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Chapter Text

She found herself on a small piece of land, floating in a dark abyss. She was tired, so tired. Her long, golden locks had lost its their glow. The eyes that shone bright mere minutes ago had become dull and her robes were tattered and dirty.

While breathing heavily, she forced her eyes shut and hugged herself tightly as the darkness started to close in on her.

Tears fell.

Her fault. Her fault. Her fault. She shouldn't have...

"Ray?" The sound of a familiar voice gave her enough courage to open her eyes again, but her vision was met with only darkness. The voice called again: "Ray, what did you do?"

"I could not... I..." She croaked out, unable to find the words. She calmed down slightly as she felt a soft hand folded over hers.

What should have been reassuring was followed by despair.

Yes, despair. Hope-shattering despair.

That was the last thing she felt before giving in.

----

She floated in an indistinct place of neither light nor darkness. There was just... nothing. She felt nothing. She was starting to become nothing.

"Radiant Lumiere!"

Somebody called her name, again. No, this was somebody else.

"Radiant Lumiere!"

It was louder this time, but she didn't have enough strength to open her eyes. She didn't want to see... she didn't want to see what she had done...

"Don't give up! Don't let your ray of hope be dimmed!"

She smiled an empty smile as sleep took her far away.

----

The boy stumbled in the dark hallway. With every step he took, dark stains appeared on the ground, spreading like a droplet on a clean carpet.

As the place shook violently and the boy fell over, a seed of fear planted in his heart and the boy’s form flickered for a split second. He sped up his pace and soon was running through the seemingly endless hallway.

Was the world dying? But Radiant Lumiere stopped the Titans on their path of destruction… it should be okay. It should be okay!

Reaching a huge door, he used what was left of his strength to push it open.

"Father... ! I..." He spoke, having trouble finding the right words but his face fell as he was met with an empty, barren room.

A single throne stood in the middle. Empty.

Then he remembered. His father... wasn't here anymore. He didn't want to believe it... memories flew back in his mind like a storm, messing up his thoughts into a tornado and making him dizzy.

He used the throne to support himself, clenching his teeth and desperately trying to fight the tears.

He couldn’t. He just couldn’t. Everything he did was for nothing... there was nothing left anymore.

An empty castle and an empty victory.

Was the same happening on Lumo right now? What about the rest of Primo? Was there still a world outside of the castle? Or was everything gone already?

Just after that thought flew through his mind, the quakes seized.

He didn't know how long he stood hunched over the throne, slowly letting tears drip from his eyes. The reality of the situation began to really sink in and feelings of despair found its way into his pitch black heart.

With shaking legs, he sat down on the throne, staring at the black ceiling as he let his arms hang idly by his sides. There was no point in doing anything anymore. Absentmindedly, he just sat there and let seconds, minutes, hours, or maybe days pass by.

A smile crossed his lips, though it was without any happiness, or any emotion.

He just felt... empty.

----

The bed was soft, not as soft as the one she was used to, but soft enough to be comfortable. Slowly, she opened one eye, then the other, waiting a moment to take in her surroundings. The room was unfamiliar, unlike something she had ever seen before. The only thing in it were the bed, a desk, and a couple of unidentifiable objects on said desk.

She lay on her back for a long time, staring at the ceiling and trying to recollect her memories.

She felt a sharp pain in her chest.

The pain, the memories. It all came back so vividly.

Flashes of gigantic Titans looming over her, the unforgettable pain and fear she had felt. The destructive quakes, the scorching flames, the harsh winds, the literal breathtaking seas, and finally giving into the hopeless darkness...

Everything was gone.

And it was her fault.

She hugged herself tightly and started weeping in silence.

After what could either be minutes or hours, the door slowly creaked open and a figure stepped inside.

"Lady... Ra... Radiant... Radiant Lumiere?" The man in the door opening was speechless and stared at her with huge eyes. "You... you're awake!?"

He clamped a hand over his mouth in shock.

"Excuse me... I'm so..." He stopped to regulate his breathing and wiped his eyes with his hands. "I didn't expect you to... ever wake up..."

She blinked and tried to force a smile on her lips, but she just couldn't. She tried to speak, but couldn't either. Her mind was too hazy to think, to form words, and it prevented her from doing anything.

The man managed to pick himself up again and smiled gently at her, bowing a little. "How are you feeling?"

She still couldn’t answer. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"It's okay. Don't force it!" He reassured her, keeping a polite distance. "I'll go get you something to drink. I'll be right back."

She stared at the palms of her hands, then back to the man.

"Sir Brightly..." The man stopped at the sound of his name and turned to her with a worried look. "Where is... my mother...?"

The worried look morphed into one of grief.

"Your mother...? She... She's..." He fell silent. "I'll get you something to drink, then I'll tell you everything. A lot happened, Lady Radiant Lumiere. It’s going to take a while..."

In less than a minute Bright returned with a glass of water, setting it down on the desk. She took a glance at the glass and took a huge gulp from it, only now just realising how dry her throat was. Funny, since one of the last memories she had was desperately gasping for air as her lungs were filled with water.

Somewhat meekly, Bright motioned to the side of the bed. "Can I?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

He sat down on the side of the bed and folded his hands together on his lap.

"Lady Radiant Lumiere, you were asleep for..." Once again he stopped and averted his eyes from her for a moment. "For fifteen years."

Her world started spinning.

Fifteen years. Fifteen years.

She was asleep for fifteen years.

No matter how many times she said it in her head, she just couldn’t comprehend it. It just didn’t click. She couldn’t have been in a dreamless sleep for fifteen years.

Her hands flew to her face.

This couldn't be real. It couldn’t be.

"I know it's hard to believe."

No... this couldn’t be.

"Where are we!? Where is mother!?" She cried out.

Bright stared back at her.

There it was again. That look. That look filled with grief.

"Answer me!" She demanded, as her voice broke.

Bright swallowed his hesitation. "Ignis, Terre, Aeris, Unda. The Primal Titans of Disaster. One by one, they fell-"

"I remember that." She interrupted him. "I am the one who..." A pause. "Stopped them. There is no way I will ever forget..."

"It all was so sudden." Bright continued softly. "It was like the world suddenly started falling apart. Lady Lumina was nowhere to be found, you were nowhere to be found..."

She twitched at the memory and instinctively shot a look at her right hand.

"Before I knew it... everything was gone, and I was floating into some sort of... space... but you were there! I called out to you and then... " Bright pulled something from his pocket; a golden brooch. "This started glowing and brought us here."

"Where is 'here'?"

"For some odd reason, people call this entire world 'Earth'. Just 'Earth'."

She lowered her gaze. "And mother?"

"Look, Lady Radiant Lumiere. It's highly possible Lady Lumina is... not here anymore. I've been looking, but I couldn't find anyone." He fidgeted with his hands, desperately searching for words.

"Where is she, then? Should you not go get her?"

Bright gasped. "N-No... you misunderstand! I mean as in she..." A pause. "Passed away."

And then, her world started spinning again. Taking a deep, though shaky, breath, she managed to croak out: "She... dimmed!?"

That couldn't be.

Mother was powerful. Mother was all-knowing. There was no way she would just...

"I suspect we are the only survivors." Bright spoke. "I've been living here for around fifteen years, watching over you, and trying to become part of this world. The people of Earth are friendly, though we shouldn't tell them about Primo. Nobody believed me when I did."

Bright continued talking but she couldn't hear it. She wasn't paying attention and clutched her chest. But, why didn't it hurt as much as before? She was shocked, obviously... but why didn't her chest hurt with that awful, aching feeling like before?

"Mother..." She felt like... a weight was lifted from her shoulders, and she wasn't sure how to feel about that.

She took another glance around the room before getting out of the bed, or trying to. Her legs felt so stiff. It was a miracle she was actually able to keep standing.

Bright carefully offered her a hand but she refused, holding up one of her hands, wearing an unreadable expression.

"Mother said to never physically touch anyone, aside from her. You know this." She looked at her hands, trying to remember her mother's voice. Mother would always go on and on about how she feared her daughter would get "tainted" if anyone merely touched her, or vice-versa. So, she weren’t allowed to touch anyone, nor was anyone allowed to touch her. Even though... after what she did, she was probably already tainted beyond the darkest black.

Bright retreated his hand. "I know, I know. But she's not here to tell you what you can and can't do. You have that power now."

She looked up at him, unblinking.

"Listen, Lady Radiant Lumiere I won't force you to do anything you don't want. I won't keep you here, though I'd prefer you at least stay here until you're better."

"No... no... I want to stay with you, the last knight of Primo."

A soft, yet solemn, smile found its way on Bright’s face.

----

Sitting by the swaying tide, a dark-haired girl gazed out at the horizon. She gently swirled her hand in the water as she hummed a serene little tune.

----

A redhead was sitting on a tree branch in a forest, a bag of fruit next to her. She was absentmindedly munching down on an apple as she fiddled with the flowers in her hair.

----

In a room lit by a handful of candles, a brunette was engrossed in a particular adventurous book, as evident by the amused smile on her face.

----

Sitting on a couch in a dark room was another girl. She had a sketchbook on her lap and a small pencil in her hand. The pencil hovered over the empty page for an awfully long time.

----

It has started now.

A new story will be spun.

But will destiny have the final say, after all?

Who knows, because this truly is a legend in the making.

Chapter Text

Only fifteen years ago, an entire world met its end at the hand of its own creators.

A personified ray of hope tried with all their might to save it, but, despite their hardest efforts, they couldn’t succeed in time.

And now, a personified fragment of darkness is trying to savour the last remains of the world, no matter the cost.

----

Episode 1: Seaborn Dance: A Splash of Destiny

----

New year's resolutions? Morgan Shannon Fischer didn't have any. Never had, and never will.

With a sigh, she closed the door behind her and rushed until she had passed the gate in front of her house, then slowed her walking speed down again.

She always left at dawn, just before her parents would wake up. She didn't feel like hearing their complaining when she herself was still half asleep. It would only end with them screaming at her, or each other, and Morgan getting more and more ticked off.

She flung her backpack over her shoulder and tucked her free hand away in the pocket of her blue hoodie, and started to hum a little song while she passed the same old streets, in the same old town.

Remnants of yesterday's celebrations and fireworks were still scattered around the streets, and various people were busy cleaning it.

Not her, though. You wouldn't see her doing that.

She let out a little yawn. The loud fireworks from yesterday prevented her from getting a good night sleep.

And Morgan was pretty fond of her good night sleep.

Not really thinking about anything, she made her way from the streets into the pier. Various shops lined up and ready to sell their products, may it be food, clothing, souvenirs, or beach stuff.

The remains of the yesterday were even worse here. Bottles, broken glass, half-eaten (and even untouched) food, and more firework debris were spread practically everywhere on the pier. Not surprising, there must have been a huge New Year's party here yesterday. It’s a popular party place, after all.

Seriously, what was so special about New Year anyway? Nothing had changed from yesterday, aside from the numbers on the calendar. And in the end, numbers were just numbers. She didn't feel the difference at all. It was still the same old streets, in the same old town.

Life was boring that way.

As part of the morning ritual, Morgan went to Seaside's, a local food stand, to get her breakfast: a chicken sandwich. Not the most healthiest of breakfasts out there, but she didn't really care. To make it complete, she put an unreasonable amount of hot sauce on it. So much that you couldn't even see the meat anymore.

Eating it was a mess, sure, but, once again, she didn't care. It was good and edible.

She noticed the silence got disturbed by the sound of two girls loudly chatting with each other. Both of them were holding a trash bag in one hand and a trash grabber in the other. They were seemingly busy cleaning up all the garbage lying around, or at least it looked like that's what they should be doing.

"Hanan, let's go to take a break and eat something! I'm starving!" A blonde girl, wearing a black bandana on her head, said. Morgan knew her. Her name was Eclair and the fact that she was cleaning was a big surprise to Morgan. Eclair was not the type to do that, but the girl she was with, on the other hand...

"We just started, like, ten minutes ago." The other girl, Hanan, chuckled. Morgan knew the brunette too. Well, pretty much everyone in Dawnbridge knew the goodie-two-shoes that was Hanan Karim, as she was constantly offering "help" and poking her nose into places it didn't belong. Quite annoying, actually.

And she was totally to type to have New Year’s resolutions. Morgan was sure of it.

Eclair let out a groan. "Ugh! I should have never agreed to do this lame-"

"Aw, I thought it was because you wanted to be a good citizen? You know, to impress your... crush~!" Hanan grinned with an all-knowing smile.

"For the last time, I don't even have a crush!" Eclair threw her hands in the air with a frustrated growl.

Morgan could see Hanan's smile falter for a split second.

"And, no. The reason why I decided to help, was me showing you who is boss!" The blonde replied with a scoff. "Like we said; the one who cleaned the most at the end of the day wins! And loser treats the winner with food of their choice!"

"Oho, of course!" Hanan replied with another chuckle. "And it's because you wanted to spend time with your bestie aka me, right?"

"... Shut up."

----

After wolfing down a delicious breakfast, Morgan went to her usual spot on the pier, the one nearby Seaside's, and set her backpack on the ground, beginning to unpack her stuff for the main course of her daily routine.

A handheld boombox was set on the ground, but before turning it on, she did some warm ups first. After that, she put on some catchy beats and let the music lead her body. Weaving the steps--she had been practicing for years--together into a dance as free as the ocean's waves. Her movements catching the eyes of a couple of bypassers, some even stopping to watch her dance.

This, this right here, was when Morgan felt at peace the most. The world around her seemed to disappear. Her worries washed off her shoulders and she could move freely, dance freely.

The faces in the crowd all merged while she was doing her dance, but this time... one face didn't. Morgan wasn't sure why. The face didn't seem familiar, at all.

The face belonged to someone around her age. Their apricot eyes stayed focused on Morgan's blue ones while they were trying to find their way through the crowd to get closer.

"Are you done!?"

At that, Morgan suddenly lost her balance, tripped over her feet, and landed on her butt. As she fell, she shot her hand upwards, suddenly the water bottle next to her popped open and its contents spiraled around and splashed onto the person's face.

The spectators all went silent, wide-eyed at the thing that had just happened in front of them.

"Didn't know you did magic tricks too!" One young boy called out, breaking the silence. He was practically jumping up and down with excitement. "Do it again!"

Another spectator quickly offered Morgan a hand, which she took reluctantly, and helped her back up.

The person who had been hit in the face was still staring at her. Raising a hand to their dripping face.

"Are you... mocking me?" They whispered, eyes still resting on Morgan.

Morgan shrugged. "No? Don’t really know what happened, actually. Sorry about your face, it'll probably take a whole ten minutes for it to dry off again."

She wasn't sure why but this person... felt off. They stood out so much in the crowd for a reason she couldn't pin down, and not because of their golden hair and almost glowing eyes.

They didn't really look different. They looked like they were in their teens, probably around Morgan's age of fifteen. They were taller than Morgan, but then again that wasn't hard, and were dressed in white shirt with sleeves that seemed a tad too long.

Just being near them gave Morgan a deep, uneasy feeling.

"Aw..." The same kid from before spoke as Morgan started packing her stuff again. She was started to feel sick.

"I’m not feeling so well." She apologised, her voice significantly softer. "I'll be here again tomorrow."

As she was cleaning up her stuff, all the spectators slowly went their own ways.

Except that one person.

"What?" Morgan snapped, getting impatient as they were just... standing there and watching her each and every movement.

"... Why are you here? You do not belong here, Unda."

Morgan blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what they had just said. "First of all, um... rude? And second, you must be mistaking me for someone else."

They frowned. "No. I know it is you. Do not take me for a fool."

"Whatever. Can you just leave? I don't have time for this." Well, that last part was a lie. Morgan had all the time in the world, but she didn't feel like wasting it talking to this weird person.

Then, they walked up to her, took a shaky breath, closed their eyes and... punched Morgan's cheek. To be honest, it couldn't even be called a punch, it was more like a weak little push. It still startled her, though.

What followed was Morgan's literal knee jerk reaction, as she kneed them in the guts.

They hunched over and wrapped their arms around their stomach in pain. "H-How... dare you!? I may be... powerless right now, but I will not... be treated like this!" A wince. "Especially not by... the likes of you!"

Morgan swung her backpack over her shoulder and shot them one last glance.

"Sure, whatever."

----

A large, shadowy hand put down four small bottles on a table. Pitch black substance was swirling inside each of them.

There were a total of six people in the dark room. Four were sitting on the couch and staring at the bottles with varying expressions. Another person was standing in front of them and the last was sitting on another chair a bit further away, quietly watching the scene from afar.

The first to reach out for a bottle was a man with ice blue locks. He inspected the bottle with curiosity. "Oho! What is this for?"

"It's pure darkness. You can use this to-" The figure in front of the couch began. While he stood almost completely hidden in the shadow of an already dark place, it was easy to see he was the size of a teen.

"Hmm... looks more like ink to me." The man with ice blue hair replied with a smile. "I hereby dub it Dark Ink."

"Heh, nice one, Hail!" Said the redheaded boy sitting next to him.

"Thank you, I'm full of good ideas."

The teen in the darkness showed his impatience by tapping his foot loudly, small patches of darkness spiraling where his foot met the gray floor.

"I finally finished it..." He spoke as his living shadow floated menacingly behind him. "Now we can start. Weeeellll, you can start, since I’m busy with other stuff."

"Start? Wait, what now?" The redheaded boy adjusted the shades on his face in confusion, then let out an obnoxiously loud gasp. "Oh! Oh, I remember. Let me go first, and I'll go grab some food while I'm at it. I'm starving!" He stood up and snatched a bottle from the table. "You guys want anything?"

"You fools! Take this seriously! I need more darkness!"

"Heh, sounds like someone is high on darkness again~!" The redhead replied in a sing-song voice, earning the ire of the teen.

The man with the ice blue hair, Hail, stood up as well. "Now, now. Let's not be hasty and cool down. It only seems fair that I should go first."

"Can't we all go?" A woman with robotic arms asked as she leaned back into the couch. "Wouldn't that be better?"

The teen growled. "Don't use it all at the same time! You know how hard it was to make this!?"

Without saying anything, the tallest woman stood up. Only part of her face was visible due her pretty long bangs and the mask over her mouth. She held out a hand with four straws.

"Seriously, Elegy?" The teen cocked his head with a glare.

The woman, Elegy, nodded. And the remaining three, minus the teen, all picked a straw.

"Oho! Looks like I'm first." Hail smiled as he made a little twirl and raised his hands in a confident pose. "Brrravo, me~!"

"Can you get one those chicken burgers for me? Thanks, man!" The redheaded boy said. He walked over to another chair in the room and grabbed his guitar lying next to it.

Hail nodded proudly. "Sure. I'll get food for everyone. The usual, I presume?" He looked around. "I'm on it."

----

No matter what Morgan did, or where she went... the mysterious creep had been following her all day. They had been trying to hide behind pillars, walls, or whatever would suffice as a hiding spot, but... they weren't doing a good job at it.

It was quite laughable. And pretty pathetic.

Morgan decided it would be for the best to ignore them.

Attention would only fuel stupidity.

"You cannot run away from your sins, Unda." She heard them say in the distance.

That was the last drop.

"Listen, dude. My name... is not Unda." Morgan inched closer to them, till they were face to face. Morgan had to stand on her toes but she wanted to get her point across. "Never heard of them, nor do I care. And you're being a real, annoying creep right now. I would appreciate it if you could just leave me alone. Thank you very much and have a nice day."

They opened their mouth but closed it again after a few seconds.

Morgan took this chance to leave again, but they still followed after her.

She shot around. "Just, stop following me."

"... I will not." They shook their head. "I cannot defeat you right now, but I can watch and make sure you do not hurt anyone."

Morgan scoffed. "Trust me, if you keep this up... the only one getting hurt is you."

A blink. "Was... that a threat? Mark my words, Unda, when I am at full power again... I will defeat you, and the other three too!" They declared with a shaky voice.

Seriously, what was up with this person?

"Meh, not really up for a dance battle."

"A dance... battle...?" They cocked their head, confused. "But dance is not used for-?"

Morgan had already started walking away again.

----

Normally the beach gave her a calming effect, not as much as dancing did, but just watching the waves had something serene to it. Morgan liked just laying down in the sand, basking in the sun's warmth, and the sound of the water in her ears.

But not this time.

That teen still didn't get it and was still trailing behind Morgan.

Morgan was getting pretty pissed off. If they continued with stalking her and spouting vague comments, they would end up with another knee in the guts.

In frustration, she kicked some sand away. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"For the last time, can you stop stalking me? Don't you have anything better to do? Don't you have a life? Listen, I'm not this friend of yours and-"

They twitched. "Unda was not my friend. She-"

"So she hated you?" Morgan asked. "What a coincidence! I do too, so that’s one thing me and her have in common, at least."

"Not only that... the thing you did... with the water..."

"Oh, uh... yeah. That." Morgan replied with an uneasy shrug. She didn't even care about all the sand she felt invading her shoes and clothes while she laid down in the sand. Morgan had never been bothered by that.

"I can feel the darkness swirling in your heart."

Morgan couldn't help but snort at that. "I'm suuuure you can. My heart is a pit of darkness and other terrible things. Nothing new there."

"But-"

"Can you at least be quiet? I'm trying to relax, and you sprouting bullcrap is making that very difficult."

Whoa, that actually shut them up. While Morgan knew they were still standing near her, staring. She didn't care. She closed her eyes and let the sound of the waves sweep her into sleep.

----

When she opened her eyes, Morgan found herself submerged underwater. It was dark and she couldn't see a thing.

She let out a breath and bubbles erupted from her mouth.

In the distance, she saw a small figure. A tiny, flickering spectre of light.

Morgan felt a wave of fear rush through her and she flailed through the water, trying to move away from the light.

Then came the cold. It was even colder than the regular cold she always felt.

The biting cold started embracing her body, and she was left unable to move. Unable to breathe and unable to do anything aside from watching the figure rapidly approaching them until she was staring into a glowing, soft pink eye.

----

She opened her eyes, for real this time.

Morgan jumped back on her feet and what she saw was... not what she had expected. At all.

The first thing she noticed was how cold it was. Now, Morgan was already very sensitive to cold temperatures but... this was just painful. The bitter cold felt like it was biting her skin.

All around her, she heard voices, some screaming and yelling, others gleefully laughing and cheering.

Part of the beach was covered in big patches of ice and snow. People were running away from dozens upon dozen of smaller figures.

The small figures were roughly half the size of a regular human. Round, snow-like bodies with stick-like arms, wearing mittens. All of them were wearing a hat or cap of sorts, which stayed in place despite the snowmen bouncing around and throwing snowballs at people, or each other. Morgan noticed a couple of pirate hats, some fedoras, and a handful of berets, just to name a few.

The blond teen stood a bit further behind Morgan, hugging themself tightly.

"So... much... darkness..." They muttered, wide-eyed. "So much..."

“Hey! What is going on!?” Morgan grabbed the shoulders of the blond who instantly jerked away from her.

They glared at her and covered their hands with the overly long sleeves of their shirt. "Do not touch me!"

"What happened?"

"He just... appeared out of nowhere..." With a shaking hand, they pointed at something behind Morgan.

Morgan felt a flood of fear rush into her as she turned around.

Standing on the water was a man. The water around his feet had been frozen solid, forming a platform for him to stand on.

The man's somewhat spiky, icy blue hair complimented his darker skin. The sclera of his eyes were black, with white irises, and what seemed to be small patches of ice were on his cheeks. He was dressed in a teal-colored suit and had an air of elegance to him. Hands folded behind his back, chest forward, and wearing a smug smile.

He was holding a small bottle with black substance swirling inside as he approached the shore.

As his eyes met Morgan's, he slowed down his pace and his smile disappeared for a good minute.

She wasn’t sure why but she felt like crying right now. Why was she so scared? Why did she feel so afraid of this guy? He didn't look scary. Admittedly, he looked really dumb. Under normal circumstances, she probably would have laughed at him. But not now.

She shook her head furiously. She had promised herself long ago that she was done with being a crybaby.

The blond stood in front of Morgan as the man had reached the shoreline.

"I do not know who you are but I strongly suggest that you leave!" They called out, their voice still shaky. "I will not let this world be tainted by darkness!"

"Ah... how noble, child. I didn't expect a hero to show up this fast." He clapped his hands together, his smug smile returning. "Very well. Draw your weapon and we’ll have a duel!"

The man materialized a sword made of ice but the blond was confused.

"Uh... weapon?"

"Ah, you don't have one? Alright then." The sword melted away. "Fighting a weaponless opponent with a weapon... that's snow fair."

Morgan felt her fear being replaced by pure irritation. "Seriously?"

The blond clenched their fists. "My name is Radiant Lumiere... uh... I mean Ray! I am Ray, and I am the light of hope that- Whua!" Before they could finish one of the snowmen threw a snowball straight at their face. Morgan couldn't help but snicker at the sight.

The man shook his head, like a disappointed father. "Now, now, my dear Flurries. Throwing snowballs at my opponents is really snow fair." The corner of his mouth twitched. "Don't distract them during our duel!"

"The same pun twice!? Are you kidding me?" Morgan called out. This guy...

"Ah, it seems I have not yet introduced myself. My name is Hail." He bowed and Morgan took this chance to kick him in the guts. As soon as her foot touched his body, it froze and she was unable to move it, so she just stood there awkwardly trying to retrieve her leg. One of the Flurries giggled and threw a snowball at the back of her head. That was cold.

"What a rude young lady!" Hail spat as he roughly grabbed Morgan's leg, swung her around with inhuman strength, and threw her into a patch of snow behind him.

Morgan let out a cold breath and she glared daggers into the man. She was done. This day had been weird enough already and this man was the last drop that overflowed the bucket.

She was so ready to give him a piece of her mind but stopped when she saw Ray place their hands on their chest and manifested a little cube-shaped lantern out of seemingly thin air. The lantern floated in between their palms, and radiated a rather dull light.

"Light Up...!" They called out weakly as they held the lantern above their head. "Light Up!" Stronger this time. Nothing happened. "Light Up!" They grabbed the little cube tightly with both hands and shook it a little. "How!? Why is it not working!?"

"A magical warrior, hmm..." Hail mused, stroking his chin. "I'm afraid we can't have a duel if you can't transform, child. Shame. I would have loved to see what you can do." A sigh. "Maybe next time? I'm sure we’ll see each other again."

Ray glared back at him. "Do not take me for a fool! I can! I can!"

Hail walked past them, leaving a trail of ice behind. He rushed towards a man in swimming wear, lying on the ground and hugging himself for warmth.

"Good day, young man, you should be honored to be the first to experience the power of Dark Ink!" He let out a laugh as he opened the bottle, let a tiny drop of black substance leak into the man's shadow, which started to seethe like boiling water. Hail then reached down into the shadow, his hand phasing through it and dragged it out. The man screamed as the shadow Hail was holding grew in size and swallowed the helpless victim whole.

Morgan almost felt like throwing up as she watched it. That man... what happened?

"Unbound!" Hail called out, and raised a single hand in the air. His voice was practically dripping with pride. "Overshadow your light and dim your hope!"

The shadow Hail had dragged out started to grow in size and, soon, the creature was roughly the size of a building. Morgan felt her stomach drop as she looked at the transformation. The creature was vaguely humanoid in appearance, its arms strong and muscular, with sharp claws on each hand. Its whole body was pitch-black in color, save for its glowing white eyes and the flower patterned swimming shorts it was wearing. In its right hand it was holding a gigantic parasol with more goofy flower patterns on it.

That part probably should be comical, but Morgan sure didn't feel like laughing.

The monster's most notable feature was the chest. There was a large hole inside, that resembled a little prison cage. The man that had been swallowed by the shadows seconds before was floating inside of the cage, seemingly caught in a deep slumber, but otherwise unharmed.

"What the hell!? What the hell!?" Morgan couldn't believe what was happening. Everything was so hard to comprehend. The ice, the snowmen, and now this... She had to be dreaming. Yup. Just a dream. Morgan's dreams tended to be quite vivid and realistic. And besides, this probably wouldn't have been the weirdest dream she ever had.

As soon as the monster was released and started wrecking havoc on the beach, all terror broke loose. People started screaming and running away, in hopes of getting away from the creature's reach. The small snowmen were scared of the huge creature, and they hugged each other for protection and safety.

Hail stroked his chin with a satisfied look. "Now, this is interesting."

Morgan heard Ray let out another breath. "Light Up!" They tried again. Their eyes twitching. "Please... please..."

"Ray! Dear heavens, Ray!" Then, out of nowhere, a man landed in front of them, it's as if he had dropped from the heavens itself. But it was actually the pier above them, Morgan was sure of that.

"Bright..."

The man, Bright, looked back at them. "Why did you suddenly run off...? I was so scared something had happened!" He seemed like he wanted to embrace Ray in a hug, but decided against it.

Ray looked down. "I am sorry."

"You don't have to apologise. It's fine." He reassured them, his hand hovering near their shoulder.

He stood protectively in front of Ray, and spread out his arm, his long dark hair flowed in the wind as he turned to Hail. "Who are you!? What's the meaning of this!?" He asked, facing the other man with a serious look.

Hail replied with a chuckle as he took a few steps towards the newcomer.

"What are you going to do about it?" He whispered, his face morphing into a cocky grin. "Going to hype yourself up to be a hero but then... not even being able to fight, like this kid here? I do not have time for that."

Ray held the cube close to their chest. "Bright, I... I cannot use my powers. I want to protect this world, I know you care about it..."

Bright gave Ray a reassuring nod. "Don’t worry. All in due time. Let me handle this."

He flipped his hair with a confident smile. "I am a knight! And I will stop you and protect this world." He took a fighting stance. "I may not have a weapon, but I don't need one. I will do anything I can to stop you! I won't hold back."

"Ah! Perfect! That determination, I love it! Here." Hail held out two hands, materialised two swords made of ice and threw one to Bright. "Ice to meet you, oh noble knight. My name is Hail, and I am a harbinger of darkness."

After taking a good glance over the ice sword, Bright just threw it away. It landed in the sand and melted away instantly. "I won't accept a toy made of darkness." He then flashed a smile and leaped at Hail, his fist outstretched, but Hail caught it in his hand with ease, freezing Bright's hand in the process.

"Shame."

"Bright!" Ray yelled as they watched Hail freeze Bright over completely.

Morgan was still so baffled by everything that was happening that she didn't even see the giant fist reaching down at her before it was almost too late. There was no time to jump out of the way, nor could she even hope to survive the monster's attempt to squash her like she was a bug.

At that moment, time stopped and Morgan felt a flood of emotions run through her body. She saw flashes of her parents' faces, her old friends... then a couple of faces she didn't recognise, but the last face she did. It was Ray, albeit with longer hair, and they were crying.

For some reason, tears were streaming down on Morgan's face too. She wasn't sure how to feel. She felt safe, but was also terrified. Emotions merged and Morgan felt like she was drowning. Her mouth filled with an odd taste. A taste she couldn't decide if she liked or disliked.

A blue light appeared around Morgan, serving as a little protective barrier. The monster roared and retreated its hand.

Floating in front of her was a small, oval shaped... egg? It was blue and teal in color and was decorated with various patterns, resembling drops of water. The lower side had a golden lining, with a water drop emblem embedded in the middle.

She held out her hands, carefully holding on to the egg. With newfound confidence, she turned to the giant monster.

This really has been the last drop.

"You dumb, pathetic, idiotic..." Morgan started, surprised she could even talk. Her mouth felt like it was filled with water. "... Ruining a perfectly fine day. I am done with your crap!" She screamed the last word at the top of her lungs. "DONE!!"

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" She held the egg out in front of her. Streams of water sprouted from the patterns of the egg, forming around Morgan, changing her. She felt relieved. A single blink and her eyes became a bright, ocean blue. She clapped her hands on her cheeks, as if applying make-up, and small scales appeared on her skin. Water gathered in her hands, and Morgan worked it through her hair, making it grow into a long, low ponytail. She kicked and spun around, dancing through the water as a new outfit appeared on her. Coated in blue and teal, she wore a top with a sailor collar, puffy shorts, and flip-flops with leg warmers. Her form was adorned with many pearls; on her arms, neck, waist, and in her hair. Morgan continued to dance, feeling her worries wash away with the water. Lastly, her egg reappeared in front of her again, going into her chest and adding the final touch to her new form: a heart emblem with a white outline. If one looked closely, it was almost like water was swirling gently inside of it.

She landed on the shoreline, water curling around her feet as she made a few steps, then kicked one leg high into the air, made a turn, and posed. One hand swayed from her body, a splash of water following. She wore a confident grin which showed off her small, new fang.

"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!"

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Morgan, or Cure Splash, blinked. Ray, Bright, and Hail all followed her lead.

"Huh?"

"... Cure Splash?" Ray spoke, eyes blank. "What is that?"

"Splendid!" Hail was the first to get over the initial confusion. "Now, we can battle! Don't disappoint me, Cure Splash."

"Heh, I live to disappoint." Splash spat back. "But I really feel like wiping that stupid smile of your face!"

She cracked her knuckles and dashed towards him. She was so ready punch him in his face, so hard that he would lose a tooth or two. That'll be fun. Concentrating all her frustration into her fists. But before she could even reach Hail, she was interrupted by the monster, the Unbound, slamming down its hand, just barely missing her. In shock, Splash raised her arms and a wall of water extended high into the air, pulling Splash along with it. Before she knew it, she was hovering high in the air, even higher than the monster.

Splash let out a yelp as the wall dissolved and she began to descend.

As she came falling down, Splash made a couple of flips with relative ease and kicked the monster right between the eyes. It took a few steps backwards because of the impact, let out a roar, and managed to sweep her away using the parasol it was holding, sending her flying against the pillar of the pier. Her back didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, but it still wasn't pleasant.

"Unbound! Stop that!" Hail scolded the Unbound, gliding up to it and freezing its legs with a wave of his hand. "Don't interrupt our-!" He never got to finish because the Unbound slammed down its fist on him, squashing him into the sand. A couple of snowflakes sparkled in each direction like dust.

Splash couldn't help but feel a bit disturbed at what she had just witnessed. Did he just...?

"Damn..." Was all she could mutter. Well, that was one less thing to take care of.

With its feet still frozen, the Unbound used its parasol to swing in Splash's direction. Splash almost mindlessly maneuvered around it and landed on the tip of the handle, trying to keep standing and not lose balance. She stared into the Unbound's glowing eyes with a determined look.

"Man, you're one ugly piece of crap." Splash leaped forward, focusing all of her energy into her right leg. Tendrils of water surrounded her leg as she started landing as many kicks as she could. Each kick more satisfying than the last, water drops were splashing everywhere.

----

Ray stared at the fight from afar, eyes wide. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't look away from the girl in blue fighting the big monster.

It was all too similar. It reminded them of what happened. What happened to the world they failed to protect. How hard they fought trying to protect it. This monster was nothing compared to the gigantic titans they had faced.

But this girl (they were so sure it was Unda, despite the girl's claims) seemed to enjoy it. She was smiling all the way through.

They tightened the grip on their right hand.

Ray didn't understand.

Wasn't she aware of what was at stake?

Wasn't she aware of what would happen if she failed?

Ray just didn't understand.

----

A confident grin found its way on the Cure's face. It felt so... right. She liked this. She loved this!

What a nice way to reduce stress, or let out frustration.

She created another wall of water to raise herself in the air, and suddenly felt something in her chest. She flashed another grin.

As she was hovering in the air, Splash raised her arm and created a huge, spiraling circle of water around her.

"Pretty Cure Hydro Wave!" Cure Splash took a deep breath as she readied herself, then brought her hand down, unleashing a sparkling blue torrent of water.

The monster attempted to use its parasol as a shield from the incoming flood but was too late and the impact from the water made it fall over. Its body seething and melting into black liquid before it even landed in the sand. In a few seconds, the Unbound had completely disappeared.

----

In a totally different location, a boy suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, forcing him on his knees. He let out a pained cry while two ghastly arms pulled him in a comforting embrace.

----

The victim was freed and was lying in a patch of frozen sand, luckily unharmed despite still being out cold. But, in front of the victim stood Hail, looking dirty and weak but somehow still breathing. He was struggling to stand up, and many of the Flurries ran over to him, crying, and helping him to keep his balance.

"Well." He started, stumbling forward while exhaling cold air. "Not bad, not bad at all." He forced a smile. "I'm in no position to fight, as you can see. I guess our duel has to wait until next time, Cure Splash."

Hail weakly raised a hand and created a black portal, dragging himself through it as a couple of Flurries followed suit, the others melted away the second the portal closed. The snow disappeared and any damage magically repaired, as if nothing ever happened.

----

The Cure's transformation had become undone and she was back to being Morgan again. She instantly felt a bit lightheaded, and very tired.

Slowly people started to gather around her, some shocked, some excited. They were talking, asking her stuff, thanking her, yelling, cheering. While this was something she normally wasn't that bothered by, right now, her head was spinning and she felt like she could faint any minute.

"How?" Amidst the horde of voices blending together, she heard Ray. Loud and clear. They were standing in front of her. Their eyes staring intensely into Morgan's. "How did you do that, Unda?"

"I... used the power of saltwater to save the day and become a magical girl, duh." Morgan joked and forced a snarky smile on her lips. The truth was that she felt terrible and didn't want to think about what had just happened too hard. Her head was spinning and she had such a disgusting taste in her mouth. "I've... gotta go."

She grabbed her bag tightly, lowered her head, and tried to find a way through the crowd. She clamped a hand over her mouth. At this rate... she was really gonna throw up.

Ray grabbed her sleeve tightly. "You are not getting away that easily."

"Please." Morgan was embarrassed at how pathetic she sounded.

As people slowly trailed behind her, Bright took a stand in front of her. "People, please, can't you see she's not feeling so well right now? Give her some space and-"

"Wait!" A girl suddenly cried. "Is that Bright Bennet? You know, the super model!?"

Bright's face lit up at that instant and he struck a pose. "Why, yes! I'm flattered you recognised me. Always nice to meet fans!"

Now that Morgan took a good look at him. He really was. She wasn't really involved in the fashion world, but she had seen his face on a magazine or billboard before.

She pulled up her hoodie and immediately started to run toward the direction of her house.

----

"I'm sorry. I wasn't able to get the food."

"Hail!? Hail, what happened!?" The woman with the robotic arms rushed to him and supported his weak body. "Who did this?"

Hail let out a pained laugh as he was led to one of the couches. "Bronze... would you believe... it was a... Pretty Cure?"

"Pretty Cure?" Bronze frowned, seemingly having no idea what he was talking about.

"Heeeeeyyyy! I told you they were a thing!" Smoky cried out triumphantly. "Okay, don't say anything. Was it Cure Sunny who kicked your butt? He's a preeeettty cool little dude." A frown. "Oh, wait... his team is from Weathersdale... and that's in another state, I think."

At that precise moment, the huge door opened and a teenage boy walked in. Messy and uneven were good words to describe his looks. His short hair was a grey-ish color at the top and turned into pitch black starting from the middle. "Hail, you're back already?"

"Ah, Shade, there you are, kid." Hail tried to stand up but his pain forced him back onto the couch. "So... the Unbounds are uncontrollable, mindless creatures. Quite a failure, I say." He took in a cold breath. "But maybe... we can find a way to control them better."

"Unbounds? Hold up!" Shade's voice rose an octave. "You named my creations? Without my permission?"

Hail shrugged. "I did."

Shade stomped his foot on the ground. "I made them! So I get to name them!" He crossed his arms and shut his eyes, thinking. "I got it! Devastators!"

The other people in the room stayed silent. They exchanged unreadable glances.

"Meh, that sounds lame." Smoky said as he started flipping through a random magazine. "Like, trying waaaaaaay too hard." He adjusted his shades. "Which you tend to do a lot, let’s be real."

"Shut up, you guys! I don't need this right now! I'm doing more than all of you combined!"

Shade's frustrated cry echoed through the room as he stomped out of the room.

As the door closed again, Smoky laughed. "He's so funny when he does that."

"Guys, I swear I'm trying to take him seriously." Hail said, trying to hold back a giggle, then winced as Elegy silently starting treated his wounds, with Bronze holding the aid kit for her.

"Good luck with that."

----

Despite being out of breath and having used up almost all of her stamina from running, Morgan actually felt better when she entered her own room. Her large, yet barren, room she pretty much only used to sleep in. She closed the curtains of her window and let herself fall on her soft bed.

Today was... wild. It was not how she expected the year to start.

Her New Year's resolutions didn't exactly include becoming a Magical Girl... but here we are. 

Morgan looked at the little egg-like charm she was still holding in her hand. A soft smile found its way onto her face as she inspected the beautiful wave patterns on it.

She felt all her worries wash away.

"That was awesome."

Chapter Text

It was hard to see anything through the thick, and chilly, morning mist. Only a handful of people were on the beach, most of them either jogging or walking their dogs. On the stairway that led to the beach sat two people.

Bright played with a lock of his curly hair. "Ray, are you sure that girl will come here again?"

"Unda will come back." Ray told him with a nervous expression. "The sea is her calling, after all."

They rubbed their right hand. "Bright, I cannot let Unda destroy this world too. The world that you love..."

"Ray... that girl, was she really Unda? That can't be possible, right? Unda is... dead. And that girl was no different from all other humans I've seen..." Bright raised an arm. "And, besides, remember what happened yesterday? She saved us, and all those people. She became a-"

"But I felt it!" Ray snapped back. "I felt that it was Unda... it was the exact same. That girl was Unda! I am sure of it."

Bright let out a sigh and crossed his arms. If, in any way, that human girl really was related to Unda... what would that mean? Were they dealing with some sort of parallel counterpart of the Four Titans from their world... was this planet just a parallel universe of sorts? Was that it? Or... was there rebirth at play, perhaps?

"Does that mean... that the other three are here too?" Bright asked. "Did you feel their presence?"

Ray shook their head. "But they might be in this world too, somewhere." They kept quiet for a moment. "We should look everywhere. Leave no stone unturned! They have to be stopped!"

"Um... Earth is really big, Ray." Bright said. "That is going to take a while."

"Oh..."

A long silence fell between the two as they just gradually looked at the sunrise. Small rays of morning sunlight peeked above the ocean, even piercing through the thick mist. Bright took another glance at Ray, rubbing the palm of their right hand again (a habit they seemed to have picked up recently). They were staring at their feet with a defeated expression.

He forced a smile. "This is not what I wanted your impression of this world to be like."

"Maybe I really should have stayed inside." Ray almost whispered. "That is what mother would have wanted..."

Bright couldn't help but cringe internally whenever Ray mentioned their mother. Even though she wasn't around anymore, her influence still lingered strongly in Ray.

"Hey, you two."

The sudden voice startled both of them. They turned around, and standing on the top of the stairs was the girl from before. Her hands hidden in the pockets of her hoodie, the hoodie which was pulled over her head. She looked down at them with a fierce glare.

"Answers. I want them."

---

Episode 2: A Deep Pile of Mysteries

---

"Well?"

The girl tapped her foot impatiently. Each tap sending a rush of worry through Bright's body.

"Who was that guy? What was that monster? Who is 'Unda'?"

"I..."

"What's this thing?" The girl showed the small egg.

"You're misunderstanding." Bright held up his hands defensively as the girl stomped closer to them. "We don't know what happened either!"

The girl squinted her eyes. "Don't play. You." She pointed at Ray, who flinched. "Know something."

Ray crossed their arms with a deep drown. "Fine. I will tell you what I know. Maybe that will help you remember your sins."

Bright felt completely lost in this conversation. He glanced at the short girl, who apparently had some relation to Unda. He wished he could understand Ray better. They were always so... vague.

This girl... she seemed nothing like Unda. She didn't even really look like Unda, either.

But that was probably for the best.

Unda was a selfish, melancholic crybaby. One with powers of godlike proportions.

One of the reasons Bright loved Earth so much was to be able to live carefree, without worrying about four gods' temper tantrums.

It was nice, to say the least.

"Introductions are in place, I assume?" Bright suddenly squawked out, silencing Ray and the girl from whatever they were bickering about. "This is Ray and I am Bright Bennet. Yes, that Bright Bennet." He struck an extravagant pose and smiled brightly.

The girl rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed. "Oh, you're so special, alright."

Bright made another turn, deciding to ignore her comment.

"Stop that." The girl said. "My name is Morgan Shannon Fischer." She turned to Ray with a glare. "Morgan. Shannon. Fischer. Want me to spell it out for you?"

"N-No..." Ray shuffled back, hiding behind Bright.

"You have multiple names too!?" He said, gasping, then struck another pose. "In fact I have more! My actual name is Brightly Vivid Colorful Arch Von Everglow." And another pose. "Now, we just want to get on the same page with you, if that's alright. We’re quite confused ourselves."

Morgan scoffed. "Well, looks like I’m wasting my time. Since you guys don't know anything either." Her eyes lingered on the sea behind them for a moment. "Can you at least tell me who Unda is? Or was?"

Bright saw Ray flinch and felt a little tug on his shirt. They must be feeling uncomfortable about this subject, so Bright decided to speak up in their stead.

"I'll start at the beginning. We're both from an entirely different world."

Morgan let out a demeaning laugh. "Oh, are you now? I'm gonna go if you're gonna be like this."

As Bright had expected. She didn't believe them. Just like all people from Earth. He didn't really blame them... after all, the people from Primo were very surprised (to put it mildly) when they came face to face with otherworlders, or just the mere concept of a world outside of their own.

The Titans hadn't taken it lightly. And, each time, a lot of people had died.

"I have proof!" He suddenly cried out, as he got a very bright idea. He looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Then, he concentrated and a warm light surrounded him as he transformed into his true form, a peacock. "Behold, my glorious true form!"

He appeared in a poof of colorful feathers and showed off his dazzling, rainbow-colored plumage with pride. Morgan, however, didn't look that impressed. Or maybe she was just that bedazzled by his beauty.

"You're a peacock? With rainbow feathers?" She said, expression blank. "God, that's really dumb."

Bright gasped. "What!?"

He couldn't believe it. Calling his beautiful feathers "dumb"! The nerve!

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. No point in starting a fight. It wasn't worth it. She was confused and scared as well. Or at least that's what he assumed.

"Sooooo... you're... like... a magical peacock from some random world?" Morgan squinted her eyes and took a step backwards. "I'm really confused?" She looked at Ray. "Your name was Ray, right? Heh, please, tell me you’re a magical manta ray."

"A what?"

Bright covered his mouth to prevent him from laughing at that mental image.

Ray turned to him with a frown. "What did she say!? Was that an insult!?" Their eyes flashed over to Morgan. "Unda, if you are mocking me I will personally-"

"It's alright, Ray! She wasn't insulting you! ... I think..." Bright spoke up before a fight could break out. "It's an animal. A pretty one."

Ray didn’t look convinced and fumbled with their hands as they glared at Morgan with a pout.

"I cannot change into an animal. I'm made of the purest light. I am the purest light."

Morgan snorted. "Sure. I would make a lightbulb joke but that'd be too easy."

"Heh?"

With another chuckle, Morgan sat down on the stairs.

"Now, tell me what you know. I won't interrupt anymore. I'm willing to listen, so don't waste my time by squawking out crap, got it?"

"Of course."

Bright hopped closer to Morgan, so he wouldn't have to raise his voice that high. She shuffled back a little as he approached her.

"We come from a world called Primo. Which was ruled by four gods, the Titans. Huge women possessing god-like elemental powers... And Unda was one of them." Bright started, stumbling over his words. He just realised how bizarre everything sounded now that he was saying it out loud. "Something happened... and, in the end, all of Primo got destroyed."

While she didn't say anything, it was very evident that Morgan had a hard time getting behind this story.

Ray took a breath and continued where Bright left off.

"The Titans wanted to destroy Primo, their own world... And I fought to stop them. I lit a fuse of hope and used my powers to take on the four of them. I took them down." They clenched their fist. "One by one." They bit their lip and rubbed their hand, again. "I still failed... but I... I do not know what happened after that..."

Bright nodded solemnly. "Due what I could only assume to be a miracle, I survived and found Ray, and ended up here, on Earth. That was about fifteen years ago."

Wearing an unreadable expression, Morgan leaned back. She was definitely having a hard time following what they were saying.

"Ray was in a slumber until, like, a month ago." Bright continued, trying to speak at a slow pace. "I've been trying to build up a normal life here. And... " He struck another pose. "Judging by the amount of times my wonderful face has been on magazine covers, I assume it's safe to say I succeeded to a certain point."

Morgan finally decided to speak up. "Okay, so... uh... where did that guy come from?"

He had to admit, he was a little... no, very disappointed that Morgan ignored him, but he decided to answer her question anyway. That was the polite thing to do. "I... don't know. I've never seen him before."

"Also, why do you assume I'm this Unda lady? You said she was a huge god, or something?" Morgan said, frowning. "As you can see, I'm not that godlike, or tall."

Ray jumped up and walked up to Morgan. "But! You feel the exact same as her. And the water... everything about the water. It cannot be a coincidence."

Morgan looked like she was ready to punch Ray. Bright tapped Ray's leg lightly with his feathered arm.

"Also... " Morgan continued. "Where does Pretty Cure fit in all this?"

Wide-eyed, Ray cocked their head. "What is a "Pretty Cure"?"

"I... don't know that either, to be honest." Bright admitted. "But! I've heard about a couple of people using magical powers to defeat monsters, kinda like that shadow creature, although they looked different from the pictures I saw."

"Magical girl stuff, yeah. I've heard about it." Morgan shrugged. "Don’t really know why I managed to become one... I'm not exactly the most pure of heart."

"Oh, goodness! Don't bring yourself down like that!" Bright exclaimed with a loud gasp. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You defeated that monster, and you defended this world from meeting its end. And you did that all by yourself! That's admirable."

Morgan gave him a wry smile. "Uh, thanks... but seeing a stupidly bright-colored peacock saying this to me... it's hard to take serious."

Bright gasped at this. Even after all these years, people from Earth still baffled him. They were so strange!

He looked around and then turned back into his human form, wearing a disappointed look. "Looks like you can't appreciate true beauty."

At that, Morgan just rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I'm not really following your story but.. it seems like you've been through some rough times." For a moment, Morgan’s features softened. "Sure, I may be like this Unda lady. But, as far as I'm concerned, I'm no god."

Ray smirked triumphantly. "Because I dethroned you! And the other three too!" They cried out. "Now you are stuck in mortal bodies... on an entirely unrelated planet... um... and..."

"Okay, if I'm Unda, where are the other three, then? Why don't you go bother them?" Morgan took a couple of steps towards Ray, she seemed genuinely curious despite the harsh tone.

"I would, if I knew where they were!" Ray defended. "Hm... Unda liked the sea... Terre liked forests... Aeris liked the skies... Ignis liked..." A pause. "Destruction in general..."

Morgan shrugged at Ray's mumblings. "Hey, you could always check every fireplace and hope for the best."

Even though Bright felt a great discomfort at not being able to give Morgan the answers she both wanted and needed (and vice versa), he didn't try to stop her when she suddenly turned around and walked away with a soft, "Bye."

He held a hand in front of Ray when they wanted to go after her. Even if she was Unda stuck in a human body... there wasn't really anything she could do, even if she wanted. Morgan seemed generally harmless, especially compared to Unda. She even fought that creature. Unda would have never done that.

----

That didn't go as well as expected.

No answers. No nothing.

Those two seemed to be just in the dark as she was.

Maybe a bit less than her, considering they both came from another world. Oh, and that one model her mom liked was a magical peacock apparently? She wondered how her mom would react to that.

If their story about their destroyed world even was real... no, the hurt in their eyes, the agony in their voices. It felt genuine. Besides, who would even make something like that up anyway?

So yeah, the existence of other worlds? Not that surprising.

She had heard of Pretty Cure before. Morgan knew they were a thing, just not around here.

But that had changed yesterday.

She got the egg from her pocket and looked at it. A smile found its way on her face, again. It almost seemed like the wavy line patterns seemed to move, like gentle waves.

Her mind just couldn't stop drifting back to the fight, and every time, she found herself smiling (and Morgan was sure she looked like a fool for doing so).

The wave of energy, the free movements, she loved it! It wasn't like she was being swept away by a flood, it was like she was leading the flood.

Due being lost in a great memory, Morgan only realised a person was jumping towards her when it was too late. A girl slammed head-on into her, sending her falling on her butt. It hurt. The girl was leaning over her and, due to some miracle, the bag of food she was holding above her head didn't spill a single thing.

"Oh! Lucky~!!" She beamed with a bright smile and Morgan cringed internally, face red. The girl's face was uncomfortably close to hers.

"If... you don't get out of my face, my foot will make sure you won't have that tooth anymore." She narrowed her eyes at the girl, who was still smiling and showing off her chipped tooth.

The girl then gasped loudly as she offered Morgan a hand to help her up. She didn't take it.

"I knew something lucky would happen today!" With another bright smile, she waved Morgan goodbye and threw an apple in her direction. "Here, as thanks for making something lucky happen! I hope you get lucky today, too! See you later! ... Maybe!"

Morgan couldn't catch the apple in time and it landed next to her feet.

"Well, I ain’t eating that."

She almost made a jump when Ray was suddenly right next to her. Their eyes were glued on the red-headed girl that almost trampled Morgan seconds before. Humming her merry little song, she hopped out of sight.

Ray took a few more steps. Their eyes wide.

"Terre..."

----

"Cure Splash, hmm?" Smoky grinned as he looked at his tablet. He scrolled casually through the discussion forum, reading the comments about yesterday’s fight. To his surprise, there were no pictures included, or at least none with good visuals. They were all so blurry that you couldn't make out what was supposed to be what.

"The comments mention Hail too!" He exclaimed loudly, turning to the two females sitting on a couch further away. "They literally called what Hail did, "not cool". Heh. Aren't they just clever~!?"

Bronze stared back at Smoky but didn’t reply. Her mind went off to Hail, who was still resting in his room. Yesterday had really done a number on him. Hopefully he would bounce back to his old self soon.

"I'm so excited to see what her team is like!" Smoky said with a grin.

Brought back to reality, Bronze gasped. "Team!? What do you mean by that!?"

"Seriously? Don't you know anything about Precure? Or magical girls, even?" The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Precures always come in teams! Sometimes in duos-"

"Ah..."

"But some teams can be as big as seven, eight, or even nine Cures!" Smoky adjusted his shades. "Isn't that just craaaaazzyyy?"

Bronze's face dropped.

She stood up, wearing a determined expression. "Then we should stop her before she can gather a team. I suggest we defeat this Cure Splash right now!"

She turned to leave, but, before she could, a tiny voice spoke up. "Bronze...?"

"What is it, Aeris?" The woman's features softened as she waited for a response. The owner of the tiny voice was a teenage girl with feather-like, platinum blonde hair and dark wings, which were folded against her body.

Aeris fumbled with one of her wings nervously. "Please, be careful..."

"Don't worry." Bronze reassured her as she raised her metallic arms, changing them into an array of weapons, like swords, or even guns, to make her point. "I can handle this!"

----

Morgan had decided to follow Ray... following that girl.

Oh, the irony. The stalked becoming the stalker. Or the stalked accompanying the stalker while stalking another victim.

Maybe, just maybe, she would find some answers today. Seeing the intense interest Ray had in that girl, it was almost the exact same when they had followed her around.

That probably meant she was another one of those... uh... gods?

"Are you sure that... was Terre?" Bright crossed his arms with a worried, yet sharp, look.

Ray nodded frantically. "It was Terre. I felt it!"

----

What followed next for... who knows how long, was a long drawn out game of tag. The girl was very fast, or at least very agile, as she was pretty much climbing and jumping all over the place. Taking shortcuts, climbing on roofs. It was like she was doing parkour, or she was just a very energetic squirrel.

With every turn they made, they just barely missed a little flash of her red hair.

She either didn't seem to hear Ray's calls (and insults), or just ignored them.

----

Before they knew it. The three had found themselves in a forest. But they had lost sight of the girl completely, and they were pretty much lost themselves. They had gotten so into their chase that they hadn't paid that much attention to their surroundings.

While Morgan and Bright were still running, Ray was essentially stumbling behind them, in dire need of breath.

"S-stop... I... cannot..."

Ray stopped and leaned against a nearby tree, trying to catch their breath. Bright rushed to them, worried, and carefully patted their shoulder, only for Ray to slap his hand away with their elbow.

"Do not touch! Please."

Bright retreated his hand with a sincere apology.

Morgan cocked her head. Ray seemed really adamant about not being touched. She wondered if they had some sort of OCD or phobia.

Or maybe touching others had a different meaning on their magical planet. Who knows. Morgan didn't and didn't ca-... no, truth to be told, Morgan was kinda curious, but decided this wasn't the correct time or place to pry.

"Where... are we?" Ray suddenly asked, between breaths.

A smile spread across Morgan's face.

"The spooky forest!" She said with a dark tone. "They say spirits lure people inside, taking a desirable form in some way, to pray on the victim's emotional state." She continued, taking a few more steps towards Ray, who clutched themself to the tree. "Then... when you're at your weakest moment... they rip out your soul and feast upon it like animals! You'll be nothing but an empty shell, tainted by despair and forced to wander these woods for eternity!"

Bright placed a hand on his chest with an uneasy look. "Oh goodness, that's a scary one. I've never heard of that myth before."

Ray's reaction, on the other hand, was less mild. Their pupils shrunk, then they let out a bloodcurdling scream and dashed off in a random direction as fast as their legs could carry them, using the air in their lungs they had mysteriously regained after just a few seconds of resting.

That wasn't really the reaction Morgan had expected, but it was pretty funny nonetheless. What a drama queen.

"Ray!? Ray!?" Bright called after Ray. "Come back! What if the Spirits of the Forest...!?"

"That was a joke." Morgan said, removing her hands from her pockets just to throw them in the air. "Not real."

Bright gave her an odd look before following in the direction Ray had gone. After a few seconds, and a shrug, Morgan followed too.

----

After an hour of non-stop walking around (and Bright calling for Ray, who was still out there somewhere), Morgan decided to rest for a moment.

This wasn't going to work.

Morgan had never really entered the forest before, she had no idea where she was. She had no idea if there was anything noteworthy in here, even.

For all she knew, that girl and Ray might be somewhere in town, happily chatting over some good food.

Thinking about food made Morgan remember she hadn't eaten anything yet. And, it was already... what... afternoon or so? It's not that you could really see the sky due being buried in trees.

She sat down on a nearby tree branch, stretching out. "Yeah, good luck with your search."

Bright looked up, surprised. "Oh... you're not...?" He started. The disappointment in his voice was very clear.

"I'm tired and hungry. To be fair, you look like you could use some rest too."

The man rubbed his arms and then, with a poof of feathers, he had turned back into his peacock form.

"I've been through worse. My training was way more intense..." He began. "But, taking rests is very important."

Morgan scoffed. "Training?"

"I'm a knight, or... I was a knight. My kingdom isn't exactly around anymore... I'm not entirely sure if I can still carry that title." A hint of sorrow was evident in both his look and voice.

As those words left a heavy atmosphere, Morgan turned away in silence. What could she even say to that?

"I promised Ray that I would protect them. As the last knight of Primo."

"Was Ray a knight too or something?"

"Oh, goodness, no." Bright fumbled with his wings. "Ray is... they're an embodiment of light and hope. Created to secure the light of Primo."

Morgan frowned. What did that even mean?

Now that Bright had mentioned it... Ray did seem to radiate some sort of light, that's why they seemed to stand out so much? It was like they were a walking light bulb. A weak one which needed changing.

"They... had a very sheltered life. Their mother was very strict." Bright turned his back to Morgan. He lowered his voice, barely above a whisper. "I... I just want Ray to be what they want. Not what she wanted them to be.”

Morgan's heart grew heavy. That was hitting a bit too close to home.

"Yeah... tell me about it."

"Wow! Woooow!"

Morgan and Bright turned around at the sound of a new voice, booming above them. The voice belonged to the same red-headed girl they were following before. She was sitting on a tree branch, her legs swinging from side to side as she was munching down on an apple. Her playful eyes focused on Morgan and she smiled widely.

"Oh, hey! It's you! I had a feeling we would meet again." She said, taking another bite. "But not this soon."

----

Even if they hated to admit it, Ray was lost.

Their stomach was spinning violently, and their head was throbbing along with it, and their legs hurt, and they were dirty, and tired, and---

They felt sick. That was what Mother had called it.

As far as they remembered they've only gotten sick four times. Three of those four times because of food, and the last because of... stress, probably? At least that's what Lucille had told them. 

And speaking of Lucille...

Was... she... standing next to that tree over there? Hadn't she dimmed? Along with everyone else on Primo?

No, it really was her. Ray recognised that soothing singing voice and especially those rainbow-colored locks everywhere.

"Luuuuucciiiiiiiiilleee!" Tears sprung from their eyes, blurring their vision even more as they stumbled towards the woman.

At the sound of her name, Lucille stopped singing and turned around.

"Ray?"

Ray's knees finally decided to give in and they sank on the ground before reaching Lucille. The woman gasped and she kneeled down in front of Ray.

"Lucille... I am sorry... I am sorry..."

Lucille shushed them and held a finger over her lips as she smiled sweetly. "Our secret, right? Don't tell anyone. Especially not your mother." She stood up again and turned around. "I'll go meet up with her right now, she's waiting for me. You should go back to your room, too."

Ray looked up, tears still in their eyes. Didn't Lucille remember what happened?

"M-Mother... Mother is gone."

A sweet, soothing laugh filled the area.

"So am I."

Ray felt like they had been punched in the chest. Their body lost even more glow than it already had.

----

"Kid? Kid you okay?" Dale Parker tried to calm down the weeping child at their feet.

The old man wasn't quite sure what to do. The child was desperately uttering apologies, or at least that's what their incoherent babbling sounded like. But then again, his ears weren't what they used to be, and neither were his eyes (even with his glasses).

He needed to stop this. Bring them back from whatever attack or episode they were having.

An elbow found its way into his chest as soon as he had reached out a hand to them.

"Noo! No!"

"Kid?" He prompts, even more carefully this time.

Now, their dull eyes were staring at least in his direction. If they actually acknowledged him, that was a different story.

"L-Lucille?" They croaked out, their eyes staring right through Dale. "You are not her... are you?"

"No, I'm sorry. You were having a little... uh, fit." He was severely disappointed in his inability to find the right words. If anyone would know how to be careful with words around people, it was him. Or it should be him.

"Your eyes... your eyes..." They mumbled while squinting their own eyes. "Four... eyes?"

Now, that was just rude. Dale took off his glasses with a laugh.

"That joke is old. Get with the times." He laughed. "It's sad when an old man is the one who has to tell you that."

They raised their gaze. "Where am I? When am I? Who are you?"

"The name's Dale, I'm here to visit a friend of mine. But, why are you here? There's nothing really noteworthy here. Especially not for kids like you. You should be out and about with your friends."

They looked just as confused as before. "Friends?"

That was the word they focused on?

Dale felt his heart sank a little. This child probably didn't have many, or any, friends.

It was just like her.

Oh, maybe he should introduce this child to her. Maybe they'll hit it off and become good friends. That would be great.

Before he could say anything, another voice spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to make do."

Dale swung his head around to see a woman behind him, bearing a serious look. She fumbled around with the bottle in her metallic arms, having trouble opening it. A couple of child-sized robots, bearing small screens for heads, waddled around her, uttering beeping sounds frantically while their screens displayed worried emojis.

"Hold on! I almost got it." She added, getting more frustrated by the second. She almost dropped the bottle, which one of the robots caught just before it could hit the ground and shatter.

He heard the child let out another cry as the woman approached him with the bottle, letting a small drop drip out, then she dug her hand into his shadow.

"Come out, Unbound!"

Everything was replaced by darkness.

----

"You're... Terre?" Bright asked the girl sitting in the tree and took a step towards her.

"Terre?" She cocked her head, confused. "Nope. Not me. I'm Beryl! What’s your name, magical rainbow peacock guy?"

She seemed to take the "magical rainbow peacock" part really well.

Bright struck another pose and showed his colorful feathers proudly. "I am Brightly Vivid Colorful Arch Von Everglow! Or Bright Bennet as I am called here. Oh, and this is Morgan Fischer."

"Morgan Shannon Fischer, thank you."

"Wow! That's a very long name!" Beryl commented with a smile, ignoring Morgan's comment and turning to Bright instead. "Sooooo, are you from... a magical world or something?"

It seemed like Bright wasn't sure how to reply at first. "I am from a different world, true. But..." He smiled sincerely. "This world is more magical than anything I've experienced at my home."

Beryl returned a gentle smile as she leaned forward a bit.

"That’s good. I'm glad you're doing well."

Morgan took a good look at Beryl. Her red hair looked like it hadn't seen a brush in days, and flowers and leaves seemed to be stuck between her locks. The rest of her appearance wasn't any better, her clothes being dirty and loose. She also wore a notable amount of seemingly handmade jewelry and charms, the one standing out the most being her necklace with a green, flower-shaped crystal.

"Hey, you're not, at least a little, weirded out by him?" Morgan asked her.

Beryl's reply was a simple shrug as she took another bite. "Not really? Truth is, I've always known there was something magical in our world. It's pretty cool I get to meet someone from a different world. Sooooo... " Beryl’s gaze focused on Bright. "What was your world like? Were there other magical animals?"

There was a loud roar before Bright could answer, causing the trees to shake a bit, which then resulted in Beryl's bag falling on the ground. She clutched herself to the tree to avoid falling out of it.

"Is it one of those monsters again?" Morgan asked. Then flashed a smirk and cracked her knuckles. "I'm so ready! I owe that guy an ass-kicking!" With that she dashed off in the direction of the noise and held up her egg. The Seaborn Charm. Don't ask her how she thought of that name, it was buried inside of her head and it just felt right, okay?

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" A bubble engulfed her and in a second, she was back to being Cure Splash again.

"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!"

"That’s amazing, Molly!"

"Molly!?" She cringed and whipped around to find Beryl standing right behind her. She was practically jumping with excitement, for some reason. Now that she was so close, Splash noticed that Beryl had a minor scar near her right eye (or was it a burn? She couldn't really tell).

"That is your name, right?"

"No! It's Morgan Sha- I mean it's Cure Splash now!" She corrected the other girl, who blinked a few times, probably trying to process the entire thing.

Another roar startled the three and the Unbound was now clearly visible, as it was shoving trees aside as if they were nothing.

Beryl's expression turned into one of horror. "No! It's destroying the forest!"

"I'll take care of it!" Splash assured her with a grin and used her water powers to slide over the the Unbound. It looked very similar to the one she had fought yesterday, but this one was wearing a silly-looking tie and had some sort of metal plates on its arms.

"You have arrived at last, Cure Splash." A new voice boomed, distracting Splash long enough for a dozen of robots-like bodies to jump her, beeping frantically. The Cure kicked half of them away with ease and then used her arms to create tendrils of water to take care of the rest.

Meanwhile, the Unbound continued its rampage and the owner of the voice approached her. Metallic clanks resonated with every step.

Splash looked up to a seemingly middle-aged woman. Her outfit seemed metallic, yet had a brownish color to it, like it was rusted. Another strange detail were the strange marks that surrounded her brown-tinted eyes. It was like flowers bloomed out of them.

"Cure Splash, it is time for you to go." She spoke, aiming one of her metallic arms to the Cure's face. "Goodbye."

"Uh, hello? Aiming your... literal finger guns into someone’s face is not exactly-"

The woman's arm trembled, if only slightly. "Silence! For everyone's sake, I will not let you go on your way and disturb the plan. I, Bronze, will not let you, you hear me?"

The Cure couldn't help but snort. Did this Bronze lady really think she would back down that easily? Splash was itching for some action, and keeping the world safe was a very nice bonus.

Suddenly, Beryl had folded her arm around Bronze's metallic one. She stared into the woman's eyes as she shoved her arm away from Splash. Calmly, but firmly.

"Don't."

Bronze stared back at Beryl for a long time. Both in silence complete silence. Clenching her teeth, Bronze aimed her trembling arm at Beryl and shot a dark beam in her direction.

It never hit.

Beryl was embraced by a green light, creating a protective barrier around her, just as had happened to Morgan before.

She was wearing a tranquil smile as, just like with Morgan, a small egg manifested in front of her. This one being green in color. Beryl grabbed it almost right away. She seemed awfully calm, despite everything.

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!"

The earth beneath her started shaking heavily.

Chapter Text

----

Episode 3: Earthbound Treasure: Groundbreaking

----

Beryl had braced herself for the impact of the... gun? But she had found herself in a barrier of green. The feeling of tranquility had torn through all her mangled emotions. She just felt... peaceful.

Beryl took in a deep breath. The sweet fragrance of spring flowers surrounded her (funny, since it was still winter!) while a small egg had manifested in front of her.

She took a short moment to admire the wonderfully crafted green and brown leaves and stones embedded on the egg before grabbing it. A sentence formed in her mind and found its way to her tongue.

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!"

The earth beneath her started shaking heavily and Beryl gave an excited smile as leafs and petals came from the egg and twisted around her. Buds appeared on her body and in her hair as her red hair turned brown, and became longer, forming into low twintails. Beryl winked, giving her left eye a bright green color, as well an emerald gem settling as a pupil, while her right eye stayed brown. She hugged herself as her outfit bloomed from the buds: a brown shirt with poofy sleeves, a green skirt resembling a flower, and brown boots. Her hair was also adorned by many buds, filled with her feelings. Beryl giggled and placed a hand on the one unchanged thing: her special necklace. It was still on her neck, safe. Her egg manifested again. She grabbed it and brought it into her chest to make a heart emblem appear as well.

She landed on the ground, shaking it a little. With a fresh smile, she raised her fists near her head as the buds in her hair blossomed into flowers.

"The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"

Suddenly the confusion came back, full force.

"What? What? Whaaaaaaattt!?" She cried out inspecting her new form with curiosity. "I look adorable!? Look at my cute skirt! It's like a flower~! Guess I really bloomed." She gave a small giggle at her pun.

"Wait, you mean... there are more Cures besides me?" She heard Morg- Cure Splash's irritated voice say somewhere behind her. "Great. Just great. Just what I wanted!"

A bit further away, Ray sat on the ground, clutching a tree while staring intensely at Cure Terra. They still felt very lightheaded, but they were slowly recovering. Bright, in his human form, led them away from the battle and to safety, but not before shooting the Cures an encouraging look.

"So... Smoky was right. Precure do come in numbers." Bronze murmured, retreating away from the fight. "Go, Chromies! Get her!" She summoned a couple of her robotic minions, which dashed at Terra with smiley faces on their screens.

Before realising it, Terra had raised her arms in front of her and formed a boulder around herself, acting as a barrier of sort. Blocking the incoming attacks quite effectively.

Outside the boulder, Splash literally jumped in to unleash a flurry of kicks and making the robots, Chromies, dissolving as soon as they had appeared.

Her next kick was aimed at the big boulder, where Cure Terra was still hiding in.

"Hey! Hello!?" She yelled. "Don't just... stay in there. You can at least do something, you know!?" Another kick. Still not budging. That was a strong little fort she had created. "Hey! What's the point of transforming if you're not gonna do anything!?"

"Eh... I'd love to help but... I don't know how to make this go away?" Terra defended with an uneasy smile. Even though Splash couldn't see it. She tried raising her hands again, but nothing happened. "Tips are appreciated!"

"You don't know...?" Splash facepalmed. "Are you kidding me!?"

The blue Cure decided to turn her attention to the gigantic monster still rampaging through the forest. She leaped into the air and landed some hard kicks near the monster's shoulder.

The Unbound retaliated by pulling at its tie and slashing it near her like it was a whip. At that precise moment, Terra had managed to break down her boulder fort, shooting a barrage of rocks in all directions while doing so. One rock even hit Splash, earning even more ire from the blue Cure.

"You're terrible at this! Just leave and let me handle this!" Cure Splash rubbed her side, where the rock had hit her.

"Don't you mean that I'm terrable?" Terra replied with a big grin, nudging Splash. "Heh? Heh?"

Splash was not amused. "No."

Using a stream of water to launch herself in the air, she raised her hands and unleashed another powerful wave. "Pretty Cure Hydro Flood!"

To Splash's confusion, the Unbound didn't disappear this time. It let out a pained roar as the wave pushed it away, taking the trees with it. Splash let out an alarmed gasp.

"It didn't die!? How? It worked the last time..."

Determined, Cure Terra took a run for the creature, her fists ready then suddenly slowed down once she had gotten a good look at the Unbound, or, more specifically, the victim it was holding hostage in its chest.

"Uncle Dale!? Uncle Dale!?" In less than ten seconds, Terra had summoned a stone pillar from the ground and used it to leap to the Unbound, grabbing onto the 'bars' of the cage on the Unbound's chest. She tried to grab the man floating inside but her arm wasn't long enough to reach him. "Uncle Dale, don't worry! I'm gonna get you out of there!"

Splash was in a state of being impressed and irritated beyond belief. What was she doing?

The Unbound swatted the green Cure away with its hand. Luckily, she managed to land on her feet, the impact of her landing shaking the ground a little.

"That's someone you know?" Splash asked her, hitting the Unbound with some tendrils of water. "So does that mean you're motivated and going to be useful now?"

Terra wore a determined look as she clenched her fist, and stomped her foot down, causing a quake near the Unbound's feet, making it trip and fall to the ground.

Once again, she made some rock pillars sprout from the ground which she used as support to make a jump. She raised her right arm and rocks forged around it, forming a hammer as big as herself.

"Pretty Cure Earth Smash!" She slammed it down on the Unbound's head with a tremendous impact, shaking the area heavily. The Unbound dissolved, restoring the entire area and leaving only the unconscious victim behind.

At this, Bronze finally decided to step into the battlefield again. Her expression fierce and serious.

"Don't think you've won." She transformed her arms into metallic blades and ran towards Cure Terra. The Cure stomped down one foot before Bronze could reach her, two short pillars sprouted from the ground, blocking the woman's path.

Terra took a step forward. "Bronze was your name, right?"

"Wait, you remember her name but not mine?" Splash groaned, standing next to Terra and cracking her knuckles. "Anyway, she is most likely the one who made that monster. It was a different guy yesterday, I owe him an ass-kicking." A shrug. "But I need to let out my frustration somehow."

Splash found she couldn't get herself to unleash another Hydro Wave, to her dismay. So she settled with some good ol' kicks. She managed to land at least one kick straight into Bronze's face, but got hit hard in her side in return.

To add insult to the injury, Bronze quickly changed one of her arms into a cannon and shot another dark beam in Splash's direction. It just missed her by a hair.

"So, you think you can just imprison people. Listen up, you tinhead. That's not nice and I won't stand for you hurting Uncle Dale like that." Cure Terra crossed her arms with a stern look, like a mother scolding her child.

She was met with a strong pain in her chest as she was thrown against a tree after Bronze shot another dark beam, hitting the mark this time.

"Well, I am done being nice, being... weak." The woman spat in return and charged at the fallen Cure Terra.

Splash managed to create a water tendril and was ready to slam it down to stop Bronze but her attack was blocked as Bronze created a steel wall in front of her.

"Unda, Terre!" Ray called weakly. They raised a weak hand at Bronze. "Vanquish that being of darkness!"

"What do you think we're doing right now!?" Splash spat back at them.

Bronze clicked her tongue with a metallic sound. "Damn. And here I thought kids these days were more polite."

"It's Terra, actually! With an 'A'." The green Cure corrected simply.

Splash rolled her eyes. "They won't listen. Just, go with it. Maybe kick them in the guts later."

"You do not deserve to be alive! You vile, tainted monster!" Ray cried to Bronze, using a tree to support themself while shooting the woman a fierce glare.

"Hah, you're not even wrong." Bronze admitted. "But... here I am." She spread her arms with a sneer, and summoned some more Chromies to aid her.

The two Cures took his chance to attack Bronze, both charging at her from a different side, Splash with her feet and Terra with her fists. With a roar Bronze created two iron walls on each side, causing both Cures to painfully crash into them.

"Ow ow ow ow!!" Terra whined and waved her hands around.

Splash landed using a handstand and then swung around, using a stream of water to glide right back to Bronze. She swung her arms around rhythmically, swiping away the Chromies in her way with her water tendrils.

Terra, now blowing at her hands, found herself staring at Cure Splash fighting her way through the Chromies. Her movements were fluid and flowy, and almost mesmerising. It was almost like she was dancing around on waves.

Could Terra even begin to be as strong and badass as her?

What was she thinking? Of course she could!

With a grin, Terra slammed her fists together and sprouted more stone pillars from the ground to shoot the Chromies in the air. Some missed though. Terra made a mental note to start practicing that later.

"Pretty Cure Hydro Flood!" While hovering in the air, Splash unleashed a huge wave of water in Bronze’s direction. She was too busy staring up to Splash in horror to create another metal wall and was forcefully swept away.

"Now, that's how you do it." Splash said as she had landed near Terra. She crossed her arms while wearing a proud grin.

Terra clapped, eyes wide. "Wow! You were right when you said you wanted to blow off some steam... or should I say stream?"

Splash's smile disappeared almost instantly. "Can you not?"

Celebrating their victory had to wait, since, even after going through all that, Bronze had gotten up again. To say she looked bad was an understatement. Her right arm was lying on the ground next to her, leaving wires and steel inside her exposed elbow bare to see.

"This miserable world can die out for all I care!" She cried out, her metallic voice cracking slightly. The remaining Chromies rushed to her aid. All of them displayed crying emojis on their screens. One of them picked up her arm and handed it to her but she didn't take it back. Instead she shot another beam in the Cures' direction.

"Now, that attitude is why you'll never win." Splash cartwheeled out of the way while Terra hid behind more rock pillars.

"Yeah! Bad guys, like you, never win!! Because we, heroes, will stop you and protect everyone, and save the world!" Terra agreed and stomped her foot down in excitement, startling herself by the small quake.

Bright cheered from his hiding spot. "Oh! I like her spirit!"

Cure Terra slammed her fists together and charged at Bronze, ready to deal the, hopefully, final blow. Her face displayed firm serenity as rocks manifested around her fists. Forming two, big gauntlets made of rock.

Gasping, Bronze reacted with forging another shield in front of her and Cure Terra unleashed a barrage of punches, eventually managing to dent the shield.

Bronze finally decided it was time to throw the towel in. She had never been fond of leaving work unfinished. But she had failed at what she had set out to do, and she had accepted that fact.

