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Dissonance

Event IV

Nightmare

With the lack of a sun, and for that matter, even windows, there was not much difference between day and night. One could say that only the weariness of their bodies told them where it was time to sleep. And that time itself became night.

The twenty five warriors, embodiments of light itself, chosen of good, that had been taken from the world and brought to a place far beyond reality were sound asleep. They had done battle to correct what they had wronged. And they would continue to do so, until balance was restored.

Their bodies weary, their minds weary, all but a few had fallen into deep, dreamless sleep. And those few that still laid awake found themselves wandering about with worry.

Karen had tried to fall asleep for the longest time. Without any way to accurately tell how long it had been, she gave up when her stomach started to growl. Others were asleep. She still had personal favor from the battle and would get something to eat.

The process of, so to speak, wishing for things was easy. Focus on either your bowl or the team's barrel when there is favor in it and think of what you want. Karen had a mindset of restraint. They knew little, next to nothing even, about the cost of food and water. It could not be much, but it would be something.

Taking her bowl into her hands, Karen simply asked for some rice and water in her mind. There was no way to know how much favor it would consume without testing. In a way, it was humiliating. Karen was rich back in the real world, so to accept a very plain meal like that was a fight against her own pride.

When Karen opened her eyes, two coins had vanished. "Plain food is cheap it seems." Before her, on the ground, was a small wooden tablet. On it: a big bowl filled with rice, a can with clear water, a glass and chopsticks. At least the forces were not stingy or unfair.

Eating what she had wished for, Karen thought that their situation must be what people that had nothing or lived in poverty endured all the time. Rice and water. A meal that could not be more plain. But for someone as hungry as she had been, it was more than enough. Karen didn't complain or add unnecessary luxury to her meal.

Finishing up, her stomach filled, the tablet vanished, together with everything else that had appeared. Unable to go back to bed after eating, Karen decided to go for a walk. There was nothing to see or to discover in that god forsaken place, but at least it would clear her mind.

Opening her door, Karen found the hallway to be even more silent than before. They were all sleeping, exhausted. She worried about Nozomi and thought she would check on her but Karen changed her mind just as she stood before her door. What would she even say?

Turning about, Karen walked past her own room and left the hallway to the north. To one side was the door they all went through. Leading to the battlefield. Leading to the negotiations and the exchanges. It was a dreadful feeling to know that her instinct to battle was forced out by something as simple as red light. There had to be more to it.

Walking up to the door and touching it, there was no reaction. It opened only when it was time for one of them to step through. Karen had the feeling that there were more rules to the whole thing than what they knew. They had not been told of the effects the different colored lights had. Nor of what the limits of the favor was.

But it wasn't any of these things that disturbed Karen the most. Her unresolved fight with Kurumi was the real reason she couldn't sleep. What would she say when Kurumi came to her team? Their fight had been quite a big one...

"I feel a little lonely without the others sometimes." Karen was frying vegetables for dinner.

"I don't get why. I'm here, aren't I?" Kurumi was munching on potato chips on the couch, halfheartedly watching TV.

Karen had a busy life. Between practice and concerts, she had barely any free time. Living with Kurumi was not making it any easier for her. The purple haired woman barely did anything in the house, spending most of her days in front of the TV or following Karen to practice and concerts.

"I'm not talking about you. Don't you want to see Nozomi, Urara, Rin and Komachi sometimes?" Karen knew that Komachi and Kurumi barely got along as it was, but not the reason. They just seemed to always end up in a fight after being five minutes in the same room.

"I don't really mind. I only want to be with you." Kurumi had found her passion for Karen lacking as of late. While she still loved her, their romance had grown stale over the years. That the blue haired woman was spending so much of her time with practice and work was not pleasing her either.

Sometimes, Kurumi didn't get to see Karen for the whole day. Leaving the house in the morning and returning late at night, they only slept with each other when Karen was not tired from work. Which happened maybe once or twice a week.

"I can't believe you. Aren't they your friends too?" Karen had noticed that change in Kurumi a long time ago. When she graduated and started working on her musical career, she had less and less time for the others, focusing her only free time on Kurumi, who seemed to be happy but made otherwise no effort to even stay in contact to the others.

"Urara's gone off and is doing something stupid. You know I can't stand Komachi. Rin and Nozomi have their own stuff to do. I don't think it's all that bad we have our own lives now." Kurumi munched another potato chip and sighed. "I don't think any of the others would even know what to say or do together anymore. We're not middle school students anymore Karen."

Kurumi almost fell down the couch when Karen slammed the dishes on the table. "Are you seriously saying that? Did the whole fight against Eternal slip your mind? What we went through?"

"I'm just saying it's in the past. Look at us Karen. We're adults now. Did you really think we six were going to be friends forever?" Kurumi had a displeased look on her face. Why did Karen always have to bring up the others?

"...You're horrible. I can't believe you'd say something like that. I was planning on taking a break from work to try and get us six back together. I can't stand the way things are." Karen returned to the kitchen and continued making dinner.

"What, you're going to waste your time doing that instead of spending time with me?" Kurumi didn't really think through what she was saying.

Eerie silence covered the room. Karen had stopping moving her hands and stood still for a few seconds. Kurumi wanted to take it back but she was too stubborn to admit she said something stupid.

"Waste my time? Not spending time with you? So you're saying you wouldn't even help me with this?" Karen turned around, tears of rage in her eyes. There was only so much arrogance she could take.

Kurumi couldn't say anything. It had been years since she last made Karen cry and she always felt awful about it afterwards. Without a word, Karen turned off the stove and walked away, in direction of her room. Just short of leaving the room, Karen turned around.

"Don't you dare come in here tonight." Her voice was cold and so full of anger that Kurumi dropped the bag with potato chips, her mouth wide open in fear. They slept together but Karen had never kicked her out of their bedroom before.

"Wait, Karen, I-" Karen slammed the door to her bedroom shut and the bang was as long as an explosion.

The violinist stood in her bedroom, the outside already dark. How could Kurumi be so heartless? Didn't the others mean anything to her? Did she really become like that? Karen sat down on the ground, leaned against the bed and fought back her tears for a few moments.

