PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm PC-9
In the aftermath of the battle against Lock, the team was surprised to find him unconscious and injured, purified and purged of Darkness… and reverted to his true form of a cute little cat-type fairy. For now, Shamour was taking care of and watching over him. As the second semester started up, Haruka quickly made a friend with a shy girl who had a natural talent for flower-arranging, encouraging the girl to try going pro in that field.
As the sun began to set, however, Haruka and the others were drawn outside by a massive murder of crows suddenly appearing. One of them divebombed at Haruka, and Towa shoved her out of the way just in time. The lead bird then flew up and, backlit by the setting sun, transformed into a human-looking figure, one that by all rights they should've never seen again.
"N… No way…" Kirara whispered.
"This can't be…" Aroma stared. "You're supposed to be dead!"
"It's been a while… Cure Flora."
Looking down at Haruka's shocked face, Close smirked.
"H… How?" she asked.
"I pulled myself up out of Hell… just to get the chance to defeat you again."
Teana and the four Cures transformed, and Cure Flora launched herself up at Close with a petal-wreathed punch. Close 'flickered', dodging her blow, and then hit her with a downward elbow strike that rocketed her down into the ground. Cures Mermaid and Twinkle went next, flinging Frozen Ripple and Meteor Humming attacks at him, but he released a slicing wave of Darkness that cut through Mermaid's attempt to freeze him and blasted her away, and shrugged off Twinkle's star-bolts and then blasted her down.
Cure Scarlet came down from above with a flaming drop-kick, but Close casually lifted his hand to conjure a transparent purple-tinted Barrier that stopped her attack cold. He was about to counterstrike, but then had to shift focus and turn to block a powerful punch from Teana, the orange-haired girl's Sharingan eyes glaring calmly at him.
"Cure Scarlet, formerly 'Princess Twilight', and the non-Cure interloper from another Realm… Neither of you are as imposing as I was made to believe."
He shoved Teana back and immediately hit Cure Scarlet with an overhead kick that smacked her down to the ground below. Teana came back in, engaging Close in a brief exchange of rapid-fire blows, until he managed to flip over her and fired a point-blank Darkness wave. Teana instinctively brought her hands out to catch the blast, being slowly shoved back by the force, until finally it sped up and she was pushed clear over the academy's main building, disappearing from sight.
"You girls may have gotten stronger since last we met," he told the Cures, "but my growth since then is much greater than yours. …Hmph. I didn't even need to be here, I think."
He pulled out two 'seeds' of Darkness and let them drop. As they hit the ground they sank into it, and a few seconds later two spires of twisting dark vines rapidly grew up, topped by dull-red flower buds. The flowers opened, to reveal two similar-looking odd humanoid figures – enhanced, special-made Zetsuborgs, extra-strength and self-aware.
"Stop, Freeze, get to it" Close ordered.
"Yes, commander" the twins replied in unison, vanishing together. Several seconds later, they reappeared accompanied by Haruka's new friend Hanae in a 'despair cage', and a two-'eyed' flower-themed Zetsuborg. The monster fired a pair of flower-arrows at Cures Mermaid & Twinkle, but Flora & Scarlet blasted the incoming attacks with their own. The Zetsuborg targeted them next, only for Mermaid & Twinkle to return the favor, barriers of Ice and Starlight blocking the attacks.
"Flowers, huh?" Close crossed his arms. "Why bother going out of your way to make 'em look nice? They just wilt away soon."
"But that doesn't mean they can't bloom again!" Cure Flora shouted, readying her Rod weapon. "PreCure: Lys Tourbillon!"
The focused wave of conjured white petals and wind hit the flower-themed Zetsuborg in the chest, shoving it back a little. As the other three Cures got ready to attack, Close pointed his palm down at them, preparing to blast them while their guard was down…
"Fūton: Rasenshuriken!"
Suddenly sensing the enormous power coming at him from behind, Close immediately got out of the way. Freeze & Stop followed suit, but the big Zetsuborg wasn't as lucky; Teana's attack slammed into its back and detonated, trapping the large monster in the heart of a huge sphere of slicing, tearing Wind chakra. The combatants on both sides stared in awe at the massive power of the technique; even Close's eyes had widened, knowing a direct hit from that would do some serious damage to him, maybe even kill him (again).
'A technique like that lets this girl hit above her weight class; even Dyspear-sama would feel it if she got hit by that…'
As the attack's energies faded, the badly-damaged Zetsuborg fell to the ground with a thud, barely holding itself together. Cure Twinkle hit it with a Twinkle Humming attack, finishing it off, as Teana came back to the group, looking up at the enemy leader trio.
