They stood backs against each other in the dollhouse, taking a better look at their surroundings. The dollhouse felt eerie being so big yet the only people seemingly vacating it now were Dolly and Teddy. It was decorated quite similarly to Dolly's bedroom with the walls painted pastel and adorned with paintings. The dollhouse reminded the Cures of a literal dollhouse with the bright colours and the amount of space that was in it. Dolly then took a step forward, further inspecting the house.
"You know, after a taking a better look at the place..." Dolly started slowly before clasping her hands together as a look of awe appeared on her face,"...This is a really lovely house! I would've loved to have a dollhouse like this when I was a kid!"
"She's really going to fangirl at a time like this?" Teddy thought to herself as her eyes narrowed at Dolly," Well, I guess it's better than her freaking out and over thinking the fact that Cure Cheer wasn't even successful here."
Teddy then joined Dolly in looking around but only to decide where they should their search for the Room of Legends. There was a stairway leading to the upper level a few feet ahead of them and there was a hallway leading to their right. But, something felt off to Teddy, though she couldn't figure out what it was. The house was uncomfortably hot and it wasn't helping her think straight. But then Dolly took a step towards the stairway and motioned Teddy to follow her. Teddy complied and went up the stairs along with Dolly, still trying to figure out what was missing.
Bubbly and Fantasy were inside a dollhouse almost identical to the one that Dolly and Teddy were in, but instead of pink and purple walls, the dollhouse was painted vibrant hues of blue with some hints of white and lilac. They had just been debriefed on their task and were now trying to figure out how to find the Room of Legends.
"Perhaps we should split up?" Bubbly suggested as Fantasy looked around the house," That way we'd be able to cover more ground and use up less time."
"Maybe but...I don't feel safe splitting up in the house. Something isn't quite right about it." Fantasy stated to her as she continued to look around, parting the leaves between a houseplant that rose up high against the wall," I think they'd want us to separate, heaven knows what could happen in this place."
Bubbly nodded in understanding, feeling a bit guilty for her suggestion and then noticed the long hallway a few steps away. It seemed to have quite a few rooms within it, so there seemed to be a good chance that the Room of Legends was there.
"Wanna go down the hallway?" Bubbly asked as she pointed the hall in front of them. Fantasy nodded in response and Bubbly led the way.
The hallway was pretty wide, and there appeared to be only six rooms inside it. All the doors at the hallways had intricate filigree designs carved into them with writing from a foreign language on a gold plate at the top center. When they arrived at the first door, Bubbly squinted at the plate, as if it would help her understand what was written on the plate. Fantasy looked at it and felt uneasy as she recognized the family name written in English. She felt intrigued but at the same time unwilling to enter the room.
Bubbly tried to open the first door and the Cures entered the room. It looked like it belonged to a little girl with its walls painted cherry blossom pink and all the toys lying around. The bed was engulfed in a rainbow canopy with stars sown on it. There was also a pastel rainbow play mat that resembled a giant jigsaw puzzle made from foam on the ground with shapes that could be removed from each piece of the mat. Fantasy knelt and removed one of the shapes from the play mat, holding it up and wearing a pained smile on her face as a wave of nostalgia came over her. Bubbly knelt down too and did the same.
"These are really cool!" Bubbly remarked as she squeezed the shape she removed.
"My kindergarten class had a mat like this. I've always wanted one of these things..." Fantasy admitted as she gingerly put the shape back.
Fantasy then stood up and walked over to the toys that were all lying near the foot of the bed in front of a wide toy box. Some looked very familiar, others were easy to recognize for Fantasy. The white-haired Cure then picked up a bright yellow and pink toy convertible that had a doll in it and then she picked up a doll with a lavish red, green and white dress on.
"I wanted this toy for my birthday when I was six and this was the special holiday edition doll I lost when we moved homes!" Fantasy said, dropping the toys as she no longer felt comfortable in this room. She was ready to go, but just then, she saw two people stand in the doorway. One of them was her six year-old self, the other was a girl with long hair and bright beige skin. Fantasy felt her heart sink but she also felt frozen in place as she watched the two of them walk into the room, completely unaware that she and Bubbly were here.
"Today we're going to play dress up and I can show you my new colouring book!" The younger Mari exclaimed as she led the older girl to the toy box. The older girl smiled as she followed the younger Mari, kneeling with her in front of the toy box while younger Mari fished for her colouring book and dress-up clothes.
"Fantasy, that's you right?" Bubbly asked as she watched the two girls, her focus now on the older girl," But...who's the older one?"
"My imaginary friend from when I was a child, her name was Mimi." Fantasy answered, her gaze solely on the older girl," I'm an only child and I wanted a sister really bad so...I made one up. Mimi was supposed to be kind, graceful and elegant and..."
"You know, she looks a lot like Cure Cheer." Bubbly remarked, not realizing she hit a sore spot for Fantasy.