"Everyone..." Karen cried many bitter tears that night. Kurumi never came to see her or apologize.

Just thinking about it made Karen sad again. Sitting down on a set of stairs not too far from the hallway, she sat down, Knee bent and her arms around her own legs, her head forehead touching the top of her knee.

Even now, she couldn't get her friends back together. Was Kurumi right? Had they really just grown apart with the years? Where they no longer friends at all?

Urara and Rin were still friends. Or so it seemed. Nozomi was friends with Rin and the only one to still have contact with Komachi. How long had it been that they all came together and smiled? Karen couldn't even remember.

"Can't sleep?" Someone unexpected showed up. Karen looked up and faced a woman she didn't know that well. "I couldn't sleep because I was hungry and Honoka kicked me out when I started eating in what she called the middle of the night. Why are you still up?"

Nagisa sat down next to Karen. She might have not been the smartest of the twelve, but she could see right away that Karen was depressed. "You're Cure Aqua, right?"

"Karen. Minazuki Karen."

"I'm sorry, I keep forgetting everyone's names. I'm a little bad with names in general. So why are you out here?"

"I couldn't sleep, got hungry and then couldn't sleep again. So I came out here to walk around a little."

"Almost the same as me." Nagisa smiled, took a deep breath and took a more serious approach. "If you want you can talk to me about what depresses you. I'm no genius when it comes to this, but I can see that something is really bothering you."

Karen wasn't sure what to think of the woman. Cure black aka Misumi Nagisa. Karen knew that she and Cure White were an item so she might have useful advice.

"My girlfriend is on the other team, I think. She might even be the exile. We had a big fight just before this happened. We used to be a team of six, but... things broke." Karen didn't even look at Nagisa, just sitting there. "I wanted the team to get back together. She didn't care. I was really hurt. It's just... deep down, I'm starting to think I'm a little sick of how egoistic she is."

"Egoistic?"

"She's basically freeloading off me. She doesn't do anything in the house. She doesn't care about our friends. Kurumi used to be such a nice girl but... she changed over the years. I am really busy with work and we don't have much time for each other. I was going to take a break and spend time with everyone in an attempt to get us back together as friends. All she said was that I was wasting my time."

"That's no way to treat your friends. I think she needs a hard wake-up call. I had a few big fights with Honoka too. She was invited to go overseas for work for a year but it would have meant leaving me and Hikari behind in Japan. We wouldn't have seen each other for a whole year. I was thinking that doing a job like that was her dream and told her to go. Honoka misunderstood it and we had a pretty big fight. In the end, she almost ended up going but Hikari stopped her, knowing that I couldn't live a whole year without her."

"So your friend saved your relationship?" Karen was aware that other people had problems too but sometimes it surprised her how they resolved their arguments.

"I realized that Hikari was right and apologized to Honoka, explaining that I didn't want to stand in the way of her dream. You know what she told me? That her job was only her second dream. I was so confused at the time that I asked what her first dream was then. She just smiled, looking at me for some time and I realized it."

"Sounds like an amazing story."

"That's the point. It only sounds like that. I was really, really sad when it happened and Honoka later told me that she was crying for hours after I told her to go. It's just... sometimes you have to put your love and your friends before other things. I think your girlfriend has her priorities backwards."

"You think so too, huh..." Karen was fighting an inner battle. "Do... do you think I should just end it? It's just... a few years ago, we were still happy but we just... sort of live next to each other now. Not with each other."

"Nobody can make that decision for you Karen. Nobody should give you advice on it either. This is something you have to decide alone." Nagisa thought it was time for her to go back and sneak into bed to Honoka. "I'll go back. Are you coming too?" Nagisa stood up and held out her hand.

"No... I'll just stay here for a little longer." Karen smiled. "But thanks for talking to me. Maybe we'll talk again." Nagisa smiled and walked away, waving, yawning hard the second she stepped around the corner.

Alone again, Karen leaned back and looked at the ceiling. Breaking up with Kurumi... she had thought about it a few times before but never seriously. For some time, Kurumi had been a really nice girl. But as soon as they moved in together, she reverted back to the spoiled princess she had been before. Karen had ignored it, knowing that some people just don't change easily, but after three years of ignoring it, she was at her limit.

It would hurt a lot to leave Kurumi but it was time for her to wake up. It didn't matter if Kurumi was not originally human. She had lived the past three years exclusively as human. If she wanted to be human, she had to fit into society.

The more she thought about it, the more confident Karen became in that she was making the right decision. Breaking up with Kurumi meant she was in for a world of emotional pain but if looked like the only way to get Kurumi to wake up.

A single long yawn escaped Karen. She was finally becoming tired. Walking back to her room, thoughts of her happier moments with Kurumi came up. They were almost all from when their group of friends had still been together. As soon as it was only Kurumi and herself, the purple haired woman had turned back to her spoiled self.

Opening the door, Karen first thought she had the wrong room. But it was undoubtedly hers. The bed was exactly like she left it. With one major difference. "Karen..." Komachi, or rather, Mint was there.

Karen didn't quite know what to say. "What are you doing here?" It was the only thing that came to mind.

"I want you back." Komachi was not going to just look and sit around anymore. If she just kept quiet about it, nothing would change. "I love you Karen. I have for years. I don't care if you're with Kurumi right now but I want you to be with me." Mint had stood up and grabbed Karen by her wrist, getting really close to her.

Coincidence was a scary thing. But was it really just coincidence? Was it something one of the others had said to her after what happened before? "What's wrong with you Komachi? This isn't like you." Karen didn't try to get free, too confused to think straight.

"I am sick of just being like me! You never noticed my feelings and you would never have if I didn't say it like this!" Komachi raised her voice and shook her head. "Rhythm was right. I shouldn't just sit around and wait for you to notice what I feel."

Pushing her oldest friend against the door, Mint pressed her lips on Karen's. It was her first kiss. She had saved it up for her love all these years. She had thought Karen would resist. Push her away, get angry or sad and cry. But nothing happened.

"Do you still feel nothing for me?" Mint had tears in her eyes when she broke off her kiss, saddened by Karen's reaction.

"You were in love with me all these years..." Karen looked at the ground, unable to face her friend. "And I never noticed anything. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for you. I... can't tell you how sorry I am."