There was no way she stood a chance against those two Cures in her current state. She raised her arm and created a portal to go through, the Chromies following suit, even the one still holding her other arm.

Cure Terra fell flat on her face and the gauntlets dissolved.

"Oh..."

Ray ran up to the two Cures while Bright helped Dale, coming to his senses again, back up.

"Why did you let her get away, Terre!?" Ray asked, seemingly completely recovered from whatever was weakening them before. They fumbled with their sleeves while staring at the fallen Cure Terra with an objecting look.

"Oh hiiiii! Don't think I've seen you before." Terra smiled, hopped back up and held out a hand. Ray didn't accept. "Also, it's Terra. But you were close!" She let out a good-natured laugh. "And I thought I was forgetful with names, haha."

Ray blinked, not really sure how to reply. They didn't need to since Terra awkwardly retreated her still outstretched hand and went to Bright and Dale instead, pulling the latter in a tight hug.

"Uncle Dale! I'm so glad you're okay!"

The older man seemed incredibly confused. "Who... who are you? I don't believe we've met before?" He rubbed his eyes as Terra let him go.

"Huh? Uncle Dale, it's me! Beryl!" She said, waving her arms around then pointed at the scar around her right eye. "Look! Who else has such a cool mark like this?"

Dale furrowed his brows. "It does look exactly the same..."

"Mona! How can I change back?" The green Cure turned to Splash, who returned her pleading look with a glare.

"For the last time, you rockhead, it's Morgan Shannon Fischer and-"

"Oh." Dale stepped forward. "You saved those people on the beach yesterday. My daughter was there too, so I'm glad I get to personally thank you." He smiled. "If you can, please give your father my regards. My daughter said he's having a rough time with maintaining the gallery."

Splash crossed her arms and sighed. "Oh, so she knows my dad. I'm sorry she has to put up with him."

"Um... she works at the gallery and she's really enjoying her time there, actually."

Good for his daughter because she couldn't stand being near her dad.

"Monica~?" She cringed at the sound of Terra's whines. "Can you tell me how to do the thing? Is this like... some sort of camouflage? Magical camouflage?"

"Uh, yeah. That's mostly a thing with magical girls. To protect their identity and such. Even I know that and I'm not into magical girls, really." Cure Splash said as she transformed back into Morgan with ease. "Good job, screaming your real name and revealing your identity almost right away. I'm sure your magical girl career is gonna go splendidly."

Now that Morgan thought about it, she herself had also failed at that part. But, if she hadn't transformed in such a populated space she would have never revealed who she was to anyone.

She hadn't really spoken, or seen, her parents yesterday. She wondered if they knew already.

---

Bronze sank to her knees as soon as she had returned to the base.

"Bronze!?" She felt herself being pulled in a feathery embrace. Aeris' distressed look was almost heartbreaking to look at. "What happened...? Was it that Pretty Cure?"

She forced a smile, hopefully calming the younger girl down. "Sorry, Aeris. I got a little overconfident. It was my own fault for being weak. Smoky was right, there's another Cure now. We need to stop them. They’re multiplying like rabbits at this rate."

Smoky leaned back in his spot at the couch. One of the Chromies handed him Bronze's arm, which he accepted carefully. Out of experience, they seemed to know that Smoky was Bronze's foremost repairman, if she happened to get one of her arms damaged.

"You're not weak." He said softly and lowered his look. His eyes still hidden behind his shades. "In fact, you're one of the bravest people I know."

"Arg! Stop making me emotional, you kids!!" Bronze, still leaning on Aeris for support, rubbed her face with her hand. Feeling the cold metal touch her skin. "Yeah... the new one... that Terra girl... she was..." She frowned deeply. "Something."

Smoky looked over at Bronze's arm he was holding. "Ooh... It's not that bad. I can fix this easily. Hey, you go rest first and I'll reattach your arm later, 'kay?"

Bronze nodded weakly as she walked out of the room, and to her chamber, using Aeris as support. The remaining Chromies rushed after them, leaving only Smoky and the silent Elegy in the room.

The boy clutched the arm still in his hands. Feelings of dread found its way into him and both his pitch black hands and left eye started releasing a bit of smoke.

This was starting to look bad.

Whoever these Pretty Cure were... they were strong. Too strong.

Seeing Hail and Bronze all beaten up like that... admittedly made him scared. More scared than he would like to admit. He hated seeing them like that. Hurt and beaten. He couldn't stand it.

He was brought back from his thoughts as he noticed Elegy summoning a portal, a bottle of Dark Ink in hand. "Elegy? You're going?"

Elegy merely nodded.

Smoky grabbed her arm with his free hand. "Don't! Look at what happened to Hail and Bronze! They're clearly too strong for us at this rate. What we need is..." If he had a third hand to adjust his shades with, he would. "Some level grinding!"

It was already hard to read Elegy's face, but her face mask made it almost impossible. He was pretty sure his awkward attempt at a joke had failed.

She just held up her hand, closed her eyes, and went through the portal.

----

"So, you live in a cabin? In the woods?"

"Preeeetttty much!"

"Why?"

Beryl didn't answer Morgan's question right away. She scratched the tip of her nose and thought about it for a good minute.

"I like being close to nature. It smells nice. Makes me feel... peaceful."

Morgan rolled her eyes at that. "Looks like we got a treehugger on our hands. Great."

To say that Beryl's "house" was messy was the understatement of the decade.

Her cabin, which seemed more like a shed, was probably a bit bigger than Morgan's room, but you wouldn't really notice the size of it because there was stuff everywhere. There was a single bed (also unmade and messy) and a huge amount of small cabinets making up most of the room, scattered around were small objects like gemstones, jewelry, books, clocks, writing supplies, the list went on.

"So... you're a Pretty Cure now, Beryl." Dale rubbed the sweat off his forehead. "How are we gonna bring that detail to your dad?"

"Oh, we don't." Beryl said simply.

Dale looked like he wanted to object but one look at Beryl made him drop the subject entirely.

"I suppose classes are cancelled for today?" He said and looked over at Morgan, Bright, and Ray still inspecting every nook and cranny of the cabin.

Beryl shrugged awkwardly. "Uh... I guess?" She brought back her smile. "I'll make double the work when you come next time! I'll finish ten pages of math! Promise!"

The older man waved off her suggestion. "It's quite all right. You probably have a lot to talk about." He looked over at the other three again. "I'll take my leave. Take care, Beryl."

"Yes, sir!" Beryl did a mock salute with a grin as Dale went out through the door of the cabin.

Ray stroked their chin as they inspected a huge collection of gemstones in varying colors, shapes and sizes. "You sure have a large amount of food, Terre."

"Those are gemstones, actually." Beryl laughed. "You can't eat gemstones, silly!" She lowered her voice to a small whisper. "Trust me, I've tried."

Bright blinked in surprise, Morgan's face scrunched up, and Ray rubbed their arm awkwardly

"No amount of sauce would make that edible." Morgan said bluntly.

"Oh, I've never tried it with sauce." The way Beryl said that made Morgan think that she was actually considering trying that.

Not her problem if she was gonna lose a tooth or two.

----

Beryl took the entire story slightly better than Morgan did. That is, if she actually was understanding it and not just nodding at Bright's ramblings to be polite and pretending she understood what he was saying. It was hard to tell. Ray chimed in with a weird comment every once in a while, which was often followed with a glare to either Morgan or Beryl.

"I used to be a big, big, biiiiiiiiigggggg woman?" Was the first question Beryl asked after Bright was done.

Ray nodded right away but Bright rubbed his cheek nervously.

"Yes."

"Maybe? We're not sure how you are related to the Titans of our world..." Bright said. "If we're going by the logic that, somehow, the Titans are able to become Pretty Cures... there should be two more. Ignis and Aeris."

"Oh, new friends!! We should go find them~!" Beryl cheered, hopping with excitement. "I wonder what they're like..."

Ray was about to reply but Morgan stomped her foot down.

"Two more?" She asked with a scowl. "I'd rather not. The first time I managed to defeat that monster just fine, without any help whatsoever." She sounded disgusted at the implication of working with others.

"But I finished it! I helped!"

"But you were hiding in your little... fort, like a baby, before!" Morgan objected.

Rubbing the back of her head, Beryl let out an uneasy laugh.

"I'm still trying to get the hang of it~!" The redhead said, showing off her teeth.

Morgan rested her chin on the palm of her hand. "I don't need your help. You'll only get in the way."

"I can prove it! Let me prove we'll make a great team!" Beryl shot back, surprisingly calm. She held up her egg, the Earthbound Charm. "I'm not going to let people get hurt. I was chosen for this and I will protect everyone. You are not taking that from me."

"Oh, you're one of those." The other girl rolled her eyes. "The goodie-goodie who has no personal motivation aside from 'protecting' others. That's a simple way to think, and not to mention dumb." Another scoff. "I've finally found something valuable in my life. When I fought that monster for the first time, I felt alive. And I knew, that this is something I want to keep fighting for. You are not ruining that for me!"

Beryl opened her mouth but closed it as soon as she saw Morgan's face. She seemed to take this serious, despite her words telling her otherwise. Fighting because you liked it? Now that was dumb, and not to mention very selfish.

"So." Beryl turned to Bright, still with a serene expression lingering on her face. "Tell me what we need to do. Tell me what we’re up against and what we can do to stop them."

Morgan let out a sigh and sat down on a pillow lying on the ground. "If you're waiting for answers... you ain't getting any."

"That's okay, but first!! I will have to ask for your names again." Beryl said and grabbed some sticky notes and a pencil. "I will write them down so I won't forget."

"Very clever." Bright commented, then stepped forward and reintroduced himself, by full name, once again. Pose included.

Beryl frantically wrote all of their names down (Ray didn't got to say their full title, again, because Bright interrupted them) and plastered the three sticky notes near her bed. There were a suspicious amount of sticky notes in the house, and the handwriting was surprisingly readable.

"Thanks. I want to be able to remember my friends' names!"

"I am not your friend." Both Ray and Morgan said at the same time. They looked at each other with annoyed looks.

Bright held up his hands with a smile. "Now, now. Let's not be like that. Friendship is a wonderful thing!" He turned to Ray with a gentle look. "Ray, I'll be happy if you opened yourself up a little. See, Beryl would love to be your friend. Can't you give her a chance?"

Ray stayed silent for a long time. Their eyes staring into nothing. As if they were processing what he had just said.

"No. I am not ready."

Bright’s smile softened. "That's okay. Take all the time you need. Remember, baby steps!"

"... The Titans are the last I would want to be friends with." Ray glared at Morgan and Beryl, rubbing their hand again. "Not with Unda, and not with Terre."

Beryl's smile faltered. "But... we've just met!"

Before Ray could object, Bright tapped his hand on the table. Hoping to prevent a fight from breaking out. "Look, nobody of us knows exactly what is going on. We don't know what your relation to the Titans is and why you are able to become Pretty Cure. We have yet to figure out what the connection is between these two." He explained. He needed to get everyone on the same page if they actually wanted to be able to work together.

Even with full attention on him, Bright wasn't really sure how to go on. "... We also don't know who these people that summoned those monsters are, nor where they come from or what their goal is. We've only see two of them, so far, but there may be hundreds out there..."

That thought of gave Bright a heavy feeling in his chest. It would be very possible there was a whole army of people trying to destroy this world. But, that's what Pretty Cure are there for, right? To stop them?

"There is something familiar about them... but there is also too much darkness to feel what. It is too clouded by darkness to recognise anything." Ray spoke, not looking up.

"What? You think they might be... from Primo?" Bright didn't know how to feel about that possibility. How else could they feel familiar to Ray?

Ray hugged themself. "I think. They have to be from Obscuro, considering their... darkness. And their strange eyes." Ray's hands trembled as they rubbed their palm again.

"Hold up, I'm not following. Obscuro? What’s that? Explain." Morgan demanded and Beryl nodded, curiously leaning closer to Ray.

The blond took a few steps back, bumping into a desk. They looked very uncomfortable and hid behind Bright.

After clearing his throat, Bright spoke up. "Our world, Primo, was split up in three sections. We have the so-called 'main-land', where the Titans resided. There was Lumo, a floating kingdom and the place we're from, and Obscuro. I've... never been there actually so I don’t know what it looks like. It's like a canyon and it's dark, from what I've heard."

While Beryl seemed almost entranced by Bright’s story, Morgan just rolled her eyes. "It's like History class, only weirder."

A little flame of hope lit up in Bright. "If they really are survivors like us... then, we might be able to come to an understanding."

"Cool story, but they're still attacking people." Morgan cut in, frowning.

"We don't know their circumstances. They have to be doing this for a reason! They are risking their lives." Bright objected, his mind racing through endless possibilities, but not being able to find an answer. "Unless, it could be that someone is pulling the strings..."

Ray looked up, eyes wide. "Nox..." They breathed. "It is Nox. It has to be him. There is no one else who could..."

"Obviously with a name like that." Morgan rested her hand behind her back. "But, anyway, explanation please?" She was getting rather tired of demanding answers.

Bright played with a lock of his curly hair. "He's the ruler of Obscuro and the King of Darkness."

"The King of Darkness?" Morgan snorted. "Not even trying to be subtle, are we? Looks like we figured out our bad guy."

"That's all I know of him, to be honest." Bright added. "I've never met him. I don't even know what he looks like."

"I know. I have seen him before."

"What!? When!? How?" Bright almost grabbed Ray's shoulder but his hand was slapped away before he could.

"When the Titans started... their rampage." Ray whispered, as if they didn't want anyone to hear. "We all were there. Mother was there and he was there with Shade. A lot of people were there, actually."

"What!?"

Morgan and Beryl exchanged some glances as the mood had become very tense. Bright's voice intensified. "Ray, Ray, listen to me. You have to tell me what you know. This is important. What happened? Why was everyone there? Why did the Titans even...?"

Ray flinched at Bright’s reaction, and their voice went softer with each word. "I am... I am telling you what I know." They whimpered meekly as clutched their palm again. "My memories are vague. I do not remember. I remember fighting against the Titans, but not much else."

Seeing Ray's trembling form in front of him made Bright feel even worse. He decided to drop the subject for now, pushing it wouldn't benefit any of them at this point.

"I'm happy to help you guys defeat bad guys, no matter who or what they are!" Trying to ease the mood, Beryl jumped up and showed her egg proudly. "All bad guys are going down! I'll beat them to the ground!"

Morgan couldn't believe she nodded at this. "Yeah, I don't care who you are, if you're being an evil jerk, you will get an ass-kicking, free of charge."

"See? We think alike! We're pretty much friends already!" Beryl laughed and wrapped her arms around Morgan, to the latter’s dismay. "Or ... maybe... maybe we always were!?" She let that linger in the air for a moment before shrugging and letting go of Morgan. "It's just a little hunch I have."

"Yeah, no. We're not friends."

Beryl stroked her chin for a moment, thinking. "Then, I'm delighted to make your aquaintance." She said with a overly polite tone and a smirk.

"Stop." Morgan glared. "You're not funny, you know?"

Far away, they heard a loud noise. A familiar roar made Morgan and Beryl reach for their Primary Charms almost instantly.

"Don't get in my way, got it?" Morgan said as she and Beryl turned their eggs and called out their incantation.

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" Morgan and Beryl were surrounded in round barriers made of water and rocks respectively. In a second they jumped out, completely changed.

"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!"

"The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"

"We'll handle this!" Terra assured Bright and Ray as she and Splash leaped out of the cabin, following the sound of screams, destruction, and… instruments?

----

They found their culprit near the edge of the forest. Noticeable was that this Unbound had hair (or was it a wig maybe?). It was playfully dancing as various small creatures circled around it, playing obnoxiously loud instruments.

They were the same size as the Flurries and Chromies they've seen before. These resembled shadow-like humanoids in marching costumes, playing their instruments with glee. Some of them chanting "Echo! Echo!" in a rhythmic manner.

Splash kicked her feet in the air, unleashing a torrent of water at the Unbound's face, causing it to take a few steps backwards and crushing a couple of the minions, the Echoes, in the process. They poofed in a whir of yellow smoke.

The blue Cure launched herself in the air with a stream and landed a few kicks. Her teal hair spinning behind her as she kept dishing out more kicks, and occasionally some water tendrils with her arms.

On ground level, the Echoes kept Terra busy, shooting music notes in her direction from their instruments. She either rolled out of the way, created a rock wall or punched the music notes right back at them.

So, there was the Unbound, the small minions, now... where was the villain responsible for summoning both of those?

She stepped into the battlefield at that precise moment. A woman with blue gray hair, hornlike curls on each side of her head. Half of her face was obscured by both her long locks and the face mask she wore.

"Elegy! Elegy! Elegy!" The marchers started to chant in their childlike voices as soon as they saw her. She inspected the two Cures for a long time in complete silence, her yellow irises glaring down at them.

"Hey! Hey!" Terra called out. "Why are you doing this? You don't have to do this! If you tell us what's wrong... then we might be able to help you!"

The woman, Elegy, didn't respond and just stared at Terra. Her face was completely unreadable.

Elegy raised her arm and summoned more Echoes, still wearing a blank expression while the Echoes played their instruments obnoxiously loud.

"Forget it!" Splash shouted as she spinned around on her hands and used her legs to kick the surrounding Echoes in various directions. "Let's just focus on the monster!"

Instead, Terra stomped the ground, creating a tremor near Elegy, who made a backwards leap with ease and landed on some stairs away from the fight.

"Just focus on the monster!" Splash repeated with a roar. "Ugh, If you want something done right..."

The Unbound and Echoes charged for the two Cures. They split up in different directions, attempting the evade the Unbound's attempts to smash them into the ground with its huge braid while the two were dealing out more watery kicks and earthly punches.

After turning their attention to the Unbound, Splash realised it seemed way more sturdy, or heavy, then the previous ones. Attacks didn't really do all that much than made it stumble a step or two.

Then an idea sprouted in her mind. She smirked.

"Terra! Make another rock fort!"

"Huh?"

"Just do it!"

Cure Terra blinked in confusion but tried to recreate the fort anyway. She forced her eyes shut and move her hands closer to her, trying to remember how she did it last time.

Luckily, it worked right away and she was inside another protective fort made of rock once again.

"Now what?"

Splash landed on the rock ball and started running in place, moving the ball forward at considerable speed.

Inside the ball, Terra was screaming as she was being flung from side to side.

"S-S-Splash! Stop! I'm getting diiiiiiiizzzyyyy!"

"Shut up! Just rock and roll with it!"

If the circumstances were different, and she wasn't being spun around right now, Terra would definitely have applauded Splash for the good use of words.

Gaining closer to the Unbound, Splash used a stream to launch the ball straight into the Unbound's face so hard it lost balance and fall on its back, shaking the area.

Splash had leaped back before the ball had made impact. Terra undid the fort and landed next to Splash on a nearby roof, stumbling on her feet from the dizziness.

"That was fun." Splash admitted with a chuckle. "You can be useful."

Terra whined weakly. "You could have told me you were gonna do that! I feel my lunch coming back up."

"Ew, don't throw up on me. I'll have to finish it first." Splash got ready for a jump but Terra grabbed her arm.

"No! Let me do it! Let me show you I can be strong!" Terra objected. "I'll show you I'm worthy of fighting with you! That I'm worthy of being your friend!" She placed a hand over her heart. "I know I have much stuff to learn. My fighting is sloppy and rocky." A chuckle. "But if there's someone who I know will have my back and who I can count on in a pinch, I feel like you're the best pick! And that's what motivates me to become better! So I can help out my friends when they need me!"

Splash looked torn between being confused, flustered, and annoyed.

"You know what... go ahead, Terra. Finish the job." Terra could have sworn there was a small smile on Splash's face as she gave Terra a little boost in the air with her water.

"I will not disappoint you, Morgan Shannon Fischer."

Terra smile grew from ear to ear and she hovered in the air, above the Unbound.

"Pretty Cure!" She started, forming another hammer around her arm before slamming it down on the Unbound. "Earth Smash!"

The Unbound broke apart and the victim, a young man, was freed.

"Yay! Look at that teamwork! We were incredible!" Terra cheered, throwing her hands in the air and pulling Splash in a tight embrace. "This is gonna be great!"

Splash lowered her head, hoping to hide her face turning red, as she pushed Terra off of her. "W-We still have that lady to deal with."

The two Cures turned around, just in time to see Elegy retreat through a portal, the Echoes following her.

Splash glided towards her. "Hey, get back here! I need to kick someone in the face!" She shouted, but the portal disappeared before she could get there. Splash slowed down her dash and stumbled a bit upon doing so.

"Aw." She muttered, disappointed.

"Next time!" Terra reassured her and walked up to her, patting her shoulder.

They heard a little squeal of joy behind them.

"Oh my god." It was the young man that they had saved. He looked at them with starry eyes. "This is, like, absolutely fantastic! To be saved by two magical warriors! Magical warriors with fabulous hair and clothes I might add." He gave them both a nod of approval.

Terra's mouth curled into a smile and she grabbed the man's hand and shook it. "Thank you, we're still newbies but we'll make sure to protect everyone! That's part of being a hero, after all. Leave it to Cure Terra and Cure Splash!"

"Say..." The man spoke up and held up his phone, decorated with tons of stickers. "You wouldn't mind if I snapped a pic of us together, would you?"

The two Cures exchanged looks. Splash shook her head with a sour expression while Terra beamed with excitement.

"Yes."

"Of course not!"

----

"And he asked us to take a picture with us! It was great!" Beryl explained after she and Morgan had gone back to her cabin, sharing their story with Bright and Ray. "Aside from Morgan not smiling for the camera." She shot a overdramatic glare to Morgan, who groaned in return.

"Trust me, you don't want to see me smiling. It’s not a nice sight."

"But! But you were smiling during the fight." Beryl objected. "And it was a beautiful smile at that. I’d love to see it more."

Morgan pulled her hoodie over her head.

A big grin appeared on Beryl's face. "Aw, is someone getting flustered?" She joked as she leaned closer to Morgan, who used her leg to push the redhead away from her.

"Shut up!"

Ray stood in the corner of the room, watching as Bright started discussing something with the two girls. They saw mouths move but they couldn't decipher the words that were being said, but then again, they weren't really paying attention.

They just stared at the three, their mind travelling back in time. Watching others enjoying themselves and socialising from their spot on the sidelines. They had done that many times before. Just watching. They had wanted to step in and join the conversation but hadn't learned how.

And besides, Mother hadn't been very keen on them interacting with other people.

Absentmindedly tapping their fingertips together, Ray furrowed their brows.

"Since fighting darkness with darkness seems to be the best course of action, for now.../" They started, not looking up from staring at their fingers. "We need to find Ignis and Aeris as fast as we can."

"I can't wait to meet them!!" Beryl beamed with absolute delight. She counted on her fingers. "We'll be like an Elemental Quartet! And we can actually play quartet! I have a few versions lying around!"

Morgan, on the other hand, was not that excited.

----

A hulking mass of a beast was pressed against the stone wall. Losing its balance, it sank to the floor.

"How... how could you do this!?" The beast desperately clutched its wounds as a smaller figure approached it.

A dark laugh boomed and a knight in fiery red armor stepped forward. "Ohoho! You dared to challenge me! That was your mistake. The Endless Inferno of Destruction is indestructible!!"

"No!" The beast roared as the knight charged at it.

"Yes!! I will destroy you all effortlessly!!"

A large sword of fire dealt the final blow.

[GAME OVER]

--

"Arrgg!" A teenage boy clutched his controller so hard it seemed like it could break any moment. "I was so close to winning!"

"Well, you lost, and so you know what that means." A slightly older girl said, wearing the same proud grin as her game avatar, the knight, which was making a little victory dance on the tv screen.

The boy groaned. "Ugh, but walking Chomp takes forever!"

"Have fun!" The girl chuckled as the boy went to grab a leash and attached it to the basset hound lying a bit further away. "Meanwhile, I'll just play by myself and grind some more until you’re back!"

"Get lost, Hanan! I'll beat you next time!"

Hanan waved with a devious grin. "See you in two hours, Fadil!"

The boy, Fadil, groaned and dragged the dog outside. He grumbled to himself all the way until he was out of earshot.

"Hey, Makeen." Hanan turned to another boy, sitting on the couch. He didn't reply right away, being completely mesmerized by whatever book he was reading. "Makeen?"

"Oh, what is it?"

"You wanna play?" Hanan asked, holding up the other controller.

"Maybe next time. I'm getting to a really exciting part in my book!"

"Okay, just don't cry over the pages this time!"

"That's Fadil's thing." Makeen replied. "I had to buy an entire new copy of at least four books because the pages were smeared with his tears!"

Hanan could only chuckle at that. She snapped her attention back to the screen, with a dark flare in her brown eyes she tightened the grip on her controller and leaned forward, bearing a devious smile.

"I'll wage war on all monsters on my own then."

Chapter Text

Hanan Karim had not slept well.

She wanted to thank her loud alarm clock for dragging her out of her nightmare, but its screaming into her ears with a familiar tune of her fave show didn't help making her feel better, actually.

She let her hands glide over her body, just to make sure she was still okay. For a second, she felt like there was something missing.

The girl felt sick, irritated, and weak. Her body was damp with sweat and a feverish sensation was sliding through her body.

Despite the symptoms, she wasn't actually sick. This happened often enough to be considered normal.

Time for a one hour long bath. That'll cool her down.

This was going to be a long day.

----

Episode 4: Overheated Compassion: Ignited

----

Beryl Forrest had slept exceptionally well that night. Her dreams had been tranquil, although she couldn't really remember what she had dreamt about. It didn't really matter. She had woken up with a nice, fluttery feeling. Although waking up munching on a pillow left a bit of a dry aftertaste.

The nice smell of the morning breeze greeted her.

As usual, her body's natural clock had woken her up just after sunrise and Beryl stretched her arms in the air as she let out a small yawn.

It only took her ten minutes to change into her clothes and prepare herself for the upcoming day.

She was excited!

She actually had a plan for today. A cleverly crafted plan.

This was going to be a great day!

----

The sea smelled particularly salty, Beryl noticed.

Oh, wait, it was just Morgan.

Morgan must spend a lot of time in the sea to actively smell like sea salt.

Beryl folded her hands behind her back as she stood in the small crowd surrounding Morgan on the pier. Her dancing keeping the audience's attention captive. The way she moved reminded Beryl of the fights from yesterday. It really was like she was swaying in the water.

It was quite comforting to look at, actually. Even though the music and her movements were not exactly what one would call "calm". It was wild, fast, and without restraints. Almost like a storm.

It had taken Morgan quite a while to make eye-contact with Beryl, and when she did her expression turned surprised for a second. Beryl gave her two encouraging thumbs up.

She wasn't sure how long she continued watching Morgan's dancing. Spectators came and left but Morgan kept dancing, in her own bubble, letting the music move her body.

It had come to a point where Beryl was the only person left.

Morgan eventually stopped. She stopped the music and sat down, leaning against the wall while staring at Beryl.

"That was amazing, Morgan!" Beryl staggered forward, not realising how stiff her legs had become from standing still for so long. Something that Beryl normally couldn't stand. But Morgan's dance had, somehow, kept her in place.

"It's Mor- oh, you got it right."

Sitting down next to Morgan, Beryl leaned closer to the other girl with a smirk.

"You're a great dancer."

"Uh... thanks?"

"Don't be all awkward about it now. I saw you smiling!"

Morgan hid her face behind her knees. Beryl was sure Morgan was smiling underneath it all. Her mission, to make her new friends smile as much as possible, was going well.

Then Beryl heard her stomach growling, demanding an offering. She hadn't even realised how hungry she was until just now.

"You hungry?" Morgan asked with a blank expression, then sighed. "I was about to get some food myself. I guess I can't convince you to not follow me?"

Beryl cocked her head. Not really understanding what Morgan was saying. Did she want her to come along or not?

That didn't matter anyway because Beryl was going, whenever Morgan liked it or not.

----

"Guys!? Guys, seriously, what is happening? Who is beating you guys up and thwarting my nefarious plans!?"

Smoky cringed at the sound of Shade's high-pitched voice, tearing through the simple song he was playing on his guitar. The smaller boy stomped into the room, surprised for a split second that Smoky was the only other person present.

"Where is my darkness!? I need more!"

After a good minute, Smoky finally decided to look up and give Shade the satisfaction of attention. The image he met with was different than expected.

Shade looked like he hadn't slept in days. Well, to be fair, he probably hasn't. He looked even paler than normal, with bags under his eyes. That was a rare sight.

"Dude, we really gotta do something about that darkness addiction of yours. This is getting ridiculous!" Smoky cried out, half joking and half serious.

"Excuse!?" Shade stomped his foot down. "I'm trying to be productive, unlike you guys!"

A bang of frustration lit up in Smoky and his smile faltered, but he bit back lashing out at the other boy. Nobody wants to deal with a screaming Shade.

"Hah, okay, here's the thing." Smoky said instead, as he set his guitar down next to him. "We're up against Pretty Cure, and they're trying to stop your little plan. That means... we're officially cemented as bad guys now."

"Wait... what the...? What's a 'Pretty Cure'?" Shade asked, crossing his arms with a confused frown. "A cure? For what?"

At this, Smoky exploded into laughter. "Oh, you naive, innocent soul!"

"What's that supposed to mean!? I'm waaaaayy older and wiser than you!!"

Smoke came from his hands as Smoky waved the comment off. Shade was getting frustrated again and Smoky wanted to avoid that. His screaming would only disturb Hail and Bronze's resting times. Not to mention Aeris being really sensitive to loud sounds.

Yeah, nobody would be happy when Shade started throwing a fit.

"Take a seat, my dude." Smoky patted the spot next to him, inviting the other boy to sit down. He grabbed his tablet and adjusted his shades with a grin. "Let me tell you about Pretty Cure!"

----

When hungry and craving for some delicious fast food, one of the optimal places to go and fill your stomach was definitely Primetime Diner. Easily accessible by foot, bus, or even car. A cosy little place. A large part of its customers consisted of students from the nearby school, but even if school was still closed the place wasn't less busy, or merry, than usual.

Beryl started drooling at the almost overwhelming amount of scents when she stepped inside the diner. All sorts of smells tickled her nostrils, but it smelled so good Beryl barely noticed the headache she was getting from them.

While their hamburgers were the real showstopper, Morgan craved their equally delicious nachos (with a lot of hot sauce, of course). Beryl, on the other hand, was getting overwhelmed by all the choices. It all sounded so good! Burgers, fries, omelettes, the list went on.

"Morgan, holy shit!!" The girl at the counter said as she slammed her fist on said counter. "I cannot believe what happened the other day! You're a-!"

"Good day to you too, Eclair." Morgan said through her teeth. "Not everyone needs to know."

The girl, Eclair, let out a loud laugh. "Everyone knows already. Hanan totally wants your autograph. She's all over that stuff."

Morgan's face scrunched up as Beryl looked from her to Eclair and back again.

"I heard my name, were you talking about me behind my back?" A new voice spoke up, a flare of irritation was evident in her tone. The notable smell of ashes invaded Beryl's nose and she slowly turned around to face the newcomer.

The girl was half a head taller than Beryl. Her brown hair was neatly tied into a bun as she looked down at Beryl with squinted, brown eyes. Beryl couldn't figure out if she was angry, tired, or both.

Beryl felt a chill ran down her spine just by looking at her.

"Hanan, chill." Eclair said. "I was just telling them about what happened with Wasim yesterday."

"Ah, right!" Hanan's face lit up immediately. "Thank you for saving my brother!" She said with a warm smile. The sudden change was almost jarring. "So, I know you're Cure Splash, Morgan. I take it this is Cure Terra?"

"Yuuuup! Beryl Forrest, codename Cure Terra, at your service!" Feeling her initial rush of fear wash away, Beryl did a mock salute with a wide grin.

Hanan chuckled. "I'm Hanan, pleasure to meet you. I would shake your hand but I kinda have them full at the moment." She said and motioned to the plates she was balancing on her hands.

"Now, can I take your order?" Eclair leaned forward.

----

"She seems nice, a bit scary but nice! We've got another fan already!" Beryl mused as she and Morgan had taken some seats and were waiting for their food to arrive. Morgan had actually being nice enough to pay for Beryl, since she didn't have enough money to get what she wanted. It was a "one time deal", Morgan had said.

“Scary? Hanan?” Morgan snorted. "She can't even get herself to cross the street when the lights are red."

The wait was long and awkward. Beryl tried to bring up various subjects to talk about, asking Morgan's favorite colors, animals, food, and all that stuff. Beryl took notes, of course. This was important information, after all.

It wasn't going as well as she had expected. Morgan's replies were blunt, short, and left no opening for further talking or discussing. But Beryl was holding on tight. She wasn't going to let her potential new friend go that easily.

Then, the door swung open and Beryl could have sworn the diner lit up a little bit.

"I HAVE FINALLY FOUND YOU, IGNIS!!"

A familiar, clear voice boomed through the diner and a finger was pointed at Hanan, who was holding two plates with food.

Hanan looked around, to see if there was anyone else the finger could have pointed at. "Oh, you mean me?"

"Oh god..." Beryl could hear Morgan say as she sank into her seat. "Ray..."

"Um... hello?" Hanan managed to say but her expression revealed that she was confused beyond belief. "Can I help you with something?"

Ray stomped forward. "Do not take me for a fool! I know it is you! Like the others, you probably do not remember but know that you have committed atrocious sins!"

Hanan's face scrunched up. She almost seemed bothered just by looking at Ray's glowing form.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?" She asked softly.

The sudden quietness in the diner only added to the tension. All eyes were directed at the two.

"No, it is not! You treated valuable lives like a joke! Something you could play around with. Something you could just... throw away on a selfish whim!" Ray continued, glaring at Hanan. It was almost like they were surrounded by a soft glow.

"What are you talking about?" Hanan asked. Her voice trembled as she returned a glare of her own. "You're not really making sense..."

"The other two reacted with the same confusion. It will not make sense now but will eventually, I think." Ray rambled on, clutching their chest. "But it is so satisfying seeing you like this! The served became the servant! How ironic!"

Hanan's face turned red and she displayed a whole array of varying expressions. It was like she had trouble picking one. "I don't have time for this, people are wait-"

"Not so fast, Ig-!"

Just as Hanan had wanted to walk away, Ray had stepped in front of her. A couple of missteps and, in less than ten seconds, Hanan had tripped over Ray's feet and fallen flat on her face. The plates shattered and the food spilled all over the floor.

Morgan buried her face in her hands while Beryl's eyes were glued to the scene. She could almost smell the tension. Eclair quickly rushed to Hanan's aid, roughly pushing Ray out of the way to reach her.

Ray looked shocked for a moment, then, while looking over Hanan's prone form, something made them start cackling, quickly bursting into a full blown laughter fit for a villain.

"Look at you now! You are powerless!" Ray puffed their chest out with pride. "The 'Endless Inferno of Destruction' has burnt out."

Nobody uttered a single world. Dozens of eyes stared at them, some with confusion, some with disbelief, worry, distaste...

With a wince, Ray's laughing fit awkwardly trailed off, leaving the room in complete silence.

Hanan slowly rose her head and looked at Ray.

Her eyes were flaring red. Literally.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!!?"

Both inside and behind her, something erupted.

----

In the kitchen, Aaron was really glad he wasn't hanging above the burners when it happened.

Out of nowhere, flames erupted from the burners he had been standing above just seconds ago. This could have ended ugly if he hadn't wanted to take a look at what was happening in the diner and stepped away from them.

The sudden eruption still scared him and he stumbled a bit further away. The flames had faded as soon as they had appeared, like a flash of lightning.

Some gasps rang through the diner and people exchanged worried looks. Ray took a step back, face morphed into one of horror.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at Beryl, who was hiding under the table, and shaking like a leaf as her expression turned into one of terror.

"Don't tell me..." She continued when Beryl didn't reply, or even acknowledged Morgan. She was too busy trying to disappear under the table. "You're scared of fire?"

Beryl looked away, hugging her legs. "I... I am..." She admitted with a squeak.

With a blank expression, Morgan leaned back. The reason for Beryl's fear probably was linked to the scar around her eye. It'll be nosy to ask, and, frankly, Morgan didn't really care.

"That sucks."

Away from the scene, Eclair lightly reached for Hanan's arm.

"Hanan? You okay?"

No reply.

"Hanan!?" Eclair tried again and wrapped her fingers around her friend's arm.

Something made her let go instantly.

Hanan's breathing shortened and heartbeat quickened. She mumbled something while forcibly shutting her eyes and then ran off into the nearby restroom.

Eclair hesitated for a moment, then followed after her, but not before sweeping a fierce glare at Ray.

Morgan sank in her seat and pulled her hoodie over her head, as if wanting to hide away from the world entirely.

"What a disaster." She groaned. "Let's just pretend we don't know them and-"

"Ray! Raaaayy! Over here! We saved you a seat!"

"Idiot!" Morgan hissed through her teeth at the other girl, who had jumped up and was happily patting the seat next to her. She had completely recovered from her rush of fear that she had been in only seconds ago. It was a bit jarring.

After a small pause, Ray hurried to the two of them and sat down next to Beryl. They shoved the seat away to keep some distance.

"What was that all about?" Beryl asked, leaning closer to Ray, causing them to cringe away so far that they almost fell off their seat.

Morgan rested her chin on her hand, her expression bored. "I'm impressed how terrible you can be. You did the impossible. You made Hanan, the goodie-two-shoes of Dawnbridge, mad." A small chuckle. "Gotta admit that it was amusing to see. She's never like this."

"You... think something is bothering her? Then we should help her!" Beryl suggested, slamming her hands on the table. "That's what heroes do!"

"She does not deserve help. That was Ignis. The leader of the Titans."

Morgan furrowed her brows. "Wait... does that mean she's also..." She let out an exasperated sigh. "God, no, anyone but her."

----

Washing her face always helped. The fresh, cold water cooled her down. She stared into her reflection for a full minute.

Even Hanan herself had to admit that she looked terrible. The bags under her eyes, her disheveled hair still partly tied into a bun, the sweat on her face, and the fact she was almost literally burning with a feverish sensation.

"That wasn't me... that wasn't… me..."

At the sound of the door opening she skidded into the nearest toilet, locking the door behind her.

"Gee, I wonder where she could be." She heard Eclair's voice say in a mock questioning tone. It was followed by a loud knock on the door. "Han, just come out, you nerd."

No reply. Hanan wanted to say something but... what could she say? She just wanted to sit here, stay here, and not let her petty anger get the best of her.

"So, was that kid someone you pissed off?" Eclair asked as she leaned against the door.

"I don't know... I've never seen them before..."

"Huh."

After another moment of silence, Eclair spoke up again. "Are you having trouble sleeping again?"

Once again, no reply.

"Damn it, Hanan! You're overworking yourself again, aren’t you!?"

"My sleep schedule is a mess. I have nightmares, I think?" Hanan rubbed her warm face with her equally warm hands. "I mean, I don't really remember what happens in my dreams but I often just wake up feeling... angry. Really angry."

"Oh, you drama queen. That, my dear Hanan, is called not being a morning person. I wake up angry all the time." Eclair reassured her with a laugh. "I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"But... I get worked up over nothing and lash out at others." Hanan objected, still staring at her hands. "And, this time, at a customer no less!"

"That kid... I just wanted to..." Hanan continued and clenched her fist, as if squashing a bug inside her palm. Her eyes widened in horror. Why was she even thinking that?

"If I were you, I would have punched them."

"What!?"

Eclair clicked her tongue. "They were being rude and obnoxious. They made a mess too. You know, I kinda wanna go back and kick their ass right now."

"No, don't!"

"How about I do it anyway? You're too busy being depressed to stop me, riiight?" Eclair went to the door, her hand touching the doorknob, not yet opening the door. "Ah, I expected you to try and stop me, or some reaction, at least."

After another long silence, Eclair spoke up again, tone softer this time. "Hanan, I think it's best you just go home and get some rest. I'll tell Aaron. He'll understand."

"No... I can't let the two of you do all the work!"

"We're not helpless without you." Eclair teased, a hint of annoyance evident in her voice. "Jeez, put some faith in us, will you?"

Slowly, Hanan opened the door, wiped the sweat off her face and turned to the mirror to start redoing her bun.

"I've calmed down. I can continue."

Eclair narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to poke Hanan's chest.

"I swear if you pass out again you're treating me to ice cream, matcha flavored." She threatened with a grin. "Got it?"

Hanan returned a grin of her own.

"Got it."

----

While surprised for, like, a minute, Shade was not impressed by the pictures and info Smoky showed him of various Pretty Cure teams from all over the world.

Bearing a large frown, Shade fumbled with his hands a bit. "That's... that's stupid! So, they're like Radiant Lumiere then?" He leaned back a bit, rubbing his face with his bandaged hand. "Wait... that's worrying, actually."

"Uh... Shade? Little dude?"

"That's really worrying..." Shade pressed his hands against his face, mumbling to himself while staring at the floor. "She was so powerful back then... and now... there's so many other people with that kind of power... how is that even possible? Can we even go up against them?" His attention snapped back to Smoky. "What is wrong with this Earth place!?"

"Don't ask me. I gave up on this planet a long time ago." Smoky shrugged awkwardly, not really sure what Shade was rambling about, nor really caring. Admittedly, he just wanted him to leave. He felt a storm coming and didn't want to be near Shade when it happened. It was a miracle he hadn't summoned his shadow-ghost-buddy-thingy, whatever it was, to kick something or someone.

"Okay, while you figure your stuff out, I'll be getting something to eat. I’m starving." A good excuse that worked every time to get out of unpleasant conversations, or any conversation with Shade, to be honest. And, well, Smoky actually was pretty hungry. After his meal, he should probably try to look around and properly meet these Pretty Cures, or make an Unbound or something.

Shade didn't reply. He was seemingly so deep in thought that the world was gone to him.

Smoky saw this as a nice chance to slip away. He summoned a portal and jumped right through.

----

No matter how long Beryl looked at Hanan, she couldn't shake that uneasy feeling away. She had returned and was now standing behind the counter, having calmed down from her little outburst moments ago. Every once in a while Beryl found her staring in their direction, particularly Ray's.

"Also, Ray, isn't Bright with you?" Beryl asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

Ray's face gained a smirk. "I snuck out. He asked me to stay inside while he is at work, but..." A snicker. "I did it anyway!! Because I wanted it!!"

"Whoa, looks like we got a rebel over here." Morgan said mockingly. "Next, you're gonna stay outside past your curfew. Slow down, I'm not sure the world is ready for you."

"Ha! The world will never be ready!"

Eclair almost threw the two plates with food on their table, making a loud clattering noise, startling Ray and causing them to shrink back.

"Here's your order. Hope you enjoy it." Eclair said in the most deadpan voice she could muster, her mouth twitching. She was obviously trying to hold back the urge to punch Ray. Morgan just saw the irritation drip off her face. It was a miracle Eclair was actually able to control her violent impulses.

"But... where is my food...?" Ray asked meekly, turning to Beryl as if she had the answers. The other girl didn't reply and was too busy with shoving the food into her face like a hungry dog, earning a disgusted look from Ray. "Where are your manners!? Oh, of course you do not have any, Terre."

"Well." Morgan gave Eclair a little wave as she walked away. "You didn't order anything, or paid for anything, so you are not getting anything. Sad to say, but that's how the world works."

Ray didn't reply. They just looked at the floor, fumbling with their hands.

"It’s okay, Ray! You can have some of mine! Friends should share, after all." Beryl offered them a handful of french fries. "Want some?"

"As if I would ever eat anything you touched, Terre. I know what you have eaten."

Beryl looked at Morgan, who gave her an uninterested shrug while emptying a bottle of sauce on her burger. Beryl gave a shrug of her own before digging back into a her food. "More for me then!"

----

His mouth twitched as he saw that girl behind the counter. He didn't know her name from memory but he knew her face, at least, since she was one of the few workers here. He never liked her. She always seemed so... pissed off. It made him feel irritated just by being around her.

Smoky strolled over to her anyway, setting his elbow on the counter with a smile and making his order. He had done this so many times before. He knew everyone's fave food from the top of his head. The girl gave him an odd look and wrote it down.

She always gave him that look. Was it because of his appearance? Well, Smoky did try to cover up his more inhuman features the best he could. It was quite easy, some gloves for his hands and a bandage to cover his left eye, along with his own pair of trustworthy shades. All set, all done! Nobody will suspect you're part darkness, hopefully.

After he got his order all packed up, Smoky let out a sigh. He touched the bottle of Dark Ink in his pocket. He probably should do the thing. What a drag.

He looked at the girl behind the counter again. Probably a bad idea to try it on her, definitely not Aaron, so... that left the other girl.

Ah, and there she was, passing him while holding some empty plates.

In a swift motion, Smoky let a drop of Dark Ink fall into the blonde girl's shadow and then dragged it out with relative ease. He averted his eyes at the part where it swallowed her. Gross.

Oh! He almost forgot to say the phrase!

Smoky proceeded to remove the gloves and the bandage (still keeping his shades on though), letting the smoke release from his eye and hands. Flashing a grin, he summoned his guitar and started playing a loud song on it, singing away. Better make the best of it, right?

"Unbound! Overshadow your light and dim your hooooooooooope~!"

Strumming his guitar some more as the Unbound manifested behind him, Smoky did a quick hand wave to summon a horde of Poofs, his own minions. Their cheers started filling the diner as smoke and dust clouded the area.

"It's showtime!"

----

"Another one!?" Morgan already had her Seaborn Charm ready. "God, so annoying. Time to make them shut up!"

"But... our food?"

"Damn it, Beryl! Just when I'm ready to fight alongside you, you're giving me more reasons to-"

"Okay, let's go!" Beryl interrupted and held out her Earthbound Charm.

As Ray stepped back in fear, Morgan and Beryl turned their eggs. "Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" In less than a second, Cure Splash and Cure Terra jumped out of the barriers of water and rock.

"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!"

"The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"

The boy stopped playing abruptly, letting out a gasp. "The Pretty Cures were right here!? I didn't even notice! Talk about lucky... or unlucky!"

Splash instantly charged at the Unbound, which was holding two large spatulas. Her speed made her easily avoid the creature's swipes at her, as she released a few more tendrils of water, trying to bring the Unbound down.

Meanwhile, Terra made sure everyone was away from the danger. She turned her attention to the small minions. These ones looked like they had bombs for heads, but they did still have a face and a (loud) mouth.

Only managing to make one rock gauntlet this time, Terra used it to smash one of the minions in the face. It started making a beeping noise and jumped back to her, exploding. The impact send her flying against the counter.

"Are you okay?" Terra felt a rush of panic as she saw Hanan towering over her. The girl offered her a hand and helped her back up with a warm smile. "Go help Morgan defeat that monster. You two are the only ones who can."

"R-Right!" The green Cure obeyed and snapped her attention back to the Unbound and her fellow Cure.

----

In the midsts of the panic and smoke, Hanan kept firm. Her intense glare looking from Eclair's subconscious form floating inside the giant monster to the redhead, still playing his guitar, who had been responsible for that.

She clenched her fist.

As she reached him, she roughly grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him close.

"Turn her back. Now." Hanan spat into his face.

Smoky let out a shaky chuckle. "Hey there, now. No need to be so violent, I'm just doing my job, you know?"

"Let her go."

"Can't do that, I'm afraid." Smoky held up his hands with a smooth smile. "To tell you a secret, I don't even know how. I mean, I'm sure this, uh... Unbound rampaging around is collecting darkness, somehow. But don't ask me the details. I'm all but a simple, low-ranking, underpaid worker." A fake cough and a chuckle. "Very underpaid, actually."

Hanan's reply was punching him in the guts so hard he let out a stained cough of smoke into her face. Before Hanan could do anything else, she was tackled by dozen of bomb-headed minions, as Smoky retreated back into the smoke.

"Now, let me continue my debut concert!"

The sound of his guitar echoed through the area, almost completely engulfed into smoke. Then, a glow expended from the center. Smoky grinned at the two Cures with a confident grin.

"Cure Splash, Cure Terra! Welcome to the show!" He cried out, watching the two fight their way through the minions, while evading the Unbound's swats at them. "I am Smoky, the star for tonight!" He adjusted his shades with his free hand. "These buddies are called Poofs! They'll be my backup! Alongside this Unbound! Let's just try to enjoy ourselves, 'kay?"

"Shut up!"

Smoky just managed to avoid a stream of water being shot his way. Smoke flowed out of his hands as he clutched his guitar.

"Tough crowd, it seems." He commented with a chuckle. "Ahem. This first song goes out to both Hail and Bronze! You know, my friends who you beat up." His cheery voice turned stone cold. "You will pay for that."

"They were hurting people, and we won't stand for that!" The green Cure summoned pillars of rock with a stomp of her foot, sending some of the minions in the air.

"Wait, he's gonna sing?" Splash asked, eyebrow raised. "Gotta finish this quick!"

"Pretty Cure Earth Smash!"
"Pretty Cure Hydro Flood!"

At the same time Terra slammed her hammer down on the Unbound, Splash unleashed a huge wave, accidentally dragging Terra along with it. The Unbound stumbled over, but got back up in less than a minute.

"S-Splaaaaassshhh!!" Terra cried as she was washed out of the diner, her arms flailing in the air as she called for her comrade's aid.

Splash clicked her tongue and snapped her attention back to the Unbound.

"Damn it, Terra. Stop being so useless! I said I was gonna do it!" She hissed to herself, slamming herself into the Unbound's leg, followed by a powerful kick. This time, the Unbound managed to hit her. It used its two spatulas, slamming them together with Splash in the middle.

She felt the air being pressed out of her lungs. The smoke nor the loud, obnoxious song the boy was playing, were helping to make the situation better.

"Splash, you're like a sandwich!" Terra breathed as she stumbled back in, waving the smoke away with her hands. "A splashwich!" She fumbled with the flowers in her hair. "I'm sorry, that was bad."

Terra took a deep breath, before charging at the Unbound.

"I'll save you before you go 'splash'!"

----

Hanan used a chair to keep the bomb-headed minions away from her. To her surprise it worked surprisingly well, as they started becoming afraid of getting close to her and instead retreated back into the clouds of smoke.

Through the thick clouds she could see a somewhat glowing form, which she quickly approached.

Oh, there they were, cowering under the table. Like a small, terrified mouse.

For a split second, Hanan felt oddly satisfied at the sight. A pang of guilt snapped her out of it.

The blond finally noticed her, looking up. "Ignis...?" Their eyes widened and they clenched their right hand tightly.

Hanan knelt down and offered a hand, wearing a soft smile. "I know this is a bad time, but I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet. I'm Ha-"

"I know who you are! And I know what you have done, Ignis!"

Hanan's eye twitched. Quite a stubborn kid, they were.

"My name is Hanan." Her features softened as she inched closer, causing the blond to crawl back until their back was against the wall. "What is yours?"

"Stay there!" They spat. "My name is Radiant Lumiere, the light-" They stopped mid-sentence. "Ray! It is Ray! My name is Ray!"

A smile found its way on Hanan's face. "A ray of light, aren't you?"

Ray's face lit up, literally. "Yes!"

A choir of painful screams made the two look up, while Ray only saw two glowing white eyes, Hanan saw three figures. The monster was using its big spatulas like tennis rackets and slamming the two Cures against the wall next to Hanan and Ray like they were mere tennis balls.

"Get off of me!" Morga- No, Cure Splash breathed as she pushed the green Cure off her. "If you hadn't used your attack earlier, then we could have defeated it already."

The two of them seemed hurt and tired. Out of breath, light bruises adorning their skin, their hair messy.

Hanan couldn't stand seeing it. She just... couldn't stand this. She wanted to help, to take away their pain. Somehow.

Behind her, Ray made an odd little noise. "Since Unda and Terre are too weak..." They pointed at the Unbound, expression fierce. "Ignis, I command you to transform and banish this tainted being!"

"Um... what?" Hanan cocked her head. "I can't transform..."

"If Unda and Terre can transform... I am pretty sure you can too..." Ray replied reluctantly. "Right?"

Hanan's eyes flickered to the Unbound advancing towards them, or rather, Eclair's sleeping form still floating inside of it.

Hanan balled her fists, and then proceeded to do the stupidest thing she had ever done.

"Allow me to show you what happens when you mess with my friends!" She shouted at the Unbound, spreading her arms, in a fleeting moment of confidence, and maybe arrogance, she grinned at the monster. Her mind screaming at her impulsiveness and plain stupidity. She had no idea what she could even do against the towering monster.

With a roar, it swatted one spatula down at her and Hanan held her hands in a X in front of her, hoping to shield herself from a swat that should have ended her. Instead she found herself in an almost overwhelmingly heated barrier of fire. Her vision started to blur, so she forced her eyes shut.

Every nerve of her body was screaming, burning. She felt like she was going to burst.

Carefully opening one eye, she saw a small egg float in front of her. Majestic red and orange flames patterns on it. She reached out to grab it.

She was ready to fight.

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!"

Hanan took a deep breath and closed her eyes as flames erupted from the egg in her palm, engulfing her in a warm light. Her hair flared in a bright orange and grew longer, like wildfire. Some of her hair was tied into a ponytail by a red ribbon. Along with her hair, real flames lit up from her head as well. With embers flickering on her hands, Hanan slid them over her body, causing the fire to burst and create a new outfit. It was red and orange, with transparent sleeves, an orange skirt, and a belt and boots seemingly made of charcoal. More flames erupted from her eyes, however she didn't feel any pain as they turned into a fiery red. From the fire, the egg appeared again, and Hanan instantly grabbed it and brought it to her chest, creating a heart emblem. Hanan wiggled her hips to shake of the leftover flames and emerged from the cocoon of fire in her new form.

With a smirk she raised one hand close to her face and spread the other out, releasing a trail of crimson fire, which spiraled around her.

"The heart that burns with the warm flames, Cure Ember!"

"F-Fire!?" Terra clutched Splash's arm tightly, trying to hide behind the shorter Cure. She could hear Ray murmur something too.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Splash groaned, struggling to get back up. Using her attack so early, the smoke, and being swatted around like a tennis ball had really tired her out.

From the smirk, Ember realised her teeth had sharpened as well. "Ow, bit my tongue..." She murmured, before turning her attention back to the Unbound. This wasn't the time to be excited...

Cure Ember looked up to the Unbound, locking her flaring red eyes into the Unbound's white ones.

"Bring it on." She said as she spread out her arms with a sneer. "Provide me a challenge."

She didn't even give the Unbound time to react, and instead she leaped up, into the cloud of smoke with her fist at the ready.

Ember was still getting used to her heightened strength, but... this felt oddly satisfying. A good way to release that inner anger. Unexplainable anger and frustration that had been buried deep inside of her, for so long. That she had tried so hard to hide and suppress for almost her entire life, with varying degrees of success.

She jumped from spatula to spatula, landing more kicks or punches whenever she had the chance to get close to the Unbound's chest. No matter how hard she tried, the bars keeping Eclair inside wouldn't budge.

Each unsucessful hit caused Ember to become more and more frustrated.

"I'm... getting you out of there, Eclair. Just... hold on!"

Without realising it, Ember's fingertips began to glow and soon her entire fist was wrapped in flames.

As she punched the Unbound just above the bar, and it started to fall over... she noticed it, in the corner of her vision.

The monster's eye color had changed. From a haunting white to a more maroon-esque color. It was quick, subtle, and probably went unnoticed by most.

After landing gracefully, Ember closed her eyes and slowly moved her hands around, as if trying to emulate the movement of flames, the flames coming from her hair grew. "Pretty Cure!" She opened her eyes, revealing them to be literally aflame. "Scorch Wrap!"

With a twirl of her hand, Ember wrapped the Unbound in a rope of flames. She turned her back to the monster as it was consumed in blazing fire.

Placing a hand on her chest, Ember exhaled a tiny puff of smoke, then quickly dashed forward to catch Eclair's sleeping form in her arms, bending on one knee to do so. After a quick look, Ember concluded she was unhurt.

Thank goodness. There would have been hell to pay if she wasn't.

At that moment, the music stopped, and the smoke started to dissolve.

Smoky stepped into view, the remaining smoke circling around him.

"I guess that's all for today, guys. No encore I'm afraid."

The Poofs all made whiny noises. Smoky silenced them with a short wave, dismissing his guitar and holding up his bag of food that one of the Poofs had handed to him.

"We got some food and some darkness to make the brat happy, for at least a short while." He laughed to his minions as he summoned a portal, quickly waving to Ember before jumping in. "Till next time, Cure Ember. It looked like you had a blast!"

As the portal disappeared, the smoke dissolved along with it.

"Have to admit... that was not bad, actually." Splash nudged Ember, who was still holding Eclair's sleeping form, in the side with a smile. A rare display. "You're more capable than this idiot over here."

Terra, on the other hand, looked absolutely horrified. Her hands folded together near her chest, her eyes wide and her form shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Seeing the girl's intense fear gave Ember an odd feeling. She felt... guilty?

"Um... Beryl, right?" Terra flinched at Ember turning her attention to her. "Are you okay? Can I do anything to-"

"N-No! It's fine, Hanna! It's not your fault! It's just... ehm..."

Splash crossed her arms. "She's afraid of fire." She said with a blunt tone.

Ember made eye-contact with the green Cure for a moment. The right side of her face stood out, because of the scar around her right eye and her right eye being a different color than her left one. It was a bit jarring, for some reason.

"You're..." Ember started, breaking eye-contact at last. "Did I scare you?"

The green Cure was looking at her like she was a freak, a brute, a monster.

A familiar feeling, which caused Ember to grit her teeth. "I did, didn't I...?"

"A little..." That was a lie. Both of them knew that.

Now that she thought about it, it only seemed fitting that she got fire powers... but the heat was starting to catch up to her.

Ember gently kneeled down as Eclair started to regain consciousness, in less than ten seconds she was back to the world.

"Holy shit! Who are you!?" She cried out and started kicking and squirming like a trapped animal. "What are you doing? Put me down, you creep!"

"W-Wait, Eclair! It's me, Hanan!" Ember protested but got kicked in the face causing her drop Eclair. "Sorry!"

Eclair pushed herself back up. "Hanan? Hm." She squinted her eyes, then turned to Splash. "Well, if you're Morgan, then..." And back to Ember, again. "You being Hanan isn't that strange, I guess."

Ember placed her hands on her hips with a grin. "Who else would want to save you?"

"Obviously you do, nerd."

"Such a charming princess, you are!" Ember laughed as Eclair lightly smacked her shoulder.

"You became a magical girl, of all things?" Eclair snorted. "I expected you to be like a different kind of a hero, actually."

Ember pouted. "I am quite disappointed in the lack of a cool suit and helmet, motorcycles, and big robot fights..."

----

"Hey, guuuuyyyss! Look what I've got!"

As Smoky stepped back into the base, he was severely disappointed at seeing that everyone was in the room, including Shade. He was pacing in the room, his arms folded behind his back.

Smoky decided it'll be for the best to leave the little detail about another Cure appearing to himself. At least until Shade was gone.

"You brought food!?" Shade gasped as he slithered to Smoky, grabbing the kid's meal. "Ah yes, just what I wanted! You know me well~!"

"That's for Aeris." Smoky said bluntly, taking the kid's meal back. "You don't even need to eat, right?"

Shade gasped loudly, clearly offended. "I do!! How can you be so insensitive and forget that!?" He whined, stomping his foot down as his shadow started manifesting behind him.

Nobody said anything, not wanting to get in the way of his whining and be subjected to the boy's wrath. Or, more specifically, his shadow.

"You should start appreciating what I did and am still doing for you guys!"

Reluctantly, Hail opened his mouth to say something but his words got drowned out by Shade's yelling. On the other side of the room, Aeris covered her ears.

"I thought you were my friends! Guess I was wrong." And with that Shade left the room, grumbling to himself as his shadow followed behind him.

Bronze let out a quick laugh when Shade was out of earshot. "He still thinks we're his friends."

"He needs to chill." Hail grumbled, raising the volume of the TV with the remote in his hand. "I can't even watch anything when he's here."

Smoky set the food down on a table in front of the TV and everyone started grabbing their share. "You're eating those chicken nuggets naked!?" He asked Aeris, who was munching on some chicken nuggets without dipping it into sauce. "Now that is a true crime."

She gave him a defeated look. "But... I like them like this... "

"So, what do you guys want to watch while we eat?" Hail asked, fumbling with his own food in one hand and holding the remote with the other.

"The news! A new Cure appeared!" Smoky exclaimed. "Maybe you can see my debut concert!"

"WHAT!?" Bronze cried out, almost dropping her burger. Next to her, Aeris pressed her hands on her ears again. "Another Cure?" She said, softer his time.

Smoky landed on the couch, kicking his feet up as he started eating his hamburger. "Yup, she's pretty strong too."

"You didn't try to... eliminate her?" Bronze asked.

"Oh no, she would have kicked my ass! She didn't even need the other two's help to defeat the Unbound. Pretty impressive, right?"

Elegy crossed her arms, giving Smoky a questioning look.

"Look, I don't care about them being there, to be honest. I just don't want any of you guys getting hurt. So let's just not try to directly fight them, I guess?" Smoky replied with a shrug. "If Shade wants them gone so badly, he should do it himself. Since he's so 'strong and powerful'."

"These Pretty Cures..." Aeris spoke softly, clutching her own burger. "They seem scary..."

Smoky gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Oh, you are the last person to be worried about them." He reassured her and his expression softened. "Anyway, Aaron was doing well."

Aeris blinked then a timid, little smile appeared on her face. The sadness was still evident in her eyes, though.

"I'm glad."

Chapter Text

A car drove into the garage of a high-end house. It was certainly unmistakable, not only because it was huge (too huge for just the two people living there) but especially because of the leftover Christmas lights that were still adorning the walls, windows, and roof of the house. At least the outside. He just hadn't gotten the time, or motivation, to remove them lately.

He stepped out of the car, taking a deep breath to take in the fresh afternoon breeze.

With a dramatic swipe, he flipped his hair as the wind made his long, curly locks dance. Sadly, nobody was here to admire it, aside from himself. But that was okay.

He suppressed the urge to set out his feathers. He wanted to show them to the world but... The people of Earth weren't that keen on "odd" (in their words, not his!) sights like that.

Locking the garage behind him, Bright blinked in surprise to see the door of the house being wide open. It filled him with an uneasy feeling.

----

Episode 5: Luminous Afterglow: Goodbye Loneliness

----

After what happened only a couple of hours ago, it was decided that the diner would be closed for the rest of the day. It didn't help that people were already swarming around the diner like it was unwrapped candy.

Aaron was definitely getting uncomfortable from the attention he was getting. People were asking him question about what had happened while he was trying to close the diner. Eclair, on the other hand, mostly hissed and spat at potential paparazzi while Hanan politely declined questions.

Just outside the diner, people were also surrounding Morgan and Beryl, while Ray awkwardly stood on the sidelines. Morgan had pulled her hoodie over her head and ignored all questions while Beryl happily accepted pictures, even transforming into Cure Terra again to do so.

Ray watched this go on for quite some time. The people circling around them, praising them and admiring them like they were porcelain dolls.

They remembered being like that too once. Being the subject of admiration, to an almost intimidating degree.

It made them feel somewhat nostalgic, in a way.

----

She hummed a soft tune as she sat under a gazebo in the castle's garden. A leather bound book laid open in front of her. She was armed with a single quill, which hovered aimlessly over the blank sheet of paper.

She tapped her quill on the table, trying to think of the correct words to use.

Getting a little frustrated, she frowned and started rereading some of the earlier pages, a smile replacing the frown on her face as she did so.

"Lady Radiant Lumiere, it is great to see you again. You are as radiantly beautiful as ever." A voice called out, drawing her attention away from the book. She closed it as soon as she could, not wanting others to see what was written inside. She clutched the book to her chest.

A handful of knights stood in front of her, all of them kneeling ceremoniously. Their white and golden armor looked dirty, their hair was messy and some even had wounds and scratches on them.

"We apologize to present ourselves like this to you, Lady Radiant Lumiere. You wouldn't happen to know where Miss Lucille is, would you? We brought her the herbs she asked for." The tallest knight said calmly. He had probably said his name before, but she couldn't remember.

She had wanted to but... admittedly, she had given up trying so hard to remember the names of people who would eventually vanish from her life anyway.

But then again, she wasn't supposed to remember. To her, he was just a knight. One of hundreds.

That's what Mother says. And Mother knows best.

"She told me she was going to her room." She answered, rubbing the cover of the book absentmindedly.

"Thank you, and sorry if we disturbed you." The tallest knight bowed again, then said something to the other men, after a couple of nods only he entered the castle, leaving the others knights behind in the garden.

The shortest knight approached her, flipping his blond ponytail. He was the same one who had greeted her earlier. "The land outside Lumo is treacherous and full of danger, but I tried my hardest to bring back a small gift fitting for your beauty." Flashing a confident smirk, he revealed a bouquet of colorful flowers from his cape. She had seen those flowers before, but didn't know their names.

He handed her the bouquet and then reached for her hand. She flinched, stood up, and took a step backwards, almost tripping over her long dress as the flowers and book dropped to the ground.

Another knight elbowed him in the side, as a warning. She actually did know who this was. Lucillle's son, Bright, who had become a knight pretty recently. To say he looked nervous, and a bit out of place, was quite an understatement.

"H-Hey! We aren't allowed to touch-"

"Do not fret so much, rookie." The blond knight chuckled, then turned back to her, bowing deeply as he returned the fallen book and bouquet. "My apologies. I got so distracted by your beauty that I forgot. I do hope you appreciate my gift. It was quite a struggle to get."

"You're such a sleazeball!" Another knight called with a laugh and smacked the shorter knight's shoulder as he and the other knights bid their farewells and left the garden.

Bright was the only one who stayed behind.

His blue eyes focused on the cobblestones he was standing on. Slowly, he raised a hand to his forehead before poofing back into his peacock form.

She could hear the other knights chortle at this from the distance.

He gasped. "Oh goodness... I am so sorry! I shouldn't have changed back in front of you, please... forgive me. It is very hard to keep my human form. The trip we made to get those herbs was..." He stopped and shuddered at the memory. She was glad she didn't know.

She smiled, the bouquet and book still in her hands. "Do not worry. You are off-duty now, right?" She fumbled with the flowers a bit. "You are just as pretty as Lucille."

"Of course, the beauty of the Von Everglow family goes unrivaled by none!" Sounding more confident, if not outright prideful, Bright slapped a wing on his chest, proudly showing his golden brooch as he set up his rainbow-colored plumage. He gasped again, shrinking back a bit. "E-Except Lady Lumina and yo-!"

She held up a hand, silencing him instantly.

"Lucille never stops talking about you. She is really proud."

A smile formed on the peacock's face. "I am happy to hear that." He then motioned to the bouquet in her hands. "Oh, allow me to place them in a vase in your room."

She handed him the bouquet and then returned to her seat underneath the gazebo, opening the book once again.

"Ah, you are writing something? Poetry?" Bright asked.

"I just cannot seem to get my thoughts on paper." She grabbed the quill in her hand again, frowning. "A poem...?" She leaned back, looking up. "That is a good idea!"

"Wait!" Bright set up his tail feathers, plucking one of them with his wing, drawing a small wince, and placing them next to her lap. "Use one of mine! I am sure the luck of a true Von Everglow feather will inspire you!"

Somewhat reluctantly she accepted the feather. The seven colors of the rainbow shining brightly in the sun's glow.

"Thank you, Sir Brightly."

----

Something dragged their mind back to Earth.

"Earth to Ray! Heeellloooo?" They heard a voice say, followed by a snicker. "Literally! Because I'm earth!"

"Shut up, Beryl." Another voice groaned.

They blinked a couple of times, each blink bringing them further back.

"Are you okay?"

Then they felt a certain warmth on their shoulder. They looked up and saw Hanan, resting her hand on their shoulder. They gasped for breath. It was no direct touch because of their shirt but... the warmth. The unnatural warmth Hanan's hand was emitting made them tense up.

"Hands off! Hands off!" With a cry they slapped her arm away. "How dare you!? How dare you!?"

"You're repeating yourself." That was Morgan's voice, a bit behind them.

They held up their hand, hoping to silence to others. It didn't work.

Taking in a breath, they looked up to take in their surroundings. They were still near the diner but the people seemed to have left. The three Ti- Cures flocked around Ray with varying expressions, ranging from indifference to worry.

"You don't look so well." Hanan, in different clothing now, grabbed something from her bag. "Want some water?"

"I want to go home... where is Bright?" They asked, tears forming in their eyes. "Bring me to him, at once! I demand you-!"

"Whoah, slow down, princess." Ray shot Morgan a dark glare at that comment.

Ray's heart stopped as they felt themself being pulled in a very tight embrace. The air waspressed out of their lungs as they almost felt like flickering.

no touching no touching no touching tainted tainted tainted tainted t a i n t ed

Beryl nuzzled her nose into Ray's golden hair. "You smell so weird, Ray! Like a candle, or something." She tightened her grip. "But, please, don't cry! We're here to help you..."

In a rare display of power, Ray pushed Beryl off of them with a loud scream. They made an odd little twirl while trying to not trip over their own feet. A tiny sheet of paper fell out of their pocket.

"How dare you!? I knew it! I knew it! Waiting till my guard was down so you could taint me! My Mother will make sure you are ban-" They stopped mid-sentence then turned away, gripping their right hand tightly.

Beryl backed off, holding her hands in the air. Her lips pressed together in a thin line as her eyes went from Hanan to Morgan. Nobody was sure what to do or say.

----

The dark-haired girl groaned. Morgan couldn't believe she was doing this, and yet, here she was, calling the number that was on the sheet of paper that had fallen out of Ray's pocket.

Ray genuinely had no idea what the numbers meant but Morgan and Beryl presumed the number on it was Bright's.

Hopefully it was. He probably knew better how to handle Ray, and their fit, than they did.

That, and Hanan was very eager to meet him, ("Makeen and Wasim adore him and his work! And have you seen him? He's very handsome!") but the 'magical peacock' part made her raise an eyebrow.

"And...? Is he picking up?" Beryl asked, pressing her cheek against the phone Morgan was holding to her ear. Morgan gave her a light kick near her feet to get her to back off, earning a scolding look from Hanan.

Ray had seated themself on a nearby bench, still sobbing and wiping the remaining tears with their sleeves. They hissed like a feral cat every time any of the girls tried to come close and comfort them.

"I can't believe they don't even know where their own house is." Morgan said, phone still pressed against her ear.

Beryl waved her hands with a laugh. "Oh, I got lost all the time when I first moved here."

----

Bright ran around the living room, urgently trying to follow the sound of his phone's ringtone. The one time he didn't have it in his pocket...

After a couple more rings, he found it in his coat and hastily picked up.

"Hello, you're speak-" He started but a rough voice interrupted him almost instantly.

[Hey, come pick up your kid. They're crying.]

Bright's eyes widened and he had to focus to not turn back into his peacock form right there. "W-What!?"

[Don't worry, Mr. Bright! We will bring them back home!] Bright could just hear the smile in Beryl's voice. It actually made him feel a bit more relieved.

Ray wasn't alone. And never will be again.

[No, we won't.] That was Morgan again. Obviously.

[Yes, we will!] Beryl, again.

[Guys, please...] A third voice Bright didn't recognise.

As the voices continued arguing, Bright stroked his chin thoughtfully. That actually would be a good way for Ray to get some proper interaction, and maybe become more comfortable around these girls.

"How about I give you my address and you can come over here?" He suggested. "You can stay over for dinner as thanks too, if you'd like. How does that sound?"

He heard Beryl's gasp loudly. "Dinner!? Did he say 'dinner', Morgan!?"

Bright smiled. "I take that as a yes? Here, I'll tell you my address..."

----

The wait for the bus was long and tedious.

"Where even is that?" Beryl squinted her eyes at the piece of paper where Morgan had written down the address Bright had told them.

"That's quite a distance from here." Hanan concluded, rubbing the bridge of her nose. The headache she had since her transformation was growing almost unbearable now. "By bus I'd say it's roughly an hour?"

How did Ray even manage to walk all the way from there to the dinner? That's what Hanan was wondering.

Morgan leaned against the pole and impatiently tapped her foot on the ground while Beryl and Ray sat on the seatings. Ray being on the very edge of the seat to get as much distance between themself and Beryl as possible.

"Soo..." Hanan was glad when Beryl finally spoke up to break the silence. "Is Bright, like, your dad?"

Ray slowly looked up at her and shook their head.

"No. He is a knight and my current guardian. I do not have a father, I have my mother." They said, their eyes still staring at something in the distance. "Or... I had my mother."

Hanan gave them a somber look. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear that."

"I do not know which one of you was responsible for her..." Ray paused, drawing in a breath before uttering a word alien to them. "Death..."

Another silence fell. The three girls exchanged glances. Neither of them was really sure what to say. Hanan tried to say something but it only came out as a very uneasy laugh. The others had told her about the situation, but... she, admittedly, didn't really believe the entirety of it.

Other worlds? Magic? She could get behind that. She has seen Pretty Cure on Scrapbook before. It's not impossible.

But the whole "You are actually a defeated God, somehow" thing. That was the part she had trouble with.

"But, in the end, it was all my fault." Ray continued, looking down in shame. "She is the one who taught me everything I know. She raised me, took care of me, protected me..."

----

"Radiant Lumiere, my beautiful daughter! There you are!"

The sound of her name made her look up from her journal. Just in time to see an older woman walk over to her. Her beautiful form was almost a perfect mirror image to hers, with a matching white and pink-colored dress and golden hair.

"My daughter, I was looking all over for you."

"Mother?" She spoke, closing the journal firmly. Mother shouldn't see its contents. "Is something the matter?"

Mother placed a firm arm on her shoulder. "You have been outside for long enough today, do you not agree?" A soft smile. "I do not want you to get sick."

Clutching the journal to her chest, she let herself be guided back to the castle by her mother's soft, warm hands.

"I love you so much, my daughter."

----

Ray was rubbing their right hand before tightly embracing themself. Both Hanan and Beryl's hands were slapped away when they tried to comfort them.

"Do not touch me!" They cried out. "Do not!"

Just as they looked like they were about to cry again, Beryl got one of the dozen of flowers stuck in her hair and placed it on Ray's hair. They looked up in surprise but didn't attempt to remove the flower.

"An orchid stands for love and beauty... I think. I think it matches your outfit!" Beryl said with a grin. "And you are very pretty, Ray. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

Morgan made a gagging noise in the background.

Carefully Ray touched the flower, their expression more confused than anything. Then, in less than a second they ripped the flower out and threw it on the ground before trampling it.

"No, no, no, no!" They cried out. "Do not place your filthy flowers in my hair, Terre! And what are we doing here? You were supposed to bring me to Bright!" A pout. "You three cannot even follow simple commands." The others exchanged more glances.

"Commands?"

Placing their hands on their hips, Ray flashed a prideful smirk. "Yes! I am the who who tamed you! So does it not seem natural that you guys serve me now?" Truthfully they had only come to this conclusion a couple of minutes ago. But it seemed logical, right? Someone needed to make sure the Titans wouldn't hurt others, and Ray found themself to be the perfect candidate for that.

Morgan suddenly started laughing, her arms folded over her stomach as she didn't even to try stop her booming laughter.

"You..." She began, out of breath. "You are so dumb!"

Ray pouted again, puffing their cheeks and stomping their foot down. "Fine! I will go back myself! Because I am independent and do not need the help of anyone!"

With a "hmph!" they turned around and waltzed right into the traffic. Someone pulled them back by the collar before any of the cars could hit them.

"Why did you do that!?" Hanan gasped, letting them go as soon as she saw Ray's glare. "I'm sorry for my roughness, but you could have gotten seriously hurt!"

"Oh, it is all right."

"Not if you're dead!" Morgan chimed in, throwing her hands in the air before returning them to their faithful place in the pockets of her hoodie.

Again, Ray walked onto the traffic, a quicker pace this time. Hanan tried to reach out to them but couldn't because of all the incoming cars blocking her way.

As Ray paced through the middle of the street, some cars stopped in front of them with shrieking tires in an attempt to not hit them. Most of them starting screaming at the confused blond.

"What are you doing, kid!? Are you blind!?"

"Excuse you?" Ray replied, puffing out their chest. "I am Radiant Lumiere, and I have right of way!" They sighed. "I assume you were not aware of that since you are but a mere, unknowing native on this planet and thus completely in the dark of my supremacy. Allow me to tell you that I am the light of hope that-"

"I can't believe this..." Morgan groaned as she watched the scene with a bored expression. Hanan was still trying to get through the cars to reach them. Beryl did the, to her, most logical thing and just jumped on the car, leaping from car to car until they landed in front of Ray.

"I can't believe this." Morgan repeated, more firmly this time, while Hanan watched the scene wide-eyed, and flabbergasted. Worry was smeared all over her face.

Now even more drivers started to yell their complains at them.

"Are you insane!?"

"Get out of here! I'm in a hurry!"

"This is why I don't like cars." Beryl muttered, displaying a very rare frown on her face.

She gently pulled Ray back to the side by their sleeve. Surprisingly, Ray didn't protest too much. They were too confused, or shocked, to do anything.

"Even I know that you can't just cross the street like that." Beryl scolded them. "Very dangerous...." She stopped. "Oh." A thoughtful frown. "Wait... does your homeworld even have cars?"

Ray glared back at her. "I do not need you to tell me what I can and cannot do!" They made another "hmph" sound before turning around and running away, Beryl immediately giving chase.

"Wait!"

----

Ignoring the calls of Beryl, and later Hanan, Ray pushed themself through all the people walking on the street, as they were desperately trying to get away. They just moved their legs and hoped they would eventually lose their followers.

Everything started to blur as their breathing started to quickening. They couldn't even see the streets anymore.

They decided to duck into a small alley to catch their breath and recollect themself before they would drop dead from exhaustion. They pressed themself against the wall and slowly sliding away.

Just now had they realised how dark it suddenly had become. It was like they were... in a cave? They hurried to the most nearby light source.

And it was like they had stepped in a totally different world.

Their eyes widened as they saw a tall wall. Nothing too spectacular, right? But the wonderful images and colors splashed onto said wall, that was what made them drop their jaw.

They couldn't exactly read the words on the wall due the odd way the letters looked, but their eyes were focused on the image of a big, light pink rose.

----

And here she sat, in a place deep within a forest, only lit by the countless (literally, as she had tried) fireflies. Her eyes wandered to a lone, light pink rose that had sprouted from the ground near her.

