Chapter 6: The Color of Corruption
Blearily, and with a pounding head, Merle sat up. Someone was talking in the distance, followed by a series of excited yelps. Why were they making noise? Her head was splitting. It was as if someone took a wrench to her forehead and bashed in her skull.
"Merle! You're awake!" Clancy's face filled Merle's vision. Her silver eyes looked glassy and with a sniffle, she wiped a hand across them. "I was so worried and-and you still look terrible." Merle managed a groan in return, her arms twitching useless at her sides. The light filtering in thin lines across her face was like searing fire. With every shift they would move and stab into the headache.
"Where are we?" She finally managed the words out of dry mouth. Immediately, Clancy turned to her left and grabbed a water.
"We're at your dorm. Your mother drove us back after the attack." Merle took the water and gulped it down. It did nothing against the headache she was sporting, but was a blessing to her throat. "I told your mother you weren't feeling well and you should rest. Which, well, isn't that bad of a lie." Clancy's lips quirked into a small smile.
"Thanks," Merle handed the now empty glass back. It was all coming back: Anneis attacking, the Dead-Color attacking, the passing out. Her Pigment. Merle shot up, hand coiling around the nothing at her neck.
"Calm down, I have it." The dull Pigment was brought to light. The brilliant blue of the stone seemed to have been caked over by mud or stone. With a shaky hand, Merle reached for it. Tears didn't threaten to fall, but there was a hollow ache where her heart was supposed to be. She had failed. Failed at protecting it. Protecting herself.
What would have happened to her if Clancy hadn't come? The thought seized her lungs, a shuddering breath escaping her lips. What could have happened? The thought whipped a frenzy inside, her heart hammering against her chest, her lungs constricting.
"Are you ok?" Clancy reached a hand forward. Merle could barely hear her over her own thoughts. Something bubbled amidst the turmoil inside, red hot and threatening to spill out.
"Do I look ok?" Clancy recoiled at the words. The chair she was sitting on squeaked in protest as she backed away. Merle took another ragged breath. Hands coiled around the Pigment, the usual smooth surface cut against her skin, gravely and sharp.
Clancy didn't reply instead looking out the window. Her eyes still looked glassy.
"You're not the first to get a Pigment corrupted." The words sliced through anything Merle was going to say. After a moment of silence, Clancy looked back. The bags under her eyes seem to weigh her down. Leaning against the front of the small chair, she didn't elaborate. The dull ache spread, encompassing more of her chest. Of course she wasn't the first. Both Grif and Clancy mentioned that Monochrome had taken the other Pigments, corrupted them. If there wasn't a way to cleanse them, then there wouldn't be a point to this would there?
"Grif will be here shortly. Until then, well…" Clancy's voice died off.
"I'm sorry," Merle's voice was barely above a whisper. But, her thoughts were so loud. So accusing. Why am I doing this? I practically helped Monochrome by getting it corrupted. Someone who can't even protect a rock shouldn't be a Pretty Cure.
"Sorry?" Clancy leaned forward in the chair and pressed her chin to the edge. "You don't have to apologize for getting the Pigment corrupted."
"Yes I do!" Merle struggled to keep the tears back. Her chest heaved for air, but it felt like she wasn't getting any. How could Clancy not understand? How was she not mad? It made no sense. Something precious needed to restore her home was corrupted. And it was all her fault. She shouldn't have messed with this, should have never got involved. Someone like her couldn't ever be good at this.
"Merle, I understand you're… upset." Clancy fumbled over the word. "But, it'll be okay. I don't blame you and I'm not angry." That's all for Monochrome, the unsaid words rang loudly. She blamed them instead of her. It was laughable. Blame a person who wasn't even here instead of the one in front of you. "You got cornered and ambushed; how can I blame you for that? I… well, you have to hope that it'll turn out alright in the end."
"Is that what you do? Hope that all this is going to be fixed." Merle's eyes narrowed.
"I have to," came the quiet reply.
Merle pulled her legs towards her chest and sunk behind them. Tears still burned at the edge of her eyes. The words sent a wave of relief through her. Clancy wasn't mad! She didn't hate her! A watery smile worked its way on her face. Just being told that… some of her worries melted away.