"You're sorry? Karen... I... I don't care about whether you're sorry or not. I don't care if you feel guilty. I am not blaming you. I knew that you weren't going to figure it out on your own. It's my own fault... but I want to know what you feel. About me."

"Right now I don't know. You've always been there for me and when we no longer saw each other... I was really sad. I love...loved Kurumi. I decided to break up with her. I just can't be with her as she is now. So... I don't really know what to tell you."

Mint was silent until Karen caressed her cheek. "The kiss... I liked it, but I don't know what I feel for you right now. You've been my friend for such a long time... and then you were just gone from my life. I missed you often. And now... in this situation, I learn you loved me all this time."

Karen, free from Mint's grasp, walked to her bed and sat down on it, confused and perplexed. Why did Komachi have to come to her just minutes after she decided to break up with Kurumi? There couldn't have been a worse moment.

Mint only realized now what Karen had said before. "You... decided to break up with Kurumi?" It was joyous news for her. If Karen was not seeing Kurumi anymore, then Karen could be with her instead.

"It's just something I've thought about a few times in the past. It was the nice Kurumi I fell in love with. Not the spoiled woman who doesn't care about her friends she is now. I don't know if I'll ever get back with her, even if she changes. I'm just at my limit. I know I shouldn't tell you this, but I think you have a right to know after what I've put you through."

Mint knew that Karen was often holding back her emotions. She had done so in the past and she was still doing it. Regardless of how ripped her dress was, Mint transformed back into Komachi and sat down next to Karen.

A single move and Mint had pulled Karen on her chest, hugging her tightly. It must hurt a lot to break up a relationship that had been going for years. Yet she didn't look like she had cried even a little. "Komachi, what are you doing?"

The green haired woman didn't say anything. She just held Karen, hugged her, until she could finally hear quiet sobbing sounds from her old friend. Karen had difficultly just letting her emotions run free. Komachi was there for her to help her with that.

Karen laid both her hands around Komachi's back, crying rivers of tears, sad and devastated about her failed relationship. She had tried so hard to make it work. But Kurumi was just too much. She couldn't handle the disappointment anymore.

Komachi didn't say anything, letting Karen cry in peace. Patting her back and her head, she sometimes showed her affection, calming Karen down a little. But Karen had to let it all out.

Karen cried forever. Komachi's dress was stained with dark, wet marks when Karen finally fell asleep crying in the authors arms. She wanted to be with Karen. Touch her, kiss her, sleep with her. But doing any of these things would ruin what little they had now.

Laying down just as they were, Komachi kept Karen in her arms, going to sleep together with her. She was going to get Karen back. Be with her. Make her happy. And she would finally get happiness herself.

=== Dissonance ===

Melody laid passed out in someone else's room. Having taken the wrong door and just thrown herself on the bed, Melody transformed back and fell asleep without even noticing she was not in her own room.

Itsuki had been woken up quite violently by Hibiki's sudden appearance. Not knowing which room belonged to the younger girl, Itsuki took the uncomfortable route of just sharing her bed with the girl.

Hibiki was not a peaceful sleeper. Flailing around and turning over every so often, Hibiki kept Itsuki pretty much awake for the whole time. But that was not what disturbed Itsuki the most. At first, she had been too tired to even care that Hibiki was there. But the longer she was aware of her existence, the more impure thoughts she got.

A sudden hit to her stomach by Hibiki, Itsuki curled up in pain. By the time she recovered, Hibiki's face was so close that Itsuki could feel her heart almost jump up her throat. Having had fun with the girl before the fights, she liked her. Not even six hours ago, she told Melody that there was nobody she was interested in.

And that very statement was now gradually being taken apart. "I'll have to get her out of her before I'll do something I'll regret." Itsuki whispered to herself and tried to get up. With one huge leap, Hibiki grabbed Itsuki's waist, smiling.

"Cupcakes... so delicious... I can still eat more..." Hibiki was sleep talking while drooling on Itsuki's dojo uniform. They had no changes of clothes and sleeping naked had never been a choice.

Itsuki had never been sure if she was really interested in girls or not. There had been moments when she thought about Tsubomi like that and even imagined what it would be like to kiss her, but these feelings never went anywhere. Tsubomi was literally glued to Erika and from Itsuki's perspective, it was a matter of time until they would go out.

And now there was Hibiki, clinging to Itsuki in her sleep. She didn't dislike it. Not one bit. Hibiki was pretty cute, funny and she even had an interest in martial arts. It came as no real surprise that, Itsuki felt herself drawn to Hibiki. She was older than her, at least a year or two, but that didn't bother her.

It took a while but the orange haired girl finally let go of Itsuki and went back to sleeping normally, on her back. But the one other person in the room didn't even think about sleeping anymore. Just one kiss. One kiss to make sure her feelings weren't just something she felt out of sympathy.

Itsuki leaned over Hibiki, holding her own hair back and supporting herself with her arm on the bed. "Just one kiss... She won't even know..." Itsuki was trembling. It was much harder to go on than any match she had ever fought. She was nervous, sweating a little and her heart was beating like crazy. Did everyone feel like that when they were about to kiss someone?

Their lips touched and Itsuki trembled at the sensation. It was so different from anything she had ever experienced. Hibiki's lips tasted sweet, almost like sugar. Itsuki closed her eyes and pressed on, the kiss growing just a tiny bit more intense. She had difficulty supporting herself, her arms feeling like jelly.

When she finally let go and attempted to break off, Itsuki opened her eyes and found herself in a very peculiar situation. Hibiki had woken up from being kissed and was staring at Itsuki with wide open eyes, her expression shocked.

"You... just kissed me." Hibiki was a master of stating the obvious.

"I... how do I explain..." Itsuki's face was turning into a deep crimson and upon seeing that, Hibiki too, started to feel a little hot.

"When did you come into my room?" Itsuki was still leaned over Hibiki, unable to move either forward or back.

"I didn't. This is my room. You woke me up when you crashed on my bed." Itsuki needed to stall a little time to think of a reasonable explanation.

"So I came in here and you let me sleep in your bed?" Hibiki didn't quite know what to say beside making sure what just happened and how it happened.

