Sora was confused. The king and queen, Ami's parents, wanted to talk to her and the others? Maybe they had learned that Ami had run away and were asking the Precure to bring her back home. Or maybe they just wanted to finally meet the girls fighting to restore their kingdom.

"Oh, okay. Ummm we're currently out walking right now but I can bring everyone together if you want to talk to all of us." Sora said.

"Understood, I will contact you again soon." the king said. The "call" then ended and Sora put her commune back in its carrier.

"Sora, who were you talking to?" Emiri asked.

"Oh! Haha, no one important!" Sora laughed.

"Are you sure? It sounded important to me..." Emiri looked at Sora with a suspicious expression.

"Okay, it was actually a lot more important. Ami's parents got a hold of me, they want to talk to us." Sora said.

"Eh really?!" Emiri gasped.

"Yeah! We need to find a way to distract Ami for a minute since I don't think she's supposed to know about this." Sora said.

"Got it, I'll tell Suzuko and Rei what's going on." Emiri said.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

Back at Pollution, Ivy was still thinking about Ami and what she was doing at the scene of the battle. Ami had caught her interest a couple times before but now it was becoming a lot more obvious that Ami may have been important.

"What are you doing Ivy? Shouldn't we train?" Tide asked.

"Sorry, I've just been thinking about something." Ivy replied.

"Pffft... that's a shock." Tide said sarcastically. "What's on your mind? Worried that we're close to meeting our ends?"

"No, not that... the last couple of times we've fought the Precure, there's this girl. She seems to know about the Precure, but she isn't one. They seem really concerned about keeping her safe, and I can't help but get the feeling that she's very important somehow." Ivy explained.

"Do you think she's involved with the kingdom?" Tide asked.

"Maybe? I don't know enough about her yet. And the truth is, I don't even know if the Nature Kingdom has a princess or not." Ivy said.

"Yeah... I don't know either. I don't even think Hurricane knows for sure either..." Tide said.

"How is he doing?" Ivy asked.

"He's starting to train again to regain his strength. Whatever happened during his last fight with the Precure really weakened him. That's why he's been resting for so long." Tide replied.

"I see. Well, why don't we try and find out what's up with that girl?" Ivy suggested.

"I think that's a good idea! I bet if she is involved in the conflict, we can find a way to get some answers out of her!" Tide said.

"Yep! Exactly!" Ivy said.

The villain duo then sat together to come up with yet another plan to try and take down the Precure and figure out the mystery behind Ami.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

When the group got to Emiri's house, Sora had to quickly scramble and find a way to get Ami out of the room so she could contact her parents. Maybe Ami knew where to start looking for the items the group needed to make hot chocolate, that could keep her distracted for a minute.

"Hey Ami, can you go into the kitchen and find the items we need to make hot chocolate?" Suzuko asked.

"Yeah, I think I can do that!" Ami said. She then walked out of the room and to the kitchen. Once she was gone, Sora waited for her commune to vibrate again. Once it did, she pulled it out, preparing to talk to Ami's parents.

"Hello? Are all of you there?" the queen asked.

"Yeah, we're all here!" Sora said.

"Perfect. It's really nice to finally see the four girls who are helping to save us." the queen said.

"Mhm, it's an honor to meet you guys too." Rei said.

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Sora asked.

"It's about our daughter. I don't know if you're aware of this, but we recently found out that she has disappeared. I'm highly certain that she found her way to your world and is out there doing whatever she wants." the king said.

"Have you girls met her by any chance?" the queen asked.

"Yeah, we actually have. She's been hanging out with us." Emiri replied.

"Oh she has? That's good." the king said. "Anyway, since she's managed to slip away without our knowledge, we have something to ask of you four."

"What is it?" Suzuko asked.

"We don't know what's going to happen with this conflict and because Ami is now involved with the ongoing fight between you four and Pollution, we want you to do everything in your power to protect her. Please, keep her safe. She's the one who will be ruling this kingdom someday, and I know that if Pollution finds out about her, they will try to harm her. I know you four are the best protectors she could ask for. And please don't tell her about this. If she knew, she'd probably get very upset." the king explained.

The four girls listened closely to what he was saying. They were so focused on what they were being told to do that they didn't realize Ami had been standing nearby, listening to the entire conversation.

"Understood, we'll do everything we can to make sure she'll come back home safely." Sora said.

"Thank you Precure. We hope to reach out to you again soon."

The "call" then ended again. Sora wished she could've asked the king and queen all kinds of questions but she understood why it was being kept brief. She hoped that she could carry out such a request, it was important for the sake of their mission.

"What do you all think of that?" Rei asked.

"That's a pretty big request, I want to hope that we can fulfill that." Suzuko said.

"Yeah, me too." Emiri nodded. "Sora, how about you?"

"I think... there's a lot of pressure on us now. I mean, I know why but I can't help but worry. I just don't want to mess up such an important mission." Sora said. "And I feel like the pressure is on me especially, probably because I'm supposed to be the leader. If we fail, the blame will be on me, and I don't want that to happen."

