33. An Enemy Among Us!?

After their lively party, the Pretty Cure team is at the docks of Pastel Square, ready to head back to Pigment Village and continue their mission. The residents of the Pastel Square came together, including Violet and her dolls, willing to say farewell and wish the Pretty Cures good luck on their mission. Wicka, now using the motored passenger boat that Scribbelle used to kidnap the Pretty Cures, is ready to set sail back to her taxi boat. The old taxi lady is waiting for the Pretty Cures to hop onboard.

"It's a shame that you got to leave," Mayor Boobert said in little disappointment, "but as the heroes of Spectrum Land, you gotta continue your mission in collecting those Wonder Colors. We're going to miss ya buddies."

"Us too." Mana said, "but thanks for the party. It was a lot of fun."

"Yeah," Rikka agrees, "and that's the first time I experience a Mar… Mar… Mard…"

"Mardi Gras?" Matthew helped and finished her sentence.

"Yeah, what Matt said."

"Again Pretty Cures," Violet speaks up, "I want to thank you for everything for giving me this chance and opportunity to become great friends."

"You're welcome, Violet," Megumi said with a smile.

"Mistress is very pleased from the bottom of her heart," Lilac stated as she is held in Violet's arms. "The residents said that her generous deed has done so much goodness to the town that Violet is now Pastel Square's most valuable doctor."

"Oh, so she's like a witchdoctor? Ha! Get it?" Akane said in a joking manner.

"Oy, Akane…" Nao said in unease.

"Oh! I just noticed something." Tint speaks up, "When we got back, I realized that my friend Tone isn't here in the town. What happened to him?"

"Oh yeah, don't worry." Mayor Boobert said with a grin, "Your yellow winged friend said to me that he received a message of something important. So, he had to leave after you guys left to Violet's mansion."

"Aw shucks. I wanted to tell him that we succeeded in obtaining the Wonder Color Purple. But if he's busy with his own tasks and mission, then I won't stop him."

"Well everyone, we better be on our way." Kurumi speaks to the team, "Sage Mark is waiting for us for results, and we need to collect the other three Wonder Colors."

"Right, Kurumi." Karen agrees, "Let's go everyone."

And the Pretty Cure team starts to leave the town as they got on board on Wicka's passenger boat. "Watch your step, dearies," Wicka warned with a grin. She's at the boat's control panel getting the engine motoring.

As Tint starts to head for the boat and the team… "Hold on, little one." Violet interrupted and stopped Tint. Tint heard and turned to Violet. "I know all the Pretty Cure's names, including the fairies, but what I haven't heard is your name. I guess my Tawny missed that information from you." Tint gets closer to Violet as the witch girl grins. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Me?" Tint said in curiosity. But she grins and replies, "Why, my name is Tint. Nice to meet you."

But Violet gasped a little and widens her eyes in surprise. Her trusty doll Lilac jaw dropped as well. After hearing Tint's name, Violet became aware of Tint's identity. Mayor Boobert and Tint noticed Violet's little shocking presence. "Tint…, but that means–"

"Hey Miss Violet? You alright?" the ghost mayor asked.

Violet snapped out of her stunned state and replies, "Uh, yes. I'm quite alright."

"Is there something wrong?" Tint asked.

"No, not at all." Violet grin pretending she doesn't know anything.

Tint becomes bewildered to Violet. "Tint!" the butterfly fairy heard Miyuki's shout, and the fairy turned to her and the rest of the team. "C'mon! Let's go!" Miyuki happily shouts. Tint nodded agreement and flies towards the boat.

Once Tint and everyone else is on board, Wicka starts the engine and motors. "All buckled up?" Wicka asked. Everyone nodded and give a thumb's up in response. "Then let's head back to my cabin." Wicka then steers the passenger boat away from Pastel Square's docks.

As the boat drifts away from the docks, the Pretty Cure gang wave and shout their partings to the residents of the town.

"So long, you guys." Tsubomi said, "Thanks for everything."

"Bye-bye!" Miki happily shouted, "Take care of yourselves."

"Thanks for the party!" Urara said with joy, "See ya!"

"You take care, Mayor Boobert!" Hummy cheered, "And you too Violet-nya!"

"Bye! See you later-coco!" Coco shouted.

