Chapter 8

No. No this wasn't right. The bright silver light was dying before my eyes. Where Aero once stood was empty. My outstretched hand curls around air. Curls around nothing.

"There! I got rid of her!" Etihvv spins on their heel. They sound like they did before, despite the fact they were now all gray. Were now one of Monochrome's lackeys. "What a nuisance, right?" Etihvv wipes their hands on their pants. I stare through them and at the spot where Aero stood. That look of betrayal. Her blue eyes had widened at the last second, brain registering what I've done.

That emptiness claws at my insides. Claws at what feels like the underside of my skin. This wasn't happening again. I lost my partner and did nothing to stop it. Flashes of swarming Dead-Colors are at the front of my mind. "Clancy?" Etihvv tilts their head. Their sharp bangs curl right above their eyes. No. No. No.

"How could you?" My voice is hoarse.

"Oh, it was kinda easy. A weak girl like her made a weak Precure." Etihvv laughs like it's a joke. This wasn't a joke. Why were they laughing? My vision swims. This wasn't Etihvv. Not my Etihvv. My Etihvv would never do this.

"Merle isn't weak." No, it was me who was weak. The girl who abandoned her partners at the last second. The girl who never fought for her friends. "Merle… is stronger than me." Tears dribble down my cheeks. The girl who hesitates then regrets it.

"Don't put yourself down like that." Etihvv sighs. "You're way better than her." They shuffle their feet on the cracked tile.

"How- How would you know?" I scream. The hollow feeling twists and becomes a fire. A rage that tears through my cheeks and into words. "How could you Etihvv! You're my friend! My partner." I clutch the bottom of shirt. The holes are not comforting as my fingers rip through them. This wasn't a time where everything was too overwhelming, where I could work my hands and feelings at the same time.

"What about our duty!" Tears blur my vision. I can't make Etihvv out from the gray surroundings. Aero's distraught face comes to the front of my mind. Her shouting for me to help her when I did nothing. They stay quiet. What about our duty? Did that matter now? Did they still care about fixing our home? My shoulders go slack. Was… this even a home to them?

"My duty is to the Land of Shade." Etihvv's voice is quiet. Land of Shade? Only long time inhabitants called the Gray Scaled Kingdom the Land of Shade.

"What about the Land of Canvases? What about the other Precure?" What about me? I can't voice the last part. I want to slip to the ground, past the ground, and disappear. I throw my arms out. "Why!"

"…" Etihvv doesn't respond. I rub ferociously at the tears, effectively clearing my vision. The rage doesn't leave me. I want to rip into them. I want them gone. My body trembles, trying to contain all these feelings. But, among all these emotions there's that niggling little feeling burrowed in my head. Stubbornly never leaving. Etihvv wouldn't do this. Etihvv is my friend. They're my partner. They've always been there for me. The conflicting feelings rise up. But, it was my duty to stop my friend when they were doing the wrong thing. Right?

"Clancy, back away from the Pigment." Their hand calls forth their sword. I can still see the glee when they first received it. The proof they've advanced and was closer to being a Precure. Now that glee is gone, a reluctant gaze meeting mine. My fingertips pause above the Pigment. Heat curls up. "… You're my friend." The sword trembles slightly. "I don't want to hurt you."

They were fine with hurting my friend though? They were fine with calling me a traitor? Etihvv didn't mean it. They were hurt too. Everything swims in my head. My hand shakes above the Pigment. The hesitation gives them the chance to move. In a slip of silver Etihvv disappears. My hand grabs the Pigment, but it's too late. A stronger, rougher, hand wraps around my wrist and rips it away.

"Etihvv!" I reach for the Pigment in their outstretched hand. The tip of the sword digs into my neck. I still. The blade trembles, a bead of blood slipping down it. The Pigment doesn't corrupt. It stays the brilliant red that it always was. It hits me then.

