Cure Dolly stood her ground and eyed her newly dubbed opponent, who was laughing at the fact that the girls had no idea that the fairies were the Celestians. Standing a few feet in front of Dolly was a fair-skinned girl with red lips and thistle-coloured hair that traveled to her knees held by a pink bow. The girl, formerly known as Lila, offered Dolly yet another look of pity once her laughter had died down and then she took a deep breath. She gave Dolly a smile and twirled around once, her long hair and sleeves swaying with her as she did so.
"My name is Ophelia and our destiny is to fight!" Ophelia declared in an awfully cheerful voice," Now, Cure Dolly, leader of the Toychest Pretty Cure, come and show me what's in like to fight you one on one!"
Dolly was originally feeling a bit worried at first, not being very fond of hurting a little fairy, but by now she figured that her fairy form was likely just a disguise. Dolly was amped up and ready to fight. She held her fists in front of herself and took on a fighting stance, saying,
"I'm ready when you are!"
Bubbly was in an empty stadium, on the field with a tan boy who was quite tall and had some muscle on him. He stared Bubbly down, waiting for her move since he said he'd let her 'swing first'. He could already tell Bubbly was feeling indecisive and was trying her hardest to come up with some kinda plan, it was written all over her face. He shook his head and then took a step closer, causing her to step back and almost fall backwards into one of the many decorative fountains in the empty field.
"Keep this up and I'm taking your turn!" The boy warned her as a stream of water emerged out from the ground and lifted him up. He didn't do anything except continue to wait for her move. Bubbly panicked and then sputtered out,
"What do you expect me to do, Pauly? I mean, Porter!"
Porter laced his hands behind his head and sighed saying," It's obvious you aren't the most strategic member on your team. My question is how will you fare against an opponent who uses the same element as you, but at a much more powerful caliber?"
Bubbly had a nervous look on her face, her heart racing in distress from being reminded about this. She tried thinking and attempted to clear her mind but just then, she suddenly got hit with a tendril made from water and was sent flying into the walls of the stadium.
"You took too long!" Porter called out as Bubbly shivered from getting drenched by the attack," This is where the fun begins."
The girl sitting cross-legged on top of a tree stump narrowed her eyes at Fantasy, standing a few feet away from her. Fantasy's fists were balled up and she looked frustrated at she glared at the girl dressed in orange and white. The short girl narrowed her amber eyes at Fantasy only shaking her head in disapproval every time Fantasy tried to attack.
Fantasy then tried again, placing her arms in front of herself, getting ready to do another attack. But once again, the girl wouldn't let her attack go through.
"Rescind." The girl, Eloise, said, her tone bored and the look in her eye devoid of emotion. She watched Fantasy look down at her hands and simply rolled her eyes at the sight. Eloise could see that Fantasy didn't have any idea of what else she could, and already she had a feeling that this fight would end quickly.
"So she really is hopeless without her powers." Eloise thought to herself," How ironic."
"For goodness' sake, why don't you just leave that spot and just fight me already?" Fantasy questioned in a rather irritated tone as she crossed her arms.
"I thought you were supposed to be the mature one." Eloise pointed out as she changed positions, now laying on her side," How do you expect to become stronger if you're trying to bargain this early in a fight? If I won't let up so easy, do you really think Lilith will?
Fantasy didn't say another word, knowing that Eloise was right and tried to think of another way to make her leave the barrier.
Taking a look around the giant field she and Niles were standing in, Teddy felt somewhat unease with this absence of ambient noises she was so used to during a fight. With no roars from Defectives, or the sounds of people running from the scene or her fellow teammates, the almost silent field was slowly but surely messing with her concentration. This fight had yet to even start and she already knew it likely was going to be like the others she had. This fight was free of any real consequences, or at least that what's Teddy assumed.
As if reading her mind, Niles began to speak and make some things clear about this fight.
"Let's set up some rules." Niles declared as he took a few steps closer to Teddy," If you lose, you have to give up your title as Pretty Cure and I will find a replacement for you. Someone who's actually from the kingdom this time. For this battle, your goal is to of course defeat me. You may use all the resources you have available to you here, just use them wisely."
Teddy rolled her eyes and simply loosened herself up a bit while Niles gave her a curious look. Despite that this wasn't what she had expecting, she didn't want to let her surprise become a hindrance to her. She may not have had her teammates with her, but she told herself that she was just fighting against one person, no Defectives, no victims, just her and Niles.
Teddy then dashed towards him as fast as she could, creating a pair of fireballs in her palms. Teddy lunged towards him, stepping off the ground, only for a giant wall made of ice to appear and block her off from Niles. Teddy was barely able to keep herself from crashing head first into the wall and Niles shook his head, letting the wall of ice recede back into the Earth. Teddy stepped back and extinguished the spheres in her hands.
