[Tokusatsu Themes, Purification]

Another day, another Monster that wanted to stand in the way of the City of Equilibre's wellbeing. And this time, the Natura Couleur had met their match. Because instead of a single enemy or an enemy and a big horde of minions, they faced a fearsome fivesome, matching their numbers and aesthetics.

"Well, didn't expect us to end up fighting another set of heroes, even if they're a bunch of fakes." Rouge cried out as she slammed her fist into her palm, grinning as she shot a glance at the red-clad girl across from her. A girl that had a lot of similar aesthetics to her, no doubt part of the Monsters' tactics.

The Monster brushed a hand through her rooster-shaped hair as she laughed, pushing her red cape out of the way and bringing attention to her mostly white suit with a single stripe of red running down the middle. "You'll see, Natura Rouge! We, the Prismatics, will make sure that your reign of terror goes away in an instant. As Prism Red, I will make sure of it!" She was confident. Maybe even a little pompous, especially as heat started to radiate off her form.

Her blue-shaded ally stood by her side, adjusting one of her twintails as she grinned and pointed straight at her heroic counterpart. "Red's right! It's up to us to knock you down a few pegs! And I've got just the thing!" She cried out, whipping out a blue-hued cannon from beneath her cape, the barrel trained on her sword-wielding opponent. "Prism Blue's Prism Blaster'll turn you real blue, Bleu!"

Bleu shook her head as she drew her blades, letting them extend as usual. "You won't land a single hit. Your Conviction, your drive to replace me, it's lacking!" She shouted, the playful attitude of her opponent being enough to make her emotions spike. She wasn't one to let her emotions take control, but if she had to prove that she was the better one suited for something like this, then she would give in and let it all out.

Vert just let out a bit of a frustrated cry as she drew her blades from her own cape, which was nowhere near as long as the Prismatics' own. "Let's just get this over with. These fakes aren't even close to worth our time! And besides, my game's still cooking! If I don't get home in time for that event, heads are going to roll!" As temperamental and as bratty as ever, even when she finally got into the field...

Prism Green sighed sweetly, a much older woman than the brat in front of her. As she moved her arm back, the winds gathered at her fingertips and formed a matching bow and arrow that she had already drawn back, her aim trained on her enemy. "Do try to behave, Vert. It's unbecoming of a cute little girl like you to be so rotten internally. You'd be much better off if you took after me, Prism Green..." Her tone was maternal, but her intentions were anything but.

Prism White licked her lips and lifted her hand out from her cape, revealing the slightly bloodied claws at the tips of her fingers. "That Blanc girl looks positively delicious. I can't wait to hear her screams once I dig these into her. She'll be even cuter when she's squirming on the edge of defeat. All while looking up at me, Prism White, and begging for me to finish her off... Ehehehehehehehe..." The psychotic woman laughed, as the pure white nature of her uniform made it so much easier for her to expose her vile nature.

Blanc shivered a bit as she looked at that menacing and utterly unstable girl. And it felt like something was echoing inside her head. Like... Why did her obsessive behavior seem so familiar? No, she had to be just imagining things. There's no way that she had anything in common with a monster like her. "You won't make me submit! As long as I have Noir, as long as I have everyone else..! I'll keep standing up and go right past the wounds you inflict on me!" She had her friends. They would be her strength..!

"You heard her! You better give me a good fight too, Black! Otherwise, I'll knock your whole team out and leave you standing because you couldn't protect your friends!" Noir cried out with gusto as her muscles started flexing underneath her uniform. She was ready to kick some ass. No matter if the opponent in front of her had the same sort of powers, no matter if she was going to put up such a fight that she'd end up overwhelmed!

Prism Black nodded as she drew a single blade from underneath her cape, the blade igniting with dark energies as she slid a finger across the side. "I will meet your strength with my skill, Noir. On the honor of Prism Black, you will fall here and now!" She wasn't about to mince words. She would prove herself in a test of skill and strength. So that the others could stay standing...

As the two groups, Natura Couleur and the Prismatics, got ready to throw down... Somebody was watching them from afar. Somebody with a keen eye who wanted to know the outcome of this fight. Somebody who had been watching ever since Rouge first acquired her powers and the sense of Justice burning inside her...