"Grif's coming." A strong gust accompanied Clancy's words, blowing through the room like a welcoming act for the griffon. They flew through, slowing down just enough to land at the edge of the bed. In the dying light of the sunset they gleamed golden.
"Pardon me for being so late, I was searching for… things." They sounded out of breath. Wings flexing to the side, Grif settled further into the bed. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Merle's Pigment… got corrupted." At the words, Merle unfurled and offered the nearly black stone as well as a still teary face.
"I see," Grif's beak pulled down. "How did this happen?"
"Anneis grabbed it. Said something about ending this." Merle drew her legs back to her chest. Grif leaned back on their hind haunches and stared at the Pigment. A tense silence filled the room rolling like static over the inhabitants' shoulders. Grif continued to stare, not moving an inch. With idle eyes Merle watched the shadows creep along the floor. The sun's light was disappearing as well as any light in the room.
"Would you like the good news or the bad news first?"
"Good news."
"Bad news."
Clancy and Merle eyed each other. Clancy gave a small smile, one that Merle didn't return.
"I assume Clancy told you that Pigments can be fixed?" Grif put a paw over the stone. After a moment of consideration, Merle shook her head. She'd gathered so, but it was never said how. "Well, it's not unheard of for a Pigment to get corrupted. It's rare, but there have been cases."
"What does that mean? When a Pigment gets corrupted." It made no sense. It was a rock, an alien rock, but still. Unless… It is linked to emotions so maybe-
"It becomes unusable." Clancy is the one to answer and effectively cut off the train of thought. "The Pigment won't be able to grant you its power." The messed up transformation came to mind.
"Like a corrupted file." Merle mumbled the words. The other two didn't make a comment. Finally, Clancy asked for a clarification. "When a file is corrupted it becomes inoperable. Depending on how it got corrupted you can recover it." Merle sighed. "Safe to assume the only way to fix it's at the Land of Canvases then."
"It is. This is where the bad news comes in." Grif sits more like a sphinx than a griffon, the Pigment nestled right by their chest. "The only place to recover a Pigment is at the Chroma room."
"What!" As Clancy leapt from the chair, Grif shrunk into the bed. "We can't go back there Grif! The whole city- the whole castle is gone!"
"Just because it got taken over by Monochrome doesn't mean it's gone." Grif quietly replied.
"There has to be another way." Clancy stared down the griffon.
"I know you don't want to return, but to have the Pigme-"
"Of course I don't want to return! Seeing… seeing…" Her hands had once again found their way tearing through the frayed edges. Tears threatened to spill from her silver eyes, chest rising erratically. "Seeing it all gone…"
"But the Pigment needs to be cleansed! Are you going to fight alone again?" Grif rose from the bed. "You're going to have to do this." Merle could sense the distress rising in the room. It made her want to throw up or scream. With how loud the two of them she wouldn't be surprised if another girl knocked on the door asking for them to shut up.
"Clancy…" Merle sat up from the bed. The girl barely acknowledged her. Her gaze was drilling into the griffon, but they wouldn't back down. "You can't fight alone."
"I know that!" Clancy rounded on her. "Do you think I don't know this is important?"
"I…"
"Both of you don't understand! Neither of you were there!" The tears were falling freely down her cheeks now. "You didn't see what happened…"
"Of course we didn't, but we can't have that happening here either," Grif spoke in a gentle tone. Floating up, they placed a paw on Clancy's shaking shoulder. "Why don't you sit down, you look like you're about to collapse." Numbly, Clancy followed their orders, falling like a heap onto the bed. Merle barely pulled back her body before she crashed down. The girl looked like a puppet with its strings cut; ungraceful and dead.
Merle opened her mouth, but no words to comfort came to mind. What was she supposed to do in this situation? Uncertainty made her mouth shut. Even if I speak, I'll just ruin it more. The thought weighed heavily. But, it wasn't wrong. When had she ever said anything right in a situation like this? Better to leave it to Grif. Yet, the griffon (although trying their best) wasn't doing that good of a job.
Just, be there for her. Something like that? Hesitantly, Merle moved to sit next to Clancy. The girl barely shifted, eyes blankly staring at her feet. The room had melted into a twilight, stuck between the final rays of the sunset and the beginning of night. They illuminated Clancy's already fair hair into a silver shade. Merle's fingers brushed against the Dead-Pigment lost in the creases of the bed, so she picked it up. Give me strength to say the right thing, she took a deep breath.