Niles then created a pair of swords made from ice and held them in both of his hands, pointing the right one at Teddy.
"Still feeling confident?" Niles asked her, only aggravating the Cure clad in brown. Teddy stood still for a few moments, trying to keep herself from letting Niles get to her. With only the two of them in the field, she was then reminded that she didn't need to worry about cooperating with the other girls and she could be as reckless as she wanted. The thought of that made Teddy full with excitement and so, she darted up towards Niles and engaged in battle with him. She threw a handful of punches rapidly and Niles dodged each one. He was quite nimble and light on his feet, it was as if he was in tune with Teddy and knew exactly when and where she was going to attack.
Teddy managed to land one single punch on him but then Niles had disintegrated into a million shards of ice at her feet. Teddy stared at the pile of ice at her feet for a few moments, and then turned around and saw Niles dashing towards her with the pair of ice swords in hand aimed towards her. Teddy took a step back and evaded the attack, managing to get a hold of Niles and hold his hands behind his back in the process.
Niles dropped the swords made from ice and Teddy simply smirked.
"Yeah, I'm still feeling confident. Guess I had no need to feel otherwise." Teddy stated as she watched Niles writhe in her clutch. The ice swords then retreated into the ground and shot back out a pair of tendrils that circled around Teddy and trapped her within them. Her clutch of Niles was broken and Niles turned around, looking at her with an unimpressed look in his eye.
"You're awfully brash, you know." Niles said as he watched Teddy bang her fist against the ice imprisonment. The ice around her then morphed into a gigantic hand and held her on top of its palm, allowing her to be at eye-level with Niles.
"You won't get far as a Pretty Cure." Niles surmised to her in a condescending tone, as the hand then held her up high and tossed her to the other side of the field," Your career ends here!"
Teddy landed a few feet away from an assortment of rocks in the field, exhaling out a giant sigh before she got back onto her feet and ran towards Niles.
Dolly was busy dodging a mass of attacks from Ophelia. Ophelia wasn't as swift as Dolly when it came to attacking but after getting hit in the stomach by Ophelia, she knew she couldn't afford to take any damage from her. Ophelia was rather agile though, she had an elegance to her fighting style and there was some sort of irregular rhythm in her movements. But the way she moved wasn't enough for Dolly to estimate where should try to attack next and she had mostly been evading her attacks during this battle.
Ophelia then jumped backwards and crossed her arms as she said," You won't get anywhere from simply dodging."
Dolly then jumped forward to engage in battle with her again.
"She's right! But I've been getting in over my head, worrying about what will happen if I mess up here." Dolly thought as she dodged a punch to the stomach from Ophelia," This is no time to be freaking out! I got this! I just have to find her weak spot, like always."
Ophelia then decided to leap up into the air, but unlike Dolly, gravity didn't seem to have much of an effect on her so she hovered a few feet above Dolly trying to figure out what next to do. She stared at the Lead Cure watching her intently, already feeling bored knowing what Dolly's fighting style was like. Since the beginning of the battle, Ophelia could tell that Dolly was the analytic observant type, calculating and estimating each and every single move in a frantic attempt to boil her down to a science. She thought this was going to be far more entertaining, fighting one on one against the leader but who would've guessed she was fighting a practically humanoid calculator?
Ophelia then extended her right arm up and held her palm out in front of Dolly. Dolly stood her ground, as if she was bracing for an attack, like a tornado but nothing of the sort appeared and instead, flowers started to bloom in abundance from the ground.
Dolly looked around the field curiously, the only flowers that were in the vicinity had been outside of the gate and they didn't resemble the ones sprouting out from the ground. There were daisies, lavenders and green roses among the assembly of flowers growing out from the ground and they all carried a rather strong fragrance. The more flowers appeared out into the field, the stronger the scent grew, to the point where it was overwhelming and Dolly collapsed to her knees, covering her nose as she started coughing.
"These are poisoned aren't they? This is cheating and you know it!" Dolly shouted between coughs in a tone that Ophelia registered as obnoxiously righteous.
Dolly then felt her eyelids grow heavy and she knew was losing consciousness fast. She fought desperately to stay awake but after a few moments, she had fallen asleep in the flowerbed. Ophelia finally descended back onto the earth, standing in front of Dolly with her arms folded over her chest, as if she was keeping watch on her.
