Futari wa Pretty Cure Blue Moon ~solar eclipse~ ep22
Power isn't everything. News at 11.
Information: Fanseries wiki and fanseries ad comm
Episodes: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Bonus 16 17 18 19 20 Bonus 21 22 23 24 Ending & Epilogue
I've been useless this whole time.
"You're just as weird as everyone says!" Ogata Mia stepped back from her classmate and put her stone souvenir back into her bag. "You really do believe in all that weird stuff you watch on TV, right? I'm not going to buy into it! Find someone else to be your weird 'friend' who helps you delude yourself!"
Kawada Asa wasn't replying. She just stood there shaking, holding her phone in one hand and some card in the other. Now that Mia looked at it, it probably wasn't even a real phone. It was too big for that, and too colourful. Probably some toy. A middle-school second-year taking toys to school! Omemi-san and the others had been right. Kawada-san was a freak. Mia needed to get away, fast. She took a deep breath.
"As for me, I'm going to go find my mom, who's picking me up, and then I'm going to go out shopping, and then I'm going to go home and do my homework and go to sleep! Know who does all that? Normal people!"
Mia turned and ran down the path, not even looking to see how Asa reacted.
I was afraid to be anything but normal, and I pushed people away and tried to follow the rules.
She didn't stop running until she was out of Asa's sight. At that point, she slumped against a tree and sighed. "That was creepy..."
"What was?"
"Mom!" Mia stood up and looked over. Ogata Kirei emerged from a nearby clearing.
"Sorry I'm late," Kirei said. "I had something to attend to. What are you thinking about?"
"Just... something weird." Mia sighed. "You wouldn't understand."
Kirei shook her head. "Mia, you should know that I understand a lot of things."
"What do you mean?"
"My life's been very interesting," she said. "Especially when I was your age. Come on, let's go."
I didn't believe that magic could be real until I saw it for myself.
Mia walked beside her mother, occasionally walking in front of her before falling back into step. The fall air was starting to chill her ears to pink.
Kirei turned her eyes to Mia. "I know what's worrying you could be any number of things that you probably don't want to say. There's no place more obsessed with conformity than middle school, after all."
"Moooom," Mia said. "I don't need a lecture. You don't understand."
"We've established this," her mother sighed. "I'm not going to give you the details, because I know you wouldn't listen or wouldn't believe me, and also because I'd rather you not know. What I can say, though, is that if you do have anything you're worried about, I'll listen. I may be able to help if you give me a chance."
"Mom, you're embarrassing me."
"I can't be," Kirei laughed. "Nobody's around to be embarrassed in front of."
I didn't even know that my own family wasn't regular.
"Can we at least talk about this at home? Later?", Mia pleaded.
Kirei laughed a little and nodded. "I suppose that's as good as anything. Tonight, okay? I know you just want to change and then go out shopping for a while."
Mia sighed with relief. "Right. Thanks, Mom. I know you're worried, but it's just..."
"Weird." Kirei smiled. "Believe me, it's a relief that that's the only thing you have to worry about right now."
"Mom?"
"Let's go."
Despite all of this, Kawada-san and Nakayama-san kept saving me. So I need to...
Present day. Ogata Mia blinked back to the waking world, surrounded by the others. The others? Right. Cure Sunday and Cure Night were there, and Kondou Hoshi and Okamoto Yukari, too. Mia took in their surroundings and remembered. They were in the bell tower on top of the school. In front of them was a crowd of people in cloaks drawing knives at an old woman and a kid, all in white clothes and either covering their eyes or wearing white eye masks.
"Etherium," Night whispered.
"They're fighting each other now?", Yukari asked.
Starry popped out of the phone and stepped back. "Everyone ~susu..."
Tachimany's eleven heads turned to the door where the Cures and their friends had come from.
-
Futari wa Pretty Cure Blue Moon ~solar eclipse~
Episode 22: Let's Fight for Justice, Okay? Preparing as the World Breaks Down!
-
Mireyes pushed forward as Tachimany's heads were turned. One of the bodies turned back just as quickly and stabbed forward. Mireyes dodged and grabbed the attacking arm. Another Tachimany body moved to her other side. Just as quickly, Mireyes turned and pulled the first Tachimany into the second's attacking path.
"Whoa..." Cure Sunday stared. "I knew she was fast and strong for an old lady, but --"
"It isn't that, Asa." Night pointed. "Look."
In a single movement, the first Tachimany broke Mireyes' grip, spun to face her, and sliced upwards with their dagger. She pulled back, the knife only slicing her clothes. Small purple magic circles drew themselves under her footsteps, disappearing just as quickly; for a split second, the Cures and their companions could see a purple light under the veil that was covering her eyes.
"She's using her ability, isn't she?" Yukari watched carefully as Mireyes struck out against a third Tachimany behind her. "Like when Omemi-san makes those world-spheres."
"It's Mireyes' power!" Night looked at Sunday. "Remember? She dodged before we could attack! She can see the future, and she uses it to predict her opponents' moves!"
"That's right." Mireyes projected her voice around the tower, still not appearing to be distracted from the fight. "So what are you going to do, Pretty Cure? Go ahead and try to get the Moon Piece. We won't lose to you or to them."
"Yeah!" Binbeat clapped and pounded the keys on the organ. A series of small explosions rang out around the tower. The Cures and their friends all cringed and covered their ears at once as some of the explosions rocked the giant bell above the battle area.
Two more of Tachimany leapt into the air from the back of the cluster, descending toward the Cures. They flipped in unison and kicked down. Sunday and Night barely had the time to raise their arms up to block and skidded back, bumping into Yukari and Hoshi behind them.
"Ow!" Yukari righted herself.
"Come on, Okamoto. Ogata, get out of the way." Hoshi grabbed Mia's wrist and dragged her to the back, Yukari following closely behind.
Sunday and Night pushed back, springing their attackers off of them. The two Tachimany looked up, as did the six idle ones.
"Moon Piece?"
"It's not surprising--"
"--that one would be here--"
"--especially since--"
"--everyone has gathered."
"Attack."
The six idle assassin-Tachimany descended upon Mireyes at once. The girls couldn't even see her after she lifted her hand and the scene became a mess of white cloaks and knives.
"Old lady!" Binbeat cried out.
