Pastel*Rangers

Chapter 20 - Clear Waters

"There they are!"

Aya, Eve, Maya, and Hina rush towards Kanon and Chisato. Maya and Aya fire at Negatives, easing the burden on Chisato's shield. Hina and Eve defeat the remaining Negatives. Chisato removes her shield.

"Kanon, keep your eyes closed" she tells Kanon.

"Y-yes" she holds on to Pen-chan, keeping her eyes closed.

"Transform!"

[Cue Chisato's transformation sequence]

Kanon opens her eyes, having just heard what Chisato yelled. She stares in awe, seeing everyone in Pastel*Palettes in their magical girl outfits. Several more Negatives appear behind them. They all pose with their weapons, exploding the Negatives behind them in sparkles and glitter before starting to fight them.

-Meanwhile-

Ugh, where are they?

Lynn finishes defeating every Negative in the otter room.

I can't keep wandering around like this. I need to find some way to find everyone else.

Lynn sees a few more Negatives in the distance. They don't seem to notice her. She gets the idea to follow them instead of defeating them.

-Meanwhile-

The Pastel*Rangers keep fighting Negatives.

"There's no end to them" Aya says, firing off an arrow.

"Are they really after Kanon?" Chisato wonders while blasting light energy at a small group of Negatives.

As they fight, they don't notice a Negative slowly crawling its way towards Kanon.

"Tweet, tweet!" Pen-chan waves its wings wildly.

Kanon turns to see a Negative approaching her. She's too scared to move. She hugs Pen-chan, bracing herself. After a few seconds, she looks up, realizing she's not hurt, and sees a glowing sword. Is it Eve, she thinks to herself. Nope. It's Lynn.

"Are you ok?" She helps Kanon stand.

"I-I'm ok..." Kanon says, her voice shaking.

"Listen. I know you're scared" Lynn tells Kanon. "But we need you to be brave right now for us. For all of us." Lynn gestures towards the Pastel*Rangers, who continue fighting Negatives.

"But I'm scared" Kanon says.

"I know" Lynn says. "But that's exactly why they're attacking. They sense your fear. They're attracted to your fear. They want to feed off of it. That's why we need you to be brave. So they can stop."

Kanon gulps. "But..." She looks around. She sees everyone fighting. "They're fighting for my sake... They're fighting to protect me..."

"Tweet, tweet!" Pen-chan chirps reassuringly.

"You're right" Kanon says to Pen-chan. "I need to be brave, just like you were brave the day we met."

Lynn smiles. "Good. As long as we're here, we won't let these things hurt you. It's a promise."

Kanon takes a deep breath. "I will do my best."

With that, Lynn springs into action. She joins the fight against the Negatives. She slices through a small wave of them like butter, eventually standing side by side to the Pastel*Rangers.

"I'm still scared, but I have to believe in them" Kanon tells Pen-chan. Just then, another Negative appears next to Kanon. She lets out a little yelp. The Negative stares at her, unmoving.