Ophelia did admit, she hadn't planned on using this tactic so early in her fight against Dolly, but fighting her was boring! She thought things over so much she completely took away all the fun of it and stripped the fight down into nothing but a series of missteps. She materialized a tree shaped like a chair and she sat on it as she watched over Dolly.
"This is what you get for being so rigid." Ophelia said to the unconscious Cure Dolly," You wanna think until your brain hurts? Be my guest. Let's see if you can think yourself out of the flowers' artificial paradise."
Dolly stirred after a few moments and found herself alone in a pitch black room. There was an awfully bright spotlight on her but she couldn't see anyone else around. Dolly felt her stomach tie into knots under the spotlight and wondered exactly where she was. She then heard voices whispering but she couldn't tell what they were saying. They did sound familiar, but Dolly had trouble identifying them and couldn't even hope to find where they were coming from in this strangely lit room.
"Kiriko is such a hard worker, I hope one day I can be like her!" A familiar voice said cheerfully. Dolly smiled and looked to the ground for a few moments, not even annoyed that she couldn't figure out whose voice this was. It felt nice to be indirectly applauded for her efforts, even if she had just been trying to figure out her surroundings moments prior.
"Kiriko sure is mature, she's got this elegant atmosphere around her. I always feel like I'm in the presence of royalty when she's nearby!" Another familiar voice, causing Dolly's face to flush red.
"Aw you're so sweet! But I'm really just like everyone else." Dolly reassured, though she wasn't certain if the voices could hear her.
Ophelia saw a smile form on Dolly's face and she smirked at the sight of it, not even the slightest bit surprised that Dolly had already fallen into her trap.
"Good girl, go forth and fall victim to this fake paradise built from your selfish desires. Fill yourself with ecstasy as you indulge in your most favourite thing of all and then watch it fall apart right before you. I wonder how long you'll last." Ophelia thought aloud as she started to play with strands of her curly hair.
Bubbly ducked quickly and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see what happened to the brittle trees that were behind her. She was sure she was going to hear a snapping sound once the powerful blast of water hit them, but somehow they weathered the attack. If they were back on earth, those trees would've most definitely snapped in half from Porter's attack. Bubbly then reminded herself she was in the middle of a fight and she had no time to waste. Bubbly then started running up towards Porter and jumped up high as she shouted,
"Pretty Cure, Whirlpool of Justice!"
Porter rolled his eyes and waved his hand from side to side and shouted," Aqua twin dragons!"
A pair of dragons made of water came charging towards Bubbly, her attack having zero effect on them. The dragons swirled around and tossed Bubbly up into the air. She was up high as if tossing her was like hitting a beach ball. The dragons retreated back to Porter, floating behind him as Bubbly plunged back to earth.
"Pretty Cure, Bubbling Impact!" Bubbly shouted as she fell. She created a bubble on the ground beneath her and bounced off it, landing on her feet in front of Porter.
Porter knelt next to her, a look of sympathy in his eyes. Bubbly didn't meet his gaze though, too ashamed by all of her attempts so far in trying to defeat him. She knew she wasn't getting anywhere but she couldn't think of anything that would work against him when they had the same powers.
"It doesn't feel good watching a pretty girl like yourself struggle so much." Porter admitted as he put a firm hand on her shoulder," It'd be easier to quit while your ahead."
Bubbly shook her head vigorously and removed his hand from her shoulder saying," I don't want your pity and I'm not gonna quit no matter what!"
The dragons then appeared from behind Porter and shot tendrils of hot water from their mouth. Bubbly held her hand in front of herself but they didn't provide her much protection and instead tossed her towards the fountain.
"Fighting with hot water should be illegal!" Bubbly said, her back against the fountain. Bubbly stretched out her hands, not realizing she was putting her hands into the fountain's water. Her eyes then opened wide as she noticed something strange about the fountain's water.
Fantasy had tried her best to get Eloise to come out from her barrier, but Eloise seem to have no interest in leaving. The white-haired Cure had been patient, perceptive even, trying to understand Eloise's intentions and knowing she meant well. But as time dragged on without any progression from Fantasy, her patience was wearing thin. At this point, it felt like Eloise wasn't even interested in mentoring her but rather making her feel useless.
Fantasy did everything she could think of, from turning their battlefield into a candy paradise, to making it seem that all the trees in the field were floating away but nothing seemed to work on Eloise. It didn't make sense for Eloise to seal herself up in a barrier when the goal was to help Fantasy train.
"Why are you being so lazy?" Fantasy questioned is a restless voice," Don't you want to help me?"
Eloise, who hadn't been even looking at Fantasy for a while now, looked her dead in the eyes, an unimpressed look on her face as she said," I'm being lazy? You're the one who's not even trying! All you've done is conjure up pointless diversions thoughtlessly. You're wasting your time if you think something as simple as that will you get me to leave."
