Jack and Domino stood in an open field in the human world, completely free of their tasks from Asperity and Lilith's orders. If only this freedom could've lasted them forever. Neither of them wanted to admit, at least not while they were at Asperity but, neither of them could stand being a part of Asperity any longer. Domino chose to bottle up how he felt, deciding that it would've been hopeless for him trying to change things, but for Jack, he felt the exact opposite. Domino knew better than anyone else that Jack may've been an impulsive person, but Jack knew his intuition wouldn't ever fail him, and today was no exception. Even if Lilith was their own blood, she was heading down a path they could no longer follow, at least, not if they wanted to stay as they once were.
Jack looked around the field, making sure that they weren't being spied on by Rubix or anything. The coast was clear, not a single member from Asperity aside from Domino could be found and they could finally get to work.
"Alright, you said you were sure that function you had installed into you was gonna work, so we're good to go?" Jack asked expectantly, though Domino wasn't as certain as him.
"Jack, it only said standard reset, I don't know how much reverting it will do." Domino protested as he held his forearm where his little control panel was placed up close," It's not very precise, so I don't know if taking the risk will be worth it."
Domino held his hand out towards a single flower in the field and pressed a sequence of buttons on the control panel. He then held out his hand wider and a hole opened in his palm, letting an electric blue, white and black ray of light shoot out of it towards the flower. The flower was gone and in its place was a little seed. Domino walked over to it and picked up the seed to show it to Jack. Jack appeared to be impressed but that wasn't what Domino had intended.
"Do you want to end up like this?" Domino questioned as he held the seed closer to Jack's face.
Jack took the seed from together and squeezed it in his paw as he said," It'd beat staying at Asperity, that's for sure."
Domino fell quiet, he was well aware of how Jack was feeling towards Asperity these days and he didn't blame him for it since he shared those feelings. The animosity, the purest feeling of betrayal when they were told they weren't good enough despite all their efforts. Domino told himself multiple times that it was to be expected, but the more he said it, the less he believed it.
"Do you think anybody would be happy being reduced to this?" Jack asked as he gestured to his body," Domino, please...try it for my sake."
Domino nodded once in response and stretched his arm out in front of Jack, keying in the same sequence as before. Domino turned his head slightly, afraid of what he might see in Jack's place once the ray was shot. The ray hit Jack dead on and a puff of white smoke appeared, enveloping him whole in the process. Domino then heard coughing from inside the smoke and rushed over to Jack to see how much he had 'reset'.
The smoke cleared up and standing there was the same old human looking Jack, looking just like he did pre-modification with his fair skin, black and red hair and matching clothes, though his signature red vest had gone missing. Jack tried to fan of the smoke away with his hand before he took in his surroundings curiously. Domino grew nervous, watching Jack inspect the field as if he had no idea how he got here. It was nice to see the reset went as planned for the most part, but still, something seemed amiss with Jack.
Jack then set his gaze on Domino and walked closer towards him, a look of pure amusement and wonder in his crimson eyes as he glided his fingers against Domino's control panel.
"Whoa, is this one of those A.I things?" Jack asked, though it didn't look like he was asking Domino as he started pressed random buttons on his control panel.
"Jack, don't you know who am I?" Domino asked as he brushed his 'hand' on to Jack's shoulder.
Jack gave an awkward chuckle, leaning in closer to inspect Domino some more so he could get some clues to who he was. After a few moments of scrutinizing Domino, he drew out a deep sigh and shook his head.
"Sorry, not much of a gear head. Can't find your model number or any specs either..." Jack answered as he crossed his arms," So...my name is Jack?"
"You didn't already know that?" Domino questioned, his tone growing anxious," Exactly how much do you know about yourself?"
Jack looked at the ground for a few moments and started to think about it, though it was clear that he was having some trouble with remembering as he remained silent. If nothing came to head in an instant, then it was certain; Jack's memories were missing.
"If you can't remember, it's fine." Domino assured as he waved his 'hand' in dismissal," Your name is indeed Jack and..."
"It'd beat staying at Asperity, that's for sure."
"...You work part-time at a convenience store! You're in the middle of a gap year, you plan to return to your studies of warehouse logistics in the fall and right now...all you want is to be a free spirit, you're a handful, but your heart's in the right place." Domino explained to him. His insides writhed with guilt since he had nothing to back up his claims, but...Jack had always been somewhat easy to fool, so hopefully he wouldn't catch on. Though, a part of him hoped that Jack wouldn't believe him, that his memories would return the second he heard some false claims about his life.
