The three groups of girls rejoined one another and, naturally, Ruby, Bethany, and Yazmyn gasped in happy surprise at seeing one another in their new Cosmic Rose outfits! “WHOO!” cheered Yazmyn. “Ruby, Bethany, I was right, you two look FINE!”
“Same as you!” agreed Ruby.
“All that work, and it paid off!” chuckled Bethany.
“You girls have made us proud!” said Wilma.
“You think we have a shot at-?” Ruby stopped herself when she saw someone rushing up to them. “…Your Honor?!” she yelped. It was, indeed, the mayor!
“Thank goodness!” he panted when he stopped. “…Ruby, Bethany, Yazmyn, are you girls…?” He indicated the outfits.
“We are,” answered Bethany.
“Your Honor, what’s wrong?” asked Belinda.
“It’s Lord Typhoon! We found him!” explained the mayor. “He’s taken up residence at the church in Oldtowne!”
“Hang on, that’s MY church!” yelped Bethany.
“It gets worse,” said the mayor. “He’s killed the priest right in the pews.”
“He’s gone too far!” snarled Bethany as she punched her hand.
“Police are surrounding the place, but the Entrooper Commander broke free last night and has its troops aiming their guns at the crowd!”
“…Let’s see the situation,” said Ruby.
“Ruby?” asked Yazmyn.
“Ruby, are you sure?” asked Wilma. “It’s going to be dangerous.”
“We got chosen by our Transformation Seeds during a rescue attempt,” replied Ruby. “On top of that, Lord Typhoon threatened us and our planet. We HAVE to see this through.”
“…You’re right,” sighed Belinda. “Your Honor, as Ruby said, we need to see the situation.”
The mayor took the Cosmic Roses, both old and new, to the church. The police and Entroopers were pointing their guns at one another. “He’s in there,” said the mayor as he pointed at the church. “Right at the altar.”
“Do we have eyes on what’s going on inside?” asked Ruby.
“A lot of machinery being put together, but we don’t know what the end result will be…aside from it not being good.”
“…Bethany, do you know the layout?” quizzed Ruby.
“I’ve been to every part of that church,” replied Bethany. “Do we know if the back door is guarded?”
“We do, and it’s unguarded,” said the mayor. “We’re keeping the Entroopers’ attention on us.”
“…Well, that makes things a little easier,” mused Ruby. “But whether or not it’s locked remains another thing entirely.”
“The priest is a little paranoid about locking the church,” replied Bethany. “It was vandalized when he was a kid.”
“Well, that’s just mean to everyone,” remarked Yazmyn.
“We need the keys,” said Ruby. “Is the priest here?”
“Right here,” replied the mayor as he brought the priest over. As he did, Yazmyn screwed up her face.
“…Anyone else feeling…a spot of nothing?” she asked.
“Like there’s a spot where nothing exists where it should?” asked Bethany.
“I’m sensing it too,” replied Ruby.
“…It’s very likely you’re sensing the lack of a soul,” said Wilma.
“If it’s coming from Lord Typhoon…” muttered Grace.
“We’ll confirm that when we get in,” said Belinda.
“Miss Williams,” the priest said to Bethany as he handed the keys over, “you and your friends be careful, you hear?”
“Loud and clear, Father,” replied Bethany.
The police kept the Entroopers attention held long enough for the Cosmic Roses to go in through the back. Bethany led her friends and mentors through the back of the church past the Sunday School classroom and into the nave, right at the righthand side of the altar. A machine was being built with Entroopers putting it together and Lord Typhoon supervising the whole thing. “…Feh!” scoffed Lord Typhoon as he looked at the crucifix above the altar. “Why such backwards fools need religion is beyond me.” Bethany growled softly at that.
“Bethany, easy,” soothed Ruby.
“He’s done it,” sighed Wilma.
“…Wilma?” asked Ruby.
“That feeling of nothing,” explained Wilma, “it’s coming from him. He’s surrendered his soul to Emperor Entropy to be consumed.”
“…So he really IS a soulless monster,” said Bethany.
“Just like the Entroopers.”
“What’s the plan?” asked Yazmyn.
“We have to cause confusion for the Entroopers,” replied Ruby through the teammate telepathy ability. “Yaz, you start shooting, see if your shots can cause damage to both Entroopers and the machine. Bethany, you sprinkle some water to enhance Yaz’s shots. Wilma, Grace, Belinda, you keep Lord Typhoon off balance. I’ll stab the machine. We’ll all then use those attacks we heard about. Belinda, we have to call out our rank, then the attack name, right?”
“That’s correct,” confirmed Belinda.
“All right.” Ruby held her hand up, “…NOW!” she called aloud, attracting the attention of everyone there.
“INTRUDERS! SLAUGHTER THEM!” shouted Lord Typhoon. Yazmyn was quicker on the draw and shot the guns out of the Entroopers’ hands while Bethany made her shield fly to the ceiling and spray water everywhere, enhancing Yazmyn’s shots. Wilma, Grace, and Belinda fought Lord Typhoon as Ruby stabbed the machine with her sword, using her fiery abilities to melt it slightly. “MY WORLD DRENCHER!” shouted Lord Typhoon. “You red-wearing PIPSQUEAK!” He threw Wilma, Grace, and Belinda aside and charged at Ruby, sword drawn. The two clashed, their blades creating sparks. Thankfully, nothing was catching fire. “Your souls would have made for fine meals for Emperor Entropy!” snarled Lord Typhoon.