"Yeah, that was the point..." Fantasy said as she took a step closer to the two girl and watched them play with younger Mari's dolls," I thought it would be cool to just pretend to have someone like her as my sister."
Dolly and Teddy just finished looking through upstairs and the Room of Legends was nowhere to be found there. It wasn't much of a surprise to either of them, they didn't expect to find it that easily anyways. Teddy took the lead and they headed back to the main level and continued their search there. Dolly was much quieter than usual as she looked for the Room of Legends. No suggestions, no opinions from her but unlike that time in the maze, it didn't seem as if she was holding back on information. If anything, she just didn't look well.
Teddy then stopped searching for a moment and walked up to her teammate who was looking through a stack of books on the nearby bookshelf. Teddy stared at Dolly blankly and Dolly wasn't sure of what to say. Teddy then placed her hand on Dolly's forehead, causing Dolly to impulsively draw back.
"What are you doing?" She questioned in agitation as she held a book in front of herself as a form of protection.
"Your temperature's ok, but...you still seem don't look so good." Teddy stated as she took a hold of Dolly's hand and had her sit on the couch," Just stay here for a bit and I'll keep searching."
Dolly objected with," I can't let you do that! Something bad might happen if we part ways and-"
Dolly then had to hold her head as it started to pain her again. She tried taking deep breaths and it helped a bit, but she was clearly in no condition to keep searching with Teddy. Teddy then shook her head and said to her," Stay put."
Staying put was undoubtedly the last thing Dolly wanted to do right now. It made no sense to her to just allow Teddy to do all the work when they were in this together, but the pounding in Dolly's head made her think otherwise and so reluctantly, she lied down on the couch while Teddy surveyed the main floor. Dolly watched Teddy tried and look for the room on the main floor, feeling useless as her head continued to pound. She tried the deep breathing thing again, and felt calmer now as she rested her head against a throw cushion on the chair. She shut her eyes for a few moments and then, for just a second, the headache fully disappeared and Dolly felt at peace.
Teddy walked down the hallway and opened up a door with bronze plaque that had something written on it in a language she couldn't understand. She went inside and got hit really bad with a wave of nostalgia as she looked at the room. She didn't like looking at the room, she wanted to leave right this instant, but she couldn't at the same time, not after seeing a little girl with red hair playing with racecars alongside two young boys very familiar to her.
"No, I don't wanna see this. Please, anything else, I can't...I shouldn't be watching this..." Teddy said in a panicked voice as she tried opening up the door, first with a gentle tug that quickly turned into a violent shake as she tried to open the door. Teddy stopped trying to open the door for a moment and watched the three kids playing in the bedroom. She fell quiet and slumped down against the door, keeping her gaze on the kids. She shook her head and hugged her knees, burrowing her head into her lap.
"This was so long ago and yet, it never felt like so much time had passed." Teddy said to herself as a sigh escaped her lips," Why couldn't things stay this way?"
Dolly had fallen asleep and was dreaming away while Teddy was trapped in the room. In Dolly's dream, she was inside the dollhouse like she was now, only everything was a dark colour and it felt a lot less welcoming here. Dolly was by herself and she was calling out Teddy's name as she ambled through the hallways.
"Teddy? Teddy?" Dolly shouted as she looked through the hallways, shaking her head as she walked on," I knew I should've went with her."
Dolly stood still for a moment, feeling as if someone had been behind her, watching her intently. But she was too scared to turn around and find who was awaiting her. Certainly it wasn't Teddy, and the longer she stood still, the more anxious she grew.
"Kiriko, you can't lie to us!" A voice behind her said, with a mass of voices chanting "You can't lie to us!" following afterwards.
Dolly held her head again and felt her heart start to race as she nervously asked," What are you talking about?"
The voices didn't listen and only got louder, leaving Dolly feeling frozen in place. Her breathing quickened, her head was hurting much more than before and all she could think about what trying to determine what the voices were talking about. Suddenly, a much louder scream cut through the chanting and Dolly abruptly woke up.
Dolly jolted up and looked around for Teddy on the main floor from her seat. The Cure clad in brown was nowhere to be seen so Dolly jumped off from the chair and ran into the hallway.
"Teddy? Teddy?!" Dolly was just about to run past the hallway on the main floor, but then she noticed one of the doors were slightly opened. She ran towards the door and entered the room, finding Teddy in the grip of a translucent white humanoid figure. All they had was a smile on their face as they held Teddy by her neck. Teddy was a few feet off of the ground and had both her hands on the hand that the figure was holding her by. Neither of them had noticed Dolly entering the room.
"Go on, admit it. You're just a selfish, spoiled rotten brat. And this is the proof." The figure said to her as they gripped her tighter," You can't be bothered by other's feelings, you only care about yourself. And that's exactly how you drove these two away."
