5

Shadows crept into the room as the five of them stood back to back. Abigail, Officer Benton, Shaziah, Rayne, and Sheba in humanoid form. There were now evil scarecrow beings and shadow beings leering at them through the darkness. Rayne and Shaziah nodded.

"Rainbow Rose Enfold me!"

"Moon Rose Enfold me!"

Transformed and in Armor, with weapons, they did not look like the little girls they had been only moments earlier. That's when Cygnus made her way into the room. She was the woman that Abigail had been battling before. Abigail gave Shaziah a dirty look. She was right, had Abigail been allowed to kill her she would not be here right now attacking them, but chances were based on what they had learned, was that someone else would be. Mercy was sometimes misguided, but sometimes not, and it was a risk worth taking until you learn you were wrong.

"Radiant Rose Rush!"

Shaziah flew forward while swinging her chain whip, its lash end slicing into shadows and scarecrow number one. But as its arm fell to the ground another scarecrow formed from the limb, and the scarecrow's arm grew back.

"They are projections of intention, they cannot truly be defeated without stopping their mistress."

"Oh, she is a wise one. She knows how to stop my scarecrows, but which of you is brave enough to face me. Come along darlings."

Abigail flicked her cigar into a pile of oily rags in the corner. As the explosion from the flammables under them levelled that end of the cabin, she grabbed the others, and though dazed and confused they ran past the shadows and began to run.

"Everyone splits!"

The five began going in different directions. Shadows and Scarecrows in tow behind each of them. For Brad Benton, he stopped hurling. Not because he was working out more than usual, but because WHAT THE FUCK! Where had those shadowy beings and scarecrows come from? He was following a tip that the missing girls were in the cabin with some adult, but he had new police with him. They had fallen and become these scarecrows. What the hell was going on!?

Cygnus appeared before the human man. She smiled sweetly. He was quite sexy, using him as a sex puppet was going to be quite fun. She let loose a crackling orb of energy. The orb slammed into an unexplained barrier and fizzled out. Brad who had closed his eyes preparing for the blast opened one eye. There before him, a blast of radiant white light formed. Cygnus fell backward as a crystal rose glowing pure white formed before him. He somehow recognized it but from were.

"Back you vile woman who abuses magics! You will not harm this one!"

The rose spoke with a feminine voice, but it was very powerful. Brad slowly reached out and touched the rose. Suddenly energy of gold and yellow flowed up his arm. Energy began to flow around him with white rose petals. Moments later he appeared in silver-white gleaming robes, and a radiant orb in his hands. His eyes began to glow.

"Wow, all those dreams were true! Well, things just got real for you lady. CORONAL MASS EJECTION!

From the orb in his hands came an arch of solar fire which slammed hard through several of the shadows and into her chest. Cygnus lifted from the ground and slammed into the wall with a bone-crushing thud. Blood gurgled from her mouth as she landed motionless. Abigail walked over to her. The scarecrows and shadows are gone. She moved slightly, a symbol forming on the woman's forehead. A red rose! She was a Rose Guardian too!"

"You three! Combine your powers around her to awaken her!"

The three took a place around the girl and each one focused for just a moment on the rose symbol on her forehead. Energy began flowing into her as another Rose Heart formed. Cygnus opened her eyes. She felt like an elephant had walked on her chest and then took a shit in her face. But she also felt a warm soft energy. Something she recognized. Suddenly she saw the rose before her, and she jerked back from it.

"No! no. I, I cannot be one of you! He lied to me, he lied to me about who I was!"

Tears wracked Cygnus' body. If she bore the powers of a Rose Guardian, it was not because she was born this way anew. She was meant to be evil. Trained in some of the darkest arts possible. She gasped as it dawned on her she had never met her true mother, and all her father would tell her was that she died in childbirth, but nothing more. He claimed it was too painful. The real truth is that he had found one of the Rose Guardians and was using their power to harm people. Something in her was enraged by this like she knew she should not be used in this fashion. As she reached out her hand, rose vines wrapped around her whole body, and in a flash of green and red light, she was before them with her Armor on. She also remembered everything.