Fantasy stayed quiet for a few moments and felt guilty with Eloise's stare lingering. It seemed like she had more to say but was holding back. The quiet between them didn't last long though and Eloise continued to speak,
"You're the Pretty Cure of dreams and illusions aren't you?" Eloise asked her impatiently," If your magic is so strong that you have no other choice than to rely solely on it, then show me why."
Fantasy drew out a deep breath, more than annoyed by Eloise's lack of cooperating, even if she claimed otherwise. She looked up to the sky and wondered if her fellow teammates were having the same issues with their Celestian mentor like her. She then decided to put an end to her complaining and tried once more to get Eloise out from her barrier. Fantasy then held her hands together and took a seat while crossing her legs, mirroring Eloise's figure. Fantasy closed her eyes and relaxed herself, as if she was going to meditate.
"As a child, I admired Cure Cheer with all my heart. I thought she was noble, strong, and brave and she was everything I aspired to be when I got older." Fantasy said, though it didn't seem like she was talking to Eloise but rather explaining herself for her own sake.
"But I knew because I had no magic, I couldn't completely be just like her. At best, I could be the human version of her. So when fate allowed me to be a Pretty Cure, I knew this was my chance to become the hero I want to be, to finally be the next Cure Cheer."
Eloise's interest had been piqued, but it only took a few moments for her to lose interest in what Fantasy had to say. She rolled her eyes once more at the sentiment that hundreds across the land shared with Fantasy. Sure, they wanted to be her, but did they know exactly what that even meant?
A somewhat pained smile arose to Fantasy's face as she said," But I can try all I'd like. I can train for endless hours in hopes of reaching her level. There's no such thing as the next Cure Cheer and that's how it should be. There's only me, the Pretty Cure of dreams and fascination, Cure Fantasy!"
Porter had stood a few feet across from the fountain, a brash expression plastered on his face as he glowered to Bubbly with his twin dragons behind him. Bubbly was hiding timidly behind the fountain, staring at the water bubbling inside of it. It would only be a matter of time now.
Porter crossed his arms and took one step closer to Bubbly as he said," You're not doing such a good job in hiding here you know. Have you seriously run out of ideas, of tactics? After all this time, have you not made some kind of strategy? How do you plan to face Asperity in the shape you're in?"
"I'll figure it out! Just you watch!" Bubbly claimed as she started running away from the fountain. Porter sighed and rode on the back of one of his water dragons to catch up to her. It didn't take very long for him to have her cornered by the walls of the stadium. Bubbly frantically looked at Porter, her breathing get quick and she placed her hands against the walls of the stadium. Porter offered her a pitied smile and got off of his dragon and slowly walked towards her.
"This is why teams don't work. You think that just because you lack in one skill your teammate will cover for you but what shall happen if you're to separate? Only the strong survive." Porter declared sternly as he held his hand up towards her,"... And unfortunately, you're not one of them."
When he held his hand out, he intended to have a hand made from water reach out to the defenseless Bubbly and rip the brooch off from her bow, causing her transformation to undo itself but instead, bubbles were blown out from his palms. He looked at his hand curiously for a moment and tried once more but again, only bubbles were shooting out. He then inspected his palms closely with his dragon following suite.
"What's going on?" He questioned in a near frantic voice as the bubbles continued to disperse from his palms.
"Pretty Cure, Bubbling Impact!" Bubbly then shouted. Porter jerked his head towards Bubbly but was too late to defend himself against the attack and was encased in a giant bubble. It seemed impossible to pop the gigantic bubble as he banged his fists against it. The bubble floated up a few feet into the air and Porter gawked at Bubbly, who only winked at him saying,
"Told you I'd figure it out."
Eloise looked bored as she eyed Fantasy, who hadn't said or appeared to do anything in a while. It was hard to believe she had hope in her, even if was only for a few fleeting moments. Eloise surmised that Fantasy was all talk, and that came as no surprise to her. Eloise continued to stare at Fantasy and felt not only bad for her, but bad for the entirety of the kingdom. These were the girls her kingdom had to entrust to take back the Well of Wonder and defeat Asperity? She then wondered if their efforts together would've even been on par with the sole Cure Cheer.
Eloise may not have ever met Cure Cheer, but she knew if there was anything certain about her, it was that she was unbelievably strong. It was magic like hers that made people fear for their lives at the mere thought of going against her, of betraying her. But still, despite her abundance in power and magic, despite all the mystery she was shrouded in, Cure Cheer was always said to have been a kind soul. It didn't seem to align with her character and Eloise always envisioned her as the strong, serious type, but she kept her beliefs to herself.
