Pastel*Rangers

Chapter 75 - Darkening Day

*Bzzt bzzt!*

Aya and Chisato's phones vibrate at the same time. However, due to being busy defending themselves against waves of Negatives, neither of them can give any attention to their phones.

"Look, the gate's open!" Chisato points towards Hanasakigawa's front entrance. She and Aya run towards it and close the gate behind them.

"We finally made it, but..." Before Aya can finish her thought, a Negative touches the school gate and disintegrates immediately. "Huh? What just happened?"

Another Negative touches the gate, disintegrating as well.

"Hold on..." Chisato touches the gate and closes her eyes. "There's... Faint traces of Light energy on these..."

"So we're safe?" Aya says, catching her breath.

"We need to tell the others about this" Chisato says, grabbing her phone. She notices the message from Ran about their situation in CiRCLE.

"I'm glad they're all safe" Aya says. "Should we go to CiRCLE?"

"I don't think so" Chisato says. "I sense something weird that way." Chisato points westward.

Aya closes her eyes and concentrates. "I... Sense it too!" She says, opening her eyes.

"Let's tell the others before going over" Chisato says raising an arm. Aya sends a quick message, then stands next to her and raises hers.

"Transform!"

[Cue Aya and Chisato's transformation sequences]

"Now we don't have to worry about getting tired!" Aya says cheerfully.

"Are you ready?" Chisato asks.

"Let's go!" Aya says as she opens the front gate.

"This would be easier if we were transformed" Maya says, firing continuously at surrounding Negatives.

"I am also worried about the thing I am sensing" Eve says.

"Hm..." Maya looks around. "I have an idea. Follow me!"

Maya fires at a few Negatives, opening up a path. She leads Eve towards a wall. "Eve, transform while I cover you! They can't get us from behind if there's a wall there!"

"That is a great idea!" Eve says, raising her arm. "Henshin!"

[Cue Eve's transformation sequence]

"Great, now cover me!" Maya says. Eve draws her sword while Maya prepares to transform.

"Transform!"

[Cue Maya's transformation sequence]

"It doesn't seem like there's an end to these. Let's check out that weird thing we're sensing!" Maya suggests.

"Yes!" Eve agrees. They both hop on a nearby roof and hop from rooftop to rooftop to the east.

"Head West from there."

Lynn turns right and keeps on jumping from roof to roof.

"There is a shopping mall up ahead. The signals are coming from inside."

"I see it" Lynn speaks into her earpiece.

It's like a zombie movie down there. But with Negatives. This is worse than what happened back in November!

Lynn jumps down into the front entrance. Several Negatives turn to face her. She raises her sword and gets ready to fight.

"Photon Spin!"

Lynn jumps into the center of a cluster of Negatives and spins around. A whirlwind of Light energy appears around her, disintegrating a large number of Negatives around her. Seeing an opening, Lynn rushes into the mall.

What the-

Lynn looks at her surroundings. Swarms of Negatives walk around, as if they were shoppers. Some of the ones near the entrance turn towards Lynn. She closes her eyes and focuses.

That way.

Lynn runs further inside, slicing through any Negatives that stand in her way.

"I'm out of arrows!"

Sayo reaches towards her quiver and can't find anything.

"We're almost there, just keep running!" Hina says. Hagumi runs ahead, avoiding Negatives that tried to attack her.

"Kitazawa-san! Stay close" Sayo shouts. Hagumi keeps running quickly, not paying attention to where she's going. She trips over a small Negative.

"Hagumi-chan!" Hina sprints forward as a Negatives surround Hagumi.

"H-Hina!" Sayo shouts as Negatives begin to surround her.

"Sis!" Hina says, worried for Sayo.

"I'll be fine. Go help Kitawaza-san!" Sayo says.

"Hey Tsugu?" Tomoe asks. "How'd you and Himari get here, anyway? Ako and I were just outside and we never saw the door open."

"The suits brought us here" Tsugumi answers. "They picked us up from the cafe and told us Lynn-san asked them to keep us safe."

"Yeah, but I mean, how'd you actually get inside?" Tomoe asks again.

"Oh, that!" Himari answers. "We teleported!"

"You... Teleported?" Ako asks, raising an eyebrow.

"There's a secret room here in CiRCLE with a teleporter!" Himari says.

"There was also one in Hanasakigawa, right guys?" Tomoe asks Moca and Ran.

"There was one in Kokoro's house too" Ran whispers. The suit raises an eyebrow.

"We serve the young master's every whims" the suit speaks. "This incudes summoning the mascot suit known as 'Michelle' at any moment. The suit itself is cumbersome to carry everywhere. Because of this, we have placed teleporters all over key parts of the city to make transporting the suit easier."

"That's... So cool!" Ako's eyes glow.

"The lengths they go through for Kokoro is insane..." Ran comments.

"Speaking of which, where is she?" Tomoe asks.

"We... Are unsure" the suit answers. "The young master emits a radiant energy, which we call Happy energy, but the American calls Light energy. We have a radar that can detect that energy, allowing us to track the young master and be able to serve her wherever she may be. However, ever since Christmas, the city has been flooded with this energy, allowing the young master to blend in."

"But those creatures out there are the opposite of that energy, right?" Moca asks.

"Correct" the suit answers. "Their appearance has lowered the Happy energy levels all over the city, yet our radar is still unable to detect the young master."

"But you sent Lynn out to some signals, right?" Ran asks.

"Correct" the suit answers. "We also have agents looking all over the city. We are hoping the young master is in one of those locations."

"Is there anything we can do?" Tomoe asks.

"Not without the young master" the suit answers. "We have been capturing Happy energy emitted by her to make our weapons effective against those things. Without a source of that energy, we cannot do much against them."

"So that means you've seen these before?" Moca asks.

"Correct" the suit answers.

"How long have you been fighting against them?"  Ran asks.

"The first sighting was 16 years ago, on the day of the young master's birth."