"If you want to talk, um… I'll listen." Merle fidgeted, fingers running over the edges of her dead Pigment over and over again. You couldn't mess that up. This elicited a small laugh from Clancy, more of a wheeze than anything, but she didn't look up. Her hands were moving, but the rest of her was still as a statue. Methodically, she pulled apart the seams of her clothes, slightly tugged and reworked the strands at the hem. If it was frayed before, now it was just coming apart.
"I'll work through this, I always do."
"Hope it works out?" Merle asked.
"Of course."
"You don't need to hope. It will." Even if she didn't believe in the words herself (the future was just too uncertain) Merle was sure Clancy would. The girl gave a more proper laugh this time, her head rising slightly.
"Are you telling me to hope for the best?" A wry smile fixed on her face.
"Maybe?" Merle couldn't hear the amusement laced in the other girl's voice.
"Someone told me something similar once before, you know. During the- the fight." Clancy had lifted her head. Her silver eyes shined in the night, glowing as if reflecting the moon. "But, since it's you I think I'm more inclined to believe it."
"Oh." It was all Merle could voice. Hands dug into the comforter on the bed, trying to root her back into reality. Not the bubbly feeling rising within. The dull ache was still there, tinging the otherwise nice feeling, but it could barely be felt.
"It's my duty to protect the Pigments, to recover them and fight Monochrome. If that duty requires me to go b-back then- then I'll do it." Despite the bold exclamation, Clancy didn't look ecstatic. If anything she looked more rundown, the bags under her eyes weighing her sharp frame down; the moonlight casting skeletal shadows across her dark brown face. Merle suppressed a shiver.
"Then we'll leave tomorrow." Grif spoke. Something was wrong with them too, but it wasn't as easy to identify as with Clancy. No matter what emotions Merle tried to pin on the griffon they didn't fit correctly. "You should rest Merle, the journey won't be easy especially since Monochrome has a hold on the city. Especially with all the Dead-Colors there." Just the thought of multiple Dead-Colors sent a shiver down Merle's spine. But, Clancy didn't look all too well, even if she was moving now. Stiffly, like a doll being maneuvered, she trudged to the door.
"Wait!" Merle stumbled from the bed. The two turned, a muted look of confusion on Clancy's face. The shadow of Merle fell directly on the shorter girl, the moonlight silhouetted against their frames on the wall. Fidgeting, picking at her fingers and looking to her feet, the words stumbled out Merle's lips. "Um would you like to- I mean you don't have to- uh stay over?" A jumbled mess as always.
"I think I'd like that." Clancy smiled.
"You're telling me you had the Pigment, but lost to a weak human."
"I wouldn't say lost; lost implies that I failed the job." Anneis countered. She leaned against the broom, being ordered to clean up her mess, and sighed. Why couldn't Tessur see it was a good thing she did? That she totally didn't fail. At all.
"We need the Pigments, corrupting them isn't enough." Tessur pinched the bridge of his nose. He let out an aggravated sigh and slumped in the chair. "It's practically another failure, what are we going to tell Lord Monochrome? The other squadrons?"
"Can't you try and put a positive spin on this? Now we're only facing one Pretty Cure again." Anneis returned to sweeping the floor. The glass glinted in the bright, fluorescent light, the shards tinkling against each other as she swept. Luckily, most of the shards were big and easy to pick up. What wasn't lucky was trying to get all the little fragments out of the white carpet. They needed to invest in a vacuum cleaner or something.
"I guess you're right. Just one Pretty Cure…" Tessur's voice trailed off. Anneis paused and looked to the man. His brown eyes were dazed, lost in thought, vitiligo spotted fingers curled beneath his chin; the tell sign he was making a plan. Hmm, wonder what the amazing plan is this time.
"We're leaving." Tessur shot out of the chair, marching towards the door.
"Mind filling me or am I supposed to go in blind." Dropping the broom, Anneis easily fell in step with the shorter man.
"I'll tell you on the way."
Merle threw one of her nightshirts at Clancy. It was huge on her so it should be fine for the shorter girl. She mumbled thanks and slipped it on. This was a spur of the moment things, so now Merle had to make sure it went well. Luckily, dorm building B had single rooms so she didn't have to worry about a roommate or anything of that sort, just had to worry about something to sleep on.