As Eloise was thinking about Cure Cheer, she suddenly found herself watching a little girl walking with her parents, holding hands with the two of them. Eloise felt her heart sink as she watched the little girl, a large smile on her face.
"How long ago was this? Decades, centuries?" Eloise thought to herself as she suddenly felt very disoriented. Time in the Celestial Sanctuary seemed to never pass, that point was made evident by the fact she and the other Celestians no longer aged, remaining untouched by time. But still, even if many, many years had passed before she became a Celestian, she still could never forget the few memories she had when she was a normal civilian of the kingdom.
"Eloise, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you." A voice said to the little girl, whose parents suddenly vanished but neither she or present day Eloise seemed to notice. In front of the younger Eloise was Cure Cheer, who kneeled down before her and smiled to her.
Cure Cheer was just like how she was said to be, a kind soul who was much more than a strong Pretty Cure. She observed Eloise with her deep turquoise eyes and pulled back a lock of hair that fell out from her high pony-tail.
"Your friend tells me your quite interested in my work and wanted to meet me." Cure Cheer said, though Eloise was still wearing the same look of shock on her face. She had yet to even realize that she was now in the place of her younger self and Cheer was speaking directly to her.
"I...I don't believe this..." Eloise said as she scrutinized Cheer, her thoughts in a mess," You're gone and yet... it feels as if you've never left. You shouldn't be here, you can't be here and yet, it's undeniably you."
"You're a very remarkable person, Eloise," Cheer beamed as she put a hand on her shoulder," You've done so much for this sanctuary, working hard day and night to ensure the land is well-kept, all while staying in the sanctuary, never to return to the outside beyond the gates. You have been doing such a good job alongside the the other Celestians, thank you for all your hard work."
Tears started welling up in Eloise's eyes, she felt her cheeks grow hot and found it near impossible to find her voice. These were things she thought she'd never live to hear and to finally have it happen made her feel completely unsure of how to respond.
"Cure Cheer, you should've been here with the rest of us..." Eloise said quietly as she held her hands over her chest, her head hung," You were so strong, I don't understand...how could you have lost back then?"
Just then, Eloise snapped back to her senses and found herself outside from her barrier and seated on top of a rainbow coloured cloud. Eloise didn't quite understand what had happened for a few moments, still in shock that she met Cheer and saw Fantasy a few feet below her. She blinked a few times and remained for a few moments more. Fantasy then smiled to her and asked,
"Did you have a nice daydream?"
Teddy was in the midst of dodging a flurry of razor-sharp icicles getting thrown at her by Niles. Teddy was quick to dodge but with the amount of the blades made from ice getting thrown at her, she found herself coming close to getting hit quite a few times. One of them nearly sliced open her cheek as she barely dodged it.
Niles didn't seem pleased as he came closer, cornering in on Teddy.
"You're wasting my time." Niles claimed as Teddy melted the icicles near to her, the icicles melting slower than she hoped," I was expecting you better than this, but I guess I should've known better."
Teddy then blasted a fireball in Niles' direction but within an instant, it was frozen in midair. The ball felt on the ground and snapped in two. Niles then made another pair of rapiers made from ice in appear in his hands.
"You sure don't like to give compliments huh?" Teddy asked, moments before Niles swung at her. Teddy barely dodged again and took a step to the side, running into the center of the field. Teddy tripped on a set of rocks beneath her feet and fell to the ground. She scurried to get back onto her feet, but then she found she was unable to move. She looked down to her legs and discovered that Niles' ice had fixed her to the ground. Teddy tried to break the ice by force and then made a weak attempt to melt it with one of her attacks, but she wasn't quick enough as Niles inched closer and closer.
"What good can you do when your magic is only a fraction of the kinda power Cure Cheer had flowing in her?" Niles questioned as he stood before her, the ice continuing to freeze the rest of her body," You're weak and careless and your power can't even compare to Cure Cheer, who inevitably lost to Lilith. If she couldn't defeat her, what the hell makes you think you can?"
Teddy then responded with," Because, I'm not a solo act, I've got-"
"-Don't say comrades." Niles interrupted," I have no desire to hear you speak about the strength in your bonds when none of you come close to Cure Cheer with your strengths combined. You're weak because you've relied on others. You could've been strong but you chose to limit yourself. Cure Cheer had no teammates and she was one of the strongest the kingdom had to offer, so what's your excuse?"
