Kiriko had just stepped off of the bus, into a neighborhood she seldom visited. It was about a half hour away from her own house by foot and fairly quiet with a minimum of people crossing her path. Kiriko walked straight to the house she needed to go to intently, not wanting to come across any distractions whatsoever. Kiriko looked around the neighborhood one more time before she took out her phone and looked at a set of texts she had sent on the bus. She fought to have this conversation over the phone, since she knew she made Kozue worried sick and the last thing she wanted to do was make things worse. But, they were insistent, unrelenting and told Kiriko that this couldn't even be risked talking through the phone. The thought of such precautions made Kiriko rolled her eyes, what was she going to hear that had to be kept so secretly? Still, she respected her friend's wishes and walked to their house.
When Kiriko arrived at the house, she knocked on the door impatiently and only had to wait a few moments before the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was Hayase.
"Hey." He greeted neutrally as he ushered her inside. Kiriko smiled to him and marched straight into his living room, where the two of them took a seat on opposite ends of the longest couch in the room. Kiriko took out her phone and opened up the memo pad app, awaiting for Hayase's explanation, his big reveal that most likely had to do with student council.
Hayase noticed Kiriko looking at him readily, her thumbs raring to go for whatever he had planned for the school, but he only smiled and sighed before shaking his head and gesturing at Kiriko to put her phone away.
"This isn't about student council." He informed her, looking at her dead in the eyes before his gaze quickly retreated to his lap," I know about...your Pretty Cure duties."
Kiriko's eyes shrunk to pinpricks, her mouth agape as she tried to form some kind of excuse, an elaborate lie to make him think otherwise. But no words came to her mind, and the look in Hayase's eyes told her that he didn't have any doubts of his claim, so there wasn't much use in trying.
Kiriko then exhaled a sigh, placing her hand behind her head as she said sheepishly," I guess we didn't do a good job in keeping our identities a secret, huh?"
But then, another thought came to Kiriko, something that made her instantly feel suspicious as she asked in a casual voice," To figure out my alter ego is one thing, but to know I'm a Pretty Cure...how did you arrive to that conclusion?"
Hayase forced a laugh, saying," I was going to get to that. See, my parents are from the Laruan Kingdom. So, I know all about this Pretty Cure stuff and I know about Cure Cheer too. Which is actually what I wanted to talk about. As your friend, I can't let you continue doing this. You need to quit your role as Pretty Cure."
Kiriko couldn't believe her ears, only sputtering out," Are you insane? We can't do that! If we don't fight against Asperity, then who will? The kingdom will face a hundred percent rate of defeat if we abandon them at this point. Lilith has almost everything she needs to overthrow the kingdom, we can't give in so easily! Do you think Cure Cheer was so quick to call it quits?"
"No, but she should've been." Hayase stated, though Kiriko didn't seem to be following," You're not thinking straight when it comes to this Pretty Cure stuff. You're so set on winning that you aren't even considering the other possibilities, like what might happen in the case things don't go your way. Just like what happened to Cure Cheer."
Kiriko shook her head, taking a stand as she said," This is your parents' kingdom we're talking about, don't you care at all about what happens to it?"
"It's not that I don't care, it's just...I don't want to lose one of my best friends. Cure Cheer thought she had no other choice but to fight, and that led her to her death. She probably had friends and a family that had to suffer from losing her and, I don't want the two of you to share the same fate. Yeah, she saved the kingdom, but she had to exchange her life for that. You're one of the most talented people I know, it'd be unfair to watch you throw it all away." Hayase explained to her, trying his hardest to keep his tone calm.
Kiriko sat back down, keeping her gaze away from Hayase as she shook her head and said," This is my choice and mine alone. I understand your concern, really, but...I'm not going to just back down, knowing I can do something and fix things. Yeah, I may not matter to this kingdom and I may not make it out in one piece but...I can't just stop and do nothing. I feel like that's all I ever done, and I'm sick of it."
"So that's your final answer." Hayase said plainly, his gaze failing to meet Kiriko's as he started thinking to himself," I was so sure that with some logic, some rationality, you'd reconsider. This is really unlike you, I should've prepared more for this. But, I guess it's nice seeing you so determined and driven about something. I'll admit, it almost seems out of character, maybe even a bit ironic for you to get so passionate over a kingdom of toys."