"Yeah.. and.. well.. I just thought..." Itsuki was so nervous, she started to feel sick. That she hadn't eaten in a while was not helping.

The two went silent, not quite sure how to proceed. Hibiki had never been in a situation like that and the same was true for Itsuki. After what seemed like hours, Hibiki finally mustered the courage and asked. "What did they taste like?"

"What? Oh... they... were really sweet. Almost like candy." Itsuki answered honestly and was then confused. Was the girl mad or not? "Aren't you angry?"

"Just a little. I'm just shocked. Why did you want to kiss me?" Hibiki was denser than Itsuki thought.

"You can be pretty dense Hibiki. I wanted to kiss you because you're cute and attractive." Itsuki was taken so off-guard that she completely forgot how nervous she was. Hibiki had a talent to defuse such situations apparently.

Hibiki didn't say a word. Now that she thought about it, that answer had been pretty obvious. Itsuki, Sunshine, had told her before that she thought she found Hibiki attractive.

"Should I go back to my room?" Hibiki wasn't sure what to do now. Romance had always been a complete mystery to her and, now she was suddenly in the middle of it.

"Do you want to?" Itsuki finally moved back and sat up in bed, looking from the corner of her eyes to Hibiki. The part of the Gi the girl had drooled on stuck to her stomach and it was quite uncomfortable. A brief flash if yellow and Itsuki transformed into Sunshine.

"Did I drool on you?" Hibiki knew that she sometimes tended to do that when she dreamed of Kanade's sweets. "And... I don't know. Do you want me to stay?"

"...Yeah. Stay." Sunshine wasn't sure which way she felt about Hibiki for now, but she could say that much. She didn't want Hibiki to leave. The atmosphere grew very awkward after Sunshine said that, with Hibiki not sure what to do. She had never even dated anyone, never mind someone older than herself, and now she was suddenly sharing a bed with a woman that had just kissed her out of the blue.

"What that your first kiss?" Hibiki wanted to know.

"...Yeah." Sunshine laid back down, facing the ceiling. It felt a little weird to just lay down in bed while in Cure form, but sleeping in a drooled on Gi was not exactly a good choice either.

"Mine too." The conversation died again. "Want me to change too?" She wasn't really uncomfortable in her Gi but it felt awkward when just one of them was in Cure form.

"You can if you want. I think you're a little cuter like this." Itsuki was a natural smooth talker but didn't even realize it.

A pink flash and Hibiki became Melody. Getting up, she would at least get somewhat more comfortable. Taking off her shoes and gloves, letting her hair down, Melody felt a lot more comfortable.

"I never really thought about taking off parts of it..." Sunshine quickly followed Melody's example- Taking off hair ties, boots and gloves, she really felt more comfortable. "I'm surprised we can take it off just like clothes."

"Don't tell this anyone but I sometimes transform and then dress like a normal person and walk around town. It's nice when nobody recognizes you." Melody smiled but didn't really feel like going back to sleep now.

Sunshine grinned. "I won't tell anyone. I am pretty sure Marine has done something similar before too."

"This is weird." Melody grinned back and they both started laughing at the same time. "Are you sure I should stay? The bed is a little small for two people." Melody sat on the edge of the bed, her back towards Sunshine.

Feeling that she needed to make a point, Sunshine laid both her arms around a surprised Melody and pulled her back on the bed. "I'm sure." The one thing she wasn't sure of yet were her feelings towards Melody. Was it just a fluke? Something that would go away the next day? Or...

"I throw a lot." Melody tried to warn Sunshine.

"I know. You already hit me a few times. That's why we'll do this." Sunshine wrapped her arms around Melody and pulled her so close that the younger Cure could feel the breasts of the woman behind her on her back. It made her blush quite a bit.

Melody became aware quite intently of Sunshine's charms. The long, flowing yellow hair, her curves, her style. Melody didn't have to think about it much to realize that Sunshine was more than just attractive. She was beautiful.

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep like this?" Sunshine was not the calmness in person either. Her arms around Melody, the pink Cure took her hand and held it.

"Will you?" Melody asked back and let a long and loud yawn escape. The two of them started to laugh again. A few minutes of silence passed after their laughter until Melody said something again.

"I've never done something like this before. I'm sure I'm not even supposed to just agree to this just like that. I... don't think you're a bad person but we'll have to talk about this later." Even if they were under extreme conditions, Melody couldn't just continue as if everything was okay.

"I know." Sunshine just needed some time to sort out what she was really feeling and thinking.

It took only five minutes for the two of them to fall asleep after that, exhausted, no longer just physically, but now even mentally.

=== Dissonance ===

Yuri felt weird sleeping not in her own bed. Not that it was a rare occurrence. Even though she dated Momoka, they did not live together but Yuri often stayed at Momoka's house, much to Erika's annoyance. Being Momoka's manager had become much more stressful than Yuri had ever imagined. And Momoka herself was under enormous pressure too.

She missed her.. Yuri often remembered the way they got together.

There had been an accident on the road and Momoka missed a photo shoot. Despite proof that it was not her fault, the company put pressure on her and acted like it was Momoka's error that had caused her to not show up.

While she was hardworking and talented, Momoka was really fragile when it came to failure. Erika called Yuri late in the evening, telling her to come over. Momoka was devastated and had locked herself in her room.

It was well after ten o clock when Yuri got to Erika's house. Tsubomi was there as well. Itsuki lived too far away and had her duties so she could not go out that late. Erika told her the whole story and let Yuri into Momoka's room with a spare key she promised only to use in emergencies.

"Yuri...?" Momoka was sitting on the ground at the side of her bed. It was too dark to see but Yuri could tell that Momoka had been crying. Her voice was coarse. "How did..."

"Erika called me and let me in. I heard what happened." Yuri walked over to her best friend and while she usually kept her distance, she tightly hugged Momoka, who managed to keep her tears away for now.

"They fired me..." She knew there was nothing Yuri could do but she wanted to tell her. "They just blamed me for being late and they used another model. When I told them why I couldn't make it, they just told me to leave. I was barely out of the door when my manager called and told me the agency called and that they wouldn't be needing me again." Momoka didn't even stop to breathe.