Dolly glanced over and saw a pair of little boys playing with toy cars. She took a closer look and immediately recognized the two of them. Dolly then ran towards Teddy and the figure, trying to put herself in between them, with no avail and just stood adjacent to them.
"You let her go right now!" Dolly demanded as she threw a punch into the side of the figure. The figure let go for a moment, giving Teddy a chance to escape his clutch. Teddy was dropped on the ground and Dolly helped her up.
"Are you alright?" Dolly asked while Teddy brushed herself off, nodding in response," Come on, let's go!"
Teddy nodded and took off much quicker than Dolly had expected, pushing past her teammate without any second thoughts and tugging at the doorknob moments later. Dolly looked at her in surprise, wondering exactly what happened in here before she arrived.
"Try all you want, but you're not leaving this room that easily." The figure declared as they waved a hand in front of the two boys, causing them to disappear," Best case scenario, only one Pretty Cure gets to leave. The other isn't worthy of the title anyways."
Teddy stopped pulling at the doorknob for a moment, and sunk to her knees. Her back was to the other two in the room and she kept quiet.
"She's not going to put up a fight this time, because she knows I'm right." The figure declared as they walked over to Teddy. The figure surprisingly seemed a lot more gentle now and wasn't putting up as much of a fight. The figure brushed past Dolly and knelt beside Teddy, placing their hand on her shoulder.
"You don't care about anybody and you only do things that make you feel happy. You never thought twice about how your actions affected others, and you probably never will." The figure stated in an awfully calm voice," You will continue to act on your own accord and hurt everyone around you. Nobody would even think to stay with you at the rate you're going, especially not-"
"-Just shut up!" Teddy shouted as she clasped her hands over her ears, her whole body shaking. The figure then stood up and turned to face Dolly.
"You of all people should be aware that this girl isn't fit to be a Pretty Cure. With no control of magic after all this time, and feeling no need to care about the consequences in how she treats others, she should just defect from your team."
"What's going on? She isn't usually like this..." Dolly thought to herself as she looked at Teddy," I'll have you know that I would never want Cure Teddy to leave our team!"
"You only say that because you're the leader, not to mention she's standing right there!" The figure pointed out with a laugh following afterwards," Your righteous leader façade won't work on me. If I were to make her leave the room somehow, I'm certain that you would speak differently about her."
The figure then waved their hand over Teddy and she disappeared. But, Teddy was still present in the room, she just couldn't be seen or heard by Dolly. Teddy was enclosed in a glassy transparent box, fully able to hear the figure and Dolly speaking to each other. Teddy couldn't break open the box though, it didn't seem to be made from glass but rather something like rubber.
The figure then took a seat in front of the invisible box that held Teddy and said," Well, now that's she gone, are you still willing to speak so positively about her? Or has your teamwork been built on lies?"
Dolly took a deep breath and said slowly," Cure Teddy is loud, she's got weird taste in music and she can be unfriendly. Her magic does what it wants and she uses it recklessly, heedless of any damage it will bring to others or herself. Perhaps she really is unfit to be a Pretty Cure..."
Teddy sighed and felt betrayed by Dolly's words, but it wasn't like she was wrong. The figure smiled and leaned back, pleased by how willing Dolly was to be honest.
Just then, the figure was hit with a blade from wind so strong, it tore open it's chest and left a gaping hole across it. Dolly flicked her wrist and glared towards the figure, taking a step forward.
"...to you guys, at least."
Dolly then took another step towards the figure and said," But, on my team, I don't need any of that stuff! Teddy might not be the ideal Pretty Cure in both personality and magic, but she always fights for what she believes in and that reason alone should be more than enough for her to be a Pretty Cure!"
The figure then stood up and said in frustration," You can't honestly believe all of-!"
"Of course I do. However, if there's one thing I don't believe, it's that Teddy is outside of the room." Dolly claimed as she crossed her arms," Perhaps she's in some...invisible box?"
"Impossible!" The figure shouted vehemently," How did you know about that?!"
"Are you kidding me? You leaned against it. If there wasn't some kind of support behind you that pose would've been uncomfortable to keep doing for so long." Dolly pointed out flatly as she narrowed her eyes to them," You have no one to blame but yourself for that one. Plus, I can still sense her presence."
The figure snapped it's fingers and Teddy was visible again as the box was gone. Teddy quickly ran over to Dolly's side and the figure only shook it's head as they surveyed the two Cures before them.
"Courage, faith, and friendship. These things are vital to a Pretty Cure, and while you've proved your resolve to be strong, don't believe that you've succeeded in your quest, it will only get harder from here. I mean that in both your search for the Room of Legends and in your fight against Asperity."
