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 sprouting 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 glowing, soft pink eyes.
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. "Don't 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'd love 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... My powers will not. 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 and it floated up. It then exploded into water and washed over Morgan who gave a broad smirk. She then dropped on the ground, kicking as she did and used one hand to hold herself up. As her hand made contact with the ground, white gloves appeared on her and a pearl band on each upper arm. She then spun around as water gathered, expertly alternating each hand before she stopped and used her left arm to hold herself up. The water that gathered exploded and left her in a whole new outfit: a blue top that split just at the midriff with a light blue trim on it, a dark blue tie attached to a blue sailor collar with white stripes as well. A pair of blue puffy shorts adroned her lower half with a belt of blue pearls, light blue leg warmers and blue flip flops. She then sprung up and landed on feet as the egg floated in front of her chest and became a blue-white heart emblem with a black outline on it. Water gathered in her hands, she worked it through her hair and made it grow to her hips in a ponytail, the color changing to a teal with a string of blue pearls going through her hair. She then jumped up and the background suddenly changed.
She landed on a shoreline, the water curling around her feet as she made a few steps, then kicked one leg high into the air, made a turn, and finally stuck one hand up with an open palm and placed a hand on her hip, wearing a confident smile. "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 didn't 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 Sunlight who kicked your butt? He's awesome." A frown. "Oh, wait... his team is from Weathersdale... and that's in another state I believe."
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 into 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.
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."