"I can sleep on the floor if you want." It was like Clancy could sense Merle's moods or something. The girl shook her head and went back to digging through the closet. Sorting through trash, clothes, and other things she couldn't identify- honestly when was the last time she'd cleaned the place- she yanked out a folded up mat.
"Guests get the bed." Not only had her mother drilled quotes into her head, she'd also drilled etiquette. Although, it'd be the first time she'd actually used it.
"I can't, this is your room and-"
"You're the guest." Merle flipped open the mat. Puffs of dust and other debris floated up. There would be no debating this. Merle was going to be using that etiquette even if she had to argue, although she hoped it didn't come to that. With a sigh, Clancy ceded. She sat on the bed, running her hand over the comfort. "Is there anything you need?" Merle turned to her.
"No. Thanks for inviting me." Clancy gave a smile. Merle shrugged, ducking to hide her heating up face. She rooted through the messy closet some more, grabbing non-dusty blankets. Now all she needed was a pillow. "I haven't had a sleepover in a while," her tone was still somber.
"Really?"
"Yes, not since… well it doesn't matter." Clancy lay back on the bed with a quiet thump.
"Can you pass me a pillow?" As the night progressed, it was getting easier to speak. Merle didn't look up, hand outstretched when- THUMP! She hit the floor, laughter ringing in her ears. Dazed, it didn't register in Merle's brain what exactly hit her. Sitting up, the pillow slid onto the floor. Pillow. A pillow was thrown at her.
"Do they have pillow fights here on Earth?" Clancy tilted her head. Without bothering with a response Merle threw the pillow back. With a yelp, it hit Clancy directly, causing her to fall backwards spread eagle style. Not a moment later and she was up, pelting Merle with two pillows at once. "I'll take that as a yes!" The fake cheer almost hurt to hear. Merle dived, letting the first pillow soar overhead, but the second one hit her directly to the face. If there was one good thing about being a Pretty Cure, besides meeting Clancy, it was that her reflexes were getting better.
Unfortunately, Clancy grabbed the third pillow on the bed. But, luckily was never able to use it.
"Hey! You two get resting!" Grif barked, seated at the edge of the bed. They stretched, back arching like a cats, and glared at the two girls. "You have a big day tomorrow and can't be wasting it with a pillow fight." Clancy frowned, dropping the pillow into her lap. The griffon gave a huff and resettled into a makeshift nest of multicolored blankets. Who knew griffons made nests, certainly not Merle.
They never saw it coming. Merle lifted the pillow and launched it at Grif. It knocked them to the side with a yowl. Clancy soon followed suite, tossing her pillow at them as well with a "Don't be a spoilsport Grif."
It took a moment for them to wriggle their way out, beak turned down in a frown and beady, golden eyes narrowed. "Excuse me for being responsible."
"I believe the word you are looking for is," Clancy grabbed the pillow she threw earlier, "killjoy."
"They are right though," Merle was quiet.
"Think of it as practice for tomorrow," Clancy gave some more fake cheer. The next half hour was spent volleying pillows back and forth to the annoyance of Grif. They would try and interject, but would be quickly silenced with a pillow. Even if they both knew it was a bad waste of time, the two weren't ready to go to bed. The tension from before; the lingering malicious feelings still burned at the bottom of Merle's stomach, coiling and ready for her to sleep. With every hit and dodge of the pillows, the feelings lessened. However, exhaustion finally won, Merle's eyes drooping and unwilling to open any more. The two quickly got ready for bed.
"Good night," Clancy mumbled the words in a similar state.
It was quiet. The buzzing of the ac long gone. The only noise was the quiet breathing of Grif and Clancy. Looking up, Merle eyed the window; the blinds pulled up letting thin light in. The silvery light slowly passed across the room, resting on her face. A sick feeling twisted in her stomach. Silver. She turned onto her side. The sour feeling wouldn't leave. Shutting her eyes, she tried to focus on going back to sleep.
It didn't work.
"Merle? Are you awake?" The blankets on the bed shuffled. Clancy didn't sound like she just woke up, if anything she sounded wide awake. "Can you not sleep?'