"Flowers may bloom again," Close announced, "but so does despair. No matter how much you quash it, it always comes back, again and again. You girls would do well to keep that in mind…"
He and his two minions retreated through keyhole-shaped Dark Gateways, giving Cure Flora the opening she needed to free Kanae from the despair cage.
"I can't believe he managed to revive himself…" Kirara said as she de-transformed. "And he's stronger than ever, too."
-Break-
Soon after, there was another little bit of drama as Ijuin Kimimaro, Minami's childhood friend and self-proclaimed fiancée, showed up at the Academy to spend a portion of his summer break with his 'sweet honey'. Kimimaro quickly made a nuisance of himself; it wasn't too bad, all things considered… until he decided that Haruka was a bad influence on Minami, seeking her out when she was along and angrily denouncing her, telling her she wasn't worthy of being part of Minami's entourage or even being at the Academy.
Unfortunately for him, Minami was nearby and heard everything. She proceeded to chew him out for his behavior, and when he insulted Haruka again she slapped him, spelling out to him that she had changed from his 'ideal' of her, that Haruka was her precious friend, and that if he couldn't accept that then she didn't want to see him ever again. He went off to reflect on his actions… and Stop & Freeze found and made a groom-themed Zetsuborg out of him, bringing the girls into a battle where Cure Flora's reckless aggression in her attempt to be 'worthy' of being with Minami got the girls in further trouble.
However, Cure Mermaid was able to calm her down and tell her to disregard what Kimimaro had said, that Flora was fine the way she was. With her head on straight, Flora was able to lead the charge, the girls using Éclat Espoir to defeat the powerful Zetsuborg. In the aftermath, Teana prevented Kimimaro from seeing Minami and Haruka again before he returned to England, spelling out that his punishment for his behavior was to have his last impression on them be a bad one.
A couple days later, Miss Shamour decided it was time for the Cure Quartet to receive makeup lessons, and she also deftly poked holes in Teana's flimsy attempts to excuse herself from it and got her to stay for it as well. Thus, Tia had to try her best not to squirm and fidget from the embarrassed discomfort she felt as the cat-fairy skillfully and cheerfully applied some light, tasteful makeup around her eyes, giving her luscious lashes and faint eyeshadow.
"So, how is Kuroro doing?" Minami asked.
"He's awake" Shamour replied as she rooted around in the makeup case for blush and lipstick that would go well with Tia's complexion. "He's very shy, though. Homesick, too. It seems he doesn't remember much, if anything, from his time as 'Lock'. He's over in that cat play area in the corner if you want to go see him. Be gentle; he's still rather timid."
'I must remember to take a picture of Princess Teana when we're done' she thought to herself. 'She mentioned having a girlfriend, and that lucky young lady deserves to see her beloved's beauty!'
Shamour glanced over at Teana as reference for which makeup to grab, and saw how embarrassed and insecure the tomboyish girl looked, cheeks flushed pink and eyes cast down. The cat-fairy sighed; hopefully this could help make a little progress…
The next day, Shamour appeared to have disappeared, though Puff confirmed she'd taken Kuroro with her into the city. The four Cures, two fairies, Yui, & Teana headed into Yumegahama in search of the pair, catching sight of them multiple times but never managing to catch up to them. Finally, they managed to link up as Shamour was leading Kuroro to where two cat gangs shared turf. The two groups started to fight, and Shamour came up with a rather unorthodox way to solve the problem, roping the girls and Kuroro into helping.
Then, Shut appeared to make trouble, though his heart obviously wasn't in it; he used the cats to create a trio of fish-themed Zetsuborgs, while he himself engaged Shamour in battle. However, the elegant fairy teacher managed to easily outmaneuver, disarm, and defeat him while looking awesome doing it, and then, when Shut confessed to the heavy stress he'd been under recently, Shamour… gave him a makeup lesson, doing what she could to help him regain his poise and confidence. The flamboyant man was delighted with the results, leaving with a smile even after the girls thrashed the Zetsuborgs he'd made.
