Happy National Egg Day! 8D... i don't live in america...
but enjoy this egg-themed eggisode!
Once again, thank you for all the support! I love you guys!
"What happened!?" Ray peeked out behind the door of their room as they had heard someone come through the front door. Terra was still transformed and carried a barely conscious Morgan in her arms. She was surprisingly light for Terra, who managed to carry her around more easily than expected. Ember followed tensely behind.
Ray meekly stepped outside, still wearing their pajamas, and they followed Terra to the living room. "Morgan...? Wha-"
"Can you get a blanket? Or something to warm her up?" Ember asked.
Ray stiffened their back, nodded, and rushed out to get what the Cure asked for. Terra laid Morgan down on the couch as Ember held her alarmingly cold hand with one of her own, while her other caressed her face. Anything to warm her up.
"What... an... asshole..." Despite every vein inside her body screaming in pain, Morgan still found some of her voice to speak up. Ray came back and put the blanket over her. It was warm, but the cold still pierced through.
"Morgan!" Terra sobbed and buried her face into the girl's chest. "I'm sorry... I'm so... so sorry...!" More sobs. "This is my fault..."
Morgan's eyes had small lines of black surging through them. "No... no, you're fine." She breathed and squeezed her eyes shut. "I can handle cold... used to it."
"I don't understand." Ember started and tightened her hands. "Why did it harm you as much as it did...? We've suffered through worse."
Clutching the blanket, Morgan expression turned grim. "I don't know... I could feel... misery embedded in those arrows. If only for a second."
Nobody said anything.
Terra managed to speak up again. "Why...?" She asked between sniffs. "Why did you take the hit for me...? That misery was meant for me..." More sniffs. "For... a monster..."
"I thought... I could catch it, pebble brain."
The door opened and a loud, "I'm baaaack!" teared through the tense mood. Bright strolled into the room like a model on a runway. He dropped his smile once he saw the scene in front of him.
"What happened...?"
Episode 17: Seaborn Splash: Cooldown Time
"Everyone, I managed to acquire something... eggcellent." Hail's entrance back to the base made his three comrades' attention turn to him, tearing their attention away from what they had been doing. Bronze had been busy with sit-ups, Elegy had been reading some sort of novel, and Smoky was mildly interested in a talk-show on tv. While his arm had seemingly healed up entirely, he still appeared to only move his other arm, letting the previously broken one rest by his side.
"What!?" Bronze cried out, voice louder than she had wanted. "Hail, are you okay...!?"
At seeing Bronze's worried expression, Hail touched his cheek to feel the same, frozen tears that had streamed down Splash's face when she had been shot. No sadness or grief was evident in his expression at all. In fact, he looked mildly surprised.
He lowered his gaze to the Seaborn Charm, still in his hand, and threw it to the floor. "Blast! This cursed egg!" He yelled suddenly, voice dripping with spite. "Elegy, can't you just make an omelette out of it?"
"Hail?" Bronze raised an arm to her mouth, eyes wide in shock.
Elegy stood up to get the Seaborn Charm that Hail had tossed away. She could feel an intense cold radiate from it as her hand reached for it, but she decided to swallow her hesitation and curl her fingers around it anyway.
It was so cold. It was like her hand was burning.
The woman smirked underneath her mask, but her hand was obviously screaming. She had experience in the kitchen. She had been through worse. Quickly, she set the egg down on the table.
Tiny particles automatically floated in the egg's direction, as did small, foggy tendrils, trying to wrap themselves around it. Nothing seemed to happen. The particles bounced off and the tendrils just... kept spiraling around the egg as the blue glow weakly flickered.
"... That's Splash's transformation thingy?" Smoky said, still not moving from his spot. He seemed quite tired, instead of his usual laid-back laziness. "Just break it. Then she can't do anything anymore."
Bronze aimed one of her arm cannons at the egg. "I like that idea."
Then the door burst open with a loud bang and a large hand roughly shoved Bronze out of the way. As she was falling backwards, she accidentally unleashed a shot and a beam of darkness was absorbed in the ceiling.
"What's going on!? What is that!?" Shade stomped into the room as his shadow returned behind him. "Stop using so much darkne- ... wait..." His eyes fell on the egg on the table. "That's...?"
Hail cleared his throat. "That is Cure Splash's magical item, which allows her to tran-"
Shade's shadow grabbed the egg from the table and held it out in front of its master. "Huh!? Why is it here!? I can't do anything with this now! I don't have enough darkness to get Unda to my side!" He cried out, frustrated, as he bit his lip. His gaze went around the room, particles and foggy tendrils still hovering around it. "It's only in the way... and taking all the darkness here."
"But... I could...?" Hail started, narrowing his eyes at the egg. He hesitated slightly. "Cure Splash is unneeded."
Rolling his eyes, Shade stepped away from the four without replying. His shadow hovered in place, still holding the egg.