She was sitting down with her back against a tree, not caring about her dress getting dirty, and quietly caressing the soft petals of the rose with her equally soft fingers.

"I will wait a little longer."

----

"You like what you see?" Once again, they were dragged back to earth by a voice. A new one, this time.

Standing not too far away from them was a boy, clad almost entirely in black (already suspicious, Ray noted), blond hair, and holding two spray cans in his hands. He looked at them like he had been caught doing something bad.

Sure, he looked suspicious but he didn't feel suspicious. No trace of darkness was to be found around him. In fact, they could barely feel anything.

Ray was still on edge, though.

"Uh... hi?" The boy said, breaking eye contact almost instantly.

They didn't reply, instead, their eyes trailed back to the rose.

"You seem to like my rose really well." A hint of pride was hidden in the boy's voice. "But, I was thinking that it looks a bit out of place?"

Ray was still staring at the rose. "That... is exactly what attracts me to it." They placed a hand on their chest with a serene smile. "It catches my attention because it is different."

Feeling more at ease at the nostalgic feelings, Ray turned their smile to the boy. "I love it!"

"Thanks."

Ray let out a gasp, remembering something. "This flower in full bloom. So I can make a wish!! Lucille said so!!" They blurted out as the boy gave them a confused glance. They had taken care of this exact same type of flower back home but never got the chance to wish.

It had been too late when the flower had fully bloomed.

"So, what is your wish?" The boy asked, shaking one of his spraying cans.

Furiously, Ray shook their head. "No... ! That is a secret!" They clapped their hands together and closed their eyes, ready to make their wish. But, they quickly realised that there was no way their wish could come true.

Not after what had happened.

"Eh... I don't think I've ever seen you here before?" The boy said, trying to lead the conversation into a different direction as soon as he noticed Ray's defeating look. "My name is Clyde, what's yours?"

"... Ray." They replied as they grabbed their right hand tightly. "Ray. I am Ray."

Clyde laughed, his initial tension easing. "You know, Ray? You've inspired me. If that doesn't sound weird."

"... Me?"

"Yeah, I dunno." Clyde paused, rubbing the back of his head. "You almost seemed to..." He stopped again, trying to get the right word. "Glow just now. Your smile was so radiant!"

----

"Your smile is so... radiant." A soft laugh. "How fitting, right?"

----

Blinking back to reality again, Ray noticed Clyde holding a rather worn-out sketchbook. He leaned against a nearby wall and wrote something on it.

They reluctantly walked over to Clyde, trying to see what he was writing in his sketchbook.

"Ah, scribbles!" Ray said with a smile, feeling better almost instantly. "Oh! Oh! Is this secret code!? I love secret codes!"

Clyde laughed again. "No secret code, really. It says 'radiant'. Do you think it would fit better above or next to the rose?"

Ray gasped. "You are going to write my name on the wall!?" A grin formed on their face. "Then everyone in this world can know my brilliance!! And my heroic deeds!"

At that, Clyde's gaze shifted away from them. He seemed quite confused.

"I suppose?" He said. "Heroic deeds?"

"Yes!" They said, puffing their chest out. "I defeated the Four Titans of Disaster... and..." They trailed off, their heart sinking. "... I failed..."

Clyde staggered towards them. A slight frown on his pale face. "Um, you okay with telling me what is occupying your mind? If something is bothering you, you sh-"

His voice got washed out by vivid memories.

----

"I will not let them... do this..." She said, tears streaming down her face. "I will not allow them to do this!"

With a wince, she spread her arms, as she felt power overflowing inside of her.

"Believe in me!!"

----

Ray shook their head, hoping to shake the remnant memories away. Their head was like a garbled mess, memories creeping back in every once in a while. It was making their head hurt.

They buried their face in their hands.

They didn't want to be reminded.

They just wanted to focus on now. Not then.

It was too late to change anything.

The only thing they could do was... make sure the Titans wouldn't destroy this world too. No matter the cost.

Bright loved this world. So much.

They remember how he taken them out shopping, making them pick clothing for themself, giving them more freedom than their Mother had ever done. Bright had even helped them with their new hairstyle. Having shorter hair was really nice.

Bright had also showed them this "Christmas" occasion. An old man dressed in red, presents, a lot lights and interesting food, that's all Ray could gather from it, but it had been wonderful!

But the thing he praised the most was the lack of Titans. The lack of being at the mercy of four gigantic women.

Ray agreed with that wholeheartedly.

"The Titans!" They cried out, face rising up from their hands. "What am I doing!? I am supposed to watch them!"

Clyde raised an eyebrow. "Titans?"

"I apologize for this! I have to go now." They made a little bow. "I have something I need to do!" Ray raised their head to give him a polite smile. "It was really delightful talking to you. You are the first native I had a talk with."

Or the first one that didn't end up them embarrassing themself in public somehow.

Biting his pierced lip, Clyde returned an uneasy smile. "Thanks?"

"Please, keep believing in me." Ray smiled, turning around.

"Sure thing, friend."

Ray blinked, turning back to Clyde again. "You... consider me a friend?"

"I suppose." He replied simply. "You rather not?"

A grin appeared on Ray's face. "Thank you." They said before turning around, again, and dashing off.

They hadn't even taken ten steps before a black vortex appeared in front of them. They almost jumped out of their skin as Bronze stepped out of it. A bottle of Dark Ink was in her hand.

The darkness seemed to drip off of her. They didn't see it but they sure could feel it. It made them terrified.

With a wheeze, Ray folded their arms around themself, staggering back until they bumped into Clyde. He stepped in front of them, curiously eying Bronze.

"Did you just came out of a... portal?"

Bronze grit her teeth and stomped up to him, using her Dark Ink and dragging his shadow out in a quick motion.

"Unbound! Overshadow your light and dim your hope!"

Stepping out of harm's way, Bronze crossed her arms as she watched the Unbound's formation intensely. This Unbound was holding a big spray can and had giant chains wrapped around each wrists, not unlike the fashionable chains Clyde wore on his clothing.

"Get out of here, kid." Bronze ordered, squinting her eyes at Ray.

"N-No! How dare you do that to him!?" They yelled, clenching their fists. "Just you wait until my servants arrive! They will put a stop to this!"

"Your 'servants'?" Bronze snorted, a quick smile appearing on her otherwise cold face. "You are starting to sound like the brat now."

With a roar, the Unbound violently shook its spraycan and sprayed into the air. The horde of pink particles materializing a huge rose. The rose started turning like a fast clock and then a few of its petals turned razor sharp and shot toward Ray.

The petals never hit them.

----

Cure Ember felt sharp pain in her back. She gritted her teeth as she pulled Ray closer to her, protecting their fragile form with her body.

"Ignis... you are... defending me?" Their voice was weak and their eyes wide. A calm moment before shrieking and pushing Ember off of them. "No! Do not touch me!!"

"Glad you're okay. Now, hide!" Ember told them, trying to stay calm. Ray nodded slowly and ran out of Ember's sight. She let out a sigh of relief then snapped her attention back to the fight.

Terra blocked the next wave of sharp petal bullets with small rock pillars while Splash went straight to the Unbound, landing a few kicks while easily evading the monster's punches and attempts to grab her.

With a wave of her hand, Bronze summoned a handful of Chromies.

"Terra, can you take care of those!?" Ember asked, keeping a notable distance from Terra.

The green Cure replied with a thumbs up and charged into the horde of Chromies with her rock-gauntlets at the ready. She started dishing out powerful punches, poofing most of them with ease.

"I take it that I can't convince you to stop?" Terra spoke calmly, locking eyes with Bronze. "If there is a way to stop this without hurting more people..."

The woman's reply was short and blunt. "There isn't."

"Some people will never listen." Terra looked away, talking more to herself than Bronze. "And there is nothing we can do about that." Her face grew into a determined look as she turned back to the metallic woman. "But I can't let you do what you want. I have people I want to protect."

"I have too!!" Bronze spat back. Her voice was filled with venom as she shot a beam of darkness at Terra, smashing her into the wall.

Meanwhile, Ember ran to the Unbound, punching its legs as hard as she could, and trying to keep the raging fire locked inside of her.

"Pretty Cure-!" She heard Splash's voice call from above. Letting out gasp, Ember set her feet on the ground and managed to jump just high enough to grab Splash's leg (and she instantly realised how notably cold she was), making her stop before she could use her attack.

"No, Splash! Not yet!"

Ember's face met with Splash's sandal, leaving wavy marks on her face from the soles. "Back off! Don't tell me what to do!"

"Sorry!" The red Cure apologized, rubbing the sore side of her face. "But look! At its eyes! They're still white! They should be maroon!" She pointed at the Unbound looming over them. It sprayed another picture and it came to life. A huge mantis, which started sharpening its forelegs like they were swords, making sounds so loudly that Ember's terrified screams were almost unheard.

"Eyes?" Splash squinted her own eyes, inspecting the Unbound, then snapped back to Ember who was running away from the fight. "Hey!? Where are you going!?"

Ember gulped nervously. "Okay, n-never mind, use your attack on that thing!" She cried, forcing her eyes shut as she pointed at the mantis. "Hurry! Do it!"

"Oh... I see." A grin found its way on Splash's face as she threw a series of punches at the mantis, most of them being blocked by its sword-like arms. "Is the oh-so-perfect Hanan scared of a harmless, weak..." The mantis' dissolved when being hit by a water powered kick. "Bug!?"

Landing next to Ember, Splash dusted off her hands.

"Looks like I truly am the most capable one here." The blue Cure sounded bored, but the sneer on her face told Ember otherwise.

"Sorry, Splash. Thanks for the help." Ember replied softly, letting out an uneasy chuckle. "You are more experienced than I am."

Splash just nodded before leaping back into the fight. Terra had already gotten back up again and was unleashing a barrage of punches to the Unbound's cage.

----

Ray clutched themself against a wall, sometimes peeking to the side to watch the fight taking place.

They bit their lip as they eyes flicked from one Cure to the other. All of them trying their best, unleashing attacks left and right to bring down the rampaging monster

It was supposed to be them.

They were supposed to be risking their life.

They were supposed to be the one defending this world.

"My first friend here..." Ray whispered. "And I am unable to even protect him. Just one single person is already too much for me..."

Closing their eyes, they summoned their Eternal Lantern and let it float between their hands.

"Light up..." Their voice sounded so pathetically weak as they held onto the dimly lit lantern. "Light up!"

Still nothing.

"Why? Why!?" They cried out, voice breaking.

They took in a breath before trying again, and again, and again, and again.

Growing more frustrated with each failed attempt, they were slowly starting to lose hope.

Why didn't it work?

Was it... because of that?

Their legs gave in and they sank to the ground, clutching the lantern tightly to their chest while tears started streaming down their face.

----

"Look! Its eyes changed! This is our chance!" Ember pointed out, evading a gigantic bullet a gun construct had shot at her. "Terra, you wanna finish thi-?"

Splash had already leaped up. "Pretty Cure Hydro Wave!" The Unbound got caught in a flood and dissolved, leaving a boy in its place.

"Clyde?" Splash blinked, shuffling the unconscious boy a bit. "And to think your sister got turned into a monster earlier today..."

Terra cocked her head. "Wait... who?"

"Oh, he's Eclair's older brother." Ember explained. "Eclair is the girl who worked at the diner? Remember?"

"Ooh!"

Splash cracked her knuckles and turned to Bronze, who was still present. "So, we're fighting or what?"

"Not this time." Bronze replied, turning around just in time for something hot to hit the lower side of her face.

"Not so fast!" Ember grit her teeth. She hadn't meant to shoot a fireball at her. She cringed when she noticed Terra flinch and hide behind Splash, the latter uttering a quick, "Damn." with a small hint of admiration in her voice.

Bronze let out a cry of raw pain, trying to touch the burnt side of her face.

"... You... !" She looked back at Ember with an alarmed look.

Ember averted her eyes, not liking the look of the burn she had inflicted on the woman. She hadn't meant to... really...

The red Cure shook her head, then forced a fierce look on her face. Do not show fear or hesitation in front of an enemy, she told herself.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this? Who do you work for?" Each question bringing her a step closer to Bronze. The Cure suddenly grinned. "Enlighten me."

Ember tried to keep her gaze locked with the woman. "There are two options left for you, answering my questions or receiving another burn and-"

In an erratic motion, Bronze kicked Ember in the side and used that moment to escape via a portal.

"Man, that is gonna leave a burn." Splash said, playfully punching Ember in the side. "You were pretty cool. Almost scared me, haha."

Pressing her lips in a tight line, Ember turned around to look at Terra. She definitely was scared. She was fidgeting with the flowers in her hair while giving Ember an uneasy, very forced smile.

"At least she is gone..."

Stretching her arms a bit, Splash cancelled her transformation with a yawn. "Okay, idiots, let's go."

Ember and Terra followed her example, detransforming back into Hanan and Beryl.

"Is... he safe?" A weak voice asked. Ray meekly emerged from behind a wall. Their face was red and their eyes swollen.

It was almost like they were a lost puppy. Ray looked so lost, disconnected from everything. Their eyes were glued to the ground as they staggered towards Clyde's sleeping form and dropped down in front of him.

"You have saved every single person who was targeted." They spoke. "You succeeded every time. While I could not even..."

Beryl made a little jump. "We found you, Ray! I knew I smelled that candle-like smell! It's unmistakable!" She grinned proudly, seemingly having not heard Ray's ramblings.

At that Ray slowly looked around, a confused frown on their face. They didn't react to Beryl stomping up to them. They did, however, start to protest when Beryl had gotten a small, green string and tied it around their wrist with a tight knot.

"H-Hey!" They yelled, trying to undo the knot. "What are you doing!? Is this a kidnapping attempt!?" The blond hissed in Beryl's face. "I was wrong for trusting you, you barbarian!"

Morgan didn't even try to hold back her laughter at the sight. Hanan looked a bit conflicted but kept her tongue.

"It's so we don't lose each other!" Beryl assured Ray. "Do not fear, my dear Ray! We will make sure you get back home safely! We promised Bright!" She smirked and whispered to herself: "And I am very hungry, hehe~!"

Ray tried to pull on the little string, tried to bite it off, untie it again... but nothing worked.

"Your new dog is funny, Beryl." Morgan actually had a hint of a smile on her face. "Bet my mom would adore it. She loves small 'dogs' that scream a lot over nothing." She grinned at Ray. "Like you."

"I am not a dog! How dare you!?"

Hanan took a quick moment to safely lay Clyde's still unconscious body on a bench before rushing after the other three.

----

Bronze was actually relieved when she saw nobody was in the room.

Good, now she could snuck back to her room without anyone having to see her. She genuinely didn't want to subject the others to that sight.

With a groan, she dragged her weak body through the long, empty hallway. She still found herself having trouble walking, despite being unharmed, aside from the burn on her face (which had started becoming numb now... was it already healing?).

She felt sick.

Letting out a frustrated cry Bronze punched a dent into the wall. Slowly it started repairing itself, dark particles filling up the dent.

"Bronze...?"

A soft voice made her stop. Slumping her shoulders a bit, Bronze faced the wall, definitely not wanting the girl to see her face like this.

Bronze took in a deep breath. "Aeris... just go."

"Did... something happen?"

"This just isn't working. We can't collect darkness if these Pretty Cures keep showing up to ruin it. And we can't directly fight them either. They keep overpowering us." Bronze explained, still with her back to Aeris. "What is that brat thinking? At this rate, someone is gonna die for real!"

Aeris flinched at the screaming, before gently placing a hand on Bronze's shoulder, just above the metal, so she could feel her soft hands resting on her skin.

"Sorry... but... but... I will not let that happen. I will not allow anyone I care about to get hurt." The older woman tried to hide her wound behind a hand. The metal touching it didn't feel nice. "I will protect all of you with everything I have. No matter what I have to do!" In return, she placed her other hand on Aeris'. "That goes for you too. I will break anyone who tries to harm you."

"Bronze, please, it's okay!" Aeris reassured her and embraced the woman in her dark wings. They were so soft, Bronze couldn't help but relax at feeling their delicate texture touch her skin. "You should rest..."

Finally finding the courage, Bronze reluctantly faced Aeris. She wasn't entirely sure how to feel when she noticed the girl flinch at the sight.

"Don't worry, it's already healing." She told Aeris with a soft smile. "Glad all that darkness is good for something, right?"

----

Bright screamed when he heard a knock on the door. And he screamed again when he saw two familiar girls, one new girl, and Ray.

Leaning in the doorway, Bright flipped his hair as a greeting.

"We are here, Bright! And Ray is safe and sound!" Beryl chirped, holding up the string attached to Ray's wrist.

"I am glad you made it. I hope it wasn't too much trouble to get here?"

"Nope~!"

"Man, Wasim was right, he really is a hottie." Hanan whispered to Morgan with a grin, who gave her a disgusted look in return.

"He is a peacock."

Hanan shrugged. "Don't sweat the small stuff. Someone can still be aesthetically pleasing to look at."

Morgan almost rolled her eyes back into her skull.

----

Ray had to admit that having dinner with so many people was quite nice, although a tad noisy.

They weren't used to that. They would always eat at a huge, large table with just them and their mother. And the occasional maid, butler, or chef serving the food. Lucille had sometimes joined them too, but that had been very rare.

As everyone was happily chatting away, Ray focused on their food. They... didn't really know exactly what it was, some sort of meat, but Bright's cooking was unrivaled in deliciousness.

He was miles better than the various chefs that had served them back home.

But they still didn't trust the thick, oily sauce that suspiciously resembled their blood. (Bright had insisted it was something called "mayonnaise", but Ray wasn't so sure.)

To their surprise it wasn't Terre.. no, Beryl who was eating a lot of that "mayonnaise" but Und- Morgan. She almost emptied an entire bottle on her food!

----

After dinner, Ray had asked for one of Bright's feathers and disappeared into their room while the other girls helped washing the dishes. Well, only Hanan helped. Morgan was admiring the view from the window while Beryl was too busy getting distracted by the wide array of statues, pictures and board games that were lying around. An unfinished puzzle and its pieces were also scattered over a small table.

Just as they were done, Ray had come back. They couldn't bring themself to look at anyone.

"Hanan. Beryl. Morgan." They began with a soft, trembling voice.

At hearing the blond actually say their names, Beryl gained a wide smile, Hanan blinked in mild confusion and surprise while Morgan made an irritated little noise before saying: "Finally. It's getting through that thick head of y-"

"I want to understand." Ray said, voice clearer this time. They were clutching the piece of paper in their hands while their eyes were focused on the floor. "I hope you understand."

Silently they handed Hanan the piece of paper and stepped back as Beryl and Morgan came closer to read what was written on it.

["I am aware I have not exactly treated you kindly. I am also aware that the three of you have seemingly lost your memories. Whenever this was because of me, or something else, is not clear.

Please know that you committed unforgivable sins.

But so did I.

And sins once committed will never disappear. We will both have to shoulder them for the rest of our lives.

I am willing to give you a chance. I have no other choice but to trust you. It would not be fair to Bright, or anyone living on this world, to risk Earth's safety because of my inability to understand.

So, I will place the fate of this world in your hands.

I will believe in you.

- Signed, Ray."]

Chapter Text

For the next two or so weeks, a pattern was set. Attacks had become as frequent as almost once every other day. One of the four villains would show up, turn an unsuspecting victim into an Unbound, and almost always left as soon as the Unbound was defeated (to Morgan's dismay).

Every time one of the villains had tried to face the three Cures directly, it had ended with three completely overpowering them.

----

Shade was not happy.

He sat in an empty throne room, on a black throne that had once belonged to his father. It was too big for Shade's smaller form, obviously. He had to spread out his arms to even lean on the armrests. For now, his hands were resting on his head.

He had been thinking. A lot.

This method just wasn't working. How was he supposed to get darkness when these "Pretty Cures" (a really stupid name, by the way) kept getting in the way? His minions were simply too weak to go up against these three superpowered girls.

But if they were anything like what Radiant Lumiere had been... then it didn't surprise Shade that they were so powerful.

It would be foolish to continue like this.

Maybe it was time to bring out a "secret weapon"?

----

Episode 6: Glimpse of Darkness

----

While Hanan's parents had been excited and very proud of Hanan being a magical superhero (they even had a big dinner with the whole family to celebrate), Morgan's parents, on the other hand, had been almost the opposite.

They had only briefly mentioned it during one of those rare times Morgan decided to eat in the dining room with her parents, instead of taking the food to her room.

"Please, be careful." Her mother had said, with an odd look, while her father kept quiet. "And do not put so much sauce on your food. It's getting all over your clothing."

Morgan leaned into her chair, glaring at her father. "Before you say anything... I want to stress to you that this is my choice. And don't think I'm gonna stop because I will 'give the family a bad name' or something stupid like that."

"Morgan, please! Your father didn't even say any-"

"He is thinking it! I can see it on his face." Morgan leered at her father, who had finally looked up from his plate. "Because that's all he cares about!"

Actually... that was a lie. She couldn't see what her father was thinking at all, and she hated it. Morgan clicked her tongue, irritated at the fact. Was he proud or disappointed in her? Probably the latter, despite his words.

Her father locked eyes with her. "I actually think this whole 'Pretty Cure' thing will do the opposite of ruining the family name."

And after that, they hadn't mentioned it at all. It was like they had completely forgotten it and weren't aware that their daughter was a magical superhero splashing water into evil-doers faces on a near-daily basis.

----

The fact that school started again had only made things worse.

A suspicious amount of people were seemingly lured to both Hanan and Morgan, buzzing like bees to honey. Following them, wanting to sit next them during classes or breaks, and asking many questions about the whole Pretty Cure business.

While Hanan was relatively well-liked around the school, or at least they all knew who she was, Morgan was not used to the attention. As a result, people were more reluctant to approach her. It might also have been the fact that she snarled at every "fan" that approached her.

Morgan was the type to just sit in the back of the class without saying a word. Never participated in socialising, showing up for classes just as much as necessary, and scoring just high enough to pass them. The bare minimum, if you will.

Morgan groaned loudly as some random girl sat down next to her during lunch break. Couldn't she just eat in peace?

It took a bit of effort but after finally shooing her 'biggest fan' away, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break. Morgan groaned even louder this time, but then shrugged and didn't even move as the other students left the cafeteria to get back to their classes.

Before she had the chance to take another bite from her sandwich (with a lot of hot sauce, of course), Hanan had approached her.

"Hey, let's go." She said, crossing her arms and giving Morgan a somewhat scolding look.

"What?"

"We have Math class together, remember?"

"So?" Morgan rolled her eyes and took a big bite, sauce dripping on her plate and the table. An explosion of flavors soon numbed her tastebuds.

Hanan scrunched her eyes. "... Uh... we should get going? The bell already rang?"

"Nah, I'm eating first."

"You should have done that during break!"

"I was trying to! But these so-called 'fans' of us were keeping me busy. I am quite popular, it seems." She chuckled, being caught in between liking and disliking the attention. "Probably more popular than you. I rarely see people comment on you on the Scrapbook. Maybe you should use your fire powers more?"

Morgan could have sworn to see Hanan's eye twitch at this. Oh, did she hit a nerve?

"Anyway, we have to set a good example. Everyone is depending on us!" Hanan said, placing a hand on her chest.

With a snort, Morgan got something from the pocket of her hoodie. "Remember this? We don't have to do anything." She held up a paper badge she had gotten earlier this week from an agent.

"That one's temporary, you know. We'll be getting the real badge soon they said." Hanan replied with a frown. "And don't abuse that privilege. We are heroes."

"Exactly." Morgan gave her a wink. "We're kinda saving the world so we deserve some thanks for that."

With a long, drawn-out sigh, Hanan left Morgan alone and went to the next class on her own. It was no use arguing with her.

----

Beryl noticed that Ray had been following her again. That had been happening quite regularly lately. They didn't even really say anything to her. They just followed her around and occasionally hid behind a lamppost or sign.

She took a bite of one of the four muffins she had ordered. She was having lunch and was seated at a cafe terrace, having just enough money on her to buy some muffins. They smelled so good!

Speaking of things smelling good, Beryl was actually starting to like Ray's "candle wax"-like smell.

"Raaaaaay! You can have one if you like!" She suddenly called as she noticed Ray was now hiding behind a chalkboard with prices written on it.

In the last couple of days, they had sorta warmed up to Beryl, Morgan, and Hanan. At least they were trying to call them by their actual names now. That was a step in the right direction!

They still didn't accept the hugs, though, or any kind of physical contact, for that matter.

They did, however, accept Beryl's muffin like an gluttonous child.

"Yes, I adore these!" They said with a big grin as they sat down on a chair next to Beryl. They did shove the chair away to gain some distance, though. Beryl felt a pang of dejection at this.

As soon as Beryl finished her muffin, she reached out to grab the last one, but Ray slapped her hand away and took it themself.

"Heeehhhh!? I only said you could have one! I paid for that!!" Beryl slammed her hands on the table with a pout as she watched the muffin disappear into Ray's mouth. She normally was quite generous when it came to food. She liked sharing it when she had someone to share it with... but Ray...

"I will compliment your new diet, Terre." Ray stopped and shook their head. "Beryl." They corrected, earning a smile from the redhead. "This is better than eating rocks."

Beryl laughed. "Other me must have been weird. Eating rocks! Who even does that?" She said, remembering the time she had tried to eat rocks.

They don't taste good.

----

"Hey, Aeris!!"

His loud voice echoed throughout the hall. Shade felt a pang of satisfaction seeing the girl flinch and stop in her tracks.

He grinned while his shadow glided over to her, hovering behind her as it wrapped one large arm around her waist and the other grabbed at one of her wings, and dragged her to him.

"I'm gonna be real with you, Aeris." He started, bringing his face closer to hers and she shrunk back in complete and utter fear. "Things are going badly and I think you might have the power to stop it."

He paused for a moment, but decided to continue as Aeris hadn't found her voice to answer. Just to spite her, he raised his voice an octave, making her cower in place.

"These Pretty Cube girls. They are messing up everything!! I want them dead!!" Shade stomped his foot on the floor, some darkness swirling around it below. "So, I was thinking and if anyone knows stuff about killing, it's you!" He spat, his face warped into a demeaning grin. "After all, you are The Everlasting Tornado of Chaos, eh?"

Slowly Aeris found the courage to look up. She whispered something but Shade could only hear a barely audibly mess of words.

"What!? I can't hear you!" He practically screamed into her ear, making her wince in the shadow's grip.

Her eyes focused on the floor again. "... There is no way I could..." She swallowed a bit of fear in order to speak up again. "Kill... someone..."

"Oh, please, don't act so high and mighty now, Aeris. You've killed countless people before."

Aeris averted her glance. A look of horror was plastered on her pale face.

"Think about the others. Something bad might happen to them..." He whispered with a grin and then held out his fist in front of her, slowly opening it to reveal a small, black egg hovering in his palm. "Or you."

----

Elegy, Hail, and Smoky all cringed at the same time when the door was kicked open, and a familiar voice started screaming, interrupting their nice game of poker.

"Guys, we can finally put an end to these Petty Boobs! Hahaha!"

For all his irritation, Smoky found himself snickering at that. "Well, that red one certainly doesn't have any. And, it's Pretty Cures, for the billionth time. Man, you're so forgetful."

"Shut up, Smoky!" Shade hissed through his teeth then turned to the only woman in the room. "Elegy. I want you to take the secret weapon with you!"

Elegy's purple eyes went from Hail to Smoky before stopping at Shade with furrowed brows.

Shade sneered and snapped his fingers as his shadow dragged Aeris into the room. Elegy just pointed at the girl with a confused look.

Now it was Hail's turn to frown, locking eyes with Elegy for a moment before turning to Shade. "Why Aeris? She has no actual fighting experience. It'll be unwise, and amoral, to use a child to do the dirty work. Well, except Smoky but-"

"Hey!" Smoky called out as smoke escaped out of his eye. "I'm not a kid anymore!"

As soon as the shadow let go of her, Aeris staggered forward to Hail and Smoky. "... It's okay." She whispered, fumbling with her wings a bit before forcing a, supposedly, reassuring smile. "I don't want to see you guys hurt anymore..."

"Well, you are supposedly stronger than us." Hail rubbed his chin. He still seemed a bit sour on the entire idea. "Perhaps, you might be able to..."

Smoky pulled Aeris in a tight hug. "Just be careful, 'kay? Bronze is gonna go on a murder spree if something happens to you." He adjusted his shades. "And I'll gladly join her."

"Come on, guys. You know Bronze can't do that... because she is a weak bitch!" Shade laughed at what everyone presumed was supposed to be a joke. Somehow.

As the overly loud laughter boomed through the room. Hail rolled his eyes and Aeris covered her ears before Elegy grabbed her arm and pulled her along inside a portal.

----

The portal brought them to a rooftop. The bright skies almost blinded Aeris. It's been so long since she's been outside. The busy noises of cars, people talking, and the like made her a bit anxious.

Elegy let go of her arm and then patted her back so she wouldn't fall over from her disorientation. She used her powers to drown out the sound for Aeris.

"S-So... what do we do?" Aeris knelt down and folded her wings close to her as she looked down at the people passing by.

With a firm hand, Elegy motioned for her to stay put before leaping from the roof, landing behind an unsuspecting old man and turning his shadow into an Unbound, in less than fifteen seconds even.

After leaping back up the building silently. Elegy patted Aeris' back again when she saw the girl's horrified face.

"An Unbound... so that is what they look like." She spoke, gripping Elegy's arm.

The older woman replied with a dismissive wave, then pointed at a red-haired girl who had rushed to the scene, trailing behind her was a short-haired blond. The girl held something in her hand and, in a flash of rocks, she had turned into someone else.

Aeris gasped softly. "Is that a Pretty Cure...?" Then turned to Elegy. "Who is she?"

----

"The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"

The green Cure wasted no time and instantly charged at the Unbound, creating rock gauntlets and erected some pillars of rock to get her closer to the monster.

"Guess I'm alone today." She said to no one in particular, evading the Unbound's attempts to grab her. "But that's okay! I can handle myself!"

Terra took a breath. This hasn't been the first time she had fought alone. Morgan and Hanan were busy with important school stuff, after all (Terra swore she was doing her homework later today).

They both had so much potential. Such big ambitions and dreams. She wanted make sure they would be able to fulfill that potential to the fullest. Someone as listless as Terra could afford wasting time.

That and, as much as Terra didn't want to openly admit it, she was rather glad when Ember was absent from battles.

She started stomping up rock pillars and trying to trap the monster. The pillars were easily swatted away by the Unbound.

"Terre!" She heard Ray call in the distance. They said something after that but the words were muffled out by the Unbound's loud roars.

As it attempted to bring down its fist on her, Terra raised her hands, holding the Unbound's fist above her. She grit her teeth and send all the power in her body to her arms. She grabbed onto the fist and, with a loud cry, she managed to bring down the Unbound like a tower.

As it fell to the ground, Terra took his chance and leaped up.

"Pretty Cure Earth Smash!" The hammer broke the Unbound and everything returned to normal. She landed on the ground, shaking it a little.

Terra panted. That took a lot out of her. She looked up and gave Ray a thumbs up with a wide grin. "Not bad, eh? You shouldn't take me for granite!" She stuck out her tongue with a wink.

Ray just blinked.

Terra's victory was short-lived however. Just as she was about to transform back, Elegy had landed in front of her without making a sound.

"Oh, so you have decided to fight today?" Despite still trying to catch her breath, Terra forced a smirk and took a fighting stance. Rocks were already reforming around her fists.

Shaking a bit, Terra swallowed her hesitation and charged at the woman. This had been the first time Elegy had actually decided to directly face any of them. Bronze, Hail, and Smoky occasionally had tried to fight the Cures head-on, but never Elegy. She always left as silently as she had come.

Terra had no idea what to expect.

She grinned as she managed to give the woman at least one satisfying punch in the face, but then she herself got a fist crammed into their stomach.

What followed was complete silence.

It was like she had become deaf on the spot, or if someone had muted the sound entirely.

Her surroundings looked the same, her surroundings smelled the same, but there was just no sound. Nothing at all.

The silence was incredibly disorienting, to say the least.

Elegy used this to grab Terra roughly by the collar of her shirt and brought her close. Her eyes stared intensely at the Cure.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ray, waving their arms. It seemed like they were trying to get her attention as Elegy snapped her head to their direction. A glare was evident on her face.

At that moment Elegy got hit by a strong, blue kick in the face, making her let go of Terra as she was send flying against a nearby car.

Terra's body twitched a little as the sound returned to her ears. It was loud for a few seconds before she got used to it again.

She looked at Elegy for a moment. Had the silence been related to her powers?

The familiar scents of sea salt and ashes relaxed her, but she was a bit startled by a sudden warm hand on her shoulder. Terra looked up to find Splash and Ember on either of her sides.

"Sorry we're so late, Terra." Ember apologized with a soft tone. "We were at school and it's quite a distance from here."

As it had been well known that Morgan and Hanan were indeed Pretty Cures, and as a result, whenever an Unbound showed up during class they got permission to leave to deal with it. They had to come back immediately after the deed was done though. Hanan always did. Morgan didn't.

"Oi, don't go taking all the fun for yourself now." Splash playfully punched Terra's side. "Leave something to fight for me!"

With a smile, Ember forced herself in between Terra and Splash. "We have to pose and do our call! People are watching!"

"Yeah, no." Splash charged forward, sending a water tendril in Elegy's direction, who raised her arms to shield herself but was flung away again.

Ember's mouth twitched. "Fine. I'll do it myself!" She made a turn and raised her hands in the air before placing them on her chest. "Embracing the past to-!"

"You're still going on about that!?" Splash asked.

The red Cure paused for a moment. It had taken a while but she had managed to think of a cool introductory phrase, and name, a while back. If only Splash and Terra were more eager to say it.

But it was mandatory!

"Sorry, Ember, but we're a bit busy! We'll do it next time, promise!" Terra assured her, allowing herself to relax a bit now that her fellow Cures had arrived to help her. "Can I stand in the center?"

Meanwhile, Elegy quickly gathered herself. She raised her arms and started moving them in an oddly rhythmic manner. Her eyes fixated on a singular point and she quickly spread her arms before three Cures could reach her.

The three both heard a sudden, shrill voice scream, "Weak!!" inside their ears. Once, twice, thrice... it kept repeating. The same word, same voice, same tone. Like a recording on repeat. All three looked around to find the source of the new voice only they could hear.

Elegy smirked underneath her mask and took her chance to kick Splash in the face while she, and the other two, were distracted.

Splash hit the ground from the sudden force and Elegy's grin grew even more. Payback felt so satisfying.

This had been the first time she had actively been using her powers on these Cures. With a wave of her hand and a blink of an eye she stopped the "recording" and braced herself for whatever would come next.

She was not particularly strong, nor durable. Elegy's strength laid in her sound manipulation powers and agility.

The Cures' powers and strength completely overpowered hers. She knew she stood no chance to actually defeat all of them. Her quick reflexes definitely helped in evading all the kicks and punches that were thrust her way. Every once in a while using her power to distract them with "recordings".

But she got careless and a foot met her face, followed by another in her stomach. Water splashed on her face as the force of the kicks sent her flying into the a wall.

"Is that all you've got, grandma!?" Splash sneered with a prideful grin as she glided over to where Elegy had fallen. "Not even gonna summon your lackeys? I would've liked some target practice." She crossed her arms. "Boring."

Letting out a puff of air, Elegy raised a hand and used her powers on the Cures to distract them, using small "recordings" from her friends' voices. Only Elegy could see the soundwaves circling over the Cures' heads but only they could hear these voice excerpts.

It did work, though. It did confuse them to suddenly hear shouts of familiar voices from villains they faced, without the owner of the voice being present.

But it wasn't enough to completely stop them.

Elegy kept from summoning her minions. The Echoes were too loud. They would only hinder Aeris.

As that thought crossed her mind, Elegy's eyes fluttered to the girl, still on the rooftop.

A battle cry forced her attention back to the fight. Elegy evaded Ember's punches by simply jumping. She then grabbed Splash by the wrist and, using both of her hands, threw the blue Cure at Ember.

A rock hit her in the back and Elegy stopped to see Terra raising her arms as two pillars erected from either side of Elegy. Then, Terra lowered her hands and the pillars almost crushed the woman, bringing her down to the ground, effectively trapping her under the debris.

"Dispose of her, now!" Ray ordered and started running up to the fallen woman and the three Cures that had surrounded her. "Vanquish that tainted woman!"

Before the Cures could do anything they were all thrown into the air and sent flying into a building by a strong wind.

The cause of this wind was a young girl, roughly their age. Her spikey, platinum blonde hair swayed in the wind as she spread her dark wings, flew up, and landed in front of Elegy.

"A new one...!? Is the Darkness hiring babies now?" Splash was the first to rise back up again, her body still aching a bit from the impact but she didn't dare show it. "Don't think that I'm gonna go easy on you, blondie!"

The girl spread her huge wings wide, as if trying to look bigger and more intimidating than she was. Her face said otherwise. She seemed like she could burst into tears any second.

"I'm... I'm Aeris! The Everlasting Tornado of Chaos!" She cried as her voice created another weak windblast, instantly whimpering as the words had escaped her mouth. "Please... please, stop hurting my friends... or...!"

"Aeris!?" Terra panted as Ember helped her back up. "... As in... the last Titan?" She let out a loud gasp. "She's evil!!?"

Aeris flinched, casting her eyes downward.

"... Yes. I am." She whispered. "My wings are soiled in sin. I don't deserve-"

"You are even worse than the others! Giving yourself to the darkness like that!" Ray said with a dark look. "There is no hope left for you, Aeris."

The three Cures stood a bit away, unsure of what to do or say.

"Corrupted! Evil! Filthy!" Ray's voice grew louder with each step they came closer to the winged girl, who covered her ears with a whimper. "Tainted!!!"

Aeris let out a horrified cry. She placed her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. She spread her wings again, flapping them as a huge blast of wind surrounded her and Ray was spontaneously flung high in the air. Another flap of her wings sent the Cures flying into different directions by the strong wind.

----

Seeing the city from so high made Ray remember.

It made them remember the time they had fought the Titans. They had been hovering in the skies, overseeing a world that once flourished crumbling to dust. Present and past merged, the sunny day sky turned into the twilight of back then. But only for a second.

Then reality hit them.

And they hit the ground.

The last thing they heard was a crack, soon followed by a sharp pain in their neck and back, and finally nothingness.

----

Ember felt her heart stop when she saw Ray's body hit the ground.

There was no way anyone could have survived that.

She and the other Cures had magic on their side to protect them from what would normally be deadly blows.

But Ray didn't.

Ember hesitated for a moment, not sure if she wanted to see Ray's lifeless body in even more detail. From her spot she could see their neck bent at a disturbingly unnatural angle. Their eyes were wide and glassy and devoid of any signs of life.

"Hey... is this... is this for real?" Splash was the first who had come close to Ray's body. The blue Cure carefully shuffled their shoulders. No reaction.

While Splash and Ember were both in a state of shock, Terra, on the other hand, was close to a panic attack.

"Ray, Ray, Raaayyyy!!" She called, shaking the blond's body while tears started streaming down her face. Her breathing became short and heavy. "No... nononono... Ray you... please don't...! Ray!!"

While Terra was sobbing over their body, Ray's head started to twitch a little and slowly cracked. Something was happening to them.

Without warning, Ray suddenly rose back up.

----

Flickering.

That's was what they had called it.

Flickering like a candle. Unsteady, but determined to keep burning.

People compared it to "death", but there was one huge difference between the two.

Death was permanent.

Flickering wasn't.

----

Now Ray's entire body started twitching before they drew in a large breath.

"I am back!"

Splash resisted the urge to kick them in the face. "Are you freaking kidding me right now!? What was that!?"

"Oh, I flickered." Ray replied simply.

"You broke your neck! And it... healed itself...?" Ember spoke as a hand hovered by her mouth. Her mind was still trying to process what happened.

Splash rubbed her forehead. "And you call us the monsters? What the hell are you!?" Irritation, confusion, and even a bit of fear was evident on her face.

Ray furrowed their brows. "I am the light of hope that-"

"Not that."

"Raaaayyy..." Terra began, still sobbing and attempting to throw herself at Ray, without success. "Oh god... oh god... I thought we'd lost you...!"

----

Elegy had finally managed to push the debris off of her.

Her eyes glanced to Aeris, still flapping in the air. She looked absolutely terrified.

Of course she was. This was way too familiar for both of them to be comfortable with.

That kid was not normal like Elegy had previously assumed.

This was bad. Really, really, really bad.

She needed to get out of here.

She should not underestimate what that kid was capable of.

Her body was starting to ache. The overuse of her powers was probably catching up to her. With her last strength she summoned a portal behind her and used a recording of Bronze's voice to catch Aeris' attention.

She didn't account for a rock hitting her in the stomach, pretty much sending her through the portal as it closed behind her, leaving Aeris behind.

After falling back into the base and landing on the cold, hard floor, Elegy grit her teeth as she tried to process what just had happened, just before her exhaustion had completely caught up with her and dragged her away into sleep.

----

"El... Elegy...?" Aeris stammered. She looked at a complete loss and just fluttered in place, her eyes darting all over the area, as if looking for a way to escape. "... No!" She finally cried out and took flight into the direction of the nearby forest, leaving gusts of wind in her wake.

The three Cures gave chase right away. Splash used her water to speed up her movements and make longer jumps, shooting a weak blast of water in Aeris' direction whenever she had the chance, hitting her occasionally but it wasn't enough to bring the flying girl down.

Terra tapped into her climbing skills to follow after Splash, while Ember hesitated for a split second before following suit.

Neither of them noticed Ray running after them, though at a much slower pace.

"You are not getting away that easily, Aeris."

----

Splash got more irritated with each stream she aimed at Aeris, sometimes hitting her and making her slow down a bit. The last drop had been when she had finally been close enough to reach Aeris, but the girl had slapped her away using one of her wings.

That was the moment Splash realised the points of her wings had turned sharp and a small, yet deep, cut in her upper arm. The impact with the ground made the blue Cure cough out some air from her lungs as she groaned in pain.

"Splash!" Terra rushed to her side and kneeled down to help her up. "Ah! You're bleeding!"

"No shit!" Splash spat back, carefully touching her wound.

Ember was still in hot pursuit of Aeris. The winged girl zigzagged through the trees, desperately trying to get the red Cure off her tail. At this point it felt like they were going in circles.

"Hey! We just want to talk! Please, stop!" Ember called. Aeris was way too fast for her to keep up with. Ember was sure that if there weren't any trees around she definitely would have lost her, as it was the only thing limiting her from flying at full speed. "Please, don't be scared of us!"

Splash suddenly passed Ember, using her water to catch up. "She should be scared, because she's soooo getting her butt handed to her by me!" Splash said, clenching her fist.

That was when Aeris flew headfirst into a tree, losing her balance and crashing. She tried to fly back up before colliding with the ground but rocks started surrounding her, forming a ball and effectively trapping her inside.

"Hey! Hey, I got her!" Terra breathed, lowering her hands, and looked at the big ball of rock with a prideful look. "I'm getting so much better at this!"

"Well, that is one way to do that..." Splash seemed a bit taken aback.

Terra moved her arms and made a small opening in the ball.

"Looks like you're in a lot of trubble!" She said, poking her head through the hole. She felt satisfied for a split second when she heard Splash's, "I hate you, Terra." but then instantly regretted her words as soon as she saw the girl inside.

Aeris was curled up into a ball, her wings folded around herself in an attempt to protect herself from any possible danger. Terra could barely even see her behind her big wings.

She could hear a soft, whispery voice. "Please... don't... don't hurt me..."

Terra silently closed up the opening again and leaned back as a look of uneasiness was evident on her face. Behind her, Splash cracked her knuckles.

"Now, let me in. I need revenge for what she did to my arm."

Ember held out a hand in front of her, face formed into a tight glare.

"Wait." Was all she said. Her eyes were fixated on the ball in which Aeris was trapped in. Before she could say anything an obnoxiously bright glow invaded her line of vision, pulling her attention away.

Ray was standing in front of the group. They were doubled over and trying to recollect their breath from all the running they had done for the past couple of minutes.

"Ray? Why are you even here?" Splash asked. "You're gonna die again, at this rate."

The blond held up a hand in response. They pointed at the rock. "Dispose of her. I want to see for myself and make sure tha-"

"Wait, wait, wait, waaaiiiittt!" Terra protested, grabbing Ray's arm, which they quickly slapped away. "Dispose?" She asked, nervous. "She's supposed to be our last friend... right!?"

Ray shook their head. "It is too late! She has given in and become like the rest of them. Tainted beyond the darkest black. No possibility of redemption or salvation!"

"But she's-"

"This is what is going to happen to you if you give into the darkness!" Ray snapped at seeing the three's hesitation. "Please know that if any of you is ever tempted to go wandering into the darkness... there will be no mercy for you."

Splash glided towards Ray, fist at the ready. "Oh? And if I did? What are you gonna do about it? We all know you can't do anything." She scoffed. "You can't even die properly."

"Splash!!" Ember hissed, noticing the air becoming more and more tense with each passing second. In an attempt to stay focused she turned to the blond next to her. "Ray, clarify this for me... we are the Titans, yet we were all born as regular humans, on Earth... that should be the case for her too?" She mumbled. "Right?"

All Ray answered with was a, "I do not know." They rubbed the back of their neck. While the pain was completely gone, Ray still felt a bit of a tingling sensation. "But I am sure she is Aeris. I can feel it."

"Why are you doing this!? We used to be friends, remember?" The green Cure called as she made an opening in the rock again. "In our previous other self lives!"

Aeris lowered her wings a little, looking at Terra with a fearful gaze. Now Terra actually got a good look at her. She also had black sclera and black marks seemed to come out of her eyes, drawing lines along her cheeks. Honestly, it made Terra feel uneasy just looking at that.

"Please... let me... let me go... I'm sorry for-" She pleaded before Ray slammed the side of the rockball, trying not to show how much that little punch had hurt their hand.

"Stop attempting to drain sympathy from us, and tell us everything you know! Tell us what is going on and what Nox is planning!" Another slam, another wince. "Staying quiet will not help you."

"I... I don't know... ! I don't... don't even... I don't know who that is..."

Ember stared at Aeris for a long time, and she got visibly more nervous with each passing second. She covered herself with her wings again, bracing herself for any possible blow or attack.

But all that came was a single word from Ember's mouth, the effect, however, was just as intense as any blow would have been.

"... Connie?"

Chapter Text

----

Episode 7: Calling Out

----

"... Connie?"

At hearing that familiar name, Aeris looked up, eyes that had previously been squeezed shut snapped open and grew wide as they focused on Ember.

"... What?" She whispered, letting her guard down, but only slightly.

Terra tapped Ember's shoulder. "Who?"

Ember hesitated for a moment as all eyes turned to her. "Uh... I mean... you just reminded me of-"

"That was my name once." Aeris said. Her voice was a tad louder this time."But not anymore. I'm Aeris..."

"There is at least that she accepted her real name, unlike some people!" Ray glared at the three Cures but they quickly found themself cowering behind Terra as Splash threatened to kick them.

"Wait, for real?" Ember gently pushed Terra away to get a bit closer to Aeris. "Connie Sokolov. So, you are her, right? Right?"

After a long silence, Aeris nodded timidly. "... That used to be my name." A quick pause. "But you shouldn't know that..."

"Uh... Ember...?" Splash asked. "Mind explaining?"

Ray stomped their foot on the ground. "No time to explain! Hurry, destroy her before she-!"

They stopped when Splash gave them a push. They tripped, fell on their butt, and groaned in pain.

"Shut up, Ray!"

Ember ignored the commotion Ray and Splash were causing behind her and instead focused entirely on Aeris, still cowering in the dark. Terra stood tensely on the sidelines, in silence.

"I'm Hanan. Do you remember me? We used to be classmates, and I work at your dad's diner. The Primetime Diner." The red Cure said, debating if it was wise to undo her transformation right here and now. She couldn't entirely trust Aeris. She knew that. Who knows what she had up her sleeves? Even if she looked harmless right now. "You may not remember me like this but... you remember my name at least, right? We worked together on a few projects, with Eclair. You remember her too, right? Right?"

"Ember, you might be a bit too...?" Terra began with an unreadable expression.

Aeris flinched at Ember's sudden rise of volume. "No!! I have to know, Terra! I have to be sure that I'm not crazy!!"

The red Cure noticed Aeris' distress and continued with a significantly softer tone. "Look, you suddenly disappeared from class. Like, one day you stopped showing up. You were gone from the class list, from pictures, and nobody batted an eye at that." She took a pause to breathe. Aeris wasn't looking any better. She seemed like she was ready to break into tears any second now. "When I asked... everyone was denying your existence, even Aaron..."

----

"Oh, I don't have a daughter, Hanan." Aaron, the owner of the Primetime Diner, said. He blinked a few times. "Trust me, I definitely would have introduced her to you and Eclair if I did."

----

"Wait, what? I'm so confused..." Terra rubbed the sides of her head. You could almost hear her brain cracking from trying to get a grasp of the situation.

"Everyone thought I was crazy, and with no actual proof to go on... I started doubting your existence too." Ember admitted, looking away. "For some time I just... thought I'd made you up. That you were never there to begin with and..."

Ember stopped as Aeris took in another, shaky, breath. "... Connie is long gone, and Aeris doesn't belong here..."

"What happened...?" Ember asked, worry evident in her tone and look. She carefully reached a hand inside the rock but couldn't touch Aeris. "Please, let me help you, Connie."

Aeris shook her head furiously before hugging her knees and folding her wings around herself, hiding away. "... There's nothing you can do. Please, please... let me go..."

"Not until you tell us what is going on, who you are working for and what that person is planning!"

"Ray, stop!" Terra closed the rock again as her gaze lingered on the blond. Her expression seemed uncharacteristically stoic, compared to the worried Ember, annoyed Splash, and tense Ray. "Guys, what do we do now? I feel really bad for her..."

With a sigh, Splash impatiently tapped her foot. "I say let's kick her ass! Because you guys are forgetting an important detail." Another sigh. Longer this time. " She's a bad guy. She's working together with those other guys, who are constantly turning people into monsters."

"Precisely!"

"Shut up, Ray."

"... Yes, Unda..." Ray jumped when they received a deep glare from the blue Cure. "Splash! I meant Splash!"

"So, what... do we just... keep her in there?" Terra asked, fidgeting with the flowers in her hair. "... Like a caged bird?"

All four fell silent at that. What were they supposed to do? They couldn't just let her out. Who knows what she was going to do. Despite Ember's words, this could just as easily be a trick to get their guard down. She did defend Elegy and did ''kill'' Ray, after all. Even though the latter was more of an accident.

They couldn't completely trust her just yet.

Lost in thoughts, the four were trying to find a way out of this mess. Splash leaned against the rock, arms crossed, while Ember and Terra exchanged some worried looks. Even Ray couldn't think of anything to say.

----

Elegy's awakening was painful.

Feeling your entire body pressed against a cold, hard wall with such intense force was sure to wake anyone up. The shortage of air was also likely to be a factor, as a big hand had wrapped around her neck.

The image she was greeted with when opening her eyes were two glowing dots staring at her.

Shade was standing below her. His body had a dark... dim around it. Like he himself was turning into a shadow, merging with the already dark room. He was using his living shadow to hold Elegy in the air by her neck.

"Where is Aeris?" Shade asked. His voice was unusually cold and low.

She didn't dare open her mouth, even in the position she was in. Besides, she could barely breathe. So even if she wanted to, talking would be next to impossible.

"Where is she!? Where!?" Shade asked again, voice cracking a little. His shadow slammed Elegy against the wall, before dropping her to the ground.

Just then Elegy noticed that Bronze, Smoky, and Hail had also been in the room. They instantly rushed to their friend's aid the second she hit the floor.

Smoky hesitated a bit, then snapped his head to Shade. "Dude, you need to chill." If he wasn't so tense, he and Hail would have shared a high-five. "Like, right now."

"You've messed up everything! Everything!" The smaller boy snarled in rage as he started pulling on his hair, letting out another cry of pure frustration. "No, no, nonono...! So much power wasted thanks to you!! If Aeris dies... I can't... argg!!"

Swallowing all her distress, Bronze managed to speak up. "I'll go find her and make sure she's okay, so-"

"No!!"

Everyone fell quiet as Shade's loud cry resonated in the room. His shadow hovered behind him, unfazed and still.

"I'm going. You four stay here." He said, softer this time. "Those girls... I am dealing with them myself."

He took a deep breath, fumbling with his hands a few seconds before summoning a portal.

"This ends now."

----

Aeris let out a tiny yelp as Terra made a small opening again, and poked her head in it.

"Tell us what happened to you!" The green Cure yelled. "We will help you! We are supposed to be friends! Like Ray said, four Titans! Can't have one without the others!"

At hearing that Aeris tensed up completely. Her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"... You... are...?" She started, unable to form words. "... Titans? Did you say...?"

Terra nodded. "Yup, that's us! Apparently. I'm Terre." She then pointed at Ember. "Ignis." And finally to Splash. "And that's Unda! But don't call us by those names. They're not our real names. No matter what Ray says."

"But they ar-"

"Shut up, Ray." Terra said, a rare display of annoyance on her face. Only for a second, though.

Meanwhile, Aeris anxiously hugged herself, clutching on her wings as she drew in a breath. "You have... you have to get away. If he finds you..." She paused. "If he... gets you..."

Terra waved dismissively. "Pfff, don't worry! Nobody is gonna get us! We'll beat them up for su-!"

Before she could finish, a massive hand yanked her to the side by her waist, sending her flying against a tree with great force. If she hadn't been transformed, Terra was sure that crash would have broken her back.

The same pair of pitchblack hands swatted Ember and Splash away with ease. It was almost like it evaded hitting Ray, who stood frozen in place in the middle of this. Their eyes were wide and unfocused, like they weren't even aware what was happening around them.

"Impossible."

They felt something pulling on their chest and started rubbing their hand nervously.

The identity of the assaulter was a floating, tall, ghastly humanoid of pure black. It reached for the rock that held Aeris captive, cracking it open with some slight effort, roughly grabbing the terrified girl out of it and dragging her back to its master, a teenage boy standing in the shadows.

The boy seemed roughly the same age as the Cures, if not a tad younger. His two-toned hair was as messy as his stance. His eyes had the usual black sclera that revealed that he was at least associated with their enemy.

"What!? What!?" He cried out, gritting his teeth in confusion as he eyed the fallen Cures and Ray. "The Titans? Radiant Lumiere?"

"Shade...?" Ray finally snapped out of their trance. They clutched their chest at the huge amount of darkness they sensed. "You... are alive? How...?"

The boy, Shade, snorted in return. "Come on! You are the one who isn't supposed to be alive, you know!? But here you are... looking... different." He crossed his arms with a very forced smile. Despite his efforts, it was obvious that he wasn't happy with this turn of events in the slightest.

"... If I wasn't allowed to die, I should have figured you weren't either. I do wonder why..." Shade continued and squinted his eyes, as if that would force the answer out of Ray.

Ray genuinely looked regretful as they uttered their response. "I... I do not know. If I could... I would have rather dimmed out back then..."

"Ha! Shows how weak you are, you wet candle!" He seemed really proud of the nickname he had just made up. Ray, on the other hand, was both shocked and offended. "But who cares anymore? I have given up giving up long ago!"

"I do not understand... what about Nox, is he not the one doing thi-?"

"Do not speak my dad's name with your filthy mouth." Shade's face morphed into one of pure rage and Ray stepped back. "You know exactly what happened..."

Shade gnashed his teeth, biting back saying more and instead turned his attention to the three Cures, who had gotten up and were standing protectively in front of Ray.

Terre sniffed loudly and covered her nose. "Yuck, he smells like trash..."

"What!?" Shade gasped. He seemed offended for a moment but then recovered with another demeaning sneer. "Terre, you eat trash!" He then snapped his attention back to the other Cures. "Well, it seems like you've been busy, Ray. Got your own band of merry little men! I do wonder... how they got to become like this..."

"Who is this guy, Ray?" Ember asked, as the still weary Terra leaned a bit on her. "Is he also from your world?"

Splash tapped her foot and cracked her knuckles before Ray could reply. "Who cares? I like his face. Seems like it would make a great punching bag!"

"Gee! Ray really did a number on you, Unda." To say Shade looked amused was a heavy understatement. All that resentment from mere seconds ago had seemingly completely washed away, and his demeanor seemed more fitting to his young appearance. "What happened to your gigantic butt? Oh, wait. It's still really huge! Hahahaa!!"

The dark hue of red on Splash's face didn't really go well with her blue outfit and hair. She was almost literally seething with rage, while Shade was laughing so hard, tears appeared in his eyes.

"He is not wrong, Splash..." Ray agreed awkwardly, looking over at Splash's behind and just barely managed to evade a kick from the blue Cure. "S-Sorry!"

"Oh no! Never knew Unda could be so violent~!" Shade continued, having a hard time not bursting into uncontrollable laughter again. "I thought that was more of Ignis' thing." His eyes turned to Ember, clapping his hands together. "Where are those volcanoes to help you now, huh!? But, hey, you can at least see me, and not just because you're not a giant anymore!"

When Shade bursted into laughter again, Ember had to stop Splash from charging right at him. "What is that even supposed to mean...?" The red Cure frowned.

"I don't know and don't care. All I see is an invitation for an ass-kicking!" Splash shot a large water tendril at Shade, but the shadow quickly floated in front of the boy, Aeris still in its grip, and used its free arm to shield both of them.

"Haha! An 'ass-kicking'!! That's not gonna be hard with a butt as big as yours, Unda!!"

Splash launched herself towards Shade, ready to land a perfectly timed kick. "You little shit!"

"Oh, what happened to 'cockroach'? You Titans used to call me that all the time." Shade grinned, standing still as all of Splash's kicks and attacks were blocked by the shadow effortlessly. "But now you're a bug too... what could be a good nickname for you...?" He pondered. "Oh! I know! An assassin bug! Perfect!"

"Pretty Cure Hydro Flood!" Splash's eye twitched as she send a powerful wave at Shade. The shadow quickly lifted him up with its free arm and floated out of the way. "Damn it!"

Shade blinked in surprise as his shadow dropped him safely back on the ground. "Wow, that is pretty strong actually. Hm, hey Ray, how about we trade minions? Mine are kinda useless, like you!" He sneered at seeing Ray's defeated look. "It's a perfect fit!"

"We're not Ray's 'minions'! We're their friends!!" Terra insisted, stomping her foot on the ground and shaking it slightly.

"Pff! Since when do you care about 'friends', Terre?" Shade replied, wearing a smug smile. "All you ever did was kiss Ignis' ass, all the time. A great beacon of friendship, right there."

Ember's eyes focused on Shade as a fiery glow surrounded her. "Let us talk to Connie." She commanded, the fire in her hair growing slightly. "Let her go."

"Wait, who?"

"Her! Aeris!" Ember gritted her teeth and pointed at Aeris, still hanging idly in the shadow's grip. She made no attempts to get free at all, and had seemingly resigned to her fate. It was almost pathetic to look at.

All Ember's doubts from before had disappeared. How Aeris had acted before suggested, no... outright revealed she was completely unwilling in this. Something had happened to her, and now she was trapped.

Ember wanted to know the truth.

And, maybe she also missed seeing Eclair completely melt whenever Connie was brought up.

But the point still stood. Ember couldn't leave her be. Not like this.

"Ah, Ignis, always the bossy one. Not anymore, you have no power." Shade smirked and shot a quick glance at Aeris, then back to Ember again. "... Well, you're always welcome to come hang out in my Abyss of Darkness. All Titans are invited since it'll be where you will spend the rest of your lives after I'm done! You will all serve me, the supreme master and the heir of Darkness' throne!"

The three Cures exchanged some worried glances. They didn't like the way he phrased it, let alone the outright gleeful tone he said it with. The nickname he gave himself was pretty silly though, as was his attempt at a menacing laugh.

Meanwhile, Ray clutched their chest as they leaned against a tree, rubbing their hands frantically. They were unable to speak and unable to move. They had wanted to do something, say something, there was enough to say, but they just couldn't.

Shade fell into a laughing fit again. "Look at her, she's speechless." He sneered at Ray. "So intimidated by my supremacy!"

"Um!! Actually Ray prefers if you don't use those pronouns!" Ember called out somewhat sternly, like a parent correcting a child.

"It is all right... truly... " Ray's eyes widened at seeing how angry Ember looked. Was it really that big of a deal? "I do not care about-"

"O-Oh? I see. Okay, whatever!" Shade replied, trying to mask his confusion. "But...but that doesn't change the fact that they are a wet candle anyway." He forced an odd chuckle, as if he didn't even like the joke himself, and Ray seemed more hurt than before. "Look, I would love to catch up some more over some snacks but alas, I have work to do." Shade grinned as his shadow sped towards Ray, while still holding Aeris in one arm, and extended its claws with its free hand to slash them. The claws never hit, because the shadow, for some reason, wasn't able to touch the terrified blond. Shade's face strained painfully and the shadow went back to his side, while Ray was so overwhelmed they sank to their knees.

Ember and Terra darted to Ray's fallen form. Ember's hand refrained from touching Ray, while Terra's were slapped away, as usual. Old habits were gonna die hard.

"Ignis, Terre, Unda. Soon, you will all submit to me. Just you wait." Shade smirked, waiting for a moment to let his words sink in.

He summoned a portal behind him, the shadow going in first with Aeris. Just before turning around, the boy's smile faded as he silently went through the portal.

"Wait.. ! Wait!" Ember's hand hovered in the air for a moment. Her heart sank as she saw the portal wither away.

The four stood in silence for a long time, unmoving, and each with their own train of thoughts to ride through.

"Let's go back." The red Cure suggested solemnly as she undid her transformation. Terra and Splash followed her lead. "We... learned a lot today."

----

As soon as they arrived back in the base, the shadow dropped Aeris, causing her to collapse on the ground. She didn't dare move from her place, instead hugging herself and sobbing silently.

She soon realised she wasn't even in the main room. Shade had teleported them back to the throne room instead. She hadn't been here much but the times she had been... hadn't been pleasant.

This was also the place where Aeris was 'born', and where Connie had 'died'.

Shade himself stood a bit further away. He let out an anguished cry as he punched the wall, before resting his head against it. His shadow hovered behind him, still as usual.

----

Radiant Lumiere. Ray. Firefly. He had seen her- no, them being called many different things by a handful of people. Obviously 'firefly' was made up by the Titans, and it was disturbingly fitting Shade had to admit.

One would be honored to get a specific insect nickname from the Titans. He could only count a handful of people who had that 'honor', himself and Ray included.

Shade shook his head and punched the wall again. It should hurt, and it did, but his hand also felt... numb.

He should have known. He should have expected this. Ray was still alive. Just like him. It all made sense now. Like a puzzle piece falling into place. It confirmed his suspicions... but he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Despite everything, he hated himself more than he hated them.

----

Aeris flinched as Shade punched the wall again. It was like he had completely forgotten she was there. She had wanted to go away but instead kept still and held her breath, in fear of drawing his attention.

The shadow slowly cracking its head around to look at her was enough to tell her that her fear didn't go unnoticed.

Shade followed his shadow's lead and turned around. His face was twisted into a demeaning sneer as he wandered towards her.

"... Well, I learned some things today." He said, narrowing his eyes. "Those Pretty Cure girls are the other Titans! And even Ray is alive! What a bunch of fun surprises, right!?" A bitter laugh echoed through the room, and Aeris covered her ears. "I didn't see that coming!"

Still sitting on the floor, Aeris cringed away from his approaching steps, until her back had reached a wall.

"Now, don't be sad, Aeris." Shade placed his hands on her cheeks and forced her to look at him. His sneer widened even further. "I promise that you'll all be together again soon."

----

Bright had picked the four up with his car. The mood was heavy, but Morgan still found a way to insult the eyelashes that Bright had on the headlights of his car. Maybe she was trying to lighten up the mood in her own way?

It was too late to go back to school, as the day was already over.

Ray sat in the passenger seat next to Bright, head hung low and rubbing their palm again as their eyes stared into thin air. They hadn't said a single word since Shade had left, and they had barely even reacted when Hanan had called Bright to pick them all up.

It was like their mind had wandered into the past, again.

The three girls were seated in the back. Due the car's size they all had enough space to sit comfortable... but, it's not that they were feeling comfortable at the moment.

Morgan had rested her chin on her hand as she looked at the houses passing by in the window, Hanan was absentmindedly fumbling with the sleeve of her shirt while Beryl sat in between her friends, hugging her knees with a somewhat blank look.

"Whatever happened..." Bright finally spoke up. "I take it you don't want to talk about it now?" He asked to no one in particular.

Morgan was the first to speak up. "What is there to say?" She shrugged.

"Sorry, Bright. I can't speak for the others but I would like some time to think. I'm not feeling so well either." Hanan offered a polite smile as she placed a hand on her forehead. "Besides, my mom would kill me if I were late for dinner again."

"That is fine. I'll take you guys home and we can talk it over tomorrow. I'll even make something nice to eat!" Bright replied with a smile. "So, Hanan, when we arrive at your house... does your brother want another selfie with me?"

That managed to get a laugh out of Hanan.

"Always."

----

Ray couldn't catch sleep that night. They hadn't even spoken a single word after Bright had taken the other girls home and they had arrived back under their own roof.

They had to admit, while they had only been living here for roughly a month and a half, it already felt more homely than their castle had ever been.

It was smaller, less spacey and more... cosy? It made them feel safe, despite the lack of guards.

But they had Bright, and they trusted him.

Ray clutched the blanket they had wrapped themself in. They had safely confined themself in their room. It was dark outside, but the room was illuminated by a night light. If they were feeling better, they would probably have provided enough light from their body to light up the entire room.

But they felt terrible.

Today had been a rough day, to put it mildly.

They didn't want to think anymore. They just wanted to... turn their brain off entirely. But they didn't want to sleep either. Sleeping always brought them back. So vividly. It was always like they were experiencing their fight all over again.

They had flickered so many times during it.

Now that they thought about it, before today, during their fight had been the last time they had flickered.

Well, they had flickered only a few times before that. Most of them due to small accidents.

----

Their first flicker had been a high fall from a balcony.

It had happened so fast. Before they knew it they were falling, seeing the distance between themself and the night sky greaten, followed by a painful crack.

Everything after that was pitch black, but only for a minute.

The next thing they knew, they were lying in a flowerbed. The soft petals touched their skin. It felt... nice? At least until the sound was returning to their ears and they heard incomprehensible murmuring, more and more. The physical pain was gone but the almost throbbing sensation lingered around much longer.

They opened their eyes and noticed some splotches of white had dirtied their nightgown. Their hair was messy, and their legs felt a tad stiff.

But despite all that, an odd grin found its way on their face.

----

"... Ray?" Bright's gentle voice pulled them back to reality again. "I'm sorry for intruding but... would you at least tell me what happened? I'm worried about you, and the others."

All Ray could do was shake their head. They didn't want to talk, or think, right now.

When Ray looked up, they noticed he was in his peacock form. "That is all right. We can talk when you're ready. I won't bother you anymore." He paused. "Oh, well before that... do you want anything? Some water, maybe?"

This time Ray nodded and Bright instantly rushed out of the room and came back with a glass of water. He was easily able to balance the glass in his wing. Their hand reached out of their blanket and they emptied the glass in a single gulp before handing it back to Bright.

He gave them a little nod and a "Good night.", before going to the door. His wing hovered over the doorknob before Ray called out softly.

"Bright...?"

He turned around and almost dropped the glass when he saw that Ray was crying.

"Will you... please... please stay with me?" They whispered meekly as they rubbed the tears from their face. It didn't really work because for every tear wiped away, another came in its place. "I am scared. I do not think I can do this, Bright..."

Bright closed the door behind him and hopped on Ray's bed. "Ray, you won't have to do this alone. Hanan, Beryl, and Morgan are there to help you. I am here to help too. I will not let anything happen to you, I promise."

His words had the opposite effect entirely, as Ray started crying even louder at that. They completely buried themself in their blanket.

They owed him so much, and they had only let him down. Like everyone else.

They had let everyone down.

They hadn't delivered the miracle they had promised.

Even Shade was disappointed in them, even he felt let down by their failure. It was obvious in the way he had looked at them. The disdain had practically dripped off his face.

That look full of resentment. It hurt. So bad.

Ray didn't blame him for being upset. He had all rights to be angry with them.

For some reason Ray couldn't wrap their head around, Bright had never given them that look. He had lost people too. He had lost his dear mother, Lucille, because of their stupidity. How could he not be upset with them?

They didn't deserve Bright. They didn't deserve his kindness.

"Why? Primo got destroyed... everyone is gone... everyone... and it is my fault!!" They squeezed their eyes shut. "How can you not hate me, Bright!? How!?"

"Ray..."

"You are just like Lucille! Making me think what I am doing... or saying ... or feeling is okay, while it is not."

Bright finally mustered the courage to place a firm wing on the blanket around Ray's shoulder area. They flinched, but kept still.

"Ray, please." He begged. "Stop this. Stop blaming yourself for what happened back then. I don't know exactly what happened but... that's in the past. And the two of us, as the last remnants of Primo, should continue letting our lives burn bright..." He let out a small chuckle, although it was a bit forced. "... for everyone's sake. If anyone is to blame for Primo's destruction, it's the Titans."

"The Titans. Not the Cures." Bright added quickly, then lowered his gaze. "... They are simply forced to carry their burdens, and that saddens me. They don't deserve that, and neither do you."

Ray poked their head out of the blanket, but they didn't say anything. Their eyes focused on Bright, blinking a few times.

Still with a firm wing on the blanket, Bright gave them a soft smile.

"Bright, can you... will you... um...?" Ray paused, meekly hiding inside the blanket again. "... sing me a lullaby?"

"A lullaby?" He asked, completely taken back by Ray's sudden request. "But I'm no singer. I mean... I will do it if you want me to, but don't expect me to be have such an angelic voice as my mother..."

Ray poked their head out again. "I like listening to your voice."

A gentle laugh filled the room.

"Thank you, Ray."

The blond shook their head in response.

"No, thank you, Bright."

Bright let out another laugh. Ray's smile made him feel better, and a bit accomplished. He closed his eyes and, to his best ability, sang a gentle little melody like his mother had done for him many times.

Chapter Text

Aeris was debating on showing her face in the main room or heading straight to her private room.

She really needed a rest after what had happened today, but she didn't want to worry the others and at least show herself to tell them that she was back and okay. Well, physically at least.

With heavy steps, she approached the door to the main room. Even from a distance she could hear the others' murmuring voices. Smoky was strumming his guitar and absentmindedly playing some song she didn't recognise. She heard Hail somehow have a conversation to Elegy, very one-sided obviously. They were probably playing some card game, as usual. Bronze was either not in the room or just silent.

It took a considerate amount of effort for Aeris to push the door open. She poked her head inside, giving the others a little wave as they turned their attention to her.

Her suspicions had been correct. Smoky was playing his guitar, Hail and Elegy were playing a card game, and Bronze was leaning against a wall, staring at nothing in particular. When their eyes met, the older woman instantly rushed up to her and pulled her in a tight embrace.

"Aeris!!" Bronze let go of her and then grabbed her by the shoulders, perhaps a bit too roughly. "Are you okay?"

The winged girl nodded and offered her a timid smile.

"Sorry." Bronze stroked the girl's face, gentler this time. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Aeris shook her head. "No..." She whispered and averted her gaze. "It's just... one of them... she... remembered..." The girl took in a breath and started to lose her composure. "Bronze... the girl in red knew who I was... who Connie was..."

"How is that possible?" Bronze frowned deeply and exchanged some confused and dire looks with the others. Both Hail and Smoky stopped what they were doing to come closer while Elegy kept her distance, eyeing the group with an unreadable look.

Hail stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That shouldn't be possible. Is whatever caused you to be erased from everyone's memories... fading? Or is Cure Ember somehow special?"

"Oh, that's easy. Precure are never affected by those kind of things." Smoky replied with a dismissive wave.

"They aren't? Why?"

Smoky shrugged. "Because magic~!"

That answer didn't seem to satisfy Hail's curiosity in the slightest. They had tried to help Aeris. She didn't belong here. She hadn't asked for this like they had. They had looked, searched for someone, anyone, who would remember her. With their efforts leaving no results they had eventually given up, as had she.

Her own parents were completely in the dark about her existence, living in ignorant bliss without knowing their own child was hurting.

"The question is..." Hail folded his hands over each other as he turned his back to Aeris. "Do you want to go back? After everything, would you be able to face your parents?"

He let his words sink in for a moment, and waited for a reply from the girl. When he didn't get any, he turned his head around. Cold, blue eyes stared Aeris down, looking more intimidating and ominous than he wanted.

"I'm sorry to tell you that Earth is going to fall sooner or later." Hail said coldly. He exhaled some cold air. "So that includes you, if you decide to leave and go back there."

Bronze gave him a push and a stern glare, but deep down she knew he was right. It was the undeniable truth they all knew. Shade wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted, no matter how long it would take. There was no stopping him.

They had tried. Many times.

Aeris folded her wings around herself. "I'm staying here. There is nothing for me to go back to. And even if people remembered me, I shouldn't..."

"H-Hey! Don't you worry, Aeris. We've got your back no matter what!" Smoky carefully bumped the winged girl in the shoulder, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "Like, if you do decide to leave and whenever Earth is going to fall we can just pick you and your family up and bring you to the new world! It'll be boring if we were the only ones there, right guys?"

"That's probably not how it works..."

Smoky gave Hail another dismissive wave. "Pfft! It's fine. We can figure something out!" He said with a grin. "Besides, her dad makes the best burgers! I wouldn't want to miss those!"

As the two males were busily discussing among each other, Bronze focused on Aeris and gently stroked her wing to get her attention.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just tired..." Aeris replied, placing a hand on her temple. Her head was spinning, her wings aching and, simply put, she just wanted to sleep. She wanted to turn off her brain for a while and rest.

Bronze seemed to understand as she nodded silently and gently lead her back to her room.

----

Episode 8: Fleeting Memories

----

Bronze's literal iron grip on her hand hurt, but Aeris didn't dare speak up as the two of them went through a portal.

Back in Dawnbridge, the sun had already set and the city was illuminated mostly by street lamps. Bronze thanked whoever was out there that the portal had brought them to a dark corner of an already dark street. Aeris' huge wings would definitely catch the attention of one or more bypassers had they ended up somewhere else. Even if there was not a single soul in sight, they had to be careful if they didn't want to cause unnecessary commotion.

"Now, we should look for your parents. Tell me where you live, I'll take you home." Bronze said with a serious tone, looking around at the almost empty streets.

Aeris looked up at the older woman with wide eyes. "Why are you... helping me?"

After a moment of silence and hard thinking, Bronze let out a sigh. "Look, me and the others... we asked for this. We chose this path. You didn't and, well, I'm not too fond of being an accomplice in kidnapping." She explained simply, taking slow and careful steps. "Just when we thought Shade couldn't get any worse."

"But... what will happen to you?"

"Scrap metal, probably." Bronze choked down a bitter laugh. "Just kidding! That brat isn't gonna do anything. I'll kick his ass if he tries!" She quickly added when she saw Aeris' worried, almost horrified, look. "He makes for a good target practice, since I feel like my aim has become a bit, heh, rusty."

After another moment of pure silence, Aeris suddenly gasped as she snapped her head around and instinctively spread her wings. The (too heavy) weight of the wings made her stumble slightly.

"Wha... what is it?" Bronze had to take a few steps back to avoid getting hit by Aeris' wings.

"... I heard papa's voice."

With a confused frown, Bronze scanned the area. What was Aeris talking about? The streets were completely empty, and silent.

Without warning, the girl flew off, wobbling around in the air a bit and leaving a strong gust of wind behind that knocked Bronze back.

She landed clumsily in front of a man, almost falling over from the weight of the wings throwing off her balance. The man had just closed the diner behind him and was ready to walk to his home a few blocks away.

"Papa!"

He seemed bewildered, and rubbed his eyes as if he needed to confirm that he wasn't stuck in some strange dream.

"H-Hello...?" He spoke softly as he gave her a small, confused wave. "Um...?"

With a hopeful smile, Aeris took a few steps forward. "Papa...? It's me, Connie. I may look different but it's really me." She said, deliberately using her Russian tongue in hopes of him recognising her.

The confused look he gave her told her enough. She felt her heart stop.

"Um... you must be mistaking me for someone else." He replied as he scanned her over. She couldn't really see his expression but he sounded rather sad. "I don't know anyone by that name, sorry..."

He opened his mouth to say something else but was almost blown away by a heavy wind as Aeris ascended into the sky.

no no noo nooo nooooo

Her back started aching again and she had to carefully maneuver around buildings to avoid crashing into them. She wanted to disappear right there, to just... disappear, fade away and forget everything.

She dropped in a dark alley, tripping over her own feet as a result of feeling disoriented from the flight. Even after a week of obtaining them, she still wasn't used to her wings. They felt too big, and too heavy for her body.

Her breathing quickened as she looked at her hands again. Once petite and pale, now darkened and soiled. It was stinging, like something was seething underneath her skin.

It started hurting again.

In an attempt to calm herself down, Aeris buried her face into her trembling hands and curled up into a ball, hoping her sobs wouldn't catch anyone's attention.

Bronze found her again after what seemed to be hours.

"Aeris...?" She asked softly and placed a hand on her shoulder. Aeris shook her head and looked at her, tears still streaming down her face.

"Please... take me back with you."

----

The next day, Beryl decided to just wait nearby the school until Hanan and Morgan would get out. Her mind drifted off to the homework she still hadn't done. Needless to say, she hadn't really felt up to it last night.

The image of Ray's limp, lifeless body had kept her up almost all night. Even in sleep it had haunted her and now the mere memory of that image made her shake like a leaf.

She originally had planned to go to Bright and Ray's house right away but had decided against it. She didn't want to see Ray right now. Not with the memory so fresh in her mind.

With a sigh, Beryl fumbled with a small, leather bracelet with an opal tied in the middle. It was carefully weaved together in tight braids, keeping the opal bead in place easily.

Instead of homework, she had spent her evening finishing this bracelet. Making lucky charms, playing around with crafts and gems made Beryl feel relaxed, in a way. It was one of the few things that actually captivated her focus.