"Yeah, I guess so." Kiriko answered with a chuckle," But, I like doing this. Despite the fact that I was practically forced into it, it's been making me feel and see things differently, and I don't think I would've been able to become the person I'm turning into without Pretty Cure. I'm sorry for wasting your time Hayase, really, but...you can't change my mind. My team and I are set on ending things with Asperity."
Hayase didn't say anything and only smiled a pained smile while Kiriko collected herself and said," It's getting kind of late, I should be on my way. I'll see you at school on Monday, alright?"
"Yeah, take care." Hayase said while Kiriko headed out.
Once Kiriko exited the house, she took a deep sigh and said to herself," This is no good. If he knows about the fact that I'm a Pretty Cure, does that means he knows the identities of the others? I hope he won't try to convince the girls. If I'm lucky, he'll assume I speak for the team."
Kiriko walked to the bus stop and started to think more about how she must've worried Kozue when she went after Rubix. She shook her head, knowing that she probably should've gone to see Kozue so her sister knew that she was ok. Thinking about it now, that might have been the closest she'd been to exposing her Pretty Cure secret. Kiriko had a feeling she was going to be met with a flood of questions from her sister the moment she got home, so Kiriko figured now would be a good time to create out some answers.
She rested her fist against her cheek and watched as cloud started to form above her. It appeared as if it was going to rain soon, and unfortunately for Kiriko, she didn't have an umbrella on her.
Just then, a thought came to her. What if Kozue already knew? She had been sure Hayase had no idea and yet he knew everything, and it's not like they fought in secluded areas, there was a chance that someone may have seen them, captured a photo of them and Kozue had seen it, but chose not to confront Kiriko about it. For a second, Kiriko felt as if she was over thinking, but once she remembered how Hayase knew and completely caught her off-guard, she felt as if she wasn't thinking enough.
"Just what do I do?" Kiriko asked herself softly before she heard footsteps coming down the road. Instinctively, she looked up and found none other than Asuna walking down the road, her headphones in and a red umbrella in her hands. She waved to Kiriko and walked over towards her, taking note of the distressed expression on her face.
"Are you still thinking about what happened earlier today?" Asuna asked as she took her headphones off and leaned against the walls of the bus shelter.
Kiriko looked at her warily and took some time before responding, saying only," Do you wonder if our friends have caught on? Or, have been worrying over us?"
"What?" Asuna asked plainly before she actually put some thought into Kiriko's question," Well, my friends know Pretty Cure exist but...I don't think they have any clue that its us, nor do they have any concern over the safety of the Pretty Cure. Why do you ask?"
"Because somebody already knows." Kiriko thought to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Asuna. She looked up to Asuna and played things off casually and said,
"Well, I don't know, we've been parading around town like this for months, I think we should be anticipating some kinda rumors going around about us."
Asuna narrowed her eyes at Kiriko and replied," Yeah, I guess that's true. Have your parents questioned you about it?"
"Ah, no. They wouldn't have the time to be bothered about rumors of some girls in frilly dresses beating up monsters around town." Kiriko said as she waved her hand in dismissal," Their work's much more important to them anyways."
Asuna nodded and then took a seat next to Kiriko, just to keep her company as she waited for the bus. Some of the clouds parted but then it started to downpour quickly. Kiriko watched the rain splatter against the sidewalk, while Asuna looked up at the sun that peeked its way through some of the clouds.
"What would you do if they found out?" Asuna asked, her gaze still on the sun trying to part from the clouds.
Kiriko looked down at her lap, not even the slightest bit surprised by Asuna's question since her parents had been on her mind too. Kiriko looked over in the direction where the bus was supposed to come from, her fist resting against her cheek.
"I'm not sure." Kiriko answered with a sigh," I think I'd try to lie about it, cover it up some way to make sure their suspicions were gone."
Asuna nodded, staying quiet while the two of them continued to watch the rain pour. Kiriko saw the bus coming down the road and just before she went outside of the bus shelter, Asuna poked her with the umbrella and motioned her to take it.
"If that time ever comes...I'll do my best to try and help you, ok?" Asuna declared as she held out the umbrella. Kiriko looked down at the umbrella and thought it suspicious of Asuna to give it away when the bus was right here. But, she would have to walk about ten minutes to her house after she got off the bus. So, Kiriko gingerly took the umbrella and smiled to her before she got on the bus.