As thanks for helping them, the cats gave Haruka a small golden pendant… that carried the Hope Kingdom royal seal. The fairies pointed out that it could only be Prince Kanata's; not only was he alive, he was somewhere in or near Yumegahama…
Soon after, Haruka entered a local 'Princess Contest' in hopes of finding another lead. Kirara had to give her some special training and advice, including how to runway-walk, and promised to help Haruka with her makeup before her turn on the stage. Unfortunately, a Zetsuborg kept Kirara, Minami, Towa, and Teana from being there for Haruka's turn, but Haruka managed to improvise through the troubles she encountered and then make it in time to help bring the Zetsuborg down. She ended up winning the Audience's Choice award… and, as they were leaving the stadium, she caught sight of someone who looked like Kanata amongst the crowd of people traveling away across the intersection…
After a couple days of searching, they finally managed to find Kanata, living with the old man who ran the violin shop. Unfortunately, though, Kanata had lost his memories, to Towa's great distress. Even meeting the royal fairies, seeing Haruka transform, and seeing the Crystal Palace didn't jog his memory.
"Teana-san, couldn't you do something with your eyes' powers?" Haruka asked.
Teana shook her head. "The one time I used my Sharingan to restore someone's memories, they had been hit by a spell deliberately designed to seal away a person's memories. Kanata-san, on the other hand, was hit by a high-power blast of Dark magic. By all rights, it could've torn him to shreds, but instead his innate defenses shunted most of the damage to his mind. His memories must still be in there – only very specially-crafted, deliberately-cast, and delicately-performed magic can erase memories instead of just locking them away – but I fear any attempt I make to force them out could cause more damage."
They tried playing the royal siblings' old violin song, to no avail. Even taking Kanata to the flowery field where he and Haruka met as young children didn't get anything more than a brief split-second flash of a field full of flowers, without any context. At the very least, they all got to enjoy playing with a group of young children here… until Stop & Freeze showed up and made one of them into a princess-themed Zetsuborg.
Thankfully, the four Cures were good enough by now that they handled the Zetsuborg with little difficulty; Teana didn't even need to step in, other than shouting at them to watch out for an incoming surprise attack from underground. After the Zetsuborg was defeated, Haruka decreed that they would do what they could to maybe help Kanata regain himself little by little, and in the meantime they could 'start over' as his friend.
Minami's amazingly wealthy philanthropist parents invited the group to come join a party being held at one of their cruise liners when it came into dock for the evening. During the afternoon leading up to this, they met Kitakaze Asuka, a skilled and esteemed veterinarian specializing in aquatic animals. As she watched Asuka work, learning about the woman's outlook and dreams, about how her actions affected the world, Minami began to think long and hard about her future…
During the party, Teana chose to stay out on the deck to keep watch (and so that she wouldn't turn heads amongst the upper-class by showing up in her tux), and thus she was the first responder when Stop & Freeze used Dr. Kitakaze to create a penguin-themed Zetsuborg, keeping the monster at bay until the Cure Quartet came out to join the battle. Cure Mermaid took the lead in the fight, bringing the Zetsuborg into an underwater battle and thrashing it, the monster barely getting the chance to fight back. After the girls purified the monster and freed Dr. Kitakaze, Minami couldn't help but think some more about her future, about what path in life she truly wished to take…
After a bit of drama involving a school play, Haruka met a student from a neighboring class, a boy named Kurosu. Though a bit odd, he encouraged the girls to follow their dreams, and offered to come along with Yui to an art exhibition, to meet her at the museum. Towa didn't trust him, though, so she chose to accompany Yui, with Teana tagging along as well.
It was a shame that Haruka chose not to listen to Towa's suspicions, for 'Kurosu' turned out to be Close, enacting his latest plan to separate the girls so he could take Haruka down one-on-one. As Close and Cure Flora fought in the town's bordering forest, Kanata hurried for the battle-zone with Puff & Aroma, while Cure Scarlet, Teana, and Yui were intercepted by Stop & Freeze, the Zetsu-Twins holding the two fire-users back for as long as they could before being forced to retreat.
Scarlet and Teana hurried on, heading toward the spot where they'd seen Close & Flora duking it out in the air from a distance. As they closed in, they suddenly sensed a 'pulse' of despair-based Darkness magic that seemed to permeate the entire city. They came across a small clearing, where Kanata, the fairy pair, and Haruka were… and just as they arrived, Haruka turned from him and took off running into the woods.
-Break-
Any attempts to find Haruka after that failed, even when Minami & Kirara returned in the evening. Searching the next morning didn't do any better. The amnesiac Kanata had basically thrown away any goodwill he had with the girls once they found out what he'd said & done, with even Towa refusing to smile for him; combine that with being haunted by the empty, brokenhearted look in Haruka's eyes, and he was in a very tormented state of mind.