She clutched her own precious, flower-shaped necklace fondly. Beryl had the rule to always make her friends a lucky charm of sorts. She hadn't gotten any ideas for Morgan, Hanan or Bright yet, but a rare opal she had found recently had reminded her of Ray. Radiant, beautiful, and colorful... like them!

She had been trying to become closer to the blond and get them to open up but... it had been tricky. Despite their blunt way of expressing themself, Ray seemed pretty guarded at the same time.

"... Beryl!"

At the call of her name Beryl almost threw the bracelet in the air. She looked up and let out a gasp.

Speak of the devil.

Ray nervously approached her, rubbing the palm of their hand again. They had some odd sort of white hue on their cheeks and a rather tense frown.

"You..." They started and they quickly averted their eyes. "You genuinely do not remember anything about Terre?"

After blinking precisely three times, Beryl shook her head. "Nope! Nothing!" She then rubbed her cheek awkwardly. "I... suppose that's for the best?"

The blond's reply was a quick nod. Ray silently sat down next to Beryl on wide stairs.

A long silence followed. Beryl had hidden away the bracelet in her pocket, debating on if this was the correct moment to give it.

For once she kept her distance from Ray. She didn't feel like hugging them, or even looking at them. Her mind kept drifting back to that image.

"Soooooo... where is Bright?" Beryl asked, trying to both distract herself and end the awkward silence.

And, just in time, that was the moment when Bright showed up.

"Ray, why did you suddenly run off again? Please stop doing that..." He asked with a slight frown, Ray pouted in return. "Oh, hello Beryl!" Bright greeted Beryl with a wave and held up his bag of groceries. "I'm making pasta, along with some nice salads. How does that sound?"

Seeing the vivid images of the food inside her head made Beryl drool. It was almost enough to make her forget her worries.

"I can't wait!!"

----

Tapping a pen on a school desk in a rhythmic manner was oddly soothing to Hanan, but definitely not to Eclair. The blonde roughly snatched the pen out of Hanan's hand and gave her an annoyed look.

"What's up with you today? You've been acting really weird." Eclair said. Her irritated look turned into one of worry.

Hanan shook her head. "It's just... I'm a bit tired from the fight yesterday."

"Yeah, it was pretty crazy from what I've seen. Like that girl with the big-ass wings? Freaky stuff."

"If only you knew..." Hanan replied with a sigh. She rested her head on her hands.

Truth be told, Hanan only really knew Connie because of Eclair. Hanan knew her but didn't at the same time. She was this type of girl who sat in the back of the class and the one who everyone kinda forgot about, even before literally forgetting her.

Easily overlooked, maybe a bit unapproachable, but she always seemed to be in a pleasant mood when Hanan had shared a conversation with her. Hanan could understand why Eclair liked her. Connie's fluffy aura softened Eclair's rough edges. It was just a nice combo.

----

"Hey, who's that girl?" A ten-year old Eclair tapped Hanan's shoulder and pointed at a petite blonde sitting on one of the more hidden away benches in the park. With a sketchbook on her lap and pencil in hand, she seemed completely engrossed in her artistic adventure.

Hanan frowned at the sight. That was her and Eclair's usual spot in the park where they often hung out and played epic card duels against each other.

"That is our spot! I'll go tell her to-" Hanan placed her hands on her hips and was ready to stomp towards the girl, to make clear that this was their place and not hers. Eclair quickly grabbed her by the arm, making her stop after just two steps.

"N-No!"

"Why?" Hanan raised an eyebrow. When she saw Eclair's face being covered in a red glow, Hanan's expression made a drastic turn into a big grin. "Ooooh, I see."

Still with a big grin, Hanan gave Eclair a small push towards the girl. "You go say 'hi' to her then. Maybe steal a kiss while you're at it." Hanan pursed her lips to mimic an exaggerated kissing motion.

Hanan didn't think it was possible for Eclair's face to turn even more red, but there it was.

"Hanan!!" She whined, pushing Hanan's face away. "It's not like that... I... I mean... I don't even know her name!"

"Go ask her then."

"N-No... she's gonna think I'm weird and..."

"Fine, I'll go and put up a good word for you." Hanan turned around and waltzed right up to the girl. Eclair wanted to stop her but felt nervous about getting too close to the girl. She let out a weak whine and hid behind a nearby tree as Hanan tapped the aspiring artist n the shoulder.

Hanan had to tap a total of five times before the girl acknowledged her. She had been in such a daze from her drawing that she hadn't even noticed Hanan trying to get her attention.

She slowly looked up, a timid but curious look on her face. Her somewhat droopy, grayish blue eyes kinda reminded Hanan of a dark cloud on a stormy night.

Hanan couldn't help but peek at the drawing that had kept the girl's attention for so long. She was quite impressed at the artistic talent the girl had, Hanan hadn't seen anything like it. The drawing was a beautiful, yet dangerous sky in a storm. Lightning surrounded the sky and in the middle of all this was a single, golden... bird... angel... thing? Whatever it was, it was Right in the eye of the storm.

"Hey, that looks pretty cool!" She blurted out, startling the girl. After a short silence, the girl smiled back and showed some other drawings. Most of them were of wide skies. Sunny skies, clear skies, stormy skies. Various landscapes came up too, Hanan especially liked the one with two volcanoes erupting.

Hanan managed to take her eyes of the drawings and saw Eclair, still behind the tree. "Oh! So my friend, Eclair, over there, wants to talk to you but is suuuuuper shy." Hanan turned around and gave Eclair a big thumbs-up, the blonde glared at her but quickly hid behind the tree when the girl looked in her direction. "But she really wants to get to know you better! I'm Hanan, by the way. What is your name?"

The girl gave her a breezy smile and said something in a language Hanan couldn't understand. The girl quickly let out a little gasp, shrinking back a little as she spoke up again in a flustered tone.

"I'm... I'm Connie. Papa and me moved... to here... ." Her accent, whatever it was, was pretty heavy, Hanan had to pay attention to get what she was saying. "Sorry... I can't really... speak English good..."

"Oh, you're fine!" Hanan gave Connie a dismissive wave and offered a hand. "Eclair is great at English, I'm sure she can help you out!"

----

"Ugh, I hate English."

Eclair sighed heavily as she sank back into her seat. She looked over the English test she had just gotten back. A bad grade, again. Nothing new there.

"Huh!? Even you got a bad grade!?" Eclair gasped when she saw Hanan's red marked test. "What happened to my fave nerd?"

Hanan gave her friend a reassuring smile. "It's okay. Being a superhero comes at a cost. Guess I have to work a little harder next time..." Hanan's mouth was on autopilot as she started rambling about studying more. Her brain was busy worrying about something else.

Shade's words from before were still echoing through her mind. Was, whatever had happened to Connie, going to happen to them too? To just be erased from existence and forgotten by everyone? Was that what he was planning?

Hanan clenched her fist. No way she was gonna let that happen. She just had to become stronger. To protect the others, everyone, and herself.

The bell signified the end of the day. School was finally over. Hanan quickly put her own test in her bag, gave Eclair a quick, "Bye!" and went straight to Morgan's locker. The shorter girl was already there, pretty much throwing her stuff in the locker.

"Uh, what do you want?" She asked. "Is there an attack?"

"No, no. We were going to meet up after school, right? To discuss what happened yesterday?" Hanan reminded her as she rubbed her hands together awkwardly.

Despite nodding, Morgan wore a deep frown. "Sure. Ray has a lot of explaining to do. Especially why they didn't die after breaking their damn neck."

"They did say that they weren't human..."

"Whatever. It's really... weird. Kinda freaked me out." Morgan bit on her lip and shoved her hands in her pockets as she followed Hanan outside. "And didn't you see how Beryl reacted? It was almost like she had a panic attack."

"Yeah..."

To their surprise, Beryl, Bright, and Ray were all waiting for them outside the school. Beryl instantly ran up to them, arms spread wide. Morgan making a kicking motion towards her made Beryl do a little turn and jump on Hanan's back, who wobbled a little from the sudden weight.

"Morgan, water you acting crabby about toda-AAAh!!" Beryl jumped off Hanan's back to avoid getting hit by another of one of Morgan's kicks. "I can sea that you didn't like that one!"

Hanan snorted at Beryl's sense of humor, clearly amused. Morgan on the other hand, was not.

Before a fight could happen, Bright stepped forward and raised his hands in a shushing motion. "Now, now. Let's play nice, girls. Shall we go to my house? My car is parked not too far from here."

----

"What!?" Shade cried, throwing his hands in the air. This was unbelievable. "What do you mean you all have no more Dark Ink left? Why didn't you guys tell me sooner...?"

"We didn't really get the chance to. You're always sulking, anyway."

Hail chuckled as he showed that his bottle still was half-full. "I'd like to make it clear that I do have a half a bottle worth of darkness left. I was careful and precise, applied just the right amount necessary. Nothing more, nothing less." He puffed out his chest with pride. "Also, I am pleased to hear that you are actually acknowledging my naming sense. I appreciate it."

"And, meanwhile we don't have Hail's intelligent mind and got a little careless." Smoky shrugged as he and Elegy placed their empty bottles on the table. "Whoops."

"'Whoops'? 'Whoops'? Is that all you have to say for yourself!? Do you have any idea what I have to go through to get this?" Shade gritted his teeth as he snatched the empty bottles from the table, as well Hail's half-filled one. "You better be thankful I'm doing this!"

Smoky leaned forward. "... Oh god, don't tell me the Dark Ink is made from your tears or something?" He frowned for a moment but Shade's offended gasp amused him too much to not grin in satisfaction.

"Uh, no. My tears aren't even black. Also, you fool, I don't cry!" Shade instantly defended, a black hue flushing his pale cheeks. "Ever."

"Aw, trying to be all tough. Such a dangerous, little overlord of darkness." More smoke escaped from Smoky's hands as he waved them around a little with a sneer. Both he and Hail shared a laugh. "Adorable."

"Shut. Up." Shade pouted and kept silent for moment, deep in thought. He suddenly slammed his hand on the table, as if he was just remembering something. "Hey, guys. I came here to ask this. How can the Titans use those powers? How are they these, "Pretty Cures"?" Another slam, harder this time. "How!?"

Elegy kept silent as her eyes flicked to Smoky and Hail, the latter standing up and folding his hands together behind his back.

"Ahem. Allow me to tell you the result of my research, and a suggestion of where to go from here." Hail started, proudly puffing his chest forward and looking down at Shade. "These three, seemingly, normal human girls transform by using these..." Hail rested his chin on his hand. "... Eggs?"

Shade almost jumped into Hail's face. "Eggs!?"

"I suppose?" Hail replied, raising an eyebrow at the sudden closeness. "Rather pathetic looking ones too, if I say so myself. Anyway, I suggest we-"

Hail's eye twitched as Shade interrupted him with a short groan. The boy held out his palm and a small, pitch-black egg floated in place. "Like this? Hm? Hm?"

"Kinda?" Smoky leaned forward a bit. While the shades obscured his eyes, he was likely squinting them to get a good look at the egg. "Where did you even get this? The hand-me-down store? Or is it an easter egg that you painted in 'daaaaarrrkkknneeesss'?"

A black hue appeared on Shade's face again, covering his entire face this time. "Shut up! Don't disrespect darkness like that, idiot! For real, I don't expect any of you to appreciate the glorious darkness. You are too simple-minded for that."

Elegy was the only one who tried, and succeeded, in holding back her laughter. Smoky and Hail, on the other hand, weren't so successful.

The grinding of Shade's teeth was almost as loud as the laughter. Still angry, he stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

As he made his way back to the throne room, he kept eyeing the egg, still floating in his palm.

He needed to know why and how the Titans could become like that. Was it because of something Ray had done to them?

The egg held the answer to something. Something. He was sure of it.

It first manifested when he had found Aeris, after all.

----

This was only the second time he had managed to create a portal to this 'Earth' place. That was literally what this place was called according to Hail.

Shade thought the name was dumb and confusing.

He retreated into a shadowy corner of a building, not liking the warm sun on his skin. He was once okay with it, as he used to be outside a lot, but not anymore. Spending so many years in complete darkness, and darkness alone, made him more edgy around bright lights.

Disgusting light.

Once he was done with this world there wouldn't be any light to be found. He would make sure of that.

Curiously taking in the sight, Shade creeped from shadow to shadow, trying not to bump into other people. They were not worthy of his attention or time.

What?

He stopped in this tracks, not even caring about the sun on his pale skin. He snapped his head around, and saw a particular girl stand on the edge of the street. Her platinum blonde hair danced in the gentle wind as she looked from left to right.

At first he gritted his teeth, an unbreakable glare focusing on the girl.

Never forgive. Never forgive. Never forgive never never never never

That girl. It was her. It really was her. She felt the exact same. How she ended up here, and normal-sized for that matter, was a mystery to Shade. But he trusted his senses, he knew it was her. There was no doubt about it.

Aeris, The Titan of Air and The Everlasting Tornado of Chaos.

It was the one he hated the most.

After a moment of thinking, his glare turned into a grin.

Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.

He looked at his feet and nudged towards the girl, his shadow grew and slithered towards her as she began to walk forward. He watched the shadow rise up and manifest, grabbing her leg and soon folding its arms around her, keeping her in place. She squirmed weakly but was no match for his hulking beast of a shadow. It was designed to be strong, after all.

What Shade didn't expect was for a mechanical thing to almost crash into the shadow and her. The impact never came as she was suddenly surrounded by a windy barrier of purple. A small purple and yellow egg poofed into existence, hovering in front of her. The shadow tightened its grip around her neck and grabbed the egg with the other.

In a quick poof she disappeared.

Shade blinked in shock. Out of nowhere, she was gone, yet he could still feel her energy lingering inside the egg, albeit much weaker.

His shadow retreated, handing him the egg as he created a portal and went back home.

There was work to do.

----

Bronze leaned with her back against the door of Aeris' room, like a watchful guard. She stood completely still. So still that she could almost disappear into the furniture. She was actually incredibly good at being motionless and, for lack of better word, unnoticeable.

Her eyes stared focused on nothing in particular. The dusty, long hall was as dark as ever. She had to admit, even after all those years, the ominous hallway still made her a little tense. But it was better than where she used to be.

Inwardly Bronze cringed when she suddenly saw Shade step out of the shadows and march towards her. She formed one of her arms into a cannon and aimed it at his face.

"Don't even think about going in, brat." She threatened. Her voice was firm as she looked down at him.

Shade gave her a frown in return. "I have no time for this. Out of my way."

"I said out of my way!!" He repeated, much louder this time as Bronze took another step forward. "I need Aeris right here, right now!"

The door creaked open and the girl in question appeared in the doorway. One hand was placed over her ear and the other held onto the door, anxiously.

"I'm... I'm here..."

Like a loyal guard dog, Bronze instantly took a protective stance in front of Aeris. She gave Shade a fierce glare. "What do you even want?"

The boy ignored her completely and held out the black egg towards Aeris. "If the other three Titans can transform using this, so can you."

After a moment of hesitation, Aeris swallowed her fear and stepped forward, gently shoving Bronze away to accept the egg.

With a slight frown, she inspected it, fumbling with it but unsure what to actually do with it.

She didn't like it.

She didn't like the way it looked.

She didn't like the way it felt.

She especially didn't like the memory associated with it.

----

Darkness was everywhere. No matter where she looked, there was nothing but darkness.

She took in a breath, terrified, confused, and lost.

What had happened to her?

One second she was harmlessly crossing the street and the other she was being sucked into pure darkness. There had been a flash of an incoming train and she had seen a small, purple egg float in front of her for only a quick moment before darkness had taken her.

There was no more time to think as a sudden, intense jolt of pain rushed through her entire body. Something was inside her, violently forcing itself into her heart.

With a weak whimper, she clutched her chest. It was like her heart was being torn out of her.

Her vision started blurring heavily and her eyes were watering. Splotches of black appeared, like smeared ink.

In horror she watched as her hands starting to turn black. Her fingertips felt burning hot and freezing cold at the same time. It hurt. So bad.

"... N-No!"

She writhed around in pain, letting out a scream of agony as two wings forcibly torn themselves out of her shoulder.

It hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt

IT HURT

"Hel... help... me... !" She coughed out between sobs, her voice hoarse and echoing throughout the darkness. "Pa...pa..."

Nobody heard her.

She wanted it to stop. She tried to cry out again but her voice emitted no sound, or maybe she just couldn't hear anything.

After forcing her eyes shut, she drifted into a merciful sleep.

----

She wasn't sure how long she had slept, but a voice woke her up.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!? You awake!?"

Slowly, she managed to raise her eyelids, her vision returning. She blinked a few times as her eyes still stung a little and dried up tears were all over her face.

She found herself in a very dark room. She wasn't entirely sure if her vision was still hazy or that the room was just that dark. Looking up a little, she could make out the outline of a big throne. A figure was sitting on it.

She felt too weak to move. Her entire body was aching, especially her shoulder blades. The sudden weight of the wings kept her almost immobile. It hurt to even move.

"Hey?" The voice called again, this time accompanied by a somewhat weak kick in her side, it still hurt though. "Uh... are you even alive? Can you hear me? Aeris? Hey?" The voice started to sound quite concerned.

It took all of her strength to raise her head, and she saw a boy standing over her. The boy was likely around the same age as her. He looked relatively normal, aside from the eyes. His black eyes stared down at her. There was pure hatred hidden inside them.

"What...?" She started, instantly stopping as she felt two, strong arms picked her up and set her on her feet. Now the weight of her newly gained wings truly hindered her as she almost fell over, one ghastly hand held onto her arm to prevent her from falling on her face.

"Be careful! I need her!"

The sudden screaming of the boy wasn't kind to her already sensitive ears. Her head started throbbing again.

"Who... who are... you?"

The boy frowned. "You... don't remember me? Really? Well, you were always a literal airhead, and a murderer." There was that hateful look again, if only for a split second. It matched his eyes eerily well. The look turned into a prideful sneer as he placed a hand on his chest. "I am Shade, the supreme master and the heir of darkness' throne!!"

His loud laughter echoed throughout the room. She cringed from the chorus of laughs invading her ears.

"It's so strange seeing you small, Aeris. You look pretty similar yet..." Shade scanned her over with a confused frown. "... Different?"

"Ae... Aeris...?" She was surprised she managed to say anything at all. "I'm... not... that isn't my na-"

Shade let out another laugh. "Ha, nice try! I can sense you, Aeris. There is no need to try and get out of this. You can't." He explained. "Primo will be rebuild, but better, darker! That is what I'm gonna do and you, and the others, are gonna help. I've spent so long in this place... thinking... planning, trials and errors were made..."

Despite Shade's loud voice, she found it very hard to keep focus on his words. She was feeling a lot of different things. Confusion, dread, fear, all merged together and she felt her mind starting to drift off again. He suddenly grabbed her chin, instantly bringing her attention back.

"Listen, Aeris. You belong to me now. Nothing will ever be like it was. You will not terrorize people, not fly freely in the sky, nobody is gonna fall under your rule any longer." He spat, his face turning into another demeaning sneer. "Soon your fellow Titans will follow and bow to me!"

----

In a few blinks Aeris was back in the present again. She looked at the egg, still in her palm.

Shade standing right in front of her startled her. His shadow hovered behind him, towering over the girl. Its hand grew into monstrous claws.

"Transform, or I'll make you."

Aeris stepped back fearfully until her back touched the wall. She tried to hide behind her wings as Shade stomped towards her, looking furious and almost... desperate?

"Do it, do it, do it, do it!" He screamed into her face, again and again. His voice rose in volume each time. "DO IT!"

"Get away from her!" Bronze shot a beam at the shadow, but the creature merely absorbed the beam made of darkness into its body filled with darkness. Bronze cursed at the shadow and then herself for being so stupid.

The shadow didn't even turn around to look at her when it swatted her across the hall. Bronze hit a wall and fell on the cold floor. She was definitely hurt by the attack, as were what seemed to be pitch-black tears in her skin, but there was a noticeable lack of blood.

Uttering a shaky laugh, Shade found himself hesitating. He had wanted to be careful but... everything that had happened lately was getting to him. Especially the other Titans and that wet candle messing up his plans.

It made him so angry.

He needed to put an end to it as soon as possible.

It might be impulsive, seeing as how much trouble his minions had to go through to collect it. He should consider it a waste. It was a waste. But maybe... just maybe... it wasn't.

He wasn't using all of the darkness, just a fragment of it. He wouldn't be that stupid to use all of it. Darkness was the sole thing keeping this place standing, and without it, it would crumble to pieces. It was everywhere, and he had found solace in that. This place was his father's pride, and Shade would do anything in his power to rebuild it into the flourishing abyss it used to be.

But that would have to wait a little.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on all the darkness in the hallway.

Darkness began to edge in from all corners, sliding across the walls and floor as they surrounded Aeris. Hand-like figures dripping out of the wall, grabbing at her and melting inside her. Her body started shaking violently and she clutched the egg, still in her hands, as Shade manifested a portal behind her and pushed her through it with ease. He went through right after her.

----

Recently, Ray had developed a fondness for puzzles.

They liked how it put their brain to work, preventing it from wandering off again. Placing the pieces together correctly, and slowly creating an image, gave them a sense of accomplishment and it felt very satisfying. They liked it.

It was also a nice distraction from everything that was happening around them, such as Bright and the three Cures' discussion about what happened yesterday.

They didn't want to think about that. Not now.

For a long while, they continued their puzzle in silence. Slowly, but surely, the pieces started forming the image of a smiling, big sun. They smiled back at the picture as they got ready place the last piece to finish the puzzle.

Then their heart skipped a beat and they dropped the piece.

They took in a fearful breath.

So much darkness. So much. Too much.

"Ray, are you okay?"

Suddenly Beryl stood next to them, a worried expression lingering on their face as she held out a hand. Of course it wasn't accepted. She retreated her hand with a sad look.

"There is... something... there..." Ray spoke up, pointing at the door wearily. "Not too far from here..."

"Oh, a fight? I'm ready." Morgan grinned as she grabbed her Seaborn Charm. Less enthusiastic, Hanan and Beryl followed her lead and rushed outside, their own eggs at the ready.

Nothing could have prepared them for what followed next.

----

Falling through the portal, Aeris dropped on the ground, thrashing around like a fish caught on land while still clutching the egg tightly. She could feel darkness crawling inside her. It was everywhere, eating at her...

"What is ha... ppe... ah... happe... ning... !?"

Shade answered with a dismissive wave as he helped her up and pulled her to his side, holding her tightly around the shoulders. "Don't worry. Just an extra boost of darkness. Accept the darkness, surrender to it, and become darkness itself. You can do it!" He gave her a sinister grin before pushing her forward. "I believe in you."

The darkness finally started to form as a sudden vortex of black and purple surrounded Aeris, like a chaotic whirlwind. She was lifted off the ground and her body started to grow and change.

"What!?" Beryl cried out as she, Hanan, and Morgan rushed in. The three hesitated to do anything, in total shock and disbelief at the scene unfolding in front of them.

Shade grinned widely as he noticed the three's arrival. "Ha, you girls are fast! I didn't expect you to show up this soon." He seemed pleased. "And there is the wet candle too. Perfect!" He waved at Ray, standing next to Bright, removed a rather safe distance from the fight.

"Nice to see you again, ya nasty!" Morgan cracked her knuckles, a lust for battle sparkled in her blue eyes.

Then the wind intensified as part of the sky turned dark. Hanan, Morgan, and Beryl transformed in mid-air while they were being thrown in the air by the raging wind.

"The heart that burns with the warm flames, Cure Ember!"

"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!"

"The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"

Having the most mass, Terra landed first, creating a small tremble. Splash gracefully slid down next to her, followed by Ember's simple landing.

Dread filled their bodies as they looked up at the gigantic monster Aeris had turned into. It was twice as large as an Unbound and more slender in appearance, with long arms which ended in claws. It sported a pair of large, black wings with razor sharp feathers and wing-like appendages were found on its forearms and legs. It had two, long chains wrapped around its body, forming an X over the empty hole in its chest. Its grey eyes were curled downward, giving it almost a sad look.

"What did you do to her!?" Ember demanded. The flames in her hair grew as she took a few steps towards Shade. She stopped midway when she realised a pool of darkness spreading from the feet of the monster. She went back to prevent stepping into it.

The monster rose up and let out a painfully loud screech. Its wings flapping caused massive gusts of winds to go wild. Terra formed rocks around her boots to keep standing while holding onto Splash with one hand and Ember with the other to prevent them from getting blown away.

"That is awesome!" Shade practically cheered as he gave his shadow a high-five. He stood right under the monster and the darkness he was standing on had curled around his legs.

He spread his arms wide and let out a malicious laughter.

"Devastate this world and plunge it into infinite darkness!"

Chapter Text

Elegy's eyes followed Bronze pace around the room frantically. Clanking noises echoed throughout the room with each step.

"Bronze, dear, please. Sit down, you're exhausting yourself at this rate." Hail said, rubbing his temple as he tried writing down something on a little notepad while a magazine lay on his lap. "Your wounds are still healing."

"No!" Bronze snapped. "Guys, he did something to Aeris and took her away!!" She held up a hand, trying her hardest to summon a portal, but nothing happened. In frustration, she punched the wall, leaving a hole in it. "And the portals aren't working either!"

"Yeah, this place is kinda falling apart." Smoky muttered, looking at something on his tablet. "And the connection is being shitty too."

The room suddenly shook heavily, and Bronze almost lost her balance. She leaned against the wall to keep standing.

"Oh no, we might actually die at this rate." Smoky said in a deadpan tone, taking his gaze off his tablet to look around the shaking room. "How tragic."

Looking over the cracks that appeared, Bronze turned to the others. "What's happening?"

As the room shook once again, the four all felt energy draining out of them. Elegy was seemingly hit with it the hardest. She suddenly stood up, eyes wide as she gave the others frantic looks. She looked slightly panicked, like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Elegy?"

She grabbed at her head as the place shook again, this time Bronze did fell over. Smoky came from his spot to help her back up while Hail placed a cold hand on Elegy's shoulder. She calmed down considerably at her friends being near her.

"Is this place... sapping power from us to keep itself standing?" Hail asked, looking at his hands. They looked normal but it felt like something was very lightly pulling on his skin. It didn't hurt, in fact, he barely felt it at all. "Is that what's happening?"

Smoky shrugged as smoke escaped from his hands. "Shade's gonna come back to everything he totally worked so hard for up into smoke and ashes, haha!" He laughed loudly. While he was obviously trying to ease the mood, he himself didn't really seem to care. "He's gonna be so pissed. I bet he's gonna cry."

"Well, we won't be around to see that if this continues..." Hail reminded him, looking up at the room as it continued to shake. Suddenly a disgusting yet nostalgic taste filled his mouth and even the hint of that mere taste made him want to throw up.
"We have no choice but to... wait."

----

Episode 9: Forsaken

----

Getting close to the monster proved to be quite a challenge. Due the constant manipulation of wind, the Cures kept finding themselves being blown away before they could land a hit, or even reach it.

A far-ranged approach seemed to be the best course of action, although that was something none of them really excelled in. While often refraining herself from using her fire-powers, Ember decided she had no choice but to rely on them this time.

"Terra, stay over there!" She warned the green Cure, knowing of her fear of fire and not wanting to scare her. It was painfully obvious how underused her fire powers were as the flames she shot at the monster barely reached their mark.

Splash slashed the monster with as many streams and water tendrils as she could and Terra threw large rocks, which eventually did cause the monster to descend to the ground and raise its arms in front of them protectively while it flailed around.

The monster let out a softer, yet still ear-numbingly loud, moan as its wings shot a whole plethora of sharp feathers in the Cures' directions, striking them like arrows hitting a target.

Despite the almost numbing pain the feathers gave them, they quickly regained themselves as the feathers dissolved, along with the pain. All unleashed elemental-powered kicks, punches, and the like at the monster, in hopes of weakening it. Most of their attacks were rendered useless, either swatted away by clawed hands or wings, or blasted away by heavy wind.

"Damn it!"

"What do we do!?" Terra raised a barrier made of rocks to shield herself and her friends against another barrage of arrow-like feathers. She turned to Ember, expecting her to have an answer. "Can we use our attacks yet?"

Ember couldn't really find a proper reply to that. Was it a good idea to risk wasting an attack now? They eventually "recharged" again for another use but still... they should use their finishers wisely.

With Unbounds, the color of the eyes signified when a purification was in place. But this wasn't an Unbound, probably, or at least not a regular one. There wasn't even a cage in its chest. There was just a large, empty hole.

Upon better inspection, Ember noticed there actually was something hovering inside the hole in the monster's' chest. From where she was standing, it looked like a small, black dot but even with her precise eyesight, it was too small to see what it actually was.

Her eyes quickly flicked around the area. Slowly everything around them was drowning in darkness. She sincerely hoped people were able to get away in time. Sure, every time they had defeated an Unbound the damage had been magically repaired, but this was clearly different. She had no idea what to expect.

"Let's put an end to this as quick as possible." Splash said, voicing Ember's thoughts almost exactly. Despite her voice sounding rather confident, her face revealed her uneasiness.
Ember nodded and the two rejoined Terra, who was creating pillars as platforms to get close to the monster. The pillars were seemingly quite sturdy as most of them managed to stay standing despite the wind blows.

"Let's go! Together!" Terra said as she created a ball of rock around herself. Splash got legitimately excited as she jumped on the ball. Ember, confused, followed her lead and jumped on too.

Splash launched the ball into the monster's direction with her water as she and Ember started running in place to get more momentum.

She nudged Ember in the side as the ball hit the monster in the face. "Jump!"

The duo leaped up, backs against each other, feet raised forward. Water and fire merged as they rammed their feet into the monster's torso, creating a small blast of scalding water.

"Double Scalding Cure Kick!" Ember cried out, while Splash gave her a puzzling look. She didn't need to name a simple kick, but she felt no regret doing it anyway. If only to fire herself up and hopefully melt away the fear she was feeling right now. Imitating the cool action shows she would spend time watching online with her brothers. It made her feel braver.

Splash roughly grabbed Ember's arm and launched herself towards the monster again, quickly landing a kick before rolling down on its shoulder. She had to pull Ember by her sleeve to prevent her from falling off.

Terra dissolved the rock after it had hit the monster, quickly made her two rock gauntlets, and started slamming its face numerous times. As she started descending, she undid one gauntlet and grabbed one of the chains wrapped around the monster's torso.

The monster panicked as it took off into the sky again. Curling into the air, shooting more feathers, the monster tried desperately to get the three off, but they kept holding onto the chains as if their lives depended on it.

Underneath them, darkness continued to spread.

----

Ray swallowed all their fear. They closed their eyes and ran through the dark pool on the ground. They heard Bright call their name multiple times but ignored him.
Looking down they noticed that instead of trying to engulf them, the darkness evaded them. It parted around their feet as they slowly made their way up to Shade, who watched the airborne fight with excitement.

Their body gained a luminescent glow as they felt more confidence in this single moment than for the past couple of weeks.

"Stop this. Now." They commanded, stopping a small distance from Shade.

Shade blinked in surprise. "What? You're not enjoying my masterpiece?" He asked and pointed at the sky.

"We are both guardians of Primo. We should not be doing this..."

"That is exactly why you shouldn't stand in my way! I'm trying to make everything as it was... but better!" Shade declared, growing more and more excited as he rambled on like a hyperactive child. "As soon as the Titans are under my control, then Primo can be rebuilt. Think about it! No more pointless deaths, no more destruction on the whim of some emotional wannabe goddesses..." He paused as his smile softened for a moment. "That sounds great, doesn't it?"

Ray couldn't find something to say as they let Shade's words sink in. That did sound great... but...

"No."

"No?"

"I will not let you do that." Ray clenched their fists, glowing even brighter. "Not at the cost of this world and its people!"

Shade scoffed at that. "Choosing this stupid world over your own... so much for being the 'hope' of Primo. Disappointing as always."

"Even if you can rebuild Primo... it will not bring back... the people..." Ray's glow flickered slightly as they wiped some fresh tears from their eyes. "Primo is meaningless to me without Lucille, without Mother... I am sure you feel the same..."

Now it was Shade who let Ray's words sink in.

However, Ray didn't give him any chance to reply. "I will continue to go forward, carrying my sins along with me. I will not stop or turn around." They smiled. "I will keep going to something newer, something better! I will make Lucille and Mother, and everyone proud, because I am the light of h-"

"Yeah, yeah, you're so heroic and dependable, all right."

He then raised his hand as this shadow shot forward, stopping right in front of Ray, who froze in fear. The shadow didn't move. It just... floated in place, towering over them but not doing anything aside from staring down at the frightened blond.

"Get them!" Shade ordered, repeating his words a few times. He started to sound more and more frustrated as his commands seemingly fell on deaf ears. "Come ooooon! Rip them apart!"

Still nothing. The shadow continued to stare, darkness seeping from its body like smoke.

"No way..." Shade whispered softly, more to himself than Ray. It was like he was hit with a realization he didn't want to believe. He clenched his fists as the shadow came back to his side. "Fine."

----

"There's something in here!!"

Terra undid the other gauntlet to reach inside the hole in the monster's chest.

"It's... an egg!?" The green Cure blinked. She reached further, curiously inching closer to the floating egg. When her fingertips touched it, a quick shock resonated throughout her body.

For a split moment, she heard a ghastly voice and could smell a faint aroma of... marshmallows?

"It hurts. It hurts. It hurts."

Alarmed by the voice, Terra retreated her hand hastily. She looked up, just barely able to see the monster's face. Its eyes... they looked so sorrowful.

"You are really suffering in there, aren't you...?" She whispered sadly, then quickly shook her head as a determined look appeared on her face. "Hold on a little longer, we will save you!"

The monster twisted in the air, swiping its hands around frantically. The flapping of its wings summoned furious winds all around, trying to get the three off. As the wind intensified, Splash felt her grip on the chain slip but Ember managed to grasp her by the leg before she could fall down.

Ember tried to pull up her fellow Cure but the wind was too strong. "Don't worry!! I won't let go!!" She reassured Splash. Splash said something in response but her words were devoured by the howling winds.

Squeezing her eyes shut and mustering up all her courage, Terra tried again. Against the wind, she leaned forward and snatched the egg in her palm. She felt another quick shock, but as she grasped the egg tighter, the feeling ceased.

"GOT IT!!" Terra cheered, hanging on the chains for dear life as the monster made another sharp turn.

The monster wailed and made a few more circles in the sky before finally coming to a standstill in the air. Terra used this chance to quickly climb up to the monster's shoulder, using the chain like a climbing rope.

"I got it!" She opened her palm to show the egg to Ember and Splash. "It must be her Primary Charm? I think? Maybe?"

Blinking a few times, Ember leaned closer. "So this is what it was..."

"Attack?" Splash asked, still hanging aimlessly as Ember held onto her leg. Even though she was used to move around rapidly and having her feet above her head, hanging upside down like this admittingly made her a little lightheaded.

Ember thought for a moment, but then nodded. "Terra, you do it!" She gave Terra an encouraging smile while she used all of her strength to pull Splash back up.

"Okay!" Terra made a jump as both Ember and Splash pushed themselves off the monster. The three hovered in the sky for a suspiciously long time, or maybe it just seemed longer than it actually was.

"You don't deserve to go through this, but we will save you!" Terra said quickly, clutching the egg still in her hand, the sadness radiating off of it.

She raised her other arm, forcing a gigantic hammer around it, even bigger than usual. "Pretty Cure Earth Smash!" The impact of the hammer against head of the monster instantly sent it, and Terra, falling down at rapid speed.

Terra gasped as she saw cracks appearing in the monster's skin. It emitted an agonizing scream as more cracks appeared.

The monster crashed into the ground, leaving a huge crater in its wake. The darkness from the area slowly wrapped around its body, restoring the cracks.

The green Cure landed next to it, not too far from where Ray and Shade were standing. Precisely ten seconds later, Splash slid down, dragging Ember along with her.

"Ray? What are you doing...!?" Splash trailed off once she saw the darkness parting around Ray's feet. "Uh..."

"You girls sure are something! I can't wait to see what will become of you when I'm done with you!" Shade grinned, rubbing his hands and looked the three Cures over, like a customer in a store. "I think you'll be next, Ignis."

Terra bolted to Ray's side while Ember and Splash unleashed kicks and punches at the fallen monster.

"Ray... he didn't hurt you, right?"

"I am fine." The blond replied simply, giving the Cure a rather blank look.

"That's good! Can you maybe hold onto this? Be careful, though!!" Terra offered Ray the egg. They jerked away from it.

"No... No! It is tainted!"

"That is mine!!" Shade suddenly shrieked and pointed at the egg. His shadow darted forward to grab it but Terra erected a big wall from the ground, dropping the egg in the process. The wall instantly started being covered in darkness too, but it protected them against the shadow's attack at least.

Ray reluctantly picked up the egg before the shadow could grab it, with their hands hidden in their sleeves, of course. As their hand came close to the ground, the darkness whisked away around them.

"Oh, Terre. What do you even plan to do with that? Eat it?" Shade hid his displeasure with a wide, forced grin. "After all, you're a living garbage disposal!"

Terra kept making new walls as the shadow kept bringing them down with powerful punches.

For Ray, however, everything went out of focus as they held up the egg. Inspecting the dark spirals spread around it, they now just realised the egg itself wasn't black, just a very dark purple.

"It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!"

Ray didn't realise the tears streaming down their face before it was too late.

They felt it. The pain, the fear, the despair. Everything Aeris was feeling resonated throughout them via the egg.

Meanwhile the monster had slowly gotten back up again. It trembled as it hugged itself while the cracks finally were fully repaired.

"Connie, I'm sorry... I should have tried harder to help you..." Ember said, voice filled with guilt. "I know the real you doesn't want to fight or cause destruction. So, please, let us help you!"

"Pretty Cure!" As the monster tried to ascend again, a whip of fire wrapped around its body and kept it in place. Panicked, it screeched and squirmed before Ember forced her eyes shut. "Scorch Wrap!"

The monster erupted into flames, causing it to fall over again. It landed on its side this time as cracks once again appeared all over its body.

Writhing on the ground, it looked up at Ember with clouded eyes, giving her a pleading look.

"Pretty Cure Hydro Flood!" Splash followed up, pushing Ember out of the way as she spread her arms to send a huge tidal wave at the monster.

Raising itself up with a wind blast, the monster's cries shook the area. Darkness leaked out of the cracks like a waterfall and disappeared into the mass of darkness in the ground. Feathers scattered everywhere as the monster turned back into Aeris... or what should have been Aeris.

Spirals of black swirled on her skin, like snakes, as she fell on her knees. The darkness instantly had wrapped tendrils around her as the three Cures snapped their attention to the girl.

"I will help her. You keep Shade away." Ray held out an arm in front of Ember and Terra before they could rush to the sobbing Aeris.

"But...!"

"That is an order." Ray said firmly and showed them the egg floating in their palm. "Please, believe in me."

Splash actually gave them a smile. "Beating up that jerk? Heh, don't have to say that twice!"

Despite Splash's words, Ember was the first to move and run towards Shade. He looked quite alarmed at the turn of events.

Ember exhaled some smoke. For someone she had only met yesterday, Ember felt no remorse for feeling so ready to utterly destroy the boy. This had to stop. He had to go.

The red Cure grinned as she jumped up, literally firing up her right leg and sliding towards the still laughing Shade. "Ignite! Burning Cure Ki- Ah!" She should have expected his shadow to grab her leg before her kick could land.

Gritting her teeth in anger, Ember felt her temperature rise furiously and her whole body was covered in flames. She used her free leg to kick the shadow's head away. It cracked in an unnatural angle and let go of her.

"There it is! That's the Ignis I know!" Shade cheered, having apparently overcome the previous disbelief. "Overly violent and destructive!"

Ember was still on fire. She clenched her fists. "Silence! I will destroy you, cockroach!"

"And a huge biiiiitch!" Shade added, clapping his hands with a grin. "Well, not so huge anymore, haha!!"

"Hey, Ember, leave something for me!" Splash shot a water tendril at Shade, but this one was once again blocked by the shadow.

Terra made a jump and created a small tremor when she landed. "For us!"

----

"Um... Aeris?"

Ray's mere presence kept the darkness at bay as they knelt down in front of Aeris. Clawed hands were raised to her face, sobbing, pleading. Everything that came out of her was a mess of whimpers.

The most noticeable thing was still the heart-shaped black hole in her chest. Darkness dripped out of it like a leaking drain.

"... he... lp..."

Ray didn't want to feel sympathy for Aeris. Like all Titans, she had done terrible things and caused the deaths of many people. Yet Aeris... she had looked so sad during their battle.

She had been crying back then, too.

----

"... You must be hurting a lot right now. I'm sorry, firefly."

----

At remembering the Titan's words, Ray's glow dimmed slightly. They looked down at the Aeris in the present.

Seeing someone who once stood literally tall with pride being reduced to this pathetic, sobbing mess... Ray genuinely felt bad.

Maybe, they could actually save someone this time...

Ray summoned their lantern. It had been a while since they'd seen it. Sure, they had tried to transform again, but no luck yet. They didn't know the true capacity and abilities of this mysterious artifact but... somehow they felt it was calling them. So they let it guide them.

Holding the lantern in one hand and the egg in the other, Ray brought them together. They felt a bit alarmed when they saw the egg being swallowed into the lantern. The egg started circling around, faster and faster. Slowly, but surely, the darkness disappeared and the egg regained its true colors again... purple and yellow.

Aeris screamed and clutched her chest. She hunched over as her wings started twitching and cracking, like they were breaking.

Biting their lip, Ray forced themself to keep focused on the lantern. After a minute, the lantern spat the egg back out, right into the hole in Aeris' chest. She was surrounded in a blinding light while her screams died out.

The darkness on her hands, gone.

The marks on her face, gone.

The wings, gone.

The feather-like hair, gone.

All that remained was an unconscious, petite girl.

----

"No... no, no! How could you do that!?" Shade yelled at Ray when he saw what happened. "Why are you ruining everything again!?"

He stepped forward but the three Cures again unleashed attacks on him, or tried to as the shadow was quick enough to block all of them.

"Quick! Get Aeris!" His voice cracked as he pointed at Aeris' sleeping form. "Bring her to me!"

Without pause, the shadow darted towards Aeris but Ray spread their arms in front of the girl. Trembling slightly, they resolved to keep standing, glaring up at the shadow floating over them. It looked like it wanted to swat the blond away but seemed stuck, hand hovering above its head.

"Why... won't you... !?" Shade grit his teeth and his body shook in pure, utter frustration. His distraction as well the fact his shadow was away from him left him open for attacks.

The three Cures surrounded him, circling around him like a group of hunters would on their prey.

Ember set her fists on fire.

Terra manifested her gauntlets, with added spikes this time.

Splash created a swirl of water around her leg.

"W-Wait...!" Ray's shaky cries were unheard as the three Cures dashed towards the shocked boy, who raised his hands in front of him in hopes of shielding himself from their threeway attack.

The shadow faded at the moment the three Cures hit its master. A combination of flames, water, and rocks engulfed Shade. Pointy spikes digged into his skin, water filled his throat, and all finished off with a fiery punch in the chest.

Afterwards, Terra instantly ran back to Ray's side. To both get away from Ember's fire and also not wanting to see the aftermath of their combined attacks on Shade.

Smoke came off of his body as he fell on his back, unbreathing and still.

Despite the abuse he had endured, Shade's lifeless body looked not nearly as bad as it could be. His eyes were empty and lifeless, just like Ray's had been. There were cuts and burns on his body, and black, oily substance dripped out of his wounds.

With two entirely different expressions, Splash and Ember looked down at the boy's body. Splash let out a sigh while Ember was wearing... a smile?

"Let's hope this one stays dead." Splash softly kicked Shade's body. Nothing happened. Even the darkness that was still everywhere didn't move. It was just there.

Once she noticed Ember's expression, Splash gave her a mocking grin. "Aren't you looking jolly? Who knew you, the goodie-goodie Hanan Karim, was actually a huge sadist?"

Ember was quiet but suddenly realization hit her and her smile disappeared. "... He's dead." She breathed out. It seemed like she didn't even believe her own words. "We actually killed him."

"He asked for it." Splash shrugged as she walked back to Ray and Terra. Ember quickly followed her, rushing up to Aeris and picking her up. The now purified egg was in her pale hand.

Ray had grown pale and looked horrified. It seemed like they wanted to say something but the words couldn't roll off their tongue. Terra was turned with her back to the others, hands clamped over her mouth and eyes squeezed shut...

"He was evil... he deserved this..." She repeated as some sort of mantra. "He deserved it... we had no choice..."

Suddenly dark particles emitted from Shade's body as his body starting twitching. His head bent backwards as every twitch brought him further up, each being accompanied by a disturbing crack.

He rubbed his restored face and grinned maniacally.

"Just like old times, eh?"

Terra stepped back, eyes wide. "What?"

"Haha, I thought you would at least remember that I am immortal!" Shade replied with a sneer, quickly followed by another laugh. "You flickered me so many times back home." He paused, a quick sigh escaped his mouth. "Makes me feel nostalgic."

Splash snapped her head to Ray with a glare, demanding an answer.

"I tried to tell you..." They started meekly as they rubbed their palm again. "He is like me..."

"Oh is he now? Let's see. Annoying? Check. Don't know when to shut up? Check. Don't know when to die. Check. Yeah, you're pretty much the same person." Splash groaned, counting down the similarities on her hand. After another groan she turned to Terra, who looked like she could faint at any moment now. "You okay, Terra?"

Terra took in a breath. "No..."

"So how do we kill him?" Ember asked, not taking her eyes off Shade as she held Aeris' body closer. "I think I'm fired up enough for another Scorch Wrap."

"No... do not." Ray almost begged.

Shade laughed before Ray could continue. "Oh, you can't kill me. I have overcome the greatest despair and cheated dimming out all together! No matter what you do I'll keep coming back, again and again! I am invincible!!!"

As he fell into another laughing fit, his shadow silently reformed behind him, waiting for a command.

"Bring Aeris to me."

Ray spread their arms again, standing in front of Ember and Aeris. "She is the only person I managed to save! You are not ruining that!" They looked up at Shade with a somewhat prideful grin on their face. "Your shadow refuses to attack me... heh... I bet that is because you are scared of my wonderful light."

Shade glared back at them, silent. His eyes flicked from everyone in front of him before he summoned a portal with a long, drawn-out growl. The darkness instantly started streaming back into the portal, slowly turning the area back to its original state.

"Guess you win today." Shade's grin was a lie. It was a futile attempt to hide his fury. "But I have all the time in the world to wait for another opportunity to drown this world into complete darkness, and get back what's mine."

He jumped back into the portal, taking all the darkness with him.

----

Shade's smile instantly dropped when he stepped out of the portal. His throne room looked like a mess. There were crack in the walls, even a small gap here and there. Maybe he had taken a little too much darkness with him, or gotten a little greedy when he had infused Aeris with some of it?

Luckily, the darkness seeping out of the portal quickly repaired the room to a certain extent, closing all the gaps and shrinking most of the cracks.

That... thing he had turned Aeris into hadn't even given him any darkness. It had only spread it. Cool in concept, but useless compared to the weaker but easier to make Unbounds. It wasn't what he had planned.

Regret overcame him. He really shouldn't have done it. The results weren't what he had wanted and now he had lost both Aeris and a lot of darkness he had collected.

"No, no, noooo!!"

In rage he punched the wall with his right hand while his left hang limply by his side. He punched again, and again, and again. He punched until black inky-like substance came out of his knuckles.

"That wet candle... that little snob..." He gritted his teeth, looking at his knuckles slowly healing. Shade shook in anger. Lost, lost, lost, almost everything was lost. Back to square one. Restart. Try again.

Feelings of loathing and frustration finally caught up with him as he sank to his knees near the throne, throwing himself on it as he started sobbing.

"How dare they ruin my..." He sniffed. "My... plans..."

----

They were so lucky the fight had taken place pretty much in front of Bright and Ray's house. The group had managed to get back inside before the crowd had gathered.

Now, they were all inside. Aeris, or Connie, was still asleep, and the group had left her in Bright's room until she would wake up. Hanan and Beryl took turns watching over her, sitting on a chair near the bed where she was peacefully sleeping in.

In the living room, Bright was somewhat horrified to see Morgan pour a lot of hot sauce over one of the salads he had just made. Beryl was already starting her third while Ray just sat on the couch, watching the others silently, like an alert pet would.

"This salad... it's nice." Morgan admitted. "A lot of love seems to be put into it."

Bright lit up from her comment. "I really wanted to thank you girls." He sat down, folding his hands together with a gentle smile. "For risking your lives, fighting for this world's future, for your home." He paused, and corrected himself. "Our home."

"No thanks." While Morgan's reply was a simple, dismissive wave as she continued eating while Beryl dropped her fork and threw herself on Bright, pulling him in a big hug. "You're the best! You smell so nice~!"

Ray suddenly leaped up and stomped towards Beryl. "Stay away from him!"

Beryl stuck out her tongue playfully at Ray's glowing white face, before letting go of Bright and jumping towards Ray. "Don't be jealous, there's hugs for you too!" Ray shrieked as she came close to her. They hopped out of the way, causing Beryl to fall flat on her face.

Clearly amused, Morgan chuckled at the sight. She silently watched as Beryl and Ray ran in circles around the the room, like two playing children.

----

In the bedroom, Connie finally opened her eyes. Hanan stood up so abruptly the chair she was sitting on fell over with a loud thud.

Connie whimpered at the sudden noise. She seemed to be in a bit of a daze as she looked at the ceiling of the room and slowly turned to Hanan. The latter felt a rush of relief go over her when she saw that Connie's eyes had returned to its normal color. No black sclera and no marks around her eyes. Her feathery hair was back to being soft and somewhat floofy. She looked exactly like how Hanan remembered her.

"... Connie? How are you feeling?"

Still in a daze, Connie tried to sit up. She let out a pained breath and tried to touch her back with her hands. "My... wings...?"

Hanan leaned forward and placed a warm hand on Connie's back and started rubbing it softly, like it was a sore wound, and, well, it probably was. There were no signs of the wings ever been there. Hanan briefly wondered if the wings were gone or if they had just retreated into her back. She hoped the former but somehow suspected the latter.
"You really are Hanan..." Connie suddenly whispered, looking up at her with big eyes.

Hanan replied with a somewhat awkward laugh. "Yeah, that's me."

"I hurt you... and your friends..." Each word seemed to take a lot out of Connie. "I'm sorry..."

Hanan wasn't sure how to feel about what the girl in front of her was saying. The implication that she was aware of what was happening while she was turned into that... thing. It didn't help lessen her fear and anger.

"No, no!" Hanan said, a little too loud probably. "That wasn't your fault." She added, softer this time, and placed a hand on Connie's wrist, raising her hand in front of her face. "You're okay now. See?"

Connie let out a soft gasp as she inspected her hands, just now realising they weren't soiled in darkness anymore.
She looked up and gave Hanan a sweet smile. She looked so relieved, so hopeful.

"Thank you."

Hanan was surprised when Connie suddenly grasped her hand tightly, like a small child would. Hanan let her. She probably wanted some sort of support and Hanan was happy to offer her whatever she needed at the moment.

"It was Ray who purified you, actually. Don't ask me how they did it though."

"Can I... see them?" Connie asked. Hanan rubbed the back of her head, debating if that was a good idea. Ray had outright refused to let Connie sleep in their room, and not to mention they had acted rather rudely to her before. But then again, Ray had been rude to all of them at least once.

Before Hanan could properly reply, she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. She quickly excused herself from the room and picked up.

[Hey nerd, I heard you went somewhere after school with Connie. What was that about?] She could hear Eclair's voice on the other line. [Hanan? Hey?]

Hanan almost dropped her phone as Eclair continued calling her name, sounding more and more frustrated each time.

"... What did you say?"

[Don't act all innocent, Han. She was with you. Is... is she still with you now?]

"What are you talking about? That didn't happen..." Hanan stopped abruptly as realization hit her. Did Ray purifying Connie caused everyone to remember her again? She couldn't help but laugh at the implication. She instantly felt a lot better. Good enough to tease Eclair, at least.

"And what if she was? Jealous?" She said between her chuckles. While it would have been funny, she decided not to tell her that Connie had held her hand just a few minutes ago. It would be funnier to see Eclair's reaction to that.

[Shut up! Where are you? I'll come over to kick your ass right now!]

"How romantic~! And here I thought Connie was your crush."

[Hanaaannn! I don't care if you just had a fight with that giant thing, meet me past dinner at your house for a brutal card duel.] Eclair laughed for a moment but continued in a more softer, almost worried tone. [But seriously, that thing was huge. You're okay, right?]

It might be better not to say anything about that.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Tough battle." Hanan said in a hushed tone. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

After saying goodbye and hanging up, Hanan held onto her phone a little longer to send a quick text to someone else.

----

Bronze literally kicked in the door of the throne room, briefly stopping when she saw Shade hanging over his throne and sobbing. She shook her her initial confusion off as she walked over to him, roughly grabbing him by the arm and holding him close.

"Where is Aeris?" She demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"Unhand me, commoner!"

A punch in the stomach made Bronze let go. She slid back but didn't hit a wall this time.

Shade wiped his remaining tears while the shadow floated in front of him, as if trying to hide its master's display of weakness.

"Why are you crying?" Bronze asked. Her voice had no hint of sympathy, just pure curiosity and maybe a tinge of mockery. "What did you do!?"

With a hiss, he stepped forward while pointing at the door. "Get out of this room. I don't want this place to be tainted with your disgusting presence, you trash!" He spat in her face. "And I'm not crying!!"

Bronze shook her head, taking a few steps back to be further away to be out of the shadow's initial reach. Just in case.

"This place was falling apart. We were falling apart." She told Shade, who blinked in surprise at hearing that.

After a good minute of just staring, Shade pointed at the door again.

"Out."

"Not before you tell me where Aer-"

"She's gone!! That wet candle did something to her and now she's out of my grasp!" He clenched his fist and leaned back on the throne. "I hate that little... I hate, I hate... I hate... hate."

Bronze knew she shouldn't ask more. She shouldn't say any more if she didn't want his wrath unleashed upon her. But, she didn't have anything to lose.

"Did she get captured again!?" There. She said something anyway. "I'll go get her back if she's in dan-"

Shade once again snapped at her. "Nooooo, you can't! This place will really fall apart if you bring her here like that. All the darkness got taken out of her..."

As Shade was rambling on and on about darkness, Bronze's mind was somewhere else.

She wasn't sure how to feel about this. Relieved? Definitely if it meant Aeris wasn't in pain anymore. If she was back with her parents and safe. But... that would only be for a short while. No matter how hard she resisted the thoughts, slowly Bronze had realised that there was no saving Aeris. Not her or the other Titans. Not even Earth could be saved. It would all fall into darkness sooner or later.

That's why Bronze had looked out for her. To make the best of the situation and protect her, like a mother would. So, maybe, Bronze was projecting some unfulfilled dreams onto her...

"I'm low on darkness. You guys need to get more soon." Shade's voice suddenly brought her out of her thoughts. "For now, stay put. Tell the others I'll get you all more Dark Ink later." He held up Hail's bottle, still a little bit of ink swirling inside it. "I will use this last bit myself. I may have to start all over, but that doesn't mean a thing. I have enough time in the world, no matter what happens... my plans stay unchanged."

A surprisingly quiet, yet foreboding laugh filled the room.

"This is only the beginning."

Chapter Text

----

Episode 10: Skyhigh Palette: Ascension

----

"I'm so happy!!"

The instant Connie stepped into the living room she was pulled in a very tight hug. She didn't really know how to react, at first, but eventually wrapped her arms around the other girl to return a hug of her own. She closed her eyes with a gentle smile.

"A new friend, so lucky! Ahhhh, you smell so nice! Like marshmallows!" Beryl grinned. "You know, I really wanted to meet you! I'm Beryl! Or... uh... Terre, if you wanna go by Titan names?" She gave the blonde a wry smile.

Connie shook her head. "Nice to meet you, Beryl..."

After letting out another hearty laugh, Beryl tried to let go of Connie, but Connie wasn't yet ready to let go of her.

"Oookay, more hugs for you! Especially since some people don't want hugs." Beryl shot a quick, pouty glare at Morgan, and then Ray. "So, you can have their hugs instead!"

Morgan, just starting on her second salad, looked up at the scene. "Seems like they will get along just fine." She took another bite, continuing to talk with a mouthful of food. "Hopefully that means she'll leave me alone."

Suddenly Beryl noticed Connie's shoulders shaking. Her face was still buried in Beryl's chest as she held onto her tighter. "Oh no! Are you crying...? Was it because of something I did? I'm sorry!!"

"No, no... I'm sorry... I... I just..." Connie's attempts to talk were interrupted by her sobs. She finally stepped back, her hands folded in front of her chest. "I didn't want to... hurt any of you and..." Her eyes turned to Ray, but quickly looked away again. "Flicker you."

Ray shrugged. "Oh, you flickered me a lot before that." They stepped forward, stopping in front of Connie. "I would consider accepting your apology if you explain why you decided to wander off into the darkness." They narrowed their eyes. "Aeris."

Connie flinched, eyes shimmering with tears as she hunched over slightly. She seemed like a cornered mouse. For a moment she missed her wings to hide behind.

With a gentle touch on Ray's shoulder, Hanan spoke up. "Ray, don't be like that. She's been through a lot, so give her some space an-"

"I saved you, Aeris, and I demand respect. Answer my question!" Ray slapped Hanan's hand away and stomped their foot on the floor. They puffed their chest forward and stood on their tiptoes to glare down at Connie, who was roughly the same height as them, only a tad shorter. "That is an order."

While Morgan was holding back a snicker at Ray's attempt to appear intimidating, Connie was hesitant to say anything, or even look up.

"Ray, enough." Hanan said, coming in between Ray and Connie before the already tense mood in the room could spiral into something worse.

"I refuse to take orders from you, Ignis!" Ray instantly defended. "I may have taken the darkness out of her... but once you are tainted, there is no way back." They looked down. "Believe me."

Everyone is the room was silent. Hanan and Beryl silently tried to comfort Connie, Bright gave Ray a rather stern look, and Morgan ate her salad somewhat awkwardly.

"No matter what you do... you won't be able to stop Shade." Connie suddenly said, her voice becoming softer with each word. "He is... planning to get all of you... the other Titans, and there is no way to stop him... he can't be killed."

"We realised that." Morgan said simply, not looking up from her salad. "Well, guess we'll have to bury him alive or lock him up or something. You guys have a basement, right? Just throw him in there and destroy the key. Done."

With a hand on his chin, Bright turned to Ray. "... It's like with you, right?" He asked, carefully picking his words. "Only being able to truly... um..." A brief pause. "Disappear when you lose all hope?"

Ray nodded slowly. "... Yes." They fumbled with their hands before continuing. "I was supposed to dim back then... but your hope was able to keep me alive, Bright."

They gave him a timid grin while he blinked in surprise.

"M-Me?"

"I accepted your hope and it became a pillar of my existence."

Bright placed a hand on his chest, obviously touched by the blond's words. "Ray..."

"I believe in you too, Ray!" Beryl chimed in. "We're friends after all!"

"Ew, never." Ray hissed in response. "Not 'friends'. You are more like... servants. Ha! The served becoming the servants, oh how the mighty have fallen. Now fetch me some food, Terre!"

Beryl looked around, scrambling to search for something before picking up Morgan's unfinished salad from her hands and holding it above her head.

"Here! Want some salad!?"

The reply she got was a light pinch in her arm as Morgan took her food back. "I was eating that. Also, Ray, shut up. We're not your 'servants', you pretentious princess."

Ray gasped, visibly offended. Bright stepped in before another argument could unfold, holding up his hands in a shushing motion.

"Now, now, everyone." He said, then carefully approached Connie and leaned forward a bit to get eye contact with her, like a parent would to a child. "I'm sorry for all this. We would just like to discuss some things with you, if that's okay. But first, can I get you something to drink or eat?"

Connie's eyes widened and pointed at Bright's head with her small finger. "I love the feathers. Is it a headband?"

Bright stepped back, proudly placing a hand on his chest. "Oh? These are only a preview of my true beauty." He made a turn and, in a poof of feathers, turned into his peacock form.

"Oh god, no." Morgan groaned, while Beryl and Ray were always impressed by Bright's peacock self, Morgan and Hanan weren't.

Hanan was still not really used to the almost obnoxiously colorful peacock form, and especially not when he set up his tail feathers making it look like a rainbow was above him. Too bright, too many colors. It made Hanan's eyes hurt, but she refrained from saying anything.

Morgan just found it annoying. Not to mention ugly to look at.

"Behold, my glorious true form!" Bright set up his tail feathers and struck an extravagant pose before bowing slightly for Connie. "I am Brightly Vivid Colorful Arch Von Everglow, but I am called Bright Bennet while residing here."

"You're beautiful." Connie muttered, eyes still wide but a smile across her face. She clapped her hands together and kneeled down, carefully touching the feathers. For now, her initial sadness had suspiciously seemed to have washed away. "Your feathers are like a wonderful rainbow, Mister Bright."

Bright waved his feathers around. "You're too kind, but thank you for your compliments." He returned with a more bold pose, spreading his wings wide. "Don't be shy about admiring my beautiful self and-"

Hoping to put an end to this, Morgan interrupted him with a loud groan.

"Ahem. As I was saying... " Ray was the one who spoke up again, placing their hands on their hips. "Answer my question, Aeris. How did you meet Shade and why did you go along with him?"

Connie shrunk back again, clearly intimidated by Ray looming over her while she was still kneeling next to Bright.

"I... didn't..." She looked up at Ray. Her expression had returned to be fearful again. "I... I..." She tried again, with even less success this time. She suddenly seemed short of breath and silently looked away, as if hoping to escape Ray's glare.

"Well?"

Connie looked like she was frozen in place as Ray looked down at her. Even her lips wouldn't move.

"I demand an answer."

In an attempt to calm herself down, Connie took a deep, yet shaky, breath. It didn't help at all, her breaths becoming shorter and quicker. She almost seemed like she would fall over if Ray came any closer.

Morgan kicked Ray's butt softly to get them to back off. "Shut up, you're giving her a panic attack."

The blond was even more offended and their cheeks were a light white-pink color. "Excuse you!? Just because you have a big behind does not mean you get to- Ah!" A flick on the nose got them to quiet down. They held their hands over their nose while glaring at Morgan, who couldn't help but grin in return.

"Morgan is right, Ray. Leave her alone. She's clearly anxious because of what you're doing. But Morgan, you shouldn't hurt Ray like that." Hanan scolded as she helped Connie stand up. "Let me take you home. I'm sure you want to see your dads again, right?"

Connie looked up at her, a little surprised. She hesitated for a moment before nodding meekly.

----

While Bright had offered to bring them to Connie's house, the four seemed to be fine going by foot. Hanan originally offered to go with Connie alone but Beryl had insisted on tagging along while Morgan stated she would only walk with them a few blocks. She mentioned not really being fond of "sentimental family reunions".

Beryl was loudly humming a cheery tune in between her bombarding Connie with rather simplistic questions, like her favorite flower, gemstone, color, animal, and, of course, food.

"Is it marshmallows!?" The redhead guessed and hopped closer to Connie. "I bet it is! Since you smell like marshmallows."

Connie seemed a little taken aback at Beryl sniffing in the air around her. She gave Hanan a quick, somewhat puzzled look but the brunette could only give a shrug as answer.

Without Beryl, the trip would have probably been completely silent. But, despite Beryl's lively chatter, a certain awkwardness was still present and all four of them knew it.

Suddenly, Connie came to a halt.

"This is where it happened."

At the sound of Connie's voice behind them, Hanan, Beryl, and Morgan stopped and turned around to see the blonde stand a bit further back. She linked her hands together over her chest as she looked at the crosswalk next to her.

"Shade attacked me here. It went by so quickly... I didn't... know what was happening but I was terrified. Suddenly there was darkness, and then there was nothing." Her voice was barely a whisper as she hastily continued her story. "I woke up as Aeris in a dark place. The others... they tried to help me but..."

She stopped, taking in a large breath. The other three felt like air was taken from their lungs as she did so.

"The others!" Connie suddenly cried out, raising her hands to her face. "Bronze... Smoky, Hail, Elegy..." She dashed forward and grabbed Hanan and Beryl's hands tightly as she gave them a pleading look. "You have to save them...! Please save them, please..."

Hanan, Beryl and Morgan looked at each other. Unsure on how to reply to that.

"What? Why?" Hanan asked, expression serious. "They're hurting people... I mean... didn't they hold there against your will?"

"N-No, no! Not them... they tried to help me..." Connie replied hastily. "They're trapped too."

Hanan narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? Are you saying that what happened to you, also happened to them?"

"I don't know. Bronze, or any of them, never specified really. They were already there before me..." Connie started rubbing her arms nervously. Her distress was increasing by the second. "I didn't want to leave because there was nowhere to go. I tried to call out to papa, to dad, and to my brother..." She hugged herself. "None of them knew who I was."

Hanan and Morgan gave each other uneasy looks, the latter shrugged after a few seconds of silence. Beryl just stared at Connie, eyes wide and her lip quivering as she took in her words.

"The way they looked at me... like I was a stranger. A strange, monstrous creature." Connie continued softly, looking at her hands. "That look alone terrified me."

Beryl tensed up. "But... you..."

"I am a monster..." Connie said, stepping back. "...and so are you." Another step. "We all are."

"Don't say that..." With an almost pleading tone, Hanan reached out a hand. "You know that's not true."

For the first time, Connie raised her voice. Her normally breezy tone gained a somewhat shrill edge. "People died because of us. A world got destroyed because of us!"

Morgan let out a loud groan to draw the other three's attention to her. With her hands tucked in her pockets of her hoodie, she took a step forward.

"Whatever you're saying is bullshit and you know it." She snapped. "Reincarnation may be a thing, it may be not. I don't care. I'm Morgan Shannon Fischer. Not Unda. She is not me and I should not be held responsible for her actions." She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, then clicked her tongue in annoyance. "And neither should you. Or any of us."

"R-Right!" Beryl agreed nervously.

"I'm sick of that." Morgan continued, not even bothering to make eye contact with any of the girls. She just stared at the passing cars. "It's getting really old. And just when Ray is sorta trying to drop that, some other jerk comes in. I ain't got time for that."

Hanan nodded hastily. "Right, right. Don't worry, we'll figure something out." She gave Connie a reassuring smile but the girl's look revealed that it didn't have the intended effect.

"And besides, we got ourselves a new friend, and a new Cure!" Beryl chirped as she put an arm around Connie and showed off her own egg, the Earthbound Charm. "I can't wait to see your outfit, Connie! Oh, oh! Maybe you have super soft wings! Like a bird!"

Realising what she said, Beryl let go of Connie and fumbled with her hair awkwardly. "Well, I mean you already had wings... but... you know... um... not anymore and-"

"We get it." Morgan said with a rather loud tone, hoping that would silence the other girl.

They walked in silence for a couple more minutes and then, without warning, Morgan gave them a quick goodbye before heading into another street entirely. She did, however, take the time to turn around and gave the remaining three girls a look. Hanan could just barely make out a tiny smile.

----

Connie's house was in one of those houses that was hidden away in a maze of other streets. One you could only find if you actively looked for it.

There weren't really any shops or establishments nearby. Aside from one small convenience store they passed by, where Beryl had quickly spent her last bit of pocket money to buy a bag of chips, sharing its contents with Hanan and Connie as they continued on their way.

Connie grabbed both Hanan and Beryl's hands again as they approached a familiar front door.

"You okay?" Hanan asked softly and Connie nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off the door. "I told Aaron I helped you with homework and you got caught up when there was a fight. I didn't specify anything. It's up to you what you want to tell them."

With another nod, Connie let go again. Her hand trembled slightly as it hovered over the doorbell. She wasn't sure if she was ready. Tears formed in her eyes for what seemed to be the millionth time that day as she pressed the doorbell and a familiar sound came from inside.

She could hear her dads' voices have a brief exchange of words inside, but she couldn't make out what precisely was being said. Her mind was just as hazy as her vision had become.

The door creaked open and Aaron's head poked out.

"Hey, he's from the diner!!" Beryl 'whispered' to Hanan, who quickly shushed her.

Aaron instantly pulled Connie in a tight embrace, running a hand through her hair. "Oh, sweetie! I'm so glad you're okay." He said, trying to not speak too loudly. "Hanan texted me about what happened."

Feeling her father's arms around her, Connie buried her face in his chest and let all the tears flow out. She clutched his shirt and smiled to herself.

She was home. She was safe.

"Let's go." Hanan nudged Beryl in the side, who was watching the scene rather intently. She was crying. "What's wrong?"

"I'm so happy for her..." Beryl sobbed almost dramatically as she wiped the tears off her face. "We actually saved someone... look at them... they're so happy, isn't that great?"

"Thank you, Hanan and... um... I'm so sorry, I forgot your name." Aaron apologized, still holding the sobbing Connie in an embrace. "Marco, Connie is back!" He called as, in less than a minute, another man had joined his side, and he was holding a very young boy in his arms.

"Connie no cry, no cry!!" The small boy held out his hands to her. Marco set the boy on the ground, who then pulled on Connie's shirt to get her attention. "No cry!"

After letting Aaron go, Connie knelt down and pulled the boy in a hug. "Benny..." She bit back a remark of how much he had grown. She had no intention of telling them that she had been separated from them for roughly a year. They didn't seem to remember anyway. It was like nothing had ever happened.

Not wanting to interrupt the moment, Hanan gave a little wave and carefully pulled Beryl along with her as the family went back inside.

----

Bronze flipped through the pages of the sketchbook that had once belonged to Aeris. One of the handful she had used over the past year or so. It had been her favorite way to kill time in this almost literally rotten place.

While most of the pictures were of skies, she also saw some pictures of what she assumed to be herself and the others go by occasionally. She smiled as she looked at them.

Her smile disappeared again once her mind was back to the present. If Shade's words were to be believed, Aeris somehow had fallen into the Pretty Cure's hands again.

In battle, the Pretty Cures had proved to be violent, and aggressive. Bronze knew they were the heroes here... and heroes wouldn't hurt a defenseless girl like her, right?

She kept reassuring herself that Aeris was okay. The "darkness got taken out of her" is what Shade had said. That was good, right?

Bronze still wanted to see if she was okay. Maybe give her back the sketchbooks too, or should she keep them here? For when Aeris comes back?

It was going to happen, no matter what. Bronze couldn't help her. There was nothing she could do. Sooner or later, this world would fall and Aeris, along with the other Cures, would fall into Shade's hands.

That feeling of being powerless... Bronze despised it. Letting someone she desperately wanted to protect, someone she had promised to protect, get hurt. Again, and again.

"Seems like you were right after all..." She muttered to someone who wasn't there. Her voice was so soft she could barely hear herself speak. "I really am good for nothing and weak."

She rubbed her forehead. The more she tried to think, the more her thoughts didn't seem to make sense anymore.

After a moment of silence, Bronze stepped out of Aeris' now empty room with the sketchbook in hand.

She tried to summon a portal, but no luck. Each time she tried, nothing had happened and she grew more and more frustrated with each attempt.

In pure fury, she punched the wall, leaving a big hole inside which slowly started repairing itself.

----

After all this time, her room was in the exact same condition she had left it in when she had gone to buy some art supplies. Her bed was neatly made, save for the two small pillows on the floor. There were some scrunched papers scattered over her low table in the middle of the room.

Even the unfinished drawing was still there. The reason why she had gone out to get more colored pencils in the first place was to finish it.

Slowly going over it with her hand. She tried to remember what she actually was drawing. Like always, it started with a sky, but this time there was a small, monochrome figure in the middle.

Her head started to hurt just looking at the vague figure.

She remembered seeing it in her dreams. She remembered fearing it in her dreams.

Connie shook her head. That wasn't important right now, or at all. What was important was that she was home. She was in her own room, in her own house.

She laid down on her bed and it almost felt like sinking down in a cloud of soft sheets and pillows. Almost the exact opposite of the bed she had used in the hideout.

Just as she was starting to feel anxious again, someone jumped on her bed.

"Connie!" Benny gave her a toothy grin and started hopping up and down. "Come play?"

He laughed and tackle-hugged her when she tried to sit up. "Draw? Color?" He asked as he wrapped his short arms around her waist.

Connie had stopped counting how many times she had cried today. She tried to keep back more tears as she ran her hand through her step-brother's messy, black hair. She didn't even mind his somewhat loud laugh, in fact, she was actually happy to hear it again.

She was so happy.

"Yes, let's go coloring."

----

That night she had a panic attack.

It started with a nightmare. She couldn't really remember the details but she woke up feeling terrified. Waking up in a dark room only made it worse.

Every shadow in her room seemed to have a hidden, mocking, and almost demonic face, and closing her eyes only made her hear laughter. She could have sworn she spotted Shade in the corner of her eye a few times, ready to lash out at her from the shadows, ready to take her away again.

Mustering up all her courage, she jumped out of her bed and rushed out of the room, flicking on any light along the way.

Out of breath, she stumbled into her dads' room and timidly woke up Aaron. Out of the two, he was the lightest sleeper and there was no waking up Marco once he had fallen asleep.

A few minutes later, Aaron was sitting on a pillow on the floor, leaning against her bed and holding her hand until she would fall asleep. He hummed a gentle little tune in hopes of making her feel better.

Connie rarely had a bad dream, but on those rare occasions that she did, Aaron had always been ready to be near her and comfort her, even if it meant losing sleep in the progress.

"Is this because of what happened today?" He asked softly, and noticed her grip tighten.

"Papa..." Connie squeezed her eyes shut to force the tears back. Not again. In her mind, she scolded herself. "I was so scared..."

Aaron turned around and gave her a hug. "It's okay now. You're here and there's nothing to be afraid of. You can always wake me up when you're scared."

Connie tried to say something but could only make a little noise as she nodded.

"And, we can trust Hanan and... the others to help, right?" Aaron smiled sheepishly. "I should really try harder to remember their names..."

As Aaron continued humming, Connie's gaze drifted off to the purple egg she had placed on her nightstand.

Did those girls expect her to fight with them now? She knew there was no way she could be of any help to them. She didn't want to fight, either. The thought alone made her stomach twist.

And how could she even begin to try and hurt those who had helped and taken care of her for the past year?

Every time any of them had directly decided to fight the Cures, they had come back beaten and bruised, seemingly on the verge of death, but always recovering after a few days of rest.

Would they hate her now that the darkness was out of her? Would they try to go after her? To bring her back? Or to... dispose of her?

She panicked briefly as she imagined them looming over her. Dark eyes stared her down in pure hatred and malice.

No, they weren't like that.

Connie let out a sigh. She knew she had no place in this battle.

It might be for the best to discuss these worries with Hanan, or Beryl, or Bright, later. They seemed to be the most trustworthy, or at least the easiest ones to talk to.

For now, she decided to just allow herself some rest. She closed her eyes and, despite the dread she felt, managed to drift away to dreamland surprisingly easy.

----

Many people had decided to stay inside on this chilly Saturday morning, but Aaron and Marco couldn't, being the owner of a diner and a simple taxi-driver respectively. But luckily, both the diner and the taxi company's office were a relatively short walking distance.

It had been a while since Connie had felt the actual chilly, winter cold. The wind was rather harsh, but nothing she couldn't handle. In fact she found it oddly soothing, although it did make her feel a little lightheaded.

Benny was still half-asleep as Aaron, Marco, and Connie dropped him off at the Karim's house, where he often stayed when both men had to work and Connie was at school.

Although she didn't have to go to school today, Connie had planned to get in contact with Hanan, at least, to talk about... a lot. She had wanted to talk to them about her worries and Pretty Cure.

They all seemed so nice. She didn't want for what happened to her to happen to them too.

To Connie's disappointment, Hanan's mother told them that she had gone to Eclair's place roughly an hour before.

She let out a soft sigh and fiddled a little with the purple and yellow egg she had in her pocket. She really wanted to talk to her and the others. Eclair's house was really close to the diner, and not even that far from the office, so the three remaining family members just walked to their destination while enjoying the placid quietness. There were barely any people or cars, and the only sound was that of the wind.

Until Aaron started chatting about something, that is. Connie couldn't really keep up as she was too busy taking in the fact that she was walking with her dads again. Like nothing had happened.

She wanted to capture this moment. Grab it tightly and never let go.

While losing herself in thoughts, she didn't realise her pace slowing slightly, letting herself fall a little behind.

Connie watched her dads in front of her, completely engrossed in whatever they were talking about. Even the normally calm Marco found himself laughing at whatever Aaron was happily chatting to him about.

He looked so happy. They both did.

Connie gained a smile of her own and was ready to run back up to them...

... but a hand grabbing her shoulder stopped her.

"Aeris~!"

Her heartbeat quickened.

"Don't you dare think that you've won." The voice was right next to her. She shut down, panic and distress growing each passing second as the familiar voice spoke up again. "I promise that you'll be the first when I get enough darkness again."

"S-Shade..." Connie sputtered out, surprised she managed to say anything at all. She didn't look up. She didn't want to see his face. Not that look... not that demeaning look, that hateful look, that horrifying look.

"Two dads? It's almost as if you're mocking me..." The glee from his voice disappeared before he roughly pushed her aside and ran up to Aaron and Marco. He got a bottle with a tiny bit of black liquid in it and emptied it in the two's overlapping shadows just as they turned around.

Shade dug both of his hands in the ground and pulled the shadow out of it. Connie screamed as she saw Aaron and Marco being swallowed by the darkness.

She watched in fear how the mass of darkness formed into a monster. It looked noticeably different from the other Unbound she had seen. This one was slightly bigger and had two heads as its torso seemed to split into two. One arm was thick and muscular while the other was long and thin, and both hands wore a golden, though now rusted, ring on their large finger. It also had two wings, with tears and holes in the tips of them.

The cage was now around its stomach area and inside it floated the forms of Aaron and Marco. Their hands were linked with each other as they seemed to be in a peaceful sleep, unaware of what was happening.

"N-No... don't hurt them!!" Connie begged, desperately grabbing at Shade's shirt with trembling hands. "P-Please, let them go... I'll do whatever you want... I'll come with you, just let them go... please!"

Shade looked down at her with a dark glare. "I said the same thing to you back then, Aeris... but did you listen to my pleas?"

Connie stayed silent.

"No, you didn't!!" He suddenly grabbed her throat. His voice started to break with each word he said. "You killed him. You killed him. You killed him!! Murderer!!"