"We're enemies… Aren't we." My voice is barely above a whisper. I don't want to believe it. A sorrowful smile slips on their face. Tears well in Etihvv's eyes. With a slight tilt of their head, their white bangs cover their gaze.

"…I suppose so. I guess it's impossible for someone like me to be friends with someone like you." The blade drops from my neck. The small cut burns on my throat. With a few quick steps backwards, Etihvv slips the Pigment on. The bright red conflicts with the grays of their jacket. Conflicts with the grays of their skin. It's not dark brown anymore. They're not wearing bright reds anymore.

They weren't my friend.


The clock ticks. Besides that my room is silent. The silence is suppressing, accusing. It makes me want to curl the blankets tighter around my body. I want to disappear. Tears prick at my already red, swollen eyes.

After that bright silver flash I didn't know what happened. I was disoriented and lying somewhere I didn't know. Later I would learn I was just at the school gate. Being disoriented tends to make it hard to recognize your surroundings. It had been late afternoon, the sun just below the horizon. The sky was a dark swirling purple blanket; the stars had yet to poke their heads out. When it dawned on me what happened, I sobbed. I couldn't care less what passing people thought of me. All I knew was that I was alone.

After that I dragged myself to my dorm and locked myself in my room. That was about three days ago. Every morning I can hear the girls in the dorm get ready for school. Their chattering permeating the thin walls. Every morning I wanted to cry. Clancy. She had let me fall. Just thinking about it made me want to throw up. The blankets curl tighter around my body. No thinking about it. Think about a blank, white room. Definitely not gray or silver or- why didn't she transform?

Why didn't she transform.

Why didn't she transform.

The rapid knocking at the door interrupts my pity party. I shift out of the bed, but make no move to actually open the door. For the first time in three days someone was visiting me. The thought makes my stomach twist. The knocking stops. The silence is disturbed now, charged with anticipation. I sink lower into the bed. Again, the knocking is resumed with a fury that could knock down buildings.

"Merle! I know you're in there!" The shouted words can barely be heard over the racket that she was making. I wouldn't be surprised if the door broke before she finished yelling at me. "Open this door!" Sylvia yells louder. The door shakes in place, the middle bulging inward with every hit. I don't respond, wriggling away from reality and into the blankets.

"I have the master key, don't make me use it." Sylvia threatens. She wouldn't get the chance to the way she's beating on my door.

"Go away" I yell back. The knocking on my door ceases. The door stills. It looks a little off kilter, like it was jammed in place. With an oddly soft click, the door slides open. Light filters in from the hallway, illuminating the dark room in streaks. It falls over my face, making me squint my eyes. Sylvia enters quietly, eyes scanning the room. She frowns at my desk, which is covered with circuits, wires, and other clutter. Her face softens as her gaze lands on me.

"Merle," her voice has lost its earlier ferocity. She clicks the door softly behind and flips the light on. I squint against the bright light. "What are you doing." It's not phrased as a question. It's phrased as when you know what's happening, but you only ask to be polite. But, she didn't know what was going. How could she? She wasn't a part of my life. She was an intruder. My fists tighten against the blankets.

"You've locked yourself in here long enough." She crosses the room. I sit up and meet her gaze with a glare.

"Go away."

"No." Sylvia stops at the base of the bed. "What's wrong?"

I keep quiet. Dropping my gaze I look to the window. School was barely starting. The last rush of late kids running down the path. She was going to be late if she stayed here. The bed creaks with new weight. I barely have time to turn my head before something hits my forehead. Sylvia leans forward, pale hand on my head. Her lips are a thin line as she focuses. 'Not a fever' she mumbles. I swat her hand away.

"What's wrong, what happened?" As if I could tell her. She wouldn't understand. The thoughts weigh me down. I feel heavy, drowning in a sea of self-pity and sorrow. "Did someone break up with you?" She asks it so seriously. If I wasn't feeling like shit, I might have laughed. Me? Having someone? I could barely make friends, how could I get a boyfriend or a girlfriend. But, she did hit the nail on the head. Sorta.