As Kiriko sat on the bus, she looked out the window and thought about something that had happened to her when she was little.
Kiriko loved playing with her dolls as a little girl, always seen with a pair of dolls in her hands. Her dolls were quite fancier than others too and they all donned very high-quality dresses and had long hair. Kiriko was also a very imaginative child and she loved making stories for her dolls.
When Kiriko got home, she was met by her entire household waiting in the living room for her. Kiriko was startled by the sight, jumping slightly when her eyes met the three of them sitting in the living room. That was three more figures than she was used to. Kiriko waved to them awkwardly, taking note of the unpleasant looks her parents had, while Kozue's gaze refused to meet hers. She walked into the living room, sporting an obviously forced grin and sat herself down on the chair right in front of them.
"I hope I haven't kept you waiting for too long." Kiriko stated, trying her best to keep her tone calm as the smile from her face was dropped," I didn't mean to worry you all the way I did tonight, but I'm home now and that's all that matters, right?"
They all stayed quiet, so Kiriko took it as her cue to leave.
Kiriko stood up from her seat as she said, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I-"
"Kiriko, stay in your seat." Her mother demanded as she took a stand and looked at Kozue with discern before setting her gaze on Kiriko.
"Kozue was a frantic mess the second she got home, but she tried to hide it and say you just went to see a friend. That wasn't what really happened, was it?" Kiriko's mother questioned.
Kiriko's face flushed red and she stammered out," W-well, not entirely, but you see the reason that happened was-"
"Kiriko, you're a smart girl. You should have known better than to go out with Kozue." Kiriko's mother chided bitterly as she turned to face Kozue," You haven't even been home for a whole twenty-four hours and already you're causing trouble! How negligent are you to leave your sister out and just go home without her? Think about what would've happened if she got hurt! For goodness' sakes, the last thing I need is for her to adopt your reckless habits and lifestyle."
Kozue looked down at the ground, her eyes looking glassy as she drew out a deep sigh as she muttered to herself," You know, that wouldn't be so bad."
She then balled her fists and took a deep breath as she stood up and said," You know, Kiriko doesn't have to be conditioned and treated like some prodigy. Yes, she is a smart girl, but she can make her own decisions and guess what? It doesn't make her "reckless" or anything like that for doing so! I know you guys aren't the slightest bit approving of what I do but that doesn't mean this gives you the right to force Kiriko into a career or anything. She'll do what's best for her."
The room fell awfully quiet, it was unsettling after all the shouting that just occurred. Nobody said a word for a few long moments until Kiriko said,
"I'm going to my room."
Kiriko walked up to her bedroom slowly, to keep her pounding headache from getting worse. Her head was spinning, and she had no clue what to place her focus on, her Pretty Cure concerns or her dispute with her family. Once Kiriko entered her bedroom, she quietly walked over to her bed and just took a seat and the foot of it, something which confused Rani and instantly made her worry. Rani had grown accustomed to watching Kiriko crash onto her bed that anything deviating from that meant trouble to her.
Rani went to Kiriko's side and sat next to her and asked," Is there anything I can do?"
Kiriko was quiet, too lost in her thoughts to provide Rani with a response.
"Why must my parents be so mean to Kozue?" Kiriko asked aloud, though she didn't appear to be directing the question at Rani," She wasn't at fault for what happened earlier and besides, she did try everything she could to find me."
Kiriko then reached for her pillow and hugged it tight, as she said," Actually, it's been like this for awhile now, hasn't it? My sister gets chided for everything she does or fails to do, all because mom and dad just see her as careless. But that really isn't the case. Kozue said I'll do what's best for me, but...how can I be sure I'm doing just that?"
Rani went to go get a book sitting at the side table next to Kiriko bed while Kiriko continued to speak.
"I know people think I'm very sure of all the decisions I make but to be honest, I feel the exact opposite. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I let outside forces influence my decisions, I don't like being in control because I get scared of letting everyone down. How is Kozue so sure I'll do what's best for me?"
Kiriko looked down into her lap as she tossed the pillow onto the floor. All kinds of thoughts were swarming through her head and she just couldn't take a moment to reset herself. At least not until Rani held out a book towards her.
"I understand you're under a lot of stress right now, so maybe doing something to cheer yourself up might help." Rani suggested as she handed Kiriko the book. Kiriko looked at the picture book with a nostalgic smile on her face. The cover of the book had originally been covered with sparkles but a good chunk of them had flaked off over time. The pages were no longer the bright white that they used to be and the book had long lost its new book smell, but Kiriko didn't seem to mind.