"Sora..." Emiri said. She could tell that Sora was carrying quite a lot but she didn't know what to say. She did understand though, it was a pretty big task to try and keep Ami safe. Luckily Ami wasn't too much trouble to deal with so maybe it would be easier but again, she didn't know for sure.

"Well, why don't we get back to Ami now?" Suzuko suggested.

"Yeah that's a good idea." Rei said. The girls all got up and went back to the kitchen. Ami had finished putting the cups out for everyone and was too busy pouring drinks for her to even greet her friends.

"Thank you Ami!" Sora said, sitting at the table.

"Oh. No problem." Ami said, realizing that Sora was trying to talk to her. Ami didn't know if she should act awkward around the girls or confront them over what she heard, she was scared that everyone would start treating her like she was helpless and she knew she didn't want that. She just had to keep in mind that she had to handle this as properly as possible.

Sora didn't know what to do either. She knew she wasn't allowed to tell Ami what her parents told her, but she wanted to try and help Ami understand what was going on. However, how do you tell someone they're in danger without telling them that they're in danger? She decided it would be best to keep the topic to something different instead.

"So, about the Keys! Do you know what kind of powers they hold? Why do they exist? Who created them?" Sora couldn't hold herself back from asking so many questions.

"Whoa, slow down. I can only answer one thing at a time." Ami warned.

"Right, sorry! What kind of powers do the keys have? Suzuko mentioned that they hold power." Sora asked.

"We don't know for sure, but I know they have powers of their own. All of the keys together are very powerful, they can either restore or destroy anything you can imagine. I wouldn't be surprised if Pollution used them to destroy other worlds." Ami explained.

"So they do hold restoration powers ~sky!" Skyla exclaimed. "I used the power of the keys to heal Suzuko when she was captured ~sky!"

"That's right! The keys did kind of purify me in a way, it was very strange but it saved me and restored my life force when I was nearly dying, I can't believe I didn't consider that they had restoration powers." Suzuko said.

"Wait, Suzuko... you nearly died? I knew that you were involved with Pollution but I didn't know about that... anyways, yeah if they are powerful enough to revive you, then that does mean they're capable of restoring all kinds of things. Even with only five of six keys, they're still powerful." Ami said.

"That's what shocked me too ~sky. I thought the restoration powers only worked if all six keys were there ~sky." Skyla said.

"Well, usually that's how it's supposed to be. There must've been some other power involved in that process or something." Ami said.

"Like the power of a Precure ~sky?" Skyla asked.

"Probably. Crazy to think that the power of a Precure is strong even before it's fully awakened. There's so much we don't know about how the Precure and their powers work but I hope to learn it all one day!" Ami explained.

Suzuko was starting to wonder about these things for herself. Maybe it was always meant for her to be a Precure from the very beginning. Or maybe it could've been something else. Did Cure Nature's power ever have anything to do with it? Whatever it was, she was here today because of it so it wasn't worth thinking about for now.

"Moving on from that, why were the keys created?" Rei asked.

"I don't know for sure but I believe they were created by some past Precure. I don't know much about them but I think they were created to be additional protection and defense for the kingdom. They've been used so long that they kind of help sustain the life and beauty of my home. And since they hold so much power, I think that's why they nearly destroyed the kingdom when they were stolen. Power like that can be dangerous when it ends up in the wrong hands." Ami replied.

"The past Precure. I know there's quite a few of them... how long ago were they created?" Emiri asked.

"Around 100 years ago. That's when the first conflict with Pollution started. They directly targeted the kingdom, the Precure were chosen and then they fought to protect everyone. Once they won, they created the keys. I don't know much about them yet though so I don't have as much information as I would like to have." Ami explained.

"That makes sense." Sora said.

"Do you guys have any more questions?" Ami looked around, waiting for an answer.

"Uhhh no, not that I can think of." Sora said.

"Yeah, I've got nothing either." Suzuko added.

"Oh. Okay, that's fine!" Ami said. She was trying so hard to hold back voicing her frustration at her friends about being protected. Maybe she'd wait for them to bring it up first? Ami wished she knew what to do.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

But before she could decide on anything, a loud noise came from outside. It took almost no guessing to know what was going on. The group ran outside to see none other than Tide, Ivy, and a KuzuBug. How come they hadn't given up yet?

"Ah so you've finally arrived!" Ivy said.

"Took you long enough..." Tide added.

"Well we weren't expecting you to show up so soon!" Sora yelled.

"Whatever, we didn't want to wait around on you. KuzuBug, destroy!" Tide ordered. The monster began to attack the surrounding area. Emiri was all too familiar with her neighborhood being attacked. It had happened several times before, but she was hoping that this would be the last time it was attacked.

Sora didn't even bother to hesitate in leading everyone to transform. They had to act quickly before Ami was discovered or before too much damage could be done.

