Chapter five: The Color of Fractures
Heels snapped against the cold, gray tiled floor. Irritation pricked beneath Anneis's skin, burning her movements into sharper, jagged ones. Damn Pretty Cure. They were the reason her mood was so foul. Not just once, but multiple times she'd lost to them. Her! The number one warrior of the Land of Shade! And they multiplied! The blue one was easy to beat, but her partner not so. She was a rookie, it was painfully clear, however when Pretty Cure multiplied so did their power.
Anneis felt a feral growl rip from her throat. It's not fair. She was nearing the end of the long hallway now. The large door to the common room coming closer and closer.
"Damn Pretty Cure!" With a shout, she announced her presence. The only one in the large, spacious room was Tessur. That was fine. He'd listen to her rant. He jumped in his seat and looked towards Anneis, a scowl on his face. She marched inward, feeling her rage boil. Circling the large, white couch and table set, she sat near the other emissary of monochrome. He opened his mouth to speak, but Anneis cut him off. "Why aren't you angry that we're losing?"
"I am boiling with rage, can't you tell Anneis?" Tessur flipped open his phone avoiding the glare sent his way.
"Not like I am!" Anneis slammed her hands against the table. "We just took down the Land of Canvases themselves! How is it we're losing against two Pretty Cure?" She hissed the words through clenched teeth.
"We had inside people, now we don't." Tessur snapped his phone close and turned to face the other soldier fully. "We'll have them soon enough." He didn't sound a bit confident. Anneis leaned back in the seat. She could feel her anger receding like that of waves in the sea. Sometime later it'd come back full force; it always did.
"Well, what's your plan?" Tessur always came up with good plans. He was smart like that. Throwing up her feet on the table, Anneis sunk lower in the stiff couch. She tried to calm down more. The rage of loss burned heavy in her stomach after each meeting with the Pretty Cure and it was getting hard to keep in control.
"I don't have one, at least not yet."
"You're absolutely useless."
Brown eyes glowered at her, and Anneis glared right back. For the second time in the conversation he slammed his phone shut. Reaching into one of the inner pockets of his jacket, Tessur drew something out. A dull, orange light shone from it. A wave of repulsion washed over Anneis. Instinctively, she backed away. How could he stand to have that thing in his pocket? Seeing the Pigment made her skin crawl and the bile in the back of her throat rise.
"We know that Pretty Cure use Pigments to transform. Do what we originally did and steal the other three. Problem solved." He gave the dull Pigment a shake. The light bounced over his patchy gray and white skin with the movement.
"That's it?" Anneis asked. Usually his plans had more flourish to them. Something that made the rest of their unit back home grin and clap our hands. Tessur didn't bother to reply opting to instead lean back in his favorite chair and peer down his nose at her. He was shorter than her. He shouldn't be able to look down at her like that.
"Come up with something flashier." Anneis demanded.
"We don't need flashy, we need stealth."
"Then you're going to be doing this mission then, right?" Another unfair point was that she was doing all the work. Tessur went our once in the past month while she'd been out multiple times! Then he had the nerve to look down at her, the waves of anger were back to lapping at her heart.
"Of course not. I'm doing both of our reports, I don't have time to go out." Tessur scoffed. Anneis shot up from the couch, her hands balled into fists.
"Don't force all the work on me! Listen here-"
"-Use any force necessary." He was quick to cut her off. The words that Anneis were going to shout died on her tongue. She glared at the man for a moment before a grin split her face. Finally, they were speaking the same language! The air shimmered and Anneis was gone.
Merle stretched her limbs overhead. Ever since this Pretty Cure business started her body had been feeling more and more worn out. Her muscles were constantly giving their complaints as she climbed the stairs to her dorm. Not only that, but she had a large bruise running down her hairline to the edge of her eye. Luckily, it was where she parted her bangs, the curly hair effectively blocking it from sight. Who knew what other fights would bring.