The book was titled "The Doll's secret life" and had a very large hard cover with pastel colours on it. Rani had yet to see Kiriko touch the book and only saw it laying on her side table for the past couple of days. Kiriko motioned Rani to sit next to her so they could read the story together.
"Not everything is what it seems and life for this sweet little doll isn't any exception..." Kiriko read aloud while Rani looked at the pictures on the page.
"What does she do?" Rani asked as she leaned in closer, eager to find out more about the doll.
"You'll see." Kiriko informed as she flipped over the page.
Rani did indeed get to learn more about the doll, while Kiriko read the story out loud. The doll, never given a name in the tale, was strong and studious, working very hard when nightfall came. In the story, her owner was having issues with her studies, so the doll decides to learn the material she's been given to help her learn. But, the girl can never find out that the doll is alive so she must do it in secret. On the morning of a big test, the owner wakes up to find a giant study sheet on her table to help her comprehend the subjects on the test, but never finds out who made it for her.
"Wow, I really liked that story! The doll in the story reminds me a lot of you Kiriko!" Rani remarked while Kiriko closed the book, who only shrugged in response.
"I guess, but, she has bright pink hair, and she's very outspoken. I personally don't think I'm like quite like her." Kiriko stated plainly before she looked at the name of the author on the book. Kiriko narrowed her eyes on it, wondering why she hadn't noticed it before and was about to point it out to Rani until she heard a knock on her door.
"Come in." Kiriko said quietly as she put the book at her side and looked over to the doorway.
Kozue walked in, giving Kiriko a stiff wave before she joined her in sitting on the bed. Kiriko smiled at her and Kozue did the same, though her smile felt a bit strained, which felt out of character for the easygoing Kozue.
"I'm sorry for what happened earlier." Kozue said, a large sigh escaping her lips while Kiriko was about to dismiss her apology, but Kozue wouldn't let her," I know you don't see it as a big deal because you're home safe but...I mean, come on, you saw how mad mom got and it wasn't just because they see me as irresponsible. They're relying on you to follow the path they made for you. They want you to end up just like them with a "perfect job", "perfect house", "perfect life" and well, I guess I just wanted to say is that, if that's what you really want, that's totally cool. But, if you feel like you're hesitating, like you're having doubts on if that's what you should do, then just know that it's ok if you stray from what they want. Yes, they want what's best for you but that doesn't mean that what they think is best will work out. A perfect life looks different to everyone, so...don't feel like there's only one choice, only one way to live the life that you have. There isn't. You just have to be brave enough to accept that and discover some stuff, about both the world around you, and yourself."
Kiriko fell quiet, unsure of what to say to her sister and only gave her a weak nod, though her gaze was fixated on her.
"Ah, I didn't mean to overwhelm you either!" Kozue said in her defense as she threw her arm over Kiriko's shoulder," I just...I want to see grow up happy and successful. I don't want you to feel as if you need to choose one over the other."
Kiriko smiled and rested her head on Kozue's shoulder and said," Thank you for watching over me and for your concern. I haven't been in the right head space these past few days, but I'm glad we had this talk. You notice more things than I do, I don't know what I'd do without you keeping your eye on me, even if you aren't always here."
Kozue laughed and patted Kiriko on the back, saying," Of course! That's what a big sister is for, right?"
The girls went to bed for the night soon after that, with both of them feeling a lot less tense than earlier.
Kiriko had work the next morning and had to wake up early for her shift as always. Everyone was still at home, but the only ones awake at this hour were Kiriko and Rani. As Kiriko pulled her work polo over her head, she thought only about the conversation she had last night with Kozue, knowing that brooding on the other events that occurred yesterday would've probably given her a headache to think about after just waking up. Today, she only wanted things to be light, simple and free from any arguments.
Kiriko collected her things into her bag and took a moment to watch the sunlight pour in through her windows.
"It'd be nice to just go a day without thinking of Pretty Cure stuff but, at this point, that's become hard to do with all the fighting we've done these last few weeks." Kiriko thought to herself," All I can do is just hope for a quick, easy battle instead of no battle at all."