The figure then disappeared and the door swung open. Teddy fought the urge to dash straight out of the room and instead walked alongside Dolly, even though the blonde Cure could tell that she was still feeling tense from her battle. Teddy did walk a bit quicker though. Dolly kept an eye on her fellow Cure, feeling guilty and still confused from the incident. Teddy appeared desolate and hopeless in front of that figure, who seemed to know something that Dolly didn't. She considered asking Teddy about it, but no, it was too soon and would've probably shut her down, saying it's not of her business. But, what if that were to happen again and Teddy wouldn't be able to block out those vicious words? Dolly took a deep breath, now sure of what she should do.
"Um, Teddy?" Dolly began awkwardly," About that...event..."
Teddy closed her eyes and only said," The figure was talking about my biggest regret. It cost me something very special, and I'm not sure if I can ever restore things to the way they used to be."
"Oh, I see..."Dolly responded, feeling a bit at ease since Teddy wasn't as unresponsive as she expected," Well, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out! If it's something so important to you that you feel losing it is your biggest regret, then I'm sure there's a way to fix things."
Teddy was quiet, and only offered her partner a rigid nod in response.
Meanwhile, Bubbly and Fantasy were met with some trouble in the room where they saw the younger Mari and Mimi. Fantasy had now taken the younger Mari's spot and could no longer pay any attention to Bubbly. Bubbly was growing anxious as all her attempts to snap Fantasy out of it didn't work. Many attempts had happened, from Bubbly standing between the two of them, to trying to pull Fantasy away from Mimi. Nothing worked though and it was driving Bubbly crazy to just stand around, feeling useless as she watched Fantasy get absorbed in this distorted reality.
"Isn't this ironic?" A voice said to Bubbly," She used a trick similar to this with that Celestian woman, and now that very trick is getting used on her! Not to mention, it's very evident how much she idolized Cure Cheer. Don't you find it odd, even disturbing to see your friend infatuated with this woman whom she could never reach? She's no Pretty Cure, more like a "
Bubbly gnashed her teeth and didn't know what to say. She didn't think it strange for Fantasy to feel this way towards Cheer, if anything, it didn't come as a surprise to her. But Bubbly knew that it wasn't going to be right allowing her friend to fall victim to this illusion and leave her behind. But she just couldn't figure out how to get through to Fantasy, who looked so happy in the presence of this fake Cheer. Bubbly then thought of something, something that hadn't crossed her mind until now.
Bubbly marched over to the two girls and stood in front of them, but neither of them paid her any attention. Though Bubbly could've sworn she saw Mimi smirk. Bubbly then held out her hand and blasted out a tendril of water towards Mimi, sending her flying a few feet backwards. Fantasy double-blinked, feeling disoriented as she finally met Bubbly's gaze.
Bubbly said loudly, "Fantasy, you have been subjected to a world of lies and make-believe. None of this is real and while that might upset you, it's better you know that instead of fall deeper into this delusion!"
Fantasy said nothing as she stared at Bubbly blankly for a few moments before returning her gaze to Mimi, who was drenched in water and wore an irate look on her face. Fantasy returned to her senses, but instead of feeling grateful to Bubbly for helping her out, she felt guilt.
She was sure that her idolization, her obsession with Cheer had come to an end, but as soon as she saw her imaginary friend, created by her as a child, she just couldn't help herself. She knew deep down, she wanted to be just like Cure Cheer, but she already told herself that could never happen. Not while she was a half-earthling trying to catch up to one of the strongest Mages in the kingdom.
"I can't be as strong as Cheer and I rely on my magic too much, only because it's my only link to her. I keep comparing myself to her, but I even I know I just won't get there." Fantasy said in a somber voice," I really don't deserve to be a Pretty Cure if all I want to do is be like Cure Cheer. I...I'm not ready for all the hardships that come with being a Pretty Cure."
Fantasy felt tears welling up in her eyes and a faceless figure materialized and stood next to her, saying," Wow, she took the words right out of my mouth. She's right though, being a Pretty Cure is full of challenges and struggles, and if you can't handle these kinds of problems, is there any use trying?"
The figure then glanced towards Bubbly and said to her," You've got the choice to leave this so-called Pretty Cure and complete y our search for the Room of Legends, or the two of you can spend the rest of your time here in this room, living out your wildest dreams, I know even you have some unfulfilled wishes."
"Hm well, I think I'll choose..." Bubbly began thoughtfully, " Neither of those options! We're busting out of here whether you like it or not!"
The figure scoffed and then said," Why would you want to leave with this excuse for a Pretty Cure? She even said herself that she doesn't want to face any hardships that come with being a Pretty Cure! Is this the kind of teammate you want?"
Bubbly looked frustrated as she collected her thoughts, saying," Fantasy may be afraid of the challenges that come with being a Pretty Cure, but I know she can do it! Fantasy is stronger than she thinks and why should it be a bad thing that she doesn't want to deal with the hardships that come with this job? None of us want to do that! But, we're a team, and we know no one can do this and that why we'll be able to overcome anything, because we'll be there for each other!"
"Mari!" Bubbly shouted as she turned around to face her teammate," I'll be there for you, no matter what!"