Mia curled up into a ball and clutched the Moon Piece she was holding close to her. Hoshi and Yukari were talking about something in front of her; she couldn't tell what. Mia tried to focus. She noticed a small, fluffy orange creature popping out of -- of one of the Cures' phones? -- and scrambling towards them.
"We need to get the other Moon Piece ~susu!" Starry waved his little arms around.
"I know, Starry..." Mia frowned. "I'm scared, though. What can I do? Even Kondou-san and Okamoto-san have things they can help with. Mom and Dad and Ami-sensei have been fighting, too. All I've ever been able to do is sit here and scream and get hurt."
"I feel like that a lot too ~susu." Starry looked up at her. "But there are things I can do even if they're different from what everybody else can, and there are things you can do too ~susu!"
Mia thought.
Invisible energy burst from the dogpile. Nine Tachimany were scattered over the bell tower in varying states of injury. Mireyes stood in the middle, eyes still hidden, her entire body glowing purple.
"Well," Mireyes' aged voice cracked. "It appears there isn't any choice, is there?"
The eleven total Tachimany rose up and looked at each other. The nine who were attacking Mireyes spread out in an array, moving around her and occasionally striking. The two in front of Sunday and Night kept their attentions on them, swiping and stabbing. The Cures blocked and dodged, backing up. Sunday suddenly grabbed the one she was fighting and threw them over her and into the wall behind. Night took the cue to duck and punch hers back. Once free, they had to guard from another wave of explosions from Binbeat's organ.
"They're fighting each other and us!" Night skidded back. "Which ones do we even fight?"
Sunday turned her head over. "All of them?"
"Sunday!"
"Well, it looks like that's the only thing we can do!" Sunday grinned. "Come on, let's try to get through them to the Moon Piece!"
Unnoticed by the fight, Mia scooped Starry up into her arms and ran around the perimeter of the bell tower's top room. She looked over the edge, where the large clock ticked underneath, its hands moving and a small shine she could barely see at the place that joined them.
"That's it, right?", she asked.
"Right ~susu!" Starry waved his little arms around. "We need to get down there ~susu!"
Mia glanced around and spotted a rope laying off to the side. She knelt, put her Moon Piece down, and started tying the rope around Starry.
"If I can just lower you down there, you can grab the Moon Piece, right?"
Starry thought and nodded. "I'll do my best ~susu!"
Mia tied a knot around the rope, picked up the Moon Piece in one hand and the rope in the other with Starry in the crook of her arm, and looked over at the battle. Tachimany shifted into their form of four doctors, their prop daggers turning into scalpels and syringes. One of them swiped at Sunday, slicing her bow as she jumped back. Sunday grabbed his (their) arm and hurled him (them) over her shoulder. Two more jumped her from behind. Night cried out, grabbed their shoulders, and tore them off of Sunday. Mireyes blasted Night across the room. The remaining Tachimany attacked Mireyes, quickly joined by the three others who had risen up.
"I suppose controlled chaos is better than all-out anarchy," mused another, darker voice.
Mia gasped and turned around at the voice. Kainatrol stood on the edge of the bell tower with a smirk as the light from her teleporting up there quickly faded.
"Always surprised, aren't you?" She laughed. "No wonder it took so long to see that you were Dawn's. Even when she was broken, she could fight." Kainatrol lightly touched the side of her own head and ignored the pain where the bruise was forming under her hair. "You're only useful as bait or a tool to an end, and you've failed at that half the time. Why don't you get out of the way?"
Mia shook, clutching Starry and her things to her chest. "You..."
"Naturally." Kainatrol smirked and looked past Mia. "Oh, superiors... I know where the Moon Piece is now."
Tachimany came together again and divided into nine shrine maidens. One of them looked over at Kainatrol while the rest continued to fend off their opponents. "Tell us, then."
"Absolutely. In the centre of the clock." Kainatrol gestured over the side. "Of course, I can't get it myself..."
Three of Tachimany dashed for the edge. Binbeat slammed his hands down on the piano keys and a wave of explosions knocked them back. Another wave of Tachimany jumped over them as the remaining ones blocked Mireyes and the Cures three-on-three.
Mia shook. She stepped back.
"Oh, cute," Kainatrol mused. "You think that will save--" Her eyes went to the Moon Piece in Mia's hand. Then to the Moon Piece in her own hand. Kainatrol concentrated and the one she was holding disappeared.
Mia gulped.
"A fake!?" Kainatrol seethed. "What do you think I am!? Grab it!"
The three unoccupied Tachimany descended on Mia--
--one stumbled back, pierced by something glowing. Glowing and blue in the shape of a throwing knife. The other two quickly dodged to the side, avoiding identical knives.
Devance bit back a curse. "I knew my aim was off."
"Dad?" Mia hugged Starry and ran over to the edge. Devance landed there with a knife out, facing Kainatrol.
"Miss me, Kainatrol?" Millusion teleported onto the other side behind her.
"You didn't forget us, did you?" Cure Dawn and Cure Dusk jumped through as well, taking out the two Tachimany flanking Mia with kicks. Tachimany regrouped and shifted into five girls, already shaking off the injuries to their separate bodies.
"It doesn't matter how many of you there are!" Kainatrol summoned the Moon Dial beside her. "I've got all the power in the world!"
"Have you?" Dawn turned her head. "Mia, get the Moon Piece and we can take the rest!"
Sunbi popped his head out of Dawn's transformation cassette player. "You can do it ~sasa!"
"Mom..." Mia nodded and tightened the rope around Starry. "All right!"
Cure Dawn grabbed Cure Dusk's hand. They turned and aimed at the chaos in front of them.
"Dawn Phasing!"
"Dusk Phasing!"
Sunday and Night backflipped over and out of the way. They nodded and clasped hands as well, facing Kainatrol and going back-to-back with their predecessors.
"Sun Limit!"
"Night Limit!"
Hoshi concentrated and began to glow, sending power to the Cures. She looked over at Yukari. "Make yourself useful, Okamoto!"
Yukari smiled and gathered light herself, and it quickly flew into Sunday and Night. "Naturally!"
As power gathered in the Cures and the defectors watched Kainatrol, Mia took a deep breath and lowered Starry over the side by the rope.
"As the days move on..." Dawn began.
"...you will be lost to time," Dusk said.
"Despite the passage of time..." Sunday countered.
"Our feelings will endure forever!" Night finished.