The residents of Pastel Square, Violet, and her dolls waved goodbye too.

"Bye Pretty Cures!" Mayor Boobert cheered, "And good luck!"

"Thank you so much for everything!" Violet said with great joy, "I'll never forget you!"

"Bye Pretty Cures!" Lilac shouted, "Don't forget us!"

"Take care, Sweeties!" Iris cheered happily.

"We wish you the best of luck!" Periwinkle applauded.

Soon the motor passenger boat is out in the middle of the river. Wicka then thrusts the motors as the boat then revs up the river heading back to Wicka's Taxi Boat Service. All the Pastel Square people waving goodbye until they can't see the boat anymore.

Once the boat disappears into the swampy woods, Mayor Boobert looks back at Violet again. "Violet, I'm still curious." Mayor Boobert asked, "How come you became shocked by Tint's name?"

When Violet heard and turned to Boobert, Violet then becomes a bit wary. Violet calmly speaks to the ghost mayor, "Because Mayor Boobert, Tint is not what she appeared to be."

Boobert became more curious. "Whaddaya mean?"

"Well to start, remember that incident one year ago?"

"What incident?"

"The incident at… Rainbow Castle?"

Boobert took a big breath after what Violet said. "Oh yeah…, that stabbed not just our hearts, but the whole entire Spectrum Land. What about it?"

Violet takes a deep breath and then exhales. She then speaks, "What if I told you, that Tint is related to that incident."

"Tint, the sweet butterfly fairy? How?"

"What if I also say, Tint… is really…

her."

When Mayor Boobert heard Violet's statement, he took a pause for thought. But then… he gasped in great surprise. "You don't mean…?" Violet, including Lilac who knows too, nodded back to Boobert in response.

Both Violet and Boobert looked back to where the boat disappeared into the swampy woods. Boobert continues to speak.

"I heard a rumor that it might happen…, but I never thought it came true. I can't believe it."

"Indeed, a true miracle, I must say. Unfortunately, it seems Tint doesn't remember who she really is, but her true memories will soon return to her." Violet then makes a concerned look on her face thinking about Tint. "It's only a matter of time before she knows her real identity. Only the Wonder Colors can save her now. Pretty Cures…, watch over her…"

Violet and Boobert continued to stare with their concern look on their faces.

Back on the motorboat, Wicka drives smoothly on the river heading back to her water taxi cabin.

"Well Pretty Cures, I gotta admit," Wicka said with a grin. "You sure know how to shine, even in the darkest places and hours."

"Aw…, we're not that good," Hibiki said with shyness.

Ako speaks up, "All we know is that no matter what stands in our way, nothing can stop us if we stand up with courage for the people we love." Wicka grins at the Pretty Cure team.

"Y'know, there's one thing I'm a little bit afraid of." Kurumi said in little worry, "Are you still going to close down your service?" The rest of the team blinked to hear what Kurumi said.

"That's right," Matt realized, "It'll be a shame since this the only way to get to Pastel Square."

"Well young ones," Wicka replies, "I was going to retire myself and the business…, but you have given me two great gifts to change my mind."

"And they are?" Makoto asks.

"First of all, this fabulous motorboat. Seems like Scribbelle forgot to take this boat, but finder's keepers. My old wooden boat may not last much longer, but with this new high-tech and modern boat, I can still carry passengers a bit longer."

"And the other gift is…?" Mai questions.

"…That you Pretty Cures have given me great courage. I'm getting old, but I still have the energy to keep myself going. After hearing your actions and spirits, I just realize that I'm just not quite ready to give up and retire yet. And besides, with you Pretty Cures saving Spectrum Land, everyone in the world will want to come to Pastel Square once peace is restored. Somebody's gotta take those people to Pastel Square."

The Pretty Cure team smiled for Wicka's enthusiasm. The old taxi boat woman is proud of herself. The team and Wicka kept driving down the river.

Meanwhile, back at Rainbow Castle…

"GRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

In the lounge room, Scribbelle, all bandaged up around her body, has a small pile of paper with sketchy drawings of Matt Oda, and she rips and tears each paper into shreds. Scribbelle is fraught with immense anger.