"I see..." Jack said plainly as he walked around Domino," So...are you my A.I.?"
"What? No. I...you asked me to part ways with you when this time came." Domino explained briskly," You said you wanted to be on your own for a bit. So if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave."
"Oh ok, take care I guess." Jack said as Domino disappeared, returning to Asperity.
Jack looked around the empty field, devoid of any other people and stuffed his hands in his pockets while trying to determine which way to go.
"Guess I should've asked him where my house was..." Jack said to himself as he looked around the field.
The four Cures were gathered in Kiriko's bedroom, all sitting at the her while Kiriko was drawing notes on to a little white board she recently bought. The three of them thought it to be a tad unnecessary, but Kiriko wanted to write everything she knew down just to bring a sense of organization to herself. In times like these, it really felt like she was grasping at straws for some order but she persisted and wrote as much information as she could.
"She's writing awfully fast, I wonder if her hand's cramping?" Sophie asked the group quietly, with Nova sitting on her lap.
"She's smudging everything as she goes..." Asuna pointed out, squinting her eyes at the board to make out what Kiriko was writing," It must be weird being left-handed."
"Ok, so now that we've seen at least twice now...I think this might be something we'll have to expect from now on." Kiriko said as she faced the group," These talking Defectives."
"The first case was particularly unique, because we got the chance to speak with the child and his toy together..." Rani reminded them with the group nodding in agreement.
Kotaro was in tears, from both the joy of seeing Arthur again and the guilt of losing him in the first place. Kotaro hugged Arthur as tight as he could, with Arthur trying his best to return the hug. Kiriko had never seen anything quite like it, and the sight of it warmed her heart. But, now wasn't the time to gush at a scene like this. Kiriko wanted answers.
"How long has Arthur been able to talk to you?" Kiriko asked Kotaro in a low voice," I promise I won't tell anyone else."
Kotaro looked apprehensive, taking a small step backwards as he held on to Arthur tighter. Kiriko tried wearing a reassuring look on her face, but it didn't do any good in convincing Kotaro otherwise.
"Kotaro, it's ok. You can trust her." Arthur affirmed as he looked up towards Kotaro.
Kotaro's head shot down to Arthur who never once spoke around anyone except him until now. Kotaro pursed his lips and stared at Kiriko for a few long moments until he took a deep breath and nodded a single nod.
"It's been a few months..." Kotaro explained to Kiriko, inviting her to take a seat underneath the slide with him. Kiriko didn't want this conversation to take longer than it needed to, since Kai tagged along to pick up their little brother from the park. Kiriko looked over to Kai, who was chatting away on the phone with someone. They appeared to be quite invested in their call, so a couple extra minutes with Kotaro probably would've gone unnoticed by them. So, Kiriko did her best in taking a seat with him until the miniature slide.
"I've had Arthur ever since I was little, Kai helped me name him. Anyways, one day when I was playing with him, Arthur just suddenly came to life! But...I haven't told anyone about it yet, I'm worried they might try to take Arthur away if he's found out. Not even Kai knows about it." Kotaro said, with both of them glancing towards Kai, who was still on the phone.
"My suspicions of Kotaro being Kai's adoptive brother and being an orphan from the kingdom were proven wrong. I thought even if Kotaro didn't know how Arthur came into being, his Patchwork Heart would've acted on its own and divided itself with Arthur but...it's too far-fetched. Kotaro also had no sense of magic within him plus...he does look an awful lot like Kai." Kiriko explained, though even she felt unsatisfied with this conclusion.
"But...I thought you could only divide your Patchwork Heart in the kingdom?" Sophie asked the two fairies," What makes Kotaro so different?"
"And...Osashi was a different case, right?" Mari questioned after a few moments, with Kiriko nodding in response.
"Osashi's plush was easier to brainwash for Asperity, it's probably because it had yet to own half of Osashi's Patchwork Heart." Kiriko stated, leaning against the wall next to the mini white board," This new breed of Defectives are bothering me...they're mysterious and I don't know how they could be appearing so suddenly."
Kiriko glanced at her whiteboard again, feeling her insides contort knowing that these sentient, more aware Defectives were a sign that Asperity was getting stronger. It wasn't only the Defective that signaled this and knowing that their opponents had undergone so many changes in their organization made her worry that they wouldn't be able to keep up. Kiriko uncapped the dry-erase marker in her hand and started erasing some of stuff she had written on the board, wondering if her fellow Cures shared the same concerns as her but unwilling to voice these thoughts in case of making them as unnerved as she was.