Faintly, she could remember Clancy cradling her shoulder two weeks ago. Maybe it got hurt during that Dead-Color? She wasn't holding it as much anymore, but the thought still sent a jolt of worry. Pushing the thoughts aside, Merle returned to the work at hand. Her psychology class was going to have a group project soon. That meant working with others. That meant having to endure other people. She was trying to see the good points to it, really, but couldn't come up with a single one.
Someone, her, was going to get stuck with the crappy job and someone else was not going to contribute at all. Group projects just spelt disaster. As if reading her thoughts the teacher clapped his hands. The sound effectively caught the attention of everyone in the room.
"Last week we talked about the upcoming project." This elicited a collective groan from the class. He grinned; "and with my amazing grouping powers have grouped you already." Thanks Mr. Staley, save me trouble. He began to go through the class naming the students. Merle tuned him out, instead sketching a tiny robot in the margin of her notebook. If you flipped through it you'd find many more scattered throughout.
"Merle, Kai, Jayme, Meena, you're together." Mr. Staley looked up from the paper. He paused for a moment, then continued on, calling more groups. Did Merle know those people? She looked around the small, bare walled classroom for them. She hadn't talked to anyone in this class; or really any class.
Mr. Staley was done calling names. The class erupted into movement. Desks scraped against the tiled floor, chatter exploded, and someone was calling for Merle. A girl with dark tousled hair and darker skin was waving her arms in the air. Who was she? Merle had no idea. Meena? Kai? Jayme? Maybe you should pay more attention in class.
The girl's head snapped and locked onto Merle. Her arm lowered, then like she was trying to stab Merle, threw a hand forward. On instinct she moved back, raising an arm to block anything. In the midst of the noise they stilled. The girl's eyes blinked in surprise and she gave an awkward smile. Merle's arms dropped.
"Are you into martial arts or something?" The girl's voice was laced with amusement. Merle didn't reply, her eyes shooting to the floor. How embarrassing. "You gonna sit?" The girl motioned for an adjacent desk.
"I'm Meena, just in case you were wondering." Meena smiled cheekily, brushed some hair out of her face, and turned to the two approaching students. Merle sat down, eyes flickering to the new comers. One of them was a short, pale girl with dark blue hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. The other was a boy, medium height and an oversized jacket over his uniform. His messy hair was curling in every direction as if it couldn't pick which way to actually grow.
"Jayme," the pale girl introduced herself. She pointed to the boy who collapsed into the seat, head against the desk. "And that's Kai." He was going to be the one that didn't work, Merle was calling it. The only response from him is a low, drawn out groan. He didn't bother to lift his head. Merle could certainly relate.
"Let's start dividing the work." Jayme flipped through the packet. She was efficient, splitting up the parts evenly then heading straight to work. Jayme was also a little controlling. What she said was law, thus leaving Merle the job of research. As long as she didn't have to talk to them, she was fine with whatever.
Meena was the opposite. She bounced in her seat, tapped her feet along the tiles. Her mouth would open then flap close. She was itching to talk, they could all see it. However, none of them paid her any mind. Leaning back in her seat, Meena looked to the other two. Good, talk to them. Leave me alone. Merle unconsciously shifted away in her seat. "Hey did you hear what happened yesterday?"
"Hm?" Kai didn't look up from his phone and continued to scroll through it.
"They say mysterious things are happening again." Meena continued on, even though no one was really listening. Mysterious things? They couldn't be talking about-
"The blackout incidents, am I correct?" Jayme put down her pencil. At this, Meena nodded animatedly.
"Yeah! Lots of people passing out! I think its ghosts." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Isn't it strange?" she dragged out the word. The Dead-Colors, she was talking about them. Merle shrugged and continued to stare at her phone. It wasn't her business. No. Correction. It was none of their business. She'd feign ignorance and hope the conversation blows over.
"Do you think… people are gonna start losing it again?" Kai glanced away from his phone, lips pressed into a thin line. The group fell into silence. Even Meena who was itching to talk looked away. Heart ramming in her chest, Merle gripped her phone. She didn't want to listen anymore.
