, but she heard plenty of it. Nightmare's soldiers yelled commands, but Itsuki could not make sense of them. She only ran, with Hime right behind her.

Princess found it harder to ignore their pursuers. She kept looking behind her, and every time she did so, her eyes grew more fearful and desperate. Itsuki would have yelled at her to keep her eyes on what was in front of them, but running left her out of breath, and she had more important things to do than to scold Cure Princess. She was not a child who should be told how to fight.

Itsuki remembered the Palace of Bronze well enough to make her way through it with little difficulty. She had looked at the map long enough, too, until she grew used even to the places she had not been familiar with, before being sent to seek Olivier. She had never been allowed to visit Salamander, but where could he be but upon his throne? Even if not, his quarters were close, too, according to the Apostles' map. But they knew we would come, Itsuki thought. They had been ambushed, so Nightmare knew. Would they ever assume that it was Salamander they sought? Itsuki couldn't know, couldn't even imagine. She could only hope, she could only do what they had planned.

Olivier held a dagger, his right hand shaking as he ran. Perhaps it was best not to expect much out of him in a fight. His wolf's blood was of no use beneath a moon hidden in darkness, and even if it were full, most likely he'd tear Sunshine and Princess to pieces. And Hime… Itsuki didn't want to judge her, but she looked like had never fought before, at least not on her own. The Red Rose would have never let the crown princess of the Blue Sky Kingdom to risk her life in battle. Itsuki was on her own, she realized. She could not count on either of her companions.

The footsteps behind them appeared closer now, and louder. Itsuki felt the floor beneath her feet quake, and when she could finally see stairs leading up, some meters ahead, an arrow pierced the air, nearly bit through her back. Instead it just scraped the side of her belly, tore some of the fabric of her uniform, yellow ribbons flying through the air. And then Itsuki dared to look back, and regretted it immediately.

The Kowaina that ambushed them near the sewers were far from all the forces Nightmare stationed in the Palace of Bronze. There were dozens more of them, and guards as well, spears and bows in hand. They began to take aim: the stairs were long enough that Itsuki, Hime and Olivier were sure to take precious seconds to climb it, enough time for them to be skewered with bolts and javelins. Itsuki thought fast, and extended her hands to their pursuers.

"Sunflower Aegis!" She shouted, and all the darkness was gone, the long corridors illuminated by wisps of white, yellow and orange that gleamed bright lights. She could see everything in front of her, each Kowaina and each guard that trailed them, from the first to the last.

Behind them all she lifted a barrier, and between herself and Nightmare's guards she made another. The two shields walled off the Kowaina and Nightmare's agents, even as they pummeled against it, even as their arrows crashed against the luminous Aegis and their swords shattered as they tried to pierce through. When Itsuki lowered her hands, she felt drained. She could hardly blame Hime, if she herself was so easily exhausted. Itsuki, too, had not fought seriously in quite a long time. That she could still accomplish this magic was a pleasant surprise to her. She figured that she might have very well died right then and there, if she had failed, it might have all been for nothing. The very notion infuriated her, of dying to some random arrow after having gone through all this. Perhaps that was where she found the strength to do this.

"Come on," she hurried Hime and Olivier, though she found it hard to move, so weary had this spell made her. "They won't last long, those barriers. We need to get to Salamander now."

She took one last look at her Sunflower Aegis as she walked up the stairs, and found that each step demanded greater effort than the last. The light was so strong that it almost blinded her, but there was warmth to it. She hadn't seen that light in so long, mayhaps that was why her eyes were unused to it. It was shameful, really, for a Myoudouin to forget how to fight… She'd have to redouble her precautions from now on, if she made it through the night.

And with the path blocked, that meant the other Precure would not be able to reach them, would not come to reinforce them. It was just the three of them now. Itsuki wanted to laugh, but, again, found that she didn't have the breath to do so. Instead she panted, and let out a long, loud sigh when she made her way up the stairs and found herself in the antechamber before the throne room, where all petitioners sat down as they waited to be allowed to enter and ask for Salamander's favor. She had once waited there as well, for almost two hours, before being told she was not allowed to enter. That had been just after the Death of the Stars, when she was still trying to make sense of what happened. Nightmare kept her in the dark from the start.

Hime and Olivier's eyes drifted over the room, up towards the distant ceiling, but Itsuki only looked on ahead. If this was where Nightmare kept Salamander, then it was impossible that they'd be so careless as to leave him unguarded. Itsuki expected an ambush, so every shadow and every corner hid in shadow heightened the dread that chilled her to the bones.