The tension in the air was so thick that you could drag a knife through it. Whoever moved first would have the rest of the enemy team on their ass. So as long as one could handle an onslaught from five, then..!

"VERT VISAGE!"

Vert was the first to make her move. By concentrating her winds into a thick mist, she gave her allies the home field advantage as she suddenly split into several dozen copies of herself, each of them rushing down the Prismatics quickly and overwhelmingly while her allies got the chance to swoop in for a swift and dangerous finish!

Prism Red met the assault of green headon by slamming her flaming fists straight through each and every clone. "You think numbers will extinguish this flame? You have another thing coming, Vert!" She shouted as she kept speeding up with every successive blow, the flames in her proverbial engine growing hotter and hotter.

It didn't matter how many were sent at her. With every blow, she just got better. And there seemed to be no cap to her heat, as the ground underneath her started to melt the longer she kept fighting. She was fully intending to completely outpace these tyrants! For the sake of breaking this city free from the Light that was crushing it-

"ROUGE CROSS!"

Just as the red-clad villain was busy smashing through the clones of Vert, a beam of pure heat cut through the fog and overwhelmed the Prismatic. However, she didn't stop. Because the heat was nowhere near as strong as the heat that kept her going! "Is that the best you can do, Rouge!? A BEAM OF FIRE TO FIGHT FIRE? ARE YOU THINKING BACKWARDS OR IS THAT SENSE OF JUSTICE IN YOUR HEART REALLY THAT OUT OF ORDER!?"

With Prism Red heading straight for Rouge by following the beam of heat, she thought she could strike at the leadership of the Natura Couleur. And with one arm outstretched as those flames that surrounded her gathered and formed into the point of a spear, she was certainly ready.

What she wasn't ready for was Rouge still grinning despite the damage done to her through her constant use of Rouge Cross, because she just needed Red to get this close. That exposed her weak point, the one place that hadn't been heated. "ROUGE CROSS! FULL POWER!" She shouted as her uniform burned to cinders to intensify the heat, all while she used her cross as a guide, letting it all center on a single point.

Prism Red's heart.

Before Red had a chance to block or absorb the heat with her own, she was blown away by the sheer power within the beam. So much so that her own cape was burned to cinders as her heart overheated, the girl knocked out by the concentrated strength in that beam. One down, four to go.

Prism Blue was firing shots rapidly through the mist, laughing while many Vert clones were being totally decimated as she swapped between firing modes. Whether she was firing single powerful shots, bursts that weren't as powerful but much quicker, automatic fire that she could just spray and pray with, or sustained lasers that she could even use as melee weapons should the need arise... There was no way that Bleu would get a chance to approach her if these clones couldn't do it!

"What's the matter, Bleu? Cat got your tongue? There's no way that you've dodged all those shots!" The twin-tailed girl cried out as she kept on firing, laughing more and more. "Come on! Say something! It's not as fun when I don't hear my target squealing as it resists! Come on! Saaaay something!" She kept on trying to rile the girl up. Anything to make her get angrier. That Conviction stuff sounded so dull that she had to do this to have some fun instead.

As she kept on firing, she suddenly noticed that she had started getting a bit wet. Not down below, she was already way drenched from the blaster fire. But it was actually more like rain had been drizzling down on her and getting her cape all sorts of heavy and extremely wet. So much so that she had to look up and see if she couldn't blast the rainc-

"BLEUFALL!"

Blue's eyes widened as she quickly realized that it wasn't rain. It was Bleu having managed to get above her, the droplets caused by the water she stood on top of. But before she had a chance to retaliate, Bleu activated her powers and made that water quickly stream downward with the same intensity as a waterfall, slamming the girl to the ground while the heroine descended as well.

The second that Blue hit the ground, Bleu was right behind her. But her blades came down first, slamming straight into the girl's back. And with that decisive blow, the Prismatic's cape dissolved into bubbles as her body went limp just like Red's. Thoroughly defeated. Three down.

Prism Green could hear her allies falling. But she kept steady. Keeping her aim true when faced with the wind powers of another combatant. Sure, she had to let loose an arrow here and there to pierce straight through several clones, but she had the upper hand. Her fine control of wind meant that she wouldn't be impeded by a set of simple clones.