"... So? What do we... do with it?" Bronze asked, eyeing the egg. "If we can't have it here..." She paused and furrowed her brows in thought. "We can't exactly give it back!"
"Let's just break it, then." Smoky suggested again, with a much louder sigh this time. "Like I said, she won't be able to transform anymore and-"
Shade stomped his foot. "No!" He yelled. "Those things are the key to getting the Titans to my side! To cover them in darkness, to make them mine...!"
The colors of the egg slowly started darkening.
"No...!" Shade cried out again, clearly panicked. "If this keeps up.. it'll drain all the darkness and this place will fall apart. I don't have enough to spare!"
"So then, what you want us to do with it?" Hail asked, seeming quite irritated at his accomplishment becoming nullified like this. "Tell us your well-thought out plan, oh powerful leader."
Shade looked down in shame. "I don't know... I didn't... I didn't plan for this..." He turned around so nobody could see his pained expression. "No plan ever seems to go like it should."
He clenched his fists.
"Just... uh... just hide it somewhere!" Shade's tone was impatient. "I don't care, as long as it's away from Unda and not here. Why not... the place where we first met?"
"No." An unfamiliar voice echoed through the base. Elegy shook her head and lowered her finger, deactivating her powers.
Shade grit his teeth. "Ugh, I'm sure you can find something!"
Steepling her fingers together while bearing a look of thoughtfulness, Elegy eventually opened up a portal and pulled on Hail's sleeve. She raised her hand and played a 'recording' of a child's voice. "Let's go!"
"You're so cold!" Bright gasped as he placed a hand on Morgan's forehead. "How...?"
She raised a hand. "That's normal. I actually feel a lot better... just... tired." She reassured him, though it was half a lie.
The cold was disappearing yet... a somewhat invasive feeling remained. Morgan's vision was starting to blur, a salty taste filled her mouth, and her skin was tingling, itchy. It almost felt like something was crawling under it.
It didn't necessarily hurt, but she still felt rather exhausted.
The people present in the room were talking but... she couldn't process what they were saying.
She just wanted to be alone.
Silently, she stood up, using all of her strength to walk to the door. Terra grabbed her arm to stop her. "Where are you going!?"
"Morgan, you go rest. Leave it to us." Ember reassured her, putting her warm hands on her shoulders. "I promise you we'll find your egg. We will not stop searching until-"
"Search for what?" Morgan snapped her attention to the red Cure. "He took that egg to their super darkness dungeon, wherever the hell it is." She rolled her eyes. "We don't... even know what it looks like or where it is, let alone... how to get there."
"But...! Maybe... maybe Connie knows." Terra argued. "I'll go to her..."
Ember wanted to protest but Terra was already off. She ran outside and climbed on a roof before leaping to another.
Unsure what to do, Ember undid her transformation. There was no fight, no monster, and thus no use to stay in her Cure form. It would only attract unnecessary attention. The fire of fury was still shimmering inside her.
"'I'm going home. Don't follow me."
Hanan raised a hand to the other girl, but Morgan stepped out of reach. "Morgan... please..."
"Leave me alone." Morgan placed her hands in her pockets and, with a sigh, walked away in a different direction then Terra had gone. Hanan instantly ran after her and pulled her back by her arm, causing Morgan to swing around and kick the girl in the side. "I said leave me alone!"
Deep down, Morgan felt something when she saw Hanan clutch her side in pain and spat "You bitch!" at her. She shook that nagging feeling off and ran away without looking where she was going.
She needed to be alone.
She needed to be alone.
She needed to be alone.
"Why did you want me to come along again?" Hail asked with a sigh as he and Elegy stood on a rooftop. Two Flurries were bouncing the Seaborn Charm back and forward. Each time one got a hold of the egg, it started wailing and crying profusely, prompting it to throw it to the other. This continued on for a while. "If we get injured, that means that we need to use more darkness and then that brat is surely going to complain and yell, again."
He knew Elegy couldn't properly reply. She raised her hand and play a recording. "Minions!" That was Shade's voice, unmistakably. "Too loud...!" And... some random woman's voice.
"Oh, the Echoes?" Hail asked, earning a nod in reply. "That makes sense. They are quite... notable, I'd say."
Elegy shrugged.
"What do you suggest for a hiding spot?" Folding his arms together behind his back, Hail started pacing around, leaving tiny parts of frozen ice in his path. "We must think this through carefully. There is a big risk that someone will find it. We can't just scramble around." His grin turned to Elegy, hoping she would recognise, and appreciate, his genius.
She didn't, or at least didn't show it.
As she watched Hail pace around and mumble to himself, Elegy cursed her silence, and forgetting to bring a notebook of sorts. Now she had to resort to using her powers to get her point across. She rested her hands on his shoulders, making him stop and give her a confused look.
"Elegy? What is it?"
She showed him her bottle of Dark Ink and raised a finger to activate her powers once again. An amalgamation of voices formed a broken sentence.