She pulled the great door, watched it open ponderously, saw the grandeur of the throne room, evident even in the darkness, when only the moonlight shining through the windows illuminated it. The darkness made it appear even larger than usual, but its emptiness gave it a sense of foreboding loneliness. She only ever heard of the throne room as an always-crowded place, full of people with requests to make of the Apostles and full of the life of a magnificent court. But now Itsuki found there just shadow and winds. Not even the torches were kept lit there, no soldiers stationed to guard the throne. It was not supposed to be like this, so deserted. Itsuki understood, then, that all the life she had heard of, all the business conducted here, was all Nightmare's lie, a pretense that Miwar was still normal, as it had been under the Apostle's rule. But there was only emptiness here. This was what the Palace of Bronze truly was, under Nightmare's command: shadow and winds.

Itsuki cast a light upon the throne, and there she found Salamander. He sat there motionless, chained to the seat. His wrists bled where they'd been cuffed, and his nails had grown long and dirty. Olivier looked horrified, but Itsuki was more fearful of a trap. She looked around, she knew someone had to be there, and when she heard footsteps, her suspicions were confirmed by a voice that was all too familiar.

"So the Apostles were traitors all along," said Hadenya. She came up from behind them, with Gamao next to her, and despite everything, her smile was as smug as ever. "I never trusted them, but I'll admit I never figured they'd go so far as to free you. I did not think they'd be such dirty little creatures, with only the filthy blood of traitors in their veins. Don't throw your lives away, girls. You are a princess," she told Hime, "and you are of a noble family. Your lives are worth more than this… This desert rat you've brought here. Whoever he is, give him to us, then leave Salamander."

"You don't even remember who I am," Olivier said, in complete disbelief. "You were there, and-"

"Spare me," she said, "you brat. If I destroyed your life, you're just one of many. I can hardly be expected to remember every single urchin I had whipped, or whatever it was that makes you so furious. I'm talking to the people whose lives are worth something. Sunshine, Princess. Walk away and you'll be imprisoned, which is the kindest fate you can get. You'll explain what the Apostles had planned, and you'll be spared the horrible deaths they'll get."

"You'd best listen to the lady," said Gamao, as if he spoke to children.

Hadenya was lying, not that Itsuki would ever consider her offer even if she spoke truth. She would never spare them, she would never show them kindness, not when they could kill them, not now that they had them surrounded. Itsuki looked at Salamander, almost perfectly motionless, and could just barely hear his breathing through his mask. And his head shifted just slightly towards Olivier. If nothing else, he was alive, he was not yet lost. There was one hope, at least.

"Olivier," she told the boy, and took a few steps forward, coming closer to Hadenya and Gamao. "Speak to him. Make him remember you."

"I'm going to fight with you," he said, determined. "It's just the two of them. We can beat them."

No we can't, Itsuki thought. Her magic had demanded too great a toll on her body, and she felt frail, uncertain. Olivier only had his tiny dagger, and he wielded it full of fear, the same fear that Itsuki found in Hime's eyes. They could not win. Not the three of them. But Salamander…

"Make him remember," Itsuki repeated. "You know him like no one else does. He's your father, isn't he?" He nodded slowly. "You should be your father. He needs you now, and only you can save him. I believe in you, Olivier. I'll keep you safe, you and your father, even if it costs my life."

She meant it. She whispered Sunflower Aegis, and surrounded Salamander and his son with her barriers. Enough to give them some time. Cure Sunshine hoped that it would be enough.

Hadenya's long velvet sleeves were torn to shreds as her arms lengthened and her hands became talons like those of a bird, arms covered in colorful feather. Her claws were long daggers, and the feathers gleamed like gemstones, and looked just as sturdy. Gamao opened his mouth and his tongue shot out of it, cracked like a whip and struck Cure Princess in the face. She screamed in pain as a read mark was left on her cheek and her upper lip bled intensely.

Hadenya moved swiftly, and, Itsuki had to admit, with some elegance, though she now was a bizarre hybrid of woman and bird, her face a long, drill-like beak that came dangerously close to Itsuki's head. She surrounded her right hand with her magic, her fingers gleaming a soft orange, and she punched Hadenya on the side of the head as hard she could, knocking her away, her body crashing against a pillar.