Late in the morning after Haruka disappeared, Close's grand plan finally activated. Fed by Haruka's despair, 'Despair Vines' suddenly and violently sprang up all over the town of Yumegahama, cloaking the city in misty Darkness and twisting, thorny black vines – a reproduction of the Forest of Despair. Anyone ensnared by the vines was made into a Zetsuborg, producing a small army of them in short order.
Minami, Kirara, Towa, & Teana transformed and mobilized, hurrying into the city to start clearing out the Zetsuborgs; Kanata, Puff, & Aroma followed. The difficult part was that they were all over the damn place. Furthermore, Close, Shut, and Stop & Freeze showed up as well, with Close perched atop a between-buildings bridge smirking down at the heroes. His barrier easily deflected the attacks they threw his way, and when Mermaid & Scarlet tried to attack him from the sides he grabbed hold of them and threw them back down to the ground.
-Break-
As Haruka lay face-down on the pavement, her hair-clip and her inert Princess Perfume on the ground in front of her, despair steadily engulfed her.
"I can't… become a princess? It's… impossi…ble…"
"Such sorrow and anguish…" a deep, smooth baritone voice proclaimed, footsteps drawing near. "Cruel words have dealt such a devastating blow to your Heart… allowing Darkness to take root in it."
As Haruka slowly looked up, her listless despair was abruptly joined by terror.
"Perhaps…," the black-cloaked man with long silver hair pulled out a tiny black 'seed' with a golden 'χ' on it, "I shall give that Darkness some help to sprout…"
-Break-
"I don't really know who you are," Close said to Kanata, "but I've really gotta thank you. I worked hard to drag Cure Flora into despair, so as to awaken the seeds I planted all over the city… but it was you who dealt the finishing blow, and pushed her over the event-horizon into the depths of despair! I couldn't have done it without ya, man!"
As Close clapped, the amnesiac Kanata trembled in horror. It was all his fault… He'd been trying to protect Haruka, but instead he'd hurt her more than anyone else ever had or ever will… and in so doing, may have doomed this town, if not the entire world. After a few seconds of paralyzed shock, he took off running; he had to find Haruka, to explain himself, to set things right. Stop & Freeze tried to bare his path, but Twinkle and Teana blasted them and their Zetsuborgs out of the way, and then joined Mermaid & Scarlet in resuming the fight.
'Haruka… I'm so sorry… I just wanted to protect you, but I didn't understand what I was doing. Your dream… It's everything to you. I didn't understand what kind of power dreams held… but now I do. I want to see you smile again! I want to save you from my mistake! I want to help you rediscover your will, your dream, your determination to protect everyone's dreams! I…'
As he was mid-stride, a gleaming white light enveloped the young man. A shining staff formed in his right hand, and a regal uniform took shape around him, as the dam holding back all those memories finally crumbled away. With regained self and reignited purpose, Prince Kanata channeled magic through his body, his run speeding up dramatically. Suddenly, he sensed a great Darkness up ahead, somewhat different from the dark magic that DysDark used. He hurried to the city's end of the bridge that connected Yumegahama to Noble Academy, and saw a figure up ahead. And as he got close, what he saw made his blood run cold.
Haruka was engulfed in a surging flame-like aura of Darkness, dark-purple with hints of black. A blood-red blade of energy was in her hand, and when she looked up at him her teeth were bared, and her eyes – bright golden-yellow with black sclera – glared at him with utter, raging hate.
"H… Haru…ka?"
Corrupted-Haruka 'flickered', and Prince Kanata barely raised his staff in time to block a downward swing of the dark-red blade meant to slice him in two, the transferred force cracking the pavement beneath him. The Darkness-tainted girl snarled at him, pushing down with her energy blade, trying to overpower him.
"Haruka, it's me!" he shouted. "Prince Hope Grand Kanata! I'm sorry! I have my memories back; I remember everything! I was just trying to-"
She kicked him back, the blocked blow still sending him skidding on his heels.
"She cannot hear you, boy."
Startled, Kanata turned to the nearby treeline, seeing a tall man in a long black cloak, hood back to reveal tanned skin, yellow eyes, slightly pointed ears, and long, wild-looking silver hair. Kanata sensed the enormous, virulent Darkness this man carried, yet he was plainly not a member of DysDark.
"Who are you? What have you done to her?!"