As if reading Kiriko's mind, Asuna then said," Well even if they started making stronger Defectives, it's not like we haven't grown either."
Asuna did make a good point, with the other Cures nodding in response. Kiriko looked at Asuna for a few moments, a small smile appearing on her face before she started writing away on the board. Once Kiriko was finished writing the two-word phrase, she took a step to the side to let everyone see the board.
"That's right, we've still got the Patchwork Mode." Kiriko said to the team," It may not feel like much now...but, it's a big accomplishment and it shows how far we've come. It won't be long until our last fight, so we can't have any doubts. Not anymore."
Kiriko then glanced outside and noticed it was started to get dark. Since she was going to be home alone for the rest of the evening, Kiriko considered having the rest of the Cures stay for a little longer for dinner, even though that wasn't something she'd normally do. It would've been more an act out of courtesy. But, Asuna stood up from her seat and stretched out her arms as she said,
"It's getting late so I'm going to head out." Asuna said to the group, taking Nova from Sophie and gathering her things. Sophie and Mari followed suite and start to getting ready to take their leave with her, letting Kiriko feel a sense of relief knowing that she could have some time to herself before the day came to an end. Once they all collected their bags and got their coats from downstairs, the three of them left Kiriko and Rani together. As soon as the girls left, Kiriko let out a yawn she had been holding inside of her for a while and marched into the kitchen to get started on dinner.
Jack had been walking through the streets of towns for hours now, from sunset to dawn, he hadn't even thought about taking a break until he found his home, which he knew at this point would've been damn near impossible if he didn't have his memories. But, there was strange, but enticing tranquility in the dead of night he found roaming the streets without direction. He was sure this was a sensation he had never experienced in his life, and a part of him wanted to feel it again. But for now, he'd have to hold out until the evening and persist through the streets cluttered with people and their idle chatter.
If there was anything he learned about himself during this time without his memories, it was that he prefered the night and all the quiet it had to offer. The morning, despite being the superior in terms of temperature, was a mission to get through with his constant bumping into people and getting lost from every other misstep. It looked like he strayed away from the neighbourhoods and was in some form of shopping district. The shopping district was hard to walk in, with people crowding around each and every stall, and wasn't a place that one could easily navigate through. Everyone around Jack was not only a hindrance in him finding his home, but they were also doing a good job at making him feel a bit lonely. During the night it was easy to find an odd sense of peace in the empty streets but when you're surrounded by strangers having fun in each other's company, it brings an unexpected feeling of isolation.
They all looked like they were in good spirits, laughing and chatting amongst each other as they wandered through the streets. Jack narrowed his eyes at a group of guys, wondering if he had done something like that before he lost his memories.
He then saw a small crowd of people circling around something but he didn't have any clue as to what it was. He heard some high-energy music blaring from a speaker that sounded like it came from inside the circle. So out of curiosity, he squeezed through the crowd until he made it to the front.
In the center was a girl with black and teal hair and loose clothes dancing. She wore a great big smile on her face as she danced but had yet to make eye-contact with anyone from her audience. Then, she looked up and her gaze met Jack's, who was completely entranced by her movements. She winked to him and continued dancing. Jack waved to her, but he didn't get her attention since she was too in tune with the music. Jack was determined to have her notice him again so, as her back was turned, he slowly started dancing towards her until he was beside the girl. Jack wasn't very good at dancing though, flailing his lanky arms with no sense of rhythm and wobbling his body around as if trying to mimic the girl. The girl bumped into him when dancing, and then turned around to see Jack dancing by her side. The girl giggled but continued dancing.
Some people cheered for the both of them, but most weren't pleased with Jack's appearance since it was clear that he had no clue what he was doing. But luckily for him, the girl didn't seem to care much and danced having Jack at her side without complaint. The crowd died down after a little bit and soon enough, it was just Jack and the girl. Jack hadn't improved much from when he when he started and just danced mindlessly while the girl took a little break.
"I like your style!" The girl exclaimed as she took a giant swig from her water bottle," I don't think I've seen you around here before, new in town?"
Jack stopped dancing abruptly and thought for a few moments about how to answer.
He then smiled to her sheepishly and said," I guess so."
The girl then stood up and held out her hand and introduced herself to him.
"I'm Takara, and you are?" She questioned.
Jack eyed her hand curiously but gladly shook it a few moments after saying, " I'm Jack. It's nice to meet to you."