When Kiriko walked out of her house, she didn't even get a chance to see Kozue as she was still asleep. She wanted to talk to her a little bit more, maybe even get her input on the dispute she and Hayase had last night, leaving out the Pretty Cure details of course. But it appeared it would have to wait until after her shift.
"Why didn't I see this coming?" Kiriko said to herself as she got on the bus," I guess it was only a matter of time until there'd be an overlap between Pretty Cure matters and my regular life. I have a city to protect but, at the same time..."
Kiriko looked up towards the mirror near the rear door of the bus, not able to find her reflection for a moment,"...I need to take some time and understand myself."
Back at Kiriko's house, Kiriko's mother, Konomi woke up earlier than usual, unable to sleep well last night. Konomi made herself a cup of coffee in the empty kitchen as she thought about yesterday's events. She felt less angered now that some time had passed, but she was still frustrated with Kozue. Her eyes traveled to the kitchen table and she noticed a lunch box sitting on top of it.
"Oh dear..." She said to herself as she put her cup down.
Soon enough Kiriko reached her stop, not even the slightest bit surprised that no one was in sight at this hour in the morning. It was peaceful, but being alone on the street gave Kiriko more to brood over her past choices over the last few months.
"I thought I had made progress with leaving cram school and putting my own interests first but...I'm not sure where I could've benefitted from that. If we're not counting more free time as a benefit. This is harder than I expected, I don't know what good I can do."
"I agree." A familiar voice said flatly from above her. Kiriko looked up in an instant, only to find Rubix standing atop of a street light. Kiriko didn't seem the slightest bit surprised, only a bit agitated, rubbing her eyes before taking a quick look around to see if any other people were present.
"You're awfully persistent, am I going to get an explanation as to why?" Kiriko asked as she narrowed her eyes at Rubix, reaching for something in her pocket. Rubix leaned in an inch towards her once she noticed Kiriko trying to take what she believed to be the PlayPact.
"I'll just end things by destroying that PlayPact to spare me the trouble of a fight with her!" Rubix thought to herself. Rubix then jumped towards her and Kiriko evaded her attack, revealing that she was taking out her phone instead.
"Asuna? Sorry to wake you up so early in the morning, but I've got trouble here at you can round up the other girls to help out too?" Kiriko asked just as Rubix darted towards her. Rubix knocked the phone out of her hands and Kiriko tried to grab for it, leaving her wide open. Rubix placed her hand in front of Kiriko and somehow pulled the PlayPact out of her pocket. Rubix held the PlayPact in her hands, an unusually familiar feeling welling up inside her as she grasped it. She clenched it tight and looked over to Kiriko.
"Now you can go back to your regular life, this was the only thing keeping from it." Rubix pointed out to her, as she dropped it onto the floor," I'm sure you have better things to do anyways."
Kiriko simply stared down Rubix, knowing she was partly right. Rubix took her silence as a form of agreement.
"Take a look, I can just end your Pretty Cure career quickly just like that-!" Rubix said, dropping her heel onto the PlayPact in mid-sentence. But, instead of the PlayPact breaking underneath her, the PlayPact emitted a ray of lilac light so strong, it pushed Rubix a few feet back and would've left her knocked off her feet if she hadn't been so quick to react.
"But, even if I've got better things to do, I know I'd only feel worse if my left my Pretty Cure duties behind. I'll have you know I absolutely hate leaving a task incomplete." Kiriko pointed out to her as she walked over to her PlayPact. She picked it up, a warm smile rising to her face as she held it close.
"And this is no exception." She stated as she held it up high," Pretty Cure, it's Playtime!"
"The princess of wishes, Cure Dolly!" Dolly introduced a split-second afterwards.
Rubix narrowed her eyes at Dolly while the blonde Cure dashed towards her. If Rubix thought she could sway the opinion of any member on their team, it was definitely Dolly. Not because she seemed foolish enough to trick, quite the opposite actually. Dolly was immensely smart, so of course she had to see the reason on why she shouldn't be fighting. But, it appeared Dolly was more headstrong than she let on.
Dolly went in full-speed ahead and flung a kick towards Rubix, who dodged by jumping up high joined her hands together, unleashing a blue and pink pair of cubes once her hands were separated. She launched them towards Dolly, who dodged the attack with ease but didn't realize the cubes had yet to disappear. The cubes followed her and just as Dolly tried to physically break them apart with a punch, the cube affixed itself around her hands as well as her legs and joined themselves together, leaving Dolly unable to fight.