Merle managed a grumble, turning back to face the bed. She was stuck in that hazy between; not exactly asleep, but not awake fully either. The bed shifted and creaked as Clancy sat up. In the light of the moon her eyes shone bright silver, haloed by the softness of silver blonde strands. The bags underneath her eyes were barely visible among the thick shadows clinging to her dark brown skin. "I can't sleep either."
"Really?" Merle slurred the word out.
"Are you worried about tomorrow?"
Merle hummed, brain too foggy to formulate words.
"That's fine. It's okay to be worried, but don't focus too much on that, okay?"
"Right."
"And be sure to get lots of sleep."
At this, Merle grumbled. She was trying to sleep. It wasn't her fault that vaguely seeing something gray or silver made her stomach do flips. Like it was some warning that the monochromatic emissaries would burst in at any moment. Why were they fully gray? How did that work? She had seen Anneis wear colors so that meant they could. But, they were trying to get rid of colors in the universe as well. Her tired brain ran circles.
She really needed to sleep.
She really, really needed to fall asleep.
"You need to… sleep too," Merle yawned. No point in Clancy giving advice if she didn't follow it herself.
"Don't worry, I'll sleep." Not even a trace of fatigue in the girl's voice. Merle barely heard the reply, already slipping into the darkness.
The sun was still just a dull dot beneath the horizon, the sky still an expansion of ink. The sound of footsteps roused Merle, but her eyes didn't open. Something nudged her stomach, vaguely shaped like a foot. Without sitting up, Merle swatted at it. Clancy gave a chuckled and easily sidestepped.
"Good morning sleeping beauty."
Getting out of the blankets, Merle scowled. Next to the mat was a clock, the red numbers spelling out 5:00. 5:00, she didn't even get up this early to sneak out. Yet, Clancy already looked ready for the day, wide awake despite the heavy bags stark against her skin. Did she stay up all night?
"I think we need to talk." Clancy picked at her Pigment, the bright red stone shining like a miniature sun. "Make a plan so we don't walk in there blind."
"It's 5:00 in the morning." Merle rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"Doesn't Earth have a saying of the early bird gets the worm?" Clancy crossed her arms. "If we're going back home then we need a plan." Merle let out a sigh and kicked the blankets off. She wasn't going to be getting out of this, no matter what. "It's… I'd… I'd just feel better if we have a plan," Clancy's voice was hoarse.
Merle nodded her head, shoulders drooping. Of course she'd want a plan. Feeling guilty, Merle motioned for the girl to sit down. Clancy obliged and sank into the small bed. Despite it being early it was already made, the comforter tucked and pillows rearranged.
"Our goal is the castle which is in the middle of the main city, ok? On the way there we're going to have to fight Dead-Colors. I cannot believe, nor will I chance on the fact that we won't. So, I'm going to have Grif stick close to you as you're the most vulnerable."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine." Clancy pulled her Pigment up, it was the only light in the dim room. "I can transform. Plus in the Land of Canvases, Pretty Cure don't need to be transformed to have access to some of their powers."
Merle frowned. "If you're not okay… then say so…"
"I just sai-"
"Clancy if I can't give you… fake smiles then you… you can't either." Merle dropped her gaze to her feet. Just getting the words out correctly was an effort, and even then it didn't come out right.
"I'm fine." She shot from the bed, hand curled around the Pigment. "You don't need to worry about me, okay?"
"Well I do." Merle countered. "I can't help it. Worrying about this whole thing…"
"You're afraid?"
"Of course," it was so easy to admit. The way her heart pounded at the very thought of stepping into the Land of Canvases. Seeing what became of that world. How it could happen to Earth. The very idea scared her, how could it not?
"I'm afraid as well, but I believe you've gathered that." Clancy moved to the window. The sky was beginning to lighten to swatches of pink and orange. It was barely visible due to the thick fog that had grown over night. No matter what season that fog was there, but always dissipated by lunch. "But, you're right." A note of fear crept into the shorter girl's voice. "I… I can't hide behind some fake smile, it's really hard, you know?"
"Makes you sick to your stomach." Merle walked over to the window. She gave a bitter laugh at that, continuing to stare outside.
"I'm terrible at hiding how I feel." She sniffled.
