The combined group of the Hero Alliance and Smile Precure raced to the Art room in order to free the third member of the latter team.
"So, this next girl on the team is also an avid Manga artist? Never woulda guessed." Connor said.
"This universe is full of surprises. Wonder how good she is? I mean, the only other person we know who writes story material is Hifumi, and, well…" Erica trailed.
Al had a look of dread on her face at the mention of Hifumi.
"Sorry, David. I know he's one of your best buddies, but I think we can all agree he goes a little overboard on his ideas." Hope said.
"Tell me about it. A shame. This kind of genre would've been right up his alley." David said. "However, I won't deny that he's got a quirk that I can most certainly relate to. That being that he has some…weird interests."
"Though honestly, yours aren't really all that bad compared to most others." Sectonia said.
"Yeah, but his affection for Princess Piggles goes into territories even a hardcore cat-lover like me ain't willing to cross." David said. "Like seriously, I have pictures saved on my cameraphone of all the merchandise he has."
"Not even gonna ask." Hope said. "I mean, he seemed like an okay guy when we were all trying to stay alive in the Killing Game. Guess I just didn't get to know him as well as you did."
"Yeah. Hifumi's not a bad guy, really. He's just very dedicated to what he's a fan of. You can't exactly blame him for that, can you?" David asked.
"I know I certainly can't. Being dedicated to your favorite franchises is a lot more work than people might think." Tsumugi said. "You need to research lore, how the characters feel and think about things, and most importantly, how they convey to their audiences in a meaningful way. That is what has helped me improve on my work with the Law of Cosplay, being able to understand the characters I am portraying on a more in-depth level."
"Whoa. That is a lot more depth and insight than we were expecting from you." Bassam said.
"Well, of course. If you are going to make fanart or fanworks about something, it's helpful to at least have a basic understanding of the source material that you are basing them off of." Tsumugi said.
"And the same would apply to your Cosplay Law, as you said. The more you understand a character you impersonate, the better you can fight as you impersonate them." Necroapache said.
"Yep, that's right!" Tsumugi said.
"It's like they always say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Yuri said.
"Well, Miyuki and I know Yayoi's pretty much the same. When we first met, we saw some of the manga she was making, and it was pretty cool." Cure Sunny said.
"If I can ask, what was it about?" Hope said.
"A super hero she made up herself. His name was Cleanpeaceman." Cure Happy smiled.
"Clean…peaceman? What kinda name is that?" Kaibara asked.
"Probably a name she came up with that embodies a message to take care of the environment and wish for world peace in one shot or something." Scorpia said.
"Kinda makes sense since the name sounds slapped together." Al said. "Anyway, are we close?"
"I see the door, guess we made it." Mermista said.
"After the last two fights, no telling what's here waiting for us." Ragna said. "But there's no time to waste, let's just get this over with."
Inside the art room, the group opened the door and headed inside.
"Hello? Is there a Precure in the-whoa!" Scorpia said as the entire room inside was a massive space of yellow with giant Manga pages littered everywhere. Giant flowers acted as platforms, and electricity was surging everywhere.
"Well this is different." Hyde noted.
"Guess Black gave this Art Room a lot more space while he was redecorating." Lei K. said.
"He sure knows how to mess things up…." Cure Sunny said.
"Girls? That you?" a voice asked as a girl with yellow hair sat in a cage as she dangled over the room.
"Yayoi!" Cure Happy and Cure Sunny cheered.
"Y-you're both free! I'm so glad you are, but… who are all those people?" Yayoi asked a bit nervously.
"Don't worry, we're on your side, and we're here to get you out of that cage." Legolia said.
"Hero Alliance, Multiverse travelers, at your service!" CP introduced.
"Oh, we're just a passing-through Rebellion." Cure Starlight added. "Don't worry, we'll get you out…after we find the Akanbe first."
"Akanbe!" a voice called out as a large figure jumped down onto the floor. This figure resembled a clown as he wore a cape and held a broom and dustpan.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear. And he's already got cleaning supplies." Crusadermon said.
"Wait a second, doesn't that thing look a lot like a superhero?" Makoto said.
"We're in an art room and the captive is a manga artist. I don't know what you were expecting." David said.
"It's Cleanpeaceman!" Cure Happy realized.
"As in the same hero your friend drew up? It was Akanbeized?" Rhatla asked.
"Yeah, back when we first met Yayoi." Cure Sunny said.
"Man, these monsters sure can take some unusual forms." Nemo said.
"Well, it's standing between us and the Manga girl, so let's remove it!" Raphael said.
(Cue- Chaotic Dance- Baten Kaitos)
"Time for a change of pace." Cure Starlight said. "Cure Happy, Sunny, we're going in!"
"Right there with you!" both of them declared confidently.
"Follow my lead!" Cure Starlight said as the three Cures rushed ahead, dodging the Akanbe's attacks while scoring a few hits with punches and kicks.