"You'll have to try harder than that, Vert." The maternal woman said as she let loose another arrow, seeing it pierce through the hearts of three clones or so. "Do you not tire yourself out by doing this? It's admirable that you actually try to help your allies, but this will not earn you your victory. You will end up losing yourself, and then... Well, my arrow will meet its mark." She wanted nothing more than to see her enemy fall, but not see her perish. Her heart wouldn't be able to take it.

Vert stayed quiet as she moved through the fog, just producing more and more clones to overwhelm the remaining Prismatics. She had to keep outputting clone after clone after clone. It was the only way that she would manage to outpace these awful copycats. And if she didn't hurry up, then she'd miss that rare item..!

Prism Green just sighed as she drew back her bow one more time, before letting loose the next arrow. Watching it fly through the air as it weaved through several Verts, each of them disappearing right after being hi-

The maternal woman's eyes widened as she saw that one of them didn't disappear. All the others certainly did. There was... There was no way that the clones had gotten strong enough to endure her attacks. So why would Vert foolishly take a strike straight to the heart if it meant that she got close enough to deliver a fatal blow? Was she suicidal? Or was this a show that she was more determined than she was..?

"You kept your eyes on the clones, but you never thought you'd hit me..!" Vert grinned as she dashed straight at Green, more clones appearing around her despite the pain inside her. "You're weak! Your heart's holding you back! And that's why I'm taking the win! VERT VISAGE!"

Drilling the enemy's faults into her, the clones around Vert gathered into her as she jumped into the air and had them all swirl around her leg, letting her kick through the air while the winds drilled on and on. Letting her pierce past Prism Green, whose cape was quickly torn to shreds by the winds as she fell to the ground, seemingly defeated just like the others. Two remained...

"Ahahahahaha!" Prism White cried as she dug her claw into one of the Vert clones that tried to assault her, only to toss it another and repeat the process. It didn't matter how many bodies were being tossed her way. As long as they bled even a little, she could replenish her reserves. She would keep out sustaining them, all while she kept getting closer and closer to Blanc.

"You're like a little lamb, Blanc! And I'm the big bad wolf, trying to hunt you down! You'll taste real good too, I'm sure of it! A genuine human who'll bleed for her friends... Mmmph, I'm getting tingly just thinking about it!" White laughed more and more as she kept on rampaging through these enemies, hoping to strike fast and true. Nothing would stop her from getting what she wanted. The blood of an innocent girl spilling at her hands!

Blanc trembled as she saw that violent monster approaching her. Her heart was screaming. But... But if she didn't make a stand, then she would aim for the others and outpace them too. She had to do something while she was still surrounded by the Verts. Wait a moment... Surrounded. That's it!

As White carved through the mist to get to Blanc, she kept laughing. Right until she could see Blanc, then her laughter intensified as she leapt at her just like a predator who had finally laid her eyes on her prey..! "YOU'RE MINE!"

Only for her to strike through a Vert instead, her hand getting partly stuck inside it. Strange, she had carved through them all with ease just moments prior. What made this one so different? Was it because it was stronger, or was it the genuine Vert? Whichever was the case, the fact that she couldn't move her claws was getting her really riled up.

Once the Vert started to grin and many more started to surround her... Then White started to realize how she had been played. All while one of the Verts moved out of the way and revealed Blanc's grin, and the shimmer of her light-filled barrier. She had... She had made a barrier that went through the Verts, which meant that if you cut into them, you ended up cutting into the barrier and getting stuck..!

"Go! Finish her off!" Blanc cried, as all of the Verts drew their daggers and went on the offensive. It didn't matter how much White could regenerate based on the ones she defeated if she couldn't manage to defeat any other individual. No matter if she tried to wildly swing one arm around, she was open on another. Letting cut after cut after cut pile up..!

Right up until White's cape imploded with a burst of light, forcing the girl to collapse onto her knees as she grew limp. Her claw was still stuck, but she had been defeated. She would no longer pose a threat to these girls. Completely and utterly neutered when it mattered most. And just one remained at that point.

"HAAAAH!"

Noir cried out as she slammed through several of the Vert clones that were supposed to help her, ramming Prism Black's guarding posture as she tried to break it. And yet she was blown back just like before, almost as if the black-haired combatant had managed to parry her charge. "No fair! Stick to proper attacks instead of being tricky!"