A giant magic circle began to draw itself underneath them. Mireyes moved to guard Binbeat, and Tachimany shifted into another form to shield themselves.
Mia lowered the rope. "Just a little further..."
Kainatrol grabbed the Moon Dial and poured power into it. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!"
Starry swung on the end of the rope. "Almost there ~susu!"
Power gathered and light flashed in all colours, drawing the whole school's attention to the bell tower. Starry's little arms finally grabbed the Moon Piece.
And then --
It shone.
Amid the colour-coded lights, this Moon Piece shed its disguise in rainbow light, appearing as a black stone with the serial number III carved into it. After it, the Moon Dial in Kainatrol's hands glowed, too.
"This can't be good," Sunday gulped, breaking the incantation.
Night shook her head. "No, wait, look!"
The Moon Piece that Mia was holding was glowing rainbow colours, too. So, in turn, were Sunday's and Night's transformation phones. Night took out her phone and scanned the Storage Card, releasing her one Moon Piece; the Piece glowed, and so did the phone. Sunday did the same with the same result.
"The Moon Pieces are reacting like you said, old lady!" Binbeat stared.
Mireyes tensed. "But there are only eleven. They were all supposed to gather -- all thirteen!"
Kainatrol went for the Moon Dial.
Every person in that tower -- Cure, ally, Mireyes and Binbeat, all of Tachimany -- ran for it too.
The rainbow lights reacted.
Flash.
Suddenly--
The light faded. Cure Sunday looked around.
"...Class?"
They took in the situation. The Etherium agents, former and current, were nowhere to be found. Hoshi, Yukari, and Mia (holding Starry) were all in a corner of the room. Cures Sunday, Night, Dawn, and Dusk had appeared in the centre.
The centre, that is, of the Lily Class' exhibition on the history and rumours of Pretty Cure for the cultural festival.
-
"How did you get here?"
"Who are you, really?"
"Can anyone become a Pretty Cure?"
It was probably a few minutes or less, but it felt like forever. Sunday fielded a few questions as if she were DaiFighter himself, or at least a guy in a suit pretending to be him at a meet-and-greet for young children. Night just kept her mouth shut.
"Is the whole monster thing actually real?"
"You're some kind of guardian spirits for the town or something, right?"
"No way! They're cosplayers, totally. You are, right?"
Sunday smiled and waved questions off, her heart beating quickly. "It's real! The Hidoinaa we fight and everything. Pretty Cure will always be there when you need us--"
"Sunday," Night whispered, elbowing her partner. "We have to go." She looked pleadingly up at the adults. Dawn looked deep in thought and Dusk just smiled encouragingly. Night sighed. She looked over--
--and white domes went up over groups of classmates and parents, leaving the Cures in the middle and their allies walking over from the corner.
Millusion stepped in from the hallway and pocketed her pendulum. "You're welcome."
"What did you do this time, Omemi?" Hoshi crossed her arms.
"Nothing," Millusion said. "They just think Pretty Cure suddenly ran off to fight another Hidoinaa. Now we can all detransform and get back to trying to make the cultural festival not an absolute disaster. You might want to move so they don't get suspicious seeing you suddenly show up."
Dawn nodded and she and Dusk detransformed. Mia's eyes widened actually seeing it. Sunday and Night detransformed in turn. Old and new Cures looked at each other, taking in what they'd barely been able to process during the fight. What they were. Who they were.
Asa spoke first. "Ami-sensei, Ogata-san? I brought the communicator with me. After this, could we--" She stopped. "We need to contact the Elder."
Moonla poked her head out of Ami's transformation tape player. "The Elder of the Garden of Days ~muu?"
Sunbi did the same from Kirei's. "What do you need from her ~sasa?"
Asa took a deep breath. "I-- We need to ask her something."
"The longer you stand around, the longer I have to hold this up," Millusion reminded.
Asa sweatdropped. "Okay, let's go!" She started to lead the group out the door as Emiru detransformed and the class went back to normal. Yoko watched Asa, wondering. The Elder...?
The four of them stepped out the door and stopped. In front of them stood a woman with blue hair in worn-out work clothes, standing out from the other parents. Asa's head shot back and she stared.
"Mom...?"
"I couldn't help but overhear," Asa's mother began, unreadable. Kirei started to say something; she held up her hand. "No, I... I should have expected something like this. I'd actually like to speak with all of you now -- or at least when it's convenient."
"Now is fine," Kirei said. "I can understand what you're feeling, too."
"...Thank you. My name is Kawada Chikane."
"Ogata Kirei," she said. "You might already be acquainted with my partner, Nakata Ami--"
"--I'm the Lily Class' teacher," Ami added. "Let's go."
-
Asa's mind raced as they made their way to the deserted cafeteria kitchen and stood in a circle. She didn't look up.
"...so, uh, Mom." Asa shuffled her feet. "You're not something magical too, right? Because that would be..."
"Of course I'm not," Chikane said. "Asa, this isn't the time--"
"To be fair, in this case it's a valid question," Kirei interrupted. "I'm sorry, continue."
Chikane nodded. "Actually, I had a few things to address." She looked at Kirei and Ami. "First, the two of you are the same Cure Dawn and Cure Dusk, aren't you? I couldn't let you leave without thanking you."
"Thanking us?", Ami asked.
"Yes." She paused. "It was almost twenty-six years ago now when you two saved me. It was an inter-school training camp for a lot of extracurriculars -- everybody went out to Gessou Village. I was wandering during my downtime when I suddenly saw a man in a white suit with a potion bottle and a yellow shirt. He was talking with a woman in a pink dress, I remember that much..."
"Suiyacross and Hitosalesque," Kirei mused. "That was when they double-teamed us while we were out of town. They thought they could get rid of us in one go and then focus on searching for someone in enough despair to want the world to end."
Ami looked over at Chikane. "You were the girl from Fubuki Town who was caught when the trees turned into Hidoinaa, weren't you?"
"...You still remember." She smiled a little. Asa's eyes widened, watching.
"Of course we do!" Ami sparkled. "The duty of Pretty Cure is to protect and save those who need us! The most important thing for that is friendship! Therefore, we consider everyone we fight for to be our friends! Because of that, we already consider you a friend, and everybody remembers their friends!"
Kirei looked amused. "What she's trying to say, Kawada-san, is that we do. Thank you for remembering us, too. It seems that your daughter has become a Pretty Cure as well, in her own time."