She was back on her feet again in an instant, and as she moved strong gusts followed her, harsh winds blowing to the sway of her wings. Her talon caught Itsuki's arm, closed around it and shut it in a strong grip that nearly broke her bone. When Itsuki tried to fight back, she lost her balance as the gusts blew her to the opposite direction. Hadenya lifted her with both hands and slammed her against the floor, cracking the stones around her. Feathers like blades fell down on Sunshine, and she lifted both hands to shield herself, but her Aegis only blocked the first of the assault, and a feather fell down on Itsuki's belly, pierced into her stomach. Though it hurt, she did not scream. The deep wound bled, and she felt a sharp pain, but she did not have the voice to yell.

She lifted her feet up and hit Hadenya in the face, as hard as she could, her heel slashing her skin, nearly splitting her lip in half. Itsuki jumped back on her feet, and while Hadenya recoiled in pain, she conjured another shield and slammed her body against Hadenya, pushing her towards a wall. The Aegis pressed her body against the wall, muffled Hadenya's howls of pain. Itsuki put more force into it, then felt something wet around her leg. She lost her footing as Gamao's tongue pulled her away, her face smashing against the stone floor. Itsuki could only see the throne room blur around her, faint traces of colors, distant oranges and blues.

Gamao lifted his head to toss Itsuki against the ceiling, her back slamming high up above, before Gamao let go of her. It was a long fall, cushioned by Hime's soft arms around her. Hime's face was bloodied, her nose broken, her cheeks black and blue. Yet a strength remained in her eyes. The girl was, at once, terrified and brave. Only then did bravery count, Itsuki knew. Hime helped her stand up, while Gamao rushed to the aid of Hadenya, who also struggled to walk. Her left wing was mangled, twisted at the spot where it was pressed against the wall and broke. Hadenya looked no less determined. Now a murderous intent made her eyes burn. She lifted her unbroken arm, and the gusts blew again.

The wind howled from outside now, making the glass windows shake until they shattered into tiny shards, all cast in Itsuki and Hime's direction. Sunshine shielded the two of them, focused as hard as she could to make her Aegis hold, but as glass shards broke against it, Hadenya's talons were pummeling against it, and Gamao's tongue was making its way around it, encircling Hime's neck. Cure Princess' face became red, and she clawed at Gamao's huge tongue, drawing blood from it, turning her nails crimson, but he did not relent.

"Hime," Itsuki told her, "hold on to me."

She did just that. Itsuki called forth a shield with her other hand, then used it to pin Gamao's tongue between both Aegides. Itsuki spun her body around while Hime held tight to her, both arms wrapped around her waist. The tongue, caught between the barriers, twisted until the pain forced him to let go of Cure Princess, his tongue swollen and blue all over.

At Hadenya's orders, Gamao returned to the fray, though he was pained and limping, whining in agony. Hadenya, though, was far fiercer, and shattered Sunshine's Sunflower Aegis with her long talons, and scratched at her face. Hime let go of Itsuki, and pummeled Hadenya, her hands glowing a bright blue. Hadenya caught Hime's fist, smirked, but the blue light burst into an explosion of magic, knocked Hadenya away. Before the Precure could do anything else, though, Gamao was pounding on them with his closed fists, and his pain made him mad with rage, punching with such force that both Sunshine and Princess were brought down, forced to defend themselves from him, and helpless when Hadenya came swooping down on them, coming in for the kill.

A tongue of flames forced her to change directions, and another nearly set Gamao ablaze, made him jump back to avoid the fire, letting the two Precure free. Sunshine looked up again, and saw that her on barriers around the throne had shattered. And she saw Baron Salamander, standing up, Olivier holding his left hand, while the right removed his mask, revealing the red marks on his face.

Hadenya mumbled something, then cursed. Her wrath was gone, and only fear remained. Flames wreathed Salamander's hands, and he only needed to move his fingers ever so slightly to free the blazes, and they elegantly swirled through the air as they sought Hadenya and Gamao. For a second, it looked like they might try to fight, but quickly Hadenya's look turned sour, and she shouted at Gamao, commanded him to leave. They jumped out through the shattered windows. Itsuki was far too wounded and exhausted to run, and Hime was on her knees, her hands firmly clutching her chest. When Salamander tried to take his first steps, he nearly stumbled, and needed to hold on to Olivier.

"Easy, father," he said. "You haven't moved of your own volition in a while. You're still unused to it."

"What a sad sight," said Salamander, and his voice was not at all like Itsuki had imagined it might be. She could only ever imagine it, of course, as she had never heard him speak while Nightmare kept him as a slave. His voice was calmer than Itsuki expected. "For the leader of the Apostles to be unable to even walk on his own. And we have always valued strength above all."