"With due respect, Natura Noir..." Black spoke as she sheathed her blade, carefully concentrating energy at her fingertips as she wrapped her hand around the handguard. "You're a strong opponent. I would've been done for if not for this. But don't worry. You'll appreciate this next technique. It's filled with the kind of power that you adore..!"

Noir winced as she quickly let her body be pumped full of that dark power inside her, her veins filling with Darkness as she bulked up and held her arms in front of her to block whatever was coming.

"BLACK ECLIPSE!"

Black drew her blade in an instant, and the resulting slash quickly tore through the mist and rendered it as little more than wisps that couldn't keep themselves together. Not only that, but the slash reached so far through that it eliminated every remaining Vert clone and delivered a devastating blow to the green-haired girl herself, necessitating that Blanc quickly tend to her wounds and heal her before things got any worse.

"How's that for Power..?" Black trembled a bit as black steam poured off her. Using this much power at once was dangerous for her. Even if she was a Monster. It meant that she'd have to replenish somehow, otherwise she wouldn't be able to do much more...

Her eyes then widened as she realized that the muscle bound menace in front of her was still standing. Not only that, she was so pissed that the steam was pouring off her body as she grew thicker and more veiny, with every step she took towards Black only intensifying that stress.

Noir grinned a bit as she pulled her arms away from her face. "That's great and all... But now it's my turn! GENOIRCIDER!" She shouted from the bottom of her heart as the Darkness completely coated her body, forming several deadly spikes along her arm as she charged forward with intent to completely destroy the Monster in front of her.

Just like before, Black tried to block the strike and parry her away. But upon making contact with the blade, the spikes extended and snapped it in two, leaving Black utterly defenseless in the face of Noir's extreme power. So much so that she was smashed to the ground in a mere manner of seconds.

As Black laid there, her cape... Didn't vanish. If anything, it grew longer and longer as she slowly but surely started to get back up, panting after she was rendered the only conscious member of her team despite the blow she had just taken head on. It hurt like hell, and the rest of her body was screaming for her to just sit down...

Especially since she was faced with all the Natura Couleur, each of them still ready to go. Even Vert, who had been quickly healed by Blanc following the Black Eclipse that she had been hit by. Each of them ready to face against the last remaining Prismatic...

"It's over, Prism Black." Rouge said, smiling a bit. "Just go. You won't get anything out of fighting us. Just give up and make peace with your friends, and then we won't chase you down." She had been thoroughly entertained by the fight. And it was clear that the black-clad girl cared about her friends. She wanted to see if she could make her change her mind, just this once.

As the other Natura's hearts started to scream at the suggestion, the Lights inside them going wild, Prism Black made it back onto her feet. And instead of accepting defeat, she just held up her broken blade and let her finger slide along it.

In an instant, the other Prismatics vanished, and Black was the only one that remained. But the white, black, green, blue and red on her cape made it clear that she wasn't quite the same Black they had just fought against. Even with how terribly damaged she looked.

"You won't win. Not as long as I still have the power to split into more girls..!" Prism Black, no, Prismatic cried out as a rainbow of colors consumed her blade to repair it. She was ready for another round. Even if she had to face down all five at the same time. She wouldn't back down, even now!

"Just give it up! You've lost!" Vert cried out, trembling a bit as she felt her powers slowly leaving her. She was still not in the best shape, even after all that healing. But she was going to see this through to the end. No matter what.

Bleu nodded in response as she let her blades spiral around her, surrounding her in a barrier of water. "We'll face your hopes and dreams head on, Prismatic. One way or another, you will accept defeat. Even if we have to serve it to you on a silver platter."

Blanc and Noir grinned as well, both of them standing side by side as they fed into each other's powers. Mostly just Blanc keeping Noir healed so she could sustain herself during Genoircide. But they were ready to do their all, which was why their paired technique was on standby!

Prismatic looked at her opponents. And as the colors inside her flared up and started to form a rainbow around her, she was ready to split into brand new Prisms. All to keep fighting for what she believed in. To break this city free from both Light and Dark-

"Couleurful Finish."