"I don't care if you're still insistent on fighting, since it apparently doesn't change how well you fight." Rubix claimed as she stood closer towards Dolly before kneeling down towards her," I'm almost tempted to make a Defective from you."
"I'd sure like to see you try." Dolly said as she tried to break the cubes off from her wrists. Rubix then stood up straight again, looking for a victim to make a Defective out of. Just then, the two of them saw a car pull up into the parking lot next door and out came Konomi with the lunch box in hand.
"Hopefully her shift hasn't started just yet..." Konomi muttered to herself as she walked towards Echo.
"Perfect." Rubix said to herself as a large grin appeared on her face while she conjured up a tiny black diamond,"Go forth and corrupt her Patchwork Heart!"
The black diamond raced towards Konomi and merged itself with her Patchwork Heart without her realizing it.
"Stop! Please, please, please, not her!" Dolly begged, but Rubix didn't listen.
Rubix found a newspaper stand and had the diamond merge with the stand as she shouted," Do your worst, Defective!"
"Defective!" The defective bellowed before the two of them.
Just before Dolly had more time to process what just happened, the rest of her team arrived and ready for a fight.
Bubbly gave the Defective a quick head-to-toe examination, taking note that it seemed a bit smaller than what they were used to, but she definitely wasn't going to complain. She then turned her attention to Rubix and realized something important.
"Is this the first time we've fought a Defective with Rubix here?" She asked aloud before the Defective charged towards them.
Fantasy leapt up as high as she could to drill a kick into the Defective. Despite the fact that the Defective was small, it was indeed strong and couldn't be moved by a simple kick. Instead, Fantasy felt more impact from the kick than the Defective did and withdrew to Bubbly's side for a few moments.
"It would appear so," Fantasy responded as she kneeled down for a second," But, we can't let our guard down. If Rubix is strong enough to leave our whole team beat than think of what her Defectives can do!"
Teddy then darted towards the Defective and delivered a flaming punch right into it's core and said," She's right, plus we're down one member as of right now, so we don't have any time to waste!"
Teddy's punch did a good job against the Defective and even left a hole in the center of the Defective, leaving her feeling quite proud. But then, it appeared the Defective was repairing itself somehow as the hole was suddenly closing up. The Cures all looked at the hole in surprise, eyes opened wide with a curious look in them as they stared at the spot where the hole once was. They exchanged expression with each other, just to see if they all saw what they thought they saw.
"What happened to the hole you made?" Bubbly asked, though she already knew Teddy didn't have the answer.
"This is going to take a lot more work than I thought..." Teddy admitted as she drew out a sigh as dashed towards the Defective, with Fantasy and Bubbly following afterwards.
"I'm assuming you have a plan in mind." Fantasy said to Teddy as they continued to run to the Defective, with Teddy nodding in response as she sped up towards the Defective.
She leapt up and aimed for the same spot she hit before but instead, she didn't use a punch powered with flames and only punched normally. Fantasy flinched, expecting Teddy to feel pain identical to hers when she kicked the Defective, but instead, Teddy seemed to be ok. When Teddy was back on the ground, Fantasy looked at her suspiciously but Bubbly ran to her side, ready to praise her.
"Oh I see what you were trying to do!" Bubbly explained as she motioned Fantasy to join them," Once a spot on the Defective is repaired, it becomes more sensitive!"
Teddy nodded in response and the Cures huddled together closely, with Teddy saying," Ok, so what's gonna happen is I make the holes, you guys aim for those exact spots once they close up again."
Bubbly and Fantasy nodded in response and the Cures executed their plan.
The three of them were quick to attack the Defective, now that they were confident there was a way to defeat it. But, Rubix was just as quick to catch on to what they were doing, and made the decision to let them have their fun for now, only to take it away from them just when they least expected it.
Dolly writhed in the grip of the block on her wrist and looked over to Rubix who was standing right in front of her. As she fought with the blocks, Dolly noticed Rubix was fidgeting with her right hand, closing and opening it in a rhytmatic fashion. Rubix didn't seem like the type to fidget, so Dolly looked up and noticed that the door on the Defective's body was swinging open and gradually door the was opening more and more. Once the door on the Defective's body was fully opened, a mass of newspapers flew out and stuck each Cure onto a building, as if it were tape.