"Calm down Momoka." Yuri wasn't exactly a professional when it came to comforting people but she tried her best. "You worked hard and you're popular. It'll be easy for you to find work."

"It's just... so unfair! I didn't do anything wrong and they fired me like it was my fault!" Momoka was past the stage of sadness. Next up was being bitter.

"I know it is unfair. There's many unfair things in life. Especially in your business Momoka. Many people only care for themselves, for profit and money and drop people as soon as they are no longer useful. The world is full of people like these." Yuri made a short break.

"But there are good people too. Nice, honest people that look out for you and won't lie to you. It's true that they're rare to find but you can't give up after this. We're all there for you."

"Yuri... will you be my manager? I trust you more than anyone else in the world. So... please?" Momoka looked at Yuri.

"I do need a job but I don't know... what does a manager do?" Yuri could feel that there was more to Momoka's plea than just being her manager. But she couldn't tell what exactly.

"You organize my jobs, speak with the companies representatives, introduce me, get me jobs. Essentially, you call a lot of people. And... most of all, you're there for me." Yuri had her eyes wide open when Momoka's face got close enough to feel the models breath.

"Momoka... are you serious..." Yuri had sometimes thought that Momoka was a little too affectionate with her but she didn't expect Momoka to be in love with her. She could tell.

"I'm sick of pretending to be all good Yuri... I have my flaws too... I can't show them to anyone. Not even to Erika and her friends. But you're different Yuri..." The model pushed her friend down on the ground, on all fours kneeling over her.

"I want you to be more than just my friend Yuri. I like you. I don't care if we're both girls, I don't care even one bit. "

"I wonder if she still remembers... I'll never forget that night." Yuri was beautiful but in a different way than Momoka. She had gotten over the fact that even her girlfriends little sister had bigger breasts than her now.

Yuri was lonely without Momoka. She loved her but sometimes she was also worried that it was not the right thing to do. Yuri knew what bugged her. Her relationship to Momoka was different than that of other people.

She was Cure Moonlight and she had to keep that a secret from Momoka. It had led to a few fights in the past but at some point Momoka seemed to have accepted the fact that there were some things Yuri could not tell her. A Cure and a normal woman. Of course it would lead to problems.

Two Cures seeing each other was a different thing. They didn't need to any keep secrets. No hiding. Not only that, but if a new villain would appear, a Cure could still defend herself. Momoka... could not.

Yuri was sometimes scared of what would happen if the enemy figured out who they were and took advantage of that. When she thought about Momoka being captured, Yuri felt sick and helpless.

And she could explain none of that to Momoka in the end. It was gnawing at her inside. She would never be able to tell Momoka for the rest of her life. And every time something happened, she had to lie to her, too. She loved Momoka, but it was a relationship built on uneven ground.

Yuri got up. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. She loved Momoka, there were no buts about that. Yet... yet... but... but... Yuri couldn't stop her thoughts. She was full of contradictions.

She needed to take a walk. Clear her mind. It happened to her from time to time, but lately, it happened almost every week once. How long would she be able to hide her worries from Momoka? What should she do?

Leaving her room, Yuri almost crashed into someone else. She was apparently not the only one that couldn't sleep. But it surprised her who it was.

The black haired girl from the youngest team. Cure Beat. Yuri couldn't remember her real name. "Can't sleep?" She might as well talk to her. Get to another topic. Distract herself until her brain settled down.

"I... yeah. I just... thought I'd take a walk. I wasn't going to see any-" Ellen closed her mouth. It happened again. She had always been terrible at keeping secrets and to top it off, she was a terrible liar.

"I don't mind if you go and see someone. You're old enough to know what you're doing." Yuri smiled. That girl was an absolutely terrible liar. But it was almost cute just how terrible a liar she was. "But I think everyone else is sleeping. Aren't you tired too?"

"I am, but I thought of something and I just couldn't fall asleep..." Ellen felt a little uncomfortable in the presence of Yuri. The vocalist knew that she was Moonlight, the most experienced Cure of the group. It was a little odd to talk to her like she was her equal. There were a couple years separating them.

"Who were you going to see? I doubt it'll be one of the Bloom or Bright pairs. One of your friends? But their rooms are further down the hall, not up, so... ah, I see." Moonlight smiled. It was so easy to figure out Ellen. "Passion. That's right, I heard you two were talking quite a bit."

"You're really sharp..." Ellen let her head hang. She was always so easy to figure out.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't." Yuri whispered to herself. "I am pretty sure she'll be sleeping. If you can't sleep, you can talk to me. Don't worry, I am not half as mean as I look." Yuri added the last bit from something that Momoka always told other people. That her manager is not half as mean as she looks.

"How long have you been a Cure?" Ellen was curious. It had barely been two years for her and even less for Muse. Looking at Cures who had been at it for more than half a decade was almost frightening.

"I think it's been about seven years now or almost eight. Although I was unable to become a Cure for some time in-between." Yuri saw no reason to make a secret out of her past. Not anymore.

"Seven years..." Ellen looked at Yuri with great eyes. "Can... can I see? I wanna see you transform."

"That's a really weird request for one Cure to ask of another." Yuri smiled. There were some unusual girls among the other teams. "But it's not much to ask. It'd be weird to do this here. Let's walk a bit." Yuri wasn't sure what she was doing, but at least her mind was occupied now.

"How long have you been with your team?" Yuri was curious about Ellen as well.

"I think it's been about two years. Melody and Rhythm have been at it for longer than me." Ellen didn't want to mention that she used to fight against those two before she switched sides.

"I didn't hear any complaints from the others about you performing badly in battle. I'm impressed. I didn't think you three had it in you." They left the hallway and headed in the opposite direction of the connecting door.

"And we still lost... I feel guilty about it. I'm pretty sure I took out Aqua but..." Ellen was still having a headache from the special riff she played. Although it was more of a sonic blast than a riff.

"And so did we. There are good and bad match-ups. You shouldn't blame yourself or hold a grudge. It'll only come back to haunt you." Yuri knew well what she was talking about. "I think this is far enough." Yuri put her hand in front of Ellen and walked a few steps away.