Shade let go of Connie and his shadow tossed her aside. She fell and the egg came out of her pocket, rolling over the ground and stopping next to her fingertips.

"Consider this a warning." Shade said with a shaky grin, having seemingly calmed down from his little outburst seconds before. "This may be a temporary setback... I may be powerless... but I can still find ways to hurt you, and the other Titans."

Connie gritted her teeth and forced her eyes shut to prevent more tears from leaking out.

She winced as the Unbound roared, its monstrous voice having an almost distinct echo. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. The pain... the monster sounded like it was in pain.

"I can at least take this." Shade said as his shadow reached for the egg. Connie quickly grabbed it before the shadow could get to it.

"You're not... getting this..." She choked out, clutching the egg against her chest tightly. She wasn't sure why but she felt like she couldn't let it fall into Shade's hands, or anyone's. A voice inside her head told her she had to protect it with her life.

She mentally scolded herself for crying again.

"Oh? Is that so?"

As the shadow's hands turned into claws again, Connie crawled back in fear, distress piling up as she anticipated a painful slash any second now.

She couldn't uselessly just wait for help, could she? Who knows where the Pretty Cures were right now...

It might take a while for them to get here and who knows what could happen in the meantime?

She couldn't let him do this. She couldn't let the monster continue and destroy the city.

She had to do something... anything.

Shade was still looking down at her, and she forced herself to look back up. She kept her glare, despite the tears streaming down her face. She knew she wasn't intimidating to him in the slightest, and his pleased grin only confirmed it.

To him, she was just a defenseless girl. Harmless, and easy to harm.

She could change that. She could break these chains she had locked herself in.

She had to believe. She had to find that courage and embrace it.

"All the things that made me afraid... I will... I will..."

The only one holding her back was herself.

"Turn those fears into strength!"

But not anymore.

Taking a very deep breath, she held the egg in front of her. Suddenly she felt a pulse of delight, blowing away her fear and replacing it with an almost fluttery feeling as she smiled.

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" Purple feathers blew out of Connie's egg and the tornado swallowed her up. She clasped her hands together as two gigantic, purple wings sprouted from her back. She took flight through the purple void, and spun around to create a storm of feathers, just before letting her wings close in on her. The wings disappeared as Connie spread out her arms, showing off her new outfit. She was clothed in purple and yellow, wearing a floofy top which split up at the end into feather-like fabric, poofy yellow shorts, and long detached sleeves. With a giggle, Connie spun around again as her hair poofed up and turned white, along with a yellow beret landing on the top of her head. Then, her egg manifested before her. She embraced it, forming a heart emblem on her chest.

Floating in place, she raised her hand in the air, as if wanting to touch the heavens.

"The heart that soars with the courageous wind, Cure Gale!"

----

"Finally!" Bronze grinned with satisfaction as she had managed to make a portal. She stepped out of said portal, with the sketchbook in hand, and panicked when she saw a large Unbound not too far away from her.

Who had summoned the Unbound? She scanned the area but couldn't find a familiar face.

There weren't too many people but those few who were already there were dashing out of harm's way.

She ran closer to where the Unbound was, some people tried to stop her but she pushed them off.

Then she saw a familiar figure. "What? Why is Shade here?" She frowned, deciding to keep a distance from both him and the Unbound.

Why was he here? Why did he summon that Unbound? And why was he-?

Upon closer inspection Bronze noticed there was someone else with him. A somewhat familiar girl.

Bronze squinted her eyes, the girl had her back turned to her.

"Wait..." She took a step forward, ready to rush to the girl. "Aeris?"

She stopped as she saw the girl disappear into a cloud and burst out as... a Pretty Cure?

----

Gale inspected her new form curiously, softly pulling at her sleeves and touching her hair. It was even softer than normal. "I did it? I transformed...?" She whispered.

"Well, well, well. Would you look at that! You did transform into a Petty Boob after all! Haha!" Shade clapped and stopped for a moment to laugh at his little 'joke'. "Good job, Aeris, good job." He continued, voice dripping with bitter sarcasm.

He flicked his wrist and his shadow instantly charged at Gale.

"N-No! Get away!" Panicked, she raised her hands in front of her and caused a huge windblast in the progress. The shadow was shot back and quickly retreated into the ground at Shade's feet, who was also shoved back by the blast.

"Huh. Not bad. It'll be cool to see that mixed up with some darkness. You'll be an unstoppable instrument in my plan!" He chirped like an overjoyed child. "But not now... soon." A low chuckle. "Just wait, Aeris. I promise I'll get you first."

Shade smirked, obviously pleased at the terror he had given Gale with his threat. Letting his words sink in, he silently summoned a portal and left her with the still rampaging Unbound.

Gale couldn't bring herself to move as she watched the now empty spot where Shade had stood mere seconds ago. Her breaths became shorter again as she clasped her hands tightly.

Where had that confidence from before gone? It had been so sudden that it was like it had flown by like a quick breeze.

The Unbound let out a loud roar, bringing Gale's attention back to the situation at hand. Another blow of fear hit her as she looked up at the monster, and especially when she saw Aaron and Marco still trapped in the cage.

"Papa, dad..."

How was she supposed to save them?

There had to be some way to defeat it without harming the people trapped inside. The other Pretty Cures had done it, so she could most likely too?

Clenching her fist, Gale found herself lifted off the ground and she awkwardly flew around, trying to steer herself with her newfound flying powers. It was pretty different from using her wings. It was more like... she was the wind itself. The wind reacted to her whim, carrying her like she was the ruler of the skies.

The monster roared, causing Gale to spin in the air as she placed her hands over her ears. It followed her, flying up in the air with its rather weak looking wings, and used its muscular arm to punch her small form even higher in the sky.

Gale had no time to react as the monster quickly grabbed her with its other, longer arm and threw her toward the ground.

She managed to launch herself out of the way with a blow of wind just before the Unbound tried to slam into her.

"This is... hard..." The purple Cure huffed, hovering in the air as she looked down at the monster.

She gave herself a little windboost towards the cage of the monster, grabbing the bars and pulling on them. As expected, they wouldn't budge. She tried punching, kicking, but nothing worked.

"Please, let them go..." She pleaded weakly. "Let them go."

The Unbound swatted her away like a bug, but this time she managed to evade getting grabbed again by the monster's hand. She continued to dodge the attempts more and more easily, and little blows of wind did manage to at least keep the monster at bay.

Just then the Unbound grabbed her again as she was distracted for a second, this time throwing her against a nearby building and she fell on the ground. All the strength flowed out of her body.

She weakly raised a hand to her head, slightly surprised that her hat was still firmly on her head, even after all the spinning and flying around.

The Unbound got ready to bring down its fist but a quick flash of blue, green, and red stopped it. She felt a few little droplets of water from the blue figure's collision with the Unbound.

Landing in front of her were Splash, Terra, and Ember.

She felt her eyes prickle as they turned around to look at her. They looked so confident... so heroic. In their eyes she herself probably looked pathetic right now.

"Who is this girl?" Splash asked as she pointed at Gale. "Oh..."

Terra placed Gale's hands in her own and helped her back up. "Connie!? Is it you? It has to be, right? Riiight?" She leaned in closer and inspected the purple Cure from hat to toe before pulling her in a hug. "I knew it! I knew it!!"

"You managed pretty well on your own." Ember told her with a compassionate smile. "Are you okay? Can you continue fighting, with us?"

Gale nodded slowly. "Y-Yes. I want to help. I have to save them."

Ember returned a nod of her own and then snapped her attention back to the Unbound.

"Two people!?" She called out once she took a better look at the Unbound. "That never happened before... I didn't know that was possible. Is that why it looks so different?" After recognising the two people trapped inside the cage, she gave Gale another reassuring look. "Don't worry, they'll be fine once we defeat the Unbound."

"Yeah! Let's beat it up!" Using a stream, Splash shot herself up and let loose a couple of well-timed kicks. Ember and Terra quickly followed her lead as Gale dived off in the air again.

"You can fly!?" Gale heard Terra yell from way below her. The green Cure raised herself up on a rock pillar, just barely reaching where Gale was hovering. "Lucky! I wish I could!" She grinned. "Oh, oh! Shoot me towards the monster, will you!?"

Gale cocked her head slightly as Terra manifested gauntlets made of rock on her fists. The purple Cure raised her hand and blasted her teammate to the Unbound, who punched it right in the eye, again and again.

"Yes!!" Terra cheered as she landed on the ground again, as soon as she hit the ground she summoned a few more pillars, all hitting the Unbound and making it lose its balance as both Ember and Splash kicked it.

The Unbound let out a painful, echoing screech that made Gale wince again.

"There it is! The eye color changed!" She heard Ember call from nearby. "Connie, can you do it!?"

"What?"

"Purify it with an attack!" The red Cure stood on the roof of a building behind her. "Uh... it sounds a little cliche, but listen to your heart!"

Gale felt her heart tighten as her eyes wandered to the cage again.

Taking away her happiness... and hurting those important to her... Gale felt angry. She felt genuine hatred, but couldn't bring herself to properly express it.

She clenched her fists. She knew what to do.

"Pretty Cure!" Gale surrounded herself in a vortex of wind, so strong it lifted the Unbound in the air above her. Hovering in the center of the whirlwind, she raised her hand. "Spiral Cyclone!" The wind intensified as Gale cloaked herself in purple wind and spun into the Unbound with a gust of air.

The Unbound dissolved right as it hit the ground, leaving only the unconscious Aaron and Marco behind, still holding hands.

Gale instantly dived to them, shaking them softly. "Please... wake up..." She begged, tears prickling in her eyes.

"It's okay! They'll wake up soon!" Terra assured her before hugging her again. "You did it! You totally blew me away!! Eh? Eh?"

Gale blinked in confusion, seemingly not entirely sure how to react. After a moment of confusion she found herself smiling back at the three Cures.

"Thank you."

Then Terra gasped and hid behind Gale as Ember suddenly shot a small fireball at something.

"We're not done yet." Ember spoke up with a dark glare at something, or someone emerging from behind a building.

"Bronze...!?" Gale's eyes went wide.

Ember and Splash stepped in front of Terra and Gale as Bronze walked towards them. She held up her hands, one of them holding a sketchbook.

"I'm not here to fight." She spoke. Her voice was clear. "Just let me talk to Aeris. Please."

"Connie." Ember corrected.

Gale freed herself from Terra's grip. "It's okay, Ember." She said as she flew to Bronze and landed in front of her.

"You're unhurt, right?" Bronze asked, suppressing the urge to pull her into an embrace. "You really beat down that Unbound."

"Bronze..."

"Here." Bronze handed Gale the sketchbook and took a few steps back. She manifested a portal behind her.

Gale grabbed her hand before she could go through. "Wait, don't go! They can help you too... just like how they helped me..."

With a somewhat somber look, Bronze shook her head. "If you take out the darkness inside of us, we will most likely not survive." She paused and averted her eyes. "It's what is keeping us alive. It's all we are."

"But..."

''I'm sorry, Aer-... Connie. The darkness is where I belong. I choose to stay there with the others." Bronze said with a heavy heart. "You have made your choice too, and I will accept that." She faltered, almost choking out her words. "The next time we meet..." Another breath. "It will be as enemies.''

Gale shook her head furiously.

"I'm going to save you too... all of you." She declared with a shaky voice as she was trying her hardest to hold back her tears. "I promise."

The Cure's words made Bronze stop. She hesitated for a moment but kept herself from saying anything as she went through the portal.

----

"Did you see her face? She clearly was shaking in her boots, or should I say boobs!? Haha!!" Shade laughed, his voice resonating in the throne room. "That's what you get for being a weak snob."

He sank into the throne, smile disappearing and making way for an irritated scowl. The feeling of bitter disappointment was still strong. Losing everything he worked so hard for... it made him so angry.

He thought his little "warning" would help make him feel better. A last kick to Aeris. To say that she couldn't escape that easily, to scare, leave an impression, and make it clear he had the upper hand.

That counted for the other Titans too. Ignis, Terre, and Unda. He would get them all. Every single one of them. No matter how long it took. No matter how many times he had to try and retry.

Tormenting the Titans just made him feel so satisfied. It had always been the other way around, the Titans oppressing everyone. Many people died because of them being greedy, selfish, and unreasonable.

Shade closed his eyes. "That really wasn't worth destroying the world for... depriving so many people of happiness." He whispered to himself with a bitter tone as he clenched his fist. "Even me."

His shadow hovered over him, looking down at its master with glowing eyes, as if waiting for something. Its hands were formed into claws again.

Hopping off the throne and stopping in front of the shadow, Shade manifested four, empty bottles from seemingly thin air.

"I suppose we should make some more Dark Ink, right buddy?"

Chapter Text

"I HAVE ARRIVED!"

Ray huffed, having used the last bit of air from their lungs to call out. They had been running around the forest for so long, stumbling around while trying to find Beryl's little cabin.

They had passed another, normal house on their voyage through the forest but nobody had been home, or at least they hadn't answered the door when Ray had rung the doorbell seven times.

This wasn't really how they had expected to spend their Sunday, but this had to be done, and they had to do it on their own. They had to prove that they could be independent!

"T-Terre..." The blond breathed out as they arrived at the cabin. They knocked on the door. "Beryl."

Nothing. They tried again, and again. After nothing happened, they grabbed a bottle of water from their flower-shaped pouch and took a huge slug from it.

"Beryl!" They tried again, finding themself out of breath once more. Their stamina wasn't the greatest. They felt so tired that they expected to fall over and flicker any second now.

After seeing a bundle of red hair poke out of one of the windows, Ray sighed in relief.

"Oh? Oh! Ray!" Beryl waved at them and climbed out of the window, made a little jump and landed in front of Ray. "You came to visit me?" She smiled, excited.

"I came to deliver an... um... invitation...?" Ray replied, sounding rather unsure as they opened their pouch and handed Beryl an envelope.

"What's this? A birthday card?" Beryl inspected the envelope, which only had her name written in on with golden ink. The writing was almost unreadable because of how cursive it was.

Ray frowned in confusion. "... A what?" They didn't linger on the question however as they shook their head, tapping at the card.

"You wanna come inside!?" Beryl asked, pointing at the cabin behind her. "I have snacks!"

Ray shook their head and stepped back. "No." Their voice was surprisingly soft.

Receiving no further reply from Beryl, Ray made a little bow and turned around. "Next Saturday. Do not forget!"

Then the blond waltzed out of view, leaving Beryl with the unopened envelope.

Beryl pouted, feeling a pang of rejection as Ray had left as soon as they had come. She told herself that they must be busy. Can't expect your friend to devote all their time to you, right? It wasn't that they didn't want to stay because they disliked her, right?

With a dejected look, she carefully opened the envelope and read the paper that was inside it.

A huge smile crossed her face as she read it.

----

Episode 11: Uneasy Peace

----

Eclair tapped her fingers on the counter. Today was a very quiet day at the Primetime Diner, barely any customers.

"I can't believe Connie is that new Cure from yesterday..." She spoke, looking at Hanan. The brunette was redoing her bun absentmindedly as her eyes seemed to be focused on the handful of customers, happily enjoying their greasy meals. "I'm not sure how to feel about that. I don't want her to be in danger."

Hanan waved her concerns off with a grin. "So, you don't mind me being in danger then?"

"You're way more aggressive. I bet you would make for a great, scary villain." Eclair chuckled. "Connie is too sweet, and kind, and cute, and angelic to be fighting monsters and bad guys!"

While Eclair's description of Connie made Hanan chuckle, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous about all this. Eclair had a point. Connie definitely seemed like the type who couldn't hurt a fly, even if she tried.

Well, she did flicker Ray, but that had been an accident.

From what Hanan knew of her, she was extremely passive and would rather avoid conflicts altogether. Yesterday had been personal, she had been desperate and that's why she had fought, but Hanan wasn't exactly counting on her to continue helping them. She probably didn't want to, and Hanan knew she couldn't expect her to fight.

Hanan had been thinking about that for a while, but the last few days had really pulled a piercing question to her mind. Why were they fighting?

Obviously to protect the world, the people but... why did they all accept this new life-changing job (for lack of a better word) so easily. Obligation? Fun?

Morgan obviously loved it. The only times Hanan had seen her happy was during fights, but teamwork was a concept she tried to avoid. She seemed to be more happy when left on her own.

Beryl, on the other hand, was bit harder to pin down. She seemed to be in a constant state of cheerfulness and glee, and it felt oddly soothing for some reason. Hanan wondered if she actually realised the dire of the situation or just saw this as a fun hobby of sorts.

Hanan herself... she... she just wanted to protect people. That was all. Or at least that's what she told herself, and kept telling herself. Maybe the praise and admiration of other people was another reason, despite her insistently telling herself that wasn't the main reason.

"Listen, you better protect Connie." Eclair was suddenly up close to Hanan, her eyes piercing through Hanan's. "If something happens to her I will punch you and make this... thing..." She pointed at Hanan's pocket, where she had hidden her Overheated Charm. "... into an omelette. I bet it's spicy."

Hanan couldn't tell if Eclair was serious or joking.

"I promise I will protect all of them." Hanan stated, having all intentions to keep that promise. "Including Connie."

Eclair grinned as she bumped her friend in the shoulder. "Thanks." Her grin turned into a rare, soft smile. "You'll be careful too, okay? Don't take all responsibility upon yourself. I know I can't fight with you, but I'll always be ready to help in any way I can, got it?"

After giving Eclair a warm smile of her own, Hanan disappeared into the kitchen where Aaron was busy doing his usual cooking magic.

"I HAVE ARRIVED!"

The door of the diner was swung open and the announcer proudly stepped forward, wearing a prideful smirk as they marched to the counter.

Eclair seemed unamused.

"Be honored, native humans, to be in my presence!! To bathe in my glorious light!" Ray said, huffing their chest forward. Their entire body was glowing brightly and all the eyes of the customers in the diner rested on them. They heard murmurs but couldn't make out what was being said. Ray was sure it were praises.

Eclair made no attempt to hide her laugh. "Oh, you are such a special little snowflake, aren't you?"

"Not a snowflake, a beacon of light and hope." Ray corrected. "But thank you for your compliment. I deserve it since I was the one who saved all of you a few days ago from the dangerous Aeris! Do not forget my name, Radiant Lumiere, the light of-!"

"The light of shutting the hell up and just saying your order?"

"N-No?" Ray flinched as Eclair glared at her with an irritated expression. They shrunk back a little and fumbled with the sleeves of their shirt. "Tell Igni- Hanan that I want to give her something. Personally."

Narrowing her eyes, Eclair leaned forward. "And that is?"

Before Ray could reply, Hanan stepped out of the kitchen, holding two plates. "I've got the orders ready!" She stopped. "Oh, hey, Ray. What brings you here?"

Without saying anything, Ray handed Hanan another envelope, or tried to but Hanan awkwardly shrugged and motioned to the two plates in her hands.

Eclair swiped it from Ray's hands, making them flinch again but they quickly regained itself. "That is private!" They placed their hands on their hips, pouting. "Who do you think you are? Seems like you are just Ig- Hanan's servant."

"Servant!?" Eclair burst into laughter. "Han, they think I'm your servant!"

Hanan turned around with a grin. "Oh, you aren't?"

"Pretty sure you are my servant." The blonde shot back as Hanan continued her work. Eclair turned to Ray, waving the envelope around and seeing Ray's eyes follow it like an alert cat would. "I kicked her ass when we were kids. I had to protect the playground from the evil Hanan, 'overlord of destruction'~!"

"What!? You defeated her!?" Ray gasped, eyes widening."Is that why she is not as aggressive as she used to be...?" They muttered to themself.

"The teacher got between us eventually, but I totally won." Eclair snickered at the memory, still holding the envelope. "So, are you gonna order or what?" She asked, not even trying to act polite to Ray. "Do you even have money? Or any idea what you're doing?"

Ray gasped, offended. "Do not underestimate me!" They shouted, drawing the attention from the few customers again. "I will not allow you to look down on me! You have no magical powers to speak of!"

"Just order already, brat." Eclair rolled her eyes, sounding less and less amused with each passing second.

"How dare you insult me, Radiant Lumiere! Just because you tamed Ignis-!"

"It was a joke, you idiot!! Oh my god." Eclair threw her hands in the air. "Also... you need to stop calling Hanan 'Ignis'. It's making her uncomfortable."

Raising their nose in the air, Ray scoffed. "I am trying, but that will not change the truth. She is too cowardly to face the truth. She is a monster and does not dese-"

"Stop. Right now."

A hand grabbed Ray by the collar of their shirt and pulled them close to her, lifting them off the ground a little.

"Hanan is not happy with how you are treating her and those other girls. I hope you know that." Eclair hissed, looking down at Ray, still in their grip and frozen in fear.

"B-But...!"

"She is too nice to call you out on your shit." Eclair continued, her voice lowering in volume and gaining a threatening edge. "I am not nice, so you better get off your high horse or I will punch you off it, we clear?"

"... I do not own a horse...?"

Eclair exploded. "OH MY GOD, HOW STUPID ARE... you..." She stopped mid-sentence, letting Ray go as her demeanor made a drastic turn from intimidating and loud to flustered.

Taken aback by the sudden shift, Ray blinked and slowly turned around to see Connie standing in the doorway. She looked way better than she had yesterday. She was actually smiling as she held her sketchbook in her hands and walked towards the counter, slowly. She still seemed a little wary of Ray.

"H-Hello, Connie! " Eclair's rough voice turned into an almost squeaky whimper as she choked out a greeting. "Can... I... can I take your or-... order? Or are you... here for Aaron? Or Hanan? Because you are a... Pre-... Pretty Cure now too, right? Hanan told me it was you yesterday... and you were... um... really... a-angelic!"

Ray frowned, eyes flicking from Eclair to Connie. "Angelic? Ha, do not make me laugh! She..." They wanted to say more but Eclair's glare looked more intense than ever. If looks could kill... they probably would have flickered twenty times by now.

Connie's smile faltered for a split second as she clutched her sketchbook, but she quickly regained herself. "I just wanted to visit, and maybe some fries?" She asked, placing some money on the counter.

"Always!" Eclair nodded with a smile, taking the money and calling into the kitchen, Aaron quickly peeked out, grinning widely as he saw Connie.

He smiled and pulled her in a hug. "There's my favorite superheroine!"

"Oh, hey, everyone is coming here today." Hanan came back, heaving a little sigh. Eclair handed her Ray's envelope as Ray gasped and revealed yet another one, which they awkwardly handed to Connie.

Ray nodded, proud of their accomplishment. "Now I have to find Unda... Morgan. Do you know where she might be?"

"Probably at the beach." Eclair shrugged. "So you're gonna bother her now? She will kick you, I'm sure of it. And I sadly won't be there to see it."

Without saying another word, Ray rushed out of the diner.

Eclair watched Hanan and Connie silently open the envelopes Ray had given them, reading them, and then exchanging some confused looks.

----

Morgan had lost herself in her music. Loud, upbeat yet rebellious tunes ringing in her ears as she lay in the sand. There was no sun to speak of, to Morgan's slight dismay, and the wind was cold.

But her trusty hoodie protected her from getting too cold. It wasn't pleasant but she could handle it. She was always rather cold, even back when she was small, and had learned to deal with it.

Morgan hid herself away in her hoodie, pulling it over her head and closing her eyes again.

Then she felt a piece of paper fall on her face.

She grabbed the piece of paper and cringed when she saw Ray looking down at her, wearing a smirk.

"Uh... hey?" Morgan said as she pulled the headphones from her head and eyed the envelope. "What's this? An invitation for a birthday party?"

Ray blinked in confusion. "No? It is an invitation and I will not accept 'no' for an answ-"

"A sleepover? Sure."

Ray looked even more confused. They had expected Morgan to decline and had even prepared a little speech to convince her to come. Looks like they wouldn't be needing that anymore.

"That was easy!" They blurted out.

Morgan gave them a look. "Anything to not sleep at home." Morgan shrugged. "The others are coming too, right?"

"Yes. They are. I personally invited them!"

----

Beryl had set a deadline for herself.

She had to finish these handmade lucky charms before the sleepover upcoming Saturday. It would be the perfect time to give them all!

They had to be perfect.

Beryl sighed a little. She still hadn't given Ray the opal bracelet they had made, but now she had to make ones for the others too!

For Morgan she had settled for aquamarine with some pearls for a fresh, watery look. Simple, but Beryl was sure it'll look good with her dark hair and make her blue eyes stand out like a beautiful ocean.

Hanan's was four pyrope garnets kept in place by leather braids. Like fire, burning with compassion and kindness. As Hanan had proved being extremely considerate towards Beryl, at least. The fact that she knew that Beryl wasn't fond of fire hadn't gone unnoticed and that might be the reason why Hanan had refrained from using it too much.

Of course, she hadn't forgotten Bright. Beryl hadn't found a single gemstone that fitted his colorful personality, and feathers, but she had gotten a cute alternative idea! A little bracelet with seven colored gems, forming a rainbow together.

"But what do I give Connie...? I barely know her!" Beryl cried out, looking at her vast collection of gemstones. She pouted as she inspected any possible, fitting candidate.

Her eyes stopped at an ametrine. Purple and yellow entwined, just like in Connie's egg. The way it was shaped vaguely resembled a heart, and Beryl thought that was quite cute.

If she remembered correctly, her mom had once told her ametrines helped relieve stress and anxiety.

Connie could probably use something like that and-

Beryl stopped thinking when she heard her stomach grumble.

"Guess I'll better get some food first!"

----

The entire week went by without any attacks. Things were peaceful and it was almost as if people had forgotten the Pretty Cures even existed. Connie's awakening as Cure Gale was treated like a minor thing, but she seemed to be happy with that, though.

School had been a little overwhelming for her. To suddenly be back, as if she hadn't been away for roughly a year and being expected to act like nothing had happened, it made her feel rather uneasy if not anxious.

Yet she continued to smile. It had suddenly become so easy to give reassuring smile after reassuring smile to anyone who noticed her stress, or noticed her in the first place.

Connie had always been content being left on her own. Hanan and Eclair had been the only ones that had seeked her out occasionally, done group projects with her in class, and sometimes had small talk, especially at the diner.

But now... she genuinely felt scared when left alone.

"Are you okay, Connie?" Hanan's voice cut through her thoughts. "You don't look so well. Do you need anything? Some water?"

Hanan's nosiness had become a lifesaver for her.

Connie shook her head with a reassuring smile. "I'm all right. It's just a little difficult getting used to this again."

The other girl stayed silent for a moment, tapping her fingers on Connie's desk while she seemed to be thinking about what to say next.

"... Listen, if you ever have a problem, just come to me." Hanan eventually said with a warm smile. "We can help each other through anything and everything, because we're friends."

She was like a dependable and admirable older sister.

"Thank you, Hanan." Connie said in her usual, soft voice. "I don't really know what to think... or do...? I'm scared."

"You're okay. It's okay, really." Hanan instantly reassured her as she started packing her stuff. "You don't have to fight if you don't want to."

Connie shook her head again, fumbling with her own egg, the Skyhigh Charm, in her hands.

"No, I have to do this, just like you guys." She spoke. "And I want to save Bronze and the others..."

Hanan kept quiet at that, again, unsure how to react to Connie's words.

"I don't care about what you say." Hanan was slightly taken back by Connie's sudden shift in tone. "I'm going to find a way to save them too."

"We'll figure something out..." Hanan finally choked out, awkwardly rubbing her arm. "But if you don't want to fight, then that's fine! We can't ask that much of you." Hanan objected, unsure whenever Connie was speaking the truth about wanting to fight. "It's hard and-"

Eclair loudly released a breath she had seemingly being holding for a while. "Y-Yeah! It's really dangerous, you know?" She chimed in as the three of them were walking out of the classroom after the final bell had rung.

"So, uh..." Eclair whispered to Hanan as Connie was out of earshot. "You guys are going to your secret Precure sleepover thing now, right?"

Hanan nodded. "Yeah. We're first picking up our stuff, and see if we can find Morgan." She gave Eclair an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"What? I'm not mad, nerd. I was gonna help my bro with his artsy stuff this weekend anyway." Eclair replied with a dismissive wave. "Just... don't play Truth or Dare, or spin the bottle, or anything questionable like that." She warned, cheeks flushing red. "I've heard stories where that ended badly, trust me."

"Pff, don't worry, I'll make sure Connie is still pure for you~!" Hanan couldn't help but snicker, playfully pushing Eclair's shoulder.

Eclair punched Hanan's shoulder back, as her face turned red. "I didn't mean it like that, Han! Oh my god! Don't talk about her like that!"

----

Beryl had no trouble carrying a big backpack as she hopped down the street, humming a perky little tune.

She was so excited!

She couldn't wait for the sleepover to start. They would eat stuff together, play games, have fun, and, by the end of it, they would be even closer friends!

And, yes, she had managed to finish the lucky charms in time. She would give all them her little gifts, to officially cement their friendship and to show them that she treasured their company.

Beryl smiled to herself, holding onto her own treasure. Her most precious treasure of all: the green, flower-shaped crystal hanging from her necklace.

"I'm finally doing this again. Heather, Aurora... wish me luck."

----

The sleepover had actually been Bright's idea. It had been a literal bright idea for Ray, who really wanted to try and become a bit more on friendlier terms with the Cures, if not only to be thankful they were protecting the world in their stead, for now at least.

But a sleepover seemed to be the best way to accomplish that. They had seen it on the magical box, or a "television" as Bright had called it.

Ray paced around in the living room, their arms placed on their back.

"They are late."

"I'm sure they'll show up soon enough. They just got out of school, after all." Bright said as he was proudly placing his freshly-baked rainbow cake on the table. "Except Beryl, but she will probably show up soon enough. I bet she will be first."

The entire table was already filled with all kinds of snacks, from other sweet things such as waffles and pancakes to the more crunchy chips and popcorn. There was enough to pick from and Bright was sure everyone would find something to their liking.

"I am so nervous!" Ray admitted as they suddenly stopped pacing. "I have never done something like this before..."

He gave them a smile. "I'm sure it'll be fine. You wanted to show them you're thankful, right?"

"... Yes..."

"They will understand your intents. I bumped into Beryl yesterday and she was really looking forward to it actually." Bright told them. "Just treat them how you want to be treated. That's all the advice I can give."

"But that would imply we are equal..."

Bright took a moment to reply. "Which you are." His voice sounded rather firm, making Ray flinch a little and stopping them from saying anything else.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

Ray made a little jump as the person kept knocking on the door. Knock. Knock. It made them a little nervous but they knock knock just knock kept going knock knock kno-

"SILENCE!!" They screamed out.

"Ray!? Bright!? Hello!?" A familiar voice said from the other side of the door. "I smell pancakes! You guys have pancakes!? You can't keep them from me!!!"

Ray turned to Bright with a pouty face as he rushed to the door to open it. Beryl, with a large backpack, hopped inside.

"I smell so much good stuff! My nose is going craaaaazzzyyyyy!!" She beamed, throwing her bag on the couch. She grabbed a pancake from the table and managed to stuff almost the entire thing in her mouth. "Bright, you're the best dad ever!!"

Appalled, Ray averted their eyes from Beryl's wild eating habits. "How distasteful and greedy you are. No manners." They hissed. "If you are going to act like Terre, then I will keep calling you by that name!"

Beryl gave them a quick, unreadable glance. She quickly grinned as she swallowed the last piece of her pancake. "Oh, I got a little present for you! So look forward to that!"

"A gift? For me?" Ray questioned softly. All the gears in their mind started turning while they tried to find a reason why any of the Titans would give them a gift, let alone Terre, who never shared anything with anyone.

Sure, they had been showered with gifts almost daily back home. From admirers, devoted followers, or anyone really, who all had been shunned away by their mother, including the gifts. She always ordered Lucille to throw them away, but Ray knew Lucille always secretly kept them, either for herself, Bright, or to give them back to their owner.

But the Titans were the last one should expect a gift from. They were all selfish.

"Hehehe, you'll see!" Beryl winked as she was visibly restraining herself from eating another pancake.

----

Morgan, Hanan, and Connie arrived not too long after Beryl, who gave all of them a hug. Even Morgan let her do so, but not without voicing her complaints.

After greeting the girls, Bright went into his own room, intending to leave the group to themselves and hoping that Ray wouldn't cause too much trouble. He would be lying if a part of him hoped it would be the other way around, if only to get Ray to open up and have some well-needed fun.

Sleeping bags seemed to be unnecessary as the two couches in the living room could both be turned into beds. There were also the handful of big, comfy-looking bean bags scattered around the living room.

Morgan sat down in one and almost sunk away in the soft material. "Nice."

"All right." Ray spoke up, straightening their back and standing in the middle of the room. "I have invited you all today to participate in- Terre, Aeris! Excuse you!? I am explaining something!" They cried as Beryl and Connie had gone to the snack table.

"Please... don't ca-" Connie started softly but trailed off once Beryl opened her mouth.

"Don't call us that!" The redhead snapped, shooting a quick glare at Ray before turning her attention back to the table with snacks, chirping with glee as she and Connie ate some popcorn.

Ray frowned, face turning into a pout as they watched the two in disdain, but they tried their hardest to not say anything.

"Go on, Ray." Hanan said calmly, offering them a somewhat forced smile. "What did you want to say?"

"Uh... I have been researching and observing natives of this planet, on the magical box, and have come to the conclusion that the most effective method of enhancing positive relationships is... uh... with this 'sleepover party' occasion." They said, obviously trying very hard to sound more authoritative than they were. "I do want to have a positive relationship with all of you, but it has to come from both sides! I want you guys to respect me, and I will respect you in return."

Morgan snorted loudly at that. "Since when have you ever respected us? Hm?"

"Because you never respected me either and-!"

"Okay, okay!" Hanan quickly came in between the two. "Let's just... have a fun sleepover party. We can watch movies, play games, anything! Or practice our new group pose!!"

Without saying anything else, the group quickly changed into their sleeping wear. Ray retreated into their own room to change while the others just picked different parts of the living room.

Hanan proudly presented a small USB-stick as the group was still waiting for Ray to finish.

"Isn't this one still in theatres?" Morgan asked with an all-knowing grin as she looked at the name written on it. She closed one eye while looking at Hanan. "Arr, matey, didn't expect ya to enjoy the pirate life."

Hanan stared blankly at her. "Anyway, I've heard it's really scary!" She gained an excited twinkle in her eyes as she started rambling. "A horror movie that's scary, you don't see that often. It's a remake of an older movie and-"

"Oh no, a scary movie?" Beryl gulped, grabbing Connie's arm. "I can hide behind you guys when it gets scary, right? Riiiiiight?"

Then Ray stepped back into the room with heavy steps. They timidly kept their gaze at the floor while they stepped forward. A white-pink hue was on their cheeks.

"Do not laugh. I know I do not look exactly presentable but-" They started meekly, pulling on their pajama shirt, obviously with overly long sleeves. "I think it is comfortable."

"That's the point of pajamas, silly."

Ray pouted again. "Do not call me- Oh!! Terre!!" They gasped as they finally looked up. "Is that your nightwear!? That is even more inappropriate than what I am wearing! And Unda, why is there a skull, the mark of evil, on yours!?" They took a deep breath. "Are you showing your true colors?"

Beryl and Morgan exchanged some confused glances and looked down at their clothes, trying to find what was wrong with it. Beryl only wore a overly big, green shirt, which fell to her thighs while Morgan's pajamas was just a top with a skull on it and some text, and a pair of shorts.

"Hanan and... Connie's nightwear is passable!" Ray nodded at Hanan's simple long-sleeved shirt, with a little star on it, and her pajama pants. Then another nod to Connie's white nightgown.

Beryl frowned and pulled on her shirt. "But this is my bro-"

"Is this really a subject to be complaining about?" Morgan groaned, narrowing her eyes. "Hanan, what is that?"

The brunette proudly showed her sleeping mask, with what seemed to be a visor of sorts depicted on it. "The pajama is a match for this mask. He's my fave and he's really cool, and badass and-"

Morgan slapped a hand over Hanan's mouth. "Shut up. I don't care."

"Or do you mean... you donut care?" Beryl grinned and handed Morgan a donut, which she grabbed but didn't take a bite out of.

"I hate you."

----

Most of the evening was spent without much trouble. Hanan forced the group to practice their team phrase and pose at least once, and Morgan quit after one time. But now they were totally ready for the next attack, whenever that was gonna be.

Next, Ray picked to play a simple board game for all to play, and, would luck have it, they actually won a couple of times. They proudly rubbed their victory into the others' faces, but stopped when Morgan threatened to kick them in the guts for it.

After that, they played a handful games of Twister and it quickly became clear that Morgan was almost undefeatable when it came to agility, with Beryl being a close second while Ray somehow managed to almost break their back while trying to play.

When Ray was trying explain why the game was unfair, a pillow hit them in the face, and they hit the floor.

"Pillow fight!!" Beryl cried out. "Pillo-!" A pillow hit her too.

The culprit, who turned out to be Hanan, laughed and just barely evaded the pillow thrown in her direction, making it hit Ray once again.

"How dare you attack me!?" They cried out, looking at the pillow that had hit them. "No respect for me... means I will not give respect baaaack!" They closed their eyes and threw the pillow in a random direction, hitting Connie weakly in the chest.

The pillow fight continued for some time. Connie jumped in right away, hiding behind the couch and collecting any pillows she managed to grab along the way. After getting hit twice, Morgan reluctantly joined as well.

After a while, Bright, in peacock form, did come in to check if everything was okay but the group was so busy they didn't even notice him. While normally not fond of being ignored, he was actually really pleased at the sight of everyone having fun, even Ray, who cheered every time their throws hit their mark.

Bright smiled. This was the youth Ray had missed out on. Having fun with friends, playing silly games, and just having a good time.

After a minute or so, he silently went back into his room, returning to listening to his audiobook in peace.

"So..." Morgan started after finishing the fight and sat down in one of the bean bags again. "Where's the booze?"

Beryl gasped loudly. "What!?" She gave Morgan an almost horrified look. "You can't do that!! That's bad!!"

"Geez, I thought we were gonna have a party." Morgan said, playing with a lock of her hair. "Is this a party or a party?"

"Okay! I'll go put on the movie!" Hanan said with a loud voice, interrupting the two.

----

Ray did not enjoy the movie.

They were hiding in their banana-shaped sleeping bag (which Morgan had made fun of) the entire time, sometimes peeking an eye out but quickly retreating again whenever an overly fake monster appeared on the screen, or when a loud noise was heard.

"This is so dumb!" Morgan groaned, munching on a piece of the rainbow cake. It was really good. The movie was not. "Why is she running upstairs when there's a killer monster in the house!?"

"Ssshhhh!!" Hanan shushed her, and continued to watch the movie intently. Her attention was being held captive by the screen.

Beryl, seated in between Hanan and Connie, was scared by the obviously CGI monster on the screen, clutching either of the girls' arms whenever it came into view. Despite her fear, she didn't stop chomping down on cookies and other snacks.

Connie, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm during the entire movie. She had clutched a pillow against her chest while she stared at the screen in a serene daze, and only got visibly startled when a loud noise was heard.

"Ray, are you... okay?" Noticing the obvious discomfort they were in, Connie softly placed a hand on the sleeping-bag Ray was hidden in.

"I am fine... I have seen worse!" A muffled sniffle was heard from the blanket. "And that includes you!"

"What happened to that 'respect'?" Morgan spoke up, not taking her eyes from the screen.

Ray poked their head out, still teary-eyed.

"Are you crying?" Morgan asked, not even trying to hold back a snicker.

"It is so sad..." They replied. "That man just wanted to spend time with that woman... but he got tainted and turned into a monster, all to protect her." They sniffled again. "And now she wants nothing to do with him anymore... although it is his own fault for getting tainted..."

Morgan was still snickering. "It's a damn werewolf movie, Ray, who cares!?"

Hanan let out an awkward chuckle. "Heh, yeah. Movies often have forced love stories like that. It's either a love story, or family dynamics, or something." She shrugged, but then grinned. "But nobody cares about that, we're just here for the action and bloodshed!"

"Of course, that is what you care about." Ray narrowed their eyes at Hanan. "I should have expected that from Ignis."

Another sniffle was heard. "But it's so saaaaad!!"

"You too, Beryl!?" Hanan gasped as she watched Beryl lean against Connie while sobbing dramatically. Connie gently patted her back.

"I say we watch a drama movie next." Morgan suggested with a grin. "I'd love to see you guys react to that."

----

They didn't end up watching a drama movie. Instead they spent the rest of the night watching a, presumably, comedic film that was playing on TV. None of them knew anything about it, not even Hanan, who seemed to be quite knowledgeable on these kind of things.

But none of them were really paying attention as sleep was finally starting to catch up to them.

Connie was the first to go, followed shortly by Beryl... but Morgan and Hanan couldn't yet open the door to dreamland yet.

Ray was actually the reason for Morgan and Hanan's trouble falling asleep. Their whole body emitted an almost obnoxious light. It was like they were a living, breathing light bulb.

It wasn't clear if they were asleep or just laying completely still, with their eyes closed, on the couch they had claimed for themself. Their glow escaped even the sleeping-bag they had wrapped themself in.

Morgan and Hanan exchanged some annoyed looks. Morgan was surprised how angry Hanan looked when she had put on her sleeping mask, turned away from Ray, and pulled the blanket over her head.

Suddenly, Ray started squirming and murmuring, thrashing a little in their sleep.

Morgan groaned and pulled a pillow on her face in an attempt to drown out the light. She would be lying if she said that Beryl's snoring and Ray's mumblings weren't getting on her nerves.

She wasn't a light sleeper, since she had slept through louder stuff. The trick was falling asleep, but when Morgan was gone, she was really gone. Well, until her alarm would scream and wake her up.

----

This time her alarm was quite different.

"WAKE UP!!"

That actually managed to drag at least three of the four out of their sleep. Hanan pulled off her sleeping mask, Morgan almost fell from the beanbag, and Connie put her hands over her ears while Beryl leaned against her, still snoring.

Ray was wide awake and stood in the middle of the room, rubbing their hand. Their glow had lessened significantly.

"What... is it?" Hanan was the first to stand up and approach Ray, holding up a hand but not touching them. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"There is something here..."

Hanan looked around. With Ray's form being the only source of light, it was difficult to see anything.

Was someone or something... in the room? Bright?

"T-There!" Came Connie's voice from behind her. She was still sitting, with Beryl still leaning against her, as she pointed at the window. "I heard something..."

Before any of them could reply, the doorbell rang. They all froze in place, expressions varying from fear to annoyance as Morgan waltzed to the door. She stood on her tiptoes and looked through the little peephole in the door.

"What!?" She backed off and gave the door a kick. "Are you for real!? Go home, ya nasty!"

Hanan frowned as she watched Morgan go to her bag and got her Seaborn Charm.

"You guys go back to sleep, I'll handle this." Morgan said, transforming into Cure Splash before unlocking the door, throwing it open, and kicking the person standing in front of the door. Or well... trying to since they managed to step back just enough to avoid a kick in the face.

The mysterious visitor turned out to be Hail. He coughed a few times at the chorus of gasps and groans.

"Ah, Ice to see you. I had a hunch that you would be here." He said, as if he was a simple doors-to-doors salesman. "I... eh... had a little trouble with the portals." His smirk turned into a frown as he pulled some frozen branches out of his hair. "Ugh, I look li-"

"Shut up and get out of here! It's like three in the morning, you old fu-!"

"Ahem. I apologize for coming this late. Time is a little different for me. I admit that I miscalculated." Hail continued, raising his voice. "It would have been snow fair to start an attack while you were asleep and unready, and that's why I came to warn you in advance. Now, go prepare while I'll find someone to tur-"

"The heart that burns with the warm flames, Cure Ember!"

"The heart that soars with the courageous wind, Cure Gale!"

"Icey. All right, then." He jumped back and spread his arms to summon at least a dozen Flurries, slowly making patches of frozen snow appear in the street.

Beryl yawned. "Ohhh... isn't that... considerate of him?" She was the only one still untransformed as she stood behind Gale. Splash splashing some water in her face almost instantly made her fully wake up, and she quickly transformed as well.

"The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"

The flurries started throwing snowballs at the various windows in the street, playfully hopping around to evade the Cures' attacks

All the noise obviously woke people up, more and more lights turning on in the street.

People were watching from windows and a few even came outside to find the source of the noise. Most of them instantly retreated back into their homes once they saw Hail, the snow, and the Pretty Cure.

One unsuspecting and still half-asleep woman in a nightgown was not that lucky as Hail grabbed her, revealed a newly filled bottle of Dark Ink and proceeded to turn her into an Unbound. This Unbound wore a sleeping mask over its head and seemed a little drowsy.

"Guys, we have to do it now!! Our group pose!" Ember urged the others. "Like we practiced! Come on, come on!"

"Embracing the past to pave a path for the future, Prime Pretty Cure!" The quartet declared, holding hands as four lights blended together around them before lining up and posing.

Splash turned to Ember with a smirk. "We did it. Happy now?"

"Yeah! That felt great!" Ember grinned, all the sleepiness from before seemed to have vanished after she had transformed. "I'm fired up!"

"Brrravo." Hail clapped. It wasn't clear whenever he was mocking them or being genuine.

Without another word, the Cures scattered over the battlefield. Ember fought the horde of Flurries, occasionally using some fire to easily make them melt. Splash and Terra focused on the Unbound, landing a few kicks and punches, and making it fall over surprisingly easily. Gale flew straight to Hail.

"You're Aeris, correct?" He said, raising an eyebrow and looking her over. "I hope you're aware you made Bronze really upset."

Gale was slightly taken aback. "I... um... tell Bronze to wait a little longer, I will save her. We will save her!" She declared, trying to sound more determined than she actually was. "And we will save you too! Just let us help..."

Hail couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'm afraid you're too late, child. I already threw away every ounce of my humanity." He raised his hands with a shrug. "Gone and melted away, all of it. Isn't that just thrilling, or should I say chilling?"

"I know you're not a monster..." Gale said, hands trembling. "None of you are... please, don't let Shade make you think that you are beyond redemption."

Another chuckle, followed by a shrug. "The brat? Who cares about his opinion?" Hail replied. "I'm just doing my job. But, I do have to admit... becoming a harbinger of darkness sure has the oddest application method I've seen."

"Gale!" Ember was suddenly right next to her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to talk to him..."

"Don't..." Ember started, looking rather tense, grabbing Gale's arm and pulling her away slightly. She had promised Eclair to look after her. She wasn't planning on breaking that promise so soon. "You won't get through."

"Correct. You're wasting your time." Hail nodded as he watched Ember and Gale rejoining Splash and Terra in their fight. While they managed to make the rather sleepy Unbound fall over, its eyes stayed the same color.

Splash summoned a ring of water, which circled around her hands, before smashing against the Unbound, making it fall on its stomach. "It's not even putting up a fight...! It keeps falling over!"

Already gotten very used to her flying abilities, Gale used a strong windblast to roll the Unbound on its back.

"All right!" Splash leaped in the air and got ready to use her attack, then she realised something and instead landed on the Unbound's stomach. "It's asleep!?"

The monster had its sleeping mask over its eyes as it was lying on its back. It used its massive arms to weakly swat in the air, like a child trapped in a nightmare. Gale evaded it with ease.

Ember and Terra both jumped on the monster too, while Gale hovered above them. Splash had ran up to the Unbound's head and kept kicking against its cheek, shooting water, and even tried a few punches. It only moaned and occasionally slammed its hand on the ground.

"Guess we're all tired." Ember chuckled as she, Terra, and Gale backed off so that Splash could finish it off, hopefully.

"Pretty Cure Hydro Wave!"

Hail leaned against a street lamp, shrugging as he watched the Unbound dissolve. "Hm, decent enough, I suppose." He narrowed his eyes as the remaining Cures approached him. "So you want to 'save' my friends and I?"

He took a step forward, freezing the small patch of grass he was standing on and summoning a few more Flurries.

"I'm not letting you."

Cold eyes stared down at them. "They've been hurt before and I am not letting that happen again, so don't you dare to drag them back."

The Cures didn't reply right away, and let the words sink in a little. None of them really liked the implications of what Hail had said.

"Haha, don't start playing that card now." Splash rolled her eyes, kicking down a few more Flurries. "I have no sympathy for the likes of you!"

"Hail, I wanted to give you a chance, because of what Gale told me..." Ember said solemnly, giving Gale an apologetic look before continuing. "But if you won't accept our help, then there's nothing we can do for you!"

"Good. I am glad you finally understand." Hail replied while summoning a portal behind him. "I bid you farewell for tonight, but we'll see each other again."

Gale flew forward, reaching out a hand. She opened her mouth, trying to say something, but no words came out.

She needed to make sure nobody had to suffer like she had. They weren't monsters, they weren't...

Back then, they had tried to help her, multiple times. They had looked after her and accepted her like one of their own. For the time she spent there, she had thought there had been no way out... no place to go back to except there.

But then Ray had lit a fuse of hope and managed to undo everything Shade had done to her, just like that. Reverting everything as if nothing had ever happened.

If she could be saved, then they could too. She knew they were humans once. They had to have family, friends, or loved ones that missed them... or didn't miss them if they had been forgotten, like she had been.

"We'll be eagerly awaiting your inevitable return, Aeris." Hail's voice pierced through Gale's thoughts with a cold tone. He extended a hand to the other Cures. "And, of course, we will gladly welcome you three too with open arms, when the time is right." A smirk. "I'll even ask Elegy to make you a delicious meal."

Without saying anything else, he went through the portal. The snow melted away and the last couple of Flurries did as well.

----

The first thing the Cures found after undoing their transformations and going back inside, was Ray and Bright, still in peacock form, waiting for them.

While Bright showed gratitude and thanked them, Ray's reaction was almost the exact opposite.

"This is your fault." They said with an intense glare. "You keep bringing the darkness here... ! You ruined my sleepover! You-!"

"Are you serious!? We are putting our lives on the line to fight. We are protecting your sorry, little ass from danger while all you do is whine, whine, whine and whine!" Morgan yelled as Hanan grabbed her arm before she could kick Ray. "If anyone is to blame it's that brat. He started this in the first place!"

Ray narrowed their eyes. They kept silent for a long time as they seemed to be thinking really hard about something.

"No, Ray, don't be like this." Bright said firmly. "You said you wanted-"

"You offered help to someone from the darkness." Ray ignored Bright and stepped closer to the girls. "Why do you think that is all right!?" They gave Connie a dark glare. She shrunk back fearfully. "Do not try to act innocent with me!"

Beryl tried to grab Ray's attention with a forced laugh. "But, Ray... you helped Connie back then? Maybe you can help them too?"

"That is different!" The blond objected, snapping their head to Beryl now. "In them, there is nothing, except darkness. And a really clouded... something." They added, not sure whatever that 'something' even was. It felt vaguely familiar, in a way, but they couldn't put their finger on what it was. One thing was for sure, it was something bad.

Hanan gently pushed Morgan and Connie away from Ray. "I don't understand why you're upset, Ray?"

Ray bit their lip, actually taking in Hanan's question. "How am I supposed to feel then? Tell me..."

An incredibly awkward silence fell. Beryl's eyes flicked from every person present in the room. Ray stared at the floor, Bright awkwardly stood behind them, Hanan stared at Ray while resting one hand on Connie's shoulder and keeping another in front of Morgan, who rolled her eyes.

"T-Take this!" Beryl interrupted the silence as she rushed to her backpack and held out her hand in front of Ray. She opened her palm to show the opal bracelet. "I made this for you, Ray! It's a lucky charm. This opal is very pretty and colorful and it reminded me of you and-"

"... Trying to flatter me with poorly-made gifts will not work!!!" Ray yelled as they threw the bracelet on the floor, stomping on it in their rage as it shattered under the weight. "It will not. You will not fool me! No, no, no, no!!"

Connie held a hand over her mouth in shock as she hid behind Hanan, who shared a tense look with Bright. Morgan seemed disgusted at how Ray was acting, and Beryl stared at the opal in silence with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Ray, please. I thought we got past this... we want to be friends... we had so much fun earlier today and-"

"I see... I see what you are doing." Ray interrupted Hanan as they clenched their fist. "You are putting up a charade to get my trust, only to stab me in the back when it works in your favor." They kept their gaze low. "I am not something to be controlled. I am not yours and you cannot tell me what I can and cannot feel, or say, or do!"

Exhaling a loud breath, Morgan stomped over to them and kicked them in the foot, making them almost fall over. "We're not even saying that. How about you stop acting like an entitled, paranoid, selfish piece of shit?"

"Everyone, please, calm down." Bright spoke up as he stepped in front of Ray. "Ray, why are you acting like this? Why are you so upset? They helped us again. They have given you no reason to distrust them... they never did."

Ray averted their eyes, silent.

"... What about your promise?" Beryl asked.

While the voice was barely a whisper, it still carried a certain firmness in it.

Beryl stepped forward, until she was almost uncomfortably close to Ray. They just looked up at her with wide-eyes. "Didn't you say you would believe in us?" Her expression was as calm as her voice.

"Listen, we want to be your friend..." Beryl continued on when nobody said a single word. "And I don't want to hear any protests, Morgan!"

For once, Morgan stepped back, holding up her hands with a worried frown "... I wasn't gonna say anything."

"I don't know what happened to you before all this, but I understand that it must have been very painful..." Beryl said, her voice losing its calmness as tears filled her eyes. "And it's not my place to pry. It's fine. We all have our secrets."

The more she went on, the more Beryl started feeling frustrated as she kept digging up all her buried feelings from the past couple of weeks.

"I know that the other me hurt you a lot, and the people you cared about... but I, Beryl Forrest, Cure Terra, am your friend and I want to make you happy! Trust me, Ray, I really want to see you happy! Believe in me, like you said you would!"

With trembling hands, she picked up the shattered opal. She looked back up at Ray with a glare as tears streamed down her face.

"What do you want me to do, Ray!? How can I make you accept me, not even as a friend but just... just... no matter what we do... it's never good enough..." She paused, taking in a breath. "Why do you keep treating us like garbage...!?" Squeezing her eyes shut, she stomped her foot down. "TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT FROM US, RAY!!!"

After screaming at the top of her lungs, Beryl stomped her foot down again and the room suddenly started shaking noticeably.

Panicked, Bright scrambled to catch some sculptures or vases with his wings and Hanan quickly joined him. Connie, still recovering from Beryl's loud screaming, aided as well, holding up another sculpture, letting it hover in her hands

Ray tried to step away from Beryl, tripping over their feet and falling on their butt. In fear, they looked up at her as she had regained her calmness.

"If you keep on continuing like this, pushing others away... you're going to hurt yourself and what you care about sooner or later." Beryl said, staring down Ray with a steely glare. "If you really meant what you said in that letter back then... then..." She bit her lip. "Then start believing in us."

They crawled back a little and shielded themself with their hands. Beryl just turned around, not giving them any more attention.

Ray stood up, eyes shining with tears. "I am going to my room. I request some time for myself." They said before walking out of the living room.

"I'm so sorry..." Bright started as soon as Ray closed the door behind them. "I didn't know this would happen... I wish I could help them see that you are different from the Titans."

Hanan kneeled down and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't apologise, Bright. It's not your fault." She muttered. "Like Beryl said, they have been through a lot. You guys both lost everything... and it was, in a way, our fault."

"Goodness, no!" Bright gasped. "You are not them, and should not have to bear their mistakes. Don't let Ray, or anyone, make you think that." He gave them all a quick look, lingering on Connie the longest.

Morgan had a faint hint of a smile on her face as she sat down in the beanbag. "Finally, someone who gets it!"

"Thank you, Bright. You're really sweet." Connie replied softly, although the sadness was still evident on her face.

Bright nodded, and he exchanging some "good nights", retreated back into his own room, leaving the four girls by themselves.

"Sleep well, everyone." Beryl said with a soft smile. It was obviously forced, but it was also almost impossible to tell. She lay down on the couch and pulled the blanket over her head. Not even a few minutes later, she started snoring again.

Nobody else said a word anymore as they soundlessly went to sleep.

Chapter Text

"You seem rather sad today... did something happen?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it, dad."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"... Yes."

None of the two figures in the dimly lit room said anything for a while. An aroma of sweetness filled the room, originating from the cinnamon tea they both were enjoying in silence.

"It's really hard to make friends." The smaller figure began, voice low. "It's hard to make people like you. You always have to change..." The figure narrowed their eyes at the other person. "... Instead of being accepted for who you are..."

----

Episode 12: Overheated Compassion: Detonation

----

"Thank you for walking me home, Hanan." Connie opened door to her own house with her key. As soon as she stepped inside, Benny appeared in the hallway, calling her and running up to her for a hug. "I hope you don't mind. It's just that..."

"It's fine, really!" Hanan reassured her, giving Benny a warm smile as well. "It's nice getting some fresh morning breeze, and my house is nearby anyway. It's no problem." A quick, yet awkward pause. "I kinda hoped we would all walk back together. Or at least with Beryl, since Morgan isn't that fond of stuff like that."

Connie nodded and fumbled with her hands a little while Benny rushed back inside. "Will Beryl be okay? She seemed really upset..."

This morning had been as awkward as one would expect. By the time Hanan had woken up, Beryl had already left, and Morgan was getting ready to leave. Hanan and Connie had helped clean up the remains of the food with Bright before they had taken their leave as well.

"I hope so. I've never really seen her like that." Hanan replied, rubbing her arm. "Well, I haven't really known her for that long, though."

"Oh..."

"But yeah, please, don't listen to Ray. They're stubborn and very... ehm.. difficult." Hanan continued, grimacing at the memories of every time Ray had hurt someone with their words, including herself. "Just, don't take what they say too serious. They're trying, and I get that, but... they keep saying these mean things and hurting others. Don't let it get you."

"It's okay. I'm kinda used to that by now."

Hanan felt her heart sink when Connie had said that. She wanted to ask so many questions about the other girl's statement but bit back her words, in fear of making her sad again. Especially not now when her attention was once again turned to the little boy running circles around her and begging her to come inside.

"I'm coming, Benny." Connie smiled as the boy pulled on her shirt. "See you later, Hanan. Even though it ended... not so good, I still had a great time with all of you."

Hanan returned a smile of her own as she exchanged her farewells with Connie, before heading to her own home.

----

"Aren't you hungry, Ray?"

"No."

"Ray?"

"Please, leave. I want to be alone."

Bright leaned against the door and heaved a sigh. After tonight, Ray had locked themself in their room, refusing to come out or let him in. Even some freshly made omelettes hadn't been able to convince them to come out.

"They really want to be your friends... why won't you believe them?" He asked, still leaning against the door.

No reply.

This was her fault, Bright concluded. Lumina. Her constant putting ideas in Ray's head, making them fear everything... it had made them distrustful of everyone they came across, paranoid even.

"Forgiveness and acceptance is important." He said calmly, deciding to just leave that bit of advice before fulfilling their request of being left alone. "Not just with friendships, but any positive relationship you want to keep."

Inside the room, Ray twitched slightly.

----

Hanan came home to the loud voices of her parents. Judging from their tones, one would assume they were having a fight, but that wasn't the case.

She could hear her dad's voice. "Dear, calm down."

"Oh, no, no, nooo!" That was her mom's voice. "Thinking they're so great and amazing, well I won't have it! My children are just as talented as hers. I will not let her talk down on them. Remember when she called Hanan a 'freak'? I'm still m-"

Hanan awkwardly shuffled in place as she stepped into the living room. "Hey, what's going on?" She knelt down and took a moment to pet Chomp. The basset hound was sleeping as usual.

"Hey, sis, how was the sleepover?" Makeen asked, absentmindedly reading through a magazine while sitting on the couch.

Hanan bit her lip. "All right, I suppose."

Makeen gave her a slightly worried look before deciding to not pry any further. "Aunt Halima is gonna come next Wednesday."

"Uh... which one of the six is that again?" Hanan asked, trying to remember all the names of the aunts and uncles she had. There were so many and it was hard to keep track of all of them. It didn't help that she had only met half of them in person.

"The one that lives in Weathersdale. You know, her son, Omar, is a surgeon?" Makeen explained. "They travel a lot?"

Her mom stepped into the conversation. "She's the one who always gave you those watches? The ones that broke really easily, even though they were 'high quality'?"

"You kicked Rashida's ass once?" Fadil added with a snicker. "That was great."

"Oh!" Hanan remembered an unpleasant memory. "Oh..."

Nodding, her mom chuckled. "I will never forget when you broke one of those watches, though! She didn't like that one bit."

Hanan cringed at the memory. Back when she was a kid, Aunt Halima had visited and personally given her a watch. Hanan couldn't remember why she had gotten so angry back then but it had caused the watch to actually melt in her hand and break into two.

She had also fought with her cousin, Rashida, and accidentally gave a burn mark on her cheek. Man, she had been such a little brat back then.

Her aunt had seen it, and had reacted badly to both incidents.

----

"Farah, something is wrong with your child!"

----

It was always like that. Whenever she burned a paper in class, or hurt someone by grabbing their arm and burning it. Always those weird looks. And yet, nobody had an explanation for it either.

Just... weird.

"Hey, hey, mom!" Fadil raised his hand. "How would she react to Hanan being a Pretty Cure? That's way cooler than a surgeon!"

Makeen placed a finger on his lips, pondering. "Hmm... both save lives."

"Yeah, but only one has magical powers!"

Despite her slight embarrassment, a smile found its way on Hanan's face as her two brothers argued among each other. Her mom put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

"It'll be great if you showed off some of your fire-tricks while they're here!" Her mom gained a prideful smirk. "That'll show her! One of my children is the chosen one!"

Fadil let out a somewhat strained chuckle. "There are more Pretty Cures, mom..."

"Yes, like the ones from Garden Haven." Makeen said, his attention returning to the magazine in his hands. "I like them. Their outfits are really nice."

Hanan furrowed her brows thoughtfully. What was so special about a Pretty Cure anyway? Well, she already had the answer to that question. Magical powers, the ability to transform...

But, according to Bright and Ray, there were only four Titans. So... where did all these other Cures get their powers from? She obviously had heard of them from the news and Scrapbook, but... she wondered what their deal was and who they were up against.

They probably all had their own set of troubles to deal with.

Hanan shook her head. That didn't matter right now.

"I know! We can do a barbeque!" She heard her mom exclaim. "How does that sound? Hanan can light the fire!"

"... Me? I'm not that good with my powers, mom." Hanan's protest fell on deaf ears as her mother had already waltzed out of the room and to the phone to call Hanan's oldest brother Wasim, spilling the entire plan to him happily.

Her mom laughed. "Right? I've never liked Halima. That'll show her!"

Frowning a little, Hanan shot some questioning looks to her brothers and dad.

"What if I mess up? I don't want them to think I'm... weird... or even worse... have someone get hurt again because of me."

"It's fine." Her dad reassured her with a wave of the hand. "Your mom's family is really hard to please anyway. It was a gigantic drama fest when I went to meet her parents." He chuckled at the memory.

Maybe she really should start practicing her powers more? She mostly tried to not use them in fear of freaking out Beryl, but sometimes she had no other choice, or the flames escaped from her body anyway.

Fire was dangerous. She should at least learn how to control it.

She grimaced at the memory of her blowing up in the diner, losing control of powers she hadn't really realised she had. No, actually, she had always known there had been something off about herself.

----

Waking up even earlier than normal, Hanan went through her usual morning routine of an hour long bath or shower. Nobody was awake yet so she silently made some toast for herself before heading out.

She needed to go to a place where not too many people were, and a place where it was safe to literally play with fire. She had some time before class would start.

Hanan had found this particular spot on the beach that was slightly hidden away by the rocks. It was close by water so if she accidentally set herself on fire she could just jump right in. Well, as Cure Ember, she had already done that and it had only felt intensely warm, but it hadn't hurt.

The warmth, overheating, burning stuff... it was all starting to slowly click into place. Being some kind of reincarnation of a fire goddess. It was a hard concept to grasp, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense, and the more it felt right.

But she didn't like it one bit.

Ignis... what had she been like? Had she really been as bad as Ray had made her out to be? Had she really been as sadistic and violent as Shade had said?

Hanan clenched her fists. Trying to think about Ignis made her feel... angry? She wasn't entirely sure why, but feeling to be so in the dark about her... other self (as Beryl referred to the Titans as) kinda frustrated her.

"Focus." Shaking off those thoughts, Hanan held up a hand and closed her eyes. "... Focus."

----

"Hey."

A younger Eclair looked up from her trading cards to find a familiar brunette standing in front of her.

"My mom said I should... um..." Hanan fumbled with her glasses. "Say s-sorry... I guess." She pouted as her cheeks gained a red glow.

"Hm?" Eclair frowned, squinting her eyes. "Didn't catch that. Come again?"

Hanan puffed her cheeks. "S-Sorry..." She stopped as her eyes caught a burn mark on Eclair's hand. She gasped, but quickly regained her tense look.

The blonde inspected her hand. "Huh? This?"

"Sometimes my hands get really, really hot... and sometimes I burn stuff... I don't know why but-" Hanan stopped and mentally slapped herself on the head for blurting that out. Don't casually reveal that, fool!

Her heart tightened. Hanan was waiting for it. That look. That look of disbelief. That look of disgust.

"So, are you like... a fire monster?" Instead, Eclair grinned, looking through the cards in her hands and shoving one into Hanan's face. "Like an Ifrit!?"

"You have an Ifrit card!?" Hanan was too hyped to be relieved by Eclair's reaction. "Those are super rare and have super high attack!!"

Eclair's grin widened. "Heh. I'd love to trade if you can offer me something even cooler."

With a dramatic swipe, followed by a malicious laughter (well, as malicious as a child could sound), Hanan exposed a few cards from her pocket and presented them proudly.

"I have a Garuda, Chimera, Raiju-"

"Raiju!?" Eclair leaned forward, starry-eyed. "I've been looking for that since forever!! Let's trade!"

The two girls exchanged the cards hastily. Both of them eyed their new prized possession with shimmering eyes.

Just as Hanan started to walk away, Eclair stopped her.

"Hey, wanna duel?"

----

Hanan hung her head a little. She wasn't entirely sure why that memory had popped into her head. Maybe it was the relief she had felt when someone, for once, hadn't reacted oddly to her powers.

No, instead Eclair had embraced them, accepted her, and helped her. Maybe emptying a bottle of water over Hanan's head when she had been close to overheating hadn't been the most clever method, but it worked.

Becoming a Pretty Cure had actually allowed Hanan being more comfortable with these powers. People hadn't reacted as weirdly to them because...magical girl stuff. It came with the package.

Without realising she had manifested a small flame in her palm. It was warm, almost too warm. The flame burned brightly, somewhat unsteady in the heavy wind.

Focusing all her attention on the single flame, Hanan closed her eyes. When she opened them, she realised the flame had grown huge. It was almost as big as herself.

Uncontrollable, dangerous, destructive.

"No!"

Panicking, Hanan ran up to the water and dunked her hand in it, dissolving the flame. The chill of the water felt so nice to her almost burning skin.

This was going to be a long day, but she had around two more hours to spare before class, so hopefully something would get done.

----

"Ew, family reunions."

"It's only one of my aunts, her son, and daughter." Hanan corrected Eclair with a sigh. "If it was the entire family... man, I don't think they would all fit in our house."

It was surprisingly sunny that afternoon, so Hanan, Eclair, and Connie decided to sit outside during lunch break. Hanan tried to get a nice, cool spot in the shadows while Eclair and Connie basked in the heated sun. Now Eclair could at least blame the sun for her glowing red face.

"Aren't you hungry, Hanan? You have barely touched your lunch." Connie asked, worried. She just finished up her own lunch and Eclair instantly offered her the rest of her own lunch.

"Huh?" Hanan looked up from said barely touched lunch on her plate. She actually was hungry but, throughout the entire day, her mind seemed to be somewhere else, or it desperately wanted to be somewhere else.

"My mom wants me to show off some of my powers and..."

"So, show them off!" Eclair said. "Ooh, do it here!"

Hanan frowned. "What? No!"

Suddenly a tall, gruff looking student walked up to them. Hanan cringed at noticing an unlit cigarette in his hands.

Eclair sighed. "Hey, Neil. What do you want?"

"Yo, Eclair, you... uh..." He started, looking around warily and leaned forward so he could whisper something in Eclair's ear.

"Seriously? Now? Your dumb ass is gonna get caught smoking again and I'm not gonna stick up for you this time!" She cried out. As soon as her eyes met Connie's, she shrunk back in embarrassment.

"Geez, fine." The boy, Neil, shrugged then nudged her in the side with a grin. "Guess you're trying to be a goodie-two-shoes now that you've got a girlfriend."

With a face as red as a tomato, Eclair punched him in the stomach. He wasn't that visibly bothered, probably protected by his muscles, but his face turned into a slight grimace.

"Oh, you and Hanan are dating!?" Connie acclaimed with a gasp and clapped her hands together. "I had no idea! That is simply wonderful!"

Hanan couldn't help but snort at that and Eclair's overdramatic reaction made it even funnier.

"No! No, no, nonooo!" She stammered out, punching Neil's arms a few more times. "I'm single!"

Neil let out a loud laugh before turning to Hanan. "Oh, hey, you're Cure Ember right?" He asked, showing her his unlit cigarette with a wry smile. "Can you maybe...?"

"Hey, hey, hey! What makes you think you can take advantage of her like that!?" Eclair called out before Hanan could reply, going from embarrassed to irritated in a quick moment. "Magical powers are very serious and not just some handy convenience for you!"

"No, wait!" Hanan stood up. "Let me try. I need some practice."

Eclair slammed her fist on the table. "Are you kidding me, Han?" She raised an eyebrow. "You were so quick to give me shit when I had a cig-!"

"I really wanna practice. Besides, you just said I should show off my powers. So, sure." Hanan said, crossing her arms with a slightly scolding look at the taller boy. "Just don't blame me when you get caught. Cigarettes aren't allowed during school hours and-"

Neil waved his free hand around dismissively. "You kidding me? I'm no snitch." He grinned and handed her the cigarette. "Anyway, I'd love to see you do the magic for real."

"Heh. Me too." Hanan admitted with a wry smile as she held up her free hand and held her finger against the cigarette.

Focus. Calm. Steady.

She felt the warmth of her body rise to her fingertip.

Taking in a deep breath, Hanan closed her eyes.

Focus.

"Awesome!!" Neil's words brought her back to reality before she realised she had left it. "Thanks, dude!"

Opening her eyes again, Hanan saw that she had a small flame on her fingertip, like it was a candle.

All morning she had been practicing... and every time her clothes had almost caught on fire. What had she done differently now?

She grinned, proud of managing to produce such a small flame.

----

For the next two days, Hanan continued practicing at that same spot on the beach before and after school. She hadn't quite managed to recreate the tiny flame from before. Every time she had tried, it had grown too big.

Hanan closed her eyes again.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

"Hanan!?" A familiar voice snapped her out of her concentration. "I knew it was you! That smell of ash is unmistakably yours!"

"... Beryl?" To say that Hanan was surprised to see the red-haired girl, let alone see her with her usual happy smile, was an understatement. "Hello. How have you been?"

"Greeeeaaat!!!"

Hanan narrowed her eyes to look for any sign that Beryl was lying. The last time she had seen Beryl was at the sleepover. Seeing her blow up like that, made Hanan feel... worried? Scared?

"I didn't expect to see you here!" Beryl grinned widely, exposing her chipped tooth. "What were you... doing?"

"I'm... um... practicing..." Hanan muttered, holding her hands behind her back. Beryl was afraid of fire, and Hanan knew it. "I want to get a better grip on my powers. I don't want to... hurt anyone..."

At seeing Hanan's troubled look, Beryl grabbed her warm hands. She winced a little as she did so, but kept holding them tightly. "Thank you for being so considerate to me and the others, Hanan. You're a great friend... don't forget that."

Hanan didn't really know how to reply to that. Suddenly being buried in praises, while she liked it, came really out of the left field.

"Thank you, Beryl. I hope you're aware that you're an amazing friend too." She suddenly was pulled into a tight hug by the other girl. "Don't let Ray bring you down, okay?"

Hanan instantly regretted mentioning Ray as she saw Beryl's smile disappear for a quick second.

"I've gotta go. Later, Hanan~!" The redhead suddenly said, still smiling as she gave Hanan as little wave before hopping off. "Let your kindness burn bright..."

----

That Wednesday afternoon, a woman, man, and younger woman strolled inside the Karim house. All of them were dressed in expensive clothing and their presence demanded attention.

The older woman walked up to Hanan's mom and kissed her on the cheeks.

"Farah, it's been so long!"

"Not long enough, Halima." Hanan's mom replied simply, leaving the other woman with a frozen frown on her face.

"Oh, you're still with that construction worker, I see." Halima said before going to greet Hanan's father, who let out a laugh at her comment.

Hayim grabbed Farah by her sides and pulled her close. "Yes, she is."

"And we're very happy together!" Farah finished as the two shared a kiss.

After that the other family members all started exchanging some, admittedly quite awkward, greetings among each other. The male, Omar, was the only one who quickly gave Chomp a small pet. The dog didn't even react and merely whined softly in his slumber.

As expected Aunt Halima had brought gifts for everyone. Designer-clothes for Wasim, a Turkish cookbook of sorts for Makeen, a notebook for Fadil, and, as usual, a watch for Hanan.

"Oh, Hanan! It's been ages!" A new voice said.

Rashida, the youngest daughter and only a few years older than Hanan, walked up to her. She was tall, slim, and had a beautifully defined figure. Her chest proudly huffed forward as she marched to Hanan and kissed her on the cheeks like close sisters would. It was so awkward, Hanan couldn't help but cringe internally.

They weren't even close. Last time they had seen each other had ended with them fighting, and Rashida getting her cheek burned by Hanan's hands.

"Hanan, you haven't changed at all since I've last seen you." Rashida said as she looked down and inspected Hanan from head to toe. "In every way, it seems." She added with a smirk.

Hanan let out a sigh. This was going to be a long day.

----

The rest of the day was as awkward as one would expect. Wasim tried very hard to get a friendly conversation going with Rashida, but her replies to his questions or subjects were either blunt or very short. Instead, she preferred to talk with her mother. Omar was also quiet and solely seemed to be focused on his coffee, only nodding to agree with his more chatty mother or sister every once in a while.

"Farah, how can you allow your son to grow out his hair that long?" Aunt Halima commented with a look to Wasim, and earned a dark glare from her sister. "Or bleach it to that color?" Now Halima's gaze was on Makeen's hair, who looked away nervously.

Wasim was ready to defend both himself and his younger brother but his mother cut in before he could say a single word.

"Well, Halima, what makes you think your opinion has any say in what my children want?" Farah said. "Surprise, it doesn't."

"I was just saying. You're always so defensive."

"You too, and isn't that exactly the reason why Yusuf left you?"

The awkward tension became even worse after Farah had said that. Halima glared daggers at her sister.

"So what does your son do again?" Farah leaned forward, looking pleased at the tension she had created.

It took a moment for Halima to reply.

"Omar is a surgeon. Rashida is busy studying medicine."

"Ah, a surgeon? Congratulations." Farah looks and tone were dripping with sarcasm. "Well, Wasim makes people's hair look perfect and beautiful, Makeen is studying to become a teacher and help children with learning disabilities, Fadil is going to save lives as a fireman someday, and Hanan is already saving the world on a daily basis."

Now it was Halima's turn to smirk. "So, I've seen. Judging from Scrapbook, she's still playing with fire like an immature child. I suggest you discipline her correctly. I rather not pay for another treatment after last time."

Hanan felt a lump appear in her throat and looked away in shame. Treatment? Had that burn from back then being that bad?

Her eyes wandered off to Rashida. Her face seemed fine. Smooth and pretty.

But would there have been a scar on her face if she hadn't gotten the treatment her aunt had mentioned?

"Being a Pretty Cure is not that special." Rashida chimed in with an uninterested tone. "They're all over the world by this point."

Halima nodded in agreement. "Yes, we saw a trio of Cures while we were in Garden Haven. One of them used fire, like Hanan. They were all quite capable, which Cure Ember doesn't seem to be."

"Cool! They've met Garden Haven's Cures!" Fadil whispered and nudged Makeen in the side.

For the first time during dinner, Omar spoke up. He kept his eyes focused on his plate, though.

"Even Weathersdale has its own team. They're quite new, but clearly know what they're doing."

Hanan's eye twitched.

"Look."

She stood up, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"My friends and I are still new to this. Allow me to show you I can control my powers, and that I am capable." She felt more emotional than she should. "I am not a freak."

"Having magical powers is pretty strange."

"Didn't you just say that being a Pretty Cure is not that special, Rashida?" Wasim hissed, playing with a lock of his hair. "What happened to that?"

Rashida scoffed. "She hurt me so she had powers back then already. How is that possible? She wasn't a Pretty Cure back then!" She turned to Hanan with a questioning look. "Right?"

Hanan felt that lump again. She shook her head.

These powers. It was the only proof she had to go with Ray's claim of her being Ignis.

Ignis.

Thinking about her made Hanan feel that frustration, if not outright anger, again.

"Now, everyone, can't we just not be like this?" Her father's voice cut through the tension like a knife. "Is this really necessary?" He added as he grabbed a pack of cigarettes and got ready to light it up. Hanan stopped him and snatched the cigarette from his hand.

From the corner of her eyes she saw Rashida roll her eyes, Omar give a strained look, and Aunt Halima groaned in disgust.

"Let me show you how precise my fire can be." Hanan spoke and was slightly taken back by how bitter her voice sounded.

Her dad let out a good-natured laugh. "Go ahead, Han. I'd love to see!"

Hanan nodded with a smile and went to the garden, not being comfortable with the idea of potentially burning down her house if it didn't work out. Her family followed, eyeing her with looks of curiosity, or impatience in Halima's case.

Taking in another deep breath, Hanan closed her eyes. She pressed her fingertip against the top of the cigarette, like she had done a few days prior.

Focus.

Focus.

Fo-

----

"Ignis, I will never forgive you for this!"

----

Snapping her eyes open, Hanan felt ready to explode. Her body felt so hot. Too hot. It was like it was overflowing with the hottest of fire, wanting to come out.

That person... who...?

For a moment she thought it was Ray... but... it wasn't? Or was it? It looked like Ray, yet... it didn't. The figure had gigantic, distorted wings... the figure seemed taller, their hair was longer and their eyes... those eyes. One was normal, yet the other... black, like people from the darkness.

Even though Hanan had only seen it for a split second... she had seen the despair, fear, and hopelessness in those eyes.