"I know," Merle raised a hand and reached for the shorter girl's shoulder. She hesitated, hand hovering above the appendage, and with a large breath gently placed it. Clancy didn't stiffen as expected, instead melting into it.
"I don't want to go home."
"I know."
"My duty, no our duty requires it." Throughout the conversation, her hair had been shifting, moving till it was a curtain blocking her face.
"I know." What else could Merle say? She felt like she was drowning in the conversation.
"Even if it's hopeless we still have to try." She began to shake, subtly, but still she shook.
"It's not hopeless."
"You're right… it's…" Tears openly fell onto the wooden pane. In the early dawn, Clancy sobbed. "I want my home back." Merle let her hand drop, instead choosing to rub her back. No words could bring her home back, and even then Merle's never really comforted someone. Nonverbal communication, even someone like her could manage that. Clancy continued to cry softly, dropping to a heap that barely clung to the window sill.
She continued to cry for a while, Merle standing beside her the whole time. Finally, she stood and brushed off Merle's hand. Wiping at red, puffy eyes and with one last sniffle, she looked up. A silver gaze stare out the window, burning with a fierce determination, but tinged with tears. "We better get going."
Outside, the fog is thicker than it looked. It swirled, obscuring everything that wasn't a foot ahead. Grif was a misty speak, floating in and out of visibility. The only thing keeping Merle on track was the cobblestone road beneath. As long as she was on that she knew where she was or was going.
Why didn't I bring a jacket? The fog leaves Merle's dark skin wet and shivering. Clancy shivered next to her, also underdressed for the weather. She was wearing an outfit that looked like something an excavation team would wear. The both of them roamed the area, looking for any danger in the fog. Usually, the fog in the morning was thin, only giving off a creepy b-rated movie vice, but today wasn't one of those days.
"Soon we'll be off campus." Grif's voice sounded far ahead. Their lion tell swished through the fog, the only thing Merle could see. "When we get to the gate, that's when we'll leave."
"Why the gate?" Merle rubbed her arms. She hated being cold; especially wet and cold.
"We need a gate to pass into the Land of Canvases. As long as there's a door or gate still standing on the other side we should be able to get in." Grif explained.
"Like… an art gate?"
"Not everything is art related." Grif's flat voice replied. "Mostly, but not everything."
"There's two ways into the Land of Canvases. One," Clancy held up a finger, "is through a gate. You need someone from the Land of Canvases to do that. She held up a second finger. "The second is to paint your way in. You need a paintbrush from home to do that though."
"How did you get here?" Before Clancy could answer, the gates came into view. Merle barely stopped walking before smacking into them. The golden gates stand proudly, the morning dew glinting off the metal.
"We're here, so get ready." Clancy took a step back, motioning for Merle to do the same. As she stood back, Grif floated forward, extending their paw. In a weird language, they began to speak. As the spoke, the wind picked up. Fog swirled around the small group, a torrent of obscuring gray. As the griffon's voice grew, the gate began to shudder and creak. The chain wrapped around the bars struggled to keep the doors closed. They gave a long groan then shattered.
The gate swung open. Where the space to the city should be was instead a distorted space of swirling colors. At first it didn't look tangible at all, like a mirage in the haze. But, the colors thickened, becoming glossy with time. The colors twist endlessly on each other, dripping and mixing against the ground. The gate itself twitched as if readying to close at a given moment.
"This is it," Grif floated towards the portal. As they approached, the colors inverted with a shudder through the air. Like they're frozen in time, the colors turned gray and still. A second later and the wave of a Dead-Color crashed down. Merle grit her teeth, wobbling on her feet.
"A Dead-Color? This early on?" Clancy turned around, scanning the area. She didn't wait a moment longer, hand gripped around her Pigment. "Pretty Cure! Primer and Gloss!" In a flash of bright red she became Vermillion. "The color of retribution! Cure Vermillion!" She struck a pose.
No one answered her call. Not Anneis or Tessur. Nothing in the fog moved; no shadows wisped by, and certainly no other person. Something whistled through the air. Vermillion's arms rose, but she still took the brute force. Something spindly shot from the side, smacking her across the ribs. One second she was there, the next she was gone.
The spindly, too tall, too gaunt, Dead-Color came into view. Its arms dragged against the ground, scraping against the stones. Merle sucked in a halting breath. The fog obscured most of its features, but she could still feel a gaze on her.