In that instant, before either side went to fight once again, a blade flew straight through the heart of the Prismatic. A true multi-colored blade, one that had impaled the Monster and slowly started to lift it into the air while she remained completely conscious. All while the Natura watched, unaware of what had just caused this sudden development.

With a colorful flash, the Prismatic let loose a scream of pure terror as she was swallowed by the colors. And by the time that the colors disappeared, there was absolutely nothing left. No evidence of Prismatic ever existing, nor any sign of what this colorful blade had done to her. The only thing that remained was the blade itself, which suddenly jerked through the air and flew towards the one that had tossed it.

Every single one of the Natura looked forward and laid their eyes upon somebody that immediately filled their hearts with dread. Somebody clad in a cloak, whose eyes peered out through the darkness as they flashed between the same different colors that they each embodied. Red. Blue. Green. White. Black. Each color flashing for but a few milliseconds, making the eyes almost mesmerizing in their intensity.

"W-Who is that?" Blanc said, her heart beating even harder than before. The Light inside her was having a difficult time trying to keep up with what she was experiencing. Fear. Regret. Fear. Terror. Fear. Fear. Fear. She didn't understand. She didn't know how to understand. All that she knew was that she didn't like what she was looking at.

Noir wasn't much better. Just looking at her allowed her to feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Something that her Light couldn't suppress. Why did she feel so alone? Why did the enemy and herself feel so alone at their core? It didn't make sense. So much so that her Darkness slowly retreated as it deflated her current muscle mass, leaving her as weak as she normally was. Because it feared what she was looking at...

Bleu looked at her, and her Conviction started to waver. Was this what she would eventually become? Somebody that would... No, she had become that. She did strike down anybody that stood against the Light inside her. So why did looking at somebody that had ruthlessly finished off an enemy like that make her feel outdone? Like she could be better, much much better..? It didn't sit right with her...

Vert grimaced. Of course she should've stayed back so she could've done something like this. She had expended so much energy, but the ingenuity of her enemy let her steal the kill at the last moment. And as a result, they were all played for fools. Complete and utter fools that couldn't do a thing. Damnit, this ingenuity wasn't hers... She was just as hopeless as before she became a Natura, just leaning on a bunch of training wheels!

Rouge just stared at the cloaked individual. Her Justice... It still burned bright when she looked at her. Like she had met a kindred spirit. But at the same time it was flickering. Begging to be put out. Because it felt impotent. It felt like it would fold when put to the test. Were her flames... Fake..?

"Why do you use my name..?" The cloaked multi-eyed individual stepped closer, as her wispy voice started to echo out around them. All while letting her colorful blade shine brightly. The only light shining against this shadowed figure, whose intents were still shrouded...

"Your name? It's not your name! We're Natura Couleur! We protect this city from the Darkness that Tenebris has tried to pull over it!" Rouge cried out as she stepped in front of her allies. Even if her heart felt like it would give out at any moment, she had to shine brightly in front of the girls she considered her friends. She had to show them the Light of Lumiere... The light they all bonded over!

The cloaked figure just laughed with pity in her tone as she grabbed ahold of her hood. Slowly pulling it down to reveal a girl with red hair... And four bangs, each colored after a different element that coursed through her. Blue Water. Green Wind. White Light. Black Darkness. Just like the Natura that she was currently intimidating with her presence. And her predominantly red mane contrasted their redheaded leader...

"No. That is My name. I am Shima Shiro! NATURA COULEUR!" The cloaked girl cried out as multicolored energies started to burst free from her, her gaze turning sharp as she quickly scanned each of the girls for weaknesses and for the best place to strike, visualized in her sight by a green spot that shone brighter than anything else. "Let Lumiere's foul light fade from your bodies, free you from this horrid role you've submerged yourselves in!"

Just like that, the girl vanished. With a simple gust of wind, she had become utterly invisible. Or had she outsped their eyes and just waited for the right moment to strike. Whichever was the case, they had a tough fight on their hands!

Noir did what she did best. Even if her body felt weak compared to the loneliness that had been facing her, she turned up Genoircide as hard as she possibly could, bulking out as she prepared herself for the worst. She could take a hit. She could tank enough for the entire team. This girl that claimed to have taken their name... She would take anything she could dish out.

At least, that's what she thought. But when she found a blade pinned against her chest, with Couleur's eyes brightly shining in front of her, she wavered for but a single moment. Why did looking at her make her feel this way..!? Why couldn't she use her power to its fullest!?