"NEVER! NEVER! Never in my life I have been foiled by a normal human being!" Scribbelle yelled in great anger. "It's bad enough that I've been defeated by those Pretty Cure brats, but to that obnoxious smart-aleck man… RAAAHHH!!"

Erass, who is sitting in a chair and across Scribbelle, tries to remain calm and watches Scribbelle's outrage. "You sure made another bad impression on King Splat, Miss Hot-Head."

Scribbelle twitched her eyes after hearing Erass's insult. She crumpled a paper into a ball and throws at Erass. The erasing Blot general avoided the paper ball by tilting his head to the side.

"If you ever insult me again, I will kill you too!" Scribbelle shouted in rage.

"Chill out, Ma'am. I'm in the same boat as you are. We are suspended until further notice. King Splat did not like our failures."

"Well, I don't care! Once I'm out of suspension, I swear I will get that goody two-shoe gentleman if it's the last thing I do! He made a mockery out of me, that cheeky FOX!"

Scribbelle continues to shred the sketchy Matt Oda drawings as her great anger continues to enrage. Erass then looks away from the furious woman and sighs. "I hope our comrade Turp can retrieve a Wonder Color soon. He said he's got new and improved Blots with him. I hope he succeeds; otherwise we'll be in hot water forever. We hate to go back to our miserable lives again."

Scribbelle heard and makes a "titch" sound. "I hear ya, Whitey. King Splat gave us a chance, and we're gonna fulfill that promise."

"True, that is if we don't mess up again. Especially you for getting too cocky."

A scrunched-up paper ball was thrown and hit Erass's face. Scribbelle scrunched her eyes and huffed and puffed in great anger. "I said SHUT IT!" she yelled.

Back in Pigment Village, all the Pretty Cure heroes arrived back in Sage Mark's secret underground room, the Warp Gallery room. Mark is proud to see and hear that the Pretty Cures retrieved the Wonder Color of Purple Bog.

"Splendid job, Pretty Cures!" Sage Mark cheered with great joy, "At this rate, Spectrum Land will be saved in no time flat. You're getting close; you just need to collect three more Wonder Colors to restore the Prism Diamond."

"We are progressing very well," Tint stated. "But we wouldn't collect the Wonder Color Purple if it wasn't for our courageous and smart young man Matt Oda."

"Matt?" The sage ponders.

In that moment, the Pretty Cure team, including the fairies, explained every single detail of Matt's extraordinary rescue. Once Sage Mark heard every word from the team, he becomes awed and makes a curious look on his face.

"Well, well, well…" Mark said with little amazement, "Now that is an amazement feat. Who would've thought you young man have great potential."

"Ah, c'mon…," Matt responds with little shyness. "All of you guys are making me blush again. I don't deserve this appreciation."

"But you do, Matt!" Miyuki said with a big grin.

"No other regular human can achieve a great feat like that," Alice stated with a calm grin. "You should be proud of yourself."

"Yeah," Saki agrees, "Why wouldn't you?"

Matt shyly grins and replies, "I guess…I didn't expect that I could be a recognizable hero, especially to the Pretty Cures. I just did the right thing in my heart."

"Well, like you said," Yuri speaks to the gentleman, "A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart. Right?"

Matt blinked after hearing that familiar line he said to the Pretty Cures earlier. He smiled and says, "Well said, Yuri. Well said."

Sage Mark grins as he speaks, "You must pretty tired adventuring and collecting those Wonder Colors. Why don't you take a break at the Create-Your-Own café?"

"Good idea, Mark," Hibiki agrees and rubbing her stomach. "I am getting a bit hungry."

"Hibiki, you're always hungry," Kanade noted in little concern.

An hour passed as the Pretty Cure team is leaving the café after finishing their lunch break.

"Aaaahh…I need that plateful of donuts," Love said with a big smile.

"You and your donuts…" Tarte said in embarrassment.

"Mmm…I needed that curry to boost up my energy," Urara said with joy.

"Y'know Urara, when did you start liking curry so much?" Rin asked.

"A good bowl of fruit salad and strawberry lemonade is just right for me to refresh my energy," Matt said to himself.

"Well," Tint speaks up, "now that we're fully energized, let's head back to the Warp Gallery Room and activate the next painting to find the next Wonder Color." Everyone agrees with Tint.