"Enough talk. Get to work." Jayme finally found her voice. She shoved Kai lightly in the shoulder. Giving a wry smile, Kai went back to his phone, only to be shoved harder. "Real work."
Merle tried to smile at their antics, but even the fake smile couldn't form. A feeling of dread gripped her heart in icy claws. Those incidents, the school practically outlawed talking about them. For good reason too, students started spreading rumors that destroyed the school's reputation. Teachers, students, even the old principle left when the rumors got out of hand. Yet, it kept its sublime illusion alive with well-tended fields, lush forests and neat insides.
There were still students, too many for Merle's tastes, but there was no doubt the school wasn't what it used to be. She was a little girl when the events happened, but even so she could remember them with startling clarity. It was no problem anymore, the school was getting back on its feet. There was nothing to worry about.
Except alien people coming to turn this world gray. Merle could almost laugh.
"Hey stone wall, you in there?"
Merle looked up. Meena waved a hand then pointed to her work. "You almost done there, stone wall?" She couldn't be referring to her, could she? Merle finally found her fake smile and gave the shorter girl the papers. Meena eagerly grabbed them and began to talk more to the other two.
"Damn you Tessur." Anneis growled under her breath. Kicking at the stones littering the street, she marched on. She had left in a flurry, caught up in the fact she'd be able to fight and announced she'd steal a Pigment. But, now that it came down to it, Anneis had no idea how.
"How could you let me leave?" She shouted to the blue skies above. Ugh, it was a disgusting hue. Gray skies filled with clouds, like the ones back home were beautiful. Except, sometimes when Anneis saw them, her heart would hurt.
She was drawing attention now. As people walked down the street, whispers filled the air. Some of them were kind enough to hide it behind palms and fleeting eyes while others blatantly stared at the shouting woman. Why? I changed my appearance. Anneis gave each and every person a glare of her own. Of course by changing her appearance she meant the blandest of colors replacing her grayscaled ones.
With an aggravated sigh, Anneis moved down the street. All this bravado and nothing to channel it to. She passed series of stores; restaurants, grocers, department stores. Nothing caught her eyes. Posters and fliers filled the windows in disgustingly bright colors. Billboards filled the sky along with telephone wires. They loop endlessly across the town looking more like cage wire than anything else. So many differences compared to the Land of Shade.
No time for homesickness, Anneis gave a shake of her head. She had to focus on defeating the Pretty Cure, nothing else. With more urgency she marched down the street, eyeing anything that could be of use. Poster about concerts? Maybe if they dealt with music. Posters about upcoming roads and buildings? No use.
"Oh!" Anneis ripped a flyer from a nearby pole. A predatory grin slipped on her face as she eyed the paper. "This will surely help."
Not even a foot out of the gate and someone was calling Merle's name. Eyes scanned the sidewalk to find Clancy running up. The shorter girl wasn't even out of breath when she stopped before Merle. Her face was slightly flushed, but that was the only giveaway that she'd been running.
"Just who I was looking for," Clancy smiled.
"Oh," Merle paused. She was looking for her? Why? Another Dead-Color maybe? But, she hadn't felt one, so what could it be. There wasn't really a reason for the two of them to be meeting either unless Grif requested it. Clancy mouth was moving, but no words seemed to be reaching Merle. Finally, the girl tuned in; her cheeks burning a little in embarrassment. She never seemed to catch the beginning of what the other girl was saying.
"-Flyer. I thought it was litter, but it was actually to a photography exhibit."
"What."
"An exhibit for photography," Clancy held it out for her to see. "Want to go look?"
Merle practically (and regretfully) ripped the paper from Clancy hands. The other girl gave a squeak of surprise, but it fell on deaf ears. Merle quickly scanned the paper, a feeling of dread growing with each passing line. The last words were the final nail in the coffin. She turned the paper over, examined it from every angle. It couldn't be possible. It just couldn't.
