"I'm going to use fear to my advantage."
The Psyche reared it's head, getting ready to charge.
"Charity, shield it!"
I ordered.
With a tap to her bracelet and a clap of her hands, they began to glow as she formed a circle with her arms,
"Precure! Herbal Gauze Reflection!"
She yelled, thrusting her hands out as a floral like barrier was made, making the lunging Psyche recoil backwards.
"Moral, stagger it! Now!"
I took to higher ground, Moral behind me as she tapped her bracelet and took out a card with an image of a staff.
"Step Up! Staff of the Upright!"
She twirled the staff around, creating a patch of sunlight to illuminate her and tapped the end to the ground,
"Let the warmth flow! Precure! Compassionate Heart Puncture!"
She briskly bounded off the sides of the buildings, giving one final jump before diving straight for the Psyche's glass heart.
"Psy!"
"NOOO! STOP IT! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
Phobeea pleaded, her body trembling as her defense was now vulnerable.
"Cure Hope! Whatever you're planning, do it now!"
Moral called out.
I lunged for the now exposed girl, my colors shifting as I grabbed hold of her crimson threads.
"Who...?! YOU?!"
She exclaimed in a fit of panic.
"It's normal to have expectations, but we can't meet them all. All we can do is allow others to help you up and build your confidence to confront your fears. I've been there, trust me."
I comforted, watching as the girl nearly broke into tears, causing the Psyche to shake.
"Hope!"
Charity called out.
"Give me your hand, and I promise to never let you go."
I smiled, stretching out my hand to her. The girl's glasses allowed me to see her brown eyes again.
She forced her hand out of her binds that seemed to bury into her skin, making it bleed slightly.
"I can't!"
She whimpered,
"I just have too much to juggle!"
The Psyche groaned, seemingly sitting up as I held my stance.
"We can help you, we're all in this together. We were a team once!"
The skies seemed to clear up, making the thread shine with a strange splendor.
With a cry of pain, the girl broke from her threads, her hands and her ankles now bloodied from the force of her doubt and fear.
"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! NO ONE CAN BREAK THROUGH THAT!"
Phobeea cried.
I helped the girl out and away from her own dangerous being, the Psyche not letting up as the loss of its host made it run wild.
"Psyche!!"
"I need you to look into your heart and believe it for once. Be exactly who your heart wants to be."
I gave the girl a warm smile, retelling the words Pulse had told us many times,
"Don't aim for the future others made for you, instead, make your own."
She hesitated and looked over to the blonde boy who was standing in anticipation on the side.
"I'm ready. I'll do it! Pulse!"
She called out.
"Catch!" He exclaimed, tossing the bag with it's shining contents towards her, catching it gracefully as she smiled.
"Precure! Clinical Heartbeat!"
She slid in the blue gem and turned the dial on the bracelet as it glowed like there was no tomorrow.
It reacted and spat out a royal blue card with a design embedded on it.
"Change! Uniform!"
She tapped it on the bracelet and her body was enveloped in a spray of light blue, making her uniform disappear and replaced with a white and blue version of it and a skirt of the same blue with white on its hems and white elbow length gloves.
"Step! Boots!"
The next card was caught and tapped. Her legs had white stockings with short white and royal blue boots reaching to her ankles as she stepped on the tiles.
"Polish! Hair!"
A final card and a white Nurse's Cap with a single blue heart on its front appeared.
She placed it on with a slide, her hair unfurled from her bun and tied itself up like mine, until she spun her finger around its tip, making it curl as her sideburns fell at her side.
With a smile and a clap, the Crystal Heart doubled in size and tied itself up as it stayed with a shine.
The bracelet changed into a blue band at her wrist like mine and a final heart with a single wing clipped her hair up in place and similar earrings at her ears. She tapped her glasses and they disappeared, giving her now blue eyes a light shade with a light blush and similar lipstick.
She stepped back to the ground with the tips of her boots,
"The beauty of resilience, the mark of Autonomy!"
She swung her right arm to the back and her left one in front,
"I am, Cure Veracity!"
"GRRRAAAH! YOU SPARKLY BRATS JUST DON'T GIVE UP DO YOU?!"
Phobeea whined, stomping her feet as she kicked the Psyche, "Don't just sit there, you tin can! GET THEM!"
Veracity lunged forward, crafting her javelin as she dodged the angry punches of her own Psyche,
"I am not alone! I am not the best! I am not the next higher up!"