"Precure Nature Flash!"

"Striking in the Great Forces of Nature! Cure Lightning!"

"Bringing Nature's Sweet Scent! Cure Ginger!"

"The Earth's Strength Coming Together! Cure Thunder!"

"The Life of the Stormy Skies! Cure Storm!"

"Guardians of Nature Protecting the Earth! Sweet Nature Precure!"

Once they had transformed, the Cures went into action. Lightning rushed in, striking the monster with her lightning. Ginger, Thunder, and Storm all provided backup with attacks of their own. Ami was watching from a distance. She wanted to show herself and support, but she knew what she had heard. She was supposed to be protected now and she couldn't do anything about it. She wished she could just be free without any consequences, but that wasn't going to happen now.

Ami continued to observe her friends fighting. They were so powerful. Sure, they weren't invincible but they were still capable of way more than Ami was. Maybe having to be protected wasn't so bad, her parents maybe were in the right to keep her safe, it's not like she could transform and fight off monsters even if she wanted to. She looked at the way Lightning wielded her sword, how Ginger used her powers for defense, how much raw strength Thunder had, and even how Storm could control a weapon that was barely bigger than her.

All of them were so admirable. But what did Ami want to do? She wanted to prove that she could protect herself, sure, but all she wanted was not to be seen as some helpless princess. She knew everyone knew that though, so what else did she want?

Before Ami could even give it a second thought, she saw the Cures start to lose the upper hand on the fight. Tide and Ivy decided to interfere with the fight and use their powers. She watched as her friends, her protectors, hit the ground, close to defeat. She couldn't stay away anymore, she had to intervene.

Without even thinking, Ami ran out of hiding and into the middle of the fight area. Lightning noticed that she was out in the open.

"Ami? What are you doing?!" she gasped.

"Are you guys okay? Please get up!" Ami pleaded. She looked very visibly scared, like she didn't know what she was thinking.

"We're fine..." Lightning said, struggling to get up. Ivy had once again noticed Ami getting involved in the fight. She remembered considering getting close to Ami to get some answers but there was no way she could achieve that this way. Instead, she was going to see if Ami would reveal anything without an influence.

"But you're all laying here, come on, do something!" Ami didn't know what to say, all she wanted was for everyone to be okay.

"What you need to do right now is get out of here and stay safe." Ginger said, also getting back up again.

"Your parents asked us to keep you safe, and that's exactly what we're going to do!" Thunder added. Like her teammates, she was finding the strength to stand up again.

"You don't need to worry about us, Ami. We'll always find a way to get back up again!" Storm said. And with that, all four Cures were back up on their feet.

Ami was amazed by their resolve, the only thing that mattered to them all was protecting her and making sure her home would be saved, and Ami felt just a little bit better about her situation. Sure it sucked to lose some independence out of safety, but knowing how dedicated her friends were to protecting her was something she could appreciate.

She watched as they all started fighting back with just a little more strength than before. They were making sure neither of the enemies would figure out who Ami actually was before it was too late. After some back and forth, the Cures were able to weaken the KuzuBug enough to defeat it with a final attack.

"Healing the World with Force, Sweetness, Strength, and Life Together! Precure Nature Restoration!"

And just like always, the monster was drafted, the villainous duo retreated, and the area returned to normal. The Cures returned to their normal forms and went back to Ami.

"So I'm guessing you know that we talked to your parents." Sora said.

"Yeah... I actually overheard your conversation with them earlier." Ami said.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you. It was kind of meant to be a secret." Emiri confessed.

"No, it's fine. I just have a couple of requests." Ami said.

"What kind of requests?" Rei asked.

"Well, I hope that now that I'm being protected, you guys don't start to see me as weak and helpless. I'd prefer to protect myself but if this is for my safety, I can live with it." Ami explained.

"Don't worry Ami, we all know you're not weak at all. You may not be able to transform, but you are powerful in your own way." Suzuko said, looking at Ami with a smile.

"Awww thanks Suzuko!" Ami smiled back. "And my other request. Being protected by you four doesn't mean you'll force me to stay at home all the time, right?"

"Of course not. That sounds more like we're keeping you as a prisoner or something." Sora teased. "Besides, I doubt anyone will try and come after you when we're just hanging out!"

"Okay yay! Maybe this won't be so bad~" Ami said.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

When Ivy and Tide returned, what the Precure had said stuck in their minds. Ivy had been aware of Ami for a while but she still had no clue that she was a princess or from the Nature Kingdom. Why would the Precure be asked to protect some random girl? That didn't make sense to her. Maybe Ami actually was some kind of royalty or secret weapon. She definitely knew a lot more than most civilians based on how she just casually talked to the four Cures.

Ivy didn't want to keep speculating any longer. She may have failed to get any answers out of Ami, but the Precure may have revealed one piece of the puzzle that she was desperately trying to solve.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

to be continued...