Niles then leaned down, and Teddy had no response for him. He reached for her brooch on her center bow, but then, Teddy firmly placed a hand on Niles shoulder as she said,
"I don't know what to tell you, but clearly Cure Cheer meant a lot to you if you speak so well of her." Teddy said, her gaze not meeting Niles," It's very admirable, but don't you think it's a bit sad too? She was so talented, but without teammates, she had the fate of the kingdom on her shoulders alone. It must've been a heavy burden. But for me and my friends, things will be different."
All of a sudden, Niles' arm was turning to stone.
Teddy smiled and said," Things won't be like last time because I have friends and I trust them more than anyone in the world. Maybe we're not as strong as Cure Cheer but it's not like we can't become stronger, isn't that why we came here anyways?"
She looked at Niles' arm, watching as his arm turned to stone rapidly," Oh yeah, you didn't think I hadn't notice the stones, did you? They kept moving around but they were so heavy it wouldn't have been likely that we were the ones moving them. They're stronger than I expected too, all I can wonder now is what will happen first, I become frozen in ice or you get turned to stone?"
Niles sighed and snapped his fingers, causing the ice to melt around Teddy. Teddy brushed herself off and Niles waited for her to undo her pretend mode.
"Hm...I'm not actually sure if I should undo it just yet. I want something in return." Teddy declared as watched the rest of Niles' body turn to stone," Say you surrender, and tell me more about Cure Cheer."
Niles seemed adamant but drew out a deep breath saying," Fine, I surrender. And I'll tell you whatever you'd like to know."
Dolly was continuing to hear praise from others as if she wasn't present, feeling good about herself and slowly forgetting about the training she was supposed to be doing with Ophelia. The more praise she heard, the more clouded her memory was and all she could focus on was kind of nice things these voices would say next.
As she was waiting though, she heard the faintest voice say," You really are enjoying this aren't you?"
The voice felt unsettling to hear as the tone sounded condescending and they spoke to Dolly like she right in front of her, unlike the other voices. Suddenly, it became a bit harder for Dolly to focus on the other voices and all she tried to listen for was the quiet little voice that had yet to praise her.
"Is this seriously something that makes you feel good? I guess it makes sense, but it sure seems pathetic." The voice said to her," Can't you really not feel good about yourself without the praise of others? Is this all you want?"
Dolly kept quiet and her gaze fell to her lap. She didn't know what to say and now all she could hear the quiet voice growing louder and louder.
"Just how empty do you have to become to be so reliant on what others say about you?" The voice asked," Every little thing you do, from your work as student council, to your part-time job, to cram school, to even your work as a Pretty Cure. You don't put much consideration into other things unless it makes you look good. You only care about your image."
Dolly felt her heart start to race after being on the spot like and only said nervously," But, being a Pretty Cure wouldn't work with my image. Being Cure Dolly is the exact opposite of who I let myself be perceived as, so you can't just say I only care about my image."
Her gaze then fell to the floor as she continued to speak," Sure, I've done a lot of things in the past to build up this image I want to be seen as, but I work hard in everything I do, and I don't work hard just to be commended. I just...it's always been like this."
"Remember Kiriko, it's only through hard work and nothing but hard work that you'll be able to be happy." A familiar voice rang out in Dolly's mind.
Dolly then felt her head start to hurt a bit just by having those words resurface in her mind. Hard work, just nothing but hard work. That's all she ever did and it cost her a normal high-school life. She felt bitter and confused as the words replayed in her head.
"I did work hard, I always did, and I was told this was all I needed to do to be happy and yet...I've always felt the exact opposite." Dolly said to herself as tears formed in her eyes," Hey, I guess you did make some good points. I guess somewhere along the way I got infatuated with the opinions of others."
Dolly then stood up and the chair from beneath her disappeared.
"Thank you for helping me realize my mistake. I get it now." Dolly said, but just then, the spotlight above her got even brighter.
"Is that so?" The voice then asked her as an army of faceless figures appeared around the edges where the light on the floor hit, surrounding Cure Dolly.
Niles and Teddy were sitting cross-legged in the field. Niles had yet to speak about Cure Cheer and Teddy watched him intently, awaiting his explaination. He was still trying to collect his thoughts, his eyes downcast as he thought about Cheer. It wasn't like this had been the first time in a while that he thought about her, she never once left his mind. Some memories replayed themselves more than others but nonetheless, Niles couldn't remember the last time Cheer hadn't consumed his thoughts. The question was, where to start?
Niles covered his hands with his mouth and took a deep breath, his gaze still not meeting Teddy when he began his explanation.
"She originally came here to train, just like you guys. However, when she arrived, I was the only Celestian here. The others awoke many years later, so I'm the only one who actually met her. " Niles explained softly as he hugged his knees," She had magic unlike any other, and we trained for a very long time. It could have been days or weeks, I'm not very good with time. But anyways...she always loved a good fight, she was never one to give up easily."