"Well Jack, since you're new in town, did you want to explore the city a little bit with me? I know tons of great places to eat and all the best parks." Takara offered cheerfully.
"Why doesn't this even feel familiar...?" Jack thought to himself as Takara grinned. During these past few hours he was met with some familiar sensations, but none of them were pleasant ones. It made him curious about what kinda life he former one was, but knowing that he had the chance to do something fun instead of drudge through these crowded streets gave him a sense of excitement. And so, Takara took the lead and showed Jack around town. The two of them walked around for a while and during all this walking, Jack noticed that Takara was much more fit than him, who longed for a break but was overruled by his curiosity.
So to take his mind off how tired he was feeling, Jack studied Takara for a bit. Her hair fell to the small of her back, dyed a very bright teal at the ends. Her eyes were large and bright, they reminded him of the sun. But one of the more prominent things about Takara's appearance was that fashion of hers. A baggy green sleeveless hoodie hung loose against her and a pair of yellow shorts that reached her knees swished around with her each and every move. The only thing on her that wasn't bright in colour was the black skin-tight tank top that clung to her body. Jack may not have had his memories in tact, but if he knew she dressed in a way that would catch anyone's eye with all those bright colours. But they suited her, and Jack kinda liked how it made her look extra bright.
Takara eventually stopped in front of dessert cafe, but as soon as Jack laid eyes on it, he had this instinctive sense of revulsion flow within him. He only stared at the cafe sign for a few moments, his nose curled at the cloying scents trailing out of the cafe.
"Not that big of a sweet tooth?" Takara asked, with Jack shaking his head in response," That's cool, I've got a backup place down the road."
Takara ended up leading them to a pizza joint painted bright red, yellow and green. There was a sign with a huge pizza on it on top of the restaurant, and the door was open so the scent of freshly baked pizzas was hard to miss, but the thing that single-handedly caught Jack's attention was the sign that read "Happy Hour: 40% off of our spiciest pizzas!"
"Oh my god!" Jack shouted upon reading the sign, before Takara dragged him into the restaurant.
"Whoever eats the last slice wins?" Takara proposed, with Jack nodding excitedly in response.
Their time at the restaurant was well-spent, with the both of them sharing the largest, spiciest pizza they could stomach. Jack had to give up after four slices, but Takara continued eating away without any struggle. When she reached the final slice though, her stomach was starting to hurt and Jack could tell by the face she was making. So, before she was able to grab the last slice as she reached out for it, Jack held on to her arm and took the pizza with his free hand. Takara was surprised, since Jack hadn't touched the pizza in a while.
Jack hesitated for a moment but finally devoured the final slice and downed a whole glass of water afterwards. He was partly doing this to impress her, but also because he didn't want to see her push herself. Jack slammed the glass on to the table and declared in a slightly raspy voice,
"I win."
Takara opened her eyes wide, in complete shock and Jack rested his head against the top of the table, ready to pass out.
Takara then pointed a finger at Jack and said," You sneaky bastard! You pretended to tap out so you could prepare yourself for the last slice! Well-played though, so, whatever you want, consider it yours, as prize for getting the final slice."
"Anything I want?" Jack repeated in bewilderment, with Takara nodding in response.
Takara nodded to reaffirm and Jack wasted no time in telling her," I want to spend to spend more time with you."
Takara looked at him blankly for a few moments, not able to quite process what he said at first. She then chuckled, Jack's naive nature and bluntness was almost endearing to her and so, she nodded happily and stood up while extending her hand out to him.
"I'd love to." Takara declared as Jack took her hand," Come on, let's go to my place."
Domino was sitting in a room by himself at Asperity, a loading screen in the place of the usual domino tiles on his face. Inside a room fully devoid of noise and other people, Domino was free to go into simulation mode, a function he had yet to try out but had piqued his interests earlier.
In the simulation, Domino was back to his human-looking self and was lounging at some kind of bar, goggles on as he downed a shot. It was his fifth shot this night. The simulation was much more real than he expected, feeling the after burn that came with each shot he took. Domino shuddered as just folded his arms on top of the bar's table and drew out a sigh. The music in the bar is soft, but it's a tune he recognizes without fail.
"Underneath the blue sky, the wind blows toward the future, as if embracing the rays of the sun~" He sang, his words slurred as he played with the empty shot glass, cheeks slightly tinted red.
Out of concern, the bartender asked if he's had a rough day.
"More like a rough existence." Domino responded, trying to make light of his issues as he forced out a chuckle, having yet another shot.