"As I've seen." Chikane turned her attention to Asa. Seeing her child fidget and look away, she sighed. "Asa, I'm not upset. I just need to apologize."
"Apologize?" Both Asa and Yoko blinked at that.
"I knew something must have been going on, but I had no idea what. I was never around to question it anyway." She looked at Asa and shook her head. "I won't say I'm not worried. In fact, I'm terrified for your safety and for your feelings. At the same time, I'm proud of you."
Asa took a deep breath. "...Thanks, Mom. Actually, I wanted to talk to about something... something really important." She looked at Yoko and then at the others. "But it isn't Cure business, so I guess it can wait."
Chikane shook her head. "I've let too much wait. If the rest of you would...?"
Ami bowed. "I've got school business to take care of, so I'm all right with leaving." She stepped out of the room.
Kirei and Yoko looked at each other, nodded, and bowed as well before stepping out.
Asa and her mother stood there in the kitchen. It felt like a long time before either of them spoke.
"...Asa," Chikane began.
Asa gulped. "...yeah?"
"Is there... this is hard to say." She paused. "Tell me about your friends."
Slow smile. "...Okay."
-
"You will all tell me exactly what led to the incident we've just been through," Kainatrol seethed, nearly breaking her riding crop in half. "If you know what's good for you, it will all be the truth."
Tachimany, five girls, stretched out in unison. "Naturally--"
"--we had seen that--"
"--these two were about to--"
"--find a Moon Piece and--"
"--keep it for themselves."
Mireyes cleared her throat. "We are doing what is best for the Etherium's cause. Everybody here was gathered for the same reason. In order to erase a world, we need not only the Moon Dial, but two other things. One is the removal of the forces protecting the world, which in this case would be the two sets of Pretty Cure. The second is the wish of at least one resident of the world that said world be destroyed and their belief that there is nothing good left there. We are those residents. We all believed that nothing could be done but to destroy our worlds."
"And yet your world still lives, hag," Kainatrol said. "Imagine that."
"You will not call me that, Kainatrol." Mireyes stepped in front of Binbeat, who was making faces and rude noises.
"Oh, really?" Kainatrol straightened out her riding crop and twisted her smile. "Would you prefer witch?" She laughed as Mireyes clenched her aged fist and her eyes began to glow under her veil. "Tachimany, eliminate her and the brat."
Some of Tachimany raised their eyebrows. "You're acting--"
"--fairly suspicious yourself."
"As much as we trust you--"
"--and as talented as you are at what you do--"
"--you aren't in charge here."
Kainatrol laughed. First a little, but it grew. She grabbed her sides, the riding crop still between her fingers, and laughed louder, shaking her head. The Moon Dial appeared on its stand and she latched onto it.
"Oh, yes." Her eyes glowed a deep red. She caught one of Tachimany in the corner of their eye, just enough to focus. The body's eyes went blank. All of them turned to face her and removed their masks, dropping them on the ground. Their eyes glazed over as well. Kainatrol smirked. "Yes, I am."
"She can't do that!" Binbeat flew up to Mireyes' eye level and flailed his arms. "We can't affect each other with stuff like that!"
"The Moon Dial is, for all intents and purposes, hers." Mireyes swept her arm out. "Binbeat, get behind me and summon the organ. There's nothing else we can do now. If it's destruction she wants, she'll get it!"
-
"I suppose that's it, then." Kirei turned outside the door toward the rest of the cultural festival exhibits. Yoko grabbed her sleeve. She stopped.
"How did you know when you were in love?"
"Yoko-chan?"
Yoko blinked -- hadn't it always been 'Nakayama Yoko-san'? Well, Ogata-san had the right to call her whatever she wanted, really. She shook her head. "I know, stupid question, we have more important things to worry about. Let's go."
"No, I don't mind." Kirei smiled. "Why do you ask?"
"If it's really okay to ask about..." Yoko took a deep breath. "You two were enemies, right? Did you ever worry about what would happen if people knew how you felt about someone you shouldn't have liked? I mean, people who would say it was bad."
Kirei blinked. "I don't know how much you know, Yoko-chan, but to be honest, that was the least of my worries at the time. It sounds like you've got love troubles yourself, though."
"I d--" Yoko couldn't manage it. She turned pink and crossed her arms. "All right, yes. I do. I think I'm in love with this person, but I was hoping I wasn't. It... really wouldn't be a good idea."
"I see." Kirei put her hand on her shoulder. "That sort of thing happens. Do you want to tell me about it?"
"...Do you promise not to tell anyone? Especially the other person and especially my parents?"
"I don't even know your parents." Small laugh. "Of course I promise."
"...okay." Yoko tapped her foot on the ground nervously. "Because it's someone my parents wouldn't like. Too poor, too weird..." No one was watching. Okay. Good. Um. "...Too female."
"Asa-chan?"
Yoko nearly fell over.
"I suppose that's a yes."
If the resulting blush didn't confirm Kirei's suspicions, the following flailing exclamation completely unexpected of someone called "Ice Queen Nakayama" certainly did. At least, ice queens didn't normally switch into incoherent red-faced stammering with bits and pieces of "don't tell her, okay? You said you wouldn't!" and "my parents would kill me! First they'd disown me and then they'd kill me!", as far as Kirei knew. She smiled reassuringly at Yoko.
"It will be all right, Yoko-chan. We will all make sure of it, whatever you do. After all... it's like Ami said. You were intended to be our successors, but we're already partners, are we not?"
Yoko looked up, unable to stop shaking.
"...okay. Let's go talk to the Elder. Asa wanted to say something to her, and I think I know what it is."
-
Yoko: It's time again for...
Everyone: Asa and Yoko's Comment Corner! (All mascots add their respective sentence enders.)
Asa: Let me break the fourth wall for a second. Jisu. You take forever.
Yukari: This is a Comment Corner. It's all about breaking the fourth wall.
Hoshi: Besides, she usually takes forever, plus she sucks at fight scenes.
Kirei: Well, it's done, and there are two episodes left and an epilogue after this.
Ami: I'm sure it'll be done by the end of the year!
Emiru: Cursed by the faintest of praises, I see.
Mekuramast: Today we had a number of different revelations--
Binbeat: You weren't even in this episode!
Starry: Now we have no time to actually talk about the episode ~susu... See you all next time ~susu!