"I... Make... Monster...! You... Eliminate... Cure Splash."
Morgan had lied.
She hadn't gone home. Never intended to, actually.
Instead, she had gone to her favorite place. The beach. She sat by some jagged rocks quite far removed from the pier and and laid down in the sand. Without really realising why, Morgan stood up not even a minute after sitting down and walked closer to the shoreline.
She kept walking as, suddenly, tears started streaming down her face again. Irritated, she wiped them away. "Why are you crying, you stupid...?" She scolded herself as she tightened her fists. "There's nothing to be sad about! Stop it!"
The waves intensified, almost reaching her feet.
Admittingly, Beryl's reminder had shaken her more than she would have liked. When Shade had been in possession of Connie's Primary Charm... things hadn't been good.
That wasn't going to happen to her now, right? She wasn't going to be turned into some kind of monster, right?
She shook her head. No... no, no. That couldn't be. Not this easily. It wasn't just the egg, Connie had been attacked when she had been corrupted.
Stressing about all this made her realise her hangover had seemingly completely washed away. That rarely happened, but she didn't care enough to question it.
Actually, she was still cold. Her skin was still rather itchy, but... at least she was on her own. Nobody could bother her. Just her, and the water.
She stepped into the sea and a wave swallowed her up.
It was nice being alone.
One of the Flurries let out a loud yelp as the egg started shimmering in a bright blue light. It was like the wave patterns were moving, mesmerising the two little snowmen until it suddenly darted off, like a shooting star.
"What!?" Hail gasped as Elegy leaned back with a confused frown. The duo looked from the blue trail of light, to each other, and back to the light again.
A young girl stood on the edge of the street. Her head was lowered to the ground as she took slow, heavy steps towards nowhere.
Then, a blue streak of light shimmered through the sky. With piqued interest, she ran after it.
Morgan felt weightless.
He body sunk through the water. Her tears blended in the big ocean as she hugged herself. Despite the tears, she felt... at ease.
Deep down, she knew that this is where she was supposed to be.
She couldn't hear her own voice, quietly humming a lullaby she heard before. Everything was surrounded by bubbles as they swarmed around Morgan. They caressed her skin softly.
With a breath full of bubbles, she let her worries drain out.
"Oh no...!"
In the distance, she heard a small, muffled voice. Then she felt it. Someone stepped into the water.
Morgan moved upward and broke the surface of the water, two waves spiraled around her for a short while as she did. Dripping wet as she pushed herself back to the shore, Morgan came face to face with a little girl.
Her messy, black hair was tied in two clumsy twintails. The girl was obviously in awe of what had just occurred in front of her.
Morgan noticed the girl's brown eyes shimmered with tears.
She shuffled around nervously before finding the courage to talk. "Um... are you... a mermaid, miss?"
Morgan's expression softened as she approached the girl and kneeled down to get on eye-level. "No, no. I'm not a mermaid. I'm a Pretty Cure. A water... using one... so, not sure how close that is?" She smiled at the girl and showed her the badge she and the others had in their possession as proof of being Pretty Cure. Apparently, other Pretty Cure teams each had one as well. Ah, what a wonderful badge it was. It allowed them to get discounts, among other things, and that was the best thing to Morgan.
"Pretty Cure!? Wow..." The girl breathed. "Can... I...? Can... I to talk to your green friend?" She lowered her head timidly. "I don't know her name... so... um..."
"You mean Terra?"
"Is that her name!?" The girl looked up at Morgan. "I want to give her something as thanks for saving my parents when that creepy man attacked them! Mommy says to always thank people!"
Morgan tilted her head. So those people inside the Unbound... the ones that had been arguing about something... were they this girl's parents?
She couldn't even imagine how scary that must have been for the girl. Like, you're a kid just minding your own business at home, then some creep shows up out of completely nowhere and approaches your parents and bam there's a huge, rampaging monster in front of you.
Now that Morgan got a good look at her, the girl did seem quite shaken. "Oh, he's a creep, all right. But, don't worry, I'll make sure to beat him up just for you, kid." She gave the girl a gentle grin. "What's your name?"
"Shauna..."
"It's settled, Shauna. Morgan Shannon Fischer, aka Cure Splash, will personally make sure to carry out some revenge beatings for you." Morgan crossed her arms and kicked the sand. "Egg or no egg, I don't give a shit."
"That's a bad word." Shauna whispered meekly, but with a scolding undertone. "Daddy says bad words only belongs in filthy mouths!"
"I don't need to hear this shit from you!"
Her father's expression turned into one of pure shock. It was like he was watching a crime take place. "Morgan! Language!" He yelled sternly once he had gotten over the shock. "Where did you learn such filthy-sounding words? Those belong in filthy mouths."
Morgan clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"So, you are friends with Terra?" Shauna asked softly, obviously trying to get the conversation to a different topic.