My heart twists, my vision blurs. Clancy. My first real friend. I can't speak. Not to answer Sylvia, not to brush her off. How could she… I feel like I'm back in the Chroma room. I can see Etihvv's grinning face perfectly in my mind's eye, but oddly I can't picture Clancy. She's blurred, not exactly there. A blank face, hair swaying over nothing. Sylvia is saying something, but I can't make it out.

"Merle, get it off your chest." She gives my shoulder a shake. Hot tears drip down my cheeks. Soft hands push my messy, curly, hair away from my face. Sylvia makes shushing noises.

"...Go… Away…" I wipe furiously at the tears. I don't want her to see me like this. I don't want anyone to see me this way. I didn't want to feel like this. My breaths are ragged, heavy in my chest.

Sylvia sat through the whole crying spell. She didn't ask any more questions.


"Absolutely not." Tessur grits his teeth. For the past half hour he's been arguing with Etihvv. They're both obstinate in their position.

"Why not?" Etihvv crosses their arms. They're currently arguing over the fate of the Pretty Cure girl; Vermillion. After our ambush at the Chroma room Etihvv had brought her back. They looked like they were crying with puffy, red eyes. The Vermillion girl looked dazed, like she couldn't comprehend anything anymore. The other girl, Aero, was gone. Etihvv said they 'dealt' with her. When Tessur tried to press more on the issue, Etihvv had yelled at them. A rare thing for the usual lax kid.

"She's our enemy, she should be killed." Tessur stands from his chair. I shift the bag of ice over my eye, watching their fight. Back and forth they argue. It's starting to get on my nerves. It didn't help that pain flared in the numbness of my eye.

"Yeah, at least give her a black eye." I throw in my two cents. Despite the ice, my eye had really swollen up. Tessur glares at me, lips pressed in a thin line. Etihvv rolls their eyes, gaze flickering between Tessur and me.

"Enough with the black eye Anneis." Tessur sighs rubbing at his temples. My eyes lock onto the splint on his fingers. I wasn't the only whining about the injuries. I scoff and shift the bag over my eye. We had won, but it didn't really feel like a victory. It wasn't like the crushing defeat of the Land of Canvases, but more like we stopped the objective. Just a simple mission that we barely completed. Even then, we couldn't stop the Aero girl from curing her Pigment (the one I tried so hard to corrupt).

"If you're going to just argue I'm leaving." Etihvv turns on their heel and heads to the door.

"Hey! We're not done here!" Tessur marches after them. With a forced laugh Etihvv runs. I watch the two of them leave. Idiots, I frown and sit back down. A cool fury coils in the pit of my stomach. It wasn't an absolute victory. All my thoughts turn back to that notion. And every single time I feel my blood boil.

For now, I'll wait till Tessur gives the word. Wait for another plan, another mission. Next time, I shut my eyes. Next time we'll crush the puny Pretty Cure.


"So you want to tell me about what happened?" Sylvia probes again. I numbly shake my head. Secretly, I was mortified. I cried like a little baby in front of her. And over something I couldn't even tell her about. She sits at the foot of the bed, school skirt bunched around her thin legs. She pauses before asking again. Irritation twitches under my skin. If I wasn't feeling so sad, I might lash out at her.

No, actually I would never do that. That wasn't exuding love and peace like my mother wanted. The thought races around my brain despite that.

"First, let's get you out of this room." Sylvia slips off the bed. "Being stuck in such a small room… it's not good." She brushes imaginary dust off her skirt. I yank the covers over my head. Facing reality? How about no. Smaller hands yank at the covers. "Come on Merle." Sylvia grits her teeth.

There's no point in fighting. I was beginning to think the life of a pacifist was the way to go. A pacifist who didn't mess with aliens or magical girls or aliens with sharp swords or any conflict really. Stop. A sigh escapes my lips and I sit up.

"Before you ask, yes you have to go." Sylvia turns on her heel. Her foot catches on the pillow on the ground. She bends down and picks it up. "Why do you have a mat laid out?"