"I feel you, man." The bartender says as he shakes a mixing bottle," We live in some rough times, but nobody ever wants to admit it. Everyone says we've came a long way but we repeat the same mistakes. It's like one step forward, two steps back."
"Two steps back..." Domino repeated inquisitively," Yes, precisely. We ultimately are doomed to repeat ourselves if we go two steps back! So to make up for it, we should take two extra steps forward!"
The bartender looked a bit confused for a moment and then laughed saying," Yeah, I guess so."
"Tell me, how do you think you'd feel if you were some kind of harbinger of despair, of asperity?" Domino asked him.
The bartender frowned, unsure of how to respond and only shook his head once, though it was hard to tell why. Was it because he didn't understand the question or didn't approve of such an idea? Domino felt unsettled as the simulation disconnected and he returned to his regular settings. Domino could feel his heart sink remembering how he let Jack go for own good. He only hoped for the best for his younger brother, that Jack was getting accustomed to Earth and finding something to make his days worthwhile.
"I still don't understand..." Domino muttered to himself as he stared at the ground," Jack didn't even know what a library was, so how the hell did he know about A.I? Did I...does Jack have new memories to recover? Memories that replace Asperity and us?"
Though it didn't feel like it, Domino knew he ultimately did the right thing and did everything in his power to convince himself so with some avail. Domino had yet to tell anyone from Asperity about Jack's defection and he intended to keep it that way. Nobody really needed to know, at least, nobody except Bounce would've been given the real reason. For all they knew, Jack went out to hunt down the Pretty Cure and was unfortunately defeated for good.
Moments later, as if on cue, Bounce knocked on the already open door and asked if she could enter. Domino nodded and allowed her in. Bounce walked into the room, unfamiliar with it, but it wasn't like she had entered many of the newer rooms here at Asperity.
"Is Jack around?" Bounce asked out of curiosity as she continued to look around the empty room.
Domino took a few moments to respond and then motioned for Bounce to take a seat. Domino then began explaining everything to her from the very beginning.
While Domino told Bounce of what happened to Jack, Rubix was standing outside the room, keeping quiet as she listened in.
Jack was trying on some clothes that Takara lent to him from her older brother since she noticed that his were slightly torn up and worn out. As Jack tried out the clothes in the washroom, he inspected himself in the mirror. He looked at the new clothes donned, a dark red v-neck t-shirt and a pair of charcoal grey shorts. He did like them, but his mind was cluttered with other thoughts right now. Ever since Takara mentioned the words 'older brother' somehow, he felt a bit disoriented. Did he have an older brother too? Did something happen between them that led to him forgetting everything? The more he tried to remember things, the more his head started to hurt. He figured it was best to try waiting for everything to come back to him naturally but even then, he worried about how this would go over with Takara. Not having any idea who he was would make Takara suspicious of him and he really didn't want that. So in the case that Takara wanted to learn more about him, he decided to go with the story that Domino told him.
Jack walked out of the washroom and found Takara lying on her bed texting someone. Takara looked up and smiled, walking over to him to straighten out his clothes. She let her fingers glide across his chest and then she looked up and ran her hand through his hair.
"I've been wondering, is your hair naturally spiky like that?" Takara asked him.
Jack froze up for a second and blurted out," Uh, I think so."
"Then why can I feel the hair gel keeping it in shape?" Takara asked as she slowly removed her hands from Jack's hair," You don't have to lie, I bet your hair looks nice when it's down too. How long has this part been dyed though? It's super bright."
"It's always been like that." Jack answered without thinking, though he wasn't fully sure how he had remembered that. Takara then nodded in understanding, and took his hand to lead him downstairs to watch some movies. Takara turned on her T.V and was picking out a movie to watch, while Jack watched her curiously.
"Takara why do you dance around the streets like?" Jack asked her as she picked out a movie," Do you get money for it?"
Takara shook her head as she inserted a disc into the DVD player saying," Nah, I get something better."
"Something better?" Jack repeated curiously as Takara stood up to sit next to him.
"I get inner peace. It's a passion that makes me feel in touch with a part of myself that I can't always be." Takara explained as she directed her gaze to her lap," It's kinda hard to explain but...I feel there's a part of everyone that we love in ourselves but others don't want to see. Some people don't really care for my style of dancing, but others seem to have fun watching me so I figured...if I can make at least one person smile with my dancing, then I guess I can continue doing it in public. If it wasn't for them, I'd probably stay dancing in my room."
"So Jack...what is it that brings you inner peace, what makes you happy?" Takara asked him.