"Yeah." Morgan was surprised how quickly, and confidently, she had blurted that out. "I suppose." Instinctively, she touched her bracelet.
"Can you bring me to her!?" Shauna almost begged. "Can Pretty Cure fulfill wishes?"
That got a little chuckle out of Morgan. A lot of questions this girl had. "Depends on what your wish is." She grinned and kicked the sand again. "If it's kicking someone's face is, I'm your Cure, kid."
Shauna looked a little shocked at that and shook her head furiously. "No! I want mommy and daddy to stop fighting..."
"Oh..."
"I just moved here a few weeks ago..." Shauna continued, looking to the ground again. "Mommy and daddy are busing cleaning the house and all, and they are a little mean to each other lately. When they got trapped in the monster I ran away... but I saw Terra fight from a distance! She was so cool!"
Morgan couldn't help but smile. "I bet Terra would love to hear that." She said, already seeing Beryl with the biggest grin in her mind. "You know what? Let's go find her."
"Really!?"
"Yeah." Morgan put her hands in her pocket and she and Shauna started walking side by side.
Shauna stopped and averted her gaze. "But... what if that scary man shows up again!?"
"I'll protect you, promise. Leave it to Cure Splash."
"What!?"
Connie would have fallen out of her bed if Terra hadn't caught her.
"We have... we... have to help Morgan... she... she...!" The blonde's voice was hoarse and breathy, and her face covered in a red, sickly glow. "He's going to...!"
"It's okay, Connie! I thought maybe you knew something... you know..." Terra was actually regretting coming to Connie's house, via her window no less, to ask her for help. She had been sleeping so peacefully, and now was on the verge of a panic attack. "I'm sorry..."
Shaking her head, Connie weakly got up and grabbed her Skyhigh Charm from under her pillow. "Ever since then... being separated from my egg scares me." She whispered as she held it against her chest. "It's like... it's a part of me."
"I know what you mean! Just holding it in my hands makes me feel relaxed!" Terra agreed, nodding with a smile.
A loud, familiar roar got the two girls' attention to outside right away. They saw a monstrous being rise up in the distance.
"Perfect, let's go!" Terra cheered and went out the window. "Oh... um, you can stay if you don't feel goo-"
"Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" Voice still hoarse, Connie got her egg and quickly transformed into her purple-clad alter ego. "The heart that soars with the courageous wind, Cure Ga-... Gale!" She stumbled over her words to let out a few coughs before grabbing Terra's arms, lifting her up, and carrying her towards the fight.
People were already fleeing the area when the duo arrived. The Unbound, while still humanoid, looked like it was half-shark. It had shark-like fins instead of hands, back fins, a pointy tail, and incredibly sharp teeth. It also had chains wrapped around its arms, ending in anchors.
Gale had a bit of a rough time carrying Terra. She was way heavier than she looked.
"Throw me, Gale!" Terra yelled and Gale did as her green comrade asked. As she was falling down, Terra covered herself in rock and charged at the Unbound. The impact hit it and the the Unbound made a painful whine before stepping back. Terra broke her rock apart into many, smaller pieces of jagged rocks, which she shot at the Unbound before landing on her feet.
Between a few coughs, Gale clapped at Terra's impressive performance. Her expression turned fierce as she flew up to the roof she noticed Elegy standing on.
She took a shaky breath before sending all her concentration to her hand and using it to lift Elegy in the air. "Give it back." Gale demanded softly. "Give Morgan her egg back."
Gale didn't expect Elegy to reply. She had never heard her speak, and certainly didn't expect her to start talking now.
"I... I am not letting her, or anyone, go through what I went through. Give us the egg, Elegy!" She knew her voice didn't sound threatening at all, and that only proved when she saw Elegy. Even with her mouth hidden behind her mask, it was obvious she was sneering back at her.
Gale gritted her teeth. "I... I... I can crush you...!" She knew, deep down, that she wouldn't have the guts to back up her threat.
As she hovered high above the air, Elegy exhaled through her nose and raised both of her arms. A handful of Echoes jumped out of thin air and started yelling and playing their instruments. They shot music notes at Gale who covered her ears in pain and got thrown back, falling from the roof. Elegy dropped to the ground and landed gracefully on her feet down below.
"Gale!" Terra snapped her attention away from the Unbound, which was trying to take a bite of her, and raised herself to catch the purple Cure. However, the Unbound released one of its chains, ensnaring them against each of its arms and continuing its rampage.
"And that's why I love Chocowan the most! He's so cute!" Shauna rambled on and Morgan found herself smiling yet again. Actually, she had a big stuffed plush of that particular character back home. She had gathered the money to buy it all by herself. It had been quite an impressive feat for a nine-year old, if she said so herself.
Their conversation got interrupted by a familiar, loud roar. "An Unbound...?" Morgan gritted her teeth as she saw the giant monster rampage in the distance. Behind her, Shauna took a step back.