"..." I shuffle out of bed. The blankets tumble down and pool around my ankles. It looks like I'm wading through thick waves of cat filled water. "...Let me get dressed." I mumble the words.

"Oh, right." Sylvia heads to the door.

"...leave the pillow…"

"Right!" Her voice raises an octave as she drops the offense.

I slip the school uniform on. The vest sits snug and the skirt twirls at the edge of my knees. There really was no point in delaying this any longer. I frown eyeing myself in the lone mirror on the wall. My hair was a mess of curls bouncing against my shoulders and back while my eyes had dark under circles. It reminds me of Clancy. My heart aches. Every time I saw her the dark under circles got worse. Was she going what I was going through? Putting on a brave face while we laid in the sun talking?

The thought hurts too much. I look away from the mirror.

"You wondering where we're going yet?" Sylvia looks up. I shrug. Something was off about her. She kept messing with her hands or walking fast then slowing. I didn't have time to dwell over that, I had my own problems. Every little thing turned back to three days ago. The gray road we're walking on; the roads of the Land of Canvases. The washed out sky, the sky from the castle windows. Stop thinking for once. I grit my teeth.

"Being cooped up does nothing good, you have to get out." Sylvia jolts me out of my thoughts. I eye her and shrug.

"..Sure." I heard that before. The looming trees overhead begin to thin out. The path ends abruptly, a large slab of concrete picking up where it left off. It's pristine and looks freshly cleaned. I eye Sylvia again. Did her cleaning frenzy extend this far? The slab of concrete is actually a large circular walk around a glistening pool.

Small steps extend into the pool leading to a fountain. The large fountain sits in the middle, spewing water in huge sprays. The spray mists against my skin. Sylvia slips off her shoes and socks and sits at the edge. She pats the side next to her. At my hesitation she speaks. "Don't worry, it feels good."

I slip off my shoes and socks and sit next to her. The water ripples around my calves, cool and inviting. It's not too cold where you would get up, but it has a nice chill. I flex my toes and watch the ripples. Sylvia and I sit in silence. My thoughts flow out of my mind and into the pool. The only sound is the bubbling of the fountain and the wind through the leaves. Weeping willows line the concrete path, their tendrils blocking the sky overhead.

"So Merle, I like your necklace." Sylvia points at the Pigment around my neck. I pick at the blue stone. My throat feels thick.

"Thanks." I manage to choke the word out.

"Where'd you get it?"

"A… friend." I grip the Pigment. Vermillion fishes something out of her pocket. A blue light fills the area. Stop. Stop. Stop. I shake my head. No point in thinking about it, so why can't I stop? Even on reflex I grabbed the Pigment and put it on. The brilliant blue shines, contracting with the red of my uniform.

"That's cool." Sylvia hums. She kicks her leg, the water spraying in the air. "Anyways, you know where this is?" She turns to face me. I look down to the water. Moving my leg in a circle, I listen to her. "This is the Lake of Melancholia."

"Melancholia?" I repeat the word. Don't think the name fits. This was a chipper school, almost everyone was always happy and even if there was trouble they got help or got through it right away. And then there was me, hiding under the covers in a dark room. But, now that I was thinking about it. The air was different around the pond than at school. The energy was charged differently, more somber than the crowded halls. Even the empty soccer fields had excitement laced into the ground.

"The lady, the founder of this school was a very sad lady you see. She would keep all her troubles and sadness pent up, and well," Sylvia paused. "It was causing her demise. She would lash at people who wanted to help her and overtime this behavior caused her to be alone.

But, one day she found this large dug out hole in her property. It was the last straw. She broke down and began to cry. She cried so much that the hole and the surrounding area was filled with her tears. This brought people to seek her out, the faculty, the students, her old friends. She spilled all her troubles with them, but never stopped crying.

