[currently unnamed TPC fanfic]

[that's it, that's the whole fic]

...

The last thing I remember before passing out was a beam of orange light passing through my attacks.

I woke up a while later, my form completely changed and uncorrupted. The first thing I saw were two of the caretakers waiting around, as I was somewhere I didn't recognize at first.
I planned to ask the first shape I saw where I was, as I began to find my balance getting up.
"Hey, so do you know where I-"
I froze. "Fuck."

Iris.

Why him? Why now? Why me? Why why why why why?! My heart was racing and I started to look for an exit. I found a staircase close by, I figured if I sprinted I could make it before the motherfucker near me said anything. So I ran down the steps as fast as I could in my skates, bumping into a blur of light blue near the door and almost tripping before finally heading out of the building.

-That was a close one.-
I went as fast as I could to the castle, having each shortcut memorized like the back of my hand.

I arrived at the door, greeted by the warm fuchsia glow of the entrance. Stepping inside, I took off my skates and made my way upstairs as fast as possible. I knew that if I stayed in the castle long enough, the corruption would start to seep into me, so I had nothing to worry about. I went into my room and made sure to lock the door behind me, hopped into my bed and pulled out my phone. -I can't let the others see me like this-, I thought to myself as I looked down to check my now-indigo hands.

Hours passed as I tried to calm myself down from the encounter earlier, checking occasionally to see how much longer it would take until I was fully corrupted again. I know that everyone else would probably call me crazy if they found out that I really did want to be this way for the rest of my life. This castle was my only home, and I could finally feel safe here. I didn't have to worry about what my status was as a pure shape, I didn't have to worry about keeping up appearances, none of that. I had people who cared about me, even if they were "evil" to the rest of the world.

I heard a knock on my door.
"Circu. It's AJ. You've been in there for like, an hour and I haven't heard anything. You good?"

Shit, I was so caught up in my thoughts I forgot to make it seem like I was busy.
Also, 'you good'? Since when did Ajaceare of all people care about anyone? Or was I just -that- unlucky today?

Either way, I needed to come up with an excuse for her not to come in.
"Uh... just, uh, changin'. That's all. Yeah." That should be good enough, right?
"Changing? For an hour? In the middle of the afternoon? *Sigh*. Circu. You really need to get better at lying. Just tell me what's going on and I'll get out of your way, no questions asked."
I took a deep breath. "Is... is it true that you can manipulate corruption?"
"Yeah, why? ...Oh. Did you run into a problem dealing with those caretakers earlier?"

"Yep." I opened the door. "Just come in quick so no one can see me like this."

"Alright. This shouldn't take a while, since you're already pretty close to your normal colour."
..

"Interesting", Ajaceare muttered to herself as a couple of minutes passed. "Do you know what happened exactly that uncorrupted you? Or was it just a fight?"

"I... I remember something shattering. And then I passed out. I don't know what happened, but I hope that's enough for you to figure out what's wrong."

"Shattering? That's unusual. Alright, give me a second. I know what spell I'm going to need now."
"...Just, don't judge how cliché it looks, alright?", she added under her breath.

A few seconds later, the room was surrounded in tendrils of all different shades of pink, spinning faster and faster until it was almost dizzying to look at.
"3... 2... 1... and done."
The swirl stopped and vanished into a translucent mist. I looked back down and noticed I had completely returned to my corrupt appearance.

"Thank you thank you thank you!!" I was overjoyed that I looked like myself again.
"Don't mention it." She walked out of the room.

I felt at ease knowing that everything was fixed. Though I worried as to what could've happened if I had stuck around a little longer with those caretakers. Would they have hurt me? Interrogate me? I don't think it would be possible for me to even speak at all if I was around not only people I knew weren't on my side, but also with *him*.

I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight just thinking about what could've happened to me.

<Timeskip> ◇

I stepped outside onto the castle balcony for some fresh air, tears rolling down my face. It was the middle of the night, and all of Paradise was quiet except for the occasional crickets.

I heard the door to the balcony open, followed by a voice quietly calling out from behind me. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah it's... it's fine. Just needed to step out for a bit." I mindlessly responded.
"You don't have to lie to me, y'know."
"Fine, Blix. I'm..." I sighed. "Dwelling on the past. That's all."
"Need to talk about it?" He moved beside me, as I was leaned against the rail.

I hesitated, then held his hand tightly. "Remember how I said I used to be dating one of the caretakers?"
"Yeah?"
"It's about that. Let's just say it wasn't the -healthiest- relationship I've been in."
"Wanna talk more about that?" Blixer's expression grew more concerned.
"Yeah. Heads up though, it's not, well, the most -comfortable- thing to hear about. It might be a little triggering. Just tell me if you need me to stop talking."
He held my hand tighter. "Alright."

I took a deep breath. "So..."

◇

"Circu, I..."
"It's in the past now", I said, cutting him off.
Blix quickly pulled me in for a hug. "I'm so fucking sorry. You deserve so much better than that piece of shit."
Tears ran down my face. "I already have someone better, now. More than I could've ever asked for."

It felt like hours had passed in our embrace.
"Hey. It's like, one in the morning. Wanna go back to bed, or..?"
I nodded, walking back. Blix left the room, only to come back a minute later, carrying some blankets, and putting them around me.

"How's this?"
"So... fuckin'... cozy." I started to curl up with the blankets on me.

Blix hopped into bed with me, holding me in his arms. "Goodnight, love."

I had never felt more safe, more comfortable, more protected, more wanted, more... loved. I feel like things will only get better from here.