The figure somehow made her feel angry, but also... afraid?

"Whoa, are you okay!?" Fadil slapped her on the shoulder, probably harder than intended. Darn, he was getting stronger by the day. "Hey, Han, be careful!"

Blinking back to reality, Hanan realised the huge flame flaring in her palm. No, her entire hand was covered in fire! Even her sleeve!

She felt panic rise up in her. It was warm and hot, but didn't hurt at all.

"Hanan!?"

"Lay down, quick!"

"Someone call an ambulance!"

Her family's fearful and shocked looks didn't help calm her down. In fact, it only made her more and more panicked, more angry.

Those looks.

Don't look. Don't look. Don't. Don't.

"Don't look at me like that...!"

Her own flames swallowed her up.

Physically it didn't hurt but mentally... her mind was screaming.

Why was she so angry? Why did these feelings of hatred and rage consume her like this...? And almost entirely unprovoked, too.

Then, out of nowhere, something blew up behind her and she was thrown forward. She landed on the ground as the flames dissolved.

"Haha, oops, my Poofs have such explosive tempers!" A clear voice suddenly said. While the voice itself was familiar, the fact that it was spoken in Turkish was new to Hanan. "Look at you crawling on the floor like a bug."

Groaning, Hanan snapped her head around and cringed at the sight of a dozen Poofs. Their master stood on the fence, effortlessly balancing on it.

"I... didn't know you could speak Turkish." She narrowed her eyes at Smoky, who simply shrugged. His nonchalant attitude made her even more irritated.

"Yup, there's probably way more stuff you don't know about me." He replied, continuing to use his surprisingly fluent Turkish tongue. "Oh, and would you look at that! Seems like I've intruded on a pleasant family meeting." Smoky had a hint of disdain in his voice. "Didn't know setting yourself on fire was the key to success. Maybe that's why all of my family meetings sucked."

Farah snorted. "Define 'pleasant'."

That actually got a chuckle out of Smoky. "I knooooow, right?" He cried out with a shrug. "But, your little party is missing something... hmm. Oh! I know!" With a flick of his hand, he summoned his guitar and smoke filled the area. "A performance by me!"

Hanan got back up, grabbing her Overheated Charm. "Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" A barrier of flames surrounded her and out of the barrier jumped her Cure self.

"The heart that burns with the warm flames, Cure Ember!"

"Get inside, everyone. I'll handle this." She said, spreading her arms. "He's dangerous."

"Wait, it's literally just a weird human you're fighting and you can't even do that correctly!?" Halima called out with a frown lingering on her face. The frown turned into a look of shock as Smoky was suddenly right in front of her.

"Oh, I'm not human, missy." He said, smoke coming out of his hands as he opened a bottle of black liquid and poured it into her shadow. He then dragged it out and jumped back as the shadow swallowed Halima whole. "Yuck. No matter how many times I see it, it's still gross."

He strummed his guitar loudly and the Poofs cheered while the Unbound started to properly form. "Unbound, overshadow your light and dim your hope!"

The Unbound wore something resembling a headdress and jewelry on its arms. It also has various clocks on its chest and arms. The hands of the clocks were crooked, yet still spun around, making constant ticking sounds.

How irritating.

Everyone hurried back inside, with the exception of Ember, and Farah, who looked at the Unbound with a rather amused look.

"Oh my, how ironic that you got turned into a monster, Halima, and now Hanan has to save you. How tragic~!" She said with a chuckle and fake sobbing sounds. "Anyone but my dear sister."

"Mom! Get inside!"

Farah let out another laugh before following Ember's command. "Hanan, just let her be and have those more 'capable' Cures save her~!"

"Mom! I can't do that!" Ember cried, keeping her gaze on the Unbound. She jumped out of the way to avoid a swing. Another jump, over the fence, and she landed on the street. She needed to lure the monster as far from her house as possible. Everything would get magically restored, yeah, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

The Unbound roared as it ripped off one of the hands of the clocks on its body and threw at to Ember like it was a spear.

A blast of wind redirected the "spear" right back at the monster before it could hit Ember.

"Gale!?"

The purple Cure hovered next to Ember, hands over her ears. "Um, I heard the... noise so I came right away." Gale winced from both the ticking noise and Smoky's song, as well the Poofs' excited cheering. He seemed completely in his own world and absorbed the cheers with a gleeful grin.

"... Smoky is not gonna listen to you, Gale." Ember placed a hand on her shoulder before she could fly off. "Let's just defeat the monster first, okay?"

Gale nodded and raised her hands, getting ready for an attack. "Pretty Cu-!"

"Not yet!"

"Huh?"

"We have to wait till the eyes become maroon."

Smoky suddenly stopped playing, and the Poofs silenced along with it. "Yo, Aeris... uh... Cure Gale!" He called with a grin, which Gale returned with her own smile.

"Look!" He pointed at one of the three buttons on his vest. "I got a button with you on it! Next to Cure Jade and, of course, Cure Sunlight. Don't take it personally, you're great... but Sunlight will always be the number one!"

"... There's a button of me?" Gale gasped softly then pressed her hands against her cheeks as she flew up to him to look at it. "Oh gosh, it really is me!"

He chuckled and got three more buttons from his pocket and placed them in her hand. "Heh, yeah. It was a package deal, you can have the others. I don't want them."

"Really!? That's so nice! Oh, Ember, this is you!" Gale called out excitedly. "You look so angry in this, though... and Splash is smiling! So cute~!"

"Okay, great, but I'm kinda busy here!?" Ember grit her teeth, holding the hand of the Unbound above her head as it had tried to squish her. "We're kinda fighting this monster right now and... not... having a chit-chat with the... enemy...!?"

Even though they were hidden behind his shades, Ember was sure Smoky rolled his eyes. "Don't be so hot-headed. Can't I have a little chat with my friend?" He said. "I'm really not looking forward to the day when the brat corrupts you, Ignis."

"That is not my name!!"

Frustration lit up in Ember at hearing that name. She sent all her power to her fists and was was ready to use her fire. Beryl wasn't here so she wouldn't have to worry about scaring her. She could do this. Prove to them that she wasn't a freak, playing mindlessly with powers that she shouldn't have.

She needed to prove it to them, but she especially needed to prove it to herself.

The Unbound threw a punch in her direction with its free hand, which she, surprisingly, managed to block with her own fists. She dug the soles of her boots into the ground as she tried to keep standing.

The flames in her hair grew.

Anger. Anger. Why was she so angry?

Her mind tried to rationalise her thoughts. She tried to confront her current feelings and understand them, but she couldn't. Not understanding only made her more frustrated, at nothing. She had just wanted her family to not think she's weird. She wasn't a freak. She wasn't a monster.

----

"What's this weird guy? He looks like a bug." A younger Rashida said, holding one of Hanan's action figures and looking it over with a frown. "Don't you have any barbies to play with?"

Hanan adjusted her glasses with a scoff. "Barbies are for losers! Like you!"

"What did you say!?"

"You heard me, Rashida. You can't play dumb because you already are dumb!"

Before the two knew it, a petty argument had turned into a petty fight. Hair was pulled, legs were kicked, arms were scratched, and a cheek was burned.

Rashida was crying, screaming, screeching in panic and pain as a large, red mark had appeared on her cheek.

Hanan stood on the other side of the room. Her body was close to overheating. Her hands were shaking, sweat was dripping from her face, and a tiny bit of smoke escaped from her mouth.

"Farah, something is wrong with your child!" Aunt Halima hugged her daughter tightly and shot her a horrified and disgusted look. The look was shared by a younger Omar and her then husband, Yusuf.

"That is not normal." Yusuf added, taking a step back.

Hanan's brothers, as well her own parents all had varying looks of worry and shock. Her father said something to her but his words never reached her ears.

Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong...

She looked at her hands. She couldn't see it but it felt like they were fizzling, like frying oil in a pan.

"I told you she was possessed!"

----

Ember lost her concentration and this allowed the Unbound to punch her again. The impact sent her flying against her a building as the air was pressed out of her lungs.

She didn't stand up right away, being too lost inside her own head.

Possessed?

Those words suddenly ran through her mind. The more she repeated it, the more she started feeling like she was going in the right direction to the answers. What if that was the case? What if she wasn't Ignis' reincarnation at all like Ray and Bright suspected? What if she was just possessed by Ignis' lingering soul?

That had to be it, right?

That would explain so much. The sudden anger that didn't make sense. The fire that didn't felt too hot for her simple, human body.

She wasn't Ignis, and Ignis wasn't her.

"Ember!!"

The red Cure looked up to see a horde of Poofs ready to jump at her, each of them beeping loudly, signaling their explosion soon. Gale flew towards her and raised one hand, sending a windblast at the Poofs. They were flown toward the Unbound, and exploded while hitting the monster's body. The Unbound shrieked in pain and stumbled a little, then grabbed two more spears and threw them at Gale.

One spear missed but the other went straight through her abdomen, disappearing a few seconds later. While there was no visible sign of being hit, Gale still clutched her stomach painfully and crashed on the ground.

Ember gritted her teeth as she kicked the arm of the Unbound away before it could grab Gale. Concentrating, she spread her arms with a cry and a wall of blazing fire rushed toward the monster. It let out another shriek as the clocks almost seemed to melt away, like in an abstract painting.

There it was! The eyes had changed color.

"Pretty Cure Scorch Wrap!" A rope of fire tied itself around the Unbound and set it aflame, just like Ember's eyes. She cried out as she sent all her frustration into the fire. All of it.

"Hey!" A familiar voice suddenly called out. "Leaving no fun for us! That's not fair!"

Splash and Terra appeared next to Ember and Gale as the Unbound dissolved, leaving an unconscious Halima behind. Ember instantly rushed over to the woman and picked her up.

"We got all the way here for nothing!?" Splash groaned. "I need to kick something...!" Her eyes turned to Smoky. "Or someone."

"I'm sure if you try hard enough you can kick your own ass. It's not that hard to miss!" Smoky laughed before making a portal. "Gotta go now, bye!" He added hastily as he jumped right through the portal before Splash could even get close to him.

Splash hit the ground instead and stumbled around a bit. She let out a yell of frustration, and Gale placed her hands over her ears. Terra giggled as she patted Splash on the shoulder, but only got a kick in the side as return.

"At least you got to kick something so... this... wasn't a... waist of your time." Despite holding her side in pain, Terra still grinned.

"I'm leaving."

----

"You saved me?" Aunt Halima narrowed her eyes as the family had reunited again in the Karim's house after the fight.

"She was... her friend was... that guy was..." Rashida tried to explain what happened but couldn't find the words. She just hugged her mother tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay!"

Farah gave Halima a big grin. "See? Hanan is more capable than you think."

"Two of her teammates didn't even show up until the monster was defeated..." Omar commented softly, expression stoic.

"What?" Halima gasped. "How unreliable..."

Gritting her teeth again, Hanan stepped forward. "My friends and I can't be everywhere. I'm sure Weatherdale's team will be able to protect their home, and Garden Haven's team will protect theirs as well. Any other Precure team out there... no matter who or what they're up against, I will put my trust in them, as a fellow Precure."

Hanan briefly wondered how many Precure teams were out there and if any of these teams even knew of Hanan's existence. It didn't matter. It shouldn't matter.

"Like I said, my friends and I are still starting out. I don't need you looking down upon them, upon us for no reason." She continued, feeling her anger boiling again once she saw Halima, Rashida, and Omar's critical looks. "For the last couple of weeks, my friends and I have been constantly attacked... we've been threatened... we've seen at least two people die..."

Hanan heard some gasps. "Wait... d-die?" Makeen asked with a hand over his mouth.

"Not really die-die. It's a long story... I'll explain later." Hanan replied quickly, regretting mentioning that. The images of Ray and Shade's lifeless bodies flashed through her mind again and she felt her stomach twist. "The point is... we're trying and we've been doing a fine job so far, if I say so myself." A smirk found its way onto her face, despite the mixed emotions she was feeling right now. "We've saved every single person who was attacked. We are keeping the darkness away, protecting this world... and I will continue doing so until my dying breath."

Nobody said a word, but the slightly alarmed looks said more than a thousand words.

"Your words won't shake my resolve." Hanan closed her eyes and raised her hands, lighting her fingertips aflame effortlessly. "I, Cure Ember, will promise to protect this world and everyone on it."

Wasim clapped his hands together with a smile. "Hanan..."

"You did it!" Fadil cheered, pointing at the flames at her fingertips. "That's awesome, Han!"

Halima was still locked in an embrace with her daughter. Omar gave Hanan a tiny smile and a little nod. "Thank you, Cure Ember." He spoke, still with his somewhat drone tone, but he seemed genuine. "For saving my mother. Hopefully you and your friends will be able to become true protectors someday."

Somewhat reluctantly, Hanan nodded. "I won't turn my back on anyone in need... I know you don't have faith in me, but I don't care about your opinion." She narrowed her eyes and was, once again, slightly disturbed by the almost harsh tone of her voice. "My flames of compassion are endless."

"Oh, look at my daughter being all heroic! I'm so proud!" Her mom pulled her in a hug and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Let's have that barbeque now! Will you lend a hand?"

Feeling better once she saw the supportive smiles of the other half of her family, Hanan grinned, followed by a nod.

"Yes!"

Chapter Text

No, she did not get lost often. Only when she actually left the castle grounds.

And here she was... lost in the mainland of Primo. Far removed from Lumo's safe castle walls, or even the kingdom.

Lucille occasionally took Radiant Lumiere with her into the kingdom, without her mother knowing. It had been scary at first. The noisiness, the people, the tight spaces. It had been very overwhelming to her. But as the visits continued, Radiant Lumiere started looking forward to them. She waited for Lucille to ask if she wanted to come with her to a local pub, or visit a friend.

Radiant Lumiere saw new faces every time. She met new people, heard new voices and new names... yet none that she bothered to remember. They would all go away eventually. It didn't matter.

Lucille would too. Radiant Lumiere knew that. She wasn't immortal like her or her mother. She would grow older, and older, and finally dim out. And, yet... she couldn't force herself to forget Lucille, or not care about her.

After a while, Lucille had actually offered to take her down to the mainland.

It was the scariest, yet most exciting thing she had ever done.

It had been literally life changing.

Radiant Lumiere didn't see many people, most signs of life hid away from her and Lucille when they passed through the vast forest.

A chill went through her body. Everything in the mainland felt... strange. She couldn't put her finger onwhy it felt so different. It was just... different?

Yet it felt right.

"I'm going to meet up with Terre. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Lucille had said before she had left them inside a cave. "Stay here, okay?"

Radiant Lumiere nodded, clutching the coat she was wearing. She just stood in place, looking around for a few minutes. She suddenly felt the ground shaking, and saw a gigantic figure not too far away from where she was.

Terre. That was her. The Primal Titan of Earth.

Fearfully, she went a bit deeper in the cave, not wanting to be seen.

Now she felt it again. It was more intense. It was pulling at her, dragging her away. She let it. She let that unfamiliar, yetright, feeling guide her feet deeper into the dark cave. There was some light at the end of it. Somewhat hesitant, she ran through the cave with closed eyes.

She had to go there. She had to. No doubt about it.

Opening her eyes, Radiant Lumiere found herself in what would become her favorite place to be. The trees stretched out above her, with some sunlight peeking through the leaves.

"Hello? Is anybody here?" She spoke up, looking around. Something had called her here, but there was nobody around. She narrowed her eyes to see if there was something, or someone, hidden in the more shadowy parts... but she couldn't make out any signs of life.

She didn't know what she had expected, but she actually felt really content right here.

Happy. Right. Just right.

She didn't want to leave.

Giggling to herself at the sudden feeling, she took a few more steps, inspecting the circular room once again.

That's when she noticed it.

A ten-million fireflies.

----

They could not believe their eyes.

Countless little dots had been sprayed on the brick wall in front of them. Seeing it had brought back pleasant memories from a far-off past.

Fireflies, oh how they had loved them. They weren't even hurt by the fact that the Titans, mostly Ignis, had referred to them as that. It fit.

It has been a while since they've been in this particular street, and were actually surprised that they managed to find this place in less than three hours.

And before you ask, no, they did not get lost often... only when they left Bright's house on their own. Which had been now. They just needed someone to talk to, and a distraction. And a regular human Earthling friend could suffice perfectly for that!

He had to be here, right? He would come. They just had to be patient. No real fireflies to count to kill time now, but the dots on the wall really reminded them of it. It filled them with a nice feeling that could almost substitute for that feeling they felt back then, even if they knew it was a bad feeling.

They didn't know how long they stood there. Just staring at the spray painted walls, adorned by flashy words and surreal imagery.

"Oh! Ray!" A familiar voice pulled them out of their trance. "It's been a while."

Ray turned around, and locked eyes with a familiar blond boy.

There he was! As expected.

Now, what was his boy's name again? It was at the tip of their tongue. Really!

No matter how hard they thought about it, they couldn't remember. They felt terrible.

"I am sorry... I... forgot your name." They whispered, averting their eyes in shame. "My first Earth friend and I cannot even be bothered to remember."

"Ah, haha, does Clyde ring a bell?" He replied with a hearty laugh as Ray stared blankly at him, then they gasped.

Clyde pulled off his headphones and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Anyway... um... perfect timing that you're here. I wanted to ask you something?" He said, growing increasingly nervous with each word. "You know, there's like this... um..." A tense pause. "There's this carnival thing going on. You like to, maybe, go with me this Tuesday? Since it's Valentine there will be a discount. So, um... if you want..."

Ray furrowed their brows thoughtfully. Carnival? Valentine? What kind of Earth events were those?

"Like... you know... um..." Clyde's face gained a red glow as he rubbed the back of his head. "A d-d-date...!?"

Blinking a few times, Ray cocked their head slightly. "That is where people go to have fun?"

Clyde still seemed really nervous and avoided eye-contact entirely as he rambled on. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to... um... we barely know each other, so I can understand but... um... b-but I'd like to get to know you better!"

Ray barely registered any of his awkward ramblings but still nodded with a grin.

"I accept! That sounds lovely!"

----

Episode 13: Luminous Afterglow: Lovely Day

----

Ray cringed when they they came face-to-face with the four Tit- Cures, on their way home.

"There you are! Bright is worried sick about you because you've been gone all day." Hanan said with a scolding look.

Ray frowned. "I do not need you to tell me that, Ignis." They turned away from them and raised their nose in the air. "I will do as I please."

Hanan narrowed her eyes at the name but kept quiet.

"I got invited to a wonderful occasion! It is a... um... Valentine... carnival date? That is what he called it." Ray crossed their arms, trying to remember the exact wording. They seemed excited though. "It is what human Earthling friends do, right!?"

The four exchanged some questionable looks. "Well..."

"Ray has a date?" Connie gasped, pressing her hands on her cheeks with a smile. "With who?"

"My first Earthling friend!" Ray acclaimed proudly. "Clyde!"

They couldn't react in time to evade Morgan giving them a soft kick in the butt.

"Seriously!? I can't decide if he's the bigger idiot here or you. Probably you." Morgan said, followed by a brief pause. "Definitely you." Another kick aimed at them, but Ray managed to step back just in time. "... Ugh his taste in people is, like, the worst."

"Of course, you are against this. I should have expected that." Ray rubbed their palm while they glared at Morgan, then shifted to Hanan, then Connie and finally Beryl. "After all, you never allowed me to be happy or have my happiness." They closed their eyes, reminiscing the stories they heard in the past. "Nobody was allowed to be happy, or live in peace, with you around! So many people got robbed of their friends, families, loved ones, dreams, hope..."

Hanan held Morgan back. "Shut up, and stop making everything about you. You're giving him the wrong idea!" The smaller girl groaned. "You're gonna hurt him because he meant something else!"

"Uh... yeah, valentine and date mostly means..." Hanan uttered awkwardly. "You know, love."

Ray stared back her. Their eyes were blank and they stood completely still. One could almost confuse them for a statue.

Oh. There was that word again.

Love.

The books always mentioned it, but they couldn't get a good grasp of what it truly meant. From what they could gather it was something like caring a lot for someone else but... it was so vague. Obviously Lucille's love for her late husband had been different from their mother's love for them.

So vague, so vague.

Back in reality again, Ray shook their head.

"Love!? But... I am already taken!"

Everyone's jaws dropped.

"What?"

They placed a hand on their chest. "I am a holy maiden of purity. My love and heart belong to the purest of lights."

While Hanan tried to hold back a laugh, Morgan snorted out loud at that, and Beryl clapped her hands together, still keeping her distance while she happily exclaimed: "Oh, I'd love to meet them!"

"You're so dumb." Morgan commented, shooting a quick look to Beryl before turning back to Ray. "If you hurt Clyde's feelings, Eclair is gonna beat you up for sure."

Hanan let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah...she will."

"Eclair?" Ray asked. "Who is that?"

"Hanan's friend, remember? The blonde girl at the diner?"

Ray gasped and shrunk back a little. "She is a fearsome woman! She fought Ignis and won!"

"What? No! I totally won!" Hanan objected. "Why is she spreading lies? I have to punish her when I next see her... with my great Ifrit card!" She revealed a trading card from her pocket, proudly showing it off.

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Didn't they ban that one because it was too broken?"

That made Hanan shoot her a glare. "Shut up." She said through her teeth.

"It does not matter! I will go and will enjoy myelf, even if you disagree with that." Ray hissed, crossing their arms again. "And if you dare to try anything, I will sure-"

Morgan shrugged. "Whatever. We ain't throwing a fit because you got a date."

Ray narrowed their eyes at her. "There have been pettier things you got angry over..." They mumbled. "But since you do not remember, I will not specify."

Sticking their nose up high and spreading their arms, as if to shove the girls away, they walked past them, not giving them another glance.

"I will make my own happiness."

They got lost on their way home and only arrived two hours later. Just in time for dinner.

----

"You know, that carnival sounds like fun. I suggest we all go!" Hanan suggested. "Eclair and I were gonna go anyway."

Morgan chuckled. "Heh, you were gonna go on a date? I'd hate to ruin that."

"Haha, nah~! We're enjoying that discount, baby!" Hanan laughed with a huge grin on her face. "Like, some stalls give even more discount for food if you pretend to be a couple." She whispered with a snicker. "Anyway, if anyone is short on money, I can help with that." A wink. "I've got some to spare."

Exciting, Connie and Beryl agreed right away but Morgan hesitated.

"It's been really long since I've gone..." She murmured, more to herself than the others. Hiding her hands in the pockets on her hoodie, she let out a sigh. "Fine. Let's do it. I also have money to spare, if you guys want anything."

"Oh... wait a minute... " Connie spoke up. "It's on a Tuesday... we have school and-"

"No, we don't." Morgan grinned and showed off a certain badge with Cure Splash's symbol on it. "Remember? We get special privileges because... well... heroes."

Hanan frowned. "Yes, we're heroes and we have to set a good example, and not abuse the generosity of the people we're protecting. But... " Her cheeks flushed red as she started mumbling. "... Eclair convinced me to skip class anyway...."

----

If there was anything the people of Dawnbridge liked, it was making a big deal of any event or occasion. People and stores would decorate their windows and many stores would have discounts and special menus related to the occasion. Not to mention the TV channels and radios almost exclusively aired movies, commercials, and songs about said occasion.

Some loved it, some hated it.

Hanan was part of the former category.

That morning she had gotten up early and was actually in a good mood. Noticeably she was wearing a lot of pink today (another Dawnbridge thing, themed clothing related to occasions) while Eclair, walking next to her, reluctantly had decided to only wear a pink crop top. It kinda clashed with her favorite black bandana, adorned with a skull and flames, that she was always seen wearing.

Truth to be told, she actually had a dozen of that exact same type of bandanas. They were her favorite.

Beryl was a bit in front of them, singing a song with lyrics made up on the go. Most of them were about how excited she was to go to the carnival, and occasionally she got distracted by a butterfly or flower, which made her stop in her tracks.

"I can't believe you agreed to skip class so easily." Eclair said to Hanan as they watched Beryl greet a patch of flowers.

"I didn't want to miss my date with you~!" Hanan replied, returning a smirk of her own. "You're not gonna leave me for a certain blonde girl, are you?"

Eclair gave her a little punch in the shoulder. "I'm serious...! You're always the goodie-goodie and model student, or at least now. You used to try to trick your mom into having you stay home."

"I never did that." Hanan's smile disappeared.

"Oh? So you don't remember when you pretended to have a cold but you broke the thermometer?" Eclair leaned closer, grinning. "And then your mom smothered you in so many blankets that you just decided to go to school anyway so you didn't have to deal with that."

"... I d-don't remember that." Hanan looked away, clearly lying through her teeth.

Eclair's grin grew even bigger. "I sure remember you complaining about that to me."

Hanan didn't reply and the trio continued walking in silence for a while, going to pick up Connie.

While Morgan had said she would go to the carnival on her own, the others decided to go together, pick each other up, and get to the carnival by bus. They passed Connie's house to get her and she was dressed entirely in pink, even her little bag was pink.

"Wait..." Hanan spoke up, pointing at her bag. Three buttons with an angry Ember, a grinning Splash, and a smiling Terra were attached to it. "Are those the buttons from last fight?" She frowned and Connie let out a nervous chuckle before nodding.

"O-Oh, anyway! Girls, look what I found in the mail this morning." She held up a cutesy decorated box filled with chocolate-covered eclairs. "I wonder who sent it..."

"Yeah, me too." Hanan grinned, side-eying Eclair, who coughed and turned away to hide her glowing, red face. "I wonder who could have sent these chocolate eclairs. It could have been anyone!" Her grin grew. "Sure is a mystery."

Beryl gasped, almost drooling over the chocolate pastries. "Yummy..."

"They're filled with vanilla. I don't really like those..." Connie said with an apologetic tone, opening the box and offering some to the three girls. "I feel really bad for the person who sent them with the intention to give them to me... but I hope I can at least make you happy? It would be shame if it went to waste..."

Hanan declined politely but Beryl instantly took up the offer. After a moment of hesitation, Eclair grabbed one too, taking a bite with a pouty look.

"Wow, Eclair, I didn't know you were a cannibal." Hanan's grin grew even more, until Eclair punched her in the stomach.

"Shut up, Hanan."

"I can't believe you actually went to her house before meeting up with me." Hanan whispered before adding a little louder, more dramatic: "I can't believe you are cheating on meeeeee~!"

The second punch to the stomach hurt, but it was worth it.

----

The carnival was busy. It was bustling with life, people and music. Ray and Clyde managed to get there without any trouble. Ray's focus was instantly at the various stalls and attractions surrounding them. They had never seen anything like it. So much movement, so much screaming (of fear? or glee?). It was almost too much for them.

"Are you okay?" Clyde asked them, expression worried.

"I think? It is... I have never been to anything like this before."

Clyde blinked. "You've never been to a carnival?" His dark clothing really stood out among the colorful backdrop of the carnival and its attractions. Ray should be bothered by his style but... they weren't.

"No..." They replied with a mumble, eyes still glued to the huge ferris wheel. "My home did not have this. And, even if it did, Mother would never let me go."

Clyde gave them an odd look, followed by a somewhat sympathetic smile. "Your dad was okay with it, right?"

"My... dad?" Ray repeated, wide-eyed and confused. They didn't have a dad. They only had a mother.

With a little gasp, Clyde played with the strings of his hoodie. "Oh! I'm sorry! Um, your caretaker?" He corrected, awkwardly.

Ray nodded silently as they clutched their heart-shaped pouch. Bright had given them some spare money to use to buy food, drinks, or ride attractions. He had seemed ecstatic at the idea of Ray getting some social interactions with people aside from him and the Cures for once. He had even given Clyde an autographed picture of himself, despite the latter not even knowing who he was.

"Hey, what you wanna do first?" Clyde asked, as he noticed Ray zoning out again. "Anything you wanna try?"

Ray looked around, like a little child in a candy store. Everything looked so fun and appealing.

"Um, how about the coaster?" Clyde suggested when he noticed Ray being too entranced by everything around them. "Or you want something a little less wild first?"

"Coaster?" Ray finally turned to him, cocking their head slightly. "Which one is that?"

After another somewhat surprised look, Clyde pointed at a metallic coaster with bright yellow tracks. Lights were on the tracks, flickering in various colors, but in the clear daylight that was barely noticeable.

"Oh... do you like those?"

"I love them! Roller coasters are my favorite!" Clyde told them, now he was like the excited child. "But I can understand if you're sca-"

"I am not scared!" Ray objected before he could finish, eyes still on the metallic roller coaster. "You do this for fun, correct? Then... why are they screaming...?"

Clyde seemed to be looking for words. "It's like... the thrill." He finally uttered. "It's a little scary, but it's fun!"

Ray furrowed their brows. They had heard those words before. They hadn't make sense back then and didn't make sense now...

"I accept. We shall ride this 'coaster'!"

"We have to wait in line!" Clyde called, gently pulling on their arm as they had wanted to walk past the people waiting. He received a glare as Ray retreated their arm hastily. "Sorry... " He muttered and casted his eyes down. "But we have to wait here, until all these other people have had their turn."

"Oh..." Ray seemed like they wanted to object but kept their tongue. Normal people, they reminded themself. This was how normal people did it.

They had patience to spare. They had all the time in the world.

Standing in line did take a long time. Clyde was rather quiet as he absentmindedly fumbled with the strings of his hoodie once again. Ray narrowed their eyes at the coaster's rails and the many circular twist and turns it made, all while they people cried in... excitement? If Clyde's words were to be believed. Most people who did come out seemed fine and even happy, but others emptied their stomach as soon as the restraints from their seats were loosened.

"See, that wasn't so long, was it?" Clyde's voice pulled them back from being distracted by their surroundings. It was their turn to go. The two and a handful of other people boarded the train themed after a dangerous looking snake, baring it fangs.

----

Ray flickered twice during the ride.

After getting off, they hadn't emptied their stomach like some others had done but they sure felt like everything was drained out of them. They stumbled a few steps and fell on their knees.

The harsh twist and hectic turns of the ride had been too much.

Never again.

"Are you okay!?" Clyde came over to them, kneeling down. "Are you gonna be sick? You want me to get you some-?"

"I am fine. Do not worry." They reassured him while holding up a hand. "I did... not expect that."

"We can do something more chill if you wanna?" Clyde said, slowly standing up as Ray did the same. "Oh, you like animals? I know there's a little petting zoo somewhere."

Reluctantly, Ray nodded and the two went around the carnival looking for the supposed petting zoo. They passed some food stands (Ray somehow managed to flicker by choking on a caramel apple, of all things) and even played some games. Ray didn't win anything, and claimed the games were frauds. Clyde, on the other hand, proved to be quite skilled at ring throwing and even won a decently-sized plush of a character seemingly called 'Chocowan', some kind of brown puppy. This particular plush was dressed like a cupid and wore a collar with a heart on it so it apparently went with the theme?

Clyde decided to give it to Ray, who liked the present a lot. It felt very soft as they pressed it against their chest.

----

Morgan was already waiting near the entrance when the group arrived. She tapped her foot impatiently while chewing on a bubble gum of sorts. It was very sweet, but the intense strawberry taste was starting to make her a little sick.

She didn't notice Beryl in time and thus couldn't escape from landing into the other girl's tight hug.

"Morgan! You're here!"

"I... said... I would so..." Morgan said with a strained voice, still locked into the redhead's tight hug. "Let go... now... you pebblebrain!"

Morgan gave her a mildly irritated look, popping a bubble with her chewing gum. She spit it out soon after. "Wait... is that me on that button?" She asked as Connie was pulling some earplugs from her bag and putting them in her ears to help her tone down the noise. The blonde nodded with a smile, showing off the buttons on her bag. Morgan, also, amusingly commented on how angry Ember looked.

"Yay! Now, let's go inside!!" Beryl made a little jump of excitement. "I can smell so many good foods. Ahh~ caramel apples... chocolate bananas..." She started drooling as she let her nose guide her and the others followed right behind.

----

They found the indoor petting zoo at the far edge of the carnival. It was bigger than Ray had expected actually. Inside were many areas surrounded by fences to prevent the animals inside from running away. From Ray's observation, they seemed quite content just munching on their hay, food, or the snacks the people inside offered to them.

Actually, Ray felt a bit more comfortable touching animals than humans. Animals... were different.

They spotted goats, geese, chickens... a peahen!?

"Lucilleeeee!!?" They cried out, climbing over the hedge (despite there being a gate to walk through), rushing up to the peahen and kneeling down. They pulled the unassuming bird close against their chest. "Thank goodness, you are alive! Are the Earthlings holding you captive?" The peahen started struggling in their grip as Ray was crying. "Are you upset because of what happened!? I am so sor-!"

The peahen slapped them in the face with her wings, causing them to let go as she ran off, almost looking offended.

"Lucille! Forgive me...!" They sobbed, stretching out their hand while lowering their head. The people around them were giving them weird looks, and parents held their children close and away from them.

Inching closer, Clyde held up a hand. "Hey...? It's just a peaco- uh... peahen."

"But..." Ray muttered, picking up their Chocowan plush they had initially dropped, only to realise a goat was munching on the leg of the plush. "Ah! Stop! I demand that you stop!" They yelled, trying to get their stuffed animal out of the goat's mouth. It fought back, not going to let go of it easily.

They finally got it loose but the goat wasn't pleased by that. It rammed itself into Ray with so much force it knocked them against the fence. They flickered once again before getting back up again. Clyde seemed to be under the impression that they shortly blacked out and gave them a worried look.

"I am fine. Do not worry." They reassured him for what seemed to be the tenth time that day.

The rest of the two's visit to the carnival's little petting zoo went considerably well, aside from Ray almost getting kicked in the face by a horse.

On a lighter note, they almost melted when they held a chick in their hands. It had been magical. Chicks were babies and very fragile, so Ray was scared to accidentally hurt them. They couldn't flicker and come back like Ray could.

They were so tiny, so soft. It warmed Ray's heart. They almost felt like crying just looking at them.

"Heh, your new friend seems to like you." Clyde commented as the chick he was holding tried to jump out off his hands. "Unlike mine."

The rest of the trip around the petting zoo went by without any troubles and the duo continued on their way through the carnival. They ate some more food along the way, played some games, and eventually decided to ride the huge ferris wheel.

Getting in the cart, Clyde seemed to be a little sad at the distance Ray was keeping. Both of them were quiet for most of the ride, until they had almost reached the top.

"You're afraid of heights?" Clyde asked, worried as he noticed them nervously keeping their wide-eyed stare outside.

"... I... have been up way higher." They murmured eventually and forced an unpleasant memory back.

"Will you be okay?"

Ray nodded hastily, while their eyes were still glued on the window of the cart.

"Oh... um..." Clyde's nervousness found its way back again. "I totally forgot but I got you a little present for... you know... as thanks for going here with me and all... you know." He sputtered, followed with a somewhat timid chuckle as he handed Ray a tiny box.

"Ah, a gift." They stated simply, not really expressing any emotions while they carefully opened the box. Inside was a fancy looking bracelet with tiny roses made of some type of crystal.

Clyde shuffled his feet nervously, trying hard to keep his gaze on them. "I'm sorry if it's silly but-"

He rambled on for a while but none of his words reached Ray. They were too busy staring at the bracelet. Too busy remembering the last time they had received a bracelet.

----

"TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT FROM US, RAY!!!"

----

Beryl's distressed voice made them feel... something. How were they supposed to feel? Angry? Sad? At Beryl? At themself? Were they in the right to feel resentment towards the Titans? Bright didn't seem to think so, as he had taken their side more than once. Ray didn't understand why. The four were still the same, even if they looked different. It was like putting on a new outfit, you're still the same underneath it all.

Maybe they shouldn't have... lashed out like that? But the Titans were responsible for so much despair, so much hurt, so much heartbreak...

What would Mother say if she was here? She would probably have a solution ready. She always did.

But Mother's solution... would that have made Ray happy? She had always said that everything she did was to ensure their well-being, but... then why did it hurt so much?

Growing increasingly anxious, they started rubbing the palm of their hand. They felt it now, more than ever... that emptiness. That feeling like... there was something missing. A piece to the puzzle.

It didn't make sense.

It just didn't make sense.

That particular feeling was bad.

Why couldn't they just be content with what they had?

"You look... like you're about to faint..." Clyde said with a concerned tone. While his voice was soft, Ray still was roughly pulled out of their own tangled thoughts. "Are you...?"

"Everything is all right." It had almost become an instinct at this point. After another minute of silence Ray lowered their head slightly, before speaking up again. "Actually... it is not." They admitted with a heavy sigh. "It is just... I might be doing something bad by being here with you..."

Clyde leaned forward a little, holding up a hand. "Why would you think that?"

"I am not sure when I am allowed to be happy... who I am allowed to speak with..." They held the bracelet in one hand, while the other started to pet the plush they had seated next to them. "... Or what types of kindness I am allowed to accept."

"Well... you should always be allowed to be happy! No matter what. Don't need to be uh... 'allowed' to feel something, that's up to you." Clyde said, crossing his arms. He seemed a little unsure what to say.

He sounded just like Bright.

----

"Your opinions and emotions are all completely valid. You matter." Bright's face gained a warm, gentle smile. "You do what you want."

----

It was the "you" part.

"It sounds so easy when people say it..."

The rest of the ride was spent in more awkward silence. Ray kept the bracelet in their hands, eventually putting it on the plush's paw instead.

----

"Um... Hanan... can I tell you something? But don't tell anyone, it's a secret!" Beryl whispered as she inched closer to the brunette, who gave her a questioning look. "Uh... I think your friend likes Connie a lot. As in... like like."

"Oh?" Hanan's gaze glided to Eclair and Connie, the former trying to show off to the latter at the high striker. Eclair attempted to ring the bell by slamming down the mallet on the puck while sending all her strength to her arms. While she didn't get the bell to ring, and was embarrassed by her failure, Connie still seemed impressed and clapped in excitement for the other girl with a soft cheer. Eclair's face turned red and she stiffly tried again, holding the mallet with shaky hands.

"I don't see it." Hanan eventually said with a shrug. Internally she was trying her hardest not to burst into laughter.

Morgan couldn't help but laugh as she overheard the conversation. "I don't know where you would get that idea from, Beryl." She commented, wolfing down a corn dog that was entirely covered in hot sauce.

The five continued on their way, trying out various foods, riding attractions and mostly Hanan and Eclair wanting to compete in various games, giving the small prizes they won to their friends.

They did, however, eventually run into two familiar faces.

"Bro!" Eclair called out. She started running to Clyde and Ray, who stood in line for a haunted house attraction. "How's the date going?" She asked with a smile, and noticed Ray flinch and step back, clutching their plush tightly against their chest.

Clyde gained a somewhat devious grin. "I could ask you the same." A chuckle. "Oh, hey Morgan!" He quickly added with a wave, and Morgan returned a brief wave of her own.

"Shut up, I'm here with my friends!" Eclair defended with a pout, crossing her arms.

"... And Connie." Clyde whispered, just evading getting punched in the stomach by his younger sister.

Eclair grit her teeth at him. "Shut up, Clyde." She then punched him in the shoulder, he rubbed it with a groan as Ray took a few steps back, wide-eyed at Eclair.

"You b-b-brute...!" The blond gasped, taking all their courage to step forward again. "How dare you assault him!?"

Before any potential fight or argument could happen, Beryl made a little jump with her hands in the air. "Oh, oh! Let's all go together!!" She offered, trying to hide her own fear in favor of doing something with her friends. "It's like... a maze, right?" A chuckle. "I bet it's gonna be Amazeing."

"I dunno... it's probably really dark in there..." Connie whispered, grabbing onto Beryl's shirt with one hand.

"How can you be afraid of the dark whe-?" An intimidating glare from Eclair got Ray to stop mid-sentence. "I-I am not afraid of anything. I have defeated the Titans and-" Ray stopped again from another glare, this one coming from Morgan.

The group stood in line for a couple of minutes before they were allowed into the haunted house. The doors opened and Beryl held onto Morgan, who pushed her off, causing Beryl to latch onto Hanan instead.

"You're still really warm..." The redhead muttered.

It was pitch-black inside the hallway. To show off how fearless they were, Ray walked in front, but got spooked by some mirrors almost right away, kneeling down and holding their hands over their head in fear. All life left Ray's face once an actor, dressed like a clown, jumped from behind a mirror. They flickered, falling face-first on the floor and Morgan gently kicked them a few times to get them to wake up again roughly a minute later.

"Don't mind them. They're stupid." Morgan assured Clyde with a little tap on the shoulder. "Happens all the time."

It didn't take long for the group to be split up in the maze. It started when Ray ran off in a random direction when a fake vampire doll had popped out of a coffin.

Morgan had to resist the urge to kick any actor, or animatronic, which startled her. Beryl was almost on Hanan's back, the latter being amused by the various props and costumes while the former trembled like a leaf.

----

Ray was the first to find the exit. They ran to the light with tears in their eyes, tripping over their own feet and falling on their knees as they exited the maze. Letting out a deep breath, they stood up again, only to be startled by one last actor in a clown costume covered in, hopefully fake, blood.

The thing that scared Ray the most was... there was no sound. The actor's mouth was wide open in a scream, but Ray couldn't hear a single thing.

The actor seemed just as confused as them and rubbed his throat, as if it would help bring back the sound.

A familiar feeling of dread caused Ray to fall on their butt, still clutching their plush. They watched in fear how Elegy silently popped up from behind the actor, dropping some Dark Ink into his shadow and dragging it out.

Nobody could hear them scream.

----

In another location in the maze, Clyde, Eclair, and Connie had tried to follow Ray... but had gotten lost in a hallway full of headless mannequins and covered up, and 'bloody', furniture. It was almost completely dark and the trio had tripped over the furniture more than once.

"I'm... not sure if I c-can go on..." Connie whispered. She had buried her face into Eclair's side, squeezing her eyes shut and holding onto the taller blonde tightly. "E-Eclair... please, don't leave..." She begged quietly.

Eclair, with a face as red as a tomato, choked out a shaky laugh in an reassuring attempt to sound brave. "N-Never! I will always stay by your side and make sure- AAahh!!"

As an actor jumped out from under a blanket, Eclair protectively pulled Connie closer to her. The two squealed while Clyde made an attempt to calm them down, putting his hands on their shoulders.

"Hey, it's okay!" He tried to assure them, then inched closer to Eclair and added with a whisper: "Come on, sis. Be the brave hero she deserves."

"Clyde!" Eclair hissed back. The impossible happened and her face grew even more red.

The trio continued aimlessly walking around in the dark maze with Clyde in front, Eclair right behind him. She had one arm around Connie while the other grasped her brother's shirt as they stumbled in the dark.

They passed a simulated living room, with a seemingly dead body lying on a couch. Of course, the 'corpse' was just another actor and jumped at them to scare them. Connie finally let out a loud scream and waved one of her hands, causing the actor to be blown against the couch by a burst of air.

"Heh... that's Cure Gale, for ya..." Clyde said nervously as he watched the actor raise his hands to tell them he was okay.

"S-Sorry!!" Connie whimpered, trying her hardest to not sink through her shaking legs. "I... feel like I'm... going to faint..." Taking in another breath and burying her face in her hands, she suddenly was lifted from the ground and flew off in a random direction.

Connie ran in the air through the maze, sometimes bumping into a wall, before shooting out of the exit and ramming right into someone. The two collided, but only Connie fell on her butt.

She looked up right in time to see Elegy kick her in the chest. The impact was harsh and suddenly Ray's screaming voice drilled through her ears as the sound intensified. It disoriented Connie, to say the least, and her head started throbbing as screams became louder and louder, as did the maniacal cackling of the clown-themed Unbound.

"Transform, Aeris!" Ray commanded, standing right next to her. "Defeat th-"

Elegy swung around and kicked the blond in the face before they could finish. She narrowed her eyes and leaped out of view as the Unbound continued its rampage.

"Don't call me that... p-please..." Connie placed a hand on her forehead and gave Ray an uneasy look as she said that.

They felt an emotion they couldn't pin down... but they didn't like it, that was for sure.

Connie grabbed her Skyhigh Charm and slowly stood up. She stumbled a little and looked ready to fall over again any second.

Before she could even open her mouth, the Unbound let out another booming laugh which stopped her in her tracks. The Unbound used it almost comically oversized, gloved hands to tear the roof off the haunted house.

"HANAN THIS IS SCARY, WHEN IS IT OOOOOOOVEEEE-eh...?" Beryl was still clinging to Hanan's back and they all looked up in surprise at the Unbound, which was staring down at them with a toothy grin. People inside the haunted house starting panicking and scrambling to escape.

"Hell Yeah!" Morgan's expression turned from surprise to excitement as she grabbed her Primary Charm, with Beryl and Hanan following soon after. Connie also finally managed to cry out the incantation as the four all were surrounded by a barrier made of their respective elements.

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Pretty Cure Evolution!"

"The heart that burns with the warm flames, Cure Ember!"

"The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"

"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!"

"The heart that soars with the courageous wind, Cure Gale!"

The quartet got together for a final pose. "Embracing the past to pave a path for the future, Prime Pretty Cure!" Four colored streams of light spiraled around them.

The Cures instantly sprung into battle, all four powering up their fist (or leg, in Splash's case) to push the Unbound away.

Down below, the people who had been inside the haunted house started rushing out and getting as far away from the battle as possible.

----

"Seems like your crush got even more radiant just now!" Clyde poked his sister's side playfully as Eclair stared at Gale with wide, almost glowing eyes.

Ray popped up behind Clyde. "I heard someone speak my name...?"

He didn't get a chance to repl as he grabbed both Eclair and Ray's arms and dragged them away from the battle to prevent getting squished by the huge, roaming monster.

"No!" Ray protested and released themself out of Clyde's grip with a wince. "Take care of this little one for me. I will be back." They handed him the plush before running back to the battle.

They were already out of breath when they came back to the Unbound. Seeing the four Cures unleash their magical attacks onto it made them feel... something. Maybe it was because, deep inside, they wished it was them?

"You dumb lightbulb!"

Getting punched by the Unbound, Splash was sent falling in Ray's direction. Splash's feet met Ray's face and the blue Cure used them as a means to push herself back in the air again, making Ray fall over and leaving wavy marks on their face from the soles of Splash' sandals.

"E-Excuse-!?" The blond whined, rubbing their swollen face. The moment of frustration didn't last long as they shoved it aside for a feeling of determination. They summoned their Eternal Lantern. "Light Up!"

Frustration started to slid back again as nothing happened... again.

"... No... please..." They suddenly felt tears swell up in their eyes. "You cannot be serious..." They sniffed and pressed the lantern against their chest. "I want to protect this world... I will not let it meet the same fate as Primo. Not because I am... I am... still..."

----

There was a faint hint of reminisce is Elegy's eyes. She sat on one of the carts of the ferris wheel, cupping her chin as she watched the carnival. Sometimes she batted an eye at the Unbound destroying everything in its path, but her main focus was just... everything else.

The carnival really had changed. It seemed like it became smaller each time.

It has been so long since Elegy had gone herself. She smiled briefly underneath her mask as pleasant memories flashed through her mind.

Reality made her stop smiling.

Her head started throbbing a little from all the noises, something that normally didn't really bother her. If anything, she was used to loud sounds and screaming.

She drowned out the noise for herself and continued to stare in silence.

----

"Ray, what are you doing!? Get out of here!" Ember commanded, blocking the Unbound's fist with her hands when it had attempted to squish the blond. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, setting her fist on fire for another fiery punch.

In the air, Gale sent a blast of wind to distract the monster. It scowled and reached for her but she managed to evade every swipe easily. With some concentration, she eventually was able to sent razor sharp winds, leaving tears in the Unbound's long, white sleeves.

The Unbound roared again as it summoned a row of big, colorful balloons and, with another swipe, sent them towards Ray and the Cures. Terra made a wall of rock erect in front of Ray to catch the balloon, which exploded on impact.

"Do you want to die again!?" Splash growled, shooting a stream of water at an incoming balloon.

"... I want to fight... but I cannot... not like this... " Ray muttered, followed by a louder: "You four are unneeded...!"

Terra narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything. She turned back to the fight, landing a few punches in the Unbound's guts together with Splash.

Ember landed next to Ray. "What are you talking about? We went over this already!" She yelled. "You... really don't trust us, do you?" The red Cure added, much softer.

No reply.

"I see. Fine, suit yourself." Ember said with a sigh, leaping back towards the Unbound as Ray tried to get something to happen with the Eternal Lantern in their hands.

They hated this.

Back then, when they had fought the Titans... that was the closest thing to 'complete' they had felt. Deep down, they had been happy, despite the circumstances being anything but.

It really was useless. They couldn't. They couldn't let go.

Ray stepped back. "I am sorry... " The lantern faded back into their chest again. They scrambled to leave and took one last look just to see Splash finishing off the Unbound with a blue torrent of water and everything return to normal.

----

"So? How was it?"

Elegy shrugged at Smoky's question. She started handing out the corn dogs, cotton candy, and some other snacks she managed to snatch before leaving the carnival.

"Nice!!" Smoky grinned, grabbing two corn dogs while Hail helped himself to one too. Bronze didn't move at all from her spot. "Thanks, El. You're the best!"

"Ah, all this unhealthy food we keep eating." Hail chuckled, eyeing the food Elegy had brought back. "Let's hope it won't have any negative side-effects on our health."

The two males in the room exploded into laughter at that comment. Elegy briefly joined them with a soft chuckle before holding a caramel-covered apple in front of Bronze, who looked up to the other woman slowly.

"Caramel. My favorite." She said, a little smile appearing on her face. "You never forget what we like, do you?"

The door was kicked open and the four all shared quick looks of irritation as their moment of joy was ruined.

"So much darkness! Everything is looking nicer already, guys! I am pleased and- whoa! What is that!?" Shade gasped as he send his shadow to grab the cotton candy from Elegy's hands. "Is this... food?" He said, poking the pink, sugary floss. "Ew, it's so sticky!"

Smoky raised an eyebrow. "Waaaaiiiittt.... you're telling me you've never seen cotton candy before?"

"... Cotton!? Cotton!? That's a plant!" Shade cried out. "You Earth people are weird!!"

"Now, now, don't be such a sour puss. Candy floss is considered quite a popular and well-liked treat." Hail said, wagging his index finger akin to an all-knowing teacher.

Shade rolled his eyes and marched out of the room without saying anything else. His shadow followed behind him with the cotton candy in its oversized hand.

"Finally." Bronze hissed softly as the four continued eating their snacks.

----

After everything had returned to normal, the crowd had exploded in excitement and approached the four Cures before they could even undo their transformation.

Once again, Ray stood on the sidelines, watching the mass of people surround the four. Ember and Terra were all too happy to pose again, again, and again while Splash looked rather irritated, as usual, and Gale seemed quite anxious at the attention she was getting. People were praising them, asking for pictures, asking questions in general, some rather personal...

"I'm glad you're okay!" Clyde was suddenly next to Ray as he handed them the Chocowan plush back. They didn't accept it. "You scared me when you just ran off..."

They looked into his green eyes for an almost uncomfortably long time, as evident by Clyde rubbing his arm nervously and breaking eye-contact.

"I'm sorry if I made you nervous... or that you felt like you had to accept coming here." Clyde said with an apologetic look as he faced the ground. "You seemed so sad throughout the entire day and-"

"No. I am sorry."

Clyde met their gaze again, brows furrowed in worry.

"I am sorry... I hurt you... and that is unfair to you since you have not done anything wrong." Ray replied, but it left Clyde even more confused. "I keep hurting everyone... even those I care about. Those who I do not want to hurt..."

"No, no!" Clyde spoke up and placed a hand on their shoulder. They jerked away almost instantly. "... I mean, you haven't hurt me! I had fun today, didn't you? That's what matters!"

Slowly, Ray nodded. "I did have fun..." A brief pause. "But Un- Morgan said I misunderstood your intentions and it was surely going to hurt your feelings. Feelings of..." Another pause. "Love."

"Heh, yeah. She can be a little... um... blunt, at times." Clyde grinned to himself. "Oh, but... yeah, I mean... um..." He started fumbling with his hoodie again, face growing red. "I have to admit that... I do... kinda like you? Like, you know? Like love, like... I mean... I know we barely know each other but... but...!" He trailed off, having given up trying to form a coherent sentence in his awkward mumbling.

"Does loving someone... is that supposed to... make you feel complete?" Ray asked softly, carefully, and placed a hand on their chest. "I am not... feeling that..."

Clyde was slightly taken back by Ray's words, but he smiled regardless. "That's okay! I'm really glad I got to spend today with you, Ray. I had a great time." He said, smile widening slightly. "And, we can still be friends, right? Unless you don't want to because it'll be awkward or something... I can understand that."

"You... still want to be friends with me?"

"Of course! Don't be so harsh on yourself. I think... you're much kinder, and stronger, than you think you are."

He offered them the stuffed animal again, which they quietly accepted. They pulled the bracelet from the plush's paw and put it on their own wrist.

"Thank you for believing in me, Clyde... " Ray said as their eyes went to the four Cures for a quick moment. "I should really start trying harder."

----

Radiant Lumiere raised her hands to her chest as the fireflies fluttered around her.

Her heart felt like it was dancing. That fluttery feeling felt so right.

It was so close... something to make that empty feeling go away. That feeling that she couldn't properly name, but had been eating at her since the day she was created.

Radiant Lumiere smiled and embraced herself, hoping to savor that euphoric feeling forever.

Chapter Text

Today really sucked.

The last thing she needed right now was a big monster attack. She was already short on time!

Carly heaved a sigh as the people around her scrambled out of the park to escape from the giant monster that had suddenly appeared, along with the countless little humanoids tormenting the people by blaring their loud instruments.

"God, I am busy..." She mumbled to herself with a pout as she started to follow the people, but didn't realise herself stopping when she had shot a quick glance at the monster.

The monster was a huge flower with sharp, hole-filled petals in dull colors, glowing eyes, and a hole in its vine-like body, with a person floating inside it. It looked noticeably less humanoid than the ones Carly had seen on Scrapbook.

A flash of purple fluttered around the flower, which let out an inhuman shriek as thick vines came out of the ground. The vines flailed in the air and slammed on the ground, shaking it.

"... Cure Gale?" Carly whispered and hid behind a tree to witness the fight, holding her phone with shaking hands. "Of course."

Her eyes widened as she watched the lone, purple-clad heroine fight against the monster, sending blasts of winds towards it but not really dealing much damage. Despite the ineffectiveness of her attacks, Gale kept trying, even ramming herself into the flower and quickly moved out of the way before a vine could grab her.

The way the purple Cure hovered in the sky made her think of a wingless angel carried by the wind.

Carly grinned as she snapped a few pictures. Perfect.

It took a bit before the other three Cures arrived and it seemed like their powers were much better suited with dealing with this kind of monster. In less than a minute Terra created a hammer around her arm.

"Pretty Cure Earth Smash!" Instead of aiming for the monster, she slammed it down on the ground, causing it to crack and the flower to be uprooted.

Gale quickly flew in and raised her arms to the sky. "Pretty Cure Spiral Cyclone!" The huge flower was caught in a purple tornado, hit by Gale cloaked in purple wind, and disappeared, leaving behind an unconscious gardener.

"Yay!! We did it! Teeeeeaamwwwwoooooork~!!" Terra pulled Gale in a hug. "Your idea worked, Ember!"

"Thanks, I saw it on TV once." The red Cure grinned, giving Terra a quick high-five.

Terra tapped her chest with pride. "We totally kicked its bud!!" She laughed and Splash gave her an irritated look. Terra replied with a wink. "Don't worry, Splash. Yours is still the biggest!"

Gale winced as the small humanoid marchers took this chance to ambush the four. They got quickly and almost effortlessly taken out.

"Up for another ass-kicking, Elegy?" Splash grinned as only the woman remained, who simply shook her head, created a portal, and silently went through.

With a loud gasp, Carly ran up to the four before they could even undo their transformation.

"Howdy! Greetings! Hola! Hallo!" A finger was pointed at the four, accompanied by a loud yell. Splash was visibly startled and almost kicked her.

"Where did you come from!?" She asked with a hiss. Carly's reply was snapping a picture of the blue Cure, who held up her middle-finger to the phone. "Screw off!"

Carly placed her hand on her hip. "You're a rude one, aren't you? Not sure why you are the most popular on the Scrapbook page..." She said, more to herself than Splash, who gave her an intense leer. Carly paid no attention to it, which arguably made the Cure even more angry.

"Hello, do you want a picture of us?" Ember stepped forward and imitated her transformation pose. "We can make it hap-"

"Nah."

Ember seemed a little disappointed as she was still in her pose. "Oh... um..."

"I want..." Carly paused for dramatic effect and held up her finger. "You." She pointed at Gale with a grin.

----

Episode 14: Skyhigh Palette: Euphoric Pigment

----

With a somewhat bewildered look, Gale looked around to see anything else the girl could have had pointed at, aside from her. The purple Cure looked like a deer caught in the headlights when Carly cried out again.

"Yes, ja, oui... you! Cure Gale!"

She came closer, inspecting her from hat to toe with an ambitious sparkle in her green eyes.

"Your face." She grabbed Gale's chin for a second and raised her head. "Your outfit!" A pat on the purple hat resting on the Cure's head. "Your figure!" Carly made Gale make a little turn, looking her over. "Exactly what I'm looking for." She concluded proudly.

Gale's expression seemed frozen in a state of confusion, so Ember was the one who made the first move. "Um, what do you mean?"

Carly gave her a somewhat impatient look. "Look, I'm already short on time. This assignment is due next Monday!" She cried out. "I've been searching for something all month but inspiration was nowhere to be found. Nowhere!" A brief pause and a deep breath.

Four different looks were exchanged between the Cures.

"But!" Carly yelled, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "You showed up and I want you as model, my muse, for my art project, Cure Gale... um..." She stopped, furrowed her brows thoughtfully. "I think they mentioned your real name on the Scrapbook page but... silly old me is bad with names."

Terra made a jump, raising a hand. "Oh! Oh! Me too!! I always write them down so it's easier to remember!"

"Oh. That could be a good idea, yes." Carly nodded before turning back to Gale again. She clasped her hands together, as if praying. "Please, please, I beg of you! The way you glided through the wind was so... so..."

"You want me to... be...?" Gale started, fumbling with her loose sleeves timidly. She averted her eyes, seemingly unsure of what to do.

Carly nodded as her grin grew back, even wider this time. "My model, yes."

Terra grabbed Gale's shoulders. "Oh my goooodd, Gale!! You're gonna be a model, like Bright!" She yelled, causing Gale to wince in her friend's admittingly suffocating, tight grip. She didn't dare say that out loud though. "You're gonna be famous!!!"

With wide eyes, Gale tilted her head.

"My work? Famous? As if!" Carly laughed heartily. "I just meant for my project. It's about something that brings forth hope and happiness."

Gale relaxed slightly and finally dared to look the girl in the eyes. She was almost a head taller than her. Her auburn colored hair made the brightness of her purple earrings stand out even more.

"Hope and happiness? That's not me..." Gale said softly, casting her eyes down again. "Why me?"

"Well." Carly puffed her chest forward with pride. "I can't convey that with words. It has to radiate from my canvas when I'm finished!" Her smile softened. "That is when I will know if I succeeded as an artist."

Nobody said anything. Various looks were exchanged, most of them not being able to truly follow the situation.

"I'm Carly, by the way." She leaned forward, coming uncomfortably close to Gale. "So, what do you say?"

"Um... I think..."

"Hm?"

"... I..." Gale bit her lip again. "Y-Yes?"

"Okay, it's decided then, yes!"

----

"This is your house?" Connie asked softly, mouth agape at the mansion she had found herself in front of. Slowly walking through the iron gate, she was met with a variety of stone fountains adorning the yard and beautiful flower gardens.

Carly had pretty much dragged her along after all but agreeing to help her out. Truth to be told, Connie hadn't exactly wanted it. She didn't really understand why this girl seemed to adamant on her being a model for her art project but her submissive side won once again. The side that was terrified of unwrapping any potential anger or disappointment from others. The side that didn't want to be hated.

Although, Connie could relate to her somewhat. She knew what it was like to not have any inspiration. It sucked.

"Ah, Carlene! You're back!" A man with a curly mustache stepped forward the moment the two girls set foot into the mansion. "Who is this? A friend? Good day and welco-"

"Yeah, yeah, dad. This is Connie, aka Cure Gale, and we're going to my work room now." Carly replied and quickly pressed a kiss on his cheek before grabbing Connie's hand and dragging her to a huge set of stairs.

Connie could hear the man, Carly's father, call behind them: "That is wonderful. You continue making sure those villains stay away from our town!"

She felt something stir inside. She squeezed Carly's hand without realising.

"Don't mind my dad. He's a fan." Carly said, taking a quick look at her. "He was the last person I expected to like magical girls, but yeah..."

Walking through the halls of the old-fashioned mansion made Connie feel antsy. Every step they took echoed with a loud creak. It was a little too spacious and a little too dark for her liking. It almost reminded her of...

"We're here!"

They reached the supposed "work room" and Connie came to a standstill at seeing how dark the room was. From what she could see, it looked like something that would fit quite well in a horror movie.

The room was filled with paintings. Some were covered up with sheets, making them look even more eerie than it should be.

Most of the paintings in the room were portraits, though the only one Connie recognised was one of the man she had just met. Some portraits were finished, some weren't. Some people in the portraits smiled, some frowned. There was even one of a bulky man whose mouth was agape in a scream.

Eyeing the handful of paintings which were covered up made Connie briefly wonder if those were just failed, embarrassing paintings or the person on th-

"Helloooo? Are you listening?" Carly waved a hand in front of her face, dragging her mind back to reality. "Guess not." A giggle. "Were you too amazed by my work?"

Without meaning to, Connie made a small nod.

Carly smirked, leaning bit closer. "Oh, what's this? Are you wondering what kind of dark secret is hidden behind this hidden portrait? Well... " She unveiled the seemingly normal portrait of a blonde girl. "It's... Priscilla! I think that was her name, it's been years, shut up. I just hate seeing her face. Ugh."

She started a whole spiel about this Priscilla girl and how much she hated her, then she moved on to the unfinished portrait of a boy next, which Carly lamented over never getting around to finish it, then she went to the portrait of another girl, who Carly also hated for stealing her pencils once.

It kept going and going, and Connie could barely keep up. Carly rambled on about everything she knew about the person on each portrait. This guy owned seven cats, this woman worked late-night shifts every day, this child loved dinosaurs, the list went on. Carly talking so fast didn't help the already slow girl keep track.

Connie furrowed her brows tensely. The more Carly spoke, the more her words started to merge and become louder.

"P-Please... stop..."

In a moment of desperation, Connie took a deep breath, which caused Carly to suddenly stop and let out an almost choking cough.

"Oh, w-whoah. I got a little carried away, again." Carly gave a wry grin and brushed some hair out of her face. "That's so stupid, Carly...! You're already short on time, don't waste it by talking!" She scolded herself and then turned back to Connie with a softer expression. "Heh, sorry. Shall we start? Can you stand on that cross over there?"

Connie walked over to a clumsily painted cross on the wooden floor. She just... stood there, awkwardly fumbling with her hands.

"Um... transform?" Carly said bluntly, raising an eyebrow as if what she had said was the most obvious thing in the world.

"O-Oh, right!" Connie grabbed her Skyhigh Charm from her pocket and opened her mouth to say the incarnation but Carly interrupted her with a yelp, making her almost drop the egg on the floor.

"No wait! Maybe not..." Carly narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Maybe... hm, maybe showing you as just your normal self is more hope-inspiring and relatable." She sat down behind her easel, frowning deeply. "As way of saying... everyone can be important, in their own way, or something."

Connie didn't say anything. She wasn't even sure what to say, or if anything she could bring in the conversation would be worth saying. Carly seemed to carry the conversation by herself just fine.

The artist got her paintbrush and dipped it into purple paint, but didn't start painting just yet.

"Natural charm could be nice." The artist pondered, playing with her purple earring a little. "But then again, you're not that flashy-looking." Carly looked her over again and furrowed her brows thoughtfully. "Hm... I'm... not sure if I have some fitting clothes for you..."

----

Carly was right. The clothes she had didn't fit Connie. In length they were generally okay, although a bit too big, but chest area was just too tight.

The buttons of the blouse Connie had put on snapped off and fell on the ground. Carly let out a laugh and then quickly looked away, face a little red in embarrassment. "S-Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry... " Connie whispered, picking up the buttons and stepping back behind some curtains in Carly's big room. She tried on another shirt the other girl had brought back from her adventure through her own closet. Almost all of it was purple, or had something purple in it.

"For what? That one was old anyway. If anyone should be sorry it's Mother Nature!" A genuine laugh escaped Carly's mouth. "Screw you, Mother Nature for giving us weird body-types!!"

Connie didn't reply.

"For real, you know how annoying it is to find something in my size?" Carly laid down on her bed with a sigh. "It's my stupid arms, yes."

As Carly whined a little more about the annoyance of finding the right clothes, Connie found herself loosening up just a little. They started chatting mainly about clothes and their favorite accessories.

Now that she finally sat down and relaxed a little, Carly was actually rather pleasant company. Although sometimes tended to ramble a little too fast, a little too loud, and a little too much. But Connie enjoyed listening more than she enjoyed talking.

Connie tried on a few more things Carly had given her to find the "perfect image" for her project (whatever that meant) but no luck thus far. While the pants and skirts all fit relatively well, none of the shirts or tops did.

"I guess I have to bring out a... secret weapon." Carly started with a serious look on her face.

Connie flinched.

"... The key to my mom's closet!" Smirking, Carly jumped off her bed and got said key from her nightstand. She held it up high as if she was holding a mystical treasure.

The taller girl walked out of the room and Connie followed. The two walked in silence through the spacious hall until they ended up in a dual bedroom with two big closets. Carly approached the the one on the far right and used the little key to unlock it. After coughing from the dust, she instantly started pulling all the clothes out.

"Mom, oh my god. Why were you so depressingly dark in your fashion escapades? It's so funny since my mom wrote children's books and yet..." Carly chuckled to herself with a soft smile. She looked at Connie while holding a black dress. "Um, I don't think dark colors suit you really, no."

Connie gave her a timid smile, agreeing completely with her statement. Dark didn't suit her...

"So much black... mom, please. You were so dark and broody, all right."

"... Is your mother okay with you going through her stuff?"

Carly stopped. "Oh, my mom's... uh... kinda not here anymore." She stated simply and shrugged. "Not much she can do about me going through her closet if she didn't like it."

Placing a hand on her mouth in shock, Connie tensed up. "Oh, oh gosh, I'm sorry... I...!"

"You're fine. Really, my dad is so... clinging onto the past... he doesn't want to throw anything related to her away, even if it is useless. It's been a four years or so..." She said with a little sigh. Her smile wavered. "I wish he would let go. I'm sure that is what mom wants too. Give it to charity or something. Along with her books, the autographed ones, that is."

Still feeling bad for bringing up something serious, Connie apologised three times in a row. Carly simply laughed it off.

"It's fine, really. Aren't you special? We've only known each other for a day and you're already getting exclusive sneak peeks in my 'dark past'." Carly's shoulders shook as she laughed once again. "You've got a 'dark past' to share?"

One thing instantly came to mind. Connie averted her gaze while her body shook. There was definitely a dark stain in her past. If anything, that exact same stain was still leaking heavily into the present. She didn't want to think about it. Not anymore. No more.

"Ah, I was kidding. Sorry if I upset-" Carly started, guilt shimmering in her eyes.

Connie shook her head. "No! It's not your fault..." She was startled by how loud those words had come out. "Sometimes I feel... I'm still..." She stopped herself and took a small step back, looking at her hands. They were still pale. They were fine.

Why had such a small question about something entirely unrelated set her mind off to that again? Why did that keep happening? "... I'm a mess right now... I feel like I shouldn't even be fighting with the others. I don't want to fight, honestly."

She instantly regretted saying that out loud. She wasn't thinking straight right now. She didn't even know why she was saying these things.

"Really...?" Carly looked surprised. "But, back there, you seemed so confident! The wind carried you, as a... ruler of the skies!"

Connie wasn't sure what to say to that. She silently watched Carly go through the closet, throwing clothes left and right before finally deciding to stop searching for something fitting. Connie helped her neatly fold back the clothing and the two returned to the "work room".

"Argg!!" Carly suddenly cried out, burying her face in her hands as she sat down behind her easel. "It's almost dark outside and I've done nothing."

"I... um..." Connie started. She didn't even know that it was already time for dinner. The windows in the room were also covered up so the concept of time was a little hard to grasp here. "I should probably go home... my dads are probably wondering where-"

Carly let out a shout. "But...!" She stopped herself, hanging her head slightly. "You're right. I'll ask my dad if he can give you a ride home. I don't want you to walk alone in the dark."

Connie smiled, nodding slowly. "Thank you. I've got an idea... um..." A brief pause. "If you'd like you can come over at my house tomorrow? I love drawing too, though portraits aren't my thing, but... we have an easel you can use..."

A flicker of excitement appeared in Carly's eyes. "A new environment might help me get inspiration. A look behind the scenes of Cure Gale!"

----

The next day, Carly arrived an hour early than what the two had agreed upon.

She rang the bell like five times in a row which startled Connie, who had been drawing with Benny in the living room.

Aaron went to the door and let her in. "You must be Carly!" He said, excited.

"Yes. Nice to meet you, mister! You must be Connie's dad..." She trailed off when she followed Aaron in the living room and saw both Marco and Benny. "Or one of her dads. Oops, sorry."

"Carly...! You're earlier than expected!" Connie said, standing up from her spot on the ground next to Benny.

"As I've said, I'm already short on time, yes." Carly explained, dusting off her shirt before grabbing a restaurant coupon from her backpack and giving it to Aaron. "This is for you! Just a little something as thanks. A romantic dinner for you and your husband." She grinned before turning to Connie with a somewhat apologetic look. "Also, I didn't know you had a little brother. I would have brought something for him too..."

The two went to Connie's room and Connie got the easel from her closet, setting it up as Carly was inspecting the room.

Carly's hand reached for a certain sketchbook but Connie snatched it away before she could grab it. "... P-Please..." Was all she managed to say, clutching the sketchbook to her chest.

"Oh... so that contains your dark past?" Carly asked with a chuckle. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

Connie looked away, clutching the sketchbook tighter. She didn't want the other girl to see. One reason was that she was a little embarrassed since Carly's art had been so beautiful compared to hers, but the main reason was that inside this-

"Let's start, yes!"

This time, Carly did manage to keep focus. She forced Connie to stand in a few absurd, if not comical, poses, and painted a few more lines before letting out a frustrated groan and ripping off the paper to start over again.

To be honest, Connie would rather draw her instead of being drawn. Even if drawing people was not her strong point. The lingering attention that Carly had on her while working made her uncomfortable. She wasn't used to even being noticed, let alone get attention from someone like this.

"Too stiff! I'm not feeling it!" Carly declared with a pout and crossed her arms. "I have no need for a fake smile."

Connie turned away from the girl's gaze. "I'm... not sure what... um..."

"What?" Carly furrowed her brows a little. "You gotta speak up, yes. It's really hard to hear what you're saying."

"I... I'm sorry, Carly. It's just that I... don't really... know what you expect... or want from me." A brief pause and deep breath. Again, Carly felt the air being forced out of her lungs. "I wish I could help you but..." Connie trailed off.

Carly put down the brush. "... I was there when you first transformed a while back. Just out and about to run some errands for my dad and... a huge monster appeared almost out of nowhere!" She said, leaning back a little as the two girls' minds floated back to that day. "I was so scared." Carly admitted and looked up to meet Connie's eyes. "But so were you, weren't you?"

"I was."

Connie casted her eyes down.

"I am." She corrected, a little louder. "I am still scared."

While crossing her arms, Carly gave her a sympathetic look.

"Every day, every night... I'm scared." Connie continued, hugging herself. "Whenever I'm in a dark place... I'm... so scared of the darkness swallowing me up..." She bit back saying 'again'. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"... Sorry." Carly stood up, walked over to the blonde and reached out her arms, as if inviting her for a hug. Connie accepted it. "It must be difficult. Fighting that fear every day... and combined with the pressure of everyone putting their trust in you to protect them. Knowing that, if you lose, you let everyone down and... and..."

Carly cursed internally as that only caused Connie to sob more. Why couldn't she just keep her big mouth shut? "I see a scared girl before me now... but back then I saw a courageous warrior." Wait, no, no. That wasn't right. "I see a courageous warrior fighting her fears right now."

While still teary-eyed, Connie gave her a hopeful smile. "You think so...?"

Suddenly, Carly gasped. It was so loud Connie jerked away from her in surprise.

"That's really inspiring, yes!" She cried out, letting go of Connie. She sat down behind the easel again, with a newly determined glimmer in her eyes. "Show me your brightest smile, yes~!"

Connie forced a smile, wiping the last tears away. While the tension was still in the air, the two had calmed down considerably. After a while, Aaron popped through the door and offered a plate of some sort of filled buns.

"These are so good, mister! I've never seen these things before." Carly said as she took another one and ate it. A smile formed on her face. "Nice!"

"It's pirozhki. My mother used to make me for it back when I was a little boy." Aaron replied proudly. "That was really long ago, haha!"

This time, Connie perked up. "Oh, I love babushka's recipe...!" She grabbed a bun for herself. "It's been so long since you made them, papa."

"I felt like I had to, since I'm glad you're making so many new friends!" Aaron gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Especially since you've become a Pretty Cure."

Truth to be told, Aaron had wanted to say that she had been happier since she became Cure Gale, but he felt like that wasn't entirely true. Sure, she had gotten friends and became more social, and actually going out more, instead of being inside drawing or looking after Benny.

He had noticed she had been a bit more jumpy and restless, if not outright anxious. At least at night. Out of seemingly nowhere, she suddenly had become absolutely terrified of the dark. Aaron had tried to retrace the steps to see if some event could have caused her to develop this fear, but all routes had ended up blank.

It had gotten to the point where he had bought her a nightlight. It was a cute, cloud-shaped one with a smiling face.

"I'll leave you two artists alone now." He said with a smile and gave Connie another kiss on the forehead. "I'd love to see your masterworks soon."

Connie giggled happily. "Thank you, papa."

As Aaron left the room again, Connie was still smiling blissfully. Carly stared at her with wide eyes.

"Keep that smile, yes." She muttered, sitting down behind the easel with swallowing up another bun. "That smile is exactly what I need!"

----

"I'm going."

Three heads turned to Bronze, who had stood up and took a few steps forward. Every step echoed with a clank.

"Are you sure?" Smoky asked, playing around with his guitar. "You don't have to if you're still not feeling up to it."

Bronze shook her head. "I'm fine. I have to be strong, and not let my emotions get the best of me."

"This is about Aeris, isn't it?" Hail looked up from the newspaper he had been reading. He groaned at seeing himself in a picture snapped by an obviously amateurish photographer. They never got his good side on camera, or any of them. Shame.

"Connie. That's..." Bronze corrected, then took a quick pause. "That's her real name."

"Does that matter to any of us?" Hail asked with a frown and flipped over a page. "You're letting this get to your head..."

Elegy raised a hand and an amalgamation of different, unknown voices entered Bronze's ears. "You are..." A shrill woman's voice. "... Projecting..." A croaky male's voice. "Not Good..." Finally, a high-pitched voice finished the sentence.

"I know, Elegy." Bronze narrowed her eyes at the other woman. It looked like she wanted to say more but closed her mouth before words could roll out. "You wouldn't understand." She muttered under her breath.

Judging from Elegy narrowing her eyes at her, it was obvious that Bronze's comment didn't go unheard.

"I really wouldn't worry about Aeris." Smoky spoke up, feeling the tension in the room rise. "I gave her those buttons a while ago and we even had a nice, little chat, until Cure Ember had to go and ruin it." He leaned back in the couch. "Ugh. I hate her."

"And, besides... maybe Aeris will be back sooner than you think..." Hail added as he looked at the four bottles with Dark Ink swirling in them. Three of them were already half empty while one was still completely full. "The Unbounds are changing too. They're becoming... slightly different each time." He looked up to the ceiling. "And this place is getting restored a little more every time we get darkness."

Bronze snatched the full bottle from the table, held up her arm, and created a portal.

"Exactly. No use in sulking around." She said as she stepped through. "See you guys later."

----

"You know, I also don't have a mother." Connie whispered suddenly. "I mean, I do... but... I've never met her." She looked like she wanted to add something, but kept her tongue.

Carly stopped painting and looked up at her. "Yeah... I figured. Did she... uh... you know?"

"She left shortly after I was born. That's what papa said."

"Don't you, like, want to meet her?" Carly furrowed her brows, going back to painting. "I do miss my mom. We used to paint together all the time." She gave a smile. "But I know she wouldn't want me to be sad. Dad needs me too, after all."

An unfamiliar feeling went through Connie's chest. She had never really given much thought about her mother, but she would be lying if she said she had never imagined or wondered what it was like to have a mother-figure. Until she was ten and she had moved from Russia to America, it had always been just her and Aaron.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

Connie made a little jump when her phone had started buzzing. She grabbed it and saw she had received one new message from Hanan.

[there is a monster near the aquarium. beryl is already there] Was the message. She looked outside and saw something soar through the sky in the far distance.

Hearing its inhuman screech from even here, Connie winced. She quickly got her Skyhigh Charm, holding it up above her head.

"I'm sorry, Carly." She spoke softly. "There is an attack... I'll be back soon."

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" A small cloud engulfed her and Gale flew out, landing in front of Carly, posing automatically. "The heart that soars with the courageous wind, Cure Gale!"

"... You probably won't be able to stay here while I draw you in that pose, will you?" Carly laughed somewhat awkwardly. "You're my fave actually."

It took almost all of Gale's courage to speak up. "No... my friends need me right now." She opened the window and lifted herself off the ground. "Everyone needs me right now."

She flew off towards the monster in the sky. Upon becoming closer it became more and more clear what it was. This Unbound vaguely resembled a giant jellyfish. It had long, tentacle-like appendages that it used to swim through the skies as if it was a vast ocean.

Gale saw the other three Cures had already arrived and were trying to get close to the Unbound. Terra raised herself in the air with a pillar made of rock, although she couldn't reach the height of the jellyfish Unbound. She threw some small boulders in the monster's direction but it quickly swimmed out of the way.

"Stupid! Fiiiiiiish!" The green Cure pouted as she landed next to Ember, leaving a crack in the ground.