"GWOP-PO!" Suddenly a shout was sounded. It alerted the Pretty Cure team eager to know where it came from.

"Did you hear that?" Erika said in shock.

"That sounds like a Blot," Nao stated.

"But why is a Blot here?" Yuko wondered. "Didn't we rid them away from Pigment Village?"

The team kept looking for the Blot. Whoosh! Suddenly, something past by behind Matt and Tint's back. The two sensed it and turned around to see who or what it was. In their sight is Shade, who is flying fast.

"Is that Shade?" Matt asked.

"But, what's he flying so fast for?" Tint questioned.

Suddenly, and out of the blue, a small group of Blots appeared chasing after Shade. It got Matt and Tint surprised.

"Oh no!" Tint cried. "Shade!"

"Pretty Cure!" Matt shouted to his superheroine friends, "We've got trouble!" The Pretty Cure girls and the fairies heard Matt and turned to him. Matt pointed the chase of Shade and the Blots. The team widens their eyes in shock.

"Shade's in trouble!" Yayoi cried.

"Hold on, Shade!" Hime yelled.

The Pretty Cure team then went after the Blots and Shade.

Shade, the smart purple butterfly fairy, flies as fast as he can as the Blots are right behind his tail. He tries to lose the evil black globs by turning and passing every tree within a small forest. But the Blots are still right behind Shade. The butterfly fairy looks back to see the Blots right behind him, but with his head turned back, he crashed into a tree thick branch. The impact made Shade lose his balance and crashing him into the grassy ground. Shade tries to recover, but as he got up, surrounding Shade are the Blots glaring stern at the fairy.

"You sure are persistent," Shade said while being injured. "If you can spare me…"

The Blots continue to stare firmly at Shade, not feeling any sympathy for the fairy. As a Blot tries to pick up Shade…

"You there! Stop!"

Saki yelled, alerting the Blots and Shade. The evil blobs and Shade spotted the Pretty Cure Team standing firm with their view.

"Pretty Cure…" Shade said in a little surprise. The Blots flinched a little to see the superheroines in their sight.

"Now you black goons," Makoto speaks, "we can do this the easy way…"

"Or the hard way," Reika finishes as she pulls out her Smile Pact.

With Reika's comment, every Pretty Cure girl has their own transformation device in their hands. The heroines stand tall and firm while the Blots quiver in fear. The black minions know they would be beaten to a pulp if they try to fight the Pretty Cures again. The Blots had no choice but to flee and head back to their base. With the Blots gone, Tint and the team got a careful look at the injured Shade.

"Shade, are you alright?" Tint said in fear.

"Yeah…" Shade slowly replied. "I just have a minor scratch; that's all."

"We're glad you're safe-desu wa," Ribbon said with a grin.

"But what happened?" Dabyi asked. "Why are those Blots chasing you-dabyi?"

"Ah yeah, I can explain," Shade answers as he gets up and floats. "You see, you Pretty Cures aren't the only ones doing heroic work. I did the same some stuff on my own too. While you were out collecting those Wonder Colors, I was spying on the Blots and King Splat on any weakness that will help defeat those black rascals. But during my investigation, the Blots spotted me and try to capture me. I guess I didn't cover my six carefully."

"Shade!" Tint cried, "That's dangerous. You could've been killed if those Blots got you."

"Don't fret too much, Tint. I just got a little careless, that's all."

"Well, it's a good thing we showed up at the right time," Karen stated.

"Oh! But I just remembered," Shade spoke up. "While I was spying on the enemy, I managed to get good information that will help you Pretty Cures on your quest."

"What is it-desu?" Shypre asked.

"Well, I got wind from the Blots that the black goons have an informant in their team."

"An informant?" Komachi questioned.

"You mean a spy, like yourself?" Aguri wonders.

"Yeah, except I found out a terrible truth about that," Shade stated. "And you're not going to like it."

"What Shade?" Tint said in great curiosity, "What's wrong?" The Pretty Cure team is also anxious to know.

Shade takes a deep breath and exhales. As replies calmly, "The informant…is a resident of Spectrum Land."

When Shade stated that fact, Tint and the Pretty Cure team gasped.

"What!?" Nozomi said in shock.

"One of the Blot enemies is a civilian of Spectrum Land?" Tsubomi said in confusion.