"Go somewhere safe. I need to fight!" Morgan took a few steps before the area suddenly was covered in cold ice. Big chunks of ice surrounded the area, trapping Morgan and Shauna inside it.
Hail stepped out of the shadows, hands folded neatly behind his back. "I wouldn't be so quick to declare that, Cure Splash." He said with a devious smirk. "For all I snow you are absolutely powerless at the moment."
"Hah, just the person I was looking for." Morgan grinned as she cracked her knuckles. She felt Shauna clasp her back tightly. "Go somewhere safe, now. I'll make sure to break some ice today." She whispered to the girl.
"Child, I highly suggest you listen to her and leave." Hail agreed with a short nod. "I'd rather keep the casualties to a minimum."
"Casualties?"
An arrow of ice passed right next to Morgan's cheek. It just barely missed her.
"Yes. I will put you on ice today."
Gritting her teeth, Morgan shoved Shauna aside and ran up to Hail. She didn't care that she couldn't transform. She needed to kick someone's face in. It didn't matter who, or what. But, she did have some personal score to settle with this particular man in front of her. Those arrows had hurt.
She slapped the next arrow coming her way away with her arm, but the one after hit her shoulder.
"You fu-!"
"Don't give me the cold shoulder now." Hail chuckled at this own joke and evaded Morgan's kick directed at him with ease. He was clearly amused at her irritated reaction. "I'm sure you wouldn't want those words to be your last."
Was he being genuine or just throwing empty threats around to scare, or motivate, her? She didn't know. He was so hard to read and that really pissed her off. It was just like with her father.
Morgan managed to kick him in the side. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" She yelled. "Where is my egg!?"
"You seem quite shell-shocked from what happ- Arg!" This time, Morgan kicked him in the face. He slided back a few feet on the ice and grabbed Morgan's hoodie to hurl her to the side, making her hit a wall.
He sighed, rubbing his cheek before crossing his arm and stepping towards the fallen girl. "It is snow fair to kick someone while they're down, now is it?" He manifested two, ice-encased swords in his hands and threw one on the ground next to Morgan. "I like a challenge, so, here. Take up this sword and fight me, pronto!"
Clutching her bitingly cold shoulder in pain, Morgan quickly picked up the sword and thrusted forward. The two swords collided with a cold clank. Morgan squeezed her eyes shut once she felt tears leaking out.
"This is so disappointedly easy." Hail exhaled some cold breath, clearly disappointed as he backed off slightly to allow Morgan to rise to her feet again. Then he surged forward but Morgan blocked it awkwardly using the sword.
"So. Disappointing." Hail said between bitter laughs. "Is this the Unstoppable Flood of Misery, Unda, that brat kept yapping about!?" He kept swinging, leaving almost no opening for the inexperienced opponent to strike. "The only misery I'm experiencing is absolute boredom!"
Morgan looked for a chance to strike back. The ice underneath their feet was slippery and it didn't help her keeping her balance. She had never wielded a sword before and was actually surprised she managed to block most strikes.
"What is... real... really... ugh, 'snow fair'..." She started in an annoyed, mocking tone. What terrible puns. Not funny or clever in the slightest. It felt like poison had rolled from her tongue as she had said it herself. "Is... is a grown up... adult... man... beating a... a teenage girl!"
"You're really throwing that card now?" Hail rolled his eyes in response and kept swinging, forcing her backwards while still trying to defend herself.
"... I... am!"
Their swords clashed again and an intense, overflowing sadness overcame both of them. Before they realised what was happening, torrents of tears were streaming down their faces.
"... What?" Hail asked as his tears froze over almost instantly. "Hah, now I'm literally bored to tears..."
A wayward stream of blue light shot towards them, landing right in the middle and breaking apart the swords.
Morgan's focused her blurry vision on a familiar, soothing blue egg hovering in the middle of them. "My egg...?"
"How!?"
Still with tears in her eyes, Morgan grabbed the egg and held it to her chest, smiling freely and free of doubts. "Primal Spirit Unleash! Precure Evolution!" She turned the egg with a grin and was engulfed in a bubble of water.
"The heart that dances with the rising waves, Cure Splash!" Jumping out of the bubble as Cure Splash, she kicked Hail in the chest right away while announcing her name. It had become a force of habit by this point. She grinned, making a turn, and shaking her hips a little in her excitement. "Yeah, I'm ready to kick ass!"
Just then, the Unbound passed by, quickly running as fast as its legs could carry its big body. Splash noticed Terra and Gale, tied against the fin-like arms and flailing around helplessly.
Splash frowned. "Seriously?"
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Splash got ready to go after the rampaging monster but Hail roughly grabbed her ponytail and pulled her back. "I was not done with you!" He laughed before Splash kicked up to hit him in the chin.
"Well, I am! So screw off!"