"Destructionoir."

Couleur spoke a single word as her body trembled, Darkness bulking it up for a moment before she pierced straight through with her blade. The black shade of her sword slowly grew more dense as it slurped up something precious from the girl she had impaled, quickly withdrawing and speeding away after delivering that single blow.

All while leaving Noir on her knees, tears running down her cheeks. She couldn't feel Lady Lumiere's light any longer. And in an instant, all of her previous feelings that had been repressed came flowing back through her. Her loneliness. Her dependence on Kohana... And how much the girl had isolated her socially. Even if that girl had now become a much kinder girl, her actions against her hadn't been erased. If anything, now that these memories have been unleashed... The fact she didn't even try to apologize for everything was enough to leave the muscled girl sobbing as she crawled up into a weakened fetal position...

Blanc could feel her fear intensifying as she saw Noir kneeling on the ground like that. Her strongest friend, her lover, her partner... Turned into little more than a weak shadow of herself. She should've done something to stop the colorful girl. But here she was. Frozen in fear. Frozen because of the emotions welling up within her.

Even as a set of hands crept onto her shoulders, filled with warm and healing light... She knew that they couldn't be good. Because they had to be Couleur's. They felt the same as her own. Filled with healing light that was meant for her allies. So why... Why couldn't she use this power on Noir when it mattered most..?

"Blanc Slate."

Couleur let her light wash away all the impurities inside the girl that had inherited her light. Or rather, she washed away the influence that the wicked Light had forced upon her. Lumiere's light vanished from Blanc's body, and with it her inner self was once again unleashed. The awful brat that had isolated her closest friend. The awful girl that had done everything in her power to break any and all relationships because she was such a toxic existence.

All that Blanc could do once those hands left her shoulders was just stare at her hands. Because her current self was still in control. All those memories of what she had been. All those memories of actively deceiving Kiko. Tearing her away from her friends because she thought she didn't deserve a happy life. Tearing her away from her studies because she didn't deserve to progress. Keeping her at her level because she was an immature waste that needed her way more than the bigger girl needed her..!

Blanc couldn't stop herself from screaming in pure despair as she realized what a horrible person she had been. Especially as she knew she couldn't be better. Not now that she was completely and utterly aware of what she had done. There was no way that she could earn forgiveness... There was no way that she could earn the love of the girl that she had been so close to. Because she had been the one to push her to this point and pull her into all this chaos when she never even wanted it in the first place...

With their healer and their powerhouse taken out, Rouge, Bleu and Vert were now in quite the pickle. The enemy was strong enough to deliver one dangerous blow in an instant, and use malicious healing. It almost did seem like it was all true. That she was their predecessor... And the one who was truly supposed to have their name.

This was taking too long. That's what Vert's heart was telling her. Despite all of this being awful, she still had a game waiting at home. So it was up to her to step up and deal with it. She could use her ingenuity, fake as it may be, and do something to deal with this enemy. Even if she was strong, she couldn't handle that many numbers!

"VERT VISAGE!" "Vert Vision."

The instant that several clones spawned, so did several clones of Couleur. Each of them were transparent, but thanks to the mist that was necessary to manifest the visages that served as Vert's clones, it was hard to tell which of them was actually real and which was the real Couleur.

Vert's solution? Simple. Just bumrush through the clones until she found the true one. It didn't matter if she tired herself out. She just wanted to get all of this over with. A defeat would be fine, she didn't care for the light inside her in the first place! It, and the Darkness that Tenebris had stuffed in there, it should all just disappear!

Couleur was happy to oblige. While Vert and her clones were busy attacking from the front, the speedy enemy had managed to get behind Vert. And by sticking her blade through her head and blowing on her hilt, the green part of the multi-colored blade started to glow a bit black and white at the same time. She did no lasting damage, just dragging out the impurities within the girl as her power came to an end.

Vert... Vert collapsed onto her knees as she felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. But at the same time she became incredibly sober. Because she understood her way of thinking, the Ingenuity that had been poured into her to make her so smart... It was all fake. She had been suspecting it from the moment she attained it... But the lack of influence from either the Light or the Dark only served to make those suspicions intensify, and her preexisting feelings of utter isolation started to settle in once again...