Jack thought long and hard for a few moments, not wanting to hint at the fact that his memories were missing, though he still wanted to be sincere. A memory flashed through his brain but it was so vague though he was able to feel some form of joy from it. He was chatting with three figures, two of them were female, one was male. He assumed the male to be the older brother figure he was thinking about earlier, but he couldn't remember any of their faces. He felt frustrated with himself even though this was the closest he got to one of his memories.
"I'm happiest with my friends." Jack said softly," I like when we do things together."
Takara smiled, placing her arm around his shoulders as she exclaimed," I see, sounds like you've got some really good friends!"
Jack nodded with a smile on his face though he had a vacant look in his eye, tempted to try thinking hard about those friends he mentioned, he was sure with a bit more concentration he'd remember at least one face. But he knew it wouldn't happen so he returned his attention to Takara and the movie that was starting.
Rubix's ears were still ringing, even though Lilith had yelled at her, Domino and Bounce half an hour ago. Clearly, Rubix still wasn't used to loud sounds or dealing with people who were absolutely furious. It made her angry knowing that she didn't know how else to appease Lilith but to bring Jack back to Asperity, with or without memories.
"Jack's disappeared?! There is absolutely no way I'm letting him stay out in the human world!" Lilith decreed as she stomped her foot," The three of you are going to find him and bring him back here. He needs to be reminded that he doesn't get to do as he pleases and he can't just run off like this."
"I have to be the one to find him, I don't..." Rubix said to herself, her thoughts circling around Domino and Bounce,"...I don't trust those two."
While Jack and Takara were watching the movie, Jack noticed that Takara was getting sleepy, nodding off every few moments and was basically fighting to keep her eyes open at this point. So, Jack paused the movie and let her fall asleep. He didn't mind taking a break from the movie since he wasn't all that into it, so he thought about the events of today, nearly forgetting about the A.I he spoke with the night before.
"I'm certain if I got in contact with him I'd learn everything about myself but...what if he's keeping my past away from me for a good reason?" Jack asked quietly as he looked up to the ceiling," Have I done something wrong in my past? I guess in some ways, it would make sense. But...perhaps this a second chance."
Rubix had been staring through the window of the house for a few minutes, her eyes set on Jack. It was clear that he wasn't feeling like himself, he seemed quite different, but that corruptive magic that flowed out from Jack just like all the other Asperity members was there as always. There was no mistake, it had to be him.
Just then, Rubix appeared into the house and floated in front of Jack, with Jack staring at her in disbelief.
"Whoa, just who the heck are you? Some kinda magician?" Jack questioned though he had this nagging feeling this girl was trouble. She seemed familiar and not for a good reason, and something just told him she had to be connected to his past. Jack lightly shook Takara, keeping his eyes on Rubix.
"You've had your fun, now it's time for you to return to Asperity where you belong." Rubix said imperatively, but Jack didn't have a clue what she was talking about.
"Asperity...?" Jack repeated blankly. Again, there was something familiar but still, he couldn't grasp a single memory as hard as he tried. Rubix then landed on to the ground and leaned in closer towards him and then pulled at a gold chain he had underneath his shirt with a locket pendant attached to it. Inside of the locket was a very small black diamond but once Rubix touched it, it was restored to its normal size.
She leaned in until she was face to face with Jack as she said," Don't tell me you forgot about your family."
Takara awoke soon enough, and yawned as she said in a groggy, "Jack, what's going on? How did this girl get in here?"
Rubix turned her attention to Takara, but Jack was quick to make sure that her gaze was kept on him, since he didn't want Takara having any part in this. Jack placed his hand on Rubix's forearm and said impatiently,
"Please, I don't know who you are, but you aren't welcomed here. So if you don't mind-"
Rubix yanked her arm away from Jack and held it out in front of him, releasing a black spiraling ring to close around Jack. Jack dropped to his knees, but he wasn't in any physical pain, it was only his head that hurt him. The ring Rubix sent around him was for trying to get him to have his memories restored. Lilith showed her how to do it, but she wasn't sure of how effective the attack would be. She had a feeling Jack didn't lose his memories from a blow to the head and so that only meant the amnesia would've been harder to reverse.
Jack held his head as tight as he could with his eyes pressed shut, all of his former memories flooding back into his brain, reminding him of what kinda of life he once lived. He finally found the recent why none of those things that made him happy from earlier felt familiar, because all he used to do to feel joy was prey on others and hurt them. In his memories, he saw himself smiling at the sight of innocent people in pain but now, watching those memories only hurt him.