Hail threw an arrow in her direction, like it was a lance. Splash caught with her hands before it could hit the heart-emblem on her chest. Even with her gloves, it still was cold and her arms were already encased in ice up to her elbows. Using all her strength, she broke the ice and shot a stream of water right back at him. He held up a hand and the stream froze into an icicle and fell on the ground.
"Snowbody likes a repetitiv-" Hail started but Splash's irritated yells drowned out his words.
Splash suddenly felt another force in her back, and all air was pressed out of her lungs as she was thrown forward and fell, face-first, in a cold patch of snow.
"Elegy?" She heard Hail call as she tried to gather herself, only to be knocked down right away. With a frustrated cry, a pillar of water erupted from Splash's body and knocked both Hail and Elegy back.
"I would say 'I had it under control', but, frankly I didn't. Today's plan was quite a disaster, wouldn't you say?" Hail summoned a few Flurries as he rose back to his feet again. Elegy followed suit, legs trembling slightly, either from the cold or exhaustion. "I don't require your assistance. Two against one... that is simply sno-"
A tendril of water slapped his face. "Don't you dare say that stupid pun!"
"Why don't you go back? You look like you're about to faint." Hail told Elegy while he rubbed his cheek with a groan. It was clear to him that she was in fatigue from using her powers too much today.
Elegy nodded hesitantly before making a portal and leaving. Hail got his attention back to Splash and his expression turned cold again.
Splash raised herself with a stream to go after the Unbound but something made her stop, dissolving the stream mid-air and making her fall.
"No! Don't go!" Shauna's scared voice made Splash snap her head around to see the child cower behind a block of ice. Her pale skin seemed to have turned even paler.
"You were just going to leave an innocent civilian in danger? That's not exactly what I would call 'heroic'." Hail crossed his arms with a sigh. "Well, I can at least gather some extra darkness..."
As Splash charged forward for a kick, he smoothly slid out of the way, sending Splash stumbling over the slippery ice. He rocketed towards a frozen in fear Shauna and quickly did the procedure to turn the girl into an Unbound.
"My apologies. Normally, using a child is below my standards... but alas, can't always have your way." With a shrug, Hail backed off as the Unbound started to form. "I'm sure you'll be back to normal soon enough. That's how it always goes."
Splash cursed between her teeth while she watched the Unbound form behind Hail. It was slightly shorter than regular and had two, thick antennae sticking out of the sides of its head, resembling the twintails Shauna had donned. Its head looked like it was encased in a frozen, transparent block of ice and the same could be said for both its hands and feet, which were frozen to the ground, making it unable to walk. It let out a high-pitched whine as it wrapped its arms around itself, shivering heavily.
The Unbound let out another whine and flailed its arms. The blocks of ice starting sprouting frozen vines, closing them in like a globe.
"It seems fair enough that I should thank you, Cure Splash." He said and tilted his head slightly. "I haven't had this much excitement in years. Maybe next time won't be a cold call."
"Pretty Cure Scorch Wrap!"
A whip of fire tore through the roof of the globe and wrapped itself around the man before setting it ablaze. Ember gritted her teeth as she landed in front of Splash.
The attacked died out as usual but what remained made Ember's pupils shrink in shock, horrified at the damage her attack had done.
Hail studied himself with a repulsed look. His body was covered in black marks, not unlike rotten skin, and his form actually looked like it was melting. No, he was melting. His body dripped like a hot candle would.
Without saying another word, he opened a portal and went through. The snow and ice melted away as he did so and left the two Cures with the whimpering Unbound.
"Finally. He's gone." Splash got up and took a breath. She passed Ember, who was still staring at someone who wasn't there anymore. "Served him right. Let's hope he doesn't come back."
Ember swallowed anxiously. "Did I...?" She asked softly, completely out of breath from both running all over the town and using her attack. She placed a hand on her chest in an attempt to recollect herself, but didn't have long to ponder as the Unbound slammed down its fist, forcing her to jump out of the way.
"Go away! I don't need your help." Splash argued and kicked in the air, sending a tendril of water in the the monster's direction. "But those idiots do!" She pointed at the direction she had last seen the other Unbound pass but obviously couldn't see now since they were still trapped in the globe.
Unleashing a barrage of punches, Ember managed to melt away at least part of one leg, making the Unbound lose balance. "Terra and Gale can handle it, don't worry. We can trust them!"
"They were trapped last time I saw them, because they're useless!" Splash groaned. "If you really wanted to defeat this Unbound and have your super heroic entrance, then why didn't aim your attack at it?"
"I couldn't even see anything! There was just this huge igloo!" Ember snapped back, trying her hardest to restrain herself. "I panicked a little... sorry."
Splash groaned. Every sphere, tendril, stream, or bubble she threw at it where frozen upon impact with the monster's its body. Splash grew more and more frustrated with each try.
Ember suddenly punched part of the globe's wall, making it melt and leave a hole.