"So here are my rules of battle." Niles said in front of Cheer, looking the exact same as he did in the present," If I can take your brooch, thus reversing your transformation, I win. If you can find a way to render me immobile, then you will win. Is that understood?"
"Understood!" Cheer responded with a vigorous nod of her head.
The two of them fought many times, often until the both of them were fully exhausted and had no energy left to even move, resulting in a draw most of the time. The two seemed evenly matched but Niles knew he had the upper hand in most battles. After all, this was his land they were battling in, and no one else knew the Sanctuary better than him. At first, Niles believed that Cheer would have quit early and decided that she didn't need to stay here after all their fighting. But Cheer didn't leave and only continued to fight with Niles in hopes of winning against him. She didn't complain once and never failed to give it her all. She may have had very strong magic too but she was clumsy at times and have a tendency to overlook things.
The thing about Cheer was that she never once bragged or even mentioned the strength in powers. Niles knew she was of mage descent by the strength in her magic and mages always love to boast about how powerful their magic was but, Cheer didn't seem interested in talking about it. Maybe she didn't know about her ancestry? Not only that, Cheer didn't use her magic very often here, only when it was necessary. It was so strange and unheard of to have someone with such magic use it so sparingly. She was aware that her magic was beyond average but still, she didn't want to use it.
One day, Niles and Cheer had been fighting as usual, and Cheer had slipped up, causing Niles to have the upper hand in this battle. He had her on the ground, the two of them surrounded by a mass of white roses and Niles just stared down at her with an empty look in his eye.
Niles knew if he took away her brooch, that meant she would've lost and they would have to consider a new Pretty Cure, but Niles didn't want that. He knew Cheer had held back on her magic and it had been bothering him.
"What are you waiting for?" Cheer asked as she looked up at him.
Niles looked into Cheer's eyes for a moment and all of a sudden, he felt like he was drowning in a turquoise sea. He looked away and slammed his palm into the bed of flowers next to her. Cheer looked confused and all Niles could say was,
"I don't want to do this."
Niles moved away from her and said nothing, his face red and his eyes on the flowers around him. He then noticed some of them were stained red and he wondered how such a thing could have happened in the sanctuary.
"Your arm is bleeding!" Cheer cried as she pointed to the blood trickling out from the fresh wound," Let me see it."
Cheer then took a hold of arm quickly and then held her hands over the wound. She shut her eyes and concentrated, a glowing pink and blue aura flowing around her as she did so. The blood was disappearing and the wound had been healed moments later. Cheer let go of Niles' and Niles inspected his repaired arm. He then gave Cheer a weary look and hugged her tightly. Cheer was taken aback, and only smiled warmly as she ran her hands through his hair.
"You know I don't understand you one bit." Niles claimed, his voiced sounding pained but he forced a laugh," You have unmistakably strong magic, and yet you choose not to use it. Why?"
"Well, I want to balance myself out, you know?" Cheer answered as she rested her head on his shoulder," My fighting could use some work, and if I was only relying on my magic well...I'd be in real trouble if somehow something went wrong with it, right?"
Niles nodded in understanding, though her reason wasn't what he was expecting.
"There's also something I need you to know." Niles said in a nervous tone in her ear. Niles then whispered into her ear in a barely audible voice. Cheer then looked at him in surprise and Niles then shifted his gaze to the ground once more. Cheer smiled, taking a hold of Niles' hand and placing her lips on his.
Memories of him and Cheer started flooding through his mind without end. All those times they fought together, simply sat beside each other or falling asleep next to each other. Cheer was good to him, but serving the kingdom was her main purpose. In the end, her duties as a Pretty Cure took higher priority, which was to be expected, but her demise certainly wasn't.
"She was a bright, amazing girl inside and out. She told me about her favourite hobbies, how she always wanted a little brother or sister because she was an only child and really anything that came to her mind. She was chatty but...she never failed to impress." Niles admitted, a troubled look appearing on his face.
"So...did you ever learn her real name? Her family tree? Address, even?" Teddy pried in a near impatient tone.
Niles stared blankly at the ground for a few moments and then shook his head, saying," We never exchanged any information of that sort. I never learned those things about her."
"He can't be serious." Teddy thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes at Niles.
Niles kept quiet for a few moments, his mind still stuck on Cure Cheer as he hesitantly said," She made the decision to keep certain details about herself a secret. She never struck me as a private person but she felt as a Pretty Cure, it was her duty to keep her personal affairs to herself. It's not like it would've affected me though, I can't even leave the Sanctuary."