"I planted a 'Seed of Darkness' in her Heart, using the Darkness your words gave rise to as a base for it. When it consumes her completely, her Heartless will make a mighty agent of our organizations might, while her Nobody should make a good candidate to carry our leader's essence within. And as for me…" The man took a theatric bow. "My name is Xemnas, the 'Nobody' of Keyblade Master Xehanort, and a member of the Seekers of Darkness, we who seek to forge the χ-Blade, and gain access to the Heart of all Creation."
As Kanata's eyes widened, Corrupted-Haruka charged at him, and he prepared to ready a carefully-calibrated Light blast in hopes of knocking her back to her senses… only to have to cancel that and quickly dodge as Xemnas came in, lightsaber-like red blades trying to take his head off. Kanata was forced to give ground against Corrupted-Haruka's relentless assault, and whenever he tried to get the upper hand or go on the offensive, Xemnas would jump in and force him back. And the corrupted Cure wasn't limited to melee; she fired at Kanata with blasts of Darkness from her palm, and slicing waves of power released from her sword, keeping the Prince constantly on his toes.
Suddenly, several figures came rocketing in, not all of them under their own power; Cures Mermaid, Twinkle, & Scarlet slammed into the pavement, Teana landed hard on her feet with the remnants of a half-destroyed Stage-0 Susanō ribcage around her, and Close flew in with a few minor-looking wounds, the other three DysDark leaders in his wake.
"P… Prince?!" Aroma shouted. "That outfit… You've got your memories back?!"
"Haruka?! What's wrong with her?!" Cure Mermaid fretted, shocked by the raging Darkness enveloping her friend.
"Xemnas?!" Teana growled, summoning her twin Mirage Longswords.
"Hey now, what's all this?" Close asked. "A Nobody? And one with a major Dark power level, too. And did he manage to corrupt Cure Flora, somehow?"
"My, my" Xemnas smirked. "So much going on. To think I could be in the presence of such royalty – the Princes & Princess of a conquered kingdom, and the Princess of a destroyed one…"
Corrupted-Haruka rushed at Kanata again. When Cures Twinkle & Scarlet tried to intervene, Stop & Freeze attacked them, keeping them back, while Cure Mermaid had to deal with a pack of Zetsuborgs, with Puff & Aroma. Teana, meanwhile, moved to engage Xemnas, red and orange mana blades clashing in a deadly dance. Several 'Dusk' Nobodies came in to help their master, only for Teana to sic her Shroomish & Honedge on them, Mega Drains and Metal Claws making quick work of the ghostly enemies. Close reached into a small keyhole-shaped portal and pulled out a bag of popcorn. And Shut just gave up and had a seat on a vine-entangled car, joined there by Yui.
"I have no idea what's going on anymore…" Shut muttered. All Yui could do was give him a comforting pat on the shoulder, as they watched the chaos unfold.
Prince Kanata grunted as he batted another Darkness ball away with his staff, and then ducked under a swing of Corrupted-Haruka's katana-like crimson energy blade that had been aimed at his neck. 'How did it come to this?' he thought as he used his staff to block and parry her frenzied attacks. 'Close's machinations, the things I said when I didn't have my memories, that fallen Keyblade Master's agent… all combined to turn Haruka into… into this… I can't let it end this way! Haruka has fought so hard to protect others' smiles and dreams… Now I need to do the same for her! Please… Haruka!'
Suddenly, a small bag containing a simple trinket in Haruka's handbag began to glow brightly. It floated up out of the bag, and the corrupted girl's dark aura wavered and weakened, her sclera going back to normal white as she froze up. She tried to keep fighting, but her movements were slower and weaker now.
"Haruka, please! I couldn't remember! I was wrong! Please, remember your dream, and all the people who've supported you in it!"
'My… dream…'
"A true princess never gives up on her dreams! Remember, Haruka!"
The little bag's glow brightened, and then it began to shift in form. Xemnas tried to rush in and interfere, but this left him open to a tripping low-kick from Teana and then a downward smash from a Stage-0 Susanō fist that hammered him into the ground. The object burst into Light and took the form of a new, very fancy-looking Dress-Up Key, its light beginning to wrap around Haruka, trying to burn the Darkness away. Seeing an opening, Cure Twinkle sent a Twinkle Humming attack in, its purification magic hitting her Darkness-tainted friend from behind and melding with the Royal Dress-Up Key's cleansing magic to boost and complete the process.