"Splash, I can do this one. You go help Terra and Gale. Hurry!"
"No!" The somewhat pained cry of the blue Cure made Ember frown in concern. "I promised her... I promised her I would protect her." She said, lowering her gaze. "I won't let her slip away..." Splash stopped herself, but more words were obviously waiting on her tongue.
"Is that girl someone you know? I promise I'll make sure that she's safe!"
Splash clenched her fists. "Maybe... I was just hoping for something I couldn't have." She whispered to herself, barely audible to Ember.
Ember spoke but her words got drowned out as Splash sank through her thoughts. Her mind was racing, and tears found their way to her eyes again, but, this time it was accompanied with an actual feeling of sorrow as she looked up at her red-clad comrade and remembered how she had acted during the dinner at her home.
Ember was warm, literally, and approachable. Social and annoyingly kind. Open and stupidly helpful.
And Splash wasn't any of that.
She ran through the gap and wiped away her tears before racing after the other Unbound that was currently on the beach.
"You're probably much better for this." Splash whispered to herself. "I would be the worst sister..."
Hail was glad nobody else was in the main room. His form writhed and shuddered in agony, and he couldn't breathe. The pain numbed as particles of black came from the walls and attached itself to his body, slowly forcing it back into its original form.
"... We really aren't human anymore." Was all Hail said when he found his voice again. He looked at his still somewhat misshapen hand. His voice was clear and his tone was devoid of any kind of emotion. It was purely as if stating a well-known fact. "It's like... we are the first of an entirely new species." He added with a low chuckle.
It seemed like both Terra and Gale had gotten free from their entrapment. The former punching the monster in its torso, right above the cage while the latter was using her wind powers to push the Unbound away in the sea.
"Let's keep this monster at bay!" Terra said with a forced grin, while actually, her body protested in pain. She felt so tired...
A flash of blue appeared, landing on the ground and sending a stream off water to the Unbound.
"Spla... Splash!" Gale coughed, looking even worse than Terra. She seemed like she needed to restrain herself from pulling Splash in a hug as she landed next to her blue comrade. "I'm so glad... you're... you're... okay...!" She folded her fingers around Splash's. "So glad..."
Terra did pull both of them in a tight hug and Splash felt something stir inside her. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.
"I can handle myself fine." Unsure how to handle the affection, she wringed herself loose from the hug and turned her attention to the shark-like Unbound.
"Wait... it's eyes are maroon. You could... defeat it already."
With a nervous laugh, Terra rubbed the back of her head. "We tried but we can't use our finishers... I think it's because we're both sick? Maybe?"
The two awaited a storm from the shorter girl, but instead she quietly scoffed and got ready for her attack. Before she could do anything, the Unbound turned around and then dove into the sea.
"What!?" Splash blinked in surprise but didn't waste any more time and went right after the monster.
Water was everywhere, and that brought relief to Splash. She propelled herself to the Unbound, which was swimming away from her. It was going deeper, into the dark.
"You're not getting away!" She was briefly stunned from the fact that she could actually talk, let alone hear herself talk. Without any further stops, she dived in after the monster, which scared away a huge school of fish.
"Blueback herring, huh..." Splash watched the fish scatter frantically, trying to escape the Unbound's attempt to eat them. "Hey, leave those fish alone!" She moved one arm and a huge, whirling current of water spiraled around the monster.
The Unbound made a ghastly cry as it was snapping its jaw desperately. Splash surfaced and the spiral of water followed her, raising the Unbound to the sky.
Hovering in the air, Splash circled her arms and the water trapped the Unbound it in a sphere of water. "Pretty Cure!" Starting her attack, she raised her hands. "Hydro Wave!" Bringing her hands down, Splash unleashed a stream of sparkling water, defeating the Unbound and leaving a young man behind in the sand.
Splash landed in the sand and placed her hands on her hips with a sigh. "That was fun." Truth to be told, she actually was frustrated at her fellow Cures' uselessness but decided to swallow her anger. Not worth it.
Comrades were so inconvenient, overrated.
A single ripple has more freedom.
A single ripple travels farther on its own.
The train of thoughts crashed when Splash found herself being trapped in a hug again. It almost felt suffocating, maybe that was because Terra's hug was so tight. Splash noticed even Gale seemed uncomfortable.
"You... stupid pebble brain..." Splash managed to get out and Terra let both of them go. She placed a hand behind her head and smiled sheepishly.
Splash quickly turned and leaped towards the gigantic snow dome still in the middle of the street. After exchanging some confused glances, Terra and Gale followed suit.
Ember felt like she could faint any moment now.
The Unbound kept swiping at her, cracking its frozen legs and shooting icicles in her direction. She easily melted them with her fire before they could hit her.
She rarely used her fire powers as projectiles. She didn't like it when fire erupted from her body. She wanted to keep her flames close to her, so that she could control it and nobody would get hurt.