“Sorry, I like mine where it is!” retorted Ruby. “You and your master will NEVER decide what one does with their soul! You are NOT gods!”
“We ARE gods! Who do you think you are, spreading that kind of blasphemy?!” Ruby then pushed Lord Typhoon back with enough force to make him stumble. She then remembered how her mentors introduced themselves.
“I, Ruby Kobayashi, the Red Lady,” she said, “am the Rose of Fire!” Bethany knocked aside several Entroopers and joined Ruby.
“I, Bethany Williams, the Blue Lady, am the Rose of Water!” Yazmyn then leapt over the enemy’s heads, firing on them before joining her friends.
“I, Yazmyn Jacobson, the Yellow Lady, am the Rose of Lightning!” Wilma opened her lantern to its maximum intensity and blinded the enemies surrounding her, then joined her students.
“I, Wilma Lux, the White Empress, am the Rose of Light!” Grace swung her spear, taking down several Entroopers before joining with her fellow Roses.
“I, Grace Grayson, the Gray Empress, am the Rose of Balance!” Belinda then used the shadows to teleport and take down a few Entroopers before joining the group.
“I, Belinda Umbra, the Black Empress, am the Rose of Darkness!” she finished.
“Blooming wherever evil lurks so we may defeat it,” said Ruby. She and her friends posed as sparkles flashed from Wilma’s lantern.
“WE ARE THE COSMIC ROSES!” they all called out.
“You’re weeds to be culled!” snarled Lord Typhoon.
“Roses, let’s show our thorns!” called Ruby as she readied her sword. “LADY FIRE SWORD SLASH!” The blade set itself on fire and Ruby slashed horizontally, creating a wave of fire.
“LADY WATER SHIELD WHIRLPOOL!” announced Bethany. She spun around, creating a water vortex, then threw her shield, causing the water vortex to follow it.
“LADY LIGHTNING PISTOL RAPID FIRE!” shouted Yazmyn as she pointed her guns at Lord Typhoon. She pulled the triggers and multiple lightning bolts erupted from the barrels.
“EMPRESS LIGHT LANTERN FLASH!” called Wilma. A bright light shot out of her lantern.
“EMPRESS BALANCE SPEAR JUDGEMENT!” called Grace. She twirled her spear and the scales on it rushed towards Lord Typhoon.
“EMPRESS DARK VEIL SHADOW!” finished Belinda. Her scarf wrapped around Lord Typhoon as all the attacks hit him. The scarf then returned to Belinda’s hands and Lord Typhoon stumbled while cracks appeared on his body.
“N-NO!” he begged. “P-PLEASE! T-TOO MUCH…MAGIC!”
“What’s happening?!” asked Ruby.
“The magic of our attacks is trying to fill in the void left behind by Lord Typhoon’s soul!” replied Wilma. “But it’s increasing to beyond what a body can tolerate!”
“It limits itself when the target has a soul,” continued Belinda, “but without one, magic will escape from a body in a rather explosive fashion!”
“In other words?!” asked Yazmyn.
“He’s gonna blow!” guessed Bethany.
“Exactly! And it’s gonna be a big one!” warned Grace.
“TAKE COVER!” shouted Ruby. Everyone went behind the pews and Bethany raised her shield for good measure. Good thing too, because Lord Typhoon exploded in a violent fashion that destroyed the machine, vaporized all but one of the Entroopers with him, and left a mess in the church. Everyone waited for a while. The resulting silence after the explosion was quite significant. Bethany peeked from behind her shield.
“…Sound off,” she called. “Who’s still here?”
“Still alive, I think,” said Ruby.
“That boom was loud!” groaned Yazmyn.
“Being that close WILL do that to your ears,” muttered Wilma.
“…Girls…we did it…” realized Grace. Wilma and Belinda goggled.
“…Good grief, we actually beat one of Emperor Entropy’s minions!” whispered Belinda.
“…No!” begged the surviving Entrooper. The Entrooper Commander burst into the church.
“What’s going on?!” he demanded. “My Lord, what’s-?!”
“Your Lord and Master is dead!” replied Ruby as she used her sword to point out the charred circle that was Lord Typhoon.
“A mere lie!” scoffed the Entrooper Commander.
“It’s no lie, Sir!” replied the Entrooper Survivor. “I saw it! All six of the Roses used their final attacks! Lord Typhoon is dead! Our army isn’t indestructible!”
“…Retreat!” whispered the Entrooper Commander.
“Sir?” asked an Entrooper from outside.
“Return to the ship!” ordered the Entrooper Commander.
“But-!”
“EVACUATE EARTH! THAT’S AN ORDER!” At that, the Entroopers ran pell-mell from town! As they ran, the Cosmic Roses stepped out from the front door.
“…We did it!” whispered Ruby. She and the Cosmic Roses then raised their heads with pride. “Officers, your Honor, we did it!” she called. “Lord Typhoon is gone and the Entrooper Menace is fleeing Earth!” Everyone cheered at the good news!