Yuri thought that she'd put on a little show. Closing her eyes, Yuri reached out with her hand above her head and clicked her fingers once, triggering her transformation with just her will at the same time. The second she finished, Moonlight announced herself. "The flower glistening in the light of the moon, Cure Moonlight!"

"Now you saw. Satisfied?" Moonlight smiled and walked past Ellen, who was more than a head smaller than her.

"Wait... can you... spar with me? Just a little bit. I want to know how strong you are." Ellen transformed quickly into Beat and summoned her guitar. "I'm ready anytime."

Moonlight really wasn't in the mood to start a fight. It took one quick move and she had Beat pinned down on the ground. It happened so fast that Beat didn't realize what was happening until she was on the ground. Moonlight had kicked her, grabbed her and pinned her down.

"It's one thing to do battle because we must. But I don't fight for my entertainment. I'm stronger than you. We both know that. You can't become me either. You have your own style of fighting. Think about how to get stronger yourself Beat." Moonlight had little tolerance for playing around.

Releasing Beat, Moonlight held out her hand and waited for the younger Cure to take it. "I am taller, stronger and faster, so you lose when I get close to you." Moonlight explained to Beat.

"I wish I was as tall as you... I think only one Cure on the other team was your height." Beat remembered the tall Cure with lavender colored hair. "Her hair was a little weird though..."

"Being tall has it's advantages. But sometimes it's a little uncomfortable to be taller than everyone around you." Moonlight sighed, thinking of school and work. She had always been tall, but now, she was taller than most men working in the business. They thought her intimidating.

"We should try and get some sleep. You know what's waiting for us tomorrow." Moonlight smiled and started walking back, switching back to Yuri. Ellen followed her.

"Are you going to fight?" Ellen didn't feel comfortable asking but it slipped out.

"Some of us will have to. And it's time we actually won a battle. I will talk to the others about this tomorrow. There's been no decision as to how many fight and who switches."

"Aren't you worried you might fight your friends on the other side?" Ellen couldn't possibly imagine fighting Hibiki, Kanade or Ako.

"You experienced yourself how it works. You don't hold back, no matter who your opponent is. Even knowing what the light does, you can't fight it. It's not a bad thing. Even if we're seriously fighting, we have enough control to not kill each other. And none of us kept any permanent damage." Yuri was always quick to analyze a situation calmly.

Ellen watched Yuri with big eyes. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're really cool?"

"Cool? Me?" Yuri seemed a bit surprised but also flattered. "You say some strange things. This reminds me. I didn't ask for your name. I'm Yuri. Tsukikage Yuri." The tall woman didn't stop walking and simply waited for Ellen to introduce herself.

"I'm Kurokawa Ellen. You can just call me Ellen." They went down the stairs and reached the hallway. To their surprise, there was someone just coming out of her room.

A half asleep Setsuna, almost staggering and yawning, slowly walking down the hallway in direction bathroom.

"Seems everyone has a hard time getting used to this place." Yuri smiled and stopped at her room. "It was nice talking to you Ellen. See you tomorrow." Yuri left the black haired girl behind and went back into her room.

Alone in the hallway, Ellen found herself suddenly yawning. She had fought, got tired and her headache was coming back. Setsuna looked pretty much half asleep already, so she would talk to her the next morning. It was a weird feeling to talk about days, mornings and nights.

There was no circle of daylight or stars. It was all one continuous dimly lit time period. It did seem to get a little darker at times but that might just be their imagination after becoming tired.

"Good Night..." Ellen said almost to herself and entered her room.

=== Dissonance ==

The absolute lack of sound and noise was driving her insane. There were no doors. No windows. No way out. No people. No life. Nothing around her. Nothing beside her. She was all alone. Abandoned. Forgotten.

She hid under the blanket of the bed. Unable to move it out of the big room, the ceiling she couldn't see in the dim light, the walls that threw faces and transformed into demons in her head. Illusions of steps she heard, a non-existent wind blowing through the hallways, screaming at her like a banshee.

Trembling under the cover of the blanket, the woman's eyes raced from one corner to another, below her, above her. A noise. What was it? Some kind of demon sent to rape her? Her heart was beating faster than she could count, ready to burst out of her throat. Another sound. Steps? Stomping? Howling? She couldn't tell.

"Save me... Karen... Help..." Milky Rose, unable to transform out of her Cure form because of fear dominating her mind, was whimpering under the blanket. Curled up, holding herself, her hair hanging in her face.

The shadows played tricks on her. Rattling on the ceiling. Would something fall on her? Smash her? Hit her? What if she was just imagining it? What if nothing about all of this was real? What if she had just lost her mind?

Her hands were cold, sweat ran down her forehead. Her lips moving, forming words, without a sound, talking to herself in silence. Was she really there? Was that bed really there? What if it was a trap? Was she getting paranoid? Was she just supposed to think that it was not real?

But what if it really wasn't and she was just supposed to wonder if it was real or not, maybe it was real, maybe it was all a dream, maybe she wasn't even there, maybe it was a all a trick, maybe- Kurumi shrieked when something touched her back. Jumping out of the bed, she ran, ran away, into the hallways, away from everything.

Shadows on the wall, drawing past her, grabbing her. Kurumi stumbled, hit the ground, hit her face. Dirt got into her eyes. Something tugged at her skirt, at her back, at her arms. Holding her back, grabbing her, dragging her.

Something was breathing on her neck. Someone. Something. She hit her knees, got up, ran, ran as fast as she could, took a corner, hit a dead end. "Help... help..." Milky Rose whispered, hearing the steps, hearing the scratching noise of something slithering over the cold stone behind her.

Her eyeballs moved back and forth at crazy speeds. Something was there. Waiting for her. Crawling up to her. A walking nightmare. "Food..." Milky Rose hit the wall with her full strength, fear driving her on. Her survival instinct driving her on.

The wall crumbled, Milky Rose jumped. And fell. The fall was endless, there was nothing around her. The ground was gone, the ceiling was gone, the walls were gone. Shadows tugging at her face, at her hair, pulling on her skin, licking her skin. They were going to eat her. Rape her. Kill her. Eat her. Torture her.