With a small frown, Clancy eyed Merle worriedly. "What's wrong?" She used the tone she usually reserved for Dead-Colors.
"Where did you get this?"
"On the ground." Clancy was quick to answer, and serious too. Merle felt a little (actually a lot) bad about at snapping at the girl. "Is there something going on?"
"Nothing bad, nothing's wrong at all." The words left in a rush. Merle drew the paper to her chest and looked to her feet. "It's just… this is my mother's exhibit." The words felt like ash in her mouth. Her mother's exhibit. She held the paper so close it looked like she was kissing it.
"Oh… is that… bad?" Clancy inches closer. "Surely your mother isn't terrible."
"Nothing like that… my mother is just…" How could she put it? "I forgot my mother… is in town." She finished the sentence lamely. Let the jeering start, or the unbelievable look most people would give her. Forgetting your parents were visiting? Who did that? Me. I'm the idiot that forgets even when reminded a million times. Merle mentally kicked herself; how could she forget?
"Oh, well I'm sure she wouldn't know if you visit, right?" Clancy gently plucked the flyer from Merle's hands. She turned it over and gestured to the dates. "It's starting today and we can go together."
"Together?"
"Yes. Or is that bad." Clancy looked up from the paper with a small frown. She looked like a kicked puppy.
"No, no, no. It's fine. Thanks." Merle's eyes shot to the ground again. The toe of her shoe was working circles in the sidewalk. "Let's get going."
It's not that far of a walk towards the gallery, just a few streets really. But, with the sweltering sun above and the heat radiating off the pavement, it felt like hell. Not many people were outside. The usually busy streets were quiet; sounds stifled with the heat.
Clancy picked up litter as the two made their way down town. She'd hone in on it like a bloodhound and throw it to the nearest bin. "Littering is terrible," she'd sigh. Just like before, Clancy was starting to a bottle, but Merle stopped her.
"We're here." Her voice stilled Clancy. The shorter girl straightened and gave a curt nod. The moment they stepped in AC hit their skin. Merle let out an audible sigh and relaxed. The short trip, that felt a lot longer, was finally over. The relief was short lived however.
"Merle!" A high pitched voice whistled through the air. The girl in question barely straightened when something, or someone, barreled into her. Taking a few steps back, but still losing her footing, Merle was enveloped in a warm hug. Long, rich black arms squeezed her close to a thin, tall body. "I'm so glad you made it! I was worried you'd forget." The comment melted into warm laughter.
"Mother," Merle wheezed the word out. She could barely feel her chest let alone her lungs. With the complaint, her mother let go and stood to full height. She was taller than Merle and dwarfed Clancy.
"I know, I know." She patted Merle's shoulder. "No affection in public," she teased. Her gaze slid from Merle to Clancy. Her mouth formed an 'o' briefly before giving another smile. "And who might you be."
"Clancy, I'm Merle's friend." Clancy stood taller, head craning to meet Merle's Mother's eyes. Her eyes widened then looked Merle's way. 'Friend,' she mouthed the word. Gritting her teeth, Merle looked to her feet. There was no reason to be surprised. Well, there was, but she was her mother and she shouldn't be surprised. This is just your first friend, no big deal.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Merle's mother, Grace."
"A pleasure to meet you." Clancy shook Grace's outstretched hand.
"Merle can be a pain, but I hope you two get along." She gave a wry smile, ignoring the noise Merle made.
"We get along just fine," Clancy laughed. "She's been helping me as a Pretty Cu-"
"Are we going to block the door all day?" Merle cut in, grabbed Clancy's wrist and pulled her towards the back of the room. She continued marching onwards, ignoring her mother's comment of 'talk to me later', and dragged a willing Clancy. Finally out of earshot, Merle stopped.
"You can't just tell my mother we're Pretty Cure!" Merle whispered harshly. Even if they were out of earshot, someone could hear.
"Why not?" Clancy whispered back. "Back h-home you'd be a respected warrior and everyone would know." She barely stumbled over the word 'home'. An improvement. But, Merle still frowned.
