Pastel*Rangers

Chapter 84.5 - Space

[A few hours earlier]

A tower of Negatives approaches Aya and Lynn. Lynn holds her sword in front of her in defense.

"No! We can't fight that!" Aya yells to no avail.

"Aya, I'll hold it back. Get to CiRCLE!" Lynn says. The tower of Negatives lunges at Lynn. Lynn holds the tower back as her sword begins to glow. "Go! Now!"

Aya hops down the roof and runs towards CiRCLE, avoiding the dark liquid. Lynn parries the tower and slices it.

"Photon whirlwind!"

Lynn spins around, radiating a whirlwind of Light, disintegrating a large chunk of Negatives in the tower.

So it's not invincible.

The tower reforms itself where the Negatives had disintegrated, replacing them with fresh ones from the pools of dark liquid.

What's that liquid?

The tower of Negatives begins to spin and moves towards Lynn.

"Photon Slash!"

Lynn dashes towards the tower, slicing through it, disintegrating the Negatives her sword came in contact with. She then seemingly teleports behind it, slightly above where she was, and slashes through again. She keeps this up, slowly rising each time in order to cover as much area as possible. In her final strike, she appears above the tower and slices downwards, defeating all remaining Negatives that made it up.

Woah, I actually did it!

Lynn celebrates too early as the jellyfish raises a tentacle. Another tower of Negatives rises from the black liquid. Distracted with mentally patting herself on the back, she does not notice the tower flying towards her in time. She turns around, but is unable to block in time. The tower hits her, shoving her towards the floor.

Crap! I got careless!

Negatives appear from the liquid and begin to pile up on her.

Can't reach... My sword...

Negatives keep piling up above her, dragging her down into the liquid.

Aya... I'm sorry...

...Huh?

Lynn wakes up, confused. She looks around and sees nothing but stars around her. She closes her eyes and focuses, but only senses cold around her.

I've... Been here before.

Lynn stands up, noticing she's no longer in her maid outfit.

Weird. I had my powers last time. Then again, I also came here willingly last time.

Lynn starts walking forward while having her inner monologue.

Maybe if I try hard enough to remember...

[Several months ago]

"Enjoy your meal, b-baka~"

Lynn places an omurice on a table in front of a customer. She quickly moves behind the counter and into the break room. She is greeted by a young woman wearing a maid outfit similar to hers. Lynn sighs and undoes her transformation, turning her hair black and her outfit back to normal.

"You seem stressed" the other maid comments. "That 'baka' of yours sounded forced."

"I wouldn't say stressed, but I am exhausted" Lynn answers. "I've fought two transformed Negatives already this week, and if I have to fight a third, I think I'll ask for a vacation." Her phone vibrates. She looks, seeing a message from her boss. "Boss wants me to see her at the lab after my shift. Wanna come with me?"

"Hmm, sure, why not?" The other maid answers. Lynn transforms again and heads back out to the front to return to work. While people normally cannot see her in her transformation, Lynn's boss had set up a machine from the lab that allowed customers to see. Her reasoning for doing this was mainly for her own benefit. With that machine, she does not have to physically change into an elaborate angel-themed maid outfit. As a bonus, she can also create special effects using her powers, which she often does during special events. Lynn just happens to benefit from this as well, not needing to physically change clothing either.

Eventually, two more maids enter the café. Lynn and the other maid greet them and they end their shifts. Both of them head outside towards a nearby parking structure. They head inside the elevator, making sure they go in alone. Lynn inserts a key into the slot and presses certain buttons in a particular order. The elevator descends lower than usual, arriving in a small room with a cylindrical machine and a computer terminal. Lynn sets their destination to "lab_main" and steps inside the machine with the other maid. After a few seconds, both of them exit the machine and leave the room. They find themselves not in the room with the elevator, but instead in a room with various strange looking machines. They walk ahead and open a door, entering a small room with a bed. A bearded man lays unconscious in that bed, radiating a dark miasma, and a woman wearing a maid outfit with angel wings sits on a chair, reading a book. A stack of books sits next to her.

"You're here!" the angel stands up. "I think I found a way to cure his condition."

"Really?" Lynn says, hopeful. "How?"

"I was reading up on these machines, hoping one would be useful, and I think I found one that is" Lynn's boss says. "There's a machine that allows someone to enter someone's mind while they're asleep. From what we know about Negatives and possession, Negatives hang out in their minds while asleep. So, we hook him up to the machine, you go in, defeat whatever's in there, and he's back to normal!"

"Oh, ok, sounds simple enough" Lynn says. "So you want me to keep an eye on him while you go in his mind?"

"What? No. You're the one going in there" Boss says. "Only I can stave off the Negative energy when it flares up."

"Sometimes I wish I was the one with the wand" Lynn says sarcastically.

"At least you two have powers" the other maid chuckles. "Fighting with a time limit isn't ideal."

"So, when are we doing this?" Lynn asks.

"Whenever you're ready" Boss answers. "We can go now if you'd like."

Hmm. The sooner we get him back, the sooner I can stop being the only one fighting Negatives. And work wasn't too tiring, so I should be able to manage...

Boss stands up and walks towards the bed. She undoes the wheel locks and starts pushing the bed.

"What are you doing?" Lynn asks.

"It's written all over your face. You're ready now." Boss chuckles. She pushes the bed to another room. Lynn and her coworker follow her to a room with a single machine. That machine has a chair with a helmet attached to it. Another helmet, attached by a cable, rests on the chair.

"Sit here" Boss says, moving both helmets out of the way. She places one on the man in bed and gives the other one to Lynn.

"So, what's gonna happen?" Lynn asks.

"You'll fall asleep and these helmets will supposedly connect your minds. I'll skip the sciencey stuff, so just treat it as fighting a Negative with funky powers."

"Are there any safeguards in case something happens?" Lynn asks. "Like, can you guys keep an eye on me or disconnect me if something goes wrong?"

"Nope" Boss answers. "Apparently there were plans to add a screen, but the owner of this lab left before that could happen. But if I disconnect your helmet, you'll wake up instantly. That's what it said on these notes."

"Hm, that doesn't sounds too dangerous" Lynn says, putting on the helmet. "So, when do I fall-" Lynn instantly falls asleep once she puts on the helmet. The other maid catches her before she falls and places her on the chair.

Ah, so that's what this place was.

Back in the present, Lynn finishes her quick trip through memory lane. She had done nothing but walk forward, hoping for something to happen, but so far, had encountered nothing.

I'm assuming if this is the same as that time, then this must be my mind. No, it's more accurate to say heart. Either way, last time I was here via a machine. So, how do I wake up this time?