The figure then darted towards Bubbly and tried to attack her, but Bubbly was quicker and dodged, holding her hands out to perform another attack.
"Pretty Cure, whirlpool of justice!" Bubbly shouted, sending the figure flying a few meters back as she shot another tendril of water. Bubbly looked impressed with herself, staring down at her hands as she heaved in her breaths. Then all of a sudden, she was grabbed from behind by Fantasy's imaginary friend. Mimi wrapped her arm around Bubbly's neck and tried reaching for her brooch to undo her transformation.
Fantasy watched the scene with apprehensive eyes, she knew she had to do something and that this was no time to feel sorry for herself, to feel like a sad excuse for a Pretty Cure. As those words ran through her mind again, she somehow didn't feel complacent or defeated this time. All she could feel was anger and the need to prove those words weren't true.
As Mimi tried to pluck Bubbly's brooch from her bow, she saw her hands started to melt at a rapid rate. She thought she was just imagining things, but she started feeling awfully warm. Her breathing quickened and then looked at her other hand around Bubbly and saw that it was melting too. She immediately removed herself from Bubbly and watched as her hands started to melt into a puddle at her feet. She was in complete disbelief of what she saw but she was helpless against the melting and only dropped to her knees as the rest of her body started to melt on her.
Bubbly then rushed over to Fantasy, and the two of them looked at her curiously. Bubbly had no clue what was going on since from their perspective, Mimi was perfectly fine. But Fantasy knew what happened to her and couldn't belief how strong her powers had been.
"Is she going to be ok?" Bubbly whispered to her.
"I...I hope so." Fantasy answered, feeling a bit guilt as she watched her imaginary friend in anguish at the sight of herself melting," If Bubbly wasn't involved in that, if it had been me that she was attacking, would that illusion have been so...relentless?
"What an interesting partnership you two have, it's quite entertaining to watch, in a good way." The figure said as they made Mimi disappear," You girls are strong, but together, that's definitely when you're the strongest. That's how it should be. Of course, the fight doesn't end here, but you can't get discouraged. A Pretty Cure isn't just someone with strong magic or physical strength, she is not defined by her power but her will to keep fighting. Please, do everything you can, to keep fighting."
The figure then disappeared, and the door to the room opened again. The two of them exited to continue their search.
Things had gotten awfully quiet between Dolly and Teddy and not just because of the incident that happened earlier. Dolly's headache kept coming at the worst times possible, but it would vanish in mere matter of minutes. It was frustrating, and she did everything in her power to not make her headache bother her. She didn't want Teddy noticing and making her sit out of the search again, so she pretended the headaches weren't there. But, even if Dolly was successful in hiding her aches, Teddy still had a feeling that something wasn't quite right with Dolly.
Dolly sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen table as she stated," We've looked everywhere but still no sign of the Room of Legends. Is there something we're missing?"
"Maybe we aren't checking the right places..." Teddy suggested as she started to walk around the kitchen," We may've gone through every room in the house, but can we really say we've looked everywhere?"
Teddy then opened up a jar on the counter, only finding sugar inside of it. Teddy shook her head and started opening up the rest of the jars, and then the cupboards.
"This is a magic dollhouse, so it'd only make sense that the Room of Legends would be somewhere we as Earthlings wouldn't expect, don't you think?" Teddy pointed out as she opened up the bottom cupboards.
"That is true...everytime I feel like we're getting the hang of this, it's stuff like this that prove me wrong." Dolly said as she tried inspecting a salt shaker on the table," Do you think Cheer had any problems in doing this? She is from the kingdom, so she'd probably expect something weird like the door to the Room of Legends being something unexpected like a freezer."
Teddy then checked the freezer just to make sure, but still no luck.
"This whole thing is weird if you think about it." Teddy stated as she started to inspect the inside of the fridge and all it's contents," No one of us knew each other before we started this whole Pretty Cure thing, and now we're expected to save a magical world we've never known to exist. All because we had powers we never even knew about."
"Yeah, I guess when you put it that way, I would've never thought to be fighting alongside you Cure Teddy." Dolly stated casually," But, I'm glad it happened!"
Teddy was about to respond but then she noticed something odd about one of the drawers in the fridge. Nothing was inside of it but it was pitch black. She then cautiously placed her hand inside of it and instead of touching the bottom of the drawer, it felt as if her hand was dangling around in some other place. She pulled her arm out and let her fingers stay inside, just in case the opening tried to disappear on her.
"I think I found something." Teddy called out. Dolly followed after her and knelt next to her, seeing her teammate's hand inside of the pitch black drawer. Dolly took a closer look and was unsure of what to do. She stared into the drawer, hoping she would see something, anything from her spot but she couldn't and gingerly dipped her finger into the drawer.
"This is probably the closest we'll get to the Room of Legends, but how are we supposed to enter through this drawer? It's not exactly roomy enough for us to fit through it." Dolly said as she and Teddy looked at the drawer skeptically.