"Wow…those three only just met and they're coordinating like they've been together forever." Izuku said.
"This is why teamwork is important." Zi-O stated. "You're strong alone, but together, that strength is multiplied."
"They also have their own strengths and weaknesses. Using another one's strengths to cover another one's weakness." Geiz added. "Always remember that when you're fighting as a team."
"Okay…I've got enough energy. So let's have some fun here!" Cure Sunny said as her Smile Pact burned brightly as it formed a giant fireball. She sent it into the air and jumped after it. "Pretty Cure! Sunny Fire!" she said, spiking the ball as it hit the Akanbe dead center.
"Cure Happy, fire a Happy Shower! I'll make sure he doesn't run!" Cure Starlight ordered, rotating her PreBrace as her right hand glowed with yellow and red energy.
"Alright!" Cure Happy said as she charged up with energy once more and formed a heart with her hands. "Pretty Cure! Happy Shower!" She then unleashed a pink energy shower from her hands.
The Akanbe was about to dodge the attack, except he was punched from the back by Cure Starlight as she flew towards the Happy Shower with her fist connecting. "Pretty Cure! Final Starlight Knuckle!" Cure Starlight shouted as she gave one more punch, sending it flying into the Happy Shower, causing its body to be purified and faded away. Afterwards, Cure Starlight flew towards Yayoi's cage as it was being vanished and quickly caught her in a bridal carry before regrouping with the others.
"Thanks for the save, Cure Starlight." Cure Happy smiled.
"Not making that mistake again." Cure Starlight smirked, putting down the manga artist.
"Th-thanks so much." Yayoi said.
"Anytime. Sorry about the mess Black made, but we're aiming to fix it so you and your friends can get back to beating the big bad." Connor said.
"Thank you. But now…I need to fight back." Yayoi said.
"Here. You're gonna need this." Gunvolt showed off Yayoi's Smile Pact after retrieving it from where the Akanbe once stood. "Let's do this, Cure Peace."
"Yeah. Pretty Cure! Smile Charge!" Yayoi called out as she transformed using the powder puff before she stood there to the others as Cure Peace.
"Sparkling, glittering, rock-paper-scissors! Cure Peace!"
"Damn it!" Zi-O muttered, showing a Paper hand-sign. "I thought she was gonna change to another one besides the scissor one."
"Baka." Chris deadpanned, hitting the Rider's head with a slap.
"She plays rock paper scissors while she does her catchphrase?" Nemo asked.
"Yeah, it's…kind of her thing…" Hope said.
"We thought it was mostly the peace pose… until she switched it to either rock or paper." Geiz sweatdropped. "...or all three at once."
"In any case, that only leaves two left, right?" Legolia asked.
"Yeah, Cure March and Cure Beauty." Cure Starlight replied. "But let's start with March next, also known as Nao Midorikawa."
"If I remember something about Nao, she's a soccer player." Zi-O recalled.
"Which means she must be on the school's soccer field." Le Kraken said.
"Wait, don't tell me!" Mark said. "We already had a ball be a monster, so…it's the goal, isn't it?"
"Probably." Mermista said.
"...I am so sorry you all have to deal with this nonsense." Mark said to the three local Precures.
"What are you saying sorry for? It's what we do." Cure Sunny said.
"It may seem strange at times, but in the end, we always give the people of both worlds their happy ending." Cure Peace said.
"...Yeah, that's fair." Mark said as he headed out. "Damn it…why'd you have to go and mess with this…?" they managed to hear
"Is he alright?" Cure Happy asked.
"You got me, he's been acting strange ever since we started rescuing you guys." Akane said.
"Yeah, he's been taking some kinda frustration out. Wonder what's up with him?" Grantz asked.
"I think we'd better take care of his problem sooner than later." Geiz suggested.
"I may have an idea what's up." Hope said, approaching Mark. "Mark…the thing Black was talking about with White reviving someone…that someone was you, wasn't it?"
"..." Mark didn't say anything, before he walked out of the room. It was more than enough to suffice as an answer.
"I thought so." Hope said. "Something must've happened to him while he was helping Siege rescue Richard, which made him lose his life. White had to bring him back to life afterwards, and that's why she's so drained."
"No wonder Black was able to do what he wanted in this world without White catching on.' Glimmer said. "He must think all this chaos is his fault."
"But it's not his fault, is it?" Hibiki asked.
"Of course not. We all know Black. He would have done this even if White was raring to go." Jexi said.
"But Mark must know that too, right? So why would he blame himself?" ZS pointed out.
"...I don't know."
"Whatever the reason, we gotta snap him out of it before we confront Black personally, or else he's gonna do something really stupid." Hilda said.
"Let's free the remaining two girls first. We'll think of something soon." Cure Starlight said as they left the art room.
Unknown to everyone however, Woz was able to hear the whole conversation from another room. "Hmm… Color God White… I think it's time I pay her a visit." Woz mused before warping away using a Dimensional Veil.