There was a brilliant flash of golden & white light, which then transitioned to pink as Cure Flora returned in style. Close shouted "What?!" and then began thumping at his chest as he choked on a piece of his popcorn. Frowning, Xemnas retreated through a Corridor of Darkness. Stop & Freeze tried to rush at Cure Flora, but she formed a Rose Tourbillon that caught them in its petals and then blasted them away into the distance.
"So you've regained your dream…" Close growled. "But does it really matter? As long as you have a dream, its chains will follow you everywhere, setbacks and losses eating away at you!"
"That's fine!" Flora shouted back. "If those are part of my dream, then I'll accept them! I'm never giving up again, no matter what anyone says!"
Close dove down at her, and she met his punch with her own, flowing into a rapid exchange of blows and actually pushing him back slowly. Shut made a token effort to interfere, but a Wind attack from Teana blew him away. Cure Mermaid tossed her Crystal Princess Rod to Flora, who slotted her Lily Key into it and dual-wielded with her own Rose-equipped wand. White and red petals combined into a beautiful torrent of power that hammered into Close's defenses, blasting him back. Stop & Freeze came back in, catching their Master and helping him regain control of his motion, and he snarled at the flower-themed heroine.
"Girls, use this!" Kanata tossed the new Key to the quartet. "Bring this battle to an end!"
Calling forth the Princess Palace, the Cure Quartet gathered around it, as Flora slotted the new Key into its central slot and set it spinning. The girls were enveloped in light, assuming the poofy, elegant dresses that their Éclat Espoir gave them, only now with huge, lacy ribbon bows from their backs. Furthermore, their power levels were even higher than their Dress-Up Premium forms.
"Dress-Up: Royal!"
Royal Flora extended her hand, and Close, Stop, & Freeze were tapped in a pillar of light as an enormous crystalline palace appeared behind them. The Cure Quartet soared high into the clouds, and then flew through an enormous golden crown-thing and dove down at them:
"PreCure: Grand Printemps!-!"
As the Cures traveled as a rainbow-hued mass of light, they flew down through four glowing runes – red, golden, blue, and finally pink, each one increasing the size of their shared rainbow aura and the speed of their descent. Close formed his strongest barrier just before they crashed down into him like a beautiful comet, a shockwave of Light magic lighting the castle up and making flowers bloom all over the area. As Stop & Freeze started to succumb, Close quickly formed a keyhole-portal and pulled them through it.
Together with a fireworks-like explosion, a wave of sparkling magic raced out across the entire town. The 'Despair Vines' were obliterated, the dark miasma blown away to reveal blue sky. Every Zetsuborg was destroyed, and every captive person was freed and awakened. The girls floated back over to Kanata, Yui, Teana, and the fairies, their sparkly outfits reverting to their base Cure forms and then de-transforming. The first thing Towa did was run into her big brother's arms.
"You've done splendidly, girls" he said to them. "Close may have gotten away, but you saved the entire town."
"For something so frilly and sparkly," Teana said with a grin, "that sure had a hell of a lot of power. "Still… The fact that Xemnas showed up and played a role in things… It's worrying. If he tries anything else…"
"We'll handle him if he does" Kirara replied. "Let's see him get hit by what we just used and still be on his feet afterwards…"
"Girls, I… I was almost lost…" Haruka admitted. "But, being reminded of how everyone had supported my dream helped me break free!"
"Haruka, I… I'm so sorry" Kanata bowed. "My amnesiac self was just trying to help you, but instead…"
She shook her head with a smile. "You didn't know. And, everything's all right now! I can believe in myself again. I'm going to become a splendid princess, no matter what gets in my way! Nothing's gonna stop me!"
"Like my prince uncle said," Teana replied, "it's important to have pride in yourself and your abilities. Though, you also have to be sure not to let that pride rule you or blind you, and not to let it turn into arrogance. That's a lesson he learned the hard way…"
"Who is your uncle, anyway?" Minami asked. "I get that he's a prince, but…"
Teana grinned. "Secret for now~"
From atop one of the nearby trees, a raven took flight, heading off to report these recent events to his mistress…
-CHAPTER END-
I had originally planned to have Corrupted-Haruka manage to chop off Kanata's left arm in the fight, but at the last minute I decided "On second thought, nah, let's cut that". How 'last minute'? It was the reason she had a sword instead of just using unarmed strikes and energy blasts. That's how last-minute' my decision to cut the idea was.
Anyway, now the girls are on a roll, but their battle's not over yet. And just who is it that's watching things unfold?