"I don't know, we might have some luck going through it, if anything it'd be a tight squeeze." Teddy pointed out as she stood up," I'll give it a shot."
Dolly nodded and took a step back from the drawer for Teddy to try entering through. Dolly looked a bit doubtful as she studied her teammate placing her foot inside the drawer. Dolly then quickly glanced at Teddy and saw her hesitant reaction. Somehow, Dolly was almost certain that something about the drawer threw Teddy off-guard.
Dolly then said abruptly,"You know, you don't need to-"
"It's fine! It's our only hope as of right now." Teddy reminded her as she finally lifted her other foot off the ground and place it into the drawer. As soon as both of Teddy's feet were in the drawer, it sucked her up in an instant, not even giving Dolly enough time to process what just happened.
"Teddy?!" Dolly shouted as she scrambled to the drawer and followed after her. The drawer did the same to her and sucked her up seconds later. The two of the were now falling through into another room that was terribly lit with only a few candles spread around as a source of light. The girls fell on the floor and looked around this place where the drawer delivered them to. This place didn't look like it was a part of the dollhouse with it's dark walls and empty halls. It felt more like the inside of a cave rather than a part of the dollhouse.
"Are we really on right track?" Dolly asked nervously as the two of them began to walk.
The two of them walked a bit more and found a door on their path with writing that they weren't able to read. The door looked rather ornate with its gold door knob and detailing on the door's edge. It didn't look a lot like the doors found it the dollhouse and that made the Cures hopeful.
"That sign better read Room of Legends!" Teddy exclaimed as she and Dolly tried open the door together.
The Cures opened the door and found a room that was bright with ivory walls and many large photos hung on the walls with a little gold plaque with a name under each of them. There were many girls pictured, each in a side profile with their eyes closed. They all wore very bright dresses and something told the two of them that all the girls pictured were Pretty Cures.
"Songstress, Essence, History, Joy..." Dolly read out as she passed each respective Cures names," Were these girls all solo acts? Or, maybe they were simply the strongest of their team..."
Teddy said nothing and then stopped as she saw a familiar girl in the photo above her," Cure Cheer..."
Dolly joined her in looking at the photo of Cheer, but something wasn't adding up," I thought Cheer didn't get an endowment? If that was the case, then why would her photo be here?"
Teddy leaned down to inspect her plaque and noticed that her was made from silver rather than gold.
"Maybe she was an obligatory addition." Teddy suggested as they kept on walking. At the end of the hall was a another door, but it was opened and inside it was a room that looked like the outside of the Room of Legends.
"I mean, all we had to do was find the Room of Legends, right?" Teddy reminded her as Dolly continued to stare at the doorway.
Dolly took a quick look around the room, feeling inadequate as she looked the photos of all the Pretty Cures. She didn't feel as if their task was complete, something was missing, and every instinct within her said to go through that door. Dolly then took a hold of Teddy's hand and led her to the open door. The two of them stood in the doorway and looked around the seemingly empty room. Dolly studied the room that resembled a secret chamber with its brick walls and blue flames alight in the room, but it didn't seem like there was much to be found in here.
Just then, her head started to hurt again and she immediately clasped on to the edge of the doorway, still attempting to keep her aches a secret from Teddy.
"Congratulations on finding the Room of Legends, Cure Dolly and Teddy." A voice said to them from inside the room. The Cures then cautiously took a step into the room and instantly a slender figure with bright, luminescent skin appeared before them. Their hair was pure white and long, cascading to their knees and their eyes were pale gold.
"You are now able to receive your endowments." The figure said to them, before a slice of wind struck Dolly and had her fall to her feet," However, one of you still need to prove your value as a Pretty Cure."
Bubbly and Fantasy had just landed in a passage identical to the one that Dolly and Teddy used to enter the Room of Legends. Neither of them landed on their feet and took in their surroundings before standing up again. Bubbly inspected the passage, a gleeful look arising to her face, while she shook Fantasy and said,
"I think we're here!"
Fantasy nodded in response and the two of them walked towards a door on the far end of the passage. After opening the door, the Cures discovered a room filled with photos of previous Pretty Cure. The Cures marveled at the sight of these Cures from generations past, there were so many of them that they almost couldn't believe their eyes at all the photos. Then the two stumbled upon an altar with three photos of people who didn't appear to be Pretty Cure. Depicted in the three photos was a woman and two men. Under each photo, a title was written with the respective name written underneath. One man was titled The King, the other was The Mage and the woman was The Priestess.
"Not all the legendary are Pretty Cure, but all Pretty Cure are amongst the legendary." Fantasy read aloud from a scripture placed underneath the three photos. Bubbly narrowed her eyes at the names, trying to figure out how to say them but with no avail. They appeared to be written in some foreign language, but the text looked like nothing Bubbly had ever seen. She gave up on trying to read their names and then noticed Fantasy staring at a door on the opposite end of the room.