The three Cures were surrounded by Chromies, most of them with angry faces displayed on their screens. Ember and Terra unleashed a barrage of punches to snuff them out, while Splash swung around, sending tendrils of waters their way.

Gale hovered in place for a moment. Chromies? That would mean...

"Gale! I'm glad you're here!" Ember said as soon as she saw the purple Cure, who came closer once she had been called. "Can you try to bring that Unbound down? It's flying too high and none of us can reach it."

"... I'll try!" Gale replied and took flight.

The Unbound swam and stretched out its tentacles towards her. Jolts of electricity went through Gale's body and she shook in pain as the Unbound hit her with another slap with its tentacle, sending her falling.

A stream of water shot her right back into the sky before she could collide with the ground. Gale looked down for a second and could just caught a glimpse of Splash raising her hand.

"Go get it!" She heard the blue Cure say.

Electricity shot surged through the tentacles of the Unbound as Gale hovered in the air, trembling. The crackling sound of the electricity made her even more nervous.

"I... I'm fighting my fears right now..." She whispered to herself. "Even though I have a lot of fears..."

She concentrated, sending all of her energy to her arms and thrust them forward. Sharp blasts of wind flung the monster back, making some tears appear in its body. The tears exposed pure, pitch-black nothingness.

Gale grit her teeth as she herself got knocked back slightly as well. This disorientation gave the Unbound a chance to hit her again with its electric tentacles. She shielded herself with her arms to protect herself.

A big rock hit the Unbound before it could, and it emitted a gloomy wail. The sound made Gale wince in pain again. She was so useless like this. Why did everything either scare or hurt her?

----

"You're my fave actually."

----

Why?

Gale didn't understand why she could be someone's favorite. Ember, Terra, and Splash. They had all shown their powers to the best of their abilities. They had been fighting longer than she had. They were brave, determined, and free of fear.

She was a nobody at best. People rarely, if ever, batted an eye at her. Not that she minded, really. Gale was always perfectly fine with being on her own.

But now... being alone was scary...

Taking another deep breath, she flew higher, evading the tentacles. Fear prevented her from coming too close as she kept shooting blasts of wind.

"What is she doing!?" She heard Splash's voice vaguely down below. The three were still fending off the Chromies.

They were depending on her.

Closing her eyes, Gale spiraled in the sky and landed a dive-bomb on the Unbound's head. She instantly followed with another gust of wind as she let out a cry.

The Unbound crashed into the ground. Ember just managed to jump out of harm's reach.

"Good job..." She said, still a little surprised from narrowly escaped being crushed under the huge monster. "It's eyes changed! Terra, can yo-"

Gale took in a huge breath. "I want to do it...!" She declared, placing a hand on her chest as she hovered above the fallen Unbound.

Ember blinked in surprise, but soon smiled and nodded. "Go for it!"

"But she did it last time too!" Splash objected with a groan.

"Pretty Cure!" The Unbound was lifted off the ground and got stuck in a purple-colored tornado. "Spiral Cyclone!" Gale embraced herself in purple wind and dealt the final blow, finishing the monster off.

----

Shade clutched his chest as a sharp pain shot through it. He raised his head to see dark energy crawl all over the wall, attaching itself to it. Slowly, it looked like it was getting denser.

Despite the almost unbearable pain, his face remained relatively calm. "It won't take much longer now..." He breathed, turning to the mass of a shadow hovering behind him. "I can't wait to show you, buddy."

----

Gale landed on the ground and sank through her knees. She just now realised how out of breath and tired she was.

"Gale!!" Terra's voice was a little too loud for her. "Are you okay!?"

The only reply she got was a small nod and an unseen smile.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

That sound!

"Bronze...!"

Suddenly, she flew towards the woman, who had raised a hand to open a portal. Gale's tired body screamed in protest, but she ignored it. She almost bumped into Bronze but stopped as soon as she found herself staring into a cannon.

"... Please... listen..." Gale tried, feeling her brief courage disappear while Bronze didn't even look at her. "Please..."

Reluctantly, Bronze locked eyes with her. Gale could have sworn she looked sad for a split second, but quickly reformed her face into a steely glare.

It was that same glare Bronze had worn when she had aimed her arm cannon at Shade once. The first time Gale had seen flickering in action was Bronze shooting a gaping hole in his chest and him coming right back up, twitching and all, like nothing had happened.

Seeing the same thing happening to Ray a while back... that had been scary...

Gale shook her head furiously. That didn't matter now. That shouldn't matter.

Her fear gave birth to a new feeling. Which was irritation, if not outright anger. "I'm... I'm sick of you guys constantly refusing our help! We can help you!! Stop being so stubborn!!" Gale cried out and found herself sobbing again. "You don't have to do this!!!!!!"

Her cry created an intense blast of wind, sending Bronze crashing against a wall.

The winds seized and left Gale even more out of breath. She placed a shaking hand on her throat.

"B-Bronze.. I'm sorry... I...!" She weakly stumbled forward.

"Whoah there, didn't expect you to be into screamo." Splash snorted behind her.

Terra chuckled. "You literally blew her away!!!" She passed Gale and held up her gauntlets. "Let's finish the job." She said, almost eerily calm.

"Hell yeah! Finally something we agree on!" Splash grinned, waggling her finger and letting a small stream circle around it.

Gale felt her heart skip a beat. "No...!"

The green and blue Cures didn't hear her quiet pleas and approached the fallen woman, weapons at the ready.

She took flight and landed in front of Bronze, the two Cures still running up to her.

"Don't!"

Gale spread her arms and splayed her fingers, sending Terra to the right and Splash to the left.

"You stupid boob! What are you doing!?" Splash hissed, leering at the purple Cure. She made a couple of wild turns and landed safely on her feet. Terra wasn't so lucky and her face met the ground, leaving a small crack in it.

"Oh no... I'm sorry..." Gale apologized a few more times. Her voice grew more and more shaky with each word. What was she doing? She felt so powerless, despite the rather strong displays of her powers just seconds ago.

Behind her, she heard the sound of metallic scraping against the wall, but before Gale could turn around she felt a painful force in her back, throwing her forward. Time slowed down as she could see Bronze out of the corner of her eye, making a quick portal and going through.

Ember ran forward to catch Gale but couldn't reach her in time, and Gale's fell face-first on the ground. She kept lying there as her chest started to hurt. She had no energy to come back up at all.

"Gale?"

Aaaannndd... there it was. She was sobbing again.

"Gale...?" Ember tried again, kneeling next to her and rubbing her back. "Are you okay?" She helped her sit back up.

"I just..." A sniff. "Why won't they listen...!?" Gale buried her face in her hands, letting out a frustrated shout. "Why!?"

Splash rolled her eyes. "What did you expect her to do? They all kinda made it clear they don't want our help. Multiple times, even. If anything, you are the one who is not listening." She scoffed. "So, just shut the hell up about it and let me kick their asses!"

"It's okay, Gale. You did a good job today." Ember reassured Gale as she shot a quick glare to Splash. "Now, go home and take some well-deserved rest."

Gale nodded. "Carly must be waiting for me to come back."

"Oh, that girl from yesterday?" Ember asked, undoing her transformation. She was the only one to do so. "Say 'hi' to her for me, okay?"

Terra was staring at the place where the portal had been. Her expression was calm as her shoulder slumped slightly.

"I'm tired too." She muttered to herself, placing a hand on her temple. She forced a grin while she turned to the others. "That was a tricky battle!"

Splash stretched her arms. "I liked it! More of this please!"

Gale gave the others a meek, little wave before she ascended and flew back towards her home.

----

Bronze leaned against the wall, taking in the silence from the dark, empty hallway. The only noise was the sound of metal clattering due her shaking form.

She had actually shot her. She had hurt her.

"Ugh..."

Aeri- Cure Gale. She had looked so sad, so fearful. Bronze wasn't sure how to feel.

She wasn't used being the source of fear.

Bronze looked down at her metallic arms. "Is this what it feels like to be powerful...? To be strong?" She whispered to herself. "Why would anyone... want to feel like this?"

----

Gale, still transformed, instantly found herself in a hug when she returned back home.

"I'm so proud!" Aaron sniffed, releasing her from his bearhug and returning to Marco's side, who gave her an encouraging pat on the head. Hiding behind Marco's leg was a wide-eyed Benny and on the other side of the room was Carly.

"You were amazing." Marco added in his usual low, yet calm voice as Benny stretched his arms to Gale, who kneeled down and let him run into her arms for a hug.

Benny pushed his hands on her white, soft hair as if it was a pillow. "Softy!" He chirped happily, burying his face into it while Gale visibly relaxed.

In a quick flash of light, Gale undid her transformation and left Benny in even more awe than before. "Connie!!" He cried out, hugging her yet again.

"You know, you've been my favorite from the start." Carly spoke up when the two girls had gotten back to Connie's room again. She emulated the pose she always took when she transformed into Cure Gale, while Carly sat behind the easel, finally unleashing her motivation on paper.

"... Why?"

"I like purple." Carly giggled and Connie blinked in confusion. "But, today, you gave me more than enough reasons to back up my claim."

Once again blaming her sensitive nature, Connie forced herself to not start crying. She felt unworthy of these words. She hadn't done anything to deserve this kindness. All she had done was crying and messing everything up.

----

"It's done!!"

After what seemed to be hours, Connie finally lowered her now sore arm and walked over to Carly's side to see the finished product.

Wow... Carly was good. The painting was of Connie, of course, surrounded in a purple cyclone in a dark, starless sky. It captured her looks perfectly. If anything, it made her look more beautiful than she could ever hope to be.

"So, what do you think?" Carly rubbed some paint from her face. "Say the first word that comes to your mind."

"Happy."

Carly was slightly taken back. "Happy?"

"Yes!" Connie turned to her with a smile. "I'm happy at how wonderfully you managed to make someone like me look... enchanting?"

The grin returned to Carly's face. "You're here, and while you may be fearful at times... you still continue to fight, for all of us, and for yourself." She said, her eyes lingering on the painting. "That is the most hopeful thing to me. It inspires me to fight my own fears and insecurities, knowing that a superhero like you feels the same way. All four of you. It makes me happy, yes!"

"Thank you, Carly."

"No! Thank you!"

----

After Carly left, Connie started cleaning up her room, removing the little splashes of paint that had appeared on the floor. Carly had suggested to stay and help but Connie had reassured her it was okay.

It didn't take long and, as soon as she was done, Connie sat down on her bed. She exhaled a breath she had been holding. Today had been quite exhausting.

Her eyes wandered to a certain sketchbook lying on the table. She placed a hand on it, feeling the rough texture of it.

Suddenly, a wave of irritation overcame Connie and she tossed it out of the way. It hit the wall and fell on the floor.

Why hadn't she just thrown it away already? There was no need for that thing anymore. Only bad memories were associated with it. Looking at it only made her sad.

After what could either be seconds of minutes, The irritation had passed and Connie kneeled down to pick the sketchbook back up. She opened it on a random page with a trembling hand.

Her heart stopped as she looked at the drawing. A familiar, wide room in a dark abyss.

----

"Here she is!! The one and only... the myth, the legend, the murderer...!" Shade's painfully loud voice echoed throughout the dark room as he widened this arms and paused purely for dramatic effect. "It's Aeris, the Primal Titan of Air! The Endless Tornado of Chaos!"

Four heads were raised to the girl hanging in the arms of Shade's shadow. It set her down, being surprisingly gentle, but she wobbled on her knees and sank to the floor with an unheard yelp.

Her entire body screamed in pain. Everything hurt, but her back cried out of the loudest. These wings were too big and too heavy.

"Uh... what?" She heard a male voice say. "Dude, were you using my tablet for online dating?"

Shade snarled, walking past her and closer to the other four people in room. "Shut up, Smoky." He hissed. "I wouldn't touch your filthy, primitive 'tablet' if my life depended on it."

"Heh, don't you mean your unlife?" The male from before replied and a chorus of laughter boomed throughout the room. The loudness throbbed her ears. She covered them with trembling hands in a desperate attempt to reduce the noise.

"Is she okay?" A woman's worried voice asked. "... Did she...?" She didn't finish. "Did you...?"

This time Shade laughed. "I found her, by chance even! So that means the other three snobs are somewhere out there too!" The laughter gained a malicious tone.

"You mean... those four, gigantic women who destroyed your world?" Another male's voice spoke up. "If she is one of them, then why is she... human-sized?"

"It's because of Radiant Lumiere, I'm sure! She must have depowered them, or something." Shade replied with another snarl and clutched his wrist. "She was really powerful..."

Weakly, she managed to raise her head slightly. It was just enough to see four figures looking down at her with unreadable expressions. They were all but shadows in the already dark room. It was so wide, so high... she felt tiny.

The four turned to each other before returning their attention to Shade, who now stood behind her. She flinched when he placed one of his hands on her shoulder.

"She is gonna do what you four couldn't."

One of them scoffed quietly at that. She couldn't hear, or see, who it was.

"Now, don't murder them just yet, Aeris." Shade's smile was full of disdain as he gave her a pat on the back, making her let out another weak cry of pain. "I still need a backup plan." He added, so soft that she was almost entirely sure she had been the only one who had heard it.

He walked out of the room and his shadow slammed the door shut behind him.

"Guys, I swear I was joking when I said 'get a girl' to him! I didn't mean to literally get a girl!" A red-haired boy wearing dark shades was the first to speak up. He slowly turned to her and seemed more confused than anything. "Uh... you weren't really planning on killing us, right?"

"Do not waste your powers, whatever they are. We are as good as dead already." The older male said before she could reply. He sat on a long couch and held something in his hands. Behind him stood another woman, who avoided eye contact with her entirely. She didn't look all too happy, though.

The girl tried to speak, say something, but fear and confusion kept her speechless. Her breaths became shorter and she wrapped her hands around herself as if to protect herself. The wings twitched somewhat, still aching.

The last remaining woman carefully approached her, like one would to a scared animal, and kneeled down in front of her. The girl locked eyes with the woman. Her sclera were dark, and almost petal-like marks leaked out on her cheeks.

"Hello... Aeris, was it? I'm Bronze." The woman said in the gentlest voice she could muster. "Did something happen to you? Did you...?" Again, she stopped mid-sentence, as if she didn't want to say her words out loud.

The next minute or so was completely tuned out. The pain and exhaustion finally caught up with her as she bursted into tears again.

Bronze placed a hand on her arm, bringing her back to reality. It was cold but, in a way, somewhat comforting.

"Can you tell us what happened?" She said. "Let us help you."

----

Bronze had been so kind. Where had that kindness gone?

"... I don't... understand..." Connie clutched the side of the sketchbook and bit her lip. 'Why are you so damn stubborn?"

She didn't want to be enemies.

Connie flipped over to another page. Unlike the previous one, this one actually was a drawing of a person. It was a somewhat clumsily drawn, brown-haired woman.

As seen from the sketch, drawing people just wasn't Connie's forte (she was practicing, though!). Her speciality laid in landmarks, and actual people was a lot harder for her. Despite this, the picture was still obviously supposed to be Bronze. The robotic arms were quite unmistakable.

Another, more recent memory creeped into her mind.

----

"If you take out the darkness inside of us, we will most likely not survive."

"It's what is keeping us alive. It's all we are."

----

A vision of Bronze shriveling and turning into dust crossed Connie's mind and made her feel a cold chill.

That hadn't happened to Connie. She had been fine when Ray had helped her. That had to be the case for Bronze and the others too right? Or was something different? Was it because Connie was related to Aeris, the Titan of Air?

Aeris.

Just thinking about that name made her heartbeat quicken.

As soon as she felt tears swell up in her eyes, she closed the sketchbook and placed it on the table.

Now she got herself sad again.

Connie placed a hand on her temple as a sudden wave of exhaustion overcame her. Her head throbbed and she just wanted to rest her eyes, and her body.

----

A few uneventful days later, Connie received a message from Morgan, of all people.

[hey my dad looked over some work from the academy and said this piece is his fave (whatever that is worth) just wanted to show you] The message read. Connie noticed a file was attached to it. She opened it and saw Carly's painting of her, flying in a dark sky like a goddess of the wind, going against all odds in spite of being seemingly stuck in the darkest hour.

Looking at it made her smile. It brought her a certain kind hope and bravery.

It made her happy.

Chapter Text

Amber was determined to make this birthday the best ever.

It would be Beryl's last one here before the family had to move away. Business was apparently way better in a town called Dawnbridge, and the family was starting to lose business. Although, that wasn't the only reason.

"Are you okay?" Suddenly a stocky hand linked with Amber's. She looked up at her husband, George, who gave her one of his usual, soft smiles. That exact smile she had fallen in love with. The smile that made her feel like she could take on anything.

"Don't worry, dear." She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder as the two watched five children play around in the garden.

Three of the five children were Amber and George's own. Seventeen year old Peridot -or just Perry-, fourteen year old Emerald, and lastly, the birthday girl herself, eight year old Beryl. Yes, from Amber's side of the family it had been a bit of a tradition to have gemstone-related names. Amber obviously liked the tradition, but still felt bad for Aunt Moonstone.

Beryl and her friends, Heather and Aurora, were eating the elaborately big birthday cake. Maybe too big for just the seven of them in total, but the true hunger of the Forrest family was not to be underestimated.

After the cake was done, the kids moved on to play hide-and-seek with Perry. Emerald wasn't participating in the activity and instead had her attention on her old, beloved GameGirl.

Amber suddenly stood up and clapped her hands together to get the children's attention.

"So, who is ready for the scavenger hunt!?"

----

Episode 15: Crystal Clear Crack

----

"So, who is ready for a scavenger hunt?"

All eyes turned to Beryl, who was holding some sort of map in her hands. She had called all the girls to Bright's house to show something she had found in her home. If she was talking about her actual house, or the cabin she spent almost all of her time in, was unclear.

"A... what?" Ray asked, trying to puzzle together another puzzle on the other side of the room.

"It's a map to a treasure!! And the treasure will only appear on this day!" Beryl said, tapping her finger on the date that was scribbled on the map. "April twenty two, that is today!!"

"Why that date?" Morgan leaned into couch with her hands behind her head. "What's so special about today?"

Behind them, Bright, who was cleaning up some glasses and plates, chuckled. On his wrist was a bracelet with seven colored beads.

"And what's so funny?"

"I think a little tour around the town is a wonderful idea." He replied, not flinching from Morgan's irritated tone in the slightest. "What do you think, Ray? Didn't you mention you wanted to see more of the town?"

Ray stared at him with a blank expression "I did..."

Putting the map under her arm, Beryl clapped her hands together. "Please, guys! I beg of you to join me! I will never ask for anything ever again...!" She looked up, giving an almost pleading look. "Never ever!"

"That sounds like fun." Connie said with a smile. Her quiet voice tore through the silence. "I'll join you, Beryl."

Hanan raised a hand. "Yeah, sure. I'll come along too. I have nothing to do anyway."

Beryl pulled them both in a tight hug. "Thank you!!! You guys are the best!!!" She cheered. "So, Ray, Morgan? What do you say?"

"Nah, I pass."

Ray returned to their puzzle. "I am occupied. Do not disturb me."

"It's okay, Beryl. Connie and I will go with you." Hanan assured and put a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "If they don't want to, then that's okay..."

Beryl leaned forward, puffing up her cheeks with a pout. "But!! It has to be five! It says so right here!" She argued, shoving the map into Hanan's face. "The treasure shall disappear if the five fail to make their friendship appear."

"What?" Morgan and Ray shared a quick, confused look. "That's... really dumb."

"But... but, it rhymes!"

Morgan furrowed her brows thoughtfully. "You know what... fine. Let's go. I wanted to get some food anyway."

The four girls turned to Ray.

"I refuse." They spoke, finally looking up with a frown. "I will not go."

----

"I'm so glad you're here, Ray!" Beryl threw her hands in the air with a cheer. Her merry mood seemed unstoppable. "I'm so happy we're all together on an adventure!!"

Ray, on the other hand, wasn't sure how to feel. They had really wanted to finish their puzzle... and not be around the Tita- Pretty Cures.

But they had promised themself to try harder. They played with the little bracelet Clyde had given them the other day.

They didn't notice Beryl staring at it.

The five were, seemingly, aimlessly walking around town. The little map had five different crosses marked on completely different places. The first, most nearby mark was near the pier. While it was still early, the pier was packed with people. Most likely because it was a Saturday.

After looking around a little, they ended up on the beach underneath the pier. It was remarkably quiet here and this was actually Morgan's favorite place to be.

"Guys, look." Hanan suddenly came to a standstill and pointed at a colorful sticky note taped to a pillar. "A note?"

"It must be... a clue!!" Beryl ran up to it excitingly with Connie following suit, leaving Hanan and Morgan to exchange some suspicious looks.

"Waterever happened to the good ol' days? I keep fishing for someone to tidey up the place and bring back my space." Connie read out loud, slowly. Morgan rolled her eyes, Ray blinked in confusion and both Beryl and Hanan snorted at the bad puns.

With hands hidden in her hoodie's pockets, Morgan turned Beryl. "You set this all up, didn't you?"

It took a good minute for Beryl to reply.

"... Nope." She sounded sure, but Morgan's expression revealed she didn't believe that answer in the slightest.

"Is it like... a riddle? A puzzle?" Ray asked, looking up at Hanan. For once, there was no animosity in their tone at all. It surprised Hanan quite a bit.

Hanan nodded. "I suppose." She stepped closer to the edge of the sand, just out of the water's reach. She narrowed her eyes and started scanning the crystal-clear seas to see anything out of the ordinary. "Water, fishing, tide." She whispered to herself.

Then she saw it. A small, black box(?), was a few feet away from them in the water. Were they supposed to get that?

"There!" The brunette called and the four instantly gathered around her, following her pointing finger. "I see something in there. It's like a little box or something."

"It's all the way in the water." Morgan put her hands in her pockets. "Don't really feel like swimming today."

Beryl made a little turn. "That's our first part of the treasure! We have to get it! Let's dive right in!" She suddenly gasped, as if realising something. "Or Morgan can move away the water!"

Waving a hand around, Morgan took a step back. "Nah. I can't do that." She shrugged, as her hand returned to its faithful place in her warm pocket.

"You can cry yourself a river and drown all those innocent people in it, Unda."

"Ugh, seriously? That again? You feel like 'flickering' again?" Morgan hissed, making air-quotes before turning away from the blond.

"No... No!!" Beryl suddenly yelled, shoving Morgan and Ray away with her hands. Ray slapped her hand off of them. "No fighting. Not today." Her expression turned desperate. "Please...?"

Hanan nodded in agreement. "Let's enjoy ourselves, okay? But, sorry Beryl. We can't just go-" She stopped as Beryl suddenly, without taking off either her shoes or socks, ran into the water until it had reached her knees. "... Go for a swim..."

Connie noticed Ray staring at Beryl with wide eyes. They looked down at the waves, sunlight reflecting in the water.

"Ray...?"

They suddenly took off their shoes and socks and ran after Beryl. Their eyes were squeezed shut and Connie saw them shudder as the stumbled through the water.

"R... Ray...?" Beryl looked like she was about to burst into tears of joy. For once, she managed to restrain her grabby, hug-hungry hands and leave Ray alone. Their form started glowing again as they inspected the water around them, which looked like it was sparkling from the radiant light the blond emitted.

"Where is the box from the riddle?" They finally asked, bringing Beryl out of her trance. "... Beryl?"

Ray wanted to ask again but they had already found it, seeing it out of the corner from their eye. They carefully made their way over to a bit more shallow water and rolled up their sleeves. They dug a hand into the water and reached just far enough to grab the black box.

"Aha! I succeeded in-!"

A little wave pushed both them and Beryl to the side before they could finish. Droplets dripped off of them. Beryl laughed. Ray didn't.

"Unda!!! You assaulted me!!!!" The blond shrieked, throwing the box in her direction. Well, they tried to throw it in her direction but Connie was the one who became a target instead. Hanan managed to skillfully catch it before anyone could get hurt.

Beryl shook her head to get the water out of her hair. "Don't you mean assaulted?" She asked, but Morgan apparently hadn't heard her because there was a distinct lack of angry leering directed to Beryl.

"Whaaatttt? I didn't do anything." Morgan said instead, not even trying to hide her sarcasm or amusement from Ray's suffering. She raised a hand, and another, small wave appeared. It didn't hit anyone this time. That was easier than she had thought it would be. "I would never do anything to hurt you, princess."

Ray glared at her. A lot of thoughts went through their mind.

Thank goodness it was a particularly warm day, and both Beryl and Ray's clothes were already starting to dry. That was probably why the pier had been so busy.

"Let us open this treasure chest!" Ray announced and tried to open the lit to the little box. No matter how much they strained themself, they couldn't open it. They shook it in their hands and they heard something clattering inside it.

"Now, be careful!" Beryl warned them with a stern look. "We might need a certain something to open it." She added with an innocent smile.

Connie tilted her head slightly. "You mean... a key?"

"Bingo!"

"She soooo set this up." Morgan whispered to Hanan, who replied with a quick nod.

"Yeah, it's really obvious... but let's just have some fun together. She went all out of her way to do this."

Morgan sighed. "And for what!?"

"You know how she is." A shrug was all she got from Hanan. "And besides, I'm enjoying myself."

----

At the same date, in a different place and in the past, three girls were running around a small neighbourhood for their own scavenger hunt.

They weren't aware of Perry and Emerald, the latter who had somewhat begrudgingly parted ways with her Game Boy for now, following them and making sure they wouldn't get into trouble.

Little pieces of paper with arrows on them were placed on a few trees, and nearby each of those arrows was a little "task", like pinning the tail on the donkey, and each completed task got rewarded with a sticker.

"You look silly!!" Beryl giggled as she placed a sticker on Heather's forehead. The brunette touched the sticker with her small hands before joining in the giggle.

Aurora took this chance to place a sticker on Beryl's cheek. "You too!" She poked out her tongue playfully.

"Almost there!" She said and held up the 'treasure map' Beryl's mother had given them. It was easy to read and she instantly knew the final spot was in the playground at the end of the street.

"Let's go and find the treasure!"

----

Even with a map, it was still a bit of a hassle to follow the crosses marked on the map. They found weird, pun-filled "clues" that barely had anything to do with anything and always had another box within eyesight yet just out of reach, mostly.

One was in an old, wrecked car left in a junkyard and another in a tree near the fountain on the town square, which Connie managed to get out with a weak breeze.

"Yeah! Teamwork!" Beryl cheered as Connie handed her the box.

"Seems like all of us can use our powers..." Hanan began, crossing her arms and stared at nothing in particular. "Even when not transformed..." She heaved a sigh. "I thought I was the only one.."

Ray gave her an odd look.

"If any of you decide to misuse your powers for evil purposes, or destroy anything... I will be forced to dim you." They spoke, voice low. "Ultimately, this time."

The mood turned tense as Ray let the threat linger for a minute. Their glowing eyes shifted from Hanan to Morgan, to Beryl, to Connie, and back to Hanan again.

"I will not allow any of you to destroy a world on a simple whim. Not again. Never again."

Hanan was the first to find her voice again. "Why did... we do that...?" She asked quietly. "Destroy your world, I mean..."

"And... um..." Connie had her eyes focused on the ground and didn't dare to look up. "Kill... kill people?"

Now Ray was the one caught in silence. They rubbed their palm nervously. Quicker and quicker.

"Okaaayyyy~!! Let's continue!" Ray internally thanked Beryl for the suggestion and distraction from the topic.

----

The playground was empty, but that made it all the more fun! The three girls got distracted playing on the swings before finally noticing the arrow near the sandbox.

Beryl and Heather were all too happy to start digging into the sand. Aurora hesitated for a moment before joining in as well. She was more gentle, precise, and careful than the other two, who just threw sand left and right.

"Got it!" Heather cheered in an almost uncharacteristically loud voice. Smiling brightly, she got a small, plastic treasure chest on her lap.

She easily opened it and the three girls' eyes started to shine at what was inside. All kinds of wrapped candy and snacks. Chocolate crackers, truffles, candy corn...

"Yuck." Aurora scrunched her nose slightly at the bag of orange candy.

"Let's go back and share it at my house!" Beryl suggested and couldn't control herself enough to not steal a chocolate egg.

Beryl's expression soured slightly as she watched Aurora and Heather walk a little in front of her, the latter with the chest still in her hands.

They didn't know yet.

They didn't know this would be the last time...

Beryl had to tell them soon.

----

The second-to-last mark brought them to a gym, just in time to see a hulking beast of a man with a buzzcut tear off the clue from the window. When Beryl ran up to him with a yell, he shifted his intense glare to her, clenching his fist with the paper in hand.

"Mister, no!!! Why did you remove my- I mean... the... the mysterious note from the scavenger hunt!?"

"So it was you who placed this here? That is vandalism!" The man yelled and stepped towards Beryl. "I can have you arrested for that, missy!"

Connie placed her hands on her ears from the man's loud, booming voice, and hid behind Beryl.

"Oh my god, that's Leroy Varman. He's a fitness coach. My mom hates him so much." Hanan whispered to the others with a quiet, slightly nervous chuckle as the man was reading a little notebook in his large hands. "She took a fitness program from him once and left in the middle of the first class. He's... um... bold."

"Heh, I've seen him around, yeah. I'm sure you can learn something from him." Morgan replied with a grin. "Especially with those tiny arms of yours."

Hanan frowned. "What is that supposed to mea-!?"

The man, Leroy, returned his attention to them and gave all five of them a look of disbelief. "Wait. Hold on. You're Cure Terra, and you're Cure Splash, Cure Gale, and Cure Ember." He frowned deeply and leaned forward slightly, but still towered over all of them. "Not sure about you, though." He pointed at Ray, who gasped.

"I am Radiant Lumiere, the light-"

He boomed into another laughter.

"Real cute, sweetie. But I hope you don't expect me to believe that's your real name." Leroy said between breaths. "Unless your parents wanted you to be 'special'."

"But... I am special." Ray corrected as they gave him a scolding look. "Are you aware you are acting like a barbarian and ruining an important occasion?"

"And that is...?"

"A 'scavenger hunt' made for me."

"Not just for you..." Beryl murmured softly and she got in between them before a potential fight could break out. Ray had a tendency to get into trouble and fights no matter where they went or who they talked with.

Hanan motioned the group away with her hand. "Let's go". She said as Morgan and Connie followed her right away. Ray huffed quickly and joined as well.

Beryl remained as Leroy handed her the little treasure chest she had hidden beside a chalkboard in front of the gym. She put it with the other boxes in her bag.

"Cure Terra. It's very clear to me you are the strongest of your group." Leroy's tone softened slightly, but his face seemed to be stuck in a permanent scowl. It was probably the eyebrows. "I've actually had students told me they were inspired by your heroics to become stronger."

Beryl didn't know what to say to that. She... had inspired people? Like a true hero?

The corners of her mouth turned upwards and she smiled brightly at him.

"I will continue to do my best." She said, determination clear in her voice as she placed a hand on her necklace. "We will. Me and my friends."

Before she knew it, the entire area was covered in dark smoke. She couldn't even see, or smell, where the others had gone. However, the smell of disgusting darkness was unmistakable.

She knew what it meant. She put down the bag on the ground next to her and grabbed her Earthbound Charm. "Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!"

Rocks formed around her and it burst open in a flash of green light, Cure Terra landed, shaking the ground slightly, and posed. "The heart that grows with the steadfast earth, Cure Terra!"

"Can't ever teleport here without ending up close to you guys..." Smoky stepped into view, looking almost bored. "Every damn time, man..." He sighed loudly as he got his bottle of Dark Ink from his pocket and turned to Leroy. "Guess you will do."

Terra got into a fighting position but Leroy passed her and stomped over to Smoky. "You are one of those crooks turning people into monsters!!" He grabbed him by the collar of his coat. "Beat it, squirt! Or I'll beat you."

"Whoah, whoah, dude! No need to be so violent." Smoky said, raising his hands defensively in the air, still with the bottle in one. "Let a man do his job in peace, okay?" He got himself out of Leroy's grip as Terra raised a rock-pillar in between them.

"Go somewhere safe, Mister Carman! He's dangerous!"

"Carman!? Carman!?" Leroy almost exploded at that and turned his fury to Terra. "It's Leroy Varman!!"

Smoky came to a sudden halt and furrowed his brows. "... Leroy Varman?"

"Yeah, that's me! You gotta problem with that, kid!?"

He slowly put the bottle back in his pocket and summoned both his guitar and a horde of Poofs. He straightened his back and no trace of his usual, cocky smile remained.

"Actually, I do."

Now Terra came to a halt, confused. "Wha-?"

She didn't get a chance to finish as the Poofs tackled her out of the way and Smoky ran up to Leroy, kneeing him in the guts as the man doubled over in pain. Smoky lifted his guitar and proceeded to hit Leroy in the head. It almost seemed like some black sparks and smoke poured out from the impact and Leroy hit the ground.

"You... little shit!" Leroy coughed out and snapped his head up. "What's... the... meaning of this!?"

"This... this is for Mirna."

"Who-?"

Smoky struck his guitar back down and knocked the man unconscious.

Terra found herself frozen in place, watching in horror and disbelief at the scene in front of her. Never had any of them attacked a civilian personally. Never like this...

"Stop!!" She finally managed to move and pushed Smoky away from the fallen man. "What are you doing!? Attacking an inno-!"

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS, CURE TERRA!" He now turned to her and she managed to block getting whacked with his guitar by forming an X in front of her with her arms. How the guitar wasn't broken yet was a miracle in itself, but then again... Terra had figured the thing was magical.

Terra got ready to run to Leroy but Smoky grabbed her by the arm and swung her against a wall. "I won't let you do that." He said and stepped with one foot on Leroy's body.

"What is up with you...?" She quickly got back on her feet. Then a realisation hit her. "You... you know that man, don't you?"

"Actually, I've never met him until now." Smoky replied with a shrug as the cracks in his guitar slowly disappeared.

Terra took in a breath. "Then why? Why did you attack him like that...?"

"Oh, don't act as if this was any less brutal than what you and your little friends did to us." He adjusted his coat with his free hand before giving another rough kick to the man's side. "He deserves it."

"All of you did too!!!" Terra argued, clenching her fists. "Even when Connie gave you all a chance... you didn't take it and kept hurting people. There is no turning back now!" She stomped a foot down. "You can't expect to hurt people and not face punishment for it!"

Smoky let out a long sigh. "This is why I hate humans." He moved out of the way to evade a punch from Terra and returned a kick to her. Terra let out a ragged cough and quickly shifted around, grabbing his arm and a handful of red hair before lifting him over her shoulder and throwing him against the ground, creating a small crater from sheer impact. The three star-shaped clips in his hair fell on the ground and his guitar disappeared.

"You're ruining my day." Terra said, lips quivering. "Of all days... why today...?" A pause. "I don't want to fight..."

Smoky balanced himself on his knees, putting the clips back in his hair. "Oh, poor, poor you."

"Why can't it be like... back then...? Back home..." She mused to herself and caressed the flower-shaped crystal on her choker. Unlike all of her normal clothing, the lucky charm remained a piece of her outfit as Cure Terra.

It was her most important treasure, after all.

A bunch of Poofs tackled Terra from behind and exploded, sending her to crashing against a streetlamp. She was quick to recover and got right back up, just in time to see a handful of Poofs play catch with the little boxes from her bag.

"Hey! Keep your hands off of those!"

Stone pillars burst from the ground, hitting the Poofs, which exploded on impact. More came in their place and piled up on Terra until she couldn't move anymore.

Smoky picked up one of the boxes and held up his hand. A string of smoke slithered into the keyhole and it clicked open. Smoky took the item from the box, a red-colored bracelet, and put it on his hand. "Look at this, it's so shiny!" His usual cheerful mood returned for a brief moment as he emptied the three boxes the same way. All four containing bracelets made from different gemstones of different color.

"Those are not meant for you!!" Terra used all her energy to raise another stone pillar under her feet, lifting her in the air. More Poofs appeared and she started clearing them out with the last remaining strength she had. For each she defeated, two more appeared in its place. It was like they desperately wanted to keep her away from Smoky, who had returned to stand over Leroy.

"Oh... okay, dude. Easy, steady." He held out his hand. Smoke started circling around it like a snake before it slid into an open wound on the side of Leroy's shaved head.

His concentration was lost when a ragged rock hit him in the back. He managed to keep standing but Terra hit him square in the chest.

"Can you... leave? I haven't made an Unbound so you're really overstaying your welcome." He snarled at her and continued to block each and every punch she threw his way. He considered himself lucky she hadn't summoned her gauntlets.

She grabbed Smoky's arm and attempted to pry the four bracelets off of it. "Give them back!" She gritted her teeth and the two continued struggling.

Not the treasures... she had worked so hard on them. She had even made a new one for Ray, after they had broken the last one.

She wanted it to be proof of their bond, their friendship...

Nobody else would get them. She wouldn't let them.

The little threads keeping them together broke and the bracelets fell on the ground and out of sight.

"... No!"

A sudden wind blew away a good portion of the smoke in the area, and the three remaining Cures appeared.

"Where's the Unbound?" Splash asked, sounding impatient.

With a concerned look, Ember ran up to the green Cure. "Terra!? Are you ok-!?" She stopped as she saw Leroy's bruised, unconscious body on the ground. "Wha... what happened...?"

Smoky picked himself up and used this distraction to grab Terra with the intent to toss her to the side. He grabbed her by the choker, fingers folded around the crystal-flower, and ripped it right off before tossing it aside.

It cracked when it hit the ground.

Something snapped in Terra and her mind drifted off to the past.

----

Coming back to Beryl's home, the three girls found a surprise waiting for them. A lot of delicious food, like s'mores, pancakes, and muffins, as well a pinata, and finally, crafting supplies on a table.

Roughly twenty minutes later, the three girls were completely engrossed in crafting something together, while Perry guided them.

"Why don't you come make a lucky charm too, Em!?" Perry asked Emerald, who simply shook her head and continued her game.

"Peeerrryyy!!!" Beryl called her older brother. "Can we make it a flower?"

Perry laughed. "Sure! Flower is easy! So what colors do you like?"

"Green!!"

"Of course, of course." Perry replied before turning to the two other girls. "Aurora, Heather? What colors do you want?"

Aurora thought about it for a moment. "Blue." She decided with a clear voice and a fresh smile.

"I like brown..." Heather raised her head. "Is that dumb...?" She said softly, fumbling with her hands a little.

"Brown? Good choice! Very, very underrated!" Perry was surprised but his cheery mood returned quickly. "That's actually my favorite color too!"

Heather perked up at hearing that. "Really...!?" She asked. "Most people think it's ugly..."

"They are poopie-heads!!" Beryl huffed and crossed her arms.

Despite feeling a little restless, Amber still found herself giggling at the children's antics. Perry did his best to guide the three girls through the process of making a lucky charm. Soon, he didn't even need to help anymore since Beryl had picked up the process really quick and was helping Aurora and Heather finish theirs.

"Like... this?" Heather asked as she tried to weave the crystal 'petals' together into a flower shape.

Beryl and Aurora both nodded. "Yes, yes!" They placed their own crystal flowers next to Heather's unfinished one. "We all have the same!"

The finishing touch was a small, cut-out gemstone of choice in the center. A fresh, green beryl for, who else, Beryl, an earthly brown axinite for Heather and a clear, bright sapphire for Aurora.

"We did it! We did it!" The three cheered as they all lifted their crystal flower to the sky and watched the sun's reflections shine through. "So pretty!"

They would cherish it, as it was a proof of their friendship.

----

Crack.

A bloodcurdling scream forced Terra back to the present and slowly reality started to set in as she watched at the scene right in front of her.

What had she done?

Splash cringed and turned away, and Gale held tightly onto Ember, who clenched her fist and bit her lip. Just looking at unnaturally bent arm gave the red Cure a fiery, slightly painful sensation in her own. It was her mind playing tricks on her, sure... but...

With a weak yelp, Terra let go of Smoky's broken arm and he stumbled back. His shades fell off his face with a small thud, finally showing his eyes... or well... eye.

The right eye looked fairly normal, save for the usual black sclera but the left was like a gaping, black hole. Smoke poured out of it like it was an old-fashioned chimney.

"Cure Terra... you bitch!!" He said between ragged breaths and clutched his limp arm. Smoke came out of both of his ash-colored hands as well. "That... hurts...!"

"I...I'm..." Terra tried to speak but the words got stuck. She stumbled back and looked at her hands with wide, terrified eyes. "I..." With tears forming in her eyes, she sank to her knees, slowly picking up the cracked crystal-flower and holding it against her chest.

Smoky took a few clumsy steps back and carefully let go of his limp arm, and his free hand grabbed the bottle of Dark Ink. With his heavily shaking hand, Smoky poured the remaining half of the bottle into Leroy's shadow and dragged it out. "Unbound, overshadow your light and dim your hope."

The Unbound that manifested was slightly taller than normal and resembled a muscular gorilla with some sort of armor on its arms and chest, hiding away the cage.

"... Unbound, get out of here and suffer forever until your darkness dries out and there's nothing left of you..." Smoky commanded coldly before he vanished into a portal.

The Unbound slammed its fits on its chest and let out a loud roar before jogging off out of sight.

Gale and Splash gave chase right away while Ember kneeled down next to Terra and placed a warm, yet firm hand on her shoulder. "We'll handle this. Go find Ray and rest, okay?"

Terra nodded weakly and Ember ran in the direction the Unbound and the two Cures had gone.

"Heather... Aurora..." Terra wasn't sure how long she sat there... just... staring at the ground and letting tears roll down her cheeks while she clutched her cracked crystal-flower against her chest. "I'm sorry... how can I... face you after this? I'm a monster..."

After a couple of minutes, she finally gathered the courage and willpower to get up and started looking for the loose pieces of the bracelets.

Her heart felt an immense amount of sorrow when she realised all of the pieces were cracked or broken.

"... Beryl?" Ray stood a few feet away from her, hands folded over their chest. "Why are you...?" They didn't finish once they noticed Terra's tears.

Terra continued picking up pieces. Aquamarines, pyrope garnets, ametrines, and opals. "Maybe... you were right, Ray..." She sniffed, voice and head kept low. "Maybe I am a monster, and don't deserve to be happy."

When Terra finally looked up to meet Ray's gaze, it brought back another memory.

----

"Fi... Firefly...?"

Giant emerald eyes stared right through her. She saw her own reflection, or multiple reflections even, in the eyes of the Titan and... what she saw... terrified her.

----

They found themselves at a complete loss of words, so they just decided to silently help Terra pick up the remaining gemstones.

"Opal..." They murmured. "Is that-?"

"For you. I want to be your friend... no matter what..." Terra confessed as tears started flowing again. "But you're always so... so... so mean to us."

Terra figured to just keep her mouth shut, in fear of hurting anyone again. Her mind was a huge mess right now and her thoughts were all over the place.

Without saying a word, Ray dropped the remaining gemstones in Terra's palms.

Now Terra completely was out of it. She let out a cry of raw emotions as she held onto the cracked gemstones. Her own lucky charm laid on her lap, which she cupped in her hands too.

She had wanted today to be the best day...

But everything was ruined now.

"My friends are my treasure..." Terra's hands suddenly started glowing in a fresh, green light. The cracks from the gemstones slowly started to mend, repairing them. Even the lucky charm, slowly repaired itself, but not completely. "My friends are my power."

In another, quick flash of light, Terra unceremoniously turned back into Beryl. It was like all the life had been drained from her. She took a deep, albeit unsteady, breath. "What...? Did I...?"

"Earth can be destructive... but..." Ray's expression had a tiny hint of a smile. "It is also where all new life starts."

----

The chase was on. As the Unbound ran through the streets, the Cures kept striking their attacks. Kicks, blows of wind, streams of water, and fiery punches.

Gale managed to slow the raging Unbound considerably with blasts of wind but it swooped her out of the air and grasped her tightly with its free hand.

"Gale!" Ember rushed towards it, clenching her fist and setting it on fire. She made a jump and struck the Unbound's chin. With another quick swipe, Ember found herself caught in the Unbound's grip too.

"So useless! I really am better off alone." Splash sighed, shooting herself into the air with a stream of water and swiped her hands above her. Countless bubbles manifested around her.

The bubbles exploded once they came into contact with the Unbound's armor. More and more, until the armor disappeared, exposing its arms and the cage-like chest fully. The Unbound let go of Ember and Gale and started yelling even louder.

"Shut up!" Splash concentrated and released a sparkling torrent to the Unbound. "Pretty Cure Hydro Wave!"

Everything returned back to normal.

----

When the trio had detransformed and managed to slip away before the usual paparazzi could come, they had found Ray and Beryl sitting on a bench in a somewhat isolated spot.

Beryl was crying.

"What did you do this time?" Morgan groaned, shooting a glare at Ray. The blond instantly stood up to defend themself but Beryl shook her head with a sniff.

"Ray didn't do anything... don't be... mad at them."

In an attempt to reassure her, Connie sat down next to Beryl and gently touched her hand. Beryl jerked away from the girl with a cry.

"No, don't touch me! I'm dangerous!" She sobbed. "You saw what I did! What if... I break your spine, or your neck!?"

Connie retreated her hands to her mouth, obviously horrified at the thought.

"I broke his arm with my bare hands!" With an expression revealing anxiety and fear, Beryl looked at her hands. Her normal, dirt-covered hands. The hands who had both broken and repaired something today.

"Heh. More like bear hands." Morgan snorted. Beryl wasn't amused and gave the shorter girl an almost disgusted glare. "What?"

"But... you also repaired those gemstones." Ray chimed in with a clear voice, but didn't make eye-contact. "And did not eat any of them..."

----

Smoky sank to his knees when arriving back at the base. Elegy instantly rushed to him. Her eyes widened at seeing his injuries.

"What happened? Who did this!?" Bronze asked as she gritted her teeth at his obviously fractured bone. "It was the Pretty Cure, wasn't it?" She summoned a metal plate around his arm.

Smoky leaned on Elegy, who guided him to the biggest couch in the room. "Cure Terra..."

Bronze's expression turned dark at hearing that.

"Your eye... is it okay?" Hail asked, concerned and pointed at his own eye with an uneasy look. "I will still say it does not look pleasant but... you said it doesn't hurt, right?"

"Ugh, it's kinda... burning?" Smoky choked out. "I've never felt something like that before... actually, my entire body feels like it's on fire."

Somewhat reluctantly, Hail placed his cold hand over the gaping hole that was supposed to be an eye.

"That... feels nice... or, better said, ice, heh. Can't you just turn me into a popsicle or something, dude? My body is, like, smoking-hot, haha..." Smoky joked weakly. He looked like he could pass out any minute now.

"Can't exactly do that now, can I?" Hail replied with a smile of his own. "We kinda need you."

"Of course... I need you guys, too."

With heavy steps, Bronze clenched her metallic fists. "They will not get away with this." She raised her hand to open a portal, but Elegy placed a hand on her arm, forcing it down firmly.

"Don't do that." Hail, still sitting by Smoky's side, turned around to look at her with a stern expression. "Let's not be hasty. It'll do more harm than good."

"Look at what she did to him!" Bronze objected instantly. "You expect me to forgive that!?"

Hail and Elegy exchanged some vague looks. Both seemed just as tense as she was.

"Bronze... I'm sorry..." Smoky broke the silence with his weak, almost eerily quiet voice. "I was so ready to throw away the last... bit of morality... I have left. I was so ready to..." He bit back the words.

Still pacing around slowly, Bronze turned to him, brows furrowed in a questioning frown. "What do you mean?" Her voice was low, yet soft.

"I tried to kill Leroy Varman."

The clanking noises from Bronze's boots seized as she stopped.

"... You met him?" She kept staring at the ground. Her eyes focused intensely on the dark floor underneath her. "You should stay away from him."

"I couldn't...! When I heard his name, I just...something snapped... exploded..." Smoky tried to sit up. "He hurt you, so much... and that made me so angry." He exhaled another puff of smoke. "I was so... angry... it was like I wasn't thinking..." Another pause. "My mind was... clouded and I was just so... angry."

Bronze leaned against the wall, body trembling. "I'm sorry... I need a minute." She folded her arms around herself in an attempt to emulate safety.

"I'm so tired, guys. Don't worry, just resting my eyes a little. The darkness will do the rest and heal me right back up, just like with you... " Smoky said with a reassuring tone as he closed his eye, smoke still pouring out of the other one. "You guys promise to still be here when I wake up?"

"Yes, we'll always be."

----

"You're back!" Bright instantly greeted the five with a hug once the last mark on the map had brought them back to his house. "I saw what happened... are you all right?"

They all nodded somewhat reluctantly.

Stepping into the living room, all of them were surprised to see decorations all over the room. Balloons, streamers, a table filled with food, and a couple of presents and a huge rainbow cake, and lastly, a banner which read; "Happy Birthday!"

"Wa... wait...!" Morgan snapped her head to Beryl. "Today is...?"

Beryl offered a grin. Everyone could easily see it was forced.

"Yup. Today is my special day." She said with a smaller, but genuine this time, smile. "I wanted to spend it with you guys." Beryl looked away. "So, I asked Bright to help me with my scavenger hunt. The treasure chests... Bright has to key to open them, but... that's not really needed anymore."

Bright held up his arm to show the colorful bracelet on his wrist with a proud smile. "I already got mine yesterday. Isn't it lovely?"

"The gemstones...?" Ray pointed at the loose gemstones still in Beryl's hand. Unlike the still slightly cracked crystal-flower, the gemstones were completely restored by Beryl's powers.

Beryl shook her head. "I wanted to give them to you guys, as a proof of friendship." She offered a timid smile. "Originally wanted to do it at the sleepover... but that didn't really go through. So! I decided to give them as presents for spending the day with me!"

"But... it's your birthday! We should be getting you presents." Hanan spoke up, crossing her arms. "Why didn't you tell us? I would have gotten something for you..."

Beryl smiled back at her. "You guys already gave me the best present I could ask for." Her smile grew wider. "Being my friends."

---

Nearby the forest, three girls were playing in the twilight. They played tag, hide-and-seek, and eventually just laid down in the grass to watch the beautiful skies.

Beryl bit back some tears. Was there a way for this moment to last forever?

Holding up their crystal-flowers in the air, prisms of green, brown, and blue danced in the last rays of sunlight as the three girls exchanged smiles.

This was a proof. A memento of their friendship. No matter how far apart they would be, as long as they had these, nothing would be able to drive them apart. They would always make them find a way back to each other again.

This was a treasure for them to share.

----

"I have two more friends counting on me." Beryl got her crystal-flower. Seeing the crack in it made her feel... worthless. There would surely be a way to repair it too, like she had done with the gemstones. "I will do everything in my power to protect them... even if that means losing myself in the process."

"Don't say that..." Connie folded her fingers around Beryl's hand.

Hanan was inspecting the gemstones Beryl had laid down on the table. "I've got an idea. Beryl, why don't you show us how to make them into a bracelet? We can do it together?"

Perking up, Connie clapped her hands together with a smile. "That sounds wonderful! Teamwork~!"

"Really? You guys want to do that?"

Morgan shrugged. "Yeah, sure. It's your day."

"Even you... Morgan...?" Beryl started to tear up again, but the tears were of happiness this time.

Ray stepped forward as well. "Show us the procedure, Beryl." They said with a more demure voice than expected. "Maybe, we can learn something from you."

Wiping more tears away, Beryl managed to give another smile. "... Thank you!"

Beryl gave one last look to her own lucky charm and she remembered her friend's smiles. The main thing she wanted to protect.

"Heather, Aurora. I'll keep doing my best. For you, and them..."

Chapter Text

"I'm so glad you were able to come." Bright exclaimed happily as Hanan and Morgan came inside the living room. Hanan sat down on the couch behind Ray, who sat on the floor doing a puzzle again (snowflakes this time), while Morgan sank into a beanbag.

He had personally asked all four girls to come over to ask for a favor, yet only Hanan and Morgan had showed up. It had been a while since they had all been together, since it had almost been an entire month without an attack, but, right now, Beryl and Connie were fighting their greatest foe yet.

The common cold.

A lot of people were sick and it had gotten so bad that more than half of the classes were empty during school days.

Although, Hanan did suspect there was a bit more going on from Beryl's side than just a cold.

"You're looking awfully fancy today." Morgan said as she looked Bright over. He was wearing a white suit with a rainbow-colored tie. "What's the occasion?"

Bright was braiding his hair while inspecting his look in one of the countless mirrors, both big and small, in the house. "One of my co-workers is celebrating his birthday today, and I might have to stay the night since it's quite far..."

Hanan and Morgan's eyes locked for a moment as Bright continued running around the room to grab his keys, a small present, and his wallet.

"Originally, I didn't want to go because I didn't want Ray to be all alone the entire night but..." Bright finally came to standstill. "They specifically asked for you girls to stay over."

"... I did not." A small, weak voice came from Ray's direction.

With a small chuckle, Bright leaned closer to the two girls and whispered: "They did ask. It's because they watched a scary movie last time when I came home late and that ended up frightening them a lot."

Morgan snorted at that while Hanan gave Ray a sympathetic look. That had happened countless times with her younger brother, Fadil, too. They would often secretly watch television in the middle of the night and stumble upon either a horror movie or... questionable commercials.

"... It appears that I have no other choice but to accept your company. I cannot be left unattended during the night." Ray pouted. "What if there is a kidnapping attempt?"

Morgan snorted again, louder this time.

"I'm sorry it's so short notice..." Bright continued and offered an apologetic look. "But would either of you be able to stay for the night? I'll be leaving some money for you to get some food with."

"Yeah, sure."

Bright blinked in surprise.

"What? I'll take any excuse to not go home." Morgan shrugged.

Hanan, on the other hand, hesitated. Last sleepover hadn't ended so well, and with Morgan and Ray as her only company, it was bound to get tense. But then again, Hanan couldn't leave them by themselves... they were like water and oil.

Maybe, she could try to have Morgan and Ray open up slightly, and get a better sense of unity. They were friends after all, and the bracelets they were all wearing was proof of that.

"Don't worry, Bright. We'll stay over." She finally said. "It's Friday anyway, but I have to call my mom first to ask if it's okay, and go home to get some clothes." A chuckle. "And it's my turn to walk Chomp today... she's gonna murder me if I try to get out of it again."

"You... have a mother, Hanan?" Ray asked as they turned away from their puzzle to look at her. Their tone carried no hint of malice, mockery or hatred... just pure curiosity.

As Morgan and Hanan exchanged some confused looks, Bright kneeled down next to Ray. "Here, everyone has a mother, even if relationships can sometimes be... complicated, most of them are full of love."

"Like with my Mother. She always told me how much she loved me, and she always looked out for my well being." Ray's lips curled into a small smile as Hanan saw Bright cringe.

With a quick sigh, he leaned closer to Hanan and Morgan to just be out of Ray's earshot. "Thank you so much." He whispered to them. "Ray really needs someone right now. They haven't been sleeping well lately either."

He thanked the two once more before pulling them into a hug. Ray watched them from the corner of their eyes.

----

Episode 16: Pierce the Truth

----

"I'll be going now. You children be safe, okay?" Bright took one last look at himself in the mirror, and posed. "Ah, look at me. I'm ravishing~!"

It took a few tries before Hanan could tear his attention away from his own reflection. Bright quickly rushed to his car, settled in, and drove off after waving everyone goodbye.

"So... can I trust you to not be at each other's throat, while I go home to walk the dog and grab my stuff?"

Ray suddenly stood up. "I want to accompany you."

Again, Hanan was taken back by the lack of contempt in their tone and mannerisms. If anything, they seemed rather tranquil, instead of their usual literally (and painfully) vibrant and easily overreacting self.

"I command Morgan to do the same."

"Yeeaa- no." Morgan shook her head.

Now Ray seemed taken back. "How can you be so selfish!? I am trying my hardest to be a good... um... a good..." They couldn't seem to find the right word, so they gave up. "And you are only thinking of yourself!" They held up their arm, rolling up their sleeve to reveal both of their bracelets.

"Really? Really?" Morgan narrowed her eyes. "You are calling me out on being selfish?"

After coming back from a call with her mom, Hanan faked a loud cough to get attention to herself.

"My mom says she would love to have both of you over for dinner after we walk the dog."

Morgan also stood up, hands still hidden in her pockets. "Your mom's okay with us coming over? I mean, don't you have like nine siblings already she has to cook for?"

"Nine!? No, no! I just have three." Hanan replied with a hearty laugh. "But Wasim, my oldest brother, won't be here. He lives across the street but I think he was going out with friends tonight too."

Ray walked up to the front door, opening it and looking over their shoulder at the two girls. "Let us go. Hanan, lead the way."

----

The trip was surprisingly quiet and uneventful. Ray was still in awe over how busses (or vehicles in general) worked, but they were a little too crowded for their liking. People were so close... too close. They could almost feel their breathing on their neck.

It made them shudder.

Disgusting.

When opening the front door with her key, Hanan was instantly greeted, in a language neither Morgan nor Ray could understand, by her youngest brother, Fadil, who gasped at seeing who had come along with his older sister.

"Oh my god, is that... Cure Splash? I can't believe Cure Splash is here!!" He walked up to Morgan with an excited shimmer in his brown eyes. He leaned forward slightly as he was half-a-head taller than her. "You're so awesome, and badass!!"

Hanan noticed Morgan's cheeks gain a red color at the compliments. Flustered, she rubbed the back of her head while uttered an uncharacteristically meek "thanks."

"Hey, I thought I was your fave?" Hanan crossed her arms with a pout.

"Have you seen Splash fight?" Fadil instantly turned to her. "She does some cool moves and kicks like this!!! Ha!!" Fadil's attempt to imitate a high kick that Morgan was fond of doing didn't end well due his lack of flexibility.

Farah, the siblings' mom, instantly pecked some kisses on Hanan's cheeks once the trio stepped into the living room.

"You'll be okay this time?" She whispered to Hanan in her native, Turkish tongue, just in case the other two would hear them speak. Hanan's two brothers were locked in a conversation with Morgan about being a Pretty Cure.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Are you sure?" Farah raised an eyebrow.

Hanan nodded. While last sleepover ended on a bad note, she was sure this time would be better. And besides, the last one only ended badly. Before Hail had interrupted their sleep, everything had been going smoothly for the most part.

"That's them, right?" Farah took a quick glance at Ray, who had kneeled down in the corner of the room, in front of Chomp, the family's dog. Hanan nodded again as she followed her mom's gaze.

Reluctantly, Ray placed a somewhat shaky hand to the dog's head. It felt... surprisingly smooth.

"He... Hello..." They spoke softly, not wanting to startle the dog.

They couldn't stop staring at his long, floppy ears. Almost automatically, they lifted the ears up, and let them fall down again. They giggled to themself, but Chomp was still deep asleep.

"Hey, come on, big guy." Hanan tapped the dog on his side a few times before putting him on a leash. He opened his eyes with a yawn but still didn't move.

----

Chomp was a particularly lazy, and old, basset hound. He'd preferably spend most of his days just napping and getting pets.

So his likes didn't include taking walks.

"We've been outside for half an hour and we haven't even gotten out of the street yet." Morgan said, her voice not sounding as complaining as her words would imply. "Wanna trade dogs, Hanan?"

"You have a dog!?" Hanan's interest was piqued.

"Dogs." Morgan clicked her tongue. "My mom does. She's a dog breeder."

"Oh, right! I remember you mentioning that a while back."

Frowning slightly, Morgan was impressed Hanan was able to remember that. That was quite some time ago.

"What breed?" Hanan asked as the two watched Ray struggle with the leash and tried to get Chomp to move from the random spot he had decided to sit.

"Rats."

Hanan let out a laugh. "Oh, Pugs?"

"If only they were just Pugs. They're... ugh... Chihuahuas." Morgan rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. "But they're just rats. No... rats are better than those things."

"Ah, I think they're cute. I'd love to see yours one day." Hanan grinned.

Morgan looked disgusted. "They're nasties. Along with that stupid bird my mom has. It's always screaming when I'm trying to take a nap. Ugh."

"Birds tend to be pretty loud, and obnoxious." Hanan agreed with a chuckle. For some reason her mind wandered off to Bright for a second. "I'm more of a dog-person. All dogs are amazing."

Morgan actually returned a grin of her own. "I'd rather have fish." She said, briefly losing her usual grumpy-looking expression. "Or maybe some actual dog, like a Rottweiler!"

Even if it only lasted for a brief moment, it was actually really pleasant talking with Morgan about something as small and silly as this. She seemed a bit more loose, less angry, and it almost made Hanan feel like they were really friends. According to Beryl, they all were, but there was a certain distance between Morgan (and Ray) and the group.

Meanwhile, Ray was still trying desperately to get Chomp to move. No matter what they did, or say, he wouldn't even stand up.

"I command you to-! No! Do not roll over...!"

----

In the end, it took a good two hours before the trio was back again. By the time they came back into Hanan's home, her dad had already returned from work and Makeen was helping his mom set the table.

"It's really nice having more heads sitting at the table." He said. "The more the merrier, right?"

Neither Morgan nor Ray were used to such a busy dinner with this many people. Morgan always took her food with her to her room, or just bought something herself, and Ray only ever dined with their mother, and since living here, just with Bright.

Dinner at the Karim household was always cozy and a tad loud. The family, and the two visitors, were seated at the table and a couple of scented candles were lit as the family happily talked about all sorts of things. They chatted about how their day went, the news, the food, anything really. Although their tendency to slip back into their Turkish tongue left Morgan and Ray more confused than anything.

Ray's glow dimmed quite a bit as they looked really out of place. They awkwardly turned to the food on their plate, which were some sort of vegetables with a variety of stuffings, including rice, onions or minced meat. It actually was really good, unlike anything they had eaten before.

Morgan, on the other hand, didn't seem to be as much of a fan.

"Sorry..." She suddenly raised a hand, face pale. "I feel a little sick..." She rushed out of the room and to the bathroom after Fadil had told her where it was.

"Oh... oh no, don't tell me she has any allergies?" Farah spoke up with a concerned look. "I should have asked before impulsively making something." She wanted to slap herself on the head for not thinking about that possibility. "Hanan, can you check on her? Ask if she needs anything?"

Hanan nodded quickly and went after Morgan. She heard some, unpleasant sounds as she came closer to the door. She knocked softly.

"Morgan? Are you okay?"

No reply.

"My mom wanted to know if you have allergies..."

The door opened and Morgan stepped out. She looked rather pale, like she had seen a ghost, but did her usual, apathetic shrug.

"... I would have brought some hot sauce if I knew... there was meat in it..."

"Are you a vegetarian!? We have ones with vegetables too." Hanan said, worried. She instantly felt relieved when Morgan shook her head.

"... It's just... uh... it's..." Morgan started, holding a hand over her mouth. Her voice lowered to a whisper. "I can't really stomach meat without a lot of hot sauce." She paused for a moment, as if embarrassed. "The sauce numbs the... sensation."

Hanan didn't reply. She just stared at Morgan with an odd look while her brain was at full work trying to understand what the shorter girl had just said.

"Don't think too hard about it. You won't understand. Nobody does." Morgan looked away. "Not even me."

Still, Hanan was staring, unsure of what to say.

"I know that look. I know it's weird. I know I'm not normal. I never was..." Morgan hissed in the brunette's face before lowering her eyes again. "But I couldn't care less about what other people think of me."

Morgan passed Hanan and started washing her hands. She curled the water pouring out of the faucet around her finger, then made a sudden turn and splashed a little into Hanan's face. "Something you should probably do too."

Truth to be told, the cold water actually felt nice. Hanan frowned slightly while Morgan went back to the main room.

"Can we just tell your mom I'm a vegetarian? It's easier to explain." She asked before the two got back and took their seats again. Hanan's brothers were seemingly in a deep conversation with Ray, who wasn't arguing for once.

"Our big bro's a huge fan of your dad!" Fadil told them with a mouthful of food. Ray furrowed their brows but didn't comment on his eating habits.

"Bright is not my dad. I do not have a father. I have a mother but... she was -ow!!" Ray yelped as Morgan gave them a little kick underneath the table, followed with a glare.

Just before Ray could start an argument, Hanan chimed in. "Ray kinda helped us awaken our powers to become Pretty Cure." She uttered the first thing that came to mind, in an attempt to lead the conversation in a different direction.

"Heh, they made you literally explode at the diner." Morgan mumbled, as she helped herself to a few vegetables, carefully though. Some bites of the food made her wince slightly.

Unprompted, Ray stood up and placed a hand on their chest. A proud grin was plastered on their face. "Yes, it is thanks to me that the world is being protected."

The rest of dinner went by surprisingly uneventful. Hanan went to gather all the stuff she needed when everyone was done. Morgan and Ray also got their first look at Hanan's relatively small room. She had a few posters on the walls and a big collections of DVDs, along with some action figures.

"I knew you were a nerd but... wow." Morgan snorted as she looked around the room. She refrained from touching anything, unlike Ray, whose fingertip came awfully close to an action figure of a masked figure sitting on a motorcycle of sorts. "I thought you hated wasps."

"It's not a wasp! She's based on a dragonfly! This is a rare, limited-run Azure figure! I had to pay a lot to get this shipped here, so don't touch it!" Hanan slapped Ray's hand like a mom scolding a child. Her look turned dark as she glared at the blond.

Ray tried to shoot an intimidating look back. It failed. "How dare you assault me like tha-!?"

"Oh, shut up."

----

"So, Ray, what do you usually do when you're home alone? Is there anything in particular you like?" Hanan asked when the three had arrived back at Bright's house again.

"I mostly watch something on the magical box." They pointed at the big television in the living room. "... Or I do puzzles!" A smile crossed Ray's lips as they showed off a jigsaw puzzle scattered on the table, just a few more pieces before this one would be complete.

Ray seemed surprisingly cheery. "It is a little puppy in a banana! Is that not the most delightful thing you have ever seen? The puppy looks like it is made of chocolate!"

While it was quite out of place, Hanan couldn't help but smile at seeing this childish, gleeful side of Ray. That nice feeling only grew when Hanan and Morgan had taken seats and were watching some random comedy show while Ray was drawing and giggling those rare times they did understand a joke.

It was like they were babysitting.

"Okay, I'm getting a drink." Morgan suddenly stood up and walked to the kitchen. A couple of minutes later, she returned with a bottle. "Ahh, yeah! Nice, nice."

"Is that... beer?"

Morgan nodded and opened the bottle with a little clang. She took a huge slug as Hanan gasped. "Didn't take Bright for a beer guy, more like... champagne or cognac."

"... You sure know your alcohol."

"Duh, I'm German. Ich bin Deutsche." Morgan laughed, taking another sip as she sunk back into the bean bag. "That stereotype doesn't exist for nothing."

Hanan tilted her head slightly. "I figured from your accent." She then scrunched her nose while giving Morgan a disapproving look. "Also, don't do that... alcohol only has regret attached to it."

"How would you know?"

"The first, and last, time I did was terrible and you know it. You were there..."

Morgan frowned. "Wait, what? I don't remember that?"

"Oh... um... well, you were pretty out of it..." Hanan rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "You know at that party at that girl's house... um... Noa? I think? Eclair told me you kissed her during spin the bottle and all."

Morgan's face grew entirely red as she inhaled deeply. "We don't talk about that!"

At seeing that, Hanan smirked. "Oh?"

Morgan turned away. "H-Hey, Ray, want some?"

"What!?" Hanan shrieked. "Morgan! Ray's a child!! You can't-!?"

Ray snapped their head to Hanan, glaring. "Excuse you!? I am older than you two combined! I have seen many people come and go... yet..." They stomped over to Morgan and grabbed her bottle. With an amused smirk, she watched them empty the entire thing in one slug.

".... B-Bitter!" They shuddered and Morgan exploded into laughter.

"That's normal. The more you try, the better it gets." She said with a grin as she got a new bottle for both herself and Ray.

Trying to put a stop to this, Hanan reached for the bottle in Ray's hands. "Don't listen to her, Ray. Beer is bad for yo-"

They hissed at Hanan and jumped back. "Shut up, Ignis! I do what I want!!!" Stomping down their foot, they took another slug. Their cheeks were getting a white-pink glow already.

Despite Hanan's best effort to make them stop their drinking spree, nothing much seemed to happen actually. No sudden drunk antics, loud singing or breaking windows, like Hanan had anticipated. Ray quietly continued with their puzzle and took a another sip, smaller this time, every time Morgan did. They winced each time, obviously disgusted with the taste of the beverage, yet, for some reason, kept drinking.

While absentmindedly flipping through the tv-channels, Morgan suddenly spoke up. Her voice was soft, almost whispery.

"Hey, Hanan... dinner with your family was nice... I'm... a little jealous." She said, clutching her bottle and placing a hand over her head. "It was also... so... busy... so noisy."

"Big family, many siblings... you know."

Morgan looked away. "I would be the worst sister, then..."

Hanan giggled to herself at the thought of Morgan with a handful of sisters who all acted, and looked, exactly like her... just... fighting amongst each other and kicking.

The silence grew between the trio and everyone was so quiet that Hanan dozed off for who knows how long.

----

A loud whine shook Hanan awake just in time to see Morgan rise to her feet. She started stumbling around the room, until she found a mirror and leaned against it. "Hey there, babe. Oh... waaaaaiiitttt..." She laughed to herself before twirling around and appearing behind Hanan. Morgan wrapped her arms around the brunette's shoulders and came closer. Uncomfortably close, even.

"You're so hoooooooottttt..." She whispered in Hanan's ear, who turned around with a look of pure confusion and weariness.

"... What?"

Cold things did feel nice against Hanan's skin but Morgan's hand, and now face, only made her uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" She asked, pushing Morgan off of her. The shorter girl fell on the couch and took off her hoodie, revealing a black top and showing off some abs, as well as muscles that normally would be hidden.

"Morgan! Don't undress here!"

Morgan rolled off of the couch, face completely red as she looked up at Hanan. "Whaatttt...? But I'm so cooolllddd~ I need your warm hands around me, Hannnnnaaaa." She hugged herself and exhaled a long breath she had apparently being holding.

Reluctantly, Hanan held out a hand, which Morgan took (after two tries of grabbing it), and brought her back up. Morgan tripped again and leaned against her, face buried in Hanan's chest.

"I can hear your heart... beating... beat... beat..." The drunk girl giggled to herself. "You know... you set my heart on fire heheheee..."

Hanan sighed and pushed Morgan down on the couch. She hadn't expected Morgan to act like this. She also hadn't expected this to happen at all. Hanan had only dozed for what... a few minutes? She looked at the clock with feather-shaped hands to confirm.

"Wait, it's four at night!?" Everything seemed to stand still for a moment. Hanan didn't get more time to think as suddenly, unprovoked, Ray burst into laughter. Loud, explosive laughter. As if they had seen, or heard, the funniest joke ever.

"... Ray?"

Also unprovoked, the laughs turned into sobs. "I have not been this happy since forever..." The corners of their mouth curled up in a wide grin as their eyes started shining with tears. "Is that bad? Am I bad?"

"No, princessss!!! You're the best!!" Morgan leaned halfway over the couch and held out her hands to Ray, inviting them for a hug. "You light up my liiiifeee!"

Hanan's eye twitched as Morgan continued throwing weird compliments while Ray whined through their tears, and occasionally laughter.

In her rage, she kicked Morgan's butt to send her over the couch. She fell on the floor and started crawling towards Ray.

With more effort than expected, Hanan eventually managed to get Morgan and Ray on the couch. She let out another sigh.

Both of them were so gonna feel it tomorrow- uh, later today.

She quickly went to the kitchen to get them glasses of water. Hanan didn't really know what to do in a situation like this... she normally didn't have to deal with drunk people, and only had been drunk once herself. At a party Eclair had pretty much dragged her to. Peer-pressure made her join in the game, yet Eclair had been the one who hadn't pressured her into doing it.

It had been a big mistake she had no intention of repeating. She had felt awful the next morning.

When she came back she found Morgan and Ray sitting on the floor. Ray was holding a small bag of... makeup supplies? Those probably belonged to Bright.

"Haha! I am tainting this ... home house! It belongs... to... Radiant ... Lumiere... the light of... lightness... Radiant... me... ahhhhahahah!" The ability to form a coherent sentence had left Ray as they started drawing a line on the floor with some black-colored lipstick. They brought it to their face now.

"Haha, now I am tainting myself!! Take that, moth... mother!!! I will shon... shoaoon... show you...! I do what... what I... want!" A slurred, yet loud laughter filled the room and Hanan bit her lip. She was sure Bright wouldn't be happy if his, presumably expensive, makeup supplies got ruined like this.

Before she could say anything, Ray looked up at them, showing almost the entire left side of their face to be covered in black lipstick. They continued laughing.

At that image, the exact same feelings of dread and terror found their way into both Hanan and Morgan's hearts. It pulled back a distant, yet fearful memory.

----

Distorted wings had sprouted from her back as she hovered above the four Titans, whose expressions ranged from surprise, to fear, to outright fury.

"This power... with it, I will convey your hope. I promise." She spoke to herself. Her voice had a distinct echo that sent a chill down the four Titans' spines. She turned to the them, eyes locking with theirs. "As for you, I will have no mercy for you...!!"

The right side of her body had black marks swirling on her skin. Marks bloomed out of her right, black eye, covering part of her face in black. Dark tattoos were wrapped around her right arm and leg. The left side, however, seemed to shine and was covered in glowing marks.

Ignis summoned her flaming whip and exhaled some smoke in her fearsome rage. Behind her, Terre and Aeris were equally dumbfounded, and Unda was crying.

"How could this be possible!?" Ignis' scar burned, more intense than ever. "Stick-bug...?"

----

It was that same figure Hanan had seen a flash of last time. The one that looked like Ray, but... also didn't.

Hanan suddenly felt an intense, irrational, and burning sensation on the left side of her face as fear lit up in her.

Morgan, on the other hand, was absolutely terrified. She let out a scream and her attempts to crawl away from a confused Ray only brought her back to the floor again.

She started panicking as gigantic tears, that seemed almost comically big (to Hanan, it was anything but comical), streamed down her face. It kept going and going like an open faucet. There was so much that it started making a small puddle on the floor in front of her.

It was them them them no no no no no nonononono

"NO!!!"

With a cry Morgan raised her hand and the water from the puddle rose up, formed into an unidentifiable shape and shot it right into Ray's face. The impact was so strong that the unsuspecting blond was thrown against a wall.

"Why did you hit me!? I do not understand!"

"You're gonna kill me!! I won't let you!" Morgan's mood had taken a drastic turn yet again. Despite her face seeming paler, her cheeks were still red. "Stick-bug, firefly, cockroach... whichever it is!!!"

Ray, still dripping wet and makeup leaking off their face, stood completely still. It seemed like they were having trouble keeping their eyes open, and, without warning, darted out of the room and into their own to retreat.

After a good minute of near silence, save for Morgan's slowly decreasing sobs, Hanan placed a shaking hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hey..."

"You saw that too, right? Right!?" Morgan hugged her knees. "I'm so cold suddenly... where is my hoodie?"

Hanan handed Morgan her trusty, blue hoodie and kneeled down next to her. "That... uh... vision?" She asked and Morgan nodded slowly. "Yeah. Was that... Ray? It kinda looked like them, but those dark marks... and those wings... they seemed taller too..."

"Who else could it be?"

Morgan wrapped her hoodie around her as Hanan helped her back to the couch again, laying her on her side. A hand was hovering near her mouth. "I feel sick..."

"Just try to sleep, okay?" Hanan asked and hurried to get a pillow and blanket to put over Morgan, along with a towel.

While still mumbling something to herself for a long time, Morgan eventually dozed off while Hanan sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket too.

None of them heard anything of Ray for the rest of the night, and Hanan decided to accept sleep's invitation too.

----

When Hanan woke up, Morgan was gone. Well, by the sounds of it she was busy in the bathroom emptying her stomach.

"Ugh, what... what happened?" After a few minutes Morgan stepped out. She looked absolutely awful. Her skin almost had a weird, pale-ish tone to it and bags were under her eyes. "... Oh, I remember drinking. So..."

Hanan gave her a devious smirk. "Hehe, so you don't remember begging and saying you needed my arms around you then?" Her smirk grew and Morgan's look morphed into one of pure disgust. "Or how Ray 'lights up your life'?"

It was admittedly very amusing to see Morgan squirm as the color returned to her cheeks. "You... nasty!"

She pulled her hoodie over her head in an attempt to hide her flushed cheeks. Hanan almost got kicked in the guts when she jokingly tried to poke said cheeks.

The two decided to check up on Ray and, as they approached their bedroom, a somewhat muffled crying could be heard.

"Ray?" Hanan knocked and tried to speak in the most gentle voice she could muster. "Can we come in?"

Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. Hanan opened it slowly and went in the room, with Morgan following closely behind.

Ray's bedroom was... very different than what they had expected. It was very pink and very pastel. A lot of pillows, stuffed animals, and a bookcase partly filled with what seemed to be children's picture books. There was also a jar with candies standing on the nightstand. The blond themself was curled up on the bed, back turned to the two girls. They had apparently changed into their pajamas.

"What is happening... to me? I feel... awful..." They murmured weakly, clutching onto their Chocowan plushy. They clasped a hand over their mouth and made a small whine. "Help me..."

Hanan offered a hand to Ray, which they didn't take. They slowly stood up and Hanan led them to the bathroom to empty their stomach, and get the remaining make-up off their face. Morgan stayed behind, taking a seat on the bed and looking around the almost sickeningly cute bedroom.

"I told you alcohol is bad." She could hear Hanan's voice come closer, along with Ray's sobbing. "Be sure to drink a lot of water and just rest. I will clean up the mess, okay?"

"I... I want my mother..."

Ray was now crying like a lost child, desperately trying to wipe their continuously flowing tears away. "But... but she must hate me..."

The two girls exchanged some tense looks before Hanan leaned forward.

"... Why would she? She's your mother. How could a mother hate her own child?"

"Because I betrayed her, Hanan!" Ray snapped at her, still sniffling as tears freely flowed down her face. "I did something really bad...! I... let myself... I let myself be tainted."

Remembering the vision from before, Hanan bit her lip. "Tainted? You mean... like..." She found herself stopping, but forced herself to continue speaking. "Like what happened to... Connie? Or the drinking?"

Ray shook their head. "No... no. Not that..." They hugged themself as their voice lowered drastically in volume. "The most awful part is... it made me feel something I had never felt before." They let out a shaky breath and stared at their feet. "It was unfamiliar, scary, yet... right?"