-
Next Episode: Death of the Future! The Last Two Moon Pieces!
Information: Fanseries wiki and fanseries ad comm
Episodes: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Bonus 16 17 18 19 20 Bonus 21 22 23 24 Ending & Epilogue
I've been useless this whole time.
"You're just as weird as everyone says!" Ogata Mia stepped back from her classmate and put her stone souvenir back into her bag. "You really do believe in all that weird stuff you watch on TV, right? I'm not going to buy into it! Find someone else to be your weird 'friend' who helps you delude yourself!"
Kawada Asa wasn't replying. She just stood there shaking, holding her phone in one hand and some card in the other. Now that Mia looked at it, it probably wasn't even a real phone. It was too big for that, and too colourful. Probably some toy. A middle-school second-year taking toys to school! Omemi-san and the others had been right. Kawada-san was a freak. Mia needed to get away, fast. She took a deep breath.
"As for me, I'm going to go find my mom, who's picking me up, and then I'm going to go out shopping, and then I'm going to go home and do my homework and go to sleep! Know who does all that? Normal people!"
Mia turned and ran down the path, not even looking to see how Asa reacted.
I was afraid to be anything but normal, and I pushed people away and tried to follow the rules.
She didn't stop running until she was out of Asa's sight. At that point, she slumped against a tree and sighed. "That was creepy..."
"What was?"
"Mom!" Mia stood up and looked over. Ogata Kirei emerged from a nearby clearing.
"Sorry I'm late," Kirei said. "I had something to attend to. What are you thinking about?"
"Just... something weird." Mia sighed. "You wouldn't understand."
Kirei shook her head. "Mia, you should know that I understand a lot of things."
"What do you mean?"
"My life's been very interesting," she said. "Especially when I was your age. Come on, let's go."
I didn't believe that magic could be real until I saw it for myself.
Mia walked beside her mother, occasionally walking in front of her before falling back into step. The fall air was starting to chill her ears to pink.
Kirei turned her eyes to Mia. "I know what's worrying you could be any number of things that you probably don't want to say. There's no place more obsessed with conformity than middle school, after all."
"Moooom," Mia said. "I don't need a lecture. You don't understand."
"We've established this," her mother sighed. "I'm not going to give you the details, because I know you wouldn't listen or wouldn't believe me, and also because I'd rather you not know. What I can say, though, is that if you do have anything you're worried about, I'll listen. I may be able to help if you give me a chance."
"Mom, you're embarrassing me."
"I can't be," Kirei laughed. "Nobody's around to be embarrassed in front of."
I didn't even know that my own family wasn't regular.
"Can we at least talk about this at home? Later?", Mia pleaded.
Kirei laughed a little and nodded. "I suppose that's as good as anything. Tonight, okay? I know you just want to change and then go out shopping for a while."
Mia sighed with relief. "Right. Thanks, Mom. I know you're worried, but it's just..."
"Weird." Kirei smiled. "Believe me, it's a relief that that's the only thing you have to worry about right now."
"Mom?"
"Let's go."
Despite all of this, Kawada-san and Nakayama-san kept saving me. So I need to...
Present day. Ogata Mia blinked back to the waking world, surrounded by the others. The others? Right. Cure Sunday and Cure Night were there, and Kondou Hoshi and Okamoto Yukari, too. Mia took in their surroundings and remembered. They were in the bell tower on top of the school. In front of them was a crowd of people in cloaks drawing knives at an old woman and a kid, all in white clothes and either covering their eyes or wearing white eye masks.
"Etherium," Night whispered.
"They're fighting each other now?", Yukari asked.
Starry popped out of the phone and stepped back. "Everyone ~susu..."
Tachimany's eleven heads turned to the door where the Cures and their friends had come from.
-
Futari wa Pretty Cure Blue Moon ~solar eclipse~
Episode 22: Let's Fight for Justice, Okay? Preparing as the World Breaks Down!
-
Mireyes pushed forward as Tachimany's heads were turned. One of the bodies turned back just as quickly and stabbed forward. Mireyes dodged and grabbed the attacking arm. Another Tachimany body moved to her other side. Just as quickly, Mireyes turned and pulled the first Tachimany into the second's attacking path.
"Whoa..." Cure Sunday stared. "I knew she was fast and strong for an old lady, but --"
"It isn't that, Asa." Night pointed. "Look."
In a single movement, the first Tachimany broke Mireyes' grip, spun to face her, and sliced upwards with their dagger. She pulled back, the knife only slicing her clothes. Small purple magic circles drew themselves under her footsteps, disappearing just as quickly; for a split second, the Cures and their companions could see a purple light under the veil that was covering her eyes.
"She's using her ability, isn't she?" Yukari watched carefully as Mireyes struck out against a third Tachimany behind her. "Like when Omemi-san makes those world-spheres."
"It's Mireyes' power!" Night looked at Sunday. "Remember? She dodged before we could attack! She can see the future, and she uses it to predict her opponents' moves!"
"That's right." Mireyes projected her voice around the tower, still not appearing to be distracted from the fight. "So what are you going to do, Pretty Cure? Go ahead and try to get the Moon Piece. We won't lose to you or to them."
"Yeah!" Binbeat clapped and pounded the keys on the organ. A series of small explosions rang out around the tower. The Cures and their friends all cringed and covered their ears at once as some of the explosions rocked the giant bell above the battle area.
Two more of Tachimany leapt into the air from the back of the cluster, descending toward the Cures. They flipped in unison and kicked down. Sunday and Night barely had the time to raise their arms up to block and skidded back, bumping into Yukari and Hoshi behind them.
"Ow!" Yukari righted herself.
"Come on, Okamoto. Ogata, get out of the way." Hoshi grabbed Mia's wrist and dragged her to the back, Yukari following closely behind.
Sunday and Night pushed back, springing their attackers off of them. The two Tachimany looked up, as did the six idle ones.
"Moon Piece?"
"It's not surprising--"
"--that one would be here--"
"--especially since--"
"--everyone has gathered."
"Attack."
The six idle assassin-Tachimany descended upon Mireyes at once. The girls couldn't even see her after she lifted her hand and the scene became a mess of white cloaks and knives.
"Old lady!" Binbeat cried out.
Mia curled up into a ball and clutched the Moon Piece she was holding close to her. Hoshi and Yukari were talking about something in front of her; she couldn't tell what. Mia tried to focus. She noticed a small, fluffy orange creature popping out of -- of one of the Cures' phones? -- and scrambling towards them.