"On your world maybe, but not here!"
"You don't want your mother to know?" Clancy frowned. "Doesn't she have a right to know?"
"…no…" Merle looked to her feet, unable to look at the other girl any longer. "It's not like she'll be here… forever either. Her job requires her to… move around a lot, you know?"
"And there's… no point worrying her." Merle leaned against a white wall. There was no point. She kept repeating it in her head like a mantra. No point. No point. No point.
"If that's what you want then ok." Clancy pulls at her shirt like she can't fathom the idea. Maybe she couldn't, their cultures were different from the ones here.
"Have you told anyone?" Merle moved from the wall and down the halls. They might as well start getting to the actual photographs than stand in the middle of a white hall.
"They didn't believe me." Clancy sourly replies. She pouts and untangles tan fingers from the holes in her shirt. "I guess I know why now."
Turning at the corner, the hall fed into a large room. Pillars were strewn throughout the room, their usual bare surfaces filled with pictures. The walls are the same. Large posters are lines up; each one showing a new scene. Some are pictures of random scenery. Others are of people. One shows a small girl standing in an alley between two buildings, the next one over a sullen woman. The woman looks like she'd been caught unguarded, as if she's changing between two set personalities.
Clancy left Merle's side and headed towards the other side of the room. More scenery pictures are lined up there. Merle lingered near the pictures of people. Her mother had a way of capturing people when their guard was down. Capturing them when they were truly them. Usually, Merle couldn't identify what other people were feeling, not on face alone. A frown could mean so many things and a smile the same way.
But, the pictures; Merle found them a little haunting. The atmosphere of the area amplified those feelings. There was no noise.
Merle stopped in front of the picture of the little girl again. The rich colors of the bricks accented well with the shadows that dripped through the background. A small smile quirked on her lips. It reminded her of a picture her mom once took of her.
"Boo." A breath wisped against Merle's ear.
Biting back a yell, Merle spun on her heel and raised a hand.
"Mother!" Her voice was a mix between fright and anger.
She gave a titter of laughter and held her hands up. "I just wanted to see if you're enjoying the gallery." Merle crossed her arms and looked away. Grace gave a good natured sigh and reached a hand forward. Her fingers play with the curls of hair near Merle's shoulder.
"I'm really glad you brought your friend." Her voice was soft. Fingers continued to play with the hair, twisting it over and over till it was a tight coil. It was like she was a child again. Sitting in her mother's lap, letting her do her hair before school. "Remember to put effort into this Merle," she gave a small pap to the cheek and crossed the room.
She was talking to Clancy now. With a point to the hallway, the two left. Merle could only hope her mother didn't do anything weird.
The room was only silent for a moment. A ripple coursed through the air, ripping into Merle's body. She let out a gasp and stumbled backwards.
Between two pillars, Anneis appeared. She crossed her arms and let out a howl of laughter. "It worked! I knew it!" Her sharp brown eyes bored through Merle. "And now you're finished." Unlike before, she was draped in colors. The drabbest ones Merle's ever seen, but still colors. Her gray skin was almost marble white, her hair black, and her clothes some color stuck between gray and orange.
"Now!" She pointed a sharp finger. "Hand over your Pigment!"
"No." Merle clutched a hand over the smooth, blue stone.
Anneis snorted as if she already knew the answer. "Fine! I'll just-" In a blink, she towered over Merle. Her hands dug into thin shoulders. "-Take it!" Merle's back cracked against the wall. She was too close for comfort, way too close. The color seeped away from her body, leaving the regular Anneis there.
One large hand grabbed at the Pigment. Merle's free hand grasped at her large wrist. With all her strength, which isn't much, she tried to hold her back. "Pretty Cure Pr-"
She couldn't finish the incantation. The hand she was holding back snapped against her mouth. Rough, callous fingers dug into Merle's cheek. Her head snapped painfully against the wall, pain blinding all thoughts.