She struggled, caught in a web of nothing. She couldn't see. She didn't want to see. Were her eyes open? Were they closed? Where was her left arm? Where was her right leg? What was that feeling on her stomach? A claw? A hand? A tongue? Hair? Fur?

Something bound her, she couldn't move. Her legs bend, her arms bend, she could see nothing, her eyes rolling back. She was not allowed to pass out. Things pierced her skin. Pain running through her body. A million needles hurting her. Her voice failed her. A inhuman screeching sound escaped her throat.

Was she human? No she was not. What was she? "Failure..." That was right, she was a failure. Alone. Forgotten and left behind. Placed in a corner, left to rot. Nobody wanted her. Nobody came for her. No friends, no love, no partner, no ally.

Something licked her face. Milky Rose shrieked again. She sat upright in her bed, sweating badly, her eyes moving like crazy from a corner to the next. Had it been her imagination? Was it a dream? Was she sleeping? Where was she? The Exile? Alone?

A claw grabbed her throat. Cut into her flesh, robbed her off her breath. She couldn't think. Her lips blue, her arms like jelly, unable to move. A shadow before her eyes, a face, a wild mane, fangs, eyes shinning in the darkness. "Food... You..."

It licked her face. Wet, slimy, burning, acid. It hurt her. Scratching her face, she had no arms. She had legs. Her legs were arms. The thing had changed her into an atrocity of nature. A freak. "Always..." She had always been a freak. All the time. Not human. Just a pet. An alien in society. Unable to function.

"Who... are..." Her voice working only just barely, a growl into her ear. A head with horns, hot stinking breath, gas that made her delirious, she swayed. Was she sitting? Was she standing? Was she dead? Had she died? Was it all an illusion? Was she paranoid? Was she escaping fear by thinking it was an illusion?

"Help... help..." Milky Rose whimpered again, tears running down her cheeks, entering her mouth. The taste of iron. She cried liquid metal. Her hands had no skin, her face had no skin. Her hands laughed at her. "Weakling, weakling, weakling, weak-" She sat on her hands, shutting them up. She sat? The blanket was around her, the shadows outside. Was she safe?

The shadows tugged at the blanket. Her last barrier. Her only hope. Time, she needed time. When was the night gonna end? Was it going to last forever? Was there no way out? There was not. She had searched the area. All of it. No doors, no exit, no way out, no safe path, no-

Something touched her butt, scratched her, hurt her. Her hands danced in front of her eyes. They were no longer on the end of her arms. Her feet joined them. They looked at her. Faced her. No eyes, no mouth, no ears but she could hear them. Their whispers, endless, in her head, coming from her own mouth. Her body, not her own, not listening to her, whispering to herself. "Die. Die. Die. You're useless, alone, forgotten. Nobody wants you. The Truth. You know it. They all forgot you. They hate you. So useless. So arrogant. Spoiled Princess. They know it. You can't do anything. They abandoned you. Left you alone in the dark. Nobody comes to get you. Nobody wants you. You'll-"

Milky Rose put her fingers in her ears, clogging them as best as she could. Her own heartbeat. She could hear it. Thump. Thump. Thump. It stopped. Was she dead? Thump. It was still going. Thump. Thump. It was beating slowly. "You can't escape." A voice in her head. Something talking to her.

Closing her eyes, trying to escape. "There's nothing, there's nothing, there's nothing, there's nothing, there's no...th...ing..." Milky Rose slowly opened her eyes, looking in the face of a demon. Fur over it's face, black horns sprouting from it's head, a tongue as black as tar, eye sockets empty.

With a horrified scream, Milky Rose jumped away, got stuck, the beast holding her. "Food..." It would devour her, kill her, eat her, piece for piece, bit by bit. Rip off her skin. Skin. The blanket. She saw it. It was purple. It looked like fur. It was her hair.

She could see herself, floating in the air. Only her body. No head. Her eyes racing. Her head was cut off. Her tongue didn't work. Her mouth didn't work. She could feel her body. She could see her body move an arm thinking she would move an arm. Her body, bloody, fleshly, glistening in the dim light. Her skin, gone. The blanket, where was it? Was she dead? What was she? Where was the beast?

Her throat was a world of pain. Unable to scream, unable to shriek, unable to speak. Refusing her will, acting on it's own. Noises of demons escaping herself. Something grabbing her head. A claw. Lifting her up. Another body. Karen's body. Her head, gone. The body limb.

She screamed, the blanket around her. A dream. Only a dream. Just a dream. Nothing but a dream. Illusions. Nightmares. That must be it. That was the answer. Her chest was heavy. Her body hurt. She looked down. Her eyes wide, she was Karen. Her body was Karen. A voice to her right.

Karen's head, in her hand. "Why did you kill me?" Karen's voice in her head, she screamed. No blanket. No waking up. No nightmare. No illusion. It happened. Holding Karen, her own voice was that of the beast. "Food..." She was the beast. She would devour Karen. Take her. Eat her. Skin her.

Laughter inside her head. Things, dancing, she, dancing. Karen, sitting. Her teeth, fangs. Her eyes, empty. Her head, monstrous. Her horns. Horns? What was she? Where was she? What was she doing?

She fell. Deeper and deeper. Back into nothingness. She, the beast. Her prey, Karen. Devouring her love. Devouring all. She would kill. Kill what? Herself. All. Eat them. Eat what? Herself. Her skin.

Pain shot through her body. She was flat on the ground, unable to move. Was she dead? Shadows dancing in the distance. Creatures dancing, waiting for her, waiting for their lord, the beast. Her body, distorted. She couldn't see, couldn't feel. Her skin, reeking. Her eyes, moving. What was moving?

Laughter. More laughter. Growing louder. A carnival of shadows. A festival of death. Her laughter. Driving them on, dancing, slaughtering, ripping, tearing, creaking, tugging.

Laughing. More laughing. The shadows, sharp teeth, laughing. The beast, devouring her, tearing her apart, cutting her, ripping her. The shadows, the things, laughing ever louder. Their voices reaching her. Reaching her mind. Reaching the deepest depths. Laughter. Endless laughter. Continuing forever. A carnival.