"Vert..." Bleu muttered as she looked to her, throwing a glance towards Rouge as well. Their enemy was strong. And her Conviction was wavering. Was this belief in Lady Lumiere truly right? Had they been duped into servitude? And... More importantly, could they still stand..?

Rouge certainly didn't have the answer. But she did try her best to save her friend. By pushing her out of the way of an impending wave of purifying waters, the waters splashing over her instead as Bleu narrowly avoided that fate.

"ROUGE!" Bleu cried out as she watched Rouge get carried away, causing her to grit her teeth as she spun her blades around. She'd get a hit on this girl. One way or another. Even if she had to drown the surrounding area to do so!

She didn't get the chance to. Not before those very same purifying waters came crashing down on her from up above. "Bleu Drops." Couleur muttered as she carefully descended down as the intense stream of near-constant raindrops were just as terrifyingly potent as a wave of her waters.

Bleu fell to the ground as she felt the weight of her own Conviction shattering. And realizing what she had done when she fought against the Eternal Cold Queen. She had tossed away her principles and abandoned a friend who needed her. If she was true to herself, the girl she had been raised as... Then she would've tried to save her no matter the odds. Instead she just put her belief in her new powers and in Lady Lumiere. What was she if not for one giant fraud? She wasn't full of conviction! She was blinding herself to the truth. Just like she always did whenever she wasn't satisfied with what she saw!

As Bleu slammed her fist against the ground and let the Light inside her wash away thanks to the rain above, Rouge was the only one left. And she was quick to be attacked by Couleur, thanks to how she had been disabled just moments prior. The waters had washed her away, leaving her completely and utterly vulnerable to the flames that descended upon her courtesy of the blade covered in multifaceted flames...

A blade that was met head on by Rouge's arm, her Justice flickering in her eyes. Even as she looked up upon her predecessor and saw the saddened Justice in her eyes as well. "Why..? Why do you do this!?" Rouge cried out as she slowly but surely forced herself up, the flames intensifying around her as all of this couldn't be right. She couldn't be right. It wouldn't be right for her to be right!

"To save you all from a duty that you will never be satisfied by." Couleur said, pushing back against the flaming heroine. "You've been deceived. By Lumiere. By Tenebris. Both the Light and the Dark of this city want nothing more than to control each and every single soul in here. She tried to control me. And she's controlled all of you. I'll set you free, to give you the chance to disappear." She explained, all while her eyes continued to shine with sadness...

Rouge could understand. But she didn't want to accept it. Was it because of the Justice inside her? Or was it just because she had grown attached to the girls she had fought alongside? Whatever the case was, she didn't back down. Not as long as she still had the fire of Justice burning inside her. Even if it paled compared to the fire in Couleur!

With a swing, she knocked the multi-colored girl back. And by spreading her arms far and wide, she charged all of her flames into one point. "ROUGE CROSS!" She shouted, releasing all of her heat in one big beam. It was everything she had. And if this failed... Well, then she didn't have anything she could do.

Couleur met her attack headon. Taking in all of that heat as she spread her arms as well. And two strong words left her lips, the exact same that Rouge had let slip past hers.

"Rouge Cross."

The heat was sent back at twice the strength. Completely burning away the beam that Rouge had fired... and incinerating the Light and Justice inside her heart, burning her until she was forced to pass out. That was the only way that Couleur could make her yield. The only way she could free her from Lumiere's influence.

As the heat from both beams died down, Natura Couleur looked at the defeated Naturas and just quietly stuck her sword into her chest, letting it be absorbed by her colors. She had seen enough. She had done enough. Hopefully now, with the lights removed from their bodies, they could ignore Lumiere's pull. Maybe they could even fight back.

For now, she disappeared in a flash of five colors. She had much to still do. Much to do to undo Lumiere's plans. So she could see Equilibre at its greatest...

---

"So this is what you chose, Shiro? You just had to go and try to ruin everything..."

Lumiere muttered, before giggling a little, the light shining maliciously in the Light's eyes.

"Fine then. I'll just have to replace them as well. Just give me a few days..."

They would be cast aside. Just like she had done to Shiro. Just like she had done to all Natura Couleur in the past.

These five would be no different…