The ring disappeared and Jack sat on the floor, his head hung as he fell silent.
"Feeling better?" Rubix asked in a mockingly cheery voice.
After a few very long moments, Jack finally lifted his head, with a smile as he faced Rubix as he said," You know having my memories in tact won't make me wanna go back right? If anything, it makes me want to go back even less."
A scowl found its way onto Rubix's face as she held out both her hands towards Jack and flicked them towards him, causing a pair of translucent black, pink and blue cubes to appear and slam him into the nearest wall.
"You insolent brat!" She shouted vehemently as she walked towards him, but Takara stood in her way.
"You're not gonna force him into anything, got it?" Takara said to her sternly, glaring at Rubix and holding her hands out.
The two of them were the same height, staring each other down until an idea came to Rubix. She conjured up a black diamond, and once Jack saw it, his eyes shrunk in fear and he fought to get back up on his feet, with no avail.
"Rubix, don't you dare!" Jack shouted as loud as he could, but his cry fell on deaf ears.
Rubix smiled a little, tossing the black diamond up into the air as she shouted," Corrupt her Patchwork Heart!"
"Takara, get out of the way!" Jack yelled desperately, but the black diamond moved quicker than expected and merged with her Patchwork Heart. Takara dropped to the ground and Jack ran to her aid, desperately trying to wake her up though he knew it wouldn't do much good.
He turned his attention to Rubix and said," This isn't ok anymore, we can't just keep hurting people like this!"
Rubix rolled her eyes and replied with," The only difference between this time and all the others is that it's someone you grew attached to. Can't you see how much of a hypocrite you're being?"
That kept Jack quiet for a few moments, knowing Rubix was right but he didn't want to admit. Jack had done this all the time before, so this shouldn't have been any different. Takara was just like any other victim but this time, there was no way Jack was going to sit around idly and watch her get turned into a Defective. Jack held Takara close to himself, but he knew he didn't have the ability to reverse the corruption, he had never felt so powerless.
"Your heart gets swayed too easily, I don't know why Lilith wanted you back." Rubix said as she set her sights on a koala plush toy sitting on one of the couches. Rubix then disappeared with the koala plush, leaving Jack alone with the unconscious Takara.
"We can't keep getting away with this..." Jack said quietly, shaking with rage as he held Takara close.
Rubix stood atop of nearby building, holding the koala plush up as she said to it," You're going to be my best Defective yet."
"Do your worst, Defective!" Rubix shouted, turning the plush into a ten-foot tall monstrous version of itself.
The Defective was skittish and looked as if it was on the hunt for something, or rather, someone, as it turned its head around madly in every direction. The Defective spun around and surveyed the empty streets it stood in. Anger was boiling up into the Defective, who was shouting madly,
"Where are they? Where are they?!"
The Defective ran away as fast as it could in the opposite direction, while Rubix followed closely behind it.
The Defective ran and ran, diligently dodging cars and people, though it was very focused on finding that something it was wailing about. Rubix was impressed with this Defective and its intense desire to fight, but just then, the two of them found a familiar blue-haired Pretty Cure in civilian form exiting a nearby cafe.
The Defective paid no attention to her, but Rubix skidded to a stop. Kiriko was retrieving her PlayPact and phone, but the Defective was already running off again.
"Your target's right here!" Rubix shouted to the Defective. The Defective then spun around and saw Kiriko holding her PlayPact up high, while cramming herself into a nearby alley so no one would see her transformation.
"Pretty Cure, it's Playtime!" She shouted, with a swarm of purple and pink lights enveloping her.
"The princess of wishes, Cure Dolly!" Dolly announced as she jumped in front of the Defective, "I won't let you do as you please!"
The Defective stared down at Dolly for a couple of moments, standing completely still as it examined her from head-to-toe. It suddenly started to run away again, uninterested in any activity with Dolly. Dolly was confused and only ran after it as quickly as she could. But she wasn't able to close the distance between them, so she shouted at it instead.
"Hey, are you supposed to be trying to defeat me?" Dolly shouted to it, her lungs burning from both yelling and running at high-speed.
"Defeat you? I don't care about defeating you!" The Defective shouted as it whipped the back of its hand to Dolly, launching her back a couple of feet," I'm too busy trying to find Takara and her friend to make sure they're ok!"
Dolly stopped running, in part to catch her breath, but also because she couldn't believe the Defective's words.
"You're...looking for someone?" Dolly repeated skeptically while the Defective started to search the streets for the people it was looking for. The Defective nodded vigorously in response, and leaned in close towards Dolly.