"But why would that person want to aid the Blots?" Ellen said in concern.

"Beats me," Shade replied calmly, "but it's the truth. It is why those Blot generals got a good idea where the Wonder Colors are located, and how King Splat is keeping an update on your progress, Pretty Cures."

"Who could that traitor be-coco?" Coco asked.

"That I don't know, I'm afraid," Shade replied. "It can be anyone in Spectrum Land, even here in Pigment Village." With Shade's comment, the team looked back to see all the residents of Pigment Village.

The villagers are talking peacefully with each other and working together in harmony. But the Pretty Cure team is becoming wary fearing which resident the informant is working for the Blots.

"It can be anyone…huh?" Itsuki said in concern.

"But who…?" Yayoi said in little fear.

"Aw, don't sweat yourselves, Pretty Cures," Shade said calming the team. "All I know is that you girls are progressing very well, and you're retrieving the Wonder Colors. You should have no worry about that spy if you're succeeding greatly."

"I guess so," Tint said.

"Well, I better head back home and figure a way how to stop those Blots before they get better and defeat you guys."

"Just be extra careful not to get caught again," Miki warned and winked.

"Don't worry. I won't." With that remark, Shade slowly flies up and heads back to his home.

As Shade disappears, Tint and the team are still suspicious about the informant working for the Blots.

"I can't believe it still…" Inori said in concern. "A good person in Spectrum Land is working for the Blots?"

"But…, why…?" Megumi ponders.

Everyone becomes more curious until Tint interrupted their train of thought. "Well, we can't think about that traitor right now," Tint speaks to the Pretty Cure team. "We are obtaining the Wonder Colors little by little, and that's all it matters. Even if that informant gives the Blots the upper hand, we still have the Wonder Colors in our possession."

"That's true," Yuri agrees. "I think spending our time thinking about that defector would be wasting time than finding the Wonder Colors."

"Yuri's right," Iona says. "Let's head back to the Warp Gallery Room and head to the next area for the next Wonder Color." Everyone agrees with Iona and decided to head back to Sage Mark's home.

But while the Pretty Cure team agrees on their decision, Matt Oda makes a confusing thought in his mind about Shade. "…Something about Shade's situation that time seems off…" Matt thought.

A short amount of time passed, as everyone is in the Warp Gallery Room. The Pretty Cure team is ready to venture for the next Wonder Color. Sage Mark is with them too.

The Wonder Color Case is placed on the pedestal, and Tint spins the rainbow spinner. The case glowed once again. FLASH! The rainbow beam shoots out from the case and onto another blank painting next to Purple Bog's painting. The blank painting begins glowing in an orange aura. A few seconds later, drawing lines appeared on the blank painting. This time, different orange colors appeared filling in the white blanks, and only a stream of a thick blue line. The painting depicted steep cliffs with a big and thick river in the middle. There's even a waterfall showed in the background.

"Whoa, now what place is that?" Yuko asked.

"Ah," Sage Mark speaks, "That's Orange Canyon. It may not be much, but it's got a very good scenery when you get there."

"A canyon, huh?" Reika ponders. "Better watch out for falling rocks."

Before the Pretty Cure team ventures into Orange Canyon, the gang looks back at Mark with a concerned look on their faces.

"Mark?" Urara speaks to him, "Do you know who this informant of the Blots is?"

When Mark heard her question and sees the team's worried faces, the sage begins to think in worry. "Hmm…Sadly, I do not know," Mark replied in worry. "I never expected that information given by Shade, a very intelligent fairy. How could someone in Spectrum Land who loves art and drawing be so evil? Everyone here in this colorful world loves artistic creations. I'm going to have to contact the other sages about this."

The Pretty Cure team is still worried about the traitor of Spectrum Land. But Tint flies and grabs their attention. "Well, no matter," Tint said in a firm tone. "Let's get the next Wonder Color before the Blots get another head start again."

"Right Tint," Akane agrees.

"You're very close to saving Spectrum Land," Sage Mark stated. "Good luck again."

The Pretty Cure team smiles for Mark. Then the team headed and jumped into the painting of Orange Canyon.

Author's Note

The line, "…but by the strength of his heart" is a quote from a Disney movie. Guess which one that is?