"Out of the way!" Grif darted forward between the two. "Merle! Try the portal, just because it's gray doesn't mean it doesn't work!" The Dead-Color stumbled forward, hunched over. Merle wasted no time. She extended a hand forward, fingertips barely brushing the portal wall. They sunk in, breaking the thin film. It felt like water, a thick water. She extended her whole hand in next, the portal slick against her skin.
"I… I think it's still working?" Merle looked back towards Grif. The clacking of boots however, caught her attention. Vermillion was a red blur. She shot forward, slamming her heels onto the Dead-Color. It crumbled against the ground with a loud crack. She jumped backwards and with a flip landed right beside Merle.
With zero hesitation she stuck a gloved arm through. Frowning in concentration she drew it back out. "Feels different than last time, heavier-" A discordant screech punctured her sentence. Again, Vermillion leapt forward. Twisting in the air she landed a sharp downward kick where the Dead-Color was. It stumbled backwards, it's upper half bending impossibly backwards. It was like it had no spine.
"Vermillion!" Its head snapped forward connecting directly with Vermillion. She slammed into the ground with a loud, echoing shatter.
It was like she was useless, standing there with a nearly dead Pigment. Merle wanted to scream another warning to Vermillion, but it was too late. A long, pointed boot slammed down in her direction. But, Grif shot forward like a bullet. Their body slammed into the sole, tipping it backwards.
Vermillion stood up slowly. "The Pigment that blazes within the heart!" In a flash of red the large paintbrush appeared. "Pretty Cure! Vermillion Spiral!" She drew the large, red circle and threw it. The paint splattered around the Dead-Color, ribbons bubbling up a moment later.
Another discordant screech rang through the area. The Dead-Color careened forward. Vermillion doesn't move fast enough. The thing caught her boot, its spindly hand crushing her ankle. Vermillion let out a scream. A scream of pain that froze Merle's blood. The Dead-Color whipped her through the air then threw her.
Merle tried to move out of the way, scrambling over the cobblestone, but she isn't quick enough either. Vermillion slammed into her. The momentum kept the two going, sending them through the portal. Merle let out a strangled yell, her chest and front side pulsing in pain. Luckily, she never hit the ground. Vermillion twisted in the air, grabbing her body and flipping onto her back. They hit the ground, of course because what goes up must come down, but Merle never felt the pain.
Sand kicked up in clouds as the two skid. Vermillion gave a cry of pain as they stopped. Merle is quick to roll out of her grip. "Vermillion! Clancy!" She gripped her arm. One red eye cracked open. Then the next. Slowly, she stumbled to her feet. Red locks cascaded down her back, pooling in the gray sand. During the fall her ribbon must have fallen out.
Gritting her teeth, Merle gripped her Pigment.
"Don't," Vermillion wheezed the word out. "Save the energy in case we really need it."
The Dead-Color fell out of the portal and onto its back. Grif shot out next, their body spiraling upward. The gate they all came through, a decrepit barely standing thing, snapped close. Vermillion held out her arm again. "Pretty Cure! Vermillion Spiral!" The paintbrush appeared and she flung the painted circle again. The Dead-Color tried to move, but this time it couldn't.
Ribbons bubbled out of the things skin. It wrapped around like a cocoon sending it to the desert floor. "The Pigment that burns the heart!" Vermillion whipped off the golden chain off her hips. With a red glow it shifted into a sword. Except, on a second look it wasn't a sword. It was shaped like one, but also looked eerily similar to a pallet knife. "Pretty Cure!" Vermillion started forward, holding the sword out. "Vermillion Flash Point!" Sparks grew across the blade. The Dead-Color couldn't react. Vermillion shot past, her sword extended as if she'd sliced through it.
Sparks danced along the Dead-Color till it erupted into flame. Merle could feel the blistering heat from where she sat. It gave one final screech then burst into ashes. As they fell, the ashes disappeared as if never there.
Vermillion turned, the sword disappearing into red energy. The golden chain returned to her hips. But, the transformation stayed. "Welcome to the Land of Canvases." A bitter, sad smile formed on her face.
Afterword: lmaooooo sorry for such a long chapter! A boring one too. A lot of dialogue in this one so yea
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