From going to no fights in a month to three Unbounds in the span of twenty four hours... that was rough. She was tired. She had barely slept too.
Her knees buckled underneath her, making her fall.
"I won't give up..." She uttered as she eyed the little girl floating unconsciously in the monster's chest. "I will protect everyone..."
The eyes had been maroon for a while now... she needed to purify it. She needed to do it as quick as she could!
With a shaky stance, Ember readied herself. She raised her hands as she flames in her hair quivered. "Pretty Cure Scorch Wrap!" Nothing happened. "Pretty Cure Scorch Wrap...!" Again, nothing happened.
The Unbound's hand broke into countless small shards, which homed in on Ember. She got slammed against the icy wall of the dome. Her warm form made a hole in the ice.
"You're still not done!?" She heard Splash's irritated voice call. The blue Cure literally slid into the dome through the hole she had made, Terra and Gale quickly got in as well, with both of them latching onto Ember for warmth.
"Pretty Cure Hydro Wave!" Splash made a jump and held up her arms. Nothing happened, and she skillfully kicked the shards thrown her way while as she landed again. "Fu-!"
"Fudge cakes!? I love those!" Terra gasped as she and Gale still held onto Ember's arms.
Splash swung around and shot a glare at her three comrades. "While you are having your little group hug, there's a little girl suffering in there!" She scoffed. "Guess people can't depend on any of you."
"I think... we all have used our attacks before... busy day." Ember said, smiling through her exhaustion. Next to her, Gale stood up, still holding Ember's hand.
"I'll try." She breathed out with her raspy voice, sniffing her nose with her sleeve. "Pretty Cure!" Rising up, Gale shaking moved her arms and trapped the Unbound in a tornado. "Spiral Cyclone!" Her voice cracked and evolved into coughs as she finished the Unbound and caught the unconscious Shauna in midair, before setting her gently on the ground.
Ray and Bright stood side by side as they watched from their balcony. From the far distance, they could barely make out the dome, that was melting away, and the Unbound that had been rampaging moments before.
"It seems like they're finished now. I hope they're okay..." Bright mused softly. He was in his peacock form sitting on the edge of the balcony. He raised a feather to his beak, concerned.
Clutching the railing, Ray didn't say anything. Their gaze was unfocused as their form started glowing gently.
"Hey, pebble brain... can you stay here for a moment?"
Beryl turned back to Morgan, who sat on the ground, holding the unconscious girl in her arms and gently brushing through her hair like a mom would. She looked uncharacteristically serene, even though her face was stoic.
Hanan and Connie had already fled home after the fight, both feeling atrociously tired and exhausted. Truth to be told, both Morgan and Beryl were tired as well.
"Sure?" Beryl nodded and kneeled in front of the two as Shauna started waking up. "Welcome back!" She chirped and got right into the younger girl's face.
"Um..." Shauna tightened her grip on Morgan and looked around wearily. "What happened...?"
Morgan gave her a tender smile, while Beryl blinked in confusion and rubbed her eyes. "This is Cure Terra."
At hearing that, Shauna made a little squeak while Beryl grinned.
"I... I... thank you!" The young girl managed to yell out. She got out of Morgan's grip and shook both of Beryl's hands. "Thank you, thank you! I promise to get you-" Beryl hastily retreated her hands.
"Sorry." She said softly, then looked up with a grin. "Never fear when Precure are here! But actuaaallllyy... Gale was the one who dealt the final blow to save you."
Shauna's eyes widened, gaining a twinkle of excitement. "Really!? Can I meet her!?"
Morgan's eye twitched as Beryl was happily chatting with Shauna. Seriously? First Terra, and now Gale? Next was certainly gonna be the totally best Ember, she figured.
"Well, maybe next time! Gale is a little tired! Buuuuuttt... Morgan will take you back home safely, little bud!" Beryl laughed as she bumped her butt into Morgan's. "So, take home the little bud, you big butt!"
Beryl was almost shocked when Morgan just sighed and uttered a quiet, "I can't. Sorry..." No kicking, no yelling... not even a glare?
With slow movements, Morgan pulled her hood over her head and placed her cold, shaking hands in her warm pockets. She avoided eye contact with the other two as she briefly raised a hand in a wave and walked off silently.
Morgan fumbled with the Seaborn Charm in her pocket as she was walking over the beach. Just looking at how easily Beryl got, and kept, a conversation going made Morgan feel a little... something. It wasn't a nice feeling and she wanted it to go away.
It was like everyone was more likable than her.
It was her own fault. Morgan knew that. It would be dumb to act like a bitch, only to whine about it later.
She knew she wasn't the nicest person, and she knew she allowed her anger to overtake her, again and again.
Up until now, she hadn't given it a second thought. She had simply been on defense, and build up walls to protect herself. That's how one would be able to get by in this world.
Guess it was a huge mistake. One that needed a lot of time to become undone.
"... Ugh, I'm the worst..."