She bounded upwards, kicking the Psyche back with its own strength, throwing the javelin straight through its crystal heart as it shattered completely.
"But I am enough! And that's who I want to be!"
She yelled, a radiant glow protruding from her crystal heart as a similar light came from the rest of us.
Phobeea whimpered, hiding behind a mailbox as Pulse cheered,
"The Light of Divination! Quick, tap the hearts to activate your new finisher! I'll take care of the rest!"
He jumped, excitement laced all over his face.
"Girls, let's do it!"
I smiled, gaining the nods of the three in front of me.
With a gentle clap to our chests, we gave a small hug and held the small orb of light to our beings, each our respective color,
"The light of the future that we wish to carve, grant us the power to change fate!"
Pulse ran in with a slight stumble, spinning on his heels before tossing a golden block of cheese to the air that crumbled into a golden coin with wings engraved into it,
"The flip of a coin can change everything-lun!"
He changed to his mouse form, clicking it into our four emblems.
In response, the gems shone brilliantly, enveloping the four of us again as we clapped and were granted a new card in return.
Our hairs changed to a lighter color, our heart clips changing to a halo and similar golden accessories were given. With a tug of our veils, we were granted coats that flowed behind us, with a ribbon to hold it in place. Our usual boots were now white with our colors that were now lighter, and a golden bow was presented to each of us.
"Nurse Change: Divine Light!"
We took to the skies, each creating a streak of light behind us, wrapping the Psyche with it as it struggled to move,
"Psyche..!"
"Hear our pleas, our founder within!"
We traced a heart in mid-air, crafting a wing-tipped golden arrow in response,
"Precure! Divine Intervention!"
Releasing the arrows, a great gust of wind pushed them forward, merging them into a whole, piercing straight through the Psyche's heart, its exterior cracking as a winged form of Veracity now took its place with a new found smile, wrapped up in a veil of light.
"Freedom..."
She sighed.
"Discharged, and ready to face the future!'
We saluted, the soul returning into Veracity who kneeled with a soft look of peace.
"AUUUUGH! Just you wait, you freaks! Next time, I won't run and hide!"
Phobeea huffed, hurriedly opening a rift and tripping back inside as it sealed up.
The city grew peaceful momentarily and we were able to change back to our original precure looks, before the citizens rushed out to greet us with a wave of praise and relief.
"They did it!"
"Just who are 'They'?"
"They can't be from the medical school a few blocks down, can they?"
"No student is able to have such power! These are clearly different people!"
"Or beings!"
Pulse discreetly ran up behind my back and into my hair as his mouse form, not wanting to show his human form,
"We strongly suggest going home and cooling down,"
I urged, taking the initiative to speak up,
"As long as we're around, we'll make sure everyone's heart is safe and well. For now, we really must be going. It's not safe to have us near such a large crowd. Enjoy your evening, everyone."
We smiled, jumping far back to the same vacant lot that was covered in bushes. Sighing heavily as we changed back into our civilian forms and placed our belongings away.
"That was incredible!"
Nadiya giggled.
"That was nerve-wracking. We could have lost an upper-classman!"
Paula gulped, looking at the girl who slid on her glasses slowly.
"Did you mean it...?"
She looked my way, holding her injured hands as they shook.
I gave a small smile, taking them in mine as I bandaged them with Pulse's emergency kit,
"I do. That's what being a nurse is, right? Always being there for others first, and coming in second to them. And," I helped her up as I stood up, "That's also what friends are for!"
Nadiya beamed as Paula seemed to nearly faint.
"But, I am a third year... You're a first year."
She stuttered.
"It doesn't matter what rank we have, nurses build one another up, and so do friends! Speaking of, I never caught your name?"
I tilted my head in question.
The girl smiled, very gently shaking my hands,
"Noemi. My name is Noemi Flores."
Pulse's stomach gave a growl that was loud enough to break the silence,
"I'm sorry! I'm just kinda hungry. We still have those snacks at home right?"
The ice quickly broke as we laughed it off, heading home with our newly made friend, watching as she sent a message to her parents.
"I told them I ran into you and started a study group, this way they won't worry."
She sighed.
"Hey," I smiled, holding her shoulder, "That's one step closer to gaining confidence."
"Yeah!" Nadiya smiled, "We'll help you gain it back!"
"And fill your day with much needed chatterboxes." Paula smirked.
"I am not a chatterbox!" Nadiya rebutted, making Paula and Pulse chuckle.
At least for today, we saved a really important soul.