Afterword - A Doki Doki Precure Story

35 - Fly Me to the Moon

Mana shot up out of her bed with a cry. She looked around, dazed, disoriented.
Was it all a dream?

She put a hand to her chest, feeling her heart racing a mile a minute. She took deep, long breaths, attempting to calm herself.
After a few moments, she turned to her side and exhaled in relief when she saw her Sleeping Beauty.

She lay there, snoring softly, sleeping peacefully. Mana imagined her dreams were filled with rainbows and picnics. She put a hand to her hair and gently run her fingers through it.

It was here her mind also began to think more logically.

What the hell was that dream? Why did it feel so real? Was it exclusively her dream?

That last question may sound completely unrealistic, but at this point, Mana wasn't sure what was what.
Unfortunately for her and the Precure, they still had no leads on what ultimately caused the Samsara, outside of the large mechanised form. Even then, nobody had any idea what it was.

"Mana...? Are you alright?" Asked a small voice.

Mana turned to her side to see Regina looking up at her, clearly having just woken up, but also looking rather concerned. Her matted hair covered one of her eyes.

"Yeah... yeah I'm okay." Mana responded.

Regina raised an eyebrow.
"There's literally sweat dripping down your forehead, your face is red, and you look like you haven't slept a wink."
Her expression softened, "what happened...?"

Mana couldn't just simply tell her that her girlfriend had died in a dream. A dream that felt far too real.

"Just a bad dream." Mana responded flatly.

Regina nodded, not wanting to pry. Anything to not piss off her lover. Hoping to change the topic, Regina picked up her Freddy Fazbear plushie, a well loved, glass-eyed plush of the animatronic bear from the Five Nights at Freddy's video game. She held it close to her chest, but in a way that would silently beg Mana to express the super deep yet complex lore of Five Nights at Freddy's.

Mana began to smile a little. She knew the Freddy plush was her favourite thing - besides her of course. Regina had seen it in a window and begged and begged for her to buy it, since she had used up her pocket money on food a few hours earlier.
Mana herself had no idea what the video game was about. Regina had constantly wanted to speak about the lore of the game, but due to the Samsara situation, they'd had little time.

Mana gently took the cute bear plush and looked at its features. She found it's black bow tie, the top hat and the blue eyes adorable. And the texture of the material used to make the plush was so soft.
She looked up at Regina with a small smile.
"Alright, tell me about this video game."

With a beam of excitement, Regina let out a small squeal and sat up straight.
"So basically, the story is about five kids who were murdered by this man called William Afton..."

Mana listened to Regina go on and on about the lore and the video games for over an hour. One thought kept popping into her mind.
'This is for kids?'

"So that brings us onto the latest game, Security Breach! I've watched so many YouTubers play it and it looks so fun! I love Roxanne Wolf she's so awesome!"
Regina explaining her hobbies brought a smile to Mana's face. She was so adorable.

"People say Security Breach is the worst but I love it! I can't wait for the Ruin DLC to come out. I heard it's gonna clear up a lot of the issues from the game."

"Regina have you ever actually played any of the games?" Mana asked, wondering how she knew so much of the lore. She'd never actually seen her play the games, but she did spend a lot of time watching videos on her phone.

"I've always wanted to, I just thought I wouldn't be allowed." Regina responded half-heartedly, playing with Plush Freddy's arms.

"Mmm... alright... well, I have to go see Alice and Makoto. Yuki's coming over right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Don't make a mess like last time."

"Yes mother." Regina responded cheekily.

Mana flicked her nose before putting her clothes on and leaving.

//

Regina sat alone in her room for some time. Yuki was late. Her parents were giving her trouble. In the meantime, the blonde was quietly playing Minecraft. Eventually, she got bored. She looked at her phone and noticed she had received a message from Yuki.

YUKSTER: Sorry bestie gonna have to cancel today >~< parents are being mean

Regina sighed. When her parents were stubborn, they were stubborn. Clearly it was one of those days where Yuki wasn't allowed to leave the house. Regina always questioned their logic, but unfortunately couldn't do anything.

BLONDIE: lame. your parents suck so much lol

YUKSTER: Tell me about it lol.

Regina put her phone in her pocket. She'd decided since it was a nice day that she'd walk around the park. She grabbed her bag and stuffed Freddy inside, then put her boots on before walking out of the door.

//

As Regina walked around the park, she felt increasingly awkward. As if there was something happening that she wasn't aware of. Perhaps it may have something to do with the growing headache she had been developing. She looked out to the lake in the middle of the park, and her vision suddenly faded. She had felt herself fall to the ground, but couldn't move.

What was happening??

She tried to scream, she tried to yell and shout, but no sound escaped her throat. Not even a whisper.

Suddenly she heard a voice in her ear. It felt... familiar, but wrong.

"It took three years for me to finally understand..."

"I'll never be like them."

She suddenly began to see images in her head. It was of a young girl with dark blue hair, something that seemed painfully familiar to her. She was alone, in a dark room. She seemed to be crying.

"My memory had always been fuzzy... like it had been altered, but I unlocked all of the secrets my mind locked away."

"My parents... my real parents abandoned me when I was merely a year old. Valuing looks above all, they saw no worth in me, and I was abandoned in the same hospital I was born in."

The next mental image showed a much older girl, with longer blue hair. She also saw a girl with pink hair. The blue-haired girl was pushed forward by her 'parents', as if being made to shake hands with the cheery pink-haired girl.

"Mana... ever since I first laid eyes on her, I was envious. She had loving parents. She had an amazing personality. She had good lucks. She was everything I wasn't. I loved her... but I know she didn't reciprocate those feelings. She never did.

Regina was now silently connecting the dots. The story could only be told from the perspective of Rikka. To know such dark secrets being told to her without a filter was... crushing.

Another set of images appeared before her. Now we were in a memory Regina had closed off. Rikka had encased herself in her diamond crystal, having taken her life as a sacrifice to stop the Shifters.

"That day... that fateful day... when everything came out... why did they thaw me out? Why was I not allowed to die??"
The voice grew more emotional, wrathful. It began to laugh, but it was a pained laugh.

"They who thawed me out... they who sought to use my power... they who put me in a body not my own, you have given me everything I ever wanted."

A final mental image appeared before her consciousness. She saw the blue-haired woman, attached to wires, as if... becoming something she isn't.

"See you soon, Regina." The woman said with a sinister grin.

Regina suddenly woke up, still looking out at the lake.

What was that...?