"Yes, that rotten woman went and hurt Takara and now her friend has to take care of her! I need to get back home and help them!" The Defective clamoured as it started looking around the streets madly," If only I knew how to get home from here!"
"This Defective isn't any good...well, not any good for Asperity." Dolly thought to herself as the Defective frantically tried climbing up a building in hopes it would be able find its home from up there.
"Hey, Miss Koala, I have an idea." Dolly said quietly to the Defective, after taking a deep breath," Since you want to see your friends so badly, what if I help you find them? However, I need to help you go back to your normal form, otherwise Asperity will continue trying to have you do their bidding. And you just want to be at Takara's side, right? Are you willing to trust me?"
"Ok! Well, Takara's house is yellow and we live near a cafe with many desserts with a pizza joint that's got the spiciest pizzas in town!" The Defective explained in a rush, as it tried remembering more landmarks to help Dolly," I'm counting on you. I'd do anything to see Takara right now!"
"Hey, you aren't supposed to be siding with her!" Rubix reminded the Defective impatiently from the rooftop of a nearby building," Need I remind you why you were created?"
The Defective cocked it's head towards Rubix, an angered expression appearing on its face once it laid eyes on her. The Defective pointed at Rubix and said,
"You were the one who hurt Takara! You'll be sorry for that!"
Rubix's eyes shrunk in fear, the last thing she would've expected from one of her one creations was for it to turn against her. This Defective wasn't even worth saving since it clearly wasn't capable of fighting, it was a lost cause from the start. Rubix felt ashamed of herself and only disappeared back to Asperity.
The rest of the Toychest Pretty Cure finally arrived at the last minute, the three of them heaving in their breaths as they stood a few feet away from Dolly, who swore she had never seemed them so exhausted in Cure form.
"Nice of you guys to show up..." Dolly said to them as she conjured up her scepters and gestured for the rest of the team to follow suite. Once they all inserted their toy toppers into the scepters, the Cures outfits changed.
"Playtime begins! Patchwork Form!" The four of them called out.
They held out their scepters up high and shouted in unison," Pretty Cure, Playtime Paradise!"
The attack smothered the Defective with an array of bright pastel lights that shimmered so much the Defective probably would've been blinded by them if it stared at it for too long. The Defective reverted to its regular form, falling back on to the ground as a small plush koala.
Domino was using the control panel on his sleeve to detect Jack's presence. He was certain that he was getting close to Jack now with the screen turning a bright red. Jack was found sitting underneath a tree, cross-legged with his gaze directed at the ground. He appeared to be lost in thought, which was admittedly uncharacteristic for him. Jack hadn't even noticed Domino until he sat down in front of him.
"Hey." Jack said, his voice somber as he changed his seating position.
"How have you been?" Domino asked him in a concerned tone as he sat next to him.
"I got my memories back...but...now I really don't want to go back to Asperity." Jack said as he hung his head, with Domino placing his arm around Jack's shoulder," If I try and make a Defective now, it'll only make me feel bad after seeing what happened to Takara. I'm using the negative feelings of someone's little sister, or classmate or...best friend. It was easier in the beginning when...when..."
"When all you had was your own sister and brother, right?" Domino guessed, with Jack nodding in response," If you'd like, I could try to have you lose your memories again."
"No, I don't want to forget this time spent with Takara...I want to stay by her side. And just forgetting won't give me a proper chance to repent for all I've done." Jack responded as he turned to face Domino," Domino, please...I don't have it in me to go back to Asperity. Please, please don't make me go back! Please..."
Domino stood up, glowering down at Jack and staying quiet for a bit.
"Then as of today, it will be reported by I, Domino, that Jack of Asperity has been defeated for good by the Pretty Cure, never to return again." Domino declared with Jack jumping to his feet and hugging him tightly.
"Thank you." Jack said quietly, before he broke the hug. Domino stared at him, making sure to take a one final good look at Jack before they parted ways for good. He had to admit, despite the fact that their time spent apart was short, something felt different about Jack. Even if he was upset when Domino saw him, Jack seemed more mature, perhaps even selfless. It was nice to see his brother grow up a little, even though it was under these circumstances. Domino vanished, returning to Asperity while Jack ran back to Takara's house.
When Domino returned, Rubix was the first to meet with him, wasting no time in asking him if he was successful in finding Jack.
"He has been defeated by the Pretty Cure." Domino debriefed tonelessly, though he felt his heart sink," Jack is gone."