"We need to get the other Moon Piece ~susu!" Starry waved his little arms around.
"I know, Starry..." Mia frowned. "I'm scared, though. What can I do? Even Kondou-san and Okamoto-san have things they can help with. Mom and Dad and Ami-sensei have been fighting, too. All I've ever been able to do is sit here and scream and get hurt."
"I feel like that a lot too ~susu." Starry looked up at her. "But there are things I can do even if they're different from what everybody else can, and there are things you can do too ~susu!"
Mia thought.
Invisible energy burst from the dogpile. Nine Tachimany were scattered over the bell tower in varying states of injury. Mireyes stood in the middle, eyes still hidden, her entire body glowing purple.
"Well," Mireyes' aged voice cracked. "It appears there isn't any choice, is there?"
The eleven total Tachimany rose up and looked at each other. The nine who were attacking Mireyes spread out in an array, moving around her and occasionally striking. The two in front of Sunday and Night kept their attentions on them, swiping and stabbing. The Cures blocked and dodged, backing up. Sunday suddenly grabbed the one she was fighting and threw them over her and into the wall behind. Night took the cue to duck and punch hers back. Once free, they had to guard from another wave of explosions from Binbeat's organ.
"They're fighting each other and us!" Night skidded back. "Which ones do we even fight?"
Sunday turned her head over. "All of them?"
"Sunday!"
"Well, it looks like that's the only thing we can do!" Sunday grinned. "Come on, let's try to get through them to the Moon Piece!"
Unnoticed by the fight, Mia scooped Starry up into her arms and ran around the perimeter of the bell tower's top room. She looked over the edge, where the large clock ticked underneath, its hands moving and a small shine she could barely see at the place that joined them.
"That's it, right?", she asked.
"Right ~susu!" Starry waved his little arms around. "We need to get down there ~susu!"
Mia glanced around and spotted a rope laying off to the side. She knelt, put her Moon Piece down, and started tying the rope around Starry.
"If I can just lower you down there, you can grab the Moon Piece, right?"
Starry thought and nodded. "I'll do my best ~susu!"
Mia tied a knot around the rope, picked up the Moon Piece in one hand and the rope in the other with Starry in the crook of her arm, and looked over at the battle. Tachimany shifted into their form of four doctors, their prop daggers turning into scalpels and syringes. One of them swiped at Sunday, slicing her bow as she jumped back. Sunday grabbed his (their) arm and hurled him (them) over her shoulder. Two more jumped her from behind. Night cried out, grabbed their shoulders, and tore them off of Sunday. Mireyes blasted Night across the room. The remaining Tachimany attacked Mireyes, quickly joined by the three others who had risen up.
"I suppose controlled chaos is better than all-out anarchy," mused another, darker voice.
Mia gasped and turned around at the voice. Kainatrol stood on the edge of the bell tower with a smirk as the light from her teleporting up there quickly faded.
"Always surprised, aren't you?" She laughed. "No wonder it took so long to see that you were Dawn's. Even when she was broken, she could fight." Kainatrol lightly touched the side of her own head and ignored the pain where the bruise was forming under her hair. "You're only useful as bait or a tool to an end, and you've failed at that half the time. Why don't you get out of the way?"
Mia shook, clutching Starry and her things to her chest. "You..."
"Naturally." Kainatrol smirked and looked past Mia. "Oh, superiors... I know where the Moon Piece is now."
Tachimany came together again and divided into nine shrine maidens. One of them looked over at Kainatrol while the rest continued to fend off their opponents. "Tell us, then."
"Absolutely. In the centre of the clock." Kainatrol gestured over the side. "Of course, I can't get it myself..."
Three of Tachimany dashed for the edge. Binbeat slammed his hands down on the piano keys and a wave of explosions knocked them back. Another wave of Tachimany jumped over them as the remaining ones blocked Mireyes and the Cures three-on-three.
Mia shook. She stepped back.
"Oh, cute," Kainatrol mused. "You think that will save--" Her eyes went to the Moon Piece in Mia's hand. Then to the Moon Piece in her own hand. Kainatrol concentrated and the one she was holding disappeared.
Mia gulped.
"A fake!?" Kainatrol seethed. "What do you think I am!? Grab it!"
The three unoccupied Tachimany descended on Mia--
--one stumbled back, pierced by something glowing. Glowing and blue in the shape of a throwing knife. The other two quickly dodged to the side, avoiding identical knives.
Devance bit back a curse. "I knew my aim was off."
"Dad?" Mia hugged Starry and ran over to the edge. Devance landed there with a knife out, facing Kainatrol.
"Miss me, Kainatrol?" Millusion teleported onto the other side behind her.
"You didn't forget us, did you?" Cure Dawn and Cure Dusk jumped through as well, taking out the two Tachimany flanking Mia with kicks. Tachimany regrouped and shifted into five girls, already shaking off the injuries to their separate bodies.
"It doesn't matter how many of you there are!" Kainatrol summoned the Moon Dial beside her. "I've got all the power in the world!"
"Have you?" Dawn turned her head. "Mia, get the Moon Piece and we can take the rest!"
Sunbi popped his head out of Dawn's transformation cassette player. "You can do it ~sasa!"
"Mom..." Mia nodded and tightened the rope around Starry. "All right!"
Cure Dawn grabbed Cure Dusk's hand. They turned and aimed at the chaos in front of them.
"Dawn Phasing!"
"Dusk Phasing!"
Sunday and Night backflipped over and out of the way. They nodded and clasped hands as well, facing Kainatrol and going back-to-back with their predecessors.
"Sun Limit!"
"Night Limit!"
Hoshi concentrated and began to glow, sending power to the Cures. She looked over at Yukari. "Make yourself useful, Okamoto!"
Yukari smiled and gathered light herself, and it quickly flew into Sunday and Night. "Naturally!"
As power gathered in the Cures and the defectors watched Kainatrol, Mia took a deep breath and lowered Starry over the side by the rope.
"As the days move on..." Dawn began.
"...you will be lost to time," Dusk said.
"Despite the passage of time..." Sunday countered.
"Our feelings will endure forever!" Night finished.
A giant magic circle began to draw itself underneath them. Mireyes moved to guard Binbeat, and Tachimany shifted into another form to shield themselves.
