Hello everyone, hopefully 2018 is being a little nice to all of you! Haha, I finally got off my butt to properly format this episode! ;;;v;;

Any kind of feedback, commentary or critique is appreciated, be they story, plot or anything! I'd love to hear you guys' thoughts. So don't be shy I will gush over your words all day I promise /v/

Also, thanks to Nexus_Schwarz and SugaryDiamond for beta-reading, helping with the transformation sequence and being super supportive and good help! Be sure to check out their respective fanseries, Mythical Precure! and Weather Control Pretty Cure!

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 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 kick in the guts 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 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 huge behind does not mean you get to- Ah!" A kick in the face 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." 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 being 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!" Connie yelled as the egg exploded into hundreds of purple feathers. Purple feathers encircled her arms and as they disappeared and purple detached sleeves appeared. She then arched her back with one leg high in the air as gigantic purple wings sprouted from her back. After they sprouted she stood up properly and flew up, tucked her knees up to her chest, and let her wings close around her. The wings glowed brightly and completely disappeared from her in a violent feather storm. Now her hair was a brilliant white and had become not only fluffy but curly towards the bottom as well. She now wore a yellow hat with a white bow on the side - a purple heart on the bow itself. On her top she wore a yellow romper with a white gem belt. A long purple cloak that was held together by a yellow sailor collar with an orange tie laid over the romper. On her feet were white shoes with purple leg warmers over them. Suddenly the Skyhigh Charm floated in front the bow and became a black and white heart.

Floating in place, she placed a hand on her chest and raised the other in the air. "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 bitch."

He sank in 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?"