They sat down on their bed, a bit away from Morgan, and rolled over. "Please, leave."

As if Ray had requested it, a sudden, familiar roar could be heard in the distance. It dragged the two girls' attention away from the blond.

"Damnit, after hearing nothing for weeks... they decide to finally attack again now? Of all times!?" Morgan groaned, still feeling the massive headache. It was like her head was going to split into two any second now.

The two got their respective Primary Charms and transformed in flashes of flames and water. "Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!"

"The heart that burns with the warm flames, Cure Ember!"

"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!"

----

When going out of the house, the Unbound could instantly be seen after a row of houses. This one was slightly bigger than most, with two heads, and Ember could see that this one had two people captive, like what had happened with Connie's dads before. It had a tank filled with seemingly steaming water on its back and two hose-like pipes circling around its body and ending on its arms. In fact, the hoses were it arms.

"Ugh... this light is... ugh!!" Behind Ember, Splash shielded her eyes from the morning sun. Despite the rush of energy transforming had brought her, she still felt terrible.

Ember stopped. "Will you be okay?" She asked with a concerned look. "You can sit this one out of you want..."

The blue Cure actually hesitated for a moment, but the Unbound seemed to notice them and aimed one of its hoses at them to shoot a blast of hot water. Ember managed to dodge but Splash got hit right in the chest and was send flying across the street.

"Not your finest performance, Cure Splash." A voice said with a demeaning chuckle.

If the familiar tone wasn't enough to tell them who the voice belonged to, and who had been responsible for creating the Unbound, then the cold, the patches of snow, and the Flurries prancing around were.

"Good morning, I suppose." Hail greeted with a somewhat stoic tone, standing on a roof behind the Unbound. "Where is Cure Terra? I'd like to have some words with her."

Ember narrowed her eyes. "She won't be here today." She charged at the him, setting her fist on fire for a punch. "So, don't get your hopes up!"

"Cure Terra will not get away with what she did." Hail blocked the punch with his hands. The impact made him wince slightly and a fizzling sound was heard. "I will make sure she'll receive proper retribution."

A flare of protectiveness lit up in Ember. She gritted her teeth and unleashed more punches. "If you hurt her in any way, you'll have to answer to- ahh!!" A stream of steaming water shot her in her side and threw her off the building. She landed in a patch of snow on the ground. The cold was nice, but just her warm body being there made it slowly melt around her.

Meanwhile, Splash was already shooting her arm streams of water at the Unbound, followed by kicks. While she moved fast and managed to hit most of the time, it was still obvious she wasn't feeling all that well. Her movements were somewhat clumsy and evading the monster's shots proved to be quite difficult, getting hit more than once.

"Icey that you are not in top form today." Hail laughed as he watched Splash struggle, clearly amused. His grin grew when the Cure shot him an outright disgusted look. "Looks like you also need to blow off some steam, Cure Splash."

"Shut... up!" Turning away from the Unbound for a split moment was already enough to get hit with another blast of water. She crashed on the ground and instantly got bombarded by snowballs by the Flurries.

"Oh, you are looking quite upset. I have snow idea why you're so angry. Could it be that... being in hot water make you flurious?"

Panting heavily, Splash got back up. "OH MY GOD, SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs until her voice started to crack. At the same time she was yelling the Unbound blasted another shot of water her way, and she caught it in her mouth.

"S-Splash!?" Ember called, clearing more Flurries out of the way.

Splash could almost taste it. The anger and fury. She saw quick flashes of two people standing in a garden, one was spraying the garden with a hose... they had a fight about something? Where these two people the ones trapped in the Unbound? Confused and admittedly not caring, Splash shook her head.

With a mouth filled with water, the blue Cure glared up at the Unbound. It looked like steam was coming out of her. Using a stream of water, Splash launched herself high above the Unbound. She spewed out a massive burst of water at the monster, making it cry out and lose its balance.

"Quite distasteful." Hail commented, coughing into his hand.

Splash, completely out of breath, raised her middle finger to him. She didn't need this right now. She felt like she was ready to puke and fall over.

"Heyyy!!! Splash, you blew off some steam!!" Then Terra hopped into view. Ember noticed the bags under her eyes right away, but she otherwise seemed like her usual cheery self. "Good job! Can I take it from here?"

"Sure... it seems weakened enough." Ember said reluctantly.

Terra grinned and raised a pillar from the ground to use as platform. She jumped off and raised her arm to the skies. "Pretty Cure Earth Smash!" A hammer made of rock formed around her arm and she slammed it down, breaking the Unbound apart and leaving a man and woman behind.

"Phew!" Terra dusted off her hands as Ember joined her side. Splash was leaning against her, hand raised to her temple. "I guess Connie is still not feeling well...?" Terra looked around to search for her missing, purple-clad comrade.

"Weren't you also feeling well?" Ember asked, sounding harsher than she wanted. "You look tired. Are you okay?"

Terra nodded with a grin. She turned to Splash and pulled both her and Ember in a hug. "I'm fine. Thanks."

"Are you sure...? You look really bad... like you're about to fall over... " Ember's features softened as Terra released her and Splash from the hug. "Maybe you should go see a doctor?"

Terra seemed on edge right as Ember said that last word. "I don't wanna go to the bad-smelling place!"

"What?"

"What...?"

"Ice to see you, Cure Terra. I figured you would show up. Well... let me break the ice for you and get to business." Hail narrowed his eyes and held up his hand. Four arrows made of ice manifested, which he aimed at Terra.

"An eye for an eye!"

... It wasn't Terra who got hit. For a reason she herself didn't even know, Splash shoved her aside just in time for the arrows to hit her chest, piercing the heart-emblem. The arrows burst apart as soon as Splash let out a scream and her transformation became undone. Her veins filled with cold ice and the tears in the corners of her eyes froze over. She fell to the ground, and the Seaborn Charm dropped right next to her, seemingly undamaged, but with a glassy glow over it.

----

She cried and cried, but she knew it wouldn't help. It was too late.

"Firefly... "

Something sharp pierced her chest and pain started to bleed out all over her body.

Everything shattered.

----

"Morgan!!" Terra got to her friend's side right away, carefully shaking her almost lifeless body. She felt her heart stop when feeling how cold the girl's skin was. Even more cold than usual. "No...no... "

Ember clenched her fist. "You...!" She shot a fierce glare at Hail, who had his back turned to her as he quickly snatched up the Seaborn Charm with a shaking hand.

"Not entirely according to plan, but... oh well. Nothing better than watching a dear friend in pain, is it?" He said in his usual cold yet clear voice as he opened a portal behind him and took a little bow. "Thank you for your attention and have an ice day."

Trembling in rage, Ember ran after him and set her fist on fire. "GET BACK HERE, YOU BASTARD!!!" She couldn't reach Hail in time and let out a frustrated roar as he disappeared through the portal.

"Ember...!" Terra called between her sobs. "He took it...! He took Morgan's egg!!" She cried out, starting to lose her cool as dread piled up. "You know what happened to Connie when her egg got in the wrong hands, right!?"

Ember turned to her, eyes wide.

Still sobbing, Terra held Morgan's unconscious, cold, yet luckily still breathing, body close. "Is this my fault?" She asked. Her voice was barely a whisper. "It is, isn't it?"

"No..."

"The target was me! They're angry because I broke Smoky's arm!" Terra yelled back. "I broke his arm... with my bare hands...! That's not normal!" She lowered her gaze. "I'm not normal..."

Ember returned to Terra's side and placed a warm hand on Morgan's chest, where the arrow had hit her. It was alarmingly cold.

"None of us are." Ember muttered and looked away.

Just then, Morgan stirred slightly.

"Let's go back, before people come." Ember suggested as she stared gravely at Terra holding Morgan's unconscious body.

Terra raised a hand to her mouth. "Ember..."

"We'll... figure something out. I swear."

Terra's shoulder shook as she held Morgan closer to her. Ember narrowed her eyes before looking away. She felt something burning inside her.

"They're not getting away with this." Ember spoke, back still turned to Terra.

Chapter Text

"What happened!?" Ray peeked out behind the door of their room as they had heard someone come through the front door. Terra was still transformed and carried a barely conscious Morgan in her arms. She was surprisingly light for Terra, who managed to carry her around more easily than expected. Ember followed tensely behind.

Ray meekly stepped outside, still wearing their pajamas, and they followed Terra to the living room. "Morgan...? Wha-?"

"Can you get a blanket? Or something to warm her up?" Ember asked.

Ray stiffened their back, nodded, and rushed out to get what the Cure asked for. Terra laid Morgan down on the couch as Ember held her alarmingly cold hand with one of her own, while her other caressed her face. Anything to warm her up.

"What... an... asshole..." Despite every vein inside her body screaming in pain, Morgan still found some of her voice to speak up. Ray came back and put the blanket over her. It was warm, but the cold still pierced through.

"Morgan!" Terra sobbed and buried her face into the girl's chest. "I'm sorry... I'm so... so sorry...!" More sobs. "This is my fault..."

Morgan's eyes had small lines of black surging through them. "No... no, you're fine." She breathed and squeezed her eyes shut. "I can handle cold... used to it."

"I don't understand." Ember started and tightened her hands. "Why did it harm you as much as it did...? We've suffered through worse."

Clutching the blanket, Morgan expression turned grim. "I don't know... I could feel... misery embedded in those arrows. If only for a second."

Nobody said anything.

Terra managed to speak up again. "Why...?" She asked between sniffs. "Why did you take the hit for me...? That misery was meant for me..." More sniffs. "For... a monster..."

"I thought... I could catch it, pebble brain."

The door opened and a loud, "I'm baaaack!" tore through the tense mood. Bright strolled into the room like a model on a runway. He dropped his smile once he saw the scene in front of him.

"What happened...?"

----

Episode 17: Seaborn Dance: Cooldown Time

----

"Everyone, I managed to acquire something... eggcellent." Hail's entrance back to the base made his three comrades' attention turn to him, tearing their attention away from what they had been doing. Bronze had been busy with sit-ups, Elegy had been reading some sort of novel, and Smoky was mildly interested in a talk-show on tv. While his arm had seemingly healed up entirely, he still appeared to only move his other arm, letting the previously broken one rest by his side.

"What!?" Bronze cried out, voice louder than she had wanted. "Hail, are you okay...!?"

At seeing Bronze's worried expression, Hail touched his cheek to feel the same, frozen tears that had streamed down Splash's face when she had been shot. No sadness or grief was evident in his expression at all. In fact, he looked mildly surprised.

He lowered his gaze to the Seaborn Charm, still in his hand, and threw it to the floor. "Blast! This cursed egg!" He yelled suddenly, voice dripping with spite. "Elegy, can't you just make an omelette out of it?"

"Hail?" Bronze raised an arm to her mouth, eyes wide in shock.

Elegy stood up to get the Seaborn Charm that Hail had tossed away. She could feel an intense cold radiate from it as her hand reached for it, but she decided to swallow her hesitation and curl her fingers around it anyway.

It was so cold. It was like her hand was burning.

The woman smirked underneath her mask, but her hand was obviously screaming. She had experience in the kitchen. She had been through worse. Quickly, she set the egg down on the table.

Tiny particles automatically floated in the egg's direction, as did small, foggy tendrils, trying to wrap themselves around it. Nothing seemed to happen. The particles bounced off and the tendrils just... kept spiraling around the egg as the blue glow weakly flickered.

"... That's Splash's transformation thingy?" Smoky said, still not moving from his spot. He seemed quite tired, instead of his usual laid-back laziness. "Just break it. Then she can't do anything anymore."

Bronze aimed one of her arm cannons at the egg. "I like that idea."

Then the door burst open with a loud bang and a large hand roughly shoved Bronze out of the way. As she was falling backwards, she accidentally unleashed a shot and a beam of darkness was absorbed in the ceiling.

"What's going on!? What is that!?" Shade stomped into the room as his shadow returned behind him. "Stop using so much darkne- ... wait..." His eyes fell on the egg on the table. "That's...?"

Hail cleared his throat. "That is Cure Splash's magical item, which allows her to tran-"

Shade's shadow grabbed the egg from the table and held it out in front of its master. "Huh!? Why is it here!? I can't do anything with this now! I don't have enough darkness to get Unda to my side!" He cried out, frustrated, as he bit his lip. His gaze went around the room, particles and foggy tendrils still hovering around it. "It's only in the way... and taking all the darkness here."

"But... I could...?" Hail started, narrowing his eyes at the egg. He hesitated slightly. "Cure Splash is unneeded."

Rolling his eyes, Shade stepped away from the four without replying. His shadow hovered in place, still holding the egg.

"... So? What do we... do with it?" Bronze asked, eyeing the egg. "If we can't have it here..." She paused and furrowed her brows in thought. "We can't exactly give it back!"

"Let's just break it, then." Smoky suggested again, with a much louder sigh this time. "Like I said, she won't be able to transform anymore and-"

Shade stomped his foot. "No!" He yelled. "Those things are the key to getting the Titans to my side! To cover them in darkness, to make them mine...!"

The colors of the egg slowly started darkening.

"No...!" Shade cried out again, clearly panicked. "If this keeps up.. it'll drain all the darkness and this place will fall apart. I don't have enough to spare!"

"So then, what you want us to do with it?" Hail asked, seeming quite irritated at his accomplishment becoming nullified like this. "Tell us your well-thought out plan, oh powerful leader."

Shade looked down in shame. "I don't know... I didn't... I didn't plan for this..." He turned around so nobody could see his pained expression. "No plan ever seems to go like it should."

He clenched his fists.

"Just... uh... just hide it somewhere!" Shade's tone was impatient. "I don't care, as long as it's away from Unda and not here. Why not... the place where we first met?"

"No." An unfamiliar voice echoed through the base. Elegy shook her head and lowered her finger, deactivating her powers.

Shade grit his teeth. "Ugh, I'm sure you can find something!"

Steepling her fingers together while bearing a look of thoughtfulness, Elegy eventually opened up a portal and pulled on Hail's sleeve. She raised her hand and played a 'recording' of a child's voice. "Let's go!"

----

"You're so cold!" Bright gasped as he placed a hand on Morgan's forehead. "How...?"

She raised a hand. "That's normal. I actually feel a lot better... just... tired." She reassured him, though it was half a lie.

The cold was disappearing yet... a somewhat invasive feeling remained. Morgan's vision was starting to blur, a salty taste filled her mouth, and her skin was tingling, itchy. It almost felt like something was crawling under it.

It didn't necessarily hurt, but she still felt rather exhausted.

The people present in the room were talking but... she couldn't process what they were saying.

She just wanted to be alone.

Silently, she stood up, using all of her strength to walk to the door. Terra grabbed her arm to stop her. "Where are you going!?"

"Morgan, you go rest. Leave it to us." Ember reassured her, putting her warm hands on her shoulders. "I promise you we'll find your egg. We will not stop searching until-"

"Search for what?" Morgan snapped her attention to the red Cure. "He took that egg to their super darkness dungeon, wherever the hell it is." She rolled her eyes. "We don't... even know what it looks like or where it is, let alone... how to get there."

"But...! Maybe... maybe Connie knows." Terra argued. "I'll go to her..."

Ember wanted to protest but Terra was already off. She ran outside and climbed on a roof before leaping to another.

Unsure what to do, Ember undid her transformation. There was no fight, no monster, and thus no use to stay in her Cure form. It would only attract unnecessary attention. The fire of fury was still shimmering inside her.

"'I'm going home. Don't follow me."

Hanan raised a hand to the other girl, but Morgan stepped out of reach. "Morgan... please..."

"Leave me alone." Morgan placed her hands in her pockets and, with a sigh, walked away in a different direction then Terra had gone. Hanan instantly ran after her and pulled her back by her arm, causing Morgan to swing around and kick the girl in the side. "I said leave me alone!"

Deep down, Morgan felt something when she saw Hanan clutch her side in pain and spat "You bitch!" at her. Morgan shook that nagging feeling off and ran away without looking where she was going.

She needed to be alone.

She needed to be alone.

She needed to be alone.

----

"Why did you want me to come along again?" Hail asked with a sigh as he and Elegy stood on a rooftop. Two Flurries were bouncing the Seaborn Charm back and forward. Each time one got a hold of the egg, it started wailing and crying profusely, prompting it to throw it to the other. This continued on for a while. "If we get injured, that means that we need to use more darkness and then that brat is surely going to complain and yell, again."

He knew Elegy couldn't properly reply. She raised her hand and played a recording. "Minions!" That was Shade's voice, unmistakably. "Too loud...!" And... some random woman's voice. f

"Oh, the Echoes?" Hail asked, earning a nod in reply. "That makes sense. They are quite... notable, I'd say."

Elegy shrugged.

"What do you suggest for a hiding spot?" Folding his arms together behind his back, Hail started pacing around, leaving tiny parts of frozen ice in his path. "We must think this through carefully. There is a big risk that someone will find it. We can't just scramble around." His grin turned to Elegy, hoping she would recognise, and appreciate, his genius.

She didn't, or at least didn't show it.

As she watched Hail pace around and mumble to himself, Elegy cursed her silence, and forgetting to bring a notebook of sorts. Now she had to resort to using her powers to get her point across. She rested her hands on his shoulders, making him stop and give her a confused look.

"Elegy? What is it?"

She showed him her bottle of Dark Ink and raised a finger to activate her powers once again. An amalgamation of voices formed a broken sentence.

"I... Make... Monster...! You... Eliminate... Cure Splash."

----

Morgan had lied.

She hadn't gone home. Never intended to, actually.

Instead, she had gone to her favorite place. The beach. She sat by some jagged rocks quite far removed from the pier and and laid down in the sand. Without really realising why, Morgan stood up not even a minute after sitting down and walked closer to the shoreline.

She kept walking as, suddenly, tears started streaming down her face again. Irritated, she wiped them away. "Why are you crying, you stupid...?" She scolded herself as she tightened her fists. "There's nothing to be sad about!! Stop it!"

The waves intensified, almost reaching her feet.

Admittingly, Beryl's reminder had shaken her more than she would have liked. When Shade had been in possession of Connie's Primary Charm... things hadn't been good.

That wasn't going to happen to her now, right? She wasn't going to be turned into some kind of monster, right?

She shook her head. No... no, no. That couldn't be. Not this easily. It wasn't just the egg, Connie had been attacked when she had been corrupted.

Stressing about all this made her realise her hangover had seemingly completely washed away. That rarely happened, but she didn't care enough to question it.

Actually, she was still cold. Her skin was still rather itchy, but... at least she was on her own. Nobody could bother her. Just her, and the water.

She stepped into the sea and a wave swallowed her up.

It was nice being alone.

----

One of the Flurries let out a loud yelp as the egg started shimmering in a bright blue light. It was like the wave patterns were moving, mesmerising the two little snowmen until it suddenly darted off, like a shooting star.

"What!?" Hail gasped as Elegy leaned back with a confused frown. The duo looked from the blue trail of light, to each other, and back to the light again.

----

A young girl stood on the edge of the street. Her head was lowered to the ground as she took slow, heavy steps towards nowhere.

Then, a blue streak of light shimmered through the sky. With piqued interest, she ran after it.

----

Morgan felt weightless.

Her body sunk through the water. Her tears blended in the big ocean as she hugged herself. Despite the tears, she felt... at ease.

Deep down, she knew that this is where she was supposed to be.

She couldn't hear her own voice, quietly humming a lullaby she heard before. Everything was surrounded by bubbles as they swarmed around Morgan. They caressed her skin softly.

With a breath full of bubbles, she let her worries drain out.

"Oh no...!"

In the distance, she heard a small, muffled voice. Then she felt it. Someone stepped into the water.

Morgan moved upward and broke the surface of the water, two waves spiraled around her for a short while as she did. Dripping wet as she pushed herself back to the shore, Morgan came face to face with a little girl.

Her messy, black hair was tied in two clumsy twintails. The girl was obviously in awe of what had just occurred in front of her.

Morgan noticed the girl's brown eyes shimmered with tears.

She shuffled around nervously before finding the courage to talk. "Um... are you... a mermaid, miss?"

Morgan's expression softened as she approached the girl and kneeled down to get on eye-level. "No, no. I'm not a mermaid. I'm a Pretty Cure. A water... using one... so, not sure how close that is?" She smiled at the girl and showed her the badge she and the others had in their possession as proof of being Pretty Cure. Apparently, other Pretty Cure teams each had one as well. Ah, what a wonderful badge it was. It allowed them to get discounts, among other things, and that was the best thing to Morgan.

"Pretty Cure!? Wow..." The girl breathed. "Can... I...? Can... I to talk to your green friend?" She lowered her head timidly. "I don't know her name... so... um..."

"You mean Terra?"

"Is that her name!?" The girl looked up at Morgan. "I want to give her something as thanks for saving my parents when that creepy man attacked them! Mommy says to always thank people!"

Morgan tilted her head. So those people inside the Unbound... the ones that had been arguing about something... were they this girl's parents?

She couldn't even imagine how scary that must have been for the girl. Like, you're a kid just minding your own business at home, then some creep shows up out of completely nowhere and approaches your parents and bam there's a huge, rampaging monster in front of you.

Now that Morgan got a good look at her, the girl did seem quite shaken. "Oh, he's a creep, all right. But, don't worry, I'll make sure to beat him up just for you, kid." She gave the girl a gentle grin. "What's your name?"

"Shauna..."

"It's settled, Shauna. Morgan Shannon Fischer, aka Cure Splash, will personally make sure to carry out some revenge beatings for you." Morgan crossed her arms and kicked the sand. "Egg or no egg, I don't give a shit."

"That's a bad word." Shauna whispered meekly, but with a scolding undertone. "Daddy says bad words only belongs in filthy mouths!"

----

"I don't need to hear this shit from you!"

Her father's expression turned into one of pure shock. It was like he was watching a crime take place. "Morgan! Language!" He yelled sternly once he had gotten over the shock. "Where did you learn such filthy-sounding words? Those belong in filthy mouths."

----

Morgan clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"So, you are friends with Terra?" Shauna asked softly, obviously trying to get the conversation to a different topic.

"Yeah." Morgan was surprised how quickly, and confidently, she had blurted that out. "I suppose." Instinctively, she touched her bracelet.

"Can you bring me to her!?" Shauna almost begged. "Can Pretty Cure fulfill wishes?"

That got a little chuckle out of Morgan. A lot of questions this girl had. "Depends on what your wish is." She grinned and kicked the sand again. "If it's kicking someone's face is, I'm your Cure, kid."

Shauna looked a little shocked at that and shook her head furiously. "No! I want mommy and daddy to stop fighting..."

"Oh..."

"I just moved here a few weeks ago..." Shauna continued, looking to the ground again. "Mommy and daddy are busy cleaning the house and all, and they are a little mean to each other lately. When they got trapped in the monster I ran away... but I saw Terra fight from a distance! She was so cool!"

Morgan couldn't help but smile. "I bet Terra would love to hear that." She said, already seeing Beryl with the biggest grin in her mind. "You know what? Let's go find her."

"Really!?"

"Yeah." Morgan put her hands in her pocket and she and Shauna started walking side by side.

Shauna stopped and averted her gaze. "But... what if that scary man shows up again!?"

"I'll protect you, promise. Leave it to Cure Splash."

----

"What!?"

Connie would have fallen out of her bed if Terra hadn't caught her.

"We have... we... have to help Morgan... she... she...!" The blonde's voice was hoarse and breathy, and her face covered in a red, sickly glow. "He's going to...!"

"It's okay, Connie! I thought maybe you knew something... you know..." Terra was actually regretting coming to Connie's house, via her window no less, to ask her for help. She had been sleeping so peacefully, and now was on the verge of a panic attack. "I'm sorry."

Shaking her head, Connie weakly got up and grabbed her Skyhigh Charm from under her pillow. "Ever since then... being separated from my egg scares me." She whispered as she held it against her chest. "It's like... it's a part of me."

"I know what you mean! Just holding it in my hands makes me feel relaxed!" Terra agreed, nodding with a smile.

A loud, familiar roar got the two girls' attention to outside right away. They saw a monstrous being rise up in the distance.

"Perfect, let's go!!" Terra cheered and went out the window. "Oh... um, you can stay if you don't feel goo-"

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" Voice still hoarse, Connie got her egg and quickly transformed into her purple-clad alter ego. "The heart that soars with the courageous wind, Cure Ga-... Gale!" She stumbled over her words to let out a few coughs before grabbing Terra's arms, lifting her up, and carrying her towards the fight.

People were already fleeing the area when the duo arrived. The Unbound, while still humanoid, looked like it was half-shark. It had shark-like fins instead of hands, back fins, a pointy tail, and incredibly sharp teeth. It also had chains wrapped around its arms, ending in anchors.

Gale had a bit of a rough time carrying Terra. She was way heavier than she looked.

"Throw me, Gale!" Terra yelled and Gale did as her green comrade asked. As she was falling down, Terra covered herself in rock and charged at the Unbound. The impact hit it and the the Unbound made a painful whine before stepping back. Terra broke her rock apart into many, smaller pieces of jagged rocks, which she shot at the Unbound before landing on her feet.

Between a few coughs, Gale clapped at Terra's impressive performance. Her expression turned fierce as she flew up to the roof she noticed Elegy standing on.

She took a shaky breath before sending all her concentration to her hand and using it to lift Elegy in the air. "Give it back." Gale demanded softly. "Give Morgan her egg back."

Gale didn't expect Elegy to reply. She had never heard her speak, and certainly didn't expect her to start talking now.

"I... I am not letting her, or anyone, go through what I went through. Give us the egg, Elegy!" She knew her voice didn't sound threatening at all, and that only proved when she saw Elegy. Even with her mouth hidden behind her mask, it was obvious she was sneering back at her.

Gale gritted her teeth. "I... I... I can crush you...!" She knew, deep down, that she wouldn't have the guts to back up her threat.

As she hovered high above the air, Elegy exhaled through her nose and raised both of her arms. A handful of Echoes jumped out of thin air and started yelling and playing their instruments. They shot music notes at Gale who covered her ears in pain and got thrown back, falling from the roof. Elegy dropped to the ground and landed gracefully on her feet down below.

"Gale!!" Terra snapped her attention away from the Unbound, which was trying to take a bite of her, and raised herself to catch the purple Cure. However, the Unbound released one of its chains, ensnaring them against each of its arms and continuing its rampage.

----

"And that's why I love Chocowan the most!! He's so cute!" Shauna rambled on and Morgan found herself smiling yet again. Actually, she had a big stuffed plush of that particular character back home. She had gathered the money to buy it all by herself. It had been quite an impressive feat for a nine-year old, if she said so herself.

Their conversation got interrupted by a familiar, loud roar. "An Unbound...?" Morgan gritted her teeth as she saw the giant monster rampage in the distance. Behind her, Shauna took a step back.

"Go somewhere safe. I need to fight!" Morgan took a few steps before the area suddenly was covered in cold ice. Big chunks of ice surrounded the area, trapping Morgan and Shauna inside it.

Hail stepped out of the shadows, hands folded neatly behind his back. "I wouldn't be so quick to declare that, Cure Splash." He said with a devious smirk. "For all I snow you are absolutely powerless at the moment."

"Hah, just the person I was looking for." Morgan grinned as she cracked her knuckles. She felt Shauna clasp her back tightly. "Go somewhere safe, now. I'll make sure to break some ice today." She whispered to the girl.

"Child, I highly suggest you listen to her and leave." Hail agreed with a short nod. "I'd rather keep the casualties to a minimum."

"Casualties?"

An arrow of ice passed right next to Morgan's cheek. It just barely missed her.

"Yes. I will put you on ice today."

Gritting her teeth, Morgan shoved Shauna aside and ran up to Hail. She didn't care that she couldn't transform. She needed to kick someone's face in. It didn't matter who, or what. But, she did have some personal score to settle with this particular man in front of her. Those arrows had hurt.

She slapped the next arrow coming her way away with her arm, but the one after hit her shoulder.

"You fu-!"

"Don't give me the cold shoulder now." Hail chuckled at his own joke and evaded Morgan's kick directed at him with ease. He was clearly amused at her irritated reaction. "I'm sure you wouldn't want those words to be your last."

Was he being genuine or just throwing empty threats around to scare, or motivate, her? She didn't know. He was so hard to read and that really pissed her off. It was just like with her father.

Morgan managed to kick him in the side. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" She yelled. "Where is my egg!?"

"You seem quite shell-shocked from what happ- Arg!" This time, Morgan kicked him in the face. He slided back a few feet on the ice and grabbed Morgan's hoodie to hurl her to the side, making her hit a wall.

He sighed, rubbing his cheek before crossing his arm and stepping towards the fallen girl. "It is snow fair to kick someone while they're down, now is it?" He manifested two, ice-encased swords in his hands and threw one on the ground next to Morgan. "I like a challenge, so, here. Take up this sword and fight me, pronto!"

Clutching her bitingly cold shoulder in pain, Morgan quickly picked up the sword and thrusted forward. The two swords collided with a cold clank. Morgan squeezed her eyes shut once she felt tears leaking out.

"This is so disappointedly easy." Hail exhaled some cold breath, clearly disappointed as he backed off slightly to allow Morgan to rise to her feet again. Then he surged forward but Morgan blocked it awkwardly using the sword.

"So. Disappointing." Hail said between bitter laughs. "Is this the Unstoppable Flood of Misery, Unda, that brat kept yapping about!?" He kept swinging, leaving almost no opening for the inexperienced opponent to strike. "The only misery I'm experiencing is absolute boredom!"

Morgan looked for a chance to strike back. The ice underneath their feet was slippery and it didn't help her keeping her balance. She had never wielded a sword before and was actually surprised she managed to block most strikes.

"What is... real... really... ugh, 'snow fair'..." She started in an annoyed, mocking tone. What terrible puns. Not funny or clever in the slightest. It felt like poison had rolled from her tongue as she had said it herself. "Is... is a grown up... adult... man... beating a... a teenage girl!"

"You're really throwing that card now?" Hail rolled his eyes in response and kept swinging, forcing her backwards while still trying to defend herself.

"... I... am!!"

Their swords clashed again and an intense, overflowing sadness overcame both of them. Before they realised what was happening, torrents of tears were streaming down their faces.

"... What?" Hail asked as his tears froze over almost instantly. "Hah, now I'm literally bored to tears..."

A wayward stream of blue light shot towards them, landing right in the middle and breaking apart the swords.

Morgan's focused her blurry vision on a familiar, soothing blue egg hovering in the middle of them. "My egg...?"

"How!?"

Still with tears in her eyes, Morgan grabbed the egg and held it to her chest, smiling freely and free of doubts. "Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" She turned the egg with a grin and was engulfed in a bubble of water.

"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!" Jumping out of the bubble as Cure Splash, she kicked Hail in the chest right away while announcing her name. It had become a force of habit by this point. She grinned, making a turn, and shaking her hips a little in her excitement. "Yeah, I'm ready to kick ass!!"

Just then, the Unbound passed by, quickly running as fast as its legs could carry its big body. Splash noticed Terra and Gale, tied against the fin-like arms and flailing around helplessly.

Splash frowned. "Seriously?"

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Splash got ready to go after the rampaging monster but Hail roughly grabbed her ponytail and pulled her back. "I was not done with you!" He laughed before Splash kicked up to hit him in the chin.

"Well, I am! So screw off!"

Hail threw an arrow in her direction, like it was a lance. Splash caught it with her hands before it could hit the heart-emblem on her chest. Even with her gloves, it still was cold and her arms were already encased in ice up to her elbows. Using all her strength, she broke the ice and shot a stream of water right back at him. He held up a hand and the stream froze into an icicle and fell on the ground.

"Snowbody likes a repetitiv-" Hail started but Splash's irritated yells drowned out his words.

Splash suddenly felt another force in her back, and all air was pressed out of her lungs as she was thrown forward and fell, face-first, in a cold patch of snow.

"Elegy?" She heard Hail call as she tried to gather herself, only to be knocked down right away. With a frustrated cry, a pillar of water erupted from Splash's body and knocked both Hail and Elegy back.

"I would say 'I had it under control', but, frankly I didn't. Today's plan was quite a disaster, wouldn't you say?" Hail summoned a few Flurries as he rose back to his feet again. Elegy followed suit, legs trembling slightly, either from the cold or exhaustion. "I don't require your assistance. Two against one... that is simply sno-"

A tendril of water slapped his face. "Don't you dare say that stupid pun!!"

"Why don't you go back? You look like you're about to faint." Hail told Elegy while he rubbed his cheek with a groan. It was clear to him that she was in fatigue from using her powers too much today.

Elegy nodded hesitantly before making a portal and leaving. Hail got his attention back to Splash and his expression turned cold again.

Splash raised herself with a stream to go after the Unbound but something made her stop, dissolving the stream mid-air and making her fall.

"No! Don't go!!" Shauna's scared voice made Splash snap her head around to see the child cower behind a block of ice. Her pale skin seemed to have turned even paler.

"You were just going to leave an innocent civilian in danger? That's not exactly what I would call 'heroic'." Hail crossed his arms with a sigh. "Well, I can at least gather some extra darkness..."

As Splash charged forward for a kick, he smoothly slid out of the way, sending Splash stumbling over the slippery ice. He rocketed towards a frozen in fear Shauna and quickly did the procedure to turn the girl into an Unbound.

"My apologies. Normally, using a child is below my standards... but alas, can't always have your way." With a shrug, Hail backed off as the Unbound started to form. "I'm sure you'll be back to normal soon enough. That's how it always goes."

Splash cursed between her teeth while she watched the Unbound form behind Hail. It was slightly shorter than regular and had two, thick antennae sticking out of the sides of its head, resembling the twintails Shauna had donned. Its head looked like it was encased in a frozen, transparent block of ice and the same could be said for both its hands and feet, which were frozen to the ground, making it unable to walk. It let out a high-pitched whine as it wrapped its arms around itself, shivering heavily.

The Unbound let out another whine and flailed its arms. The blocks of ice starting sprouting frozen vines, closing them in like a globe.

"It seems fair enough that I should thank you, Cure Splash." He said and tilted his head slightly. "I haven't had this much excitement in years. Maybe next time won't be a cold call."

"Pretty Cure Scorch Wrap!"

A whip of fire tore through the roof of the globe and wrapped itself around the man before setting it ablaze. Ember gritted her teeth as she landed in front of Splash.

The attacked died out as usual but what remained made Ember's pupils shrink in shock, horrified at the damage her attack had done.

Hail studied himself with a repulsed look. His body was covered in black marks, not unlike rotten skin, and his form actually looked like it was melting. No, he was melting. His body dripped like a hot candle would.

Without saying another word, he opened a portal and went through. The snow and ice melted away as he did so and left the two Cures with the whimpering Unbound.

"Finally. He's gone." Splash got up and took a breath. She passed Ember, who was still staring at someone who wasn't there anymore. "Served him right. Let's hope he doesn't come back."

Ember swallowed anxiously. "Did I...?" She asked softly, completely out of breath from both running all over the town and using her attack. She placed a hand on her chest in an attempt to recollect herself, but didn't have long to ponder as the Unbound slammed down its fist, forcing her to jump out of the way.

"Go away! I don't need your help." Splash argued and kicked in the air, sending a tendril of water in the the monster's direction. "But those idiots do!" She pointed at the direction she had last seen the other Unbound pass but obviously couldn't see now since they were still trapped in the globe.

Unleashing a barrage of punches, Ember managed to melt away at least part of one leg, making the Unbound lose balance. "Terra and Gale can handle it, don't worry. We can trust them!"

"They were trapped last time I saw them, because they're useless!" Splash groaned. "If you really wanted to defeat this Unbound and have your super heroic entrance, then why didn't aim your attack at it?"

"I couldn't even see anything! There was just this huge igloo!" Ember snapped back, trying her hardest to restrain herself. "I panicked a little... sorry."

Splash groaned. Every sphere, tendril, stream, or bubble she threw at it where frozen upon impact with the monster's its body. Splash grew more and more frustrated with each try.

Ember suddenly punched part of the globe's wall, making it melt and leave a hole.

"Splash, I can do this one. You go help Terra and Gale. Hurry!"

"No!" The somewhat pained cry of the blue Cure made Ember frown in concern. "I promised her... I promised her I would protect her." She said, lowering her gaze. "I won't let her slip away..." Splash stopped herself, but more words were obviously waiting on her tongue.

"Is that girl someone you know? I promise I'll make sure that she's safe!"

Splash clenched her fists. "Maybe... I was just hoping for something I couldn't have." She whispered to herself, barely audible to Ember.

Ember spoke but her words got drowned out as Splash sank through her thoughts. Her mind was racing, and tears found their way to her eyes again, but, this time it was accompanied with an actual feeling of sorrow as she looked up at her red-clad comrade and remembered how she had acted during the dinner at her home.

Ember was warm, literally, and approachable. Social and annoyingly kind. Open and stupidly helpful.

And Splash wasn't any of that.

She ran through the gap and wiped away her tears before racing after the other Unbound that was currently on the beach.

"You're probably much better for this." Splash whispered to herself. "I would be the worst sister..."

----

Hail was glad nobody else was in the main room. His form writhed and shuddered in agony, and he couldn't breathe. The pain numbed as particles of black came from the walls and attached itself to his body, slowly forcing it back into its original form.

"... We really aren't human anymore." Was all Hail said when he found his voice again. He looked at his still somewhat misshapen hand. His voice was clear and his tone was devoid of any kind of emotion. It was purely as if stating a well-known fact. "It's like... we are the first of an entirely new species." He added with a low chuckle.

----

It seemed like both Terra and Gale had gotten free from their entrapment. The former punching the monster in its torso, right above the cage while the latter was using her wind powers to push the Unbound away in the sea.

"Let's keep this monster at bay!!" Terra said with a forced grin, while actually, her body protested in pain. She felt so tired...

A flash of blue appeared, landing on the ground and sending a stream off water to the Unbound.

"Spla... Splash!" Gale coughed, looking even worse than Terra. She seemed like she needed to restrain herself from pulling Splash in a hug as she landed next to her blue comrade. "I'm so glad... you're... you're... okay...!" She folded her fingers around Splash's. "So glad..."

Terra did pull both of them in a tight hug and Splash felt something stir inside her. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

"I can handle myself fine." Unsure how to handle the affection, she wringed herself loose from the hug and turned her attention to the shark-like Unbound.

"Wait... it's eyes are maroon. You could... defeat it already."

With a nervous laugh, Terra rubbed the back of her head. "We tried but we can't use our finishers... I think it's because we're both sick? Maybe?"

The two awaited a storm from the shorter girl, but instead she quietly scoffed and got ready for her attack. Before she could do anything, the Unbound turned around and then dove into the sea.

"What!?" Splash blinked in surprise but didn't waste any more time and went right after the monster.

Water was everywhere, and that brought relief to Splash. She propelled herself to the Unbound, which was swimming away from her. It was going deeper, into the dark.

"You're not getting away!" She was briefly stunned from the fact that she could actually talk, let alone hear herself talk. Without any further stops, she dived in after the monster, which scared away a huge school of fish.

"Blueback herring, huh..." Splash watched the fish scatter frantically, trying to escape the Unbound's attempt to eat them. "Hey, leave those fish alone!" She moved one arm and a huge, whirling current of water spiraled around the monster.

The Unbound made a ghastly cry as it was snapping its jaw desperately. Splash surfaced and the spiral of water followed her, raising the Unbound to the sky.

Hovering in the air, Splash circled her arms and the water trapped the Unbound it in a sphere of water. "Pretty Cure!" Starting her attack, she raised her hands. "Hydro Wave!" Bringing her hands down, Splash unleashed a stream of sparkling water, defeating the Unbound and leaving a young man behind in the sand.

Splash landed in the sand and placed her hands on her hips with a sigh. "That was fun." Truth to be told, she actually was frustrated at her fellow Cures' uselessness but decided to swallow her anger. Not worth it.

Comrades were so inconvenient, overrated.

A single ripple has more freedom.

A single ripple travels farther on its own.

The train of thoughts crashed when Splash found herself being trapped in a hug again. It almost felt suffocating, maybe that was because Terra's hug was so tight. Splash noticed even Gale seemed uncomfortable.

"You... stupid pebble brain..." Splash managed to get out and Terra let both of them go. She placed a hand behind her head and smiled sheepishly.

Splash quickly turned and leaped towards the gigantic snow dome still in the middle of the street. After exchanging some confused glances, Terra and Gale followed suit.

----

Ember felt like she could faint any moment now.

The Unbound kept swiping at her, cracking its frozen legs and shooting icicles in her direction. She easily melted them with her fire before they could hit her.

She rarely used her fire powers as projectiles. She didn't like it when fire erupted from her body. She wanted to keep her flames close to her, so that she could control it and nobody would get hurt.

From going to no fights in a month to three Unbounds in the span of twenty four hours... that was rough. She was tired. She had barely slept too.

Her knees buckled underneath her, making her fall.

"I won't give up..." She uttered as she eyed the little girl floating unconsciously in the monster's chest. "I will protect everyone..."

The eyes had been maroon for a while now... she needed to purify it. She needed to do it as quick as she could!

With a shaky stance, Ember readied herself. She raised her hands as she flames in her hair quivered. "Pretty Cure Scorch Wrap!" Nothing happened. "Pretty Cure Scorch Wrap...!!" Again, nothing happened.

The Unbound's hand broke into countless small shards, which homed in on Ember. She got slammed against the icy wall of the dome. Her warm form made a hole in the ice.

"You're still not done!?" She heard Splash's irritated voice call. The blue Cure literally slid into the dome through the hole she had made, Terra and Gale quickly got in as well, with both of them latching onto Ember for warmth.

"Pretty Cure Hydro Wave!" Splash made a jump and held up her arms. Nothing happened, and she skillfully kicked the shards thrown her way while as she landed again. "Fu-!"

"Fudge cakes!? I love those!!" Terra gasped as she and Gale still held onto Ember's arms.

Splash swung around and shot a glare at her three comrades. "While you are having your little group hug, there's a little girl suffering in there!" She scoffed. "Guess people can't depend on any of you."

"I think... we all have used our attacks before... busy day." Ember said, smiling through her exhaustion. Next to her, Gale stood up, still holding Ember's hand.

"I'll try." She breathed out with her raspy voice, sniffing her nose with her sleeve. "Pretty Cure!" Rising up, Gale shaking moved her arms and trapped the Unbound in a tornado. "Spiral Cyclone!" Her voice cracked and evolved into coughs as she finished the Unbound and caught the unconscious Shauna in midair, before setting her gently on the ground.

----

Ray and Bright stood side by side as they watched from their balcony. From the far distance, they could barely make out the dome, that was melting away, and the Unbound that had been rampaging moments before.

"It seems like they're finished now. I hope they're okay..." Bright mused softly. He was in his peacock form sitting on the edge of the balcony. He raised a feather to his beak, concerned.

Clutching the railing, Ray didn't say anything. Their gaze was unfocused as their form started glowing gently.

----

"Hey, pebble brain... can you stay here for a moment?"

Beryl turned back to Morgan, who sat on the ground, holding the unconscious girl in her arms and gently brushing through her hair like a mom would. She looked uncharacteristically serene, even though her face was stoic.

Hanan and Connie had already fled home after the fight, both feeling atrociously tired and exhausted. Truth to be told, both Morgan and Beryl were tired as well.

"Sure?" Beryl nodded and kneeled in front of the two as Shauna started waking up. "Welcome back!" She chirped and got right into the younger girl's face.

"Um..." Shauna tightened her grip on Morgan and looked around wearily. "What happened...?"

Morgan gave her a tender smile, while Beryl blinked in confusion and rubbed her eyes. "This is Cure Terra."

At hearing that, Shauna made a little squeak while Beryl grinned.

"I... I... thank you!" The young girl managed to yell out. She got out of Morgan's grip and shook both of Beryl's hands. "Thank you, thank you! I promise to get you-" Beryl hastily retreated her hands.

"Sorry." She said softly, then looked up with a grin. "Never fear when Precure are here! But actuaaallllyy... Gale was the one who dealt the final blow to save you."

Shauna's eyes widened, gaining a twinkle of excitement. "Really!? Can I meet her!?"

Morgan's eye twitched as Beryl was happily chatting with Shauna. Seriously? First Terra, and now Gale? Next was certainly gonna be the totally best Ember, she figured.

"Well, maybe next time! Gale is a little tired! Buuuuuttt... Morgan will take you back home safely, little bud!" Beryl laughed as she bumped her butt into Morgan's. "So, take home the little bud, you big butt!"

Beryl was almost shocked when Morgan just sighed and uttered a quiet, "I can't. Sorry..." No kicking, no yelling... not even a glare?

With slow movements, Morgan pulled her hood over her head and placed her cold, shaking hands in her warm pockets. She avoided eye contact with the other two as she briefly raised a hand in a wave and walked off silently.

----

Morgan fumbled with the Seaborn Charm in her pocket as she was walking over the beach. Just looking at how easily Beryl got, and kept, a conversation going made Morgan feel a little... something. It wasn't a nice feeling and she wanted it to go away.

It was like everyone was more likable than her.

It was her own fault. Morgan knew that. It would be dumb to act like a bitch, only to whine about it later.

She knew she wasn't the nicest person, and she knew she allowed her anger to overtake her, again and again.

Up until now, she hadn't given it a second thought. She had simply been on defense, and built up walls to protect herself. That's how one would be able to get by in this world.

Guess it was a huge mistake. One that needed a lot of time to become undone.

"...Ugh, I'm the worst..."

Chapter Text

Once again, the fights had become a piece of the girls' lives. Well, everyone started getting more and more used to a random monster appearing during any time of the day and four girls with magical powers coming in to save the day.

Days flew by, and a monster was summoned every other day. It was tiring, to put it mildly. The girls often ended their days completely exhausted, but they still persisted.

"Haha! Take that!" Splash cheered, making a little victory-dance at the spot where Bronze had fled into a portal just mere seconds ago. "So satisfying kicking bad guys' faces in!"

"Terra!! Gale!!" Out of nowhere, Shauna ran up to the green and purple Cures and shook their hands frantically. "Thank you!"

Shauna often, suspiciously, seemed to be around places where Unbounds would appear. She had become quite a fan of especially Terra and Gale, though Splash did see her as one of her usual spectators during her morning dance routine. The little girl just never seemed to really approach her.

Splash crossed her arms. "Hey, I dealt the final blow, kid!"

"Please, everyone!" Terra called out, dragging Gale with her, away from the masses. "We need to go! We have places to be!"

Heaving a sigh, Ember smiled to herself as the crowd excitingly approached them. This is what life had become now. It was odd but she had found a certain sense of peace in it.

What disturbed that feeling of peace was the knowledge that, deep down, she knew things wouldn't stay the same forever. It wouldn't be this easy forever. They were going to fail someday. That thought... scared her.

For now, nothing seemed to be happening on either side. It was like a perfectly balanced scale.

But, it would only be a matter of time.

----

Episode 18: Boundless Shadows

----

Panting heavily, Bronze came back into the base. "Ugh, I hate that blue brat." She grumbled and rubbed her swollen cheek, covered in wavy lines from where Splash's soles had hit her face.

She walked out of the empty main room and entered the usual dark hallway. Still as dark as ever... well, maybe even darker than normal now that she really observed her surroundings. It felt more spacious, bigger, and she felt smaller.

As she walked slowly, each step echoed with a resounding clank. She noticed darkness creep over the walls, slowly cracking it, shifting it. If it hadn't been for the tiny dots that were glowing eyes, she wouldn't even have noticed Shade's shadowy minion hovering in front of some sort of tunnel with a broken door a few feet away from her. Upon closer inspection she saw that, unsurprisingly, its master stood in front of it.

Silently, Shade stared at the door. He was seemingly so engrossed in whatever was on it or would be behind it, that he didn't even notice Bronze's loud steps.

"... Is... something wrong?" She mentally slapped herself on the head for saying anything. Out of instinct, she held up her arms, awaiting a painful blow. To her surprise, Shade kept staring, seemingly unaware that she was even there.

His hand twitched.

"Go away." He said in a low voice, not even bothering to look at her. His shadow, however, did crack its head around to glare at her with its soulless glowing eyes. "Stay out of this."

With a shaky hand he commanded his shadow to get rid of the obstacle that was the door. The shadow obediently ripped it out and tossed it away, making way for a tunnel just fit for Shade's size.

He hesitated slightly, then flashed a grin at the shadow.

"Let me show you my room, or what's left of it, anyway."

----

Shade couldn't help but clutch at his aching chest at seeing the ruins of a room that used to be warm and safe. Now, the remains made it look more like a vaguely circular cave than an actual room. It was dark, hollow, and made him feel... empty.

"This is my room, buddy!" It was pointless to fake a gleeful tone, he knew that. His shadow was part of him. It couldn't think, and it couldn't judge.

Shade slapped his hand on what was left of a seemingly big bed, making some dust fly up. The sheets were tattered and dirty. "And here..." He got down on his knees, sticking his hand underneath the bed to get some kind of box from it. It was dusty and there was a silver lock on it.

"All right... all right..."

With a flick of its hand, the shadow smashed the box apart with its fists. What remained was a single, leatherbound book.

For a long time Shade just sat with the unopened book on his lap. He didn't speak, or move at all.

"I have to... get rid of this...!" He suddenly hissed, clutching the sides of the book until his knuckles turned dark. "Then maybe I can-!"

Then, without warning, the shadow tore out all the pages, letting them fly in the air and slashing each one with its claws as Shade's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"What are you...!?"

The pieces of paper gently landed on the floor around him, like flower petals.

Shade looked down at the book. A single blank page remained in front of him. After a few more minutes of absolutely stillness and silence, he placed a hand on the page and narrowed his eyes. His eyes darkened with hatred.

"Let's send one final message."

----

"Briiiiiiiiiiiight!!!!"

Bright suddenly felt a weight in his shoulders as Beryl leaped into his arms. She was heavier than expected. "Bright, Bright!!" She cheered, giving him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "Me and Connie got you some things."

With a timid smile, Connie handed Bright a small painting. She had recently attempted to try and actually paint instead of sketch (with some help and supplies from Carly), and Bright had honorably offered his refined looks for her to practice. After all, if he was good at anything, it was posing.

"Ah, that image made of me is just as beautiful as the actual thing."

While Beryl didn't say it out loud, she could barely make out what it was supposed to be. She knew it was Bright, and the only thing making that obvious was the way his hair was painted, but otherwise... painting, or humans for that matter, was not Connie's field of expertise.

In the corner of the room, Ray sat on the table, scribbling in a Chocowan coloring book.

Beryl gave Bright a tiny box with two earrings in them, embedded with rainbow-colored gemstones. "They're Mystic Quartzes! They reminded me of you!"

"I can see why! They're beautiful and colorful, like me!" Bright gasped, eyes shining as vividly as the earrings while he put them on. He quickly rushed to the closest mirror, setting Beryl down gently, and striking a few poses. He admired the earrings, along with his face, passionately. "Why are you giving me this, girls? My birthday is in February, so-"

The two girls smiled at each other and then said, in practiced sync; "Happy Father's Day!"

"You're one of the best dads ever!" Beryl added and pulled Bright in a very tight embrace.

At Beryl's words, Ray looked up from their coloring book.

"But...! I'm not your dad..." Bright blinked in surprise. "You should shower your own father in love. That's how Father's Day works, right?"

Beryl paused for a moment. "I will, later. Don't worry." She replied shortly, followed with a smile. "So, what was your dad like?"

Ray dropped their pencil. It fell to the floor with a surprisingly loud thud.

"Ah, well... I didn't really know him all that well." Bright played with a lock of his thick, black hair. His eyes stared into an unseen, faraway past. "I know he was very heroic and dashingly handsome, of course." He struck a pose. "It runs in the family."

As if to change the subject, Beryl made a little twirl and walked towards the door, smiling sheepishly. "But, I have to go now! I still need to visit Uncle Dale and my dad! And really, I can't go see dad looking like this!" She pointed at her messy clothing before waving everyone goodbye and skipping off while humming.

Both Bright and Connie exchanged some worried looks. They both saw something was off about Beryl's behavior today.

Bright went to his own room to find a perfect spot for the painting, leaving Ray and Connie behind.

Slowly, Ray turned to the blonde. "What is... Father's Day?" They asked, curiosity dripping from their tone.

Now Connie gasped and she came closer to Ray, who leaned back with a frown. "You didn't get anything for Bright...?" She whispered and let out another, softer gasp as Ray shook their head. "We should get something for him right now. Please, come with me! I'll pay for you if I have to."

"What do you mean...? What is it?"

"It's a day where we show how much we appreciate our dads. And Bright is your dad, right? You should show him how much you ca-"

Ray was slightly taken back by seeing Connie so forceful, but...

"I do not have a Father. I have a Mother." They hissed, narrowing their eyes as Connie's widened hers. "Shade is the one with a Father... do not compare me to him."

For a second, Ray thought Connie was going to cry. It certainly looked like she was, but she shook her head and gave them a timid smile.

"Family shouldn't be decided by blood or even upbringing..." She spoke softly. Her voice cracked slightly as she looked down again. "It's... those people that make you feel like... you're safe... you're home..."

Ray placed a hand on their chest, feeling their heartbeat quicken as their mind spun through a millions of thoughts.

"I..." They muttered, voice barely audible. Connie could hear it clearly, however. "I feel at home here... more than anywhere else." Well, on second thought... that was partly a lie. There was one other place that had felt like home to them.

But that place wasn't there anymore.

Connie dared to look up again, giving another gentle smile.

"Shall we go?"

----

It would be an understatement to say Connie and Ray's little trip to the shopping district was awkward. Connie's quiet, passive nature made it hard for her to keep a conversation going and Ray... well, Ray wasn't sure what to say.

Connie treated Ray on ice-cream, letting them sit on a bench with their chocolate and vanilla-flavored snack while she quickly went to a store to pick up something.

Letting the sweet tastes of vanilla and chocolate carass their taste buds, Ray idly kicked their legs as they waited for Connie to return.

They didn't really understand. Connie seemed so... lucid, and gentle. Aeris, the Titan, had always been overly happy, selfish, and eager to fly, not wanting to be held down and throwing a fit when people tried to. Connie was different. Not only her, but all four Titans were different now.

Ray hated the disconnect between sensing the Titan inside them yet... none of them really acting the same. They all felt the same but, at the same time, they weren't the same.

"I'm back." Connie's voice snapped Ray's attention back to reality. With that genuinely kind smile, she sat down next to Ray, and got something from the plastic bag she had with her.

"I'm so glad it was done today!" She pouted for a brief moment and added something in a tiny whisper. "Took them long enough..."

"What is it?"

Connie smiled again. "A calendar. I had it specifically made!" She flipped through the pages to show various photos of her along with a few people Ray didn't recognize. "This is papa! Here is dad, and this is Benny! He's my younger brother."

With a curious look, Ray eyed the photos Connie was showing them. They saw pictures of four people together. They saw two males, in fancy suits, happily standing next to each other, smiling brightly. There was a photo of a little boy playing in a sandbox. They recognised Connie, looking smaller, too. It was obviously her but she looked so different. Odd! But... something was off. Something was missing.

"... What about your mother?" Ray stopped eating their ice cream for a moment. "Where is she?"

They saw it. They noticed her flinch slightly before returning to her usual smile.

"Oh, I've never met her." Connie shook her head and packed the calendar back up, placing it in her bag. "I know she is somewhere, but... I don't even know what she looks like right now. I do hope she's doing okay." She looked up at the somewhat clouded skies. "I hope she's happy..."

Ray furrowed their brows. The concept of having a mom and a dad had always confused them. Yet, everyone had them. Even back home, everyone had a mom and a dad. Although a lot of people ended up with a single or no parents anyway. Why? Of course, due the Titans' selfish actions causing so much destruction.

Their mother made their entire life. Every little decision about their lifestyle was made by her. Their mindset was formed by her. She had been so influential to them and... Connie had completely missed out on that. They couldn't imagine what it was like.

Connie turned away, meekly hiding from Ray's glance. "I... um... there was... " She tripped over her words, embarrassed. "I had an imaginary friend when I was young... " Her cheeks flushed red.

She stopped trying as she noticed Ray wasn't paying attention to her.

"I miss my mother... but..." Ray admitted quietly, not even caring the ice-cream was melting and dripping on their shirt. Connie quickly gave them a little tissue to clean it up. "I am..." They took a shaky breath, taking the tissue. "I am... relieved?" With a horrified look, they turned to Connie. "I do not know why I am feeling this way!? Mother was everything to me..."

Connie gave them a sympathetic look. She looked like she wanted to say something. Her lips quivered, but no words came out.

"I do not want to have such a... positive feeling... being connected to her... dimming!" They sniffled and the ice-cream dropped to the ground. They raised their hands to their face, trembling. "It is like I am happy that she is gone... no... no, no... no...!"

"Ray..." Connie handed Ray another tissue. "I'm sure your mom would want what is best for you. She wants you to be happy, right?"

----

After closing the door behind her, Lucille leaned against it.

"Your mother should never know about this." Her voice was soft and her tone wore a sense of caution with it.

Putting down her pen and leaning back into her chair, Radiant Lumiere stared at the ceiling of her personal room. Depictions of angels and clouds adorned the ceiling she had stared at for so long. They were unchanging, like her.

"I do not understand. Does she not want what is best for me?" She took a breath as a realisation slithered in her mind. "That means... I am doing something bad...? Something vile...? Something-"

"No, no... you should do whatever makes you happy." Lucille's smile grew. She never noticed the underlying cunningness in it. "I'll be with you all the way. Don't forget that."

----

Clenching their fist, Ray turned to Connie. Their eyes were shining with tears. "How would you know that!? You have never met your own mother!"

"But... it's how it is for family in general... or how it should be..." Connie reply was soft, a tad shaky, but sincere. "I know not every family is as lucky as mine." She looked away, as if ashamed or afraid of the reaction to her words. "Not everyone is as lucky as you. Bright is a wonderful person... please... please, appreciate him..."

Ray didn't say anything for a long time, obviously taking in Connie's words. Connie quietly motioned them to follow her as she stood up. They obeyed reluctantly, but still silent.

----

The duo quietly continued walking around the shopping district. The initially awkward silence had morphed into something more serene, allowing the two to go through their own thoughts without feeling too awkward. They entered various stores to look for a present for Bright, but came out empty-handed every time.

"Now, what does Bright really like?" Connie asked, fumbling with her hands as she looked over a shelf of candles. "Candles are nice, but you use them too quickly. Mirrors would be a wonderful gift... but he already has so many..."

Ray looked up at various shelves with alien (to them) objects on it. So strange, so strange...

Their focus went through a shelf full of mugs of all shapes and sizes. There was even a Chocowan-themed one! Ray's entire body started shining as they stood on their tiptoes to grab it, inspecting it in their hands.

"Cute!"

The mug slipped out of their hands when they tried to place it back. Small, swirling winds caught the mug before it could fall to the ground. Connie kneeled down to let it hover in her hands.

"That was close..." She murmured as she let out a relieved sigh. "Oh~! Mugs! You could give Bright one of these!" Her smile returned as she looked at the shelves with the mugs. "You can never have enough mugs, if I say so myself."

Ray followed Connie as they inspected the other mugs. Their eyes soon stopped at two particular ones.

One was pink with golden letters that said: 'First my Mom, forever my friend!'. The one next to it was purely white and the handle was wing-shaped. It had the words "World's Best Dad." written on it.

"That one is lovely!" They heard Connie's voice say. She clapped her hands together with a smile. "I bet Bright is would love it!"

"But... Mother..."

Connie thought for a moment. "Oh, Mother's Day is in... um... " A brief pause. "May, I believe?"

Ray stared at Connie for a long time, eyes wide, as she continued speaking. "You want me to buy it for y-?"

"No! I want to buy it with my own money!" They cried, making Connie flinch and turn some heads in their direction. To be honest, it was the money they got from Bright in the first place... but still...!

They carefully held the mug and got ready to march out of the door but Connie hastily pulled on their sleeve, urging them to go the counter to pay for the mug.

"Oh... oh, right!" Ray gasped as they went to the counter and slammed all their money on it. "I would like this wonderful gift for my da-... for... my knight! Caretaker!" They fumbled over their words as the cashier chuckled at them and only took a bit of the money, shoving the remaining back to them.

The duo got out of the store, each with their own sigh of relief.

"That went really well! I'm not so good with buying stuff myself..." Connie admitted meekly, letting her plastic bag sway back and forward. "I always trip over my words, even when I practice what I'm going to say in my head."

For the first time that day, Ray gave Connie a big smile. "I am so happy. Thank you so much for assisting me, Connie!"

Connie found herself smiling as Ray hummed a little tune, holding the bag with the mug in it against their chest. When she turned her head slightly, she noticed Ray had stopped a few steps back. Their cheery mood had taken a complete turn as they stood frozen in place with wide, frightened eyes.

"Co... Connie...?" They stuttered, pupils tiny and shifting around the area frantically. Connie felt dread slowly piling up as Ray's form started to lose its glow.

Panic started to creep in. Connie's hand went to her pocket, fingertips touching her Skyhigh Charm. It made her feel slightly relieved, if only for a split second. "... What's wrong?"

As soon as Ray spoke again, that tiny spectre of relief faded away immediately.

"He is here."

Connie's heart started racing as fast as her thoughts. Panicking, she snapped her head around to find the source of her and Ray's fear. The corners of the area were covered in shadows, creeping and crawling over the ground and walls.

What she saw next filled her entire body with fright, which almost instantly warped into full-blown terror.

A familiar figure emerged from the shadow, right in front of them.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Shade sneered at them as his shadow formed behind him. In his hand, he held a partially filled bottle of Dark Ink.

"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!!" Connie screamed as she held up her egg with a shaking hand. She was surprised she was able to speak, let alone transform. "The heart that soars with the courageous wind, Cure Gale!"

While clearly amused, Shade scoffed. "Relax, Aeris. I just want to talk." He said, eyes focusing on Ray. "... to the wet candle."

"No! No, no, no! No! Stay away!" Gale screamed again, sending a blast of wind his way. As Shade got thrown back, the Cure quickly picked up Ray and ascended into the skies.

After they got over their initial confusion, Ray started struggling in Gale's grip. "Unhand me! You are tainting me!! Stop!" They wheezed, thrashing their arms and legs around. "I am being abducteeeeeeeeeed!" An elbow forcing itself painfully against Gale's chest caused her to almost drop the blond to their (brief) death. She panicked again, not wanting to be the cause of Ray's fatal fall twice. Not again. Never again.

Gale brought Ray to an isolated, safe space behind a building and dropped on her knees next to them.

"What... are you doing!?" They asked, resting one hand against the wall. "Should you not go out and fight him? Are you not supposed to be the hero here!? What happened to Pretty Cures being the heroic knights!?"

Her breath grew panicked as she softly grasped her white, fluffy hair. "No... no... I... I can't... can't... I can't..."

"Helloooooooo? I wasn't done talking?" Shade's impatient voice hid a tone of playfulness, not unlike a predator stalking its prey. Both Gale and Ray let out frightened cries as he emerged from the shadows again. "Rude~!"

Despite her intense fear, Gale took a protective stance in front of Ray. Her eyes were wet and she trembled like a leaf, but she wouldn't let him get to them. Ray's fear was likely more intense than hers at the moment.

She had no choice but to fight against her fear. Becoming a Pretty Cure had sealed that deal. She briefly remembered Carly's painting of her. With that mental image as strength, she kept standing.

"Wow, you're so eager to come back, Aeris." Shade smirked. "But, for now, I have no business with you. So scram!" He held up the bottle, tightening his grip so hard the bottle broke apart in his hands. The ink, as well as a black and eerily similar substance dripped from his hands and onto the ground... and into the shadow of the building they were in front of.

The shadow started rippling and writhing while Shade dug his hands into it. Only with help of his own living shadow could he drag out the unusual Unbound.

With warped cries, the Unbound started to form. It was much bigger than any she had seen before, even bigger than the ones made from two people. It was a towering amalgamation of darkness, abundantly covered in glowing eyes all over its body. Instead of a cage, the stomach was home to a gigantic mouth, filled with sharp teeth.

"The entire building...? But... how... how!?" Gale covered her ears painfully as the Unbound's united wailing throbbed her eardrums painfully. She could just hear the blended despair... there was so much... so many at once...

Shade's maniacal grin turned into booming, exciting laughter. "Yes!!!" He cheered, barely able to keep standing from his excitement and the overflow of power he was receiving. "So much darkness!! It's... delicious!!!!!"

Gale couldn't bring herself to move. She was still paralyzed from the Unbound's twisted wails. Ray was yelling something too... she didn't understand what they were saying but she heard them, and the absolute terror in their voice.

Everything stopped as a sudden sensation tightly pulled at her chest. She briefly saw it, Shade's shadow had grabbed the heart emblem on her chest, pulling on it as if trying to drag it out. It was hard to breathe as an alarmingly familiar pain surged through her body. It was thrashing and wrenching around inside of her.

no no nono nonono nono noooo!

She screamed in pain as she tried to pry the massive hand off of her. It wouldn't budge and everything started blurring, like a haze. Her entire body was screaming, with her shoulder blades' cries being the loudest. Burning heat and freezing cold... she felt it all at once, again.

This pain... it was too familiar...

Terror rushed throughout her body as her consciousness started to drift away. She was going to be taken away again... torn away from her parents, her brother, her friends...

A single, clear voice tore through the haziness. Shade's terrifying smirk appeared in front of her, leaning closer to her. "After all... I promised, didn't I?" He whispered with untamed enthusiasm, as if exchanging a secret with her. "That you will be the first when I get enough dark-"

"Let go of her, you brute!"

It took all of their courage and strength, but Ray tackled their frail, small body into the massive shadow holding Gale in its grip. While they lacked power and force, the shadow still retreated into the ground as Ray's glowing form came in contact with it.

Gale fell on her knees and clutched her chest, sobbing and breathing heavily. Now Ray was the one who took a protective stance in front of her. The blond looked at the fallen Cure. For a brief second, black spirals swirled in her eyes, which disappeared as soon as Ray hovered their hand near her chest.

"Ra... Ray...?" The Cure whimpered softly, looking up at Ray, who gave her a reassuring smirk.

Shade's shadow got back out of the ground again and reached for Ray, lifting its fist. Again, it stopped right in front of the blond. It was unmoving and stared them down with its glowing eyes.

They returned that smirk to a wide-eyed Shade. "You cannot harm me!" They declared smugly. "Because my brilliant light is eternal! Darkness beckons under my radiance! I am Radiant Lumiere, the light of-"

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you i hate you i hate you i hate you hate hate hate hate hate HAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTEEEEEE!!" Shade grabbed at his head, his voice and composure equally broken. "I HATE YOU!!!"

Claws slashed through Ray's torso. Pink-white substance started leaking out of the wounds and their eyes lost their lively glow. Right as they started to collapse on the ground, a single tear ran down their face before muttering their last words.

"I hate you too."

Gale instantly pulled Ray's lifeless body close to her. She held it tightly, not intending to let any more harm done to them. She knew they would be back... she knew that... but...

"Ha... hahaha..." Shade, still in a supposed state of shock, started to laugh quietly to himself. "I did it..."

"You... you monster!" With tears streaming down her face, Gale kept her intense look focused on Shade. It took all her courage to do so.

He frowned deeply at her words. "You're calling me the 'monster'?" His face warped into a bitter scowl. "Who is responsible for killing hundreds, no, thousands of people? Who selfishly did whatever she wanted, despite knowing the damage and suffering it would cause? Who murdered my dad!?" His eyes narrowed and he accusingly pointed at Gale. "You did. Monster."

Tears began to streak down Gale's face again. She never got the chance to reply, as Ray sprung back up. They took in a new, deep breath as life made their form glow once again.

"... Gale? Why are you not fighting that vile monster!?" They forced themself out of Gale's arms and tried to get up, without success. They stayed on their knees. "Do not worry about me. I will be fine, but those people will not be if you do not help them... so, go! Please!"

After hesitating for a moment, Gale nodded and took off to follow the roaming Unbound.

While looking at Ray's form, Shade didn't say a thing. All emotions he had shown moments prior had left his face as he slowly stepped closer to them. Still silent, he manifested a book in his hands and and unceremoniously dropped it in front of them.

"... This... is...?"

Fearful, Ray looked up. Shade and his shadow were towering over them. "I know exactly what is going on here." He sneered bitterly as the shadow's claws hovered near their neck. "Let's... break those binds, shall we?"

Ray turned their attention back to the book, opening it with a trembling hand and reading what was written on the only remaining page in the darkest ink.

["Believing in you was a sin."]

Just those words were enough to make Ray's chest twist in pain. Their glow dimmed significantly. A sight Shade seemed to be very pleased at.

He didn't have time to laugh, or do anything at all, because he never saw the kick in the face coming. He hit the pavement before falling into his shadow's arms. On his face were wavy marks from where Splash's soles had hit him.

"Long time no see!" The blue Cure stretched her arms with a grin. "This kick was on the house, ya nasty!"

Splash quickly went after the Unbound as well, seeing as Gale didn't seem to be able to damage it at all. Splash found herself in a similar situation. Most, if not all attacks seemed to bounce right of the monster's almost rubbery body. It didn't take long before Ember and Terra joined as well, but they also couldn't manage to leave a scratch on the monster.

"Unbound, get them!!" Shade ordered from his place as he watched the fight. He felt his veins tighten as the Unbound turned around. Four snake-like arms erupted out of its body, which lunged for the Cures.

Ember hated how sticky the monster's skin felt. "What... is this Unbound?" She kept trying to unleash fiery punches while evading the arms grabbing for her. Even if she was wearing gloves, she still tried to avoid hitting the countless eyes, not wanting to touch those.

"It's... an entire building... full of people!" Gale explained hastily. "Shade... he- aaaah!!" She was caught in a vice-like grip by one of the arms. It warped into a cage around the trapped Cure. Ember was next to be caught after she tried to get Gale free.

"Really, guys!?" Splash groaned as she unleashed a barrage of explosive bubbles into the Unbound's mouth, which actually did seem to cause some damage as the monster started flailing around and screeching painfully.

Terra tried punching with her rock gauntlets, but didn't have any luck either. Every hit seemed to drown into the monster's rubbery skin. She still found time to joke, however. "That was unbeliebubble, Splash!"

"Shut the hell up, Terra!" Splash growled at her green comrade.

"Oh, you mean... terrabl-WHAAAH!!" Now Terra was caught as well, followed almost instantly by Splash, who had let her guard down for only a second in pure irritation. All the hands morphed into small cages around them as well, effectively trapping them in place.

----

Bright sat with a cup of coffee in his hand in a chair. He was currently on break and stared absentmindedly at the people walking back and forth to the coffee-making machine, and getting their preferred drink of choice.

"You seem a little out of it today?" A woman approached him with a concerned look, holding her own cup of coffee. "You can see it in the shots..."

He looked up at her. "Oh, really? Sorry, Chanelle." A weary smile crossed his lips as he gave his manager an apologetic look. Humans were much more perceptive than anyone at home had ever been.

"You would have rather stayed at home today, right?" Chanelle took a sip from her coffee. "To be with your kid on Father's Day?"

"It's... hmm..." Bright stopped himself, thinking. He had never even celebrated Father's Day before. (How did people even celebrate it?) He had heard about it, but his father wasn't around anymore, nor was he a father, so the 'holiday' had passed every year without even batting an eye at it.

And then Beryl and Connie had come to give him presents.

He had been thinking about Ray the entire time since then. On paper, he was their caretaker, or adoptive father. Truth to be told, he did see them as his child... he wanted to protect them, wanted to make sure they were happy, and he wanted to be that person they could trust and feel safe with. Which was, well, what a parent was supposed to be.

Bright knew that feeling wasn't mutual on Ray's side.

A brief flash of his mother's kind smile went through his mind. He tried to remember her soothing voice and felt a lump in his throat.

"There's another attack!!" A jumpy man rushed into the break room, breathing heavily. "It's not looking good! This one is even bigger!!"

Bright followed the mass to another room. Most people were at the windows, looking at something in the distance. The remaining people stood by a television hanging on the wall, which was broadcasting live with very shaky and vague shots.

It was largely due the shaky footage but, very slowly, Bright realised that the Cures were in real trouble...

"They're all trapped!" A younger woman cried out Bright's thoughts. Chanelle rushed to the woman's side and tried to calm her down.

Nobody noticed Bright slip away, going to the roof. He could see the enormous Unbound easily even from a distance. It looked absolutely horrifying.

Hanan, Beryl, Connie, and Morgan... they were there...

He had seen broadcasts of attacks before. He had been at attacks before.

... but it still hurt that four girls were risking their lives.

They were only children. They shouldn't be fighting like this!

What hurt the most was that he was powerless to stop it. He, a trained knight, couldn't help.

"I'm sorry, mom, dad..." Bright sighed, brushing his hair out of his face. "They were right. I am useless."

In a poof of feathers, he transformed into his peacock form.

"But I'm going to prove them wrong."

----

Ray still hadn't gotten the courage, nor power, to even move. Their hands rested on the book as tears fell down on the open page. Their attention slowly shifted to the huge Unbound.

"Look at the Titans, Ray... look at them." Shade spoke, voice low and soft. "They're helpless... they're trapped. Did you really think you could control them? Did you really think that they could help you?" He let out another laugh as he felt his entire body being filled with darkness. He needed more... more...

Ray watched the scene in horror. Smirking proudly, Shade stood in front of the massive mass of darkness that was the Unbound. "I'll bring our world and everyone back, but better!" He declared as loud as he could. "The Titans will be mine!! This world... I'll take this world too. It'll be mine. It'll all be mine!" He spoke confidently, raising his arms. "That's... what I believe in."

Suddenly, he felt his chest beating intensely. Every beat echoed in his ears. It was like something wanted to burst out of him. He placed his hands over his heart. "Dad... just watch me... I'll make you proud."

Something erupted out of Shade's chest and hovered in front of him. It was some kind of jar, with silver patterns on it. Inside the jar hovered a dripping, pitch-black heart. The drops continued to spiral from bottom to top in the jar as the heart floated in place.

Nobody said a thing. All eyes lingered on the jar in Shade's hands.

"What the hell!?" Being the first who found her voice again, Splash yelled in utter, disgusted disbelief as she grabbed the bars of the cage. "What the hell is that!?"

"A... jar?" Ember muttered. "What... is it for?" She didn't want to know the answer to the question, but she knew she was gonna see soon enough.

Ray's eyes widened even further. "You..." They breathed. "That is...?"

At seeing their conflicted look, Shade roared with laughter. "This... I dub it... the Boundless Core!" He held the jar out in front of him, his shadow mimicked his stand, holding its hands near the jar.

"Danger Danger!" All shadows slithered over the ground towards him, as if magnetically attracted to the boy with a heart of pure darkness. The shadows warped in appearance, spiraled around his feet and stretched out on all sides. "Blackout!" The shadows burst from the ground and twisted around his form.

Shade appeared in a dark gray background with a pentagram under his feet as he as cracked his knuckles with a devious grin. The pentagram then began to glow and became a pool of black ink that engulfed him and suddenly the pool began to bubble. Just like that, the pool exploded sending ink everywhere as Shade arose from the pool, clad in a brand new outfit with a slightly altered appearance. His hair now reached a bit past his shoulders and was extremely fluffy, a crown made of bones was on his head. He sleeveless jacket, and black shorts with a belt and a chain connected to it. A small, white cape manifested to finish off the change. 

Turning around, Shade raised his chin pridefully in the air and held a hand in front of his face. "Beyond limits, eternal shadows sow! Bow down to me, the heart that embraces boundless darkness, Maximum Shade!" His voice carried a distinct, yet eerie echo as his shadow mimicked his pose.

Having transformed into a new form, Shade's, or Maximum Shade's, expression turned back to surprise as he examined himself. He pulled on his hair, now entirely black. It felt incredibly soft. "I transformed?" A grin spread across his face. "I transformed!! Yeah!!"

"... What!?" Ember gasped.

Gale shrunk back in her cage, hugging herself. "That can't be..."

"Ah, his hair is looks so fluffy!" Terra commented, snickering briefly before scrunching up her nose. "He still smells like trash though."

Shade snapped around to glare at her. "Excuse you, Terre!? I am the supreme master and heir to darkness' throne, Shade!"

Splash didn't even try to hold back her laughter. "Not with that hair! Ha!"

"Heh!? But you said your name was 'Maximum Shade'!" Terra clutched the bars of her cage, denting them slightly but otherwise being seemingly unbreakable.

"You..." Ray started again. They stared at Shade with big eyes. "You were able to transform... all along?" Their surprise morphed into quiet fury. "Coward."

Shade raised an eyebrow.

With a louder, more enraged cry of, "Coward!!" Ray threw the book in his direction. The shadow caught it effortlessly in its hand, then tossed it aside.

"Hey, this is new for me too!"

Grinning smugly, Shade held out his hand and his shadow warped its form around it. A sword manifested in Shade's hand. The handle was black and decorated with small bones while the blade itself was sharp and shiny, reflecting Ray's shocked face in it.

"... A sword? Awesome!!" Shade looked at his newly forged weapon. Proudly, he held it in the air. "Behold... my Calamity Reaper!" He announced and quickly charged at Ray. He stopped right before the tip of the sword had reached their neck.

Ray held their breath as Shade leaned closer to them. "Just... give up, wet candle." He suggested with a sly, snake-like grin. "Face it, you are at your limit. I have the Titans and victory in my grasp!"

"No... I will not allow it. I will never allow it."

"You're not really in the position to do anything, now, are you?" Shade taunted, holding the sword close a tad closer to their neck. "Useless! Useless! Useless!"

A loud scream echoed from afar. Almost immediately after, a mass of colors soared through the skies. Due some lucky miracle, sharp claws found its way into Shade's face. The boy let out a pained scream of his own as he dropped the sword and grabbed for his clawed face.

"Bright...!?" Ray stumbled back as the peacock landed in front of them. "It is not safe here! Please, leave!"

In a poof of colorful feathers, Bright turned into his human self. "Who is going to save the Pretty Cure then? Who can defeat this monster?" His hair swayed in the wind. "I'm not letting you carry this burden alone, Ray."

Bright held out his hand and spoke words he hadn't used in many years. "Crystallise my will to protect in the form of a blade. Form, sacred blade of brilliance." He produced a sword from his twirling hand. It's been years since he summoned it, and the nostalgic feeling that surged through his body made him cringe slightly.