Then she found her chest felt so light. When she shared her troubles, they went away. The area was reconstructed to what you see today to be a constant reminder to release your troubles. It's said that she would come back often and cry in the water and would instantly feel better." Sylvia shut her eyes, the conclusion of the story done. I could see where she was going with this.

"I don't… want to talk about it." I was done crying too. The tears were doing nothing. They couldn't turn back time to the fight, they couldn't bring Clancy back. They were a quick relief to my aching heart, but that's all they were.

"Oh, this- that isn't- it's not about that!" Sylvia stumbles over her words. Her pale skin turns crimson. My lips twist into a smile. She was kinda funny when she did that. Not that I would admit it. "This is about getting out of your stuffy room." She defends herself. Her arms cross around her chest and she looks across the pond. I follow her gaze and look to the fountain. The water arches upwards into the sky. Something twists in my chest.

It's not like the washed out sky of the Land of Canvases, but an actual vivid shade of blue. Clouds drift lazily, swimming in the hues. It was nice. Not breathtakingly beautiful, but nice. The twist tightens. I should be sharing this sky with Clancy. But, she wasn't here. I take in a shuddering breath.

"Merle?" Sylvia shakes my shoulder. I avoid looking at her, instead looking at the pool.

"My friend's gone." I finally spill. Maybe it was the pool making me tell her. Maybe it was my own aching chest. "She's… not coming back. At least I don't… think so." The words feel numb in my mouth. Like I wasn't saying them right.

"Oh." Sylvia shifts. "Was she the girl you were sitting with? The day outside."

I nod.

A silence laps between us. Sylvia mulling over the new information and I waiting for a response. She stands up, the water rippling over my dark calves. I look up to see her looking down at me. I suddenly feel self-conscience, like she can see right through me. "That sucks Merle." I wait for her to move, to step out of the pond or add on to her statement. She doesn't.

"…That it?" I shut my eyes. I don't feel much better now that I told her.

"Sometimes friendships run their course." Sylvia speaks softly. "That's all I can say." Good advice, but I don't think it fits in the situation. This friendship, my first, was just blossoming. The bud was sliced by the sword of some gray scaled idiot. It didn't run its course it was cut short. Life's like that sometimes. The thought brings no solace. Sometimes friendships lasted lifetimes, why couldn't this one be like that?

"It's… not like that." I mumble. I couldn't convey how I felt in words. How something like this couldn't of, shouldn't have 'run its course' this early on. Sylvia makes no comment. She drags her foot across the concrete. I wish I could convey how I felt, but no words came to mind. Like always. I grimace. What was the point, it wouldn't come out right anyways.

"-ts go." Sylvia tugs at my shoulder effectively cutting off my thoughts. I blink, being half dragged up by the smaller girl. I lightly push her off and straighten. When the air hits my calves I shiver. The water freezes on my skin sending a chill up my legs. It's not like I could put on my socks either. Wet socks? Yuck.

"It's going to be lunch time soon." Sylvia hands me my shoes. I take them and start walking towards the path. Lunch time? My stomach rumbles on command. Speaking of food, I hadn't eaten in forever. Just the snacks I snuck into my dorm before… the incident. The thought of hot fresh food spurs me on.

"Hey don't walk so fast!"

"Wanna tell me why you're not wearing shoes?" The girl, I don't remember her name, digs into her lunch. I've met her before in psychology. The really loud girl. Mimi or something.

"Don't question it Meena." Sylvia sighs. She drags her fork through some mashed potatoes.

"Oh come on! Why not!" Meena, not Mimi, whines. "Why is it when I don't want to wear shoes I'm carded, but when she," Meena jabs a fork in my direction. "Doesn't it's 'don't question it.'" She makes an impression of Sylvia. I let out a snort and go back to digging through my nachos. "Oh, no mean to offend Merle." She quickly drops the fork and lets out a laugh. I shrug.

"It's because she was with me." Sylvia shakes her head, blonde hair bouncing everywhere. "Now back to w- don't take off your shoes!" Sylvia slams her fork down. Meena makes a show of peeling off her sock. She dangles it over the table with a laugh, then drops it. "You- You." Sylvia sputters incoherently. Meena takes off her other shoe and peels off the sock as well.

