Afterword - A Doki Doki Precure Story

37 - Please, No More

Locked. Of course it was. Why wouldn't it be.
Regina looked into the windows, looking for any signs of life inside. The shut blinds made it almost impossible.
With a cry of frustration, Regina slumped against the  wall.
How could she not notice?? What the hell did he do to make it impossible to see reality?
How could she be deceived into believing a false reality?
Yuki's parents are dead. That is a well known fact. So why did it not occur to Regina that her best friend was in trouble? Why did it not occur to her to double check?

Who was Zandik?

Mana tried to open the door, and, with a click, it opened. Mana furrowed her brow at this development. She carefully twisted the handle further, and carefully opened the door.
The first thing Mana saw was dark stains on the crumbling flower-textured wallpaper.
Realising the situation might be more perilous than initially thought, she transformed into Cure Heart, and signalled for the other Precure members to join her.

Cure Heart carefully entered the once humble abode. Upon entering, she could hear faint music. It sounded slightly distorted, but there was no doubt it was music. In fact, Cure Heart even recognised the song. 'It's a Hard Life' by Queen. Makoto had covered the song before, but this was the original version.
Suddenly there was a deafening slam from behind her. Heart whipped her head around at the sound which made her jump in her skin. The door was shut.

"Regina!?" She shouted.

//

Makoto washed her face, looking at herself in the mirror.
Another nightmare.
With a sigh, she grabbed a white towel and dried her face. She slowly left the bathroom and entered her bedroom, swiping her phone from her dresser and flopping onto the bed. She was about to mindlessly doom scroll on social media when a notification appeared on her screen. It was from Mana.
She tapped the notification, sending her to the group chat that everyone had. She read the message.

Heart: Gonna need help. I'm at Yuki's old place. There's red stains on the walls.

A few seconds pass.

Ace: Don't worry, I'm on my way, stay outside. Don't go in.

Makoto quickly types out a message.

Sword: I'll be right there!

Rosetta: I'm already on my way, don't move, stay safe!

Liz: Why r u guys going to that abandoned place??

Makoto set her phone down and transformed into Cure Sword, before racing out of her apartment.
Luckily, she had a good idea on where she was going. However her worries weren't on whether she could get there or not, she was worried for her friends who may already be in danger. If Mana was there, then there was no doubt Regina was there too.

She had to hope she got there in time.

//

Regina pounded on the door. She charged into it, she shoulder bashed it, she did everything she could to open the door. But it wouldn't even budge.

"Mana stay right there!" She exclaimed, panic in her voice, "I'll try and break the window!"

Regina looked around for a heavy object. But there was nothing, not even a conveniently placed brick. With a frustrated sigh she turned to face the window. She ran towards it, jumping at it. What Regina didn't expect however was her face to collide with the glass. She didn't so much as even fracture the strange glass. Blood ran down Regina's pained face, but she was determined to get to the one she loved. She had to get to Mana before it was too late.

Inside, Cure Heart carefully moved forward. Every step she took revealed more of the decaying home, a place of terrible memories and regrets. On the crumbling walls were remnants of a happy birthday banner, broken picture frames with dust and dirt covering the images behind them.
The house reeked of tragedy and despair. There was also an almost intoxicating smell of iron in the air, combined with the smell of mold and dust and decaying trash.
It almost knocked Cure Heart sick. As she continued to make her way to the kitchen, she began to see something on the ground.
Legs. They were legs.