"It's not coming off!" Bubbly griped as she tried to tear off the newspaper with both her hands and even shooting water towards it.
Rubix looked quite pleased by the sight of all the Cures unable to move an inch and walked over to them, and took a long look at each Cure. Rubix closed her eyes and held her hands over her chest.
"It would appear playtime's over now." Rubix declared as she clasped her hands together," I hope you had as much fun as I did."
"Come on, you gotta get out of here, now!" Dolly whispered to herself as she tried break off the blocks. Dolly then decided to use her last resort and said quietly while stretching as much as she could,
"Pretty Cure, wishful cyclone!"
Her attack manage to hit Rubix square on her back, resulting in her getting blasted a few feet away. Dolly smiled, knowing that if Rubix saw it coming, her attack would've been a wasted effort. She felt lucky she hit a blind spot. As soon as Rubix was hit, Dolly noticed that her block cuffs weren't as strong as before so she clenched her fists and pull them away from each other and somehow, they broke off. Dolly then ran towards her fellow Cures in an instant but once she stood before them, she felt defeated again once she realized she didn't even have a plan to get them free.
"I have no clue what I can do..." Dolly thought to herself as a weary look appeared on her face, before a thought came to her," Hey that might work!"
She turned around to face the Defective and called out," Pretty Cure, pretend mode!"
She spread her hands far from each other and a wall of fire burned between them violently, she took a deep breath and pushed the flames forward to hit the Defective. Only, the attack didn't quite hit the Defective but rather, trapped it. The Defective was encased inside this flaming wall and the Defective tried to break down the wall through brute force. But every time it came in contact with the wall, a hole was made in it but this time, the holes weren't repairing themselves. The Defective wasn't sure of what to do and at this point, there was a giant collection of holes on it so it just stood there helplessly.
Fantasy looked over to Rubix who was holding her hand out closing it and opening again, as if she was trying to do something to the Defective. She looked down at her hand in disbelief, and then towards the Defective.
"It isn't working..." She said to herself, her voice filled with shock.
When the flame wall diminished, Dolly then preformed one last attack on the Defective.
"Pretty Cure, Wishing Tempest!"
A bright purple, pink and white windstorm emerged from out of nowhere and tossed the Defective up high into the sky and let it drop down with the grace of a wrecking ball. Once the Defective was back on the ground again, it couldn't move at all and Dolly made use of this opportunity to purify it.
She held her left hand up high and in her hand appeared her scepter. She took a deep breath and then held the scepter out in front of the Defective.
"Pretty Cure, Dressing Dolly Parade!" She yelled out as the atmosphere around her turned pink, violet and white. A mass of stars appeared and smothered the Defective to return it to its original form. The Defective was purified and reverted back into a regular outdoor newspaper box.
Once the Defective turned back to normal, the newspaper on the Cures disappeared and they were able to separate themselves from the buildings. Dolly motioned her teammates over to her and gave them a thumbs-up.
"Good job today ladies, you all did really well in this fight. I'm really proud of you all." Dolly praised as she held her hand over her heart," Especially you Teddy, today your fighting style was a bit different but just as effective. What exactly was your mindset during this fight?"
Teddy seemed a bit hesitant to answer but eventually she said," WWDD."
All the Cures eyed her with a confused look on their faces and so, Teddy exhaled a sigh and said," What would Dolly do. Basically, I've been trying something new lately. While I still like how I fight, I've come to understanding that it's not always going to be as effective as I wanted it to be and if I want to keep being a useful member, I need to expand on my fighting style. So, I thought about fighting the way you do and...it worked."
Dolly was at a loss of words and only smiled in response," I see. My fighting style...it's full of strategizing and thinking. I'm constantly trying to figure out the best method of action, I'm sorta like a machine in that sense, trying to uncover how to do things in the most efficient and effective ways possible. I'm glad you were able to make use of my fighting style today."
Later, when Kiriko got home, she sat in her room by herself with Rani asleep next to her. Kiriko laid on her bed silently before she started to speak aloud to herself.
"I finally get why I feel so hesitant and unsure of myself." Kiriko declared," Because my parents were so successful, I'm worried I'll never be able to reach the level success like they did nor meet their expectations. My standards on myself are so high, only because that's what they've expected from me this whole time. But...Kozue was onto something. Success should only be measured by my happiness and nothing else."