=== Dissonance ===

Most of the Cures had gotten up. Melody, Sunshine and Beat were still asleep and nobody bothered to wake them up yet. Those who had fought before donated their favor to the team and all nine of them had a plain breakfast. Moonlight was the first to test the system and found that it was rather gracious in terms of food. Despite the plainness of the meal, they all felt satisfied.

"Who is going to hold the negotiations?" There was no specific rule as to who went. "If nobody has a specific reason to go, I shall go." Yuri wanted a win for the team, to raise morale. The favor of winning didn't matter as much as keeping people's spirits up.

"I don't mind." Mai and Saki were sitting at the table and leaning against each other. They were all inside a relatively big room. With the agreement of all, they had wished for a table and some chairs. Thirty coins went down for the table and five for each chair, a total of ninety coins.

The table was long and robust but plain wood. It was something one would expect to find in a mountain hut. It was more than enough for their circumstances, for now. The chairs, similar, were made of plain, thick wood but not too uncomfortable. They could always get better furniture later.

"We don't mind either." Michiru and Kaoru sat next to Mai and Saki, both of them leaned back, still sleepy.

There were no objections from Setsuna and Hikari either, the two at the south end of the right side of the table.

The left side was missing three people but neither Ako nor Kanade had any complaints about Yuri taking the negotiations.

The people sleeping in were finally waking up in their room. Melody was coming to, yawning and realizing her face was buried into someone else's breasts. Sunshine's breasts. Melody blushed and tried to move away but realized quickly that Sunshine was holding her with both arms. "Sunshine. Wake up." Melody reached over the arms of the yellow Cure and poked her cheek. "Wake up."

Sunshine came to, letting go of Melody automatically, yawning. She was still tired but not quite as badly as before. "Melody? What are... oh right." Sunshine's memory always needed a little kick start in the morning.

"I'll see if the air is clear." Melody got up and transformed back into Hibiki. The parts of her costume she had taken off vanished when she undid her transformation. She just didn't want Kanade, Ellen or Ako see her come out of someone else's room in the morning.

"I don't think they'll mind. You only slept here." Sunshine transformed back into Itsuki and found that the drooled upon part of her Gi had returned back to normal. There was no reason to mention to anyone that they had snuggled up and even kissed once.

Hibiki opened the door a little and spied out. There was nobody in sight. "I'll leave first. I'll see you later Itsuki." There was a weird feeling of camaraderie between the two. Hibiki smiled a last time and left.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done this..." Itsuki suddenly felt guilty. She waited a few minutes and then left her room, walking straight into Yuri. "Morning."

"The others are down the hallway in the right room. We got a table and some chairs. There's rice and water for breakfast." Yuri explained everything briefly to Sunshine before she headed north to the connecting door.

Sunshine felt her stomach growl and headed down the hall, running into a still half-asleep Ellen. Hibiki was already eating when they showed up.

=== Dissonance ===

Karen woke up in Mint's embrace. She remembered clearly everything that happened the night before. And she appreciated that all Mint did was to hold her. She couldn't have handled any romantic involvement with Mint right there. She needed a little time to get over Kurumi.

"Komachi." Karen easily freed herself from Mint's grasp, sat up on the bed and shook Mint gently. "Komachi. It's morning." It took a few more tries to get the green haired Cure to finally wake up. She had been really exhausted after all.

"Karen... morning." Komachi had usually no problems getting up early but there were exceptions.

"We should get up and see what everyone else is doing." Karen wasn't sure what the others would think if they both came out of her room, but she was past the point of being hung up on what people thought.

The two were unusually quiet until Karen was about to leave the room. "Thank you.. for last night. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I'm not giving up Karen. I want to go out with you. I'm done just waiting." Mint took Karen's hand, refusing to let go. "It doesn't have to be now, but I will be with you until you have an answer for me." Mint could be strong willed if she needed to be.

The moment they left their room, they witnessed a rather comical scene. Nagisa, in nothing but her panties, was hammering on a door. "Come on Honoka, let me back in! I didn't mean to kick you out of the bed!"

Nagisa noticed the blushing Karen and Mint a little too late but transformed into Cure Black instantly the second she saw them. "Honoka!" Black shouted and the door finally opened, letting her in.

"Seems they have their issues too..." Karen couldn't keep her smile hidden.

"A different kind of issue though." Mint couldn't help but smile as well.

Most of the Cures had gathered around the barrel at the southern end of the hallway. Urara, Love, Miki and Inori were already there. "We are all throwing in our favor. We need at least a table and some chairs to eat together." Miki explained.

Karen and Mint saw no reason to be stubborn about it and agreed. The barrel was almost half full. They had gathered a lot of favor already. Nagisa and Honoka finally joined the group, bringing all twelve of them together.

"I don't like having to eat standing and we have quite a bit of favor collected after two battles. There is no use just sitting on it. I propose we get at least some chairs, a table and showers. A kitchen is probably overkill." Miki was the first one to propose that. The idea of having showers was well liked.

"All that agree lift their ha- okay, I see we all agree." Honoka smiled as everyone raised their hand even before she had finished talking. The scientist walked up to the barrel, laid her hands on the upper edges and concentrated. Almost half the coins vanished.

They all could feel something changed. As if the walls and the ground was moving somewhere. Erika was the first to run in the bathroom and come back, looking excited. "It's completely different. It's pretty nice now!"

The bathroom was completely overhauled. Western toilets, sinks and a door leading to another room with four separate showers. They were modeled like showers in a gym, simple cabins with a push door. But it increased the comfort of living in that god forsaken place drastically.

"I'll get something to eat after the negotiations. Are you okay with me going? Honoka, Karen?" It seemed only natural to Miki to ask the respectively smartest Cures for their opinions. It was not discriminating, but being clever and smart paid off quite well in such situations.

"I see no problem with this." Honoka nodded and watched Karen agree as well. None of them saw any purpose to going by Cure names only at that point.

Erika came running in again, babbling about a nice stone table and some comfy chair in another room. Miki took off to the connecting door. They were all still tired, so a battle of few would offer most the chance to recover. The best outcome would be a one versus one battle.

Miki took a deep breath and transformed before she opened the door. The azure blue light of negotiation greeted her. As Berry stepped through the gate, there was already someone waiting for her.

=== End of Event IV ===