"You're strong," Olivier said, "you'll recover."

"As for you," Salamander turned to the Precure, walking slowly, supporting himself on Olivier, a child half his size. "Thank you," he said. "Olivier has told me all you've done," no, not all, Itsuki thought, and it's better this way, "how you sought him, and brought him back to me. I never expected to thank a Precure. There was a time where even considering doing so would have had my lieutenants screaming treason and plotting to have me killed. It seems the Apostles have changed more than I expected, while I was gone."

"The Precure, too," said Itsuki. "No one can stay unchanged for all that time."

"That is true," Salamander said, "even I have changed," he smiled down at his son, and Olivier returned it. Itsuki had seen him smile before, but never like this. It was a wonderful smile, one that made all this pain worth it.

Olivier helped him take his next steps, towards the open door. He was slow, but after all this, Itsuki was not in a hurry at all. Salamander limped, nearly fell, but he smiled almost as much as Olivier, as if he was simply glad to be free again, to move again. His arms had grown thin, and, behind the mask, his face had become gaunt, sickly, his eyes sunken and his lips pale. Itsuki pitied him. She hadn't imagined that he suffered so much, as Nightmare's thrall. And though she couldn't have known about it then, she now felt guilty about having tried to kill him before. She wished to apologize, but it seemed like a stupid thing to bring up.

"Hime," Itsuki approached Cure Princess. Her face was pretty badly scratched, a wound that looked pretty painful. Hime's right eye was swollen, too, and she had to keep it closed. "How are you holding up?"

"Feels like someone beat the crap out of me," she said. "Is this how a fight usually goes?"

"Not always this bad," said Itsuki. "Most of the time our duty leads us to fight underlings, like the Kowaina we've seen before, and like Desertrians. Unexciting work, but important. When we face greater threats, we can usually count on having greater numbers. Have you not fought before, Hime?"

"Never like this," said Hime. "I accompanied Megumi and Yuko before, but I never got hurt like this," she pointed at her own eye. "I provided them assistance, mostly, from afar. And I was in charge of organizing most of our operations in the Blue Sky Kingdom. Though I had some help from Mirage with that…" She laughed, awkward. "Pretty unimpressive, huh?"

"It's still important work," Itsuki reassured her. "There are battles that can't be fought through violence alone. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Being able to hurt others isn't the only mark of courage and value. There are other sorts of strength."

"I guess so," said Hime. "It's still hard to feel good about it."

Itsuki let her hold her arm, and helped her keep a steady pace. She couldn't offer her any advice, she had nothing to say that might ease her insecurities, but she could at least be there for her. She sounded like she needed it.

Making their way down the stairs was the hardest part, and even Itsuki had trouble, what with her whole body being sore, hurt all over. Bending her leg to walk down the steps was a particularly painful ordeal. Sunshine's barrier still stood, and she figured that it had lasted long enough: she let it fade, and though the Kowaina and guards inside looked like they were still willing to fight, one look at Salamander returned had them casting their weapons away in surrender. Salamander's flames burned the Kowaina to cinders, but spared all the soldiers that had surrendered. His magic was beautiful, Itsuki realized. Though the flames appeared wild and fearsome, they moved very precisely, bending around the soldiers in very delicate maneuvers, then fading when the Kowaina were gone, leaving only the guards behind, most of which were loyal to Nightmare, fearful for their lives, but some were Apostles, overjoyed to see their lord walking again.

They were soon approached by Custard and Honey. Itsuki wondered where the others were, but she didn't have time to ask, because Himari ran towards Olivier, hugging him, kissing his forehead, until he whined in embarrassment. Yuko, too, sought Hime, eyes wide in shock at her wounds. Hime tried to brush off her concerns, saying it only meant that she had attractive battle scars now, but Yuko would have none of it, and told her that they'd be treating all her wounds.

"More Precure?" Salamander asked. "What am I to make of the fact that it's you who saved me, and not my Apostles?"

"Your Apostles fought for your sake as well," Itsuki defended them. "They worked in the shadows, because they understood that if Nightmare saw that they were treacherous, Miwar would pay dearly for their treason."

"The Apostles of my time would not have cared," Salamander reflected. "They'd not relent for the sake of Miwar. It seems that time has made them softer."

"I'd say that time has made them kinder," said Itsuki.

"That's fair enough," he said. "I meant no offense, of course. There is strength in kindness, I suppose… My son has helped me learn that."