"Do you wanna see what's in there?" Bubbly questioned. Bubbly then started walking towards the door, completely heedless of what might happen while Fantasy followed after her cautiously. Fantasy continued to look around the room, she was sure they had reached the room of Legends so what business would they have in this next room? Once they reached the room, Bubbly stuck her head out the doorway and looked both ways. Nobody seemed to be around, much to her disappointment.
"Hello? Anybody home~?" Bubbly called out as she took one more look around before entering the room. Bubbly stood in the room, a chill crawling down her spine as she looked around. From here she noticed the room had been lit with blue flames and the walls had vines cascading down them.
Fantasy then followed after her and as soon as she entered the room, a genderless figure that glowed a bright light stood before the two of them.
"Welcome Cure Bubbly and Cure Fantasy, You've done well in finding the Room of Legends." The figure said to them," Your hard work thus far has proven you to be diligent, determined and, dependable. We couldn't thank you more for everything you've done, you're now able to receive your endowments. Unfortunately..."
The figure then grabbed a hold of Bubbly by the scruff of her shirt and looked her dead in the eyes, saying," One of you still have yet to prove yourself worthy as a Pretty Cure."
Dolly was tossed into the far wall and the figure then held a pair of white and blue flames in their hands. Dolly struggled to get back to her feet but she didn't lose her cool as she held her hands up in front of herself and shouted,
"Pretty Cure, Wishful Cyclone!"
Her violet whirlwinds flew towards the figure, but with a wave of their hand, they immediately dissipated the attack, leaving Dolly in shock with her eyes wide fearfully. She persevered and then decided to simply run towards her opponent as her hands glowed a violet aura. The figure swung for her but she ducked immediately and ran behind the figure and shouted,
"Pretty Cure, Gale of Wishes!"
The figure was hit from behind but her attack didn't do much and the figure recovered quickly. The figure then extended they're leg out and spun around, knocking Dolly onto her feet. The figure then glared at Dolly and shook their head slowly.
"Unwilling, detached, inconsiderate. If you think about it, these are all perfect words to describe you when leading your team." The figure explained as they knelt before Dolly," You won't learn your lesson, you likely never will. You don't fit the role of leader with your attitude, not to mention...you don't trust your teammates, do you?"
Dolly opened her mouth and then closed it promptly, taking a deep breath while saying," That's not true! I do-!"
"-There's no use in lying." The figure pointed out to her in an agitated voice before turning their attention to Cure Teddy," Do you think Dolly trusts you and your teammates?"
Teddy, who had just gotten used to being ignored by the two of them, wasn't very sure of what to say while the two of them watched her expectantly.
Bubbly was dropped on the ground by the figure and so she scurried to her feet, holding her arms in front of her body as she tried to think of what to do. If this was Porter she was fighting against, she would've likely been chided for rushing straight into battle and not thinking things through, so she did just the opposite and tried to stay calm as she thought.
"Remember, this isn't only to show my strengths, but to prove my worth! There's a lot at stake here, so I can't afford to mess this up!" Bubbly thought to herself as she ran towards the figure hands charged with a pair of water spheres.
The figure then tried to punch her but Bubbly evaded the attack and shot her spheres made from water at the two white flames at the corner of the room. The two flames dimmed out and the entire room was dark, save for the spot the figure vacated due to the light they emitted. The figure spun around, trying to look for the Pretty Cure and was suddenly hit with a kick to the side, falling to their feet moments after.
The figure then looked up and saw Fantasy and Bubbly, the former holding a light she just materialized. The figure hung it's head, chuckling to itself softly.
"Ok, I'll give it to you, you've gotten smarter, but will that ever be enough?" The figure said as they stood up," Most likely not, just like you."
Bubbly had a certain thought cross her mind, she wasn't sure if the figure meant to strike a nerve like that and simply put on an artificial gallant smile as she said," You're only saying that because we beat you!"
"Right, you beat me, but someone else will beat you, despite all your efforts. That's just the cycle we live in. But you of course already know this, so perhaps I should just spare you the details?" The figure said before giving their attention to Fantasy," Pretty Cure isn't for the faint of heart, just because you think you can do something, doesn't always make it true. And sometimes, knowing that makes people quit."
Cure Fantasy seemed irritated by the fact that figure was clearly upsetting Bubbly so patiently she said,"You've never worked with Bubbly so you can't be so sure of what she can or can't do as a Pretty Cure!"
The figure then looked over to Bubbly, who was wearing a somewhat guilty look on her face to their pleasure. The figure then took a few steps closer to Bubbly, until they stood right behind her and placed their hands on her shoulders and leaned next to her to whisper in her ear.
"Life is hard isn't it? And truly there isn't a feeling worse than working your hardest and yet, your best isn't good enough. It's that exact feeling that keeps you up at night, it makes you feel unneeded, fixed in a position where you can't grow and you're forced to watch everyone else get ahead of you. If you can't grow, if your best won't cut it, what's the point in staying?" The figure asked her quietly.
