OOPS guess I'm motivated enough to upload another chapter after all.
As always, critique, thoughts and anything is always welcome with open arms! English isn't my first language so I need all the help I can get haha
Thanks to Nexus_Schwarz and SugaryDiamond for beta-reading again, and leaving wonderful comments and helping me improve! As usual! Be sure to check out their respective fanseries, Mythical Precure! and Weather Control Pretty Cure! Still saying that you must check out Immortal Friendship Precure by curecustard as well! *w*b
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 led 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.
"Wha... what is it?" Bronze had to take a few steps back to avoid getting hit by Aeris' wings. The (too heavy) weight of the wings made her stumble slightly.
"... 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 petite 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 o 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 on 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 I 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 teared 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 teared out of her shoulder blades.
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!"