Mia lowered the rope. "Just a little further..."
Kainatrol grabbed the Moon Dial and poured power into it. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!"
Starry swung on the end of the rope. "Almost there ~susu!"
Power gathered and light flashed in all colours, drawing the whole school's attention to the bell tower. Starry's little arms finally grabbed the Moon Piece.
And then --
It shone.
Amid the colour-coded lights, this Moon Piece shed its disguise in rainbow light, appearing as a black stone with the serial number III carved into it. After it, the Moon Dial in Kainatrol's hands glowed, too.
"This can't be good," Sunday gulped, breaking the incantation.
Night shook her head. "No, wait, look!"
The Moon Piece that Mia was holding was glowing rainbow colours, too. So, in turn, were Sunday's and Night's transformation phones. Night took out her phone and scanned the Storage Card, releasing her one Moon Piece; the Piece glowed, and so did the phone. Sunday did the same with the same result.
"The Moon Pieces are reacting like you said, old lady!" Binbeat stared.
Mireyes tensed. "But there are only eleven. They were all supposed to gather -- all thirteen!"
Kainatrol went for the Moon Dial.
Every person in that tower -- Cure, ally, Mireyes and Binbeat, all of Tachimany -- ran for it too.
The rainbow lights reacted.
Flash.
Suddenly--
The light faded. Cure Sunday looked around.
"...Class?"
They took in the situation. The Etherium agents, former and current, were nowhere to be found. Hoshi, Yukari, and Mia (holding Starry) were all in a corner of the room. Cures Sunday, Night, Dawn, and Dusk had appeared in the centre.
The centre, that is, of the Lily Class' exhibition on the history and rumours of Pretty Cure for the cultural festival.
-
"How did you get here?"
"Who are you, really?"
"Can anyone become a Pretty Cure?"
It was probably a few minutes or less, but it felt like forever. Sunday fielded a few questions as if she were DaiFighter himself, or at least a guy in a suit pretending to be him at a meet-and-greet for young children. Night just kept her mouth shut.
"Is the whole monster thing actually real?"
"You're some kind of guardian spirits for the town or something, right?"
"No way! They're cosplayers, totally. You are, right?"
Sunday smiled and waved questions off, her heart beating quickly. "It's real! The Hidoinaa we fight and everything. Pretty Cure will always be there when you need us--"
"Sunday," Night whispered, elbowing her partner. "We have to go." She looked pleadingly up at the adults. Dawn looked deep in thought and Dusk just smiled encouragingly. Night sighed. She looked over--
--and white domes went up over groups of classmates and parents, leaving the Cures in the middle and their allies walking over from the corner.
Millusion stepped in from the hallway and pocketed her pendulum. "You're welcome."
"What did you do this time, Omemi?" Hoshi crossed her arms.
"Nothing," Millusion said. "They just think Pretty Cure suddenly ran off to fight another Hidoinaa. Now we can all detransform and get back to trying to make the cultural festival not an absolute disaster. You might want to move so they don't get suspicious seeing you suddenly show up."
Dawn nodded and she and Dusk detransformed. Mia's eyes widened actually seeing it. Sunday and Night detransformed in turn. Old and new Cures looked at each other, taking in what they'd barely been able to process during the fight. What they were. Who they were.
Asa spoke first. "Ami-sensei, Ogata-san? I brought the communicator with me. After this, could we--" She stopped. "We need to contact the Elder."
Moonla poked her head out of Ami's transformation tape player. "The Elder of the Garden of Days ~muu?"
Sunbi did the same from Kirei's. "What do you need from her ~sasa?"
Asa took a deep breath. "I-- We need to ask her something."
"The longer you stand around, the longer I have to hold this up," Millusion reminded.
Asa sweatdropped. "Okay, let's go!" She started to lead the group out the door as Emiru detransformed and the class went back to normal. Yoko watched Asa, wondering. The Elder...?
The four of them stepped out the door and stopped. In front of them stood a woman with blue hair in worn-out work clothes, standing out from the other parents. Asa's head shot back and she stared.
"Mom...?"
"I couldn't help but overhear," Asa's mother began, unreadable. Kirei started to say something; she held up her hand. "No, I... I should have expected something like this. I'd actually like to speak with all of you now -- or at least when it's convenient."
"Now is fine," Kirei said. "I can understand what you're feeling, too."
"...Thank you. My name is Kawada Chikane."
"Ogata Kirei," she said. "You might already be acquainted with my partner, Nakata Ami--"
"--I'm the Lily Class' teacher," Ami added. "Let's go."
-
Asa's mind raced as they made their way to the deserted cafeteria kitchen and stood in a circle. She didn't look up.
"...so, uh, Mom." Asa shuffled her feet. "You're not something magical too, right? Because that would be..."
"Of course I'm not," Chikane said. "Asa, this isn't the time--"
"To be fair, in this case it's a valid question," Kirei interrupted. "I'm sorry, continue."
Chikane nodded. "Actually, I had a few things to address." She looked at Kirei and Ami. "First, the two of you are the same Cure Dawn and Cure Dusk, aren't you? I couldn't let you leave without thanking you."
"Thanking us?", Ami asked.
"Yes." She paused. "It was almost twenty-six years ago now when you two saved me. It was an inter-school training camp for a lot of extracurriculars -- everybody went out to Gessou Village. I was wandering during my downtime when I suddenly saw a man in a white suit with a potion bottle and a yellow shirt. He was talking with a woman in a pink dress, I remember that much..."
"Suiyacross and Hitosalesque," Kirei mused. "That was when they double-teamed us while we were out of town. They thought they could get rid of us in one go and then focus on searching for someone in enough despair to want the world to end."
Ami looked over at Chikane. "You were the girl from Fubuki Town who was caught when the trees turned into Hidoinaa, weren't you?"
"...You still remember." She smiled a little. Asa's eyes widened, watching.
"Of course we do!" Ami sparkled. "The duty of Pretty Cure is to protect and save those who need us! The most important thing for that is friendship! Therefore, we consider everyone we fight for to be our friends! Because of that, we already consider you a friend, and everybody remembers their friends!"
Kirei looked amused. "What she's trying to say, Kawada-san, is that we do. Thank you for remembering us, too. It seems that your daughter has become a Pretty Cure as well, in her own time."