"Oh, my goddess! I'm alive after all these years!"

Abigail began to cry. She could feel the power of this one. This one was the child of the Earth, The Ruby Rose. She was the child of Gaia directly and as a demigoddess had been made the Rose Guardian of the Earth. It was an easy choice. She screamed as she slammed her fist into the ground. Vines erupted from the ground putting out the flames and completely engulfing the shadows and last scarecrow. She turned.

"It is good to meet all of you again!"

Meanwhile...

Dark Lord slammed his fist into the table. He had watched the whole thing through the eyes of a shadow being. She had been cured of his mind-breaking spell. Now they had four of them! How the hell was he going to stop just one of them when others of them kept forming from no place!? He turned to Eridanus and the others.

"Bring her back to me. Now that that rose has revealed itself it will be mine, and I will know its secrets and destroy that Mother Rose once and for all!"

The generals all pounded their chests and hollered. And cheered.

Back on Earth...

"I know where we can go where we should be safe Abigail."

"You mean the Holy Glade. Is it safe to bring newbies there?"

"We may have no choice. They keep finding you."

Shaziah stepped forward. Her eyes were full of strength as she spoke.

"No, we are done running. We only have memories to keep us, fine, we need more training, fine, we will do what we have to do to become strong enough to defeat this evil, but before we go any further. I know who the Dark Lord really is."

Everyone turned and looked at her.

"He was my father in my first life. I was born with my powers and was treated with fear by my village, but my father... was a Templar and gave me over to the church."

Everyone looked at her. How horrible that her own father would give her to the church. The Catholic church was not an entity of benevolence as most thought. It was a keeper of secrets, and far eviler than most knew or cared to admit. The pope was a powerful magician who used ancient artifacts to sway things in the world at large. They were part of other shadow groups roughly bound together by their contacts and like-minded individuals.

"We cannot stay here, but you are right. We cannot run from it. This evil will stalk us to the ends of the universe to gain access to just one of these rose hearts. We must be vigilant, but we cannot give in. Not when so much is at stake."

With this, they walked back to Shaziah's house. Many people were very talkative as they walked up. Both of them had vanished from a hotel room. Rumours of strange events. Boys turning to girls. As they walked in the five of them were met with surprised looks, and Shaziah's parents were very slow to warm up. Shaziah spent several hours explaining everything which had happened, which of course blew their minds and caused them to really have mental breakdowns.

"So, you are Billy like you were Billy as a male, but you became a female through the powers of magic?"

"Yes, that is what I am saying."

"How can you expect us to believe something so outrageous?"

"You are being a fool. You were in the hospital and watched it happen. You can be in denial all you like, but the fact is that these evil people and beings are real, and they are going to start hurting more people if we do not do something to stop them."

Abigail was served coffee. She was the only one who was being seen as an adult aside from Officer Benton. They smiled warmly and looked at the two, then began asking more questions.

"So how did you two get wrapped up in all this?"

"Well, my dear, I am what is called a Warden, what most humans called druids, that's basically me. Except druids are actually dark fairies, and it's all very complicated. What I can tell you is this. We are at a point in time where all the alternate timelines and realities are merging into one. Fewer and fewer options as futures are becoming available. Hence those who can defend the universe were summoned to do so. I am one of a few who can help get them ready."

Ms Elder looked at her blankly, then she looked at the strapping young officer. He smiled.

"I too am a Rose Guardian of the Sun. I protect the powers of light. I have had dreams about all of this for as long as I can remember, but I always thought it was just that dream. Then while trying to find your son/daughter and bring them home, I stumbled across the cabin in which this latest attack took place. I saw these scarecrows and shadows with my own eyes before awakening to what I truly am. I too would be sceptical had I not seen it. How you could have been in that hospital room and seen your son change into a woman and not accept it is beyond me."

Mr. and Ms Elder exchanged looks. This was insane. They were being told that not only was magic real but that things like what only happened in anime and the like were real. More than this Billy was in there someplace. They had to set him free from this evil female.