"None of that. I'm ending this." Merle tried to struggle more, hands clawed at the hand holding her mouth shut, nails raked against the skin, but Anneis doesn't even flinch. The string holding the Pigment snapped against Merle's neck.
With a hard shove against the wall, she let her go. Merle slumped against the wall, mouth sucking in ragged breaths. Her lungs burned, ached for air. With a cough, she reached towards the swinging Pigment. Like a pendulum it would swing barely in reach, then away again. Her fingers could barely brush against the smooth surface.
"This is mine now." Anneis' usually boisterous voice was quiet. With one final slam of her foot against Merle, she turned. Pain blossomed like a flower across her chest. She clutched at the spot, the pain blotting out anything else. This couldn't be happening. Merle tried to blink through the haze of pain.
This couldn't be happening.
She'd only had it for a little over a month.
The Pigment began to flicker like a dying flame. The electric blue was becoming muddy.
On shaking legs, Merle started forward. Her body was screaming to stop. Blood pulsed through her ears, the only sound she could hear.
She couldn't let this happen.
Anneis's face lit up. Her eyes looked hungry. Feet slid against the carpet as she took a fighting stance. Merle bent her legs lower and launched forward. I'm not fast or strong like when I'm Aero, but I have to do something. Her lungs and chest were protesting against 'the something' however.
Anneis swung a fist.
Merle bent lower. She shot to the side.
The fist clipped her ear.
A hand shot forward. Merle grasped the dulling Pigment.
"Prettycureprimerandgloss!" She spoke in a flurry. Who knew if this would even work? Energy threaded like a web, flowing backwards from her fingertips. In a burst, the uniform appeared. Anneis gave a shriek as she clawed at her eyes. The Pigment soared through the air, landing in Aero's outstretched hand.
"The color of the unforgiving earth! Cure Aero!" Hair fell into her eyes she delivered the tagline. Wait. A gloved hand pulled at curls. Black strands met electric blue eyes. A scream almost left Aero's lips, but it got caught in her throat. Looking down, Aero surveyed the rest of her uniform. Her other hand was ungloved, her crop top was there as well as her ankle boots, but that was the end of it.
"Wh-What?"
"Your transformation?" Anneis sounded as confused as Aero did. Her mouth quickly shut, a razor sharp smile filling in its place. "Ha! You look terrible!" Thanks Captain Obvious!
"Strip away your soul!" Anneis pointed to multiple photographs. "Rise and be reborn! Dead-Color!"
Waves of gray crashed over Aero's senses. Static filled her ears, but she didn't feel unstable. Feet dug into the carpet a moment before she shot forward. Vermillion wasn't here, so she'd have to deal with this till she got here. A gloved fist arced through the air. Anneis shot to the side. Landing, Aero pivoted to face her. Again, she attacked. Again, her punch connected with nothing. Over and over again. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Anneis weaved through the air, always an inch away.
She ducked beneath the latest punch, arm slinging forward. Aero bent backward. The gray scaled woman's knuckles brushed against her chin. Stumbling back, black hair fell in her gaze. With grit teeth, she pushed them out of the way only to see an incoming kick. With her other hand, Aero redirected it. The woman's leg smashed against the white pillar to the right. The wall shattered, plaster and wood splinters soaring through the air.
A front kick snapped against Anneis' stomach. Her leg jerked in its prison, and with a curse she slipped. "Dead-Color! Now!"
Aero turned on her heel, but she wasn't fast enough. A gray toned punch hit her in the face. She flew backwards, back snapping against the other pillar. Sharp laughter filled the room. Cuts littered Aero; some dripping blood and the others not so much blood.
"Aero! Watch out!" A warning rang through the air. Another gray person was launching forward. However, Vermillion connected with her midair. Her knee high boots dug into the person's side. With a spin, her overly large braid wrapping around her body, she kicked them clear across the room. With a muffled crack, Vermillion landed, her braid shifting back in place. "What happened to your transformation?" A gloved hand wrapped around a bleeding wrist.