Fantasy heard the figure, but things hadn't been adding up until it finally came to her," They're talking about her modeling!"
"If she's ready to quit something she dreamed of for her entire life so easily, what makes you think she won't betray your team and quit?" The figure asked Fantasy while firmly squeezing Bubbly's shoulders. Bubbly looked ashamed and adverted Fantasy's gaze. Fantasy was glaring at the figure, she wanted to fight against them, to have them feel regret in their words and wished they never crossed them. But, Fantasy had a feeling she shouldn't try to fight with aggression, at least not right now.
"She probably pities you." The figure said to Bubbly as they looked in Fantasy's direction," And honestly, I don't blame her."
Fantasy took a deep breath in an attempt to release all that frustration and keep calm, putting a smile on her face as she slowly walked towards the figure and Bubbly. The figure only smiled back to her, but their smile felt a bit more apprehensive in comparison to Fantasy as they watched her walk towards them. The figure then walked up and stood in front of Bubbly, waving a hand in her direction.
"All Pretty Cure are relentless and determined in nature. Nothing stops them from achieving their goals. Adversary means nothing to them, so tell me, do you honestly believe Cure Bubbly deserves to be a member of your team?" The figure asked while Bubbly nervously hugged herself," She's immature, irrational and worst of all, she has weak resolve. If you aren't careful, she'll desert your team before you know it. She'll want to quit while you're ahead."
"No I wouldn't! I'm not unreliable like that." Bubbly claimed in her defense, though the figure didn't seem interested in what she had to say. She didn't even sound all that confident in herself, and it looked like her doubts were thriving. The figure then took a quick glance at Fantasy from the corner of their eye and saw her continuing to walk towards them. When she got close enough, she firmly pushed away from the figure and motioned Bubbly to take a seat with her, no longer paying the figure any attention.
"I may not have ever done any sort of modeling, but I can understand the feeling of working hard with nothing to show for it. There's many things I've done in life that I almost wish I didn't put as much effort into as I did, But, we all see that you've been working hard, you might not have gotten where you want to be yet, but I'm sure your work wasn't for nothing. I'm sure there are little girls out there who see your face and wish to be like you, so please...please know there are people who admire and love you."
Bubbly nodded as a small smile appeared on her face and then Fantasy stood up quickly to face the figure, her hands beginning to glow a bright rainbow light.
"Having said that, I don't want to hear anybody trying to bring down my teammate. Are we clear?" Fantasy said as she directed her hands to the figure.
"Well done, you've managed to prove yourself as a Pretty Cure. You two are now able to receive your endowments. " The figure said as they gave a single clap," Congratulations, Cure Fantasy."
Teddy then drew out a fairly long and exaggerated sigh, saying," If you honestly think my teammates and I believe that Dolly doesn't trust us, you're wrong. It's not that she doesn't trust us, she's doesn't trust us enough."
The figure held back on a laugh while Dolly stared at her with her mouth agape.
"What? It's not like it's her fault. I don't know all the details, but I'm sure she's had it rough. She's not being inconsiderate, she's being careful. Maybe too careful, but anyways, even if she doesn't trust us as much as she should know we're not going to leave. " Teddy explained as she walked closer to Dolly," You tend to take matters into your own hands, but you should remember that we're a team of four, not one. We'll do anything to help out, ok?"
Dolly nodded in response, feeling a little better while Teddy turned her attention to the figure, wearing an unimpressed look on her face.
"And as for you, you need to get rid of the mindset that just because someone isn't good enough now doesn't mean they'll ever be. Sometimes, it might be true that people won't be able to learn from their mistakes, but that's not how it is with our team. We might not enjoy change or critique or not feeling good enough, but it's not something out of our control. We might not be the best Pretty Cure team, but who's to say we never we'll be? I think we're stronger than we expected and there's hope for us. I know there is." Teddy declared, looking over to Dolly and giving her a thumbs-up before returning her attention to the figure," Dolly's smart, I don't know how the hell our team would even work without her."
"So that's your response." The figure said, not in a inquisitive sense but rather neutral as if it was just a plain comment," Well, it seems you truly are deserving of an endowment, Cure Teddy."
"Wait, come again?" Teddy asked," I thought it was Dolly who needed to prove her worth."
"Did I ever say that?" The figure questioned, leading Teddy to try and think back to the conversation they had earlier. The figure smiled and then a pair of scepters, one lilac and one gold, appeared in their hands.
"You two have done well. Being a Pretty Cure is more than others think. There's one crucial thing to every Pretty Cure that without it, a team couldn't hope to succeed. That crucial thing is faith in one another. To always have your teammates back, no matter what." The figure said as they handed the girls the scepters," I wish you luck in the rest of your journey."