"Freedom!"

"Put those back on!"

I smile and pick up another nacho. It was kind of fun eating with other people. There was a bustling energy around. Even if there was no conversation I could really jump into, it was fun listening to the two girls argue. Could I have been like this with Clancy? I drop the fork in my hand. Could I have been? Was our friendship going to be like that? I remembered the little moments we had. But, we were still in that stage where we were just getting to know each other.

We'll be close friends in no time. Feel free to be awkward around me. I guess this proved Clancy couldn't see the future, even with her Pretty Cure powers. The conversation goes on, but I tune it out. They're just flinging insults at each other. Good naturedly of course, but I can't bring myself to care anymore. I stand from the table, slipping away quietly.

Some fresh air. That would be good. No one makes a movement to stop me. I don't know if that should hurt or not. The cool air brushes against my skin, tickling my face. The peace doesn't last long.

"How does it feel to be alone?" I bite back a yelp and spin on my heel. On reflex one of my hands clenches around the Pigment. Standing across the pathway is Tessur. His brown eyes are lit with amusement. I stay quiet, not rising to the bait. "I would hazard that it feels terrible. Breaks your heart." He laughs.

"Yea." I eloquently answer. It does. Tessur opens his mouth to retort, but nothing comes out. He shuts his mouth and crosses his arms. His long ponytail flutters in the wind. Did he come here to just make me feel worse? If so, he wasn't doing that good of a job.

"… You broke my pinky." He raises his hand. The white of the bandages goes well with the dark gray of his skin. I hmm and try not to laugh. The general didn't look so tough with that on. Not that they were that threating in the first place. Though looks didn't mean anything, I saw him send Clancy flying with one punch.

"Yea."

The door squeaks behind me. "What's going on here?" Sylvia! She pauses at the doorway, one hand still on the knob. "Who are you? Are you supposed to be here?" Did no one have any self-preserving skills? The man was clearly gray. No color whatsoever. Wasn't that a danger sign?

"Sylvia… leave." I curl a fist around the Pigment.

"Excuse me?" She glares at me. "It's against school policy for unannounced visitors." She turns that glare behind me to Tessur. No self-preserving skills at all. I almost sigh.

"It'd be in your best interest to leave." I turn back to Tessur. He raise his arm, hand outstretched facing the two of us. "Strip away your soul…" He's not loud and boisterous like Anneis, almost the opposite: too quiet. I feel a wave of gray crash around, the familiar static filling my ears. I snap on my heel turning to the approaching Dead-Color.

"What? What do you mean? Sylvia turns to look behind her. Another wave flushes the world gray before my eyes. Sylvia drops. The door snaps against her outstretched arm, the color leeching out of the metal as well as her body.

"Rise and be reborn. Dead-Color!" I snap my gaze back to Tessur. He clenches his hand around nothing and yanks backwards like he's reeling something in. The glass of the door explodes outward. I shield my face, biting back a scream. This was like the Land of Canvases all over again. Glass and windows exploding everywhere.

A low crooning alerts me. I look up to see a giant… what the hell. I don't know if I actually believe my eyes. Is that some mix matched vegetable? Like a celery stalk? With carrot arms? I can't look away, it's like looking at a train wreck. Or… an overturned vegetable cart.

A low groan draws my attention to Tessur. His head is buried in his hands. "I always get the stupid ones." He groans. With one hand, the other still hiding his face, he motions for the Dead-Color. "Go. Kill her." He sounds tired.

"Precure Primer and Gloss."


Afterword: Sorry for such a late update and short chapter. I feel like I should post this chapter now and write the fight scene into the next chapter. Life is tough guys, I feel so bogged down by my school work *cries* But, I still want to write this story and finish it. Oh! By the way it's the longest story I've written!

Anyways feel free to write a comment or leave a constructive criticism!