"Anneis," she wheezed the name out. "Took my Pigment."
"…Stay out of the way." Vermillion's red eyes narrowed. Her voice was low, threatening. In a blink she was gone. A second later, the sound of a wall being torn apart filled the room. Aero turned, watching as Vermillion's punch sunk into the area where Anneis once stood. She danced to the side, her own fist ready.
Vermillion could handle it. But, Aero couldn't just stand there, not when a Dead-Color was attacking. No, correction; Dead-Colors. The people in the portraits were standing before her. The woman; with a sullen face, a man; a look of apathy, and the kid; a bright, cheery smile. They weren't human, they were- the man lobbed a fist forward. Aero blocked with her gloved arm. Despite this, she still stumbled back.
Sweat dotted her skin, breaths growing labored. Her arm shook as she tried to punch the man. It would be all right, he wasn't real. Despite the thoughts, her hand betrayed her. There was barely any force behind the punch. A light tap hit the man square in the chest. He returned the light tap with an uppercut of his own.
Head snapping up, stars danced in her vision. Aero stumbled backward. Another punch was quick to follow, she brought her arms up. The ungloved one stung with the motion. Pushing off the Dead-Color, she delivered a swift side kick. It connected. The man's face contorted, displaying agony. His body slammed against the ground.
In a quick succession, the woman launched forward. She snapped a knee forward, but Aero dodged. Pushing off, she spun in the air and extended a leg. The woman dropped. A fist whizzed close to Aero, but she caught the hand. A shocking coldness seeped through the glove making Aero drop it just as quick as she grabbed it. With a quick kick, the woman went down as well.
Aero collapsed against the carpet. Sweat dribbled down her forehead and the back of her neck. She was shaking and felt like throwing up. Even if they were Dead-Colors, they looked like people. It isn't right to hit people.
Piece by piece, the transformation faded. The energy spilled into the air like shards of translucent glass, disappearing once they hit the gray carpet. Tired… she was so tired. Why was she tired? It hurt to even think. Vermillion was calling her, but she had no energy to lift her head.
Something whistled through the air- or was that the ringing?
"Merle? Are you okay?" Vermillion sounded panicky. She tried to reply, but all that came out was a long groan. Her head was splitting. Right down the middle. The gray room was spinning and Vermillion was a far off dot. A speck of blood against the backdrop.
Vermillion stood, blocking a quick punch from Anneis.
"We're not done you coward!" She hissed the words through clenched teeth. Vermillion spun and pushed her away.
"The Pigment that blazes within the heart! Pretty Cure! Vermillion Spiral!" Circular red paint splattered against the floor. Ribbons of different shapes and sizes scattered through the room, hitting the walls with a wet noise. Or, was that the ringing in her ears again? Merle could hardly tell. "No one's hurting my partner! Never again!"
Anneis struggled against the ribbons. Her arms trembled as they rose. With a bark of laughter, she broke through them like wet tissue paper. "So weak! It's no wonder all the Pretty Cure died!" With one last laugh, she shimmered away.
"Merle, I'm going to cleanse the Dead-Color." Vermillion was fading in and out of Merle's sight. Her eyes felt so heavy. It was like her ears were stuffed with cotton too, all Vermillion's words making no sense. A wave of heat rushed over her body, like a calm summer day.
After that, everything faded to nothingness.
"The deed is done!" Anneis proclaimed, stomping into the middle room. Tessur hadn't moved since last time, lounging in his favorite chair.
"You have the Pigment?" A note of surprise crept into his voice. Ignoring that, Anneis crossed her arms.
"Not exactly…"
"Can you not follow directions? The plan said-"
"Oh shut up! I improvised!" Anneis slammed her hands against the glass table. A sick crunch filled the room. Glass shards fell through the air, littering the little shag carpet and clinging to Anneis' gray hands.
"…whoops."
Afterword: eyyyyy back on track
Leave a comment, constructive criticism, or review! I would love to hear from the people reading!