Pastel*Rangers

Chapter 65 - Smiling Iron Mask's Reawakening

Chisato wakes up and instantly transforms into her Pastel*Rangers outfit.

"Chisato! You're awake!" Aya sheds tears of joy.

"Where's everyone else?" Chisato asks.

"They lured the Phantom Thief away from here to keep you safe. I stayed behind to protect you."

"Thank you..." Chisato stands up. "Aya... Now it's my turn to protect you all."

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes. Now, let's hurry and get to the others."

Aya nods and leads Chisato into the school gym. 

"No!" Aya watches in terror as she sees Maya and Eve on the floor. Hina holds her spear to the Phantom Thief's rapier, though her knees are shaking. The Phantom Thief pushes forward, causing Hina to fall to her knees. The Phantom Thief raises their rapier and prepares to strike.

"I'll protect everyone!"

Chisato aims her wand, now longer and more ornate, at Hina, conjuring a barrier around her. The rapier gets stuck, giving Aya a chance to fire an arrow. The Phantom Thief jumps backwards, dodging the arrow.

"This is for hurting my friends!" Chisato aims her wand at the Phantom Thief, firing Light energy that stuns it in place.

"I can do more than just stun!" Chisato points her wand up, lifting the Phantom Thief up. She swings, tossing them at the wall. Chisato then aims at Maya, Eve, and Hina. She waves her wand and covers them in Light energy for a few seconds.

"Pastel*Heal!"

"Chisato..." Eve stands up.

"Our injuries... They're gone?" Maya says, also standing up.

"You're just like Lisa when we were in the game!" Hina cheers. "Now we can fight again!"

"This time, we fight together" Aya says.

"I'll... I'll support you all!" Chisato says, confidently.

The Phantom Thief stands up, regaining their composure. They pick up their rapier and get in a defensive stance.

"Let's hurry up and finish this!" Hina says. She and Eve rush forward. Chisato aims her wand at the Phantom Thief, holding it in place.

"Pastel*Cross!" Eve and Hina shout, as they move to opposite sides of the Phantom Thief. They dash towards it, weapons forward, slicing through them in an X formation. Chisato stops holding the Phantom Thief in place and turns to Aya.

"Can you charge up an arrow? I'll give you extra power."

"Got it" Aya nods, as she starts charging up an arrow. Chisato aims her wand at Aya's bow, giving it extra power. The Phantom Thief starts to regain mobility.

"I'll stop it! Pastel*Barrage!" Maya shouts, firing off a barrage of charged shots in quick succession. As the smoke clears, the Phantom Thief uses their rapier to hold themselves up. They try to stand, but are unable to.

"This singular arrow is the hope for our friends! With all of its power, this battle now ends!" Aya releases her arrow. "Hyper Pastel*Arrow!"

The arrow pierces the Phantom Thief, causing it to glow. It explodes into Light, disintegrating completely. The usual blob of darkness is nowhere to be found.

"Did we do it?" Aya asks, looking around.

"I don't sense anything" Maya answers, trying to sense something.

"We completely defeated an Inverse!" Hina cheers.

"What about Kanon-san?" Eve asks. "We still have not found her."

"I think she's ok" Chisato answers. "When I was in my heart, Michelle told me Kanon was safe."

"Michelle?" "Heart?"

Chisato explains what happened after trying to absorb the Inverse, as well as everything that happened before that.

"Can I see the Michelle sticker?" Maya asks. Chisato undoes her transformation and checks her purse. She grabs the Michelle sticker and hands it to Maya, then checks her phone. Maya inspects the sticker, front to back.

"I have a message from Kanon!" Chisato says, sounding relieved. "She says one of the suits rescued her and brought her to her house."

Everyone lets out a sigh of relief.

"I still don't trust the suits" Hina says.

"One of them rescued Kanon, so I owe them for that" Chisato says.

"Hm... I can't say for certain, but I think the suits made this" Maya says, holding the sticker. "I'm starting to think the 'lab' that teleporter refers to might belong to them."

"Are you sure that's a teleporter?" Aya asks.

"Judging by the pod and what was on the computer, It's safe to assume it is" Maya answers. "Normally, I'd have a hard time believing it, but after everything that's happened, this doesn't feel too out of place."

"It sounds like they are on our side" Eve says.

"Do you think they know about our powers?" Hina asks.

"It's hard to tell" Maya answers. "If they did, I'm sure they would've tried contacting us by now."

"What makes you say that?" Hina asks.

"Assuming they made this sticker, then it's safe to assume they made the other items that are infused with Light" Maya starts explaining. "They then gave one item to each member of Hello! Happy World, as well as Michelle stickers like these to give away. That means their goal is to protect people from Negatives. If they found out we have powers, they would more than likely ask us to help them. This is all assuming this is their work, though. It's hard to know for sure."

"If only we could learn more..." Aya says.

"What about their Christmas show?" Hina suggests.

"We can't go, remember?" Chisato reminds her. "Hello, Happy World!'s music makes our powers go out of control."

"Besides, Afterglow and Roselia are already going for us" Maya adds.

"I know, I just wish there was something we could do!" Hina pouts.

"Shall we investigate that machine?" Eve asks.

"It would have to be tomorrow. I'm starting to get tired" Chisato says.

"The sun is almost gone" Eve points out.

"We can always come back tomorrow" Maya says. "I'll tell Lynn everything that happened here. For now, let's all get some rest."

"Hold on" Chisato says. "Should we all be coming back tomorrow? If it's all of us, we might attract too much attention."

"Chisato's right" Aya adds. "Also, we don't have a way in. We had to hop the fence to get in."

"I know! I think sis has a way in!" Hina says. "She's student council president, so if anyone can get in during break, it's her!"

"How does being student council president make Sayo-san able to go into school...?" Aya wonders.

"Perhaps she was given a key!" Eve guesses.

"Can schools even do that...?" Aya wonders.

"I'll ask sis!" Hina says. "Worst case scenario, we jump the gate again!"

"We'll stand out" Maya points out.

"I think we should figure this out later" Chisato says.

"I agree" Maya agrees. Let's all just go home right now."

Everyone undoes their transformations and make their ways home.