Himari seemed beside herself with happiness at Olivier being reunited with his father. Quite the change from how distant and pessimistic she was about everything just a while ago. Still, there was a matter of what would come now… But that was a worry for another time. Now, Itsuki only wanted to reunite with the rest of the Precure. She prayed that no one was lost. She couldn't bear to imagine Miki or Elena hurt, and of course she worried about the others as well.

They met further ahead: Makoto and Elena came together, and told them that Cobraja was being held prisoner by Nightmare, and that meant to free him as quickly as possible. Salamander seemed glad to hear that Cobraja had played a part in helping him. Though he only saw him through the mask, distantly, he still remembered Cobraja. He was the one who tried the hardest to make Salamander remember his lost past, Itsuki recalled. They must have spent quite a lot of time together. He'd be delighted to see him freed.

The rest of the Precure were coming out of their place of battle with prisoners, those girls that fought with Nightmare. Something was wrong, though. No one seemed triumphant, no one smiled, no one was glad to have won. No one had lost, and no one appeared to be badly wounded, so why was it that they all looked so forlorn? Nozomi and Komachi in particular both were still weeping, both avoided everyone's gaze, and ignored Itsuki when she asked what was the matter. Only Iona deigned to spare her any time.

"We'll talk about it later," Iona said. "Suffice to say, that, uh…" She turned her face to Reika. Beauty's hands were badly cut, and something black like ink poured from the wounds. "Things are a bit complicated. We're probably not going to sleep tonight."

"Joy."

Just like that, this didn't feel like a victory anymore. She didn't know what was wrong, and no one would tell her, yet she knew it had to be something horrible. Good news were rather rare, now. She sighed, and followed the Precure as they accompanied Salamander towards the exit.

Atop the steps of the Palace of Bronze, Itsuki saw they were surrounded by the Apostles, led by Kumojacky and Sasorina. If this had not worked, they would be fighting right now, if they even lived. They lowered their weapons the instant they saw Salamander before them. Itsuki immediately felt far more comfortable.

"I remember them," Salamander told Itsuki as Sasorina and Kumojacky approached. "I saw them in what I thought were dreams, but know now to be truth. It's confusing," he whispered, "like I'm only half-awake."

"You'll get used to it soon, father."

They waited for Elena to return with Cobraja, his hair rather badly ruffled, but he could only feel so annoyed by it when Salamander was right before him. The only people around here who did not smile and who did not celebrate were the Precure and their prisoners. They wore faces fit for a funeral.

"Close the gates," Salamander was quick to give his orders, "and have the gates watched. I want the city scoured for Nightmare's remnants. Spread the message that any who surrender willingly will be spared and tried leniently. Look for Gamao and Hadenya-"

"Bloody as well," Reika told him. It did not seem like proper courtesy for her to interrupt him like that, but, then again, Beauty did not look as she did when Itsuki last saw her, nor when they fought together against Dune's forces. Those were not the same eyes.

"And Bloody," Salamander wasn't offended by the interruption, at least. "Anyone who surrenders those three to us will be rewarded, as they must face justice for what they've done to us."

"It'll be done," said Sasorina, and she was quick to leave and relay the order to the rest of Miwar. Itsuki had no doubt that, come noon tomorrow, everyone would be on the lookout for Nightmare.

"And you," Salamander said to Himari, "my son has told me that you sheltered him, protected him and risked your life for him. For that, I am willing to offer you any reward you might want."

"I've grown to quite love the boy," Custard said, petting his head, fingers curling his messy hair, "and no splendid reward can make me as happy as knowing he's with you. I meant to return to Almdyta after this, but-"

"You have to stay for a while," Olivier insisted. "If you're in the City of Mirages, then I might never see you again."

"It's safer for me, there," she said, but Salamander had something better to offer her.

"You'll be safe here," he promised. "I invite you to stay, to remain by Olivier's side. Good friends should not so lightly part ways. You didn't want any great rewards, but certainly you have no qualms with staying in the Palace of Bronze?"

"None at all, but-"

"It's decided, then!" Olivier declared. Itsuki had to laugh. Suddenly everything seemed so simple to the boy. Sunshine wished it could be so, but she knew that if Cure Mirage learned that someone she marked for death was an esteemed guest of an ally of hers, their relations might sour almost as quickly as they've blossomed. Yet she found herself wishing that it could be that easy. Something had to. Something had to be a victory, if only so she could sleep well at night.