Teddy's eyes widened in surprise and she then she interjected," But you were able to leave the Sanctuary earlier, when you were in that plush toy disguise!"
"That's the only way the Sanctuary will allow us to leave, when we have to meet the Pretty Cure. Otherwise, we must stay here." Niles explained in a somber tone.
"Oh, I'm really sorry to hear that. So...does that mean we're done here?" Teddy asked him as the two of them stood up," Are we good to go home?"
"Not just yet." Niles responded curtly," One more trial awaits your team."
Dolly was in the midst of battle, and had just been slammed into the ground by one of the figures. The figure had their arms on Dolly's shoulders and Dolly then delivered a powerful kick into the figure's core. The figure's grip on Dolly was broken and now Dolly was able to get back on her feet. She took a few short breaths and looked around. The army of figures didn't decrease in their numbers, despite the fact that it felt like they had fought for hours. This fight wasn't getting anywhere, but Dolly had yet to figure out a way to escape. Every time she tried to run deeper into the shadows where the figures came from, the figures would block her way. It was peculiar, so Dolly found herself fixated on trying to get past them now.
"I wasn't planning on using this until my fight with Ophelia, but fine." Dolly said as she took a deep breath, holding her hands out in front of herself," Pretty Cure, wishful cyclone!"
All the figures had been blown up high into the air, much to Dolly's surprise. She had no idea her attack would've been so effective, she would've done it earlier if she had known. She ran at breakneck speed towards the shadows, where the spotlight couldn't reach and all of a sudden, she awoke. But, she didn't feel right. Her chest felt awfully tight, she couldn't breathe very well and her head was pounding. She upright and looked around the field for Ophelia. She didn't stand up just yet, not wanting to risk dropping back down from feeling light-headed and instead called out for Ophelia.
"Ophelia! Is our match still on?" Dolly shouted as she looked around for her.
"Yes, your work here is done." Ophelia declared plainly from behind her. Dolly sprang up to her feet and Ophelia walked closer towards her. She seemed somewhat tired herself, but Dolly had trouble figuring out why. She was tempted to ask her, but Ophelia seemed to be in a rush, despite her condition.
"Now, you're going to find your endowments." Ophelia instructed as she led Dolly to the gate they entered from," After this, your team may return home. But this isn't an easy task, and I can't guarantee you'll leave with the endowments."
"Wait, you're going too fast. What are these endowments? And why is it so hard to acquire them?" Dolly questioned as Ophelia led the way. The two stood before the gate now and Ophelia was debating on whether or not to explain. Finally she sighed and said," It's not just a physical battle you have to deal with, it's...like, a test on how worthy you are to be a Pretty Cure. The ones overseeing these examinations are very selective, they don't give their endowments out to just anyone. So all I can say is put your best foot forward."
Dolly nodded and Ophelia opened the gate for her, waving goodbye to the lead Cure as she took her leave. Once Dolly left the Sanctuary, Ophelia collapsed on the flowerbed right before her, looking just about ready to fall asleep. Ophelia's eyes were growing heavy and she held her right hand out to the sky.
"She didn't look ok when she awoke..." Ophelia said aloud to herself,"...I hope nothing bad happens to her and her team during their final examination."
Dolly was transported to what appeared to be a very plain front yard, decorated with a cute purple mailbox, some bright flowers and a white picket fence. Dolly felt as if she was on Earth, like in the western hemisphere as she walked towards the large pink and purple house a few feet from her. She found Teddy leaning at the doorway with her arms crossed. Teddy waved to her and Dolly walked quicker.
"What is this place?" Dolly asked as she looked at the house before them," Is this where we'll find the endowments?"
"Looks like it, but the door won't open." Teddy stated as she drew out the sigh.
"Won't open?" Dolly repeated in confusion, with Teddy nodding in response," Let me see that door."
Teddy seemed skeptic, but allowed her to try and to both their surprise, Dolly was able to open the door. The two exchanged suspicious looks and took a step into the house.
"Welcome to the Dollhouse, Cure Dolly and Teddy. This is where your final examination will be held." A feminine voice said to them," Your goal is to find the Room of Legends before sundown. If you can do that, we will consider bestowing upon you the endowments. Please be advised you won't be guaranteed them even if you find the Room of Legends. Not even Cure Cheer could get an endowment from us. We wish you the best of luck."
The two Cures stood there, in sheer disbelief of what the voice just said and all of a sudden, they were starting to feel doubtful in their abilities.
"Don't worry, we got this. I'm certain..." Dolly affirmed, but her tone didn't sound very convincing.