"As I've seen." Chikane turned her attention to Asa. Seeing her child fidget and look away, she sighed. "Asa, I'm not upset. I just need to apologize."
"Apologize?" Both Asa and Yoko blinked at that.
"I knew something must have been going on, but I had no idea what. I was never around to question it anyway." She looked at Asa and shook her head. "I won't say I'm not worried. In fact, I'm terrified for your safety and for your feelings. At the same time, I'm proud of you."
Asa took a deep breath. "...Thanks, Mom. Actually, I wanted to talk to about something... something really important." She looked at Yoko and then at the others. "But it isn't Cure business, so I guess it can wait."
Chikane shook her head. "I've let too much wait. If the rest of you would...?"
Ami bowed. "I've got school business to take care of, so I'm all right with leaving." She stepped out of the room.
Kirei and Yoko looked at each other, nodded, and bowed as well before stepping out.
Asa and her mother stood there in the kitchen. It felt like a long time before either of them spoke.
"...Asa," Chikane began.
Asa gulped. "...yeah?"
"Is there... this is hard to say." She paused. "Tell me about your friends."
Slow smile. "...Okay."
-
"You will all tell me exactly what led to the incident we've just been through," Kainatrol seethed, nearly breaking her riding crop in half. "If you know what's good for you, it will all be the truth."
Tachimany, five girls, stretched out in unison. "Naturally--"
"--we had seen that--"
"--these two were about to--"
"--find a Moon Piece and--"
"--keep it for themselves."
Mireyes cleared her throat. "We are doing what is best for the Etherium's cause. Everybody here was gathered for the same reason. In order to erase a world, we need not only the Moon Dial, but two other things. One is the removal of the forces protecting the world, which in this case would be the two sets of Pretty Cure. The second is the wish of at least one resident of the world that said world be destroyed and their belief that there is nothing good left there. We are those residents. We all believed that nothing could be done but to destroy our worlds."
"And yet your world still lives, hag," Kainatrol said. "Imagine that."
"You will not call me that, Kainatrol." Mireyes stepped in front of Binbeat, who was making faces and rude noises.
"Oh, really?" Kainatrol straightened out her riding crop and twisted her smile. "Would you prefer witch?" She laughed as Mireyes clenched her aged fist and her eyes began to glow under her veil. "Tachimany, eliminate her and the brat."
Some of Tachimany raised their eyebrows. "You're acting--"
"--fairly suspicious yourself."
"As much as we trust you--"
"--and as talented as you are at what you do--"
"--you aren't in charge here."
Kainatrol laughed. First a little, but it grew. She grabbed her sides, the riding crop still between her fingers, and laughed louder, shaking her head. The Moon Dial appeared on its stand and she latched onto it.
"Oh, yes." Her eyes glowed a deep red. She caught one of Tachimany in the corner of their eye, just enough to focus. The body's eyes went blank. All of them turned to face her and removed their masks, dropping them on the ground. Their eyes glazed over as well. Kainatrol smirked. "Yes, I am."
"She can't do that!" Binbeat flew up to Mireyes' eye level and flailed his arms. "We can't affect each other with stuff like that!"
"The Moon Dial is, for all intents and purposes, hers." Mireyes swept her arm out. "Binbeat, get behind me and summon the organ. There's nothing else we can do now. If it's destruction she wants, she'll get it!"
-
"I suppose that's it, then." Kirei turned outside the door toward the rest of the cultural festival exhibits. Yoko grabbed her sleeve. She stopped.
"How did you know when you were in love?"
"Yoko-chan?"
Yoko blinked -- hadn't it always been 'Nakayama Yoko-san'? Well, Ogata-san had the right to call her whatever she wanted, really. She shook her head. "I know, stupid question, we have more important things to worry about. Let's go."
"No, I don't mind." Kirei smiled. "Why do you ask?"
"If it's really okay to ask about..." Yoko took a deep breath. "You two were enemies, right? Did you ever worry about what would happen if people knew how you felt about someone you shouldn't have liked? I mean, people who would say it was bad."
Kirei blinked. "I don't know how much you know, Yoko-chan, but to be honest, that was the least of my worries at the time. It sounds like you've got love troubles yourself, though."
"I d--" Yoko couldn't manage it. She turned pink and crossed her arms. "All right, yes. I do. I think I'm in love with this person, but I was hoping I wasn't. It... really wouldn't be a good idea."
"I see." Kirei put her hand on her shoulder. "That sort of thing happens. Do you want to tell me about it?"
"...Do you promise not to tell anyone? Especially the other person and especially my parents?"
"I don't even know your parents." Small laugh. "Of course I promise."
"...okay." Yoko tapped her foot on the ground nervously. "Because it's someone my parents wouldn't like. Too poor, too weird..." No one was watching. Okay. Good. Um. "...Too female."
"Asa-chan?"
Yoko nearly fell over.
"I suppose that's a yes."
If the resulting blush didn't confirm Kirei's suspicions, the following flailing exclamation completely unexpected of someone called "Ice Queen Nakayama" certainly did. At least, ice queens didn't normally switch into incoherent red-faced stammering with bits and pieces of "don't tell her, okay? You said you wouldn't!" and "my parents would kill me! First they'd disown me and then they'd kill me!", as far as Kirei knew. She smiled reassuringly at Yoko.
"It will be all right, Yoko-chan. We will all make sure of it, whatever you do. After all... it's like Ami said. You were intended to be our successors, but we're already partners, are we not?"
Yoko looked up, unable to stop shaking.
"...okay. Let's go talk to the Elder. Asa wanted to say something to her, and I think I know what it is."
-
Yoko: It's time again for...
Everyone: Asa and Yoko's Comment Corner! (All mascots add their respective sentence enders.)
Asa: Let me break the fourth wall for a second. Jisu. You take forever.
Yukari: This is a Comment Corner. It's all about breaking the fourth wall.
Hoshi: Besides, she usually takes forever, plus she sucks at fight scenes.
Kirei: Well, it's done, and there are two episodes left and an epilogue after this.
Ami: I'm sure it'll be done by the end of the year!
Emiru: Cursed by the faintest of praises, I see.
Mekuramast: Today we had a number of different revelations--
Binbeat: You weren't even in this episode!
Starry: Now we have no time to actually talk about the episode ~susu... See you all next time ~susu!
-
Next Episode: Death of the Future! The Last Two Moon Pieces!